Chapter 28

    The Dawn of Escape from Death

    Boom!!!

    2000

    "It's over for you."

    Efrik hammered Nemesis with such force that the shockwave nearly tore off the remaining pieces of its jacket. As Nemesis struggled to recover from the massive impact of Efrik's slamming into the middle of its back, it remembered that there were missiles coming towards it from the front. As it looked up, the four rockets were already at the tip of its nose.

    Boom!!!

    1500×4

    "…Arr!!!..."

    It screamed in agony as it was hit by its own missiles. Möbius was relieved to see their plan finally taking effect, but the moment was brief.

    "Arr, arr..." Nemesis roared madly as the muscles in its arms and legs expanded, tearing its pants completely. Numerous limbs erupted from its back, and large claws sprouted from the backs of its hands. Soon, the boss grew to match Efrik’s size, its form now truly monstrous. Muscles bulged all over its body, leaving no part symmetrical. Its right hand featured large claws, while its left sprouted tentacle-like appendages resembling squid tentacles.

    Whoosh... Slice!!!

    1000×8

    "Ugh..."

    The closest to it, Efrik, faced the high-speed lashing of Nemesis's squid-like tentacles.

    "Heh, if only you could defeat me, my master wouldn't have to struggle."

    The fire demon chuckled loudly, recalling the time Möbius and Teppanyaki's group first killed him. Grabbing the tentacles of Nemesis, Efrik yanked its owner into a crushing embrace with tremendous force.

    "Now's the time, Miho, Inari, take action."

    Möbius, seeing the opportunity, instructed the fox girls to cast spells on Nemesis, who was being embraced by Efrik. The mother and daughter foxes, who had already gathered their magical power, immediately fired numerous fireballs at the target as directed by the young man.

    Boom, boom, boom!!!

    +500×20, +600×15

    500×20, 450×15

    Efrik's power continued to increase because it received fire from the fox girls, unlike Nemesis who suffered full damage from their spells. Moreover, Nemesis also received damage from the fire on Efrik, which had become even hotter after receiving the fox girls’ fire.

    "...die…" The massive boss opened its mouth wide, unconcerned whether it would tear, intending to bite and sink its fangs into Efrik, who held it in an embrace. Efrik, realizing this, powerfully swung Nemesis into the wall.

    Boom...!!!

    5000

    "Your breath stinks, what do you eat?"

    Efrik wrinkled its nose after slamming Nemesis against the wall, then turned to grab his golden hammer and repeatedly slammed it into Nemesis, embedding it into the wall. Almost instantly as he withdrew the hammer, Leia moved in close to the giant boss lying in the wall.

    "Those tentacles are annoying."

    The slender girl used her sharply elongated nails to slash at the boss with high speed, focusing on cutting the tentacles that were Nemesis's weapons. However, it seemed futile as the tentacles regrew almost immediately, and they quickly attacked Leia, forcing her to swiftly retreat and regroup.

    "Ar..."

    Not waiting, Nemesis quickly leaped from the wall and charged at Leia with surprising speed for its size. In such a confined space, she had a significant advantage because she could move through shadows, allowing her to easily dodge into her own shadow.

    "Alright, get ready."

    Efrik followed up, locking Nemesis from behind and turning it towards Gumiho and Inari, who were poised to cast another round of spells.

    "Alright, girls, blast it," Möbius, now holding a Gatling gun in hand, began his barrage on this boss Nemesis.

    "Just die, you obstruction between me and my lovely lobsters," Gumiho murmured softly before unleashing a torrent of spells at Nemesis.

    "Sea, sea, sea, sea," Inari did the same, chanting repeatedly and casing her spells as well.

    "Uhh…What are you talking about?" Shabu-Shabu, who hadn't read the event details, didn't understand what the two fox girls were referring to, but she joined in with her lightning magic anyway.

    2345×10, 700×20, 600×18, 500×10

    "Bonus," Leia, who had imbued her weapon with black fire, making it appear as though black flames clung to her nails, struck Nemesis in the chest with another blow.

    1000×10

    "Ho, quite tough, still not dead."

    Efrik commented, admiring Nemesis, which was still struggling in his grasp. A normal boss would have died long ago, but this one seemed not to diminish easily. Limbs that extended from its back lashed out at Efrik, throwing him back.

    1000×20

    Simultaneously, it used the tentacle on its left hand to grab a rocket launcher and then turned to fire at the two foxes.

    "Old tricks don't work... Ah."

    Möbius, who had fired a fire crystal from his Cosmos Custom hoping to redirect the missiles, was disappointed when he found that this time the missiles flew in a straight line, not swerving as they had before.

    "Mr. Möbius, take cover."

    Shabu-Shabu stepped forward and created a large water wall to block the missiles, which only slowed them down but didn't stop their advance, forcing the young man to do something.

    He used the 'Hands of Möbius, Particle Knowledge–Aggregate' to combine titanium, iron, and copper from his fourth dimension into a large metal plate, releasing it to block the front with titanium on the outermost layer, copper in the middle, and the heaviest iron at the back.

    The outermost titanium, which was the hardest steel that Möbius had, served as the force-absorbing layer. The middle bronze, with its high flexibility, acted to reduce impact force. The iron, the heaviest, provided resistance against impact.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom...!!!

    The carefully thought-out use of metals allowed him to stop Nemesis’s missiles without a scratch. After using the wall, Möbius reabsorbed it to save materials, playfully naming the metal wall.

    "Möbius Barrier."

    Slash, slash.

    "Are you okay?"

    Leia rushed over to him, cutting off the tentacles. Efrik bared its fangs in anger. He picked up the golden hammer that had fallen nearby, holding it as he nodded in thanks to Leia.

    "Time is running out. Efrik, launch it into the sky, then everyone hit it with your finishers."

    Möbius, looking up, saw the sky shifting from black to blue. Being in the alley, he couldn't tell how close it was to dawn, but it was almost time for the sun to rise.

    "I was thinking the same thing."

    Efrik charged at the enemy with full speed and swung his hammer from below upwards to smash the detestable boss into the air. Nemesis, already significantly wounded, couldn’t dodge this attack and was struck about 20 meters into the air.

    "Alright, Möbius."

    Gumiho acknowledged the command and turned to join hands with Inari. Currently, they still needed to conceal their true power from Shabu-Shabu, prompting the mother-daughter foxes to combine their forces for a final attack. Silver and gold magical energies intertwined, culminating in a spiral of golden and silver beams shooting from their extended hands toward Nemesis, hovering in mid-air.

    ‘Nine Heavens Piercing Fox Fire’

    Whoom... !!!

    30000

    "Alright, see you next time, little one."

    Efrik, now surrounded by numerous small fireballs and holding miniature sun-like fireballs in both raised hands, turned back to look at Möbius who had called him, then faced the enemy before him and launched all the fireballs at the rising Nemesis, shouting loudly,

    " As for you, farewell forever!!!"

    Boom, boom, boom, boom...!!!

    400×40

    25000

    Efrik watched contentedly as his work slowly faded, a condition of his summoning ability which would soon expire after delivering a finishing move.

    "Not enough time for a cool shot today."

    Möbius grumbled to himself for being the real planner but forgot about the time. Fortunately, he still had one final move left.

    bullets craft (Hi) + Auto reload

    Möbius used his ability to quickly craft a bullet and load it into his gun barrel.

    ‘Hands of Möbius, White Hole, Gamma Mörser’

    The long-unused cannon appeared in front of him, aimed at Nemesis floating in the sky. This time, the bullet loaded in the Gamma Mörser was an Ap (armor piercing) type.

    Gun control + Repeat shot

    "Gamma Mörser, fire."

    Möbius, using his ability to hit the same target repeatedly, commanded the canon to fire the just completed bullet.

    Boom... !!!

    35000

    A 416 mm armor-piercing bullet pierced through Nemesis’s chest, creating a large hole and causing it to gradually disintegrate with its last sound,

    "...Ooh..."

    The loot dropped from Nemesis delighted Möbius immensely. It was the first time he had acquired a usable weapon from defeating a boss as it The weapon acquired from Nemesis was the rocket launcher. Leia pointed out the box Nemesis had dropped at the entrance of the alley, which contained numerous missiles for the rocket launcher and a roll of Kevlar fabric.

    ‘Your level, Mr. Möbius, has advanced to level 40’

    ‘Gumiho’s level has advanced to level 41’

    ‘Inari’s level has advanced to level 47’

    ‘Player Möbius has gained the ability Grativara from leveling up’

    Ability Window

    No.

    Name

    Ability Description

    13

    Grativara

    Negates gravity on objects as desired by the user (mp cost depends on the distance × size × number of objects) (No delay)

    "Möbius, look."

    Inari pointed towards the helicopter pad located on the eastern side of the city, where the sunrise was beginning to illuminate the horizon, revealing that the helicopter was starting to prepare for takeoff.

    "Let's escape quickly, everyone, get in the car!!!" Möbius, seeing that time was almost up, brought out Black Lightning.

    "You have a car too, Mr. Möbius, and it’s..." Shabu-Shabu, seeing Möbius's car for the first time, made a gaping face.

    [Sunbathing in the morning is indeed a suitable activity. Thank you, master, for bringing me out, but I hope there are no zombies around. Oh, master, you've got another beautiful lady with you, hello. I'm Black Lightning, Mr. Möbius's pet, pleased to meet you.]

    Black Lightning, once released, immediately started talking before everyone got into the car with Gumiho sitting in the front and Shabu sitting in the back, flanked by Leia and Inari.

    "The road is going to be a bit rough today, Black."

    Möbius said empathetically as he climbed into the driver's seat, looking at the path littered with zombie remains.

    "Mihos, help clear the path, so we don't hit any potholes, okay?"

    Inari and Gumiho stood up and cast light spells forward to clear the debris that blocked the road, making it easier for Black to reach the helicopter pad. Even though the distance was only about four blocks, the extensive barriers made it difficult to move quickly.

    "Möbius, drive up on the building."

    Gumiho pointed to a building across from the corner they were emerging from, which was sure to be unobstructed.

    "Again?"

    Leia, who was afraid of heights, couldn't help but complain, although she agreed that it was the only way to reach the helicopter pad in time. She quickly fastened her seatbelt, as did Gumiho and Inari.

    "What are you talking about? What are you doing?"

    Shabu-Shabu, completely clueless about the situation, was pulled into a hug by Inari since there was no seatbelt in the middle, leaving the young mage girl looking bewildered.

    "Yeah, I was thinking the same, Black, it might get a bit rough."

    Möbius, thinking about driving up the building too, drove Black Lightning at high speed through the zombie remains.

    [Don't worry, master. Da Vinci has recently upgraded my suspension system, and I also have a full tank of red power-enhancing potion. I won't break down easily.]

    Black Lightning responded, its sentient nature allowing it to use the red potion to repair itself, though it was only a temporary fix. If there was significant damage, parts would still need to be replaced. Möbius used a large stone as a ramp to launch onto the opposite wall of the building.

    Grativa

    As soon as Black Lightning's front wheels touched the building, he activated the ability to alter gravitational force, allowing his splendid vehicle to run up the building as if it were flat ground. Möbius floored the accelerator immediately because the sunlight was slowly creeping across the city filled with ruins. As soon as the sun reached the main buildings of the city, they would be met with explosions. He chose to run diagonally up the building because they needed to jump across three streets that split between buildings.

    With a speed exceeding 300 km/h, they reached the first corner of the building in an instant. Before reaching the edge, he deactivated the Grativara ability for just a split second to make the jump, allowing his car to leap onto the opposite building without losing balance, seeming as if they jumped down from a building more than 30 meters high sideways.

    "This is quite fun, isn't it?"

    Gumiho, buckled in, raised her hands to the sky while Möbius drove the car leaping across buildings.

    "Scream... Not again, Möbius, you're definitely getting killed after this."

    Leia, already fearful of heights, screamed loudly and threatened Möbius. Last time they jumped over the chasm, at least the car was aligned with the earth's surface, but this time the car jumped across buildings perpendicularly, making her see herself plummeting almost headfirst towards the earth.

    "Hold on tight, Shabu."

    Inari told Shabu-Shabu, who was sitting more still than she thought despite Möbius's rather thrilling driving. She then noticed that the girl in her arms had fainted, prompting the fox mother to tighten her embrace.

    Whoosh.

    Grativa.

    As Möbius landed on the other side, he used his ability to reattach the car to the building. However, due to Black Lightning jumping across in an arc, when it reached this building, the front of the car was already close to the ground. Möbius immediately reused the technique he had mastered.

    "Here we go,"

    He floored the accelerator and sharply turned the steering wheel to the right, braking hard for just a fraction of a second before flooring the accelerator again. This action caused the rear of the car to whip around sharply, dissipating the G-forces from the car's fall, making the front of the car lift towards the top of the building. He then eased off the accelerator, tapped the brake slightly, and turned the steering wheel back to pull out of the rear whip, and then accelerated towards the roof to jump again.

    "Ugh, ugh..."

    Leia, terrified, whimpered softly because they had to jump across buildings two more times before reaching the helicopter landing pad, their destination. When they reached the last building, the fox girl pointed ahead.

    This is bad, "Möbius. It's leaving already."

    Gumiho, sitting in the front, saw something flying away from the city—a large helicopter with two spinning rotors at high speed. The open rear of it revealed the Teppan’s group arguing with the officials trying to close the rear of the helicopter.

    Cronos

    Möbius quickly calculated the trajectory of the helicopter and himself, and fortunately, it was slightly veering south, allowing it to pass through a point where they could jump onto it.

    "Black, speed up. Miho, take care of Leia. Inari, take care of Shabu."

    Grativa

    [Overdrive system activated]

    Using the ability to reduce weight and Black Lightning's ability to increase speed, they surged forward at high velocity. Möbius angled the vehicle precisely before launching it from the edge of the building into the air, aiming for the helicopter that was flying away with its rear still open.

    Whoosh

    Grativara

    ‘Hands of Möbius, Black Hole’

    Möbius stored his vehicle in his left hand while activating his new ability, cutting off the gravity affecting all five of them as they soared from the building edge at high speed.

    "Hold on tight."

    Möbius told Miho, who was holding his right hand, while Leia, visibly trembling with fear, clung tightly to her in her arms. Meanwhile, Inari, still embracing Shabu-Shabu with one arm, also held his left hand.

    Cronos

    The young man utilized his ability to calculate the trajectory of his dive into the back of the helicopter. He had to slightly use Grativa to maintain the correct trajectory to reach their target.

    "Don't close it yet, my friend is coming."

    A muscular man, secured by a safety harness, spoke to the helicopter crew who were about to close the rear hatch for safety.

    "There's Mr. Möbius now. What in the world! He's flying at such a high speed."

    Sashimi, who hadn't given up even though the helicopter had taken off, spotted Möbius and his group approaching the helicopter at high speed.

    "It's too late now,"

    Kujikatsu, looking around, spotted a net used to prevent objects from falling out during flight, and quickly thought of a solution.

    "Sashimi, help me out,"

    The young archer threw the other end of the net to his warrior friend, who then tied it to another pole inside the cabin to create a drag for Möbius's group.

    "Everyone, be careful,"

    Möbius, flying in at high speed, was relieved to see Kujikatsu addressing the speed reduction issue. He quickly gathered the four women close, then flipped to take the impact on his back as they hit the net.

    1000 (Remaining 750/1750)

    "Ugh..." Möbius, fully impacted by the force, felt internal pain, but that was a minor issue for him. Due to the net's excessive elasticity prepared by Kujikatsu, they were all flung out again.

    "Miho, Inari, go ahead."

    He rolled back and successfully threw all four women into the helicopter, but he himself was flung out. Despite his magical abilities related to gravity, he couldn't fly on his own. The large helicopter gradually drifted away, but then...

    Snatch!

    "Mr. Möbius,"

    Teppanyaki jumped after Möbius and managed to grab his hand. Fortunately, Teppanyaki had tied a safety rope to himself beforehand, preventing them from falling, leaving them both hanging in mid-air.

    "Thank you, Mr. Teppan."

    Möbius was glad that he had a friend who risked his life for him, allowing him to survive such a dire situation.

    Soon, the people on the helicopter pulled the two up to safety.

    "There..." Möbius, just setting foot on the helicopter, pointed at something streaking across the sky at high speed. It was a red glow, like a fireball, trailing a thick plume of smoke. In an instant, the fireball collided with a tall building in the city, and everything flashed brightly. A mushroom-shaped cloud with a large ring formed and slowly expanded, nearly reaching the helicopter Möbius and his friends were in. The rear hatch of the helicopter slowly closed.

    Boom...!!!

    Crack, crack, crack.

    The helicopter shook violently from the tremendous shockwave of the explosion. Möbius held Inari's and Leia's hands tightly, who were sitting next to him, praying for the vibrations to end quickly, which they did after a short while.

    "Don't worry, everyone is safe now," the helicopter pilot reassured his passengers with a thumbs up.

    "Wuu…I'm never going with Möbius again. What was that? So terrifying that I passed out."

    Shabu-Shabu ran and threw herself into Tempura's arms, crying. The three Japanese Food men felt that Möbius had sexy Inari, beautiful Gumiho, cute Leia, and now he was doing something with Shabu-Shabu too. Could it be that Möbius really was a lustful fox after all?