CH 86

[Boss Rush! ‘Goddess of Dawn’ Descends――!]

The black rays of light loomed over us like an aurora. We couldn’t run away from it–!

“W-what sorcery is this?!”

“Tch, shields!”

I promptly stood in front of Zansword and activated ‘Arms Barrier’.

Seven shields appeared before me and absorbed the attac—

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・Durability has reached the limit! ‘Steel Shield’ is destroyed!

・Durability has reached the limit! ‘Silver Shield’ is destroyed!

・Durability has reached the limit! ‘Gold Shield’ is destroyed!

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“Shit, they’re too concentrated!”

With loud and rapid banging sounds—Bababababababababaaaaaang!—three of the shields shattered in less than a couple of seconds!

Dammit, they seemed never-ending! We were gonna die at this rate?!

“No, I’m not dying here! Activate defense arts, ‘Radiant Barrier’!”

The four remaining shields shone radiantly. My art increased the shield’s defensive strength.

But!

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・Durability has reached the limit! ‘Shield of Justice Altena’ is destroyed!

・Durability has reached the limit! ‘Evil Shield Giarga’ is destroyed!

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“Grrrrrrr?!”

The 666 destructive rays of light were so intense, two more of my shields were destroyed–!

Shit, then!

“‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’! Since you used multi-attack magic, I’ll counter with multi-defense–!”

I recklessly cast the art over and over again to buff my last two shields to the limit!

“‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, ‘Radiant Barrier’, Radiant… Barrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!”

Under the destructive lights barrage, the two shields shone brighter and brighter.

One of the shields eventually couldn’t hold out and was destroyed by the waves of darkness, but—before long…

“…Well, color me surprised. I didn’t expect you would survive my attack when you had no prior information about it.”

The assassin’s astonished voice reached my ears.

Yup—at the cost of six shields and a large amount of MP, I somehow managed to survive her ridiculous magic…!

As a result, I ran out of MP. I couldn’t use arts anymore.

“Haa, haa…! How’s that, loli girl…!”

“Loli girl…? But I’m an adult in real life…” Alice smiled wryly while scratching her cheek.

What? For real? In the VR world, your avatar’s face couldn’t be too different from your real one as it might impact your mind.

No matter how I looked at her, she looked like a gradeschooler to me. Her avatar was only about 130cm (4ft 2) tall, too.

—Well, let’s put that aside for now.

“‘Darkness Soul Online’, a world in which knights and devils kill each other, wasn’t it? I’ve got no idea how its system works, but at the end of the day, it’s still an online game.

“Such powerful magic must come at the cost of your other stats, I presume?”

“…Yes, you’re correct. I’m a ‘Demon’ Devil, a devil specialized in magic. In close combat, I’m sure even a rhinoceros beetle can defeat me.”

“That so—in that case, this is the end!”

I pulled out my two swords and charged toward Alice!

And then I tried to cut off her head—but at that moment…

“Haa, a shame. I’m sorry, Miss Knight, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes, you can count on me–!”

With—Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!—my two swords flew out of my hands!

“Wha…?!”

That was when I noticed.

“Good evening, oh Great Demon King.”

A white-haired woman was standing in front of me…!

She had golden eyes reminiscent of a dragon, a silver tiara on her head, and wore a pure white princess armor dress. Moreover, held in her hand was a white ‘light sword’ that shone beautifully in the moonlight.

And…

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・World news!

Yuri and Zansword encountered ‘Pendragon, the Goddess of Dawn’!

She is the boss player that leads the assassins. Players will earn experience points and items upon surviving for more than 20 minutes after encountering her or dealing a certain amount of damage to her.

The live broadcast of their battle against the boss player is starting!

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“Another assassin?! And the boss, too?!”

What the fuck is this shit show! I was already spent from fighting against Kirika and Alice, and now their big boss decided to show up!

“Fufufufu… Must be tough being you, Yuri-kun. But well, fight me with everything you’ve got. You see, I love it watching people try their best.”

“For someone who only showed up when her target is already exhausted, you’re quite cocky, aren’t you!”

I glared at the boss player who laughed proudly!

–Don’t think you can take me down easily, dammit!

I had defeated many strong enemies so far. I wasn’t going to run away, or else my pride as a man would be sullied!

“Prepare yourself, Pendragon!”

And so, I tried to pull a new pair of swords in both of my hands—but at that moment…

“Too slow…”

–I saw a flash.

And in the next moment, a large amount of blood spurted out. before I knew it, my arms were fluttering in the air…!