We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
After an exchange of blows,
“Big sisters! There are Yōma… Yōma! And, Giants! A-and also. Dragonkin, and Dragons… Hahahaha!”
“Lan, calm down.”
“I told you explanations are later! More importantly, Lan, please help defeat these Yōma!”
I surfaced from the bottom of the spring and emerged onto the water.
The battle had intensified.
“Haa!”
Mistral swung her jet-black one-handed club. The tentacles reaching for her exploded before the overwhelming power of the club. Mistral then advanced towards Baridura, the Yōma’s main body.
Sensing danger, Baridura thrashed in the air, using its remaining tentacles and its scythe-like hands to try and escape from Mistral.
Just like me, Mistral continued to send power to Yun and Rin. Not only that, but she was also sending the power of the Dragon Jewel to Ruiseine, who was focused on healing, surely putting immense strain on her.
Nevertheless, this power.
Without relying on Dragon Arts or anything similar, they were pushing back Baridura, the Great Yōma, with the innate physical abilities of Dragonkin alone.
“Giiiii!”
“Everyone, avert your eyes from the Yōma!”
As Baridura let out a strange cry, the countless eyes on its bloated body glowed blue.
Goou, who quickly sensed the Yōma’s change, shouted.
We didn’t understand what was about to happen, but we reacted quickly to Goou’s warning and hastily averted our gaze from Baridura’s eyes.
“Gaaah!”
“Guh!”
Several Mimicho warriors, unable to react in time, became prey.
In front of me, where I had averted my gaze, a person who had been confronting Baridura, preparing to shoot arrows, suddenly began to convulse all over.
The Mimicho warrior trembled intensely, as if struck by lightning, and arched backward, rolling their eyes back. At that moment, Baridura’s tentacles struck.
“You damn fool!”
Goou moved.
With a speed unfitting for his massive body, he approached the convulsing Mimicho warrior on the ground. He then grabbed the Mimicho warrior with his large hands and tossed them carelessly.
The direction Goou threw the Mimicho warrior was towards the area where Ruiseine and the others were located, protected by Spirit Tree arts and providing treatment.
It was a rough rescue, but Goou had saved the Mimicho warrior.
However, this put Goou in danger in place of the Mimicho warrior.
Baridura’s tentacles switched their target from the Mimicho warrior to Goou and attacked mercilessly.
Goou continued to avert his gaze from Baridura’s main body, sweeping away the approaching tentacles with his battle axe.
But he couldn’t deal with all of them.
A tentacle slipped through the gaps of his wildly swinging battle axe and coiled around Goou’s leg.
“Insolent!”
The tentacles that caught anything would digest it.
The Mimicho warrior whose body had been coiled by tentacles suffered severe burns.
But Goou remained unfazed.
He clicked his tongue loudly and severed the tentacles wrapped around his leg. Upon being cut, the tentacles fell limply to the ground and disappeared with a fizz.
Goou’s leg, where the tentacles had been wrapped, was scorched, just like the Mimicho warrior’s.
Goou continued to sweep away the tentacles trying to ensnare his arms and those lunging at him, as if unconcerned by his injuries.
We were astonished by the resilience of not just the Giants, but Goou himself.
Giants, unlike us, didn’t use curses or magic. They were a race that lived purely on the strength and stamina overflowing from their colossal bodies.
We were realizing the innate abilities granted to Giants anew.
However, this was no time to leisurely watch Goou’s movements.
Following Goou’s warning, we had all averted our eyes from Baridura’s pupils. Taking advantage of this, Baridura extended its tentacles towards those who showed openings. Of course, Baridura’s aim was also directed at us.
Even with my eyes averted, I could track their presence, but the Yun sisters were lagging behind.
“Dangerous!”
I pulled the three floating figures beside me closer. Then, I activated Spatial Jump.
“O-Oh, big sisters! That pervert used Spatial Jump!?”
“I’m not a pervert!”
We landed near Ruiseine. This was the safest place.
Although it was an emergency evasion and unavoidable, because I had held the three sisters tightly, Ran’s face turned bright red as she looked at me.
Hmm, when I get this kind of reaction, it makes things difficult.
Once I confirmed we were in a safe zone, I released the three sisters. Then, I pulled out the Spirit Tree wooden sword I had stuck in the ground.
The Spirit Tree wooden sword had waited for my return, without transforming into a large tree even when stuck in the ground.
Now, I wanted to counterattack, but what should I do?
Goou had issued a warning in response to Baridura’s eyes glowing blue. All those who had reacted were still looking away from Baridura…
How long would Baridura’s eyes continue to glow? No one would know unless they looked directly at Baridura’s main body.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
Another Mimicho warrior was hit by Baridura’s attack.
There was a limit to continuously taking tentacle attacks based on presence alone. Not only could we not visually confirm their trajectory, but the tentacles were swung around erratically as they attacked.
I saw an Mimicho woman being flung away by a tentacle strike.
“Gahhh!”
Baridura’s two hands, with scythes at their tips, stretched out and slashed a Giant. The Giant was diagonally sliced from the torso, spouting a large amount of blood.
“Elnea-kun, please provide guard!”
“Understood!”
Ruiseine reacted quickly.
While averting her eyes from the Yōma, I used the movement spell “Star Crossing” to head towards the heavily injured Giant.
I moved ahead of her with Spatial Jump, reaching the Giant’s side. Then, I severed the scythe-wielding arm that was about to deliver the finishing blow with my White Sword.
Baridura let out a strange cry and pulled back its severed arm from the base.
As it pulled back, I saw its regenerating scythe out of the corner of my eye.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
“Damn it, how long do we have to avert our eyes?!”
The Mimicho warriors, showing their irritation, took to the air with Spatial Jump, creating a large distance from Baridura.
A few who thought they were safe and looked back, apparently seeing Baridura’s eyes still glowing, screamed, convulsed violently, and collapsed.
“Such weaklings.”
Unlike the Mimicho people who had fled, the Giants did not retreat.
Although they initially averted their gaze according to Goou’s warning, they decided it would be disadvantageous to keep their backs turned indefinitely and turned to face Baridura, unconcerned by its glowing eyes.
Like the Mimicho, the Giants convulsed upon seeing Baridura’s eyes.
But this was where the Giants’ physical abilities truly shone.
With trembling hands, they still firmly gripped their weapons. Then, without hesitation, the Giants charged towards Baridura.
Roaring ferociously, they ran, led by Goou.
Baridura reacted to the charging Giants, undeterred by the evil gaze. It unleashed all its tentacles to impede their approach.
Boen and the other retainers swept away the tentacles.
They would clear Goou’s path.
Their bodies convulsed. Their limbs were entangled and burned. Nevertheless, they bravely swung their weapons, clearing away the obstacles that stood in Goou’s way.
Goou charged forward without hesitation on the path cleared by his subordinates.
From my perspective, I could only see this far.
After that, I could only read their presence.
Goou, with a great leap, finally grappled with Baridura’s body.
Then, ignoring the tentacles wrapped around his legs and torso, he brought his battle axe down towards the countless eyes on Baridura’s body.
This time, the Yōma Baridura let out a scream that could be recognized as a scream of pain.
“Unless all its eyes are crushed, this thing won’t die. You weaklings can just cower there!”
Would the burns and digestion consume his entire body first? Or would all the eyes be crushed first?
The Mimicho were speechless at the self-sacrificing attacks of Goou and the Giants.
“Pathetic trash.”
“Um, the light has disappeared!”
From the sky, the Wyvern Knights and Revalia, who had been repeating hit-and-run attacks, launched a surprise assault.
From behind Lily, who was watching the battle, Priscilla-chan’s voice rang out.
“Nuooh, that was rough!”
As the evil gaze disappeared, Revalia was the first to attack Baridura.
She thrust her fierce hind claws into Baridura’s body and, along with Goou who was clinging to it, unceremoniously launched it into the sky.
Goou hastily evaded, but Baridura, sent flying high into the air.
But isn’t that useless? Baridura is a Yōma that floats in the air!
Only the Mimicho from the Great Forest and the Giants reacted like this.
Baridura, thrown into the sky, did indeed float up there.
But the sky was the dominion of Wyverns!
“Take this!”
“Behold my flames!”
“Your flames aren’t even hot enough to warm oneself.”
“What did you say! You’re just breathing stinking air, aren’t you?”
“Don’t underestimate my whirlwind breath!”
“Hey, you insignificant pests. If you get in my way, I’ll burn you all to death too!”
“Eek!”
The Wyverns, intending to swoop down on Baridura floating in the sky, were forced to flee in a panic, not wanting to be caught in Revalia’s Crimson Flames. Revalia, scoffing at the fleeing Wyvern Knights, unleashed a breath of Crimson Flames that seemed to scorch the sky.
“Giiiii!”
Baridura screamed as it was burned by the scorching flames.
In the forest, they had been holding back to avoid burning the surrounding trees, so they hadn’t used their full power.
Revalia has calmed down, I thought as I looked up at the sky, but then I was glared at by four sharp eyes.
Baridura, judging that it would only become prey for the Wyverns in the sky, descended rapidly while still burning.
“Hahahaha, big sisters! The forest will burn if this continues!”
“Damn it, this is unexpected!”
Despite Revalia’s thoughtful gesture of bathing it in flames in the sky, Baridura, still burning, was descending, and the forest would inevitably catch fire!
Ran flailed about as she watched Baridura fall, still ablaze.
“Ran, don’t you have Water Spirits at your disposal?”
“Ran, now is the time to show your strength as a Sage!”
“Ehh!? What about you, big sisters? What about you!?”
“And besides, just use the Water Spirits!”
Yun and Rin, speaking in unison like the twins Yufilia and Nina, slapped Ran on the backside.
Ran, though flustered, used Spirit Arts as her sisters instructed.
With a rumbling sound, the spring water began to churn violently.
The waves rose higher and higher, eventually taking on a specific shape.
“Hahaha. Water Spirit-chan, what kind of form are you taking?”
Ran covered her bright red face with both hands and hunched over.
And for good reason.
The spring water, which had risen beyond the height of the forest trees, had taken on the shape of a giant Ran.
And she was completely naked!
The Water Spirit, however, paid no mind to Ran’s shame and moved towards the rapidly descending Baridura.
It extended both hands and enveloped the burning Baridura.
And then, it slammed it down onto the ground!
With a huge splash, a loud sound of water echoed, and the ground shook violently.
Water splashes and the resulting shockwaves exploded outwards.
Even in this emergency…
How incredibly rough!
The momentum was greater than it appeared, creating a shallow second spring on the ground.
Into this, Baridura, its flames extinguished, sank its lower body, which was entangled in tentacles.
The Water Spirit, having fulfilled its role, appeared satisfied and returned. The large amount of water, having lost its spiritual power, rained down in large drops.
“Everyone, attack!”
At that moment, the next attack order came from the sky.
Following Priscilla-chan’s command, the Wyvern Knights descended in unison.
What followed was the launch of enormous throwing spears.
It was the attack method the Wyvern Knights excelled at.
From a high-speed dive, they launched a simultaneous attack!
The spears, launched from overhead, plunged into Baridura with the momentum of their dive.
They easily pierced the tough hide of Baridura’s body and tentacles, pinning it to the ground.
“Now, freeze the water!”
The suicidal attack by the Giants, followed by the all-out assault from Revalia and the Wyvern Knights, overwhelmed the Mimicho. They snapped back to reality. Then, they launched their offensive against Baridura, which was pinned to the second spring by throwing spears.
Baridura wriggled its tentacles, trying to pull out the embedded spears. It also began to move, trying to escape the water it was submerged in.
At that moment, the Mimicho unleashed Spirit Arts.
Direct Spirit Arts had little effect, but by utilizing natural phenomena, they had plenty of options.
With a creaking sound, the second spring froze over. Then, Baridura’s lower body was encased in ice.
The Yōma Baridura let out an unpleasant screech.
It swung its tentacles, which were not frozen, and tried to break through the frozen spring. But it wouldn’t break.
It had been strongly solidified by Spirit Arts.
“Perish!”
With many tentacles frozen and its movement impaired by being pinned to the ground, Goou and the other Giants closed in on the sluggish Baridura.
Baridura, unable to help itself, sank its pupils deep into its main body and assumed a defensive posture.
“Yufi and”
“Nina’s”
“Water Dragon Dance!!”
The spring, which had been depleted of water by the second spring, churned again. From beneath the water, a long-bodied dragon made of water appeared.
The Water Long-bodied Dragon attacked the tentacles that were swung to sweep away the approaching Giants. Any tentacle that touched the Long-bodied Dragon instantly froze.
The Giants dodged the frozen tentacles and reached Baridura’s main body. Then, they swung down their weapons.
It didn’t matter that its eyes were hidden deep within its main body.
They repeatedly struck with their weapons, crushing the hard hide and destroying the eyes within.
The Mimicho were not to be outdone.
They concentrated their Spirit Arts attacks on a single point, creating a hole in Baridura’s surface. A perfectly aimed arrow was fired into the hole, piercing an eye deep within.
Ran continued to use her Spirit Arts.
Though invisible, she pressed down on Baridura with immense pressure.
Its plump body, under the oppressive force from above, seemed to squish even more.
The regenerated scythes, swung to counterattack, were bitten off by the Wyverns of the Wyvern Knight Order.
From the moment they regenerated, they were attacked by the Wyvern Knights, unable to recover.
Mistral swung her jet-black one-handed club, eradicating the hard hide and the eyes within.
They pressed their advantage. Everyone’s will was directed towards the same goal.
I remained by Ruiseine’s side, protecting her as she continued to heal the Giants, and watched the battle unfold.
It seemed there was no opening for me to go wild.
Sometimes, it’s nice to have the role of observing the battle, I thought, when suddenly, Baridura’s final eye was crushed.
It was Goou who twisted his giant hand into Baridura’s body and grabbed the last eye.
Goou pulled the eye out and crushed it with a crunch.
The Great Yōma Baridura collapsed powerlessly to the ground without a dying scream. Then, its entire body transformed into a viscous liquid and evaporated, disappearing.
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