After defeating the two Grand Mauls, we carefully made our way through the battered, raised plains.

　On the hill in front of us on the right, there is a Grand Maul. In the sky in front of us, there is a single monster flying in the sky - I can get an accurate sense of distance thanks to the effect of the hawk's eye, but it's clearly not the size of the beetle I know.

'The Hercules Monarch is about how many centimeters long...'


　I blurted out, but Suzuna replied dutifully. Misaki and Elitia can hear it, too, and say to each of them as they look at the demon flying far in the air.

'It's only called Hercules, wasn't it about thirty centimeters long?'
''........I think it was close to 20 centimeters at the most. That demon looks like it's the size of a pea grain right now, but when it gets close.......it could be a lot bigger than us.......

　We've fought huge demons even bigger than ourselves before, and while the 'Fake Beetle' is different in color from the beetles I know, the overall shape is very similar. What I'm curious about is that it has what looks like horns growing on the back side as well.

　It's like a beetle, but not a beetle. (Doesn't anything start with just observing them?

..........

　Theresia looked at the Four Seasons, Igarashi-san and Sion, who were approaching the Grand Mall from the right. Igarashi-san had consulted with Kaede and Ibuki in the vanguard, and was now in the middle guard position. Then, as I wondered what she would do, she generated a 'decoy doll' and used the 'decoy' to attract the attention of the grand maul and launched a general attack.

''--Gahhhh!
"--I got it!　Now's your chance!
'Let's go, Ibuki............yaaaah!
Huh!
"Guys, I'm 'backing you up' too!

　Activate 'Support Attack 2' against the entire party of the separate team and add the 'Confusion' condition that is known to be effective.

　Current Status◆

　Kyouka" activates "Decoy Doll".
　Kyoka activates Decoy → Decoy doll's hostile value increases.
　Grand Maul" attacks "Decoy Doll".
　The maple tree activates "Suri-foot".
　Arihito activates 'Support Attack 2' → Support: 'Hupnos Shoot'.
　Maple Tree activates Yan Fei and hits Grand Mall.
　Ibuki activates Crescent Moon Kick → Grand Maul is hit.
　Supportive Attack 2" occurs twice → "Grand Mall" is disrupted


　As long as they put in a state failure, the battlefield would be in their favor. In anticipation of being triggered by 'Jidanda' while confused, Anna and Ryoko-san would earn damage with a long-range attack, avoid the confused mole's counterattack, and Sion would hit the 'tail counter' - this would allow them to win without danger! That's right.

Suzuna, we're going in. Can you make it this far?
'I will try. O eight million gods, guide my arrows with the light of the sun wheel....

　The altitude and distance of the arrows are so great that they would not reach you even if you fired them normally. However, if the "mid-air" skill is explained, you can always hit up to two arrows regardless of distance.

　And to avoid wasting your first attack, you can use "Support Attack 2". It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　--It's a good idea to be able to use it as a tool to help you get the most out of it, but if you're not skilled enough, it will take some time before you can use it again. As for the "Guard Arm", there is no limit to the number of times it can be used, but each time it is activated, it consumes magic power. Also, you can use the Guard Valiant, a higher level skill, once your party's total level has reached 20. As for this, its true value cannot be realized without the 'Shield' part and its equipper in the party.

('Guard Valiant'?

　If I had time, I would like to train in regards to attacking with the Star Machine Sword. Normally, I use a sling that allows me to attack without magic power and hone my sword skills for the occasion - I've found it very useful that the 'rear guard' can equip weapons at close range and long range due to the nature of their skills.

　Right now, the first thing to do is to deal with the demon in front of us - the Four Seasons will join us once we defeat the mole, but if we can defeat it before then, there's no need to say.

　Suzuna takes a deep breath and stops and takes her turn with the arrow. The strings make a crisp sound, and my eyes widen at the moment she releases the arrow in the tense air.

''-- 'Hit me!
'Support'!　

　If Suzuna's 'Minnaka' was used, two arrows in a row would become a must. In other words, if Suzuna activated 'Support Attack 2' every time she fired an arrow, she could potentially add two types of status disorders.

(The attrition is great but.......against an enemy you've never met before, you have to do everything you can to hit them......!

　Current Situation

　Suzuna activates "Minnaka" → Two consecutive hits are required.
　Arihito activates 'Support Attack 2' → Support: Hupnos Shoot
　Suzuna" is "? Attacks 'out of range' → hits for no damage
　Arihito activates 'Support Attack 2' → Support: Poison Shoot
　Suzuna" is "? Attacking 'Out of Range Demon' → Hit it
　Supportive Attack 2" occurs → "? 'Demons out of range' poisoned.

　Suzuna's arrow hits the 'Fake Beetle' accurately at a distance where it is impossible to tell what would have happened if not for the 'Eagle's Eye'.

(The 'Confusion' apparently missed... but the 'Poison' of the second level went in...!

　I don't know how much of a drain on my strength, but I'm hoping it will add up to something. Or, if it's this far away, I could wait farther away until I'm weak--.

They're coming.
....!

　Something is different.

　I don't even know what it is, but I - I regret with a chill running through my whole body that I should have confirmed the size and appearance of the enemy I saw with my 'hawk's eye' to the maple trees.

　The Demon I Encountered◆

　★ Betrayal beetle level 6 Drop: ?

　We were able to hit the attack from a long distance, and before we could feel the advantage, we were faced with a giant beetle that was charging at us at speed like a comet.

　The current situation

　The antagonistic beetle activates the Screw Dive → Target: Theresa

　Boom, my heart pulses.

　My instincts appeal to me, warning me that I will die if I make the wrong decision. Along with the sensation of redness in front of my eyes, I don't have time to breathe, and my brain circuits call out at a speed that seems to burn out.

(-- Ariadne!)

　Current Situation

　Arihito requests temporary assistance from Ariadne, the god of the machine, →Theresia
　Ariadne activates Guard Arm.

　In the blink of an eye, the massive body approaching was just like a heavy bomber. The 'it' that tried to fall from a high altitude towards Theresia was slightly deflected from its trajectory and collided with the plains - and.

''Kook...!

　The impact is enough to create a crater in the ground. I block the blast with my 'support defense', but I can't protect myself - but.

''.........''

　Standing in front of me, buckler at the ready, Theresia is protecting me. When the enemy's aim was lost, Theresa gave priority to protecting me, above all else.

　Current Situation◆

　Screw dive" causes "gusts of wind".
　Aricht activates 'Support and Defense 1'.
　Elitia, Theresa, Suzuna, Misaki, and Melissa took no damage.

　An invisible wall generated by the 'supportive defense' blocked the wind that was slamming into the earth and stones. And when the wind stopped, we saw the enemy's figure again.

　It is standing on the ground with huge horns - even its legs are covered with a dull, shiny shell, with sharp claws. The heavily armed helmet beetle (beetle) used the full range of motion of its arms to stick its claws into the ground just in time to pull itself out.

　The helmet beetle spun vigorously and regained its stance. The fierce, horned, silvery beetle - its carapace radiated a metallic glow.

''Oh, such a big hole........hehe......''
''I don't think I would have encountered such a powerful demon in normal times... if that had happened, I'm sure there would have been casualties.

　Beside the surprised Misaki, a retreating Elitia says. The blood was draining from her profile, but she quickly regains her mind and pulls out the 'Scarlet Imperial Sword'.

　Supposedly, this demon is a 'Fake Beetle' 'with a name'. Even if you check with the license, it shows a different name than the one you were expecting. I should have been more vigilant when it was listed as 'out of range demon'.

''.........''
"...Theresa.

　Theresa gives a small shake of her head, as if she's just seen what I'm thinking. Then she puts her hand on her chest - that's what she means when she follows my instructions.

'Thank you for covering for me, Theresa. I'm so grateful for your help ... but to suddenly come across such a monster in the second round.
'Either we'll try to see if we can do some damage with Arihito's support, or we'll avoid him since he's not the one we're supposed to be dealing with...'
If we leave it like this, the people who come to the labyrinth will be fighting later. I don't think it's a good idea to leave the enemy in a fighting position and then run away.
'....Madoka, hide. I may be a liability, too, but 'part destruction' can be useful against insect-type enemies. I want to aim at them somehow.

　I've been checking with my license from earlier to see if the other party can shave off the Grand Maul's strength, but I'm only a few dozen seconds away.

(I'll let them have it so the enemy won't pay attention to the other side - and then I'll pin them down. Let's try it with that...)

'Oh, um. Arihito-san, there's something about the demon...
Hmm...?

　When Suzuna asked me to look at it, I saw that the entire epidermis of the demon was purplish, and the eye at the base of the horn was also purple.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　The antagonist beetle has been poisoned.
　Poison attribute suicide attack against the antagonistic bugs → 10% of maximum strength

　I can hear a weak sound like a squeal from its jaws, which are less developed than its horns - I look at its figure and make one inference.

''........heavily armored, but does it have a low upper limit of strength instead?
'Oh....'
Miss Ellie, can you think of anything else?
''........Until now, I've never had a situation where I've had to use poison to defeat an enemy. It's said that demons with very hard defenses can actually be poisoned as their weak point, and once they've been poisoned, they can be defeated if you buy them time. That's why a poison that lasts for a long time can be sold for a higher price than runes.

　I'm going to slowly reduce my strength with poison - a strategy I wouldn't dare to take either, but against a beetle with such a huge body and heavy armor, there may indeed be no need to collide properly with it.

''If you decide to do that, then everyone, leave the lord (shingari) to me.
'If you can scrape it off with poison, you should probably do so. I'll play 'Sonic Raid' on you and provoke you, so you all run first.
'Well, uh ... you can just stay in front of your brother, right?'
''That's right. Everyone, let's go!
""Yes!"

　At the same time, as soon as the will is unified, only Elitia runs towards the enemy with such speed that it leaves an afterimage.

''--I'll cut through it...!

　Current Situation

　Aricht activates 'Support Attack 1'.
　Elitia activates "Slash Ripper".
　The antagonistic beetle activates the "Protect Shell".
　The antagonist beetle nullifies the attack.

　--I thought that such an enemy would appear one day. The armor as it looks prevents Elitia's sword with the armor as it looks, and the special skill prevents even fixed damage.

''Huh........Also, I can't believe physics doesn't work......!
It's all right. We can scrape it off with poison!　Draw, Elitia!
Copy that...
"--Kishaaaaaa!

　Elitia dodges the attack and jumps back, accelerating with her skills to line up beside me, and when I give her a look, she goes further.

　The beetles, which are well over three meters tall, are chasing me at low altitude - but this is where my weapons and skills come in handy.

"You'll have to stop...!

　Current Situation

　Arihito activates the "Lord's General" and his status increases by the number of people in his party.
　Arihito activates the Force Shoot Stun and hits the antagonist beetle.
　The Beetle of Treason is stunned.

　With the sound of a bullet being fired, the magic bullet from the black sling landed on the face of the beast.

　It is a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for in a good deal of people. , falling to the spot and stopping while scraping the soil of the plains.



　Current Situation

　Counterattack action of the antagonistic beetle → Activate the Anti-Magic Shell.
　Magic Reflection" attribute is added to the armor of the "treacherous bugs".
　The antagonist beetle has been poisoned.

What, eh, eh... my brother, what in the world was that...
'-The magic doesn't work on him anymore!　Anyway, we're going to run and scrape it off with poison!
Yes, Aricht-san...
Huh...!

　It was fortunate that the target wouldn't turn on Madoka, who was hiding - and that no other party would be hiding in this labyrinth. I'm not horrified if I'm there and my target misses it.

　-- and I turn around while running away and see Igarashi-san swinging his spear at the top of the distant hill, and Sion, who is preparing to match it.

(-- 'Supporting'!)

Let's go, little Theon!
Whoa!
Ryoko-san!
Yes.........

　Current Situation

　Arihito activates 'Support Attack 1' and 'Other Assist'.
　Kyoka launches a double attack.
　Theon" activates "Wolf's Rush".
　Grand Maul hits a total of six levels. Support damage 66
　Ryoko creates "Aquaball".
　Anna activates the Aqua Scud Serve and hits the Grand Maul.
　Defeat one "Grand Maul".

　Igarashi-san and Sion's cooperative attack was received in all stages, and then Anna and Ryoko, who had been in the back, coordinated with each other to release a ball of water - different from before, the mole received a strong strike with a straight trajectory to the back of his head, and he fell forward as it was.

　The attempt to support the separate parties at key points has had some success - now it's up to us to do our part.

　The poison added to the "Backstabbing Beetle" will cut off ten percent of its maximum strength in ten seconds. It's a calculation that will allow you to defeat the bugs if you can escape for less than a minute and forty seconds, but when you're just about to take a breath, the bugs' movements change.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　The beetle in disobedience activates 'High Speed Metabolism'.
　The antagonist beetle has been removed.
　The Form of the antagonist beetle

The poison is gone.
"--Kishaaaaah!

　The beetle's whole body turned fiery red, and many places of its armor shattered - no, in order to increase its speed to the limit, it chipped away at the waste of its own will.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Attack and agility of the treacherous beetle are increased. Defense is reduced for 100 seconds until death is imminent.

(Probably could have defeated him in twenty seconds... and then quintupled it all at once...!

　The obsession with taking us along for the ride - the changing beetle's appearance makes me shudder more than a little. The demons of the labyrinth country are still not making it easy at all.

''-- Aricht-san!
d*mn it...!

　Current Situation

　The antagonistic beetle activates the blast horn.
　Aricht evades. Additional damage from impact.

　If he hadn't improved his abilities in "General of the Lord's Army", he would have taken a direct hit - he reacts instantly with Suzuna's warning, but the arm part of his suit is ripped open and he feels pain.　

　You used the sound generated by vibrating the horns to attack. It's a good thing no one was fleeing in front of me - the grasslands have been cleaved off in a straight line with an impact that I can't see.

(I don't know if I'll be able to dodge it next time.......there's a limit to how much my friends can warn me on a hunch. What to do........what kind of moves.......!

.....
Teresa!

　Theresia releases a throwing dagger (dark) - a double throw. I reflexively try to support her and select 'Support Attack 1'.

　◆Current Situation ◆

　Theresa" activates "Double Throw".
　The antagonist beetle activates the antler swatting action, which nullifies a throwing attack.
　One-level hit on the antagonistic beast. No damage. Support damage 11

Geez...!

　For some reason, the enemy didn't use his arms, but only waved his horns and bounced back at Theresia's dagger. Then he received the second one that flew in at the wrong time and flinched slightly after taking fixed damage.

(What........this uncomfortable feeling. The armor on his arms is still there, and yet he used his horns to protect them. Maybe it's the hardness of those horns or maybe it's just the fact that they're so hard... or maybe it's something. (There's always something...)

　-- at that time I was thinking back to the beginning of this battle.

　What had happened when I activated 'Support Attack 2' and made my first shot against Suzuna.

　The second shot hit the arrow I fired, and the poison was added. But - even though the attack was entered, the 'arrow' that should have stabbed in, and even if it had slipped out, there was no 'arrow wound' to be found.

　The name of the 'backbiting beetle'. It's an arm that has developed but is never used for defense.

　If that's because they can't react in an instant. Why is that--.

(The position where Suzuna's arrow hit is right in front of him - the part we always thought was 'behind him' is the front...!

　The area where Suzuna's arrow hit and my 'Support Attack 2' entered is behind the guy, which is invisible to us.

　If I can hit him there, he'll sink - I don't know how fast he's moving now, but if I know his weakness, it's worth aiming at.

'Elitia, the spot where Suzuna's arrow hit should be behind him.

　Can you aim - before you can say that, the sparkle in Elitia's eyes increased.

''........I have to get someone to attract them. I can't let you take that risk.''
''Well that's why I'm going to leave it up to Elitia's decision, too. I can continue to use my skills to put damage into it, you know. His horns won't be able to take any attacks after the second level.
That's a good idea. But I don't know what he's going to do when he's cornered. If we don't take him down as soon as possible we will.

　Elitia smiles. It wasn't tragic or despairing - it was a supple, powerful expression that was encouraging to watch.

''I'll draw him out. Arihito it will be hard, but don't fall to the end.''
'Yeah. We may have to pull out once this fight is over but we've got to win and finish our first co-op fight.

　Can a level 9 swordsman, which can be said to be substandard in the Seventh Ward, surpass the full strength released by a level 6 'named'?

　I inhale deeply so that I don't make a mistake in my final fill-in. Teresia, Suzuna, and even Misaki, who was barely able to escape, hold the dice with trembling hands.

　The other party rushes toward us - from behind the 'backstabbing beetle'. Elitia ran in front of the guy who had moved to spare the remaining time, carrying a scarlet sword and tossing her golden hair in front of him.