kscans

Chapter 291 - Interlude: Necropolis Conquest (Part 1)

Esha had come to the lowest level to conquer the Necropolis.

Normally, there was a transfer device called a portal, and she could have reached the lowest level in an instant. However, from that spot to the boss's location, an artificial, bluish-black wall stretched on endlessly, and they had to walk all the way there.

Considering the situation, Esha guessed that the boss waiting in the depths was likely a Duke-class Demon. Thinking she had quite a connection with that demon, Esha looked around.

The party members nearby were just a thrown-together group to fill the numbers, and she couldn't expect any coordination. However, there were times when it was better to rely on individual strength rather than trying to force teamwork.

The members present were all NPCs who possessed considerable strength even in this virtual reality. Any unnecessary actions would only reduce their combat power.

To begin with, it was difficult to match the Hero, Ivan. His basic specs were on a different level from those around him.

In her former clan, "Blackjack," the strategy had been for Ivan and Cecil to charge in without a thought, while Relic provided support. Thanks to Relic, the other members had managed to coordinate with Ivan and the others somehow.

Without Relic here, it was better to fight as if Ivan wasn't there, rather than trying to force coordination. There was a chance he'd get caught in her Destroy, but that was in the past. Esha thought it was debatable whether she could even hit the current Ivan.

Esha looked around further.

Besides Ivan, other eccentric NPCs had gathered. However, Esha felt a slight sense of unease.

The reason it felt difficult was that Esha was the only one who knew the reality of their situation.

This party was a ten-person party consisting of Damian, Ruth, Ivan, Gil, Simon, Maris, Lancelot, the Maid Chief, Noat, and Esha herself.

Everyone except Esha was living in this world with their real-world memories lost.

It wasn't a particular problem, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of awkwardness, perhaps due to guilt. Esha was filled with feelings she herself couldn't quite understand.

She had a vague guess. Previously, Esha had been just like everyone here, living in this world thinking it was reality. By some twist of fate, she had remembered the real world and was now in a position to go back and forth between reality and this virtual reality.

Of course, regaining her memories had been an accident, but for some reason, Esha felt as if she had betrayed everyone.

Though their reasons differed, everyone had decided to forget reality together and live in this virtual reality. It wasn't just her. Ash and the others were the same, but had the conclusion to live in the real world been a betrayal to everyone else?

That was what Esha had come to think.

"Esha-chan, what's wrong? Are you hungry? I could give you a donut, though it would break my heart. But you have to return it threefold later."

"I thought to myself that such a heart should be torn to shreds, but I'll refrain from saying it."

"You said it loud and clear, but I'll ignore it. Because you're Esha-chan, after all."

After a brief silence, Noat handed a donut to Esha, who accepted it and took a bite.

"You love donuts as much as ever, Noat. How many have you made Master make for you?"

"I don't remember things from that long ago. But donuts are great. Everything is packed into that hole in the middle."

"I'm not good at being the straight man, but isn't it a hole because there's nothing there?"

"That's why you eat it while thinking about what should go in there. That's the supreme way."

"You're the first person I've ever seen eat a donut like that. By the way, what do you think should go in there?"

"Probably the universe."

"If you keep giving such out-of-left-field answers, everyone's going to ignore you."

Noat's singing was good enough to earn her the title of Prima Donna, but when she wasn't singing, she gave a strong impression of being almost always asleep. However, the opinion of those who had spent a long time with Noat was different. Esha was one of them.

She was usually lazy, but when Noat got serious, she was incredible, living up to the urban legend of being able to do anything if she tried.

It was extremely rare for Noat to go exploring in a dungeon this time. Even when she was part of Blackjack, Noat had only offered to go a few times herself.

The reason she was going was because she had learned that Mist, to whom she was indebted, was in trouble. Esha had been surprised by that reason as well.

Noat had said she hadn't fought in a while and wanted to fight Hayato to get her senses back. Hayato, who wasn't a combatant to begin with, couldn't land a single hit, but Esha had also fought alongside Rose.

However, the result was that none of the three could land a blow.

Noat's raw combat skills were high, but her Skill Composition was also unusual. It was a build where she raised various skills just enough to learn useful techniques.

Her Hand-to-Hand Combat skill was only raised high enough to learn Blade Catch, and her Curse skill was only high enough to use curse magic. Her music, dance, and related knowledge skills were at 100, but the rest could be described as all over the place.

Was that build strong? Not really, but on the premise of having allies, it could be called incredibly strong. While she would definitely lose in a one-on-one fight, she could display considerable strength when cooperating with allies.

As proof, Noat had defeated Simon together with Gil and Rose. One-on-one, she would have surely lost.

"Esha-chan, you've been staring at me for a while now. What's wrong? Just so you know, I'm not giving you any more donuts."

"I'll just have Master make me some later, so I don't need any. I was just thinking that you're a strange one, Noat."

"I don't want to hear that from you, Esha-chan. I'll have Hayato-san make me some donuts too."

"You two get along so well."

Maris suddenly interjected.

Maris was riding Lancelot, following at the very rear. There were no enemies for now, but to guard against an attack from behind, Maris and Lancelot were in the last position.

Esha put a little distance between herself and Lancelot as she responded to Maris's words. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but it would be a problem if Lancelot attacked her here. Diite wasn't here, so resurrection was impossible.

"We were in the same clan before... I answered, but did we seem like we get along?"

"Yes, well. I mean, you don't hold back with each other, so I thought you wouldn't be like that if you didn't get along. But you're both the funny ones, so I thought I'd like Hayato-san to be the straight man!"

"Exactly. I only want Esha-chan to be the funny one when Hayato-san is around. It's tiring."

"How dare you say such a thing. Let me just say that those are my lines."

"See, you really do get along."

Esha was somewhat unconvinced by Maris's words, but on second thought, she began to wonder if Ren was the only one she got along with.

Their circumstances were completely different, but she felt a sense of camaraderie from having regained her memories in the same way. They had gotten along since she joined Hayato's clan, "Daedalus," so maybe it was okay to call her a friend.

As Esha thought this, she felt a strange sensation, like she was a little embarrassed or her body was itching.

"Esha-chan, I'm telling you this because we're friends, but your movements are a little creepy."

"...It seems I'll be able to update the number of times you've been shot by Destroy. Congratulations."

"It's not good to make it a foregone conclusion."

"You guys, show a little more tension."

A sharp retort came from Ivan, who was walking at the front. Perhaps they had been a little loud.

"Hmm, Ivan's comeback is a little off. Hayato-san's is still better."

"Let me say that I share your opinion."

"Why am I the one getting criticized after I warned you?"

Ivan grumbled, but he continued onward, and they finally arrived in front of the door where the boss was.

"Alright, from here on out, we're getting serious. For now, Esha will deal a huge blow with Destroy at the start. It'd be easy if we could defeat it before the next Destroy, but that's unlikely, so we'll defeat it with the second shot. No objections to that plan, right?"

Everyone nodded at Ivan's words.

"Alright, then Gil, you protect Esha. I think that first shot will generate a lot of Hate Value."

"Hmph. I shall fulfill my duty as a Tank. Esha-dono, be sure to stay behind me."

"I'm counting on you... Maid Chief, why are you standing so close? Also, your eyes are scary."

"I will not lose. A maid is a warrior of the underworld... I shall show you its essence."

"This is the first I've heard of that kind of maid, but please do your best."

Esha thought she had gotten herself into something troublesome, but she focused on fulfilling her duty, checked that she had Melon Juice, and took out her Beelzebub 666 EC Custom.