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Whiiick─! Bang!

As the massive body crashed down, the nearby trees were all flattened, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. Thankfully, it didn’t fall into the middle of the ocean.

The impact from plummeting from a height higher than the clouds is no joke. A regular human would fracture bones just from a three-story fall, and even jumping from a slightly higher place would make their legs tremble.

Even if it’s an S-Rank Monster, there’s no way something that’s been flying in the sky for hundreds of years has ever fallen to the ground.

Naturally, I should have been affected by the shock too, but luckily, beneath me was the softest and largest cushion in the world, so I was fine.

“Luke!”

Luna jumped down from the sky. She landed lightly just before hitting the ground, and behind her, the airship was slowly descending.

“Are you okay?”

“As you can see.”

Then, Luna and Yui jumped down from the airship. The airship had to maintain a certain altitude as there was no space to land nearby.

“Are you alright?”

“Are you okay?”

Such worry is the worst, considering how much we’ve already been through.

“S-Rank Monster easy.”

The moment I said that—

-Aaaahhhhh─────────!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balarain, whom I thought was dead, sprang up with a roar that could shatter eardrums.

“That was close.”

No, “easy” is a term related to tea bagging, not a flag for survival. Did it not die? That feels a bit unfair.

Balarain seemed to be extremely angry, continuously roaring. However, the sound was different from before; it was more like a human scream.

Suddenly, it started stomping its thick legs growing underneath its body to emphasize its rage.

It must have lived for hundreds of years, but its actions were no different from those of a child.

“Lu, Luke. It looks really mad…?”

“Well, it has every right to be.”

It was likely feeling a pain it had never experienced before. Generally, the more childish someone is, the angrier they get when things don’t go their way.

But the changes weren’t over yet. On the three twisted tentacles, veins bulged out like an angry person’s forehead.

At the tips of the tentacles, small mouths sprouted. Once all the changes were complete, each tentacle resembled Balarain’s face.

“I was hoping to skip to the second phase if possible.”

The damage dealt was insufficient. Well, expecting to skip on my first run was asking too much.

Suddenly, lightning struck down from the sky. However, the multitude of sparkling bolts this time were targeting Balarain, not us.

-Kurung! Bang!

Due to the dazzling attack, the airship had no choice but to retreat. If we were nearby, we could get hit by the wild lightning. If it caught fire, it would be catastrophic.

At last, Balarain revealed itself, surrounded by crackling electricity. As soon as it emerged, it gathered six tentacles to the front and opened its mouth. Lightning began to converge from the six mouths and its main mouth.

It was clearly a sign of an impending attack.

“Dome Hwangcha!”

I quickly rolled to the side. Following my lead, Luna leaped upwards, and Riche and Yui dodged in their own ways.

The moment everyone distanced themselves—

-Kwaaaang!!!

The lightning shot out. The ground quaked continuously for a while after the immense power unleashed.

Once Balarain’s attack concluded, I stood up stiffly, unable to contain my admiration.

“Wow…”

There was a scene resembling what a super powerful railgun would leave behind. The terrain had been altered where the lightning had passed, with red molten marks in the crater-like ground hinting at the lightning’s temperature.

‘At that level, even rubber armor would have melted from the heat.’

I steeled myself, preparing for the next attack as I gazed at Balarain.

But Balarain, with saliva dripping from its seven mouths, was staring directly at us. Judging by that look…

‘That’s… Groggy!’

It was definitely that groggy state that follows an attack pattern!

“Hey! Let’s gang up on it! Quickly unleash your magic!!”

As I shouted, all sorts of attributes of magic bombarded Balarain. It seemed everyone felt that it wasn’t an opponent to skimp on magical power, as they displayed their strongest attacks.

Of course, I just watched. After all, wouldn’t my attacks just miss like a Timo blind shot anyway? No need to waste my stamina.

-Aaaahhhhh──────!!!!!!!!!!!

Balarain writhed in pain amongst the chaos of magic.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have dealt much damage, but the impact from falling thousands of meters with tons of weight seemed to be more severe than its intact exterior suggested.

-Crack!

After suffering attacks for a while, Balarain’s groggy state wore off, and it began to negate our three attacks with lightning shot from its six mouths. Not only that, but we were gradually being pushed back.

However, oddly enough, it seemed to fixate on Riche’s attacks more than the others. If it used three tentacles to block Luna and Yui’s attacks, the remaining three tentacles and its head focused solely on Riche.

What did Riche have in her attacks?

Using magical power was the same for Yui and Luna. Their magical powers were pretty similar, so there shouldn’t be a reason to specifically avoid Riche’s magic…

‘Could it be the attribute?’

Fire.

In religion, fire carries various meanings, and ancient people regarded it as the source of all things. In other words, fire is effective against everything, right?

“Luna! Yui! Buy me some time!”

If that’s the case, I’d need some time to ready my attacks. I ordered Luna and Yui to draw attention, and although it might be tough, they’d likely endure if they wanted to live.

Leaving the two who were diligently drawing aggro to spread out around Balarain, I headed toward Riche, who was catching her breath.

“Riche. Can you summon the hottest fire you can?”

“Hah… What kind of great plan do you have in mind?”

“Fire has resolved everything since ancient times.”

While heating up a plate to press down on it or putting fire into a magical power bomb and detonating it may be the easiest and most efficient way…

‘As a great influencer, I can’t fall behind the trend.’

Riche obediently ignited fire, filling it with her magic. The heat felt even to me, proving that Riche was faithfully executing my command.

Now it was my turn to respond. I plunged the Volcano Giant Sword into the flames Riche had conjured and slowly turned it.

“…What are you doing?”

“I’m about to cut an S-Rank Monster with a 1000-degree sword.”

“…What?”

If there were a YouTube in this world, it would surely become the first of its kind, possibly garnering ten million views.

The swords used in YouTube videos would melt at a true 1000 degrees, but my Volcano Giant Sword could withstand beyond that. So it can reach a genuine 1000 degrees, not just Fahrenheit 1000 degrees (537.78 °C).

With Riche’s help, I heated the Volcano Giant Sword close to 1000 degrees. It was impressive enough to rival the magnificence of the Volcano Dragon erupting.

Indeed, fire attribute enchants truly make a 1000-degree sword the best!

“…Ugh!”

“Kyyaaaah!”

At that moment, a deafening noise pierced our ears as the two screamed. When I finished preparing my attack and turned back, Luna and Yui were impaled into a tree. They trembled slightly, as if they had taken the hit hard.

And Riche, having exhausted her magical power, plopped down on the ground. I shifted my gaze back to Balarain. The final standoff was naturally set between me and Balarain.

Without needing to think, I leaped forward. I figured I might as well take the lightning strikes as though I were receiving physical therapy.

While my body tingled, it wasn’t enough to be life-threatening. It was just the right amount to feel good.

As I got close to Balarain, it extended its neck forward. At the same time, the corners of its mouth curled up as if mocking me, as if to say, “Hah, you missed your attack before, didn’t you?”

‘Ha. Look at this punk.’

Surely there’s a hefty price to pay for daring to laugh at a mere human?

I swung my sword at its elongated neck without hesitation.

And my prediction was spot on. The slime that relied on its softness for defense must have been weak against fire.

The moment my sword struck, instead of sliding off, the slime began to melt, accompanied by the sound of burning flesh as the sword sank deeper.

Balarain, your downfall is a simple one. A straightforward answer.

“You got too cocky, you fool.”

-Aaaaaaaaaaaah────────────!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a scream louder and more painful than any I had heard thus far.

It had no shame swinging its head around, desperately trying to shake me off, when just moments ago it had taunted me to hit it.

“Don’t run away!! Fight back!!”

The deeper my sword embedded itself into its neck, the more it struggled. I intended to hold on until I killed it, but for it, the matter was life and death, so its power to shake me off was just naturally stronger.

Ultimately, I was flung off when it swung its head.

As I performed an aerial somersault and landed, I caught sight of Balarain, panting heavily.

It was close enough to being decapitated. Its stamina had surely reached its limit.

But one last hit was missing. A powerful attack capable of skipping the third phase, since we assumed there was one. That was exactly what we needed right now.

Unfortunately, everyone besides myself was out of the fight. It’d be impossible for them to unleash even a single spell.

But that’s fine. I was prepared for such a moment. I leaped toward the airship that was observing us from not far away.

“What, what are you doing suddenly?”

A dwarf, surprised to see me land on the deck, asked, but I had no time to respond and moved swiftly.

I folded the sails, lowered the altitude, and secured it. The airship had just two control yokes, so even a novice like me could handle it without difficulty.

“What are you trying to do…?”

After everything was done and I grasped the steering wheel, the dwarf asked me. I responded with a grin.

The sight gave the dwarf chills, making him stutter.

“P-Please tell me that it’s not what I think it is.”

I had no idea what the dwarf was thinking, but I aimed the airship toward Balarain, and without hesitation, I charged forward.

“I’m gonna smash you!!!”

“Hey, you piece of crap!!”

 

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