Chapter 87

Standing on the back of the griffin, Miharu and Stan landed, and Miharu, as if to declare a critical sneak attack, puffed out her chest. Then, she observed the floating Zephyrus.

"Y-You little brat! What did you do? There's nothing wrong with the magic barrier... Damn, this feels awful!"

Shaking his head in disgust, Zephyrus's enraged scream echoed. Indeed, the martial art 'Brain Shaker' had a greater effect than expected.

'Brain Shaker' is an initial martial art for cudgels that 'shakes the opponent's brain and lowers their intelligence.' The effect of 'lowering intelligence' was often described on strategy sites as a mysterious effect.

Why? Because there's no 'intelligence' stat displayed. People on the forums were confused, wondering what it could mean. Some enthusiasts tested it and found that it lowered the power of magic or resistance, but the results were unclear.

In other words, the effect wasn't noticeable enough to be verified. It was also said that enemies might waste turns by observing or being confused, but this was uncertain. Some even claimed that with certain 'erotic' equipment, enemies might occasionally be mesmerized and waste turns, but this was also unconfirmed.

There was no damage multiplier, and as a blunt weapon, the attack power was low. Moreover, the effect was unclear, so no one used the martial art 'Brain Shaker.' That was its position in the game.

However, the effect of 'lowering intelligence' definitely affected the enemy. The enemy couldn't defend against it. It was a special debuff skill. The effect would last until the end of the battle unless 'Status Recovery Magic' or 'Magic Cancel' was used.

I thought about it. Miharu, with her cute face, seriously pondered, "What would happen in reality? Is there a unique effect in reality?"

Now, I could verify it. Zephyrus looked nauseous. However, it didn't seem to cause severe effects like intense headaches or loss of intelligence.

It probably felt like the morning after drinking a lot of alcohol. Like a hangover. It was a perfect skill for harassment. The wine bottle attack was a critical success. Good kids should only use this martial art on bad guys.

"Are you hungover? You must have licked up the wine I accidentally spilled. Are you that poor?"

With a gentle smile, I placed a hand over my mouth and asked, "Is being poor that hard?" I held a broken wine bottle in my other hand. It was dangerous, so I tossed it away.

"Want another one? It's expensive, you know."

I smiled at Miharu and shook another wine bottle. I had brought two from the car's refrigerator.

"Little brat!"

Furious, Zephyrus's hair stood on end. Mana swirled around 'Anemoi,' visually representing his anger. His aura was ominous, and it felt like it would burn if touched.

"Killing... Damn, this feels awful."

Zephyrus stopped moving and held his head. He looked very nauseous, probably at the hangover level.

"Miss Vajra and Mr. Martini! Drop your 'Floating Boards' and chase me on the ground! There's no point in fighting in the air!"

While riding the griffin, I stretched and cupped my hands to my mouth, shouting loudly. After all, why fight slowly in the air when you can move quickly on the ground? It would be better to intercept from the ground.

"On the ground...? Got it! Everyone, chase the girl! She's our important charge!"

The experienced Miss Vajra listened to me and descended. They abandoned the aerial battle and jumped off their floating boards.

"Come on, Goo-chan! We're 'Running Away'!"

That phrase was also the command to choose.

'Run Away'

'Hawkno Miharu has fled!'

In the game, the character runs off the screen, but in reality, it's different. The speed to escape any enemy is granted to the body.

You become slightly faster than the enemy. Faster than the fastest enemy. That's the 'Run Away' of Hawkno Miharu in the game. It's a speed boost that's just enough to avoid being surrounded.

Even if you can't escape.

'You can't run away from this battle!'

"Finally, a boss battle has appeared."

I wondered if someone cute like Miharu could explain the tutorial for boss battles. This one seemed different from the usual boss battles, quite a challenge.

If it weren't for the danger to my parents and Miss Vajra, it would have been fun. The goal is zero casualties.

Still, the speed boost is significant. Even if you can't escape, you can choose the command. It's a common game feature.

The griffin spread its wings wide and soared through the air, its body enveloped in wind. As it accelerated, a gust of wind swept through, shaking the roofs of houses and the windows of buildings on the ground.

"Wow, Goo-chan, you're so fast!"

During the game, the villain 'Anemoi' was conveniently used in both the main and side stories. Perhaps because they were treated as mercenaries. 'Anemoi' was said to be the fastest.

The griffin, enhanced by 'Run Away,' was even faster than 'Anemoi,' displaying the majesty of the 'King of the Skies' as it flew at a speed that seemed to slice through the air.

"What! The 'King of the Skies' isn't just a title!"

Zephyrus, who had never fought a griffin, was surprised by its speed and hastily spread his wings to chase after us.

The griffin, now faster than the fastest 'Anemoi,' flew with the speed of the wind. 'Anemoi,' the fastest in the original story, also flew at the speed of the wind.

As a building loomed ahead, the griffin tilted and rolled, changing its course to fly just above the building's wall. 'Anemoi' also performed a sharp turn and followed closely behind.

"Die, little brat!"

'Blade of the Sky'

He aimed his mechanical long rifle-like magic staff at me. The tip of the staff glowed, and a green magic circle appeared, releasing a blade of wind.

"Rapid ascent!"

"Kwee!"

The griffin followed my command, tilting and flying straight up. I gripped its fluffy fur with my small hands to avoid falling. The wind pressure... I didn't feel it at all. Ah, it's a game feature. Indeed, in the game, I never felt wind pressure while flying.

The wind blades approached from behind at high speed. Zephyrus, seeing the griffin's speed, probably thought he needed to create an opening to land a powerful move, so he fired a rapid series of spells.

Like bullets from an assault rifle, hundreds of wind blades flew toward us. Unlike bullets, these wind blades, created by magic circles, were massive, like guillotines, and would be dangerous if hit.

"You have some combat sense. ...So, Zephyrus is a Martian?"

I puffed out my cheeks and frowned, glancing at the wind blades passing behind me.

Indeed, Zephyrus was foolish. Not just foolish, but a combat fool. He was the typical enemy character in a novel who challenges the protagonist without reading the room.

Hawkno Arashi. Now that I think about it, he was exactly the same. High base level, high combat sense, and not reading the room. And, like Zephyrus, a wind user. I should have realized it. So, Zephyrus is a Martian.

Since he's not human, it makes sense that he didn't read the room and repeatedly engaged in combat. The wind blades caught up and hit the griffin, slicing its fur and causing blood to fly.

"You're being predicted. Zigzag... No, I can do it!"

Here, Hawkno Miharu awakens! Not really. There's something I can do as a game feature.

"Goo-chan, I'm taking control of you."

"Kwee!"

Goo-chan understood and let me take control.

'Become a rider?'

'Yes'

In the game, I rode motorcycles and pegasi. Flying was a standard feature. I didn't give commands to the pegasus; I controlled it directly with the controls.

I thought I could do the same in reality.

"Whoa!"

To dodge the predicted wind blades, I controlled Goo-chan with my thoughts, stopping the ascent and flying diagonally to the left.

"Not letting you escape!"

Zephyrus continued to chase and fire, and we took a few hits. He's a skilled enemy, indeed.

I was cut on the shoulder, and Goo-chan was covered in wounds, but we were fine.

"I'm not that weak to be shot down by rapid fire."

I performed a corkscrew, making Goo-chan's flight path more complex. The damage from rapid fire spells varied greatly. In the game, it was the same. And during 'Run Away,' the defense mode was active. With these two factors, the damage wasn't significant. The wounds were painful to look at, but they were just superficial.

More importantly, we needed to fight at a high altitude. Zephyrus didn't like killing civilians, but he didn't care if they were caught in the crossfire. His methods were purely combat-focused, but if something was an obstacle, he would kill it easily.

We couldn't dodge the 'Blade of the Sky' close to the ground. It would hit the people looking up from the ground. The same went for other spells. Goo-chan always had to stay above Zephyrus.

"Annoying little brat!"

'Tornado Strike'

Realizing that the 'Blade of the Sky' wouldn't stop us, Zephyrus switched to 'Tornado Strike,' trying to slice us with the tornado's gale.

He maintained the 'Tornado Strike' and swept it toward us. If Goo-chan got caught, we'd be like vegetables in a blender. The tornado approached us rapidly.

'Stop'

I applied the brakes and stopped Goo-chan abruptly.

"What!"

Ignoring Zephyrus's surprised cry, I rolled Goo-chan and flew in the opposite direction. The griffin doesn't fly with its wings; they're just for assistance. The true lift comes from the griffin itself, allowing it to perform impossible maneuvers like a UFO. Martians could also perform high-speed maneuvers.

Acceleration, then a sudden ascent. A rapid deceleration followed by a roll. The complex maneuvers made it impossible for the spells to hit Goo-chan. It was a testament to the speed of 'Anemoi.' A regular griffin wouldn't have been able to do it.

"Damn!"

Zephyrus gave up on using magic and chased after me. I expected this. I knew he would think this way.

The best way to defeat me was to get close and attack with 'Zephyrus's Feather Broom.'

"But your high combat sense will be your downfall."

Our destination was right in front of us.

"Goo-chan, maximum acceleration!"

"Kwee!"

Following my command, Goo-chan descended toward our destination.

Inside the Hawkno family forest.

"Here we come. The cute head of the family is here."