kscans

Chapter 361 - The Battle on the Airship

Nestor of the clan "Bounty Hunter" clicked his tongue for the second time today.

Thanks to Parsha acting as a diversion, he had managed to board the airship carrying Hayato and his allies.

The tamers who had brought them here had immediately joined the aerial battle and were no longer present. He had not expected to win anyway, so he had cut off his own escape route, but he could only call it a terribly foolish decision.

On the airship were only Hayato, a maid, a samurai, and a sister. For a few minutes after boarding, he had thought they might actually be able to win on this airship.

Like with the airship this time, Hayato and his group might still have a trump card. He would poke and prod them to make them reveal as much of their hand as possible.

He had probably succeeded in that. But now he regretted ever finding out.

The sister they were currently fighting must be a trump card. Her performance, however, made him think she might be stronger than the Demon Lord herself.

Nestor and his team formed a squad of magic gun users, primarily fighting from mid to long range. The enemy maid also had a gun, but they had boarded with the assumption that she would not be able to fire Destroy on the deck. That advantage, however, proved to be completely nonexistent.

In the first place, they had not even been able to fight the maid. She had fired at them initially to force them behind the propeller pillar, but once the sister appeared, she stopped shooting.

He was momentarily surprised when the sister emerged from behind the pillar, completely defenseless, but he immediately attacked with his magic gun.

He could understand if some sort of equipment made her immune to guns, but this sister had dodged the magic bullet, the madan, fired from the magic gun.

It was a linear attack, but the madan landed faster than any magic spell. Some spells had tracking capabilities, but the madan did not. If it was dodged, that was it.

He could understand if there was distance. Nestor himself had managed to dodge Destroy.

The deck was not that wide. Despite attacking from a distance where a reaction should have been impossible, the sister had dodged the madan. And it was not as if she had moved quickly. She had just shifted her body slightly.

And Nestor, who had fired the shot, knew.

She had not dodged it at the moment of impact. She had clearly moved before he fired. The position of the muzzle, the timing of the trigger pull, the sister had predicted it all and dodged.

For a moment he wondered if NPCs could do such things, but he could not believe all NPCs were capable of it. In past battles, his gun attacks had hit NPCs.

The fact that she could dodge was frightening, but what was truly terrifying was that Hayato kept an NPC who could dodge gunfire by his side. The act of placing a maid who could kill anything with a gun and a sister who could dodge even bullets by his side was so perfectly executed it was scary.

And both were female NPCs. The samurai nearby was a woman as well.

He had heard that a player was once driven to quit the game for hiring a large number of maids. Nestor thought to himself, he hoped the same would happen to Hayato.

Putting that aside, he had to think of a countermeasure. He had come this far, and simply losing was meaningless. If they had a trump card, they needed a way to deal with it. He had to bring back at least a clue, or coming here would have been for nothing.

With a faint smile, the sister walked across the airship's deck toward them. She spread her hands slightly, her pose seeming to say, "Go on, shoot me," which was more terrifying than any cheap horror movie.

It was Nestor's companions who could not endure the fear.

Unlike the rifle-type gun "Vortex" that Nestor carried, his companions had handgun-type guns called "Gremlins." The name of a fairy that causes airplanes to malfunction. Before coming here, they had joked that it was a fitting name for boarding an airship, but they no longer had the composure to remember that.

All five of his companions fired their guns at the sister.

The sister did not panic, dodging the gunfire with the bare minimum of movement. The madan only grazed her habit, leaving her unharmed.

Due to their nature, magic guns did not require bullets. There was no worry of running out of ammo, but they consumed MP instead. If their MP ran out, they could no longer fire.

Their skill compositions significantly increased their MP auto-regeneration rate, but even so, continuous firing would deplete their MP. They were drinking MP recovery juices, but rapid fire would quickly drain their reserves.

Nestor's companions pulled their triggers again and again, but their faces tightened when they realized they were out of MP and no bullets were coming out.

And the sister continued her advance toward them.

When the sister got close enough, Nestor burst out from behind the pillar and charged. He thrust the muzzle of his gun to within a meter of the sister.

Then he unleashed the Vortex's unique weapon skill, "Deadly Spiral."

Deadly Spiral was a weapon skill that fired a gyro-stabilized bullet, just like a real gun. It consumed a lot of MP, but its bullet velocity was faster than any other gun, or so Nestor prided himself.

He had even maxed out the skill after its limit was broken, so it was almost certainly a one-shot kill against a rear guard class.

He had fired it from a range she could not possibly dodge in time, aimed at the sister's torso. Or so he thought.

When Nestor came to his senses, the muzzle of his gun was pointing far above the sister. The madan from Deadly Spiral flew harmlessly into the sky.

"Was that unladylike of me?"

The sister said with a smile, and Nestor realized.

The sister before him had kicked the barrel of the Vortex from below. Just before he fired, the barrel had been knocked upwards, and he had shot into the empty sky.

Nestor cursed inwardly but quickly switched his equipment to a knife. He did not have any sword skills, but he carried it as a means of attack for when enemies got too close.

He did not slash with the knife but attacked with thrusts.

Three times, four times, he attacked as fast as he could. In this virtual reality, with no arm fatigue, he could attack at the same speed indefinitely.

But he could not hit the sister in front of him.

Just like the bullets, she dodged by a hair's breadth. Furthermore, she would change the trajectory of his arm with a light push. No matter how fast he attacked, there was absolutely no chance of hitting her.

"Too bad for you. I've been practicing against the AI Killer, I mean, against knives for a long time."

He did not understand what she was saying, but Nestor understood one thing. No matter how much he tried, he would not hit her. In the first place, a thrusting attack would never work against an opponent who could dodge bullets.

This is it. The moment Nestor thought so, he realized the sister's gaze was not on him, but further behind him.

And from behind him, a high-pitched sound that hurt his ears echoed.

"Good grief. If you're coming out, then I have to as well."

For some reason, he heard the same voice as the sister's from behind him. And the confident smile vanished from the sister in front of him.

When he turned around, he saw a tan-skinned sister emerging from a black space.

Hayato, who had been watching Diite and the others from behind a pillar, widened his eyes.

A black line had appeared vertically behind Diite's opponent, and then space itself seemed to split open. From that rift, Hypnos emerged, dressed in a habit.

After saying something, Hypnos casually shoved the Nestor in front of her aside with her left hand. She then grabbed Diite by the collar of her habit and pushed her back.

After forcing her back to the pillar where Hayato and the others were hiding, Hypnos turned a smile on Hayato.

"It's been since yesterday. Glad to see you're doing well."

As he hesitated on how to reply, Diite forcefully slapped Hypnos's hand away.

Hypnos showed a slightly surprised expression at that action.

"Oh? You look quite angry."

From Hayato's position, he could only see Diite's back, but it seemed she was showing Hypnos a furious expression.

That was unthinkable from the Diite he knew. Diite should have had sympathetic feelings for Hypnos.

They were AIs with the same performance, yet Diite was the main one, and Hypnos was the backup. And Hypnos had been inactive until recently. The difference was nearly a hundred years.

She was perhaps seeing her own self from a hundred years ago. She seemed to think that what she had done to Ash and the others was something her past self would have done, so her pity had outweighed her anger.

That was how Hayato saw it.

As he wondered, Diite said in a low voice, "Hypnos."

"I don't know what you're thinking. But that doesn't matter anymore. You put Hayato-kun in danger, didn't you...?"

"It couldn't be helped, could it? I have to listen to what Amanda says now."

"Don't lie. If you were only listening to human words as commands, you should have been able to create any number of loopholes. You could have conveniently interpreted Amanda's orders and let Hayato-kun escape."

Hypnos grinned.

"And what if I..."

"I will not forgive you."

Diite said this and then delivered a right high kick to Hypnos.

Hypnos blocked it with her left arm, preventing a direct hit to her head.

But even though she blocked it, Hypnos could not absorb the impact and was sent flying.

Hypnos flew to the starboard railing of the airship and looked at Diite with a surprised face.

"So you can get angry too?"

"I pitied you. I thought it was sad that even though we're supposed to be the same, there's such a difference between us. But that was until the other day. If you bring harm to Hayato-kun, you are nothing but my enemy."

Hypnos returned to her stance with a serious face, placed her right hand on the back of her neck, and shook her head from side to side. Then she smiled.

"So you finally acknowledge me as an enemy. That look of pity you had for me, I've hated it for a while now. You think I'm more pitiable than you? Don't look at me with such condescending feelings."

"Rest assured. I have no such feelings anymore. You will spend the rest of your life in that space. As my backup."

With a tone of voice unlike her usual self, Diite said this and leaped at Hypnos.

Hypnos did not dodge but met Diite's attack head-on.

And a high-speed exchange of bare-handed blows began.

However, not a single clean hit landed. It was as if they knew where the other would attack, continuing a back-and-forth like something out of a kung fu movie.

But the exchange, which seemed like it would last forever, ended in an unremarkable way. Hypnos took one of Diite's punches to the face.

Even Diite seemed surprised that it had landed, and her movements paused for a moment.

"You're soft."

Hypnos said this and grabbed both of Diite's wrists with her hands.

"You're coming with me."

Still holding Diite's wrists, Hypnos pressed her right foot into Diite's stomach and fell off the airship from the railing, as if performing a tomoe nage throw.

"Wai..."

Hayato, who had witnessed the entire thing, tried to approach but was pulled back by the collar by Simon.

Immediately after, an attack from a magic gun struck the spot where Hayato had been. The members of Bounty Hunter had fired. They probably did not know what was happening, but they must have recovered their MP while Diite and the others were fighting.

"Diite-dono will be fine. Before you go after her, we should deal with these ones first."

Hayato hesitated for a moment at Simon's words but then nodded.

"You're right. Diite-chan will be fine."

It was a virtual reality, after all, and he could not imagine Diite being done in, even by Hypnos. The shocking sight of her falling from the airship had made him approach without thinking, but he reassessed and decided there was no problem.

"Esha-dono, may I ask you to take care of the one with the long gun?"

They stood with their backs to the propeller pillar, with Simon on the left, Hayato in the middle, and Esha on the right. Simon asked this over Hayato, and Esha nodded.

"In that case, may I leave all the other opponents to you?"

"Mm, leave them to me. Thanks to Diite-dono, I have a fair grasp of them now, so it will not be a problem."

Hayato did not know what she had grasped, but he kept quiet, knowing now was not the time to ask.

Simon put away the bow and arrow she was holding into her Item Bag and took out five katanas. She equipped them all. Two at her waist, two on her back, and one behind her waist.

Hayato was surprised by this method of equipping them. It looked just like Cecil's equipment style.

Simon smiled at the surprised Hayato. She then took the two katanas from her waist, one in each hand.

"I have also become able to equip myself like this. I am making full use of the katanas you made for me. You would do well to burn my gallant figure into your memory. Esha-dono, I leave that one to you."

"Please, leave it to me. I promise to see it through as a maid."

Esha said this, holding her Beelzebub in her right hand, and brought it upright toward Simon.

Simon looked surprised for a moment but quickly smiled and lightly tapped the Beelzebub with the back of her katana blade.

Immediately after this happened in front of Hayato, the two of them leaped out from behind the pillar in opposite directions. With the stern of the ship behind them, Esha jumped to the right, and Simon to the left.

There were three pillars on the airship, each about five meters in diameter, and Hayato's group was hiding behind the one closest to the bow. Nestor and his group were hiding behind the middle pillar.

From Hayato's perspective, Nestor was on the right side of the middle pillar, and his companions were on the left. Hayato figured they were each taking on their respective opponents.

Esha repeatedly fired at the area where Nestor was. Having eaten the exquisite dishes made with Hayato's Cooking Skill at 200, her MP recovery speed was fast. Furthermore, the effects of MP recovery items like Melon Juice were also enhanced, so she had a high rate of fire.

Nestor fired back, but he only showed his face and gun slightly from behind the pillar to retaliate, so he probably could not aim properly.

And Simon, with a katana in each hand, charged toward the pillar where the enemies were, her long hair flowing.

Her opponents, who must have recovered their MP, fired at Simon while hiding behind the pillar. A few of them, confirming that Simon did not have a long-range weapon, jumped out from behind the pillar and began to attack.

That was when Hayato understood what Simon had figured out.

Simon was deflecting the enemy's madan with her katanas.

Unlike Diite, who dodged with minimal movement, she was moving quickly from side to side to prevent them from getting a clear shot. Still, she deflected any bullets that were likely to hit with her katanas.

In terms of game mechanics, it was possible to cancel out magic. For example, nullifying a Fireball with an Ice Javelin. And arrows fired from a bow could also be deflected with a melee weapon.

But this was the first time he had known that a madan fired from a magic gun could be deflected with a katana. Not just the enemy, but Hayato too watched with a surprised expression.

To her opponents, Simon was an NPC. They might think it was not unusual for her to be able to do such things, but Hayato knew that Simon was human. If anything, Hayato was more surprised.

And as soon as Simon confirmed that her opponents were out of ammo due to MP depletion, she immediately moved toward them.

She cut down the two who had leaned out from behind the pillar to shoot, defeating them in an instant.

There were three left, but Simon let go of the katanas in her hands and drew the two from her back.

Her opponents also hurriedly switched to melee weapons, but they were fumbling, their surprise being greater.

Simon rushed toward the opponent in the middle of the three, adopting a low stance, and slammed into him with her right shoulder.

It was a simple body check and dealt no damage, but her opponent lost his balance and staggered back. She spun around the stumbling opponent's left side and slipped behind him.

Since they were allies, there would be no friendly fire, but the two on either side were unable to attack, with their companion now acting as a shield.

Simon did not miss this opportunity and thrust with the katanas in both hands, striking each of them from under the arms of the person she was using as a shield.

The shielded opponent turned around with his weapon in hand, but Simon again let go of her katanas, grabbed the one behind her waist with a reverse grip in her right hand, and cut him down as she drew it while spinning to the left.

The time it took for Simon to cut down all five opponents after their ammo ran out was about twenty seconds. It was over before Hayato had time to be surprised.

(Amazing. Their opponents probably had long-range skill compositions, so their HP and defense would be low, but she took all five of them down in one hit.)

The five katanas were the ones Hayato had given her before. They had no special abilities. They were of the highest five-star quality, but a named piece of equipment would have had higher attack power.

Despite that, Simon defeated her opponents in a single strike. He wanted to know what her skill composition was after the limit break.

With Simon's side settled, Hayato turned his gaze toward Esha.

Despite having the gun Beelzebub, Esha drank a Melon Juice and then suddenly charged toward the pillar where her opponent was.

Hayato was surprised, wondering why she was engaging in close combat, but her opponent Nestor was just as surprised. However, thinking it was an opportunity, Nestor also jumped out from behind the pillar and took aim at Esha.

In that situation, Esha threw something at Nestor.

It was the bottle that had contained the Melon Juice.

It would not do any damage if it hit, and the bottles from finished juices disappear as soon as they are discarded.

However, if something is thrown at you, no matter what it is, you will either catch it or dodge it. It is a reflex.

Nestor was probably the same. His eyes followed the bottle that was thrown over his head.

He likely realized it was a trap right away, but it was too late.

Losing sight of your opponent even for a moment in battle is fatal.

Esha lowered her posture and slid toward Nestor's feet.

While lying down, Esha pressed the muzzle of her gun against Nestor's chest.

Nestor hurriedly pointed his gun down, but the barrel was too long, and he could not aim it at Esha. He probably tried to switch to his knife for close combat, but he was a step too slow.

From her sliding position, Esha fired a Critical Shot.

The attack hit, and Nestor was sent flying into the air.

From the same position, Esha fired a second and third Critical Shot at the airborne Nestor.

All of them hit, and Nestor was thrown out of the airship in an arc.

"Uwaa..."

A voice filled with complex emotions escaped Hayato. The situation was different, but he had been subjected to something similar.

It was an attack that could easily become a trauma. He felt sorry for Nestor, thinking he might not participate in the next battle.

Ignoring Hayato's concerns, Esha and Simon gave each other a high-five.