STGB Episode 481

The Big Fish (4)

There were six of those bastards, spying on our raid like perverts, they had split up and scattered around the monument, surrounding us…

…All right, it’s starting now.

From this point on, there’s only one goal.

To find evidence that these bastards tried to interfere. Better yet, obtain proof that Count Alminas is backing them.

Right after Erwin announced that they were beginning to move, a thick white smoke filled the cave.

「The character is within the range of [Veil of Betrayal].」

The aura skill of the third phase.

Its effect is simple.

「The character’s mental stat continuously decreases.」

「The character’s energy stat continuously decreases.」

「The character’s physical stat continuously decreases.」

「All stat reductions are amplified by 50%.」

「Dreadfear’s rage stat increases in proportion to the decreased stats.」

Building on the debuffs from the second phase, new lines appeared:

「All characters enter stealth.」

All characters within the aura become stealthed and cannot see each other.

「All communication is severed.」

And…

「Attacks on non-monster targets deal 5x damage and ignore all resistances.」

The risk of friendly fire.

[Kyaaaaaah-!]

Because of this one aura skill, normal team play becomes impossible in the third phase.

How can you raid when you can’t see each other?

If you fire off an attack skill and hit a teammate, it’s a huge disaster.

Therefore…

Tap.

The strategy for Phase 3 became brutally simple.

“BETEEHELLLL—RAAAAAAH!”

I let out a scream that no one can hear and charge at Dreadfear.

After all, while we can’t see each other, that doesn’t mean this bastard is stealthed as well.

The tanks hold their pre-determined positions, and the priests pour out area heals like crazy, holding out until the aura effect ends.

This is the standard strategy.

Well, our team has no Priests and only one tank, but…

‘But the best thing about the Shield-Barbarian character is that I can handle a solo tank’s share of work even without a healer.’

If you can manage solo tanking, this pattern is doable alone. Surprisingly enough, there’s an upside to that:

「Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, has cast [Indulgence].」

「The character is moved to a random location.」

Even if he pulls this trick, I can quickly run to the new location and hold it again.
Fewer tanks meant fewer mistakes…

‘Are the others doing well?’

While I was dealing with the dread fear, they would go and deal with the bastards who were trying to cause trouble.

What would be their plan of action in the third phase?

Obviously they would take advantage of the fog to cause trouble, and the most likely target would be me, since the tank’s location was pretty much a given.

‘But since I haven’t heard anything yet, they’re probably doing okay, right?’

The thought crossed my mind, but it wouldn’t be wise to let my guard down.

I’d be able to see how they were doing soon enough anyway.

I focused on confronting Dread Fear.

Solo tanking is theoretically possible, but the process is by no means easy.

Even if he’s considered the weakest, he’s still a Floor Lord.

And a rare growth-type at that.

「The character’s mental stat reduction has reached its maximum.」

「The status ailment ‘Fear’ has been applied.」

As exposure to the aura dragged on, the first debuff hit.

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

My heart was pounding like crazy.

A shiver ran down my spine as if I’d encountered a natural predator, the stress gnawing at my brain.

Still, compared to Erwin, my mental stats are relatively high, so I won’t lose my mind and run away or anything.

‘Is… Erwin okay?’

I was a little worried, but for now, I had bigger problems of my own.

The second debuff was the real problem for me.

「The character’s energy stat reduction has reached its maximum.」

「The status ailment ‘Lethargy’ has been applied.」

Lethargy, one of the thousands of status ailments.

When afflicted with this debuff, MP regeneration becomes impossible, and skills cast can be interrupted mid-use…

This also applies to skills already in use.

[Gigantification] has ended]

[Iron Skin] has ended]

Skills interrupted in this way would also have a cooldown, making lethargy a particularly tricky status ailment.

The third one is just as tricky.

[Your character’s physical stat reduction has reached its maximum.]

[Status condition ‘Exhaustion’ has been inflicted].

All Physical stats will be reduced by 30%.

Stamina is locked at its minimum, forcing you to use MP instead of stamina for each action.

BOOM!

The difficulty of combat increased with each debuff stack.

Phew, now I can’t handle it with strength alone.

And the cherry on top?

[Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, has reached maximum Rage.]

Ever since Phase 1, Dreadfear had been steadily building its Rage gauge.

[All damage dealt by Dreadfear, the Lord of Terror, is now doubled.]

It’s already overwhelming attacks became terrifyingly powerful.

Still, I managed to hold on.

Thanks to my relatively high Mental stats, Fear didn’t completely paralyse me, and I was able to wait out the cooldowns before using my skills again.

I also had a way to deal with my blocked MP regeneration.

[Your character has cast (Soul Dive).

[Your Soul Energy will regenerate in proportion to the amount spent].

Exactly—this build was made for solo-tanking.

Screeeeech—!

The Dread Fear let out a shrill cry, as if it was annoyed with me for clinging on so tightly.

I was busy holding it back when…

A tap.

I felt a presence behind me.

If I hadn’t been alert, I would never have heard the subtle sound.

Tap.

In an instant, I twisted my body away from Dread Fear.

Thump!

A searing sensation spread across my back.

That was all, but the countless experiences I’ve accumulated as a tank told me.

‘Luckily, no major injuries.’

It’s more of a scratch than an actual injury.

But that’s no reason not to retaliate.

Whoosh-!

So, I immediately swung my hammer through the air.

Of course, due to the aura effect, I couldn’t hear any groans or anything.

But…

Thwack!

The satisfying feedback travelled up the handle of the hammer at that moment.

[The light of trust dispels the fear within]

[The veil of betrayal is temporarily dispelled]

A brilliant light flashed, illuminating the dark cave.

“Ugh.”

It was time to check the fish in the net.

****
The key to phase 3 is the tank and the priest.

If you can just hold on, the [Veil of Betrayal] will lift and you’ll have time to inflict damage.

Just like this.

[Dread Fear, the Lord of Terror, has cast [Protective Mechanism]

As the [Veil of Betrayal] is dispelled, Dread Fear grows a thick shell and hides within it.

It’s kind of a groggy state, and the default strategy is to just throw all your damage at it.

But…

“……”

As soon as the [Protective Mechanism] activated, I turned around to assess the situation.

Erwin, Amelia, Vercil, Aynar.

First, all my comrades were in good condition.

And…

‘Three, two…….’

Three mangled corpses near Erwin. By Amelia, one prisoner and a corpse.

Tsk. We wanted prisoners, but…

Erwin killed them all.

Judging by the bodies, there was no intention of taking them alive.

However, I decided not to reprimand her now.

There’s no time for that, and…

“……”

She clearly doesn’t look okay.

Her eyes are unfocused, staring into space as if she’s lost her mind.

“…Probably because of ‘fear’.

“You let one get away, barbarian.”

Amelia, who had quickly grasped the situation, glared at Aynar.

“…Sorry! I tried to capture him alive but he escaped…”

Aynar, responsible for guarding one of the three passageways, honestly apologized.

But Amelia had no intention of letting it go.

“Quite a convenient race, aren’t you? Does saying sorry make everything okay?”

The relentless scolding.

“Huh?”

Aynar, used to ending all issues with an apology in her Barbarian life, was bewildered.

I was surprised too.

I didn’t expect her to be this angry…

“Barbarian, your mistake could have caused Jandel to be more severely hurt. Do you even realize—”

“Enough!”

I quickly intervened and calmed Amelia down.

“She understands. Let it go.”

“…We’ll talk about this later.”

Given the circumstances, Amelia didn’t push further and closed her mouth.

“Vercil. Keep an eye on Erwin.”

“Ah, yes…!”

First, I had Vercil check on Erwin’s condition, then I did a final check of the situation.

In the end, we captured two people alive.

“……”

First, the one Amelia captured.

With a blindfold and a gag, it’s impressive how perfectly she handled it without being able to see.

And the second…

“…Ugh.”

The guy Aynar missed, who then ambushed me.

His lower jaw, covered by a mask, was soaked in blood, probably from getting hit by my hammer.

No wonder it felt so satisfying.

“…uh, uh, uh…”

The guy, meeting my eyes, crawled backwards like a worm.

Oh, where do you think you’re going?

Thud, thud, thud.

In just three steps, I closed the distance and brought my hammer down on the bastard exactly four times.

After all, you don’t need limbs to talk, do you?

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch-

Okay, since Amelia is doing the interrogation, I can trust her with that…

As for the one over there, Amelia has already subdued him, so no need to crush his limbs too, right?

All necessary measures were complete.

“Amelia, take both of them and get out of here now.”

“…Are you really going to continue the raid like this?”

“What choice do we have?”

Escaping the Lord of Terror is impossible.

If the captives remain within range, special conditions will trigger, making this even harder.

This was the best course of action.

‘Well… The odds of the raid succeeding are low.’

Maybe around 5%?

Considering the boss received four buffs in phase 2, and we didn’t utilize the groggy state properly in this phase and skipped it.

‘It’s essentially a failed raid.’

Our survival was guaranteed either way, so I wasn’t particularly worried.

If I somehow pull this off, it’ll be a miracle. Even if I fail, Amelia’s interrogation will achieve our main goal.

So…

“Jandel, be careful.”

“Yes. See you outside.”

I forced Amelia to retreat before the [Veil of Betrayal] reactivated. Moments later, the light illuminating the cave disappeared.

「The fear within dispels the light.」

「[Veil of Betrayal] has been reactivated.」

It was time to resume the raid.

***
In a passageway a short distance away from the monument, where the raid began.

Crackle.

Amelia attached a torch to a holder and began her interrogation.

She slowly put on white gloves.

Arranged the tools she’d prepared for easy access.

Checked the captives’ belongings for anything useful.
……

……

She used to hate this kind of work, but today she felt different.

No…

It’s a relief.

That man has unexpected soft spots.

And in life, someone has to do this dirty work.

“You… will… hear nothing…”

The man with shattered limbs muttered with cold resolve, but she didn’t respond.

There was no reason to engage. Besides…

‘…He’s terrified.’

Experience had taught her:

Men who bluster like this break first.

……

While the other captive had endured silently for hours, this one had been screaming with bloodshot eyes.

Yet, she continued the ‘interrogation’ without asking a single question.

And after some time…

“…P-please.”

Finally, the man uttered those words.

A signal that he was nearing his limit and wanted release.

Amelia began asking questions one by one.

Was he married?

Did he have children?

What was the last dinner he ate before entering the labyrinth?

As trivial, unrelated questions continued, the man gradually began to answer.

At least while answering, there was no pain.

Amelia patiently escalated the intensity of her questions, and by the time she reached the point of asking for his name…

“So, your name is… what?”

“Delvain…”

Hearing the answer, she involuntarily flinched.

“Hans… Delvain…”

Hans?

‘Wait, Hans… wasn’t that…?’

The name that guy had freaked out about.

“Men named Hans are a plague. Kill them on sight.”

She’d found his superstitions oddly endearing at the time.

But now…

‘…………Will this be okay?’

A cold dread bloomed in her chest.