Chapter 8: Unforgivable… This Is Absolutely Unforgivable!

As the massive horde of monsters closed in on Dora Fortress, soldiers—NPC characters operated by non-player entities—took their positions along the walls. Several worked together to operate the mounted weapons, preparing to intercept the incoming attack. Even as they readied themselves, the monster swarm advanced close enough that their silhouettes could be clearly seen.

"What is that… a boar?"

"Gigant Boarnya… recommended level 120 or higher. A mid-boss from the Andares Mountains area, nya…"

The boar-like monster charging at the head of the horde was enormous—easily ten meters long. Its massive body shook the ground with every step, and moments later, the tremors reached the top of the fortress walls.

"Catapults! Prepare to fire!"

"Catapults! Prepare to fire!"

At the shout of the fortress commander—a lewdly dressed woman known as the Princess Knight Evangelin—knights who appeared to be unit leaders, spaced evenly among the soldiers, echoed her command and relayed it down the line. The soldiers manning the catapults installed atop the fortress roof finished their preparations and signaled readiness.

"Fire!!"

"Fire!!"

In time with Evangelin’s shout and the knights’ echoed commands, rocks of varying sizes were launched from the catapults. One after another, the stones rained down on the approaching monsters. A particularly large rock struck the gigantic boar at the front—but it didn’t slow its charge in the slightest.

"Ballista units! Ready to fire! Hold until the last moment and aim carefully!"

"Ballista units! Ready to fire!"

Next, the fixed ballistae mounted along the walls were manned, each operated by three or four soldiers.

"Fire!!"

"Fiiire!!"

From dozens of ballistae, projectiles closer to spears or harpoons than arrows were unleashed, piercing the leading monsters. Several dissolved into shimmering particles of light and vanished.

"Wh-when you see it like this, it’s incredible…"

"…Nyaa."

"…Yeah."

Now that this world had become reality, the sheer intensity of the large-scale battle unfolding before our eyes overwhelmed the three of us. We stood there staring, mouths hanging open. As I remained frozen in place, Erika’s warning came through the communicator at my waist.

"Master, you should begin preparations to disengage. With the natives’ primitive weaponry, they will not be able to stop that herd of wild indigenous creatures."

"Even if that’s true, we can’t just leave them. Isn’t there any armament other than weapons of mass destruction that could counter something like that?"

"Intervening in the struggle for survival between lifeforms on an undeveloped planet is not recommended under Galactic Federation Space Force policy, except in unavoidable circumstances. I judge that disengaging from the current location is the optimal course of action."

At Erika’s response, the cat-eared Ririka raised her voice in protest.

"That’s awful, nya! Erika-nyan, you’re so cold, nya! Don’t you have any blood or tears, nya?!"

"I am an AI. I do not possess bodily fluids. Furthermore, being lectured by an indigenous lifeform such as yourself is unpleasant. To put it plainly, it irritates me."

"Um, personally, I wouldn’t mind abandoning them and running away… but it looks like the monsters are just about to arrive, you know…"

As we were saying this, the leading group of monsters reached the outer wall of the fortress. A heavy thoom echoed as the structure shook violently, and those of us atop the wall stumbled, nearly losing our balance. The giant boar had slammed straight into the gate.

"Approximately twenty minutes until the gate is breached. Master, prepare to disengage."

"No—we’re not leaving yet! Load the Dragoon with weapons effective against large groups and put the Crusader aboard. Have it wait overhead in stealth mode! When I give the signal, drop the weapons!"

"I anticipated you would decide that way, Master. Similar situations occurred in the Delta-T289 system and the Zeta-D997 system. Acknowledged. The Dragoon will remain on standby above the designated point in stealth mode. Estimated arrival time: six minutes."

Come to think of it, there had been quests in the game where you saved natives on undeveloped planets. Was that really how Erika viewed them?

"Give weapons to Ririka and the others too, nya!"

"Providing Space Force equipment to indigenous organisms is strictly prohibited by military regulations. Furthermore, unregistered individuals cannot activate the equipment even if they possess it. Indigenous lifeforms will have to manage on their own."

"That’s cruel, nya! Ririka was a Space Force major and the commander of the Neko-Neko☆Milk Fleet, nya!"

"No such records exist. Kindly restrain your delusions."

While we argued, nearby soldiers were already fighting off monsters that had climbed onto the wall, dropping stones on them and thrusting with spears.

I removed the strap from the assault rifle on my back and gripped it in both hands. What had been a rectangular, box-like object transformed exactly as it had in the game’s animation—the barrel and grip unfolding as it shifted into the shape of a rifle.

Falchion Mk.42 Electromagnetic-Barrel Assault Rifle.

Ugh… the developers really loved their electromagnetic-something weapons way too much.

"They’re climbing up! Prepare for close combat! Don’t fight alone! Engage in three-man teams and intercept individually!"

At the lewd commander’s shout, the soldiers on the wall raised their swords and spears. Moments later, monsters began climbing up right beside us.

"Orc Soldiers, nya! They’re the most common trash mobs in the Andares Mountains, but their recommended level is 50 or higher, nya!"

"What level are the soldiers!?"

"I don’t know, nya! NPCs might not even have levels, nya!"

Following Evangelin’s orders, a three-man squad surrounded an orc nearly two meters tall that had climbed onto the wall by stepping on its comrades. But with a single swing of the orc’s club, all three were sent flying—smashed against the wall. One spat blood, convulsed briefly, then went completely still. The other two lay motionless where they fell.

The orc twisted its ugly face into a grin and let out a harsh, grating laugh.

"Guh-gya-gya-gya!"

…Wait.

Were they already dead?

It was too sudden. Unable to believe what had just happened before my eyes, I stood there dumbfounded, forgetting even to pull the trigger. When the orc noticed us, it twisted its face further and laughed again.

"Orcs target women! It’s dangerous to stay here! Run!"

Shouting that, a soldier leapt in front of the orc—only to be sent flying again by the swing of its club. He slammed into the stone floor right in front of me. It was the old gate guard who had tried to chase us away earlier.

So he’d come all the way here too.

I rushed toward him to help, but the moment I saw his neck bent at an unnatural angle, my body froze.

"D-did he die, nya? That person… did he die, nya?"

"…Looks like it."

"But he didn’t turn into light, nya. Why did he just… die normally, nya? NPCs dying like this… it’s just like during an event… nya…"

When monsters or players died, they turned into particles of light and vanished. NPCs didn’t. They died normally—like in the real world. They didn’t revive at a temple. They didn’t respawn.

Maybe… that was how it worked.

As I stood frozen before the fallen soldier, an orc closed in on me and the cat-eared girl.

But before it could reach us, a sudden, violent gust blasted it away.

"…This is awful…! How can you treat human lives like they’re nothing…!? I won’t forgive this… I’ll never forgive this! I’ll avenge them myself! I won’t let you get away with this, you murderers!! Tear them apart—Ice Needle!!"

The enraged spell unleashed by Natsumi—the crossdressing shota elf—sent countless blades of ice slicing through the orc, shredding it into particles of light.

…Wait, seriously?

You’re the one snapping now?

You were just talking about abandoning them and mocking people like it was nothing.
And now you’re shouting spell chants like you’re having the time of your life…

When someone nearby is even angrier—or more grief-stricken—than you are, it’s strangely easy to calm down. Ririka and I exchanged glances, then nodded and moved.

"The ones climbing up here are Ririka’s problem, nya! Clarice-nyan, handle the others, nya!"

"Got it! Erika—where’s the Dragoon!?"

"One minute until arrival at the target point. Please wait a little longer."

"As soon as it gets here, drop the weapons! Rockets and a grenade launcher!"

"Acknowledged."

I leaned over the fortress wall and raised my assault rifle toward the writhing mass of monsters below. A crosshair and remaining ammo count appeared in my vision. Dozens of square targeting cursors locked onto the monsters, each labeled [unknown].

I pulled the trigger. Three neat holes punched into the face of the nearest orc, and it tumbled off the wall, swallowed by the monster tide below.

I switched to manual burst fire, knocking orcs off the wall one by one—but there were too many.

Elsewhere, large numbers of orcs and similar monsters had already made it onto the ramparts. The soldiers fought desperately, but the situation was clearly deteriorating.

Only the eastern wall was holding. Thanks to Ririka and Natsumi, monsters there were being cut down one after another.

Level 120 and level 100 players really were on a different level. Ririka, unable to use magic yet, was literally beating monsters to death with her bare hands.

"The Dragoon has arrived. Weapons are being deployed."

Almost simultaneously with Erika’s announcement, a pointed, shell-like weapons container dropped from the sky, slammed into the stone floor of the wall, and split open.

"Erika! Use the Dragoon’s guns to snipe hostiles on the wall! Only the monsters climbing up—don’t hit anything else!"

"Understood. Leave it to me, Master. Situation acknowledged."

As I issued the command, I stowed my assault rifle and pulled an Arondight six-shot grenade launcher from the container. I fired all six rounds into the monster horde below.

Thump, thump, thump—each grenade vanished into the crowd before detonating with thunderous explosions, blasting monsters apart in every direction.

Almost simultaneously, a rain of tungsten rounds poured down from above, punching cleanly through the heads of every monster that had reached the wall. They collapsed instantly.

"W-what is this!? What’s happening!? The monsters are just dropping dead!"

Evangelin, panicking as she looked around at the monsters collapsing in pools of thick, dark blood, spotted me just as I stowed the empty launcher and pulled out a rocket launcher.

"Y-you there, adventurer! Did you do this!? What kind of weapon is that!?"

"An overdeveloped form of magic."

With that, I fired the Trident twin-barrel anti-armor rocket launcher at the giant boar still slamming itself against the gate below.

The rocket struck its flank, erupting in fire and a deafening blast, knocking the massive body onto its side along with nearby monsters. I fired a second rocket, blowing away nearly half its head.

"Did we get it?"

"No. While its abdominal muscles, several vital organs, and most of its brain have been severely damaged, biological activity has not ceased. It is attempting to stand. This exceeds expected survivability parameters."

Hearing Erika’s report, I panicked—had I just said something I shouldn’t have? Before I could respond, Ririka, who had rushed over now that the wall was clear, spoke up.

"I heard that thing has insanely high HP, nya! That’s probably why, nya!"

"HP… so that’s what this is…?"

"I dunno, but nothing else makes sense, nya!"

Apparently, the monsters in this world were even more troublesome than expected. Still, the boar was badly wounded, and there weren’t many monsters left.

"Well, if it’s that weakened, magic should finish it off—"

"S-sorry… I used too much MP… I’ve got nothing left…"

Panting, Natsumi staggered over behind Ririka and collapsed to the ground.

Well… she did her part. I wouldn’t complain.

I was just considering finishing off the remaining monsters with a strafing run from the Dragoon when Erika delivered new information.

"Master, a massive lifeform is flying toward your location from the mountains presumed to be this species’ habitat. If it possesses vitality comparable to the current individual, threat level is estimated at C++ or higher. Engagement with portable weapons will be difficult."

"A flying giant… yeah, I’ve got a pretty bad feeling about what that is."

"You’re probably right, nya. The Andares Mountains area boss is that thing, nya."

"Boss characters aren’t supposed to ignore spawn locations…"

"This is bad, nya. Boss farming for drops is going to be a nightmare now, nya."

As we spoke, a familiar silhouette—one I’d seen countless times in games and anime—appeared in the northern sky, where the sun had begun to sink.

Fine then. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll see it through to the end.

"Erika! Drop the Crusader!"