I Became a Raid Boss

Joanie tensed her body and asked.

“Why is the Empire here?”

“What a foolish question.”

A knight stepped forward, pushing aside a man with a crooked smile.

“There is no place the black sun of the great Arka Empire cannot reach, not even the notorious Mad Continent.”

His armor, distinctly different from the other knights, and his intimidating tone indirectly indicated his rank. The fact that he stepped out alone among so many knights proved that he was anything but ordinary.

The commander of the knights opened his eyes slightly.

“I’ve heard that a criminal is here, but who are you?”

“…Criminal?”

“We are those who advocate for the criminal. Moreover, we are the blind who do not know the glory of the Empire.”

“Oh really?”

Upon hearing the man’s words, the commander shrugged in a somewhat exaggerated manner.

“How unfortunate. But the Empire is magnanimous. If you repent and reflect now, we might overlook such a minor mistake. I wouldn’t want to slay my comrade who has fought together.”

“…What the hell does that even mean? Comrade? I have never fought for the Empire.”

“I think he’s talking about the time you fought against Grasis. The Liberi mercenaries hired by the Empire also participated in that war.”

“Aha…”

Pine and Joanie whispered to each other. Even while talking, they were covertly glancing around, seemingly suppressed by the knights’ overwhelming presence.

The number of players here was much larger, but not all players gathered here were on Joanie’s side. Even if they had accepted Yuki’s proposal as the representative of the outlaws, it didn’t mean they would switch to their side.

Furthermore, even if they were on the same side, opposing the Empire was a different story.

Indeed, some were already sneaking away from the battlefield upon seeing the knights.

“What should we do?”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

Yuki grinned.

“Of course, we fight.”

“…Yuki, aren’t you one of the outlaws?”

“What does it matter when something interesting has come up? I was curious just how strong knights are, and this is perfect.”

“You crazy woman!”

Pine hurriedly stopped Yuki, who seemed ready to charge in.

“If you do that, we’re all dead…!”

“How about you experience the thrill of struggle this time?”

“No way, you crazy woman!”

She was definitely someone who was born in the wrong era. No, maybe it was the world itself that was wrong for her.

Pine thought, trying to restrain Yuki.

“Rationally thinking, retreating is the right move…”

“Eh, retreating?”

“…”

There was no chance of standing a chance here. The knights were elite soldiers trained professionally, while they were a ragtag group without even a proper commander.

He had no idea how powerful the knights were, but he didn’t think the Arka Empire’s knights would be weak.

Joanie chewed on her lip.

It was nice to lead the way down a path that others didn’t take but was it necessary to do so at the cost of conflict with so many players and the Empire?

Memories of the past few days flashed through her mind.

After being saved by Kana, the days spent lugging food up the mountain.

Though she had said “thank you” and “I’d repay you,” it was a bit irksome to receive no response at all.

How moved she’d felt when Kana taught her how to wield a sword and told her her name.

Joanie realized.

“I will fight.”

She had tried to tame the fox, but the truth was, she was the fox all along.

Someone might ask if she would really form a bond over something so trivial, but to her, it wasn’t ‘trivial’ at all.

For a very long time, since lying in the hospital, she had wished for such a relationship.

And there was another reason.

“It’s because of me that this all happened. Therefore, I should take responsibility. That’s what being an adult means.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Joanie…”

Pine looked at Joanie with a complicated expression.

“I won’t ask you for help, Pine. I have already received enough help.”

“I’m more than willing to fight alongside you.”

“Thank you, Yuki.”

Though it felt a bit strange, there was no better ally than Yuki, who had the highest level and a wealth of combat experience among the players.

“Geez, really…”

Pine scratched his head in frustration.

“Alright, I will fight too.”

“Are you alright with that? We might be opposing the Empire?”

“Better than opposing the viewers, right? Since it’s come to this, maybe we should make a video out of it and rake in the views.”

A streamer’s job depended on public sentiment.

While being completely swayed by viewers was a bad thing, it was also impossible to ignore public opinion.

Even now, as he showed a passive attitude, the chat was filled with ‘coward’ and ‘chicken.’

It was natural that Pine got worked up over it.

Even if he looked rather delicate, his chromosomes were definitely XY, and the word ‘coward’ was a magical word that he could never tolerate as a man.

“Who’s a coward?! The only coward I know is the coward that comes from my life!”

“Ugh… so boring…”

“Shut up!”

“Seems like you don’t plan on reflecting at all.”

The commander, watching the trio of streamers banter, spoke.

He heard words explicitly defying him, yet he did not show any sign of anger.

It was as if he believed that any conspiracy they plotted together would be useless.

“Fools who cannot see the glory of the black sun always are. Even when given the chance to awaken to their wrongdoings, they kick it away themselves.”

“I don’t know how glorious that black sun is, but I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.”

“Not knowing the glory of the black sun is wrong in itself.”

Such truly arrogant words.

Yet at the same time, they demonstrated the power of the Lo Arka Empire.

In the Ardina Continent, there was nowhere to escape the empire’s grasp.

“And advocating for a criminal means you are in league with that criminal. As a knight who must uphold justice, I cannot let this go unpunished.”

“Keep talking about criminals, but who is the criminal here?”

“Are you pretending not to know?”

The commander frowned.

“The last sword of Grasis, the Red Reaper. The monster who massacred countless citizens of the Empire.”

“…Are you talking about Kana?”

“Oh, yes, that was her name.”

A being capable of butchering players effortlessly and looking like she had her own story.

He thought she’d be an extraordinary individual, but it seemed that Kana’s name held even more weight for the Empire than Joanie had imagined.

“Old folk trembled at merely uttering that name. They said, ‘If you call her name, the reaper will come.’”

Thump, a heavy step sounded.

With a cloud of dusty air, an intense shockwave assaulted the atmosphere.

“Still, that’s nothing but a false reputation gained in war. Alone, she can’t do anything, it’s truly laughable for her to cower in fear!”

The commander extended his arm.

A black cloak billowed vigorously as it followed his silver armor.

“Today, we hunt the monster. And we will sever its neck and display it for all to see. This is what the monster you feared truly was. We will clean up the decay-ridden knights and take over their place. For a better Empire! For the glory of the black sun!”

“For the glory of the black sun!”

Boom!

In echo to the commander’s words, hundreds of knights struck their swords down with not a single mistake.

Even Yuki, who had seemed fierce until now, took a step back and eyed them cautiously, struck by their overwhelming might.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Clear the path now, and I will let this go.”

Clang!

“Is that so?”

Instead of a response, weapons like swords, bows, and staffs were drawn.

Those who would flee had already run off, while those remaining burned with fighting spirit.

Compared to earlier, their numbers were distinctly decreased.

Meanwhile, some of the outlaws were subtly positioning themselves behind the knights and preparing to fight.

They were likely hoping for even a crumb if they aided the knights.

Moreover, even if it wasn’t that, they had no reason to back out now.

“Apostles do not die, right? If so, engrave it upon your souls.”

Swish.

“The greatness of the Empire!”

The knights raised their swords in unison.

The air was thick with tension.

Unlike the composed knights, the faces of the so-called Kana Corps were stiff and unyielding.

Nobody seemed to be willing to move, tensed as they watched the knights’ actions.

But not everyone felt that way.

“Hah… can’t take it anymore…!”

“Hey, you crazy woman!”

Yuki, coiling her body like someone needing to pee, was the first to charge forward with a sword larger than her own body.

As she charged, the knights quickly formed their lines and began to advance.

“Joanie! Back!”

“Yes, four!”

Knowing Joanie’s poor fighting ability, Pine urgently pushed her back.

Everyone gathered here was here to help Joanie.

Even if they could respawn at a resurrection point, he believed that if she were to die, morale would plummet.

“When this war ends, I’ll confess to her.”

“Don’t set up a flag, focus!”

As the players cloaked their weapons with mana, the knights did the same with their swords and shields.

Unlike the unstable, shaky mana of the players, the knights’ mana was stable, unwavering.

Even if they were on par in level, the power was not equal.

A phrase someone had once said came to his mind.

“Ahh!”

A brave knight charging forward felt a red line drawn across his body.

He couldn’t even recover from being tossed aside by the shield and left the world.

“Haap!”

Bwooom!

The knight that sent the other flying was met with a heavy, slicing sound as a great sword came flying at him.

Could he block it with his sword?

The knight briefly considered it when he struck with the shield to block the great sword.

“Grrk…!”

With the weight pressing heavily on his arm, a groan escaped the knight’s lips.

The woman in front of him was different from the others…!

The knight felt that after just one encounter.

“Ah… this feeling of blood boiling… I love it…!”

With the corner of her mouth twitching upwards, Yuki slammed her feet down again.

Twisting her waist with all her might, she turned her body and swung the great sword around.

Physical enhancement using mana combined with centrifugal force created an unimaginable speed.

The knight could not match swords again this time.

Each time the knight took a step back, Yuki moved a step closer, and each retreat was met with another advance.

The commander clicked his tongue at the pitiful sight of someone losing to an apostle.

“How pathetic.”

If he returned, he would have to run a hundred laps around the training camp.

He raised his sword high.

Chill!

In that moment, a cold chill ran down Yuki’s spine.

It was as if ice had been poured down her back; she forcibly retracted her great sword and leaped away.

Swish!

“…!”

A blade of energy flew where she had just been standing.

“Ugh, aaah!”

“What was that!? What flew at us!?”

“It’s sword energy! Dodge!”

Everything that was aligned with Yuki was instantly cleaved in two.

Some screamed while clutching their arms.

Others turned to ash before they could even scream.

And there were those who were horrified at the sudden massacre of their comrades.

Amid the instantaneous carnage, Joanie’s eyes wavered.

“Strong…”

The backlash from moving contrary to the natural order hit her late.

Ignoring the screaming pain of her waist, Yuki calmed her breath.

“This might be a bit difficult.”

She had thought that she had grown stronger from fighting non-stop, but Yuki instinctively felt she couldn’t match the commander.

If this were a raid or a boss battle, she might have been able to take him down, but this was war.

Weaklings would not survive.

Even having unleashed a devastating wave of energy that split the ground, the commander showed no sign of fatigue as he raised his sword once again.

Humming with resonance, mana began to gather slowly.

When that mana fully gathered, another strike like before would be unleashed.

With her focus dialed to max, Yuki’s eyes widened as she observed the commander.

His gaze wasn’t directed at her.

“Dodge!”

His eyes rested on the final destination.

And there, right where Joanie stood.

Yuki, hearing Joanie’s name, saw her turn around, but the commander’s arm had already brought his weapon down toward the ground.

Slash!

“…!”

A massive blade of energy sliced through the air.

Joanie stared wide-eyed as she witnessed the incoming energy.

‘There’s no way to dodge this—’

As death drew near, Joanie’s sense of time elongated.

She saw the deadly blade flying toward her, crystal clear.

But the elongated time belonged to Joanie as well.

With an instinct of death, Joanie’s eyes gently closed.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds…

“…?”

Having tightly shut her eyes and waited for several seconds, no pain came.

‘Did I die without even feeling pain…?’

That would have been preferable.

What if she opened her eyes and found that she had become the very energy that sliced through her?

Shaking, Joanie slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was pink.

Soft pink hair swayed gently like cherry blossoms, and a sweet aroma lightly enveloped her.

Next was a small body, seemingly two heads smaller than Joanie herself, clad in a shabby black cape.

Before her stood a girl, holding a sword that looked as if it could break any moment.

It was the appearance of someone she had longed to see never having seen before, but Joanie instinctively recognized the girl.

“Kana…!”

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