kscans

Chapter 37 - Zombie Attack

The moment the duke-class demon began to move, Ash and the others fled back toward them with Esha in tow.

The demon, having taken damage, was targeting Esha with magic like Fireball and Lightning.

Before the ranged attacks could reach Esha, Ash and the other clan members stepped in, shielding her from harm.

The demon’s current target was Esha. Her attack had dealt massive damage to it, causing its Hate Value toward her to increase significantly.

Hate Value was the mechanic that determined which target a monster would attack. Monsters were programmed to attack the target with the highest Hate Value.

This was an internal monster stat, and there was no way to actually see the value. It was said to fluctuate based on actions like dealing damage to the monster, healing allies, or using skills.

Destroy had reduced the demon’s HP by two-thirds, causing its Hate Value for Esha to skyrocket. It was relentlessly attacking her.

It was said that Hate Value decreases over time, but Hayato figured it would stay this way for a while.

Ash and the others were using a skill called War Cry, which increased their own Hate Value, but the demon would likely continue to attack Esha for some time.

As with their previous Clan Wars, Esha’s attack would be the key to this battle as well.

They needed Esha to survive for the next thirty minutes until Destroy’s cool down time ended. They couldn’t defeat the demon unless she fired a second shot.

Once they returned to the fortress, she would be safe from ranged attacks on the battlefield. Hayato prayed they would get back as quickly as possible.

"Well then, I shall be off. I must protect Esha-san."

Mist stood on the rooftop railing, looked toward the demon, and spoke.

"Yes, please do. If you’re defeated, I’ll pour the tomato juice on you right away."

"Yes, I am counting on you."

Mist’s body was enveloped in mist. When it cleared, he had taken the form of a large bat. He leaped from the railing and flew toward the demon, charging straight into its face. He repeated this over and over.

Just because a monster has a high Hate Value for one target doesn’t mean it will never attack others. If something obstructs a monster’s path, it will attack to eliminate the obstacle.

Mist began to fight in a way that blocked the demon’s path so it couldn’t pursue Esha. Because of this, the demon was attacking Mist. It wasn’t using magic, just physical attacks with its fists.

Mist managed to dodge a few times, but eventually an attack landed. After being struck about three times, Mist vanished into particles of light.

Hayato immediately looked inside the coffin. It was filled with ash.

So this is Mist-san’s ash. All I have to do is pour tomato juice on it, right?

Hayato took a bottle of tomato juice from his item bag and sprinkled it over the ashes.

The ashes then took on a human form, becoming Mist.

"A duke-class demon is as strong as I expected. It seems I die after just three hits."

"You seem fine, but are you okay?"

"Yes, of course. Well then, I suppose I shall go again. That demon seems to have automatic HP recovery, so I must at least chip away that much, or Esha-san’s second shot will not be enough to defeat it."

"Does it have an auto-recovery skill? In that case, I’m sorry, but please, Mist-san."

"Indeed. I made quite a name for myself with this zombie attack in the last Clan War, so I am quite skilled at it. Please leave it to me until Esha-san’s cool down time is over."

A zombie attack was a tactic where a player would immediately rejoin the fight even after being defeated. It was called that because, like a zombie, the player would rise again no matter how many times they were struck down.

"So you participated in the last Clan War too, Mist-san."

"I did quite well, you know. I made it to the top eight—oh, but first, I must protect Esha-san. I am off!"

Mist transformed into a bat again and flew toward the demon.

Immediately after, Ren called out.

"Ah, my brother and the others are back!"

He looked down from the fortress roof. There was Esha, protected by Ash and the others. It looked like they were trying to enter the fortress while scattering the weaker demons.

"Looks like she’s safe. That’s good… She’s drinking melon juice, as always."

"It is for MP recovery."

"Oh, right. Destroy uses up all her MP, doesn’t it."

Esha’s attack, Destroy, consumed all her MP to deal massive damage.

Since she needed to fire again this time, Esha was taking measures to recover her MP. Although he sometimes suspected she was just drinking it because she liked it, he kept that thought to himself.

Esha arrived on the rooftop with Ash.

"Phew, I worked up a good sweat. I hope this helps me lose a little weight."

"You seem pretty relaxed. Still, I feel a little bad that you have to drink melon juice to recover your MP."

"Please do not worry. This is a separate calorie count."

Isn’t it a separate stomach?

Before Hayato could make that remark, Ash looked at him.

"What’s the plan now? Mist is holding it off for the moment, but that demon is coming to destroy this fortress’s Clan Stone."

The fortress was about ten meters tall. Since the demon was about fifteen meters tall, it could probably attack the Clan Stone on the roof without even entering.

Clan Wars were fundamentally battles between players. It was the first time Hayato had seen such a large boss character appear in a Clan War, so he didn’t know what rules applied. But he was pretty sure that if it got right in front of the fortress, it was over.

"Will Mist-san alone be enough to last thirty minutes? He’s using a zombie attack to hold it off."

"Ah, I see. But I wonder. While Mist is fighting, the demon is stopped, so it should buy us some time… but in my estimation, it will be difficult."

While the demon was engaged with Mist, it wasn’t moving. But the moment Mist was defeated, it would start advancing again. Even if Mist was resurrected and immediately re-engaged, the demon would close the distance in that time.

The demon had already entered their territory, and it was unclear if Esha’s attack would be ready in time.

"Brother. What if I weaken that demon to help Mist-san last longer? If I lower its STR, its attack power should drop too…"

Hearing Ren’s words, Ash placed a hand on his chin.

"I see. If you use Dragon Curse to cut its STR in half, its attack power will fall, and Mist will be able to last longer."

"Yeah. It only works on one target, but size doesn’t matter, so I think it will be effective."

"But are you sure? You’ll draw the demon’s hate with Dragon Curse."

"My brother will protect me, won’t he?"

When Ren said that with a smile, Ash smiled back.

"Yeah, of course. Hayato, is that alright with you?"

"Even I can tell that would be a big help. Alright, let’s do that. Ren-chan, can you support Mist-san?"

"Leave it to me! Oh, and if this works, I’m expecting an amazing sweet!"

"Order whatever you like."

Ren threw her hands up in a victory pose, then went down the rooftop stairs with Ash.

Now, only Hayato and Esha were left on the roof.

Esha finished her melon juice, wiped her mouth, and looked at Hayato.

"They are such a sweet and close pair of siblings. They are so bright I feel I might be purified."

"I think being purified once might do you some good."

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the outcome of this Clan War rests on my mood. Is there anything you would like to say?"

"I apologize—ah, sorry, Mist-san was defeated. I’m going to pour some tomato juice to revive him."

Just as before, Hayato sprinkled tomato juice on the ashes in the coffin. Mist was resurrected.

"My, my, this is quite the back-breaking task."

"I’m sorry. Right, Ren-chan is on her way to support you now, so it should get a little easier."

"Ah, yes. I received a message from Ash-san. He said you will be switching the curse depending on the demon’s attack method. That is a great help—oh, this is no time for chatting. Ren-chan might be targeted, so I will head over at once."

Mist transformed into a bat again and flew toward the demon.

Alright, Relic-san and the clan members are taking care of the weaker demons at the fortress entrance, so they probably won’t get through. Now it’s just a matter of how far we can keep that demon away until Esha can fire Destroy again.

Hayato thought this as he watched everyone fighting the demon.

Time passed, and the sky was now filled with stars.

The Clan War was almost over, and if they could protect the Clan Stone, they would win by total damage dealt.

The problem was the duke-class demon their opponent had summoned. It was closing in on the fortress. A few more steps and its hand would reach them. Then, it would be within range to attack the Clan Stone.

He was also concerned about the three remaining summoners, but they hadn't done anything so far. More accurately, he couldn't see them, so there was nothing he could do. He decided to ignore them for now. The priority was to stop the demon with all their might.

Esha had already recovered her MP and was just waiting for the cool down time to end. She was now at the front of the fortress roof, facing the demon, with one foot on the railing and her gun raised. She was probably planning to fire the instant the cool down ended.

"Esha, isn’t it dangerous there? You should move back—"

"No, if I fire from here, it will hit instantly. And then we will win. It is do or die, so this position is fine."

Even though the demon’s hand was almost within reach, Esha didn’t flinch. She kept her gun aimed at the space between the demon’s eyebrows.

Hayato didn’t know how much longer Destroy’s cool down would be. He only knew it was soon.

The instant he thought that, Mist vanished into particles of light.

The demon then took a step forward and prepared to punch Esha. It pulled back its left fist in a large motion. Having watched Mist and the demon fight, Hayato predicted it would be something like a left hook.

Just as Hayato thought, That’s bad, and jumped into the path of the fist, Esha smirked.

"Destroy."

From the muzzle of Esha’s gun, Beelzebub 666, ten magic circles, large and small, lined up in front of the space between the demon’s eyebrows.

Immediately after, a sound like a cannon blast echoed, and the shockwave hit Hayato. Knocked over by the impact, Hayato scrambled to his feet and saw the demon dissolving into particles of light.

Esha had defeated it.

After confirming the demon was gone, Esha rested her gun on her right shoulder and let out a long breath.

"That was close."

"Ah, yeah. You saved us."

"By the way, master. Did you try to protect me just now? You jumped out, did you not?"

The demon’s attack wasn’t an area-of-effect one. If it hit Hayato before it hit Esha, he would be defeated, but it would buy time before the next attack. That was why he had jumped out.

That said, he didn’t want to admit it. It wasn’t necessary in the end, so it felt a little uncool.

"…Isn’t it just your imagination?"

"I believe that is playing too dumb, but what do you think, master?"

Esha looked at Hayato with a smirk.

Is this revenge for before? No, but admitting it is somehow annoying… Wait a minute. Was I able to jump like that?

Hayato looked down at his own feet. They were just his usual feet.

"Did I really jump out?"

"Are you still going to play dumb? Well, I suppose it is fine."

"Ah, no, that’s not what I—"

As he was speaking, a fanfare rang out. Fireworks went off, and confetti rained down. They had won the battle.

Oh, well. Let’s just enjoy the victory for now.

Hayato thought this as he watched the fireworks light up the night sky.