Chapter 87

(Note) This is my second post of the day.

33

"That's something 'we' will take care of."

Lily, declaring this, pursed her lips and glared at Jun Takaya.

"..."

For some reason, her appearance seemed different from usual, and I found myself staring at her profile intently.

Her stern expression.

Her presence, which had a core that drew me in.

The Lily standing there was the familiar one I knew.

There was nothing strange about her.

Perhaps it was just my imagination?

I thought so, but something still felt off.

It seemed wrong to dismiss it as a mere misunderstanding.

"I'm going!"

Lily, with a determined look, shouted as if to encourage herself.

"Roooar!"

The mad beast, facing her, let out a roar that exposed its animal nature and charged at us.

With me at her back, Lily stepped forward without hesitation.

She had no spear in her hand.

Both were fighting bare-handed.

However, the mad beast's massive arms were weapons capable of crushing a person to nothing.

It was impossible to match its strength without a weapon.

"Roooar!"

Without even identifying its opponent, the mad beast swung its arm, a weapon in itself, in a wide arc.

Lily should have had the option to avoid the attack.

Without a weapon, the only choice would be to attract attention and run away.

I had been doing that just a moment ago.

So, naturally, I expected her to do the same.

Or rather, I had assumed she would.

But she took an unexpected action.

She stopped where she was and extended her slender arm.

A heavy thud echoed.

"Roooar!?"

The mad beast let out a cry of shock.

I, too, was speechless, staring at the scene.

The mad beast's downward strike had been caught by Lily's outstretched arm.

It was impossible.

Lily's strength, though considerable for her appearance, was not enough to match the mad beast's overwhelming power.

Yet, she had caught the mad beast's strike head-on.

The reality before me was hard to believe... but that wasn't the reason I was shocked.

There was an even more astonishing sight.

Lily's outstretched arm, which should have been slender and feminine from the elbow down, had changed into something beastly, like the mad beast's.

I recognized the large, beast-like arm, which didn't match Lily's size.

It was undoubtedly the arm of a monster from the depths of the forest, the Ruff Rabbit.

At the end of the Ruff Rabbit's arm, the wrist had transformed into a large turtle shell, which caught the mad beast's strike.

The heavy shell, planted on the ground, served as a perfect shield.

The shell, larger than Lily's body, was likely from one of the many monsters we had eaten at Chiria Fort, a giant land turtle called the Armored Tortoise.

What was happening?

When I reached the answer, I muttered in astonishment.

"Is that... partial mimicry?"

Lily usually uses various mimicry abilities while maintaining the form of Mizuhashi Mihō.

However, when not in her original form, the mimicry abilities are significantly weaker.

Partial mimicry was one solution to this problem.

But partial mimicry was supposed to be an incomplete skill.

The limitations of the Mimic Slime race had always stood in Lily's way.

I knew she had struggled with this.

"Did you... succeed?"

The reality before me was the answer.

Thinking about it, how did Lily escape the magic item "Sin's Shackles," from which even a Gerbera-class monster couldn't escape once trapped?

Her regaining freedom was proof that she had overcome the barrier.

"Roooar!"

The surface of the shell rippled, and a wolf's head, with a fire fang, emerged with a roar.

The gray wolf, reshaped from the waist up, bit into the mad beast's elbow.

The sturdy fangs pierced the skin.

"Roooar!"

The mad beast, contorting its face, forcibly shook off the wolf.

The wolf's head shattered, and the scattered flesh fragments turned into slime and fell to the ground.

The mad beast, now free from the restraint, prepared to launch a counterattack.

Six snakes attacked its face.

"Shiiiisss!"

Before I knew it, Lily's left arm had transformed into snakes.

A Lesser Hydra, a monster from the surface of the forest.

Caught off guard, the mad beast was forced to retreat.

While retreating, it swung its arm, crushing the snakes trying to sink their fangs into it.

"Hmm."

Lily's relentless assault stopped there.

During that time, the mad beast had regained its balance.

Lily, frowning, muttered.

"Even with 'help,' I can only control four at once right now."

Lily's partial mimicry was a powerful ability.

Each mimicked monster, while not as strong as a powerful enemy overall, had areas where it could compete.

Combined, Lily's current combat ability might even reach the level of Gerbera.

However, it seemed there were still limitations.

"Roooar!"

The mad beast, with its developed instincts replacing its regressed intelligence, saw an opportunity.

It roared and charged at Lily.

If the number of available cards was limited, it would overwhelm her with a barrage of attacks.

Whether the mindless mad beast had thought this through or not was unclear, but that was likely its strategy.

"Lily!"

"I'm fine."

Grinding my teeth at my immobile body, I shouted, and Lily responded over her shoulder.

Then, facing the approaching mad beast, she extended her hand.

Looking at Jun Takaya with her open hand, she smiled strongly.

"With the 'us' we are now, we can overcome any limit."

Coincidentally, it was the same decision I had made.

A brief, all-out effort.

A decisive, no-holds-barred strike.

A terrifying amount of magic power surged from Lily's entire body.

"Everything I've built up until now... if you can handle it, then handle it!"

Just as the mad beast was about to strike, Lily unleashed her attack.

In the next moment, Lily's wrist exploded, and a horde of monsters poured out.

It was a scene like an overturned toy box.

All the monsters Lily had swallowed attacked the mad beast.

The mad beast, eyes wide open, stopped, but the collision was inevitable.

The giant arm, swung down, shattered the leading monster.

But it was just one of the countless monsters.

More monsters surged forward and collided with the massive body.

The strong beast's body didn't fall from that alone.

But the horde kept coming.

Even a massive boulder, immovable by heavy machinery, would be swept away by a flood.

The same phenomenon occurred.

"Roooar!?"

The overwhelming number of monsters overwhelmed the raging mad beast, knocked it down, and crushed it.

In the end, it blew the mad beast's massive body away like a piece of wood.

***

The horde of monsters disappeared in a short time.

They lost their form, turned into a semi-liquid state, and were reabsorbed into Lily's wrist.

I, still in shock from what I had seen, watched as Lily lowered her extended hand.

She was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.

The mountain, once filled with the noise of battle, was now very quiet, and I could hear her slightly labored breathing amidst the rustling leaves.

I thought it was over.

But then, the mad beast, which had been blown away and fallen, opened its yellow eyes wide.

"Roooar!"

With a roar, the mad beast lifted its body.

I opened my eyes wide.

"Still... able to stand!?"

I was speechless.

The mad beast's condition was like a ragged dishrag.

One of its arms had been torn off and lay on the ground from Lily's attack.

It had been moving its body by force due to the mad beast transformation.

It was no longer in a state to fight.

It was a wonder it could even stand.

"Roooar!"

Still, the beast continued to rage.

Blood splattered from its wounds, a clear act of suicide.

If it kept thrashing, it would die before we could do anything.

The ability in Jun Takaya's hands might have been something that damaged him first.

First his reason, then his self... and finally, his life, until it destroyed everything.

Lily looked at the mad beast, which bared its teeth and roared, with a sad gaze.

"It's useless."

Lily said.

"I won't become yours."

Her voice was calm and melancholic, unlike during the battle.

There was a special emotion in her words...

"..."

Suddenly, the mad beast's growl subsided.

Its yellow, clouded eyes fixed on Lily.

It was as if it was trying to confirm something.

Lily, meeting its gaze, turned to me.

Her familiar face, but with a different look in her eyes.

Her thin lips parted.

"I'm going with him."

She said clearly and turned back to the mad beast.

"So, Jun. I can't be with you."

"..."

The mad beast didn't react.

Naturally, it didn't have the intelligence to respond meaningfully.

It was no longer Jun Takaya but a mere beast, a monster.

However... even though it didn't react, the beastless creature was still staring at the girl in front of it.

The hostility and malice that had been there before were gone.

Strangely, the beast's massive body now seemed hollow, like a cardboard cutout.

Seeing the beast, I realized the battle was truly over.

The bristling fur relaxed.

The beast, now smaller, growled low and kicked the ground.

It didn't charge at us.

It jumped backward.

The mad beast looked at Lily and me alternately, then turned its back on us.

It let out one last cry.

And that was it.

The beast that was once Jun Takaya disappeared into the trees.

***

"Master."

Called by the voice, I turned from the trees where the beast had disappeared.

Lily, approaching me, made a downcast smile.

"Sorry. I couldn't finish it."

"Don't worry about it."

I shook my head.

"I think it was for the best."

Lily was clearly exhausted, and it was uncertain whether she would have come out unscathed if the battle had continued.

If it had turned into a fight, the mad beast would have self-destructed, but one or both of us might have been taken down with it.

I just wanted everyone to be safe.

This was the same as what I had told Iwan.

We had a promise with Iwan. As long as the mad beast didn't harm us, it was fine if it escaped.

I had a feeling that the mad beast wouldn't attack us again.

It was just a beast now. Whether it would return to being Jun Takaya was uncertain.

It would live and die somewhere, like any other monster.

There was no need to worry.

And... I felt a sense of relief.

I didn't think it was right to let the current Lily kill that mad beast.

I didn't know why I felt that way, but...

"What is it, Master?"

"...Nothing."

Noticing my gaze, Lily looked at me curiously, and I shook my head.

The disaster was over.

For now, that was enough.

I was too tired to think deeply.

I felt like sitting down right there.

But I couldn't do that.

First, I needed to check on the injured and treat them.

They shouldn't have life-threatening injuries, but I couldn't leave them hurt.

"Hey, Lily. Do you have enough magic power to cast healing spells...?"

As I was about to ask, Lily collapsed into my arms.

"..."

My thoughts froze.

"Sorry, Master."

Lily's body, felt through her clothes, was abnormally hot.

"I might be at my limit."

Held in my arms, Lily said in a half-panting tone.

"Lily...?"

"Relax."

Lily looked up at me, her exhausted, feverish face showing a weak smile.

"Just... resting... for a bit..."

With those last words, her body slumped heavily.

◆ The incident has ended, but Chapter 3 will continue a bit more.

Please bear with me for a little longer.