Chapter 379
Side Story: Experiencing the Boss Battle – 1
“It’s been a while, Commander.”
“How have you been, Laksia?”
“With the sacred Knights who serve the Holy One here, just standing still means getting pampered, so how could I possibly be doing poorly? If anything, I’m doing too well.”
Laksia added with a light laugh, “But that doesn’t mean I want to be doing poorly.”
Since meeting Darkest Warrior for the first time, Laksia’s face had noticeably brightened. It wasn’t something you needed to look closely to notice; it was plain to see.
She could barely remember the last time they had fought, and even the paperwork that needed doing had dropped significantly, probably due to this.
The sentiments of the other members seemed to lean about 80% worry versus 20% carefree. 80% were anxious about receiving wages while doing nothing, while the other 20% thought they could get by just fine as long as they performed well when called to action.
I didn’t really feel like saying anything. If it were me, I’d be thrilled to receive money while just lounging around. Besides, as the commander, if I wasn’t making any demands, what could they possibly do? They’d just have to keep guarding the sanctuary as usual.
“Is it really that there’s nothing to do? Doesn’t the Holy Kingdom send a few hundred people each day?”
“It’s not like it’s the first time those fanatics have lost their minds when associated with the Holy One. Misbehaving here is tantamount to contaminating the sanctuary and tarnishing the Holy One’s honor. Over tens of thousands have come and gone without a single incident. I wonder if we’re actually human.”
Laksia sighed, leaning against the office window to look down at the sanctuary. Hundreds of people were orderly kneeling in front of a life-sized marble statue of the “Holy One,” praying.
Aside from a few scattered men, an overwhelming display of skin tones was on display. Some, due to kneeling and bowing, revealed their genitals or rumps without a thought for modesty.
In the past, such exposure was only permitted for battle nuns or priests, but recently, due to an inflation of divine power and faith, even ordinary nuns wore such attire.
‘When it comes to outfits, I can’t really say anything here either.’
I watched Laksia, who was propped against the window sill, holding her lower chest with one arm, sipping coffee. A vice-commander, dressed in a reverse bunny outfit, was nearby, so I had no room to criticize her attire.
It wasn’t just Laksia; the other vice-commanders wore various sticker patterns over their nipples and genitals, all in reverse bunny getups. The regular members had even managed to switch their outfits to transparent bunny girl costumes.
‘Why do I not feel affected by this sort of exposure, but was so struck when the Popes wore white tees and jeans? Am I too desensitized to nudity?’
While I pondered the relationship between exposure and arousal, Laksia set her empty coffee cup on the desk and asked.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“I have something to assign.”
“……Something to assign?”
The knights, aligned in formation, stared blankly at the monster in front of them. Having not experienced real combat in quite a while, their immaculate black armor gleamed under the light.
Helga, who had mixed in among the vice-commanders, suddenly asked back.
“Are we supposed to face that thing?”
“Yep. It’s no big deal, right?”
“From a glance, it seems pretty not insignificant to me.”
A significantly larger body that resembled a regular human’s size times four, four arms, a golden greatsword in each hand, and a flashy armor decorated with various jewels and gold.
The general members huddled together, muttering about the monster plastered in expensive jewels.
“Hey, who said they didn’t want to stay quietly in the castle?”
“Why are you looking at me? Not me.”
“Would they send me back if I said I’d prefer to hide in the castle right now?”
“Have you ever thought before speaking?”
“Wow, how much would it be worth just to sell that one?”
“Forget it. If there are too many scratches, they won’t pay well anyway. Plus, don’t you get paid enough for our work? Why covet that?”
Though their whispers were barely audible, they weren’t able to escape my ears. Only Laksia, realizing I could hear everything, seemed flustered while everyone else feigned ignorance.
“Don’t worry; I won’t say a thing.”
At that, Laksia’s face lit up. I didn’t want to pick on them over that. Though, if the discipline had completely collapsed, I might have made an exception; for now, they were doing what they were supposed to do.
“Alright, I’ll explain what we’ll do from now on, so pay attention.”
As I opened my mouth, the murmurs that had been filling the room faded entirely. Over a hundred pairs of eyes were glued to me.
Looking quite knightly, clad in full plate armor instead of a bunny girl outfit, they hadn’t seemed to be fully comprehending what they were doing when gathered in the castle.
“For the formation, one vice-commander and ten regular members will charge at that thing, totaling eleven. The battle style can be decided among yourselves. No need to go in with the mindset of killing. The battle itself is what’s important.”
One person raised their hand.
“Should we think of it as sparring?”
“Similar. But unlike sparring, if you take a hit, it’s going to hurt a lot. There’s no danger of dying, but it might feel like it’s close enough. Don’t worry; as long as you’re alive, I’ll heal you perfectly.”
Another person raised their hand.
“May I ask how long this will go on?”
“Not for long. Each formation will only fight once; we’ll only take one round, so don’t worry. Oh, and rewards will be given depending on how many successful hits you land on that thing. The more successful hits, the better the rewards. Of course, it’ll all be cash, and the amounts will…”
As I mentioned a considerably hefty additional reward, a different kind of murmur spread through the room. Suddenly, enthusiasm surged.
“Then prepare accordingly.”
As expected of knights who once guarded an empress, they gathered promptly without needing more orders. I heard Eclipse’s voice quietly.
“Ready when you are. I made slight adjustments to their cognitive ability, so they won’t be able to kill the Dark Night Order.”
“Understood. Thank you, Goddess.”
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad to refer to the patterns of the NPCs who will appear in the boss battle.”
“Even without this, you could’ve experimented by creating humans yourself, couldn’t you?”
Just as you always had.
“So I’m the one who should be grateful.”
“……”
Eclipse fell silent.
“The order has been decided, Commander.”
“Got it. Who’s up first?”
Laksia stepped forward, saying she had arranged the order. I moved everyone except for the eleven who were chosen for the first round far away.
The knights, amazed by the delay-free teleportation, seemed to catch on to my intentions and took their seats in the audience area one by one.
I created a large rectangle in the air and displayed the knights of the boss on the inside. It seemed this was the first time they had seen space projection magic, and the buzz grew louder.
“Um, Commander. But is there a specific meaning to this action?”
Laksia, seated right next to me, cautiously asked. There wasn’t really a big meaning; it was purely out of my curiosity.
That monster was going to be the boss named “Honorable Knight, Keiras,” who would appear in Brightest Darkness 5. It was designed to be fought in a large-scale raid involving up to eleven NPCs.
Given that this departed significantly from the traditional boss battles of the Brightest Darkness series, hearing about such a boss piqued my curiosity.
‘They’re also the most suitable for this.’
After all, the women near me were too strong to be considered. One of them could hold her own against the boss, but with eleven, it would be a pity for the boss to be beaten up in such a boss battle.
But if I were to use the NPCs summoned by Eclipse, it felt like I’d be spoiling something. That was one of the reasons I brought the Dark Night Order.
After having had so much fun, it was time to get moving.
“You can think of it as a test of how you measure up against monsters from other worlds.”
But I couldn’t mention that directly, so I just omitted portions of the explanation while avoiding outright lying.
“……Wait a minute. Did you say another world?”
Laksia’s voice rose.
“Yeah.”
“How is that……?”
“Did you forget what I’m called in the Holy Kingdom?”
At that remark, Laksia nodded in understanding.
Having convinced her, I handed one large cola and popcorn to each knight’s hands. Since they were all accustomed to my world’s food, the sound of popcorn being chewed started immediately.
While the atmosphere of enjoying a movie filled the audience area, the knights clad in black armor approached the boss within the rectangular screen.
Even after only playing around, their abilities from once being the emperor’s guards remained sharp; each movement was crisp. The weapon of the member in the lead glowed blue.
– Kwahjic!
And in the blink of an eye, the boss swung and landed a full swing, sending him flying over ten meters. The impact was significant, and he couldn’t even roll properly, crashing to the ground.
The sound of popcorn crunching ceased.
‘There’s no way they can’t even touch it, right?’
Despite the boss being designed for a one-vs-many scenario with area attacks and rapid-fire strikes, surely it couldn’t be that bad.
