kscans

Chapter 169 - The Black Roses and the Vampire

Leaving the battle between the Black Rose members and the vampire to them, Hayato and Relic approached Diite, who was at the helm.

Currently, the hooked ropes from the ghost ship were entangled with their vessel, preventing it from moving, but that didn't seem to matter to Diite. She was having fun, playfully turning the ship's wheel to the right and left.

"This kind of retro vehicle isn't half bad."

"Diite-chan, do you understand the current situation?"

She was probably doing it knowingly, but she was being far too defenseless, or rather, too boisterous. Hayato wondered where the cool Diite-chan of old had gone.

Perhaps Diite felt a little something too, because she regained her composure and cleared her throat with a small cough.

"You've seen me in an embarrassing state. I'm just blowing off some steam after being cooped up for so long. I hope you can overlook it a little. And you, Relic-kun, please don't look so conflicted."

"I suppose there are times like that. However, the vampire who owns the ghost ship has appeared, so we would appreciate a little of your assistance."

"A vampire? Ah, so that ghost ship belongs to Damian-kun."

"...You know him?"

Hayato asked a deliberately naive question. He knew that as the administrator, Diite was aware of all NPCs. This question was a pretense because Relic was nearby.

Diite seemed to realize this and adopted the air of a character who knew him, rather than an administrator.

"His name was Damian Trence, if I recall. One of the Ten Undead Elites and an ally of Mist-kun."

"Ah, yes, I believe that was his name. I saw him several times during the last Clan War. I remember he favored a fighting style where he would create a large number of undead monsters with Create Undead magic to use as shields."

"Yes, Mist-kun often fights himself, but Damian-kun frequently fought using create-type magic. However, it seems he is different now."

Diite said this as she looked toward Damian.

Hayato looked as well. Damian seemed to be fighting on even terms with the ten members of the Black Rose. There were no skeletons or anything like that. A ten-on-one battle was unfolding.

Looking closely, the bones of defeated fish and Sahagin were scattered around the Black Rose members. Hayato thought that perhaps all the monsters created with Create Undead had been defeated, leaving him with no choice but to fight on his own.

The Black Rose members were challenging him with a formation of five in the front line, three in the middle, and two in the rear. Their coordination was incredible, always attacking with at least two people simultaneously in what could be described as a furious barrage of consecutive attacks.

However, Damian was handling it skillfully. The reason a ten-on-one fight was working so well was due to the vampire's abilities. Damian seemed able to turn himself into mist, periodically dissolving into the surrounding fog.

When he did that, the Black Rose members couldn't attack him at all, and they would suddenly be attacked from a completely different location than where he had vanished. Even if they took damage from that attack, one of the Black Rose members with a black bandage wrapped around her face would use healing magic, so HP wasn't an issue. But there was another problem.

There's no such thing as getting tired in this game. You can swing a weapon as much as you want, but there is mental fatigue. The situation of not knowing where an attack will come from gradually wears down the spirit.

"It seems he's using this weather, or rather, the field effect, to his advantage. It only lasts for a few seconds, but in his mist state, he's invincible, and by blending in with the surrounding fog, you can't tell where he'll attack from. What a nasty tactic."

One of the unique skills vampires possess is "Mist Form." Just as they can turn into bats or wolves, they can also temporarily become mist. In that state, they can't attack at all, but they are in an invincible state where they take no damage, and they can still move.

Normally, you can see the mist form, so you would know where he would rematerialize even if he moved. But now, since the surroundings are covered in fog, it's impossible to tell where the mist has moved. You don't know where the attack will come from.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Let's just put our faith in the Black Rose-kuns' performance. The mist state isn't permanent, and there's a cool down time before he can use Mist Form again. I think they can handle it."

"Yeah, but..."

"Amber Queen!"

Just as Hayato was about to speak, Rosalie's voice echoed around them.

At her command, the Black Rose members formed a tight, circular formation with the middle and rear guards at the center, and the front guard surrounding them. The five on the perimeter faced outward, their backs to the center, and from that center, a voice that sounded like a countdown could be heard.

"Huh? What's that?"

"That is a kind of code the members of the Black Rose use. Rumor has it they use the names of rose varieties for their formations."

"Rose varieties? But that countdown..."

As soon as the countdown finished, the five front-line members of the Black Rose simultaneously attacked the area in front of them. It was an all-out, omnidirectional attack, regardless of whether an enemy was there or not.

Damian rematerialized at that exact moment, but perhaps he had been on guard, because he was not in the attack's range. However, it seemed to be a close call, and you could see the hurried expression on his face as he dodged out of the attack's area.

But the Black Rose's assault wasn't over. The middle and rear guards were also facing their respective directions, their own attacks ready. As the five front-liners crouched down, the middle and rear guards launched their attacks over their heads.

One of the Black Rose members, sensing that Damian had appeared right in front of her, gleefully fired her dual-wielded crossbows repeatedly.

"Guh!"

There was a cool down time after exiting Mist Form, so he couldn't immediately turn back into mist. Moreover, since he had just dodged the front-liners' attack, he wasn't prepared for the next one, and Damian took the full force of the crossbow bolts.

Rosalie pursued Damian as he hurriedly tried to retreat.

Her beloved scythe, "Scream." She used its unique skill, "Madness," to boost her stats and movement speed.

"Like I'd let you get away!"

With a red-black aura enveloping her, Rosalie attacked Damian head-on. The attack dealt considerable damage, and Damian's HP bar was down to a sliver.

He probably felt no pain, but his HP was low. Even so, Damian's expression was one of calm confidence.

"Impressive. It seems I was outmatched back then as well."

"I cannot say for certain. But this is a ten-on-one battle. We cannot afford to lose. Now then, allow me to deliver the final blow. Go beg for forgiveness from your god!"

"I must decline."

Before Rosalie could get close, Damian quickly took out an item and drank it.

(Is that Dragon Blood?)

It was only for a moment, but that's what Hayato's eyes saw. The vampire's version of an Elixir, Dragon Blood. It instantly restored all HP and MP and provided a short-term stat boost.

Damian dodged Rosalie's attack, then immediately transformed into a bat and fled into the sky. The fog was thick, and Damian's figure, having flown upward, was already out of sight. The members with ranged attacks were firing blindly, but it was unlikely they would hit him.

"It is my loss this time as well. However, next time, I shall have you face not just me, but my comrades. Until we meet again, my beautiful ladies."

The sound of flapping wings grew fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard.

Relic relaxed his stance and looked at Hayato.

"It seems he has fled out to sea."

"Being able to fly all the way to land from here is pretty amazing. It makes me want to learn Necromancy, but that look... is a bit much."

No matter how handsome a guy is, the bat form is just creepy. Maybe he's handsome for a bat, but that's impossible to judge.

"I wouldn't mind even if you were a bat, Master. As long as you make me chocolate parfaits."

"Is that something I should be thanking Esha for? And what was that, all of a sudden?"

Saying she wouldn't mind if he looked like a bat could be a moving statement depending on the situation, but the condition of chocolate parfaits ruined it.

"I'm here to report that we have disposed of the surrounding undead. They've started a treasure hunt on the ghost ship now, but are you not participating, Master?"

"I think I'll pass... Oh, Relic-san, if the treasure chests are locked or trapped, could I ask you to disarm them?"

"Of course. However, Sonia can also do it, so I doubt I will be needed. Since Esha has returned, I shall go and supervise Sonia and the others. It is not good for them to get too carried away."

Relic smiled a slightly scary smile and headed toward the ghost ship.

And so, only Hayato, Esha, and Diite remained.

"Hayato-kun, I wouldn't mind if you were a bat. I'd be fine even without chocolate parfaits."

"What kind of appeal is that? ...Rosalie-san and everyone, thank you for your hard work. We managed to drive him off thanks to you."

At some point, the Black Rose members had come over to Hayato's group. They were whispering amongst themselves while looking at him.

"Um, what? Being whispered about by so many women is a little hard on my mental state."

"My apologies. I was just thinking how popular you are, Hayato. Even though you look so ordinary."

"'Ordinary' isn't a compliment, you know. And popular? Who?"

"I did say 'you,' Hayato, did I not?"

"Are your eyes perhaps bad?"

"So that I can spot Lunaria-sama from any location, both of my eyes are 20/20."

"Then maybe your powers of delusion are at a dangerous level?"

"What did you say, punk? If anything, I would say you are impossibly dense. Well, whatever. I'd rather not have the barrel of a Beelzebub pointed at me, so I will take my leave. Now, everyone, let us have a tea time."

Rosalie's group left Hayato's side and took out a luxurious-looking table on the deck. Then they actually started preparing tea.

"Um, what was that about?"

Lately, Hayato had been called "popular" a lot, but it was clearly different from the kind of "popular" directed at Ash.

"Perhaps it means you would be more popular in your bat form, Master?"

"But I've never even been a bat."

Deciding it wasn't worth worrying about, Hayato took out his saw to restore the ship's durability.