Wrath Pengu

「Brave Peckle?」

As I pointed at Brave Peckle, Shouko looked towards Tsumugi.

Tsumugi had a silly grin on her face.

Sister, what have you done?

「PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE──」

Brave Peckle clawed at his own chest, let out a groan-like voice, emitted a black aura, and was enveloped in a shadowy sphere.

Then, when the black sphere burst, from within emerged a monster that was like a Karma Pengu… no, more like a dragon zombie with wings, unfurling multiple ominous shields, and wrapped in black flames.

Its name was… Wrath Pengu.

「GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

With a mighty roar, Wrath Pengu charged at us.

It was filled with hostility.

「Alto-san and Romina-san, fall back!」

Shouko stood in front, taking a stance against Wrath Pengu.

Wrath Pengu raised its shields.

Then, around Wrath Pengu, a… what is that?

A pitch-black, bird-like monster appeared, different from a Karma Pengu!

It was… like a chubby bird monster from an old game.

A Dark Filolial?

「Kyueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!」

The monster called Dark Filolial swiftly charged at Shouko.

In an instant, its body seemed to blur, and multiple attack effects occurred on Shouko.

「Ugh… s-so fast!」

As Shouko barely managed, Tsumugi swung her scythe at the Dark Filolial.

「Shouko-san!」

As if anticipating Tsumugi’s attack, Wrath Pengu stood in front to shield the Dark Filolial, blocking the attack.

A metallic clang resounded.

「Hard! It’s so hard that my blade can’t cut it!?」

Snapping back to my senses, I took out my bow and aimed at the monster called Dark Filolial.

「Stay calm and get in formation!」

「I-I know, but!」

「But I’m not good at fighting.」

Too busy to pay Alto any mind, I released an arrow right after the Dark Filolial.

Then, with Wrath Pengu at the center, black flames rose up, scorching the surroundings.

『Self Curse Burning』

The name of what seemed to be the boss’s skill appeared in my vision.

The area of effect was wide!

It hit Shouko and Tsumugi, who were at close range, scorching them with black flames.

「Kyaaaaaaaaa! It hurts. What is this!? It hurts so much!」

I suppose she means the damage hurts.

When you take an attack, there is a sensation of pain, but you don’t actually feel pain.

It’s like when you involuntarily say『Ouch』when taking a hit in a TV game.

Tsumugi is more of a sensory type, so she often reacts like that.

「Gh…」

Additionally, the Dark Filolial crossed its wings and instantly moved behind Shouko’s back.

Immediately after, there were eight impact sounds.

「Th-this is tough… isn’t it!」

Shouko fought back and struck the Dark Filolial with her fan.

「Round Dance Zero Stance – Snow Moon Flower!」

Shouko’s powerful skill caused petals to swirl.

But Wrath Pengu circled around to the Dark Filolial’s side and deployed a cage of shields to block it.

The monsters’ coordination was too troublesome!

「But I won’t miss this chance!」

Tsumugi used a healing item and began treating her wounds.

「Onii-chan! Everyone! Please support us!」

「Of course!」

「…Yeah.」

「Judging from the attack power, Sheryl-san should avoid getting close. Romina-san, I’ll also need your support.」

「Understood.」

Each of us began moving as instructed.

Since I wasn’t given any specific instructions, I continued providing support attacks with my bow.

「What should I do?」

「It would help if you could scatter some healing items around.」

「This is an emergency. I guess I have no choice.」

It seems Alto could contribute to the fight as well.

Having healing items conveniently placed around would certainly be useful.

「Shouko-san, since Wrath Pengu’s defense is too high, there might be some way to attack it. Let’s try attacking the Dark Filolial first.」

「Understood!」

Even amidst the conversation, the situation kept changing moment by moment.

Just as Shouko’s skill ended, the enemy’s shields also disappeared.

Sheryl, Romina, and I provided support fire with our bows.

Our target was the Dark Filolial.

However, Wrath Pengu blocked our arrows, preventing them from hitting the Dark Filolial.

「Damn it! Get out of the way!」

No matter how many arrows I fired, shields kept appearing from somewhere to block them.

Eventually, Wrath Pengu even caught an arrow and tossed it away.

Dark Filolial was incredibly agile, making it extremely difficult for Shouko and Tsumugi to land an attack.

「Ah, again!?」

And whenever Wrath Pengu circled around to shield the Dark Filolial from Shouko and Tsumugi’s attacks, it became even more troublesome.

Again, with a mysterious display, it used a skill called Dark Curse Burning, scorching us.

「Argh, I’m getting irritated! You’re in the way!」

Tsumugi showed her frustration, but I tried to think it through.

This is an enemy that employs strategic actions.

It’s a bit different from the straightforward attacking type we’ve seen so far.

It might be closer to a Soul Eater.

「Haaaaaaaaaaaaa! Round Dance Breaking Stance – Shell Splitter!」

Shouko created some distance and unleashed a ranged skill.

It caused Wrath Pengu to stagger.

Is it effective?

「I see…skills that ignore defense seem effective.」

「Eh? Are you going to use that? Doesn’t it have low power?」

Tsumugi also seemed to have an idea, looking at Wrath Pengu.

It must be a skill that requires a certain level of proficiency but is effective.

However, the cost of using that skill was something far more troublesome, which we were about to experience firsthand.

After taking the attack from Shouko, Wrath Pengu glared at her intently and raised its hand.

「Th-this is──」

Then, the cage of shields that had appeared to protect Shouko when she unleashed her powerful skill instantly enclosed her.

As Wrath Pengu took a stance like clenching its fist, the shields reversed direction, followed by a large damage display.

And then…

Words floated into our vision.

An elaborate display!

『The name of the punishment for the foolish sinners is a single strike that pierces their entire body in the embrace of the Iron Maiden. Even your screams shall be embraced, and you shall writhe in agony! Iron Maiden!』

Enemy cut-ins are so annoying!

Behind the cage of shields imprisoning Shouko, the Iron Maiden, a torture device known for being made of iron, appeared. Its doors opened like gates, ready to enclose the cage of shields.

「I won’t let you! I have this too!」

Tsumugi struck Wrath Pengu with some kind of skill using her scythe, but it didn’t budge.

No, it didn’t register any damage.

Is it temporarily invincible for a certain duration?

「Kueeeeeeee!」

「You’re really getting in the way!」

Dark Filolial attacked Tsumugi.

We tried hindering it by firing arrows from a distance, but couldn’t land a decisive blow.

Hm? The arrows were hitting the Iron Maiden?

I switched to a fishing rod, attached a snap, and swung a Shining Lure like a weight.

It made a nice sound, and I felt the impact of dealing damage… but then the Iron Maiden completely enveloped the shield cage containing Shouko.

With a loud shattering sound, the Iron Maiden broke apart.

「Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… ku…」

From within, Shouko somehow emerged, showing her fighting spirit, but it was clear she had taken significant damage.

「Are you okay!?」

「I can’t really say I’m okay. I took a lot of damage.」

「This is just too difficult to fight… with these annoyingly coordinated enemies, it’s like we’re doing PvP in a different game.」

「It looks like a tank and attacker coordination attack to me.」

Alto analyzed it like that.

Indeed, it feels like that.

The main attacker is the Dark Filolial, with Wrath Pengu as a tank.

Attacking the tank results in a retaliation skill that deals massive damage.

With this type of enemy, breaking their coordination by defeating them individually usually allows you to finish them off with momentum. However, since Wrath Pengu is the boss, the Dark Filolial is likely just a minion.

For now, I want to defeat the Dark Filolial, but Wrath Pengu is in the way.