WE TRIED TLS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

Chapter 215 | Life is Cruel (10)

“We need to go there right now…!”

The Inquisitor instinctively turned her feet.

Stagger.

However, her body shook helplessly. Even though she’d released the sanctuary as it was no longer needed, the aftereffects of using too much power were engraved into her body.

She wiped over her hot face and gripped the rampart.

Boom!

“Ah, what a disaster.”

Meister’s monotonous murmuring coincided perfectly with that loud sound.

As a chill ran down the back of her neck, the Inquisitor turned her gaze back to the sea.

Kiaaaaargh!

The monster, with a gaping hole in its neck and its insides torn apart by the same small projectile, let out a loud wail.

Swiiiish.

However, a new addition to the scene was that something stark white had begun to crawl out of the wound.

“…A new head?”

Emerging from the hole was a head resembling the turtle’s, albeit slimmer, smoother, and more delicate.

It appeared as if a new head was growing from that small wound. Even in the darkness of the night, its stark white scales carried an unsettling aura.

“No, it looks more like a snake.”

However, if it had truly been the turtle’s head, the two wouldn’t look so vastly different. Moreover, the original head and neck of the turtle wouldn’t be shriveling up as though its insides had been hollowed out.

The pure white head coiled tightly around the turtle’s withered neck and head, which were about to sag down. The turtle’s head, leaning against the white one, resembled well-cured leather. It didn’t move in the slightest.

“…Let’s just run. We’ve no way to attack that thing anymore.”

“Go. I’m staying here.”

“Do what you want. What about you, Hero?”

Amid all that, one thing was absolutely certain.

“…I.”

This fight was far from over.

“…I.”

Behind her, the soldiers had barely managed to get down from the wall.

“What will become of this place if I retreat now?”

If they failed to stop that monster’s advance, those soldiers would be crushed to death.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the moment when those on the wall hadn’t even yet fired the first shot.

I sprinted forward to retrieve my Zweihänder lying on the ground. With my longsword broken, it was the only weapon I could use, so I had no choice.

Ssssshk.

The sword, which had just been struck by lightning, was incredibly hot, but I brushed it off.

Whether my palms were scorched by a weapon heated by lightning or by blocking the lava that Demon spewed out with my bare hands, it was all the same to me.

The faceless Demon laughed as it pressed the fingers of one of its three pairs of hands together.

Ruuuumble—!

Oh, of course, I couldn’t just recklessly swing around the Zweihänder either.

It wouldn’t break, but even the Zweihänder was made of some type of steel, and metal conducted lighting really well. Damn it.

So I quickly snatched the Zweihänder, shoved it into my Inventory, and leaped forward in a roll. Whoosh. The tails of my coat swung behind me as I moved.

Boom!

Lightning struck the ground behind me a split second later. My body, which was crouching—or sitting, perhaps?—then kicked off the ground hard.

My bent knees launched me forward like a bullet. I was back in the lava field.

Craaaaack!

In the meantime, a storm of rock spears came hurtling toward me from the front. As I entered the lava field, thorns sprouted wherever I stepped half a beat later.

That vicious combination forced me to maintain top speed and made it impossible to dodge the incoming rock spears ahead.

But if anyone thought I couldn’t handle this barehanded, they were sorely mistaken.

I wrung out my brain, focusing to the utmost, and channeled my Arcane Power with extreme precision.

My goal was to use the bare minimum Arcane Power to form a protective barrier around my hands.

Thump.

And then, I grabbed the first rock spear to come at me. It felt similar to catching an arrow mid-flight.

I gripped the spear about to slip past my palm and swung it with all my might.

The rock spear, spinning like a pinwheel, deflected all the others that came close.

Maybe it was because their durability was similar, but instead of completely shattering, the spinning spear and the others just chipped away at each other.

Well, I never intended to use it for long anyway, so it didn’t really matter.

Right before the spear broke apart, I drove it into an incoming volcanic bomb. Pulling down the bomb, I used the recoil to launch myself into the air.

A spike narrowly missed my heel as I sent my body airborne, kicking away another volcanic bomb flying at me.

Using only my core strength, I twisted midair to land in a place without any lava, immediately pulling out a dagger from my Inventory and hurling it forward.

Ruuumble. The clouds rumbled.

Boom!

It went just as I expected.

I’d thrown the dagger at the highest point I could in the building debris, and sure enough, it was struck by lightning shortly after.

The electricity that spread through the ground tingled, but it was bearable.

I kept an eye out for where I could lodge a dagger next, all the while dodging the trembling earth and the lava giant’s fists.

Splash!

Then, water suddenly began to flood the waterways. Where lava met the water, steam erupted before the molten rock solidified.

Considering my many experiences of stepping on lava inside the waterway and almost sinking into it, this certainly wasn’t a bad thing.

If there wasn’t enough water to fully cover the lava, it was better to at least solidify it so it wouldn’t fall into the waterway.

Moreover, this would reduce the radius of the lava spreading through the waterways. The lava that came into contact with the water would naturally harden into walls.

Thinking about it, this was undoubtedly the better outcome.

I didn’t question why water was suddenly flooding the area. My boots scraped across the stone floor, and before long, I launched myself into the air again.

Bam!

A couple of volcanic bombs struck the spot where I had just been.

> [The way you’ve been dodging so much is kind of cute. Like a guinea pig. Oh, do you know what a guinea pig is? They’re little rodents about this big…]

Guinea pigs aren’t rodents, you ignorant Demon bastard. They’re part of the Caviidae family, so calling them rodents was dead wrong.

I held my breath, remembering a friend of mine who used to keep guinea pigs.

If that guy had heard any of this, he probably would’ve snapped at me, told me not to drag him into my idiotic nonsense, and then said I should shut up. What a pity.

Bam!

Meanwhile, I plowed through the lava field, delivering blows to some lava Mobs.

I wanted to dropkick them, but I wasn’t confident in my ability to land safely after—especially with the ground covered in lava—so I gave up on that idea.

Instead, I stomped heavily on the fallen minions that had taken my flying kicks directly. Boom! Then, the volcanic bombs and rock spears buried in the ground behind me exploded, splattering lava everywhere.

Lava that had narrowly turned into spikes midair aimed at me.

Gwuaaah!

That wasn’t all. The lava giant, after continuously swinging its fists at me to no avail, seemingly gave up on that and switched tactics to spewing stuff at me.

Uwark! Lava poured down like rain, targeting my upper body, which I couldn’t fully shield.

> [If you give up now, I could spare your life and even keep you as my pet, Gretchen!]

“Shut up.”

However, I’d already endured far too many hellish moments to give in to something like that. Just today, the lightning strike had been worse than any of this, which really said it all.

I leaped forward and narrowly dodged the downpour of lava. A few drops I couldn’t avoid burned through my clothes, leaving deep burns on my shoulders, but I could endure this much. Compared to getting struck by lightning, this was nothing.

> [Haha, yeah. Honestly, I didn’t actually expect you to take that offer.]

At that point, the Demon standing in the middle of the lava finally moved.

Was it coming at me directly now? At the glimmer of hope that this thing might stop these infuriating ranged attacks, I became almost giddy with anticipation.

> [Are you anticipating something? Shouldn’t you suspect the opposite?]

Instead of the Demon, a volcanic bomb came flying toward me.

Damn it…

Boom!

Even more annoying was that this wasn’t just any old volcanic bomb.

I watched as that massive thing rolled toward me, spikes sticking out of it from all sides—was this supposed to be a spiked wrecking ball?---before licking my lips.

If this were a game with profanity filters, the string of curses dancing through my mind would’ve surely been replaced with a whole ton of ♡♡. It almost made me laugh at my previous resolve to cut down on the swearing.

Honestly, though, even Buddha would admit it was justified this time, right?

Due to the nature of this field, I had to constantly expend Arcane Power to move, so I couldn’t use Arcane Power-intensive attacks recklessly, and my enemy’s attacks came without a single pause, leaving no room for me to deal any real damage! The boss also kept far away, so even when there was an opportunity, I’d blow it!!

Wouldn’t even Buddha lose his temper at this point!!

Spit!

The lava giant was spitting out lava now, and even those Trash Mobs were doing the same.

Since I was on lava, I couldn’t even roll out of the way, so I twisted my whole body to evade their attacks somehow. When things got really bad, I’d briefly summon my Zweihänder from my Inventory to shield myself.

Ruuuumble!

> [To think the moment would come when I’d overwhelm you. Life sure is full of surprises, don’t you think?]

‘Shove it, you brainless bastard!’

“…!”

After nearly getting struck by lightning once, I couldn’t bring myself to take it out again.

Whack!

Then, while I was frantically dodging the lightning, I learned something new.

The lava Mobs exploded when struck by lightning. Being made of hot molten liquid, they didn’t melt further or crack but exploded, overloaded with energy.

> [Don’t get distracted now!]

Then, would this also work on the lava giant? Could I make that damn giant explode?

Ruuuumble!

Just then, the clouds roared.

In about three seconds, lightning would strike.

“Hmph!”

I glanced at the Demon’s hands, its attacks having become a predictable pattern, and adjusted my responses accordingly. The handful of pearls it was clutching tightly seemed incredibly infuriating to me.

Bang!

Anyway, wondering if it was possibly too short, I threw a dagger, making sure it embedded itself upright in the lava giant’s forearm.

In the next instant, lightning struck the giant’s arm. With the dagger acting as a lightning rod, the resulting surge of electricity spread through the lava, causing the arm to explode violently.

> […!]

“…!”

The giant’s hand and forearm were wholly severed.

I couldn’t believe this actually worked, but it did.

> [Hah. You actually did it like that?]

Alright. From now on, that giant was officially my new lighting rod.

Taking advantage of the opening caused by the giant losing its arm, I shot forward. Dodging the spiked balls and deflecting the volcanic bombs, I closed the distance between me and the Demon.

Considering I couldn’t hear any more rumbling from the clouds, I dared to pull out my Zweihänder temporarily and gripped it tightly in both hands, gathering all the strength I had.

“…!”

You damn Demon, I’m coming for you.

Carefully conserving my Arcane Power, I enveloped my blade in a thin layer of energy. Since I rarely got the chance to close in properly, I had to take this opportunity to deal as much damage as I could.

> [I’ll give you credit for this, Gretchen—!]

Suddenly, a sound like tearful laughter echoed through the air.

> [But didn’t you see this coming?!]

‘No! If you get closer—!’

Although that laughter set off serious alarm bells, I quickly closed the remaining distance. The next thing I saw was an illusion of that Demon grinning despite not even having a proper face.

Splash! The Demon submerged into the lava, dodging my sword. Seriously? Well, it was only natural it’d run away, but still.

‘That bastard’s coming from behind!’

Ssshk!

Was my enemy considerate enough to give me even the slightest break? Yeah, no.

The unnatural sound of lava splattering alerted me. It came from right behind me, close to my feet.

Craaaack!

I twisted around as fast as I could, swinging my Zweihänder near the ground as if trying to cut through it.

Clang!

The Demon’s hand, which had been aiming to slice through my calf, was blocked by my blade. Of course, since this bastard had six arms—damn it—I immediately backstepped.

It seemed my instincts were spot on, as another of the Demon’s hands tore through the space I’d just been.

> [Hohohohahahaha!]

As the Demon melted back into the lava, unsettling laughter rang through the air.

* * *

WE TRIED TLS

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* * *

Leaping backward, I landed on the debris of a collapsed building, sharpening my senses to the max.

‘Damn merchant bastard. If only I could intervene directly…!’

Damn it. Beneath my supposed focus, an uncontrollable tide of frustration seethed within me.

> [But… but Gretchen. It seems after preparing a lot, I really am stronger than you, who’s without your flames.]

What the fuck? How could there be such an unreasonable fight?

Was that what they called a Raid?

> [Ahahahahahaha!]

This, this was just—

Rumble.

The giant was now too far away for me to throw a dagger at it. I threw the Zweihänder as far away as I could when I heard the dark clouds above rumble again.

I was just in time, as lightning struck the ground. Boom! The Zweihänder, struck by said lightning, started to fall.

“Damn it…!”

At that moment, the ground I was standing on began to rumble, preparing to erupt lava. I spotted the Demon’s figure in the distance and clenched my fists as I saw a spiked ball rolling toward me.

Boom!

Just before lava erupted beneath me, I launched myself into the air.

The still red-hot Zweihänder also landed in my hand before it could plunge into the lava. The leather of my gloves, warped by the heat, clung to my hands.

> [Oh, I really love that angry face of yours. If you were Wrath, I wouldn’t have been able to witness such an expression.]

I twisted my body midair, cutting down a Trash Mob with the Zweihänder in my hand, and sprinted past the lava-spewing, one-armed giant.

Bam!

A spiked ball was blocking my path once again, but this time, I was holding a sword. I reluctantly channeled Arcane Power around the Zweihänder, cleaving the ball in two before moving on.

The lava that had spread over the battlefield began to glow in circular patterns, with spikes erupting from these areas immediately afterward. Above them, lightning raged loudly and struck randomly.

> [But playtime’s now over.]

Could I avoid something like that?

The answer was “no.”

> [No merchant would ever let an opportunity like this slip through their fingers.]

‘Damn it, dodge—!’

Reacting to something traveling at the speed of light was realistically impossible. There was no way for me to outrun something moving that fast, especially since I didn’t even know where it would strike.

Until now, I’d only been able to avoid the bolts by luring them to specific places or relying on sheer luck while running. With lighting crashing everywhere at once like it was now, even that wasn’t an option anymore.

Craaaaash!

“Urgh!”

‘Shit!’

So, in the end, I got struck by lightning, and to make matters worse, the newly spawned Mobs managed to land a blow on me, too.

My body, unable to react while still numb from the shock, was flung backward and landed on its side.

Even as I fell, lightning struck me twice more. My vision flashed alternatingly black, white, and red.

This was just absurd.

A hollow laugh escaped me as a sense of injustice over this whole situation reared its head.

Thud!

What was even more laughable was that my landing luck was also truly abysmal. My shoulder was impaled by the debris of a collapsed building, with blood spurting everywhere alongside a stinging sensation.

“Guh.”

Something flowed out of my mouth and nose. The flames dancing in every direction confirmed that it was blood.

My entire body felt so unbearably hot and searing.

“…”

Seriously, I couldn’t help but let out another hollow laugh.

> [Let me ask you something, do you think you’re going to die?]

…What was even the point of this fight? If this was how it was going to end, then what was the purpose of everything I had done so far? Running myself ragged and pushing beyond my limits?

Just landing a single attack had been such a struggle. And to gain all that ground, only to be struck down by some goddamn random attack, made it all feel completely meaningless…

“Cough.”

I didn’t bother trying to hold back the blood welling up in my throat. My vision blurred before clearing again, the world appearing strangely narrow.

It felt like my field of view had been reduced by a third.

> [If you feel like you’re dying, let me know. I’ll preserve what’s still left.]

Hmm, ah. One of my eyes must’ve been cooked, huh?

Thinking I’d now even had the honor of experiencing the sensation of having my eyeball boiled, I braced myself and pushed whatever strength I had left into my legs and shoulders.

If you were to ask why I was still moving even though it was so painful, well.

I felt it was already too late to come up with one. At this point, fighting that Demon was no longer a matter of resolve or determination, but more like inertia.

A force that compelled me to take another step toward the illusion of an ending.

Shhk.

So, in this situation that left me feeling so helpless I could only let out a bitter laugh, I forced myself to stand. As I freed my impaled shoulder from that jagged piece of wood, the wound started to bleed profusely.

> [And yet, that you still have the strength to stand is rather impressive.]

Screeeew this shit. I was going to end whoever designed this damn Raid on a Great Demon to be cleared on a first attempt. And the developers who chucked me into an untested Raid without any guide deserved gruesome deaths as well.

After covering up my frustration with shallow jokes, I took out a dagger to stop the bleeding.

I dipped it briefly into the lava until it glowed red-hot, then pressed it directly against my wound.

Hissss.

Cauterizing a wound with heat. A treatment to stop bleeding passed down from ancient times. Or at least, that’s what I told myself.

> [You… Aren’t you a mortal? Can a mortal even have such a tenacious life force?]

Even though my pain level was lowered, this didn’t feel any less miserable.

I exhaled a heated breath, that messed-up feeling only fueling me with a new wave of irritation. My body wavered slightly, unsteady from the cumulative damage I’d taken, even though I couldn’t feel any pain from it.

> [Well… I suppose it’d take someone like that to suppress that Wrath in the first place.]

But I couldn’t stop. I absolutely couldn’t stop.

‘If you feel wronged, get angry.’

As I said earlier, I’d come too far to stop now.

‘If you do, I’ll kill that bastard for you.’

Screeeech.

I could hear the screech of metal echo from somewhere. My hand clenched into a fist.

Boom, bang. The fierce sounds of fighting reached me from the distant walls.

‘I’ll rip that bastard apart somehow…!’

That was yet another reason why I couldn’t stop.

‘Damn it, just get angry already! Stop clinging to control!!’

My body, which felt like it’d been thoroughly grilled by those two consecutive lighting strikes, managed to stand up completely.

“I’ll kill you.”

Where was my Zweihänder again? Oh, right, I stashed it. Right, it was still in my Inventory.

“Demon.”

My legs moved forward, a step at a time.

> [As if I would just sit back and let that happen.]

‘Damn it!’

Boom!

Suddenly, an enormous pressure bore down on my whole body. I couldn’t tell what had just attacked me.

It could’ve been lightning, or maybe it was something else.

I couldn’t even scream, and my thoughts fractured, repeatedly cracking before reforming again. It felt like I was skipping through time.

Even the pain felt distant and unreal to me. The world was completely white.

“…!”

> [—But, the entrance to the pantheon is complete.]

Thud. A few seconds passed. Or maybe a few minutes. My scattered mind slowly groped its way back to reality. Over my numbed senses, I could faintly feel something pressing down on my body.

My blurred vision came into focus just then, and I saw what was crushing me.

> [Not even the Hero can stop me now.]

A massive stone hand was pinning me down.

…Hah.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

> [Let’s go, Demons.]

This fight was never meant to be won.

It had been unwinnable from the start.

> [From today, the East will fall into utter ruin!]

I stared blankly at what lay behind the faceless Demon. A black temple proudly revealed itself, and an unending swarm of Demons poured out from its depths.

It seemed this was what the Demon had been preparing. Something similar to a near-limitless summoning array. If I’d known, I would’ve tried harder to destroy that ritual altar, even if it meant sacrificing my body.

‘Damn it. Hey, what are you waiting for?!’

…No, even if I’d known, would I have been able to stop it? Recalling all my failed attempts that only ended in futility, I closed my brittle eyelids.

‘That thing doesn’t even know the mechanism behind all this, but you do, don’t you?!’

Of course not. Even if I’d known, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it.

The fact that I couldn’t even put any strength into any of my limbs cemented that certainty.

No matter how much I wanted to stop it, I couldn’t.

> [This city will be the first to fall. Kill every mortal in it.]

Yeah, I couldn’t stop it.

Because I was weak,

Because it was too strong.

Because this fight was so absurdly unbalanced that I couldn’t win no matter what.

‘We’re all going to die at this rate! Not just you or me, but everyone in this entire area!’

Damn it, was this even a game? This damn thing…

The bitterness over my lack of strength. The frustration over the injustice and absurdity of this situation. All of that welled up within me.

Why the hell was I the only one who had to go through this shit? The sharp, burning resentment coursed over and dripped down my melted, distorted skin. Why did I have to fight a battle this unreasonable? The emotion that had finally taken shape seeped past the corners of my sunken eyes, brushed past my ears, and down the back of my head.

In this body that wouldn’t listen to me, it was the only organ still reflecting my will.

‘Does none of this matter to you?!’

Even that seemed to be slowly slipping out of my control. It felt like all my limbs were vanishing. Even moving my head became almost impossible. My head was pure white and disoriented as if I hadn’t slept for two or three days.

My thoughts weren’t thoughts anymore. My reason wasn’t reason anymore. Everything was hazy. I wanted to sleep.

‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’’

…If I just slept now, everything would be so much better.

‘Damn it. Get up, get up already!’

…If I just died like this, I wouldn’t have to deal with anything anymore.

‘Get up!!’

…Ah.

> [Erm, Pantheon Lord. What should we do about that one?]

> [Just get ready to fight. Wrath will awaken soon.]

The voice of the city’s lord echoed in my mind as I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids. 『The lives of those evacuating depend on you.』 I still had something left to do.

> [Understood.]

So, I squeezed out every last bit of my strength. The massive stone hand that had been crushing me was getting pushed aside. The sky seemed to open up.

Swish.

A flare appeared in my empty hand.

> [Huh?]

Clack.

I awkwardly forced my arm to move, causing the bottom of the flare to hit the ground. As the trigger activated, the flare flew up into the sky.

Fwooooooosh!!

> [Uwaaah! My lord, that guy’s still moving!]

> [What? Not yet?]

A thought briefly crossed my mind. Was there even anyone left with the strength to come here? Would those of the Hero’s party, even if they had enough strength left, even manage to come here?

But… even if no one came, it didn’t matter.

Even if they couldn’t help me… at the very least, the flare would alert them to the danger here.

Boom!

A light burst in the sky.

That was the last thing I saw.

「…You’ve worked hard. Now… you can rest.」

With that gentle reassurance, my vision faded into darkness.

Crash. The faint sound of something shattering faintly reached my ears.

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