“We did it!”
“Direct hit!”
That was one of the combos they’d planned ahead of time. Everyone had done their part, and their attackers had nailed the finish.
Their blows were so strong, few things could withstand them…
And even fewer could survive sixteen hits in a row. As far as they could remember, only the raid bosses—built to fight while surrounded by multiple guilds—had ever managed it.
And yet…a black shape loomed behind the fiery walls. The king still lived, and with far less damage to her HP bar than they’d imagined.
““How…?!””
“Mai, Yui!”
“Pull back!”
Seeing that the twins were stunned, Kasumi and Sally grabbed them and got out of Dodge.
A moment later, flames scorched their vacated perch.
“That did hurt it… Does it cap the damage it can take?”
“Probably. Player DPS is going up everywhere; they might be building bosses that can avoid one-shots.”
Only the twins could do so much damage with ordinary attacks and skills, but Velvet’s Boom Fist after Hinata’s debuffs, or Pain’s Holy Condemnation after a Multi-Transfer—the other guilds’ best offensive players were making good use of buffs and debuffs, doing considerable burst damage in their own right.
And the tenth stratum was coming. They needed to design monsters to withstand the snowball effect on player skills. Especially if this was a boss in a hidden area.
“So it won’t let us win that easy!”
“But the damage is real. Let’s just rinse and repeat.”
The boss might be blocking some of the twins’ damage, but they had still hit her really hard.
High burst damage from each strike meant they could afford to play it safe, attacking less often but without risk.
“Sally and I will make an opening.”
“Just don’t miss it.”
““We won’t!””
The speedy pair shot back out, and the king unleashed more fires.
“We already—”
“—saw that!”
Sally and Kasumi zigzagged through the raining fires. The king took to the skies, firing from one location after another. But true to their word, the girls avoided them all, closing in.
Players without shields had to rely on evasion. The more they could dodge without resorting to skills, the better they’d fare in a fight.
Sally might be infamous for it, but Kasumi was extremely dodgy herself.
“Wind Cutter! Fire Ball!”
“Blood Blade!”
Sally’s spells peeled away the barriers, and Kasumi racked up some damage. Mai and Yui might be their big guns, but the speedy pair were down to do their part.
Every little bit of HP helped. The longer the fight went on, the more likely their focus would slip and they’d mess up.
The boss was hardly sitting there and taking it. She was already attacking again.
Fire spears aimed at the rear.
A big AOE, very powerful. But for all its strength, the rest of the party had the time to get themselves ready.
“Use the walls!”
“Maple, just in case, Cover.”
“Got it!”
“Spell Barrier!”
While Sally and Kasumi had kept the boss busy, the back line had set up barricades. These were much studier than their emergency measures the first time, and Kanade’s magic shored them up. Quite a few walls crumbled, but the players behind them stayed safe.
“That frees us up. Maple!”
“Sally, I’m joining in!”
“Got it!”
“Full Deploy! Commence Assault!”
It didn’t matter if her bullets didn’t hit home. Her barrage limited the boss’s movements and helped shatter the barriers.
While Maple was focused on attacking, Iz added more barricades, then spent gold to craft more on the spot, shoring up their defenses. If she had the materials, time, and respite, their walls had no cooldowns.
“Ancient Weapon!”
The black cube floating near Maple lit up and spread out, a blue laser net connecting the pieces.
“Maple, give me some footholds.”
“Syrup, Mother Nature!”
“Eighth Blade: Gale!”
Maple made a path to the king, and Kasumi sped up, darting along the massive vines.
“Okay, Origin Blade: Void!”
As she got in range, her hair turned white. Her unique teleportation skill required no ground, and it moved her behind the king.
The downside was that she was less durable, but that proved to be no problem: She thrust her sword, destroying the barriers.
“Seventh Blade: Pulverize!”
Her blade swung down, hitting the king’s back—the knockback effect sent the boss flying forward.
She’d teleported to behind their enemy so she could send the boss to where the others waited.
“Go!”
Chrome and Maple braced for a surprise attack, and Mai and Yui raised their weapons.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
““Weapon Hurl!””
The hammers pummeled the king, sending her hurtling right back the way she’d come.
Once again, the insane damage was heavily nerfed, but it still did far more than Kasumi’s blow, taking a solid chunk off the health bar.
The twins used their inventories to collect and reequip the hammers, and the king spread her wings, taking off again.
“Nicely done. I’ll have to take this seriously.”
She spread her arms, and a truly massive fireball appeared overhead.
If the whole ground caught fire, Maple Tree’s barriers wouldn’t be able to block it.
“Put away what you can; we’ll handle the rest,” Kanade called out, and everyone started retrieving barriers.
A pitch-black sun descended from above.
Soaking that was bound to hurt.
“Sou, Awaken.”
Not even batting an eye, Kanade summoned his pet slime.
He had it use the Mimic skill to become Maple, and just as the sun landed—
“Sou, Martyr’s Devotion.”
The party was blanketed in a warm light protecting them from harm.