Chapter 82

"Magic circle complete!!"

"Mana fully charged!!"

As the magic circle activated, several more began forming beneath their feet in succession.

"First-stage formation complete...!!"

"Activating multiple magic circles!!"

"Beginning second-stage formation!"

No fewer than four magic circles activated in sequence.

"L-look over there!!"

"The Red Tower is casting a spell!!"

"Impossible! Four overlapping magic circles?!"

The people watching the battle from afar stared at the newly formed circles in astonishment. Until now, three had been considered the maximum number of magic circles that could overlap. But the Red Tower's mages had just surpassed that limit.

'We prepared this for the tenth floor...'

Suzuki Hana clicked her tongue regretfully as she watched the magic circles nearing completion.

"No matter what happens, we're the ones killing that dragon."

Now that they had revealed their carefully concealed trump card, they needed something to show for it.

Tightening her grip, Suzuki Hana stepped in front of the mages. Then she raised her red staff overhead and began chanting.

FWOOSH...!!

Flames blooming from the tip of her staff began forming magic circles in front of her. Two appeared, crossing one another to either side like a Möbius strip.

WHOOOOSH...!!

When the multiple circles she had created joined the four overlapping circles, the formation began to blaze, spewing crimson flames.

"Are they really planning to kill the dragon?"

"The Red Witch really came prepared this time!"

The powerful magic emanating from the rear was oppressive enough for even those without mana to feel it.

[Grrrr...]

Naturally, Bensina was aware of the magic as well.

[Indeed...]

But unlike the astonished onlookers, the dragon saw human magic as nothing more than a paltry trick.

"The Black Dragon is moving...!!!"

It happened then. Having annihilated the raid teams, Bensina began to move.

"Hold the spell!!!"

Suzuki Hana shouted in alarm at the Black Dragon's sudden movement.

"Ready your Shield scrolls!! It might use its breath! We have to protect the magic circles at all costs!!"

RIIIP!!!

At her shout, the mages tore their scrolls in unison. A translucent membrane formed around the magic circles. Tense, the mages watched the Black Dragon's movements.

"... What?"

But to their surprise, the Black Dragon began walking toward the village instead of the mages preparing to attack him.

[If you are so eager to kill me...]

Standing in the center of ruined Thorn Bach, Bensina looked at the Red Tower's mages and spoke in a flat voice.

[Fire your spell.]

Everyone in the area was bewildered by his words.

"... What?"

Suzuki Hana stared at the Black Dragon, her expression stiff. The citizens were evacuating, but many people still remained in Thorn Bach. Hundreds, at the very least.

And every one of them was within the spell's range.

"They'll all die..."

One of the Red Tower's mages blurted it out without thinking, and tension gripped them all.

'... Again.'

Woojin recalled what had happened with the Bolton family. At some point, he had begun noticing more and more enemies acting as though they were testing the players, rather than simply hunting and being hunted.

He couldn't understand what [Ethan] intended by repeatedly creating situations like this.

The weight of a life?

He shook his head. No matter how much one preached about that, would it really get through to the players?

"Fire!!!!"

Just as he expected, despite the Black Dragon's provocation, Suzuki Hana swung her staff down with all her strength and shouted resolutely.

"B-but..."

"We can compensate the players who die, even if we have to open the Red Tower's hunting grounds to them!!"

Death in a game wasn't real death, after all.

"Ugh... Uuugh..."

"Waaah... Waaaaah...!!!"

The citizens' groans and sobs rose from the ruined square and shattered buildings. They looked at the Red Tower's mages with fear in their eyes.

"I said fire!!!!"

But the deaths of NPCs inspired no guilt in the players. They weren't real, anyway. Like mercenaries, they were merely expendable things to be used once and discarded.

"R-resume activation!!!"

RUMBLE!!

At her sharp command, the mages began pouring mana into the magic circles again.

BOOOOOM!!!!

Dozens of streams of fire erupted from the circles and began raining down from the sky.

"Th-that crazy bitch...!!!"

Seeing the oncoming flames, Colson threw away his sword and started running.

SHUNK.

"Where do you think you're going?"

At that moment, heat spread through his abdomen.

"... Huh?"

With trembling eyes, Colson stared at the sword piercing his stomach.

"Don't ever even think about looking for Dead Soul's Fare again."

"You... f-fu..."

Colson's face twisted. Watching him, Woojin heaved his sword upward with all his strength.

SLAAASH!!

His body split in two.

"M-Master..."

Trapped beneath the rubble, Ruen looked at Woojin with an exhausted face.

"You can't come here!! Please, run!!!"

STEP. STEP.

Ignoring her desperate cries, Woojin approached and began digging through the collapsed debris.

"How could I leave you behind?"

"... What?"

Her lips trembled at his words.

"Are you all right?"

"We'll help!!"

Nissen, Karlan, and Weden joined them and began clearing the rubble quickly. Ruen felt utterly weightless. It wasn't because the rubble was gone. It must have been because of Woojin's hand as he helped her up.

[GRAAAAAAAH!!!]

Just then, the Red Tower's spell struck Bensina's head. Fire exploded, and flames swept from his head to engulf his entire body.

"Keep attacking!!"

At Suzuki Hana's shout, the mages began firing spells in rapid succession, potion bottles held to their mouths.

"Hah... Hah..."

"Cough..."

But the relentless barrage gradually began to slow.

"What are you doing?! Just a little more...!!!"

Suzuki Hana pressed them. But however much they feared her, the mages could cast no more spells.

[Your mana has been depleted.]

[Recovery through potions is unavailable.]

[Please recover mana through meditation or at an inn or temple.]

With their mana completely exhausted, they collapsed to the ground, barely able to breathe through their distress.

"Ah..."

The fallen mages raised their heads. The sight of the Black Dragon looking down at them, his entire body wreathed in flames, made them realize that any further struggle would be meaningless.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Bensina left the village and walked toward the mages.

[So this is your choice,] he said.

[You will pay a fitting price for it.]

BOOOOM!!

The Black Dragon's enormous tail smashed down on them.

[Raid member 'Jess' has died.]

[Raid member 'Araz' has died.]

[Raid member 'Baltas' has died.]

...

The notifications flooded in so relentlessly that Suzuki Hana's head rang, and she froze. In an instant, every mage of the Red Tower had been slaughtered. She stood alone amid a sea of blood.

"Uh... Ah..."

Where had it all gone wrong?

She tried to say something with trembling lips, but her terror-stricken body wouldn't move properly.

She had thought of it as nothing more than an opportunity. There was no game that couldn't be beaten. That was what she had always believed, and she had regarded Bensina's appearance as just another ordinary event. Dragon or not, surely its difficulty would have been adjusted to some extent to match the players' levels.

[...]

But it hadn't been. The Black Dragon before her was different from any monster she had faced before.

"... Goddammit."

There was no point blaming herself for her complacency. Bensina's enormous maw was already swallowing her.

CRUNCH. CRACKLE.

CRUNCH.

Bensina ravenously chewed up Suzuki Hana and swallowed her.

"Ah..."

"What do we do now...?"

The Red Witch's death was enough to freeze their burning fighting spirit in an instant.

"R-run..."

"The hunt has failed!!"

Their extinguished fighting spirit returned as an even greater terror, and even the people watching from far away began fleeing.

"Go on ahead."

Plain as those words were, they made Ruen's heart ache.

"N-no! I'll fight too!!"

-That's right!

"I can still fight!!"

But Woojin shook his head at them.

"Outlanders can come back to life after they die. But you're different. Value your lives."

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Having wiped out the Red Tower's mages, Bensina slowly approached them.

"You're more precious to me than my own life."

His words etched themselves into the minds of the citizens still remaining in Thorn Bach.

'That man...'

'He's different.'

Whether Woojin knew how they felt or not, he merely steeled his resolve as the Black Dragon approached.

"... Understood."

Karlan bit his lip and nodded, seemingly furious at his own weakness.

'That's right. Get angry. It's the best way to break your curse.'

Woojin gave his shoulder a light pat.

"Hurry...!!!"

Ruen looked as though she wanted to say something, but she held it in and contented herself with one last look at him.

"Whew..."

After Ruen, Setsuna, and Karlan left, Woojin slowly exhaled. The numerous raid teams had all vanished, and even the occasional spectators who came through the portal were hurrying straight back.

"... Why aren't you leaving?"

Woojin turned to Weden, who was trembling beside him.

"W-why do you think?! I've got nowhere else to go, so I might as well stay here!"

Woojin chuckled at the characteristic reply.

"I'm not taking responsibility if you die."

"All my gear was given to me anyway. I won't miss it even if I die and drop it."

Weden stepped in front of him.

"I'll take the front line."

He picked up a battered shield lying on the ground and strapped it to his wrist.

"Hup!!!"

He drew a breath and brought the shield close to his body.

[Activating Deflection.]

A faint light began spilling from the shield.

'Looks like he invested in shield Traits.'

Reaching level 50 unlocked the next skill tree, allowing players to learn Traits that further specialized their classes. Warriors were broadly divided into tanks and damage dealers. More specifically, tanks fell into two categories: offensive tanks, who learned the Keratinization Trait to harden their skin and bolstered their attacks, and defensive tanks, who used shields and invested entirely in defense.

Weden was the latter.

"Sorry. If I'd known, I'd have gotten you a shield from the militia too."

"Haha... It wouldn't have helped back then, even if you'd given me one. I got such a harsh welcome as soon as I reached the central continent... I didn't even have the courage to fight."

"And now?"

"I'll get you right up to the Black Dragon, even if it kills me."

Weden tapped his battered shield as he spoke.

"I told you not to die."

Woojin lightly tousled Weden's hair as though he were his own younger brother, then looked toward Bensina.