Part 3
The explosion spell created a crater right before the main gate, blowing all the undead knights away.
As everyone was in silence because of the power of the spell.
"Hmm hmm hmm… Everyone is lost for words after witnessing the power of my explosion… Fu ahh… including narrating this speech, all this… feels so good…"
Megumin could be heard saying proudly.
"… Want me to piggy back you?"
"Ah, thank you. And I couldn't move because I was too pleased with the spell, could you help me put my eye patch back?"
A short distance away from me.
Megumin who exhausted her mana was lying face down there.
I lifted Megumin up, put on her eye patch and carried her on my back.
"My mouth… is full of sand…"
Aqua who was closest to the undead knight spat the sand out of her mouth as she walked towards me.
It seemed that the explosion spell made her trip and fall.
The dust from the explosion had not yet settled when all the adventurers in town cheered.
"Woahhh! That's awesome, girl with a screw loose!"
"The Crimson magic girl with a screw loose took all of them out!"
"So aside from your weird name and loose screw, you are great when it is time to perform, I am impressed!"
Megumin wriggled on my back when she heard the cheers coming from town.
"Sorry, I want to cast an explosion on those people, please bring me over there."
"You have used all your mana. You did great today, be confident and have a good rest… Thank you for your hard work."
Hearing me say that, Megumin hugged on to me with her heart at ease.
And of course, I felt something soft on my back…
Something… soft…?
… She was pressing her chest onto my back, but I didn't feel sensation like that…
… Well, it's expected of a loli.
"Crimson magic clans have high intelligence."
Megumin suddenly said.
"… Want me to guess what Kazuma is thinking about?"
"… I am thinking that Megumin's breasts are bigger than they looks."
It was obvious I didn't mean it, which caused Megumin to attempt to strangle me.
At the town entrance, Beldia stared at us.
More accurately, it was staring at Megumin who was on my back.
Finally, Beldia's shoulders started to tremble.
Was it angry that all it's undead minions were wiped out?
… No.
"Fu hahaha! Interesting! That's interesting! To think my minions would be wiped out in a novice town like this! Alright, I will keep my promise!"
… Hey, hold up.
Hey, wait!
"I will take care of you all personally!"
Beldia who was standing at the town entrance lifted its great sword and charged at us!
Part 4
Long before Beldia reached us.
Lots of armed adventurers surrounded Beldia at a distance in order to protect us, and approached him slowly.
When Beldia saw this situation, it held its head in one hand and a sword in the other, and shrugged happily…
"… Oh–? The target I prioritized should be those two over there… But… Hmmp, if you all could defeat me through a stroke of luck, you would get a hefty sum of bounty… come, novice adventurers dreaming of getting rich instantly. All of you come at me at together!"
When they heard it talking about getting rich instantly, the adventurers who were closing in started discussing among themselves.
And then a man who looked like a warrior…
"Hey, no matter how strong it is, it doesn't have eyes on its back! Surround it and attack!"
An adventurer on the flank of Beldia shouted.
He had raised an obvious death flag.
"Hey, the opponent is a boss of the demon king army, how could such a simple tactic take him down!"
I warned the male warrior who said the script of victim.
And to support them, I drew my sword…
… No, think about it carefully. Even if a super low level like me slash at him, the results would be clear.
More importantly, I had to bring Megumin on my back to a safe place…
… Bring her to a safe place and then what?
Megumin was out of mana.
Aqua's spell couldn't deal a fatal blow.
… How about telling everyone to run away?
As I was thinking about these, the male warrior who had Beldia surrounded prepared to attack…!
"Just buy more time! After hearing the emergency broadcast, the ace of this town will definitely rush over! If that guy is here, the boss of the demon king army would be done for! Hey brothers, let's go together! Aim for its blind spot! All at the same time!"
Facing the man who shouted this as he attacked, Beldia tossed his head high into the air with one hand.
…The ace of this town?
I don't know who he was referring to, but was there such a famed and capable adventurer in town?
As I was thinking about those, Beldia's head was high in the sky and looked downwards. I felt a chill when I saw this scene.
Not just me, the adventurers around me realized it too.
"Stop! Don't go…"
I shouted, attempting to restrain the adventurers whose name I don't even know…
But Beldia seemed to have eyes on its back, dodging the attacks of all the adventurers.
"Huh?"
That was the sound the adventurers slashing at him uttered.
I wasn't sure which adventurer it was.
Beldia dodged all the attack easily, it gripped its great sword in both hands…
In a blink of an eye, Beldia slashed at all the adventurers who attacked it.
The people who were alive moments ago were now dead.
Such illogical things made me realized the realities of this world.
It was the sound of the men falling limply onto the ground.
Beldia listened to these sound with satisfaction and raised a hand into the air.
His head landed safely into his palm.
Beldia didn't think much about this series of actions and said leisurely:
"Who's next?"
All the adventurers on scene were intimidated by these words.
One girl said in a high pitch:
"Trash, trash like you…! Trash like you will be done in with just a slash from Mitsurugi!"
… Huh?
My mind kept working.
The Mitsurugi she mentioned was the one whose sword was taken by me and sold…
"That's right, just hold on a bit longer! When that magic sword guy comes, he could definitely take on the boss of the demon king army…"
"You are Beldia right? Let me tell you, there is a powerful and high level guy in this town!"
… Shit, oh shit.
I looked at Aqua with a pale face, but Aqua was already gone from that spot.
Other than Mitsurugi, Aqua was the only one with the ability to be an ace. She didn't even looked at the Beldia, running to the side of the killed adventurers, doing something as she stayed close to their corpse.
Maybe it was her obligation as a goddess to send the dead on their way.
After seeing the adventurers in solid armor dying in one blow, nobody wanted to stand before Beldia and oppose him…
"… Oh? So you are my next opponent?"
Beldia held its head with its left hand and a sword in its right.
It looked at Darkness who was standing before it, protecting Megumin and me. It thought it was interesting and moved the head in its hand closer to Darkness.
Darkness took a stance holding a sword with both hands, shielding the two of us behind her. She doesn't looked like a pervert anymore, but a dependable crusader.
After witnessing Aqua and Megumin's strength, Beldia probably thought Darkness was powerful in her own way too.
Beldia maintained its posture against Darkness, keeping on guard without moving.
Darkness's tough and white armor glittered under the sun in contrast to Beldia's black armor.
The adventurers who attacked Beldia were all wearing armor too.
But this boss of the demon king army still slaughtered them despite their armor.
Darkness was always boasting confidently that she was harder than anyone. I don't know if she could withstand Beldia's attacks.
As I was wondering if I should stop darkness, she probably noticed my worry and announced confidently:
"Don't worry Kazuma. In terms of toughness in taking hits, I won't lose to anyone. And I can use my skills on my weapon and armor too. Beldia's sword might be powerful, but you do really think it could cut through steel armor like paper? From how the adventurers were killed, Beldia probably possess powerful attack skills. I want to find out how my defence does against it!"
Darkness was aggressive today.
But even if you defended successfully, your attack still won't hit right?
"Don't do it. Beldia not only hits hard, it is great at dodging too right? All the adventurers attacking at the same time couldn't hit him, there's no way you could with how clumsy you are."
Even after hearing what I said, Darkness remained in place to oppose Beldia.
"… As a crusader… As someone with the job of a guardian, there is something that I will not back off from. Let me protect you two."
Although I don't know why, but Darkness seemed to have a reason why she doesn't want to retreat.
I was speechless for a moment. Darkness maintained her postures and charged at Beldia!
"Oh! You are taking the initiative! As a Dullahan, going head to head with a crusader is unavoidable. Alright, come at me!"
Beldia prepared to face the attack.
Seeing Darkness holding her sword with both hands, Beldia didn't want to block it and lowered its stance, preparing to dodge.
With Beldia in front of her, Darkness used all her might and swung her sword…!
… And because she misjudged the distance, the attack landed a few centimeters before Beldia's feet.
"… Huh?"
Beldia lamented like a deflated balloon.
It stared at Darkness blankly, and all the other adventurers followed suit.
… Enough. To miss an opponent that wasn't even moving, how embarrassing!
And this is my companion!
I heard that a novice swinging a sword recklessly could cut their own feet. But no matter what, this is too…
Darkness seemed to think missing her attack was normal and took a step forward and used a horizontal cut.
She was probably embarrassed to have missed that badly after putting on such a cool front, so her face was a bit red.
Seemed like this attack would definitely be on target, but Beldia lowered its stance and dodged nimbly.
"Seemed like I expected too much. Enough… Well then…"
Beldia seemed to think its opponent was too boring and raised its sword and casually slashed diagonally down at Darkness.
"Alright, next… is... Huh?"
Beldia had the confident to kill with one strike.
But its sword only left a large scratch on the surface of darkness' armor, making a screeching sound.
Darkness pulled away from Beldia temporary.
"Ahhh! I just got my armor from the shop!"
Darkness looked at the scratch on her armor sadly and glared at Beldia.
Although her foe left a deep scratch on Darkness' armor, her body wasn't hurt.
Which means…
"You, what is with you…? Why aren't you hurt after being hit by me…? Is that an armor made by a famous artisan? No… It's not possible even with that… That arch priest and that arch wizard that loves explosions too, who the hell are you people…"
Using the chance when Beldia was mumbling about something, I joined the other adventurers.
After entrusting Megumin to another adventurer, I said:
"Darkness! You can withstand that guy's attack! Leave the attack to me, I will support you!"
Hearing what I said, Darkness focused her eyes on Beldia and nodded.
"I leave it to you! But please create a chance for me to hit him once, alright?!"
I answered "Got it!" loudly in reply, and shouted to the other adventurers:
"Wizards–!"
After hearing my yell, the wizards remembered their jobs and started chanting spells. The other adventurers also took action, looking for things they could do.
This is our fight against the demon king boss.
The enemy dared walked into our town so openly, we had no reason to let it return safely.
Beldia stuck its sword into the ground to free up its right hand, pointing at the wizards who were chanting.
"All of you will in one weeks time–! Will die in the streets–!"
Beldia cursed all the wizards chanting spells with premonition of death.
The wizards who were cursed lost their nerves and stopped chanting.
The other wizards who were planning to join in stiffened their faces after seeing their compatriots get hit with a premonition of death, not daring to cast their spells.
Damn Dullahan, using such detestable methods!
"Alright, I will attack seriously this time!"
As it shouted, Beldia threw its head high up into the sky.
… Can we get an archer to shoot that head down?
As I was thinking about that, Beldia held its great sword in both hands and attacked Darkness!
The head in the sky was facing the ground like before.
He was probably overlooking the entire battlefield with that head in the air.
If beldia used this, it would have no blind spot, and could easily see where its opponent wanted to dodge.
"Ka, Kazuma! Darkness she is…!"
I heard Megumin screaming behind me.
Almost all the adventurers in town were gathered here.
The people I saw a few times, that guy who told me the weak point of a monster.
The girl who pulled her bow fully but was afraid of hitting Darkness who was facing Beldia, told me about the beverage called Neroid.
The old man holding a long spear who was attempting to flank behind Beldia once chastised me for not drinking beer.
If Darkness fell and Beldia wills it, everyone present would be killed.
Darkness probably understood this, and switched the hold on her sword with the broad side facing forward, using it as a shield without taking a single step back.
She seemed to be saying 'except for the head without the helmet, you are free to attack anyway you like'.
"Oh, how straightforward! Okay, how about this?"
Beldia raised its great sword steadily with both hands. The demon king army boss then went beyond the human limits and slashed multiple times at Darkness.
One, two, three, four hits…!
The slashes hitting Darkness exceed double digits in no time, every blow making the armor screeched and scarring the armor.
In the face of such attacks, it won't be a surprise for normal adventurers to be cut into pieces. But Darkness remained unmoved, blocking every blow.
A few strands of Darkness' long blond hair were cut after coming into contact with the blade and flew in the air.
Beldia stopped its fierce consecutive attack for a moment and caught its falling head with one hand. It switched back to holding the sword with one hand and was impressed with Darkness' tenacity.
Seeing how Darkness endured all these hits, those wizards…
The people whose face turned pale and couldn't move…
Steeled their resolved and started chanting.
… At this moment, something warm sprayed onto my face.
I wiped with the back of my hand and found out it was…
"Hey, Darkness you are hurt! Enough, come back! All the adventurers will scatter and come up with a new plan!"
Looking closely, Darkness' was bleeding from her face and the cracks in her armor.
I shouted at the injured Darkness, but she refused to back down.
"Crusaders will never retreat when protecting someone behind them! I won't ever compromise on that! Also!"
Speaking such cool lines, Darkness' face blushed as she defended with all her might…!
"Also! This Dullahan is very skilled! It had been chipping my armor off slowly bit by bit…! It didn't stripped me naked directly, but left pieces of armor behind, making it more sexual than being naked. It wants to humiliate me in public…!"
"Huh?"
Beldia stopped momentarily when it heard what Darkness said and backed off a little: I concentrated the mana in my hand as I scolded the true pervert who was showing her true nature at such a critical juncture.
"Look at the time and place you unrepentant pervert!"
Darkness trembled for a moment when she heard me lecturing her:
"Ugh…! Ka, Kazuma you should be the one watching the time and place! I am my limits as I am being ravaged by the Dullahan in public, and Kazuma is humiliating me too…! What are you trying to do to me, ganging up on me with the Dullahan!"
"Huh huh?"
"No want wants to do anything to you pervert! 'Create Water'!"
I cast water magic that had the effect of being a retort at Darkness.
As I shouted, water appeared on top of Darkness and Beldia.
A large amount of water poured down on them like an overturned bucket.
Darkness was soaked entirely while Beldia leaped backwards in a panic, avoiding the downpour of water.
…?
Why was Beldia so panicky…?
… The soaked Darkness' face turned red and spoke softly:
"… To use this skill so suddenly… You, you are good, Kazuma. I don't really dislike this. Although I'm fine with it, you should watch the time and place…"
"Wrong, this is not some weird sexual play! This is what I wanted to do! 'Freeze'!"
I followed up by chanting basic magic that freezes water.
This was a spell that didn't have any effect if used alone, but…
"!? Oh, freezing the ground around my feet to stop me from moving…! I see, you thought my strength lies in dodging? But…!"
Beldia seemed to have something to say as it looked at the frozen ground, but I used the skill I really wanted to use before he finished.
… That's right, it was the skill used against Mitsurugi, my strongest weapon right now!
"Stopping you from dodging would be enough! I will take the weapon from you,take this, 'Steal'–!"
The skill that gave you a chance to take an item from your opponent, 'Steal' was activated.
Skills and magic existed in this world.
Using them won't use your stamina, but a power everyone possess known as mana.
That's what Aqua said.
In the past, many people could use magic, they had just forgotten how to use it.
The more mana you concentrate, the stronger the power of the skill or magic would be, and it would increase the chance of success.
Creating Beldia's weak point and preventing him from evading, I used this at the best possible moment, my ultimate skill 'steal'…!
"… This skill is a good idea. You might be confident, but I am a boss of the demon king army after all, so this is the difference in levels. If our power are a bit closer, it might get dangerous for me."
… It was ineffective against a boss of the demon king's army.
Beldia reached out its hand and pointed at me.
… I could only surrender, as expected of a high level boss of the demon king army. I couldn't beat him with 'steal'…
… As Beldia was about to curse me.
"Don't harm my comrade!"
Darkness who was normally cool and collected displayed her emotions at this rare moment. She shouted as she dropped the heavy sword that couldn't hit the enemy, charging at Beldia with her shoulder.
But even with the ground frozen, Beldia evaded easily and gripped its sword calmly.
In order to charg at Beldia, Darkness abandoned her heavy sword.
That means she didn't have anything to defend against Beldia's sword.
Before I realized it, I was shouting at the people around me.
"Thieves, hear me out–! The chances are low, but we will win if we snatch its sword! Everyone who can use 'Steal' come and help!"
There might be someone who had higher level and luck than me.
Stealthily, the thieves came near with their hide skills showed themselves when they heard my call.
"Steal–!" x 3
But the consecutive use of 'Steal' didn't have any effect.
Beldia didn't thought of us as a threat, pointing its sword at the defenseless Darkness… And threw its head high into the sky.
"Ahhh!"
The adventurers screamed in terror when they saw this movement.
Because Beldia will use his 2-handed sword swing after throwing its head up.
"… Ugh…!"
Darkness moaned when she saw this action.
Oh no oh no oh no!
What should I do?
I don't have any special power or hidden talent.
I have nothing to be proud of, or any skills that is useful in this situation.
I only possess great luck which I was born with.
Other than that, I have knowledge of games accumulated since childhood.
I neglected all other things and immersed myself in games, and now I have to pay the price.
Coming to this alternate world happily and dying without accomplishing anything?
"Darkness! Kazuma, Darkness is in danger!"
Megumin shouted in despair.
Think! The foe is a Dullahan, what is its weakness in role playing games?
If I have a strong point, that would be finding the attack style my opponent despised the most when fighting PK with other players in online games.
Observe that guy in detail.
Why did it dodge the water I created with such exaggerated movement?
...
… Flowing water?
Even the major undead series monster, vampires were afraid of flowing water.
So, what about that Dullahan?
"I had fun, crusader! For me who was originally a knight to cross swords with you, I am grateful to the demon king and god of evil! Alright, watch this…!"
"'Create water'–!"
"!"
Beldia who was slashing at Darkness…
Didn't move forward, but stayed where it was.
In the end, it didn't press the attack and caught its head that dropped down.
"… Kazuma, erm… I am fighting seriously here…"
Darkness who was even more soaked looked at me with grudging eyes. Normally I should apologize, but I didn't have the time right now.
I shouted loudly.
"It's water–!"