Chapter 52

"Very well—"

Grace erased the smile from her face and walked nonchalantly towards Sword Boar with her axe in both hands. In response, Boar, perhaps feeling insulted that the slender Grace would face him alone, let out an irritated roar and spread his arms as he approached. Grace slowly bent her knees. Just as she was about to close the distance to strike—

"Defense Field!"

My barrier magic, which had circled around behind Boar, was completed. The presence behind him momentarily distracted him—Grace kicked off the ground and charged in. She had caught Sword Boar completely off guard. Grace's axe, imbued with momentum, whistled as it was sucked into the boar's side.

It was hard to believe that the axe had struck a living creature—a sound like metal clashing was heard. Grace, undeterred, swung her arm with the momentum. Boar's massive body was forced to move by the impact of the axe. The shock was so great that his feet dug into the ground as he was pushed back.

Grace's blow had indeed gouged and torn the flesh of Sword Boar's side. However, it was not a fatal wound. Boar, confirming the bleeding from his abdomen, glared at Grace and roared after a moment. It seemed he had not expected to be injured. With the momentum of his charge, he swung his arm at Grace.

Grace, however, did not retreat a single step and chose to counter directly. Arm against axe—she deflected the massive, tree-breaking blow of Sword Boar. The clash produced a metallic sound, and sparks flew each time their weapons met. It was really... like a joke, the fur on him.

Grace, swinging her axe with both hands, clashed with Sword Boar, who was wildly flailing his limbs. Other monsters had gathered, but any that tried to intervene were blown away like small boats caught in a tornado, flying through the air.

It seemed that Grace had deliberately chosen this style of combat. She was intentionally guiding the enraged Sword Boar towards the group of monsters. The straightforward clash of strength against strength was clear, but being caught in it was not without consequences. Obstacles in the path of the attacks were virtually nonexistent. Each time their forces collided, the surrounding monsters were reduced.

Eventually, the monsters gave up on interfering with Grace and Boar's battle and began to head towards us. However, their movements were slowed by the Defense Field, and they were efficiently cut down by Sheila. They were further skewered by Caduceus and struck by Ashley's precise mace attacks, sending them flying.

"Lord Theodor! The adventurers are still here and willing to help!"

"Understood!"

The adventurers in the trees, who had been injured but healed by Ashley's magic, joined the battle. A glance showed them supporting each other with spears and magic, effectively holding back the monsters. They must be adventurers capable of reaching the 20th underground floor. If the Defense Field could maintain the battle line, there was no need to retreat. I would reduce the number of monsters to support everyone.

I flew into the air and positioned myself above the monsters. I thrust Uroboros at the monsters approaching the barrier and activated the magic.

"Rock Press!"

A 5th-class earth magic. I summoned large rocks from above and smashed them down on the group of monsters. Reducing their numbers would lessen the burden on everyone.

Grace—was single-handedly holding back Boar.

"Heh, heh..."

Her eyes, dyed the color of blood, narrowed, and she smiled seductively. The battle of brute force continued, but a change had occurred due to my efforts to reduce the number of monsters. In other words, Grace had begun to focus solely on her battle with Boar. She continued to intercept Boar with her axe, but she was gradually pushing him back. Since Grace herself did not retreat, this naturally led to such a situation.

"Roar!"

Sword Boar, who was being pushed back, let out an irritated roar. Despite being a Guardian-class monster, it was impressive that he could clash with Grace's axe in the flesh, but he was bleeding from various places. The fact that his movements did not falter was due to his wounds healing as soon as they were inflicted. Sword Boar, perhaps judging that Grace's axe would not deal a fatal blow, gradually became more reckless. In other words, he was aiming for a mutual kill by not dodging Grace's axe and attacking immediately after taking the hit.

Grace leaned back to avoid the attack. Her bangs, blown by the wind, were swept away by Boar's log-like arm. Sword Boar, perhaps sensing some advantage in his fighting style, smiled with a twisted mouth. Grace frowned for a moment.

She ducked to avoid the arms that tried to crush her head from both sides, dug up a stone embedded in the ground with her axe, and raised it to eye level. She then kicked the stone towards Boar's sternum, pushing it with her toes.

"Ugh!"

The stone shattered, and Sword Boar, forced to exhale deeply, retreated. The change from a slashing attack to a blunt force, from a line to a point, was something he could not handle. Just as he was about to be pushed back again, Sword Boar, baring his fangs, was clearly enraged.

"I have regeneration abilities too, but I have no intention of imitating them. Rather—I have something I want to try."

With the distance opened, Grace sighed. Then, she hurled her right-hand axe at Boar, who was charging with a strange cry, with tremendous force. Boar crossed his arms to receive the axe, which came at him like a bullet. The impact stopped his charge. Boar tried to regain his stance and turn towards Grace, but she was no longer there. The monster's gaze wandered, searching for her.

At that moment, Grace was in the air. A purple glow enveloped her axe, which she had raised high. The impact of her fall and her strength. And that glow—though a different color, it was undoubtedly ki.

"Haah!"

With a shout, a ki-infused axe strike was delivered straight down from above Sword Boar's head. A tremendous boom echoed. The strike cut through Boar's arms, which he had tried to block, and the sword-like fangs visible from his mouth, and continued into the ground of the twilight forest, creating a deep crevasse. Grace shook the blood off the blade. A moment later, Boar's body split into two and collapsed.

"...Sorry. I want to follow Theo too. I can't just stand still."

It seemed like a self-taught technique... but that was a martial art. Even though it was a brute force approach, it was very much her style. She might have been inspired by the knight captain's demonstration. While the technique's completion was far from the knight captain's, Grace's inherent capabilities were different. Despite her clumsy ki concentration and manipulation, she could still produce such power.

After sweeping away the remaining monsters—using the transfer stone to send Sword Boar's massive body and other possible spoils of war, and then returning to the temple with the red transfer stone—the adventurers, relieved to have survived, collapsed on the spot. Grace did too. At her request, I sealed the ring in a secluded spot out of sight.

Grace leaned against a pillar and took a deep breath. She didn't look well. She didn't seem to be in good condition.

"Are you okay?"

"Well... how do I put it..."

Grace hesitated.

"Miss Grace, do you need healing magic?"

"Are you injured?"

Ashley and Sheila, worried, asked her, but Grace, looking slightly surprised, quickly shook her head.

"No, no, it's not that... I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm just a bit hungry, that's all."

Ah, that kind of impulse.

Grace, looking embarrassed or perhaps feeling guilty, shrank.

"...I haven't felt this impulse in a while. I've been feeling good thanks to Theo, but here I am like this. I feel bad towards Theo and those adventurers..."

It must be fundamentally different from the vampiric impulse I feel from human blood. For example, the smell of human blood or the exercise of power through destruction and domination. These things pull Grace towards the vampire side, but because she is a half-vampire, even when she is free, she cannot fully indulge in the frenzy. She feels a mix of exhilaration, anger, disgust, and self-reproach.

Her request to handle Boar was probably related to this.

"It's fine. I'll cook when we get back. Well... there might be a lot of mushroom dishes."

I had harvested a mountain of Whisper Mushrooms. When I said this, Grace smiled and nodded.

"...Yes, thank you."