Crow revealed the shocking truth about the world.
It was too much information to just brush off as a lie.
The world I saved.
Now just a world that is merely a game.
“Hehe.”
He seemed to expect some reaction from me, not even taking a combat stance, just gazing at me with a smile on his lips.
“…So.”
“Hmm?”
“Your purpose is simply to destroy this world, isn’t it?”
The words spilled out of my mouth, shorter than usual.
I felt annoyed.
I wanted to ask the demon race about things I hadn’t questioned in the past. Of course, being a timid hero, how much could I have really talked with demons? We were too busy fighting with swords drawn.
Crow spread his arms and laughed.
“Haha! Humans are born, eat, breathe, and live. It’s the same thing. We color all worlds in our shade. Do you ever think to ask why living beings breathe?”
“You know quite a bit, huh? Do you realize that this world is just a game now? You here are real? Other Crows must be fighting users too?”
“It’s good that I can exist in many forms! From a higher dimension, we might look like pieces on a chessboard.”
“Then just die as a chess piece here.”
He chuckled.
“We take the power of the World Tree and create our own World Tree. Then we fill this world with magic. If I’m just a piece on the chessboard with a role to play.”
Swish.
He straightened up, lifting his body and began to move backward. His destination was the center of the Abyssal Tree, where the violet globe was located.
“I’m just carrying out that duty!”
Boom!
The center of the Abyssal Tree trembled.
“Alright, hero! If you intend to defend this game board once again, I will obstruct you from the knight’s position!”
Crow disappeared into the violet magical globe, which began to swell.
Boom. Boom.
Caw!
Crow, absorbed by the violet globe, soon transformed into a gigantic crow chimera.
What the heck, it really is a crow.
The roar too.
This is totally cold.
Sharp claws, crow head, crow wings. A bipedal crow form chimera? Some might think it’s cool, but personally, it doesn’t do much for me. However, the powerful strength it holds was clearly transmitted.
In old cartoons, the boss would transform three times during a fight. Once completing the final form, their combat power skyrockets. But why don’t bosses attack with full power from the get-go?
Of course, Crow was different from the cartoon bosses. He greeted me in his true form from the start.
Shing.
I drew Astaroth.
Swish.
I swung it horizontally, leaving a silver trail.
“I understand your motivation now.”
Who do you think I am, some skeleton? Don’t casually break the fourth wall when you’re nothing more than an NPC.
If we’re chess pieces, I guess Commander Crow would be a knight?
I’m a pawn.
A weak pawn at present, but not to be dismissed.
Chess strategies are formulated around pawns. And when they reach the end of the board, they become a queen.
Promotion, queening.
Becoming a strong piece that can turn the game around.
“I love this world.”
The beautiful Continent of Astria.
The world I protected with my companions.
Lower dimension? Higher dimension?
I don’t know about that.
I’m a hero of this world.
If there are those who wish to destroy it.
I will just stop them as a hero.
Swish.
I lowered my stance, glaring.
Flash!
Like a flash of light, I charged towards him.
[3Named Enemy]
[Level 53]
[Commander Crow]
[HP 300,000,000 / 300,000,000 (100%)]
Caw!
What a racket. Is that really the dignified Commander Crow?
It seemed he had lost his words after changing form.
Clank, clash!
The nails slashed, my sword clashed against them repeatedly. Crow’s attacks were fast and sharp. He swung his massive claws, trying to tear me apart.
Clang!
Flash!
I lowered my sword in a sweeping arc after clashing with his claws, passing close to Crow’s waist. Swoosh! The feathers of the crow swirled around me. His feathers bore the defensive quality of dragon scales.
Whoosh!
Without glancing back, he swung his claws at me as I passed him by. I broke out in a cold sweat and lowered my head. The sound of a strong wind whistled past me.
The attack patterns were expansive, even from the basic ones. If you don’t catch him in the right spot, you won’t escape his attack range.
Clang, clang, clang!
Crow swiftly turned and fiercely swiped his claws at me. Four times, he tried to rip upwards from below. A crow using sharp nails as weapons? While some may find it cool, it didn’t impress me personally. His massive body compounded the force, sending strong vibrations through my sword.
Flap.
“Wha!?”
Crow’s massive wings flapped once. Lightly lifting his body, he dove down onto me from above.
Crash!
Thunk.
I deftly escaped the landing range through backward evasion, aiming my sword at his back.
Spin!
He turned his neck 180 degrees to glare at me.
Chill.
Sensing the danger, I immediately counterattacked.
SWING!
His beak opened wide.
A glow flashed from within.
Flash!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The violet flash emitted from within consumed the spot I had just occupied in an instant.
This guy can even use a breath-like attack.
With those wings, it’s all the more troublesome.
Wooow!
But the attack pattern after landing wasn’t just a breath attack.
Crow raised his hand.
Magic gleamed in his grip.
In an instant, my head spun rapidly.
My invincibility skills were all on cooldown. The patterns were coming fast. While the attacks weren’t faster than Jacam, most of the patterns forced my invincibility skills.
Should I trigger a cooldown reset? No, I can’t use it in a basic pattern.
If things go south, it might as well cost me my bones.
As I readied myself for the soon-approaching shock.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion of magic erupted around me and Crow.
I broke into a cold sweat as I watched the violet energy soar around us.
A bizarre explosion.
No damage was dealt to me.
The eye of the storm.
A doughnut-shaped explosion.
The inside was empty.
If so…
Slash!
I aimed for Crow’s still form, intent on ripping through the feathers to expose his flesh.
And then, as Crow’s hand lifted after the explosion.
Swish.
Boom!
Thunk!
I narrowly evaded with backward evasion as the cooldown refreshed. My body, positioned beyond the space, remained safe amidst the explosion.
I was prepared.
If the explosion is doughnut-shaped and the outside bursts first, then the inside follows as a pattern. Think back to the Forward Base 3Named Enemy, Jacam.
After the explosion aimed at the ranged attackers, it’s the melee attackers that are targeted. If we had raided with ranged dealers, they would have all been wiped out during that first doughnut explosion.
But—
“Ugh!?”
Soon after, an uncomfortable sensation wrapped around me, making me frown.
Clang!
Before I could even speculate deeper, Crow’s claws shot in my direction. I calmly deflected it, seeking an opening to stab him while trying to decipher the source of this discomfort.
What is this?
I indeed know the source of this discomfort.
It’s pain.
It feels like all the blood is draining from my body. My strength faded, and wielding the sword became burdensome.
Of course, if the synchronization rate is low, it could be ignored. But for me, while I benefit from the synchronization rate, there’s also a penalty for taking damage that slows my body down. This is similar to how a human’s body becomes defensive when injured.
However, I traditionally don’t fight while taking continuous damage. If I’m about to die, I prefer to die cleanly. Moreover, the World Tree’s belt feels like it lowers my max HP to 1%, so I don’t need to fight with a dying body. Just one hit, and I’ll die anyway.
In any case, I rarely have memories of battling while continuously taking damage.
Why?
Wasn’t I avoiding all his attacks?
Meanwhile, my gaze caught a transparent icon floating in my field of vision.
That was the buff and debuff window.
Though I usually don’t check it as my sense of reality slips, I keep it on when figuring out initial gimmicks.
What appeared before me was:
[Severe Punishment (24 seconds)]
[Receiving 1000 damage per second]
Continuous damage. Debuff type.
Why?
There can be scenarios where buffs penetrate invincibility. These provide benefits, but if excessive, they transform into debuffs. Of course, these are types that can be cleared through gimmicks.
However, this is a clear debuff.
A kind of bleeding damage.
My HP was continuously decreasing.
When did this debuff even activate?
There’s only one plausible pattern.
During the close-range explosion, the violet flames that enveloped my invincible body.
But I had clearly resisted it through backward evasion!
The conclusion stands clear.
Until now, my invincibility has failed to protect me from all patterns.
I gritted my teeth and glared at Crow.
“This guy.”
Somehow, it felt like the crow head subtly smirked.
Commander Crow.
He,
Has pierced through the system’s protection, inflicting damage.
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