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 141

Chapter 141: The Battle in the Dragon’s Garden (Part 5)

 

Ignoring the provocation skills activated by Shino and Shio, Belial focused his sights on the two Dragon Princesses. From a system perspective, this likely meant that the hate generated by Alice and Satanas was so high that even their provocation couldn’t surpass it.

 

At this moment, no one was assigned to guard the two.

 

Moreover, they were in a praying stance, unable to move. They couldn’t even escape.

 

Sora noticed crimson sparks flickering from the corners of the Demon Dragon King’s mouth and realized things were getting dangerous. Before the knight squad could reach them, Sora tried to slow Belial down by activating ?Ice Sonic Sword V?.

 

However, just as he moved, Belial raised his right leg and stomped the ground with immense force.

 

“Guh…!”

 

“He can do that trick too?!”

 

Caught off guard, Sora and the others reacted too slowly, and a shockwave erupted from the ground, stunning them for a few seconds. All the adventurers were momentarily frozen, and Belial seized the opportunity to unleash a breath attack aimed at the two princesses.

 

There were only a few seconds between the moment the flames were launched and when they would land.

 

“Like hell I’ll let that happen!”

 

As soon as the stun wore off, Shin, empowered by the power of the ?Angel of Fire?, and the mage squad quickly fired their ?Forte Aqua Lance? and a barrage of ?Aqua Lances? with a focus on speed.

 

Though it only reduced Belial’s HP by about 10%, the concentrated impact to his face threw off his aim, and the deadly breath attack barely missed the two princesses.

 

Frustrated by the interference, Belial scattered more sparks from between his jagged teeth, this time targeting Shin and the mage squad, unleashing another barrage of flames.

 

“Ugh…”

 

“Shin!”

 

Caught in a brief moment of stiffness, Shin and four other unsuspecting mages were engulfed in flames and instantly obliterated.

 

Sora, watching as Shin’s icon and HP bar vanished from the party display, clenched his teeth. Alongside Shino and the others, he delivered a swift strike to Belial before quickly retreating from the attack zone.

 

“Damn it, is this for real?”

 

The combined attack from the seven people barely reduced Belial’s HP by 10%.

 

Frustrated by Belial’s overwhelming defense and the loss of Shin and the mage squad, Sora couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

 

“Is this really with the enemy’s defense lowered…!?”

 

If Alice and Satanas hadn’t risked their lives to pray, they wouldn’t have been able to deal even this much damage.

 

Sora briefly considered using his ultimate skill, but if it didn’t finish the job, the skill would enter a long cooldown, and the lengthy immobility that followed would certainly leave him at Belial’s mercy.

 

It wasn’t time to play that card yet.

 

With that decision, Sora quickly checked Belial’s HP, now down to half.

 

If this was the same pattern as with the similar creature they had fought before, the ?Great Calamity of Envy?, then it was highly likely that Belial would now unleash a special attack.

 

As Sora feared, Belial began to channel black flames again, raising his massive scythe toward Alice and Satanas.

 

The motion was faster than expected, canceling it would be impossible.

 

Realizing the incoming major attack, the vice-captains of the ?Hell and Heaven? Guild, Sophia, and Akatsuki from ?Hunters of the Twilight?, exchanged glances and issued orders to their squads.

 

“You all, move in to shield them!”

 

“Knight squad, let’s leave the final blow to Rou-sama and move out!”

 

“Yes, ma’am!”

 

“Everyone!?”

 

The knights, standing in front of Alice and Satanas, lined up in formation, raising their shields.

 

Rou, confused by their sudden actions, said nothing but realized there was no other way to protect Alice and Satanas, who were frozen in prayer.

 

Sora and the others, who understood what the knights were about to do by standing in such a tight formation, instinctively held their breath.

 

Could they really intend to block that strike by turning themselves into shields?

 

‘Oooooooooh!’

 

Belial, filled with murderous intent, swung his scythe downward. The unleashed black flame-infused blade moved faster than the speed of sound, bearing down on the knights.

 

The knights layered their techniques, using a combination of ?Phalanx? and ?Perfect Protect Call? with their large shields.

 

Even the black flame blade, which nullified defensive skills, only briefly met resistance before effortlessly slicing through the hardened shields as if cutting through tofu.

 

The knight squad, lined up in a straight formation, was sliced apart one by one by the flame blade, turning into particles of light and scattering.

 

The two vice-commanders, who charged forward with a roar, were able to only slightly impede the progress of the flaming blade before being obliterated.

 

Only one remained.

 

Having witnessed the knights’ heroic sacrifice, Rou smiled bitterly as he faced the approaching flame blade.

 

“Yes, indeed. Having been entrusted with the final stand by the brave knights, I will give everything I have to fend off this wicked flame targeting the two princesses.”

 

Just before the flame blade made contact, Rou used his shield to deflect it upward and activated his skill, ?Immobility?.

 

For a brief moment, there was resistance from the impact.

 

During that “fleeting instant,” the world’s greatest shield-bearer attempted to alter the trajectory of the blade.

 

“Haaaaaaaah!!”

 

With a shout of determination rarely heard from him, Rou, while redirecting the blade, felt it cut through his shield and touch his body.

 

“No matter how unreasonable it may be, I will defend them from any obstacle!”

 

With all his strength, the boy literally poured everything he had into raising his right arm.

 

Rou’s right arm, severed from the elbow down, along with the shattered shield, flew into the air and disintegrated into particles of light.

 

However, at the same moment, the flame blade’s trajectory changed, veering away from Alice and Satanas, and hit the castle above them.

 

It was a moment where the impossible, which anyone else would have certainly failed, was made possible.

 

A miraculous feat that only he could have achieved.

 

As the price for altering the fate of the two princesses, the damage from the black flames coursing through his severed arm reached his entire body, reducing Rou’s HP to zero. Having fulfilled his duty, he turned into particles of light.

 

As he vanished, he left Sora with one final message.

 

“Please… take care of the rest.”

 

With that, the knight squad was completely wiped out.

 

All that remained was the assault team, including myself.

 

As Sora and the others rushed toward the enemy, who was momentarily frozen from using its ultimate skill, they unleashed their most powerful attacks on the Demon Dragon King, Belial.

 

The boss monster’s HP dropped by about 20%.

 

Now, only 30% of its HP remained.

 

Realizing that it would be defeated at this rate, Belial shifted its focus from Alice and Satanas to Sora and the others below.

 

The decision was based on a self-preserving calculation: it would be safer to eliminate the pests at its feet first before targeting the two dragon princesses.

 

With a growl, Belial swung its massive scythe from right to left, unleashing a wide-area attack skill from the scythe category, ?Wide Death Scythe?.

 

Those who reacted in time successfully dodged by leaping back with the evasion skill ?Sonic Step?.

 

Two who were slow to react were caught in the swing of the scythe and dissolved into particles of light.

 

Now, only Sora, Kuro, Shino, Shio, and Emma remained.

 

Our remaining force was barely enough.

 

I made a decision and told my companions.

 

“I’ll take care of the last 20%. It may be hard to get close with me being targeted, but I’ll leave it to all of you to shave off the remaining 10%.”

 

As I sheathed my sword, the other four, who had seen this in action during the ?Leviathan? battle, understood and nodded.

 

“In that case, leave the front to me. As an experienced lady, I’ll be the decoy.”

 

“Emma, I’ll join you. Among us, Sora and Kuro have the most firepower. Shio, you handle support.”

 

“Got it, Emma, Shino.”

 

With the strategy set, there was nothing left but to face the battle.

 

Sora imbued himself with the seven attributes of fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness, preparing to unleash his most powerful skill, one that would have a special effect against the boss.

 

Sensing this overwhelming power, Belial’s gaze and wariness were clearly directed at me.

 

“Alright, everyone, let’s have our final dance with him.”

 

“Roger that,” Kuro replied casually, as always.

 

Standing beside my partner, whose hair had turned emerald green in her ?Angel of Wind? mode, the silver-haired boy updated the buffs on everyone.

 

Looking at them all, I gave the final order for this fight.

 

“Let’s finish this. Time for the final attack!”