Hell Mode: Volume 9, page 13
“Did you use any of your skills?”
“No, I didn’t go that far. One of us would’ve actually died.”
Didn’t you use them at the Academy? No, wait, he only used one skill, and he probably held back. Having witnessed the battle between Shia and the Beast King, Allen understood why Helmios had stated that the Beast Princess would not leave unscathed.
“Truth be told, I also tried to unequip myself, just like Dogora has done,” Helmios said with a wry smile. “But the emperor told me to refrain from doing so. Still, it was a completely one-sided match. I was beaten to a pulp. But at least I’m alive to tell the tale. I decided to offer Dogora the same courtesy and give him a warning.”
Allen posed a question that he had meant to ask for a while. “Can you Analyze the Beast King?”
The Hero had the Analyze skill, but he shook his head. “Nope. In fact, I can’t fully Analyze you or Dogora either.”
Oh? That means...
All the while, Dogora had entered the ring and now proudly stood in front of Muza, who was glaring at the boy.
“You’re friends with that insolent human, aren’t you?” Muza murmured. “I thought you had potential, so it’s truly a pity.”
“Huh? What’re you on about?” Dogora asked.
“No matter. I shall allow you a free hit on me as well.”
“Yeah?”
Dogora raised his fist, clenching it so hard that one could hear his muscles creaking, and buried it deep into the Beast King’s stomach with all his might.
“Hngh?!” Muza grunted through gritted teeth. He was in more pain than he had expected.
Suddenly, the Beast King swung back. His massive fist pounded Dogora from the side, blowing the young boy back. Muza did not so much as glance at the spot where Dogora had landed a few meters away.
“I suppose you haven’t received the Blessing of the Goddess of Fire for nothing,” the Beast King said.
Dogora turned his head to the side and spat out some blood, along with a single white tooth that rolled across the arena floor.
“All right, this makes us even,” the Destroyer said. He cracked his neck a few times as though he had just finished his warm-up, then charged at the Beast King.
“You cheeky little...” Muza growled. He stepped forward and received Dogora’s charge with his fist.
As the two exchanged punches, an explosive boom echoed throughout the arena. A large shadow and a much smaller one were exchanging a flurry of blows. Sharp jabs and heavy kicks were coupled with swinging elbows as their feet sliced through the air. The two fighters continued to pummel each other like two tornadoes clashing violently.
While the audience members all held their breaths at the awesome sight of the two displaying their skills and fighting prowess, Allen observed the two’s movements closely. Hmm? Looks like the Beast King has slightly higher stats. That’s giving him the advantage. His Attack and Agility are both higher than Dogora’s. This is gonna be a tough match.
Dogora could damage the Beast King with every punch he landed, but as time went on, they became less and less accurate. It looked as though neither he nor Muza had budged an inch since the initial punch, but they both refused to back down.
The Beast King moved quickly, frequently changing his positions and twisting his upper body while precisely defending attacks with his legs. He parried any kicks with his shins and blocked Dogora’s fists with the backs of his hands. Gradually, Muza was learning how to avoid direct hits. He must have had Fist Mastery and Sparring like Shia, making him suited to close combat.
Dogora, on the other hand, had no such skills. The Beast King’s attacks were all landing, and the damage was building up. His stamina was being chipped away as his movements grew slower, making it harder for him to evade. Meanwhile, one of his punches was dodged, and he received a counter to his stomach.
“Gh?!” Dogora grunted as he fell to his knees. His face twisted with pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured it all.
“What’s wrong? Done already?” Muza asked. He stayed in a fighting stance, but he paused and gazed down at the young man.
“Shut up,” Dogora said as he rose to his feet while mumbling to himself. “I was just remembering something... I get it now.”
“If you had remained down, I’m sure you would have been able to walk away with your life,” Muza said.
Dogora remained silent and prepared to fight once more.
“You’ve got courage, I’ll give you that,” the Beast King praised. “It’s a shame you’re friends with that impertinent human, but... Hmph!”
He suddenly threw a right hook, catching Dogora off guard.
“Gah?!”
It was the Beast King who groaned with pain. Dogora had dodged the attack and firmly planted his fist into Muza’s stomach.
Dogora was not a prodigy like Krena, who rarely thought while fighting and acted purely on instinct. He was not equipped with useful information from his previous life like Allen either. However, he was nothing if not diligent. He had taken the lessons he had learned at the Academy to heart and had loyally followed the advice he had received from Dverg in the Rank S dungeon. The young Destroyer practiced everything he had learned daily. While he might have been a normal child who possessed no special gifts, thanks to his desire to become a hero, he solemnly absorbed everything that he was taught and mastered all that he learned one step at a time.
I see. This is how he shines. He probably has more Endurance than Muza anyway. An armed warrior like Dogora could not hope to nimbly dodge every attack that came his way. Instead, he had to tank them to a certain degree and use any openings that his opponents showed to launch counters. Naturally, those counters had to be powerful enough to make his foes flinch, stopping them from continuing their assault.
Unbeknownst to Allen, Dogora had received those training tips from Dverg. If that type of attack went well, Dogora could negate not only his opponent’s attacks but also deal good damage as well, just as he had done to Muza.
Of course, for this tactic to succeed, one would need to receive their opponent’s blows, exercise unyielding determination to wait for an opening, and be keen enough to take advantage of every opportunity. Dogora had lacked attentiveness until now and was attempting to master it in his battle against Muza.
“What’s wrong? Done already?” Dogora asked, looking up at Muza.
“You brazen little...” Muza grunted. “You think you’ve won with a single punch?!”
The Beast King used his knee to attack, and Dogora crossed his arms in front of himself to defend, just as he had predicted. Another round of relentless kicks and punches started, but the Beast King was the one of the offensive. Dogora could only use his Endurance to brace himself against the barrage. When the Beast King finally took a breather and stepped back to launch an uppercut, Dogora headbutted his fist with all his might. Muza did not have enough force behind his punch, and it was knocked back, his body twisting to expose his side. Dogora threw a hook straight for that opening.
“Gah!” Muza gasped as a globule of blood escaped his lips. His organs were crying out in pain.
The Beast King finally fell onto his bottom. Meanwhile, Dogora remained standing, blood dripping from a deep gash in his forehead.
“How d’you like that?” Dogora said, gazing down at the Beast King.
Muza looked up at him. “It’s preposterous for a Beast King to receive mercy from a human...”
Game, set, and match. This is totally in Extra Mode territory though. Are Beast Kings in Extra Mode? Allen tried to gauge Muza’s Status. While the Beast King’s level was unknown, he had been able to stand his ground for a while against Dogora without the use of any weapons or armor. That would have been impossible were he in Normal Mode.
Helmios’s Analyze skill did not allow him to see any stat increases that one gained from Blessings, Extra Mode, or Hell Mode. Furthermore, he had mentioned that he could not Analyze Demonic Deities at all. Merus did mention that Rank A Summons can’t Analyze Rank S monsters or Demonic Deities, so that checks out.
“I’m not showing any mercy or anything,” Dogora said. “But if we keep at it, it’ll be tough for Shia.”
“For Shia?” Muza asked.
“Yeah. You’re her father, but you can’t even understand how she might feel. Shia’s bound to leave you one day too. She just wants you to know that—”
“N-No!” Muza shouted as he leaped to his feet. “That’s the one thing that I mustn’t allow! I won’t allow Shia to leave! She will never receive my permission to do so!”
Suddenly, the Beast King’s body grew larger, and his fur and snout grew longer. He took the form of a colossal, bipedal lion. Allen had seen Zeu and Shia do something similar before—this was Muza’s Beast Mode. Huh? He’s gonna use that now?
“Grrrr! I won’t lose! I cannot lose!” the Beast King roared. He pounced, throwing another punch, and Dogora was launched to the edge of the ring.
“Gah!” Dogora grunted. He had bounced thrice and managed to get up, but his arms were bent at impossible angles.
The Beast King got down on all fours and charged. He opened his mouth and clamped it shut, hoping to crush the Destroyer’s head within his jaws. Dogora managed to dodge the attack in the nick of time and fled to the edge of the ring, but he had depleted his stamina during the earlier battle. His movements were sluggish, and he had no hope of escaping the massive reach of the Beast King. Muza raised his massive paw, equipped with sharp talons, and tried to swing it down.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Allen shouted from right next to Muza’s ear. “At this point, you’re just trying to hurt Dogora’s resolve! Drop dead!”
He swung at the back of Muza’s head, and the Beast King was blown into the middle of the ring.
“Gah?!” Muza cried.
Allen was floating where Muza once stood.
“Hey...” Dogora said.
“Tag out,” Allen replied. “Switch with me, Dogora. I’ll take care of this guy.”
All right, let’s start round three. Allen prepared to fight after Shia and Dogora, ignoring the shock that ran through the crowd and floating down onto the arena floor. There was no sense of justice to his actions. One could say that he had cheated as he had launched a surprise attack at the Beast King, who had been using Beast Mode on a tattered Dogora. But Allen did not mind being thought of that way.
Everyone had seen how, despite having known he was the underdog, Dogora had walked into the match against Muza without any gear. The boy had fought fair and square. In fact, it was Muza who had broken the rules—his own rules—and used one of his skills to go in for the kill. This was no longer a fair fight, and Muza was now an enemy of the No-life Gamers.
“I’m not gonna carry you like a princess, Dogora,” Allen said.
“Hey?!” the Destroyer cried.
Allen grabbed Dogora’s ankle and flung the battered, bumpkin-faced boy into the audience—straight toward Helmios. As he had anticipated, the Hero caught Dogora and cast healing magic on him. Once his friend’s safety was assured, Allen took to the air again and folded his arms while gazing down at the Beast King.
“We’re still doing this, yeah?” Allen asked.
Muza’s face was filled with rage and his fur stood on end. The man was basically a massive lion now. “Graaar! I’ll never hand Shia over to audacious humans!”
The Beast King jumped into the air, hoping to tear Allen to shreds with his claws. The Summoner had already changed his cards in his holder from MP-boosting ones to ones focused on Attack. He swung his adamantite sword while boasting over 20,000 Attack.
“Hmph!” Allen grunted.
“Grah?!” Muza cried as his claws shattered.
Once the two clashed, Muza immediately jumped back. Much like his fist, which had sustained damage from Dogora’s headbutt, his shattered claws regenerated immediately thanks to his Beast Mode healing. Naturally, Allen had no intention of fighting fairly against an opponent like that. He had borrowed Krena’s Holy Orb and was wearing a necklace that raised his Attack by 3,000. He also had two rings that raised his Attack and Agility by 5,000 each. His armor had been switched to the kind suited for middle guards, which he had found in silver chests in the Rank S dungeon. It had good Endurance while remaining balanced enough for him to move in as he pleased.
His Attack and Agility were around 25,000, while his HP and Endurance were over 10,000. In addition, he was receiving the buffs from his Rank A Summons, using as many of them as he could. His critical rate was increased thanks to his Beast A, and he had Flight due to his Bird A. He also took less damage thanks to his Stone A, and his Spirit A made him more resistant to physical attacks. He had put cards into his holder in such a way as to give him the largest possible advantage against a single opponent since unlike stat-boosting buffs, the ones that granted him new powers did not stack. He had even had Keel cast a spell that increased his Endurance.
Beast Mode Muza was no match for this Allen. The Summoner was landing hit after hit. However, as Helmios was healing Dogora, he noticed that Shia, who was watching the fight, looked to be on the verge of tears.
“Allen, I think you’ve gone a bit too far this time,” Helmios muttered.
But the Summoner did not hear those words and continued to float around in Muza’s blind spots and stab him with his adamantite sword. When the Beast King was about to turn on his back, Allen grabbed his head and slammed him into the ground.
KABOOM!
A deafening sound filled the arena, and the thick floor tiles shattered. Dust and stone fragments danced in the air. Just how much power did one need to be able to exert such destructive force? None of the representatives could tell.
A circular indentation had formed in the ring, and the Beast King faced the skies with haggard breath, unable to get up. Allen floated above him.
“What now? Will you accept that we’ve won?” Allen asked. “We” implied Dogora and Shia as well.
Though the Beast King was indeed powerful, he was no match for the Summoner if he went all out. In any case, I didn’t think the Beast King would be this strong. A family that’s produced Rank S adventurers isn’t to be taken lightly.
Allen had once been told by Makkaron that there were Rank S adventurers other than Bask in the past. A number of Rank S adventurers had come from the Albahal royal family. Muza was a Rank A adventurer, but the previous Beast King, Yoze, had been a part of the Rank S adventurer party. In fact, Makkaron, who had been questioned by Regalfaras earlier, had been the leader of a Rank S adventurer party known as Majestic.
As Allen was lost in his thoughts, he heard the Beast King mutter below him.
“Total Beast Mode.”
“What?” Allen said. Before he could react, the Beast King jumped in the air.
“Graaaaar!” Muza roared.
He turned to the heavens as his body transformed once more. His body, which had been enlarged by Beast Mode, grew larger still. His joints started to shift, and he could no longer stand on two feet. His arms became front legs to support the full weight of his body, and his neck, waist, and head all changed form so that he could walk on all fours. When his transformation was complete, a titanic, golden lion stood gloriously in the arena. He looked up at Allen in the skies and let out a mighty roar.
“Roooooaaar!”
Hmm? Is this the third form that unleashes the true power of the Beast King? I think Shia mentioned that only the Beast King could enter Total Beast Mode. Allen flew higher, assuming he was safe as he examined the beast from above. But in a flash, the lion approached him, and he froze in astonishment for a moment. Because Muza was now even larger and quadrupedal, his jumping power was higher than ever. Allen had failed to notice that, and the Beast King furiously slashed at the air with incredible speed, his long claws shredding the Summoner.
“Huh?! Gah!” Allen gasped.
He managed to use his arms to protect himself, but they were shredded, and fresh blood flew as he was knocked backward. I even used my skills, but I’ve taken so much damage. Allen had used Fish B’s Turtle Shield along with its Awakened Ability, Turtle Barrier, to decrease the amount of damage dealt to him. Even so, he had been unable to block the attack and had taken heavy damage. He tried to use Flight to hastily move to the side as he careened through the air, but the Beast King was already beside him.
“Graaar!”
Muza swiftly swiped at the Summoner, knocking him down. The boy’s body changed directions too quickly for Flight to slow him down, and he slammed into the ground, creating a circular crack all around him. When Muza tried to peer at the boy, an adamantite sword cut through the air, aimed squarely at the lion’s face.
“Take this!” Allen shouted as he charged at the Beast King.
A loud metallic sound rang out, and Allen was thrown into the air once more. His fur’s so tough! The sword had been deflected by the fur under Muza’s chin, and as the Beast King had looked away, Allen had been launched upward by the force of his thrust.
When Allen came to a stop in midair, Muza looked up at him and smirked. A ferocious battle ensued. The fight was so terrifying that it could no longer be called a friendly match—it was a battle through and through. Both Allen and Muza were working to defeat the other as swiftly as possible, aiming for each other’s vital areas. With every clash, the ring shattered just a little more. Both parties were trying to land fatal blows, but none could be called decisive. Though Allen had a sword, he had no skills to use with it, and Muza was too strong to be defeated without them. This is insane. I’ve gotta make Shia the Beast King! I have to!
His lips curled into a grin. He had successfully recruited golem pilots and magic tool users from Baukis, but he knew that Shia, who had the blood of Muza and his family flowing through her veins, could unleash far greater power than even them. If she became the Beast King, just how much more powerful would the No-life Gamers become? Allen was excited by the thought.
Only through a series of coincidences had Allen ended up in this fight against Muza—a battle in which he was using everything he had to gauge the monarch’s strength. However, because it had taught him what a huge asset to his party Shia had the potential to become, the Summoner determined that attending this conference had been worth his time. He could not suppress a smile as he tried to think of ways to calm the Beast King.
