122. Orthros

After Rio was sent flying by Orthos's attack from the tree, Amy and Riber had no choice but to face Orthos.

They'd had a communication artifact connecting them to the professors, but during the recent attack, it got caught in Orthos's flames and broke.

It wasn't just the communication artifact that broke.

Most of the artifacts they had prepared for the hunt were ruined.

Fortunately, the recovery potions they'd prepared were in a separate bag.

-You don't need to defeat it. A 'pin' will be stuck somewhere on Orthos's body. If you just remove it, it will return to its senses.

'Return to its senses... so it's being controlled by someone?'

-There's no other way to look at it. Orthos never comes out of the deepest parts of the Black Forest, and it's intelligent enough to hold a conversation. It appears to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠under control right now.

The Companion, who had been observing keenly, offered an answer, but the situation didn't get any better.

"Riber! That monster is being controlled! There should be a 'pin' somewhere on its body, and if we remove it, it'll return to normal...!"

"Knowing that, you think it'll start attacking slower?!"

They'd learned that they only had to remove a single pin from its body, yet Orthos remained a monstrously powerful creature.

It would've been better if all they had to worry about was the fire it spat, but its true strength lay in physical close-quarters combat.

The flames were nothing more than a check.

With Orthos's swift movements, the two of them couldn't even land a proper counterattack.

Right now, all they could do was exploit the forest terrain to hinder its movements.

If it was this bad in a place full of obstacles, they shuddered to imagine how terrible it would've been if they'd encountered it on a wide-open plain.

"Before I can even think about removing that 'pin', I can't even get a single decent hit in...!!"

They hadn't been able to properly stab it with a sword even once. So how were they supposed to find a tiny pin stuck somewhere on its body?

Orthos's body, already covered in fur, didn't give any outward indication of something being stuck in it.

They couldn't manage a pincer attack or anything at all.

In her mind, she desperately wanted to tear off her ring and escape, but her competitive spirit—the desire to win against a formidable foe—kept her from taking it off so easily.

"Whoa?!"

But then, a problem occurred.

She'd tried to dodge Orthos's charging body slam by ducking behind a tree and changing direction, but Orthos didn't crash into the tree.

Orthos leaped up, landed on the tree, and then lunged straight at Riber, who'd dashed out to escape its attack.

'At this rate... I'm going to crash into it...!'

Amy was too far away to come and cover her.

She was running so fast that coming to a stop to avoid a collision was impossible.

If she could run even faster than she was now, she might be able to dodge, but she was already at her limit—that was impossible.

Fortunately, it was a pure body slam, not sharp claws or teeth...

Bracing for the impact and prepared for a few bones to break, she pushed forward even harder.

-Kwakwang!!

"Riber!!"

The sound of yet another ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tree trunk being smashed rang out.

"Huh??"

But Riber didn't have so much as a scratch on her.

Orthos had crashed into the tree all by itself.

She had no idea how, but Riber's legs had suddenly become faster, and she'd succeeded in dodging Orthos's attack.

"What is this??"

Riber's eyes glowed with a golden hue, and a golden aura was flowing across her body.

She understood what this sensation was.

It was the change that occurred when the full moon rose.

But it wasn't even night—so why was this happening?

"Riber, are you okay?!"

"I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm fine."

She didn't know why, but her body felt incredibly light.

Orthos crawled back out from the shattered tree.

"I think I've gotten a bit faster... Let's try this once more. This time, I might have the leeway to find the pin."

"Okay...!"

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After that, they clashed with Orthos again, giving it everything they had. In the midst of it, they found Rio, who had been left far behind, and they became a three-person team once more.

Rio, who had been blown away—defensive barrier and all—while holding back Orthos's flames, was discovered quite a distance away.

"Rio sunbae, are you alright?"

"Thanks to that... I think I can at least use magic."

She could barely keep herself upright—likely from the impact of the fall—but thankfully the injury wasn't too severe, and a single healing potion greatly improved her condition.

"Can you... make a swamp or a pit timed to that thing's movements?"

"If we catch that thing... it's a guaranteed win, right? I'll try."

After setting Rio down somewhere out of Orthos's sight, Amy picked up her sword again and ran toward Orthos.

With Riber and Amy dividing Orthos's attention, the creature wasn't focused on Rio at the moment.

The remnants of the flames Orthos had spat out smoldered throughout the forest, and acrid smoke billowed up from all around.

Rio peeked her head out from behind a tree and observed Orthos clashing with Amy and Riber.

Amy was taking Orthos's attacks as the vanguard while Riber supported her.

Quietly tracking Orthos's trajectory as it dashed frantically in all directions, Rio carefully cast her magic.

Then, she created a pit at the spot where Orthos was about to land.

[!!!]

But Orthos noticed it. It twisted its body, doing everything it could to avoid falling into the pit, and stopped.

Orthos came to a halt in front of the deep pit and looked around.

[Grrr...!!!]

It spotted Rio and charged.

"S-Stone Wall!!"

With Rio's physical ability, dodging that was impossible.

She tried somehow to erect a barrier in front of her to block the attack, but she knew it was a useless effort.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single body slam from Orthos would shatter this rock wall in an instant.

"Hnng...!!!"

At that moment, someone rushed in and slashed Orthos's flank.

"Russell?!"

It was Lucia who had barged in.

Struck by Lucia's attack, Orthos's body lurched sharply and rolled across the ground.

[Kuhng!!]

But Orthos quickly regained its stance and tried to spew fire again. However, its head suddenly locked in place, and its chin was forced up toward the sky.

High into the sky, a massive pillar of fire shot up.

"A real accident really did happen. I'm always spot-on with these predictions."

"You're late!"

Casey walked up slowly, a magical light shining in one hand.

She was using telekinesis magic to keep Orthos's head locked in place.

More than anything, Amy felt reassured that Casey, a member of the Imperial Knights, had joined them.

"Is it true you need help? Or am I just butting in for no reason?"

Though she had already butted in, Casey asked everyone again, as if double-checking whether she was welcome.

Her tone suggested that if her actions amounted to stealing their prey, she'd turn right around.

"Of course not!! That monster is being controlled. If we remove the pin stuck in its body, it'll return to normal."

"...Pin?"

Upon hearing that, Casey calmly observed Orthos for a moment, then released her telekinesis magic.

"I think I see it."

"You can see it...?"

"Yeah. Everyone, stand back."

As soon as the telekinesis holding its head was released, Orthos grew intensely furious and lunged at Casey.

Casey drew her rapier, and a vivid blue aura blazed up along the slender blade.

The blade itself was thin, but the aura that enshrouded it was so intense that it looked as if she was holding a greatsword.

Everyone was speechless at the aura's radiance, which was far stronger than anyone else's present.

Casey raised her rapier one-handed toward Orthos, spread her feet shoulder-width apart in a stance ready to spring at any moment, and glared at Orthos charging toward her.

The distance between the two rapidly closed.

Just as Orthos, rushing in swiftly, was about to swallow Casey whole with both its heads, Casey stepped forward.

The 'thick rapier' bearing the intense aura pierced through Orthos's torso.

[Urk... damn... it...!]

Vomiting blood from both mouths, Orthos spat out words that humans could understand.

When Casey pulled her rapier out from Orthos's body, a thin thumbtack-sized 'pin' was stuck to the tip of the blade.

That tiny pin had apparently been controlling Orthos, the giant monster.

It hadn't even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been stuck on the outside; it seemed to have been embedded inside its body.

With a huge hole punched in its abdomen, Orthos collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

"That was nothing."

Without a change in expression, as if it were no big deal, Casey brushed off bits of Orthos's fur that had gotten on her.

Casey, the smallest member of their group, had taken down the monster they'd struggled with so desperately in a single blow. It was so unbelievable that Rio's eyes went wide.

"Should I finish it off...?"

"You said it was just being controlled. And it doesn't look like it wants to fight anymore..."

"But... how is it that no measures have been taken when something like this is roaming around?"

"The Hunting Festival was supposed to be limited to ogres at most."

"It's not like it just appeared for a moment. With this much time passing and still no measures being taken at all... it's strange."

Orthos's strength was not something that students could handle.

The only reason it had ended was because Casey—an active knight of the Imperial Knights, who stood at the very peak even among knights—had intervened.

Most ordinary students were at the early Expert level at best, or slightly better if they were at the mid-tier; they would've died the instant they encountered Orthos.

Amy and Riber had only been able to fight a defensive battle because they were far stronger than ordinary students.

With a magical beast like this roaming around, why was there no response at all from the professors?

"How long have you been fighting that thing...?"

"It's been a while. About twenty minutes, maybe...?"

"...Normally, the professors should have noticed by now..."

The lack of oversight—everyone thought of the worst-case scenario, but no one dared to voice it aloud.

At that moment, Rio was the first to voice the worst thought they'd all been having.

"This thing... you said it was being controlled by someone."

"That's right?"

"So then... that means there's someone who controlled this thing, right...?"

"...That... would be the case, wouldn't it?"

"Was this the only one? Maybe the professors aren't in a position to do anything either...?"

At those extremely ominous words, everyone's eyes briefly shifted to their rings.

It was possible for a monster to break out from the deepest parts and come inside.

But for such an accident to occur and yet no measures to be taken—that was impossible.

"This won't do. Let's take our rings off... then we'll know."

"Then... let's do it one by one. No matter how I think about it, this is weird."

"Hup!"

Riber was the first to remove her ring.

"Huh?"

But nothing happened.

Even after she took the ring off, the stored magic didn't activate.

They had clearly confirmed it was working just moments ago.

"What the... a little while ago in front of Orthos, we saw four people leave. Why isn't it working?!"

"That's strange..."

The others each took off their rings one by one, but not a single ring worked.

"As expected..."

-Rustle.

Just then, a suspicious presence was felt nearby.

"Who's there!"

But there was no response.

So Casey casually extended a hand.

"There's no need for that."

"Whaaagh?!"

With a single gesture, the person who had been lurking behind the bushes flew up like a fish caught on a line.

It was Casey's forte: telekinesis magic.

"Professor Kejin...? What brings you here?"

The big catch fished out from the bushes turned out to be Professor Kejin of Magical Beast Studies.

"Haha... I'm sorry. I was trying to rescue you, but that monster was too terrifying... so I just ended up hiding. What can I say?"

Sprawled on the ground, he was smiling awkwardly.