Chapter 35

    The Terrifying Sacred Beast

    “Swarm them now. Their rear guard is pinned down! Archers, don’t stop firing! Spearmen, advance!!!”

    Prince Shark commanded, confident that Möbius's rear guard was neutralized. His spearmen, capable of attacking from the second line, were hard to dodge when they struck in unison. However, he severely underestimated the young man who was handsome in a merfolk kind of way.

    Brrrrm...!!! 

    A rumble came from behind the metal wall as it suddenly began moving forward, to the confusion of Shark’s forces. But something even more perplexing followed—a strange voice speaking from behind the wall.

    [Whoa...!!! What's going on? I…Is this a boyband army? Did they recruit soldiers based on looks? Uh... Miss Aime is fierce, as expected. Oh...!!! That's Fire Demon. Mr. Möbius, you’ve got some cool allies, but please, don't let the fire demon ride on me.]

    "Black, circle around and hit their rear line."

    Möbius ordered his pet immediately. This time, he needed it to drive itself since his hands had to hold onto the iron wall used to block the arrows. The only reason he could manage this was because of Grativara’s ability to nullify gravity, which made the weight of the iron wall effectively zero.

    Meanwhile, Gumiho and Inari, sitting in the back of the car, unfurled their nine tails, gathering magical power. Without other players around, they could unleash their full strength, preparing for a coordinated strike once Möbius gave the signal.

    As soon as they started moving sideways, the number of arrows fired at them decreased drastically. This was because the archers were behind the front lines who were engaged in melee combat, making it difficult to see their targets directly. Many arrows ended up hitting empty spaces in vain.

    “Miho, please help Young Miss.”

    “Got it~~ Hey… Leia, watch out.”

    Möbius noticed the petite girl being overwhelmed by numerous enemies and signaled the fox girl to unleash magic in that direction. Numerous fireballs shot rapidly toward the target. Before they could reach their target, Leia quickly transformed into her half-demon form and disappeared into her own shadow.

    Boom. Boom. Boom!!!

    The flames from the explosion continued to erupt, sending thick black smoke into the air. Inside that smoke, a dark figure moved swiftly, cutting down everyone in its path. However, Gumiho's attack alerted the head archer to the location of their target, causing a multitude of arrows to shoot towards them once more.

    “Miho, Inari, duck.”

    Möbius commanded, pulling out a sheet of metal to shield them from above, blocking the arrows from harming him or the two foxes. However, some arrows still struck the body of the vehicle they were riding in.

    [With a chassis built using lost technology, this feels like nothing more than a tickle.]

    Since the hull of the Black Lightning could withstand pressure up to a depth of 20 kilometers underwater, its defense was much higher than it appeared. The arrows only caused minor scratches, which quickly healed as it used the red potions stored in its fuel tank.

    “Aime, be careful, dear.”

    Inari called out as she cast a healing spell on Aime from a distance. The mermaid princess, having just sent another soldier to respawn, nodded in gratitude. Now with someone healing her, Aime became even more aggressive in her attacks, abandoning defense altogether.

    “Möbius, you're so clever, thinking of using Black. It's made things a lot easier.”

    Gumiho turned and praised Möbius, who was seated at the front. She had initially thought they would be stuck playing defense, but Möbius had found a way to turn the tide and go on the offensive. At that moment, Inari leaned forward from the backseat, wrapping her arms around Möbius's neck and bringing her face close to his ear.

    “Yes, so clever. You deserve a reward.”

    The fox mother whispered softly, sending shivers down Möbius's spine. Before he could recover, Gumiho joined in mercilessly, blowing gently into his other ear like her mother had done. The caused Möbius to feel lightheaded, his face flushing with blood more than usual, and on the verge of overheating.

    “Ha…ha…I... I can't pass out...”

    The young man panted, struggling to keep his excitement in check. Desperate to focus on something else, he pulled out a massive Gatling gun and quickly flicked the switch, making its barrels spin rapidly before shouting loudly,

    “You guys!!! Die…!!!”

    Möbius unleashed a hail of bullets at Prince Shark’s spearmen and archers. Despite being in a moving vehicle, the sheer volume of bullets, combined with the large number of targets, left the enemy troops wounded en masse. He then grabbed a rocket launcher, bracing it on his shoulder.

    “Die, you damn soldiers. Blame your good looks for this.”

    The young man seized the opportunity to vent his pent-up frustration through the attack, firing four rockets that spread out and rained down on the targets. The resulting explosions scattered, leaving the soldiers riddled with bullets, their bodies disintegrating into light in large numbers.

    “Don’t think any of you will leave here alive... You will all die!!!”

    Möbius shouted, pouring his fury into the relentless assault.

    Möbius, growing more frenzied by the second, began hurling grenades from his right hand in a wide arc. Explosions rang out in rapid succession across the enemy forces, leaving Gumiho with little opportunity to cast her own spells. The fox girl glanced at her mother, gesturing toward Möbius, who was frothing at the mouth slightly.

    "Mom, Möbius looks kind of crazy today."

    "Oh ho ho, that's just how Möbius gets when he's embarrassed."

    Inari giggled softly at Möbius's cuteness. Whenever he felt shy, he tended to overcompensate by acting more aggressively, just like when they were in the underground dungeon of Paradiso. The cunning fox mother thought she might "stimulate" Möbius like this again the next time they faced a tough battle.

    “Alright, let's wrap this up. Inari, Miho, prepare the Foxfire Piercing Nine Heavens. Wait for my signal. Don’t use too much power—we’ll need to save some strength. I’m sure the prince still has a trump card.”

    Möbius, turning his embarrassment into rage, began executing the plan he'd crafted when Black Lightning raced toward the rear of the enemy army, where the archers were stationed.

    “Black, charge straight into the middle of the army. Crush them all.”

    Möbius switched to the driver's seat, turning the car toward the enemy and flooring the gas pedal.

    [Ha!!! These soldiers dare to be better looking than you, Mr. Möbius? But let me tell you, none of them have your luck with women, my friend! Even if they’re handsome, you’ve got the ladies beat by a mile. Ha, ha, ha.]

    Overdrive System Activate + Kamikaze

    Black Lightning sped into the enemy ranks with incredible speed. The combination of its velocity, weight, and abilities obliterated everything in its path. With its powerful engine, the sleek black vehicle tore through the vast enemy army in an instant, leaving behind a massive gap as a mark of its destructive rampage. At that moment, Möbius pointed to the side, signaling the two foxes.

    “Now, fire.”

    ‘Fox Fire Piercing the Ninth Heaven.’

    Golden and silver beams shot out from the side of the car, initially aimed at an empty area. However, as Möbius slammed on the brakes, the vehicle spun 180 degrees, turning the attack into a wide fan shape that swept through the enemy ranks, devastating their forces.

    The relentless assault from Möbius had severely damaged the middle and rear ranks of the enemy army. Even Prince Shark himself was injured by the explosions. Meanwhile, Leia, Aime, and Efrik swiftly took care of the remaining front-line soldiers, with Möbius keeping an eye on the prince.

    Before long, the battle scene returned to how it had been when they first entered the room. Only Möbius’s group remained, unharmed, while Prince Shark, now wearing a vicious expression, stood alone. Efrik, on the other hand, was casually swinging his massive golden hammer for fun.

    “I have no choice, it seems I have to use that after all. Remember this well—you’ll be killed by one of the two sacred beasts of Red Ruby City.”

    The prince of Red Ruby City roared with fury, unable to comprehend how his highly trained soldiers had been defeated. But he still had one final trick up his sleeve: his faithful sacred beast.

    “Tremble in fear at its savage form. Quiver before its immense power. Come forth!!!”

    The doors behind Prince Shark swung open, revealing the silhouette of a large, four-legged creature with a massive mane resembling the rays of the sun. Its red eyes glowed menacingly as they locked onto Möbius and his group. Aime, recognizing the creature, gasped in horror.

    “Oh no!!! Shark, you even brought out the sacred beast?”

    “A sacred beast... Everyone, don’t let your guard down.”

    Möbius, seeing the mermaid's reaction, instantly knew this creature was extremely dangerous. As it slowly stepped out from the massive doors, Aime began sweating profusely, biting her lower lip to stifle her fear.

    “I’m sorry, Möbius, for dragging you into this danger.”

    Once fully out of the door, the creature’s form became visible to all. It was a sight that struck terror into every merfolk present.

    “A pig?”

    Gumiho squinted at the massive pink body, which was as large as a full-grown elephant. Its curly, spring-like tail ended with a spiked, one-meter-wide ball resembling a mace. From every angle, it looked more like a farm pig raised for food than a terrifying beast.

    “Squid?”

    Inari examined the creature’s neck, from which large squid-like tentacles spread out in all directions like a sunburst. From a distance, the tentacles looked like the sun's rays, swaying in a lively manner.

    “Shrimp?”

    Leia looked at the most bizarre and incongruous part of the monster. The already incongruous part of the monster was a large gray shrimp head the size of an elephant's head but much longer. Two long gray tentacles protruded from the head. Two red eyes that were round balls on cylindrical rods protruded from the head.

    There were crab-like claws that were smaller on longer joints protruding from what Leia thought was its neck. But the most grotesque feature, however, was a large, orange lump right in the middle of its forehead.

    ‘Player Möbius has encountered the monster: Pig-Squid-Shrimp, Boss-Level Monster, Level 62.’

    “This is bad. It’s exactly what I thought. The Pig-Squid-Shrimp, a creature so terrifying that its mere appearance can shock merfolk to death.”

    Aime was visibly shaken by the merfolk-level terror of the creature, while Möbius and his girls were fighting not to burst out laughing at how ridiculous it looked.

    “Wait, what?!!! This is the terrifying sacred beast you were talking about?”

    Inari stared incredulously at Prince Shark, who stood grinning with pride at the merfolk-level fearsome Pig-Squid-Shrimp, his beloved pet.

    “That’s right!!! This is my sacred beast. So, what do you think? Ready to give up yet? I’m satisfied just by killing that handsome young man (in a mermaid style), then you all can leave if you like. Hahaha.”

    Prince Shark laughed loudly, reveling in his perceived victory. But Möbius, smirking, raised his hand to ask a question.

    “When you said ‘one of two sacred beasts,’ is the other one named Bust by any chance?”

    The young merman raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking that the other side must have heard of his reputation and that of his sacred beasts, which had spread even to the human cities.

    "Yes!!! Bust is the other sacred beast. I've sent Bust to an island human recently built, but even if you know that, you won’t be able to do anything about it. It has incredibly high defenses, and once it hides, no one can find it."

    "So, is the Pig-Squid-Shrimp a relative of Bust?"

    Leia, who seemed like she wasn’t smiling but clearly was, asked the other party with a tone that was almost laughing but not quite, holding back her laughter as much as she could.

    "That's right! They’re like siblings, very close to each other... Wait, aren’t you afraid of the Pig-Squid-Shrimp at all?"

    Prince Shark couldn’t understand why Möbius and his group were so fearless, especially in the presence of the Pig-Squid-Shrimp—a creature that made every merfolk tremble in terror at its merfolk-level fearsome appearance.

    At that moment, Gumiho pulled out a giant orange crab claw from her bag. It was one of Bust’s claws, the inside eaten out and kept as a souvenir. Seeing that these two creatures were siblings, she thought it might be nice to give it as a keepsake to its counterpart.

    "Here, we’ll give you this. Don’t worry, we have another one saved."

    The fox girl spoke sincerely, looking at the Pig-Squid-Shrimp as she wondered which part would make the best souvenir. She had her eyes on its shrimp claw, thinking it would pair nicely with the crab claw she already had.

    [Ha ha ha, if it’s Bust, we already killed it. Too bad I couldn’t eat its meat, though. I heard from those who did that it was tender and sweet, probably raised really well.]

    Black Lightning taunted gleefully, convinced that someone must have been behind Bust’s attack. Meanwhile, Efrik, who was sitting down, was beginning to feel like he wanted to take a nap, but feared that Möbius would start dancing like a monkey and command him again, so he stayed put.

    "Yawn... Whatever you’re going to do, just do it already. I’m getting bored here."

    "That is..."

    Prince Shark’s eyes widened as he stared at the claw in Gumiho’s hand. He immediately recognized it as Bust’s, confirming that these people had indeed killed his pet of over 80 years.

    A faded memory resurfaced in his mind—the moment his father had gifted him this cool merfolk-style pet, the times he’d watched it grow slowly, the days they played together in the castle garden, and how he had encouraged it every time it molted. Now, all those memories had been reduced to just a crab claw. In that instant, tears welled up in his eyes.

    "All of you must die. Attack, Pig-Squid-Shrimp!!!"

    Prince Shark drew his sword and leaped onto the back of the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, which was also crying as it sensed the fate of its fallen sibling. Together, the prince and the beast charged at Möbius' group, hell-bent on avenging Bust.

    "Be careful. Prince Shark is an exceptionally skilled swordsman, and the Pig-Squid-Shrimp specializes in magic."

    Aime shouted from behind, but it was already too late. The bizarre creature unleashed a massive torrent of water from its shrimp claw, aiming at Efrik. When the water clashed with Efrik’s fire, it created thick steam, and the sheer volume of water managed to penetrate Efrik’s fiery defenses and damage him.

    Seeing the situation worsening, Möbius quickly recalled Black Lightning before the vehicle could provoke the creature any further.

    Whoosh...

    8000 (Critical hit from element)

    "Ugh... so it's serious now."

    Efrik muttered as the blast of water struck his left arm, snuffing out the flames that covered it almost entirely. He had to grasp his left arm with his right hand to try to dry the wound enough to reignite his flames. However, the thick steam created by the water raised the humidity in the air, making it difficult for him to dry his arm quickly. The effect also prevented the fox girl's fire magic from working to its full potential. Worse yet, it clouded the visibility of Möbius and his team.

    As Prince Shark watched Möbius and his group struggle against the merfolk forces, he analyzed the best strategy to defeat them. His plan? Take out the leader first.

    Without a sound, a red sword flashed out from the mist, speeding toward Möbius from the side. By the time Möbius realized he was being attacked, the blade was already dangerously close. But he was lucky—Leia, the small yet nimble girl skilled in this kind of situation, intercepted the sword just in time.

    Clang.

    Leia’s claws, extended like blades, clashed with Prince Shark's red sword with a loud impact, prompting everyone to turn their attention to attack him together. But before they could react, Prince Shark disappeared into the mist once again, leaving only a frustrated hiss.

    "Tch."

    In the split second when everyone turned to guard against Prince Shark, the sound of something slicing through the air came from behind. The next target was clear—the one capable of healing magic, Inari, standing at the rear of the group. The whooshing sound was a massive, high-speed water bullet, much larger and faster than anything Bust had used before.

    Boom…!!!

    300

    Aime rushed in, using her massive sword to block the water bullet before it could hit the fox mother. However, her sword wasn’t a shield, and she couldn't fully absorb the impact. Both she and Inari took some damage, prompting Inari to quickly cast healing magic on the mermaid princess.

    "Thanks, Aime. That was close."

    "Be careful, Miss Inari."

    "Everyone, back to back."

    Möbius ordered, immediately organizing his team to defend against attacks from all directions. The six of them stood with their backs to each other, forming a tight defensive formation. Möbius, meanwhile, quickly came up with a plan.

    (Everyone, get ready to attack. Now’s the time, Inari—release your silver aura.)

    Möbius sent a telepathic message to the fox mother, not wanting the enemy to catch on to what he was going to do. He switched his weapon to a Thompson gun, preparing for the next move. Inari’s silver aura would begin absorbing the heat from the surrounding air, which would blend in with the mist, making it hard to detect.

    As the silver aura spread from the fox mother's body, the steam in the air rapidly condensed into water droplets due to the sudden drop in temperature. The mist around them quickly thinned at an even pace, making everyone see the young merman silently circling them.

    "How... how did you do that?"

    Prince Shark stared at the young man in shock, realizing that the other party had somehow dispersed the mist without a sound. In response, he immediately charged toward Möbius' group, prompting the other party to fire his machine gun without hesitation.

    Bang, bang, bang!

    Unfortunately, Möbius wasn't quick enough to match Prince Shark's reflexes. The merman prince swiftly dodged to the side, avoiding all the bullets, even though the Thompson's increased accuracy should have made it difficult to miss.

    "Not bad."

    Prince Shark complimented his enemy before darting toward Inari, the fox mother, standing next to Möbius. He aimed to eliminate the healer first, underestimating her ability in close combat. However, the assumption that a mage would be vulnerable in close combat proved incorrect with the fox mother.

    "Don't think Inari will be easy to take down."

    She lunged toward Prince Shark, her nine golden tails imbued with magic, transforming into spear-like projectiles that shot toward the prince with surprising speed. Startled by her unexpected aggression, Prince Shark barely managed to dodge the tails, relying on his extensive combat experience to evade each one.

    Möbius, seeing that even Inari's powerful move hadn't managed to injure the prince, realized they were at a disadvantage, especially with the looming threat of the "Pig-Squid-Shrimp" monster firing long-range water attacks. He decided to make use of their numerical advantage.

    "Young Miss, Aime, and Inari—take care of the prince. The rest of you, follow me. We’ll deal with Pig-Squid-Shrimp."

    Möbius did not dare to underestimate Prince Shark's skill, because he saw that the other party was quite capable. Before running ahead of Gumiho and Efrik towards the boss floating away immediately.

    "Yeah."

    Inari responded briefly, focusing entirely on the highly skilled Prince Shark in front of her. Despite wielding her nine tails as formidable weapons, she struggled to pressure Prince Shark, who managed to defend himself skillfully. Meanwhile, Aime swung her massive sword in a wide arc, aiming to strike the young merman.

    "Just surrender already. You can't win against us."

    Princess Aime said to her enemies. Known for her prowess in battling large monsters and multiple foes, the mermaid's attacks were powerful but lacked finesse. It could be said that Möbius had made a tactical error by not assigning her to fight Pig-Squid-Shrimp, but it suited her desire to confront Prince Shark.

    Clang... screech.

    "Don't let that beautiful face of yours get scarred... Princess Aime."

    The young merman retorted to the other party's words as he raised his sword to block her massive blade. He knew he couldn't directly counter her sword's force, so he bent his knees and angled his blade to deflect the impact. The large sword narrowly slid over his head, causing Aime to lose her balance slightly due to the sword's weight.

    Seeing this, Prince Shark quickly closed the distance, getting right up to the young mermaid. He knew that in close quarters, Aime’s enormous sword would be more of a hindrance than a weapon. However, Möbius had anticipated this move, sending in the most dangerous fighter for close combat—Leia, whose claws could slice through steel like a sword.

    "Come at me."

    Leia emerged from the shadows between Aime and Prince Shark, thrusting her claws toward him. Once again, Prince Shark had to leap backward, knowing from his previous observations that allowing this woman to get close was a grave mistake. Facing off against Aime, who was adept at mid-range combat, made this battle more challenging than he had anticipated. He kept his distance to assess the situation further, forgetting about someone.

    Whoosh... Boom!!!

    600×7 (Critical hit from an attack by an unaware target)

    Several fireballs shot into Prince Shark's back. Fortunately, he had changed into a fire-resistant garment while inside the mist to counter the fire mage in the group. This limited the damage he took. The source of the fireballs was none other than Inari, who had somehow circled behind him without his noticing.

    "Forgetting me like that... What an unreliable man."

    "Cunning as always."

     Prince Shark muttered, regretting his earlier decision to not eliminate Möbius, the group's strategist, first. This well-coordinated team made it tough for him to defend, no matter the range.

    "Looks like they're handling things well."

    Möbius remarked as he glanced over at Inari, Leia, and Aime, who had formed a solid strategy to deal with Prince Shark. The real problem was on his end, where the system's fairness made dealing with the Pig-Squid-Shrimp more difficult than its name suggested.