Chapter 653: '6 vs 7 Billion'

A huge dragon appeared with a powerful and intimidating presence…… and we immediately understood that it would be a tremendous obstacle.

That's why everyone was moving fast. In particular, Fae-san, who had a way to attack the dragon at a distance, operated her laptop with tremendous speed.

[While it's still in the distance, I'll try to hit it as much as I can!]

As soon as Fae-san announced this, a number of what looked like missiles could be seen in the distant sky, and one after another, they landed on the dragon, causing a huge explosion and smoke to envelop it.

[Mhmm, this is…… the time to say that, right? ……Did it work!?]

[Oi, idiot, stop raising flags!]

As we watched the missiles raining down on the dragon, Alyssa said a line that would be standard for moments like this…… Yes, that pattern that shouldn't be followed at all.

The idiot aside, appearing from behind the smoke of the explosion…… was a completely unharmed dragon.

[……Oiiiiii, GM~~. Don't you think that the game balance here is wrong? Unfortunately, I don't have the time to go searching for a legendary sword from the depths of a dungeon. Heck, I don't feel like normal attacks do damage————!?]

Immediately after Alyssa said this with a mixture of flusteredness and dismay, the dragon turned towards us and opened its mouth wide. Thereupon, something like a light started to appear in its mouth.

Gathering for a moment, the light became a huge fireball which was released in our direction…… Well, it completely missed our car, but that fireball blew up the road behind us.

[Ririka-chan! We'll get shot here! Get off the road!]

[Kuhh, alright! Please hold on tight! Else, you might bite your tongue!]

Deciding that it would be disadvantageous to continue driving on the highway, which was in plain view of the dragon, Erina immediately instructed Riri-senpai, to which she turned the car, descending to the minor road while maintaining the maximum speed.

[……It's a gamble. Let's just hope that that dragon doesn't have some unreasonable ability to always know our location.]

On the road, which isn't as straight as the highway, Riri-senpai kept her foot on the accelerator. Drifting around curves, the car swerved through areas lined with apartment buildings.

As expected of Riri-senpai, her dynamic vision and reflexes are unrivalled…… I guess that's the reason why she's the one driving.

[It's a ledge! We'll leap!]

So that the dragons wouldn't be able to track our position…… No, rather, it's so that we could avoid that dragon's line of fire, we chose a complicated road, and on the way through, there were bumps and ledges where the car would bounce up. But even so, Riri-senpai tightly gripped the steering wheel and drove the car towards our destination.

Fortunately, that dragon didn't seem to have any unreasonable abilities like Alyssa said, and it didn't seem like it would start attacking indiscriminately with its flaming bullets.

We need to make some detour…… but I think we can somehow manage to get to where we're going……

We are almost at the cemetery…… but the car suddenly breaks to a stop when we reach an open road through the urban buildings.

We still weren't at the goal yet. However, we had to stop.

[Well, I guess I should have known it. Even if they don't know our current location, if they know our final destination…… they could just wait for us. I'd also do the same in this situation.]

On the end of Alyssa's gaze as she mutters this, sweat dripping down her forehead…… in front of the small hill where the cemetery was located, a jet-black dragon was waiting for us.

[……It's not moving, isn't it? Is it waiting for us to move? I guess it's waiting for us to get within its range……]

Erina muttered as she opened the car door to get out, we followed her out of the car.

Unnn, looking at it like this, it looks really big. Even though it's smaller than Magnawell-san, it's still probably the worst enemy in this situation.

A staggeringly large body that was unharmed by a rain of missiles, capable of long-range attacks…… and it would probably also have the speed to fly ahead of our path.

I can't think of any way to attack it. However, if we just continue to stare each other down like this, I would run out of time.

[……I guess we don't have any choice but do that huh?]

[I think so. If it's possible, I would have liked it if we cleared this before a situation where we need to do that happens.]

[As long as there's a time limit, our options are limited.]

Riri-senpai and Liddy-senpai agreed with the words Fae-san muttered. What is this? I can't think of a way to deal with that dragon…… but has everyone thought of some method to deal with it?

[The win rate…… is low, right?]

[……However…… not doing it…… would lower the victory chance to 0%.]

[That's right. Let's just do it and see what happens.]

Erina, Iris-san and Alyssa…… nodded their heads at each other with determined expressions on their faces.

[Alyssa? What in the world are you all planning?]

[……It's simple. We do the same thing they did…… Putting Kaito-san aside…… The six of us are characters in this virtual world, with each of us possessing some resource just like those black zombies. So, we should be able to do the same thing.]

[ ! ? ]

When I heard Alyssa's words, what came to my mind was that scene where the black zombies merged and changed their forms. In other words, Alyssa and the others are trying to do the same thing.

And as if to affirm my idea, the six of them gathered in one place, and holding hands, they formed a circle.

[We, with our memories and emotions, probably have the "resource" of tens or hundreds of black zombies by ourselves.]

[……But even if that's so, our opponent is an aggregation of 7 billion resources. Our win rate is really low~~]

[……Even so…… We need to do this…… and escort…… Kaito home.]

Riri-senpai, Fae-san, Iris-san……

[It would be a tough fight. But there's no other way.]

[Perhaps, it's the influence of the original us, but Eri-chan-sensei is the one with the highest overall strength among us…… That's why, the five of us are entrusting all of our power to you, Eri-chan-sensei.]

[……Unnn, I'll do my best.]

Liddy-senpai, Alyssa…… and Erina nodded, and the bodies of the six were enveloped in a dazzling light.

Then, the bodies of all five of them, except Erina, turned into light, and when all of that light was taken into Erina's body, she turned back toward me.

[……Erina.]

[It would be the best case if we can defeat it…… but I don't think it's possible. I'll try to get its attention. Kaito-kun, look out for an opening and head for the cemetery……]

[……I…… understand.]

Nodding in agreement at Erina's words, I felt a twinge of weakness from not having the strength to fight it. After Erina looked at me with a smile once, holding a handgun in each of her hands, she headed towards the dragon with tremendous speed.

Yes, heading towards a battle of six against 7 billion…… a battle of such hopeless power disparity……

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [It's totally my turn!!!]

? ? ? : [Well, we're already nearing the end of the light serious phase, so I guess the end is near.]

Serious-senpai : [……How about…… prolonging it a bit more?]

? ? ? : [Rejected.]