The Sealing Stone (2)
Claws, long and sharp enough to rival fine blades, swung down to shred my frail body to pieces.
Whoosh! Shhhk!
—Krrr-awooong?!
Yet no gruesome spectacle of rending flesh and shattered bone followed. Wrapped in a shimmering purple haze, my body stretched and contorted in an eerie, bizarre evasion, effortlessly slipping past every single swipe.
"Heheheh..."
In truth, there was no real need for me to step forward and land the first blow. Sure, it dealt decent damage and made for a solid tactical opening, but with the party’s current combat prowess, this was a beast we could take down without breaking a sweat. Even so, the reason I stepped up was... pure, unadulterated thrills.
I had reached a point where I genuinely enjoyed the whole sequence: using the Absolute Ring Set to taunt the target, evading its guaranteed first strike, and slamming back a counter with double the power. Besides, it wasn’t like I had any other way to contribute.
"Muriel! Nemeth! Flank it from behind! Rebecca! Lira! Wendy! Take it head-on! Vivian! Circle around the flank and slash whenever you see an opening!"
As I barked out commands and focused my mind, a dark aura surged from the Absolute Counter Ring on my right hand.
Thwuuush!
—Kee-yaaaang?!
A black spear, easily twice as long as my entire body, coalesced in the air and shot straight toward the giant wolf. The beast bolted at a blur, desperate to dodge, but the dark lance pierced through its snow-white flank with the natural, inevitable certainty of fate itself.
Staggering under the sheer shock of such a devastating blow, the wolf let out a pathetic shriek, baring its tightly clenched fangs.
—Grrrrrr...!
Its eyes burned with fury and bloodlust. The murderous intent radiating off it was terrifying, making it painfully clear how desperately it wanted to tear me to shreds on the spot.
"Where do you think you are looking?"
"Your fight is with us."
Yet the beast was forced to tear its eyes away from me almost immediately. Sneaking close through the shadows, Muriel and Nemeth brought their Aura Blades slashing down across the joints of its hind legs.
—Graaaah!
Had it possessed physical flesh and bone, that strike alone would have crippled its mobility and turned it into a glorified punching bag. Unfortunately, this creature was an incorporeal heroic spirit. Roaring thunderously, it bent with unnatural, eerie flexibility, snapping its jaws wide like a lightning strike to swallow Nemeth whole.
"Not on our watch!"
"Haaah!"
In that split second, Rebecca’s Aura Blade and Lira’s aura sheared through the beast’s torso.
—Kaaah-aaah?!
"Arpe! Debuff it!"
"—!!"
As the wolf thrashed in agony, Arpe’s dazzling, resonant voice pierced through the din of battle.
—Kiiiing, krrrk...?!
Its massive frame swayed unsteadily. Shaking its head violently and stumbling on all fours as though dead drunk, its feral eyes rolled around—before locking squarely onto me.
I see. It wants to take out the commander first. Clever, for a dumb beast.
"Oh no! Look out!"
"Lord Alzen!"
Shrugging off the strikes from Rebecca and Lira barring its path, the wolf charged straight in my direction.
"O Goddess. Grant us the power to protect against the enemy’s wrath and malice."
Baaang!
The beast’s charge carried enough momentum to level a mountain, but it wasn't enough to shatter a barrier erected by none other than the Saintess.
—Grrrr-awoo...!
Skrrrtch! Grrrrk!
The sound of fangs frantically gnashing against the divine barrier was unnerving; had anyone been caught between those jaws, they would have been turned into ground meat in an instant.
"Haaah!"
"Eyes over here!"
Aura Blades of black, crimson, and azure trailed elegant arcs, elongating like whips as they lashed into the wolf from mid-range.
—Kaaak! Kraaaah!
The five warriors and one fledgling swordswoman gripped their weapons, darting around the thrashing monster like a swarm of bees and raining relentless sword strikes upon it.
"Yaaaap!"
"...She's fighting way better than I expected."
While the others moved at speeds my eyes could barely register, I could just barely track Vivian’s movements. My gaze naturally settled on her as her petite frame darted across a battlefield far beyond her tier, holding her own with remarkable pluck. Granted, compared to the heavy hitters, her strikes were too light to inflict serious wounds, but watching her give it everything she had without shrinking back was genuinely endearing and impressive.
—Grrrrrr...!!
"Ah, here it comes. Fall back, everyone! It’s going to unleash elemental attacks now! Watch your fronts, backs, and flanks!"
The moment my warning left my lips, a blinding azure glow flared in the wolf’s eyes, and a devastating lightning storm erupted around it. Searing bolts white enough to blind bleached my vision, while a thunderous shockwave and blistering heat filled the air, violent enough to upturn the earth and shake the heavens.
—Grrrr-aaaaah! Kyaaaah!
"This is the real fight! Master Ranks, taking a hit won't kill you, so push through and trade blows! Cecilia, focus on healing! Wendy, Lira, Vivian, fall back! Do not take a hit under any circumstances!"
Krr-shhhk! Rumbbbble!
What followed was a dizzying melee, nothing short of pure chaos. The giant wolf hurled lightning in every direction, leveraging its colossal mass and superior reach to tear through the surroundings, while our frontliners rallied around the Master-tier tanks, hitting hard and disengaging in a relentless hit-and-run rhythm.
—Graaah, awoooh...!
Thankfully, the brawl didn’t drag on. Our party’s firepower was simply too overwhelming. Even in a straight brawl, the power gap would have been staggering; stacked with Cecilia’s buffs and heals alongside Arpe’s songs and debuffs, the outcome was practically written in stone. If anything, the creature had held out longer than expected.
"Phew..."
I exhaled as I watched the wolf collapse to the ground, dissolving away like morning mist.
"Haaah, haaah! Gasp, haah...!"
"You all right, Vivian?"
The fight hadn't lasted very long—maybe fifteen minutes at most. Yet seeing Vivian, whose boundless stamina usually ran me ragged, panting this hard proved that real combat carried a whole different level of pressure and strain.
"This was your first real battle using your swordsmanship, right? How was it?"
"Pant, haah... I-it's so hard...!"
"I bet."
Chuckling, I crouched down and ruffled her hair. Fortunately, she didn't seem to be hurt anywhere.
...Wait, could someone who just contributed on a battlefield requiring Master Ranks really walk away without a scratch? By any common-sense standard, that made zero sense.
"Hmm..."
"B-but! It was super fun!"
Fun, of all things? She must have known one wrong move meant death... Yep, definitely not normal. I guess this was what it took to be a default heroine.
"Lord Alzen."
"Ah, Muriel. Good work. Everyone else, too."
Turning toward the vanguard approaching me, their bodies still radiating the heat of battle, I offered them a nod of appreciation.
"Any injuries?"
"A few superficial scratches, but Lady Cecilia’s holy arts healed them completely."
"Is that so?"
I checked Muriel, Rebecca, and Nemeth, who had taken the brunt of the guardian's assault, but just as Muriel said, their bodies were completely unblemished.
"How did the fight feel?"
"...It was remarkably formidable. Had I faced it alone, I could not have guaranteed victory."
"Same here. I had no idea such a monster existed... Any pride I felt over reaching Master Rank just shrank right back down."
"Mm... Without comrades, even an ambush would have been treacherous."
Those were the impressions from Muriel, Rebecca, and Nemeth, in that order.
"Is that so? Then... what did you think of Vivian?"
"That is..."
"Well..."
"How should I put it..."
Pondering as if it were tricky to articulate, they noticed Vivian staring up at them with big, sparkling eyes, and finally spoke.
"...It was astonishing. To the point where it is hard to believe this was her first real battle."
"She instinctively read the flow of combat and identified optimal movement paths. Despite the gap in her realm, she was never in the way or a hindrance. Honestly, it's hard to believe."
"Even taking the Saintess's and the Imperial Princess's buffs into account... her talent is breathtaking."
Bathed in high praise from all three Masters, Vivian squirmed and twisted her body in sheer ecstasy.
"Ehehe...! H-hearing that makes me so embarrassed, I don't know what to do...!"
Scrambling up as if her exhaustion had evaporated into thin air, she puffed her chest out with pride.
"...By the way, Vivian."
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you use any magic?"
"Magic?"
Vivian tilted her head. I chuckled under my breath, noticing Weller—who had been wearing a sour expression while pretending not to care—suddenly prick up her ears and zero in on us at the word 'magic.'
"Yeah. You learned magic, didn't you? So why did you only use your sword?"
"Uh, well... because I learned swordsmanship thanks to you, Orabeoni. I wanted to show it off..."
"Is that so? It's not that you hate magic, right?"
"No. I like magic too."
"Good. Then from next time, weave magic into your swordsmanship."
"Um... would that be okay?"
"Why? Are you worried about something?"
"Well... people usually say you should dig only one well. If I divide my focus between too many things, won't I end up accomplishing nothing in the end?"
Resting a hand on the shoulder of the girl fidgeting with her fingers, I spoke.
"Vivian. You don't need to worry about things like that."
"Huh...?"
"I guarantee it. I vouch for it. You have the talent to achieve absolute greatness in both magic and the sword."
"......"
Her blank expression slowly unfurled like a flower in full bloom, breaking into a radiant, ear-to-ear grin.
"Really? You promise?"
"Yeah. When have you ever seen me lie?"
"Lots of times!"
"...Well, this one isn't a lie, so believe it."
"Okay! I believe you!"
"Well said, Alzen."
From behind Vivian, who was enthusiastically nodding along, Weller approached with her hands on her hips.
"Our Vivian possesses incredible magical talent too. Not bad, recognizing that. Honestly, I've had to walk on eggshells lately and haven't been able to teach her much magic."
"Huh? Really? You, walking on eggshells? Now that's a rare sight."
"Whose fault do you think that is? How could I dare pull any funny business with a child learning swordsmanship under the Patriarch?"
Ah, is that how it works?
Glaring at me for a split second, her expression quickly softened.
"Still, with your word, that's a different story. Now I have a legitimate reason to teach her magic."
"...Well, handle the magic lessons however you like. I won't interfere."
"Of course! Leave it all to me! Vivian! From now on, we'll be studying magic together! Understood?"
"Yes!... Wait, what? Uh, hold on. What about my play time...?"
Leaving a flustered Vivian behind, Weller began drafting a study schedule with an ecstatic expression on her face.
"Now then... Muriel."
"Yes."
"Shatter that Sealing Stone over there."
"Understood."
From where she stood, Muriel unleashed an Aura Blade in the form of a slashing wave.
Srrrk! Ba-baaaang!
Digging deep into the rock, the Aura Blade erupted in a violent explosion, blowing the Sealing Stone to smithereens until not a trace of its former shape remained. Yet through it all, the staff impaled in the stone didn't bear a single scratch.
"Is the dungeon unsealed now?"
"No, there are still two left."
With a flick of my chin, Muriel channeled her Aura Blade into the staff. At once, the staff’s beam of light shifted, pointing in another direction.
"Let’s move. Our goal is to unseal the dungeon and clear it all before the day is over."
Climbing straight back into the carriage, it didn’t take long before we smoothly dispatched the guardian of the second Sealing Stone, an ancient golem, followed by the guardian of the third Sealing Stone, a divine beast in the shape of a bear.