The Nameless King.
Known by that name, that boss is a hidden boss, one that exists at the peak of the Ancient Wyvern, completely unrelated to the main path of progression.
So why was he so famous? Because of his difficulty.
Depending on the player, of course, but between the sheer presence he hit you with on the first encounter, the off-beat timing that punished anyone used to standard rhythms, and the heavy damage, I remembered suffering quite a bit.
On top of that, since the one handling Phase 1 and the one handling Phase 2 were different, it felt even harder.
So why was that guy showing up now?
Rumble-
The sky, the wind, the air itself vibrated, warning of the approaching threat.
Kyaaaak-!
The dragon ridden by the Nameless King, the King of the Storm, revealed itself.
"Hieta, that is..."
"Everyone, get out of the way!"
As I turned and shouted, the King of the Storm had already closed in on me.
Riding atop it, the Nameless King brought down a spear-sword crackling with lightning.
Pzzzt! Boom!
"Shit!"
I rolled away at once, then looked back at the Nameless King.
Why the hell had that thing suddenly appeared?
"Th-the object that embodied Hai's memories developed an error."
"What?"
"Memories that were originally only meant to be observed changed into a form that could be directly experienced..."
"The hell does that even mean..."
Thanks to Itsuka-kun and Maria's conversation, I was able to piece together the reason.
The Nameless King here was a memory from my past.
That memory had been implemented as an object called the Fog Wall, and it had suddenly been generated here. Then, due to an error, it had become something that could attack directly.
Then what about my past self?
Just as that question crossed my mind, my clothes changed.
My everyday clothes transformed into high-level knight armor, and a talisman appeared in my left hand.
My miracles were Lightning Blade, Darkmoon Blade, Steadfast Oath, and Blessing of the Deep.
From the effects visible all over my body, it looked like I had already used Steadfast Oath and Blessing of the Deep.
This was the setup I used when I fought the Nameless King.
"So I was wondering where my past self went, and it turns out I became him myself?"
My past self had been overlaid onto my present body.
Even if I couldn't use my inventory, and even if the weapon in my hand was just a steel pipe, this was enough to take that Nameless King down.
"All right. Good."
As if waiting for this, the King of the Storm took off again and circled around me.
Then the Nameless King gathered lightning in his hand and hurled it in the shape of a spear.
"Like hell!"
I threw myself to the side to avoid it, then watched his movements closely.
The King of the Storm landed toward me, and the Nameless King swung the spear-sword behind his back.
The next attack came immediately.
I rolled forward to dodge the spear-sword as it came at me, then turned around at once.
There, the King of the Storm had landed and was catching his breath for a moment.
I ran up to its head and swung the steel pipe straight into it.
Kieeeek-!
"What, you're screaming too?"
The King of the Storm cried out and lifted its neck slightly.
Judging from the Nameless King's stance with the spear-sword behind it, this was the sweeping pattern.
As if confirming my guess, the Nameless King swung the spear-sword twice.
I rolled in rhythm to avoid the attacks.
"Hup!"
The moment I dodged both strikes, I immediately smacked the dragon's head.
Kiek!
After getting hit in the head, the thing immediately raised its head out of my attack range.
Then it leaped in place and started gathering something in its mouth.
It was the attack where it spewed flames straight down below.
"...Damn it!"
If I were alone, it wouldn't matter, but Itsuka-kun and Maria were inside the attack range.
Itsuka-kun was one thing, but Maria was still in a state where she couldn't properly steady her body.
So I immediately ran toward the front of Itsuka-kun and Maria.
Fwoooosh!
Just as the flames poured down and were about to engulf them.
Crack-!
Ice rose up in front of them.
"Yoshino!?"
I thought Yoshino had also broken free of the restraints, but looking at her, she was still bound.
Then who was it?
I found out who had raised the ice almost immediately.
"Haaah... I did it..."
The one who created the ice was none other than Itsuka-kun.
He had stretched out his hand and raised the ice wall.
Itsuka-kun's ability wasn't limited to sealing spirits; he could also use the powers they possessed, so he must have used [Zadkiel] with the spiritual power of Yoshino that I had shared with him.
"Itsuka-kun! Maria! Are you all right!?"
"Yeah! We're fine!"
Hearing Itsuka-kun's voice from beyond the ice wall, I felt relieved.
At least Maria would be safe with him protecting her, so all I had to do was focus on taking down the Nameless King.
I had been hit by the flames because I couldn't dodge, so I drank an Estus Flask to recover the health I had lost and kept my eyes on the Nameless King.
Kieeeek!
With the King of the Storm's roar as the signal, the Nameless King prepared another attack.
His spear-sword was drawn back fully.
He was going to swing it himself.
The Nameless King swung the spear-sword left, then right.
I rolled left once, then right once to match it.
The moment I thought I had dodged everything and stood up in relief.
Crunch!
"Guh!"
The spear-sword struck my shoulder.
I had forgotten the Nameless King's third attack.
It was the downward smash that came after the two swings.
The hit left the right side of my body hanging loose, like it was about to fall off.
"H-Hieta! Are you okay!?"
"Cough! I'm fine!"
To reassure the worried Itsuka-kun, I forced out a lie and drank an Estus Flask.
But it seemed the Nameless King had no patience.
The moment he saw me drinking, the spear-sword came at me again.
I had to stop drinking and roll backward.
"Kuh...!"
Thanks to that, my dangling right arm and part of the right side of my body were torn away.
And of all things, my only weapon, the steel pipe, was in my right hand, so I had lost my means of attack.
"Shit..."
With no way to attack, the curse word came out on its own.
As if mocking me, the King of the Storm pulled its neck back once.
It was about to breathe fire.
Of all times, I had no weapon and my body was in no shape to fight.
The pain from my right side made my face twist.
"Hoo..."
My body would regenerate anyway, so I was just about to grit my teeth and roll when a sword strike hit the dragon's neck.
Kiek!
"Got it!"
The sword strike came from [Sandalphon], swung by Itsuka-kun.
As the King of the Storm flinched from the sudden hit, I ran quickly to the torn-off right side, drank an Estus Flask, regenerated my body, and picked up the steel pipe again.
By then, the King of the Storm had recovered from the shock and was glaring fiercely at Itsuka-kun, who had attacked it.
"You damn lizard!"
Before it could attack Itsuka-kun, I struck its head first to draw its attention.
Kieeeek!
After getting hit in the head, the King of the Storm roared and took off again, showing the same pattern.
"Damn it!"
I had to dodge the attacks of that cowardly lizard and the old bastard in the back....
Crack!
"Hieta!!!"
Suddenly, the pattern changed.
The King of the Storm's bite attack, a pattern that hadn't existed before.
My body was pierced by its teeth and pinned right there in its mouth.
"Shit..."
The kind of situation that made curses come out naturally.
Blood began seeping from my mouth little by little.
Kieeeeeek!
The King of the Storm's howl as it judged that it had finished me off.
Riding on top of it, the Nameless King once again gripped his spear-sword and watched his next target.
Their next target was Itsuka-kun and Maria beside him.
Their gaze was full of hostility as they stared straight at them, and the spear-sword in his grip began to move.
Even the King of the Storm was pulling its neck back, preparing to breathe fire.
It was obvious they intended to roast the two people in front of me along with me.
"You, you damn... cough! lizard bastard...!"
Still pinned in the King of the Storm's teeth, I prepared Lightning Blade.
With the talisman that refused to leave my trembling hand, I dragged the steel pipe across it once, and lightning settled into the pipe.
If I shoved this straight into the King of the Storm's head, I'd get zapped too, but so what?
It didn't matter.
I was immortal, after all.
Since my body couldn't die, I was going to fry the King of the Storm along with me.
Crunch!
Kieeeeeeeek!
The moment I jammed the pipe filled with lightning straight into its mouth, the King of the Storm let out a cry different from before.
As it thrashed its head in pain, it tried to pull out both me and the pipe at once.
"You think I'm... letting go...!"
I clung to the pipe with all my strength and endured the nausea rising in my throat.
My body was already a wreck, pierced through and electrified by Lightning Blade.
Even so, my grip did not weaken.
If anything, it got stronger.
Thud!
Kieeeek...
At last, the King of the Storm could not hold on any longer and collapsed.
It had been staggered.
Freed from its mouth, I shouted to Itsuka-kun.
"Itsuka, kun! The head! The he—cough! Aim for the head!"
"O-Okay! Got it!"
Fortunately, Itsuka-kun understood what I meant, and he raised [Sandalphon] and swung it toward the King of the Storm's head.
Crunch!
Then the sword strike landed on the King of the Storm's head and brought it down.
Step- step-
The Nameless King descended from the King of the Storm and walked over to it, grabbing its horn.
Then came the thrust of the spear-sword.
Crunch!
Kwooooom!
The spear-sword pierced the King of the Storm's head, and lightning raged around it.
This was the phenomenon that signaled the start of Phase 2.
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