Chapter 750: Setting Sun, Part 4
Author's Preface
Update brought to you by a trembling chihuahua.
───Amidst the turbidity and confusion, I couldn't understand anything anymore.
◆
An unknown Goldunine died. The conclusion drawn from this series of events pretty much boils down to that, but what happens after is completely uncharted territory...!
"fufuFUfufU!!"
The black poison spreading at the cackling Boss-dunine's feet crawled up her legs and spread across her entire body. Most of it soaked right into her flesh, but a portion of the poison seeped into her clothes, dyeing them pitch-black.
"Hah, mourning clothes?"
"........."
This is bad, last time we were at least able to hold enough of a conversation for her to fall for my taunts, but it looks like whatever I say to the current Boss-dunine has zero effect. Well, her gaze is fixed right on me, so she's probably listening, but... whoops, here comes a Naga charging in.
"Hup...!"
By whatever principle it operates on, even when the Naga violently charges into the ground, it doesn't crash but rather dives straight into the earth like it's water. You can't fight a boss if you sweat every little detail like that so who cares about the mechanics, the important thing is that this attack is a two-hit combo including a launch from below ground... However!
"Not stopping your movement makes you nothing but a degraded Mud Digger aside from your sheer bulk...!"
Ah, the nostalgic catfish-shark-mole... come to think of it, going through the wringer with you and the absolute piece-of-shit bird might be exactly why I progressed down the route of three-dimensional maneuverability.
That said, thanks to my Reverse Position, I can't just brain-dead spam my skills right now. But since I have the Overflow special state active, I can secure a certain degree of speed without using skills.
I calculated the general insta-kill hitbox based on the Naga's size and evaded, and the very next moment the giant body of the Naga tore through the earth and passed right before my eyes like a rising dragon... Damn it, you're telling me I have to deal with two Nagas attacking me freely on top of managing the main target Boss-dunine?
"Now then... what should I do?"
To be perfectly blunt, just escaping from this place would be incredibly easy. Second Humanity respawn at their last saved location when they die, and while getting killed by Boss-dunine might slap me with some kind of penalty or Curse, if it's just one guy dying I could just bite my tongue with all my might.
But that is strictly a "method for the player alone to disengage from this battle." Every player here is accompanied by their contracted NPC and her kin Mob; trying to let them escape at the same time makes the difficulty spike exponentially.
My case is still fine, Sammy-chan-san's stealth is top-tier. She can slip past heat signatures and olfactory tracking at the very least, so the moment she successfully escaped carrying Wimp, she must be holding her breath hidden somewhere... so there's a low chance they'll be explicitly targeted at least.
Next is the Goldunine with Ougasei, "Nine." She's crouching down with a face that looks like she's about to cry any second, so I can't expect much from her as combat power, but what sets her apart is the size of her kin... if that tiny snake—or rather, a normal Japanese rat snake-sized snake—occasionally peeking its head out from the hem of her clothes is her kin, then her "total weight" is just the equivalent of one petite young girl.
"........."
The problem is... the Goldunine contracted with Shiyu, "Ojou (do I add -sama?)" and her kin, that twin-headed giant serpent roughly the size of a medium-duty truck. There's only one way to let that thing escape, and that's by driving off Boss-dunine... does Shiyu understand that much?
There are enough choices in this world that branch into a bad ending if you don't beat the crap out of a beautiful girl to make you sick. If she'd transform into a monstrous form I could go for a full swing without hesitation, but it doesn't look like Boss-dunine has any intention of becoming a giant Lamia-type monster right now.
"How long are you gonna stand there spacing out, Shiyu! And you too, Ougasei! If we lose here, those two over there are going to be her next snacks!!"
"Kh!"
"R-Right...!"
I need to hurry up and smack away the Naga slithering around the perimeter encircling everyone here myself, but...! I'm at such a disadvantage I'm starting to laugh, this is getting fun...!!
◇
Do you know the method to always win? No, strictly speaking, not the method to win... but do you know the method to absolutely never lose?
She knew it, and that was why she had kept winning up until now.
"this is bAd, wE cAn't flEE."
"It's okay Isuna-chan, we don't have to escape. So just be quiet... okay?"
"tch, aS aLwaYs, yOu stAy cAlm hErE."
Defeat is the concept furthest away from victory. When the "solid bedrock" of victory crumbles, and one's body is exposed to danger, the brand stamped upon the person who has drifted furthest from victory... that alone is defeat.
Therefore, if one distances themselves from danger and firmly maintains an unwavering stability, defeat will absolutely never approach them.
Having realized this wonderful truth during elementary school, she had persistently stuck to this stance in both real life and games ever since.
Avoid risks to their absolute limits, maintain the advantage, and snatch away only the good parts.
Some people even mocked her as a vulture. But she would reply from the bottom of her heart, without a single shred of doubt:
───A vulture with a full stomach is obviously superior to a lion starving to death with its pride intact, right?
"You see? If Isuna-chan and I combine our powers, even monster-like snakes will never detect us. Right? It's been that way up until now, hasn't it? Right?"
"........."
"If he just dies normally, he'll only drop the weapons he's holding, right? In that case..."
We'll deliver the finishing blow to "him" ourselves when he's pushed to the brink and on the verge of death.
In a corner of the circular field besieged by the Nagas, the most sinful player among all players, Hiiragi, stared intently at the half-naked player sprinting around alongside black lightning, accompanied by an absolute sense of security amidst this extreme environment.
Author's Afterword
Avoiding risks and maintaining an advantage.
Shall we phrase that differently?
Leaving the painful parts to others, and taking only the good parts for yourself.
Is what that means.
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