Chapter 38

Yuel showed no concern for the wound on her shoulder and immediately engaged in battle with the Armorga.

Like a bullet, she fearlessly inserted herself between me and the Armorga.

And she dodged the sweeping claw strike.

She dodged the punch that could crush a tree.

She dodged the storm-like attacks of the Armorga, which could lead to death even with a mere graze.

Yuel continued to evade.

She wasn't just dodging.

After I treated her shoulder when I saw an opening, Yuel aimed her knife at the Armorga's joints, tendons, and eyes.

She struck at the thin-skinned areas, taking advantage of any openings.

Facing a monster that had once given her a wound that left her unable to fight again.

Yuel fought without fear, not backing down a single step.

We were saved.

It was a close call.

It's a pathetic situation to be saved by a girl I had sent to safety, but we were rescued from a dire situation.

...But.

But, this won't do.

Yuel slashes at the Armorga's arm with her knife.

However, the blade only creates a thin line.

Yuel stabs the Armorga's side with her knife as she swings her arm.

However, the blade only slightly tears the skin and stops.

Yuel throws her knife at the Armorga's eye.

And it is deflected by the Armorga's arm.

Yuel's attacks cannot penetrate the Armorga's defenses.

I knew.

We lack the offensive power.

Yuel can buy time, but she cannot defeat the Armorga.

Even if we continue to fight, Yuel will not win.

If there is any chance of victory, it will certainly be a long battle.

And if Yuel's feet get stuck in the mud or she reaches her limit of fatigue, she will be easily killed by the Armorga.

Above all, that must not happen.

Letting Yuel engage in a prolonged battle is too dangerous.

What should we do?

Should we run away with Yuel now?

No, even if we run, there are the thrown stones.

If we turn our backs and get hit by those, we won't stand a chance.

If one of those hits Yuel's small body directly, it could be fatal.

Should we fight?

No, Yuel alone lacks the decisive blow.

Yuel's strength cannot penetrate that hard skin.

Even at the joints, she can only tear the skin thinly enough to draw no blood.

The only place the knife might go through is the eyes.

Right now, Yuel is aiming for the eyes, but the Armorga immediately protects them when she tries to attack.

Ideally, we would blind both eyes, but the Armorga won't let its weak point be attacked so easily.

Dodging the Armorga's fatal attacks while trying to get past its guard to gouge its eyes is difficult even for Yuel.

We can't run, and Yuel can't win.

Then, what should we do?

...There is a way.

I'm sure Yuel has already thought of it, even if she hasn't said it.

It's that simple.

"I should fight too."

Instead of Yuel fighting alone, I should fight with her.

If I take the Armorga's attacks, Yuel won't need to dodge.

She can attack freely.

While I'm being attacked and serving as a decoy, Yuel can aim for the Armorga's eyes.

That way, Yuel's attacks might reach.

Knives are scary.

Big monsters are even scarier.

But Yuel might be defeated by the Armorga's next attack.

There's no time to hesitate.

Gripping the mace, I approach the Armorga.

The Armorga's gaze, which was fixed on Yuel, turns to me.

"Ma, Master! No, it's dangerous! Please stay back!"

Yuel cries out in shock, but the Armorga's eyes are clearly focused on my mace.

To the Armorga, the mace that made it stumble, even for a moment, is a greater threat than Yuel's knife, which only scratches its hard skin.

As expected, the Armorga turns from Yuel to me.

"Yuel, I'll draw its attention. Take this opportunity to blind the Armorga's eyes!"

This is the first time I'm fighting alongside Yuel.

I've watched her fight from behind, but I've rarely stepped forward to fight.

I stand in front of the Armorga.

Its massive body, thick arms, and dull, sharp claws.

Just standing in front of it, I can feel my instincts screaming to run, run.

For someone as small as Yuel, this must be even more terrifying.

...I can't let Yuel stand in front of such a monster.

"But! If Master...!"

"I won't do anything reckless. Yuel, trust me. Your Master isn't that weak!"

Well, I don't have any combat experience that would inspire trust.

But Yuel slowly and slightly nods.

Perhaps she understands that this is the only way.

And she trusts me.

I'm not trying to engage in a direct fight.

I just want Yuel to attack while I block a few hits.

I just need to create an opening for the Armorga.

I raise the mace.

My target is the right foot.

I'm not going to neglect my defense and attack with all my might.

It's almost a feint, a weak strike.

But the Armorga, as if panicked, raises its arm to strike at me.

...It seems that the blow to the ankle really hurt.

I quickly pull back the mace and raise it in front of me.

I'm only protecting my head.

The Armorga's strength.

The blow it delivers.

Its claws approach at a terrifying speed.

But I can't flinch.

I can't close my eyes.

Watch closely.

I've always watched Yuel move faster than this.

The Armorga's strike is indeed fast.

—But Yuel's movements are definitely sharper.

I can definitely see it.

And I just need to align this mace with the Armorga's arm.

A loud, metallic sound rings out.

The Armorga's claws scrape against the mace, sliding along its side.

And the trajectory is slightly off.

The left side of my face feels like it's burning.

I can't feel my ears.

I start to worry about what has happened to them.

But it doesn't hurt as much as when the Giant Ant cut my leg.

And I'm still alive.

—Now.

At this moment, when the Armorga's arm is fully extended.

Yuel is behind the Armorga.

Yuel, with her knife raised, is looking at me with teary eyes.

I give her a nod.

A silver flash.

A squelching sound is heard.

"—!!"

The Armorga's scream.

Yuel, who has let go of the knife, is flung away.

And—Yuel's knife is deeply embedded in the Armorga's right eye.

Well done.

Yuel is indeed excellent.

I'll have to praise her a lot later.

The Armorga is roaring, glaring at Yuel with its remaining left eye.

It completely ignores me.

It seems determined to crush Yuel this time.

Yuel is strong.

She created an opening and accurately destroyed the vital point.

It's correct for the Armorga to be wary of Yuel.

But now, you should be looking at something else.

—Gripping the mace firmly.

The Armorga, excited and about to swing its claws at Yuel.

From the Armorga's right eye, the handle of Yuel's knife is protruding.

—Taking a step forward towards the Armorga.

The Armorga's remaining left eye is bloodshot from excitement and not looking at me at all.

It's only following Yuel's movements to avoid attacks.

—Raising the mace high.

I make eye contact with Yuel, who is dodging attacks.

Yuel, in an attempt to lead the Armorga to me, dodges a large attack.

—Tightening all my muscles.

And in front of me is the Armorga, its attack at Yuel having missed.

The handle of the knife protruding from its right eye is—perfectly aligned with my mace.

"Haahaaaaa!"

The slight resistance of flesh, pushed through by force.

In an instant.

The Armorga stiffens.

The Armorga's foot, which was about to move towards Yuel, stops.

—Looking at the Armorga's right eye, I see the handle of the knife deeply embedded in the socket.

It seems the inside of the eye wasn't as hard as the outside.

And like a string being cut, the massive body collapses.

The Armorga falls to the ground.

"...Did we do it?"

The Armorga doesn't move.

Even when I poke it with the mace, it shows no signs of moving.

...Really not moving?

I lightly tap the Armorga's body with the mace.

Still no signs of movement.

"Master! Are you okay!?"

Yuel immediately rushes over.

While worrying about me, she checks the Armorga and lets out a sigh of relief.

It seems the Armorga is really dead.

The Armorga's remaining left eye is rolled back.

Its fingers don't even twitch.

With only a noticeable wound in its right eye, it feels like it might get up at any moment, but it's definitely dead.

...We won.

We protected ourselves.

The tension in my body starts to ease.

And then, I notice Yuel looking worriedly at the left side of my face.

She has a very worried look on her face, staring at...my ear area.

When I touch it to check...my left ear is completely gone.

What, what is this? It hurts.

It really hurts.

"Heal! Heal! Ex-Heal!"

It's immediately healed and regrown, but I feel like I've created another trauma in my heart.

Why do I keep getting injured like this?

Well, if the cost of the Armorga's attack was just one ear, maybe I was lucky.

...Well, it's fine.

We're safe in the end.

And then, I realize something as I'm about to call out to Yuel to run.

Yuel is twitching her ears and staring at a point in the forest.

"...Master."

Yuel whispers, her voice slightly trembling.

In front of Yuel's gaze...there is a wolf.

About ten meters away, a familiar wolf monster is staring at us intently.

And then, it howls.

It's not over yet.

It hasn't ended.

Yes, we did defeat the vicious monster, the Armorga.

But...we haven't escaped the forest yet.

That wolf.

It's the same monster we fought just before encountering the Armorga.

Perhaps it didn't run away but was watching us the whole time.

Perhaps it was waiting for the right moment to take advantage of our weakened state.

—From the right, from the left, new howls rise.

The rustling of grass and branches can be heard from all around.

The strength leaves my body.

It's no good.

This...we might not be able to escape.

We're completely surrounded.

The bushes rustle, and a wolf appears in front of us.

And the number of wolves increases rapidly, one after another.

In no time, there are more than ten visible.

The wolves don't attack immediately.

They close the distance slowly, as if cornering a weakened prey.

Yuel raises her knife...but the situation is dire.

This number is too much even for Yuel.

The wolf howls again.

And then, a new, larger sound is heard as something approaches.

More reinforcements are coming.

There's no way both of us can survive with this kind of thinking.

But...at least I want Yuel to escape.

I raise my mace, ready to use magic to call out to Yuel and help her escape—

—At that moment.

At the edge of my vision, something breaks through the tangled grass and rushes straight towards us.

Red hair, flowing in the wind.

In her hands, a shield and a long sword.

"Z...h...h...I made it, I made it!"

She forcefully inserts herself between me and the wolves, cutting down a wolf that was about to pounce.

"By a hair's breadth."

An arrow from a blue-haired adventurer accurately pierces the wolf's forehead.

"H...s...Fireball!"

A giant flame created by a blonde girl instantly incinerates the wolf.

And a moment later, multiple metallic sounds.

Knights charge at the wolves.

—It's the extermination team.

In the brief moment of shock, the wolves are quickly dispatched one after another.

"Hey, are you still alive? Are you okay?"

The red-haired girl in front of me, Luluka, touches my body while talking to me.

Her clothes are torn in places, making it feel a bit ticklish.

"A...ah."

"...I'm glad I made it in time. I was really worried when you stopped responding."

It seems I caused her worry.

She must have rushed here, as her breathing is quite heavy.

We were saved.

While fighting the Armorga, we had moved quite far from the river.

I thought no help would come.

"Why? You look surprised. Didn't I tell you at the clinic? I got lost in the forest before. So, I decided to take proper precautions for getting lost next time."

Luluka points to the earring on her right ear and smiles.

"This is a set of magical devices. The person wearing the right one can know the location of the person wearing the left one. I bought it to help the extermination team find me if I got lost, but it ended up being the other way around. I was really worried when you suddenly stopped responding."

...I remember receiving an earring from Luluka and putting it in my left ear.

It must have been destroyed by the Armorga's attack.

It seems it had a specific purpose.

...Maybe it was to compete with Yuel, who has matching bracelets?

Was it out of jealousy?

I was thinking about it, even though I should be happy to be saved.

It makes me feel a bit complicated.

"Is...is this the designated target, the Armorga?"

The voice comes from a familiar female knight. Who was she?

Ah, right.

She was the female knight who came to the clinic before.

Marieetta. She was part of the extermination team.

"Just the two of you...? This monster isn't something that can be easily defeated..."

Marieetta asks, puzzled.

"Master protected me."

And Yuel immediately answers.

...I feel like I was the one being protected.

But probably, in Yuel's mind, it was like that.

Marieetta looks at me with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Master used the mace to defeat it!"

Yuel lifts me up.

Marieetta's eyes show respect.

It feels good, so I don't deny it.

"Heh, it looks like a valuable monster. Those claws, for example. I'm a bit concerned about the dry, crispy texture, though."

It's dried slime jelly.

I wish she wouldn't mention it.

"...Thank you for saving us."

A soft voice is heard.

Looking over, I see Fran with her eyes swollen red.

I remember Fran has been crying softly the whole time.

Sera is comforting her, but Fran must have a very emotional personality.

I want to be thanked.

And I want Sera to convey that gratitude and increase my favorability.

"Ah, Shiki