kscans

Chapter 57 - Battle with the Hero

"Hey, don't be shouting in someone else's base."

"Whoa! Who the hell are you guys!?"

Ash swung his Dragon Eater. The third-floor multi-purpose space was quite large, so there was no problem swinging a big two-handed sword around.

But Ivan drew the sword from his waist and parried Ash's attack.

Hayato was stunned.

In this game, actions like hitting or dodging an attack were determined solely by a person's own physical abilities. With Hand-to-Hand Combat skills, there were techniques like Blade Catch where your body moved automatically, but skills that used weapons like swordsmanship had no such techniques. In other words, Ivan had parried Ash's attack using only his own physical abilities.

Of course, he knew he shouldn't think of an NPC by human standards, but seeing it in person was still surprising. Hayato shook his head, telling himself this was no time to be shocked.

Ash had lost his balance after his attack was parried, but he quickly reset his stance.

"As expected of the Hero. I was planning to deal a fatal blow in one strike."

"Huh? You're Ash Brandle? What's one of the Genesis Dragons doing here?"

"That's my line. What's a Hero doing in someone else's base?"

"I admit that's my bad, but it's because you're running off with Lunaria! If you'd just let me talk to her peacefully, I wouldn't do anything!"

"First, you should think about why we won't let you talk to her peacefully. Not that I know the reason."

Truth be told, Hayato didn't really know either. Lunaria had hidden behind Esha of her own accord. She probably just didn't want to talk to Ivan. Or rather, she might not have wanted to fight him.

Ash and Ivan were clashing, their swords striking against each other. Hayato decided to get Esha and Lunaria out while he could and called out to Esha.

"Esha! Over here!"

This whole commotion would be over if Lunaria just went outside. It might not be over, but at least their base would be safe. While Ash held Ivan back, Hayato called to Esha, intending to get Lunaria out of the base.

"Hey, hold it! Leave Lunaria here!"

Ivan shouted, and even while fighting Ash, he tried to block Esha's path with his sword.

Whether the timing was good or bad, that obstructive move was treated as an attack.

Hayato was hit by that attack. In Hayato's defense, this was the result of him shielding Esha and the others. If he hadn't, there was a chance Esha would have been hit. So, Hayato had intentionally taken the blow.

Hayato collapsed on the spot. Then, the options "Wait" and "Resurrect" appeared before his eyes.

The sword Ivan held was Excalibur.

Just like the Excalibur Replica Hayato had made, it could deal defense-ignoring attacks. But there was a difference. Unlike the replica, the real one had high base damage. A single attack could shave off a huge amount of HP. There was no way Hayato, with his minimal HP, could withstand it.

"Ah, s-sorry about that."

(I don't really mind, but one hit?)

Hayato wasn't bothered by being defeated. There was no penalty for resurrecting. More importantly, he wanted them to hurry up and get Lunaria out of the base while Ivan was flustered.

But his wish didn't get through to Esha.

Esha once again aimed her Beelzebub at Ivan. What's more, she was glaring at the Hero. And on top of that, Lunaria had also drawn Arondight.

"Ivan, what do you think you're doing...?"

"An act unbecoming of a Hero. I can't forgive you for defeating my benefactor."

"N-no, it wasn't on purpose! I tried to stop you two and ended up hitting him, so, please put down the gun!"

"So it's okay to hit someone as long as it's not on purpose? Then rest assured. My shooting you won't be on purpose, either. I will shoot you out of conviction."

"It is the natural order of things for the Demon Lord to defeat the Hero."

(You don't have to do that, just get Lunaria outside... No, that looks impossible. It'll be faster to resurrect.)

Hayato chose the resurrect option. He figured it would be quicker to return to his room once and come back from there.

His vision changed in an instant. He was back in his room.

Hayato left his room and started running.

When he reached the third floor, Esha, Ash, and Lunaria were fighting Ivan.

Ash and Lunaria were engaging Ivan in close combat, while Esha provided covering fire from behind. Ivan seemed to be focused on defending, with no intention of attacking.

"Wait! Please, wait! I said I was sorry! I'll apologize!"

"No apology is necessary. I have no intention of forgiving you."

"Same here. I'm not about to forgive some guy who's trashing our base for a stupid reason. And don't think you can just walk away after defeating our leader."

As one would expect from the Hero, Ivan was fending off the combined attacks of Esha, Ash, and Lunaria.

"I'm fine now, so Lunaria-san, please get outside!"

Hayato's voice didn't reach any of them. The three of them were already intent on defeating Ivan, and their attacks were becoming relentless.

"Ah, wah, wah, Hayato-san, what should we do!?"

Ren wasn't participating in the battle, just watching the situation from near the stairs. That's when Hayato had an idea.

"Ren-chan, hit Ivan, the Hero, with Dragon Curse and remove his equipment!"

Without his equipment, even the Hero wouldn't be able to fight properly. He decided it would be better to defeat the Hero for now to end the commotion.

Ren nodded, moved a little closer to the Hero, and used Dragon Curse to lower his STR.

Dragon Curse has the effect of halving a status. He didn't know what the equipment requirements were, but he figured Ivan was probably decked out in gear requiring 51 STR or more.

His judgment was correct. Dragon Curse caused all of Ivan's equipment to come off. Excalibur was no exception.

"You've got to be kidding!"

Just as Ivan voiced his shock, Ash's Dragon Eater came at him. The two-handed sword Weapon Skill, Cyclone, which consumed mana to generate a wind-attribute attack and a knockback effect, landed, sending Ivan flying into the back wall.

That should calm him down a little, Hayato thought with a sigh of relief. He turned his gaze to Lunaria, intending to get her outside now.

That's when a problem occurred.

Ren's Dragon Curse is a passive skill. It automatically activates against any target not recognized as an ally. Ren usually had it set to lower DEX, which had little impact, but this time she had targeted Ivan to lower his STR. With Ivan now blown to the far side of the room, the only enemy, or rather, non-ally, nearby was Lunaria.

Dragon Curse targeted Lunaria.

Naturally, that meant Lunaria's equipment came off.

It wasn't that she was wearing anything revealing under her armor. She was just wearing normal clothes, but for the timid and socially anxious Lunaria, having her equipment removed right in front of Hayato threw her into a panic.

The next moment, blushing furiously, she drove a well-placed right straight into Hayato's face.

Hayato's HP dropped to zero, and he collapsed on the spot.

(It doesn't hurt physically, but it hurts emotionally.)

Once again, Hayato had to choose the resurrect option that appeared before his eyes.