Chapter 336: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 2

Author's Preface
I just happened to reread my draft and realized it went way, Way too far, so I've actually trimmed off about 3,000 characters from this. Having three women in my brain is seriously bad... (Self-restraint).

A Raid Monster. The Devouring Great Crimson Clad. The Crazed Ultramarine. The maximum participant limit. The current number of participants...

Taking everything into account, the conclusion I arrived at was extremely simple.

This is impossible, right? No, seriously.

"Tottori, take the Elves and run... Oh, and take Emul with you."

"...So it really smells like an impossible fight?"

"At the very least, there's no way a Raid Boss is something three randoms can take down. I'll use that meat shield over there to buy some time, so sprint to the frontline base while you can."

"I'd rather be a toilet bowl than a wall, you knooow."

"I'm going to work you to death until you're nothing but chunks of meat, so be prepared."

"Yaaan, how passionate."

Should I just turn her into a lump of meat right now?

"W-What are you saying, Sunraku-san! I'm going to fight too, desu wa!!"

Don't be an idiot. As if I'd let an NPC die pointlessly in a game that practically has constant auto-saving and no way to roll back.

"Don't worry about it, Emul. It's basically the same as going over to a friend's house. The Elf safe house is already busted, so... Skull Azuchi is right before it, right? Let's meet up there."

"B-But..."

"Besides, Emul. Guarding those two is a quest I accepted... but it's practically a request for you and me together, isn't it? Right person, right place. Even if the Third Knight Order attacks, you can protect them, right?"

At my words, Emul opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come out. Staring at me in silence, she finally looked down as if she had given up.

"Uuuuuu... Understood, desu wa."

"Good girl, that's a good girl... Now then, Your Majesty, Your Highness. As you can see, that thing isn't an opponent we can take down easily, so I would like to act as the rearguard."

"...Umu, a noble cause. I shall never forget this debt."

"Sunraku-sama... I pray for your fortune in battle."

Kneeling with that thing right behind me was obviously dangerous, so I simply gave a light bow, but neither the King nor Fae... Arfiliya reprimanded me for it.

"Sunraku... DeepThro-san. My bad."

"Don't worry about it, Tottori. Just... treat me to something once I respawn, alright?"

"Come to think of it, the Black Wolf... Ah, I mean, the Black Sword cook I sent over said he's planning on opening a restaurant there in the future, you knooow..."

A cook... I heard a rumor on the wind that becoming a cook is actually the most efficient way to grind swordsman-type skills. It makes so little sense it's actually funny.

"Got it... Tell me the details on that monster later. Let's go, everyone!"

Just as Deep Slaughter and I prepared to hold the line, and the rest of the group turned to escape... it happened.

"Puyarrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaa!!"

"Eh───"

"Whoa!?"

Half my vision was entirely painted red. Faster than my brain could comprehend the situation, something tore through the exact space where my upper body had been just before I reflexively dropped to the floor.
Failing to dodge, Deep Slaughter was violently blown away as the Something snatched up the severed T-Rex head—its light of life just barely clinging on—and...

"Eh?"

"Ah..."

The Forest-folks who had been just about to flee. Grabbing two of the Forest-folks standing right next to a familiar-looking girl, it pulled them back toward the main body... toward the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, reeling them in like a tape measure.

"Allure..."

"Run..."

Guchan.

Like a set of jaws lined vertically, utilizing its blood-red ribs as fangs. It was a mastication that carried the absolute certainty of "Ah, there's no way they're alive the next time that opens"—almost like watching an Iron Maiden slam shut.
The dragon's chest, which had likely been hollowed out by some high-output attack until the bones were exposed, squirmed with a biologically impossible movement as it chewed up the engulfed Forest-folks and the severed T-Rex head.
The slight slivers of damage effects leaking out only made it look all the more sickeningly realistic.

And then, showing a motion as if finally swallowing...

From its back, it sprouted a third T-Rex head, along with the two Forest-folks.

The air froze. An instant-death attack targeting NPCs that treated players as mere obstacles.
The two Forest-folks, now dyed entirely red just like the Devouring Great Crimson Clad, performed what could only be called a textbook grotesque action—one completely standard for this kind of imagery. Like delirious zombies, they aimed organs that looked like bows merged into their bodies right at us, muttering words from their past lives.

"RUn... r, RUn..."

"OUr TREaSurE... tREa, SuRe, RERERERE..."

"Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

As if the scream from the surviving Forest-folk (Allure) acted as a trigger, the Dam (Reason) of the NPCs ruptured, unable to hold back their terror.

"Ah, for god's sake... What an absurdly effective opening move...!"

Even a player would piss themselves seeing this.
Deflecting the flesh-colored arrows fired at me, I stepped forward. I couldn't hold aggro because it didn't target me. If I tried to use that excuse, those fiendish bastards would make fun of me for the rest of my life!

"Deep Slaughter! You're obviously still alive, so hurry up and join the fight! Tottori, you can come back for her later, just get the NPCs out of here! If an NPC related to my quest dies, I will badmouth you until the end of time!"

"Kuh... I'm counting on you!!"

The first player replied with words, and the second player replied with a spell name.

"【Titanomachy】!!"

The familiar earthen fist of the giant god surged up from directly below, launching the Devouring Great Crimson Clad right as it tried to open its chest-mouth to extend a Tongue (Tentacle) toward the NPCs.

"Nfuu, nhehehehe... My body is absolutely wrecked, but Sunraku-kun's absolute trust in me has me on the verge of climaxing... If I'm going to die, I really want it to be right on top of Sunraku-kun's stomach..."

"Shut up. Keep moving even if you're dead."

"Eh, so you're into necrophilia? I can't really enjoy it if I'm forced to be a dead fish, so maybe... I mean, even though it was an attack spell from a Magic Scroll, the fact that it took a direct hit and is still completely fine is really making my Mo-chin-vation wilt, you knooow..."

The base premise is that this is a 45-person Raid Battle. In the worst-case scenario, even an Exceed Charge might not register as an effective hit.
I should just be grateful it actually had a flinch motion dictated by the physics engine.

"Sunraku-san! I pray for your fortune in battle, desu waー!!"

Emul's fading voice, and the sound of multiple footsteps. Pulling out an MP recovery potion, Deep Slaughter was making some rather loud juppo-juppo sucking noises, but looking would just be a waste of time, so I ignored it.
In this case, I don't need firepower to kill it, but rather firepower to draw aggro. That's exactly why I can't use Duxram at this stage; I need pure, overwhelming firepower to force its attention onto me.

"By the way... Sunraku-kuuuun, don't tell me... Did you aim for this situation?"

"Hah? How the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

"The Magic-Driving Mad Statue, Tyrant Golem."

"............"

"If I remember correctly, you guys got the fastest blind clear on that with only about five people, didn't you...? That clear reward, 'Hakata,' really gave me a hard time."

Ah, how nostalgic. "Heart Knock Tyrant." In SpellCre, the first player to clear a Raid Boss earned the right to create the spell name and incantation. While almost all the advantageous spells had already been snatched up, the newly added Raid Boss spells were precious combat assets for the Resistance... We completely threw caution to the wind to clear that one.
By the way, "Hakata"—named after "Heart Knock Tyrant," which was a direct reference to a song released by an actual death metal band—was heavily utilized by combining it with other spells to function as a pseudo-suicide-bombing spell that charged forward while scattering lasers in all directions.

"As if I'd aim for something like that in ShanFro. First of all, the cap is forty-five people... In other words, this is a boss where it's questionable if even forty-five people could take it down. It's impossible."

"Oi, oi... Don't say such weak things, Sunraku-kuuuun..."

"Ah?"

The Devouring Great Crimson Clad's... tongue? Tentacle? Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. The tongue swept right through the spot where my feet had been a second before I fully jumped. Failing to dodge, Deep Slaughter had her legs swept out spectacularly and crashed headfirst into the ground. I wouldn't be surprised if she died soon, but perhaps she had some trick up her sleeve, because her HP showed no signs of hitting zero. Staggering to her feet, Deep Slaughter twisted her lips into a provocative sneer, entirely different from her previous slimy grin.

"You used to be way more reckless, weren't you...? I don't know how important that rabbit is to you, buuut... If your only goal is to let them escape, beating this thing to a pulp leads to the exact same result, doesn't it...?"

"...Meaning?"

"Then let's shift gears, shall we? Let's go all the way until we're spilling oil and scattering our braaaaaabubeh."

Perhaps having not forgotten the grudge from the 【Titanomachy】 earlier, Deep Slaughter took a scooping uppercut from below and was sent flying through the air. The Devouring Great Crimson Clad... Nice job. If only we had met under different circumstances, we might have been friends.

"I'm gonna kill you. Fine, let's do this..."

I'm just buying time, but there's no way I can stay quiet after being provoked with such a shitty rap. If I can't talk back after being mocked this badly by my arch-nemesis from SpellCre, I won't have the face to show my former comrades.
With the Mirror Shield of the Nether-King in my left hand and the Areadbhair Rebuild in my right, I declared it, as if asking a question.

"Did you know, Devouring Great Crimson Clad? Raid Bosses are generally destined to be soloed by absolutely min-maxed players."

I'll max myself out right here, right now! Let's go, blind clear!!

Author's Afterword
Forbidden Word: Gaping Dragon. [*1]
Unlike that one, this is more like it's forcibly moving an open wound as a mouth.

Because of DeepThro's battle style, her absolute baseline is "Do Not Die," so she is incredibly stubborn. Naturally, she fulfills the 100 Luck requirement for the guaranteed "Endure" line, and with her accessories and other gear, getting blown away once or twice isn't enough to kill her.

Base Body: Blue Dragon Eldranza
Elements: Infected Draclus Dino

Areadbhair Rebuild: Excited Trembling

Translator's Note

• [1] Dark Soul