Chapter 546 Defense Specialization and the Demon King

“【Multiple Flame Bullets】【Multiple Wind Blades】!”

“【Divine Punishment】!”

“Sou, use 【Destroyer Cannon】【Hydro Laser】!”

“Not being able to use my bow is a bit inconvenient… ‘【Tornado】’!”

“【Remote Installation: Flame Blade】【Remote Installation: Wind Blade】!”

“【Item Enhancement】! Fire!”

From the fortress of ‘【One-Night Castle】’, an unrelenting wave of support fire rained down from the rear ranks.

Their attacks, launched without pause, were drastically strengthened by two factors. First, Iz kept scattering powerful short-duration items underfoot, sparing no expense. Second, Misery’s tamed monster, Bell, kept tossing out buffs to everyone around. Because of that, the party’s ranged firepower grew even higher.

Meanwhile, the Demon King’s red bullets continued flying non-stop, and strange monsters continued to spawn in their wake. Velvet and Shin remained busy dealing with them, so to let those two focus on the threats right in front of them, the job of wiping out the endless small-fry fell to the back-line experts who excelled at large-area spells.

Piling on the buffs not only raised their firepower but shortened cooldown times and sped up MP recovery as well.

“This castle is so wonderful! When we have a base like this, I can use items more easily.”

“I can fight more comfortably too. I can still save some of my magic books for when we face the Demon King.”

“I appreciate it… but it’s still not enough to win.”

“Yeah, yeah! Payne! Make sure you do your part out there!”

They unleashed all that firepower while keeping a keen eye on the front lines. Even so, Misery mainly focused on everyone’s HP.

“We can add range-increase buffs from here. Please focus on healing and… ‘【Resurrect】’.”

Dressed like a butler, Wilbert specialized in support magic. He could give out many types of buffs to allies, and Misery’s healing spells were vital for keeping the party going. Thanks to ‘【Resurrect】’, it was still possible to overturn a near-defeat scenario.

“Yes, this time I’ll pay extra attention… ‘【Multi-Heal】’!”

She cast healing magic while staying ready for the right moment to use ‘【Resurrect】’. Ideally, though, they wanted to win without using it. One of their battle plans did include ‘【Resurrect】’—but if at all possible, they wanted to hold it in reserve.

To make that happen, the front line’s performance was key. Watching teammates who were constantly trading HP with the enemies, Misery kept on pouring out healing spells.

The front-liners continued to fight while staying out of each other’s way, drawing monsters’ attention and adjusting their distance.

“Mai, Yui! Knock ’em down like you always do!”

““Yes!””

Chrome, Mai, and Yui engaged a massive fiend—around five meters tall—wielding a red cleaver that looked like it could easily fell a giant tree. Its footsteps made thundering booms. The sheer size and weight of that cleaver hinted at the power of its blow. If someone took that strike head-on, it was hard to imagine them surviving.

Still, that went both ways. The enormous hammers in Mai and Yui’s small hands possessed ridiculous destructive power too.

““【Flying Strike】!””

Riding on Tsukimi and Yukimi let them move around more freely, but it also meant each had two fewer hammers. Even so, twelve shockwaves slammed into the fiend and its cleaver. A loud “baaaam!” exploded on impact, definitely cutting down some of its HP.

But for an attack from Mai and Yui, the damage seemed small.

“It’s deflecting our blows and cutting the damage…! I’ll step in and block the next hit!”

““Yes!””

“Necro, ‘【Spectral Armor: Fortify】’! ‘【Immovable】’ ‘【Guard Aura】’!”

Chrome rushed forward, taking the fiend’s downward cleaver swing on his greatshield.

It was a perfect block, but even so, impact slipped past his shield and took a big chunk out of Chrome’s HP.

“Ow! That thing’s no joke…!”

““Chrome!””

“Don’t worry about me! We’ve got powerful allies backing us up!”

Right on cue, Chrome’s HP filled back up as a soft glow enveloped him. As long as he didn’t get one-shot, Misery’s heals would keep him going. The most important thing was preventing a direct hit on Mai or Yui.

Chrome’s standard style was to fight while having his HP constantly restored, so he wasn’t easy to bring down. He took the next swing as well, stacking his own regeneration on top, while Mai and Yui trusted him and pressed their attack.

““【Final Battle Configuration】!””

When they activated that skill, each girl’s large hammer grew even bigger and swept forward. The fiend had just slammed its cleaver at Chrome, so it hadn’t had time to ready a defensive stance. The giant hammer connected against its body, aided by the extended reach of ‘【Saving Hands】’.

“It’s working—but not enough!”

“It isn’t going down…!”

It wasn’t normal for a summoned fiend to have such high stats. Even after taking all twelve hammer strikes from Mai and Yui, it only lost around thirty percent of its HP. The two had hoped to finish it with that blow, but fell short.

In retaliation, the fiend’s back began to bulge and sprout new arms, each wielding another cleaver. Those multiple blades swung down on the three of them.

“…!”

If they blocked all those cleavers with a shield, they’d still take damage. If Chrome used ‘【Multi-Cover】’ to protect both Mai and Yui, any direct hit that got past his shield might kill him if healing didn’t come in time. They did have ‘【Resurrect】’, so even if he died, it wouldn’t be the end. But it was risky to blow resources here, and Chrome decided on a safer, all-in-one play.

“Maple!”

“【Cover Move】!”

Hearing Chrome’s shout, Maple swooped in, positioning herself so both her shield and Chrome’s shield protected Mai and Yui.

“【Activation】!”

While Chrome braced for impact to one side, Maple used nimble aerial maneuvers, smashing her shield into the fiend’s extra arms, then devouring them with ‘【Voracity】’, neutralizing the attacks altogether.

That was right: Maple ‘flew’ there—literally flew.

Since flying machines no longer worked here, it was Hinata who gave Maple that small-scale aerial mobility. Using ‘【Gravity Control】’ to guide Maple around, Hinata stood in the middle of the battlefield, watching carefully. Whenever Maple needed to dash to someone’s rescue, Hinata adjusted her gravity so Maple could swoop into ‘【Cover Move】’ range.

The plan was that ‘Maple + Hinata’ would serve as the party’s lifeblood, letting Maple’s defense cover every small fight scattered across this wide battleground—without using ‘【Self-Offering Love】’ too soon.

““【Double Stamp】!””

While the fiend’s attacks fizzled, Mai and Yui struck again, driving the fiend back.

“Thanks for the help!”

“Leave it to us!”

Guided by an invisible thread, Maple shot back into the air, returning to the best vantage point in the middle. ‘【Cover Move】’ let her close distances instantly, but didn’t let her retreat. With Hinata’s support, Maple could keep dropping in and pulling out as many times as needed.

“That worked out perfectly!”

“Please trust me. I’m used to controlling allies this way thanks to Velvet…!”

So the two pillars of defense watched the chaotic battlefield closely, ready to intervene whenever a fierce fight broke out before their eyes.