kscans

Chapter 237 - The Start of Subjugation and Exploration

Preparations for the Doppelgänger subjugation were complete.

Hayato created the self-destruct item "Magic Bomb" and received a "Phoenix Feather" from Ivan. He also prepared multiple "Invisible" powders, which he planned to use after the subjugation to get to the thirty-first floor's portal.

This wasn't a guarantee, but the preparations were sufficient. He headed to the Necropolis with Ivan and the others, and they used the portal at the entrance to teleport to the thirtieth floor.

From here, it was a walk to the church where the Doppelgänger was.

While they were moving, Ruth, who had joined the exploration, approached Hayato.

"Hayato-san, please do your best."

"Well, I'll do my best. By the way, Ruth-kun, what's your fighting style?"

"I mainly use magic attacks. Among the Ten Undead Heroes, I also worked hard on production, so I'm not that strong."

"That's what happens when you put points into production skills. What's that?"

A dog's howl echoed through the thirtieth floor. Then, the sound of something running towards them grew closer. From the sound, there were multiple opponents.

"Hellhounds. Hayato-san, please be careful not to get caught in their area-of-effect fire breath. Get behind Gil-san quickly."

Hayato nodded at Ruth's words and moved behind Gil.

Gil was the tank, and his role was to draw the party's attacks.

Normally, the tank role was common among players who roleplayed as holy knights, but Gil, from his position of serving the demon lord, was clad in black armor from head to toe and didn't look like a holy knight. He had also formed a clan called the Ten Dark Knights.

Normally, Gil's passionate talk about muscles was a bit of a problem, but from Hayato's perspective, Gil's back was incredibly reliable.

Gil used "War Cry," a loud, inspiring shout, to build up the Hellhounds' hate value.

"Hayato-dono! Don't leave my back!"

"Of course. Um, Maid Chief-san, why are you looking so envious? I have a feeling I know why."

"Envious is not quite accurate. I am envious."

"...Gil-san, what do you think of strong women?"

"I think they're wonderful, but what are you talking about?"

As Gil said this, the Maid Chief shot forward.

And she punched a Hellhound. Not just one punch, but a flurry of left and right blows. Martial arts strikes have low attack power, but they can be chained. With this continuous attack, she instantly killed one of the Hellhounds.

It could be said that this continuous attack was far more frightening than a single high-powered blow.

(Actually, I have a feeling it would be easier if the Maid Chief fought the Doppelgänger by herself...)

The Maid Chief modestly raised her right fist in a "I'm strong" appeal. Guessing she was showing off to Gil, Hayato looked away.

Ivan, as one would expect from a Hero, was cutting down the Hellhounds with his Excalibur with relaxed movement. It was more like the Hellhounds were running into his Excalibur.

(He's that strong, but he lost to Lunaria-san. What did Lunaria-san do in the real world?)

Lunaria, the Demon Lord, had won in a one-on-one fight with Ivan, the Hero.

It was a victory influenced by the durability of their respective weapons, but their swordplay was evenly matched. Ivan had the title of World Champion of Virtual Gladiator in the real world, but Lunaria being able to fight on equal terms with that Ivan raised a question mark.

It was certainly curious, but Hayato hadn't particularly confirmed it with Diite. It was a private matter, and the NPCs here were people who had tried to break away from reality for some reason, so he made a point of not prying unnecessarily.

Hayato shifted his gaze to the other members.

Damian and Ruth seemed to be coordinating well. Damian was defeating the Hellhounds with earth-based attack magic, and Ruth with ice-based attack magic. It was a pattern where Ruth finished off what Damian missed.

Maris and her Hercules Beetle weren't participating in the attack, but like Gil, were protecting the surrounding members. Maris was the shield, and the small Hercules was flying around the Hellhounds, disrupting their attacks.

(They don't have a healer, but Ivan and the Maid Chief-san are attack-focused, Damian-san and Ruth-kun are magic-focused, and Gil-san and Maris are tanks with Hercules as a disrupter. They're actually pretty strong.)

Just as Hayato thought this, Ivan delivered the final blow to the last Hellhound. Then he looked at Hayato.

"Are you okay?"

"Thanks to Gil-san, not a scratch."

"As expected of Gil-sama."

The Maid Chief said this, then whispered, "He's wonderful...!" Hayato heard it but pretended he didn't.

"Not at all, Maid Chief-dono was strong too! And of course, so was everyone else!"

"Such undeserved words...!"

(I just hope the Maid Chief doesn't throw a tantrum when the party disbands...)

After confirming there were no monsters around, Hayato and the others headed for the church where the Doppelgänger was.

At the entrance to the church, Hayato left the party.

This was because if he stayed in the party, a number of Doppelgängers equal to the party size would appear.

Ivan placed a hand on Hayato's shoulder.

"Well, we're counting on you. From what I've heard, defeating the Doppelgänger itself seems easy, but getting to the portal beyond that is a bit of a mystery, so be careful."

"There's probably another way to do it. Well, it seems I just need to touch the portal to enable transfer, so I'll touch it even if I die."

"Yeah, please do. But take it easy. It's no big deal if you fail. We'll head back for now. We'll be at the Necropolis entrance portal, so come find us later."

"Roger. Well then, I'm off."

Hayato gave a small wave to everyone and stepped into the church.

The same production as yesterday played out, and a pure white Hayato appeared from the pool of blood. And it attacked Hayato.

However, there was a fair amount of distance, so there was no need to panic. Hayato simply used the "Magic Bomb."

There was no countdown. The item activated immediately, and a blast engulfed the surroundings.

Hayato and the Doppelgänger's HP reached 0 at the same time, and they fell to the floor. Immediately after, a spotlight-like light shone on the fallen Hayato, and a feather fell from the ceiling.

When the feather touched Hayato, his HP recovered. Hayato, now able to move, slowly stood up.

(Looks like it's okay.)

He didn't have to fight the Doppelgänger again, it was a victory. There was a possibility that this method would lead to a rematch, so he had been a little worried. That worry was now gone, so Hayato moved into action.

As Hayato was about to look for the stairs, there was a change in the pool of blood on the floor. The pool of blood disappeared as if it were being sucked into the floor. And a black hole remained.

(So I'm not taking stairs but falling into this hole? That's a little scary... But I have to do it.)

Hayato jumped into the hole. After experiencing a slight feeling of floating, he landed.

It wasn't a town-like place like the thirtieth floor, but an artificial dungeon made of something like seamless white stone. The only light source was the candles on the walls, and there was no sound of wind or smell.

This was a dead end, so he had no choice but to move forward.

(Doesn't look like there's a portal nearby... Maybe this isn't the legitimate way to do it after all. Can't be helped. I'll have to proceed without being found by monsters.)

Haya to readied the item that made him disappear from his item bag, "Invisible," so he could use it at any time, and started walking.