Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Boy King (3)
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Once again, the flesh club came crashing down from the side.
The destructive power was terrifying. The ground where it struck was completely shattered, and the shockwave alone made all the nearby buildings shake.
Compared to other special-type beasts, this one's position was simple.
It had no fancy special abilities, but it was tough and powerful. That straightforward advantage was maximized.
‘At least its speed is slow—that’s a relief!’
Of course, the tradeoff was its incredibly sluggish speed, which barely qualified it as a “special-type.” It was a glaring weakness compared to large or elite beasts.
So.
Dodging these repetitive attacks hadn’t been too hard so far, but we hadn’t landed a single proper hit on it yet.
“...”
Elnor shot me a glance from the side.
She was probably wondering if we could really break through in one minute like this.
But this was actually the faster way.
[ Activating ‘Skill: Scouting Eye.’ ]
[ Retrieving target information. ]
[ 24-hour cooldown applies to the same target. ]
Most of Scouting Eye’s abilities focused on checking the opponent’s ‘stats,’ but under certain conditions, it offered more functions.
For example, if you spent enough time ‘observing’ the target, like now.
“Thirty seconds gone. So, how exactly do you plan to kill this thing?”
“Left elbow underside, right calf backside.”
“...What?”
“There’s the ‘core.’ Hitting those should do real damage.”
“...”
Elnor let out a scoff as she looked at me.
“Unbelievable. Watching you sometimes makes me feel utterly inadequate. It shatters everything I know about training.”
“...Pardon?”
“Even regular knights struggle to pinpoint undead weak points. And you did it in thirty seconds.”
“...”
Well, it wasn’t me—it was the skill being overpowered.
It was paying off the four rare devil seed drops I’d devoured, like the devil’s seed.
Anyway.
“...But knowing that doesn’t make killing it any easier.”
Elnor backstepped several meters as she replied.
Her physical abilities seemed stronger than mine, even with Desperate Situation at EX rank, but her tone was still pessimistic.
“The outer hide looks insanely tough. Even ignoring its immortality, piercing it with a sword seems impossible...”
“I never planned to kill it from the start.”
I’d said we’d ‘break through’ in one minute, not kill it.
Of course, to do that.
“Elnor, you’re the only one I can ask.”
Feeling a pang of guilt, I let out a sigh and spoke.
“Please keep this thing from going anywhere else.”
In truth, she was the only one who could.
The exorcists were all tied up burning the endlessly respawning undead over there.
“...”
Elnor’s eyes widened as she stared at me, a mix of surprise and absurdity.
Honestly, I’d accept it if she cursed me out right now.
Telling an academy student to 1v1 a special-type beast? Unthinkable.
But I wasn’t speaking without basis.
[Skill Info]
[ Possession - Wrath ] [ Rank: S ]
[ When the target’s ‘wrath’ reaches its limit, it uses a portion of the stored devil fragment’s power. ]
If this triggered, what I said wasn’t impossible.
It’d actually be easy.
“...”
In other words.
To navigate this situation smoothly.
She needed to get angry.
Very angry.
“...Are you mad right now, by any chance?”
If my absurd request pissed her off, that’d be a success.
Hoping a bit, I asked.
“What an honor. So I’ve earned that much trust from you?”
“...”
“I’ll stake my life on it. To live up to your faith—”
No.
That’s not it.
She’d believe the sun rose in the west if I said so.
“No, wait.”
I ended up confessing honestly.
“...You need to get angry. It’ll probably make you stronger.”
It sounded crude even to me, but Elnor just narrowed her eyes.
“You’re right. It does feel that way.”
“Yes?”
“I met Liru Garda before. She tried taking you, and I nearly cut her head off.”
“...”
“Looking back, I felt something odd then, just like you said.”
No, that was probably just her wanting an excuse to fight.
The Liru I knew was a sadist, but not so reckless as to cross that line.
Anyway.
“Then, a way to get that mad right here...”
Elnor pondered while dodging attacks, then opened her mouth with a realization.
“You. Try cursing me out once.”
“...Pardon?”
“Hearing insults from you seems likely to anger me.”
...Really?
Then let’s pull out a line to stoke her rage moderately.
“Elnor.”
“Mm.”
I picked my words carefully.
I didn’t really want to insult her, but she asked.
Start light.
“Honestly, sometimes I think we don’t really match.”
[System Message]
[ Target ‘Elnor’ falls into despair under your influence! ]
[ Movement slowed! ]
“...”
Why.
What the hell did I even say?
“...Stop. Just stop.”
Elnor trembled as she spoke. Her face was still expressionless, but tears welled in her eyes.
“...I barely started.”
“It’s not what I expected. Hearing that from you... it’s not anger. It hurts my heart...”
“...”
So that’s different.
No, more importantly.
She really seemed plunged into despair—her movements were slightly slower.
We were chatting mid-fight, but this was real combat. We couldn’t afford slowdowns.
Sweating coldly, I spoke up.
“No, I didn’t mean it. Not at all!”
“...Really?”
Elnor’s voice was slightly nasal, more than usual.
“Yes. Truly!”
“...Then can I ask something?”
“Yes?”
“Answer honestly. No lies. Do that, and I’ll forgive you.”
Elnor dodged another incoming flesh club as she spoke.
This Q&A seemed more important than the situation.
“...Have you been hanging out with other women lately, besides me?”
“...”
“No secret meetings or dates alone with another girl, right?”
“...”
“I’ve been anxious. We’ve had so much time apart lately. I worried another woman made you say that...”
“...”
This was no question for now.
But.
“...”
A chill ran down my spine.
Somehow, here.
Lying would lead to big trouble later.
So I shut my eyes and said it.
“...It’s not set in stone yet. But I might have one coming up.”
Yeah.
Not ideal.
But Eliya had mentioned something during midterms.
She had a ‘request’ for me.
High chance it was.
“Eliya Chrisanax and I might head to my hometown together during break—”
[System Message]
[ Target ‘Elnor’ reaches the brink of losing reason to wrath under your influence! ]
[ ‘Skill: Possession – Wrath’ activates! ]
[System Message]
[ Conditional devil descent confirmed. ]
[ Devil fragment and vessel fuse more closely. ]
[ Target ‘Elnor’s Stage 1 fusion progress changed to 99%. Something special will happen soon! ]
“...”
She said be honest.
Said she’d forgive anything.
Sweating as I mulled that, Elnor drew her sword with eyes dozens of times icier than usual.
A sinister ‘gray’ aura streamed from her body. Unmistakably the Gray Devil’s energy.
〚...Get up there first. Situation’s urgent, isn’t it?〛
Her voice carried an alien noise.
〚Explanations later.〛
“...”
Yes.
Thank you.
Muttering thanks inwardly, I entered the clock tower.
〚Go on.〛
Elnor turned slightly to face the giant charging at us again.
Then.
-...
Shockingly, it flinched.
Even an undead with regressed intellect sensed it instinctively.
How overwhelmingly powerful the ‘target’ before it was.
-!!!
-!!!!
It roared again and lunged, more ferocious as if denying its fear.
〚Shut your mouth.〛
One flash.
Elnor’s casual sword strike from her spot.
Sliced clean through the ‘landscape.’
--------------!
The flesh club severed in one go, and the arm holding it shredded like in a grinder, scattering.
Even if I’d pointed out the ‘weak point,’ this was a special-type by raw specs alone. That steel-hard, massive arm—gone in one hit.
It didn’t stop there; the building behind it was partially cleaved too.
“...”
Everyone witnessing it froze.
Was this even a human-scale attack?
〚...Keep it busy. I won’t feel better unless I cut something.〛
And everyone would sense it.
This woman, not even a tenth the giant’s size.
Had monstrous strength that treated special-type beasts like child’s play.
“...”
Wishing it peace inwardly, I dashed into the clock tower.
Mini-boss fight.
Cleared in one minute.
●
Climbing the clock tower stairs, I heard the Flesh Terror’s agonized cries outside.
Glancing through a window, Elnor was grabbing the giant’s hair and swinging it around.
Nearby exorcists gaped in shock as its massive body demolished buildings while flying.
“...”
Size difference was about tenfold.
Like a mouse grabbing a cat’s tail for a giant swing.
‘...Others wouldn’t get it.’
Detaching that level of firepower? Anyone would call me insane.
But for the Valkasus boss fight, Elnor absent was better.
Seeing what I’d do against Valkasus would summon the Gray Devil again.
I’d get... pretty badly hurt.
And the moment that happened.
‘...Hell.’
Valkasus itself wasn’t great against devils.
Precisely.
Devil involvement spiked the boss fight’s difficulty dozens of times.
Considering her past, a devil descent meant she’d go all-out.
Against Valkasus’s true power, even a devil vessel with one fragment stood no chance.
‘And this is her not even using half her strength...’
Absurd.
The undead horde blanketing the academy was mere light exercise for someone handling millions of spells.
If she got serious, no player could face her.
Chapter 2’s true final boss was Yuria, not her.
But.
[ Essence of Malice ]
[ Item: Story ]
[ Material that interacts with epic items. Special events occur upon fusion! ]
“...”
Even Valkasus could fall to this.
I rolled the black gem in my palm briefly.
Loot from repelling the purifier earlier.
‘Most would pick the Hero’s Fragment, honestly.’
Ask a Sera user mid-story to choose between Essence of Malice and Hero’s Fragment? Obviously the latter.
This was for hardcore players who raised difficulty themselves.
In a game full of evil-aligned enemies, it just buffs their malice. No sane person picks it.
But.
Maniacs who knew the game A-to-Z? All pick this.
It’s the key to fighting Valkasus.
As I thought that.
“Been working out? Youth’s a blessing. Stamina builds so fast in no time.”
Finally, the clock tower summit. That voice came from across.
Valkasus.
“No, haven’t really exercised. Just my constitution’s unique.”
“What kind?”
“Strong in real combat.”
Valkasus burst into laughter.
“...”
But instead of laughing along, I slowly sized him up.
Same as our first meeting.
Sun fully set, darkness settling, he sat on the railing, gazing skyward.
So, I recalled those words.
“...Do you remember the promise?”
“Of course.”
Valkasus rose from his seat.
“...”
And with that alone.
The air changed.
“-!”
Pressure like my body’s weight multiplied dozens of times crushed me.
The intense shock shook my consciousness; I dropped to one knee involuntarily.
Head spinning, every joint and bone ached.
“...”
This is bullshit.
He hadn’t done a thing yet.
Just stood and leaked a bit of ‘aura.’
“Can you handle it?”
Valkasus’s flat voice flowed out.
“I hate devils. And those who worship them disgust me.”
Alchemy circles formed one by one around the boy king.
Each held spells that could pulverize someone like me effortlessly.
“...The ones who condemned me and my kingdom to millennia of suffering were devils.”
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of circles.
Filling every visible space.
All conjured instantly by one man. Effortlessly.
“Yet you know why I cooperate with that forebear?”
Yeah. I know.
He’s the only one who can ‘liberate’ this man and his kingdom.
“...The only one who can give you certainty.”
Bitter smile as I stood.
Body felt wrecked.
Fine. Still manageable.
Fightable.
Long ago.
I’d overcome worse to survive.
“The certainty that you can be killed.”
Valkasus smiled.
“As expected. You know everything?”
The boy king continued leisurely.
“That forebear promised. Cleanse this entire academy, and he’ll kill me.”
Main scenario content.
His lifelong wish—‘death’—was on the line, hence this madness.
Millions of spells crammed into one body? He couldn’t die even if he wanted, without extremes.
“If you fail, I’ll carry it out faithfully.”
Cleanse every soul in this academy.
He could, truly.
But.
“We made a promise.”
Grinning, I checked the clock.
“I’d save you and your kingdom.”
“...”
“I wouldn’t say that without knowing how.”
Subtract climb time: ten minutes left.
Fail the boss fight, and Atalante’s barrier breaks. Real deadline.
In other words.
Beat him in ten minutes, or I die.
Possible?
“...”
No need to ask.
‘I’ll smash him.’
Definitely.
That thought hit as.
“Then.”
The circles glowed ominously.
Deep breath. Prepare.
“Prove it. That you’re not all talk.”
Chapter 2 boss. Boy King攻略 battle.
Combat begins.
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