Chapter 58

"Grunt!"

A fireball loomed before me.

I barely managed to avoid it by leaping to the side.

No, I couldn't completely avoid it.

The fireball grazed my leg slightly, sending a dull pain through me.

But ignoring the pain, I put strength into my legs and kicked off the ground of the dungeon.

Even if it was just a graze, it was the flame of the ultra-difficult magic beast, the Phoenix.

Normally, I might have lost the use of my leg.

But currently, I was fortified with a self-made fire-resistant magic tool.

If it was just a graze, the pain would be the only issue.

I was truly relying on the magic tools this time.

Still, I couldn't completely depend on the magic tools from now on.

Magic tools have a lifespan.

In other words, there was a limit to how much they could protect me from the Phoenix's flames.

Moreover, even a magic tool couldn't withstand a direct hit from the Phoenix's fireball.

Even with the combination of Laila's healing magic, there was a limit to how much the fireball could be defended against.

... This was putting more pressure on me than I had imagined.

"RA─────A!"

"Whoa!"

It seemed that the current situation of fighting without using magic detection was making me more nervous and sensitive than I had imagined.

While barely avoiding the next fireball by leaping into the air and kicking off a wall, I analyzed the situation.

Currently, I was avoiding the Phoenix's attacks using only a light body enhancement with ki, without using magic detection.

I couldn't activate the complex process of magic detection in the short period between the Phoenix's attack and the release of the fireball.

Fortunately, it seemed that magic detection wasn't very useful in fighting the Phoenix.

In fact, it was probably a terrible match for a Phoenix that could attack from outside the detection range.

... But the absence of magic detection, which had always warned me of dangers around me, was putting more of a burden on me than I had imagined.

"RA ───A!"

"Ugh!"

To avoid the Phoenix's fireball, I jumped forward with all my might, and the pain I felt made me realize how grateful I was for magic detection.

Until now, I had been avoiding attacks by a thin margin.

But now, I was making exaggerated movements.

Without magic detection, I couldn't be sure if I was really avoiding the attacks, so I ended up moving my body more than necessary.

"Ha, ha, ha..."

... And as a result, I was feeling a greater physical and mental fatigue than I had imagined.

I no longer knew how much time I had bought or how much more time I needed to buy.

However, the fighting spirit in my heart didn't fade.

"Area Heal"

With Laila's stern voice, the wounds on my body disappeared, and my fatigue was slightly restored.

Given my current state of fatigue, it might have been just a comforting effect physically.

But that "Area Heal" was an effective fatigue reliever mentally.

The Phoenix was, frankly, a very poor match for me.

It seemed far more troublesome than the Hydra before its mutation.

But even so, I was more filled with fighting spirit than when I fought the Hydra in the Lightning Sword era.

The presence of my comrades behind me was stirring my heart.

I smiled and gripped the short sword I was holding instead of the large sword that was melting and had been thrown away.

"Rauzt, fall back!"

Zig's shout echoed at that moment.

The moment I heard those words, I reflexively understood that Armia's magic was ready.

I hadn't noticed the time passing during the battle, but it seemed a considerable amount of time had passed.

I felt a moment of relief, understanding that I had somehow fulfilled my role.

"RA────A!"

"!"

But the next moment, I realized something and my face turned serious.

... I wasn't the only one who had noticed Armia's magic.

The Phoenix was no longer interested in me.

What lay ahead was Armia, who was closing her eyes and concentrating.

Seeing this, I was certain of something.

Whether it was because the magic was almost complete and the Phoenix's magic detection had noticed it, or for some other reason, the Phoenix had definitely noticed Armia's magic.

"RA───────A!"

The Phoenix let out an angry roar at Armia.

It seemed that the hidden trump card I had kept until the last moment had been noticed by the Phoenix.

"... We've won."

But understanding this, I smiled.

I was certain that victory was now assured.

Because the Phoenix's chosen action was the worst possible move.

Between the Phoenix and Armia stood Zieg and Narsena.

If the Phoenix had noticed Armia's magic a few minutes earlier, the situation might have been different.

But no matter how desperately the Phoenix tried to release fireballs now, it wouldn't be able to attack Armia.

Before that, Armia's magic would definitely be completed.

In other words, the Phoenix's chosen attack was completely futile.

And there was one more thing the Phoenix had overlooked.

I was sure the Phoenix, preoccupied with Armia, hadn't noticed this.

With this certainty, I ran towards the large sword I had thrown away while fleeing and spoke.

"You've completely forgotten about the first time I slashed you, haven't you..."

The Phoenix was currently not paying any attention to me at all.

But this was a judgment error that should never have been made.

Even as I tried to pick up the large sword, the Phoenix didn't notice.

Despite the deep cuts I had inflicted at the beginning of the battle, the Phoenix seemed to have forgotten.

That I was capable of wounding the Phoenix.

Feeling a sense of exasperation, I lifted the large sword.

The blade had melted and become rounded.

The blade was probably quite brittle.

But it could withstand the flames of the Phoenix one more time.

With this judgment, I enhanced my body with magic and ki, held the hilt in reverse, and raised the large sword.

"Raaaah!"

And in the next moment, I threw the large sword at the Phoenix.

The large sword flying towards itself.

"RA────A!?"

The Phoenix noticed it just as it was about to release a fireball.

The Phoenix gave up on releasing the fireball, twisted its body, and tried to avoid it.

... But it was too late.

"RAAAAAAAA!?"

In the next moment, the large sword pierced the Phoenix's body deeply, and the Phoenix let out a painful scream.

"Grant me the blessing of the Water Spirit God!"

Armia's magic was completed at that moment.

In response to Armia's final incantation, a large amount of water appeared and covered the Phoenix's body.

Ordinary water wouldn't be able to strip away the Phoenix's extremely hot flame armor; it would evaporate before that.

But the water created by Armia's magic wasn't just a large amount of water.

It gradually stripped away the flame armor that would normally evaporate the water instantly.

"RA─────AA!"

The Phoenix struggled as if trying to shake off the water, but its actions were meaningless.

After a few dozen seconds, the flame armor covering the Phoenix's body was stripped away.

And the scene after the flame armor was stripped away made us certain of victory.

"RAaaaa"

Even if the flame armor was powerful, the ultra-difficult magic beast wasn't an easy opponent to defeat just by sealing it.

Ultra-difficult magic beasts were beings that should be guarded against until the end.

... But even with that in mind, the Phoenix's condition was so bad that I was certain we wouldn't lose from here.

Under the flame armor, two large wounds were visible on the Phoenix's body.

The wounds I had inflicted at the beginning of the battle and just before stripping the armor.

I hadn't noticed because the Phoenix was covered in flame armor, but the Phoenix had already been deeply wounded.

Wounds that even the Phoenix, known for its super regeneration ability, which surpassed that of ordinary ultra-difficult magic beasts, couldn't heal.

Still, the Phoenix had been firing fireballs and fighting desperately until just now.

But it seemed the Phoenix had reached its limit.

Seeing the Phoenix unable to even release fireballs, I understood this.

"Drawing this out would be cruel."

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Zieg, with his magic sword in hand, muttered and walked towards the Phoenix.

He was going to finish off the Phoenix.

Seeing this, I was certain of the Phoenix's end.

The time it took to get to this point was, in normal circumstances, considered extremely short.

But because I had been distracting the Phoenix for a long time, my body was heavily fatigued.

But with this, the Phoenix's defeat would be over.

I was about to relax...

"rAAAAAa──────aA!"

"Wha...!?"

... But the next moment, the Phoenix blew Zieg away with the magic sword, leaving me standing there in shock.

"......Huh?"