VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

Chapter 69 The Bandit Head- STARK!

We began using the items purchased from the witch.

We took all the possible defensive measures, such as resistance potions and decoy dolls made from World Tree materials by the witch.

Additionally, Liora had already activated her new Angel's Factor Arts.

During a month of slow living, though there were few battles, I kept the Angel's Factor constantly active. Thanks to that, the skill level had surpassed 30 and was soon approaching 40.

The new Art was called Ultimate Wing.

The constant buff of this Art provides "resistance to debuffs." While it isn't a perfect resistance, it significantly reduces the chances of being affected by status ailments.

When activated, it has the ability to "forcefully remove all buffs and debuffs in the vicinity, regardless of the target's unique skills."

However, it also removes any buffs on oneself, so its compatibility with other Angel's Factor Arts is not the best. Even wings and heavenly rings disappear.

Still, better safe than sorry.

The skills used by the enemy might be considered buffs, and the ability to remove them unconditionally would be our trump card in this fight.

I did consider using Angle Wing II instead.

Its constant buff reduces MP consumption, and its activated effect is a "one-time ability to nullify an enemy's Arts," a cheat-like ability.

However, if the enemy could spam their unique skills, it would be meaningless, so I opted not to use it.

I try to avoid using Angel's Factor as much as possible since losing its constant buffs would be a waste.

After finishing all the preparations we could, we silently slipped into the grand hall.

A scene of chaos, which could only be described as madness, was unfolding before us.

A group of rough, filthy men, barely clothed in rags, were acting as they pleased.

They tormented women and, when bored, drank alcohol as if it were water.

Men snored on the floor, others fought, and some were clearly under the influence of dubious substances. It was the worst kind of party.

A vile debauchery of gluttony and lust.

This was far from the kind of scene I wanted Liora to witness. I had hoped to raise her as a girl who appreciated flowers and butterflies.

…Though, I had actively made her kill bandits.

Ideals always seem the furthest from reality, don't they?

"Liora, aim slowly. The enemy hasn't noticed us… That weak-looking young man, he's the leader of this group—Stark."

"…"

Liora nodded quietly.

The young man known as Stark was the leader of this "Fallen Society." His individual combat ability was low, and his estimated level didn't even reach 40.

However, he seemed to possess a powerful unique skill.

This PHO world occasionally grants unique skills that could be called official cheats. Liora's Slaughter Blade is incredibly powerful, though it comes with drawbacks.

Its effect is simply "enhancing blades."

I've heard of skills like "halving all damage while the eyes are closed," "teleportation," or "exploding anything touched," all cheat-level abilities.

It's practically like supernatural powers.

Stark seemed to possess a suspicious, cheat-like unique skill on par with these.

"But, in modern ability battles, there's a standard weakness. The Achilles' heel of ability users is sniping."

No matter how powerful someone's abilities may be, they're irrelevant if you can kill them from afar with a sniper shot. And this guy didn't seem to have any skills to counter sniping, right?

Now, die peacefully.

Liora's scythe glowed with a flash, and Snipe Light shot forth. The light bullet pierced through Stark's head in an instant.

With a thud, Stark fell lifeless to the ground.

Moments later, blood started gushing out of his head, and the bandits who witnessed it stood frozen in shock. However, a more competent one quickly began organizing the situation.

Since we had attacked, Shadow Veil had already been dispelled.

"Kill them!"

"Death God! Hurry and give us the usual boost!"

The moment one of the bandits shouted, their bodies were consumed by dark energy. That must have been the dark spirit's special buff skill—Darkness Berserk.

It robbed Its targets of reason and greatly enhanced their physical abilities.

Drooling, the men rushed at Liora. The scene looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie, but this is the world of a VRMMO!

The Death God girl's eyes turned black as she took a step forward with calm grace.

Warriors without reason were utterly pointless.

She dodged a swinging fist with fluid movement, severed the man's neck in a single upward slash, and killed the spear wielder approaching her with a return stroke.

Her blade was imbued with Death Guide Blade.

The forced critical hits easily sliced through human bodies. This Art is especially terrifying when used against other players.

Several enemies in the rear fired arrows.

I had already activated Khesed's Wing. Even if an arrow pierced her head, Liora would convert the damage to normal and shrug it off.

As long as the arrows are pulled out within five minutes, it won't be an issue.

Liora possesses cheat-like strength too.

It was a massacre.

With every move of Liora's small body, blood splattered, and organs were flung into the air. Her dance, using the Kagura skill, resembled a deadly wind.

Within five seconds, six bandits lay dead.

Liora, expressionless, continued to spread death without hesitation. The surviving bandits, terrified, started shouting something.

Some players Manifested.

However, no matter how strong or invincible a Manifested player may be, it's meaningless if their contractor is too afraid to act.

I could just kill the NPCs as usual.

"Honestly…"

A round player manifested.

There are several types of Manifestation skills. Judging by the effect surrounding this player, it wasn't the Decisive Manifestation used for critical battles.

Rather, it was the opposite.

This was a Manifestation meant for long durations, allowing them to walk the world without adding any buffs to their stats. It's not an Art used for combat.

Yet, the fact that they dared to use it now meant something was up. Liora seemed to understand this as well, but players cannot be damaged.

"Seriously, huh. Getting killed by a sniper… I suppose that's something to work on. We should have prioritized the Fatal Evasion skill. Oh well… Get up, Stark."

The dark spirit pulled out a resurrection potion from its Item Box.

It wasn't the kind I made through alchemy.

No, it was a complete version of a resurrection potion obtained from an event. Stark's group, being part of the third wave, must have stolen it from NPCs participating in the event over the past month on the third field.

There wasn't enough time to stop them.

The resurrection potion was poured over Stark. Liora, having already given up on stopping it, began chanting Snipe Lightning again.

However, a Manifested player stepped into the line of fire.

"…Ah, being dead sucks. Hey, Grim Reaper."

"I told you, I'm not a Grim Reaper. Let's go."

"Yeah."

The rogue group's cheat-like unique skills were activated.

The rogues' unique skills were about to activate.

"It doesn't seem like we can stop them."

I quickly cast Darkness Creation on Stark. I didn't know what his unique skill was, but if the activation condition involved being seen, it would be problematic.

If I could just block his vision with a curtain of darkness—

However, before I could finish, the enemy's Manifestation surpassed my fastest movements.

"Envision it."

"Behold."

"Nightmare Trauma Vision."

"Mind Lens!"

Something was cast on Atri.

With a clang, Atri dropped the Death-filled Shadow. Her spiraling eyes lost all color.

Clutching her head, she—

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She screamed.

Tears overflowed from her eyes as she repeatedly reached out into the void. Like an abandoned puppy, Atri, in utter despair, stretched her hands toward something unseen.

I couldn't tell from the video.

But, since I know Atri well, I could understand. I see now—this was a skill that was indeed difficult to defend against.

The enemy's unique skill made you "see something."

That's all it did.

It wasn't a debuff.

Strictly speaking, it was similar to my Shadow Veil. In a way, it was like projecting a screen directly onto the retina.

To induce hallucinations, you'd normally need drugs or some form of brain manipulation.

However, their attack was akin to forcibly putting a VR headset on someone. It was a different genre of attack, making it difficult to defend against.

"Don't… don't abandon me… God! God, God, God, God, God… Without God, I… Ah, ah, ah…"

The enemy's unique skill was much "weaker" than I had anticipated.

However, by combining their otherwise minor skills, they managed to create a significant disruption.

"Shio, let's buy some time. Their level is low. If you and I hold them off, Atri should recover. They can't maintain that vision indefinitely."

???!?

Shio extended her tendrils, and I sharpened my focus.

The remaining thieves.

The players allied with the thieves. And now, the resurrected Stark and his group.

"Three minutes, Shio. If we can't hold for three minutes—"

—A full-scale defense battle had begun.

?

I have nothing.

Being born was a mistake.

The other children are surrounded by their families and friends, and they all look so happy.

The families and friends look so joyful as they watch over the children.

But.

But my family… only looks in pain. If I hadn't been born, my family wouldn't have had to give birth to a child like me, a monster… The world feels dark, like an endless night.

I was hit so many times.

Kicked so many times.