Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 138

Chapter 138: The Battle in the Dragon’s Garden (Part 2)

About 400 seconds have passed since the battle began.

Emma deftly evades the series of slashing and charging attacks from the massive scythe-wielding enemy, as well as the sudden strikes from its tail.

As expected from a member of the elite pro-gamer team ?Valkyrie?, one of the top teams in the world.

Her ability to read the enemy’s moves and her agile movements are remarkable, and her unwavering focus on dodging is truly impressive.

On the other hand, Shin, who is being carried around, lets out a pitiful scream, “Nuaaaahhh!” Every now and then, he’s thrown into the air only to be caught again, making his situation seem quite pitiable.

If one had to describe it, the phrase “circus acrobatics” would be quite fitting.

While Emma and the others took cover behind the ?Great Tree of Refractory? to shield themselves from the wide-range breath attack, Sora sprinted across the ground and used ?Ice Sonic Sword V? to accelerate in a burst of speed.

“Here we go, that’s one down!”

Sora slashed horizontally at the lightly armored underbelly of the ?Demon Dragon King? Belial. The first health bar was completely depleted.

As they moved into the second phase, the targeting on Shin and Emma was finally released.

When the Demon Dragon’s gaze turned toward Sora, Shino immediately commanded Squad A to use the ?Provoke? skill.

The knights moved forward and blocked the incoming scythe aimed at Sora with their shields.

In this second form of the boss monster, the armored parts of its body became even thicker, and its tattered wings regenerated, allowing it to fly again.

They had worried that if it flew off and targeted the castle, it would be a troublesome situation, but as the ?Demon Dragon King? rose to a certain height, it stopped and looked upward with a frustrated expression, then hovered above the garden.

From the fact that it didn’t head toward the castle, they deduced that the enemy could not escape from this battle arena.

In an old action RPG, there was a dragon-type monster called the “Sky Overlord” that would fly around during battle as if taking a stroll in the sky, rarely returning to the ground. It would rain down breath attacks, frustrating players.

Similarly, the ?Demon Dragon King? showered Sora and the others on the ground with breath attacks from the sky for a set amount of time.

However, all the adventurers successfully avoided the deadly attacks by retreating behind the ?Great Tree of Refractory?, which had no open areas for the breath to hit.

Moreover, the flames that should have remained on the ground were completely absorbed and turned into nutrients by the ?Refractory Grass? that was planted all around.

Eventually, as the ?Demon Dragon King? reached the limit of its time in the air, it slowly descended and returned to the ground.

Taking advantage of its exposed state, the mages unleashed the high-level water magic ?Tidal Wave?, instantly reducing its HP by around 20%.

Next, the attacker squad dashed forward as if they had been waiting for this moment, slashing six times in total with ?Ice Sonic Sword?.

Its defense is certainly troublesome, but in terms of threat level, it’s not that scary.

What was once a formidable breath attack that posed a challenge to all players had been completely nullified by the garden’s presence, rendering the ?Demon Dragon King? Belial vulnerable. For the top players of Astral Online, it had become nothing more than a large monster swinging around a scythe.

Additionally, its one strong point, the scythe attacks that had caught many off guard in the past was now completely predictable, as Sora could anticipate all of its moves using ?Insight II? skill.

“A triple spinning attack is coming! It has a defense-breaking effect, so focus on dodging, not blocking!”

Following Sora’s instructions, the adventurers quickly distanced themselves from the ?Demon Dragon King? and moved out of its attack range.

As soon as the first, second, and third spins ended, the second attack squad rushed forward and thrust their ?Ice Strike Swords? into its body with all their might.

As a result, the second health bar of the ?Demon Dragon King? dropped below half, and after about five more attacks, they would enter the final phase.

Frustrated by having all its moves completely suppressed, the ?Demon Dragon King? roared and raised its massive scythe high.

“A powerful wide-range attack is coming! There’s no way to outrun it at this distance. Squad B, block the initial strike with your shields and cancel it!”

Following Sora’s command, the knights of Squad B stepped forward. Using ?Provoke? to draw the enemy’s attention, they activated ?Phalanx? and ?Immobility?, a combined skill that allowed them to brace against the terrain for 30 seconds and prevent knockback or flinching from enemy attacks.

Taking a deep breath, the knights braced their large shields against the incoming horizontal slash.

“Hold strong!!”

With sheer determination, they blocked the scythe’s powerful swing with their shields and forcefully deflected it.

It was an impressive defensive move, uniting their strength as one. Even Rou, who stood near Sora, couldn’t help but admire the display, saying, “That was an excellent block.”

Shino, smiling at Rou’s praise, especially coming from someone known for their shield mastery, responded, “In ?Hell and Heaven?, we’ve always focused on teamwork during training. It’s good to see the results paying off.”

Shino continued, “My team and yours, we both always cover for each other, which makes it reassuring.”

“Yes, and all that boss training we did against the ?Greater Dragon? was certainly not in vain,” Rou agreed.

“Absolutely, let’s keep up the good work, Shino,” Rou added.

As Shio agreed with Shino’s words, the other attackers charged the boss with ?Ice Sonic Sword?, striking once before retreating.

Whenever the ?Demon Dragon King? tried to counterattack, the mages from a distance would cast ?Aqua Lance II? at its face, delaying its movements and buying time for the attackers to escape.

The Demon Dragon King’s scythe had a noticeable wind-up motion, so as long as they stayed calm, it was easy to interrupt it with a delay.

The raid members were getting used to the rhythm after a few exchanges, and they were starting to act preemptively without needing Sora’s instructions.

Could they maintain this momentum and secure victory?

Sora and the team coordinated their attacks, rapidly depleting the second health bar of the ?Demon Dragon King? Belial until it disappeared completely.

It was at that very moment, just as they entered the final phase.

?GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!?

As the ?Demon Dragon King? roared toward the heavens, its entire body suddenly ignited from within.

Moreover, the flames that had been crimson turned jet-black, and its armor became even more menacing. Its wings, once a pair of two, became a pair of six.

Naturally, the change wasn’t just cosmetic.

The ?Insight? skill revealed that the enemy’s level had increased from 100 to an immeasurable level.

The ?Demon Dragon King?, now with a third eye opened on its forehead, gripped its scythe and once again faced Sora and the others.

“I had some idea from the Leviathan fight, but… so this is Belial’s true form,” Sora muttered.

The pressure was incomparable to before.

What had been a mere warm-up now felt like the true battle, and the overwhelming sense of danger sent cold sweat down their spines.

As if in response to Sora’s words, ?Belial? began to take a deep breath.

The members of the third attack squad, thinking they were targeted, hurried to hide behind the ?Great Tree of Refractory?.

Up until now, this had been enough to defend against Belial’s attacks.

But the ?Belial? they now faced was an entirely different entity from the one they had fought earlier.

“Don’t block it with the tree, dodge!”

Sora, sensing something terrible, shouted as the enormous dragon released a breath attack, scattering black embers.

The jet-black flames struck the ?Great Tree of Refractory?, behind which the attack squad was hiding.

For a moment, the flames stopped, but—

The tree, which had previously been an impenetrable defense against fire, was incinerated.

The attack squad, who had been slow to escape from behind the tree, were consumed by the black flames.

In a single hit, their HP dropped to zero, and they disintegrated into particles of light.

Everyone froze in shock at the devastating scene.

“Well, it wouldn’t just go down easily, would it…” Sora muttered, gripping the ?Silver Magic Sword?.

The ?Demon Dragon King? Belial, also known as the ?Great Calamity of Pride?, with its jet-black, burning scythe in hand, smirked menacingly as if to say, “Come at me.”