Peridot
Transformed into a reeking giant of dark sludge with bones and eyes jutting out from its mass the necromancer lashed out at Anelise and me with punches and kicks; his attacks shattered the floor and whipped up mini-gales. It was painfully obvious that even a glancing blow could spell our doom.
This is just like fighting a mecha! I thought. Except this time, I don't have her on my side...
"Urgh!" I grunted, slamming my mace against the giant's leg.
"Mu-ha-ha-ha!" the dungeon's final boss roared with laughter. "Pathetic!" he mocked, shoving me away with that same leg.
I skidded across the floor, nearly tumbling out of the arena and into the ring of water, where countless skeletal hands clawed the air in my direction.
"Norma!" I shouted to my party member when I saw the boss raising a foot over her, poised to crush her.
Shit, I won't make it in time!
"BOOM!" Suddenly, a fireball and yellow lightning bolts exploded against the monster's side.
"Anelise to the rescue! Hahaha!" the engineer laughed, pulling vials from her bag and hurling them at the monster in rapid succession.
"Raargh! Liquid Inspiration?!" the boss exclaimed in surprise, still burning. "Die!" He then charged straight at the [Mechanic].
"As if I would allow that!" I said, dashing towards the giant of black slime and yellowish bones.
Knowing full well that my attacks had no effect on the enemy, I grabbed one of the syringes thrown by Anelise before it hit the monster, and pressing the plunger, I covered my mace with the yellow liquid in which galaxy-like sparkles floated.
"Guaaargh?!" The slime giant staggered when I hit its knee with my weapon covered in "liquid inspiration blood".
The damage I inflicted was much less than what Anelise caused due to the smaller amount of liquid I used, but the impact was real. And that wasn't even the most important part.
"You runaway rat!" The boss kicked the air. "You quick cockroach!" He punched the ground.
Most importantly: no longer worrying that Anelise would actually try to kill Norma and me, and knowing full well that all I needed was to buy time until the yellow flames consumed the enemy entirely, I could work unimpeded.
Popliteal region, in order to position him, I thought, attacking the back of the boss's knee, making him bend over. Kidneys, to keep him still, I unconsciously followed the old line of reasoning while climbing the monster and running over its back; I stuck my mace into its slimy flesh. And finally the carotid artery for a perfect and silent finish! I pirouetted over the monster's head, and threw one of its own bones against its neck.
"D-Damn it, who are you?!" The boss grumbled, recovering and retreating.
Recovering?! Damn it, the bone! I acted on impulse and forgot that only the weapon covered in liquid inspiration could hurt it! I censored myself.
Even so, the thick layer of black goo that formed the giant monster dripped to the ground, and like a disgusting popsicle on a summer day, it revealed the fragile necromancer inside.
"A person..." immediately, with that target in front of me, I felt my pupils dilating and adrenaline flooding my veins.
[Warning! Your stress level is too high. Unless your heart rate and hormones return to an acceptable level within one minute, you will be automatically disconnected from the game.]
I ignored the announcement and fired at the weakened form of the last boss of that dungeon; as long as it had human form, I could kill it, even if I had to spend the next six hours attacking non-stop.
"Legiano, Norma!" Anelise's voice pulled me out of my trance, and I noticed that skeletons had emerged from the ring of water around the ring and were advancing towards my party colleague.
"Damn it...!" Halfway there, I changed course and confronted the skeletons surrounding the [Nun].
Out of the corner of my eye, however, I saw the necromancer lowering a stone bridge and fleeing into a room opposite the entrance.
"I'll take care of him!" Anelise shouted, leaping into the next room just before it was sealed once more.
Game Over ☠
Jade
"W-What...?" The terrified necromancer backed into the corner of the room, beneath the tip of a telescope covered in strange symbols. "I-Is that...?"
"Lumemraptor, the Telescope That Saw a God. The holiest relic of the Cathedral of Metal of Meicaminho Metal. It cost me a fortune to get a local gang to steal this, and all that liquid inspiration I used earlier, and mind you, they owed me a favor after I killed one of their rivals," I explained; the moment it touched the telescope, the necromancer's beard spontaneously burst into flames. "One touch of this thing, and you won't just die; a priest like you will have his very soul consumed by rival gods."
"P-Please... I'll do anything!" The necromancer fell to his knees, begging. "My treasures, my knowledge, I'll give you everything! I-I can name every single extremist from the Cult of Dead Gods on this side of Vanguard! So please, spare me!"
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue, veins throbbing with anger in my forehead. "Your treasure? That crap over there? What do you have, five hundred gold coins, tops?"
"T-Three hundred..."
"I spent two thousand gold coins hiring the region's biggest bandit guilds to steal the gear I used against you! That barely covers the liquid inspiration, let alone this relic here!"
"T-Two thousand...?! But why?"
Slowly, I lowered the telescope.
"Well, isn't it obvious? You have to spend money to make money," I told the utterly bewildered necromancer. Then, I tossed him a disguise magazine, a bag of coins, and a book I'd written myself. "You're a skilled necromancer..."
"Veiga."
"Veiga! Your talents are being wasted in this forgotten graveyard on the outskirts of some random town. What I want is for you to do us a small favor. One that will benefit both of us, greatly, in the end."
▲○X■
"Such madness... such cruelty... Fit for a Grand Pope of Savagery!" Armadeiro remarked, trembling as he perched on my shoulders.
We watched the necromancer, then in disguise and equipped with my gifts, fleeing through a secret passage after giving me a determined nod.
[Congratulations! Your relationship level with Veiga has increased to: Companion!]
[Congratulations! Your relationship level with Armadeiro has increased to: Follower!]
"Right, just one more thing to do here now" I stretched, bracing myself for what was coming next.
"One more thing? Guihihi, of course you have one more thing to do! Your plans are infinitely cruel and intricate!" The imp praised, ducking back into my bag.
Then, like a theater curtain revealing the beautiful leading lady, a stone bridge began to lower, and skeletons waited patiently for the bomb I'd tossed at their feet to go off: "BOOM!"
I flew back into the arena, covered in soot and glowing red wounds.
"Anelise!" My brother caught me before I hit the ground.
"I-I'm sorry. He got away..."
"No need to apologize" Juliano said after a long sigh. "We only won because of you in the first place."
"Haha... Sorry, but could you check the loot in that room? My [HP] is really low, and I'm afraid I might die from a trap right now."
"Of course. Here, take this potion and rest" Legiano handed me a healing consumable and headed toward the room I'd been thrown from.
I drank the potion, and as my brother disappeared amidst the piles of treasure, I stood up and walked toward the little nun who was staring at me hesitantly.
"Relax, relax. I won't tell anyone about your cheating; that would be way too much work, after all!"
"W-What are you-?"
"Oh, please, spare me. I don't know if you gave yourself the most broken weapon in the game or just artificially maxed out your relationship level with that thing, but it's obvious: someone who doesn't know what a dungeon is, or how info on them is traded, and especially someone who hasn't exchanged a single word with the saint she's been lugging around, couldn't have gotten any of that naturally. Let alone in just a few days of gameplay." I laid it all out. And judging by the way the [Nun] went pale and squinted one eye, I'd hit the nail on the head. "And precisely because I'm being so nice to you, you're going to be nice to me, right?" I said, smiling.
"...What do you want?"
"Simple: I just want you to stay far away from me and Legiano."
"Ha! I get it. That's why you didn't kill me, isn't it? Because he was suspicious of you from the start, and you wanted to win his trust." She sheathed her weapon and adjusted her beautiful blonde hair before continuing: "Fine by me. The only reason I followed that guy in the first place was to have a convincing backstory for how I boosted my affinity level with this thing here, and maybe to snag a certain woman's treasure... Speaking of her, you two have the same disgusting smile, you know?"
So, she'll do as I say, but if I push too far, she'll fight back, huh? Hmph, she's exactly the type of person my mother loves to crush.
"The room is clear!" Legiano appeared. "Come on, let's split the loot."
"Shall we?" I invited Norma, smiling.
"Of course," she replied, smiling as she joined me.
A few minutes later, we left the dungeon with 100 gold coins each, as well as pieces of equipment and consumables superior to what we had been carrying. Upon reaching the dungeon exit, we also noticed that our names had been carved into it, as if by a knife, marking us as the first people to reach the end of that place.