kscans

Chapter 381 - The Battle with Last One

On the surface of the Ruined City Clear, numerous players were being chased by the monster-designated NPC, Last One.

Last One's real name was Lee Sladra. She rode the golem Lucky Seven, which could transform into a motorcycle or a car, and attacked using the shotgun Jackpot for close-range area attacks and the rifle No More Bet for long-range single-target strikes.

She performed acrobatic feats, attacking with her guns while also attacking with her motorcycle or car, and her firepower was high. It was said that when she combined a wide-area Axel Turn attack on her bike with a shotgun blast, even a powerful tank could lose nearly half their HP.

Normally she only used the shotgun, but she also had an attack where she would temporarily ride hands-free, holding the shotgun and rifle one-handed in each hand and firing them in rapid succession. Players complained that you shouldn't fire a shotgun and rifle with one hand, or that rapid fire was impossible, but their realistic complaints were useless against a setting where the bullets were made of magic.

Moreover, she infuriated players with a combat style where she would immediately flee the moment the situation seemed to turn against her. The simple tactic that came to mind was to surround her so she couldn't escape, but Last One wouldn't allow it. She would use rubble and walls to leap over the players' heads.

Her legions of golems also assisted in her escape, so neither the New Demon Lord's Army nor the old Demon Lord's Army could corner her. At best, only Tamers riding high-speed monsters like Fenrir or Sleipnir could keep up, but they seemed unused to mobile combat. They would catch up only to become fodder for her guns, never managing a proper fight.

Thus, they had adopted the strategy of forgoing close-quarters combat and instead hitting her with long-range attacks from the tops of buildings. At some point, information had also begun to circulate that defeating Last One would grant the victor command over the golems, to the point that bets were being placed on who would land the finishing blow.

Such was the information Randa relayed to Hayato. There was much to deal with. The horde of golems targeting their Area Stone, the airship that could attack at any moment, and on top of that, Last One.

After explaining everything to Hayato, Randa's frown deepened.

"Randa-san? Is something wrong?"

"I got a voice chat. The New Demon Lord's Army is makin' some suspicious moves."

"Suspicious?"

When he asked for details, she said the clan Bounty Hunter was luring Last One. Most of Bounty Hunter's clan members carried guns for long-range attacks. According to Randa, they weren't aiming directly at Last One from the rooftops, but were using concentrated fire on her path to guide her toward their Area Stone.

"So they're trying to make her destroy our Area Stone without fighting her themselves?"

"That's right. It'd take a lot of prep to take her down, so they probably decided it's too difficult and are guiding her over here instead. Or so I think."

Hayato wondered at Randa's hesitation. There was nothing wrong with her explanation, but she spoke as if there was something else bothering her.

"You paused for a bit. Does that mean there might be another reason?"

Hayato's guess seemed to be correct, as Randa crossed her arms and groaned.

"For a group that uses tactics like dropping an airship, this seemed way too passive. And besides, Last One is basically somethin' Hypnos made appear."

"Meaning?"

"Since they knew about Last One from the start, they should've had a countermeasure. But instead, they're luring her this way, which means that was their plan all along."

"Ah, I see."

"I could understand it if they were gonna drop an airship after sending Last One our way, but as it is, I don't get what they're after. I guess it serves to seal Esha-san's Destroy, but I just had a little doubt about whether it was worth dropping an airship for," she said.

Hayato nodded. That was certainly true. It seemed like a spur-of-the-moment action, but he couldn't imagine them using such a tactic. He was surprised when they first dropped the airship, but if they knew about Last One, there should have been a better way. There was the fact that she was a rare monster, so they couldn't predict when she would appear, but even so, it felt undeniably sloppy.

Nevertheless, they had to deal with the situation at hand. The Ten Dark Knights were holding back the golems targeting the Area Stone. The rooftop was fairly large, so Gil and his group couldn't handle it alone, but others like Adrian's summoned demons and Mist's party were dealing with the numbers using Create Undead and other means. Players were also fighting off the golems climbing the building, and for now, it didn't feel dangerous.

For the airship, Ash and his group were on standby in a nearby building, ready to fire a Dragon Breath at any time. However, this left them unable to participate in the regular battle, forced to simply wait on the rooftop. Esha was still waiting for her cool down to end, just chugging Melon Juice. Mikan, who could summon a giant octopus, and Noat, who seemed like she would do something in a pinch, were also waiting nearby, but they were just casually eating snacks.

There was nothing for Hayato to do, but he remained on guard, knowing the situation could change at any moment.

"Ugh, some guy named Lutz attacked me before I could meet Amanda. He's supposed to be pretty strong, right?"

A voice chat from Ivan came in.

Hayato replied immediately.

"He's strong enough to defeat powerful rare monsters solo. He said he looked up to you, or saw you as a goal, after watching your old videos."

"Great, another guy fan... Well, guess I'll take him down. Whoa, he's fast!"

Ivan must have hastily ended the voice chat, because there was no further contact.

(With the real Excalibur, I don't think he'd lose, but the one he has now is a replica...)

Excalibur had the incredible buff skill White Lightning, but the replica naturally did not. Hayato didn't think Ivan would lose in a straight fight, but Lutz's equipment was all what you could call God Equipment.

Hayato had seen Lutz's gear before. It was kitted out with significant speed buffs that had no upper limit, and his acrobatic fighting style could be called completely unpredictable.

He didn't think Ivan would lose, but he figured it would be a tough fight. Just then...

"Man, that was scary. That Lutz guy is way too fast, huh?"

"Huh? Ivan?"

"Yeah, I beat Lutz, so I'm gonna go find Amanda. She's probably near the Area Stone, right? Let me know if you get any other sightings."

Ivan said only that and ended the voice chat.

"What? He beat Lutz already? No way, it hasn't even been five minutes...?"

"Well, for Ivan, that's probably about right."

Esha approached Hayato while drinking her Melon Juice. After confirming few people were around, she spoke in a low voice.

"Ivan is incredibly strong in player-versus-player combat. He's not the World Champ for nothing."

"But Lunaria-san beat that same Ivan, right?"

After Ivan had rampaged at their base trying to confess to Lunaria, a one-on-one duel had commenced. Lunaria had emerged victorious from that battle.

"Lunaria-sama is also in a league of her own. Besides, there was an issue with weapon durability back then."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

Lunaria's Arondight had just been repaired, so its durability was full. Ivan's Excalibur, however, had been worn down from his earlier fight with Rosalie. When two swords of nearly equal strength clash for a long time, that kind of result is inevitable.

(If their durability had been the same, could Ivan have won? And even though he could have fought barehanded, he admitted defeat the moment his sword broke. I guess you could call that manly... though I feel like he would have been rejected either way.)

Be that as it may, Ivan had easily defeated Lutz, a player said to be the strongest in solo combat. It probably wasn't a one-off battle, but the gap in their strength seemed so vast that it was unlikely to be bridged anytime soon.

"Hannya and the samurai contingent are closing in, mowing down golems!"

Those words reached Hayato's ears from the rooftop. Hannya referred to Nanagi. She always wore a Hannya mask and would take down friend and foe alike, so the name Hannya had stuck more than her actual name.

(Nanagi is heading this way with people from the Ten Holy Demonic Swords? That's rare...)

Nanagi typically fought alone. Simon had said it was because Nanagi's attacks tended to involve those around her. He had also heard speculation that her invisible slashes were classified as giant physical sword attacks, so it was better if no one was nearby.

For that same Nanagi to be approaching with allies was unusual.

"Alright, Lunacchi! Leave that side to us! Time to sally forth, kind of!"

Benitsuru said cheerfully, and Lunaria made fists with both hands at her chest to cheer her on.

"Okay. Go get 'em, Benny-chan."

Benitsuru smiled, then led Simon and the samurai from the Eastern Country down the building's stairs.

"Imperial and Rampage are engaged in combat!"

This time, a different player shouted. Imperial, led by Emperor Rauxal, was aiming to destroy the enemy's Area Stone alongside Bandit and Over the Top. They had judged that Gil and the others were sufficient for defending their own Area Stone. There was also the fact that since their airship had been shot down, they couldn't afford to be complacent.

Instead of moving as one group, they had launched a simultaneous three-pronged attack, but only Imperial had begun fighting with Rampage.

"Why there?"

The player who had reported the engagement muttered this, tilting their head. Hayato hadn't seen it and only had the words to go on, but apparently the battle had started in a place where they normally wouldn't fight.

Randa also seemed to find it strange, and while keeping an eye on the golems, she tried to see where the battle was taking place. She then pulled out a hand-drawn map she had prepared at some point and marked something on it. After staring at it and groaning for a while, Randa let out a surprised "Ah."

"This is bad! Deploy defense units to the main street!"

Just after Randa shouted, Last One burst out onto that same main street on her motorcycle. The wide road was suddenly empty of both players and golems, the way clear. There were almost no obstacles to this building. Furthermore, from a nearby rooftop, something like a signal flare was fired. The projectile, trailing smoke, exploded directly above the building Hayato and the others were on, releasing a dazzling light.

Last One must have seen it, because she raced down the empty main street at high speed, heading straight for them.

"Two airships! They're coming this way!"

Someone shouted. Two airships had appeared in the sky. They were immediately attacked by flying golems, but they were unmistakably falling toward them. And this time, both were aimed at this building.

"Ash and Ren-chan, intercept the airships! Mikan-chan, defend with your octopus! Esha-san and the long-range team, keep Last One in check! Watch out for the golems too!"

Randa issued a rapid-fire series of commands via voice chat. The first to move were Gil and his group.

"Maid Chief-dono, we'll leave the Area Stone to you! Everyone, secure a foothold for the long-range attackers!"

Gil and his team, who had been protecting the Area Stone, all used the shield weapon skill Shield Bash on the golems in Last One's direction. The knockback was tremendous, instantly knocking the golems off the rooftop. Immediately after, Gil's group moved to the edge where Last One was. There, they spread out at equal intervals and dealt with the newly climbing golems.

"Esha-dono!"

At Gil's call, Esha quickly moved between Gil's group, aimed her Beelzebub, and peered through the scope. Then she began her attack on Last One.

The panicked players were jolted by this action and immediately began to follow orders. It was mentally unsettling to attack Last One while airships bore down from the sky, but the long-range players continued to fire, regardless of whether their shots hit or not.

Hayato wanted to help somehow, but there was nothing he could do but watch the situation unfold. He moved closer to the Area Stone to at least stay out of the way.

"Hayato-san, you should calm down a little. Want a Demon Lord's Cookie?"

For some reason, Lunaria was sitting at a table with Noat, Rosalie, and the others, having tea.

"No, this is a time to panic. What are you doing relaxing?"

Lunaria was usually extremely tense. She could be different when she got carried away, but for some reason, despite the circumstances, she was calmer than usual.

"Everyone's here, so it's fine. If we can't handle this, no one can, so there's no point in panicking."

"Yeah, but still..."

Just as Hayato said that, a massive laser on par with Esha's Destroy struck the airships. There were two beams, each hitting a different airship. Immediately after, the airships changed course and began to fall rapidly.

"Airships down, confirmed! Two giant dragons did it!"

Cheers erupted from the players watching the surroundings from the rooftop. The giant octopus Mikan had summoned also seemed to be happy, as it bounced and danced.

"See? Told you."

Lunaria said to Hayato, puffing out her chest proudly.

"You were right, Lunaria-san, but Last One is still..."

"Last One is dodging attacks and accelerating at incredible speed!"

"What?"

"She used the rubble to jump over the defense line!"

After those words, someone else shouted.

"At this rate, she's going to crash into the building... Ah!"

The building shook, perhaps from the impact of a collision. Some players couldn't stay on their feet from the tremor and sat down on the floor.

(Huh? Is it over?)

As Hayato sat on the ground after falling on his butt, a group voice chat from Ash came in.

"Last One is climbing the building!"

They must have a clear view from the other building. Realizing this, he had contacted them immediately. Before Hayato could wonder how, Randa shouted.

"Last One's coming up! Intercept..."

Randa's words were a little too late. Before they could get into an intercept formation, Last One burst onto the rooftop. She landed near the Area Stone.

Last One had long black hair, a black eye patch covering her right eye, and a prominent scar on her left cheek. Incongruous with such an appearance, she wore a white one-piece dress. Her vehicle was not a motorcycle, but had transformed into something like a roofless jeep with spider-like legs. Last One held a gun in each hand and smiled fearlessly.

"You've got some nerve, messing around in someone's graveyard! Don't think you're getting home in one piece!"

Last One aimed the rifle in her left hand at Hayato and said, "You're the leader, huh!" Then she pulled the trigger.

Hayato knew he was in trouble, but there were two gunshots. Esha had fired first, hitting the barrel of the rifle Last One was holding, knocking her aim off. Thanks to that, the bullet missed Hayato and only gouged the ground.

Last One immediately turned her shotgun toward Esha and fired a spread of pellets.

Esha had dodged by diving sideways before the shot was fired, but the players around her who couldn't keep up with her movement were caught in the shotgun's blast. Esha, who had been rolling on the ground, righted herself and aimed her Beelzebub from a kneeling position.

This time, Last One dodged by hiding behind her spider-like vehicle. Immediately after, the vehicle transformed into a wheelchair. But it was no ordinary wheelchair. It was a beefy one, loaded with weapons.

Last One, still seated in it, began to attack while backing away at high speed. A flamethrower, a short-range electric shock. A series of utterly troublesome attacks rained down on the surroundings. They didn't fire in succession, so there must have been a cool down time, but there was no doubt it was a pain.

Neither of them had landed a clean hit, but the damage from their battle was immense. Esha's attacks weren't so bad, but Last One's attacks kept hitting the surroundings, and many players were being defeated. They couldn't abandon the rooftop because of the Area Stone. The roof was fairly spacious, but with allies all around and an enemy who scattered area attacks while moving at high speed, it was difficult to fight, and players began to fall.

"Time for the ultimate weapon to make its debut...!"

Just as Lunaria said that, she stood up from her chair, closed in on Last One at high speed, and swung Arondight.

Last One blocked the attack by crossing the guns in her hands. She immediately counterattacked with the shotgun. The shotgun's attack was a close-range area attack, but it was a fan-shaped blast originating from the gun. Lunaria must have known this, because she dodged by moving to Last One's side at high speed.

Lunaria did it easily, but a normal person could not. The gun barrel was pointed at her until the moment it fired. If you moved before the shot, they would just re-aim without firing. You had to dodge the instant it fired. Last One couldn't hide her surprise that Lunaria had pulled it off so effortlessly. She tried to back away in her wheelchair to create distance.

Naturally, Lunaria pursued her, but Last One attacked with her rifle while backing away in the wheelchair.

Last One showed a look of astonishment again. Lunaria had deflected the bullet with Arondight. A normal person couldn't deflect a bullet with a sword less than thirty centimeters wide. The bullet speed was set to be slower than in reality, but even so, it wasn't a speed at which such a feat was possible. In the battle with Bounty Hunter, Diite had been able to dodge Nestor's bullets because she was an AI, and Simon had been able to close in on an opponent amidst gunfire because of movements that made it difficult to draw a bead on her.

Lunaria did neither of those things. She just deflected it normally.

"Damn it! How can you do that!"

"Huh? The direction of the gun...?"

Conversely, Lunaria replied with a look that seemed to ask, why can't you? Last One, attacking while fleeing, and Lunaria, chasing her. It was a surreal sight, but as they raced around the not-so-large rooftop, players and golems alike were being defeated one after another.

Perhaps deciding she was getting nowhere, Last One's gaze darted around as she attacked. Then she found Hayato. Immediately after, she closed in on Hayato while still in reverse.

Gil was nearby. He quickly raised his shield to protect Hayato.

"Guoh!"

Last One rammed into him, but it was just the wheelchair. Last One had jumped from the wheelchair just before impact, somersaulting over Gil and landing behind Hayato. Then she pressed the rifle into Hayato's back.

"This is checkmate... guh!"

All she had to do was pull the trigger to defeat Hayato, but in that situation, Last One started to suffer. She dropped the gun to the ground and fell to her knees, as if pressing her temples.

(Huh? Is she in pain?)

There was no pain in this virtual reality. Except when an NPC regained their memories.

Hayato cautiously looked behind him. Last One was on her knees, looking up at Hayato with a puzzled expression.

"Who am I...? Who are you?"

"Could it be, your memories are..."

"You're wide open!"

"Hey, wait... damn it!"

Lunaria attacked Last One. There was no way a memory-confused Last One could fight like before, and she was defeated in an instant.

Lunaria triumphantly raised her sword, and the people around her rejoiced. (What in the world just happened...?)

Only Hayato looked at the fallen Last One with a bewildered expression, as if he'd been tricked by a fox.

--At the same time. Colony "Prison".

In a room lined with luxurious furniture, Ronios sat with her legs crossed, elegantly sipping tea. Behind her stood her sister Cremola and her aide Harrington.

Across the table from Ronios sat Luxor, the next head of Scorpion. He was a man in his late thirties, wearing expensive-looking accessories that couldn't be called tasteful, and his body was flabby. Luxor was looking at Ronios with narrowed eyes.

"Are you sure that was the right call?"

"Yes, it's been confirmed. It was worth coming to ask you in person."

"I can't very well refuse a request from the next head of the Gemini Foundation. But where did you learn about Aphrodite and the prisoners?"

"I believe we agreed that would be a trade secret, didn't we?"

"We did make such an agreement, but my curiosity is endless. That is one of my foundation's most closely guarded secrets."

"Hahaha, but Libra knows, don't they?"

Luxor's face twisted slightly. Conversely, Ronios smiled.

"Of course, I am not connected to Libra. This is from my own... personal network."

"A personal network, you say. I would like to benefit from it myself."

"What are you saying? I hear that since 'that incident,' the number of foundation officials coming to you with gifts to hear the story has increased. No one listens to what I have to say, so I am the one who would like to benefit. How about it? If you tell me what was done to you, I will tell you the source of my information."

'That incident' referred to when Luxor was threatened by Ney at the Council meeting. Many guests had come to this very prison to find out what had been done to Scorpion. Luxor was dodging their questions while increasing connections between the foundations. However, he had no intention of ever revealing what had been done to him. Libra had approached him about a joint colony construction project. They hadn't said it directly, but this was also a kind of threat. If he said anything unnecessary, that deal would be off the table.

"No, no, what are you talking about? Libra has done nothing to me. Everyone is just coming here on their own wild assumptions."

"Well, we'll leave it at that. Now then, thank you for the tea. Next time, I will invite you to a meal."

"I am pleased to dine with a young woman, but there is no need to force yourself to dine with an old man like me. Besides, I received a gift from you, so I should be the one to thank you more."

"Then I shall look forward to your reciprocation. Let us meet again."

Ronios stood from her chair and bowed. Cremola and Harrington did the same. Then the three of them left the room.

On the way back from Colony "Prison", Ronios and her companions were relaxing on the foundation's private spaceship.

"Ronios-sama, was that wise?"

"What is it?"

"Offering to work with Scorpion on developing a new resource planet route."

"It's fine. If I didn't offer that much bait, they probably wouldn't have listened to my request."

"But..."

"He is easy to understand. He will do anything if he knows there is a profit to be made. Conversely, verbal persuasion would not have moved him an inch. We didn't have time, so I think it was the best course of action. It was still quite a close call, but I just got word that it succeeded beautifully."

"That is well and good, but was it worth doing at the cost of reducing your profits?"

"It's true that if we monopolized it, the profits would be substantial, but there's not much point in earning more than this. It's better to be involved with that virtual reality, isn't it? That is something you can't get involved with no matter how much money you have."

"...You say that with such delight."

"Of course I'm delighted. Who could have imagined that a virtual reality I thought was just a game was in such a state? And besides, when an AI like Hypnos asks you like that, you have no choice but to do your best, do you?"

"Come to think of it, you did say something like that. What did it say to you?"

"It was the most thrilling moment of my life. It said, 'I hear you fail at everything you do. I want to lose skillfully, so won't you be my ally?'"

Harrington and Cremola both looked at the joyous Ronios with exasperated faces.

"There are things that must be done for certain, like today, but I've been given a stamp of approval to do whatever I want otherwise. Perhaps I'll go meddle with Hayato-kun again?"

Ronios said this happily and began to spin around in her swivel chair. Seeing this, Harrington and Cremola both felt sorry for the absent Hayato.