Chapter 74

Suddenly, the monster that had appeared was the evil spirit of red water, which had caused Tōru and the others to struggle in the past.

Moreover, its size seemed to be several times larger than before.

"Ah!"

"Where did it come from?"

"…Probably Rishi's doing."

"…Still using <Wind Conceal>?"

<Wind Conceal>, a skill akin to the lower branches of the Wind Spirit Tree, is a magic technique that allows one to hide their appearance by wrapping themselves in wind that distorts light.

Moreover, as the level increases, the range of the wind expands, and it becomes possible to affect the area around oneself.

It is a versatile magic technique that can hide companions or traps, but it has no effect on monsters that do not rely on visual senses, and it cannot be activated unless the monster's presence is nearby.

"…I thought the effect had worn off when we defeated the rampaging hippo."

"…It seems he had cleverly hidden it behind him."

It appears that the raindrops around Rishi had disappeared to avoid drawing attention.

As evidence, the figure of the outpost staff member, who had scattered the blue fragments and had a usual smile plastered on his face, once again vanished into the air.

This time, it seemed to have completely blended into the rain, and there was no way to sense its location.

"Damn, where did it go?"

"Making a big fuss and then running away, huh?"

"Whoa, big bro, it's bad! !"

The third brother shouted and pointed at the evil spirit of red water, which had been stationary on the current and was now moving.

Its target was undoubtedly the fragments of rain crystal stones scattered on the stone mountains, which were the result of Rōrufu and the others' hard work.

Ignoring the three brothers, who were frantically waving their arms, the monster stopped abruptly on the stone mountain.

Then, water spikes seemed to protrude from the sphere as it tried to absorb the blue fragments.

Dirt and rocks flew up dramatically, and the top of the stone mountain, pierced by the water spikes, collapsed.

Diyārugo let out a pained groan as the clumps of earth disappeared into the river, creating large water columns.

The three brothers opened their mouths wide in shock, speechless as they watched the monster's atrocity.

After destroying the stone mountain, the monster moved silently horizontally.

Once again, water spikes were shot from its body.

"Hey, look! Tōru!"

"…Yeah, it's pretty bad."

Perhaps due to absorbing the rain crystal stones, the body of the evil spirit of red water suddenly grew by a round.

The monster, which had already destroyed the second bridge pillar, continued to increase in size.

The eerie sight of the red water mass growing rapidly while silently wandering made the girl gasp and lose her words.

However, the men, who were the victims, could not afford to be so calm.

"Hey, do something! Big bro Tōru!"

"Please, I beg you!"

"Like before, take it down quickly, please!"

Tōru, who was being clung to by Rōrufu and the others with pleading faces, responded with a calm analysis.

"Calm down. With that size, it's impossible to cut it into pieces with a sword."

"Then, how about using the freezing magic technique from earlier?"

"Yūruru has used up all her available uses, so that's not possible either."

It seems Rishi had prepared a two-pronged approach, taking this into account.

"Hey, Tōru. If that monster loves rain crystal stones so much, why don't we lure it over by showing it that we have some too?"

"Not a bad idea, but it will probably absorb the stones from the mountains first."

The rain crystal stones that Tōru and the others had obtained the other day were quite large, but the scattered fragments were clearly even larger.

Scratching his chin in thought, Tōru combined the idea of using the rain crystal stones with the suggestion to freeze the monster, which had been proposed by Diyārugo.

"Right, I have another magic crystal stone. Sora, come here."

"Okay!"

Tōru hurried into the tent and spoke to Yūruru, whose complexion was improving.

"Sorry, Yūruru. Could you lend me that staff?"

"Sure, go ahead and use it as you like."

The beautiful woman, who had been sitting up straight, handed over the staff without asking any questions, perhaps sensing the situation.

Mū, who had been resting her head on Yūruru's lap, jumped up and asked with shining purple eyes.

"Tōru, are you going to take it down?"

"Yeah, leave it to Tōru."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you!"

When Tōru made a fist, the child made a fist and bumped it.

Smiling, Tōru turned and Mū, who smiled softly behind him, was enveloped in a blue glow, offering her support.

With an iron sword in his right hand and gripping the gray stone at the tip of Yūruru's staff in his left, Tōru leaped onto the edge of the stone mountain.

The evil spirit of red water had already reduced four stone mountains to half their size, and its body had grown to more than twice its original size.

As a result, the sphere was floating at a height that required looking up.

"That's too high for a sword to reach."

"What are you planning to do, big bro Tōru?"

Ignoring the worried Rōrufu and the others, Tōru lightly crossed the stone mountain and approached.

Sora, who was holding the staff, watched worriedly from the riverbank.

The moment Tōru leaped onto the neighboring stone mountain, the monster shot out water spikes one after another.

Due to its larger size, the thickness of the spikes exceeded that of an adult's arm.

Even Tōru would not be unscathed if hit by even one.

The blade flashed at an incredible speed.

The spikes, which had been cut off from the main body, turned into mere water and scattered in the air as droplets.

However, one of the spikes remained unharmed.

It did not reach Tōru and stopped in mid-air just before hitting him.

Tōru lightly kicked the stone mountain and used the stationary water spike as a foothold to jump higher.

The water spikes extended again.

They were cut off once more, and one of them stopped in the perfect position.

Using the water spikes one after another, Tōru's body ascended.

After using three water spikes as stepping stones, Tōru finally reached a height where he could touch the main body.

Four spikes were shot at his face, but two stopped, and one changed its trajectory to collide with another.

Seizing the momentary opportunity, Tōru, who had grabbed the ice crystal stone, plunged his arm deep into the main body of the evil spirit of red water.

The sealed ice magic was fully released, and the surface of the red water mass froze with a sound.

However, the monster was still able to move.

New water spikes pierced through the ice and appeared.

—<Restoration>.

The broken magic crystal stone revived and released cold air again.

Once more.

The red water, which had been frozen along with the extending spikes, cracked and shattered with a sound.