Chapter Seven: The Ordeal of Rookies

Chapter Seven: The Ordeal of Rookies

In Royal Capital Altea, in the front of the Adventurer's guild — Paladin Ray Starling.

After we had taken the quest at the adventurer's guild and began getting ready to go to Gideon, Rook spoke up and raised his right hand.

"Y ou can leave the means of travel to me," he said. There was a pale, gem-like object on his hand.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a 'Jewel' — an item where you keep your monsters," he answered. "It's the reward I got for my modeling."

Rook began explaining. In the process, he also answered a certain question I'd had while looking at his skills.

Being a Pimp, he had a skill that strengthened his underlings, and seeing that had made me curious about what happened to them outside of battle.

Since we were players, we would return to reality every now and then. Thus, I wondered what his little minions would do while we were away. I was saddened by the very idea of a player who stopped playing after having left some monsters or slaves in a cage or something.

Such problems were solved by Jewels, such as the one Rook had.

Jewels were basically the animal version of the item boxes we always used. It allowed the storage of any underlings you owned, and it was possible to set it so that time inside wouldn't flow at all.

The storage would work even while the player was logged out, and if they didn't log in for two months of real time or half a year of game time, the Jewels would automatically release the creatures inside.

I see, I thought. Having underlings in such a realistic world would be really difficult without these things.

Well, there was a need to feed and have them rest outside the Jewel, but that was all part and parcel of being an underling owner.

It was also possible to make the time inside the Jewel go on as normal. Logging out while the underlings were released was an option, too. However, while being outside, the underlings could always get into some sort of trouble, so whether it would be done or not depended entirely on the owner.

"So, you already have a monster in there, huh?" I asked as I pointed at the Jewel.

"Y es," Rook answered. "Mr. Grantzian told me choose one reward out of a few, but since I had a skill that strengthened monsters, I chose this one."

Pimp was a job that had a low combat ability, but compensated for it with the use of monsters, so that had been the right choice to make.

"Let me show you," said Rook. "'Call' — Marilyn."

Following his words and the unique roar, the Jewel began to shine.

"MMHOOOOOO!"

And, sure enough, a monster named "Marilyn" appeared before us,

but...

"...Marilyn?" I raised an eyebrow.

...it was arguable whether the name "Marilyn" was appropriate.

A succinct description of Marilyn would go as such: a triceratops pulling a carriage. Its gigantic body was covered in a blue, solid shell, while its back and shoulders could easily be compared to heavy armor. The very real horns on its head were intimidating enough to make me feel as though they could topple the castle walls.

It was far too obvious that the monster was stronger than us. The thing could even put up a fight against a Demi-Dragon Worm.

Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if it came out on top, I thought.

"This is Marilyn — a Trihorn Demi-Dragon," Rook introduced the monster. "The dragon carriage came as a bonus."

"Demi-Dragon?" Seriously? I thought. It actually is on the same tier as the worms, then. That name has some serious power behind it.

I was momentarily taken aback by the fact that you could get such a thing as a reward, but since the difficulty of the quest had been higher than the one where I'd saved Milianne, it wasn't that strange.

"Why 'Marilyn,' though?" I asked.

"It's a girl, so I named her after a famous actress," Rook answered.

I see. It's a girl, huh? I guess it's all fine, then, I thought. ...Marilyn Monroe might or might not be turning in her grave right now.

"Wow, what a sight!" Marie commented. "Though, something this strong might exceed your Minion Capacity."

"Minion Capacity?" Rook and I asked simultaneously.

"Oh, let me explain it, then." Marie reached into her item box, took out a sketchbook-like item, and began her explanation while drawing something on it.

A sketchbook? I thought. Why does she even have something like that? Is it because she's a Journalist?

"First of all, in Infinite Dendrogram, the maximum number of people you can fit in a party is six." Marie finished drawing and showed us the result — little chibi versions of me, Rook and herself. All the detail on them made the drawings seem strangely high-quality.

"In our case, three of those slots are already taken," she said. "Now, the other three slots can be taken by tamed monsters or Guardian-type Embryos." Marie added chibi versions of Babi and Marilyn.

"Y ou say they 'can' be taken... Does that mean it's possible to make the monsters fight without doing that?" asked Rook.

"Y es," she answered. "It's possible to not count them as party members and instead treat them as an extension of the owner's power. That's where Minion Capacity comes in."

Underneath Rook's picture, Marie drew a small tree diagram that led to Babi and Marilyn.

"With this method, they won't use party slots, but there is a limit to it," she said. "Minion Capacity is basically the name for that limit."

"I see," I nodded.

"Open your status screen and look at the additional entries."

I did as she'd said and took a look at the auxiliary screen. Sure enough, I saw an entry that said "Minion Capacity 0/50."

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Y es, monsters that fit the Capacity can be used as part of your own power," she explained. "The amount of the Capacity taken depends entirely on the individual monster. For example, one level 1 Little Goblin would take 1 point." That meant that I could control a total of fifty level 1 Little Goblins. A nice number, but questionable overall. I could just picture them all getting blown away by a single area attack.

"My Capacity is 500, so I can own five hundred of them," said Rook.

That's ten times more than mine, I thought.

"Pimp is a job with a high Capacity," Marie said. "Though, Ray, since your job is in the knight grouping, you will have to use mounts, so I think that your Capacity is above the high-rank class average."

Mounts, huh? I thought. I should get one of those someday.

"Anyway, I see how it works now..." I said.

If it was impossible to call your monsters without using party slots, jobs such as Tamer and Pimp — both of which had low base fighting ability — would have a hard time getting into parties. With the use of Capacity instead, they could count their monsters as part of their own power, making them no worse — if not better — than any other job.

"What happens if you exceed the Capacity?" I asked.

"Y ou get a limit on your abilities and stop gaining XP," she answered.

That's quite a huge demerit, I thought.

"Miss Marilyn here is too much for your Capacity, Rook," said Marie. "Demi-Dragons are strong and have a cost that represents that."

If I had to choose between fighting 500 Little Goblins or one Demi-Dragon Worm, I'd pick the former without a moment's hesitation, I

thought. That's just how much stronger the latter option is.

"With that in mind, let's place Marilyn in the party," Marie suggested. "There aren't many of us, so we have some free slots, after all."

"Hey, I have a question! What's my cost?" asked Babi.

"An Embryo's cost is always 0," she answered. "If it weren't, then Masters who evolved Guardian-type Embryos wouldn't be able to draw out their full potential."

That was true.

"Well, that sure took a while to explain. Now, let's return to the matter at hand," Marie continued. "By riding Marilyn's dragon carriage, we could reach Gideon in about one whole day."

"Then I guess we'll have to give up on doing it now and depart tomorrow morning, instead," I said. "Do you two have any plans?"

I was referring to real-life stuff. Our journey to Gideon would take us a total of three days, which meant that we'd have to dedicate an entire real-life day to this.

"Not really," said Rook. "I'll be free the whole time."

"Same here," said Marie. "I'm jobless right now."

...I'm having trouble figuring out if I should laugh at that or not, I thought.

◇

The next day, we were riding Marilyn's dragon carriage on the road to Gideon.

The road was wide enough to let two Marilyns ride side-by-side without any problems. Her size had made me wonder if she would block the road, but my worries seemed to have been completely

unfounded.

Marilyn's walking speed was greater than I'd expected, too. She could pull the dragon carriage uphill without even the slightest drop in speed, which reminded me of four-wheel drive off-road cars.

Looks like our journey to Gideon will be smooth, I thought.

Although we had to take care of the occasional monster attack, so it wasn't like we could get there without stopping. However, since we were going through a newbies' hunting ground, the monsters never attacked us in large groups. The most we'd had to fend off at once was three.

In fact, Rook, Babi, and I had just defeated such a group. Marie, meanwhile, stayed sitting in the dragon carriage and cheering for us while sipping on some tea. There were things to be said about this setup. Still, she wasn't doing nothing without reason. Honestly, it was my own fault for not asking her about it beforehand.

"Journalist" wasn't a battle job in any sense of the term. However, Journalists had a characteristic skill called "The Pen is Mightier than the Sword," which increased the XP gain of the entire party in exchange for rendering the Journalist unable to fight. The skill couldn't be turned off, either. With that in mind, it was safe to conclude that Journalists were like a decoration that were of absolutely no use in battle.

Sure, I appreciated the bonus XP. And yes, we were going through a newbies' hunting ground, so the enemies weren't something we couldn't handle ourselves. She was also more knowledgeable than us. The advice she gave was useful, and her monster info was accurate.

Still, I can't help but feel that... well, whatever, I thought.

"The skill is called 'The Pen is Mightier than the Sword,' so I was expecting it to be an attack with a pen," said Nemesis.

"That saying's meaning isn't physical," I said.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if this world had a pen that was stronger than a sword, I thought.

All the same, the journey was going smoothly. Due to the XP bonus, both Rook and I had already gotten some levels. I was now level 16, while Rook was level 27.

The battles were coming and going in a satisfying manner, and it didn't look like we'd have any trouble with the monsters of this level range.

Speaking of "no trouble," the mountain pass before us had once been blocked by a bear-like monster. Just from appearance alone, it had seemed like the boss monster of this area. However, before we could even begin our fight with it, Marilyn — seemingly angry at it for blocking her way — had defeated the bear as if it wasn't a big deal at all.

Rook had retrieved the drops, which had come in a "box," so yes, it had been an actual boss monster. A boss's loot was always a welcome thing. However, as a rule of thumb, boss monsters were always the most powerful creatures an area could offer.

And it sure didn't seem like that when Marilyn handled him, I thought.

Another thing to note was that most boss monsters were multiple-of-a-kind and took part in the ecosystem, but according to Marie, there were some monsters that were unlike any other. They were called UBMs — Unique Boss Monsters.

All of them — without exception — were equipped with special abilities, and some were even powerful enough to eliminate high-rank parties without much difficulty. However, since they were one-of-a-kind, even encountering them was rare.

Once out of the wavy Sauda Mountain Pass, we entered an area of nothing but wide plains. The area was named "Nex Fields," and the road leading through it was supposed to take us to Gideon.

As we all were thinking about just how smooth of a journey this was, something entered our vision.

On the road ahead, there were several carriages which looked like they belonged to peddlers. They were all under attack by a throng of goblins that easily numbered more than a hundred.

◇

The goblins in this horde had a significantly better physique than the Little Goblins Rook and I had fought back on Easter Plains.

While the standard Little Goblin was about half my size, the ones here reached approximately 80%. Not only that, but they also wielded swords and bows, and were clad in proper armor. Some of them were even riding some small monsters resembling carnivorous dinosaurs. The names above them — Goblin Warrior, Goblin Archer, and Goblin Rider — made it all the more obvious that they were superior to the ones we were familiar with.

And a proper throng of them was attacking the peddler carriages.

I could see some tian-looking people try to fend them off, but alas, the numbers were against them.

"...That sure is a lot of goblins. And it seems like every single one of them is stronger than the monsters in the Mountain Pass. What shall we do?" Marie evaluated the enemy, asking whether we should join the battle or not.

I began to ponder. We were rookies, and calling us strong would be nothing but a mistake. Marie was a veteran, yes, but she couldn't participate in any battles, not to mention the fact that the opposing force greatly would outnumber us even if she could.

We clearly had a low chance of victory. The safest option would be to turn around, retreat to the Mountain Pass, wait for the goblin horde to go away, and return on the path to Gideon then.

However, that would mean leaving the people there for dead. And that... would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

"Rook, Marie," I spoke up. "We might get the death penalty and fail the quest because of it, but..."

...if you guys don't mind that, then...

"Let's do it," Rook said before I could finish. Then he freed Marilyn from the dragon carriage...

"Run them over."

...and set her on the goblins.

"MMHOOOOOOO!" she roared and burst into a dash.

Keeping her three horns at the forefront, Marilyn charged into the goblin throng with all she had. Once they noticed the presence of something other than the carriages — their prey — it was already too late. Nearly fourteen goblins got pulverized by Marilyn's horns.

"Let's go, Ray," said Rook. "Marilyn might be strong, but that's still too much for her alone."

"...Y eah!" I agreed.

"I see." Nemesis seemed to realize something. "Just like my unexpectedly fiery Master, this Rook fellow seems to have a dangerous side to him, too."

"Mrrgh!" grumbled Babi. "No fair, Marilyn! I was with him first, so I'm supposed to do the most!"

Rook, Babi, and I all jumped through the space opened by Marilyn and began fighting the goblins around us.

"Hghaah!" I tightened my grip on Nemesis — who was already in her greatsword form — and swung her at the Goblin Warrior before me with all I had. The blade sank into the top of the Warrior's

shoulder, but the armor he wore made it stop after going only about ten centimeters.

"Ghghee!" The wound wasn't fatal, so the Warrior still tried to swing his weapon at me.

"Then how about... this?!" I raised my greatsword upwards — lifting the Warrior along with it — and quickly swung it down to the ground. The momentum added to my attack made the Warrior — and his armor — split in half.

Thanks to the levels I'd gained recently, such feats weren't particularly hard for me.

But it takes a while to do it, I thought. So next time, I'll be aiming straight for the neck.

"Heh heh heh, what an aggressive battle," chortled Nemesis. "It's to my liking."

Well, someone seems to be having fun, I thought. I find it a bit strange that she can't handle zombies, but she's just fine with all this gore here.

"Behind you!" she warned me.

"...Whoa!" I turned around, swung my greatsword sideways and decapitated the Warrior that had tried to attack me from behind.

Sadly for him, having Nemesis at my side basically let me see from every direction. Being surrounded wasn't a big problem for me.

"What are you people?!" one of the escorts fighting to protect the carriages exclaimed.

I chose to make our explanation succinct.

"We're Masters heading to Gideon," I said. "We're here to help. That Demi-Dragon is with us, so don't attack it."

"I see! We will make sure not to harm it, then! Thank you for your help!" Convinced, he began telling his comrades about us.

With that, it was now established who was on whose side. Of course, since the only enemies were goblins and their mounts, simply telling them about Marilyn was more than enough. However, we were still seriously outnumbered.

Surrounded by goblins, Marilyn couldn't get enough speed to kill them as quickly as she had at the start. The carriage escorts were doing their best, but it still wasn't enough to make up for the difference in numbers.

Suddenly, I realized something. Rook and Babi weren't with us.

I looked around and found them both standing in one place.

That was all they were doing. Despite all the chaos around them, they were just standing there, back-to-back.

However, they soon began to move.

"Male..."

"Lilim..."

Rook extended his right hand... while Babi — her left...

"...Temptation!"

...and — while simultaneously saying that word — they motioned their hands as if beckoning something.

The next moment, a particularly fierce female Goblin Warrior decapitated the goblin next to her.

Another one — a Goblin Archer who seemed to have a commanding role — suddenly crushed the head of the mount he was riding on.

"Ghgheee?! Sis! W-What did you dooo?!"

"Captaain?!"

Screams, confusion, and — most important of all — chaos began to spread throughout the goblin army. The number of victims was increasing by the second. One after the other, goblins lost their minds and began attacking their own.

The Charmed goblins were attacking those who weren't, while those who weren't Charmed were hesitant about fighting back and could only get Charmed themselves or simply die.

The damage done to the horde increased exponentially, and when all the goblins were either dead or Charmed...

"Lilim Draaain!"

...Babi started draining the life out of every single Charmed goblin.

The process made some of them come back to their senses, but just like before, they either got killed by the Charmed goblins or simply got Charmed again.

"Thank you for the meeaal!"

Considering just how hellish the situation was for the victims, the nonchalance in her voice was quite inappropriate. Nonetheless, those words were what marked the end of the battle.

The throng of goblins had been completely annihilated. Excluding those that had been defeated by me or the carriage escorts, all the goblin corpses had been either killed by their own or sucked dry to the point of making them look like mummies.

"In contrast to our counterattacks — which are effective against single bosses like those damn centipedes — their abilities are frighteningly good at exterminating large groups of vermin," commented Nemesis.

She was right. Our strengths and theirs were strikingly different in nature. By using Charm, Rook and Babi had created scattered allies within the enemy ranks. That had rendered the enemies unable to focus their attacks, and had destroyed any semblance of cooperation they had.

As they had been trying to recover from that, the effects of Charm had spread and gotten even more of them on Rook's side. Cue repeating downwards spiral. It was a nightmare scenario in any group-based battle.

"I'm glad he is not our enemy," said Nemesis.

I couldn't agree more.

The tian escorts and even peddlers in the carriages were shocked stiff at what Rook and Babi had just done. That was only natural.

We were fully aware that they weren't bad guys, but there was no arguing that what they had just done had been downright villainous.

Charm was scary — end of discussion. It reminded me of why I was afraid of Rocbouquet.

"This was the first time I've used it in battle, and I'm very glad it was useful," said Rook.

"It wasn't very tasty, but I'm sooo stuffed right now!" declared Babi.

The fact that they are a Master with a low-rank job and his first form Embryo makes me dread imagining how they'll be in the future, I thought.

"Ah! Rook, Rook! I have a new skill! I reached my second form!" Babi squealed.

"Really?!" he exclaimed.

And that was exactly when I heard them say that.

Although her appearance didn't change, this battle — or rather, "extermination"— had caused Babi to evolve. That wasn't unexpected, considering just how many goblins there had been.

I looked at Rook's basic stats and saw that he, too, was quite a bit over level 30 now. I, however, was level 20.

"Congratulations," I said to Rook.

"Thank you!" he replied. "So, Babi, what kind of skill did you get?"

"Umm... It's called 'Drain Learning!'"

Rook took a look at his Embryo window and examined the new skill. He let me have a gander, too, so I read its description.

It said "Gives a low (1%) chance to learn a random skill from the monster being drained."

"...Learning, eh?" I said to myself. It was much like the blue magic from that famous RPG series. Basically, it allowed the user to learn and utilize the skills of enemy monsters.

In Babi's case, the chance of that happening was a mere 1%. However, if my calculations were correct, that meant that she had a greater than 60% chance to get a new skill after draining a hundred times. Since there was no limit to the amount of skills one could have, it had the potential to be an extremely useful ability.

...I have a feeling she's gonna be really formidable in the future, I thought.

Suddenly, Nemesis sounded a groan that seemed really troubled. "Mmrgh..."

"What's wrong, Nemesis?" I asked.

"I feel like you and I didn't do much compared to them, and I find

that a bit troubling," she answered.

"...Come on, now. No one cares about that," I said.

Well, it was true that we hadn't gotten to be particularly valuable players since we'd defeated that one Demi-Dragon Worm. We'd even died once. Then again, if all we ever faced were beasts such as the Superior Killer or Figaro, we would be dying all the time.

That's why it's all too bad when we don't get to show off, I thought.

And so, though it was likely unrelated to Nemesis' worries and my sentiments...

"GOOOAAAAAHHHHH!"

...something screamed and landed on the goblin corpse-littered battlefield.

No — the word "landed" wasn't appropriate, for it made the action seem soft. Something large — a demon — crashed down on the battlefield.

The demon's feet cracked open the ground — making it tremble — and yet the monster itself was unharmed.

In awe, I looked up at its daunting appearance.

It was monstrous in every sense of the word. I lacked the words to describe it. Most of it was brown and black in color. The horn on its head — combined with a stature that surpassed five meters in height

— made it appear exactly the way I expected a demon to look. However, it had a feature that was wholly unnatural and nothing short of discomforting.

It had large mouths on its head and both of its shoulders. All of them were leaking a dark purple smoke, the very sight of which made a cold chill go down my spine.

Last but not least, the words "Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda" were hanging above it.

The intimidating presence of this "Gardranda" was enough to affect our reaction speed. Before we could even realize, it raised its right leg, crushed one of the escorts... and followed it up with a punch from its huge fist — directed straight at me.

"Counter... Absorption!"

Nemesis spawned the barrier of light just in time to stop Gardranda's fist from hitting me directly, which greatly lowered its damage.

Since she'd had experience in suddenly activating that skill, Nemesis was quick to react. That was about the only good thing about the current situation.

"This one has more power than those centipedes...!" she exclaimed.

"So it's actually above the Demi-Dragon Worms, huh?" I asked.

"Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda." This monster had both a title and a name.

I've never seen a monster with this kind of presentation before... I thought. Wait, wasn't his name on the bounty list Nemesis was reading yesterday?

"Ray! Rook! Be careful!" Marie — who was standing outside the battle — suddenly shouted to us. "That's a Unique Boss Monster!"

Her warning made me remember a certain bit of information I'd seen on the wiki.

UBM.

Just as it said in the name, it was a term that referred to boss monsters who were unique — unlike any other creatures in this

world.

Standard boss monsters, such as the Demi-Dragon Worms, often came in groups. But UBMs were different. There was only one of each UBM in the entire world. No current UBMs have ever existed before, and no past UBMs would ever come again. All of them — without exception — were really powerful and even came equipped with their own unique abilities. In a way, they were like the "Masters" of the monster faction.

Thus, they were several tiers stronger than any bosses of the same level.

"Why would such a monster appear here...?" I couldn't help but ask. Considering the power of the goblins surrounding us, Gardranda was simply far too powerful to be here.

Wait... the goblins? I thought.

"I see how it is..." said Nemesis. "This demon is like the ringleader of the goblins. It came out because its subordinates were annihilated."

In other words, it had come here because we'd enraged it. However, there was something else on my mind.

I shifted my gaze and fell silent. My vision was fixed on a single corpse. It belonged to the carriage escort who'd been attacked at the same time I had. It was the same one I'd spoken to not too long ago.

His corpse — the body flattened by the demon — seemed somewhat inauthentic.

Obviously, I only felt that way because my experience with destroyed corpses didn't go beyond fiction. However, the extent of this world's realism was great enough to replicate the weight...

...the gravity of a lost life.

I had fought undead before and had caught glimpses of players

vanishing into the dusk-veiled forestry as they were massacred by the Superior Killer. In fact, some of the escorts here had died at the hands of goblins before we'd joined the battle.

However, the one that had gotten pulverized by Gardranda was the first person that had died right before my eyes.

I was at a loss for words. I didn't know his name, nor was I aware of what kind of person he had been. I even had trouble remembering his face.

But... I'd been talking to him just a short while ago.

He was beyond helping now. This world wouldn't allow him to come back. He was simply dead.

"This'll leave a bad taste in my mouth..." I said with a palpable anger in my tone, and looked up at the demon's sizable frame.

I saw veins popping out and pulsating on its head. No — it wasn't just the head. That was happening on the skin around its shoulder-mouths, as well.

"It's releasing some sort of breath!" shouted Marie. "Back away from it!" I couldn't tell if her warning come too late or if it happened too fast.

With great intensity, Gardranda's three mouths simultaneously sprayed out a dark purple smoke.

"...Huh?!" I exclaimed.

It was somewhat reminiscent of insecticide. The sprays that instantly killed the irritating, buzzing pests we were all so familiar with. I had used such sprays myself, of course. However, I'd never once expected to have someone use something like that on me.

The poisonous breath was launched in three directions — at me, at Rook and Babi, and at Marilyn and the escorts — and it quickly

covered us all.

The dark purple miasma didn't do any damage at first. However, it soon made me go dizzy and forced me to drop to my knees.

I looked at the status window, where I saw that I was under the effects of three debuffs — Poison, Intoxication, and Weakness.

Poison made my health gradually decrease, Intoxication made it hard for me to even stand up, while Weakness cut my stats to less than half their original value, making it so that even my gear felt heavy to me.

I shifted my gaze and saw that the escorts and peddlers were on the ground, as well.

Rook, however, was above us. Babi had raised him up before the miasma could reach him.

"Mh-mhoooooo...!"

I heard the familiar roar, but it was far weaker than before. Its source was Marilyn. She, too, was under the effects of the miasma's debuffs. And yet, she mustered all she had, pushed her feet on the ground, and charged towards Gardranda.

It was the very same charge that could trample fourteen goblins at once and even instantly pulverize lower level bosses, and yet...

"GOAAAAAHHHHHH!"

...Gardranda stopped it.

The demon extended its log-like arms and grabbed on to the outer two of Marilyn's three horns. Though it was pushed a few meters back, Gardranda was able to stop Marilyn's — a Demi-Dragon's — charge.

Then, the demon added a bit more power...

"GeeeeY Y AAAAHHHH!"

...and threw Marilyn into the air.

Drawing an arc through the air, the several-tons beast flew about ten meters before hitting the ground with an unpleasantly strong sound.

"Marilyn!" Rook seemed slightly panicked.

"Mh, mhoo, mo..." Marilyn released a weak sound.

With the damage from the fall and all the debuffs weighing down on her, it was obvious that she was at her limit.

"Recall!" Rook's words made her return to the Jewel. Time stopped for the animals within it, so Marilyn was safe for now.

"Mrrgh! It's not workiiing!" Babi had been trying to use Temptation on Gardranda for a while now, but since the demon's level, MP, and SP were so high, Charm simply had no effect.

"Suitability, huh?" I whispered to myself. Rook and Babi weren't cut out for boss battles.

If there was anyone here who was, however...

"Master!" In response to Nemesis's shout, I shifted my attention back to Gardranda.

As I knelt there — barely mobile due to all the debuffs — the demon swung its right hand at me as if crushing a fly.

"Don't underestimate me!" I forced my heavy body to move, swung Nemesis into Gardranda's palm...

"Vengeance is Mine!"

...and activated the skill the very moment the sword landed.

The damage from the nullified Gardranda's punch mixed with the HP I'd lost to Poison, got doubled, and made the demon's right hand burst.

The attack tore the palm apart and made three of the fingers fly straight off.

"GUUUOOOAAHHHHH?!" Gardranda screamed in agony.

But the damage I'd done was low. Since the damage I'd accumulated from Gardranda at that point hadn't been particularly great, Vengeance is Mine hadn't done that much damage, either. Also, the attack on the palm had used up all the damage I'd accumulated by then. To use another Vengeance is Mine, I'd have to accumulate damage all over again.

"Ghh!" Following the attack, I swung Nemesis once again and launched a standard attack. However, it was a few tiers weaker than it usually was, and had none of its usual brilliance.

The reason for that was obvious. The debuffs were still affecting my body.

The Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda had both the physical power to let it throw something as heavy as Marilyn and the ability to weaken its opponents in three different ways.

The gradual HP reduction from Poison wasn't much of a problem as long as I made sure to observe the HP bar. However, Intoxication paralyzed the semicircular canals and thus negatively affected my ability to control my body, while Weakness cut my stats by more than 50% and turned the most basic fighting into a struggle.

"This is bad..." I muttered. Damn it, my chances were low even without these debuffs.

Suddenly, Marie called to me from behind. "Ray!"

I turned around, expecting her to warn me about something, and

instead got a glass bottle to hit me right on the face and shatter.

"Khah...!" I exclaimed.

"Master?!" Nemesis was confused, as well. As the impact made me throw my head backwards, I got showered by the bottle's shards and contents.

My pain settings were set to "off," so it didn't hurt at all, but I couldn't help but wonder what had brought this about.

Marie had the stance of a pitcher who had just thrown a ball, so it was pretty obvious that she had been the one who'd thrown it.

As I was about to yell at her for messing about during a battle, I noticed something.

"...I'm healed, and the debuffs are gone," I muttered. My HP was at 100%, and the three status effects were no longer on my status window.

What is this? I asked in my head.

"It's the Elixir I'd prepared just in case! With this, you should be immune to disease-based debuffs for the next 180 seconds! However, I don't have a spare, so use it well!" Marie explained.

Elixir? So that's what was in the bottle. Apparently, it's quite a powerful drug. However, with this...

"Looks like we're at our best again," I said.

"Indeed," agreed Nemesis. "With no debuffs hindering us, this Gardranda is the equivalent of one of those damn centipedes — except with hair."

With my current HP and defense, I could bear the demon's attacks, and if I could bear them — I had a chance of winning.

"For the poison, for Marilyn, and for those who died... you'll get

what's coming to you, you demon bastard!" I brandished Nemesis and charged towards Gardranda.

The Elixir's effects would last for another 154 seconds. That was the amount of time I had before I returned to being vulnerable to Gardranda's miasma and got the three debuffs again. Thus, I had to settle it before that time expired.

"Rrraaaghhh!" I held the greatsword aloft and swung it at Gardranda's knees. It cut through his skin and spilt some blood, but the wound wasn't deep in the slightest. Though it bit through the skin and sunk into the muscle, it wasn't even close to reaching the bone.

Even when I was at my best, my standard attacks weren't good enough to do any proper damage to him.

My STR wasn't particularly great, and though Nemesis might've been a great weapon when I'd been level 1, she was among the weaker ones now that I was level 20. If I tried to beat it with just my standard attacks, not even 1,500 seconds would be enough, let alone 150.

However...

"GUUOOOAAAHHHHH!" Gardranda retaliated with a kick, and I chose to let it hit me.

"Ghh...!" I got blasted away about seven meters, but was able to make a smooth landing.

Though it sent me flying, the attack didn't hurt me all that much.

The damage it did was about 600. That was approximately a quarter of my total HP.

I was level 20. With the bonus HP I'd gotten for leveling up while being a Paladin, the bonus from my Embryo, and the skill "HP Increase," my total HP had reached 2500.

One of my skills — Paladin's Aegis — reduced all incoming damage, and my equipment was far better than it had been when I'd fought the Demi-Dragon Worm. Thus, a creature that hit a little bit harder than them could never kill me in one hit. And if I couldn't die in one hit, I had the means to earn victory.

"First Heal!" I ran while casting my healing spell on myself and complemented it with a use of one of my Heal Potions. With that, my HP was almost back to full.

"Rrraaghh!"

Then I simply repeated what I'd done before. Attack. Get hit. Heal.

I merely had to repeat this for those 150 seconds. That was my only chance at winning.

One repetition took about twenty seconds and got me 600 damage, which became 660 when I considered the damage nullified by Paladin's Aegis. I could do it a total of seven times and gather 4620 damage. Vengeance is Mine would double that amount and damage for 9240.

Can you survive getting that hit on your head, you damn demon? I thought.

"That is our only optio— Master!"

As I calculated the remaining time and the damage I could gather, Nemesis called out to me. Being familiar with her tones, I instantly knew that it was a warning.

"Look above!" she shouted.

I quickly did as she told me. In the sky, hazy with Gardranda's miasma...

"KIIIAAAAAAA!"

...I saw a large, crimson bird of prey as it dove towards me at high speed and readied its talons.

"Whoa!" I hastily jumped to the side, making the crimson gust go by me.

Seemingly annoyed due to failing to grab me, the bird of prey flapped its wings once and suddenly rose back up into the sky.

Before it completely got away, I caught a glimpse of the name displayed above it: "Crimson Roc Bird — Mount Owner: Great Miasmic Demon, Gardranda."

"A... a mount...?!" I stuttered.

The description made me realize something. When Gardranda had come here, he'd simply fallen from the sky. However, the demon had no means of flying or jumping particularly high, and these flat plains didn't have any places that would give it the necessary height to make such an entrance. Thus, there was only one reasonable explanation:

Gardranda had been brought here by something that could fly. And that something had been hanging above us ever since we'd started this battle.

"...This is bad," I muttered. I was no longer able to focus on Gardranda.

The bird's speed and physique made it obvious that it was quite a powerful monster. If I had to guess, I'd assume that it was just as strong — if not stronger — than the Demi-Dragon Worms. It could even grab me with its talons and drop me from a great height, rendering me completely unable to fight back.

This bird was a dangerous enemy, indeed.

However, if I kept focusing on trying to avoid it, the Elixir's effects would wear off, and I'd no longer have any means of achieving victory.

"What do I do...?" I asked myself.

"Ray!" Before I could figure out how to handle the new enemy...

"We'll take care of the Roc Bird!" Rook shouted.

"I can fly, so leave it to me!" Babi called out to me.

"Y ou just focus on Gardranda, Ray!" added Rook.

"But...!"

Rook and Babi couldn't do anything against a monster that powerful. It was probably immune to their Charm skills. Before I could tell that to them, Rook spoke up.

"We'll buy time until you defeat Gardranda!" he shouted.

"Y eah! So don't worry about us!" added Babi.

Holding Rook, Babi rose up and flew towards the Roc Bird. I silently watched them.

"Master," Nemesis spoke to me. "Y ou are not thinking of letting their conviction go to waste, are you?"

"...Like hell," I replied. I brandished Nemesis and once again ran towards Gardranda.

The reason why I could continue fighting was because Marie had used her Elixir on me. The reason why I could focus on the fight was because Rook and Babi were holding back the Roc Bird. Nemesis and I weren't alone in this battle.

It wasn't like the time we'd been killed by the Superior Killer. I... no, we were fighting as a party.

"57 seconds left," I said. "By lowering our focus on healing, we can do this three, preferably four times."

"Let it be done, then!" Nemesis expressed her enthusiasm.

We ran, attacked Gardranda, got hit back, stood up, and ran again. It was to not waste the opportunity our comrades had given us... and to uplift our chances of victory. I didn't care how tattered I would become doing this.

Soon enough, we only had 10 seconds left.

"Nemesiiiis!" I shouted.

"Accumulated damage: 4973! We can do this!" she cried. "Master!"

Everything slotted into place when Gardranda hit us for the final time. I had less than half of my total HP, but I could still move. All that was left was to hit the demon with Vengeance is Mine.

I dashed towards Gardranda with the sole purpose of landing this lethal hit.

7 seconds left.

6 seconds. 5 seconds. 4 seconds.

"Guuuhhh— GHHAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

We had only a few more steps to take until the demon was within our range.

That was the moment when the mouth on the head opened wide and released a crimson-red flame.

It wasn't the miasma this time.

This breath was meant purely to damage anyone it touched.

All this time, Gardranda had been hiding this trump card from us, and there was no way I could survive a direct hit from those flames.

However...

"Take... it... all!" I shouted. "Counter Absorption!"

The barrier of light summoned by Nemesis stopped the purgatorial fire and absorbed the damage it did.

"Vengeance is... Mine!"

The attack carrying the doubled weight of the damage from Gardranda's hits and fire completely pulverized the demon's head and ended its life...

...or so it seemed.

The loss of its head made Gardranda turn silent. However, its body continued moving around and attacking me as though it was only natural.

"Huh?!" I exclaimed.

Despite losing its head — and brain — Gardranda swung its left arm at me, making it obvious that it simply didn't care for the damage I'd done. And I — fresh out of my means of defense and tired due to having just used my most intense attack yet — was unable to evade the demon's arm.

"...Gh!" It hit me head-on, sent me flying, and had me slipping on the ground for about ten meters after landing.

However — likely because Gardranda had lost its head — the damage it'd done wasn't as great as before, and it didn't kill me.

"First... Heal..." I stumbled to my feet while casting healing magic on myself.

However, the time was up. 180 seconds had passed since I'd been put under the effects of Elixir, and the effects were now gone.

The air around me was still thick with Gardranda's miasma, so I was instantly put under the effects of all three debuffs.

"Damn it..." I couldn't even fight properly in this state, yet the demon was still perfectly fine.

At least he can't see without his hea— my thought was cut short.

"Just how much of a monster are you?" I yelled, not expecting an answer. On both of Gardranda's shoulders — right above the mouths — appeared a gory orb — obviously an eye.

It didn't seem like the shoulder-eyes worked yet, but it was clear that they'd soon gain vision and let the demon see and kill me without much trouble.

"Why is this happening?! We clearly destroyed it!" shouted Nemesis in confusion. Our Vengeance is Mine attack had created an explosion with Gardranda's head at its center.

Naturally, the head was gone without a trace, and even its chest had a hole carved out of it in a semicircular shape.

It looks like we even got its heart, and yet...

"...Heart?" I felt something off about my words, that word in particular.

Suddenly, it came back to me.

I controlled my hands — shaking due to Intoxication — went to my menu, and opened my memo window.

There, I found the memo saying, "The demon's heart lies in its stomach. — Cheshire"

"...So that's what that meant," I muttered.

"Master?" Nemesis sounded confused.

Cheshire's words fit the situation perfectly.

The cat had probably known that I'd be facing Gardranda the

moment I'd said that I was heading to Gideon. Cheshire had given me those words just in case I got into a situation such as this one.

Gardranda's heart — the core that governed all of its life functions

— was in neither the head nor the chest, but the stomach. Thus, Gardranda wouldn't die until said "heart" was crushed.

To this demon, the head was nothing but another means of attacking. Even if I destroyed the remaining "faces" on the shoulders, Gardranda would continue to move as long as the core in its stomach was intact.

My previous attack should've been aimed at the stomach instead of the head.

But even if I figured that out, I'm all out of power to—

"...Like hell," I muttered.

"Out of power?" Who gives a damn? I thought fiercely.

Rook and Babi were still holding back the Roc Bird. Therefore, I — who had been entrusted with the role of defeating Gardranda — had no business giving up while they continued to struggle.

"Not yet..." I said, gritting my teeth.

I couldn't give up. Even if I couldn't move or if my stats were brought down to the gutter, giving up simply wasn't an option. I had to bear through it all for as long as I could and land another hit on Gardranda's stomach.

It wasn't a matter of whether I "could" or "couldn't." My friends had given me this role. They'd entrusted it to me. Thus, I would to do it even if it meant breaking through my limits.

I would grab hold of the chance of victory.

"If I can't do that much, I can't even dream of getting my revenge

against the Superior Killer!" I said fiercely. Despite being on the verge of defeat, I gathered my resolve.

"Master!" Nemesis shouted.

"Nemesis, the odds are against us, but it's not over yet," I said to her. "Y ou don't mind continuing this, right?"

"That goes without saying," she replied. "However, that's not what I want to say."

What?

"What do you make of this?" she asked.

On the corner of the windows I had opened, there was an unfamiliar red window.

[Master's life endangerment: confirmed]

[Master's intent to live: confirmed]

[Embryo Type: Maiden, "Maiden of Vengeance, Nemesis," accumulated XP — green]

[*** execution available]

[Preparing *** activation]

[If you wish to cancel, please do so within the next 20 seconds]

[Do you wish to cancel? Y/N]

What is this? I thought dumbly.

"Nemesis?" I addressed her, hoping for an explanation.

"I know nothing of it, either," she said.

"What is this...?"

The window was red, making it seem much like a warning.

From the text, it was obvious that it was related to Nemesis. However, the most important part of it seemed to be corrupted — no, my head couldn't even process it as proper language.

What, exactly, did it mean?

I silently watched as the countdown's timer continued to go down. When it hit 10 seconds, I began to worry, and reached towards the window with the intention to stop it...

"CUUAAAAGGHHHHHH!"

...but before I could complete the motion, Gardranda's shoulder-eyes became able to see, and the demon charged at me while roaring from its shoulder-mouths.

"Why now, of all times...?!" I shouted.

The timer on the red window before me was going down as Gardranda got closer to me by the second.

I was left with no choice but to ignore the window and face the demon.

However, with Weakness reducing my stats and Intoxication making it hard for me to move, brandishing Nemesis was about all I could do.

I have to use my defense and healing to create another opportunity to use Vengeance is Mine, and...

[Countdown Complete]

[Acknowledged intent to initiate the emergency evolution process via *** protocol]

[Examining the 172 patterns made available by the accumulated XP and calculating the optimal solution to the current situation]

[Target Embryo: "Maiden of Vengeance, Nemesis." Initiating emergency evolution via ***]

[To reduce load, the interval until the next evolution will be extended]

Right after I saw that message, Nemesis lost her physical integrity and was reduced to floating particles.

"Eh...?" I gasped.

That was the exact same phenomenon that had always happened whenever Nemesis transformed from her human form to her greatsword form. This time, however, she neither returned to her humanoid shape, nor did she become a sword again. Instead, the particles whirled around my surroundings.

"CAAAAAAGGHHHHH!"

As I became unable to process the situation, Gardranda only continued to get closer to me.

[*** complete]

Not giving me a moment to understand anything, the window output displayed a new line.

[Form 2: "The Flag Halberd"]

Nemesis's particles whirled around me and began to gather in my hand.

After having turned to floating grains of light, Nemesis returned to me in a completely different form than before.

"Jump, Master!" It was her voice.

I hastily listened to what she said, kicked my feet off the ground...

and left Gardranda a long distance away from me.

"Huh?!" a voice of surprise escaped my lips. Before I realized it, I had jumped a whole twenty meters.

The surprise was aimed at both my unbelievable jumping power and the fact that...

...Nemesis wasn't human.

Nor was she a greatsword.

She was a spear.

Though, since she had an axe popping out from one end of her grip, the word "halberd" was more apt.

The part opposite of the axe blade was leaving a trail of black light, making the whole of her look somewhat like a battle flag.

I looked at the equipment window and saw the name "The Flag Halberd."

"Nemesis... what happened to you?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not sure I'm able to answer that question," she replied. "I happened to become like this before I could even realize it."

I guess she was unconscious while she was turned into particles, I thought.

"However, there is one thing I'm certain of," she continued.

"And that is?" I asked.

"I've evolved into my second form," Nemesis revealed. "The power inside me is greater than ever."

Evolution.

That was the primary feature of every Embryo — the function that

gave them powers from infinite patterns.

The red window had also said something about "emergency evolution."

Is that how it normally goes? I asked myself. It didn't seem that way when Rook's Babi evolved, though...

"...Well, this ain't the best time to think about this, anyway," I muttered. I had to focus on only one thing right now.

"COOAAAGHHH!"

After having lost sight of me once, Gardranda noticed me again and roared with both of its shoulder-mouths.

"By the way, Nemesis," I said.

"What is it, Master?" Nemesis replied.

"Y ou said that your power is 'greater than ever'... to what extent, though?"

I could almost see her put up an intrepid smile.

"Enough to make it possible for us to defeat that damn demon," she answered.

"Perfect," I smiled. The possibility was there.

The fact that she'd only said that it was "possible" made me remember the first time we'd met. However, that was all I really needed. If the possibility of us winning was there...

...then, for the sake of Rook, Babi, Marie, and the tians in danger of dying...

...we only had to bet on that possibility and give it all we had.

"Let's do this, Gardranda," I said.

Since Gardranda's appearance after we'd annihilated the goblins, the demon had possessed the upper hand, it had even been able to corner us after getting its head smashed. But now, we had a new way of achieving victory.

I know how you work, I thought. I'll end it soon.

I brandished The Flag Halberd above my head and roared at the headless demon. "This... is the final round!"

After spinning the halberd above my head, I charged at Gardranda.

Though Weakness was supposed to have lowered my stats, I was running much faster than I could have run while in my normal state. And though Intoxication was supposed to be making my vision turn dim, I felt like I could perceive far more than I ever could.

Gardranda attacked me with a swing from its right arm — the one with fewer fingers on the hand — but I was able to smoothly evade it and sink the halberd's axe into the demon's wrist as I did so.

My attack bit through the skin, sunk into the meat, and cleared its bone. I cleanly cut the demon's hand off, causing crimson blood to burst from the wound.

"We're doing well," I said. It was obvious that her evolution had improved Nemesis's stats and bonuses, but the difference between this and her previous form was just too great.

Yeah, I think we can handle this... Oh, wait... I thought, and remembered something.

I was still under the effects of Poison.

If I'm not careful, my HP might decrease a whole lot, and... Huh?

"...we're doing way too well," I muttered.

Though Poison was supposed to be gradually lowering my HP, it

was actually going up instead.

The increase in my physical ability, the clarity in my sensations, and the continuous HP regeneration. It was as though the debuffs had been reversed.

"I see, so this is your..." I said slowly.

"Indeed," said Nemesis. "This is my new skill: 'Like a Flag Flying the Reversal.'"

Nemesis opened a window that showed the skill's name and described what it did.

Basically, it reversed the effects of debuffs received from an opponent.

Instead of dealing continuous damage, Poison healed me.

Instead of lowering my stats, Weakness increased them.

Instead of paralyzing my senses, Intoxication made them clearer.

"Like a Flag Flying the Reversal" was a buff skill that reversed all and any afflictions that affected me.

"It's quite ideal for this situation," said Nemesis. "It honestly seems

a bit overly-convenient."

"...Y ou're not wrong there," I said. "However..."

According to the message on that red window, out of the possibilities available to her, Nemesis had been equipped with the "optimal solution." However, that message had merely described what happened.

For some reason or another, I was convinced that I was the one who'd summoned this result. Regardless, this skill made it possible for me to find a way out of this situation... It was much like the first time Nemesis and I had met.

Thus...

"For now... I'm betting it all on this possibility!" I shouted.

"Then we are of the same mind!" she called back.

Nemesis and I released a battle cry as I made my way through Gardranda's arm attacks and continued chopping away at the demon.

The three debuffs it had given me had originally been simply the worst. However, now they were making me stronger and closing the power gap between me and Gardranda.

I was effectively buffed with HP recovery, perception, and physical strengthening, while the demon had lost its head and practically had its miasma's ability completely negated. Our power balance was now equal — no, in fact, it had been reversed.

"CUUUOAAAGGGHHH!"

Seemingly upset at this turn-around, Gardranda began randomly releasing miasma in every direction.

However, to me and Nemesis, those fumes were nothing but a smokescreen.

"Rraagh!"

As Gardranda continued to release the miasma, I pierced into its stomach. The Flag Halberd dug through the demon's meat and touched the weak spot — the core — within it.

"CEEEAAAAGHH...!" Gardranda roared out in anguish. That was proof enough that the stomach was where I had to aim.

However...

"It's regenerating!" Nemesis shouted.

The wound I had just given it disappeared with a dark purple smoke.

"Hah," chuckled Nemesis. "It appears that only the weak spot is protected by regeneration."

"That means it'd take us forever to defeat it if we relied only on weak attacks," I said.

"It's not like we can keep fighting for particularly long, anyway," she said.

I knew exactly what Nemesis meant by that. Due to the effects of Like a Flag Flying the Reversal, my HP was continuously regenerating. However, my SP only continued to decrease. That was the cost of keeping the skill active.

Compared to my HP, my SP wasn't particularly high. It wouldn't last for long. Thus, I had to figure out what I had to do to win.

Upon considering the regenerating core, the limited amount of time and our abilities...

...there was only one answer.

"I have to stop evading and simply let him hit me," I said.

"Nothing else would work," agreed Nemesis.

I would accumulate the damage the demon did to me and hit it with another Vengeance is Mine. This time, however, it would go straight to the weak spot in the stomach.

"There is something to keep in mind, though," said Nemesis.

"What is it?" I asked.

"This form doesn't allow the use of Counter Absorption and Vengeance is Mine," she answered.

"We're already out of Absorption uses, anyway," I said.

"No," she said, refuting that statement. "My evolution increased its stock to three, so there's one more use left. However, just as Reversal can only be used by The Flag Halberd, those two can only be used when I'm in my greatsword form."

Basically, to use Vengeance is Mine, I had to change The Flag Halberd into the greatsword. That meant losing the effects of Like a Flag Flying the Reversal.

To be able to land a clean, lethal hit while under the effects of the debuffs... I have to kill its mobility! I thought.

"Nemesis, let's go for the legs!" I shouted.

"Understood!"

I swung The Flag Halberd and repeatedly damaged Gardranda's ankles.

The demon retaliated with swings from its arms, but I simply let them hit me.

Naturally, I got damaged, but the reversed Poison quickly healed me back to full health.

Things were going much like they had when I'd been under the effects of the Elixir. Except — thanks to the continuous regeneration — I could attack, get hit, and heal much more smoothly than before.

"...3250... 3784."

As I listened to Nemesis speak the amount of damage I had gathered, I looked at the edge of my status window and checked on my SP.

53... 52... The amount of time I could keep the Reversal active was already below one minute.

"...4265, Master!" she called.

All right, I'm betting it all on this!

"Hhaaaagh!"

I dashed through the miasma — which was nothing but a smokescreen to me — dove right next to where Gardranda was standing, gathered my resolve, and horizontally swung The Flag Halberd at the demon's legs.

Both of its tendons had been severely damaged by my attacks up to that point, so with that deadly swing, the ax-head split both of them apart.

"CUEEEEEEEGHHH!!" Gardranda screamed and fell to its knees, making the ground tremble.

"Do it now, Nemesis!" I shouted.

"Form Shift — Black Blade!" she called. Her command made The Flag Halberd lose its integrity and scatter into particles of light, which soon gathered once more to create the familiar black greatsword.

At that very moment, I was put under the effects of the three debuffs. However, it didn't matter anymore. I only had to land my final attack.

As my legs were shaking due to Intoxication, I dashed towards the demon. Gardranda was still kneeling, and when I raised my sword and readied myself to strike...

...I noticed something.

The dark purple miasma smokescreen was hindering my vision. However, it did nothing to hide the fact that both of the demon's shoulders were emitting a bright red light.

"CHHHHGHAAAAHH!"

Deadly flames.

They weren't limited to the head I'd destroyed — Gardranda could release them from its shoulder-mouths, too.

However, I refused to stop.

"Counter Absorption!" Nemesis spawned the third barrier of light — the one she'd gained from evolving. It stopped the flames and absorbed the damage they were meant to do.

Though it was unnecessary, that made the damage I'd accumulated reach the greatest amount ever.

I couldn't be more certain that I had it in the bag. "Now, Master!" she called.

Once I passed the flames, the barrier of light dispersed. Finally, I began to swing my sword at Gardranda's stomach...

"CHHHGHAAAAHH!"

...and was suddenly faced with the demon's left shoulder-mouth, ready to spit more fire.

"What...?!" I gasped.

"Huh...?!" Nemesis exclaimed, as we realized that Gardranda had actually learned something from the battle up till now. The demon had used the lethal flames from both its shoulder-mouths separately...

...just for the sake of getting past Nemesis's Counter Absorption.

All the miasma it had previously released hadn't been meaningless, either — it was a preparatory action meant to render us unable to see that the demon had separated the flame bursts.

"Master!" shouted Nemesis.

I was already swinging the sword.

The blade was slicing through the air for the sole purpose of striking Gardranda's stomach with Vengeance is Mine. Even with the debuffs,

I could land the hit in a mere three seconds. However, the demonic flames would reach me faster.

As if on the verge of death, I began seeing the world in slow-motion.

The left shoulder-mouth opened wide and was about to bathe me in flame. "Gyaghghghghghgh!"

But before it could do so, something resembling a bullet broke through the miasmic veil and hit Gardranda's left shoulder.

The familiar object exploded and the demon's left shoulder — when caught in the burst — blew up before it could release its fires.

The moment the heat waves caressed my cheeks...

"Vengeance is Mine!"

...Nemesis and I shouted the name of the skill, landed the hit on Gardranda's stomach, and pulverized its core.