“Stop running your war machine with the power of capitalism!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Now that’s a monstrous plan if I’ve ever heard one!
“The demon king intends to conquer humanity through military and economic means. I will not allow you to interfere.”
With that, our battle with Nahna Nahna began. Since she was an enemy, of course, the moment the battle started, her sprite grew way bigger—and ended up looking a lot cooler as well. We, on the other hand, stayed in the same cute little mini-sprite form as ever and looked downright weak in comparison. Just another one of those things, I guess.
Nahna Nahna pulled no punches. She came at us mercilessly and was just as tough as you’d expect a boss from the latter half of an RPG to be. Even with the three sages throwing out attacks of their own, it was tough going. Beelzebub had to keep casting healing spells every single turn—otherwise, she never would’ve been able to keep up with the damage Nahna Nahna was putting out.
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot to tell you something important,” said Smarsly. “The members of the party who didn’t come along to visit us sages have had their ultimate spells and skills unlocked, too! There was no way for the developers to know who you’d bring to the island, so they just made it so its effects would apply to everyone.”
Now that’s some top-tier video game logic if I’ve ever heard it! That’s good news for us, though!
“Check to see if you have any new powers, Laika!” I shouted. Most likely, a warrior like her would end up with at least one ability that could deal incredible amounts of single-target damage.
“I do, Lady Azusa! I’ll use it now!”
Laika leapt into the air and swung her sword in a downward arc, plunging toward Nahna Nahna.
[Oneshot Strike! Nahna Nahna takes 6296 damage!]
Yikes! That was one heck of an attack, all right!
“You’ve outdone yourself, Hero and her companions. I admit defeat,” Nahna Nahna said before tossing a sack of gold coins toward us. “This is the money you get for beating me. Good day to you.”
And just like that, Nahna Nahna vanished into thin air. We’d beat her…apparently? I had a lot of questions about that sequence of events, really, but for the time being, we’d got rid of the boss and saved the village!
“All right, we did it! This plan was a huge success!”
All of us gathered together to celebrate our victory. It had been a pretty tough event, but we’d overcome it in the end. And, now that the danger had passed, Smarsly the sage had another vital piece of information to share with us.
“A passageway to the demon king’s world lies on an island surrounded by rocky mountains, where no humans dwell. You must go there, travel to the demon king’s world, defeat the demon king’s four generals, and finally cast down the demon king! Once the deed is done, the elder god is sure to reveal itself!”
Considering how painfully expository that was, I’m guessing it came straight out of the game’s script…
We were finally nearing the story’s climax. I had a feeling we were about to be in for a boss rush.
“The demon king’s invasion is steadily advancing. Stop them, brave heroes, whatever it takes!”
You know, I’m starting to get used to Smarsly talking like this.
“We would love to come along with you, but I’m afraid my back pains me terribly. We’ll have to say goodbye here.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Does Smarsly even have a back?
✦ ✦ ✦
Before anything else, our party stopped at a nearby store to stock up on items.
“Incidentally, who do you suppose this world’s demon king is? We can say with confidence it’s not our demon king, at the very least,” Beelzebub mused as she glanced over at Pecora.
“I’ve been wondering that myself,” I said. “It seems pretty likely all the other bosses we run into from now on will be played by people we know, too.”
“Not that it matters a whit who stands in our path, of course. Also, let us purchase as many full health restoration potions as we can, so I can minimize my use of healing magic. With them in hand, we shall storm this so-called demon king’s citadel and give them the drubbing they deserve!”
Beelzebub had started displaying some serious motivation lately. That said, it wasn’t that she was getting into character, per se. It felt more like motivation to beat the game than motivation to save the world. Then again, this was very literally a game, so what right did I have to judge her for enjoying it in her own way? If anything, Pecora was a much stranger case in how much she was getting into character.
“The sages spoke of the demon king’s invasion sweeping the lands, but we’re the ones who are now invading the demon king’s territory, and they’re on the defensive. ’Tis a flagrant contradiction, and yet I find myself more and more willing to overlook such lapses of logic,” Beelzebub noted.
“Well, we’re going on the offensive with just five people, right? Maybe they’re keeping up the invasion in the background, and the enemies we fight in their stronghold are just their defending troops? That’d make sense, right? It’s not like we’re dealing with full-blown clashing armies or anything.”
“Hmph… Perhaps. Regardless, I shall ensure we are healed to perfection.”
When we actually purchased the healing potions Beelzebub had wanted, however, her expression suddenly stiffened.
“Well. It would seem the demon king’s invasion really is steadily progressing after all,” Beelzebub said, gesturing at one of the potion’s labels. I gave it a read.
✦ ✦ ✦
“They’re beating us on the economic front!” So Nahna Nahna was actually being serious about all that stuff…?
“T’would seem we really do need to defeat the demon king as soon as possible, then,” Beelzebub muttered. We still needed healing potions, though, so we bought about twenty.