Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Demon Astaroth
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Early in the morning, I entered the bathroom in the building and took off my clothes.
Today, we had to take down the boss, so I needed to go all out.
"Polymorph."
Scales grew from my skin.
They soon transformed into the shape of armor.
Thanks to Laura's training, it had become quite convincing.
My current appearance resembled a knight clad in full plate armor that covered my entire body.
The difference was that the armor was a bit spiky, giving off the vibe of a dragon knight from some game.
Something this flashy wasn't my style.
But Laura had insisted that it had to be this way, so that's how I learned it.
Maybe I should check my stats for the first time in a while.
"Status Window."
------------[Status Window]------------
◈ Name
null
◈ Stats
[Strength 122 A](+800)
[Agility 771 B](+800)
[Intelligence 169 C](+800)
[Luck 220 F](+800)
[Overall C]
◈ Skills
[Inheritance 897 A]
[Dragon Heart --- A]
[Telekinesis 682 C]
[Magic Tattoo --- B]
[Polymorph --- S]
-----------------------------------
The Polymorph skill boosted my stats by 800.
Even without any items equipped, my strength and agility had reached A-rank.
Considering the scales' defense on top of that, it was nearly impossible for this dungeon's trash mobs to damage me.
I stepped out of the building and headed to the barricade.
Clink. Clink.
Every step caused the scales to clash, creating noise.
"Enemy!"
Lee Sang-hyeon spotted me and drew his sword.
With my face mostly covered except for the eye holes, he didn't recognize me.
Park Ha-yeon and Isia arrived one after another at his shout.
Isia was with the CM-29.
The CM-29's barrel turned toward me.
I hurriedly explained.
"It's me. Shin Noda."
"What?"
"Hi, hyung. You know I have that scale-creation skill. This isn't armor—if you look closely, it's scales."
Lee Sang-hyeon approached cautiously without sheathing his sword and inspected my body.
He soon let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared me. Say something next time if you're gonna do this."
"Haha. It was a surprise. How's it look? Pretty solid, right?"
"Yeah, it does."
Laura nodded with a satisfied expression as she looked at me.
Her attitude was like an artist appraising her own work.
'She's not wrong.'
It was Laura who had touched my soul, designed the armor, and trained me to create this form.
We prepared to move out.
I decided to adjust our tactics a bit.
"The boss will probably appear somewhere in this city. So, I want to change up how we fight."
"How?"
Park Ha-yeon poked at my scales with her finger as she asked.
"Ha-yeon and Senior Isia will take the front line, while the rest of us support as damage dealers. Senior Isia, your durability is a bit low, so transform into a cat and tank alongside the robot."
"Nyaang."
Isia wrote on her tablet and showed me the screen.
[Then I'll go transform.]
Shapeshifters' clothes tore when they changed, so she was probably going somewhere else to switch.
I nodded and continued the explanation.
"Everyone else, just like last time, pull the trash mob aggro and hold them off. I'll handle the boss."
"You sure? Even for you, taking on a boss monster alone..."
Lee Sang-hyeon's worried voice.
I reassured him.
"Don't worry. Honestly, I haven't gone all out once since we entered here. If it's too much, I'll fall back to the group, so keep that in mind."
"Uh... okay."
Now all that was left was heading to the final stage.
I recalled the original story.
This dungeon's boss was the demon Astaroth.
She took the form of a fallen angel wielding a spear and summoned Hell Ants.
She was originally an S-rank monster, but appeared weakened here.
The way to encounter her was simple.
Acquire the "Relic of Resurrection" at the top of a massive building.
The ants were no big deal, but Astaroth was B-rank and fairly strong, so caution was needed.
I was fine, but my party was the issue.
Once combat started, I planned to overwhelm her with relentless attacks so she couldn't touch the others.
'Lady Laura. Do you know the demon Astaroth?'
[Yes.]
'Can you dispel her? She'll be weakened to B-rank level.'
[Impossible. Astaroth is an immortal who ascended to divinity. Even I cannot override the karma she has accumulated.]
I see.
Even weakened, her "karma" remains intact.
I'd have to crush her with raw damage, then.
Right now, I was on par with an A-rank powerhouse.
It wouldn't be difficult.
"Nyaong!"
A massive cat appeared.
It felt like just a regular cat scaled up huge.
I'd expected something more tiger-like, but no.
'Is the breed Norwegian Forest Cat?'
With its long-haired fur all fluffy, it looked tempting to pet.
Isia sat grooming herself while looking down at me.
"Nyaong."
I gave an awkward smile and said,
"First, let's scout inside that big building."
"Okay."
I addressed the giant cat.
"Senior Isia, guard the entrance with the robot. If our retreat gets cut off, we're in trouble."
Isia nodded.
Inside the building.
Surprisingly, the elevator still worked.
We called it.
Ding.
The doors opened to reveal a gruesome scene.
The interior was splattered with blood.
"Grraaah."
It was filled with zombies.
We dispatched them and boarded the elevator.
The stench of blood and rotting corpses made me want to puke.
"Top floor."
"Any reason?"
A reason...
Because the Relic of Resurrection was up there.
I made something up.
Lee Sang-hyeon backed off easily, maybe just asking casually.
Or because we'd never lost by following my lead so far.
Ding.
The elevator stopped, and we arrived at the top floor.
The top floor had glass walls all around the exterior, with military gear scattered everywhere.
Thump.
My Dragon Heart pounded fiercely.
Immense mana was emanating from nearby.
'This is...'
[Ho. You can sense it? You've grown a lot.]
Laura spoke as if impressed.
I headed toward the source of the mana.
Like tracing a sound to its origin, I could roughly pinpoint where it came from.
Zombies appeared along the way, but we dispatched them easily.
Soon, I reached a certain room.
Mana was flowing from inside.
Opening the door revealed computers and precision machines everywhere.
And in the center, an egg made of gold and jewels.
The Relic of Resurrection.
The relic seemed to be supplying energy to this complex machinery.
"Huh."
Its dazzling beauty drew an involuntary sound from me.
'Such a precious item. I don't really need it, but I want it.'
A powerful urge to possess it dominated my mind.
As if entranced, I picked up the Relic of Resurrection.
A translucent window appeared before my eyes.
------------[Final Battle]----------------
[Astaroth is a demon who originally possessed divinity.
Under the Demon King's orders, she came to destroy the world.
Astaroth's attempt succeeded, but she suffered a grievous wound in the final battle.
Seizing the opportunity, the mages succeeded in sealing her divinity.
They used it to create the "Relic of Resurrection" and installed it in the Final City, erecting a barrier to keep Astaroth's kin, the "Hell Ants," at bay.
Astaroth, weakened to the level of a lesser demon.
Crushed by the divinity that was once hers, she could no longer invade the city.
As a workaround, Astaroth used zombies to conquer the city.
The world's population was 16 billion.
Thus, 16 billion zombies.
Under the endless assault, the city fell, and all life was eradicated.
The barrier consumes the Relic of Resurrection and vast amounts of power to maintain.
The issue is that the city's power plant could last centuries without maintenance.
She has no choice but to wait for the power to run out.
Time is on the side of immortals.
Your mission is to annihilate the weakened Astaroth before she regains her strength.
Remaining time: 4478 days, 11 hours, 36 minutes.]
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The dungeon's story explanation.
I already knew this.
I removed the relic from the machine and pocketed it.
Beep. Beep.
Red lights flashed with blaring alarms.
The machines, which had been glowing faintly, powered down.
Dismantling the barrier was exactly what Astaroth wanted, but it was the only way to trigger the boss fight.
Even in the game, there was no other method.
'An immortal with divinity or whatever—she's B-rank now. No problem.'
We descended to the first floor.
"Nyaong."
The ground shook like an earthquake.
In the distance, a black tsunami was sweeping toward the city.
It was a revolting sight.
Astaroth was coming to reclaim her power.
"Battle stations!"
We braced for combat from behind the barricade.
"■■■■, ■■. ■■ ■■ ■."
A blue barrier formed around the CM-29's chassis.
"Haaak."
Isia bared her fangs and took the front.
Park Ha-yeon followed behind her.
They waited in position for the Hell Ants.
On the rooftop of a nearby small building.
I gripped my spear and stared at Astaroth approaching from afar.
***
"Finally, the barrier is down!"
Astaroth, a fallen angel with demonic horns on her head and blackened wings on her back.
She appeared as a beauty with a long serpent coiled around her body.
Confirming the barrier's dismantling, she led all her forces into the city.
No more need to skulk around with mere zombies.
Entering the city, she immediately spotted the adventurer(?) party that had dismantled the barrier.
The most striking was the dragon knight clad head to toe in heavy plate armor.
The armor hugged his body tightly, giving a sleek impression.
She sensed great power from him.
'Sword Expert level...'
In her past prime, she could have swept him away with a gesture.
But now, stripped of her divinity, he was a tough opponent.
And the red-haired girl.
Astaroth sensed something familiar.
"Dragonewt? To think I'd encounter a damned lizard hybrid here. At least a five-class master."
Stronger forces than expected.
She bit her lip.
"No use overthinking it."
The rest were small fry not worth considering.