Chapter 93

Ardis pulled "Koku Harukiri" and "Tsukikage Fubuki" to his side and immediately began to run.

There were five magical reactions two hundred meters ahead.

All of them were human-sized.

One was probably Solute, and three were the mercenaries who were not present at the scene.

The problem was the remaining one reaction.

"Did it move?"

The moment the one with incomparably greater magical power moved, one of the magical reactions disappeared.

It was unclear whether it was Solute's magical power or that of a mercenary.

As if mocking Ardis's anxiety, another magical reaction disappeared.

If not for the obstructing trees, he could have reached the spot in a few seconds, but the mere two hundred meters felt unbearably long to Ardis.

Avoiding the densely packed trees, just as Ardis was about to reach the location of the magical reactions, another one disappeared.

"Damn!"

Ardis released "Koku Harukiri" and "Tsukikage Fubuki."

The two flying swords shot straight toward the magical reaction, which seemed to be a monster.

"Can it dodge!?"

However, the two swords were futilely embedded in the ground.

It seemed the opponent was exceptionally skilled at detecting presence.

It dodged the flying swords launched from a distance and put some distance between itself and the remaining magical reaction.

Ardis arrived at the scene shortly after the flying swords.

He cautiously surveyed the area, wary of the monster that should still be nearby.

One headless corpse, one blood-soaked corpse with a missing leg, and one corpse with a body split from top to bottom—all of them were mercenaries.

Next to them, a girl in a nun's habit was sitting on the ground, her face pale.

"Are you alright...?"

Ardis inwardly sighed with relief, though he did not show it on his face.

But the situation was still far from safe.

The monster that had quickly dispatched the mercenaries was still lurking in the shadows of the trees.

Given that it had dodged the flying swords, which should have been a surprise attack, it was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

It seemed the monster was not about to retreat.

A powerful presence, still radiating strong magical power, was watching from the shadows of the trees, faintly illuminated by the lantern light.

"If you won't come out, I'll come to you."

The thin yellow-green and white blades began to move as if spurred by his words.

The flying swords, controlled by Ardis, drew arcs as they approached the shadow of the tree where the monster was hiding.

Of course, Ardis did not expect such an attack to be effective.

Therefore, he was not surprised when the monster, which had emerged from the shadows, attacked faster than the recalled flying swords.

"What!?"

There was a reason for Ardis's look of astonishment.

His hand, which had reflexively drawn "Soten Saika," stopped.

The creature baring its fangs at Ardis was a four-legged beast covered in golden fur.

It stopped Ardis's half-swung sword with its teeth and then tried to swipe at his torso with its right front claw.

"Whoa!"

Ardis immediately let go of "Soten Saika" and dodged the attack, which roared as it came.

Ardis and the golden beast faced each other, maintaining a distance.

Even without "Soten Saika," Ardis had plenty of ways to attack.

However, Ardis did not use magic or recall his flying swords; he simply stared intently at the beast's eyes.

The light in its eyes was not the bloodthirsty glare typical of a monster but rather an intelligent, calculating gaze.

Most of all, the creature's appearance was all too familiar to Ardis.

Its tail, disproportionately large compared to its body, was brush-like and covered in soft golden fur.

For a few seconds, both remained still, watching each other's movements.

Then Ardis spoke.

"Are you... Rona?"

The beast's body twitched.

After a moment of strange silence, the golden beast spat out "Soten Saika," which it had been holding in its mouth.

The sound of the falling sword resonated loudly.

The beast narrowed its already thin eyes, piercing Ardis with a gaze that seemed to question something, but eventually opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth.

"I don't recall being called by a kid like you."

It was unmistakably human speech.

"A monster... spoke."

Solute, who was watching, was so surprised that her eyes widened.

Ignoring her, Ardis continued to communicate with the beast.

"It's me. Ardis. You wouldn't have forgotten, right?"

"Ardis...?"

The beast looked at Ardis with a doubtful expression.

"You don't seem like the Ardis I know."

"Hey, that's not fair. How many years did we travel together?"

"True, the smell is similar to Al's."

"That's because it's me."

The beast, sniffing the air, seemed half-convinced.

"If you really are Al... 'The Third White of the Female,' do you understand this?"

"Sure, but... which one is white?"

"Of course—"

The beast, with a non-human face, smiled and suddenly leaped.

"—It's me!"

"Hey, that's cheating!"

While complaining, Ardis deployed a magical barrier to counter the attack.

The beast's magic was released, and thin beams of light, like rain, descended upon Ardis.

The beams scattered like sparks upon hitting the barrier.

"It wasn't the third, was it!?"

"Your lack of attention is your fault."

Floating in the air, the beast laughed joyfully.

"Hey, Solute!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Stay hidden! If you feel in danger, scream! I can't afford to worry about you!"

Without waiting for Solute's response, Ardis levitated his body and stood atop the tallest tree in the vicinity.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Don't worry, I'm not clumsy enough to involve bystanders."

"I doubt it. The Rona I know gets so absorbed in things that she loses sight of her surroundings."

"Shut up."

Seemingly irritated by the accurate description, the golden beast grumbled and flicked its tail, creating countless ice shards.

They began to move silently, quickly reaching top speed and attacking Ardis.

Ardis floated gently, quickly retreating from the impact point and shifting to a counter-attack stance.

As the upper part of the tree where he had been standing vanished, Ardis condensed his magical power into a spear and thrust it forward.

The beast met Ardis's attack head-on.

At the moment of impact, it swung its front limbs to knock the magical spear away.

It then used a water barrier to reduce the momentum of the fireballs that followed, buying time to retreat.

"Now it's my turn."

The beast's ears twitched, and the air flow suddenly changed.

A distortion appeared above the beast, swirling and drawing in the surrounding space.

Large amounts of wind were sucked in and compressed into the swirling distortion.

"Here it comes!"

With a lackluster shout, crescent-shaped blades were generated from the vortex.

There were three in front and one on each side.

They flew toward Ardis with increasing speed, making a strange sound.

"That's all?"

Ardis could easily dodge the speed.

He created invisible footholds in the air and kicked off them to dodge the crescent blades.

"Too bad!"

Like a child whose prank had succeeded, the beast called out happily.

The crescent blades that Ardis had dodged curved and attacked him again.

"Damn!"

Ardis raised his hand and deployed a magical barrier.

It was a triple-layered barrier that had defended against Nere's light balls.

However, the moment the crescent blades collided with the barrier, Ardis immediately regretted it.

The blades, which he had expected to collide and scatter, showed an unexpected result.

"They stick!?"

The crescent blades, upon contact with the barrier, did not produce an impact or bounce off but changed shape into a sticky substance and adhered to Ardis's barrier.

The blades, which had previously been sharp and hard, now formed a thin film around the entire barrier, obstructing Ardis's view.

"The real attack is this!"

Feeling a strong magical reaction from the direction of the beast, Ardis braced himself.

The power of the attack was incomparably stronger than anything he had faced so far.

Even Nere's light balls seemed trivial in comparison to the overwhelming force that was stirring.

Ardis directed the barrier's vector outward and used it to fling off the sticky magical substance, which had been used to blind him.

"Too easy."

The beast laughed in a disappointed tone.

A small explosion cleared the area around Ardis.

However, it seemed to be part of the beast's plan.

When the explosion subsided, Ardis noticed the thread-like magical power entangling his limbs.

It seemed that during the explosion, the substance had changed shape, avoiding damage while simultaneously binding Ardis.

The thread-like magical power entangled Ardis's limbs, slowing his movements.

The threads led to the beast in front of him and ultimately converged at its tail.

"Time for the finishing blow!"

When the beast pulled its tail, the threads tightened around Ardis.

The beast began to channel its magical power with glee.

Strong magical power was condensed in the distorted space above its head, ready to be unleashed on the trapped prey.

However, Ardis was not anxious.

"If they're connected, it's convenient."

He began to convert the nature of his magical power.

A small crackling sound began to emanate from his body.

The sound increased in frequency and intensity.

Sparks of light appeared, and as the magical power around his body gained the force of lightning, Ardis smiled at the beast.

The beast's previously confident expression froze.

"What? What? What? No, I don't like it. Wait! The tingling—!"

In a panic, the beast tried to sever the magical threads, but the black-haired boy mercilessly declared:

"Too late."

Before he finished speaking, Ardis channeled the electrical magical power through the threads that bound him, sending it into the beast.

"Argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh, argh,