Ossan Saikyō Chapter 11 Part 07
“You've made it all the way to this floor, so this much shouldn't pose any problem for you. Now then, here I come.”
Standing atop the raised platform, Lylanora pointed at us and commanded the Headless Soldiers,
“Go.”
The 4 Headless Soldiers glided toward us all at once.
“Fray, use『Halo』. Sphenia, the moment Lylanora makes a move, keep her occupied with magic and arrows. Rani and Mariane, protect those two for now. I'll handle the Headless Soldiers.”
“ “ “ “Yes!” ” ” ”
Judging by the atmosphere, Lylanora was probably a backline fighter.
If she really was a Vampire, she'd likely possess exceptional physical abilities as well, so letting my guard down was out of the question.
By the time that thought crossed my mind, the Headless Soldiers were already upon me.
The one in front stepped into the range of my mace.
It had already raised its sword...
But my mace was faster.
With a full-powered horizontal swing combined with【Shockwave】, I blasted away 3 Headless Soldiers at once.
Their plate armor shattered, crumpled, and exploded into pieces from a single strike.
The remaining one slashed at me from the side.
Activating【Whiplash】to its fullest, I reversed the swing of my mace and crushed both its sword and torso in a single blow.
“My... I certainly didn't expect you to defeat all four of them in an instant.”
Lylanora exclaimed in admiration as she extended a hand toward us.
Magic!
The instant that thought crossed my mind, a flaming arrow shot past from behind me and struck Lylanora directly.
“You truly possess many remarkable skills.”
Although Sphenia's spell hit her, Lylanora merely staggered back slightly.
The damage appeared minimal.
Avoiding the arrows that followed with movements resembling【Dash】, she stretched out her hand toward us once more.
Five crimson spears, the color of fresh blood, shot from her palm.
I blocked every one of them with my shield.
Yet despite possessing【Fortress】, the blood spears pierced the iron shield and punched holes straight through it.
“You blocked my【Bloodspikes】? Splendid.”
As she spoke, Lylanora continued firing blood spears in rapid succession.
I shattered every one of the incoming spears with【Shockwave】.
Lylanora's eyes widened.
Then...
A sphere of light appeared above her head and began to shine.
Bathed in the radiance of Freynil's【Sanctity】, Lylanora's movements froze for a brief instant.
“Rani! Mariane!”
“Got it!”
“Here I come.”
The two of them closed the distance in an instant with【Dash】.
Lylanora caught Rani's Mithril Sword with both hands.
At that same moment, one of Mariane's throwing spikes embedded itself in Lylanora's side before falling to the ground.
Rani followed up immediately with another strike.
Lylanora blocked it and forcibly knocked Rani backward.
At some point, a crimson one-handed sword had appeared in Lylanora's hand.
Just as she moved in to pursue Rani...
Another of Mariane's throwing spikes pierced her thigh.
“What marvelous teamwork!”
Smiling broadly enough to reveal her fangs, Lylanora swept her sword in wide arcs, forcing Rani and Mariane back.
She still looked as though she had plenty of room to spare.
Apparently...
『Halo』wasn't affecting her very much either.
“Soushi-sama, I'm going to cast «Sacred Ray» with【Remote Cast】and【Amplify】.”
“Understood. Rani, Mariane, fall back!”
The two of them retreated.
In their place, Sphenia's arrows rained toward Lylanora.
As Lylanora knocked the arrows aside with her sword...
A shower of holy light poured down from directly overhead.
“Even such magic...! This is quite unbearable!”
Trying to escape the area of «Sacred Ray» , Lylanora dashed forward.
Rani immediately slashed at her.
As Lylanora blocked the attack, Mariane's throwing spike struck her once again.
“Gh... So those attacks from earlier were inflicting debuff with【Affliction】...? Even so!”
Apparently Mariane's『Paralysis』or something similar, had begun taking effect, causing Lylanora to lose her balance dramatically.
Only for a moment.
She effortlessly knocked Rani away before spreading both arms wide with an imposing smile.
“Can you withstand...【Crimson Lance Ballet】?”
Well over a 100 blood spears materialized before Lylanora.
An overwhelming area-denial attack.
This was undoubtedly one of her trump cards.
“Everyone, behind me!”
I felt the other four gather behind my back.
At the same instant...
The countless blood spears shot toward us in a massive spread like a folding fan's.
Even the outermost spears curved through the air midway, all converging upon us.
An overwhelming saturation attack through sheer numbers.
Against an ordinary adventurer...
It would have been utterly hopeless.
“HaaAAH!”
With a shout, I swung my mace wildly in every direction.
The continuous barrage of【Shockwave】created an immense wall of force that shattered every single spear.
“What... is that power!?”
Lylanora stood frozen in astonishment, her beautiful face filled with disbelief.
In that instant...
Sphenia's arrow and Mariane's throwing spike pierced her chest.
『Immobilized』activated.
“Got you!”
“Not yet!”
Even then...
Lylanora barely managed to catch Rani's attack with her sword.
But by then...
My mace had already entered striking range.
◇◆◇
“What a splendid battle. Though, to be honest... it was a complete defeat on my part.”
The instant my mace struck her...
Lylanora's body quietly dissolved into nothingness.
Only the voice of the vampire woman echoed through the now-empty Boss room.
“You shall each receive a skill after this. However, this is merely the beginning, so the power you receive will not be particularly great. If you desire greater strength, then challenge many more dungeons.”
“That was our intention from the start. By the way... what will become of this dungeon?”
“Hehe... I almost forgot. Once you leave, this dungeon will naturally disappear.”
“Then the undead on the surface will disappear as well.”
“Indeed they shall. Well then, I must depart for my next destination. You all... and especially Soushi-sama... seem to possess remarkable strength. I believe we shall meet again someday. I look forward to that day.”
With those final words...
Lylanora's presence vanished completely.
This world was already full of mysteries from my perspective.
Yet among them all...
She had been by far the most mysterious.
If we ever met again...
I'd like to ask her many more questions.
“Soushi-sama... are you thinking about that woman?”
As I stood staring into empty space, Freynil gently took my hand and asked.
“Well, she was obviously no ordinary person. Naturally, I'm curious. The rest of you are too, aren't you?”
“Definitely. She didn't seem anything like a normal dungeon Boss, and she said all sorts of strange things too. Ah... the skills are coming.”
Just as Rani said...
I felt a new skill slip into my mind.
At least that part worked the same as an ordinary dungeon.
The skill I received was【Taunt】.
Apparently, it attracted the attention of enemies.
Come to think of it...
There had been similar skills in games back in my previous life.
Just like receiving【Fortress】 before, it almost felt as though someone in this world was insisting that I become the party's shield.
Freynil received【Might】.
As something obtained from what appeared to be a B-Rank dungeon, its rarity was exceptionally low.
Still...
Considering it was likely a skill she normally wouldn't have been able to obtain, it made sense.
For someone as physically weak as Freynil, there was no doubt it covered one of her greatest shortcomings.
Rani obtained【Fortress】.
It was the same skill I possessed.
As a speed-oriented frontline fighter, having her defensive ability improved was something I greatly appreciated.
Sphenia received【Advanced Fire Magic】.
Her【Fire Attribute Magic】had already reached its maximum level, so it had simply advanced to the next tier.
After all...
Fire remained one of the strongest offensive attributes.
Obtaining its higher-level version here was a significant gain.
Mariane obtained【Pierce】.
Its rarity was also low, but it was an important skill for her.
Since Mariane primarily fought Bosses using her throwing spikes, a skill that increased their penetrating power was unquestionably valuable.
“It was a strange dungeon, but we all got new skills too. As far as requests go, I'd say we really lucked out.”
Just as Rani said...
The investigation had ended up accomplishing two goals at once.
Still...
I couldn't help wondering how the Guild would react once Mariane reported everything.
And how the Count would receive the news.
Thinking about the remarkable work the【Bad Luck】skill had done once again...
I let out a quiet sigh to myself.
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E/N:
Just imagine if Ossan gets more skills or items boosting his agility and movement speed, he would only need to catch his opponent and they'd be done for in an instant!
Stay tuned!
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