Week 2 (8)

Valerie fell back to the middle line.

As a result, Kali naturally returned to the backline positioning... but in her current state, it was obvious she couldn't do a damn thing.

Kali was still struggling just to stand on her own two feet, her unfocused eyes spilling out nothing but vacant laughter.

All they could do now was pray that Ray would hold off the onslaught about to pour down on them.

And hope that Valerie wouldn't waste the time she'd bought them.

The pitch-black arm bursting from the creature's forehead whipped uselessly through the empty air, and from the gap spewed a thick, fog-like illusion.

Ditching all dignity like a runaway locomotive charging ahead.

Mirenheart's grotesquely large and intricate glass antlers slammed into Ray.

She gripped her sword with both hands, doing her best to minimize the impact, but Mirenheart's signature attack skill [Radiant Horn] came with the effect of 'add 1 Power Die' plus the 'Pierce' keyword that neutralized one of the opponent's Defense Dice.

That's why the [Krumph] effect was all the more precious—without it, she'd have had to tank that brutal damage bare-handed with no Defense Dice at all.

On top of that, in phase 2, the bastard gained the passive [Cracking Mirror], which granted the 'Illusion Deployment' keyword.

The effect? On hit, use the same attack skill once more.

Ray, having lost more than half her Life Tokens in an instant, couldn't fully shake off the shock and spat out a mouthful of blood.

She slammed the tip of her Claymore into the ground, gasping for breath.

But there was no time to worry about her.

Once again, without fail, the moment stretched out into eternity.

But I just couldn't bring myself to order the trembling Kali to attack the thing.

The commands in my head felt all tangled up.

It wasn't an emotional issue—it was pure gut instinct ringing alarm bells, screaming 'that just can't happen.'

A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

─Not something the old me would've ever thought.

Valerie raised her flintlock and calmly drew in a breath.

Mirenheart staggered unnaturally.

It was like it was being puppeted by something in its head, not its own will.

The next instant, Valerie's gun barrel spat fire.

One pip. Just a single pip difference.

Nah, honestly, the bastard was already dead.

Once Mirenheart's turn ended, the poison that had seized its entire bloodstream would snuff out its life for good.

Yeah, that's the problem—'once its turn ends.'

I knew all its skill placements and patterns.

Next turn's attack was almost certainly [Silent Dash], an overpowered skill that hits the backline without stripping Power Dice.

And Kali, with only 2 Life Tokens left, leaning on me and shaking like a leaf—she was way too defenseless.

If she took the next hit, she'd be knocking on death's door for sure.

My breathing got ragged.

I knew this better than anyone.

I'd told myself over and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over not to rely on probabilities.

Anyone but me should've known better.

Coldly speaking, the command not going through earlier might not have been my mood—it could've been Kali losing control of her own body.

But who was it that got complacent and started ignoring her penalty despite knowing about it beforehand?

I forcibly cleared my cluttered head and gritted my teeth.

No use regretting the past now that we'd come this far.

─Two times. That's how many death judgments we had to overcome.

Its hooves would charge twice, and there'd be no missing.

Because I'd pinned my hopes on luck when I shouldn't have, now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠luck was all I had left to cling to.

"─M-Master..."

Amid the sensation of the moment splintering into fragments, a frail voice rang out.

It was Kali.

She was still precarious, her voice trembling like she was on the verge of losing it, but it was Kali.

"G-Give... the order."

The words were faint but crystal clear.

After racking my brain desperately until just now, I just blankly stared down at her.

Kali was desperately suppressing the madness trying to claim her.

Swallowing her vacant laughter with effort, she spoke again, even clearer than before.

"Huu... Give the order."

Kali gritted her teeth.

I didn't need her to say it—I knew what she wanted.

I lowered my body while still supporting her.

Kali, leaning on me, bent forward like she was about to collapse, and the next moment, the staff she'd dropped earlier was clutched tight in her hand.

It was still trembling uselessly, but Kali steadfastly raised the tip of the staff to point at Valerie.

The next instant, a brilliant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠light surged up.

This time it was a dagger.

Valerie dashed past Ray.

The dagger gripped reverse in her hand flashed at a speed too fast to follow with the eye, and the next moment, a vivid red gash scarred Mirenheart's neck.

It was a massive wound too big to stitch with even a dozen needles.

The freakishly moving bastard froze in place.

Sensing the pathetic end of its life, maybe.

It let out a final screech as its body began to slowly collapse.

That was the killing blow.

The instant it crumbled, Kali—who'd long since dropped her staff again—flopped face-first onto the ground.

"Kali-ssi!"

"She's fine, Master. Kali's not hurt."

Seeing someone collapse beside me made me panic without thinking, raising my voice.

Ray, sitting on the ground a short distance away catching her breath from the battle's aftermath, spoke up to reassure me.

Kali, who had faceplanted, was panting with her face flushed beet red, but just as Ray said, there were no visible wounds or signs of pain.

By now, I knew well that she ended up like this without her meds, so it wasn't all that surprising.

Whew, what a relief—once that thought hit, all the tension drained from my body.

In stark contrast to how wound up I'd been until moments ago, I slid down next to the collapsed Kali like a slime.

"...Glad you're okay. Almost had a real disaster—"

"Yeah, well. This body saved the day again."

Valerie, who had stylishly sliced the bastard's neck, swaggered over.

She looked even spryer than I'd expected.

Of course, watching her strut up all smug and naturally help Ray to her feet made me chuckle despite myself.

"Master-nim, you look after the doc. Battle's done—let's head back quick."

"Ah, hold on a sec."

At Valerie's urging to return ASAP, I held her back for a moment.

That was that, but there was something to do.

Pulling myself together, I stood and cautiously approached Mirenheart's corpse.

"Oh, Magic Stone? Yeah, it'd suck without that."

Valerie snickered from behind.

Then I heard heavy footsteps striding up from behind.

"You think our fragile little Master-nim can handle this? I'll do it—go take care of the knight and the doc."

"No, I can manage this much—huh?"

But then, something sparkled on the back of Valerie's hand as she came alongside me.

I'd caught that tiny glint in an instant—impressive, even if I do say so myself.

"Valerie-ssi, mind showing me the back of your hand for a sec?"

"Huh? Back of my hand? Outta nowhere, why... huh?"

At my sudden question, Valerie naturally glanced at the back of her own hand, and bewilderment flickered in her eyes.

I quickly grabbed her flustered hand, and sure enough.

"An Imprint."

"Huh?"

"Uh... like, a gift from that deer thing."

"Gift from that creepy fucker? Gives me nothing but bad vibes."

I explained as simply as possible, but she still scowled like it rubbed her the wrong way.

Still, as far as I knew, it was nothing but beneficial.

That's why I'd called it a 'gift.'

The shattered glass fragment shape etched on the back of Valerie's hand.

It even resembled Mirenheart's antlers.

The sacred antlers of Guardian Mirenheart, before it fell into such a wretched state.

The effect was straightforward.

[Fragment of the Mirror Forest]: Once per battle, reflect 50% of damage taken back at the attacker

Just like Mirenheart's passive [Mirror Shell], an ability to reflect damage taken.

It was strictly inferior since it was only once per battle, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Sure, it'd have been nicer on Ray with her beefier Life Tokens, but Imprints don't drop that often anyway, so landing one was win enough.

"Hmm, from what I know, it grants some special ability... but we'd have to ask the butler back at the Territory to be sure."

Of course, I had all the Imprint effects memorized, but for now, play dumb.

Valerie here kept eyeing me with suspicion.

No need to hide it forcibly, but no point inviting more doubt either.

My half-assed attitude seemed to work—she quit staring suspiciously at her hand and started rummaging through Mirenheart's corpse.

I headed back to Kali and carefully helped her up.

Man, it all worked out—such a relief.

I never imagined the fight with the First Layer Lord would be this brutal, but hey, everyone's alive, right? That's what counts.

Right in the center of the Floor Boss territory, a pale blue oval tore open space like it was burning through it.

Seeing the return portal for real, straight out of the screen, made something ignite in my chest.

Sense of accomplishment? Relief? Elation? It didn't quite match any of those perfectly, but honestly, that shit wasn't important right now.

This was a proper clear return, so it had to feel way smoother than that emergency scroll last time, yeah?

...It better. I did not wanna see Kali puking all over me.