NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 171 - The New Deal

Okami played at the peak of his performance for this fight, as it clearly depicted in front of us. Those forms Okami could use right now went to the maximum level. But according to Okami, this transformation was not even the rest of his powers.

There were other forms he had yet tapped on while using his smurf account. Okami kept saying that this fight would end easily if Fenrir were here.

Fenrir was the dog Okami had that helped him throughout his journey. That hound was also the reason they defeated Alice before, when the two butted heads. Okami called it his second form. This transformation he used while fighting Alice was the maximum level of his first form.

But having a wolf was not the only reason Okami always had the upper ground.

Fenrir and Okami could transform into one, making Okami stronger than ever.. When he changed himself into his third metamorphosis, Okami would become a beast beyond control. He had to contain his powers if Okami wanted to kill players without annihilating the entire kingdom.

Within a glance, all of us thought we had hope of some sort left on this battlefield. Since Okami activated his first form, everyone knew that the blaze finally kindled our candle.

However, Alice's wind blew it all away within seconds.

Those magic spells stood no chance against Okami. Since he was a player had a higher level than those spells, Okami effortlessly sliced through the swarm of arcanic projectiles.

If only we were only up against those elemental spells, Okami and we would have already won the battle. Unfortunately, we had yet to include Alice in our equation.

As soon as she appeared on the battlefield, Alice slammed Okami's front. When Okami tried to escape, Alice pinned his body on the ground and created a crater on the floor. That hole became the temporary grave of Okami, as he lost the first few hits within the battle.

But the little rascal never gave up and continued standing on his ground. Okami picked himself from the floor and glared at Alice. Alice returned his leer as she prepared another set of spells, excluding the ones precast.

Two various magical attacks surged through the atmosphere and made their way in our direction. That scale of attack would destroy the entire citadel and its surrounding land. Despite knowing all of this information, Alice continued guiding these spells at us.

Okami returned to our station and shouted at Ryoshi, "Ready your arrows, Ryoshi. We need to protect ourselves using those barriers, arrows or whatever you call it. Just shield us using three darts! We will use those for arrows soon if we have to!"

"Got it!"

As soon as Ryoshi got his instructions, he hurriedly pulled out his arrows from his quiver and flung them in different directions. Since he would use three bolts, Ryoshi needed to make a triangle. It was the only shape that would cover everyone inside.

When Ryoshi shot all the arrows in the designated location, he went to Okami and explained new information regarding these bolts. "Okami, these arrows can protect us from anything. But the shield varies against strong attacks. I only said those words since it was like 999 defences. I thought that was enough to defend anything in this game. And judging by the power of Alice, these shields would only last around thirty seconds instead of five. We're actually lucky that these bolts that I thought were indestructible could stand its ground against Alice."

"You could have at least told me that sooner!" Okami snarled, but afterwards shook his head. "Bah, screw that. As long as it could protect, then that's good enough for me."

As stated by Ryoshi, those arrows that he claimed as unbreakable also had flaws. Ryoshi added that it only happened because we were up against Alice. Those darts were not enough to completely defend us, considering we were facing a monster inside its castle.

Thankfully, these arrows prepared by Ryoshi could protect us for thirty seconds. We could also use the spare set of darts, which would add up around a minute. But we would have to use those arrows wisely if we wanted to win this battle.

Within a few seconds, the arrows let out a faint glow on their tips. That luminance turned into a cover and spread across the area, forming a triangle. When the radiance completed its dome, the rain of magic spells crashed upon us.

"You have one of your toys, Hunter…. How cute!" Alice exclaimed, and eventually joined the battle.

It was like what Ryoshi mentioned earlier. This barrier could withstand on its own, especially against those bombarding spells. However, it was an entirely different story when Alice would add herself to the battlefield.

As luck would have it, Ryoshi's assumptions led up to its name. The barrier withstood both the magic attacks and Alice's physical assault against our shield. When those two forces came into contact with our barrier, the shield dispelled everything for thirty seconds.

After the said time, the light faded away, revealing our vulnerable self once again. We had nothing to fend off against Alice's next attack. If that ever came in our way, I did not know how we would handle ourselves against that assault.

"One of you should have the initiative to do things as I've told you," Alice said, as she levitated from the ground.

Luckily, Alice did not want to cast any spell at us in the next round. Even after all of that, she remained still, with her eyes observing our every movement. If Alice came to us when the arrow shield wore off, she would have already killed us off without batting an eye.

It only meant one thing…. Alice wanted to have fun and mess with us in this fight. But when I glared into his eyes, Alice's orbs locked onto mine. It was as if telling me to abandon my teammates and head towards the obelisk.

But I refused to obey that suggestion, especially for now. Okami had done nothing wrong with me while fighting Alice. If only I could kill Ryoshi with my bare hands, I would have done it already.

However, that changed when Alice sent me another message in my system. Since Alice could bend the rules of this world, she sent me a whisper. Even though she was a non-player character, she could use a system like the players. Upon sliding the box open using my eyes, my system opened the message. Despite the fight happening before me, the message entered my head as if it read everything inside the window.

(Author's note: whisper is also a terminology used in-game. It is a private message sent from one play to another. Wowwiki fandom)

[I have a deal for you. Instead of killing these two players, I would let them live when you get the obelisk from that door. You know that I'm still holding back my true power in front of you guys. If I really wanted to, I would have killed the four of you already! I don't care if I use cheap tricks to achieve my plan. And that plan coincides with your goal, Red. You get the obelisk, I will let Okami and Ryoshi live. And the best part is, you don't have to bring them with you as soon as you get out.]

After reading the entire text, my eyes glimpsed at the button below it. Even though we were not allies, I could exchange messages with Alice.

I seized that opportunity and asked her a question, "How sure I could trust your words?"

That phrase was enough to sum all my doubts with Alice. We had never met before, but Alice had a dark past and a horrible personality. And if I could describe the way Alice fought us, her methods were not something I could call admirable.

[They will live. Once you're outside the forest, check your party. If Hunter and Fenrir died, I would gladly give you my life. And once I die, I will transfer all my power to you.]

[A princess never lies, Red. As long as you don't tell this option to them, this offer would remain active throughout the battle. You could tell this plan to Match. But make sure you explain everything afterwards. Don't try to cheat about this. I could hear and see everything inside this citadel. But be wary, my little Red Riding Hood. I might get bored and kill everyone you love, including Match.]

After hearing that threat, I clenched my hands and glared at Alice. My teeth also gritted on their own while facing off against Alice.

But despite all of those occurrences, I nodded my head and accepted Alice's offer.

[Very well, Red. You've chosen well. If you wish to proceed, do it now while I'm not yet bored]

Like a devil whispering behind my ears, I went to Okami and told him my plan. I did not have any personal grudge against Okami besides being friends with Clementine's killer. Letting them live was just a consolation prize that I could offer to Okami, while escaping this place.