Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Counterattack (2)

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With the Archdemon's appearance, the scattered demons reassembled in the bushes, their faces bewildered.

"...Vice-captain! The Archdemon! Wh-what do we do?! Aren't we all screwed?!"

The woman called Vice-captain was Lingwei, the one who resembled a weasel.

"Shut up. Let me think for a moment."

She bit her fingernails nervously.

From start to finish, it had been a continuous string of unexpected events.

Starting with the sudden commencement of the Academy's midterm evaluation in the very place they had already secured,

even though the Demon Society claimed they had dealt with Archdemon Lina, she had appeared.

Consequently, the student assault had to be carried out by those who remained, excluding their captain, Rebecca.

'What a mess...'

At this point, she felt wronged.

It was as if someone who hated demons had deliberately set out to destroy them.

"Shut up about shutting up! Damn it, what's the point of messing with these kids now?! The captain's gone too! We're all going to die anyway once that Archdemon bitch arrives!"

Her subordinate grumbled with an aggrieved voice.

Suddenly, Lingwei's eyes lit up as a thought flashed through her mind.

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"...Messing with the kids, wh-what's the point?"

"No, not that."

"The captain's gone too?"

"No, not that either."

"We're all going to die anyway once the Archdemon arrives...?"

"Exactly, right? The Archdemon is here... Why are we still alive?"

She pondered for a moment longer, then let out a pale laugh.

"Right, if that bitch had been serious, there's no way we'd be here...? We'd have all been dead the moment we tried to flee."

"...Huh? Th-that's true, isn't it?"

"The Archdemon definitely isn't here right now. The timing was just a little off, but the Demon Society did their job properly."

"Th-then what about our Captain Rebecca?"

"The Archdemon must have killed Captain Rebecca, at least. No matter how urgent her business, she wouldn't have let that human right in front of her escape."

Then, a strange silence settled among the demons.

"Heh heh, heh heh... Hah!"

"So, there's no Archdemon here now, no captain either... It means it's just first-year academy students?"

"Always telling us not to do this, not to do that. It was annoying as hell being ordered around like that, but is this a total jackpot?"

"And if we handle this well, we'll even get considerable recognition back at the Demon Society, won't we?"

"Kheheh, it's been a while since we had a good meal. Let's keep a few of the pretty ones alive and drag them back."

The demons' 'happiness circuits' began spinning wildly.

Rebecca's sacrifice, which had bought them time to escape from the Archdemon, was already an afterthought.

Although the plan had changed, the students before them were merely first-years.

All they had to do was launch a surprise attack while the students were off guard.

Just as they were regrouping their forces.

Kaaaaaaang—!

As a sharp metallic clang resounded.

A flinch.

"...Uh, Vice-captain. My, my body feels strange."

"Wh-why is this happening?"

"...!?"

The demons were involuntarily drawn out of the forest by the sound of that shield.

One by one. They emerged.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The eyes of the demons who had popped out of the forest darted around.

"...Shit."

Only they were in ragged attire.

Their plan to hide among the students and pick them off one by one was ruined from the start.

Moreover, it was as if the students had anticipated this fight from the very beginning and were waiting for them!

The demons glared intently at the one who had first gone out to scout.

"Everyone... attack!"

With the command from the girl holding the shield, attacks rained down from all directions.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaah—

Whoosh—

Thwack—

Whump—

"Agh! Ow, ow! What is this?! Th-this is a rock?!"

"Uwaaaaaah...!?"

"V-vice-captain! Wh-what is this?!"

"I, I don't know either! These crazy bastards!!!!"

The attacks were absurd.

They had expected spears or swords or magic, but instead, they were pelted with everything from flaming wooden splinters.

Rocks imbued with magic, crude bamboo spears, and similar objects began to pour down concentratedly.

One or two of them wouldn't have mattered,

but with every student, regardless of their position, throwing whatever they could get their hands on, the sheer volume became overwhelming.

"It seems these guys really were hidden enemies! Were they planning to hide among us originally?"

"Die!!! You failed humans! Ah, I really wanted to say that."

"You damn beasts!!"

"You almost-humans! Don't underestimate the power of civilization!!"

It was preposterous.

No, do these bastards have no fear?

If they knew we were coming, they must have known we were demons.

And what's with this strange unity?!

"V-vice-captain! Co-command!!!"

Dodging the various thrown objects, one demon yelled towards Lingwei in an urgent voice.

"Everyone, sc-scatter! Take them on one by one!"

Lingwei gave the command even in her flustered state.

But.

"Hah, where do you think you're going?"

Kaaaaang—!

As Lee Yuri struck her shield once more.

The demons' bodies froze.

"Ugh!"

"D-damn it! That accursed skill!!!"

However, Lee Yuri had already exerted herself fully twice now.

Her magic power was considerably depleted.

Because of this, Lingwei was able to regain her senses almost immediately.

"...For now, I need to escape, even if it's just me."

Thwip!

"Th-that! V-vice-captain!"

"That bitch escaped alone!"

"Hey! You son of a bitch!!"

The demons left behind cried out from behind her,

but she didn't look back, slipping away to the side alone.

Haaah—

Haaah—

"Shit, what the hell just happened?"

Lingwei, having fled with all her might, panted heavily.

"Hmm, so the Mongrel was right after all. ...Didn't he say there'd be no such thing as loyalty among demon bastards?"

"...!?"

Lingwei whipped her head around at the sudden sound from behind her.

Her narrow eyes widened into circles.

"...Junkyard Dog?"

At that, Kang Dohui spat—"Tch"—as if annoyed.

"Don't call me by a name like that. The 'Mongrel' title has been given to someone else a long time ago."

Crack—crack—

"As if it wasn't already disgusting enough that I'm stuck with cleanup duty..."

Kang Dohui kneaded her fists and cracked her neck from side to side.

"You're going to get a beating from unnie today."

* * *

What the f—...

Sophia's pupils trembled uncontrollably.

'Th-this isn't wh-what I had in mind...!? '

There was a sky-and-earth, America-and-Korea difference between the heroic feat she had imagined and the current situation.

Should she call this heaven, or hell?

*

When demonic energy began to surge around Rebecca's body.

Sophia, realizing it was her turn to act, immediately shot a golden arrow at Jin Yuha.

However, what she received back was not praise, but a rebuke.

"No! I told you to conserve your mana! Why are you shooting arrows at *me*?!"

"Well... I'm a healer, aren't I?"

"And my arm was dangling..."

"It hurt, you know."

Sophia protested with trembling eyes, but Jin Yuha, with a completely serious gaze, was lost in his own world.

Meanwhile, the demon's body slowly began to transform.

'Uwaaaah... Wh-what is that...'

Crunch—thud—

It was no longer human.

"Keeeeeeek..."

Rebecca, having absorbed the demonic energy, no longer retained her human form.

From her bloated back, grotesque, writhing tentacles sprouted,

and hundreds of eyes opened like fruit at the tips of the tentacles.

Scythe-like legs supported her massive body as she rose.

A terrifying, nightmarish visage, something one would only see in a dream.

Gulp—

"Um, J-Jin Yuha-nim?"

Sophia swallowed and called out to him, but Jin Yuha was still muttering something incessantly.

"Tsk, ah... This makes the cooldown calculation a bit tricky. It might be a little risky, no. I think I can manage it somehow. I just need to move a bit more diligently..."

Finally, as if he had finished contemplating, Jin Yuha turned his head towards Sophia.

"All right, Sophia."

"Yes?"

"Hug me."

"Yes...?"

"I said, hug me."

Jin Yuha said this, spreading his arms wide.

What was this?

Suddenly.

Was this a test?

Or a fan meeting?

Sophia slowly approached Jin Yuha, who had his arms open.

And hugged him tightly.

"Eheheh..."

An inappropriate, giddy laugh escaped her lips.

At that, Jin Yuha's eyebrow twitched, and he whispered into her ear.

"What are you doing...?"

"You told me to hug you?"

"No, if you hug me like *that*, how are you going to shoot arrows? You need to wrap your legs around my waist. That way, your arms will be free, won't they?"

Huh?

S-so that means.

He wants me to cling to him like a cicada, and shoot arrows at that monster?

As she stood there, momentarily stunned.

Jin Yuha, as if exasperated, lifted Sophia by her backside.

"Kyaaak!?"

"Alright, wrap your legs firmly around my body! Keep your back straight! And pay attention!"

"Yes, y-yes!"

"Think back to training. It's not much different from then."

Training. Right, training...

...Oh, training.

A shiver ran down Sophia's spine.

She nearly died.

It was brutal, alright.

Every single day was a continuous test of her devotion as a fan.

Swords swung back and forth right in front of her nose, yet she had to hit targets behind them.

Hitting targets while falling from a cliff.

And shooting arrows desperately at Jin Yuha, who was constantly moving and hiding among monsters.

'But all of that was for this very moment...?'

However, no more time was given to ponder the true meaning of it all.

Thwip—!

As Sophia clung on tightly, Jin Yuha immediately kicked off the ground.

Kwoooosh!

Tentacles slammed down where he and she had been, and the trees in that spot melted as if struck by acid.

"Heeek!?"

Sophia shrieked at the sight. But Jin Yuha spoke in a calm voice.

"Alright, Sophia. Just shoot exactly as I tell you. Every arrow you shoot from now on will be a healing arrow."

"...Y-yes, yes!"

"First, one shot seven seconds from now, above its crown."

"Nehet!"

Though flustered, Sophia's body moved automatically at Jin Yuha's command.

Exactly seven seconds later,

she shot an arrow upwards.

Whoosh—!

Thwip!

Kieeeeeeek!?

The arrow had left first, and then a tentacle came and was struck in that spot.

"I-it hit!?"

Sophia's eyes widened in surprise, as big as lanterns.

"And now, duck your head a bit."

"Ah, yes—Heeek!?"

A tentacle grazed past her head.

Fssst.

The very tips of her golden hair melted the moment they touched the tentacle.

"Don't answer."

"Hmph! Mmm!"

Kwagagagak!

Tentacles swung, slicing through the surrounding trees.

Thwip!

Jin Yuha, avoiding the outstretched tentacles, kicked off again, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Just as I thought."

In Sophia's case, for a new character who hadn't been a hunter until now, her performance was too good.

A character that could attack and heal from a distance.

Even right after her release, there were many who argued she was too overpowered.

Therefore, to balance her, she had one major drawback:

Her 'turret' playstyle.

Whether healing or dealing damage, she always had to be stationary when firing her bow.

But what if.

Now that the game had become reality.

He could become the 'legs' for that 'turret'?

'It means strategies that were impossible in the game are now possible!'

It meant it was even possible to clear a boss that originally required a party of five or more, with just a healer and a damage dealer.

"Operation name: Moving Turret. Ah, Sophia, two arrows to the right in three seconds."

"Hwaaaaaaaaaaah!?"

Sophia's joyful shriek echoed widely through the forest.