Night of the Full Moon (5)
Night of the Full Moon (5)
——「Fanta X Aca Gallery」——
[ 'The Night of the Full Moon' Final Villain Strategy Tips ]
Chapter 1, Act 1 marks the true beginning of the main scenario, and it's on the difficult side.
I recommend forming a party to clear it.
Unless you've been doing some twisted veteran run, you should have at least one heroine by now — just build your team around her.
Combat Training Practice was the prologue, right? Exactly like that, but with a heroine added in.
The final villain changes every time, and the difficulty is high, so you need a solid team composition to handle it.
If you didn't gather any heroines or form a team... well, good luck. No, my condolences.
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House Pierce traditionally prizes practicality. Strikes that lull the enemy into complacency, then aim for a vital point in a single blow.
Thus, for Sharon Pierce, an instant kill is easier than a duel.
No need to bother erasing the evidence, either.
'I'll end this in one stroke.'
Just as Sharon's sword aura shot toward Rina —
— CRASH!
The ceiling abruptly collapsed.
Dust and stone fragments scattered.
Vision obscured.
'What the—?'
Even a slight miss would be dangerous. Sharon Pierce swiftly retracted her mana.
"Oops, took a wrong turn."
At that low, sly voice, both Rina and Sharon turned their heads.
The thick dust settled, and a man stood there rubbing the back of his head.
Ian.
'That was a close one.'
Ian had drilled a small hole in the floor above and had been observing Rina and Sharon's argument. The idea was to minimize his intervention while gathering information.
Rina Rosewell's condition was exactly as he'd predicted. And Sharon Pierce? That killing intent was not like the cold, rational her. The strike she'd been preparing was brimming with pure murder.
Ian scratched his cheek.
At least until he was certain who the culprit was, he couldn't let a heroine get herself killed on a whim. That was why he'd smashed through the ceiling and dropped in.
Since the building was made of stone, it wasn't all that difficult.
"... Uh, sorry. Please, continue your fight."
His line was obviously delivered in a tone of feigned innocence, but... eh, good enough? In situations like this, shamelessness is key.
"Fight? We were just having a little chat, weren't we?"
Rina Rosewell tilted her head. There was a grating quality to it that sent a chill down his spine. It was especially unsettling because this was effectively something else wearing Rina Rosewell's skin.
Ian kept his composure as he looked at her.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. Anyway, Ian. I was just about to go looking for you, too. Oddly, I felt like getting rid of you..."
"Hold on."
Ian hastily cut her off.
"But that's strange? I definitely felt killing intent."
"Killing intent?"
"Yeah. Sharon, weren't you about to stab Rina just now?"
Ian turned a perfectly composed gaze toward Sharon.
"...!"
Sharon's expression crumpled instantly.
'What are you glaring at me like that for.'
I can't let you kill her, but I absolutely need you two to keep fighting.
Rina Rosewell, the final boss of Chapter 1, Act 1. And Lichten's finest knight prospect, Sharon Pierce.
Pit them against each other and drain their strength.
That was Ian's strategy for dealing with two overwhelmingly powerful heroines.
Sharon gritted her teeth and shouted.
"Ian... Blackangus. You bastard...!"
"See? That's exactly the vibe."
"You bastard!"
She thrust her sword at him, but it wasn't scary.
— KWA-BOOM!
Because Rina Rosewell's magic had just slammed into her.
"Sharon. I didn't know you were like that. You really are a bad girl, aren't you?"
"Shut up, you Blood Rock Sect murderer."
"I told you, I'm not with the Blood Rock Sect."
Feeling the air between them seethe once more, Ian smirked.
"Well then, carry on fighting."
◆
— KWA-BOOM!
With Rina Rosewell's opening strike, the heroines' clash began.
Blocking the magical sparks darting out like embers, Ian smoothly turned.
A girl lay unconscious on the bed.
"Tch."
Ian clicked his tongue once and sat down on the edge of the bed. The girl's state was far from normal. Her skin was flushed pink, her body soaked in sweat. Every breath was steeped in heat. Even unconscious, she was clearly consumed by carnal desire.
'... Yeah, those are exactly the symptoms when the blue mushroom spreads.'
In the actual game, the blue mushroom's effects were described as increased combat power, heightened aggression and ferocity, and the stimulation of negative emotions.
But according to Professor Susie Asmal of Clinical Magical Pharmacology, the root cause of all those symptoms was a massive spike in sexual desire.
The blue mushroom spores, transmitted through mucus, controlled their hosts in that way.
'With the full moon up, she can't hold it in anymore, so it's bursting out.'
This female student had also been infected by the spores through contact with Rina.
A perfect test subject.
Would Ian's Dishwashing Authority even work on a human infected by the spores?
Through her disheveled shirt, the name tag [Mercy] caught Ian's eye. To be clear, he did not stare at the cleavage visible through that disheveled shirt for an extended period.
As he leaned in closer, a sweet scent and warmth washed over him.
Ian extended his hand toward Mercy.
"...Hnn."
She flinched from the mere touch. She looked utterly wretched.
He glanced over to confirm the heroines were still fiercely at it, then focused his senses. He could feel earth mana at his fingertips — the manifestation of the Authority, Dishwashing. An indescribably sacred energy flowed through Ian as a medium and spread into Mercy. A faint moan followed.
"...Mm."
Mercy's overheated body gradually calmed. Circulating mana through her revealed the spores had distinctly decreased. A good result for having used as little power as possible to conserve strength.
"As expected."
Dishwashing works on the blue mushroom spores, too. Calling it a given just because it's an Authority undersells it — it's blatantly overpowered. With this, all preparations for the "Night of the Full Moon" finale were complete.
Ian turned his gaze to the two heroines locked in combat.
— FWOOOSH!
— SHRIEK!
A clash between a fire spirit mage and a frost-element swordswoman. The unending cascade of abilities was so dazzling it would awe any spectator. Sharon wielded frost elements. In stark contrast to her cold, unfeeling personality, her techniques were endlessly glittering and spectacular.
Meanwhile, Rina Rosewell — currently a spore host — ceaselessly spewed flames that could only be described as overwhelmingly violent.
"Whew..."
As a spectator, he was almost grateful that Sharon's frost affinity kept the temperature somewhat in check. That was how strong Rina was right now.
'She's the final boss, so I guess it's to be expected.'
Main Scenario Chapter 1, Act 1. The Night of the Full Moon. Normally, this is a scenario you need to clear with at least one heroine secured and a party formed.
The entire reason Combat Training Practice was the prologue was to prepare for this very episode.
But bringing the training practice team over as-is was impossible, since Yulan the Blood Rock cultist was in it.
"I'd genuinely rather kill myself than call that bastard over here."
So the plan he'd devised was to clear the whole scenario alone — in other words, a solo run. It'd be easier to handle variables that way.
Instead, he'd made full use of maximally efficient items. Gathering all those miscellaneous items was exactly for this reason.
"And then a heroine just rolled right in."
Sharon Pierce. The moment he spotted her at the entrance, he'd decided to use her. He'd revised the plan on the spot: spark a fight between Rina Rosewell and Sharon Pierce.
— KWA-BOOM!
So far, it was going according to plan. Rina Rosewell's offensive power was staggering. However, Sharon was responding adeptly, weathering it with nothing but honed skill and experience.
'To fight the final boss to that degree...'
Considering that the blue mushroom had already boosted Rina Rosewell's combat power by at least 200%...
'Sharon really is something else.'
That said, she was currently in a rather tight spot.
'She'll definitely go for a decisive follow-up strike.'
She'd unleash every last bit of frost element she could muster to kill Rina. He'd aim for that exact timing.
Ian calmly fished out the crafted inner lining of the Mana Abyss. Thanks to Danya's help, it was infinitely thinner and at the same time far more durable.
'At this level, it can withstand even the highest mana pressure.'
The moment his preparations were complete, Sharon, right on cue, readied herself to unleash a sword aura.
"Die, Blood Rock Sect!"
Now. Ian immediately threw himself between the two.
"Wh—!"
"Ah!"
Both heroines' eyes went round. But regardless, he swiftly launched the Mana Abyss lining with magic.
— Kzzzzzt...
""!""
The moment it made contact, mana began flooding into the Mana Abyss lining. Mana Abyss has the property of engulfing and compressing mana. Crunch, crunch. Even now, the inner lining greedily compressed mana as though the main body of the Mana Abyss was right there. Rina's fire magic exploded against the vastly compressed lining.
— FWOOOOSH!
"!"
Sharon's eyes flew wide, but it was already too late. Ian instantly shielded his front with Lunar.
— KWA-BOOOOOOM!
A tremendous explosion shook the surroundings. The frost dust had met the flames and detonated. An elemental interaction only possible under specific conditions. The aftermath sent Sharon hurtling through the air, slamming her into a half-destroyed wall. The plate on her arm had melted, suggesting she'd tried to block at the last second but hadn't been fast enough. Ian crouched in front of Sharon and checked her pulse.
"... She's still breathing."
That settled it.
Rina, meanwhile, was in fairly good shape. Her clothes were singed and torn in places, but that much was trivial.
"Ian, you...!"
The gaze fixed on him was lascivious. She'd definitely taken some degree of internal injury — there'd been no chance to brace for the dust explosion. And estimating the power she'd already exhausted fighting Sharon Pierce... At last, the math added up. A winnable fight.
— Shing.
Before he knew it, the Lunar staff was already in his hand. Craaack, craaack. Ian rolled his neck with a big crack to the left, then the right.
"Bring it."
Time to educate a heroine.