Mob
Kousei No Ore Demo Boukensha Ni Nareba Riajuu Ni Naremasuka: Chapter #62
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 62: What Lies Beyond the Door (3)
"......S- she’s so huge."
The huge body of the
mother goat, when seen up close, had such a presence that just standing in
front of her seemed as if she would crush you.
She was roughly the
size of a seven-story apartment building,
......perhaps just under 20 meters.
But not just the height, she was also fat like a turnip and had a mass
that rivaled that of an apartment building.
Due to her large size, she seemed to lack the agility of
the young goats, but it should not be judged that her actual speed is slower
just based on the difference in body size. Even though she looked slow, we had
to move many times faster to avoid her. The fact that she was big was a threat
in and of itself.
In addition, unlike
the hairless young goats, the mother goat was covered with tough-looking body
hair all over her body. The mother goat's huge body and sturdy coat...... her
defense and vitality are probably beyond those of the young goats.
"Yomiyomi, summon your subordinates."
Oribe ordered
Yomotsushikome to summon her subordinates. A black swamp spread out from under
Yomotsushikome's feet.
From within the
swamp, countless arms sprouted, and one after another, dead men dressed in
ancient war costumes appeared.
This was
Yomotsushikome's unique summoning of subordinates that made Yomotsushikome one
of the strongest of the D ranks, the Yomi army / Yomigun.
Normal subordinate
summoning consisted of two possibilities: summoning one at a time without
limit, like the Yomotsushikome, or summoning a finite number of subordinates
all at once.
And what
Yomotsushikome summoned were D-rank monsters with inborn skills in martial arts,
and Yomotsushikome had the skill to strengthen all the undead in the field.
Despite being so
capable, Yomotsushikome was the number one most unpopular card, said to be
dismissed by almost all adventurers who acquired it.
""Hyuwowowowo......!""
The summoned forces
of Yomotsushikome attacked the seven young goats with eerie cries.
The movements were so
agile and coordinated that it was hard to believe that they were lower-level
undead without ego, and they looked much stronger than the average ghoul,
perhaps due to their martial arts skills.
But, after all, they
were only D-rank subordinate monsters. They were no match for the seven young
goats, which had C-rank monsters combat power.
The Yomigun were
fearless in their charge, whether their arms were chopped off or their bodies
pierced. But their attacks did not hit the goats, and they were beaten
unilaterally.
Between the
annihilation speed done by the young goats and the summoning speed of the
Yomigun, the annihilation speed was clearly superior.
At this rate, it
would not be long before the main head, Yomotsushikome, would be done in.
--The story would be
different if Teacher's cards were to provide support.
By attacking one by
one and concentrating on each one, Teacher's cards were sure to finish off the
young goats.
The defeated young
goats immediately crawl out of the 7 large mouths on the mother goat's abdomen,
but there is a gap of time before they are able to return to the battle line.
In the meantime, the
speed at which the Yomigun was summoned surpassed their decimation, and little
by little, the number of the Yomigun was increasing.
It seemed that the
young goats could be left to them.
On the other hand,
there was not much progress with the mother goat.
『Yuki, use
improvisation to draw the enemy's attention! Make
evasion your top priority and never take a single blow! Eliza, follow up on Yuki! If
Yuki makes a mistake, cover her with [Shield of Devotion]! Mea, use Darkness and Mirage to blind it somehow! They probably won't pass as status ailment, but you can
buy a moment until there's more damage! Attack
magic team should also aim at the face as much as possible! We can blind it!』
While straddling the
Dragonet and looking down on the battlefield from above, I sent out
instructions via the Link in rapid succession.
Below, explosions of
flames, spears of lightning, and arrows like rain were constantly showering
down on the mother goat, and it even looked festive.......
"... Tsk, I have no idea if it's working or
not."
The mother goat
didn't seem to be suffering even after receiving a grand attack that would have
sunk it long ago if it were the boss of a D-rank dungeon.
The other party's
body was so large that it felt like poking at a large tree with a cutter.
Since the opponent's
body was so large, its movements were easy to see, and so far we had not
suffered much damage either, but it was easy to predict that the power of a
single blow would be devastating.
Even a C-rank card
would probably suffer near-fatal damage if they were to receive even a single
blow from a serious attack.
Moreover, even though
the movements were easy to grasp, there was a difference in reach due to the
huge body. If you start moving even a little too late, you will not be able to
evade the attack in time.
No matter how much we
attacked, it didn't seem to be working, and conversely, we must not take a
single blow from the opponent's attack.
Mentally, we were
gradually being driven into a corner.
"......Fufufu, it looks like the time has finally
come to use that."
Just as I was racking
my brains to figure out what to do, I suddenly heard Anna's implying line coming
from the badge on my chest.
The blatant pose made
me feel like not inquiring for a moment, but I decided to at least give it a
listen.
I landed near Anna,
who was standing on the ground, and asked her,
"...... Do you have a plan?"
"I thought something like this could happen...! I
was training for combinations against strong opponents!"
Anna explained with a
twinkle in her eyes.
Suppressing the urge
to scoff and reply with "You just want to say how you thought something
like this could happen, huh," I instead said,
"You're sure we have a chance of winning?”
"Of course! If it doesn't work, I'll give up my
position as the club's leader!"
Okay, if you say that much!
『Renge, [Spiritual
recurrence]! The others, attack in
full force and distract the mother goat!』
Renge transformed
into Kisshouten, and the cards' attacks became even fiercer. Seeing this
opening, Anna's cards left the front line and gathered in one place.
"Come on, my elites! Execute
Operation α!"
With a command, her
cards began to move.
The Elf straddled the
Pegasus, and the Dullahan encased the Elf. In the blink of an eye, the three
cards transformed their forms into the female knight of trinity.
Furthermore, the
remaining five D-rank cards also commence various supports to the Pegasus
Knight.
"This is ......!"
In front of my gawking
eyes, the Pegasus Knight charged at the mother goat.
It's fast! So fast that my eyes could only see the afterglow from
the support skill. The female knight flew around the mother goat and pierced it
with the lance in her hand.
The scene was truly a
starburst.
In the blink of an
eye, the mother goat screamed as her huge body was stained with blood.
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!!"
Oh, it's effective! Is
this going to work? ......Oh,
no, that's not good!
Glare! The mother goat glared at us. Something is coming......!
"Anna!" "Kya!"
Before I could ponder
on it, I grabbed her arm and pulled her up, soaring into the sky.
At the same time,
with tremendous momentum and a roaring sound, the mother goat passed where we
had been just before.
The momentum was like
an express train. The wind pressure alone was enough to toss us around in the
air like leaves from a tree.
As I held Anna in my
arms with all my might, all I could think about was an out of place thought
that I was glad I had a saddle and safety belt attached to my Dragonet.
Soon, when I got into
a better position and looked down below, I saw that the entire hill we were
standing on had been blown away, creating a brown path after the mother goat
had gone by.
What power......
"Se- Senpai, you saved me......"
"Haa...... that was a close call. Oh, right, Teacher
and others!"
Safe, I see. It was
fortunate that it was in the different direction from where Teacher and the
others were.
The mother goat,
after having been rushing, did not move even a single bit. Is it the type where
there is an interval after a big move?
The Pegasus Knight
launched an attack on the mother goat, which was still in a defenseless state.
Perhaps out of anger
at having their master targeted, the Pegasus Knight's offense was even more
aggressive, so much so that it seemed as if they could win without waiting for
reinforcements from Teacher and the others.
"Ho... how about that! Our signature special
move!"
Maybe to cover up the
fear she had just felt, Anna was puffing out her chest despite her age. I
replied with a wry smile, "Oh, it's impressive," when,
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh!!"
The mother goat was
wailing again and drowned it out.
The scene just before
her rush came back to my mind.
.....Don't tell me!
"Oh, no! Hold
it back!"
"......Eh?!"
The moment I issued
that, a black veil descended centered on the mother goat.
As expected! That mother goat's scream was not a scream
of pain, but a roar of rage before a great move.
And suddenly, the
cards were struck by abnormal status.
『Guh?!』
『Dragonet?! What's wrong?!』
『This is......! My body is heavy?!』
I hurriedly landed
Dragonet, which had lost its stability and became wobbly. The anomaly was not
only with Dragonet, but all of my cards as well.
......No, Yuki was
the only exception.
It was no exception
for Anna and her cards, and although the Pegasus Knight did not crash, it
clearly lacked its finesse.
There was no way the
mother goat would have missed that opportunity, and her huge talons of steel
swung down.
“Tanya!”
Anna shouted, and the
Elf leaped off the Pegasus. Somehow they managed to avoid a direct hit, but the
Elf and Dullahan fell to the ground. The Pegasus was cut deeply across its
body, and Anna screamed at the sight of it.
"Noooo! Dungeonteo!"
A beat later, the
sound of a card being Lost rang out from Anna's chest.
"No, way...... such a skill......"
"Snap out of it! Prioritize
your safe cards!"
"Tanya!"
At my shout, Anna
hurriedly tried to withdraw her cards. However, her movement was slow, as if
her leg had been broken in the fall.
Then, the mother
goat's came to pursue. The goat's front foot, like a giant tree, was swung
down.
“Tanyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Anna screamed.
Looking at her like
that, I turned,
"It's okay, we made it just in time."
Ahead of my gaze, I
saw the figure of an Elf being held by Yuki.
The utsusemi1
technique was just in time.
"Ah......."
Anna, perhaps
relieved by this, slumped down.
If she used the Link,
she should have known that her cards were safe...... but it seemed that she was
in such a state of panic that she didn't even realize it.
"But......"
What in the world is this gravity? The feeling that comes from the cards is that the body
becomes heavy as if it had turned to stone. Moreover, it seems that the
strength of the body is being sucked away, though little by little.
Yuki is the only one who is unaffected, probably due to
the effect of [Little hero].......
......Stone, and absorption... Oh yeah! This is a
reenactment of the bit about the wolf's belly being stuffed with stones!
Just as I was getting
an idea of the nature of the abnormal status attacking my cards, there was a
new movement by the mother goat.
Surprisingly, she
grabbed one of the seven young goats and began to chomp down on it.
As I was stunned by
the mother goat's behavior of eating her own child, the wounds all over her
body healed without a trace.
"Seriously....?"
I couldn't help but
whisper.
Fortunately, it doesn't seem like the eaten young goat
will come back to life, but there are six more left. Does that mean we have to
inflict serious damage six more times?
Not good. Even the magic power and stamina of cards are
not infinite. If it became a long-term battle, we would be at a disadvantage.
Cold sweat trickled
down my chin.
This is the power of B-rank Irregular Encounters.......
『......Oi, Utamaro.』
At that moment, Renge
called via the Link.
『What?』
『.........................』
In response to my
question, Renge hesitated, which was unusual for her, and finally she said,
『Can you, trust me?
Without a shred of doubt?』
『What, do you mean?』
『..................』
Renge doesn't answer.
I felt the presence of Suzuka and Yuki listening intently to our exchange.
I don't know what she
means by that, but,.......
『Yeah, I believe in
you』
I replied sincerely.
『I see......』
Renge muttered
quietly but happily,.......
『Synchronize, Utamaro.
Synchronize 100% with me.』
『Synchro? But......』
With my current ability, even when I'm at my best, my
limit is around the lower 80%.
And they say that no matter how skilled you are at
Synchronization, 99% is the maximum you can achieve. It is not possible to
completely reduce the barrier protecting the master to zero.
Renge turned around,
looked me straight in the eye, and said,
『If it's us now, we'll
be fine. --Trust me.』
『Okay.』
I nodded, meditated,
and silently Synchronized with her.
70, 80, 90.......
The Synchronization
rate increased so easily that I wondered why I hadn't been able to do it
before.
But then, at the very
end of the 99%...... we hit a thin, solid wall.
"This is......."
If I had to visualize
it, I would say it was a door that was chained shut.
When I touched it, my
instincts told me that I should not open it.
This was not
something meant to block me, but to protect me from what lies beyond this door.
However..... I let
out a small chuckle.
Today was a day that
I had a strong relationship with doors. A door that the dead visited in my
dream, a door to bring in the wolf to the Western mansion in reality, and
finally, a door at the end of the Link.
Then, is this a trap
too?
If today's events, or
rather, everything that had happened since I was attacked by the Hound Master,
had been arranged to make me open this door, then what lies beyond this door
is......
“——Still,
I believe in Renge.”
The moment I said
that, the chains shattered into pieces, I crossed the 99% barrier and ----
completely Synchronized with Renge.
When I opened my eyes
again, my vision had completely changed.
I could see the paths
to each and every possibility. The road of low possibilities was far away, and
the road of high possibilities was near.
The possibilities were constantly fluctuating, and I
could move closer or further away by weighing the luck and bad fortune on the
scale.
However, the amount
of luck that one person has is limited, and there is no way to change the
greater fate of the world.......
I gazed upon the
mother goat.
There, I could
clearly see the possible path to defeat the mother goat.
If I could see the
path to defeat it, it meant that I could also see her weaknesses and possible
strategies.
The shortest and best
way to defeat the mother goat was to hit her weak point, her uterus, with
maximum firepower.
However, that path
was long and narrow.
The reason was our
lack of firepower. With the cards in our hands at the moment, we could not get
a shot through the mother goat's uterus.
As a result, the most
reliable method was to cut down the stock of young goats, but there was a
possibility that someone here would die with a not-so-low probability.
----Kzzzt.
"Agghh......!"
Then, with a terrible
headache, the Synchronization with Renge was broken.
......Apparently, my
current limit was to see the path of possibilities for a very short time.
Renge, who also held
her head down, asked,
『Gh...... you see it?』
『Yeah .......』
『It looks like... we
need to kill it with one shot at.』
『Yeah, but ......』
There's not enough firepower...
Even if I attacked
with all my cards at once, I would not be able to get past the mother goat's
defenses. If I combined the power of my Teacher's Anna's, and Oribe's cards, we
might be able to do it, but in that case, our defenses would be insufficient
and there was a good chance that one of the masters would die.
『No, it should be
possible. Hey, Suzuka!』
Renge assured me
strongly and called out to Suzuka.
『Don't sulk forever,
just lend us your strength already! I
know you really want to be a part of this camaraderie! You shady little bitch!』
『Wha?!』
Suzuka's face turned
bright red up to her ears.
『Wh- who is......!』
『Shut up! It's obvious from the sidelines! Don't be a pest on the outside, just tell us honestly
that you want to be a part of this family!』
『Ah~, you said
it.......』
Mea whispered while
sounding astounded.
...Everyone was aware
that Suzuka really wanted to be in everyone's circle, but she couldn't be
honest and was pestering the others.
However, if you
invited her, she would just walk away like a petulant cat, so it was difficult
to handle her.
Still, everyone was
waiting for Suzuka to get used to us... but it seemed like Renge had finally
run out of patience.
『You're fond of
Utamaro too, don't you?!』
『......Agh, enough! I understand! That's
why you positive people are so.....!』
Suzuka ruffled her
hair and yelled.
At that moment,
Suzuka's card glowed. When I took it out, the name of the skill I expected was
engraved on it. --[Friendship linkage].
I grinned. Finally, she is being honest.
Renge transformed
from Kisshouten to Kokuanten.
Using a hoarse voice,
Renge said,
『Let's go ......!』 『Yes,
yes, .......』
Friendship
linkage--"The Night of the End of the World2" x "So Cute that The
Hatefulness is a Hundredfold3".
Black rain poured
down. The mother goat that was exposed to it ---- did not show any
abnormalities, however.
It was only natural.
The reason was that this was a curse that did not directly cause harm, but
merely lowered the mother goat's defense in every way possible.
The one who delivered
the crushing blow was.......
『Yuki!』
『Yes, ......!』
Sync. I wonder if I
got something out of the full Synchronization I just did. As expected, it was
impossible to reach 99% or full Synchronization, but now it was easy to raise
the percentage to the latter half of 90%.
Now the, let's go.
--[Wolf Clothing]. Her
body was transformed from that of a pretty girl into a werewolf.
--[When The Moon is
Full, It Follows]. For lycanthropes, whose fighting power increases with the
waxing and waning of the moon, today, with the full moon, is the day when they
can display their peak strength.
--[Breakthrough of
Limits]. Yuki's body exceeded its normal measurements and continues to expand.
When she finished her
transformation, there was a werewolf giant about 7 to 8 meters tall.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
--[Awakening of
Instinct]. With a roar reminiscent of a lightning strike, the limiter of the
muscles is removed and the body expands one more time.
Yuki, who had
unleashed her full potential, arched her back as if to draw back a bow.
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeehh!!"
Then, the mother
goat, as expected, felt a sense of agitation. She took a big breath in --- and
exhaled a scorching hot breath that was like a laser beam. Yuki's current
stance, in which she was focused solely on one blow, made it impossible for her
to evade.
『I won't let you.』
We had a reliable
party protector. Eliza, who had come between Yuki and the mother goat, produced
a white shield to take on the breath.
[Shield of Devotion]
was not a skill to prevent an enemy's attack. It was a skill that reduced that
damage, while at the same time taking it upon herself to shoulder it.
Eliza's entire body
burned and white steam rose. New skin regrows from underneath, but it too
quickly evaporates.
It was a race to see
if the mother goat's breath will push through or if the pool of blood she had
stored would be enough to withstand the attack.
Renge, the healer,
was also stuck, as she could not afford to cancel [The Night of the End of the
World].
While her comrades
looked on with a prayerful heart, - it was the mother goat who won the match.
Kh...... this is it, huh? The blood stock is almost gone.
The bet is a failure.
Just as I'm about to
pull Eliza back to her card,
“——Arms.”
With that voice,
Eliza's body was wrapped in armor and various support effects poured down on
her.
"Anna......!"
"Ahaha...... as the club leader, I should at least
show a little bit of a nice face, you know?"
Anna smiled weakly as
she said this. Furthermore, a magic circle appeared at Eliza's feet, and her
wounds begin to heal quickly.
"I'm sorry for being late in providing support. I'll
send Aradia to you at least."
My Teacher said
through my badge.
Eliza had completely
recovered, thanks to the boost to her defenses from Dullahan's equipping and
the blessing of Aradia, the guardian of the witches.
No matter how long
the breath lasts now, it will no longer be able to make her crumble.
Eventually, the laser
of breath gradually thinned out and ...... it ended.
The mother goat was
unable to move, probably due to the stress brought on by the breath.
The goat mother's
belly was exposed, unprotected.
Then, a bullet named
Yuki launched.
The bullet made a big
hole in the mother goat's abdomen, and snatched the Hound Master who was in her
uterus.
“Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh…!”
The Irregular
Encounter "The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats," deprived of its
nucleus, began to collapse on itself in fragments.
At the same time, the
world that had been rewritten gradually returned to its original dungeon.
While Anna and Oribe
slumped weakly, I cautiously looked around to make sure there were no surprise
attacks, and then I finally let out a sigh of relief.
It's...... over,
isn't it? It was an opponent more powerful than anything I'd ever seen
before.... I didn't even feel a sense of accomplishment, just a sense of
exhaustion.
『...Master.』
Yuki, who was holding the Hound Master, came
over. As if she had lost consciousness, she didn't move at all, and her chest
was slowly rising and falling.
"Senpai, is this person... the Houndmaster?"
Anna asked me with a
half-doubting look on her face.
The true appearance
of the Hound Master that we saw for the first time right now was an ordinary
young woman who bore no resemblance to the Saintess of the Star Mother
Association. Her peaceful sleeping face was so innocent that it was hard to
believe that she was a monster who had killed more than a hundred people.
"Senpai, Anna, look at this."
When I heard Oribe's
voice, I turned around and saw a card in her hand. I took it and looked at it.
It was a card of The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats.
The card gave off an
unusual feeling, with only a picture book-like illustration on it.
Is this... an Irregular Encounter card...?
And at that moment,
“Hey, what happened!?”
Akira-san and the
police officers came down from the stairs one after another.
With the defeat of
The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, the isolation of the space must had been
lifted and they were able to come in.
If it were a normal
Irregular Encounter, it would be possible to enter, but not to exit, but this
time it seemed that you could neither enter nor exit.
"...You're late, Nee-san."
We laughed bitterly
at my Teacher who muttered this as if he was heaving a sigh.
Thus, the seemingly
long but short battle with the Hound Master came to an end.
[Tips] The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats, Part 2
The third phase will
be a decisive battle with the enemy selected in the second phase.
If the door is
opened, after the young goats are eaten by the wolf, as in the fairy tale, the
wolf is killed by the mother goat and dies. At this stage, the spirits of the
masters trapped in the wolf's belly are awakened, but the mother goat and her
seven immortal young goats will attack. The mother goat has an extremely high
life force and is very strong, and she recovers all her energy by eating the
young goats, so a long battle is inevitable. The only saving grace is that the
young goat that was eaten will no longer be revived.
If the large clock is
destroyed, the seventh goat will be killed and the mother goat will not know
that the wolf has attacked, and the young goats will remain in the wolf's belly
and will not come out. The adventurers will have the last battle with the wolf.
The wolf will continue to regenerate from all the goats it has eaten, but it
will be easier to fight since there are no seven young goats around. Moreover,
the wolf's life force is lower than that of the mother goat, and at first it is
slow because of the weight of the young goats it has eaten. However, as you
defeat it, it becomes lighter and more agile, so it gradually becomes more
formidable.
If all adventurers
fail the Riddle skill in the first phase, both of these enemies will attack.
The mother goat will be accompanied by the immortal young goats, and the wolf
will be nimble from the start. It will be hell.
To be noted, at the
same rank, [The Pied Piper of Hamelin] is stronger than [The Wolf and the Seven
Young Goats]. The strength of [The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats] as an
irregular encounter is about in the middle to lower-middle range.
***
Notes:
1 One of ninja arts: exchange oneself with an object.↩
2 Renge’s skill as Kokuanten: A rain of deadly poison and disease ↩
3 Suzuka’s (a Hashihime) skill: Amplifies one's own negative emotions and converts them into magical power. Greatly increases the power of spells. The deeper the feelings towards the master and companions, the better the output will be. ↩
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