Defense specialization and Demon King ten.
"Ah...!"
Not high-speed movement, but instantaneous teleportation.
The figure fades like mist, then appears beside Mizari, swords raised, and slashes instantly with blinding speed.
"Cover Move! Cover!"
"...Th-thank you! I'm saved!"
Sally's call works. Maple intercepts the attack and successfully defends.
The Demon King's swords are swallowed by Cover, but the attack does not reach the Demon King himself. The blades regenerate immediately and fail to be seized.
"Rapid Cannon! "
"Explosive Flame!"
Sally and Mii attempt to create distance from the Demon King with knockback.
But the flames and water, once they strike the Demon King's barrier, vanish completely.
The barrier does not react to passive skills, assuming the absence of Maple’s [Bad Feast]. Sally frowns, understanding that Maple’s [Bad Feast] is an exceptionally rare attack type, largely ineffective against most skills and magic.
The Demon King, having been blocked by Maple, does not remain silent. He swiftly drives his sword into the ground and releases shockwaves in all directions, attacking from every side.
“[Multi-Cover]!”
“Hinata, [Divine Concealment]!”
““““[Massive Magical Barrier]!””””
“Shadow, [Shadow Concealment]!”
“Clear, [Existence Dissolution]!”
Crom shields Mai and Yui, each activating their available defensive measures.
The multiple barriers deployed shatter. Those who did not use skills to nullify the attack sustain clear damage.
The rear line absorbs damage with minor reduction. Their HP drops by about a third. The damage itself is within acceptable limits, but the knockback and the debuffs—reduced STR and VIT—cannot be ignored.
All are flung away from the Demon King.
The greatest issue is the growing distance between players.
Some have already been thrown beyond the reach of Maple and Crom’s Cover Move.
If the fight continues, even if Maple remains stable, Crom’s VIT will reach dangerous levels.
With all STR lowered, attacks can only be made through skills and magic. The ability to defeat the Demon King, who maintains barriers, will vanish completely.
Before that point arrives, without a word, the front line—capable of normal attacks—charges toward the Demon King.
“Range Expansion! Gravity Control!”
“Outstanding, Hinata!”
I'll handle the knockback—! There's nothing I can do against the Demon King...
Hinata manipulates gravity to pull the scattered party members back together.
Hinata’s specialty clashes with the Demon King’s barrier to the worst degree, but since Gravity Control has a short cooldown, aftercare remains possible as long as the shockwave and counter do not arrive nearly simultaneously.
—Healing Rain!
Mizari restores the party once all are close again. The Demon King vanishes once more and reappears instantly behind Velvet, slashing forward.
—Saved me the trouble of closing in!
Velvet steps aside with swift precision, narrowly avoiding the blade.
With attack skills negated, only raw combat skill remains to be tested.
Velvet decides to test two things.
"【Battle Aura Awakening】! 【Full Force Strike】!"
She activates a damage-up buff, steps forward, and strikes the Demon King with a right straight punch.
Velvet tests two skills, believing she must quickly determine the extent of the Demon King’s barrier.
The effect emanating from the right arm—indicating the activation of 【Full Force Strike】—fades instantly within the barrier’s range, and the sensation accompanying the skill’s unique motion vanishes.
Yet the 【Battle Aura Awakening】 buff remains active. From earlier, when Maple’s 【Cursed Feast】 did not dissipate, Velvet concludes, with reasonable certainty, that the Demon King’s barrier nullifies only active skills and spells—specifically those that are attacks.
"Ugh… this won’t do much, will it?"
The 【Aura Awakening】 is a potent damage boost, yet the opponent is a Demon King—defense and HP are beyond comparison. A normal attack, even enhanced by a single skill, deals negligible damage.
The deeper the strike, the faster the counterattack comes, twin blades closing in without evasion.
“【Parry】!”
Velvet activates her defensive active skill within the barrier at the perfect moment.
As expected, it functions flawlessly, deflecting the Demon King’s twin blades.
“Hate it when they debuff just from touching…!”
Velvet’s 【STR】 and 【VIT】 drop sharply from the debuff inflicted by the Demon King’s blades. Judging by the rate, she won’t last long before being rendered combat-ineffective.
While Velvet draws his attention, Kasumi and Pain launch a pincer assault.
Yet the Demon King vanishes again, dissolving into smoke, and reappears elsewhere through teleportation.
The pincer attack fails. Next, the Demon King appears before Shin.
"Crack Sword—this thing’s a pain to hold!"
Shin blocks the minimal attack with a single blade, weaving evasion as he strikes forward.
Far removed from his usual style, and burdened by debuffs from dual blades, a proper fight is impossible.
Mizari’s healing remains intact, yet the Demon King’s HP does not decrease as expected.
The real problem is not the HP. It is the debuffs.
Though Shin survives a single hit from the Demon King, stacked 【VIT】 debuffs could result in instant death—especially for those whose durability is outweighed by agility.
"Yet this… makes attacking unbearable."
To move so freely was to render normal attacks ineffective. Pain watched the timing of 【Hyper Acceleration】, confirming as Hinata drew everyone closer by manipulating gravity.
A decisive moment to strike at the small, moving target was needed.
The thought passed through all of them. The voice that broke the silence was Kasumi’s and Kanade’s.
“Maple, Sally! I’ve got it! After the next buff removal, I’ll initiate 【Hell on the Battlefield】!”
“I’ve got it too. I think I can suppress the next attack using Sou’s power and create an opening!”
“Got it! We can’t drag this out!”
“Understood! Both of you—please, let’s attack together!”
A proposal filled with the confidence of long-standing guild members.
Against an unknown demon lord, improvisation is inevitable. Maple and Sally quickly grasp the nature of the plan, aligning it with prior preparations, and signal their readiness.
As Shin endures the demon lord’s assault, crimson light envelops all, nullifying active effects. Kasumi has waited for this moment.
“[Battlefield Rakshasa][Mind’s Eye]!”
The Mind’s Eye, previously used and now on cooldown, becomes usable again through the cooldown reduction granted by Battlefield Rakshasa.
Unlike Sally’s foresight or Dread’s instinct, this is system-driven revelation.
With it, even a movement without trace—immediately after teleportation—can be foreseen as an event occurring seconds hence.
“Attack from behind Frederica!”
“W-wait… here!?”
Kasumi sees the target of the attack seconds ahead. She anticipates the demon lord’s twin blades, foreseen through crimson predictive sight.
““““【Hyper Acceleration】!””””
This tactic relies solely on Kasumi’s skill. It lasts only until the next counter can be made.
Not to miss this prepared opportunity, Sally, Pain, Dread, and Velvet accelerate, taking the first strike.
“Notes! 【Chorus】! 【Barrier】! …… 【Water Wall】!”
The demon lord teleports behind Frederica. But Frederica knew this. She overlays Notes’s remembered magic, erecting a minimal barrier, rolling away to gain distance.
The drawback of 【Sea of Mana】 is heavy. With its effect gone, Frederica now has nearly no magic left, hindered by recoil.
The demon slices through the makeshift barrier with ease, pressing forward against Frederica. Yet, in its place, four arrive—racing in via 【Hyper Acceleration】.
Sally and the others form a wall, intercepting the demon’s pursuit.
“Wil!”
Wilbert understands at once, prompted by Lily’s call. Through 【Sleep】, the Teamed Monster’s abilities concentrate into one. The eye in the sky opens, fixed upon the demon.
“If the buff has meaning…! 【Power: Transcendence】! 【Royal Talent】! 【Tactical Guidance】! 【Force Beyond Reason】!”
Wilbert’s archery power has diminished greatly. Yet the buff’s effect remains unchanged. Indeed, thanks to the eye in the sky, the skill’s power is enhanced—making the buff more potent than ever.
The four are forced into close combat, pushed with relentless force. Even the Demon King cannot deflect their assault perfectly with two swords—their attacks remain unrelenting.
“Hah!”
Sally drives deep, carving a wound into the Demon King’s flank. The Demon King swings his blade without hesitation. Sally shifts her body, narrowly avoiding the strike by mere centimeters.
“Two tenths too wide…!”
Dread lunges into the opening. A clean hit-and-flee, maintaining a safe margin. He reads the Demon King’s reach, stretches it to the limit, and passes the moment to Velvet.
“I’ll give you something heavy—【Iron Core】!”
Dread slips inside the guard, ready for counterattack. He absorbs the Demon King’s debuffs, relying on 【Iron Core】’s damage reduction and Mizari’s healing, and drives a heavy fist forward.
But… this is my limit. Now, I’m counting on you!
The exchange of blows with the Demon King steadily worsens Velvet’s disadvantage. Each strike adds to the relentless drop in 【STR】, while she maintains her offensive pressure. Though she lands damage with her buffs active, the debuffs press down heavily, rendering her attacks increasingly futile.
Yet this time, another powerful attacker stands ready. With decisive timing, she drives her uppercut forward, lifting the Demon King’s frame and transferring the assault to Pain.
“Aah!”
Pain, receiving the charge from Velvet, dodges the Demon King’s dual blades once, then strikes downward with a clean cut, inflicting damage.
The Demon King blocks the sweeping blades, using defense to counter the pressure. Pain presses forward. Her higher base stats shine in this confined space, where movement is restricted. Her raw striking power seizes the moment, tearing away a portion of the Demon King’s HP.
“…!”
The Demon King’s preparatory motion is a wide-area attack with knockback, breaking formation. The swing is slightly broad, but compared to the twin swords’ arc, it is not something one could react to on instinct.
The range is wide. Sally, Mai, and Yui must respond. Yet each has already used their individual damage-resistance skills long ago.
"Sō, [Love That Offers the Body]! [Residual Light of Salvation]! [Unbreakable Shield]!"
As if waiting for this moment, Kanade activates Sō’s skill in sync with the Demon King’s movement.
Through [Mimicry], they can use the skill that precedes the mimicry—flexible, adaptive, the hallmark of Kanade and Sō’s partnership.
The goal is to use Maple’s [Love That Offers the Body] again—something that should no longer be available in this battle.
"Enough. Thank you, Sō."
Though damage was mitigated, Sō was driven to combat incapacity as Kanade watched from within the ring.
Yet the role was fulfilled.
The attack of the Demon King was deflected with minimal resources, producing a moment worth a thousand gold.
The formation held, despite what should have been collapse, and Sally and the others continued their assault without receiving damage while the Demon King remained in motion.
“[Cover Move]!”
Sally was not the only one waiting for that opening.
At the moment the defense turned to attack, Maple moved at high speed to Sally’s side using [Cover Move].
Sally, having advanced based on Sō’s [Love That Offers the Body], had closed the distance precisely with the Demon King, becoming the starting point for Maple’s strike.
“Yaaah!”
Maple strikes the Demon King’s large shield just before the King raises his twin blades. The attack unleashes damage far beyond normal strikes—damage only 【Malnourish】 can produce. Maple was both shield and spear.
“Maple, again!”
“Yeah!”
Before the distance widens, Maple swings the shield in a full arc. This time, the Demon King manages to block, swinging his twin blades to deflect the shield—but the blow is swallowed whole by 【Malnourish】, and the shield explodes with a second strike.
“That’s it—【Malnourish】 has one more use!”
“Enough! Nice!”
The Demon King staggers, face twisted, barely regaining distance as Sally and the others press the attack.
“【Cover】!”
Maple, having participated in the assault, immediately took up defense as Kasumi surged forward with 【Hyper Acceleration】, swapping places with Velvet, who had retreated to the rear.
“Hah!”
“Almost there—just a little more!”
“Don’t let up…!”
“Cut him down!”
In the instant Maple’s attention shifted, four weapons struck the Demon King nearly simultaneously.
A burst of damage effect. The HP bar above his head hovered at just ten percent.
“Gh…aaaah!”
A crack split the barrier shielding the Demon King’s body. It flung back Maple and the others, and the Demon King ascended diagonally upward, scattering crimson light.
One more push—there was no doubt about it.
Yet, even as death loomed, the Demon King’s gaze remained sharp. A pressure radiated from him, as if he could kill at any moment.
He must not be allowed to go free. It must be decided here. All minds agreed.
“[Divine Punishment]!”
“[Abyssal Demon Bolt]!”
The vanguard charged forward toward the Demon King. Mizari and Kanade struck at the crack in the Demon King’s barrier to confirm its extent.
As before, their attacks vanished upon contact with the barrier. Yet the crack widened.
The behavior suggested a limit to how many times the barrier could nullify attacks. A valuable clue. All members raised their hands to cast magic.
The Demon King was undoubtedly weakening.
Yet no moment offered greater potential for strength than the brink of death.
Four magical arrays floated behind the retreating Demon King. From them emerged a monstrous head, its maw yawning wide.
As everyone had sensed, a laser shot forth, tearing through the ground as it advanced.
“Residual Light of Salvation!”
“Blessed Sanctuary. Purifying Sanctuary!”
Maple and Mizari create an area with high damage reduction. The Demon King’s movements shift noticeably. Skill cancellations occur with increasing frequency.
At this point, mere steps from victory, there is no intention to remain cautious, holding back skills out of fear. When the moment to strike comes, one must strike—risking all.
Mizari immediately heals those wounded by the laser. Yet the laser carries a debuff that reduces healing. The pressure of imminent death slows Maple and her allies’ steps.
“My dark sword, come forth…! I shall sweep it all away—this domain and all within it!”
At the rear, a black magic circle unfolds where the Demon King flees. From within it, a crimson greatsword extends forth, crackling with sparks. As the Demon King’s cry implies, seizing that blade would shift victory far beyond reach—perhaps even ensure instant defeat.
“Maple! Don’t let it reach you!”
“Y-yes…! Everyone, lend your strength!”
“Rei! Maple, Sally, get on!”
“Yes!”
Strike before it arrives. Pain lifts Maple and Sally onto Rei’s back, then darts beneath the Demon King’s red laser, closing the distance in an instant.
Yet the Demon King does not yield easily. One after another, massive magic circles unfold. From within them surge countless grotesque forms, piling atop one another as they leap forth.
Each is not an opponent beyond defeat. But the Demon King has scattered the [STR] debuff across the battlefield, and he intends to prolong the fight.
But if time is wasted, the Demon King will reach the sword and draw it, swinging the great blade.
The Demon King's purpose was merely to delay. That much Maple understood.
"【Ancient Weapon】【Barrel Deployment】【Attack Initiated】!"
This was one of Maple's maximum火力. An attack method unaffected by diminishing 【STR】, piercing through the monstrous barrier that had grown like a wall, blocking their path.
"Can't bring it down...!"
"Mr. Pain, flank around!"
"Ah! Ray...!"
At the moment Pain reluctantly ordered Ray to flank, a blinding light erupted from behind, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
"Keep going!"
"We'll carve the path ourselves!"
There, Velvet and Mii stood poised to unleash their great technique. A power once unleashed before their eyes, its destructive force undeniable.
"...! Yeah, thanks!"
As Maple turned forward, thunder cracked and flames exploded. The vast energy spreading through the air swiftly turned toward the Demon King.
“[Thunder God’s Mallet]!”
“[Inferno]!”
The raging thunder and flames consumed everything, burned it, erased it.
The storm of destruction obliterated the abomination the Demon King had summoned, cracked the Demon King’s barrier further, and cleared a path for Maple and the others.
Rai flew straight toward the Demon King through the flashes of thunder and fire. Yet the Demon King kept interfering, one after another, blocking the path to the great sword.
From the eight expanded magic circles, small arms wielding swords sprouted, rushing at Maple and the others at high speed. A crimson barrier formed, splitting the two groups apart, halting their advance once more.
From the vast magic circle spread across the ground, a monstrous limb formed from twisted, entangled growths reached toward Rei, its fingers straining forward.
"Crack Sword!"
"Blood Knife!"
Kasumi and Shin sever the smaller limbs. Control of the air is not granted. The attacks closing in on Maple and the others are deflected, their advance halted.
"Weapon Throw!"
Mai and Yui's massive mallet, hurled from behind, shatters the barrier blocking their path. A throw powerful enough to break city walls—there is no reason a single barrier should withstand it.
"Star Chain"
"Holy Chain"
Hinata and Markus produce two chains that bind the reaching limbs, wrenching them away from Rei and slowing their momentum. No one surpasses the two in holding back an enemy.
"Stay out of this... behave yourself!"
Rei closes the distance further, bolstered by each aid. Yet the Demon King still holds power.
From the many magic circles spread around Rei, thorn-like crimson blades extend. The Demon King heightens his magic, surges forward, and charges toward the great sword.
“[Power: Shatterburst]!”
“[Gravity Cage]”
“[Dull Rain]!”
“Necro’s [Weight of Death]!”
At the sound, the blades hurtling toward them explode and vanish. The Demon King slows. The barrier, cracked wide, loses some of its strength. It now suffers a debuff, slowing movement.
Maple turns toward the source of the voice. The machine created by Lily shoots forward, belching blue flames, carrying everyone, following closely behind Maple.
“Still have a path until the end! Take him down here, Maple!”
“Yes!”
“Rei! [Meteor]!”
Maple and the others surge forward, blue flames belching from their backs, carrying everyone, following closely behind Maple. “Still have a path until the end! Take him down here, Maple!” “Yes!” “Rei! [Meteor]!”
The moment arrives.
“……?”
Wooden birds fly in from the side of the Demon King. The Demon King reacts, turns his face toward them, and fires magic with his free hand.
“[Switch]!”
Markus shouts just before the magic strikes.
Using the [Switch] spell, he replaces the scout bird with another—substituting the trap’s position.
At the same instant the magic lands, a massive explosion echoes.
The replacement is Iz’s reinforced bomb, tied to the ground where the trap was set.
The bomb detonates midair, spreading a great flame. Maple and the others see it—the Demon King’s barrier finally shattered.
It worked!
Yes, then...!
Deliver it even to the Demon King. That is all.
The hour of resolution drew near.