Chapter 149: The Curse of the Black Flame (3)
Chapter 149: The Curse of the Black Flame (3)
True to her word about being a former soldier, Yoanna displayed considerable combat prowess.
"Burn, you unholy thing!"
"Be engulfed in the flames of darkness and perish!"
"I shall burn you and burn you again until your soul departs this labyrinth and reaches the very heavens!"
However, her mouth never rested for a single moment while she fought.
I had no intention of stopping her, nor any reason to. I simply accepted it for what it was.
If this is the side effect, it’s actually quite cute.
As long as it wasn't a curse that made her unable to bear human children or something similar, having her spout chuunibyou-style lines was much better than I had expected.
"Hmm..."
There was only one person who looked uncomfortable.
[Serica. What is it?]
"It’s nothing."
Serica was looking at Yoanna with extreme discomfort.
Was it because Yoanna was strong enough to make Serica wary? No.
[Does the way she talks bother you?]
"...A little," Serica answered honestly. "I wonder if there’s really a need to speak like that."
Serica didn't prefer talking during combat. The reason was simple: she preferred cutting down one more person in the time it took to utter a single word. Serica’s basic mindset was to kill everyone first and think later, rather than adding a commentary to every action.
"Burst forth, Black Flame! Explode, Flare!"
"If you announce the name of every technique, the enemy might be able to counter them," Serica muttered, watching Yoanna with a dissatisfied expression while the latter fought at the front.
I understood. If I had to categorize the two, they were a romanticist and a realist, respectively.
Yoanna’s skill names were mostly things like 'True Flame Black Emperor Strike,' 'Black Flare Hole Cluster,' or 'Revolutionary Divine Flame: Revolution Dark Flare.'
In contrast, Serica’s skill names were as simple as they could be: 'Neck Slice,' 'Heart Pierce,' and 'Meditation.'
Why even hire a voice actor if all you're going to hear is the sound of a sword during an ultimate move?
Serica was so taciturn that players used to complain that the expensive voice actor they hired had nothing to say. It was true. While she talked plenty in daily life, she kept her mouth tightly shut when fighting enemies—just as she did during sleep sex.
[Still, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just as you have your way, Yoanna has hers.]
"...I know there are pros and cons. But, sigh."
Serica puffed out her cheeks and let out a sigh.
"...What are you doing?"
[Oh. I thought you were puffing your cheeks because you wanted me to poke them.]
I lightly poked her cheek, and Serica gave me a playful glare.
"It wasn't for that. And if you're going to do that, do it with your bare hand, not the armor."
[Roger that.]
"...Hah."
Serica pushed my hand aside and walked forward.
"Be stained in darkness!"
Yoanna, for her part, was handling the enemies perfectly. Even though it was the 20th floor, Succubi weren't the only enemies, so we spent quite a bit of time dealing with others.
"Yoanna. Can't you finish off the enemies a bit faster?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Because I want to finish this quickly, go up, and have a celebratory dinner."
Ah. I see.
Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I had a drink with Serica.
So that was it. If that was the reason, I could get behind it. I stepped forward before the atmosphere could get too tense.
[Yoanna. What Serica means is—]
"I'm sorry. This isn't something I can control."
"...Pardon?"
"I don't want to do it either, but the words come out automatically every time I use the Black Flame."
Yoanna retracted the Black Flame with a sour expression.
"Sometimes it happens even when I don't use it. But whenever I use the Black Flame, the words just flow out. I have no way to regulate it."
[Isn't that the side effect?]
"What? Ha, no way."
Yoanna pointed to her left hand, which had been wreathed in Black Flame just moments ago.
"With all sorts of things overflowing as side effects of the curse, there's no way that just saying strange things while fighting could be the side effect. Something so simple and ridiculous couldn't possibly be it."
"......."
Serica scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed. If it wasn't due to her personality but a side effect of the curse, then Serica had made a mistake.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were doing it on purpose, Dame Yoanna."
"I'm not a 'Dame.' Just call me Yoanna. In return, may I call you Serica?"
"Of course."
Perhaps it was because they were both strong that they understood each other. They quickly resolved the potential grudge through conversation.
[I'm glad it was settled through talk, but there's definitely something we need to address. Captain. What do you think?]
I asked Laura, who was approaching from behind.
[Captain, do you think the side effect of the Black Flame is 'talking during combat'? Or do you think it's the side effect you mentioned last time?]
"...Could it be that the curse has more than one side effect?"
Pointing at the remains of a monster burned by the Black Flame, Laura cautiously offered her opinion.
"First of all, there's one major problem right now."
[What is it?]
"The magic stones from the enemies killed by the Black Flame are significantly smaller."
Laura pulled out two magic stones she had received from Shiro.
"This one is from an Orc that tried to target Asti from the rear, and this one is from an Orc that Yoanna-san incinerated with the Black Flame. The difference in size is too distinct to be attributed to individual differences between Orcs."
"Then my side effect is..."
[That there could be a significant loss in magic stone farming. That’s unfortunate.]
Using the Black Flame made winning easy, but the rewards were diminished accordingly.
[The visual effect of the Black Flame was so intense that I didn't notice at all.]
"Lewd Man was in the middle of combat, after all."
Collecting the corpses of the beasts was Shiro's job, and I had been busy dealing with the ones running wild after being scorched by Yoanna's flames.
"It seems Yoanna's Black Flame burns away not just the flesh, but the mana as well. A sort of... 'Mana Burn'?"
"I have a suggestion. What if we place a magic stone on the ground and use the Black Flame on it?"
At Astarotte's suggestion, we immediately began the experiment—
"...Explode, Black Flame Bullet!"
Whoosh.
The magic stone began to char and melt under the black fire.
"Did you know this phenomenon existed?"
"...I didn't."
Yoanna opened and closed her left hand with a bitter look.
"Well, I've never had a reason to burn a magic stone with Black Flame in my life. It’s a waste."
[That’s true.]
Even if you know that focusing sunlight with a magnifying glass can burn paper, no sane person would test it using a 50,000-won bill.
[Still, it’s a bit surprising you didn't know until now.]
"It’s not that I didn't know, but rather that I rarely had the chance to burn things with the Black Flame."
[Didn't you use it often?]
"I used it frequently, but I haven't had many occasions to burn beasts or demons until now."
[Then what have you been burning all this time?]
"Nothing much, other than burning nobles..."
[......Ahem.]
It got a bit awkward, but at least we had identified one of Yoanna's abilities.
[Is combat difficult without the Black Flame?]
"No. It just means I have to strike three times instead of once."
[That sounds like a very inefficient way to fight. Just use the Black Flame. Serica, you understand, right?]
"If that's the case, I understand completely."
If talking while using the Black Flame was more efficient, Serica could certainly tolerate it.
That’s how it goes.
In-game, you only need to look at the party composition to form a raid team, but in reality, you have no choice but to consider the members' personalities, mindsets, thoughts, and relationships.
If only everyone could become one under my cock.
The easiest party to manage would be one composed of people I've already had sex with, but unfortunately, there were still those I hadn't 'officially' slept with yet.
Still, as we go down floor by floor, the day will come when we all have sex together.
Astarotte had eventually slept with me. During the descent to the 30th floor, Serica and I might end up having sex while looking at each other, and by the 40th floor, I might have a revolutionary flame sex session with Yoanna. Or I could have creampie sex with Charlotte in front of her dolls.
Since no one knows what the future holds, for now, we just needed to work on our teamwork and fight together. Because that’s what 'comrades' do.
[Then let’s head back in. We’ve arrived at our final destination.]
The final point. We could go deeper, but we had to have a small party once this 20th-floor raid was successful. Because Serica wanted a wrap party.
Since a large amount of alcohol was prepared, we were going to tackle the 20th-floor boss immediately to enjoy the end of the Breast Festival.
[Entering.]
Thump, thump, thump.
As soon as we entered the boss room, accompanied by a sensation as if space itself were shifting, a giant spider descended from the ceiling.
[Is it a Named again?]
<Noriens of Sacrilege>.
The name was one thing, but the epithet was chilling. The spider's body had eight legs, and the upper torso was that of a human female—the typical spider-girl Monmus from fantasy. Her face was beautiful. But above that face...
"Grrrr..."
Noriens of Sacrilege, growling like a beast, spoke.
"I will pluck out your eyes... and use them as my own... Hehehe...!"
She was wearing four pairs of sunglasses on her face, stacked vertically like a face guard.
[Yoanna.]
I stepped forward and gripped my weapon, the two-handed hammer.
[Can you coat my hammer in Black Flame?]
