Chapter 57

Wrapped in the crest armor, I took a step forward and delivered a body blow to Tyrano’s abdomen.

Tyrano’s abdomen was pierced, and blood spurted out.

I then forced magical power through my fist into his body, causing it to explode.

“Gyaa!?”

Tyrano, with his massive three-meter frame, retreated, spraying blood.

However, the will to fight still lingered in his eyes.

Even as he retreated, he planted his feet firmly and opened his mouth wide. The inside of his mouth seemed to ignite, and he unleashed a series of fireballs larger than my head.

The fireballs flew at supersonic speed. Even with my current state, a direct hit would undoubtedly cause significant damage.

However, I had already started evasive maneuvers the moment he began his preparatory movements. I kicked off the ground and leaped. Just that simple action created a loud explosion and gouged the earth.

Leaping diagonally forward, I felt the heat from the fireball as it passed by my cheek.

As soon as I landed, I took another step and charged, passing by Tyrano’s side. In passing, I slashed at his flank with a hand strike.

“Gyuuuuuuu!!”

“Gaaaaaaa!!”

Tyrano’s roar and my scream overlapped.

While wrapped in the crest armor and enveloped in miasma, I become extremely aggressive. My instincts scream to kill, kill. Additionally, due to the control of the crest armor and this mental state, I can only use simple magic.

“Haaaaa!!”

I leaped high and this time punched downward.

My fist embedded itself in his cheek, shattering Tyrano’s strong jaw and teeth.

As I landed, I crouched and performed a bold leg sweep, circling around his body.

Tyrano’s body floated up, and I struck his abdomen with a palm strike aimed at destroying his internal organs.

Tyrano was blown back, and I felt the impact of crushing several of his internal organs and ribs.

He was pulled down by gravity and slammed into the ground. Due to the way he fell face-down, his head was in a position that was easy to strike.

I hit him with all my might, and Tyrano’s skull shattered.

I hit him again and again, causing fatal injuries.

However...

“Gyaaaaaoo!!”

Miasma erupted from him.

The tail I had crushed, the flank I had slashed, and the jaw and skull I had shattered all returned to their original state.

Yes, high-ranking monsters can recover using miasma, just as humans recover using blessings.

While ordinary monsters can only form their bodies with miasma, they store miasma for the purpose of reconstructing their bodies.

...I had anticipated this from the beginning.

To defeat him, I either need to continue hitting him until he runs out of miasma for recovery, or deliver a single blow that destroys more than half of his body in an instant.

“Gyaa!”

Tyrano, who had fallen face-down, leaped up and lunged at me with his large mouth open.

I backstepped to dodge, and Tyrano’s jaw closed in front of my face, making a hard sound and sparking.

I circled around to his side and punched his vulnerable flank.

“Gyue”

My punch definitely dealt damage.

However, the damage began to heal immediately.

I cautiously dodged and continued to hit him repeatedly, but I could not outpace his recovery speed.

Yes, I knew this. I knew I couldn’t defeat him.

Before I could deplete the miasma he had stored for recovery, the limit of the crest armor would be reached.

Without the crest armor, I couldn’t even engage in battle. Using the crest armor means I can’t use powerful, advanced magic.

All I can do is continue to hit him as long as the crest armor lasts.

The sound of punches continued, over and over.

The sensation returning to my fist became softer.

His miasma reserves were decreasing, and the enhancement from miasma was weakening.

Additionally, his recovery speed visibly slowed.

However...

“Am I reaching my limit first?”

The consumption of magical power was minimal, but the blessings that had been gradually depleted to suppress the damage from miasma were finally running out. Once the blessings are gone, the miasma will mercilessly burn my body.

“Gyaaaa”

It was a joyful roar, as if he knew I was weakening.

...I smiled wryly. What a human-like monster.

“This is the end.”

As I released the crest armor, I transformed the miasma I had been using into countless blades by blending it with my own magical power. This way, even a monster cannot absorb the miasma.

“[Miasma Flying Blades]”

“Gyuuuuuuu!?”

Multiple miasma blades tore Tyrano to shreds.

He let out a scream, unable to withstand my final blow.

However, he was not defeated.

In front of me, Tyrano, with his body covered in countless wounds and bleeding, was healing himself with the black light of miasma.

Even my final trump card couldn’t finish him...

His eyes gleamed with pleasure.

With my blessings depleted, I was just a human.

You did well.

With this much time, the two of them could have escaped.

Without waiting for his wounds to heal, he charged at me, apparently eager to kill me quickly.

I closed my eyes quietly.

“What, are you giving up, Soji-kun?”

A golden shadow darted past me from behind and leaped in front of Tyrano.

It was Kuna, who should have escaped long ago.

“Kuna!?”

She plunged her hand into the wound in Tyrano’s flank that I had created with [Miasma Flying Blades] and released hellfire.

Due to the weakened miasma defense and the open wound, even Kuna’s Rank 1 power was effective. She continued to pour flames into Tyrano while clinging to him.

Disliking the flames being released from the wound, Tyrano thrashed and threw Kuna off.

Kuna adjusted her stance in mid-air and landed gracefully.

Tyrano, judging Kuna to be more dangerous than me with my depleted blessings, turned his attention to her.

The moment Tyrano focused on Kuna...

“That’s not like you, Soji. [Moon Slash]”

However, Anne, who had quietly sneaked up behind him, released [Moon Slash], aiming for the wound in his right leg and slicing his Achilles tendon.

“Anne too!?”

With his Achilles tendon cut, Tyrano lost his balance and fell.

“Kuna, Anne, why didn’t you run!?”

I shouted at them.

“We didn’t agree to run. We just didn’t want to be a burden, so we hid and stayed out of the way.”

Kuna, who had taken a step back from Tyrano, opened fire with [Rigid Flame Spear] at his wounds while speaking.

So that’s what Anne meant when she whispered in my ear back then.

“Soji, we are a party. We can’t sacrifice you alone.”

Anne, calmly observing the thrashing Tyrano, continued to hit him with [Moon Slash], gradually but surely wearing him down.

The two of them, with my help in weakening Tyrano, were slowly but surely chipping away at him.

However...

“Gyaaaaaaa!!”

Tyrano roared and released a terrifying amount of miasma.

He blew Anne and Kuna away and rapidly healed his wounds.

He used rapid healing, which consumes a lot of miasma, to deal with the two of them. He must have judged that it was safer to use up his remaining miasma to do so.

He even squeezed out miasma for defense. He must have decided that it would be fine as long as he could finish the job quickly.

With his miasma reserves depleted, Tyrano’s self-healing and defense temporarily recovered. The attacks from the two of them were no longer effective.

The only consolation was that he was far from his full power.

However, by human standards, he still possessed the strength of at least a high Rank 2.

“Soji-kun, think of a way to turn this around.”

“Yes, if we continue like this, we’ll all be wiped out. Soji, you can do it, right? Think of a way to turn this situation around.”

The two of them, who had returned despite my orders, were saying quite irresponsible things.

However, deep down, I was glad they had come back and were relying on me.

Tyrano, with his wounds healed, charged at us. Kuna activated an earth magic spell, turning the ground in front of her into a deep mud pit, and Tyrano sank headfirst into it. Kuna immediately solidified the mud, burying Tyrano alive.

Yes, foxes have an affinity for earth elemental magic, second only to fire.

Tyrano was struggling to escape, but his body, encased in hard earth, made it difficult for him to exert any force.

...The time Kuna bought me. I need to use it effectively to prepare a strategy.

“I didn’t have a winning strategy, which is why I told you to run. Seriously, why did you come back?”

“We made a promise, didn’t we? To always be together when we challenge the underground labyrinth and when we return.”

“Yes, we swore on the emblem of the [Tail of the Magic Sword]. We can never break this vow.”

The day we first challenged the underground labyrinth. The words we swore on the [Tail of the Magic Sword].

So, we did make a promise. ...If that’s the case, it’s worth risking our lives. Not just mine, but all three of us.

I placed my hands on Kuna’s and Anne’s shoulders and channeled my magical power.

“What is this? The magical power won’t stop.”

“Amazing, I feel a surge of power.”

The two of them were surprised by the magical power surging from me.

“[Limit Break]. This will allow you two to use power beyond your limits for two minutes.”

In exchange, if you exceed the time, you won’t be able to move properly due to the backlash, and your magical circuits will be out of commission for several days, unable to recover magical power.

This is a spell I can use because I’ve been training my magical circuits over the past two months.

If I use it in a state where I have a lot of magical power, it will burn out my magical circuits.

Kuna’s circuits are slightly concerning, but they are incredibly robust. She should be able to handle it.

“Hold Tyrano off for one minute and thirty seconds. I’ll complete my secret spell and defeat him within that time.”

“That’s a pretty simple plan.”

“Anne, it’s straightforward and good, isn’t it?”

The two of them joked.

“I’ll tell you this in advance. With your current abilities, you won’t last a minute. Moreover, I have plenty of magical power, but my blessings are zero. My physical abilities are severely degraded, I can’t dodge his attacks, and my defense is paper-thin. I have no self-defense capabilities, so if you two are taken out, I’ll die easily.”

The two of them gasped.

Yes, I have no blessings left. With my current physical abilities, I can’t handle his attacks.

“And the secret spell I’m counting on is incomplete.”

The spell I’m using is [Space Destruction], which lacks the necessary power, and [Roar of the Silver Dragon], which I’ve never successfully cast.

“...Understand? This plan is a mess. Kuna and Anne can’t hold him off, and I’m not sure if my spell will work properly. Honestly, the odds are against us. It’s not a sane decision.”

This isn’t just a gamble. It sounds like pure suicide.

“I understand. It’s a simple task, right? We’ll exceed Soji-kun’s expectations and hold him off.”

Kuna smiled and said,

“Soji, if you can activate the spell with determination, we’ll all survive.”

Anne also smiled and continued.

When they said that, it seemed like it was nothing.

“Absolutely, that’s exactly right. We’ll all survive!”

“Yes!”

“Okay!”

I believed they would protect me and began the calculations while standing still, and Anne and Kuna headed towards Tyrano.

Tyrano forced his head towards the ground and released a massive fireball from his mouth. The ground was blown away. In exchange for burning his own body with his flames, he escaped the earth magic’s restraint.

“Anne, Kuna, listen without turning around. I was looking at Tyrano, and I was considering whether to sacrifice myself to let you two escape or to let you two die while I escaped. No matter what, I was certain that the [Tail of the Magic Sword] would be incomplete.”

I continued speaking while performing the spell calculations.

I shouted for you to run because, between those two options, I preferred to die.

“I once accepted that fate. But Anne and Kuna came back. I was really happy. I almost cried. Maybe that’s why, feeling so happy, I couldn’t give up on being together.”

Probably, no matter how many times I live my life, I’ll never find a better party. I want to stay together with all three of us.

“Besides, if my beloved Kuna and Anne refuse to accept such a fate, I can’t accept it either...”

As long as they believe in me and in our power, I will resist.

“So, I will, no, we will, use our magic to change our fate!”

I couldn’t see the faces of the two heading towards Tyrano, but I felt they were smiling.

There was no fear. I believe in the power of the [Tail of the Magic Sword] and am determined to win.

We will win and return together.

With that vow, I continued the calculations for the spell I had never successfully cast.

Next, the climax of Chapter 2. The final showdown.

By the way, the vow mentioned in the middle is a promise made in a special event in the first volume of the book. Please buy the first volume of [Cheating Magic]! It will be released in December!

“‘We swear on the [Tail of the Magic Sword], that we will always challenge the underground labyrinth together and return together.’”