Chapter 333
The strange odor detected by Nell's keen sense of smell.
Although I judged it wasn't poison, we proceeded cautiously, our advance slowing slightly. Ahead, in what appeared to be a temple-like space where Azhdaha's seal was likely located, *it* was waiting.
"What... is that?""This is..."
Nell took a step back at the sight of the entity, while Claudia furrowed her brow.
"He's fallen to the very depths, hasn't he? Boldrinde."
As for me, I felt revulsion towards the entity, exacerbated by the raw, visceral stench that couldn't be conveyed through video and the sight of it spewing thick, viscous liquid. Betrayed by the realization of something I'd hoped never to see, and struggling to comprehend the sheer desperation driving him this far, I raised my spear.
A monster with a lower body of reddish-black gel and an upper body sporting multiple arms and heads.
"A... demon?"
Claudia, recognizing the entity, warily assumed a combat stance without dropping her guard.
"Is this a demon? It differs from the demons this one knows."
After a few seconds of silence upon seeing us, the creature's blatant hostility erupted.
***`'■■■■■■■■!?'`***
It began thrashing madly and charged straight for us.
"Combat Pattern B! Disperse!"
There was no time for detailed instructions. Everyone moved according to the pre-arranged action pattern.
Action Pattern B was a tactic based on hit-and-run, avoiding taking unnecessary attacks. The formation centered around Lady Esmeralda as the main attacker.
"Over here!"
The strategy involved the vanguard drawing attention while carefully managing aggro to prevent it from focusing on the rear line. Nell, leveraging her physical abilities, was the first to strike, slashing at the lower body with her halberd.
"No effect!?""It's working! But the damage isn't getting through!"
Nell's mighty blows, which would normally send any monster flying or make it burst, merely shaved off a small amount of the liquid body.
***`'■■■■■■■■!!'`***
I also attacked with my Magic Edge-enhanced scythe-spear, but it was similarly ineffective against this aberrant monster.
A demon.In FBO, they were the monsters players most hated to fight.Artificial monsters created through the secret arts of the Evil God cult.Their forms varied greatly, from the stereotypical "the demon" appearance to aberrant shapes like this one.
Despite their varied forms, the reason Claudia and I could identify this monster as a demon was a single, absolute characteristic unique to them: the special patterns running across their aberrant bodies. Magical designs, tattoo-like and covering their entire form, though the colors differed.
These patterns were applied during the demon's creation using those secret arts, a technology that even players could never analyze or replicate.They were beings created by certain high-ranking practitioners within the Evil God cult.
That is a demon.
Their performance varies depending on the living material used, but they generally tend to be higher-spec than the original creature.
"Snake tentacles from the rear! Four of them! Genjiro, take your men and flank to handle the back!""Understood!"
One reason for their enhanced capabilities is that, like chimeras, they often combine multiple creatures, simply adding their abilities together. Secondly, even abilities the original creatures couldn't possess can be added by incorporating items.You can even mix in magic.Judging by this demon's form, it incorporates a human, Serpent Dragon Kin, a slime, and Boldrinde's dark magic.
"Incoming breath! Ingrid!""I shall protect you."
It made a large inhaling motion. Intuitively sensing it wasn't a physical attack but something status-altering, I called for Ingrid to activate Air Clean.
"Poison mist? No, it's corrosion!"
A corrosive breath that decayed everything. The reason Air Clean could block it was because the corrosive substance was in a mist form. The thought of if it had been a liquid was chilling. The purple smoke generated by the corrosion was likely the source of the strange odor.
The walls and ceiling, unprotected by Air Clean, rotted away. If it kept spewing this repeatedly, the very floor could corrode and collapse.
"Find the heart! A demon's only weakness is its heart! Any other damage regenerates! Claudia, focus solely on guarding Lady Esmeralda! Close combat and corrosion are a terrible mix! Everyone else, reinforce your weapons with Magic Edge!"
*'A time-limited battle, huh?'* I clicked my tongue and thrust my spear, probing for the heart, but felt no solid impact. Instead, the spear was almost sucked in and pulled away, forcing me to yank it back forcefully.
The annoying thing about demons is their damage protocol: they take massive damage *only* from attacks to their heart weakness; damage to any other part is drastically reduced.This isn't about resistances.This creature is simply built to take almost no damage except to its heart.
"Shall I blow it away with Gold Smash?""Or perhaps we should dice it to pieces?"
Its near-invulnerability to damage was one thing, but its attacks themselves were manageable. Its arms lashed out with impossible flexibility, the multiple heads spewed corrosive breath, and the snake tentacles sprouting from its back likely had a similar corrosive effect. Having multiple heads allowed it to track several targets simultaneously, and its numerous arms could handle them, making it suited for fighting multiple opponents.
Based on all this, its rank was likely Class 6, or at most, early Class 7.If the knights had encountered this monster, the casualties would have been immeasurable.This was a testament to Boldrinde's tenacious obsession.
"No, there's an easier way to defeat it."
But, tough luck.Did you think we hardcore gamers wouldn't establish a simple strategy just because such a troublesome foe exists?
Circling the aberrant demon, I observed it carefully.
The key to conquering a demon is to correctly classify its type.Using a decision tree is best for this.
The first stage is a binary choice: Substantial Type or Non-Substantial Type.The former, like this aberrant form, possesses a physical body.The latter refers to astral beings like ghosts, lacking physical substance.
Appearance matters less for the latter. They can be humanoid, beast-like, or even aberrant demons like this. Their common trait is that physical damage is ineffective; only magical skills can harm them.
Now, since the damage from me, Nell, and Genjiro's red-armored warriors was getting through, even if slightly, I knew this one was a Substantial Type.
Next, it's a three-way split: Biological, Non-Biological, or Hybrid.This choice is literal.Biological demons use only living creatures as material. Non-Biological use inorganic matter like golems as a base, with a soul bound to it. Hybrids incorporate elements of both.
This demon was a Biological type. Furthermore, by incorporating a slime, a viscous lifeform, it could constantly move its heart location, enhancing survivability, and also strengthen its corrosive attacks. Since it incorporated a human and Serpent Dragon Kin, it probably wasn't a complete slime.
In that case, we just need to turn its strength into a weakness.
"Lady Esmeralda! Aim for its feet! Ice Spikes!""Understood!"
Giving concise instructions, Lady Esmeralda reacted quickly.Viscous-type enemies become much less scary if you can just immobilize their slimy parts.
"Ice Spikes!"
Viscous-type monsters are generally incapable of agile movement.While they can achieve speeds commensurate with their stats once they build momentum, they can't react to sudden attacks emerging from the ground like this.
"Keep freezing the lower body continuously!""As you wish! I shall not hold back!"
It acted based on the belief in its own defense, thinking it could withstand minor attacks. Consequently, its awareness of the need to *dodge* was low. Monsters and villain-type NPCs specializing in defensive skills often have this tendency.Conversely, those with agility-based skills focused on evasion find this tactic harder to employ.
"Its movements are sluggish! The heart isn't in the lower body! Genjiro!""Understood!"
Many ice-based magic skills carry a freezing effect. Ice Spike, being a skill that erupts from the ground, has this effect set particularly strong.It requires some skill to hit fast-moving enemies, but it's easy to land on slow starters like this.
"Iaido."
The lower body froze solid from the Ice Spikes. However, due to its resistance, only the area near the most potent spikes and up to about its waist actually froze.But being able to freeze half the body of a colossal figure nearly 10 meters tall was highly effective.
Genjiro's single stroke, from a build specializing in genuine sword skills.
***"Kaaah!!!!"***
With widened eyes and a powerful shout, Genjiro's attack cleanly severed the demon's upper and lower body.
"Nell! Blow the upper half away!""Power Swing!"
Before it could regenerate and reattach, Nell sent the upper body flying.
"Lady Esmeralda!""Ice Spikes!"
After that, it was just repetition.
The demon, blown away by Nell, fell to the ground on its left side. Before it could return to its lost lower half, Ice Spikes erupted from the ground, freezing its left side this time.It's strangely unlucky in times like these, isn't it?
The right half still struggled and resisted.Meaning the heart was located there.
"Iaido – Clean Cut!"
Genjiro instantly judged what needed to be done. After finishing his iaido slash, he immediately pursued the direction Nell had blown it, aiming a diagonal slash from near the left shoulder.
"Again!"
Nell also understood how to finish it. She rolled the severed right half to a position where Genjiro could easily cut it and where Lady Esmeralda had a clear line of sight for her magic.
"Lady Nell! Perfect positioning!"
Ice Spikes were already deployed there, lying in wait. Combined with the momentum from being blown away, the right half was deeply impaled on the icy spikes.
And then.
"There it is!"
While its body froze, one head, desperately struggling until the very end, became visible.
"Heart Strike."
Driving a heart-specialized strike into that spot resulted in a clear, convulsive damage motion. Its movements ceased.
"Find peace."
It turned to black ash and vanished.Unlike other monsters, this one left me with a strangely lonely feeling.I know the method of this demon's birth.
And demons retaining a human form absolutely use a human as part of their material.Even when viewing FBO as just a game, we found this setting utterly brutal.That's precisely why, combined with their difficulty to defeat, we considered them monsters we disliked.
There were a few named exceptions—demons who retained human consciousness and could become NPC allies—but they were just that: exceptions.The vast majority have their human consciousness stripped away, and even if a shred remains, they recognize their transformed state, despair, and plead, "Please, end it."
Returning to normal is impossible. Or perhaps there *is* a method, but it wasn't discovered in the game, and I don't know it.Killing a person in this world leaves a corpse behind.But this demon turned to black ash and vanished.That is proof of having been transformed from a human into a monster.
Not being able to die as a human, being slain as a demon, and disappearing without a trace... I find that personally sad.That's why, even if only briefly, I offered a prayer, wishing for peace in its next life.
"......Let's go."
And to prevent anything like this from happening again, we moved forward to settle things with Boldrinde, who awaited us ahead.