Itai no wa Iya nanode Bōgyo-Ryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu 148
Defense Specialization and the Strongest 4
“Hahaha…! Well done, human.”
The Oni was still sitting down as he laughed.
He brushed the dust off of his body and slowly stood up.“Follow me.”
He said and started to walk away. Maple followed him.
They stepped on the magic circled that he created, and they were teleported back to the room on the 4th floor.
“Now, human. You can take my place, as was promised. That is why you came, is it not?”
The Oni’s hands began to glow, and two vermillion cups appeared.
Then he handed one of them to Maple, and with a large bottle that he had also conjured, he poured a liquid into both of their cups.
“I never thought that a human would follow me. Humans cannot drink the sake of Yokai. You cannot drink sake…but, this will do just as well.”“Uh, sure!”
Maple and the Oni drained their cups. And then Maple received a notice that she had gained a new skill.
‘You have received the skill, ‘Pandemonium I.’
She listened to him talk for a little after that and nodded until he finished.
“Don’t you have someplace to go? But, do come again. You are very welcome. Until the time comes for me to die…I will fight you anytime you want.”
“Uh, I don’t want to fight you anymore. But, yes. I will visit!”
Maple waved a hand at him and left the room. Then she closed the paper doors behind her and stretched.
“Phew. That hurt…uhh, I’m so tired! I don’t want to fight again for a long time…”
Maple had taken a lot of damage in this fight, and while she had not been defeated, she was still exhausted.
She intended to avoid not only difficult fights but fights in general for a while.
“Oh, right. I need to check the skill. Uh…”
‘Pandemonium I’
Call the Red Oni and Blue Oni for 1 minute.
The Oni’s status depends on your skill level.
During this time, all of the user’s skills will be ‘Sealed.’ Your equipment’s skills will not be sealed.
Maple checked both Oni’s status and realized something.
“Uh, ah, there is a 1 there. How do I raise it…”
Maple had one idea on how to do it.
The Oni had said ‘I will fight you anytime you want.’
Then there could be only one way to raise the skill level.
Once more, twice more. She would have to beat him again.
That is what she thought.
“Ohhh…if that’s the case…forget it…”
She was still in a daze, and the words that spilled out expressed her true feelings. She did not want to fight that Oni ever again.
Maple left the building and went out into the town and stretched once again.
Perhaps her mind was able to refresh from this because she suddenly remembered one thing.
“…I’m still not able to go to the next layer!?”
Maple’s high-pitched scream echoed throughout the town of the 4th layer.
Maple could not understand why she was still not able to go to the 5th layer, and so she decided to ask some of the players who were still on the 4th layer.
“Ah…I misunderstood…misunderstood…”
Maple sat down on a bench and slumped heavily.
She had finally realized it.
She did not have to fight the Oni.
“The 5th layer. What should I do.”
Maple did not feel like fighting anything else today, and so she continued to sit there until she saw a familiar face walking towards her with 5 others.
“Frederica?”
“Hmm, Maple? What happened?”
As Frederica fought with Sally on a regular basis, she had many opportunities to meet and speak with Maple.
And so she stopped when she saw Maple.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just noticed you so…”
“I see. I and the others are about to head to the dungeon that connects to the 5th layer. But let’s play some time later.”
“Oh…really? If so…”
Maple slowly stood up and said:
“Can I come with you? I’ll protect you guys. Though, that may be all I can do…”
Maple told them that she could not use many skills at this time.
“Hm? Oh…sure. We have room for more party members anyway.”
Frederica had no reason to refuse.
After all, this was like taking a secret boss with you to kill a normal boss.
It was lucky for them that they were now completely sure of their success.
“Then I’m going with you!”
And so Maple went with them.
However, Maple’s speed was that of a turtle, or perhaps even slower.
“I guess I have no choice but to carry you.”
Frederica cast a buff on herself and picked up Maple, who had white wings sprouting from her back. Then she cast an acceleration spell and ran towards the dungeon.
“Yes, leave the defenses to me…I can only protect you.”
“That’s more than enough.”
Maple’s presence guaranteed that there would be a perfectly safe area.
And that eliminated any dangers that met them along the way.
So of course, they were able to reach the boss without a single player getting killed.
“Stay close together and move!”
They entered the boss room and walked forward with Maple in the rear.
Maple’s ‘Dedicated Affection’ had been used numerous times during the 4th event, and so many players knew of its capabilities.
It would nullify nearly all of the bosses attacks, and so they didn’t need to scatter. They made a straight line towards the boss.
And then they just chipped and chipped and chipped away at the HP of the big fox. Frederica and the others were also top players, and so it was unthinkable that they would lose with Maple’s support.
“It’s faster now!”
Just as Frederica said, the fox had suddenly become faster.
They could no longer follow it, and their attacks were hitting the air.
The fox only had 20% of its HP left, but hardly any attacks were landing now.
“Not as fast as Sally, though…”
Frederica grumbled as she fired off magic attacks.
Some of them were hitting their target, but everyone could tell that this was going to take a long time to finish.
The fox jumped back and Frederica sighed.
“This is annoying…?!”
There was something that she was getting through her continued fights with Sally.
Something like instinct, that Dread liked to talk about.
It was a bad feeling that she felt from behind her.
Just as Frederica turned around.
“‘Pandemonium.’”
Maple’s shining blonde hair turned black again, and her wings disappeared into light.
What appeared instead were flames.
Purple flames blazed behind Maple’s back.
And behind her stood two giant Oni.
It was pandemonium with Maple as the lead. A nightmare parade.
“Go.”
And with that, the two giant Oni jumped forward with their spiked clubs.
There was no place for the fox to run.
It was big, and so were the Oni who attacked it.
The Oni were still low in status, and so they could not kill the fox with one hit.
Still, they hit and hit. The three monsters were so big that the room looked small.
Frederica and the others watched in awe as red flowers bloomed.
The damage effects flowed from the fox, like spurts of blood.
Even if its ability to dodge increased, it had nowhere to go.
There was no point in trying to dodge attacks when there was no place to survive.
The way that Frederica and the others watched the fox slowly fall to its death, seemed almost as if they had achieved enlightenment.
