“Hmph. Cowards,” Sousuke whispered, brandishing his crossbow.
“They’re skilled enough, but lacking in tactics,” Issei muttered, his fists at the ready.
Over days and days of squabbling, each had unconsciously become an expert on how the other moved and fought. Of course, both were thinking that they’d kill the other and make it look like an accident the first chance they got... but it was clear that, while at the center of all these fearsome enemies, it would be suicide to fight alone. Those were the circumstances under which Sousuke and Issei reluctantly worked together to beat their enemies.
It was then that a new enemy—a handsome warrior clad in red armor—appeared and said, “Heh. You’ve finally arrived.” The name above his head was D-ONO. He flipped back his bangs and said in a nihilistic tone, “Heh... My name is Diono, a warrior sworn to Yoko-sama. I give you credit for driving back my troops and making it this far. However...”
Immediately, Sousuke fired his crossbow and Issei executed a roundhouse kick. Diono the warrior was slammed into the wall and speared with an arrow, then hit and shot again and again and again and again.
“Hey... hey! Wait!”
Again and again...
“C-Cut it out! I’m—”
...And again and again... The attacks seemed endless. But at last, they trailed off.
“Who was that guy?” Issei asked.
Sousuke shrugged and said, “Who knows? Let’s go.”
Leaving the expired Diono behind, Sousuke and Issei bounded up the stairs.
Shinji headed straight for the dungeon, but upon realizing his beloved Cia wasn’t there, he knew where she had to be. “The central tower?!” he hissed to himself. I’m worried about my comrades, from whom I got separated in the fight... but Cia’s more important right now, he thought. Yoko’s probably waiting for me. She’s waiting for me, Zama the Gale, the one enemy she could never finish off no matter how many times we fought. I know because I’ve fought her—Yoko’s that kind of woman.
He ran up to the tower, pausing briefly to one-hit-kill any enemies he met along the way. At last, he ascended the stairs and came out on an open roof that resembled a heliport. Atop that roof stood his mortal enemy... Yoko.
“Heh... you’ve finally made it, Zama.” A gust of wind blew across the roof. It tousled the hair and cape of Yoko, who was using a beautiful blonde girl—the cleric Cia—as a hostage.
“Z-Zama-san?!” Cia choked out.
“Cia... I came here to save you,” he promised. “You’re safe now.”
“Heh heh heh... playing the white knight, are we?” Yoko taunted him, herself playing the cornered villain to the hilt.
Kaname came running a few seconds later. Sousuke and Issei were with her.
“Kazama-kun?!”
“Kazama!”
“Ngh...”
It was four against one. Victory was assured.
“Look, Yoko. The three of them are formidable fighters. There’s no way out of this for you,” Shinji said coaxingly. “Let go of Cia. Your hopes of raising your own kingdom are over.”
“Heh heh heh. Look at you, now. And to see the incompetent royal army become this strong... is this your doing as well?” replied Yoko.
“I couldn’t say. But that doesn’t matter anymore, does it?” Shinji asked.
Here, the black-clad witch smiled with self-reproach. “You’re right, of course. However! That’s no reason for me to wave the white flag to you!”
“What?!”
“This girl is my hostage!” Yoko announced. “I’ll do whatever it takes, Zama the Gale, to end your life here and now!”
“Hrgh!”
Yoko, using Cia as a shield, began chanting her ultimate spell.
“Z-Zama-san,” cried Cia, “run!”
“Like hell I’ll run!” Shinji screamed, and formed a mudra with his fingers. He chanted swiftly. Before Shinji’s eyes, white flames flared up.
The ultimate spell—it channeled the wielder’s own life into a fierce rush of non-elemental lightning that enveloped its target. There was a 60% chance that the wielder would die using it. But in exchange, it dealt more damage than most enemies could survive.
“I don’t care if this takes me out of play,” he snarled. “I just... I just won’t let you survive this!”
“Very interesting, Zama,” Yoko taunted. “To put an end to you... that’s the meaning of my life! It’s my world!”
“Very well, Yoko! I’ll give you everything I have!”
“This is fun, Zama! I feel it... This is the whole world!”
Zing, zing! Pop-pop! Whoosh! A swirl of graphical effects burst into being around Shinji and Yoko. It was truly intense... The two strongest characters on the server were gambling with their lives on the game’s strongest and most indiscriminate area-effect spells.
Kaname and the others unconsciously drew back.
“Does it... um... feel like we’re gonna get caught up in that?” Kaname ventured to say.
“And what about the hostage? This isn’t good. Run!”
“No... it’s too late...”
While the three of them watched, Shinji and Yoko’s eyes snapped open, and both roared,
“Zammmmmaaaa!”
“Yooookooooo!”
There was a flash as Zama and Yoko unleashed their full power upon each other. Lights streaked by. The earth boiled. The explosion enveloped the whole tower roof. It became so loud, so suddenly, that Kaname had to scramble to turn down her speakers’ volume. It was hard living in an apartment at night.
As their magical powers slammed into each other, it became clear that Yoko had the advantage. While the witch could ruthlessly bring all her energy to bear, Shinji couldn’t use his full power, as he hoped to preserve some of Cia’s HP.
Shinji, AKA Zama, hit the floor and lay motionless. Needless to say, the same happened to Kaname and the others. The damage was enough to kill them all instantly.
The only ones left were Zama and Yoko—both on the verge of death—and Cia. Thanks to a rare item that let one escape just before death, Yoko had managed to survive. Cia had also survived thanks to such an item, but she was unconscious and in critical status.
Shinji choked out, shoulders heaving. “Ah... Chidori-san... Sagara-kun... Tsubaki-kun...”
“Heh... It seems your comrades have expired. And your own MP’s down to zero. Poor thing,” said Yoko, relishing the opportunity to let her villain flag fly. “Too bad for you, but I still have enough power left to finish you. It’s checkmate.”
“Urk... hrk...”
“Prepare to die, Zama the Gale! Now, I kill you! Here, I kill you! And in doing so, my life will truly begin for the first time!” Yoko declared, and began to chant her final spell.
Shinji, in his fading consciousness, thought something like, I don’t think our grudge ran that deep, but that’s a damn cool line.
Just then...
Skrik! Kaname’s sword pierced Yoko’s chest from behind.
“What?!” The low-level warrior, still alive? Yoko wondered incredulously. How could it be?! Out loud, she said, “I-Impossible!”
And right there, Yoko had sealed her fate. She had said the line that meant death for any villain: ‘impossible!’
Kaname heaved for breath as she spoke. “I don’t quite know why... but I’m not dead,” she panted. “Most likely because of... that statue Mizuki dropped before.”
“A Swap Doll? No... Is that... the Fumofumo Tears?! Why do you have that rare item... oh, ohhh!” Yoko fumed.
Yes, the statue that Mizuki had dropped during their first encounter, the cute little statue with the moffle-y mouth, was a rare item that fully restored the HP and MP of the wielder at the moment of their death and drastically increased all their stats!