Chapter 274
Amina's song echoed from above. The spirits played their instruments in accompaniment.
With that BGM, our comrades-in-arms were at maximum tension.
"Running on top of a monster is a first for us, isn't it?" remarked Esmeralda."One doesn't often encounter a monster this large, even in dungeons," replied Claudia.
To seize the chance we had grasped through all our efforts, we sprinted across the Rainy Devil's body, conversing without taking our eyes off the target ahead.
In the distance, the spirits fought valiantly to prevent the Rainy Devil from rising and to further whittle down its life.
It's fair to say that even high-ranking spirits find fighting the Rainy Devil difficult. Despite that, they were fighting so hard for us.
We *had* to win.
Part of it was because I'd declared we would, but more than that, the fact that we had all come this far ignited my desire to win.
"We'll reach the Rainy Devil's core soon if we keep this up.""At what timing will the interception come?"
The Rainy Devil's core loomed before us.
One might think it was just a matter of attacking from here, but this was a World Monster; it wouldn't just sit there and take it.
"The moment damage is dealt to the core."
Exposing its core might seem like an easy win, but it had a backup plan for when its umbrella was shattered. It would appear when an enemy approached the core *and* dealt damage.
"Then, let's attack!!"
Since that interception was triggered by attacking the core, it was unavoidable. Hearing that, it might sound like we still had hardships ahead, but it also sounded like we were being allowed the first strike as a reward for exposing the core through all our effort. In that case, the best move was to hit it with something spectacular right from the start.
"Lady Esmeralda! One spectacular shot, please!""Leave it to me!!"
While the overarching umbrella had high resistance, the core's resistance dropped by over 90% due to exposure. That meant Lady Esmeralda's magic would almost entirely bypass its defenses.
Which meant she could use her Happy Trigger Combo right from the start.
And this time, there were no restrictions like "ice attribute only."
"Behold the power of my new magic!!"
Upon reaching Class 8, she had unlocked five skill slots at Class 7 and three more at Class 8.
Furthermore, her mana pool was incomparably larger than at Class 6.
With that, there was no way she wouldn't fire!!
"Revolver Spell! Followed by Double Spell activation!!"
Activating skills while running. There was still distance until us frontliners were in attack range, but Lady Esmeralda was already within firing range.
What she was about to unleash was the most powerful lightning magic currently available to her.
An immense amount of mana erupted from Lady Esmeralda's body.
The released mana was bluish-white, with a faint hint of gold mixed in.
This mana formed twelve gigantic magic circles in the sky.
"Judgment Lightning!!"
Despite bearing 'lightning' in its name, its form was that of an ultra-thick laser beam. Only the lightning sparks cascading around the pillar of light revealed its lightning attribute.
It lived up to its name, 'Judgment Lightning,' with murderous intensity. It poured down with enough range to envelop the core, which was larger than us.
And it wasn't just one shot; it was a twelve-shot barrage.
"Ah, so those are the interception monsters," Nell observed."But they've been wiped out by Lady Esmeralda's magic," Claudia noted.
And a barrage meant the Rainy Devil's interception system reacted to the first Judgment Lightning.
Parasites, so to speak, lurking within the Rainy Devil's umbrella. In exchange for inhabiting the umbrella, they served as insurance, appearing like this in times of need—trap monsters that attack from behind when one is focused on the core.
Dragon Drakes, possessing sharp fangs and acute-angled carapaces.
They emerged from the Rainy Devil's umbrella upon sensing the core was under attack, only to become prey to the subsequent volley of Judgment Lightning.
Dozens of them. Black dust swirled everywhere; now we could attack without worrying about our backs.
True to their 'dragon' name, they belonged to the dragon species racially. A somewhat special Class 6 monster that also included insectoid elements.
And as for Lady Esmeralda, who could now slaughter them en masse...
"Phew. If we can't finish it after this, I'd say it's truly formidable," she said, showing slight fatigue from consecutively casting grand magic but not running on empty.
"You can still go on?""Yes! Thanks to my Magic Tank skill, I can fight much longer!!"
It seemed her new skill was proving its worth, preparing her for the battle to come. If Lady Esmeralda could continue fighting, then we...
"Leave Ingrid as Lady Esmeralda's guard! Vanguards, advance! Strike the core!!"
The Rainy Devil had stopped moving due to Esmeralda's magic. Well, if your heart takes a high-powered lightning spell, moving becomes difficult.
Feeling the ground shake from its convulsions through our feet, us vanguards—me, Nell, and Claudia—reached the pulsating core of the Rainy Devil.
It was a depression, and the raw, visceral ground was disgusting, but now wasn't the time for that.
"First, lower its defense to the limit!!""Got it!!""Understood!"
We kicked off the elastic body of the Rainy Devil, closing the attack distance in one go.
"Severing Sky Battle Axe!!""Haaaaaaah!"
Nell and Claudia's attacks aimed to lower defense. Even though it was a weak point, it was still part of the Rainy Devil's body and possessed a certain level of defense.
Just as one might think I'd attack after shredding that defense...
"Each one took Dark-san three days' worth of labor!!"
...I pulled out a baleful, reddish-black spear from my magic bag. This wasn't a weapon but a proper consumable.
Furthermore, it was a masterpiece that could be called a cursed item.
"SeiYaaa!!!!!"
I drove it into the Rainy Devil's heart without hesitation.
To ensure it couldn't be pulled out, to make it sink deep, I channeled mana into it before letting go of the shaft.
Dark spirits excel at handling dark attributes. Therefore, they can also create debuff items, which are common among dark attributes.
A cursed spear made from materials of a Class 8 boss monster.
By making it a consumable, I could inflict a curse debuff over the entire heart area.
"Go deeper!!!"
Adding another measure, I pulled a hammer from my magic bag and slammed it with all my might against the butt of the deeply embedded cursed spear.
This was one debuffer style from FBO too. Nicknamed the 'Five-Inch Nail Striker.'
A debuffer style with high killing intent, not retrieving the cursed items from inside the target's body. Ideally, one would use curses or dark magic passive skills to boost effects, enchant a decent spear with a debuff, and then slam it in for better cost-effectiveness, but since it's not my main specialty, I asked Dark-san this time to create consumable cursed spears that could be imbued with full power.
The curse on this spear was Recovery Inhibition, a recovery effect reduction.
If it regenerates while we're dealing damage, it's all for nothing. The solution is simple: prevent it from regenerating in the first place.
The intercepting Dragon Drakes were still emerging, but Ingrid and Lady Esmeralda were intercepting them to keep them away from us.
In the meantime, I thrust one cursed spear after another into the heart, hammering them deep, one by one.
With each thrust, the Rainy Devil convulsed violently. But it still hadn't turned to black ash.
"And this... is the LAST one!!!!"
After driving a total of ten spears into the heart, I tossed the hammer aside.
"Nell! Claudia-san!!""I'm ready!!""I'm fully prepared too!!"
I gripped the shaft of the spear on my back and got into an attacking stance.
"Full Attack!!""Yes!""Heavenly Fist!"
The preparations were complete. All that remained was to finish carving away its life.
I activated Mirage Phenomenon, splitting into four copies, and used a skill specialized in dealing damage to this heart.
*"Heart Strike!!"*
Splitting into four, I activated the skill.
The spears I had thrust into the heart triggered skill damage the moment they struck. The moment the spearheads buried themselves in the heart, I maintained the thrust and took a backstep.
The spearheads glowed within the heart and then exploded.
Burst Spear. The spearheads were disposable spears made from Class 8 magic stones. Double damage from the skill plus the explosion.
And from slightly outside the explosion's radius, next to me, the sound of rapid, repeated punches echoed continuously.
Pulling a new spear from my magic bag, I continuously stabbed the area torn open by the explosion while glancing sideways. Claudia, having activated her Heavenly Fist skill combo, was sweating as she relentlessly pounded the area with lowered defense.
We sealed its regeneration and moved in for the kill with our maximum firepower.
My and Claudia's strongest attacks continued to chip away, but an attack vibration that dwarfed ours shook the heart.
"One Hundred Thousand Zenny!! Gold Smash!!!"
It was Nell.
She unleashed her own maximum firepower onto the spot where she had lowered the defense. There was no hesitation, as if she wasn't even thinking about the money.
She released all the money earned by offering all the unused materials we'd accumulated over these two years to the God of Commerce, Goldos. Nell knew now was the time to spend, letting it loose once, then using other skills during Gold Smash's recast time.
"Two Hundred Thousand Zenny!! Gold Smash!!"
The moment the recast time ended, she doubled the bet, skyrocketing the firepower.
"Four Hundred Thousand Zenny!!"
With each hit, scars were carved into the heart, and the Rainy Devil's life faded.
"Eight Hundred Thousand Zenny!!"
With each blow Nell struck, the Rainy Devil's massive body trembled.
"One... point six Million Zenny."
As the amount jumped exponentially, Nell gritted her teeth, determined not to miss this strike, and slammed it squarely into the Rainy Devil's heart.
*"■■■■■■■!?"*
The Rainy Devil's scream echoed. It was a cry close to a death rattle.
"Finish it, Nell!!""Leave it to me!! Fortune's Summoning!!!"
Sensing the atmosphere that it was almost defeated, Nell took a backstep to gain distance and ensure a running start. The fact she didn't forget to use Fortune's Summoning showed she was truly reliable.
Using the distance she created, she accelerated instantly, showing a powerful step that put her whole weight into it, creating ripples across the Rainy Devil's body with just the impact.
"Five Million Zenny!! Gold!!"
Then, an overhead swing from that stepped-in position.
A perfect 'helmet-splitter' strike, accurately hitting the spot with lowered defense.
"SMAAAAAASH!!!!"
With that single blow, the golden battle-axe cleaved the Rainy Devil's heart in two.
*"!?!?!?!?!?!?!"*
The Rainy Devil's soundless death rattle. Its body arched back, convulsing once, twice, before the massive form of the Rainy Devil slowly began to transform into black ash.
"It's collapsing!! We're pulling out!!"
Its body was so enormous that even turning to black ash took time. Not wanting to be dropped inside during the collapse, I started running, with Nell following.
"I'll carry you."
Claudia, with the effects of Heavenly Fist still active, picked up me and Nell, then retrieved Ingrid and Lady Esmeralda, escaping from the Rainy Devil's body.