VRMMO: My first Contractee is Yandere

It seems that none of the members of this Elf unit have contracts with spirits. Given their attractiveness and likely popularity, one would expect more, but only Sebas has one. It's possible that players tried to recruit them, but the NPCs refused. The reason for this is unclear. They might explain if I asked, but conversations are a hassle…

"F-finally... we made it..."

After hours of fighting, we finally reached the lowest level of the catacombs. An endless swarm of undead kept appearing, forcing us to take breaks and resupply, which delayed us significantly.

We were met by a vast throne room. The room had deteriorated over the years, and a zombie wearing a crown sat on the throne. Sebas, who had been standing by, stepped forward with a katana in hand.

"How dare you, corpse. That throne... It might be acceptable if you were human, but it is not for a mere undead to sit upon."

"...Heh."

"What? What is it?"

The zombie rose from the throne. Immediately after, its body began to bloat and swell, bursting open and spewing decaying flesh all over the room. Countless insects began crawling out from within.

Let's appraise it.

Name: Test

Gender: Male

Level: 89

Race: Parasite

Job: Nightmare

Magic: Dark Magic 90

Skills: Magic Enhancement 100, Automatic MP Recovery 100, Undead Bonus, Curse Arts 80, Life Independence, Free Casting 100, Magic Armor 100, Forbidden Arts 100

Stats: Attack 89, Magic Attack 1600, Durability 89, Agility 89, Luck 89

Title: The One Who Rejects Death

Unique Skill: Life Domination

This is likely a boss-level enemy. Its stats are all over the place, making it an unpredictable threat. Rather than just being strong, it seems to be a troublesome type.

"Liora, let's test it out first."

"Yes, my lord."

Liora nodded and began unleashing multiple Shining Slashes, avoiding major skills as this was just a trial. She took down the insects one by one.

Meanwhile, the princess used fire magic to burn the insects. Fire is effective against both insects and undead.

"Protect the hero and the princess! Make sure the princess doesn't push too far forward!"

Sebas shouted while aiming a hand mirror at the undead insects. A beam of light shot out, scorching the insects. That appears to be a magic tool crafted by Rere, his spirit.

The Elf unit members fended off the insects with their swords, spears, and shields.

"Rere-! Calm down, please, quiet down!"

"...Annoying."

Rere was panicking over the insect horde, but fortunately, only Sebas could hear her. She unleashed a massive gust of wind magic, blowing the insects away.

"...Heh. So you can handle this much. Otherwise... it won't be worth it! Undead: Beru's Form!"

The massive swarm of insects merged into a humanoid shape. This time, insect wings sprouted from its back, and its eyes became compound eyes, like goggles.

It seems to have taken on a more insectoid undead form.

"Dark Lance!"

From behind the insect zombie, a swarm of flies that had been lurking like loyal retainers unleashed a barrage of Dark Lances. Over a hundred spells were cast simultaneously.

Liora has plenty of skills to save herself, but she doesn't have a way to protect everyone from an attack of this magnitude.

Just as Liora was about to send Samurai forward...

"Final Manifestation! Nero, you should at least learn Basic Manifestation!! Storm Wall!"

One of the arts that comes with the Manifestation skill, Final Manifestation, allows for manifestation for only three minutes, consuming almost all MP. But during those three minutes, it grants a tremendous buff.

A wall of wind, invisible to the naked eye, formed in front of us and began to block the enemy's attacks. It couldn't completely nullify them but significantly weakened their power.

At this level, everyone present could defend themselves without issue.

Therefore...

"We can't let them keep spamming that. Liora, are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm good to go!"

"Samurai too, follow us!"

We all charged forward simultaneously. Samurai ran alongside Liora in her girl form, ready to deploy a protective barrier at any moment. Liora had already activated her speed buffs.

We sprinted through the storm of dark magic.

"Heh. Do you not fear death? ...Dark Shower."

It's a wide-area dark magic attack.

When unleashed by someone with the high magical power of this insect zombie, it becomes indistinguishable from a large-scale bombardment. There's no time to evade it.

"Samurai!"

'—!'

Samurai transformed her body into that of an octopus and leaped in front of Liora. She withstood the entire barrage with her high durability, but her HP was reduced to about one-fifth in an instant—

"It's over."

The brief moment Samurai bought was enough for Liora.

With her scythe glowing brightly, Liora swung it over her head, soaring through the air. Directly below her was the insect zombie, its staff raised high.

Liora's eyes swirled with fervent devotion.

"Finish it, Liora."

"God says... you will die here—"

Just as Liora was about to unleash Shining Slash and Head Hunt mid-air, the insect zombie looked up at her and smiled faintly. Its rotting lips moved to form words. Only then did I realize the lips were infused with magical power.

"Forbidden Art—Forbidden Designation: Pulse."

The spell struck Liora.

It must be a target-specific debuff that doesn't allow for evasion.

"—!"

Liora's body convulsed before she completely froze. Her scythe slipped from her hands, and her body, now limp, began to fall helplessly to the ground.

The insect zombie reached out its thin hand toward Liora.

This is bad, I think.

'Swish---'

In a panic, I created a huge hand from Darkness Creation, wrapping it around Liora's body and pulling her back to safety. Although Liora had already regained consciousness, for a brief moment... her heart had definitely stopped.

That was a Forbidden Art skill.

The details are unclear, but it seems to be a skill that prohibits something. The MP cost, drawbacks, and cooldown are unknown, but it's dangerously powerful.

The insect zombie pointed its palm at Liora.

Samurai reflexively moved to block it, but her body was already afflicted with the status condition Curse.

"Liora, use Cure!"

"It's not working! My Lord!"

"Cure doesn't seem suitable for breaking curses or forbidden arts."

It seems we'll need a skill that can specifically dispel curses.

...The insect zombie isn't overwhelmingly strong, but it's incredibly troublesome. Honestly, I'm starting to think it might be best to retreat at this point.

"Dark Orbs!"

Countless dark balls were launched by both the main body and the flies. They looked like harmless soap bubbles, but if they hit, we wouldn't escape unscathed.

Liora sliced through each ball with her Shining Slash.

"Wait—hold on, Liora!!"

"Zephyr! My Final Manifestation is about to wear off!"

"Wait,... Liora, this might hurt a little, but bear with it. And please, shout 'Rere, Check the chat!'"

"Yeah! Got it! My Lord! Rere, Check the chat!"

Even before Liora could shout, I quickly messaged Rere in the chat. At the same time, I focused, ready to provide support at any moment.

"Are you serious?! Of course, you are! Do whatever it takes!—Wind Burst!"

Rere's Final Manifestation ended with her casting one last spell.

The magic she cast hit Liora, launching her small body like a high-speed bullet.

Even as she spat blood, Liora was already poised with her scythe.

Naturally, I had already retrieved the scythe with Darkness Creation.

Liora was fired at the enemy.

In response, the enemy trembled with derisive laughter. I noticed that its grip on its staff loosened slightly.

"Foolish—Forbidden Art: Forbidden Designation: Pulse."

"Dark Region!"

"Hm!?"

Dark Region is a dark magic art that guarantees absolute evasion.

The insect zombie, which had intended to stop Liora, hesitated, surprised by the unexpected continuation of the attack. Liora's scythe was now imbued with Head Hunt, Life-Draining Blade, and Shining Slash.

—A slash!

As they passed by each other, Liora's scythe cleaved the insect zombie's head from its body.

The insect zombie was consumed by the light-based attack—and disappeared.