Chapter 816

Chapter 816

816: Diva

We were up against red horned knights and black antidemons, probably the enemy's main army. The red horned knights were equivalent to Threat Level C, while the black antidemons had a threat level on the lower side of D.
That said, there were thousands of them.
This army alone was enough to destroy a small country.
And as it turns out, the antidemons had another ace up their sleeve.
「Grrrrl……!」
「Grraaaaagh!」
With a roar that seemed to echo from the depths of the earth, a completely red, dragon-like antidemon emerged to block our path.
This was an antidemon taking the shape of a beast, meaning it was probably an advanced version of the beast-type.
The form resembled that of a wingless earth dragon, but its body was thinner and more supple. Probably what you would get if you took an earth dragon and put some cat-like features on it.
Unusually for an antidemon, I was able to read its emotions. It was clearly furious.
Maybe it just trying to mimic emotions in order to imitate a dragon better?
Either way, it was a very imposing figure.
At about three meters in length, it was not among the larger beasts of this world. Yet its body radiated an aura that could be mistaken for a real dragon.
There were very few beast-types in the horde, and even fewer of them were among the lesser antidemons in the early stages of the battle.
That was probably because it was difficult for beast-types to coordinate with humanoid antidemons in such a dense formation.
Apparently this was fairly common. Beast-types generally appeared in groups with other beast-types, or only in small mixed groups.
The surrounding antidemons retreated slightly, keeping their distance from the red dragon, as they slowly spread around us.
I bet the other antidemons intended to strike our rear while the red dragon dealt with Fran and the other members in the front.
This movement meant they were deliberately abandoning their advantage in numbers. If they went to such lengths, then that must mean…
「Graaaagh!」
「It's even faster than the red horned knights!」
It must mean that this red dragon was the antidemon horde's strongest trump card.
And a total of five of these red dragons blocked Fran's path forward.
One of the dragons vanished for a moment as it leapt at Fran from the side. Fran struck back to parry the blow, but it did not deal any real damage.
Fran had swung me at full force, but the dragon managed to take the blow with its fangs. It looked as if Fran knocked away the dragon, but in reality it had simply leapt away on its own.
Upon closer inspection, each of the dragons had slightly different features, so perhaps there were differences in their abilities as well. There was even the possibility that they had completely different fighting styles. Despite looking similar to each other, each of the dragons was clearly a Unique.
「Fran, leave one of them to me!」
「On my pride as a dragonkin, I won't let a fake get the better of me!」
「Just the thought of a bear like me slaying a dragon is getting me pumped!」
「I will prove here and now that we knights are capable of offense as well as defense!」
The remaining four dragons were taken by the representatives of each division: Hilt, Chelsea, Diggins, and Yagilale. Considering their strength, I feel like we could send in the vice-commander of the dragonkin or Colbert too, but……
The remaining members of our unit backed down to take care of the other antidemons. Each of those four is putting their pride on the line here, so they earned their right to challenge.
Though the others were focused on dealing with the antidemons approaching from the flanks, those enemies were no slouches either.
After all, they consisted of the red horned knights and black antidemons that had just been engaged in a fierce battle with Fran a few moments ago.
「We'll take care of this ourselves so Fran and the others can focus on the red dragons!」
「You can count on us!」
Colbert shouted, and Kozon gave a confident reply. He knew that showing any weakness in this situation would affect the mentality of his comrades.
「Everyone, I'm going to use my full power. That will leave me unable to move for a while, so I will be counting on the rest of you.」
「You should stay next to me. I'm going to sing a little seriously too, so I can't move either.」
「Woof!」
「Mr. Wolf, please take good care of us.」
We'll have to leave the defense over there to Urushi and Sophie's escorts. Wait, so you're telling me both Sophie and Tzaluta weren't serious up until now?
That means they're going to show me something even more impressive? I'm a little scared of what might happen.
Just as I was thinking that, Sophie started another performance.
「Magic Concert - Funeral for the Lost Heroes.」
Sophie's voice filled the battlefield.
It was more tragic and lyrical than before. I felt a tightening in my chest just hearing the first verse.
Feelings of nostalgia. Thoughts of departed friends. An indescribable feeling of desolation, similar to loneliness. If someone heard this while drinking, they would probably be crying their hearts out.
As the name of the song suggested, it was a poem for a funeral. This time, it felt as if the spirits of past heroes came to lend the hundred man squad their aid.
The effect was astonishing. I thought her last song was amazing too, but this even exceeded that.
Gradually, the bitterness that had been constricting my chest disappeared, and I started to feel a sense of relief and confidence. That's right, this song even had an effect on me.
「My wounds… They're closing……!」
『Not only that. My mana's slowly recovering too.』
《Detected increase to stats, increase to recovery, enhancement to the usage of skills, improvement to morale.》
She had given everyone increased stats and regeneration to both health and mana. It also made it easier to activate skills and magic, as well as applying mental boost, making it easier to concentrate on the battle.
All of this was in addition to the enhancements she had given us earlier.
《However, there is a 98% chance of recoil appearing after the battle is over.》
『Recoil? Are we gonna be okay?』
《I believe there is no danger to life.》
Then it can't be helped. It would be ridiculous not to have some downsides after such an amazing effect.
「Haaaaaaah!」
「Gyaaalohh!」
Woops, we should be focusing on the battle at hand rather than the aftermath.
「You're going down now!」
『Yeah, wipe the floor with him!』
This must be the effect of Sophie's song too. No matter how strong our opponents were, I didn't feel like we could lose.