"Bocchama!"
"Goshujin-sama!"
"You two don't come out! Stay out of sight!"
I shouted without looking back at my two comrades who were about to join the fight to help me.
"This is an order from your Lord! Don't come out until I say so!"
Two people instead of one. Three instead of two. It was not a question of numbers.
Surely, it would be suicide to challenge the boss monster solo.
But... this monster, Falcon Pharaoh, is different. Even if Urza and Levienna had joined the fight, they would have been nothing but more targets.
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Falcon Pharaoh flaps its wings with a high-pitched whistle-like cry. And then... in an instant, it soars far overhead.
"This huge body, this speed... It's really unreasonable!"
Those who have seen the monster Falcon Pharaoh must have been first struck by its enormous size.
Its huge jet-like body is powerful in itself. Just a careless swing of its beak or claws can transform its overwhelming mass into a powerful one-hit kill.
But... That is not what I really need to watch out for.
Falcon Pharaoh's true strength lies in its incredible speed. In fact, it is one of the five fastest fighters among the monsters in the [DunBrave] game.
"Pyuuui!"
"Hmph...!"
Falcon folds its wings and straightens up. I immediately roll to the side to escape.
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
The next moment, the Falcon, spinning like a drill, plunges into me. The Falcon scrapes away at the sand-covered earth and gouges out the space where I had just been.
If I had been even slightly slow in evading it, I would have fallen prey to its spinning beak.
"Charge while spinning—'Drill Charge'! The preliminary movements seem to be the same as in the game!"
"Are you all right, Goshujin-sama!?"
"Zenon-bocchama!"
"I'm fine, so don't come out! If you come out, we'll really be wiped out!"
I repeatedly tell my companions, who are screaming in frustration.
After all, Falcon Pharaoh's speed is not something people can follow with their eyes. Once this technique is activated, there is no way to avoid it.
There is only one way to avoid the monster bird's attack. That is, to predict the next attack from the preliminary movement before the technique.
Although it is not a weakness, Falcon Pharaoh has a large pre-movement before its attack. The pre-movement itself is not unusual, and it is seen in other monsters as well... but this bird's pre-movement is especially exaggerated.
A skilled player who has played [DunBrave] can predict its next move from its pre-movement.
"However... the production of this game is really devilish. How can they kill a player on the first try!"
While complaining to the production staff, I slash at the monster bird, which is in a post-attack freeze. A magic sword imbued with dark magic slices through the torso of the giant, and a curse that causes abnormal conditions is cast through the wound.
"Gravid Slash!"
"Pyuiiii!?"
The curse cast with the skill of [Magic Sword] is a dark magic that debuffs the opponent's speed.
With this I was able to reduce Falcon Pharaoh's speed status by about 10%. This will make the battle a little easier.
"Pyuiiiiii!?"
"Not yet! Take this blow!"
Falcon Pharaoh spreads his huge wings. It's a prelude to flying away. But, before the bird moves away, I throw a bottle of poison that I had taken out of my bag in advance.
The huge body of the monster bird disappears in an instant... but the poison hits its body slightly earlier.
As the monster bird flies up above my head... purple liquid, indicating that it is poisoned, flows out from the wound on its body.
"It's tough to cut down the HP of a boss monster solo. I'll make full use of the abnormality this time."
Since I cannot ask for help from my friends, I should use all the means available to me.
The Falcon Pharaoh's attacks can be anticipated and avoided by players who have played the game for a long time, but Urza and Levienna, who are new to the game, cannot avoid it at all. I could not let them join the fight.
So, in order to make up the missing damage source, I would make full use of poison, which I usually do not use.
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
"This time, the claw attack is from above, huh...? It seems to be 'Clawbind'. But, don't think you can catch me!"
As anticipated, I avoid the claw attack that tries to grab me from over my head.
"Gravid slash!"
I counter with a sword.
With a sword imbued with a speed-decreasing magic, I slash the enemy's torso, adding another debuff to its attack. Now, two slash marks are carved in a crisscross pattern on Falcon Pharaoh's torso.
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?"
A scream emitted from its huge beak.
The falcon must be wondering why it can't hit me, how it can anticipate it attack.
Well, for me, Falcon Pharaoh is an opponent that I have fought many times in more than 10 rounds of play, and I have checked hundreds of videos posted on the net for countermeasures.
On the other hand, Falcon Pharaoh has never seen anyone fight like this. There is no other player in this world but me.
"It's so funny because the boss monster who is supposed to be a 'first-time-killer' is eating the 'first-time-killer'! Let's keep on grinding out, Queen of the Desert!"
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?"
Falcon Pharaoh cries out in pain as it unleashes its attack, but I anticipate and evade. Then, I attack again with the magic sword imbued with an abnormality magic.
After this, I anticipate the enemy's attack. I evade. I counterattack.
Anticipate, evade, counter. Anticipate, evade, counter. Anticipate, evade, counter. And so on.
After many such exchanges with this giant monstrous bird, its movements visibly slowed down.
The debuff that reduces its speed has taken effect. In [DunBrave], the debuff could only be applied up to five times... but the simple calculation is 50%. The speed was halved.
"Pyuiiii... Pyuiiiii..."
In addition, the poison that I had injected into its body was draining its HP.
If this were in a game world, it would be much better... Still, if it's flying around, the poison would spread to its whole body faster than ever.
It can be seen that Falcon Pharaoh's movements are completely lackluster due to the debuff and poison, and now I can avoid the attack even if I don't anticipate it beforehand.
"Pyuuuuuuu, pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
"Hmph..."
But it is also true that I should not underestimate a wounded beast.
The wounded bird spreads its wings wide as if it were burning up at the moment a candle is extinguished.
This is "Feather Squall," a ranged attack that is launched when Falcon Pharaoh's HP falls below 10%.
Countless feathers are released from both wings and rain down in a torrential downpour. The range of the attack is about 10 meters centered on me. It was not something I could avoid.
"Goshujin-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
"Oh no.... Zenon-bocchama!"
Seeing me pierced by countless feather arrows, Urza and Levienna jumped out from behind the sand hill.
They must have been so shocked by the sight of me that they couldn't stand still.
"Good grief... I told you not to come out no matter what. You're a very difficult maid and slave to disobey your Lord's orders so brazenly."
I shrugged my shoulders in dismay.
The phantom shot out by countless feathers vanishes like a mirage.
"Dark magic — Phantom Decoy. I'm not so naive as to take the last blow that I know is coming."
It was the phantom I had created with my dark magic that had taken the enemy's ranged attack.
I had predicted that the Falcon would launch a "Feather Squall" soon, so I had set a trap to make the enemy's attack shoot in the opposite direction.
My main body is already behind the monster bird, and I take out my weapon to put the finishing blow on the enemy.
"Monster Restraint Item — 'Stun Shotgun'".
The item removed from the magic bag is similar in shape to a bow gun.
When pointed at the floating Falcon Pharaoh in mid-air and the trigger is pulled, a metal net is ejected toward the enemy.
This is a disposable item to restrain the enemy with a net to slow down their movement, and although it is a little expensive, it is a tool that can be purchased at a tool shop.
The effect is to reduce the speed of monsters restrained by the metal net by 50% for a certain period of time. Although the effect is short-lived, it is a powerful debuff.
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiii!?"
A metal net entangles itself around the bird's wing.
Falcon Pharaoh lets out a high-pitched scream as it is hit from an unexpected direction.
"Now... Here's the problem. The big guy there has its speed debuffed by 50% by my dark magic. And now it has another 50% speed reduction by the item... What will happen then?"
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiii!?"
"It's going to fall. I knew it."
Falcon Pharaoh falls to the ground with zero velocity. Its huge body crashes to the desert ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
"It's been a long wait. You're up... Urza, Levienna!"
"Yes, desu~no! I'm tired of waiting, desu~no!"
"Bocchama, leave this to us! We will destroy the enemy!"
Finally given permission, Urza and Levienna dash out.
They are going toward Falcon Pharaoh, who is, of course, unable to move.
"It's a given that this is what happens to an emperor who is dragged off his throne, isn't it? It's the beginning of the public execution... you can die now."
"Pyuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!?"
Urza and Levienna raise their weapons and leap at the cowering bird.
A bird that cannot fly is like a limb being torn off. They relentlessly pound the unresisting foe with their relentless pursuit.
Urza's kabaou and Levienna's halberd gouge the bird's body.
"Pyuuuu..."
A feeble cry, like a gust of wind, escapes from its huge beak.
Thus, the giant bird, which had been called the Queen of the Desert, died, leaving its pathetic cry echoing in the desert.
