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 140

Chapter 140: The Battle in the Dragon’s Garden (Part 4)

Thanks to the adventurers’ efforts, the three HP bars had been whittled down to the last one.

After that, the final battle against the ?Demon Dragon King? Belial, who had likely entered his final form, had begun, and several tens of minutes had passed.

To put it bluntly, the state of the battle could only be described as “the worst.”

The skill ?Insight?, which allows him to see the true nature of things, primarily revealed was one truly unfair skill.

The armor of arrogance, ?Pride?.

Its effect caused slip damage to continuously reduce Belial’s HP at set intervals. However, until his HP was halved, ?Demon Dragon King? could nullify any attacks lower than his level, essentially forcing the adventurers into an endurance battle.

Seeing the effect of this skill, Sora immediately consulted the support system, ?Lucifel?.

He asked if it might be possible to use the skill ?Ain Soph Aur?, which belonged to the fallen angel ?Lucifer? and had the effect of “canceling all effects on a chosen target,” to deal with the enemy’s skill.

Lucifel’s response was immediate:

?Impossible. Unlike the cursed armor of Beta Player Hart, which you previously nullified, this is bound by the world’s laws under very specific conditions and cannot be undone unless by a specific individual.?

In other words, the only option left was for them to endure the enemy’s attacks for as long as possible.

After Sora shared this information, everyone steeled themselves, preparing to face the unreasonable calamity that lay before them.

No one had expected that they’d suddenly be forced into an endurance battle in such a situation, but so far, no one had fallen.

There had been a few close calls, but these were the top players of ?Astral Online?. Relying on their recovery abilities, they managed to stabilize and hang on.

Still, could they really keep going like this?

Just as an ominous feeling crept in, seeing everyone’s exhaustion, Shino, the leader of ?Hell and Heaven?, and Shio, the acting leader of ?Hunters of the Twilight?, encouraged their allies.

“Hold on! Focus on defense and don’t let anyone fall until the enemy’s HP is down to half!”

“This is the crucial point! Just focus on defense and evasion, and the enemy’s HP will keep dropping on its own!”

While rallying their allies, Shino and Shio dodged alongside Sora and the others, avoiding the jet-black breath attack of ?Demon Dragon King? Belial.

However, even after dodging for several tens of minutes, the enemy’s HP had only decreased by about 20%.

Judging from the time elapsed and the HP reduction rate, it was estimated that it would take at least another hour to reach the halfway point.

Of course, in a VR game boss battle, very few people can maintain their focus for such a long period of time.

As Sora had predicted, the cracks in their strategy appeared soon enough.

“Whoa, no!”

One of the knights from Squad B stumbled and fell to the ground. The penalty for falling, combined with the weight of his equipment, caused him to enter a temporary stun state.

Emma rushed to try and help him, but she was too far away and wouldn’t make it in time.

Noticing this, Belial quickly targeted him, unleashing a breath attack from his mouth.

Seeing the black flames closing in, the fallen knight shouted to his comrades:

“Leave me and run!”

“Understood…!”

Following his command, the knights made a swift decision, prioritizing evasion over a rescue attempt.

Unable to move, the fallen knight was incinerated by the black flames, dying instantly.

“Damn it! I’ll avenge you!”

Fueled by anger, the knights turned their attention to Belial’s movements.

But before they knew it, Belial, who had activated his charge attack skill, had rapidly closed the distance and was right in front of them. Seeing him raise his scythe high above his head, the knights hurriedly prepared their shields and activated ?Phalanx?.

“—Don’t block it, dodge!”

Sora, using his Insight skill to detect the change in the enemy’s attack, shouted urgently, but it was already too late.

Belial’s scythe, engulfed in black flames, slashed horizontally, cutting through the knights and their shields in one clean strike.

Five high-level players were reduced to particles of light, and everyone present was frozen in fear.

“When the enemy’s scythe is cloaked in black flames,it pierces through all defenses! If you focus only on his movements, you’ll be split in two!”

“No way!”

“Unbelievable. First, it’s conditional invincibility, and now it’s piercing our defenses? This boss monster is truly troublesome when it’s down to its last HP bar!”

Shin and Rou were sweating profusely, while Shino and Shio, standing beside them, wore grim expressions.

“This is bad. The boss just took out both an attack squad and a defense squad…”

“If we lose any more, it’ll be difficult to maintain our front lines. We need to be even more cautious.”

With 12 players already down, their numbers had dwindled from 43 to 31.

They had 12 attackers and 19 defenders remaining. If they lost any more, even if the boss’s invincibility was lifted, they would struggle to rotate their shifts.

Who would’ve thought they’d be pushed to the brink like this when the boss was down to its last HP bar?

As Sora, drenched in sweat, analyzed the situation, the enemy roared, as if signaling that this was the decisive moment.

—A terrible feeling overwhelmed him!

The air vibrated ominously.

Sensing an unmistakable killing intent, Sora immediately issued an order to everyone.

“Everyone, be on alert! Something dangerous is coming!”

As if responding to his words, the ?Demon Dragon King? Belial, with his golden eyes full of malice, unleashed a jet-black flame into the sky.

The flame rose to a certain height, then split into countless streams, raining down on Sora and the others from all directions.

“No way!”

It was a dispersed version of the black flame breath attack, now cascading like a deadly rain. The sheer brutality of the attack caused even the most seasoned adventurers to scream in terror.

One by one, those unable to evade were engulfed by the flames. Though they slammed healing items to the ground, instantly recovering, the slip damage far exceeded their healing and slowly killed them.

The garden, consumed by jet-black flames, was a hellish sight.

Damn it, how is there an attack like this!?

Timing it perfectly, Sora and Shino managed to cut through the approaching flames with the advanced skill ?Sword Guard V?, narrowly escaping, though Sora cursed inwardly.

His view showed three squads, half-destroyed. One defense squad appeared safe, as Emma had managed to block the attack by spinning her giant scythe.

The situation was still manageable, but any more losses would make victory difficult.

Glancing at Belial, Sora saw that the enemy’s HP had finally dropped by 30%.

If this attack were repeated once more, at least two squads would be completely wiped out. Worse, if there was a trigger skill when Belial’s HP reached half, similar to Leviathan, defeat seemed inevitable.

The thought of “defeat” crossed Sora’s mind.

Just then, something happened.

A mysterious light spread across the entire garden.

This gentle, peaceful, and compassionate light erased the adventurers’ fatigue, granting them increased defense and resistance to fire.

Moreover, the light extinguished the black flames with ease, restoring the garden’s grass and trees to their original state.

What is this?

Sora and his comrades, as well as Belial himself, were bewildered by the unbelievable sight.

Amidst the confusion, Sora’s ?Insight? skill detected a piece of information.

?Master, the two Dragon Shrine Maidens’ prayer is nullifying the enemy’s skill and lowering its defense. You can deal damage now!?

Alice and Satanas!?

Using his ?Perception? skill, Sora confirmed the presence of the two Dragon Shrine Maidens kneeling in prayer near the castle gates. He immediately issued an order.

“The remaining defense squad and Rou, shield Alice and Satanas at the front of the castle with everything you’ve got! Everyone else, launch a full-scale attack with me!”

The sudden opportunity lifted everyone’s spirits to their peak.

The enemy’s HP was still at 70%.

With the support of the Dragon Princesses, the adventurers embarked on their final challenge.