24
Hmm, hmm, it’s begun.
Melwood floating in the sky, dozens of dark hands covering him, quite the spectacle.
It was boring to the point of being tiresome when playing the game, but watching it now, it feels different.
Thinking that one hit would be fatal gives me a tingling sensation all over.
But I’m not impressed enough to marvel or be frightened at this point in my experience.
However.
“W-what is this….”
Our inexperienced companions seemed to feel slightly different.
Lumen and Ebnis, Relbrian and Kallen were somewhat holding up.
The others, while black hands flew across the sky, seemed to hesitate like shooting stars falling from the night sky.
Ugh, what on earth are they doing.
I channeled magic into my voice amplification spell that Relbrian taught me and shouted.
“Get a grip.”
“Ah.”
Their bodies flinched.
[Is that thing trying to kill us? Are we just going to stand here and take it?]
As if awakening from a daze, the others too tightened their grip on their weapons.
Above, several large hands were menacingly swooping down from the sky.
Spreading their fingers wide, they plummeted, tearing through the air.
Truly, a chilling attack every time.
That’s that.
[Everyone, retreat exactly 10 steps.]
I issued the command.
After experiencing it dozens, hundreds of times, the timing of the fall reflexively came to mind when assessing the situation.
[Prepare for impact.]
Kwaaah!
Before the words could finish, one hand struck the ground fiercely.
Melwood Elion’s first attack.
From the sky, projecting hands of magic in a fan shape, consecutively pounding the ground.
This is an area attack with an ‘instant death judgment.’
Even in the original, being hit by this didn’t result in direct damage but rather a judgment of fatal fall damage, making it impossible to dodge or activate skills.
An instant death move from the start, not just for show.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaah!
Dozens of hands simultaneously pounded the ground.
With vibrations causing an earthquake, dirt and dust swirled thickly, revealing the deeply sunken ground of the battlefield.
A fierce wind blew, tousling everyone’s hair.
“Wow, that’s incredible…”
Though Milije flinched beside me, I remained unfazed.
No, it wasn’t just me; everyone was the same.
“We already know what to expect.”
I nodded in response to Reyna’s words.
Facing a boss with unknown patterns head-on without a hit clear on the first try?
I don’t even remember how many times I failed at the beginning.
But after melting away countless hours, accumulating knowledge and experience, I could face the boss even with eyes closed.
And if we’re talking about being great… Isn’t our team even greater?
“Let’s begin now. Follow the plan precisely. I’ll give all the detailed instructions, so trust yourselves.”
The reason this team is a morale booster.
The foundation of this world is the ‘game’ called Selenium Saga.
I meticulously designed this team with a ‘game’ mentality.
For starters, two characters have the ‘Light Element’ attribute.
“Ebenis, Senior Lumen, take charge of hands 6 and 8 on the right.”
“Ugh, I have to follow your orders…”
“Let’s go, Ebenis Sohojak.”
Ebonyss and Lumen ran forward.
Even as Melwood’s demonic hand reached out towards them.
“【Radiant Sword: Sever】!”
“【Holy Sword: Execution】!”
Lumen’s sword, infused with a bright light of the divine, and Ebnyss’s sword, made of magical power gathered in her hand, cut through Melwood’s hands, the sixth and eighth, severing them.
“An attack is coming from the left rear, Ebnyss.”
“I know! 【Holy Sword: Protection】!”
The sword of light she held transformed into a large shield, flawlessly blocking the attack.
“【Radiant Sword: Sever】!”
Lumen, who had hidden behind the shield of light, swung her sword, cutting through his wrist.
And the shield transformed back into a sword of light.
“Hmm.”
That was Ebnyss’s unique skill, 【Holy Sword】.
Her holy sword had various forms.
If she desired ‘protection,’ a shield would appear.
If she desired ‘destruction,’ a large axe would manifest.
For ‘swiftness,’ a spear, and for ‘execution,’ a sword.
A morale-boosting skill with the option to choose the most efficient form in each battle, with the added feature of dealing additional damage proportionate to the opponent’s maximum health.
With such a cheat-like skill, one might wonder if she could be considered a heroine, possessing even a confirmed one-hit KO skill.
She could even use the ‘Attribute Sword’ that everyone else uses when she drew the sword at her waist.
[Truly outrageous.]
“W-what’s with this sudden… 【Holy Sword: Swiftness】!”
The spear of light pierced through his pitch-black wrist, followed by the double-edged axe of ‘destruction’ slashing through it.
Truly a formidable force.
Moreover, her attribute was of the light element.
The advantage of the light element was that when facing a ‘dark element,’ the damage could increase up to three times based on the character’s abilities.
“Kyaah!”
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Melwood, losing four magical hands in an instant, screamed and swung his remaining hands even more ferociously.
It might have been difficult to handle for two individuals.
But.
“Calen, go left, and Er’an, go right.”
“Understood!”
“Yes, Senior Adrian!”
The two who had been waiting in the front line rushed forward.
Each prepared their attacks and unleashed them.
“【Attribute Sword: Pierce】!”
“【Heroic Sword: Pierce】!”
Ice spread along the path of their swords.
A sword containing frost and a greatsword containing seven elements were swung.
Furthermore, it doesn’t end there.
[Reina.]
“I see it! Coming in from the left! Kelly, prepare your magic! 【Intermediate Lightning Elemental Magic: Lightning Arrow】!”
“Yes, 【Intermediate Water Elemental Magic: Waterfall】!”
The magic of the wizards in the rear extends in all directions.
Water and lightning.
Naturally, the interaction of these two elements paralyzed the movements of the hands.
Following that, Reyna’s blazing fire elemental magic completely incinerated Melwood’s two magic hands.
“Kraaah! aaargh!”
Melwood’s screams intensified.
[Millis, Rellbrian. Now is the time.]
And from the rear.
“Yes, senior!”
“Got it.”
“Oh, thank you, Millis.”
Millis quickly turns magic recovery potions to assist in restoring magic power.
Rellbrian continues to cast buff spells.
Everything falls into place.
Hands of magic.
Those hands of magic, which were just about dodging in the game, are being ‘defeated’ one by one.
Without memorizing the patterns, blocking the attacks by cutting off the hands in advance.
Hands and feet hitting so accurately lead us steadily towards clearing the stage.
I clenched my fist.
Yes.
It’s those hands that are scary, not Melwood’s main body itself isn’t that strong.
As long as I keep an eye on the magic that will unfold next and continue to cut off all the hands, we should be able to clear it soon.
“They’re truly amazing individuals….”
“Well, I’d like to step forward a bit too. Adrian, is it possible?”
[Not yet, Rellbrian.]
However.
My senses were telling me.
It won’t end this easily.
I know.
This guy won’t crumble so easily.
That’s when it happened.
“Ugh?!”
“Sohujak! I’m heading there now, so don’t exhaust your magic recklessly, for now….”
I saw the hands of magic flying towards Ebneese who stumbled.
While Lumi was reaching out from the side, it seemed like it would be too late.
If I unfold ‘protection,’ I won’t die, but I’ll likely faint and cause harm.
[Tsk, 【Low-Rank Wind Elemental Magic: Wind Blade】.]
I clicked my tongue and immediately manifested magic, sending it flying towards Evnis.
Having raised my level to 3 earlier this week, my casting speed was remarkably fast.
“Oops!”
Due to the sudden burst of wind from behind, Evnis’ body lurched forward, but with a quick pull from Lume, he narrowly managed to evade the magical strike.
Seemingly embarrassed by receiving help, he bravely faced me and glanced in my direction.
“Hu, hu, hu……”
[How foolish. Unable to even dodge this, making me, the commander, move. Focus on the battle.]
“Watch closely, Evnis!”
With gritted teeth, Evnis refocused on the battle, and I quickly assessed the situation.
“Reyna, you’re advancing too far. Guard the rear. Kelly, pay special attention to the right. There are more enemies there.”
“Yes, Adrian.”
“……”
Reyna nodded and cast her magic.
I immediately shifted my gaze elsewhere.
“Kalen, cover Reyna’s front side. Ernan, keep a close eye.”
“Sen…senior. What should I watch for?”
“Melwood Elion. When those dark hands are all exposed, you must find an opening and attack the main body. It’s a crucial mission.”
He nodded, gripping the hilt of his greatsword with a determined expression.
Good.
I can do this as it is.
Even if the 2nd phase comes, I can handle it with certainty.
That’s it.
At the forefront, Lume worked with Evnis to either block or strike down magical attacks.
Kalen covered the rear, while Ernan filled in the gaps.
Such a front-line battle was sustained by two mages covering for the rear.
And gradually, it began to show.
“Haah!”
As Evnis’ ‘execution’ reached the last magical strike.
“Everyone, retreat!”
‘It’ arrived.
A black aura burst out like wings from Melwood Elion, who had seemed to be unconscious in the air, extending both arms forward.
“Adrian! It’s starting!”
It’s coming. Magic is coming.
But even this, I had prepared countermeasures for all.
“Everyone, scatter left and right……”
At that moment.
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“【Dark Elemental Magic: Manifestation】.”
“…Kyaa!”
A slender, coiled mass of black magic burst from Melwood Elian’s hand.
It struck Evnis.
There was no time to cast ‘Protection’.
“Evnis? Evnis is down! This is bad, Adrien!”
＜＜Immediately take him to the rear. Relvrian, step forward. Send Kalen to assist and stand in his place.＞＞
“Got it.”
She drew her rapier from her waist and strode forward resolutely.
Evnis, now unconscious, was carried by Lumen, while Kelly approached.
“It’s just a simple faint. He’ll wake up soon.”
Reyna looked puzzled.
“Adrien.”
＜＜Yes.＞＞
“The information is different. There was no mention of this in the data I collected.”
I’m in the dark too.
This kind of attack wasn’t in the original.
Melwood had strategized countless times, but this was a completely new pattern.
＜＜However…＞＞
“Yes.”
We nodded at each other.
“We must act.”
＜＜We must.＞＞
An unexpected situation had arisen.
But then again, isn’t the unexpected already familiar?
We hadn’t forgotten what we learned in Act 1, Scene 1.
The most crucial thing is the present, and when the situation changes, it’s better to think of solutions quickly rather than be flustered.
Panicking won’t buy us time.
At that moment.
“Adrien!”
Melwood leaped from the air and landed at our center.
“【Dark Element Magic: Path to Nightmare】.”
Before I could react, the dark energy emanating from his hand enveloped the entire strategy group except me.
Even as I fell powerless, they looked at me, their eyes saying to run.
This was the highest-level debuff magic that induces an irresistible forced sleep for a set period.
I raised my head and looked ahead.
Before me, cloaked in jet-black energy like a robe, floating a black magic book, he was approaching me with his black-and-white hair, vertically split crimson eyes, and a mouth twisted to an eerie smile.
“You.”
I spoke, looking at his black and white hair, vertically split crimson eyes, and unnaturally twisted smile.
“Melwood Elion isn’t here.”