"Ouch... my head."
"What just happened? Did a spell go wrong?"
"Wait a minute. The water... it's gone."
Yuridia was right. The water, which had been enough to be called a small lake, had disappeared entirely.
It was due to the shockwave caused by the collision between [Absolute Defense] and something else.
The impact was so powerful that it blew away all the water in the lake.
‘If not for Absolute Defense...’
We might have been blown away along with the water. Death would have been inevitable.
"Look over there."
"That is..."The ancient runes that had protected us with [Absolute Defense] were already out of the children's focus.
There was something far more shocking in the distance.
"...A bull?"
Standing about 4 meters tall, with a massive body to match. It had large horns protruding from its head and mouth, and its pitch-black skin gleamed.
"Reverse pentagram...?"
And behind it, contrasting with its dark skin, a bright white reverse pentagram shone brilliantly.
The light was so intense that it even pushed away the sunset, turning the sky white.
"An angel...?"
No, it wasn't an angel. That was...
"A high... demon."
The reverse pentagram on its back was the evidence. The reverse pentagram is a characteristic of high demons starting from grade 5.
The joy of victory in the fourth area turned to chaos in an instant.
"Ahhhh!!"
"Run away!"
"Haha... it's all over."
"We're all going to die! We're going to die!"
The demon slowly turned its head, looking at the fourth area, and opened its mouth.
"I am Benius, born from despair, frustration, and immense revenge."
"..."
"I have come to fulfill my contract with my contractor."
Benius. A name I had never heard before. (TL Note: Not to be confused with the demon Bineus. Yes, it's confusing and I have no idea why the author decided to use a name so similiar. Bineus (비네스/bineseu) and Benius (베니우스/beniuseu)
No matter how much I racked my memory, the result was the same. It was a demon I had never seen in the game.
"Whose emotions these are, I do not know, but I feel a blinding rage. Embrace this fury. That is the only way..."
Rumble-!
"...you can hope for forgiveness."
White lightning crackled around Benius.
I was just as bewildered, but [Mental Defense] functioned properly, and my eyes were already moving.
I used the [Information Window] skill to examine Benius.
The information was lengthy, as expected of a high demon, but the key points were as follows:
[Wrathful Benius: S]
Lv: 146 (Grade 4)
Health: 4,872
Mana: 6,970
Alignment: Evil
Affiliation: None
‘Mother of Summoning’ Lizbeth made a great sacrifice to contract with the demon, which separated from the Tree of Erosion.
He seems to harbor immense rage towards a fat human. The reason is unknown.
Possessed skills: [Ten Thousand Lightning B], [Heavenly Lightning A], [White Lightning S], [Demonic Magic A]
Grade 4, as Rezé had guessed, a high demon of Bineus' level.
Honestly, I thought it was a mistake by the developers.
A demon named Benius was unheard of, and there was no mention of him in the Carpathia Invasion episode.
But that wasn’t it. This was the true finale of the Carpathia Invasion and the last piece of the story puzzle.
‘The description of separating from the Tree of Erosion and the mention of harboring malice towards a fat human.’
The reason for the Carpathia Invasion and the main storyline of this episode.
‘The old woman's revenge.’
This is a game. And what drives the game is the ‘story.’ This episode, too, has its story.
‘In areas 1 to 4, if you talk to the children while moving around, you can get various pieces of information.’
I was too busy hunting demons to do that, but rumors must have spread among the children.
Summarizing the rather long story in three lines.
1. An old woman and her family were living happily.
2. A pig-like tyrant lord harassed them, killed her family, and disposed of their bodies.
3. She collected evidence and demanded punishment from the territory manager, who was like a government official, but he, a friend of the lord, destroyed the evidence, insulted the old woman along with the lord.
4. Lizbeth approached the old woman who had swallowed her rage, gave her power through a contract, and invaded Carpathia.
Huh? Isn’t that four lines instead of three?
Let's just let it slide. What’s important right now?
Anyway, Benius is a demon manifested from the old woman's desire for revenge.
But this information is useless for overcoming the current situation.
Story and battle are entirely different realms.
"You're noisy like bugs. I will give you the mercy of one minute. Flee as far as you can."
Rumble-!
A voice filled with rage.
The children's faces turned pale. Enormous demonic energy was gathering around the demon.
[Hidden Quest]
- Defeat the grade 4 demon, ‘Wrathful Benius’ within 5 turns.
If ‘Wrathful Benius’ is still alive after 5 turns, you and all your allies will die instantly.
This is a ‘turn-based’ battle where turns for allies and enemies are separated.
Reward: 300 exp, 5 items suitable for the user’s characteristics
Penalty: Death
Because it's part of the Carpathia Invasion, it's a turn-based battle.
That’s somewhat comforting. It means there won’t be any counterattacks from the demon during our attacks.
But.
‘...What? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’
I couldn’t believe it.
Death after 5 turns. That's absurd.
‘It must be 50 turns, not 5.’
Yeah, I must have seen it wrong. Look. It must be 50 turns.
"..."
I rubbed my eyes, but the number remained the same.
So, we have to defeat a grade 4 demon in 5 turns...
Are you kidding me?
Just fighting a Bineus-level demon is hard enough, but how can we defeat it in 5 turns?
I couldn’t hold back my frustration.
I felt like taking a bat and going to the developer, saying ‘Keke, I will attack you 5 times now. Survive if you can’ and beating them up.
The court would declare ‘You, not guilty,’ and rule in my favor. That’s how ridiculous and infuriating this situation was.
Ah, I really felt like I was going to break out of the game world and into reality.
Developer, just wait there. I’m coming right now!
"Zero! Are you okay? Snap out of it."
Someone grabbed and shook my head, pulling me back from my ascent.
It was Rodelin, the vice president of the student council and owner of the great mountains.
Hmm, to bring back a soul on the verge of ascending. It seems mountains do possess a sacred energy.
Is this why adults climb mountains?
"Senior..."
"Do you have a plan? If so, explain it to me."
A look of unwavering trust directed at me.
But I couldn’t live up to that trust right now.
Not only was this a demon I had never seen before, but I also had no idea how to meet the condition of defeating it in 5 turns.
"...I need some time."
Did she understand the hidden meaning in my words?
Rodelin nodded.
"I see. Then leave this to me."
"Pardon?"
"I will buy time while you lead the others to retreat. Retreating also requires the commander's skill. I trust you with it, Zero."
It was essentially a retreat, and more importantly.
"...What about you, senior?"
This plan didn’t include Rodelin.
Seeing my expression, Rodelin smiled softly.
"I can’t retreat from a demon. I am a member of the Lucid family."
...What kind of ridiculous reason is that? What’s so great about that family that you’d risk your life?
Doesn't she get angry?
"Your presence here would only be a hindrance. Make sure everyone follows Zero’s orders and retreats in an orderly fashion!"
Her tone and smile indicated she was absolutely confident.
And she was bluffing for our sake, knowing it was impossible.
‘Yes, Rodelin is such a character.’
No matter how unfair or dangerous, she always steps forward first.
A child unafraid of sacrifice.
That’s why, even in such a situation, she could stand up again and face the final boss.
"Go quickly. The minute is almost up."
Right now, Rodelin was ready to sacrifice herself.
For her sake, there was only one thing I could do.
I issued the command to the children.
"We are retreating. ‘All together.’"
"Ah, of course, we should."
"As expected, a decision fitting of Zero."
"Hmph! The cool role is mine, Victoria’s! I can’t yield even to a senior."
Perhaps due to their devotion to the goddess of ‘violence,’ Gaia’s followers are generally strong.
Victoria lifted Rodelin into the air, holding her waist, and the children grabbed her limbs one by one.
Luna and Raymon eagerly joined the procession.
"I got the legs!"
"I-I like legs too!"
...Guys, what are you saying? Anyone would think you’re cannibals!
"Let go! Sacrificing oneself for comrades and dying honorably on the battlefield! That is the true posture of a soldier!"
"Yes, yes. Be a true soldier as much as you want. After you survive."
"W-What strength...!"
Rodelin struggled with all her might, but she couldn’t escape Victoria’s grasp.
How do we avoid instant death after 5 turns? Well, we’ll figure it out once we’re out of range.
‘The quest is unreasonable. There must be a way to avoid it.’
But as soon as I saw the hologram window, I was shocked.
[Benius’s skill, ‘Ten Thousand Lightning’ is activated.]
[You will die instantly if hit.]
[It is an area attack.]
‘An instant kill skill!?’
And it’s an area attack. There’s no way to dodge or block it.
First-turn instant death area attack on top of a 5-turn limit?
How do we deal with this!
"Ah..."
No, there was a way. I had a skill that could easily block that attack.
[Absolute Defense].
A skill that could block any attack, it would easily handle [Ten Thousand Lightning]. But.
(158 / 1,240)
That’s my current mana. I have 60 points, but even if I invested all of it in the magic stat, I could only secure 600 mana.
Getting the 1,000 mana needed to activate [Absolute Defense] was impossible.
Rumble-!
"The sky is turning white..."
"E-Everyone, run!"
No matter how much we run, we can’t escape. It’s an area attack.
Just as the sky turned white, a hole appeared in the middle of the whiteness.
Zap-!
Golden lightning crackled around the hole. And then.
Bang!
A streak of golden lightning struck Benius.
It was so intense we had to close our eyes.
When we opened them again, what we saw was.
"Ugh..."
Benius’s body, pierced by something, with a large hole big enough to see through to the other side.
‘...A spear?’
A golden lightning-imbued spear was lodged behind Benius.
Golden lightning still crackled from the spear.
It wasn’t hard to figure out who owned the spear.
As I pondered the situation, a small hologram window appeared before my eyes.
[Turn 1]
‘...So that’s it.’
I finally understood the situation.
The reason for the 5-turn limit.
We weren’t facing a grade 4 demon Benius, but a ‘dying Benius.’
It was an event with a cutscene.
"Ugh..."
Black blood gushed from Benius’s body.
Maybe because it felt doable, my mind started racing.
"Keke, it might be worth a shot."
"...Now you’re back to the Zero I know."
"Pardon?"
As I tilted my head at Rodelin’s words, the children began speaking one by one.
"Groundless confidence."
"Eyes you can’t read."
"A perverted laugh!"
"No, Zero is just a pervert!"
...One thing was certain.
I would shove that Raymon into Benius’s mouth.
Everyone was misunderstanding. I was just.
"Thinking of a way to torment that demon."
The children chuckled.
"A pervert is a pervert after all."
"Hmph! I will cooperate this once."
"Alright, it’s decided. Everyone, get ready quickly. Now is the chance while it’s confused."
As I was organizing the movement order in my mind and about to give instructions.
Bang!
Something fell from above, raising a small dust cloud.
Clang- Clang-.
Someone began approaching through the dust cloud.
‘A knight?’
The reason for my assumption was simple. The sound of full plate armor clinking together echoed.
As expected of the developers. Even with Benius heavily injured, he was still a grade 4 demon.
They must have prepared a special supporting character, thinking it impossible to defeat him in 5 turns.
‘An incredibly powerful support character.’
Thinking about how the developers cared for us so much, I felt ashamed for thinking about beating them with a bat.
I was praising the developers' greatness when a knight emerged from the dust cloud.
"Do not worry, for I have arrived!"
[Principal Dwener of Annwood Academy has joined the party.]
...I made up my mind.
On the day I escape this game.
I would find the developer with a bat full of nails in my hand.
--TL Notes--
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