Chapter 483 - Afterglow
The army of Stardust Beasts, their commander defeated, was nothing more than a disorderly mob of animals.
With the tight coordination of a player raid, a slight numerical disadvantage wouldn't be a major issue—or so I thought. But I was just an idiot with no leadership aptitude, drunk on the excitement.
In the end, my snap judgment that the 'Rat' was the enemy's 'head' was correct. When I rushed back to the base, the movements of the rampaging Stardust Beasts had clearly become lackluster, confirming it.
However, things got crazy from there.
Additional hordes periodically spawned from the horse-gate that showed no sign of closing. And a tsunami of starry sky constantly overflowed from the forest, having abandoned any semblance of squad formations.
Isn't this taking too long?
When is this going to end?
It's got to end soon, right?
Hey, wait a—and that's pretty much how it went.
My opening full-throttle assault, born from the assumption that there was a limit like on the third night, backfired spectacularly. Not even twenty minutes into the battle, I ran out of MP, which locked out most of my skills, Sapphire's summon, and the Star Sword's autonomous movement, leaving me severely weakened.
My trump card, [Desperate Crimson], had been severed the moment I handed Nia the hair ornament to retrieve her Anima's power, and my right arm, of course, was still dangling uselessly.
After a full, solid hour of fighting in that hopeless condition, a state in which I couldn't possibly claim to be a 'rank holder'—
◇The World Event [Starry Paradise] has now concluded.◇
◇Time until closure of 'Mirrored Sky-Realm (Alv-Necro)': 00:00:59:59 ◇
◇All players, please log out in an orderly fashion.◇
◇Login will be restricted for a period of time after logging out.◇
◇The World Event [Starry Paradise] has now concluded.◇
◇Time until closure of 'Mirrored Sky-Realm (Alv-Necro)': 00:00:59:34 ◇
◇All players, please log out in an orderly fashion—◇
—……
—……
—……
◇Title Acquired◇
・'One Who Touches the Star Ocean'
・'Master of Starlight'
◇Skill Acquired◇
・<
◇Skill Evolved◇
・<
"—The announcements… are pounding in my head… ugh…"
"A-are you okay…?"
"I don't think he looks okay from any angle?"
Falling upon the back of my head as I lay face-down on the ground was Nia's voice, half concern and half exasperation, and Nonomi's voice, which was one hundred percent pure amusement.
It hasn't been that long, but a severe case of phantom-sense fatigue from the non-stop action I pushed through is occupying my brain. No matter if someone pokes my head or uses me as a chair, I wouldn't be able to muster any form of retaliation right now.
"…Should I help him up?"
"Please."
I wouldn't mind continuing to lick the dirt to show how pathetic I am, but it's embarrassing, so getting up quickly is probably for the best… except my avatar won't move.
So, I decided to accept the kind offer from the voice that came next.
My limp body was grabbed and lifted by Tetsu-san, then gently placed on a tree stump. I tried to steady myself for a moment, but my strength failed me, and as I was about to fall backward, my partner frantically supported my back.
As always, I can't seem to end things on a cool note… I guess I really do have poor strategic awareness. I've been forced to recognize once again that I'm not cut out to be a leader giving orders.
Anyway—
"Haha, a field of corpses."
"You're the biggest one, you know…"
Fortunately or unfortunately, I wasn't the only one knocked out. Face-down, face-up, and in various other acrobatic poses, all thirty-three members of the raid were down for the count, trapped by intense phantom-sense fatigue and unable to move.
It truly is a scene that can only be described as a field of corpses—but we successfully achieved our goal of everyone surviving. Well fought, my brave warriors.
"We still have about an hour left, but I don't think anyone's in the mood for a victory party, are they?"
"Impossible. That's how we'd break our 'everyone survived' streak."
"Haha."
"Hey, your brain isn't working even one bit, is it?"
When I let out a dry laugh out of reflex, Nia, who was acting as my backrest, poked my cheek. But her touch was unusually gentle, almost hesitant.
Come to think of it, is this the first time she's seen me in a state where I seriously can't move? I wonder if I made her worry.
"The general's in the same boat… and while it's a bit sad to leave, maybe we should just call it a day for now?"
Her question was likely directed at everyone, not just us.
As her ever-cheerful voice, unfitting for this graveyard-like scene, echoed, groans of agreement rose from the half-dead.
I agree too—in that case, I should probably make the announcement, however sloppily.
"Ahem… you can stay down, but all hands, listen up, my friends. If possible, in the not-too-distant future, I'll plan something and call you all together. So, if you're free, please join in. That is all, dismissed, good work, that was fun, you guys, yeah."
"Does that invitation extend to us, too?"
"Of course, if we're not a bother. It doesn't have to be combat-related; we could do a picnic or something."
"Yay! Ichi-Tetsu-kun, you'll make the bento, right? A thirty-six-layer one!"
"What's the point of layering it?"
It was a feeble declaration, my exclamation points barely functioning from exhaustion, but the reactions I got back from what I assume were over thirty people were all positive, so all's well that ends well.
I'm not suited to be a leader. But being looked up to like this… well, what can I say? It doesn't feel bad at all, not one bit—
"Alright then, now that we've decided to disband… let's talk about something practical. What are we going to do with this massive pile of loot that's scattered everywh—"
"I don't want to."
"Don't make me."
"The little stars are sparkly and pretty."
"I'm just so tired."
"I can't move at all…"
"Whoever wants it can pick it up and take it home."
"This is the one part I'm genuinely unhappy about…!!"
"Why doesn't the inventory function work here…?"
The one-hour death match against what seemed like an infinite spawn of Stardust Beasts. What it brought about was, as you'd expect, a starry sky spread across the ground.
A sea of [Stardust Relics] so numerous I couldn't even be bothered to count them. We only began the task of collecting them… after continuing to lie there like corpses for another dozen or so minutes.