Chapter 50
The 26th group had gone through three battles and finally arrived right in front of the second boss area.
Tenji's gaze was drawn to a vast, light purple arched double doorway. Only the door had a little light. Everything else around seemed to be darker.
Like the first boss area, the door is engraved with strange patterns that combine various figures and even have a somewhat creepy atmosphere. There was treasure embedded here.
So, Fukuyama began to speak to stop everyone in their tracks.
"Well, this time we'll all have a boss fight, including me."
"Do you mean we will fight alongside you, Fukuyama-san?"
"Oh yeah, I'm going to be under Mizue-kun's command, so you can make use of me as a single party member. I'm willing to use my skills and weapons as well."
"Okay! Thank you! But... What about Tenji?"
Mizue turns his gaze to Tenji.
Tenji replied flatly, not looking flustered.
"I'll wait and see how things go at first. If Mizue-kun instructs me to do so, I'll join in the battle, is that alright?"
"Okay."
Mizue looked at Tenji suspiciously as he was always reluctant to do anything.
[What in the world was this young man thinking when he took part in this test?]
[What is the purpose of standing here?]
[Mizue had no idea why this was.]
Tenji didn't interfere with the party; he was even helpful to them on the rare occasion that he flew instructions from the rear end.
But it's as if he doesn't know why.
Everyone who participates dares to stand here because they want to join the Chariot. But Tenji was not like that.
Mizue thought that maybe there was an intention from Chariot's side, but from the conversation he had with Fukuyama during the battle, he knew that Tenji was just a participant like them.
That was why it elevated the existence of Tenji to an even creepier state.
[He's creepy. He's always smiling goofily, and I have no idea what he's thinking... Well, let's not worry about this guy right now. Let's focus on the boss in front of us.]
Mizue looked away from Tenji to shake off any unnecessary thoughts and turned his gaze to the other two and Fukuyama. There was a noble face there that told him that they were all ready to go. So Mizue was a little relieved.
[I knew there were people here who had the same aspirations as I.] Mizue thought.
"All right. Let's do it."
Mizue placed one hand on the indentation of the handprint on the boss room door.
A rusty metal sound echoed through the dungeon, and the door pushed open by itself. A lot of mechanicals clicking sounds were heard. When the door was half open, the entire boss room was revealed.
The theatre... The blue and gold decorations... The old throne... The battered temple order... It was not much different from the one before.
[TLN: Amphitheater - (especially in Greek and Roman architecture) an open circular or oval building with a central space surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators for the presentation of dramatic or sporting events.
Like a small gladiator.]
"So, I've heard. Come on! Let's win!"
"Yeah. Let's go."
"Yes."
They slowly make their way into the boss's room.
It seems that in the boss room of this sub-dungeon, nothing happens immediately after entering the room. Still, if you step onto the floor with a magic circle of about 10 meters in diameter carved in the middle of the area, the magic circle reacts, and a boss is formed on the throne.
And so, it was soon after Mizue stepped into the magic circle on the floor.
"They're coming."
Mizue saw the small black crosses begin to gather on the throne, and he dropped his centre of gravity a bit. He held a Renkou sword that hadn't had a single scratch in his hand. He held it in a straight sword stance.
The crosses, which were gathered little by little, gradually took shape to form a doll about two meters long.
It was rusty silver plate armor.
They don't know if it's hollow inside. They can't see it clearly because it seems covered in black darkness.
The boss appeared in front of them, holding a large sword as tall as he was in both hands. The boss had an appearance reminiscent of a Western Knight soldier.
Then, Fukuyama, standing right behind the three of them, began to speak to everyone in his usual easygoing voice.
"The boss this time is known as the 'Rusted Knight', a boss who wields a large sword along his form. It's bigger than Gufu, but as long as you can guard against his powerful swinging attacks, he's not that strong of an enemy. The two shield players, me and Kusatsu-kun, will have to deal with the challenge this time. Now, let's get started!"
"We understand."
As soon as Fukuyama said these words, the three of them quickly rearranged themselves into the best formation.
Usually, Mizue would be at the front of the line, with Kusatsu and Rikka waiting behind him. But this time, following Fukuyama's advice, Kusatsu was pushed to the vanguard, and Mizue and Rikka formed an ambush formation behind them with their weapons at the ready.
"Fukuyama-san, please stand your ground! First, I'll see how much Kusatsu can hold out."
"All right."
Mizue immediately gave instructions to Fukuyama as well.
But the instructions were to wait and see how well they could fight on their own first.
"Ah!"
The Rusted Knight kicked out hard at the ground and came at him with his great sword at his side.
For the first-time boss, Kusatsu was a little stiff.
Usually, he would have taken a strong stance, even going forward and returning the tackle in the opposite direction, but this was the only time he just stood there, poised.
Kusatsu had a buckler in his hand.
It's not suited to the receiving technique of just waiting still.
Despite realizing this, Fukuyama remained silent as he stared intently at the battle.
The great sword swung sideways, splitting the air with a buzz.
"Uhh..."
A large sword crashed into Kusatsu's buckler with a shriek.
"Kusatsu!"
"Kusatsu-san!"
Kusatsu was outmatched by the strength of the Rusted Knight and the weight of the great sword he held.
He managed to defend himself with a buckler, but his opponent's power lifted his body lightly and blew him away very far.
Even so, he was a sportsman selected for Japan's national team.
Kusatsu rolled around like a ball on the ground a few times, but he managed to endure it by using his athleticism to get a hold of himself quickly.
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"Are you okay?" Mizue asked, being concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine!"
Kusatsu responded immediately to Mizue's words.
He tries to get up to prepare for the next attack as it is.
"Uggghhhhhhh!"
At that moment, Kusatsu felt an intense pain in his ribs.
Mizue, hearing the cries of grief, immediately realizes that Kusatsu cannot fight anymore. He then instructs Fukuyama to do so.
"Fukuyama-san, I'm sorry, but please! Can I leave the defense to you?"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it."
At the same time as Mizue's instruction, the Rusted Knight once again held his great sword right next to him. He flipped it and then ran out with a clattering metallic sound.
The next target was Mizue Katsunari, who gave instructions in a loud voice.
Suddenly, cold sweat ran down Mizue's neck from being targeted by the boss.
Still, Mizue believed in the most robust card, Fukuyama, and committed; he also began to run towards the Rusted Knight.
The Rusted Knight was also sprinting towards them with both long swords swinging in his hands.
"I like it."
Fukuyama couldn't help but let out a shout of admiration when he saw how brave he was.
"Ah!"
Once again, the Rusted Knight swung his great sword with a buzz at the perfect time.
The first time Mizue saw him, he was scared of the big sword right in front, but he was determined not to meditate on it, so he managed to keep his mind clear.
And then, he held the Renkow Sword in the upward position, aiming at the rusted knight's helmet.
That's when it happened.
"Rashomon Wall!"
Fukuyama activated his skill.
A small Rashomon, about a meter on a side, appeared between the Mizue and the Great Sword, and a wall was built.
The Rusted Knight, who had the opportunity to blow Mizue's head away, was faced with a wall. There were clanks it's a high-pitched sound and sparks everywhere.
"Good call, Mizue! Trust me now and concentrate on the attack! An attacker is an attacker only when he damages the enemy! The one who trusts his comrades is qualified enough to be the attacker!"
"Yes!" Although a little startled, Mizue replied.
In the meantime, Rusted Knight was confused and preparing for his second blow.
He stopped abruptly right in front of the boss and leapt as fast as he could on the spot. At the same time, he swung down his sword from the upper level.
"Hey!"
"Ah!"
The Rusted Knight tries to catch the streaking sword with his other hand.
But Mizue slipped past that one-handed defense with a brilliant wrist snap.
A series of swords struck the rusted swordsman's helmet.
With a clang of sparks, the Renkou Sword's extraordinary effect, "Double Strike," is triggered.
A series of swords.
It is a fourth-grade weapon with a single attack that deals twice as much damage.
Mizue hit the rusted knight's helmet directly with a double strike of all his might. There was also a huge sound of metals striking.
Butttt---
"What? It's hard!" Mizue was confused.
The helmet only suffered a small dent and was not a decisive blow.
The Renkou Sword was known to be a high-powered sword and was famous for being able to damage even armored monsters going all the way internally. It had the characteristic of a so-called piercing attack.
However, that effect was limited only to normal monsters, and the piercing attack did not work on boss monsters.
"Yah!"
Rikka, aiming for an opening there, vigorously thrust out her Spear and aimed at the Rusted Knight's joints.
The tip of the cut went into the elbow joint of the right hand as if sucked in, and Rikka felt something sticking into her.
"Teiyaa!"
He swung the Spear to the side as it was, cutting off the flesh inside.
Then, a black blood-like liquid splattered out of the plate armor, and even from the side, it was clear that damage had been done.
With a wobble, the Rusted Knight walked backwards.
Immediately, Mizue and Rikka leave the impact scene and keep their distance from the Rusted Knight.
"Mizue-san, the joints!"
"Ah, it seems so. As expected, you have a good eye for observation."
The Rusted Knight got severed at his right elbow to the joint which let his right-hand hang slackly and powerlessly as he put his great sword back with his left hand.
Looking at them, they both made the exact guess at the same time.
"Rikka, that's really nice. The armor around the joints seems to be weaker. If we can attack all the joints, we might have a chance to win."
"It seems so. Let's do it! And Condolences to Kusatsu-san too!"
"...No, I'm not dead yet."
Rikka's sudden natural comment made Kusatsu, who was taking shelter by the wall so as not to interfere with the battle, just butt in.
Fukuyama watched from behind and laughed as he blew a "Boo".
Even the severe Mizue, standing next to him, chuckled involuntarily.
"Aah! I'm sorry! I'll stop mourning!"
Embarrassed, Rikka blushed and turned her gaze to the Rusted Knight again.
So, Fukuyama opened his mouth to give advice again.
'That's really good! You're right! Due to the nature of the Rusted Knight, if you cut off all of its joints, it will stop moving and be dead. However, it is meaningless if you don't cut off the head at the end... Keep up the good work!"
"Yes!"
As the two replied cheerfully, the Rusted Knight, who had lost one hand, kicked the ground hard again. The ground shook a little bit.