Dragon Zombie

「Tsumugi, why are you so sassy towards me?」

「Well, it’s probably because of the number of times Onii-chan missed on the way here.」

Ugh… It’s true, I did miss a lot while providing archery support, but…

My Mastery is still immature, so it can’t be helped.

Coming here has brought up the worries of a half-manufactured type.

But a Dragon Zombie, huh.

As expected, it’s a monster with a chuuni vibe.

Well, Tsumugi’s weapon is a scythe, so her equipment compatibility seems good.

「Now now, Kizuna-san and Sheryl-san, keep your distance and attack from afar since it’s dangerous up close.」

「…OK」

Sheryl has also switched to the bow and arrows she got from Romina.

You too, huh?

「No matter what, this is a boss that will take us some time. So please be careful. Getting hit carelessly is no joke.」

「G-Got it.」

Shouko holds her Sealing Stone Fan and steadies her breathing.

「Alright then… Let’s go.」

Saying that, she enters through the heavy door.

We emerge into what seems to be a rather large hall.

A place with the vastness of an underground arena.

And in the middle of that place… there’s something with insects swarming around it.

Shouko and Tsumugi stop us from going forward with outstretched arms and swiftly dash ahead.

Then, black smoke emerges from the thing the insects were swarming, the insects flutter away, and as the black smoke disperses, it coalesces into a black dragon’s corpse, which then rises up as a slimy black dragon’s corpse.

「GAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!」

The tremendous roar makes me instinctively cover my ears.

The force is incredible… If this were a consumer game, there would be an opening video.

The boss’s name is Dragon Zombie.

No matter how you look at it, it’s far superior to us.

That said, it seems to be an enemy that Shouko and Tsumugi were able to defeat together.

As for its size… it’s certainly large.

Its total length is at least 15 meters. A difficult size to miss with arrows.

I wonder if we’ll be okay? I think as I repeatedly snipe it from a distance with my bow.

I’m starting to see its attack patterns.

It raises its head high, then bites, slams down, and breathes.

When it spreads its wings wide, it flaps them and releases miasma.

If it swings its tail around a few times, then it slams and does a spinning attack… maybe?

It seems to even launch its breath attack towards us from a distance.

「Ha! Wild Dance Fourth Stance – White Feather Reversal!」

Shouko deftly takes a counter stance several times, and in that gap, Tsumugi swings her scythe repeatedly attacking.

It must be difficult to evade, huh.

It seems Tsumugi drinks recovery potions here and there to maintain her stamina.

「Onii-chan! Sheryl-san! There’s an opening in the barrage!」

「Aren’t they arrows, not bullets?」

While saying that, I repeatedly attack from the safe spot as instructed.

But as I keep doing it…

For some reason, I’m getting the same feeling as when Tsumugi and my older sister Kanade forced me to play monster hunting games with them.

This feeling… like I’m fighting with weak equipment against low-ranked enemies like Dos or Jis.

「Dance of Death!」

Tsumugi unleashes her signature battle skill that she also used against the waves.

With the skill activation, four consecutive slashes resound.

Large damage effects appeared all over the massive Dragon Zombie’s body.

「GAAOOOO!」

Ah, it seems the aggro was drawn towards Tsumugi, as the Dragon Zombie turns towards her.

Seizing that opportunity, it looks like Shouko is unleashing a skill this time.

「Round Dance Zero Stance – Snow Moon Flower!」

Snow appears around Shouko… a crescent moon background is projected, and cherry blossoms scatter.

What an extravagant effect! It’s really impressive combined with Shouko’s appearance and her dance-like fighting style!

An amazing ultimate move! It’s so flashy that I can’t help but honestly praise how cool it is!

Once again, damage effects repeatedly appear all over the Dragon Zombie’s body!

「Amazing! Shouko’s skill is so cool!」

「K-Kizuna-san, instead of admiring it, I’d appreciate it if you could provided more fire support.」

「Ah, you’re right!」

And so, Sheryl and I kept firing arrows repeatedly from the rear, but…

After about 10 minutes, I was targeted by the Dragon Zombie, so I evaded it and wait for the aggro to drop.

With the distance, Shouko and Tsumugi were able to pound it, and the aggro returned to them.

「Hey, you two… how long is this going to last?」

「Ehh…」

「Not even two-thirds of the way yet, Onii-chan. Once it’s halfway, it’ll change mode. The surroundings will glow bluish-white, and it’ll gain an earthquake attack. Thanks to Shouko, we can nullify it though.」

Ugh… it’s still going to continue, huh.

Come to think of it, the boss we encountered with Yamikage back then was also defeated by persistently attacking it.

Or rather, how tough is this thing?

I wonder if shooting flaming arrows would make it catch fire?

Thinking that, I reached for my quiver… but it was empty.

「Gah! I’m out of arrows!」

「Take some from Sheryl!」

But Sheryl is a bit far away… and looking at her quiver, she doesn’t have enough to spare me.

Damn… isn’t there a way for me to contribute more in combat?

Just providing archery support with arrows isn’t going to cut it.

Sure, combat experts like Shouko and Tsumugi can continue fighting without fail, but I have the constant fear of failing at any moment.

This dungeon was originally meant to be challenged by a much larger group.

The fact that Shouko and Tsumugi can persistently attack and eventually defeat it is impressive.

There’s no special gimmick like the ghost ship either.

Instantly finishing it off with an Energy Blade is an option, but…

Fighting with a bow and arrow isn’t bad, but at this rate, Sheryl will eventually run out of arrows too.

…Got it!

I take out my fishing rod, attach the Shining Lure, hook the snap, and fling the lure at the Dragon Zombie’s head.

「Onii-chan!?」

「Kizuna-san! What are you――」

Bashin, Nice effect!

The Dragon Zombie was knocked back.

「Huh? Ah… the rod Onii-chan is using is made from the same Giant Catfish material as Shouko’s weapon, right? And that’s the Shining Lure, isn’t it? It might deal good damage to the undead Dragon Zombie.」

Oh? A skill other than Hate & Lure appeared!

I’ll quickly acquire it!

I see… fishing gear can also be used as a weapon, huh.

Well, I already knew that to some extent from Hate & Lure, but still.

Throwing and hitting with the lure is a bit difficult, but the target is large, so I should manage!

「Lure Double Needle!」

Gatsun The attack hits the Dragon Zombie, but there’s no effect, and it gets stuck.

Isn’t this an attack skill?

「A-Anyway, I’ll attack!」

Shouko unleashes a skill towards the Dragon Zombie.

Then an even stronger effect than before occurs, and the lure’s needle comes loose.

It has a long cooldown.

「Could that be…」

「Ah, it might be a skill that doubles damage for one attack.」

Like increasing the damage dealt while the needle is stuck in.

From a distance, I repeatedly attack the Dragon Zombie by swinging my fishing rod.

But due to the bonuses from Fishing Mastery and the Shining Lure increasing my attack power, the hate is increasing, and I’m being targeted more frequently.

Shouko and Tsumugi seize that opportunity to shift from their slightly defensive fighting style to an aggressive offensive onslaught.

Come to think of it, this Shining Lure… is useful in various situations, huh.

It’s super effective against undead, huh? Well, of course, it is.

It’s a light attribute.

Eventually, the surroundings turn bluish-white, indicating a mode change.

The ground shakes with a ‘garagara’ sound, making it difficult to stand with each quake.

This is quite tough.

And to top it off, the Dragon Zombie flaps its wings and breathes poisonous miasma all around.

「Earthquake Sealing Blade!」

Shouko turns her fan into a sword and stabs it into the ground… and the quakes subside, making it easier to evade.

「Ground-based attacks have been nullified for a certain time! Now is our chance!」

The Dragon Zombie seems wide open after unleashing its ultimate move.

She’s telling us to attack now, huh.

Normally, the quakes would restrict our movement and shorten our attack window, but thanks to Shouko’s anti-quake equipment, we have some leeway.