Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

“Could it be…? Did it get consumed by the Demon…?!”

“Wh-What? The tiger has turned completely black!”

I wiped away some more blood while listening to the Archmage’s mutterings. Was I confused? Shocked? Sad, maybe? Not really.

The moment the Skyflow Tiger devoured the Demon’s corpse, or rather, ever since the Demon went down more easily than expected, I had thought that something like this could happen.

After all, wasn’t it basically a rule that high-level enemies like a Great Demon wouldn’t die so easily? Until you saw their corpse completely incinerated or Purified with your own eyes, you always had to consider the chance that they would come back.

That chance would be even higher if something consumed its corpse. It would be nerve-wracking if even an ally had done it, but an enemy? It became inevitable.

> [This time, I’ll make sure to drag you down with me to the underworld.]

However, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated, no matter how much I had anticipated this. Even if that damn Demon hadn’t revived like this, I already had enough on my plate.

“How dare you even think that’s possible, you wretched Demon!”

“This time, you’ll be the only one to meet their end!”

The only fortunate thing was that the Inquisitor was still fine. She wouldn’t have to waste her energy creating footholds this time.

“Whatever’s inside of it, as long as it’s alive, that’s all that matters! Haha! Berserk will take it down for sure this time!”

Realizing there was still an enemy left to fight, Bers got all fired up. Honestly, I wouldn’t really mind if just those two handled that thing on their own.

Being unrelated to Demons, Bers wasn’t affected by Divine Power and was naturally extremely tough. She was an incredible match for the Inquisitor in this fight.

As for me… Forget being a good match; my body wasn’t exactly in fighting shape right now.

“Cough.”

“Don’t get up!”

But that wasn’t how this worked, right? The Demon I thought I had killed was still standing. There was no way that my character would just sit back.

“Get out of my way.”

At least the bleeding had significantly slowed compared to before. Thanks to the Archmage’s quick first aid, my HP had also partially recovered.

So this was the only right move.

I shook off the Archmage’s hand and got up.

“Just stay lying down, okay? Berserk will kill it anyway!”

“That’s not even worth responding to.”

Hmm, good. I could stand without swaying too much. I felt a little dizzy, but it was nothing I couldn’t manage. It was comparable to the ringing I usually heard in my ear, nothing special.

So there shouldn’t be any problem, then. I tightly gripped my sword once again.

“It’s coming!”

“That’s…!”

At that moment, the fusion of Moby Dick and the Skyflow Tiger, let’s call it Moby Tiger, began its attack as well. And it was aimed in my direction, or more specifically, at me.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

The enraged Inquisitor summoned another wave of Divine Power, but unfortunately, Moby Tiger was one step ahead.

It wrapped itself in watery vines and shot forward like a cannonball.

Breaking through the overflowing light, it lunged straight at us. The Archmage didn’t have enough time to protect herself, so she instinctively crouched and covered her head with her arms.

“Haiya!”

Fortunately, Bers, not wanting to lose her prey, stepped in first, ensuring the Archmage’s safety.

Bers used her strong muscles to swing her halberd like a windmill, striking down Moby Tiger as it approached her.

Moby Tiger bounced course and leaped in the opposite direction. It was unclear whether it simply hadn’t been expecting this or launched itself at a speed it couldn’t properly control.

After sliding back for a bit, Moby Tiger came to a halt, its two legs firmly on the ground.

It was then that I stepped forward.

“Urgh, you!”

While Bers was strong, it seemed she just wouldn’t learn. How many times had we done this already? Didn’t she notice that every time she made the first hit, I would follow up right after?

Well, that wasn’t my problem, though.

Ignoring her astonishment, I focused on Moby Tiger, who had just come to a stop. My pitch-black [Slash] cut through the newly green vines, slashing through Moby Tiger’s afterimage in the process as well.

It appeared a little further away, the translucent fin on its back fluttering like an accessory. However, this time, it failed to make a clean landing, leaving a long scar on the ground.

“You wretched bastard, returning from your hole like a cowardly rat.”

> [This fat beast actually isn’t such a bad vessel. It’s laughable that it couldn’t use such a fine body better.]

Well. It did fight a bit sloppily at the start, but by the middle, even I had started having a hard time. Even if I had been in a situation where I couldn’t fully use all my abilities, it still made pretty good use of its powers, didn’t it?

Was that Demon really so confident that it could do better?

If so, that might be a problem.

With that thought in mind, I kicked off the ground. To be precise, I had kicked off the moment I started this small conversation, so Moby Tiger was already right in front of me.

Clang!

My blade clashed with Moby Tiger’s claws. They were no longer attached to a beast’s paw but to a person’s hand.

When its body turned completely black, its fingers and claws merged, resembling the sharp talons of a bird.

Black blood trickled down my blade. It seemed I had cut its hand slightly.

“Hyaah!”

Bam!

Immediately after, it swung its other hand, knocking away Bers’s halberd. A sound like metal striking metal rang out. It then quickly pressed the index and middle finger of its completely unscathed hand together.

Bang!

A burst of water shot from its fingertips, hurtling straight at Bers. She tried to dodge, but the vines wrapped around her ankle kept her in place, forcing her to take the hit on her shoulder.

A round mark was left behind where the water had struck her.

Bam!

Did that mean I hadn’t been doing anything? Of course not.

When I realized that my longsword had been blocked, I immediately pulled back and tried to launch a series of follow-up strikes.

However, even while restraining Bers, Moby Tiger also sent its vines toward me. They shot up from the ground like spears, aiming directly at my heart, leaving me no choice but to dodge without time to prepare any other attacks.

After slicing through the vines with my sword, I tore off the rest by forcefully pulling my ankle and immediately stepped away. I acted like this in preparation for a potential follow-up attack, but fortunately, nothing like that happened.

On the other hand, Bers, seemingly also preparing for any counterattacks, ripped apart the vines using only her leg strength and continued her rampage… only to get knocked back quite quickly.

After exchanging a few blows—though I noticed that Moby Tiger’s reactions were slightly delayed—it launched its knockback attack.

Anyway, Bers was forced far enough back that she ended up right next to me, glaring at Moby Tiger.

> [Although outside the King’s domain, my body can move freely. Though using Demonic Energy is still a bit awkward, it’s quite sweet that I needn’t use it to maintain my body. Wrath, I can understand now why you keep using the creations of other gods as vessels. Even if the senses of these bodies are quite different, these advantages make using them as vessels worth it.]

Despite how intensely Bers glared at it, Moby Tiger remained calm.

Rather than calling it calm, it actually felt like something else. Its elated voice sounded as if it was intoxicated by something, which made me feel uneasy. Especially now that, having changed form from a full beast to a Curety, its expression was easier to read.

Its flushed face revealed its abnormal state.

“What… are you talking about?!”

Bers wasn’t one to just sit back and watch. She was the first to charge ahead and attack. She beat me to it.

> [You lowly wretch!]

Moby Tiger, who had been looking rather sloppy, immediately straightened up and unleashed a surge of Demonic Energy. Good thing I didn’t charge in with her; I would have been swept up in that wave and sent flying as well.

> [Get lost! This isn’t a fight you can interfere in!]

“Those words…”

> [This is a battle between only me and Wrath!]

“…!”

But what was it saying now?

No matter how seriously it looked at me, there were just some things you should never do. How dare it randomly change someone else’s character like that? In that case, I would just permanently lock in its name as Moby Tiger.

“…Tsk.”

However, my bewilderment aside, those words seemed to hold some profound meaning to Bers. Although her face was filled with frustration, she actually lowered her weapon and stepped back.

Why, though? Those words almost instinctively left my mouth. I mean, seriously, why?

“Why are you backing off?”

I wasn’t the only one shocked by this. Even the Archmage, who had been casting buffs on us from behind, was equally dumbfounded.

It was understandable. Not only did one of the Damage Dealers randomly decide to pull out of the fight, but the Archmage had also just finished casting Haste on her. Anyone would feel quite frustrated after going through the trouble of buffing someone, only for them to suddenly drop out.

“This is a fight between warriors. A Norda warrior does not interfere in a legitimate duel between two people.”

“I-I don’t think that rule is applicable to this situation.”

“Then when would it be applicable?”

R-Right… but I wondered if I could even call that thing a warrior. Then again, I couldn’t not call it a warrior, either. This was really confusing.

I mean, it was a Demon, after all, but it hadn’t acted dishonorably in this battle, right…?

…Right? The one acting dishonorably was the Skyflow Tiger, who took hostages and pulled some dirty tricks. It… it… Wait a second, this thing did something to Deb as well! Didn’t that count?

Or did this rule apply as long as it was a duel, even if one wasn’t a warrior? I didn’t really understand the criteria for this.

I tried to somehow figure out the logic behind Bers’s actions but soon gave up. The people who seemed the simplest often turned out to be the hardest to read.

So what I had to do now wasn’t to get baffled by her actions but focus on dealing with Moby Tiger alone.

“But, even then…!”

“Just watch, Wizard. Or do you not believe in our comrade’s victory?”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

“What’s going on?!”

Actually, it might be better this way. Bers and I couldn’t fight well together, and the Inquisitor’s attacks would also damage me.

> [And so, the stage is set. Come, Wrath.]

“Don’t pollute my ears with your filthy words.”

Hmm, now that I thought about it, this wasn’t just better; it was the best. I had always taken down the Boss Mobs on my own anyway, so I didn’t really need help.

“Die, Demon.”

So I completely ignored the conversation between Bers, the Archmage, and the Inquisitor and charged straight at Moby Tiger.

* * *

Screech. My blade and Moby Tiger’s claws locked in a brief power struggle.

Moby Tiger then stepped forward and swiped at me with its curled right hand. Its awl-like claws lightly scratched my cheek.

Slash!

However, Moby Tiger wasn’t the only one capable of fighting barehanded. With my claws of Arcane Power, I slashed upward from below.

Moby Tiger quickly retreated. I had anticipated that. I wondered why it was staggering like that even though my attack hadn’t hit it.

Feeling slightly uneasy, I thrust my sword forward in time with Moby Tiger’s movements.

The [Arcane Spear]s I formed in quick succession aimed for every possible escape route it might take.

Boooom!

However, Moby Tiger wasn’t just going to take this.

It slightly frowned, and instead of dodging directly, it caused vines to shoot up from the ground.

Avoiding them wasn’t that difficult since the slight trembling of the ground gave them away.

I sidestepped to avoid the spiraling vines shooting upward.

> [Die!]

Ice spears formed in the air one after the other before they rained down on me. Rather than flying straight, they curved midair to fly directly toward me as if they had some sort of homing function.

Those weren’t much of a problem, either, since I was faster and could easily smash them with my longsword. They were just a little annoying.

Clang, clink.

Anyway, the ice I had shattered with my metallic sword splintered into tiny shards, scattering everywhere.

The vines that had grown from the ground didn’t disappear over time, making them fairly formidable obstacles.

So, instead of simply charging at Moby Tiger, I circled it, cutting down the thorny vines and observing it.

It was standing slightly crooked, launching one long-range attack after another without moving a single step.

This fighting technique seemed quite strange, especially since I knew it was far more dangerous when fighting up close.

Swiiish.

But my doubts were soon cleared.

Moby Tiger’s body, which had turned completely black, occasionally showed a bit of white. Every time that happened, Moby Tiger would grimace, which made me think it was struggling to prevent the Skyflow Tiger from reawakening.

Clang!

On top of that, this thing was rather clumsy in close combat. I had thought it strange that it was noticeably staggering, its movements were rather unrefined, and its reactions were sluggish overall, but it really couldn’t handle its new body well.

Maybe because this wasn’t its original body, it hadn’t fully adapted to it yet… Well, whatever the reason, just knowing it showed plenty of openings was enough.

> [Get away from me!]

Moreover, it further proved this theory by using its knockback skill so often.

I was struck by a large stream of water and forced to fall back. It wasn’t just ordinary water, either, tearing into my flesh instead of just soaking me.

It only left some scratches on me, but with my clothes and bandages shredded and my skin engraved with hundreds of minor cuts, the word tore wasn’t so wrong.

But would that make me stop here?

How could I?

I strongly kicked the ground again right after getting knocked back, forcing the fight back into close combat.

> [Tsk!]

Reading my blatant intentions, Moby Tiger hurriedly prepared its next skill.

Water began to surge from under its feet, flooding the ground around us.

Clang, clang, clang. With a crisp sound, the water pouring down like tidal waves gradually froze into smooth layers. If I landed there, I would absolutely lose my balance.

“How trivial.”

At that moment, I realized why those thick, thorn-covered vines hadn’t disappeared.

It seemed they were meant to be used as platforms.

Crunch!

Even if that wasn’t the original intent behind their existence, I chose to interpret it that way.

So I fired off some of my sword energy with as wide a range as possible, even knowing that would significantly reduce its power output. The upper parts of the spiraling vines were cut off in chunks, creating a safe surface to step on.

I leaped onto them.

> [You’re nothing but a clown!]

I mean, I couldn’t remember ever seeing a clown dressed so drearily, though.

Using these makeshift platforms that couldn’t really be called platforms, I charged at Moby Tiger. Ice chunks continuously formed in the air and flew toward me, but that didn’t matter. I could simply break them even without using Arcane Power.

Screeeech.

Confirming the sound my longsword was giving off, I threw it forward. I was determined to finish this before my blade shattered.

The sword, fully charged with my Arcane Power, flew forward like a spear.

> [That won’t work!]

Contrary to its words, it must have felt pretty threatened.

Moby Tiger momentarily stopped generating ice spears and focused on blocking the sword. Vines instantly grew, forming a shield before it.

Bam!

The blade sunk deep into that shield.

At the same time, I pulled out my Zweihänder strapped to my back.

The silver blade, almost boiling with Arcane Power, spat out a sharp three-pronged attack.

The wooden vine shield split into three pieces. Unexpectedly, I could see Moby Tiger lying flat on the ground beyond it.

While I agreed this was the most efficient way to evade that attack, it was still unexpected.

I didn’t think its pride would allow it to dodge like that.

> [Die.]

But, unexpected or not, failing to predict something correctly in a fight always demanded a price.

Upon realizing that my opponent was charging at me like a beast, I had to make a decision. I wouldn’t be able to avoid this.

Clang!

But even if I couldn’t avoid it, that didn’t mean I would simply give up. The moment I made my decision, I tossed the Zweihänder aside and grabbed a piece of the shield that I had cut apart and was about to fall. The part with the longsword I had thrown earlier.

The fallen shield fragments got caught between Moby Tiger and me, blocking part of its attack. Of course, even then, it managed to grab my left shoulder, its claws sinking into me.

A slight pain and the message 「Poison!」 simultaneously came to mind.

> [How foolish.]

Moreover, the piece of vine my longsword had been stuck in suddenly grew new branches, entangling my body.

“Demon Knight!”

“Don’t go out. The fight isn’t over yet.”

From behind me, I could hear the Inquisitor’s urgent voice and Bers trying to stop her.

> [Die!]

What should I do now? Those things had grown too thick to break just by strengthening my body with Arcane Power.

There also wasn’t enough space to perform [Ground Crash]. The principle behind it was to condense Arcane Power into my blade, then inject that condensed Arcane Power into the ground all at once and spread it in all directions…

Wait, didn’t that mean I didn’t actually need space to use it?

Was I really that much of an idiot? Trying to find different applications for everything but this?

Strictly speaking, that condensed spiraling Arcane Power attack was also an application of this, but… I couldn’t help but feel like an idiot.

Feeling a bit empty inside, I poured Arcane Power into the blade I was holding. After it had gathered to some extent, I unleashed it.

The process took exactly two seconds. It was right as Moby Tiger surrounded me with countless ice spears and shot them at me.

“Something like this.”

I released a torrent of Arcane blades from the sword, my arms, torso, and legs in that order, tearing apart my sleeves and the clothes on my back. It was as if sharp blades made of wind were blowing around me.

“Won’t work.”

Furthermore, those blades weren’t satisfied with just my clothes and the wooden vines.

Their next targets were the hundreds of ice spears still aiming for me. Crash. All the ice spears shattered as if being fed through a crusher.

> […!]

“Ah, Demon Knight!”

“See? Berserk told you he’d be fine.”

Thousands, tens of thousands of ice shards scattered into the air, turning the world into a pure white snowfield. The cold they contained momentarily turned my breath into a white mist.

And during all that, I swung my longsword through the ice powder. [Breaker]. The shocked Moby Tiger swung its arm in a similar fashion.

Slice!

Although I couldn’t wholly sever it, I did manage to cut halfway into its forearm.

Tainted black blood spattered over the ground.

> [You probably haven’t even a spark of power left!]

Ah, I didn’t really need any.

Muttering mockingly, I stretched my arm into the space below. My reason for using [Breaker] was to send a shock through the ground and cause my Zweihänder to bounce up.

Of course, it didn’t jump that high because of its weight, but with my body lowered and arm outstretched after striking down with the longsword, it was enough.

Clang!

I grabbed the sword’s hilt with my right hand and quickly pulled it up. I wasn’t planning on swinging it properly for now. I just used it as a makeshift shield.

The blade, now diagonally before me, blocked Moby Tiger’s claw.

Was it my turn again? I fired [Bombard] forward using the longsword, sweeping the front while maintaining it.

Though my Arcane Power was now truly depleted, I could count the newly formed ice spears with my bare eyes and see spots of white showing on parts of its body. From that, I could tell.

This thing was also on its last leg.

> [I-It’s not over yet…!]

“It’s over.”

Beam or blade. Whatever it was, it silently sliced through most of what Moby Dick and the Skyflow Tiger had summoned.

Moby Tiger barely managed to dodge, and some structures outside of my attack range were left unharmed, but it was still a decent harvest.

The white parts on Moby Tiger’s body finally spread and took over half its face, calling forth the body’s original owner.

> [This Skyflow Tiger is still—]

Ice spears I had failed to destroy before grazed my neck, sides, and thighs, but that wasn’t enough to stop me.

Observing the Skyflow Tiger’s desperate expression, I swung my sword in the opposite direction of my previous attack.

In desperation, Moby Tiger, or perhaps the Skyflow Tiger, transformed into a giant tiger and lunged at me in a mad frenzy, but it was already too late.

“Pay them back with your life.”

Slash!

This [Slash] cleaved the gigantic tiger in half. Having reached its limit, the blade I had used didn’t snap in two like usual, instead falling apart into tiny fragments as if disintegrating from the tip.

Thud!

Now, all that remained was the bladeless hilt of the sword and the corpse of a tiger, its head cleanly separated from its body.

“All those whom you have toyed with.”

Cough.

At the same time, the blood I had barely managed to hold back brought me to my knees.

____

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