Chapter 83

It was when the 'Guidance of the Spirits' fell and the 'Dragon's Vanguard' began attacking an unfamiliar monster that Aldis and Nicole noticed something was amiss.

Until then, the atmosphere among their allies, who were on the verge of victory, had suddenly changed, and Aldis noticed this and began to assess the situation around him.

"What the hell is going on?"

Nicole also noticed the anomaly and seemed to have discovered the cause, the unfamiliar monster.

"An unfamiliar monster..."

Following Nicole's gaze, Aldis saw a monstrous creature standing about three meters tall. It stood on two legs, maintaining balance with a thick, long tail, resembling a reptilian-type monster like a Despair. However, unlike the Despair, it had no forelimbs, and its body, when extended, easily exceeded five meters. Its body was dyed a bluish gray, and a mane-like fur grew from its head down the spine to the tip of its tail.

Despite its massive size, its movements were swift. It kept the surrounding mercenaries at bay with its tail while its long neck repeatedly pecked at the 'Dragon's Vanguard.' Every time the monster took a step, someone was blown away, and every time its neck extended, red flowers bloomed.

"This isn't good. It's not an ordinary monster."

The mercenaries, now at a disadvantage, were flustered.

* * *

*Snap*

Aldis, intending to provide support, stepped forward, but it was already too late. When Aldis rushed over, he saw that all the 'Dragon's Vanguard' were lying before the monster.

"Ugh. This is... bad."

Nicole, who arrived late, looked around and let out a voice.

The only creature standing in the pool of blood was the monster. The surrounding mercenaries were merely circling it, watching its movements.

It was understandable. The 'Guidance of the Spirits' and the 'Dragon's Vanguard,' the best combat units of the extermination force, had been defeated one after another. The strength of the monster that had accomplished this was clearly not ordinary, and anyone could see that.

"So, are you going to fight that thing?"

The monster, pointed out by Nicole, was moving its neck from side to side, looking for its next prey.

At the end of its neck was an object Aldis had never imagined. A small, egg-shaped, flesh-colored sphere was attached to the tip of the neck. The sphere had two indentations side by side, a protrusion below the middle, and a horizontally split hole further down.

It resembled a human face.

Further away from the human face, two arm-like appendages were visible. Unlike the bluish-gray body, the arms were human flesh-colored, and the fingers, which were disproportionately thin for the massive body, were divided into five.

Those were probably the monster's forelimbs. It made sense that the main body had no forelimbs. The sight was like watching the final moment before a human was swallowed by a giant monster's mouth.

The eyes on the human face glared at Aldis.

It seemed those eyes were not just for show. Given that no other eyes were visible, the human face was likely the monster's face.

Aldis, with 'Engraved Spring Mist' and 'Moon-Substitute Blizzard' floating, said to the green-haired swordsman beside him,

"If you don't want to, you can step back. I'll handle it alone."

"No, I can't do that. I don't want to stand in the front, but I can provide some restraint, I guess..."

"Do as you please."

Leaving a cold reply, Aldis approached the monster.

* * *

*Crack*

The two swords, slicing through the air, attacked the monster's legs, trying to sever them.

However, the monster showed agility that belied its massive size. It dodged 'Engraved Spring Mist' by jumping to the side and whipped 'Moon-Substitute Blizzard' away with its thick tail. A thin layer of frost briefly appeared on the tail's surface but quickly melted.

Taking advantage of this, Aldis closed the distance and swung his sword with momentum.

"Damn, it's more agile than I thought—!"

The monster, having evaded 'Azure Heaven's Splendor,' reared its neck and attacked Aldis.

"Mi...!"

The monster emitted a sound from the mouth on its human face and extended its arms. Aldis dodged while thrusting the tip of 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' towards the human face.

At that moment, the human face, facing the thrust, split into three, revealing a red mouth inside.

"What!?"

Aldis's face showed a hint of anxiety as he lost the expected resistance. The tip of 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' was enveloped by the monster's split mouth, caught by the numerous teeth inside.

Reacting quickly, Aldis released the hilt and leaped backward. The monster's thick tail swept through the spot where he had been a moment ago.

"I'm here too, you know!"

Nicole, who had been watching from the side, struck the monster from the side as it tried to pursue Aldis. Her sword caught the monster's torso, but only inflicted a minor scratch.

"Damn, it's tough!"

The monster's attention turned towards her, and Nicole hastily retreated. Although her attack was not effective, it allowed Aldis to regain his composure without being hit by the monster's counterattack.

Releasing his weapon in the middle of a battle was normally unthinkable. However, if he had clung to the sword, he would have been hit by the attack while unable to move. A regular mercenary would have been left weaponless and in a dire situation, but Aldis still had the two floating swords.

"It's not as it looks."

Aldis summoned 'Moon-Substitute Blizzard' into his right hand and began to chant while maintaining his guard. A hard, rock-like structure composed of magic formed around his arm, centered on his palm facing the monster.

"Thrusting pebbles are the unwavering spears of brave knights—Rock!"

Dozens of pebbles, unlike the usual single pebble of the 'Rock' spell, flew towards the monster.

The monster tried to dodge by twisting its body, but it couldn't avoid all of them. Several rocks embedded themselves in the gray body, causing significant injuries.

"Si... I...!"

The monster spat out the 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' it had been holding and groaned.

"I'll take it back."

Aldis quickly retrieved the sword without a hilt. He switched the sword to his right hand and returned 'Moon-Substitute Blizzard' to its position above his head.

He aimed the two flying swords at the monster again, but their power was still insufficient. They had enough strength to cut through an average monster in one strike, but against this monster, they only inflicted superficial wounds. It was clearly a different class of monster. Aldis tightened his resolve.

"Shining light that pierces the pitch-black darkness, the white path leading to the central world, the invisible realm blocking the way is the bed of the wise who have forgotten their homeland—"

While keeping the monster at bay with the flying swords, Aldis began to chant. A dazzling light sphere appeared at the tip of his raised palm.

"Pierce the black ebony sky, release the wingless one, give a thread of hope to the foolish us who strive even knowing it is unreachable—Shining Light!"

The light sphere grew in size, reaching about fifty centimeters before suddenly contracting. It was compressed by some force, becoming more dense.

Eventually, the light, compressed to the size of a fist, was released at an incredible speed towards the monster. A shockwave followed a moment later, and a gust of wind swept through the area.

"Zu... Ho... Shi...!"

The monster's body swayed as it let out a cry of agony. The light Aldis had released had pierced the monster's torso, dealing a deep wound.

Seizing the opportunity, Aldis closed the distance with 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' in hand.

"Mi...! Si... I...!"

The monster reared its neck, its eyes on the human face filled with malice. Aldis slipped into the monster's embrace and delivered a follow-up strike to the wound inflicted by the light.

The monster let out a scream and writhed, but its movements did not slow. It extended the thin forelimbs on either side of the human face, trying to capture Aldis.

Aldis cut off one of the arms with 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' and dodged the other, then thrust his sword towards the human face again.

"Zu...!"

Just as before, the human face split into three, revealing the monster's mouth.

"Once you know the trick, it's just a magic trick—!"

In the next instant, the monster's mouth did not catch 'Azure Heaven's Splendor,' but 'Engraved Spring Mist,' which had flown into its mouth.

Aldis had feinted with a thrust and used 'Engraved Spring Mist' as a decoy to be caught by the monster.

"Same!"

Aldis instantly turned around, kicked off the ground, and leaped, using 'Moon-Substitute Blizzard,' which was still floating beside him, as a stepping stone. After a two-stage jump, Aldis's full-force sword strike was aimed at the monster's neck.

"By wrapping it in magic!"

A shallow wound was all a weak sword strike could inflict. Aldis imbued 'Azure Heaven's Splendor' with hardening magic and swung it with all his might.

"Mi...! Zu...!"

Even the monster, which had withstood so much, could not endure Aldis's full-force strike. Its thick neck was severed, and the head, with the human face, fell to the ground with a dull thud.

* * *

*Crack*

Silence fell. As the mercenaries, who had been watching the battle, gradually regained their composure, the area became noisy.

"Hey... You did it."

"Seriously? That monster...?"

"Even the 'Guidance of the Spirits' and the 'Dragon's Vanguard' couldn't do anything...!"

"By himself... He defeated it by himself!"

"Awesome! Who is he!?"

The murmurs soon turned into cheers, and people began to loudly proclaim the completion of the extermination and the victory.

"Hey, you. You really did it by yourself."

Nicole, standing beside Aldis, who was a few steps away from the monster, said in a tone that was both exasperated and admiring.

"I thought you were strong from the first time we met... But, man, I'm really glad we're not enemies."

However, Aldis did not turn around and continued to glare at the monster's body.

"Huh? What's wrong? You just won, so you should be a bit happier. The hero of the victory looking so grumpy will dampen everyone's spirits."

Most of the monsters and beasts had already been defeated, and the battlefield had shifted to mopping up the remaining enemies. There were no signs of new monsters or beasts appearing, and the success of the defense of Raytin was now certain.

However—

"Sure, I cut off the monster's head. But why is the main body still standing?"

At Aldis's words, Nicole looked at the monster's body. There stood the two-legged body with its head cut off.

Yes, it was standing. Despite having its head cut off, it was still standing firmly on the ground with its two legs.

"Maybe it's just stiff...?"

Nicole's common-sense guess was quickly dispelled.

A heavy thud echoed around as the massive body's weight was transferred to its two legs, and the reptilian-like legs began to move alternately.

"Even with its head cut off...!"

A nearby mercenary, unfamiliar to Aldis, let out a scream-like voice.

* * *

*Crack, Crack*

2017/11/01 Typo correction: 伺う → 窺う

2017/11/02 Typo correction: なんだりゃ？ → なんだありゃ？

2019/08/11 Typo correction: 越えそう → 超えそう

2019/08/11 Correction: 横に飛ぶ → 横に跳ぶ

2019/08/11 Typo correction: 獲物を手放す → 得物を手放す

2019/08/11 Typo correction: 声に代わり → 声に変わり

*Thank you for reporting the typos.