Defense specialization and raid boss two.
At the start, the boss thrusts their spear into the sky. In response, a vast amount of water erupts around them, surging outward in a wave that crashes in every direction at once.
"Maple!"
"【Pierce Guard】【Heavy Body】!"
Feeling the unspoken rhythm, Maple assumes a complete defensive stance and absorbs the wave. The seven protected by Maple and 【Love That Offers the Body】 withstand the attack—knockback and penetration negated. But the other players nearby do not fare as well. Maple can shield only party members. Those who failed to cross the wall of water are swept away and fall behind, knocked down.
"Everyone! Are you all right!?"
"Thanks to you, we’re fine! Still, that was a rough start!"
Maple and Crom must carry Mai and Yui to the boss, acting as shields. The boss is invisible, wrapped in swirling water, its lower half tethered to the ground. It does not move. Instead, countless monsters surge from the water sphere above, approaching in succession.
The water sphere appears to have HP. Without destroying it first, the players’ advantage in numbers cannot be utilized. Already, many players struggle to reorganize their formation while fending off the advancing monsters.
“Hey, we can’t start until we break that.”
“Even a machine god can’t reach from here!”
From the vantage of Maple and the others who survived the wave, the distance is great. To the players swept away, it feels even farther. Magic attacks cannot reach it.
Amidst this, one player alone struck the water sphere.
"Wilbert-san!"
"Can it reach? Amazing...!"
Having just blocked the tsunami with Lilie's soldiers' wall, he immediately switched his gear and drew his bow. The arrow shot from his bow—longer-ranged than Maple's mechanogod—flew straight, glowing red, piercing the sphere with precision. Yet its HP dropped far below expectation. At this rate, dozens of arrows would be needed. The arrow's power should have obliterated a monster in one strike. Sally felt unease. Something was wrong.
"Damage from long-range attacks dampens? Perhaps."
"Even from such a height!?!"
"Wilbert, was it? Given the attack power he's shown, it's not impossible..."
"Sorry to interrupt, but something's coming again!"
When all turn their heads at Kanade’s voice, the boss thrusts the spear upward once more, summoning a deluge of water spears from the sky.
Once again, Maple and the others emerge unharmed, yet cries rise from players scattered across the field—“It’s a piercing attack!”—not so densely packed as to be impossible to avoid, yet not easily dodged. Keeping the 【Love That Offers the Body】 active to shield Mai and Yui proves difficult.
“Best to resolve one thing at a time. Maple, focus on defense—stay here with Crom-san!”
Remaining in place, concentrating on defense, they can block the water spears with the large shields held before them. As long as Mai and Yui are protected, the chance to turn the tide remains. Yet breaking the current stalemate demands action. One side must risk movement; the other, safety. Balance is essential.
“Yeah… Sally?”
Attempting to break the water sphere. If it misses, I’ll return.
Maple returns the remark with a smile, her eyes bright with expectation. Only Sally could say such a thing with such calm assurance, after the spear of water, the tidal wave, the swarm of monsters rising from the depths.
Then I’ll come along, just in case. I can at least provide cover.
Kasumi decides to follow. With Mai and Yui handling damage, her own agility—invested in AGI—means she is the only one capable of moving beside Sally.
Understood. Let’s go. Other players are already suffering heavy losses.
Now, as Maple maintains the state unchanged from the start, Sally and Kasumi leap from the range of Love That Offers the Body and charge toward the raid boss.
Like Sally and Kasumi before them, the others decide they cannot remain engaged with the endless stream of minions. They step forward from their respective guild groups. Each approaches the boss in their own favored manner.
“[Warrior’s Arm][Blood Blade]!”
As she runs, Kasumi liquefies her blade and strikes first at the approaching monster. Kasumi’s reach and area of effect surpass Sally’s, and her skills carry greater potency. Sally compensates with her own abilities, but in moments such as this, Kasumi’s strength proves decisive.
Leave the surroundings to me—no need to worry!
Thank you. I’ll handle the big move.
As she speaks, the boss thrusts the spear upward once more. From scattered points across the thin layer of water covering the ground, bubbles rise.
Kasumi, over here! Follow me—tight behind!
Yeah!
Kasumi trusts Sally’s judgment, forged through past experience. She follows without delay. Immediately afterward, fountains erupt in succession, like intermittent geysers. Sally slips through the gaps, closing the distance to the boss.
Ten meters remain. But reaching the water sphere will require vertical clearance of dozens of meters. Impossible to leap that high.
Yet another player has arrived here, just as Sally and the others did—having expertly evaded waves of monsters and the boss’s brutal attacks. Cooperation, then, is natural.
Sally! We meet again!
Velvet, Hinata!
Sally expected Velvet to leap out—Hinata’s presence was a slight surprise. Hinata hovered in midair, pressed tightly against Velvet’s side, moving in perfect sync with Velvet’s shifts.
“Huh… never seen that before…”
“Got Hinata to follow too!”
“Just moving makes my head spin… no time for talking now.”
Velvet’s goal, like the others’, was to shatter the water sphere. There was no time to waste here.
“[Ice Floor]”
Hinata activated her skill. Ice formed a spiral staircase wrapping around the boss. Anyone could now ascend without issue.
“Saved! Kasumi!”
“Ah, we’ll take advantage of that.”
“We’re going too!”
Velvet and gravity lifted Hinata, who floated gently beside them, close enough to touch. Sally and Kasumi raced up the icy staircase. Velvet released bolts of lightning around them. The common monsters could not approach. They attacked from afar with bursts of water. Sally, Kasumi, and Velvet, each agile, evaded the bursts despite the unstable footing. Hinata lacked mobility, but moved in perfect sync with Velvet. She kept pace without difficulty.
“[Ice Wall]!”
The ice and weight formed a shield. It deflected attacks. It assisted the three. Other players climbed from below. The four reached the sphere of water. Velvet’s lightning struck the sphere. Damage remained negligible.
“Gravity Control!”
“For now, Double Strike!”
Hinata’s skill lifts Velvet slightly upward. She approaches the water sphere and strikes it twice in succession. Movement speed remains low, but reaching this point is sufficient.
Yet damage proves less than expected. The high HP, set for a raid boss, indicates much more time will be needed to deplete it.
“Ugh… unexpected…”
“What now? Staying here indefinitely won’t make the damage any easier to chip away at.”
Currently, Velvet remains near the water sphere. The lightning strike reaches both the sphere and the boss within range. Minor monsters summoned are dispatched immediately. This is advantageous. Yet Hinata’s skill has a time limit. Neither the ice stairs nor gravity control can be sustained forever.
Let’s give it a try! Velvet, keep an eye on the monster!
Understood!
Sally calls to Velvet, then leaps into the air, summoning water like the boss, and swims through the sky. At the moment evasion becomes difficult, a breath rushes in. Velvet and Hinata strike it down. Sally reaches the top of the water sphere and activates her skill.
【Frost Domain】!
Cold radiates from Sally, freezing the water sphere below. Not a skill that creates ice, but one that freezes objects. It freezes even the boss’s water sphere, turning it into a massive block of ice.
How about this! 【Quintuple Slash】!
【Vibration Fist】!
【Final Blade – Oblivion Moon】!
The ice had altered its nature—damage now struck with sudden force. The three attacks landed with clear effect. If this continued a few more times, destruction would follow.
"It's working!"
"No—wait, something... 【Mind's Eye】!"
Kasumi did not miss the blue light flashing within the frozen sphere. She activated her skill to predict the attack. Her vision was instantly filled with red light marking the projected point of impact.
"Bad—get back!"
Sally reacted first. Velvet leapt away. But the lack of solid ground worked against them. Before they could retreat far, the ice shattered from within. The water sphere returned to its original form. Blades of water spread outward in a swirling vortex midair. A hit would be fatal. The four realized this and each took defensive measures.
"Oboro 【Divine Concealment】!"
"【Parry】!"
【Ice Wall】……!
【Third Sword · Lone Moon】!
Each attempts to respond with their skill—vanishing from the field, deflecting through physical force, leaping over—but all confirm the number of blades is too great. Direct hit is inevitable.
Just as they consider their options, flames and light rush in from both sides. A single instant. The blades of water are scattered. The four are forced to disengage.
Sally and Kasumi raise their faces. There, standing before them, are four members of the Gathering Holy Sword.
"Heya, still cutting it close, huh? Saved you?"
"Didn’t expect you’d come faster than flying through the air."
"Turns out the sky’s just too full of summoned monsters. Real hassle."
They rode atop the enlarged form of Ray. Looking back toward their original direction, Ignis and the figures of the [Empire of Flame] stood there. Velvet and Hinata had been rescued from that side.
"Continuation of the previous event. I saw you running, but faster than expected. Surprised me."
"Once again, you’ve saved us. Thank you."
"Never mind. But this time, I’d like you to save me."
"Freezing, yes. It’s fine. If we can get close again."
Though Hinata’s footing had vanished, the presence of Ray and Ignis now made another approach possible.
"Then I’ll tell everyone to attack. Notes [Carrier Pigeon]."
Frederica sent the small yellow bird perched atop her head toward the guild members of the Holy Sword, then waited for re-approach. Mii and the others appeared to think the same, circling the area while hunting the monster, watching for the moment.
"Good. Let's go."
Pain signaled to Mii and the others with a hand, then thrust Ray forward in a single motion. Twelve members attacked the water sphere, now frozen again due to Sally's approach. At the same moment, guild members who had been signaled for the next freeze, and players waiting in readiness, unleashed a torrent of magic and skills. HP dropped sharply. The water sphere, now on the verge of destruction, fell to a single dot. Simultaneously, the ice melted into water. A massive surge of liquid spread out once more.
At the center of where water had once been, a blue core—like a calm, floating mass of water protected by swirling blades of water—remained. It was clear what must be done to break it.
The massive surge of water, a grand technique born from reduced HP, passed through all present in an instant, rising into the sky. At the same moment the boss raised its spear, a greater volume of water spears manifested in the air, surpassing all prior displays. Simultaneously, the ground shifted as if to punish the player who had approached to attack.
No place to flee. Power unknown. Range nearly total. Sally’s expression hardened. Mii and Pain, judging it impossible to escape beyond the area due to Ray and Ignis, attempted to withstand it using damage-nullifying skills. Yet the targets of their skills were only party members and their summoned beings.
We cannot be the target...!
Avoiding this is no easy task!
We’ll support as much as we can!
We too. Please.
Marx and the others instantly generate platforms and walls. Mizari deploys a field that reduces all damage indiscriminately. Shin and Mii stand ready to knock down anything they can. The gathered sacred swords are countered—Drag forms platforms from rock, Dread uses a skill similar to Sally’s, and Frederica and Pain begin erecting barriers.
Sally is stunned by the sheer extent of support available to those outside the party, yet she makes eye contact with the three others, determined to survive despite the odds.
They dodge the rain of water spears falling from above, leaping from platform to platform, Ray and Ignis in motion.
She thought, if only she could manage Core, and glanced again at Core, as though she had been outmaneuvered—just slightly resentful.
At that moment, the red light pierced through the narrow gap in the swirling water blade, visible to the eye.
Sally’s eyes widen. The water spears hovering in the sky vanish—half of them. The chance to dodge spreads abruptly. Sally thinks only one person could do this. She focuses. It cannot happen now, not with things this far gone.
You've pierced it. True to form, Wil.
—fuu… yes, my honor as an archer remains intact.
Wilbert exhales deeply, then exchanges gear with Lily.
Wil has done this much. He will surely avoid it.
Let us await. Here, please take this.
Ah, leave it to me.
Lily changes her gear. She creates a multitude of lifeless soldiers. She prepares to protect many players by using them as shields. Wilbert has fulfilled his role. Now it is Lily’s turn to hold the line with greater strength.
“Numbers, after all. So many players here. It makes sense to protect them?”
“Yes, of course.”
She shifts the falling spears of water and the rising torrents, replacing them with endless disposable soldiers. She shields every player around her.