Chapter 357: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 22

Author's Preface
A Guild War soldier must finish two chapters and two parts in a single day...

"VyarararararararararararaaaaaAaAaAaAAAAAA!!?"

A scream. An overwhelming volume that truly deserved to be called a scream. As expected, even the Devouring Great Crimson Clad would scream in agony if its four heads were violently cooked well-done... No, that's not it.

It's true that the monster boasts an almost cheat-like regenerative ability, but that resource is likely dependent on the total mass of its existence as a swarm. Considering the constant depletion through each phase, and the massive consumption required to form that Cyclops... its total mass, or in other words, its HP, was already starting to bottom out... No, that's not it either.

That scream... I suspect it was triggered by a far more fundamental reason. Not an expression of emotion, but a clear, instinctive realization of a threat to its life... It wasn't the heads. To this thing, heads and brains are just interchangeable parts. If so, then the cause of that scream wasn't "Scar," but...

"...Just now, Did it dodge?"

Up until now, the Devouring Great Crimson Clad had been fundamentally indifferent to incoming attacks, simply regenerating the damage faster than it could be dealt. Yet that exact same monster, the very instant 【Sever and Divide】 was about to connect, had unmistakably stepped backward a few paces.

Exactly as if it were trying to avoid a slash that might have reached deep into the back of its mouth...

"You... don't tell me you actually have a 'Weak Point'?"

You've gotta be kidding me, hey. I was... I was actually fooled by such a simple concealment tactic? Well, it's true that it used that massive mouth for attacks multiple times, and while it's one thing for a Raid Monster to have an exposed weak point, I never imagined it would actively try to punch me with its weak point... but still, don't tell me...

"That massive mouth... no... is there something Deep Inside it?"

Ahhh! I see, the First Phase!! In the First Phase, it was essentially just operating the corpse exactly as it was, which means that appearance was directly linked to its "Cause of Death"!!

"Something like that, anyone could figure out just by looking at it...!"

At the very least, in the Devouring Great Crimson Clad's First Phase... no, in Eldranza's corpse, the deepest and most severe injury was the massive gouge in its chest that left its ribs completely exposed.

In other words...

"Whatever was missing from that corpse, whatever was... or rather Had been in its torso, has been fully restored from the Third Phase onward?"

It was like pulling up a string of potatoes; all the questions I had harbored up until now instantly connected.
Compensation, Reinforcement. Was it really entirely beneficial? If the "Serious Mode" known as Primal Revolve involved compensating for the Devouring Great Crimson Clad's missing parts and reinforcing them, didn't that mean whatever had been completely destroyed was newly recreated?

Thinking back, the same applied to the Chimera Clones and the monsters generated from the tornado. If it truly wanted to fully unleash its viciousness as a swarm monster, it shouldn't have fallen while any part of its body remained. It should have been the kind of monster you couldn't defeat unless you incinerated it without leaving a single cell behind.

Yet it died from being slashed and bludgeoned... Doesn't that mean it also reflected the physical vulnerabilities of the monsters it copied?

"Which means...!"

Beyond that massive, wide-open maw, deep within the darkness... I could see a pitch-red sphere. That's it. That right there is its weak point.

It was the sensation of finally connecting a rope—a rope called a capture strategy—across a cliff that had felt impossibly far away. Whoever it was that originally vanquished Eldranza in the past, I was going to recreate that battle with human hands.
Although, when it comes to marine monsters capable of fighting a dragon, the only thing that comes to mind is that certain Orca... No way, is this a Unique Scenario gimmick where the boss was originally defeated by a completely standard mob instead of a Unique Monster? That sounds exactly like something they'd do.

"For now, we fall back... Hey, you idiots! Everyone assemble!!"

Since a fully healed "Scar"-kun was practically bursting with motivation, I dumped the Devouring Great Crimson Clad onto him and temporarily retreated.
With Emul—who was sniffing and sniffling while pretending nothing was wrong—sitting on my head, I narrowed my eyes at the two idiots I hastily gathered together.

"We're pressed for time, so we're going to hold a quick reflection meeting. First of all, you drop dead."

"Yeeeah, so harsh!!"

Thwack!!!

"Ah, wait, a joke-that-isn't-a-joke death... Afun."

If I smack her on the head with the blunt side of Memento Mori, I can shut her up before she spits out another dirty joke... I see, so this is what they call the wisdom of daily life.

"Next, Tottori. I don't intend to deny your whole Hero playstyle, but could you please pick one and focus on either the boss fight or nursing the NPCs?"

"N-No, well, the thing is..."

"Shut up. Anyone without DPS doesn't have human rights. This isn't just a rule in ShanFro... It's not like firepower is absolutely everything, but half-assed contributions should be fed to that monster over there... Okay?"

"Guh..."

I wouldn't stop you if you decided to focus entirely on evacuating the Forest-folks, you know. They're basically political bargaining chips... It'd be troublesome if at least some of them didn't survive.

"And finally, me. I was hoarding my trump cards way too much and got totally tunnel-visioned. My bad."

"You're reflecting on yourself during your own meeting...?"

Self-reflection is important, you know. Improving work efficiency starts with engraving the work process into your own brain.

"Reflection meeting over. From here on out, it's a strategy meeting... Though the content is simple. Its weak point is deep inside the massive maw on its torso."

"It actually has a weak point?"

"Where do you think a guy who's been using a strictly zero-guard tactic up until now would suddenly feel the need to dodge?"

"An erogenous zone! Gubeh!"

She really never learns, does she... Whatever, I'm just going to pretend it's the buzzing of a cicada or something.

"I suspect the Devouring Great Crimson Clad can only be defeated by attacking its weak point After its resources have been depleted. And right now, the tornado on its back has shrunk to a level where it's practically non-existent, and it's actively trying to avoid letting its weak point get hit."

"So you're saying this is our chance?"

"I wouldn't call it a chance... It's the final stage."

Just three of us. We made it all the way here with just three people... Since it's come to this, I'm not going to hold anything back either.

"The ones left on this battlefield are three players... Emul, and three Forest-folks, huh."

The one I tackled during our first contact, the tsundere, and Allure... For some reason, I have a weirdly strong connection with them, so I actually remembered the third one's name.

"Since it's come to this, we can't afford to worry about assigned roles anymore. Everyone focus on moving around to ensure you don't die, and the moment an opening presents itself, we launch an all-out assault. The target is the red sphere deep inside its maw."

"I see, so basically, it's a Red Ball, huh." [*1]

Deliberating... It's safe in this context, so no reaction. Wait, why do you look so disappointed?

"...So, why did you just casually slide right next to me?"

"Well... despite how I look, I Am a close-combat magic class, you knooow? I have to be on the front lines..."

"........."

Slide slide slide (Takes three steps away)

Slide slide slide slide (Takes four steps closer)

"Kuh... Isn't Achilles supposed to be unable to overtake the tortoise...!?"

"Zeno? Oh my, forcing both Achilles and the tortoise into a turn-based system where Achilles is fundamentally forbidden from moving ahead of the tortoise is quite the severe restriction playthrough, isn't it... Because it's a tortoise, you knooow!?" [*2]

"I actually know a game exactly like that."

Games where it's an automatic Game Over if you don't let the NPC win usually turn out exactly like that.

"Anyway, cut it out with the dirty jokes already. I'm going to report you for harassment."

"There you go, saying things like that again... The fact that you consistently react to them means you actually like it, don't youuu...?"

"No, not really."

"Eh."

"Eh."

Wait, did this bastard seriously think I actually liked dirty jokes?

"I have a lot of things I want to say right now, but... that can wait. If possible, fight as hard as you can and then self-destruct."

"Apparently, self-destruct magic actually exists in the fire attribute tree, you know."

"Seriously?"

Hmm, I wonder if finding romance in self-destruction is just some form of a destructive wish. In mecha anime, it's practically an 80% guaranteed trope, but even setting that aside, there really is a certain kind of romance in sacrificing oneself to take down the enemy.

"More importantly, Sunraku-kuuuun... I'm really curious about that greatsword..."

"It's a secret weapon."

Without giving any further details, I simply declared that and lightly swung Memento Mori with A single hand, resting it back on my shoulder.

"Don't go dragging us down, alright? Miss Zero Kill-Score Deep Slaughter?"

"Oh, big words... I'll live up to my name and assault its weak point thoroughly, so just keep your eyes peeled..."

Kept you waiting, "Scar." The consultation is over.

And...

Kept you waiting, Devouring Great Crimson Clad (Daisekii). Prepare yourself, because I'm going to make this your final resting place and plunge a gravestone right into it.

Translator's Note

• [1] Red Ball (Akadama): There isn't any good way to translate it so I'm just gonna put it here. The Japanese 赤玉 (Akadama) has a specific slang meaning. In Japanese brothels/red-light districts, it was rumored that men who were completely drained or exhausted would "shoot a red ball" (blood).

• [2] "Kame" (Tortoise/Turtle) is common Japanese slang for the glans (the head of the penis).