Chapter 96 - 95: Boss Battle! Cocolia (Part 2)

Cocolia then realized a wooden sword had already pierced through her abdomen. It was Pei Guang's Backstab of Justice! While everyone else was attacking, Pei Guang had silently circled around behind Cocolia: these attacks weren't just distractions but also a cover for his stealth approach. Of course, Stelle's attack wasn't just a feint either. In a boss battle, every attack is meant to hit. As the wooden sword pierced through her, Cocolia lost her ability to resist, and the War-Flaming Lance from the front pierced her body as well. Pei Guang knew better than to assume that just stabbing the enemy with a weapon would kill them. After all, he'd seen demons in other worlds only grow stronger when stabbed. Some bosses even entered a second or third phase after being struck. This one was strong enough that Pei Guang and Stelle decided to try out one of his bold ideas. First, Pei Guang kicked Cocolia off the wooden sword. Then, seeing Stelle pull out a glowing baseball bat, Pei Guang raised a trash can lid as his shield. As for the War-Flaming Lance? It remained stuck inside Cocolia for now. Pei Guang: "Ready?" Stelle: "I've been itching for this." Pei Guang: "Then let's try out our combo move." Stelle: "Rules are meant to be broken!" Stelle swung the bat, delivering a home-run strike to Cocolia's head. As her body and head reeled from the impact, Pei Guang swung the trash can lid for a perfect parry. A loud "clang!" rang out, and Cocolia's head throbbed painfully. From a distance, March 7th became the commentator of the scene: "Pei Guang has this amazing move called a 'parry.' If you time it just right, you can reflect any physical attack, throwing your opponent off balance. And then... the execution!" By using Cocolia's body as the target for their reflected attack, they threw her into a state of imbalance. As March 7th narrated, Pei Guang grabbed the wooden sword and stabbed it into Cocolia's body again, following up with a powerful kick to knock her away. During this time, Stelle held onto the spear still embedded in Cocolia's body, twisting it. By now, Cocolia's body was no longer made of flesh and blood in the conventional sense. It was more like a construct of the Stellaron and Fragmentum, but judging by her pained expression, it seemed to hurt all the same. With the execution finished, Stelle stopped twisting the lance and swung the bat again, sending Cocolia flying. Pei Guang parried and reflected the attack once more! This time, Stelle handled the execution. She stabbed the bat into Cocolia's body, pulling it out in imitation of Pei Guang. Who said a bat couldn't pierce through?! Despite the intense music playing in the background, Bronya, Serval and Gepard felt chills, as if a deep cold gripped their hearts. Stelle and Pei Guang's methods were ruthless, and their coordination flawless. If March 7th didn't know better, she might have thought they had spent years perfecting the art of torture. Yes, this was the "infinite parry and execution" combo move Pei Guang and Stelle had developed, specifically for enemies who could be knocked down. Their motto was simple: "keep attacking until the enemy is completely dead, and never stop!". After all, they had plenty of food and drinks with them. Sooner or later, they'd wear their target down... But, compared to what Pei Guang had anticipated, Cocolia turned out to be slightly weaker. With the Stellaron's power, he had expected her to require countless executions, critical hits, buffs and even a story-based fatal blow to be defeated! When Pei Guang and Stelle executed their tenth parry, they noticed that Cocolia's body was completely encased in ice. Neither of them had any intention of holding back, though. They continued their strategy. But this time, when Stelle swung her bat, Cocolia's body didn't fly away. Instead, it shattered into pieces. The Supreme Guardian, Cocolia, was dead. After countless executions, her body completely disintegrated, and the Stellaron's power within her was consumed by the War-Flaming Lance embedded in her. She could no longer withstand Pei Guang and Stelle's attacks. Her body dissolved entirely. In the place where Cocolia's body disappeared, a golden Stellaron floated in the air. Bronya's eyes were filled with anguish as she looked at the spot where Cocolia vanished. "Mother..." Meanwhile, Pei Guang and Stelle stood next to the Stellaron, staring at the golden object. Pei Guang: "Is this the boss fight reward?" Stelle: "Looks like all she dropped was this thing... but isn't this a Stellaron?" Pei Guang's eyes gleamed with wisdom: "Since the boss dropped it, let's see if this thing has any special powers as a reward for us. It'd be a ripoff if only you got an orange item! There should be some cool functionality, right? After all, it's supposed to be a fusion monster, but there doesn't seem to be much 'fusion' happening here." Stelle pondered, "Could this thing be dangerous?" Pei Guang thoughtfully responded, "It might be, but it's a boss drop, after all, right? Let's give it a try. Stelle, be ready—if something goes wrong, you'll have to cut me down." "Huh?" Pei Guang: "What do you mean, 'huh'? We both have one resurrection chance, remember? Although, we only get one... Wait, you didn't know?" Stelle: "We can resurrect?!" Pei Guang: "Yeah! I figured this one resurrection isn't just a fail-safe but also a way to let us make bold choices in key story moments. Come on, there was no loot from the tutorial boss, and we didn't unlock anything either. Next map, we're in for some real suffering!" As Pei Guang spoke, he reached for the Stellaron. Sure, the Stellaron was the source of destruction and their mission objective, but this particular one was dropped by Cocolia. It was Cocolia's "gold drop." Even if it was dangerous, as players, they had to see if it was the boss reward. Stelle: "Are you really sure about this?" Pei Guang: "Absolutely! In all my years of gaming, dangerous-looking items are always key to power-ups. Who knows, we might unlock some weird abilities from this. Besides, you've got a new class already, and I haven't gotten mine. I bet this thing is the key to unlocking mine. I'll give it a shot! Worst case, we'll call Welt and the others to seal the Stellaron." Stelle: "Then I'll protect you." Pei Guang: "Be careful—don't waste our one death chance. Even in a world this free, a fake death could still make everyone super sad." As a player in such a realistic world, Pei Guang knew he had to tread carefully, but he also believed that if you're not willing to take risks, there's no point in playing the game at all. So, without hesitation, he reached out and touched the Stellaron. The moment he made contact, Pei Guang found himself standing in a vast expanse of the universe. At the same time, a melodic voice echoed in his ears. "Let's make a trade—a trade for memories." Faced with an unskippable cutscene, Pei Guang could only sigh. He listened to the story being narrated by the melodic voice while glancing around at his surroundings. In the infinite darkness, he saw the Milky Way, and at the center of the galaxy, a brilliant rainbow light swirled.