Δ Δ Δ
"I'll wait for you. Catch up."
Leaving those words, Kuuri strides toward the most dangerous place in the room, weathering Rayfox's deathly glare.
The Kobold King's HP is down to one and a half bars. Even with three top-tier players, their firepower's too low to finish him. How many have died? Diavel's mind, mired in a dark abyss, struggles to count.
Six. No, seven now. Another player, surrounded by ball robots, shatters under their relentless assault, like a puppy battered to death.
Yet, it's a miracle the toll isn't higher. If those three hadn't held the Kobold King at bay, and if Kuuri hadn't taken the brutal step of killing two parasitized players to neutralize the rest, the casualties would be catastrophic.
I could've done better, Diavel thinks. With proper leadership, we could've systematically subdued the parasitized players safely. But this ragtag group, leaderless, made that impossible. So Kuuri acted like a surgeon excising cancer, ruthless but necessary.
It's my fault. The inner abyss torments him. My weakness, my stupidity—it's forced my comrades to bear sins, pushed players into peril.
"I'll wait for you."
Diavel sinks deeper. Facing reality, analyzing it, only drags him further down.
"I'll wait for you."
He closes his eyes in the darkness. Death feels fitting. Let the Kobold King or the ball robots end it. He wishes for it.
"I'll wait for you."
A memory flickers. In the Dark Rider fight, Kuuri clapped his shoulder, looking at him like a hero.
"I'll wait for you."
In that ruined village, during methodical leveling, Kuuri and Sinon followed Diavel's cautious strategy without complaint. At dusk, they sat around a campfire, grumbling about bland food but sharing it together.
"I'll wait for you."
In a dying town, Kuuri admitted to PKK, baring his truth as if seeking punishment. Diavel thanked him. Kuuri fought to protect them, and Diavel vowed to find a better way together, as comrades.
Kuuri doesn't see himself as self-sacrificing. He fights to survive, to win. If he can save others in the process—especially comrades—he will. That's all.
"I'll wait for you."
When Sinon nearly died, Diavel stood frozen, trapped by visions of his own death, bound by incomprehensible pasts, fearing the present, a wraith awaiting the guillotine.
Sinon begged him to lead, to turn the tide. He did nothing. This is the result.
"Catch up."
A flash. Diavel cleaves a ball robot sneaking up on Rayfox from behind.
The past doesn't matter. Visions don't matter. What matters is the will to break this reality, to survive. Isn't that right?
There's still a chance to change the outcome. Diavel has that power.
"I'll fight. I'll fight and survive. I will survive!"
He finishes off the remaining ball robot. A faint chime rings, as if answering his resolve.
A system window appears:
Diavel laughs. Gripping the Red Rose—passed to him by a dear comrade—he realizes he never checked proficiency during combat. It's been growing in real-time. The ball robot's defeat pushed Red Rose's proficiency to unlock its hidden power.
The goddess of victory was always by his side. In his mind's eye, a celestial figure with flowing white hair extends her hand.
Taking it, Diavel rises.
"Reform the ranks! Survivors, assemble! We're taking down the Kobold Lord—now!"
"…"
"What are you waiting for, Rayfox? Reform the ranks and end the Kobold Lord. It's a king-slaying. A grand task. Gather everyone—now!"
"Y-Yes!" Rayfox snaps to attention, spurred by Diavel's commanding tone, and rushes to rally the chaotic players. Diavel joins her, moving to unite them.
Δ Δ Δ
Welcome to the monster's dance party. That's the thrill coursing through me.
Smith, Eagle Eye, Sinon—they've all surpassed my expectations. Despite barely investing in VIT, they balance attack and evasion in a deadly dance where a single hit could kill. They don't flinch.
But stamina's a cruel limit in this world. Their relentless performance is a march toward death. My arrival tips the scales, giving us brief moments of respite in the Kobold King's onslaught.
"Took you long enough," Smith quips.
"Sorry, man. I was always first in races as a kid, you know," I shoot back.
The Kobold King's attacks are down to the steel beam and The Skull Reaper. We won't let him retrieve his talwar. That blade, capable of slicing candelabras for deadly throws, is too dangerous for the players behind us. No chance.
The king swings the beam, gouging the floor. I dodge, then grab the beam mid-swing, vaulting into the air. My battle axe slams into his skull, but he's a corpse—barely flinching.
Eagle Eye doesn't miss the opening. Alone against The Skull Reaper, he moves with silent ferocity, slipping through its scythes to pierce the Kobold King's neck with Linear, a basic rapier sword skill. His speed and precision rival The Flash. Not stopping there, he triggers Reaper with his curved sword, shattering a joint on The Skull Reaper's forelimb, disarming one scythe.
"Sorry… stamina's out. I'm pulling back," Eagle Eye says, his voice younger than I expected—maybe my age, mid-20s. His brimmed hat hid his face, but his youth surprises me.
His retreat stings, but he weakened The Skull Reaper. Its whip-like body, capable of omnidirectional attacks with vomit, bites, and scythes, is down a scythe—huge.
"That's the end of my clip," Smith announces. His rifle's out, but he's been targeting the king's chest wound, widening it. He jams his scimitar into it, but his style relies on guns. His damage drops.
I dodge the beam's relentless slams, but the shockwaves slow me. The Skull Reaper aims its vomit attack, jaws wide. Sinon, mimicking my beam-vaulting trick, unleashes a triple shot into its mouth. The attack fizzles, and The Skull Reaper screams as flames erupt inside.
"Ku! I've got a mountain of complaints for you, but for now—!" Sinon shouts.
"I know. We kill this thing first!" I reply.
The Kobold King's composure is gone. His HP's down to the final bar. He's on the ropes.
"You're incredible," I taunt. "A first boss this strong is unfair. But you're not enough to kill us. Come back when you're stronger!"
Sliding under his legs, I aim for his ankles, hoping to trip him. No luck—he's a boss, unyielding. Instead, he whips The Skull Reaper like a tail. The floor explodes, debris slamming my gut. I let it blow me back, spinning mid-air to land on a candelabra, then launch with Rabbit Dash.
Like a bullet, I bury my battle axe into The Skull Reaper's lower jaw. The force breaks my axe's blade but shatters the jaw, neutralizing its bite.
I kick the Kobold King's head, landing in front to taunt him. He swings the beam in a frenzy, but I backflip away. As I'm airborne, Sinon's arrow pierces the king's throat with perfect aim, driving deep.
"What's wrong? This isn't all human strength's got! Come on, beastman king—show me your depths!"
Equipping my trusty war pick, I charge the bloodied Kobold King for one final clash.