kscans

Chapter 36 - The Titled Demon

The moment the battle began, the players on the enemy team became visible. Hayato’s eyes caught sight of ten players deep within the enemy lines.

But they vanished almost immediately. In the next instant, a horde of demons appeared.

What’s going on? Where did the summoners go?

While Hayato was still confused, Ash and the others charged toward the enemy camp.

From their perspective, their view of the summoners was blocked by obstacles. They likely didn’t even know the summoners had disappeared.

"The summoners vanished. Do you know why?"

Hayato asked Esha and Ren to see if they understood the situation. But he received no answer from either of them. They only shook their heads.

Feeling a vague sense of unease, Hayato sent a voice chat to Ash and his group.

"The enemy summoners are gone. I don’t know what’s happening, but I think it’s dangerous. What’s the plan?"

"In that case, we’ll aim for the Clan Stone. Demons of this level aren’t a problem."

Hayato heard Ash’s reply and answered, "Got it."

He left this kind of strategy to Ash, so he had no intention of objecting to his idea. However, he knew it was his own role to provide as much information as possible, so he surveyed the field.

More than twenty demons were moving toward them. The rest seemed to be obstructing Ash’s group, but they were no match for them.

However, even when a demon was defeated, it was immediately resummoned. Though Hayato couldn’t see them, he predicted that the summoners were definitely still on the field, summoning more demons.

As for the demons heading their way, Relic had begun fighting them at the fortress entrance.

Relic started by taking out several demons with an area-of-effect attack resembling a rolling sobat called Wind God Kick. After that, he began fighting them one on one.

Generally, attacks using Hand-to-Hand Combat skills were on the weaker side, but he was having no trouble fighting these particular demons. Esha’s covering fire was also effective, so for now, none had managed to enter the fortress.

Just as Hayato thought their strategy was working perfectly, something huge appeared in the enemy camp. It was a giant demon, about four meters tall. It had blue skin, bat wings, and goat horns. Unlike the horde of summoned demons, this one looked strong.

"Hayato! A baron-class demon has appeared! We’re falling back to regroup!"

After hearing Ash’s slightly surprised voice, Hayato saw Ash and his group, who had advanced deep into the enemy lines, begin to retreat.

"Um, what’s a baron-class demon? Is it strong enough to make Ash and the others retreat?"

Ren answered Hayato’s question.

"Demons have noble titles, and the higher the title, the stronger they are. A baron is pretty strong. I think my brother and his team could beat it on their own, but the area is difficult to fight in, so they probably just fell back."

"Is that so? Then I guess I don’t need to worry."

"If a top-tier duke-class one appeared, we’d be guaranteed to lose, though!"

As Hayato expressed his understanding, Esha tilted her head.

"Even so, something seems odd. Can players really summon a baron-class demon? I’m not an expert on summoning magic, but I thought the highest they could call was a knight-class, which is point eight."

"But you said there are even stronger duke-class demons, right? So shouldn’t they be able to summon those too?"

"Those just exist as monsters. I have never heard of them being summoned with magic."

Listening to Esha, Hayato pondered.

Could this be the reason it was called cheating? Does the enemy clan know a summoning method that not even other players or NPCs are aware of? It’s a long shot, but could they summon that duke-class demon too?

"Hayato-sama, do you have a moment?"

He received a voice chat from Relic.

"What is it?"

"Well, the demons have disappeared. What’s the situation?"

"Huh?"

Distracted by the information from Ash, Hayato had neglected to check his surroundings. He looked out from the top of the fortress.

Just as Relic said, the horde of demons was gone. The only one left was the baron-class demon Ash had mentioned.

What in the world is going on?

Hayato’s train of thought was cut short.

A massive pillar of light erupted in the enemy camp. When it subsided, a giant of about fifteen meters appeared. It resembled the baron-class demon, but its skin was red. Judging by its size, it had to be stronger than the baron.

The demon let out a roar.

Then, the same demons they had just been fighting were summoned in great numbers around it and began moving toward them. The red-skinned demon was looking at Hayato with a smirk on its face.

"That’s a duke-class demon!"

"Ah, yeah. I kind of figured. But if that thing shows up, we’re guaranteed to lose, right? We can’t beat it, can we?"

"Normally, it’s strong enough that you’d need dozens of people to win. If my brother could transform into a dragon, I think he could put up a good fight, though."

A large-scale battle boss, huh… What should we do? Should we ignore it and aim for the Clan Stone? But leaving that thing alone and heading for their fortress seems impossible. It’s standing right in front of the entrance.

The horde of weak demons wasn’t an issue. The problem was the baron-class and duke-class demons.

He’d been told Ash’s group could handle the baron-class demon, so they needed to defeat that first. That said, it would be meaningless if it was just summoned again. They had to defeat it and prevent it from being resummoned.

Realizing they couldn’t win without taking out the summoners first, Hayato checked the enemy clan’s status.

He didn’t use it often, but during a Clan War, there was a system that allowed you to see basic information about the opposing clan.

Hayato was shocked by what he saw.

It showed that seven of the enemy clan’s players had already been defeated.

"Ash, sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but did you defeat any of their clan members?"

"No! We haven’t! We’ve only defeated the summoned demons!"

Ash and his team hadn’t defeated any of the enemy clan members. Yet they were listed as defeated. The only explanation he could think of was self-destruction. Hayato himself had done it back in Kokuryu.

No, it’s not self-destruction, it’s more like a sacrifice for summoning a demon. I’ve heard occult stories in the real world about how summoning a demon requires a suitable price. Maybe this game has a method for calling powerful demons by offering your own life, not just normal catalysts. It’s just a guess, though.

After thinking that far, Hayato came up with a plan to run out the clock.

The Clan War would end in one hour.

In that case, victory would be decided by the total damage dealt. Their total damage was quite high from defeating so many of the enemy’s weak demons. If they could just run out the clock, they would win.

"Alright, we’ve taken down the baron-class demon!"

At Ash’s words, Hayato looked at the field. He saw the baron-class demon dissolve into particles of light.

"Confirmed, thanks. I want to discuss some things, so come back to the base."

"So we’re not going for the Clan Stone? Well, with that demon around, I guess we can’t get inside their fortress anyway. Understood. We’re running low on potions, so we’ll head back."

After confirming that Ash and the others were fighting their way back to the fortress, Hayato looked toward the duke-class demon.

The duke-class demon just stood there smirking, showing no sign of moving.

That thing is probably an NPC too, but what is it thinking? Does it not intend to win this Clan War?

It was sending weaker demons to their fortress, so it wasn’t doing nothing, but its complete inscrutability was unsettling.

Hayato decided he’d discuss it with everyone first and waited for Ash’s group.

A few minutes later, Ash and his team returned.

Since the weak demons were still advancing, Relic and the other clan members were at the fortress entrance defeating them. The only ones on the fortress roof were Esha, Ash, Ren, and Mist.

Hayato immediately started the discussion.

"I want to talk about what to do with the duke-class demon. What’s our best move? Personally, I think waiting for the time to run out is an option."

At his words, everyone shook their heads. It was Ash who spoke up.

"We’re up against a demon, you know? It’s just toying with us now, but eventually it will attack. We should think of a way to defeat it."

"I don’t know much about it, but isn’t it supposed to be unbeatable?"

"Under normal circumstances, yeah. But we have firepower comparable to my Dragon Breath on our side. Esha, your Destroy can take that thing down, right? I thought it was a one-hit kill."

At Ash’s words, Esha made a slightly sour face.

"It is impossible to one-shot a boss character from a large-scale battle. Destroy is an attack that deals massive damage, not an instant-death attack. It can only one-shot human opponents."

"Then what about two shots?"

"I believe that would work, but there is a thirty-minute cool down time before I can fire a second shot. If we are to do it, I ask that you make it quick. Twenty minutes have already passed since the start, so to fire twice, I must land the first shot within the next ten minutes. Furthermore, it is out of range from here, so I will have to go to the enemy camp. It will be quite close."

"Hayato, I think that’s our only way to beat that demon. What do you say? Make the call."

In situations like this, Hayato was quick to decide. After all, he had essentially entrusted all combat matters to Ash.

"Alright. Let’s go with that plan. Esha, sorry to ask, but could you head to the enemy camp and let loose with Destroy?"

"I will require appropriate payment in the form of cooking."

"Name your price. I’ll prepare anything you want, five stars."

Esha smirked at his words.

"As expected of my master. So decisive and dependable. It is no wonder you are called the savior."

"Only the Maid Guild says that, you know."

Ash took Esha and left.

From the rooftop, Hayato watched as Ash and the clan members escorted Esha toward the enemy camp. The weaker demons were getting in their way, but it didn’t seem to be slowing them down much.

Now, the only ones remaining on the fortress roof were Hayato, Ren, and Mist.

"Now then, Hayato-san. Let us make our own preparations."

"Preparations?"

"Once that demon takes a hit from Esha-san’s Destroy, it will almost certainly head this way. Destroy has a thirty-minute cool down time. We must fend off the demon’s attacks until then."

That makes sense, Hayato thought. The demon was just smirking now, but it wouldn’t just stand there after taking an attack.

"Demons of that type will aim for the Clan Stone. This means it is crucial that we do not let it get close to the fortress."

"I see. Do you happen to have a plan?"

"I would rather not, but I shall stop it somehow. And I will need your cooperation, Hayato-san."

"Huh?"

Hayato was surprised by Mist’s words.

That duke-class demon was a boss monster that required dozens of people to defeat. It was the kind of final boss you’d see in a large-scale game event. And he was saying he would stop it.

"Mist-san, I’m sure you know this, but I have no combat ability."

"I am not asking for combat ability. You will only be assisting me, so please rest assured."

There was nothing reassuring about it, but Hayato nodded anyway. He was completely useless in a fight, so if there was something he could do, he wanted to be helpful.

"Understood. So, Mist-san, how are you going to stop that demon?"

"By fighting it, of course. I will fight it one on one to hold it off."

"No, that’s impossible—"

Just as Hayato was about to say that, the surroundings grew dark. The setting sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, and the sky was now filled with stars and the moon.

Mist’s gentlemanly face hadn’t changed, but the arrival of night gave him a very eerie feel. It might have been his imagination, but he sensed a certain intensity from him.

"The night is a vampire’s time. I will show you that I can stop even a duke-class demon. Even if I die… you see!"

Mist said this with a proud look on his face.

I wonder if it’s tactless to point out that vampires are undead to begin with. Or is he waiting for me to say something?

Ren was looking at Mist, clapping and saying, "Ooh." Mist raised his right hand slightly in response.

After that, Mist placed a coffin in front of the Clan Stone. It was the highest quality coffin Hayato had made.

"Alright, Hayato-san. When I am defeated, my ashes will appear in this coffin. When that happens, please pour tomato juice on them. That is all it takes to resurrect me."

"Tomato juice in a coffin? Is that really all the help you need from me?"

"Well, yes. I can also revive over time, but tomato juice is instant. And since this is a five-star quality coffin made from a Magic Tree, I will revive with full HP!"

"This isn’t quite what I expected…"

"If you do not like tomato juice, regular blood is also fine."

"That’s not what I meant. But I understand. I’ll do it, so please stop that demon when it starts moving."

"Leave it to me. I also have Dragon Blood, so I should be able to hold out for quite a while, even against a duke-class demon."

Mist said this just as a loud sound came from the enemy camp.

He immediately turned his gaze in that direction and saw a laser-like attack from the ground score a direct hit on the demon.

The demon’s smirking face twisted into one of fury, and it began to move toward Esha.