When the Nameless King entered Phase 2, I quickly drank two Estus while he was still far away.
As soon as I drank the Estus, my battered body returned to full health.
"Hoo..."
"Hieta, that just now..."
"Now it really starts."
Ignoring Itsuka-kun's question, I switched my miracle to [Darkmoon Blade] and swept the pipe with the talisman.
Violet magic clung to the pipe.
With all my preparations finished, I watched the Nameless King approach.
The Nameless King came toward us, then gripped the lightning-charged spear-sword in both hands and pulled it in close.
A stance for a thrust.
"Here it comes!"
"O-Okay!"
At my shout, Itsuka-kun dodged to the side, and I rolled in the opposite direction.
Then the spear-sword stabbed into the spot we had just been standing in.
Itsuka-kun broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the Nameless King's spear-sword.
"Over here, you bastard!"
The moment I dodged the Nameless King's attack, I immediately swung the metal pipe.
Thud! The blow landed cleanly in the Nameless King's side.
"Tch!"
But since my weapon was just an ordinary metal pipe, its attack power wasn't great.
Unlike Dark Souls weapons, there was no scaling to boost it.
That was why the key to this strategy was Itsuka-kun.
The angel he used, [Sandalphon], boasted tremendous attack power, and as proof of that, it had already finished off the Nameless King's Phase 1.
Of course, since that damage had been dealt while the boss was groggy, it might have hit much harder than usual, but even so, [Sandalphon]'s attack power was nothing to laugh at.
"Hup!"
Dodging the downward smash that followed the thrust, I kept slipping in little hits whenever I could.
"Itsuka-kun! I'll draw his attention, so please attack from a distance!"
My goal was to keep the Nameless King's attention on me.
Since [Sandalphon] could attack from range anyway, my plan was to keep the Nameless King focused on me and not let him spare a single thought for Itsuka-kun.
"Got it!"
Itsuka-kun was quick on the uptake, so he understood my plan and swung [Sandalphon] from a distance.
The slash unleashed by [Sandalphon] flew toward the Nameless King, and the Nameless King, now fully focused on me, took the hit square on.
"How's that taste, you old fossil!"
Even as I said that, I didn't stop attacking the Nameless King.
I had to keep acting up in front so all of his attention would stay on me.
"You little...!"
Maybe angered by my taunting, the Nameless King quickly brought down his spear-sword in a smash.
I rolled back immediately to avoid the sudden strike, only for a thrust to follow.
"What the hell!"
It was a seriously obnoxious pattern, and I cursed under my breath as I rolled back once more.
Then the Nameless King leapt into the air and raised his spear-sword high.
He was preparing a charging thrust.
"Hup!"
I dodged the charging thrust that followed immediately from the windup and struck his side again.
"What!?"
"He dodged!?"
But to my surprise, the Nameless King avoided my attack.
He had never dodged before, but he had just evaded my strike.
"Kuhk!"
"Hieta!"
The follow-up swing after he dodged sent my body flying sideways.
Boom!
My body didn't stop flying until it slammed into something that might as well have been a wall, and just after recovering, I was already a wreck again.
"Khuk! Spit!"
Blood-tinged phlegm came up from my mouth, and the Nameless King, as if amused by my state, slowly walked toward me.
Yeah. I should have expected this to some degree.
I should have seen it coming.
This wasn't a game.
I should have realized that from the moment the King of the Storm bit me.
Because I hadn't, I ended up with serious injuries.
"Fine. So that's how you want to play it."
I had gotten too used to this world.
I had gotten sloppy.
I had been thinking too much like a gamer.
"From here on out, it'll be different."
This is reality.
Face it.
Stop thinking of it as a game.
Throw that mindset away.
It isn't the same as a game anymore.
Steady yourself, and face your opponent.
"Good. Let's begin."
I stared at the Nameless King and tightened my grip on the pipe in my hand.
Then I ran toward him.
As if to meet my charge, the Nameless King thrust his spear-sword straight ahead.
"Hup!"
I rolled inward to evade the attack, then immediately struck his ankle.
!
While the Nameless King flinched from the pain in his ankle, [Sandalphon]'s slash came flying in.
Itsuka-kun swung [Sandalphon].
I jammed the pipe into the Nameless King's foot as he tried to dodge the incoming slash, then looked up at him.
"Where do you think you're going, you old geezer?"
Boom!
The slash landed squarely on the Nameless King, who couldn't dodge because the pipe had pinned his foot, and that sent him into a groggy state.
"Now!"
Thud! Crack!
Without missing the chance, I immediately went in for a front grab, and my pipe smashed into the Nameless King's chest twice.
That sent him toppling backward.
I also backed away and drank Estus to recover my health.
I had 9 flasks left.
That was more than enough to take down the Nameless King.
As long as I didn't get hit, that is.
"From here on out, it's nonstop damage!"
I approached the Nameless King as he stood back up and swung the pipe.
As expected, the Nameless King showed signs of dodging, and that walked him right into my trap.
!
As the Nameless King stepped back, he got hit by another slash from Itsuka-kun.
Only after taking three slashes did the Nameless King finally turn his gaze toward Itsuka-kun.
He must have found the slashes incredibly annoying.
The Nameless King ignored me and swung his spear-sword toward Itsuka-kun.
As the spear-sword swept out, wind roared from its tip and surged toward Itsuka-kun.
"This is such bullshit...!"
If I went to save Itsuka-kun, I had no idea what attack the Nameless King would use. But if I kept focusing on the Nameless King, Itsuka-kun might get taken out.
The choice I had to make here was
"Hieta! I'm fine, so keep fighting him!"
"...Right!"
to trust Itsuka-kun and keep fighting the Nameless King.
He had the excellent weapon-and-shield combo that was [Sandalphon], so I trusted him and attacked the Nameless King.
"Where do you think you're going!"
I smashed the back of the Nameless King's head as he moved toward Itsuka-kun, then immediately ducked my head.
The Nameless King's spear-sword swept over the spot where my head had been.
Yep. Definitely not the same as his game pattern.
"Hup!"
I tightened my grip until it felt like I might crush the pipe and swung it at the Nameless King.
The Nameless King must have decided he couldn't dodge this one, because he caught the pipe with the spear-sword's hilt.
Clang!
Metal rang out, and the vibration traveled through the pipe.
I could feel my right arm, the one holding the pipe, going numb.
Unlike me, the Nameless King didn't seem bothered at all as he gripped the spear-sword tightly and prepared another attack.
Then the blade of the spear-sword came rushing in fast.
It was too late to dodge.
But taking it head-on was dangerous.
"Huuup...!"
So the moment I caught the spear-sword's blade with the pipe, I twisted it.
Thud!
Guided smoothly along the pipe's outer edge, the spear-sword lost its force and dropped to the ground.
!
The Nameless King's expression didn't change, but I could feel his surprise.
"For a so-called god of war, you didn't see that coming either!"
I thrust the pipe at the flustered Nameless King.
Thunk!
"What the—!"
And then the Nameless King parried me.
However different the pattern was from the game, I never expected an enemy, especially a boss, to pull off a parry.
He deflected my attack with his bare hand, then stabbed straight in with the spear-sword.
"Kuhk!"
The spear-sword pierced my body.
The Nameless King gathered lightning there.
"Grrrr...!"
As lightning seared through my body and sent pain everywhere, the Nameless King swung the spear-sword and flung me away.
"Aah!"
I was sent flying toward Marina.
Marina, who had been staring blankly, jumped in surprise and stepped back when I landed in front of her.
"Cough!"
Shit, the boss can parry?
I didn't know which bastard had designed the balance, but I suddenly wanted to kill them on sight.
Step, step.
The Nameless King walked toward me.
Since he had used a grab, it was fair to say we were already in Phase 3.
"Damn it..."
I forced my numb body up and kept my eyes on him.
The spear-sword rose high above the Nameless King.
In this case, it was the lightning-strike pattern.
Crackle! Boom!
As I rolled to the side, lightning struck the spot where I had been standing.
"W-What!"
Marina jumped at the lightning that fell in front of her.
What do you think it is? Electricity, the thing you love so much.
With that pointless thought, I got back up.
"Hoo... Come at me."
My body still felt numb, but not so much that I couldn't fight.
Whether he understood me or not, the Nameless King gave a single nod and leapt into the air.
It was a charging thrust.
I prepared to dodge it by rolling away.
But there was one thing bothering me.
Marina was behind me.
If I dodged, what about Marina behind me?
I had a physical body here in reality, so it was fine for me, but what about her?
Before I could even finish that thought, the Nameless King was already closing in.
If I didn't dodge, I'd get hit. If I did, Marina would get hit.
Another either-or?
"Fuck, if this were a novel, nothing would be more bullshit than this."
Muttering that, I made my choice.
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