The Final Battle
(Aidi’s Point of View)
The fight between Aidi and Core No. 564 had begun.
The would most likely be the decisive battle. She truly didn’t think that they’d actually have managed to capture the entire dungeon in a single day.
If it were just Aidi alone, it would take several days. No—she might not have been able to do it at all.
… Still though, she definitely didn’t think that the Four Kings would have been done in by that powerless swarm of squirrels. While that ghost was basically just ignored, it turned out to not be an issue since Aidi’s Doppelganger, the fire magic sword, was able to take it down easily.
She felt a bit sad she couldn’t witness Rokuko’s fightdance personally, but she decided to focus on the enemy before her for the time being.
“Diiiie!”
“Whoops—■■■■. ■■■■■■, ■■■■—[Summon Skeleton].”
Performing a series of steps as if dancing, Aidi summoned a Skeleton while parrying Core No. 564’s sword.
The Skeleton was just meant to act as a hindrance. At the very least, it would serve as about as much of an annoyance to her opponent as throwing a handkerchief at his eyes would be.
“■■■■. ■■■■■■, ■■■■—[Summon Skeleton].”
“No matter how many times you try that, it’s useless! Are you looking down on My Glorious Self, No. 666!?”
The Skeletons were immediately destroyed, their bones clattering to the floor in an explosive spray. Aidi grinned as if to look down on Core No. 564 even further.
Her gaze, her actions, all of them served to irritate Core No. 564 more and more, causing his attacks to be telegraphed.
“So then, this is a Boss Room. That being the case, if I defeat you, the boss, here… I suppose that’ll be it?”
“Hmph, you will not be able to kill My Glorious Self! My Glorious Self is strong!”
“Even though you were just boasting about that ‘strength’ to a couple of squirrels a bit ago?”
“You heard!? Don’t speak of it! You are the weak one here!”
“Fufufu, keep on barking.”
Although he spoke like that, Core No. 564 was unable to land any of his attacks. They each knew the Demon King Sword Style and his two Arch Demon bodyguards had left to invade the other team.
And while he was continuing to refuse to recognize how he had been completely trounced in their war of words, that didn’t change the fact that he had lost.
A certain person watching their back and forth from the VIP Room probably had a cold expression at that.
“That should be good… Come on, Rokuko.”
“—!?”
Weaving their way through the bones scattered about, squirrels dashed into the room.
They were Aidi’s reinforcements. Although the majority of the squirrels had become decoys for that ghost when they scattered, Rokuko had more reinforcements be summoned.
They numbered more than a hundred.
“D-Dammiiiiiit!”
Core No. 564 shut his mouth hard enough that his teeth ground together, forcing him to practically eat his words.
Even if they could fit into his mouth, they wouldn’t be able to get in if he kept it closed.
Although his reaction was effective, his mouth wasn’t their only aim.
“—! —-~~~!?”
“Oh hoh, how fluffy. Such adorable decorations, the look suits you.”
They aimed at his eyes, ears, nose, exposed skin—any weak spot, really.
The squirrels swarmed over Core No. 564, relentlessly jabbing him with their teeth as if he were some chestnut. Core No. 564 rushed toward a wall as he started shaking them off of his body.
Several squirrels were smashed, caught between him and the wall. Others were blown away from the impact.
“Motherfu—, [Pulverize]—”
Although he’d swung his sword with a sword skill, his opponents were simply too small. Moreover, the bones were getting in the way. The effect was so small that it only amounted to several squirrels being blown back with some bones.
As the squirrels swarmed together once more, he gave his all to do a back step. Seeing Core No. 564 run away from squirrels, Aidi couldn’t help herself from laughing.
“I see. So this is amus.e.m.e.nt. How wonderful, Rokuko.”
[Riiight~? Numbers are power, see!?]
“Yes, I understand now. This is what a true swarm is. So, could I finish him off now?”
[Nope! We’re going to somehow drive him out of the Boss Room and win by touching the Dungeon Core.]
Aidi knit her brows at her rival’sfriend’s words. She started to wonder if she was hesitant to kill a core. However—
[Core No. 564’s pitiful bitterness after we utterly defeat him—don’t you want to see it?]
His entire offensive force dealt with by humans. His residence lit on fire.
Cornered by squirrels, his Dungeon Core taken control of by another, being made fun of during his big fight. Then, after all of that, only being allowed to live due to provide his enemies with more amus.e.m.e.nt. All of this happening because of 600 series cores.
“Wonderful! That sounds so wonderful, Rokuko! You are a genius!”
[Fufun. It’s the result of my Master’s training.]
“What a great Master. It’s settled, then. Let’s get him to leave the Boss Room and let him live. Rokuko, could you get him to just in front of the entrance? I’ll be able to push him out after that.”
[Don’t make light of our hug pillow. That much is easy! Meat, Ichika, do it!]
With that, the squirrels’ movement s.h.i.+fted. Although they’d simply been chasing Core No. 564 and making him run away thus far, they started to antic.i.p.ate his movements. By the time he realized that the squirrels were acting differently, he’d already been guided to a spot next to the entrance of the room. He’d been tricked.
Aidi had been holding her magic sword up as if drawing it back in a bow. Core No. 564 had carelessly wound up standing directly in its path.
Now that things had progressed to this point, he would be shoved outside the room. Aidi simply shoved her sword forward.
Fwip.
“—[Crimson Road].”
What occurred during that fwip was too flashy.
[Crimson Road], a piercing attack of the fire attribute. Although it held disadvantage in that it could only be used once per day and in that it also damaged the user, the fire-attributed damage was ineffective against Aidi, who was originally a fire-attributed magic sword-type core. To her, this was simply a skill with a cooldown.
When Aidi and Rokuko (and the Trivial Trio) had had their Dungeon Battle against each other, it was this move that had evaporated the iron ball and seawater gimmick.
“I killed a few squirrels, but that should be fine?”
[Well, yeah… Eh, is he alive?]
“I held back a bit, so he shouldn’t be dead.”
The Dungeon Battle still hadn’t ended, so he should still be alive. Barely. But alive.
With that, Aidi turned around and went through the open door leading beyond the Boss Room.
There in a corner of the Core Room, devoid of anyone else, was the Dungeon Core.
Although Aidi had thought there might be some Succubi hiding themselves there, there really wasn’t anyone.
That said, even if there were, she would have just cut them down.
“You know, it’d be even more amusing if we let No. 629—Orange touch it.”
[Ah, then even if presumptuous, nkyuu, I’ll touch it~]
Saying that, one of the squirrels moved ahead of the rest of the swarm. It was most likely the one being operated by Orange.
There was nothing left to stand in the way and there were no other Dummy Cores to use Castling with, either. The squirrel managed to successfully touch the Dungeon Core.
At the end of the end, it was anticlimactic.
In this manner, the Dungeon Battle came to a close.