Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

"Rahhhhhhhhhhh!!"

Dogora charged forward while shouting.

'Urgha?!'

Dogora used all his mana in the attack, calling onto Freya's power, putting everything he had into Body and Soul, which had once been enough to cut through Basque.

Basque had just attacked Allen, so he was unprepared for that attack.

He tried to raise his Cursed Sword to defend, but he was late and Dogora's axe dug into his shoulder.

"Dogora! Keep going!!"

"Yeah!!"

'Ugh that hurts. But good job stopping it, Onuba.'

Basque seemed almost grateful to Onuba.

'I didn't stop it, dumbass! This is painful!!'

Kagutsuchi had dug itself into Basque's shoulder, but it stopped there.

Onuba and the weird black net covering Basque's body had saved Basque's life.

"Damn…it…ghah!!"

After the failed attack, Basque kicked Dogora's exposed stomach.

Dogora was blown back, bouncing on the ground.

'So you used yourself as a scapegoat for your ally. That's nice, that's so cool. Ramonhamon, heal me.'

'Hmph, what a hopeless idiot.'

Basque turned to Ramonhamon, pointing at the rather deep gash on his shoulder.

Ramonhamon's female head answered, before chanting something.

While Allen tried to help Dogora on his feet after the kick, Basque's body healed back.

It almost looked like Dogora had never touched him.

'Look at that, you finally got one attack in, but failed when exploiting it. Heheh.'

Dogora's Body and Soul had not been enough to defeat Basque, and Ramonhamon healed the wound.

Kyubel glanced at that, and mocked Allen about it.

When Dogora entered Extra Mode, his Body and Soul went from an Extra Skill to a regular Attack Skill, so its cooldown was one hour.

One hour felt like an enternity in a fight with stats that surpassed 10000.

(They seem completely aware of our power. Or maybe they're just using all the power they have this time. But if I bring Merus here then more than Allen's Army might be lost.)

If Merus left the frontlines, the Demon Generals would have the advantage.

Merus had gone deep into the enemy army, destroying large portions of it.

The Demon Generals were also distracted by Merus, so once he left, they would all turn their eyes at Allen's Army.

On top of that Merus' Special Skill [Angel's Ring] allowed him to take control and give direct orders to summons.

That way he could give more detailed orders to the summons, and even replace those lost.

If he used Delete and Create, he also could let summons use their Awakened Skills again.

Allen's Army and the Hero's Army both needed the help of the summons, without it they would end with too many casualties.

"What should we do? If we don't end this soon, the Blessing will end."

Sophie sounded worried too.

She had also realized the situation they were in, just like Allen.

(That's true. The Spirit King's Blessing and Kurena's Limit Break are both on a timer.)

The Spirit King's Blessing duration was proportional to Sophie's Mana.

And Kurena's Extra Skill [Limit Break] duration depended on how much mana she spent when casting it.

Their Extra Skills did not last very long at first, but now after undergoing Talent Changes and renewing their equipment, it could last for a decent time.

They would last for at least half an hour more, but that did not mean the problem was solved.

Ramonhamon also used her healing magic on Bildiga.

The stains and dissolved bits of the metallic shell recovered just like Basque.

While Basque and Bildiga fought, Kyubel and Ramonhamon barely lifted their hands.

Basque had gotten stronger, and Bildiga was immune to physical attacks, making them oppressive enough.

Dogora's Body and Soul had not been enough to defeat even one of them, so they no longer had a decisive blow.

Their declining chance of winning was obvious.

Maybe it was best if Allen and Merus switched places.

'I don't think switching will help you, but feel free to try. I wonder if Merus has gotten any stronger since then?'

"..."

Kyubel asked Allen, as if he had read his mind.

'Everything is futile, death is your fate. That's just how the world works.'

Kyubel seemed intent on driving Allen to desperation.

At this rate, the Evil God would resurrect, and kill Allen and everyone in Patlanta.

'Dogoraaa, heehee. You can still fight, yeah?'

Basque could not stop grinning, taunting Dogora.

"Enough. Let's go, Freya!"

'Of course!!'

Saying that, Dogora continued fighting, even though Basque's advantage was obvious.

Allen joined Dogora while calling summons to help Kurena and Shea too.

They were pressed for time before the Evil God resurrected, but they had no way of overturning the situation.

Cecile was using her magic while equipped with the Sacred Bead, but Bildiga had a high magic defense as well.

Magic alone was not enough to defeat Bildiga.

Cecile tried using some magic on Basque too, but he was even more resistant than Bildiga.

She tried various elements, but the black net seemed to absorb everything.

Cecile assumed that it was a darkness element defense.

Physical attacks caused no damage, and magic ones very little.

On top of that, Bildiga was a Demon Great General, meaning his stats were much higher.

Kiel, one of the top leaders of Allen's Army, spoke then.

"I'm starting to struggle with healing. Luck, I'm sorry but could you use the Spirit King's Barrier? Include Bildiga too."

While Allen struggled to find a plan, Kiel spoke to Luck.

Kiel was currently their main source of healing, while Bildiga and Basque fought at a distance.

He wanted to create an area to stop them for a bit, giving him more chances to heal.

The flower's style was a few kilometers in diameter.

Kyubel was carefully positioned further away than Allen's 50 meter summoning range, while Basque and Bildiga kept him at bay.

Sophie's water spirits could also use healing magic, but Bildiga's attacks were too violent that she was too busy using water and wind spirits to slow Bildiga down.

Kiel spoke to Luck, wanting to improve the situation a bit.

This was Luck's first hard battle, but he was trying his best to keep up with Kiel, Sophie, and Cecile, who had already gone through many in the past.

"O-okay, I will. Please Fabre."

Most debuff magic did not seem to work so far, but maybe an Extra Skill would.

'This sure looks like a tricky situation.'

"Thank you."

Fabre's voice sounded more mature, and transformed into a prawn, she made a quick dance shaking her tail.

The ground began gaining a violet tint.

That was the [Spirit King's Barrier], Luck's Extra Skill.

It had the effect of lowering the stats of any enemy within the affected area, in exchange for all of Luck's Mana.

It was an area of effect debuff Skill, and the cooldown was 1 day.

Luck's Talent only had 2 Stars, and his stats were not the highest. The area of effect was only 100 meters wide too.

That was better than what most debuffing supports, but not really impressive compared to the rest of Allen's party.

The Spirit King's Barrier activated, but Bildiga's stats were so immense there was little change.

But the fact that some change happened showed just how powerful Fabre was.

Shea and Kurena fought in a way to make Bildiga step into the Spirit King's Barrier.

(The situation still won't get better…huh?)

Allen continued surveying the area with the Bird E when he noticed a movement from the Sacred Fish Makris.

He clearly saw Kyubel and the other Demon Great Generals as enemies.

Allen's group, which looked like mermen, were trying to save Patlanta.

Makris looked at Basque and opened his mouth, a large icicle-like blade appearing.

'Ice Javelin!'

Makris chanted magic and the enormous ice lance flew out, gliding through the water and heading straight towards Basque.

BANGG!!

'Bhuh?! Grnghhh…'

Basque took the hit on his stomach, a powerful explosion sound spreading as blood dissolved into the water.

'Oh damn, the Sacred Fish Makris is joining too. That power does feel like a Sacred Beast alright. I'm sure glad I renewed my equipment.'

It seemed like Basque had also gotten new equipment before the fight.

Now that Makris was involved too, there was a slight change in Kyubel's attitude.

'Try to not die now.'

While there was abundant blood, Basque's Strength had not diminished a lot, and Ramonhamon continued healing him.

(Well, if Makris is fighting too, maybe I can head straight for Ramonhamon then. Though will Basque and Bildiga let me do that?)

Ramonhamon was an all-rounder fighter, their male face and limbs specialized in physical combat, while their female face and limbs used magic.

They could fight physically like Bildiga, or just use magic or heal from a distance.

If Basque had not gotten stronger, Ramonhamon and Bildiga would have been the only threats.

It was almost a good thing they were not actively fighting.

(Makris joined us too, but the fight isn't getting any better. Is there anything else we can do?)

While Makris had joined the fight and their numbers increased, the situation did not seem to get considerably better.

The Evil Cult's leader was also a Demon Great General, but he could not use healing magic, and without the altar he had next to no defenses, so both magic and physical attacks took him out.

It seemed like Gushara had not really been a powerful Demon Great General after all.

The Demon King's Army was using all their power to resurrect the Evil God.

'I suspected you would struggle here.'

As Allen continued wondering just how he could win, he heard the sound of hooves.

Then there was a voice coming from that direction.

"Hm? Yeah, we're struggling like hell here. Wait?!"

"Wah!! It's Phar!!"

From behind Allen's group, the Arbiter God Pharnemes appeared, having left the small horse stable in Heavy User Island.