Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Basque smirked as he thrust his hand into the Arbiter God's neck.

He held his fingers straight like a blade, piercing through the scales that covered the qilin-like Arbiter God, and sticking his hand into its neck.

From inside, he pulled a pitch black orb.

'Ohh, there it is. I can finally become a Demon Great General with this!! Hell yeah.'

Basque swallowed the black orb whole.

Soon after his body began to change, his muscles swelling with a disgusting sound.

His body grew in size, while also looking more menacing and aggressive.

Somehow he had taken the power of the Arbiter Ground, transforming from a Demon General into a Demon Great General.

Basque's eyes were filled with ecstasy. Power was all he desired.

He went to any lengths just to get stronger.

Basque chuckled seeing Dogora standing a distance away in front of him.

He saw Dogora as the perfect training dummy to test his new power.

'Dogora, be careful now.'

The Divine Artifact Kagutsuchi spoke to Dogora.

"What is it?"

don't have much power left. Not to mention that a lot of it was already spent forming the pact with you.'

Dogora had been able to stop the Arbiter's God charge, but there was not much more power left.

"Sorry, could you say that with easier words?"

Dogora asked if Freya could explain again, in a way he could understand.

'You'll need to win with your next attack. If you don't, you won't have enough power to protect your friends.'

Freya only had enough power to fuel one more attack.

She explained through Kagutsuchi that she was quite limited at the moment.

"One attack? That's enough."

Dogora felt power coursing through his body as he prepared to launch the final attack on Basque.

Meanwhile Allen used his Fish summon Skills to buff Dogora, while Kiel also cast support magic.

He had lost all his buffs when he died earlier.

The Spirit King's Blessing had been reactivated almost instantly, but all the other buffs needed to be applied again.

He recovered all the mana his earlier Skill had consumed.

Allen constantly summoned more Stone A summons the instant they were destroyed.

They were busy protecting Sophie and Cecile in the backline, since most of the attacks were aimed at them.

Kurena and the others had also been relegated to hiding behind the Stone A summons.

Gushara's magic was so powerful that Allen's party could not defend from it, even after their Talent Changes.

Allen kept prioritizing the use of his Stone A summon's Special Skill [Absorption] to stop any of Gushara's attacks from reaching Dogora, sending them back with the Awakened Skill [Convergent Bombardment].

But the black flame surrounding Gushara seemed to nullify all the reflected spells, barely receiving any damage.

Either way it was all healed instantly by the Skeleton Pope.

Still, thanks to Allen's efforts, there was nothing getting in the way between Dogora and Basque's fight.

'Hey pops, how about you heal me and help a little again?'

The fight had continued for so long that the various buffs to his health and endurance had worn off, so he asked the Pope that had turned to a skeleton to cast it again.

Basque also had an unnecessary amount of buffs piled on top of each other like Dogora.

"..."

Dogora kept waiting for him to finish.

He just stood there without moving.

"Hm? What happened? You scared now? Wait, what was your name again?"

"I'm Dogora. I know you move fast."

Dogora introduced himself again.

He was fully aware of the situation.

Basque's stats all trumped his own.

Even if he dashed to attack, Basque would easily dodge.

Dogora could only use one more attack, so he decided the safest option was to wait for Basque and counterattack.

He held his weapon raised high in a very obvious manner, something that would have earned him an earful if he did it during the practice sessions in the Academy.

He was essentially announcing to the world he would attack with a downswing.

Dogora would wait as long as he needed, no matter how many buffs Basque took, or how long he prepared to activate his Skills.

'Ah right, you're that guy without a nickname.'

"Yes. But I'll get one after defeating you."

'Keh! Seriously now? You're just a stupid brat!! That Divine Artifact is mine. So I'll take it back!! Essence of the Raging Peerless Blade!!'

Together with an ominous cackle, Basque activated his Skill. He ran with such force that the floor seemed to crack under his feet, dashing in a straight line towards Dogora.

That was the strongest attack Basque had used so far.

He closed the distance between him and Dogora, holding his orichalcum greatsword with both hands and swinging it trying to smash Dogora, who was only half his size.

Dogora remained calm even then.

He could see Basque approaching, even though he was almost a blur to everyone else.

As Basque approached like an enraged beast, Dogora began focusing his power on the Divine Artifact Kagutsuchi he held overhead.

He felt like all his mana was being absorbed by it.

There was even a funny sensation like his life itself was being taken by it.

The Skill Dogora had been unable to use until now gave Kagutsuchi a bright glow.

"Body and Soul"

As he swung down, he uttered those words like he was completely used to them.

He was putting everything he had behind that one strike.

CLIINKKKKKKKKKK!!