Black Lotus and White Marigold -2-
“Grrrrr!!”
A feral growl like a beast's roar shook the air around us. The [Flesh Giant] beside me couldn't even compare—with a height pushing six meters and a bloated, obese frame like a hulking mass of meat. But unlike those disgustingly swollen flesh lumps, the creature before me felt solid, as if every inch of its body was pure muscle. Its skin was gray with a rocky texture, a massive single eye dominated its head like a cyclops, and a single horn jutted from its forehead. No mouth on the head, though.
Because—drool...
“Groooooaaar!!!”
A gaping maw protruded fatly from its belly, drooling hungrily at the sight of me.
What the hell is that thing?
Nothing like it had shown up in the monster intel I'd gathered on this world before. Aurora Fantasia had something vaguely similar, but this was fundamentally different.
And this pressure... My instincts are screaming. It's stronger than me.
“Groooooaaar!!!!”
The instant it spotted us, it charged like a starving beast straight toward me and my undead.
Go!
“Hihihiiing!!!”
Clack-clack!! Clack-clack!!
At my command, the skeleton riders shot forward at breakneck speed.
“Hihihiiing!!!”
“Gro!?”
The riders used their mobility to circle it just out of reach of its massive hands, enveloping it from all sides. The monster reacted by halting its charge, drool spilling from its mouth as it flailed like a toddler reaching for a dropped candy on the ground.
Low intelligence, overwhelming hunger. That's why I'd tried it. It saw us as food.
But splitting its attention like this was risky as hell.
Thud!!
“Groooooaaar!!!”
Crunch!!
“Hihihiiing!?”
It's more agile than it looks. Reaction speed doesn't match the size.
One skeleton rider got snatched up in those huge hands way too fast for its bulk.
Crunch!! Grind-grind!!
It shoved the rider into the massive mouth on its belly and swallowed it whole.
Clang-clang!! Clack-clack!!
Even as it got devoured, the skeleton mount stabbed desperately at the monster's skin with its rusty spear—but the teeth barely scratched.
Skin's too tough. Physical attacks aren't cutting it.
Thanks to that one sacrifice, I'd gotten a read on the enemy. A rough plan for victory clicked into place.
I moved immediately.
“Groooooaaar!!!”
“Hihihiiing!!”
“Clack-clack!!”
First, halt that speedy movement for a second.
Curse: Sluggish
Bone Chain
Bone Bind
Grind!!!
Thud!!
“Grrrh!?”
The moment I chanted, bone chains and shackles erupted from the ground beneath its legs—lured there by the riders—snaring its feet and ankles.
Curses don't work? Resistance, huh.
“Kraaaaaawr!!!”
Crack!! Grind!!
It flinched in surprise at the sudden restraints, but flexed and shattered the bones like biscuits.
Snap!! Snap!!
Hell, it was shoving the broken bones into its mouth and chowing down.
But I'd seen that coming.
“Kiiieee!!!”
“Grrrh!?”
In the brief pause, the [Wraith Shadow] lurking in its shadow slithered up and wrapped its fluid black body around the monster's head.
“Groooooaaar!!!”
Blinded, it swung its hands to swat the [Wraith Shadow]—but as an incorporeal monster, physical force couldn't touch it.
Plan working. Time to strike.
Bone Lance
Acid Arrow
Mass of Rot
“Hihihihi!! FireballLightningIce Needle”
Vmmm!!
Shiiiik!!
Crackle-crackle!!
Whoosh!!
The skeleton mage and I unleashed a barrage of attack spells at the monster.
But...
“Groooooaaar!!!”
Not just curses—magic resistance too.
The skeleton mage's elemental spells fizzled against its skin with minimal damage. Only my Bone Lance, which mixed physical impact, pierced its chest—but the dense muscle blunted it, barely scratching the interior.
Sizzle!!
“Grrrrh!? Kraaaaa!!!”
The one real hit was the acid arrow. It melted the surface of its skin.
Bone Lance
Stab!!
“Graaaaaar!!!”
A bone lance into the melted spot sank deeper than before.
Acid Arrow
Bone Lance
“Hihihi!! Acid ArrowBone Arrow”
We'd found the pattern. The skeleton mage and I hammered it with acid and physical spells.
“Groooooaaar!!!”
Its rock-hard body started accumulating damage, eroded slowly like a boulder under waves and wind.
But...
“Grrrh... Groooooaaaarrrrrr!!!!!”
BOOM!!!
A sudden red aura erupted from its body. It unleashed a deafening roar that nearly burst my eardrums, blasting shockwaves in all directions.
“Kiiieek!?”
The [Wraith Shadow] wrapping its head exploded and vanished in the blast.
It can wield mana?
Pure mana-infused power.
In that split second—
Bam!!!
Crunch!!!
“Groooooaaar!!”
Munch-munch!!
It lunged with insane speed, mouth agape, scooping up nearby riders—ground and all—in one gulp.
The moment its eye locked with mine after devouring them—
Chill.
My instincts screamed.
Block it!!
“Groooooar!!”
“Graaaaa!!”
The two [Flesh Giants] lumbered forward at my command, throwing their bloated bodies in front of me and the skeleton mage as fast as they could waddle.
Flesh Giants had decent regen, huge HP pools, and solid defense for low-tier undead—staple tanks for newbie necromancers.
But—
Grind!!!
“Crunch!! Munch!!!”
The two over-two-meter behemoths—looking even bigger up close—were swallowed in a blink by the monster's impossibly wide maw. A five-meter mouth on the belly should've struggled with half-sized prey.
“Crunch!! Munch!! Gulp!!”
This freak ignored physics, stretching its jaws snake-like to cram them in and chew.
It'd aimed for me originally, but the giants as shields saved my ass.
“Grrrrr!!”
Sneer.
We were too damn close.
Whoosh!!
Its fist rocketed toward me.
Substitute
Ding~
“Hihihi...hi!?”
Shit!! I won't forget your sacrifice, Skeleton Mage No. 1!!
Bam!!!
Crunch!!
Positions swapped with the distant skeleton mage. The massive fist pulverized it instead.
“Groooooar!!”
Snap!!
The bonedust remnants vanished into its mouth too.
This is enough intel.
In the gap, I moved to cast the next spell—
Whoosh!
“Fuuuuck...”
Damn!! Zombie body's total garbage!!
Its other hand had my arm. My real reflexes would've dodged that easy—but zombie senses were sluggish shit.
“Grrrrr!!!”
Drool poured as it yanked me up—
Snap!!
And shoved me toward its gaping maw.
Not today.
Acid Mist
Strong-acid fog poured into its open mouth.
Sizzle!!
“Graaaaaah!?!?”
It thrashed in agony as its mouth melted, flailing wildly—and releasing my arm.
Crunch!!
Whoosh!!
Bam!!!
The force tore off my right arm. Physics flung me like ragdoll in the opposite direction.
Thud!! Thud!! Thud!!!
The momentum splintered dozens of trees before I skidded to a halt.
My body was wrecked, but I was alive. Undead meant no pain anyway.
Defense spells and imperial palace mana reinforcement saved me. Efficiency sucks in this body, but it toughened me up enough.
“Grrrh...”
Munch-munch!!
Far off, the monster had shaken off the pain and was gnawing my severed arm.
Eating with a mangled mouth? Insane hunger.
“You stiiiill theeeereee...”
“Grrrrr.”
Crunch-crunch.
It turned its gaze toward me at my words. My arm dangled from its belly-mouth like chewy squid, chomped slower from the wounds.
Sneer.
I grinned at it.
Time to pay up.
Just like planned. [Lesser Magic Power Boost]
Detonate Dead
Kiiiiin!!