Chapter 118: Holding the Lamp of Ambition, Part 4

Blacker than night, darker, deeper.

The operations staff in charge of this guy's graphics must have had an easy job; just make the whole body pitch black, no questions asked.

"Lycaon...!"

Ah, there's no mistaking it. A mass of data resources incomparable even to the Golden Scorpion. Even though it should be nothing more than a Mob made of 0s and 1s covered in polygons, it overflows with the presence of death—no, the presence of bringing death—as if my neck were on a guillotine.

Even now, much stronger than that day when my legs and torso were bitten off after an unsightly struggle, victory feels helplessly far away. The vision of snatching a win from her blurs more vaguely than pixel art.

"Garorororororo..."

Lycaon, manifested from the shadows of the dark night, glares down with golden eyes without moving its jet-black body even while bathed in moonlight.

Quietly, yet emitting a noisy presence, the golden gaze scans the members of SF-Zoo, stares at Rei-shi, and finally fixes on me.

Indeed, it's not an AI only considering fighting; it possesses advanced judgment comparable to NPCs.

"Everyone, begin operation! Strategy is Anti-Dragon!"

The stare-down between me and Lycaon, which almost made me ready my weapon, was interrupted by Animalia's sharp command.

Confidently, and perhaps because they came here prepared, there is no confusion in the movements of the SF-Zoo clan members.

Animalia glancing at us was probably a warning not to interfere.

"Sunraku-san."

"Let's distance ourselves for now. Far enough not to draw Lycaon's aggro."

Combat hasn't started yet. The countdown before the start of battle, the few seconds just before the blue signal indicating start lights up.

I distance myself from Lycaon and SF-Zoo, who will likely become the battlefront, together with Rei-shi.

"...Is this, okay?"

"Rei-shi, do you have experience fighting Lycaon?"

"About three times... Um, instant kills, though."

More experienced than me, huh? Should I call you Senpai? Well, whatever.

"I've only fought once but... Nine times out of ten, I doubt that kind of monster can be cheese-killed. Getting involved poorly and being stalked even more by SF-Zoo would be troublesome, so let's observe here."

Even if this isn't the real deal, I don't think Lycaon will fall so easily. Besides, there's something I want to confirm. Since we're total strangers now anyway, let's have them be the poison tasters without reservation.

SF-Zoo. The members, different from other top clans who immobilize monsters to photograph, fluff, and do various other things, had a lineup that was also rarely seen.

"Five tanks... and ten debuffers?"

And not just any tanks; fully armored in heavy plate, equipping a tower shield in each hand, giving up on attacking—truly pure Walls (Tanks) in the truest sense.

Five of them line up like a fortress in a single rank to protect the debuffers.

"That is, SF-Zoo's basic tactic. Tanks gather hate earnestly... and stop movement with debuffs."

"Those iron lump darumas are just ornaments... I see, moving forcibly with skill assists."

With five people, they can relay hate. If one or two draw the enemy, the remaining three can regroup.

And Mobs, not being players, cannot ignore tanks gathering hate. And if they struggle, a storm of debuffs flies from behind... Specialized against monsters to a refreshing degree. Indeed, a poor boss would debut as a photography subject helplessly.

"However."

"?"

That probably only works against opponents where it Works to some extent. No matter how perfect the hate management is, with mobility dead like that...

"Amazing, heavy armor flying like a soccer ball."

Lycaon the Night Raider. She is, if anything, more cunning than players. Dispersing tanks to avoid being wiped out at once like bowling pins wasn't a foolish plan, but against Lycaon, it was a bad move.

Lycaon's figure melts instantly like fast-forwarded ice, appearing behind one of the tanks as if she had been there from the start.

Lycaon's shadow surprise attack, understood only through actual combat experience and third-person perspective. No matter how specialized in defense, if you can't respond, you're just a sandbag.

Circled behind, unable even to turn around on the spot, one tank is sent rolling by a casually swung foreleg punch.

However, having poured everything into defense even at the cost of mobility, it seems they weren't blown up in one punch.

And their recovery is skillful. With almost just eye contact, one of the remaining four goes to the blown-away one, and the remaining three bunch up to gather Lycaon's hate.

Ignoring the lack of offensive power, it's ideal tank movement. And the tanks' stalling ability meshes frighteningly well with the debuffers waiting behind.

"First... Fire!"

""""Atlas Bind!""""

First wave. Four of the ten rear guards activate the same magic. The activated system captures Lycaon's limbs as designated.

Effects appearing to erupt from the ground entangle Lycaon's limbs, sealing movement, but judging by Lycaon's movements, it doesn't seem possible to bind her for long.

"Pile it on! Second, reinforce!"

But SF-Zoo isn't one to end there; the four in the second wave activate their respective magic and hexes.

Chains, withered arms, vines, petrification... reinforcing the restraints on Lycaon's limbs bound by Atlas Bind.

Does that kind of magic stack? No, I should think they chose magic that stacks. And here comes Animalia, fully prepared.

"Leader!"

"This is complete capture. [Hands of Tartaros]!!"

A weapon clearly distinct from other members, likely a Unique Weapon. The moment Animalia, holding the staff, and one other person activated the spell formula, the ground at Lycaon's left and right feet distorted into a shape physically impossible like a texture bug.

And from that distortion, giant "Arms" suddenly burst out, grabbing Lycaon's torso firmly.

"Eh, what's that?"

"...The Unique Hex of the Unique Weapon 'Key Staff of the Underworld' she holds. If I recall, it inflicts a thirty-second immobility state on all living things..."

"Living things, huh..."

"More importantly, at this rate, SF-Zoo will... Lycaon..."

To tell the truth, I'm not really worried about That.

I'm not conceited enough to think I can defeat her, but I know that method of defeating her is impossible.

Lycaon was restrained more easily than I thought, but that brazen face isn't the expression of someone restrained.

"I-Is this okay...? Um, even now..."

"Wait... It's coming."

"Eh?"

Right, that's right, I remember. It was like that back then too. I finally understand the condition for That.

With just a small trigger, information builds up inside me like a chain reaction.

Confirmed Info: Lycaon the Night Raider merges with shadows and creates clones from shadows.

Speculation: Strictly speaking, Lycaon the Night Raider can merge not with shadows, but with the darkness of the night.

Confirmed Info: Night darkness is not the shadow on the ground, but the "darkness" of the space itself.

Confirmed Info: Lycaon hadn't produced clones during that attack.

———Hypothesis.

If that attack wasn't an "Invisible Bite."

If it was a "Bite by an Invisible Clone."

And if the activation condition is triggered by darkness where even the light source called moonlight disappears, and starlight lacks sufficient intensity to illuminate.

If it's a surprise attack by a clone completely assimilated with the darkness of the night...!

"Are you telling me to check the weather during combat...!"

Lycaon the Night Raider. I had misunderstood that name all this time.

It's not "Night Raid" because she attacks at night. It's "Night Raid" because the Night Attacks.

Simultaneously as I reached that answer, the darkness itself attacked Animalia.

Author's Afterword
[Good News] Animalia-shi survives [Effectively a Death Sentence]

[Bad News] Animalia-shi scatters in the next chapter [One-Bite Snack]

Clone Night Raid
Activates only when moonlight is hidden. Releases an invisible attack by letting the generated clone completely blend into the darkness of the night.
Game system-wise, it looks "dim" to the player, but since it is actually pitch black darkness, from the player's perspective, it is an instant-death class attack that appears completely invisible—a perfect first-sight killer (noob killer), or rather, difficult to avoid even if you know.
Actually, dealing with it is relatively easy.