The appearance of the boss initially turned the attention of the demons from each other towards this new danger. A volley of powerful attacks struck the octopus’ skin with middling results. The health did go down by a decent margin, but it was not encouraging.

Just after around one-eighth of the health had fallen away, the octopus shuddered violently and hummed an irritable note. Ink-like liquid wept from the creature’s skin and coated it in an iridescent sheen. The next wave of spells and attacks to strike flesh were dispersed by the slick coating and only dealt minimal damage.

But, it seemed to me that the creature had shrunk some in response to the action. It was enough to make me squint and question what I had seen.

The clash of high-powered mana against the beast’s skin. It melted the ink and created a cloud of steam to obscure the battlefield in a white cloud. Silhouettes of the tentacles slamming down through the fog gave those nearest to the fighting just barely enough time to dodge. Some well-equipped demons managed to withstand the strike while others were flattened into pulp by the weighty whips. Another challenging screech exited the beast’s mouth to warn its assailants to leave it be.

It was not an untenable situation. This was a simple, bulky enemy that would require patience and organized effort. As I could see it, others could as well.

This battle was designed to last over sixty seconds.

The question that hung in the heads of the more strategically-minded demons that remained was how to maximize the damage done before needing to thin out the herd. Any incorrect decision now could pin them in a no-win battle.

But, there were also the arrogant berserkers who would instantly jump on the opportunity to finish off their potential competitors before turning to their final target. Or, the scheming demons that saved their strength on the outskirts of the battle; conserving their strength for when it would best benefit them. It was my intention to be amongst their numbers from my nice perch above the fighting.

I could already see groups around the octopus either fighting alongside each other as friends or against each other as adversaries. This lack of overall organization was only going to serve to slow progress further.

Fortunately, I planned on remaining far away from the thoughts of my fellow combatants.

“Let’s go, Capitaine!”

It seemed that my temporary partner had other ideas. She rushed down the side of the mountain to join the fray. Her lightning struck the beast and bounced from tentacle to tentacle, moving the bar down a small amount.

I bit my lip. This would ideally be the time in which I made my escape from the fight and kept my head low until it suited me. There were still plenty of fools that could do the hard work in my stead.

However, I had already shown that side of myself to Yoshitsune; a short-sighted mistake that continues to haunt me the more our paths inevitably cross. I had a use for her, a use that extended beyond the scope of this dancing monkey show for the entertainment of a bunch of demons that only feel superior due to their higher level. To get back in her good graces would go a long way to warm over my sadistic lizard acquaintance.

Saying it was easier than doing. With a sigh, I reluctantly followed her down at a slower pace, allowing my pets to accompany her in my stead. Our position was too far away from the battle and we moved down from our position atop the hill to get closer to the beast.

Every few seconds, I would fire a shot into its body, removing only the smallest of slivers away from it.

It was pointless to think about the boss any longer. Less than twenty seconds remained and there were still a dozen kills required to survive until the next phase. Selfishness took hold with only those with bonds that predated this train to hold. While ally turned on ally, the octopus had the luxury of maintaining its health level and assailing the tiny creatures that dared attack it without any worry of retribution.

“Keep shooting it, Capitaine!” Yoshitsune called over her shoulder to me.

My gun pointed away from the duels and back towards the boss. I didn’t like it, but I agreed anyway. I was the lone party unwilling to allow the octopus to have a moment of rest and that made it far more aware of my existence. Its gargantuan eyes turned my way to regard me with an animalistic aggression. But, it did not pursue me. Instead, I saw that its health bar was very slowly ticking back up as it landed exploratory attacks at the melee that surrounded it.

“Regeneration,” I spat to myself and shot a bullet to try to undo the progress.

“Eight is not enough to win,” I heard Yoshitsune attempting to rationalize with some of the nearest demons. “We have to focus on the tako.”

She seemed to manage to convert a few uncertain demons over to her side; she would have a lot of work ahead of her if she intended to have the survivors fall in line.

A flash of light shone from the entities observing from above. It formed a narrow pillar to illuminate one of the contestants below. They were a bird of war with a golden-brown plumage to match their bronzed skin. The pelt of a leopard was draped around their waist like a skirt. They dropped their weapon and held out their arm.

An axe materialized in their hand. The shaft was made of bone and housed a crescent shaped blade made of black metal. The bird warrior felt the heft of the weapon and squawked loudly towards the sky.

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“Feathered Dragon! Thank you for your gift!”

The warrior wasted no time in showcasing to the world the new toy that they had received from above. They nearly pirouetted and spun the weapon over their head in a wide motion. A gust of wind howled as the axe blade carved into whatever was unfortunate enough to be nearby. The demon cleaved two opponents in half and sunk the weapon into an errant tentacle, slicing a hook off in the process.

“I will bring you victory!” The warrior proclaimed over the wails of the octopus.

Not wishing to be outdone by their rival viewers, several more flashes of light pierced the sky to give their chosen winner their own weapons and armors and baubles. Some had no outward change in appearance, but their demeanor changed too significantly for them to have received nothing but kind words of encouragement.

Even Yoshitsune hummed with energy from a beam of light that descended upon her. She seemed to frown initially before accepting whatever was given to her gratefully.

I, however, was not endowed with a beautiful gift from above. My panache seemed to be lacking to the discerning eyes of the viewers above. My actions did not garner any attention at all. Bitter feelings of being overlooked and unwanted bubbled up in my mind.

Not welcome in my mother’s tribe. Not welcome in the nation that my father called home. I didn’t look like either, I didn’t speak like either. Forsaking one would not bring me acceptance by the other so I had to show them the version that they wanted to see. Negative attention was better than receiving nothing at all.

Was there not a single viewer above who felt kinship towards me?

The surviving demons, eager to show off their newest blessings, overshot the quota by several people. Instead of the thirty two that we were ordered to thin down to, we only had twenty four.

The octopus, now with a little over one quarter of damage taken, decided that it was time to take action again. Its pupils shifted back in my direction. More than the spells that scorched its skin or the barbarian that chopped off one of its legs, its anger lied with me, who had still steadfastly fired bullets into its overstuffed head.

It crawled towards me, slamming its hooks into the ground to propel it forward. Attacks from the other survivors smashed into it, but it leaked more ink to spare it from the damage. My chiens yipped at the attacker, but had little hope of slowing the creature down. I looked into my shadow. Aurochs may be just fast enough to carry me away from danger.

But, what if I didn’t have to do anything any longer?

I switched my gun to the fully automatic setting; there wouldn’t be any need for conserving mana anyways. Mana-bullets rattled out of the barrel, smashing into the same spot over and over. The ink coating was blasted away and significant damage pared away the beast’s health until it was almost exactly half.

A large tentacle raised above me and smashed down. I shifted my body slightly and instantly unsummoned all of my pets. It crushed into my left shoulder. I felt the bones pop and shift out of their rightful places. My face smashed into the metal surface, splattering blood from my snout.

I closed my eyes and remained perfectly still.

“Capitaine!” Yoshitsune yelled in surprise.

It was a musical note, the sounds of her regret for participating in my “death”. What an endearing person she was. She knew that I was going to rise from the grave after this in perfect health. Why would it matter so much that I fell a single time.

But, her kind heart was what I needed to complete my gambit. I heard a shout of effort and a boom of thunder that smashed into the octopus. It could not afford to ensure its kill while such heavy damage was being inflicted upon it. It rumbled away from me and met the gifted demons in a place far enough away to feel safe.

image [https://i.imgur.com/DhnY8Id.jpeg]

Notice

Game: King of the Hill

Rule Update

You have 60 seconds to reach 10 living contestants.

If number is failed to be met, all contestants will lose.

I laughed to myself. This was perfect. Now, all I had to do was sit pretty and allow the others to do the dirty work for me. If I was lucky, then a few extra would die in the process, leaving me as one of the few survivors.

Yoshitsune and a few others managed to convince the rest of the group to focus on the octopus. I didn’t dare open my eyes, but there must have been some confidence that they could pull it off before the timer ran out. I suppressed my curiosity and kept my face on the ground. I ignored the discomfort of the metal and the itching sensations that tickled my face and limbs.

The timer ticked down further. A ground-shaking screech and a flurry of slamming blows told me that the octopus was beginning its last stand. Black liquid flowed down from the battlefield and splashed against my face. I used the chance to shift my face and keep myself from drowning in a puddle.

“There’s not enough time!” I heard one of the demons shout when the timer had gone below thirty seconds.

Predictably, as soon as one gave up on the task, the rest did as well. The octopus would be allowed to regenerate a crucial fragment of its health while its attackers chopped each other to pieces.

Their weapons made them far more efficient at this grisly task than the previous time. Attacks were fatal in one blow and would lead to mutual destruction when two clashed.

“It says that there are still eleven!” One of the demons shouted in surprise that they failed to meet the quota.

“T-that’s not right,” I heard Yoshitsune argue. “Look, there are only ten of us. There must be some sort of mistake.”

“It doesn’t matter what it says!” The feathered warrior screeched in response. You are the one that constantly yelled for this, take responsibility.”

I chuckled to myself in my ink puddle. Yoshitsune’s portals would make it impossible to kill her in the required time if they chose to turn their blades against her. This would be as far as this miserable group would be able to go. What a stupid demand to make of someone else in such a place.

“Very well, I will take responsibility,” Yoshitsune said. “Do it now.”

Surprise turned to anger. Of course, she would be the only one stupid enough to die like this. What about the overeager fools who killed eight more demons than they had to? What about the demons that failed to deal more than a quarter of the beast’s health when there were still over fifty of us still alive? I don’t see them taking any responsibility for their moronic decisions. They saw kindness and devoured it.

The timer ended and I continued to live. I seethed with my mouth forced shut as Yoshitsune was forced to be the sacrifice for my gambit.

The battle picked up again as the nine survivors tried to finish off the octopus. But, I could not focus on my ingenious plan to reap the benefits with no effort. I was irrationally annoyed at these demons who ran rampant over the battlefield. More than I wanted to get whatever reward waited on the other side, I wanted to ensure that they gained nothing and that the viewers above were left unsatisfied.

I turned my head a little further and opened a single eye to look towards the ceiling.

“Let's make sure none of us are happy.”