Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Demon General Aspero
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The stairs leading to the top floor of the third sector. As I climbed them, I placed a hand over my chest.
*Thump, thump.*
I could feel the rhythmic beating of my heart.
It was only a virtual body, but my small frame was fully expressing its exhilaration.
This feels good.
This is fun.
I'm not fighting with the fate of the world on the line.
I'm just clearing a difficult boss and basking in a soaring sense of accomplishment. That's all there is to it.
Right now, I'm enjoying a 'game'.
*Clomp, clomp.*
Passing the stairs, I reached the top floor of the third sector.
And there, the final named monster of this dungeon...
...revealed itself before my eyes.
Large, thick horns symbolizing a high-ranking demon.
A towering body reaching three meters in height.
Half of its exposed face was a writhing mass of grotesque flesh.
Its arms and legs were the same; half of its body was that of a chimera.
In the arm that still retained its demonic form, it held a massive battle axe.
"Grrr..."
A low growl escaped its slightly parted lips.
Aspero's Fortress.
There was a reason why a fortress belonging to a high-ranking demon was filled with chimeras.
In his quest to create stronger chimeras, he had turned all the demons under his command into them, and in the end, used his own body as a test subject for chimera fusion.
Demons had always been like this.
They wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice their comrades to gain greater power.
The final fate of one who pursued power by twisting the natural order.
That was the very demon I was looking at now.
As I approached Aspero, he soon noticed me.
*Clank.*
The heavy battle axe in his one arm asserted its presence. Anyone else would have struggled to wield it even with two hands.
In any case, this was the final named monster.
The conquest of Aspero's Fortress was nearing its end.
I drew my sword and met Aspero's menacing gaze.
*Rumble...*
Though it had lost its sanity and become a chimera, it seemed it hadn't lost its ability to wield demonic energy.
The entire tower vibrated as immense power began to concentrate in its body.
*Vwoom.*
A purplish demonic energy shrouded the axe in its hand.
A power similar to sword energy, but it was nothing compared to that of the 'Ancient Hero'. Could I block it now?
"Grrrrrr!"
With a cry that was now nothing more than a beast's roar, Aspero's massive body and axe charged toward me.
[Third Named]
[Level 40 Demon General Aspero]
[HP 6,000,000/6,000,000]
***
*Whoosh!*
The menacing battle axe in Aspero's hand swung violently toward me. I didn't retreat, instead diving inward.
Without even a moment for a chill to run down my spine as the axe blade grazed past, cutting a few strands of my hair, I unleashed a flurry of sword strikes.
Aspero's attacks were fast and threatening, but not difficult to counter. His large movements created equally large openings. I had plenty of time to attack.
*Whiff, whiff! Whoosh!*
Aspero swung his axe left and right twice, then spun in a wide circle. I raised my sword at the precise moment to get a Just Guard.
*Clang!*
*Sh-sh-sh-sh!*
The starlight gathered at the tip of my blade tore into Aspero's body. His HP dropped rapidly.
The DPS windows on this named were generous. I maintained my assault while responding to its patterns.
*Vwoom.*
Annoyed by my rapid movements as I tore into its body from all sides, Aspero powerfully raised the axe in its one hand. At the same time, I saw a tangible mass of demonic energy concentrate on it.
An unblockable pattern.
The purple-tinged axe came crashing down with enough force to split me in two. I quickly dodged to the left. *Craaash!*
The moment I tried to exploit the opening from the big attack and switch to the offensive, the axe, still embedded in the ground, was swung horizontally.
*Whoosh!*
*Swish.*
I instinctively used Counter. Aspero's axe blade sliced through my afterimage.
"Phew."
I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.
Such incredible power. There wasn't even a tell before it pulled the axe out.
Judging by how it cleaved the floor like tofu, the axe must be immensely heavy. And yet, that thing swings it with one hand as if it were a tree branch.
Strong and fast. But.
"It's slower than that."
Slower than the 'Ancient Hero'.
I can see it and react.
There was no way I'd let an attack land from a boss to whom my winning formula applied.
But it wasn't a pushover either.
*Whoosh!*
As I got behind Aspero, its chimera arm—the one not holding the axe—flew at me.
Having just used Counter, I responded by blocking.
*Clang!*
*Scraaaape.*
"Hah!?"
The chimera arm that struck my sword stretched out, beginning to push my body backward at high speed.
The tower wall was right behind me. If I hit it at this speed, my body would be shattered to pieces.
*Whirl!*
I strained and spun my body.
Then, twisting my sword, I immediately activated Flash Strike.
*Spl-l-l-lch!*
The sickening sound of the chimera arm being torn apart by my Flash Strike filled the air. Flesh and blood splattered. Pushing through the chunks of meat that filled my vision, I crossed swords with Aspero, who had already been charging toward me. *Claaang!*
Aspero's arm exploded, leaving a gaping void where it had been severed.
It acted as if nothing had happened, putting strength into the remaining shoulder stump.
*Squelch!* With that sound, the chimera arm regenerated.
I grimaced at the disgusting sight.
"Ugh."
It's not like it's some green alien with antennae.
*Whiff-whiff-whiff!*
Having regenerated its arm, Aspero quickly began swinging its axe, pressing me again.
It didn't seem like a special pattern, and judging by its HP, the damage I dealt was effective. No matter if it was a chimera, it couldn't just ignore its HP value and regenerate infinitely.
If this was all there was to its normal patterns, it wasn't difficult at all.
I calmly lowered my stance, closed the distance to Aspero, and struck.
[Third Named]
[Level 40 Demon General Aspero]
[HP 4,053,296/6,000,000]
Aspero's seemingly endless HP had already reached the two-thirds mark.
Compared to Valgar's HP, which I'd faced just before, six million certainly seemed low. But since this was a boss whose HP couldn't be reduced by special mechanics, I had to chip away at this entire amount with my own damage.
There was no time to stop my assault.
I had to assume there was a time attack pattern and pour on attacks relentlessly.
With the mindset of dodging the axe by the narrowest of margins and cramming in even one more Starlight Slash.
*Sh-sh-sh-sh!*
Finally, when Aspero's HP dropped below two-thirds, it made an unusual move, just as I'd expected.
"Kuaaah!"
*Rumble...*
Explosive demonic energy boiled up from Aspero's entire body.
From here on, the special pattern.
I readied my sword and watched Aspero's movements.
After a brief motion that seemed to gather demonic energy, Aspero immediately returned to its normal pattern. It raised its axe again and rushed toward me.
Something about the combat area was about to change.
While calmly responding to its assault, I didn't forget to survey my surroundings.
And soon.
*Vwoooom.*
Spots throughout the combat area began to glow with a purple light.
The light filling the space around me and Aspero formed into five spheres, which began to grow in size.
And then, in an instant, the enlarged spheres erupted in a massive explosion.
*KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
Having immediately used Backstep, my body took no damage.
I frantically looked around.
The spheres' spawn locations? The blast radius?
There was no time to think. I had to face Aspero's axe as it charged right at me.
*Clang!*
*Vwoooom.*
Even as Aspero's normal pattern continued, the prelude to a second explosion began without a moment's pause.
The arrangement of the spheres was different from before.
This time, a sphere appeared right next to me and started to grow.
Too late to get away. I had to use an invincibility skill again.
*Swish.*
*KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
I was able to get through the second explosion using Counter.
Fortunately, the explosion didn't sweep across the entire combat area. But the five spheres, appearing from who-knows-where, severely restricted my movement.
*Vwoooom.*
I broke into a cold sweat. The tell for the third explosion was already starting to appear.
Should I use the invincibility frames from Flash Strike?
If I use Flash Strike to get past it, Backstep's cooldown will be up. But the next Flash Strike won't be available for another minute.
There wasn't enough time to think. I immediately used Flash Strike to survive the third explosion.
*Fwoosh!*
*KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
*Vwoooom.*
Backstep's cooldown was back up for the fourth explosion.
The fifth explosion, Counter.
*Vwoooom.*
And then, the tell for the sixth explosion.
"What!?"
I was dumbfounded.
I'm out of invincibility skills.
*KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
Fortunately, no sphere spawned in the center of the combat area this time. Watching the powerful explosions of demonic energy fill the surroundings, I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
But the demonic sphere explosions didn't stop.
I was managing to land attacks in between to reduce the boss's HP, but there was no sign of the special pattern ending.
A pattern that lasts until the end of the fight? The difficulty is too high. Even with my high synchronization rate, it was hard to see and react.
The five spheres had a fairly wide blast radius. What's more, the interval between their appearance and explosion was extremely short.
I desperately wracked my brain.
They wouldn't have designed a pattern that required spamming every invincibility skill without some thought.
In that case, there was only one answer.
The five sphere explosions have a set pattern.
Having reached this conclusion, I calmly began to observe the explosions' range.
As expected, the five explosions were all repeating in a set arrangement.
The first explosion is at the five points of a pentagram. The center is safe. I don't move and just attack Aspero from my spot.
The second explosion's range forms a long line. It overlaps with the combat area. I use Backstep to get out.
The third explosion is a cross shape. It also overlaps significantly with the combat area. Use Counter here.
The fourth explosion. The center is empty. I don't need to evade this time either.
The fifth explosion. The concentric circles of two spheres' ranges slightly overlap with the center of the combat area. I just need to step back a little.
I completely memorized the five explosion patterns and how to counter them.
Responding like this meant I didn't have to constantly cycle through my invincibility skill cooldowns.
All that was left was to go all out on damage.
*KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
Amidst the continuous demonic explosions that shook the entire tower, I relentlessly tore into Aspero's body.