Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: The Changed Future (3)
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The battle with the King Serpent kicked off rather abruptly the moment Seraphin and I arrived at the west gate.
The top priority, of course, was protecting Ethan.
To start the boss fight, Seraphin first pulled the King Serpent's aggro away from Ethan, who was already collapsed and drained of stamina, ensuring it couldn't touch him further.
Normally, even for Seraphin in peak condition, drawing the aggro of a King Serpent wouldn't be easy.
I wasn't sure of her exact level now, but considering her joining level in the original story, she was probably around Ethan's level.
Estimated at about level 7 or 8. At most, she wouldn't exceed level 10.
Against a boss monster like the King Serpent, holding it off even briefly would be absurd.
...But Seraphin under the full moon was on an entirely different level.
-Wham!
'Shaaaarp...!'
The King Serpent thrashed in fury after taking a hit to its snout from her flashy midair kick.
No visible external wounds, but it was clear from watching that the impact had momentarily stalled its movements.
Truly a ridiculously overpowered character who became insanely strong once a month.
True to her moniker of Moonshadow Princess, she fought using 'lunar power' instead of standard stamina or mana.
Her abilities relied heavily on external factors, so she had ups and downs, but on full moon nights, she was as powerful as any main character.
She smashed the King Serpent's lower jaw with a smooth overhead kick tracing a crescent moon arc.
Her glowing golden hair, like a moon halo, mesmerized the monster as she endlessly drew its attention.
In the game, Seraphin was a solid support dealer and evasion tank.
...Well, she was a required story companion anyway, so poor performance would've tanked her popularity hard. It was inevitable.
Even as a nuisance character, she never hit rock bottom in polls for good reason.
'Of course, even full-moon Seraphin couldn't kill the King Serpent at this point.'
In the original story, Agnes and Seraphin barely took it down together, so Agnes likely handled most of the damage.
Seraphin probably just kited it to buy time.
I could guess how the fight went, but no need to verify mentally now.
Especially in this urgent situation—wasting time was pointless. My job was simple: land a Mana Blast on that King Serpent.
If that was the future Seraphin saw, it was guaranteed to happen.
"Lilith...? You and the Princess are finishing it? What do you mean...?"
"Quiet, Ethan. We need to focus now."
"......"
I brushed off Ethan's confused muttering from behind.
Then, feeling mana gather in my palms like a lump of magical energy, I began chanting the spell.
This was my first real high-tier spell—not simple ones like Clean or Shockwave—but it felt no different from others.
Unknown formulas flooded my mind as a sphere of mana formed in my hands.
It slowly grew larger between my palms.
'Right, this is the form.'
In the game, characters using Mana Blast started by gathering a small mana orb like this.
Most mages used staves or two-handed rods, though.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed, but it was minor. After 10+ Lilith runs, this was familiar.
I'd taught her Mana Blast countless times across builds.
Support magic, melee, attack— I'd tried every growth path. No one knew Lilith better.
And this annoying magic class character, without staves or rods, always gathered mana barehanded.
Her low accuracy might reflect lacking a medium.
But for Mana Blast, accuracy didn't matter.
'It's a 100% hit rate ultimate that never misses.'
The orb, starting ping-pong ball-sized, expanded rapidly in my hands.
Matching Lilith's mana, its volume swelled enormously.
Even feeling it grow, I'd only used half my mana.
When it surpassed basketball size toward exercise ball territory, unease crept in.
'Was it originally this big...?'
...I'd never seen it grow this large in the game.
The aggressively expanding orb turned terrifyingly huge, filling me with dread.
'If I drop this by accident, we're done for...'
I wanted to stop and hurl it now, but Mana Blast wasn't cancellable at will.
It consumed all remaining mana in one ultimate shot—a true finisher.
Despite enough power to kill the King Serpent, it kept growing.
Terrified by the massive mana blob before me, I thrust both arms skyward.
-Whoosh! Whoosh!
"......!!!"
A vortex swirled around the orb, whipping up winds.
A whirlwind and dust enveloped me and the sphere, with it as the eye.
Lacking courage to look directly, I kept arms raised, gathering remaining mana.
When no more mana flowed, I felt I could 'throw' the overhead orb.
'This is the sensation of using Mana Blast...'
It felt throwable anywhere—even at a monster's head three stories tall.
The boss reared up, fangs aimed at Seraphin.
She struggled to hold it off.
For her time-buying and Ethan's prior endurance, it was time to end this.
"Princess!!!!!! Get out of the way!!!!!!! To the corner!!!!!!!!!!!"
Just before launch, I yelled at Seraphin.
The Mana Blast, infused with all my mana over 10 minutes, left my hands.
I couldn't check if she dodged properly.
Just throwing it was burdensome enough.
She'd dodge fine. Having seen the future, evading my Mana Blast was trivial.
Seraphin never foresaw her own death—she chose paths saving the most lives, starting with hers.
-Whiiiiiish...!
The massive orb flew, dragging the vortex winds and dust with it.
Seeing it go, it was far larger than imagined.
Hard to compare, but maybe kimchi fridge-sized.
Unbelievable all that mana was mine.
Exploding forward at incredible speed, kicking up gales.
True to its 100% accuracy, it rocketed straight at the King Serpent's head.
Before it realized, my spell struck.
-KABOOOOOM!!!!!
Like half a dozen thunderclaps at once, the orb detonated massively on impact.
The explosion shook the ground violently.
I, having cast the grand spell, was knocked butt-first to the dirt by the blast wave.
-Thud!
"Eek!"
A mere 1-2 second blast for all my mana, but ample to prove its power.
After the roar, quake, and windstorm subsided.
Regaining senses, the King Serpent's head was gone—as if vaporized.
Its headless body slumped lifelessly.
-Boom!
The ground shook once more as it fell.
With that, the boss of the 'Imperial Palace Raid Incident' was settled.
Relieved no main characters died, I scanned the post-battle west gate defenses.
Glancing at the disaster zone, my eyes met Ethan's bewildered ones.
"......"
"......"
...Well, now.
How do I explain this...?