Side: Mako
Leaving Avalanche Howl, Icequake Tiger, Friezas Tiger, and Icicle Tiger to Alliance, Yamato and I headed straight for Slume Lord.
“First strike wins!”
Yamato created ten Ice Edge Javelins and fired them at Slume Lord with all his might.
I’ve seen it a few times, but Mist Solution has the effect of preventing blood from coagulating, so while it’s effective for scratches and small cuts, it’s highly effective for major injuries like limb amputation.
Since Slume Lord is a giant nearly ten meters tall and has high self-healing abilities, it’s difficult to judge how extensive those small wounds are, but I think sword wounds from Azure Silver Sword – Pale Green would be quite effective.
However, Slume Lord fired a giant ice pillar at the Ice Edge Javelins and intercepted them all.
I thought at least one would hit, but as expected of a Demise Species.
“I thought at least one would hit, but I never expected it to shoot them all down…”
“It really did. But Yamato, this isn’t a game, so don’t let your guard down, okay?”
“I know!”
I believe Yamato’s engraving magic skills have improved considerably since transferring to Helios Orb.
However, he also defeated an Orc Demise Species called Orc Emperor on his own, so he might be complacent somewhere in his heart and tends to think of fighting monsters as if it were a game.
In fact, I felt that presence in the Instant Labyrinth.
So, I’m warning him by sharing my own experiences.
For Yamato, these are stories about his father and mother, but it seems he had never heard the details before, and he was very surprised.
Since then, he seems to have understood how lightly he takes fighting monsters, and has renewed his resolve, reducing his tendency to underestimate or be careless with any monster he faces.
But it’s not like he can change his mind so quickly, so I think this is fine for now, but when it comes to a Demise Species, it’s a different story.
“Then I will deploy the layered barrier.”
“Please do. I’m going to close in, so I probably won’t be able to spare any control for you.”
“Yes, leave the support to me.”
According to the plan, Yamato and I were supposed to deploy the layered barrier, but since Slume Lord intercepted all the Ice Edge Javelins, we had to change our approach slightly.
So, I deployed the layered barriers of Alfheim and Venus to interfere with Slume Lord’s wind attribute magic.
However, I don’t know how effective it will be, so I have to observe it carefully.
“Here!”
As a feint, Yamato activated Needle Rain.
It’s an area-of-effect spell that rains down water and ice needles, and it’s also compatible with wind attribute spells, so its effect increases within my layered barrier.
Yamato used Accelerating Magic to match Needle Rain, rapidly closing the distance with Slume Lord and swung Pale Green.
“No way!? Haa!”
However, to my surprise, the strike of Pale Green was caught by Slume Lord’s claws.
I don’t think the power of that blow was that great because he was focused on closing in, but I never expected it to be caught by his claws.
Slume Lord swung the claw that caught the blow towards Yamato.
I narrowly dodged it, but this is really not to be underestimated.
I’m not confident in close combat, so if Slume Lord gets close to me, it might be a bit dangerous.
When I joined Wing Crest, I had a light cherry-blossom pink Crest Defender Coat and a fan called Magic Fan – Azure Sakura made for me.
My Crest Defender Coat is generally the same as everyone else’s, but it’s finished to look more like a kimono.
The armor is only on the shoulders and waist, but I’m wearing a lapis lazuli breastplate underneath the coat, so it has high defense.
It’s a bit questionable against Slume Lord, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
The Magic Fan – Azure Sakura is a pair of fans that also function as shields.
The frame is made of lapis lazuli, and the fan surfaces are made of Gold Dragoon leather soaked in lapis lazuli and stretched, with a painting of the Tree of Heaven on them.
Since it’s made of lapis lazuli, it can be used as a bludgeoning weapon, and the edges of the fan are blades, so it can be used for slashing. With enchants of Telekinetic Magic, I can float them around me.
They are a pair, and by joining the base of the opened fans, they can also serve as a shield.
Furthermore, they are enchanted with Barrier Magic and Knight Magic – Shielding, so their defensive power is quite high.
Additionally, their most distinctive feature is that they can be connected to Engraving Tools using enchants of Telekinetic Magic and Craft Magic – Connecting and Locking, allowing them to be used like an axe.
My Engraving Tool is a ladle, so its pure attack power is low.
This is partly to compensate for that, but I’ve never used an axe before, so I need to practice diligently.
After it was completed, I went to Mylight and tested it, and I like it because it’s easier to use than I thought.
Using the Magic Fan – Azure Sakura, I unleashed the wind-attribute B-class targeted attack spell Wing Line to draw Slume Lord’s attention, and while it was distracted, Yamato closed the distance and attacked again with Pale Green.
Although Slume Lord is a giant over ten meters tall, it seems to be able to keep up with Yamato’s speed using Accelerating Magic. It repeatedly intercepts Pale Green with its claws and occasionally attacks with its tail, causing Yamato to lose his footing frequently and sustain considerable injuries.
Of course, Yamato has been trying various tactics using his engraving magic and Unique Magic, but they are all either blocked or dodged, so he seems to be getting a little flustered.
“Yamato!”
At that moment, Prim, with her Fiery Wings fully extended, dived in.
It seems they defeated Avalanche Howl.
However, with Prim joining the attack, Slume Lord should not be able to continue deflecting attacks as it did before.
As proof of this, Slume Lord spread its wings and soared into the air.
“Prim, is it!”
“I saw it. I’m joining, so let’s push it back all at once!”
“Alright!”
With Prim joining, Yamato’s movements changed.
When Prim attacks with Flare Needle, Yamato dodges it and strikes Slume Lord with Ice Edge Javelin.
This time, it seems to have been unavoidable, as several pierced its torso, drawing blood, but it should only be a scratch.
This time, Yamato slashed with Pale Green, and when it was caught by its claws, Prim charged in from the diagonal with Seraphim Penetrator.
That blow shattered the claw that was blocking Pale Green, along with its right foreleg.
The combination of those two is quite impressive.
It’s probably in the top ten of what I’ve seen.
Is my evaluation low?
What can I do? I’ve seen more amazing collaborations more than once.
Oh, I can’t just stand here and watch, I have to attack too.
And there’s no point in holding back, so I’ll put in my full effort.
While holding the Air Spirit, I infused magic into the raw engraving on my right hand to generate my original Engraving Tool.
“Grrrraaaah!?”
The moment it was generated, I activated the earth-attribute B-class targeted attack spell Diamond Spear.
After transferring to Helios Orb and evolving into an Ancient Human, I gained affinity not only for wind and fire, but also for earth attribute.
Originally, earth attribute was not my suitable attribute, but I never expected to overcome it in this way.
However, thanks to that, my accuracy with earth attribute spells, which I used to struggle with, has improved dramatically, which is very helpful for me.
Diamond Spear, which compresses carbon to create a high-hardness spear, surpasses lapis lazuli in sheer hardness.
Furthermore, with my magic added, it might even surpass Divine Metal.
I activated this Diamond Spear targeting Slume Lord’s wing, which had crashed to the ground.
The left wing is in tatters from the Diamond Spear, so it probably won’t be able to fly anymore.
“M-Mako-san, that…!”
“It’s the wind-wheel type living-type Engraving Tool, Spirit Hexa Dipper.”
“Living type!?”
Living-type and Setting-type Engraving Tools have the characteristic of partial generation.
Air Spirit was also generated with that characteristic.
There are also Heat Spirit, Freeze Spirit, Land Spirit, Delight Spirit, and Night Spirit, each specializing in fire, water, earth, light, and darkness, so they can be used depending on the situation.
Spirit Hexa Dipper is a windwheel with its ladle for feathers.
Since it has a ladle, it would be more appropriate to call it a waterwheel, but since wind is my affinity, it’s called a windwheel.
When fully generated, Spirit Hexa Dipper is nearly three meters in size, so it’s impossible to hold it by hand.
That’s not the only reason, but it floats behind me.
Furthermore, as a characteristic, it can fully utilize the attribute-specializing abilities of each Spirit, so with Spirit Hexa Dipper fully generated, I possess aptitude for six attributes excluding non-attributes, albeit in a pseudo manner.
Of course, my original affinity for wind, and the fire and earth I gained affinity for after coming to Helios Orb, have further increased in power, so at this rate, my trump card, S-class spells, will also have increased in power.
“Grrrrl…”
“It’s really angry about its wings being injured.”
“So it’s targeting Mako-san.”
Is that what it’s going to do?
I’ve heard that for winged tribes like Prim, wings are more important than life itself, and she’s told me that they take pride in them.
Wings are formed by magic, so minor injuries can be healed quickly, and they can even be dispelled if necessary, but it’s probably the same for monsters.
However, the magic of the wings cannot be used unless the wings are formed.
Since its wings have been injured, it could lead to a decrease in its combat power, so Slume Lord will prioritize targeting me.
“Try if you can. I’m about to use my trump card, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
I activated Calamity Hexagram, one of the trump cards I can use by fully generating Spirit Hexa Dipper, an S-class non-attribute spell.
A hexagram of fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness appears at Slume Lord’s feet, becoming a barrier.
Inside the barrier, a sudden light envelops and blinds Slume Lord.
Perhaps sensing danger, Slume Lord spreads its injured wings and tries to take flight, but it is immobilized by the ground shaking violently, and ice spears pierce its limbs, preventing it from leaving the ground.
By burning the oxygen within the barrier, its concentration is also sapped.
As its concentration falters, Slume Lord’s magic reinforcement weakens, and several spiraling wind spears pierce it.
As a signal, arrows of each attribute are fired from the stars at the vertices of the hexagram, and finally, a giant spear pierces Slume Lord.
If it were an ordinary enemy, this would be the end, but as expected of a Demise Species, Slume Lord is still alive.
“Yamato!”
“Yeah! Here I go!”
Yamato unleashed his new Unique Magic, Gracious Bunker, and Prim also unleashed her new Unique Magic, Seraphim Striker, towards the almost collapsed Slume Lord after receiving Calamity Hexagram.
Yamato’s Gracious Bunker is a Unique Magic that looks like a missile, embedding the S-class spells Mist Solution and Ice Mist Explosion into Multi Edge and firing it.
If it hits, Ice Mist Explosion will activate, dealing massive damage to the surface of its body, and Mist Solution will activate additionally.
The direct impact damage is high, but it also stops the bleeding, so it can inflict continuous damage.
Prim’s Seraphim Striker, unlike Seraphim Penetrator or Flare Penetrator where she charges in with her entire body, is a spell that fires only a Fiery Spear.
While its penetration power is inferior to Seraphim Penetrator, it forms a giant spear, so it is expected to be sufficiently effective against giant monsters.
Gracious Bunker and Seraphim Striker hit Slume Lord simultaneously.
The moment Gracious Bunker hit, Yamato’s S-class spell was unleashed, inflicting continuous severe damage from its back, and Prim’s Seraphim Striker, as if in response to Gracious Bunker’s explosion, increased its momentum and pierced through its chest from its back.
Slume Lord slowly falls, but in its final moments, our eyes meet.
Was it my imagination?
No, it wasn’t.
“It’s still alive!?”
Slume Lord continues to gaze at me.
It looks like it wants to say something.
“Will you wait for the follow-up attack?”
“Eh?”
I casually approached Slume Lord.
“M-Mako-san! That’s dangerous!”
“It’s alright. It will die on its own like this. But it seems to have something to tell me, so give me a little time.”
“Something to tell… Eh? Slume Lord?”
Yamato and Prim are surprised, but I’m not that surprised.
Somehow, I have a feeling that Slume Lord won’t attack me.
“Here it comes. Do you have any last words?”
“Grrr…”
“Eh?”
Slume Lord beckoned me with its gaze and concentrated all its magic in its abdomen.
Its abdomen?
“I see, you want to entrust your offspring to me, is that what you mean?”
I’m truly impressed that it managed to protect only its offspring, even after receiving Yamato’s Gracious Bunker, Prim’s Seraphim Striker, and my Calamity Hexagram.
I had predicted Slume Lord to be cunning, but I have to retract that prediction.
With a small cry, as if saying “That’s right,” Slume Lord breathed its last.
Instead, a small, very small cry echoed, and I located it from Slume Lord’s womb by the sound and safely retrieved the cub.
“Mako-san, what is that?”
“It’s the cub Slume Lord entrusted to me. I don’t know if it knew I could use Summoning Magic, but this white tiger cub should be taken in by me responsibly.”
“As long as Mako-san can handle it, I don’t mind. Yamato?”
“I don’t mind either. It might not be something interesting for Torencia, but we can push it through as a contributor.”
That’s true.
But this cub is newborn, and I’ve heard that several people have contracts with Icicle Tiger, so if I can disguise its origin, I think it might work out.
“I can’t believe it protected its cub even after taking our three trump cards. I can only honestly admire that.”
“I agree.”
“Protecting one’s child is natural for a mother. Slume Lord should indeed be called a noble king of tigers.”
“I agree. I was getting a little conceited after defeating Orc Emperor and Orc Empress.”
“Yeah. They were on a different level. And it protected its child, so as Mako-san said, calling it a noble king of tigers might be fitting.”
That might be true.
However, both Yamato and Prim have agreed to keep their individual victories against Orc Emperor and Orc Empress a secret, without boasting about it.
While part of it is because they knew it would cause problems, the main reason is that they disliked getting involved in troublesome matters.
But this time, there’s no way to hide it, so I’m sure the feat of defeating Orc Emperor and Orc Empress will be made public sooner or later.
“Nyah…”
“Ah, it’s awake. I defeated your mother, but will you still form a Summon Contract with me?”
“Nyah.”
In my arms is a cub the size of an adult cat.
It’s newborn, but I think it can probably walk normally.
It seems small for a Slume Lord cub, but if it were any bigger, I would be in trouble, so I’ll consider this good.
The cub nuzzles against me, acting as if seeking affection.
Does this mean it wants to form a contract?
“Then the contract is established. Your name will be… since it’s a girl, let’s call her Snow White.”
“Meow!”
It seems to like it.
Its species is… Snow Mirage Tiger?
“Hey, do you know about Snow Mirage Tiger?”
“Yes? No, I’ve never heard of it?”
“Me neither. Well, I don’t know all the monsters in Helios Orb, so I can’t say for sure.”
“I see.”
“Perhaps this cub is a Snow Mirage Tiger species?”
“It seems so. Oh, but there’s Icicle Tiger beneath it, so maybe it has evolved?”
Monsters also have Libraries, which can be checked by those who have formed Summon Contracts or Familiar Contracts, or by using the Supplication Magic called Contracting.
Since I just formed a contract, I checked it, and there’s a display of Icicle Tiger under the species Snow Mirage Tiger, so I should consider it an evolution, right?
“Ah, it has evolved. So this one was born as an Icicle Tiger.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know monsters can evolve, but when you form a contract under special conditions, it seems they evolve into a different species than the existing ones. Jade and Fluorite, whom we have contracts with, are like that.”
Come to think of it, Jade and Fluorite, who are contracted by the two of them, have also evolved to P-R rank, and I believe they were called Hippogriff Philius and Hippogriff Philia.
In that case, Snow White would be the same as Jade and Fluorite.
I never expected this to happen.
However, Snow White herself is sleeping comfortably in my arms.
Perhaps seeing this form is enough, rather than worrying about evolution.
