The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 83



The Subjugation of the Puppet Master (1)

[QUEST!]

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You have finally entered the castle of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Puppet Master.

This means that soon, you will be subjugating the Puppet Master.

To support your future, I will prepare a small gift once again.

The end of the second chapter is approaching.

May fortune accompany you on your path.

Quest Reward: Puppet (傀儡)

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‘I was wondering when it would pop up.’

As soon as I entered the mansion of the Puppet Master, a notification appeared.

A subjugation-related quest similar to when I caught the Crown King. The quest had also appeared when I entered the Crown Fortress back then.

I was worried about why the quest hadn’t appeared, but it seemed that entering the castle of the Four Heavenly Kings was the condition to fulfill it.

The reward was the same as last time: one of the powers of the Four Heavenly Kings. Given the high difficulty, the reward was also quite exceptional.

Thanks to that, I had one more reason to take him down.

“…It’s quite quiet.”

I was worried about the mansion being filled with monsters, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Since they would just be obstacles anyway, it seemed they had left it empty.

Still, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I decided to thoroughly search the mansion.

“Nothing is visible.”

“The puppet master isn’t visible either.”

“Could it be that he went somewhere?”

“I don’t think so, so don’t worry. I can sense a presence deeper inside.”

Fortunately, nothing came out. Relieved, we ventured further in to meet him.

After passing through a long corridor, we saw an unusually large main door. It was the boss room.

Surely, the puppet master must be inside. After taking a deep breath, we entered without hesitation.

“…So you finally came.”

He was slumped on a large sofa.

A luxurious chandelier hung from the ceiling. Various antique furniture pieces were scattered around the walls.

The room he occupied felt more extravagant and high-end than gloomy. It was a reflection of his usual disposition.

Yet, the puppet master sitting in the center wore a remarkably weary expression.

“Do you know how hard I’ve struggled these past few months?”

I immediately looked at his chest. Though obscured by clothing, I could see the outline of what seemed to be bandages.

Good, he’s not fully healed yet. With that confirmation, I no longer hesitated.

“Ulysses, I ask for your blessing.”

Receiving the saint’s blessing, I charged straight at him. From here on, it was the beginning of a tedious battle.

How does one strategize against the puppet master?

The best method is to trap him with area attacks and continuously bombard him with them.

He may have high evasion, but his defense and regeneration are low, making him particularly vulnerable to such assaults.

If I use an unavoidable attack, he won’t have any means to counter it.

Whenever I took the wizard route, I would invariably take him down with area attacks.

But now, that method was challenging.

Lily had area attacks, but aside from her, most of us were close-combat fighters.

I only had one area skill, ‘Blood Exchange.’ While it could deal damage, I needed a broader range of skills to capture him.

For that reason, I had to pass on that method.

Another option was a war of attrition.

Constantly pressuring him while gradually whittling down his stamina.

Once his stamina dropped to the point where he couldn’t move, he wouldn’t be able to evade even if he read my attacks.

The problem was that we had to endure his attacks until his stamina fell, but for now, this was the only method we had.

“You’re still as hot-headed as ever.”

In that sense, the creature’s injury was quite good news.

Naturally, the extent of the injury would lead to a significant depletion of its stamina. So, let’s proceed steadily. Unlike during the battle with the King of the North, this time, time is on our side.

“Don’t give it a moment’s rest!”

With that, we continued our assault. Leading the charge were three frontline fighters blessed by Ulysses, driving the creature back.

Lily also continuously unleashed light magic instead of her more powerful spells.

Of course, the creature wasn’t just sitting idle.

Crackle!

“Ugh!”

In the midst of the chaos, it fired lightning to paralyze one of our party members.

Roar!

“Damn it, here we go again…”

“Ulysses, cleanse us!”

It even brainwashed party members to attack one another.

At one point, when that tactic failed, it ordered self-harm. I felt a chill when Adele tried to stab her own neck. Such actions could easily render someone incapacitated in an instant, so we had to be especially cautious.

Still, the battle was progressing steadily.

Since this was the second time fighting, everyone seemed somewhat adapted. Thanks to that, even when unexpected situations arose, everyone was able to respond calmly.

“If lightning strikes like last time, let’s all gather in one spot. We’ll converge towards Ulysses.”

“I’ll set up the barrier.”

So far, so good. Ultimately, it’s the creature that will become impatient.

I thought that if things continued like this, we would be able to catch it smoothly.

And yet, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of unease with that thought.

‘What is this?’

Is it really going this smoothly?

Not just anyone, but me? That couldn’t be right.

This game was always one for surprises. An inexplicable sense of foreboding was caressing the back of my neck.

It was then.

A fierce magical energy writhed in the creature’s grasp. It looked like it was about to use magic again, similar to before, but this time the amount gathering was entirely different.

As if it wasn’t gathering from within, but rather, as if it had been stored in advance.

“!”

Feeling that, I immediately pulled Camilla’s nape back.

Camilla, who had been continuing her attack, was taken aback, but she couldn’t argue with me.

Kwahgahgah!!!

Before that, a tremendous sound enveloped the world.

A bolt of electricity surged from the hand of the puppet master.

Like a dragon ascending.

A lightning bolt defied reason and violently shot from the ground to the sky.

Thud—thud—

With a single attack from him, a large hole was pierced in the high ceiling. I was left speechless.

It was a type of magic I had encountered quite often. One of his highest-tier spells, Thunder Dragon (雷龍).

There shouldn’t have been enough time for him to gather mana or to cast it, so how did he use it?

“… A scroll.”

Lily, who was knowledgeable about magic, muttered.

Just as she said, a small piece of paper was hidden in the puppet master’s sleeve.

‘… Is that so.’

Scrolls are incredibly difficult to create, but they can store mana inside.

Activating a pre-prepared spell requires no lengthy casting time.

“Ah, how unfortunate. He was planning to use it to take one of us out…”

I roughly understood the situation.

His wounds were certainly not healed. But during the time we took to arrive here, he must have had ample time.

He was well-versed in lightning magic and knowledgeable about scroll creation.

While we were approaching, he had been diligently crafting scrolls. After all, even if he was injured, making a scroll was something he could easily manage.

Just like us, he had been given time to prepare.

So, how many scrolls does he have left?

Five? Ten?

The production period for a high-tier magic scroll takes at least a month, even at the shortest estimate. But that doesn’t mean we could disregard intermediate or lower-tier spells.

“Lily, do you have any idea how many scrolls he might have?”

“Well… it depends on the type of magic and the mana capacity, so I can’t really guess…”

Whatever it was, it was certain that things had become more troublesome.

Of course, that didn’t change what needed to be done. We would drain his stamina to the very end.

“I’ll handle most of the attacks. You all focus on offense. Make sure he can’t stay still.”

“That’s quite a good plan.”

—

I hope this captures the essence and atmosphere of the original text!

“··· There’s no other way.”

Still, it seemed that the ‘Brain Dragon’ had its own scheme in mind.

After all, it was the first time it had used the scroll it had been hiding until now. It must have been a significant move.

That level of attack was certainly threatening, but… it was still better for me to take the hit than another party member. At least I wouldn’t die instantly.

However, there was a major problem.

The direction of the battle, which had been leaning towards ‘smooth sailing’ until now, had tilted towards ‘struggle’ because of that one scroll.

The very difficulty of the battle had changed.

“Huh?”

I paused momentarily while trying to swing my sword. I felt a sense of discomfort in my body.

As I tried to move my right arm, my left leg moved unexpectedly.

My body had been ‘twisted’ by its ability. It was a unique way of using its power that could annoy me for a while without needing to completely immobilize me.

In that situation, it prepared a spell. The electric magic that was characteristic of it, as always.

Fortunately, I could block it with a ‘Mana Shield’ up to this point. The problem was that right after, a scroll magic came flying at me.

Crackle!

Damn it, I had forgotten about that way of using it.

A continuous attack using magic and scrolls. It was something I had primarily used in the game, but now that I was on the receiving end, it felt truly infuriating.

My muscles contracted, and my insides burned. The acrid smoke rising from my body was quite an unpleasant experience.

Still, I could endure it. It was bearable, to say the least.

I felt that even if I took a high-level spell like before, I wouldn’t be able to avoid being incapacitated for a while.

‘…But it’s still manageable.’

I felt a degree of certainty. That thing couldn’t kill me in one blow. Maybe if I took two or three high-level spells in succession, I would be in trouble.

The battle was still in its early stages. There were no visible injuries, and its stamina was still sufficient.

There was still a long way to go before seeing the end of this fight.