God's Blessing on this Wonderful Dungeon
By Icura and Special FX
~o~
Chapter 21: Redo of Adventurer
~o~
In the command tent, there were only three people present. They were the executives of Loki Familia: Finn, Riveria, and Gareth. While there was still plenty of light outside, they had to close the flaps to keep a sense of privacy so they were only illuminated by a single candle on the table in between them. The atmosphere was somber, but that was reasonable due to the failure yesterday.
"It's my fault for not fully interpreting the records," Finn finally said, breaking the silence.
"Nay, it's nobody's fault. Those records are sparse anyway," Gareth gruffly refuted.
Indeed, the main Guild records of the Monster Rex, Balor, was over hundreds of years old, written back when the creature was originally defeated. The information in them was never updated by Zeus or Hera Familia, though that was reasonable given that any more information would essentially be giving competitors an advantage. The Guild could only really demand the bare minimum; any updates to the information were voluntary instead of mandatory. There had been attempts at getting these rules changed, but all proposals to the effect at the time had either been shot down or were permanently stalled due to the power and influence that those two familias had.
While the records had been supplemented when the former two top familias' guild houses were confiscated after their exile, Zeus Familia had never been the best at record keeping. As for Hera, the goddess—in a fit of despair, rage, and jealousy—had destroyed the majority of her familia's records. Anything that wasn't burned had been taken with her in her exile.
"I need to apologize to you the most, Riveria."
"There's no need," the high elf said with a solemn expression. "I had read the records as well, but I was still caught off-guard. Your strategy was not wrong, just misinformed."
The assault from Loki's side consisted of two teams. The first team had six members: Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Noir, Dain, and Bara. The second team had twelve members of lower levels, but they were mostly for fire support, backline protection, and relief. Eris Familia's team had four members: Kazuma, Megumin, Darkness, and Aqua. While they were lower in level than everyone else, they had proven their worth time and time again so they had been stationed in the backline with the second team.
The composition of the first team consisted of mostly melee fighters, except for one: Riveria. The reason why the high elven spellcaster was included in the frontlines was because of the fact that she could be mobile while casting, was experienced in close-ranged engagements, and had healing spells. No one else could substitute for her except for Aqua, but they couldn't take the Eris Familia member directly into the fray because of her low level.
The plan had been a simple one.
Under a covering barrage of ranged fire, the first team would approach and engage Balor. The problems started right after the operation began. Before they could even get close, the Monster Rex had returned fire at the backline with a beam spell from its eye. If it had just been once, it would have been manageable, but Balor had shot at them again and again with little downtime in between, causing chaos amongst the ranks. Even worse was that they—the first team—couldn't attract the focus of the monster.
Even while it was continually swiping its claws at them, the monster was still firing shots off at the backline. Essentially, they could only occupy half of the creature's attention. When Riveria had started a long cast to salvage the situation, the monster changed its focus to her right away and knocked her out of the fight. That meant that it had some kind of magic detection and seemed to prioritize strong spellcasting. Fortunately, Megumin had gotten off her explosion spell to cover their retreat, though that was most likely due to the extremely low casting time that she had.
"That lass, Aqua, did more than her fair share."
If it wasn't for the healer of Eris Familia, it was likely that more than half of the second team would not have survived. The fact that they had no deaths was a testament to her power and ability, despite her low level.
To be frank, they had all gone into the battle with a vital lack of tension. The ease that they had walked through the previous Monster Rexes, due mostly to Eris Familia's strange methods, had unconsciously made them devalue the dangers of these battles. Overconfidence was an insidious killer and they had fallen victim to it.
It had been their undoing.
Even after a sleepless night, they were still thinking about and evaluating the results of the battle. With Kazuma having spent the morning repairing their damaged gear and equipment, they were now technically ready for another round against the Monster Rex. However, the mental side of things was a lot more bleak. Even now, a day after that catastrophe, the morale of the camp was obstinately low. Word had spread around about what happened so it was unavoidable, not to mention inevitable, that the rest of the camp that hadn't participated would not be in a happy mood either.
Still, it could have been far worse. With no casualties, the situation was still salvageable.
"...I want to try again," Finn stated determinedly. "If we leave it like this, it'll become a wall. The longer we take to get back here, the worse it'll become."
In the midst of the chaos yesterday, it was hard to say how much of a dent they had actually been able to make against the creature. As time went on, the stories passed around would eventually get more and more inflated and exaggerated, to the point where it might eventually say that they didn't even put a scratch on it.
Fear and low morale could cause people to wonder if they should get stronger first before trying again, delaying further attempts. How many years would pass before another attempt? Not to mention that the preconceived notions and unconscious biases from those spreading stories would eventually lead to disadvantages even before the fight, making it far harder than it should be. What if they start believing that those beams came from its mouth rather than its eye?
No, they had to try again and do better this time.
"You have a plan, Finn?" Gareth asked.
"Yes," Finn replied. "We won't be taking our second team with us this time, but we'll still need Eris Familia's help."
"That will be risky," Riveria commented.
"There's no choice," Finn simply stated. "We need Eris Familia—mainly Aqua and Megumin—for this. What went wrong last time was the amount of casualties we had in our backlines, and that forced Aqua to focus her efforts solely there. That had also unfortunately made her a target for Balor."
"Aye," Gareth intoned with a nod. "Had to go back to protect her."
"What about Darkness?" Riveria asked. "She should have been the one to do that."
"The lass' heart is in the right place. She went straight to the front to try to get the beast's attention and stop the carnage. Didn't do much in the end, though."
In essence, the proper structure should have been Darkness acting as Aqua's protector. However, none of that was communicated beforehand since it didn't seem like the Monster Rex would require it. That had been an oversight on their part. Still, seeing her in action was astonishing. She had taken several direct strikes from the monster's claws and had even been stepped on, but surprisingly, she had weathered through with barely any injuries.
"The lass might not be experienced, but there be dwarven blood in her. Blocked a couple of them strikes on my shield, and they weren't light," Gareth mused. "If I took one of those to the chest like she did…"
It was a bit of an exaggeration since everyone present knew that the dwarf could definitely handle such hits, but the praise in his words was unmistakable.
"Do you think she can handle the front alongside you?"
"Aye. If I teach her the shield, she could probably hold her own."
Finn nodded.
All members of Eris Familia were useful in their own way. With the confirmation that Darkness could even hold off the Monster Rex's attacks, that dropped the last of his worries for his plan. It was a bit much to ask a lower ranked familia to join them in this, but the success of his plan depended on it. He had thought it over many times, and no matter how he turned it over in his head, their participation was necessary.
"Think they'll accept?" Gareth asked.
"We're asking them to risk their lives," Riveria stated.
"I know," Finn said bitterly. "But we don't have enough strong members to do this without them."
Last time, they had the second team to provide protection for Eris Familia, but this time, they would be asking them to go without such protection. It was necessary, but it wouldn't make the negotiation any easier.
"I will be the one to talk with them." Finn solemnly stood up from his seat.
If he couldn't convince them, it would be the end of the expedition. While they would stick around on the upper floors to gather some more material, they wouldn't be venturing any deeper. In that sense, the following conversation would be the hardest, especially considering the strong intellect of their leader, Kazuma. He had to mentally prepare himself for the challenge ahead.
This wasn't going to be easy.
~o~
Kazuma had an intense look in his eyes as he tried to figure out a way to solve his current predicament. He searched his brain for any way to turn the situation around, but in the end, even he had to admit defeat.
"Okay. I lost," Kazuma relented as he dropped his stick on the ground over the impromptu connect-four board he had drawn in the dirt. The fact that he had just taught her the game and she already managed to beat him just proved how talented his little sister was.
Even though her facial expression didn't change, Ais held up two fingers in a victory sign. Cute! His little sister was way too cute!
"I won, big bro." She held out her hands. "Give me potato snacks."
Indeed, she did win. Even though he lost and had to pay up his debt—cooking up some more tater tots for her—he didn't mind because seeing her happy was just as good as winning. Though, this would be the last time he ever played her in a game that wasn't luck-based; the big brother couldn't always be losing to the little sister after all!
"Alright, alright," Kazuma said with a smile. "Potato snacks, it is. Let me get my cooking tools out."
Ais obediently followed as Kazuma made his way to his tent. After making their way back to the tent, Kazuma noticed a familiar figure waiting outside. It was the Loki Familia's captain himself, Finn Deimne.
"Ah, there you are, Kazuma," Finn greeted him with a hand in the air. "I was hoping to speak with you about something."
"Sure…?" Kazuma curiously replied. "We can talk while I'm cooking. Take a seat."
His two guests took a seat around the unlit campfire outside of his tent while he grabbed some of his cooking tools and ingredients before linking up with them. He started up the campfire with a [Tinder] spell and began utilizing his [Cook] skill.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Kazuma asked as he waited for the oil to heat up.
Finn didn't immediately respond, choosing to stare at the growing flames within the campfire first before opening his mouth.
"...I want to try fighting Balor again, and I would like to request your familia's assistance on the front lines."
Kazuma blinked.
That wasn't a part of the deal that they had agreed on. Participation in the expedition as support and utility assistance was one thing—since they would be in the back along with the other support forces—but being a part of the vanguard against a Monster Rex was an entirely different thing, despite what Darkness would say. Sure, Loki Familia might have been alright folk, but the Balor was basically Mechagodzilla! He was just a puny level two adventurer! No, thank you!
Megumin and Darkness would probably try to talk him into agreeing, but nope, he wasn't going to fall for that. Even if it came down to a vote, it would still be 2 against 2 because Aqua would definitely be on his side since she was a scaredy cat when it came to non-undead monsters.
Not to mention the fact that Finn had already scammed him once, and he had no desire to get scammed again.
"Yeah, about that…" Kazuma slowly began. "I'm going to have to—"
Huh? What was that feeling of intense staring…?
Slowly, Kazuma tilted his head toward his little sister whose gaze was locked onto him. There was an expectant look in her eyes as if yes, he should volunteer to do extra dangerous work for free. In fact, in contrast to her near expressionless face, her eyes were almost sparkling. And the reason for that?
It was obviously because, a while back, he had run his big fat mouth and called himself a hero in front of her. Now, it was all coming to bite him in the ass. He could refuse, but breaking her hopes and dreams…
Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still, he could imagine Ais staring at him with a frown—a deeper one than normal—and saying, "Big bro is a liar." All the stories that he had told and the lessons that he had imparted would retroactively become lies, regardless of whether they were true or not. In a sense, his impact on her would be completely negated.
Maybe she would even do the opposite just to spite him...
No. No, no! Absolutely not! It would be the ultimate shame of any big brother! From there, it wouldn't be long before he would be downgraded to the weirdo uncle! God damn it, him and his big mouth!
"...accept." Kazuma forced himself to speak against his will. "Of course, we'll help…"
~o~
After another day of preparations and rest, the group—half the size that it was before—descended to the next floor to challenge the Monster Rex once again. The first fight had already demonstrated the capabilities of the monster so the planning was a lot more extensive this time. While Kazuma's party would be going to the front with the rest due to how capable they were in the previous fight, they were still in a secondary role. The ones from Loki Familia, making up the majority of the members of the group, would be at the forefront.
"I don't like this," Darkness commented as she walked down the stairs along with the rest of the group.
"The monster or your shield?" Kazuma asked.
"My shield, of course."
"Shut up and suck it up! Don't waste what Gareth spent all that time teaching you!"
It took the whole day yesterday for Gareth to teach Darkness the basics of how to use a shield. Normally, it wouldn't take anywhere close to that long, but Darkness had fought him every step of the way. Normally, most teachers would have given up a quarter of the way through, but the dwarf persevered and eventually got her to learn it. Maybe stubbornness was a dwarven racial bonus? It would make sense, considering the traditional aspects of fantasy dwarves.
The shield that she had in her hand was a heavy tower shield that was tall enough to cover even her head, despite her height. That said, while others would hold it with both hands, she was carrying it with one hand and didn't even seem to notice the weight at all, idly swinging her arm.
She really did fit right in with all the other gorilla women in this world…
"I know that without you saying it, Kazu-jerk." Darkness pouted. "I just wanted to complain."
"Sure you do, Lalatina."
"Don't call me that name!"
While Darkness fumed, they finally arrived at the end of the stairs. It wasn't a very long walk, having only taken a few minutes. The clearing just outside the stairway was a familiar sight. Beyond that, the large rocks that littered the battlefield seemed to have mostly regenerated, now available to provide them once again with cover.
This time, they only had ten people.
Besides Kazuma's group of four, there were the executives of Loki Familia: Finn, Gareth, and Riveria. However, the remaining three were a lot older in appearance: a human, a dwarf, and an amazon. They were the grizzled veterans of Loki Familia.
"Okay," Finn said, clapping his hands. "Are there any questions before we start?"
"I have one," Aqua said as she raised her hand. "What was the plan?"
"You don't remember what I said last night?"
"Oh, that? I thought you were just making another speech."
Finn stared speechlessly at her.
"You can't blame me for that!" Aqua shouted defensively. "You make speeches so often that I got tired of hearing them. It's like when I see the Prime Minister; I change the channel right away!"
Even as everyone stared in confusion at her, Kazuma nodded his head sagely in agreement. That was when he felt a nudge in his side. Looking down, he saw that Ais was poking him, tilting her head slightly as if question marks would sprout out of her head. Of course, being who he was, he diligently began to explain.
"It's a little difficult to explain. She's talking about the democratically elected leader of—Ais?!"
"...I have one?"
"No, you don't. What are you doing here?"
By this time, all eyes had turned from Aqua to Ais. Riveria, in particular, had an especially rigid expression on her face as she marched up to the young child.
Ais began shivering at the sight, though not before throwing an angry glance at Kazuma as if accusing him of exposing her. Ah! He made his little sister angry! Of course, she went back to shivering once the high elf was actually standing in front of her. He didn't blame her; Riveria could really be scary when she was like that…
"Ais," Riveria began, crossing her arms over her chest and giving off a stern motherly vibe. "I told you to stay back at camp for your own safety. This fight is beyond your ability. Why did you disobey me?"
Ais pointedly glanced over at Kazuma, using him as her excuse.
"Even though you're the same level as them, they have already proven that they are much stronger than their level implies," Rivera gently explained, despite keeping her stern expression. "The same does not apply to you. They are also much older than you."
"But I want to become stronger."
"There's a time and place for that, and that is not now. Go back."
Ais, despite her shivering, mustered up the courage to shake her head defiantly. Stifling her fears, she imitated the elven woman and crossed her arms over her nonexistent chest, staring back with a distinct frown on her usually emotionless face.
"I think that's enough, Riveria." Finn came up between the two, interrupting their staring match. "Let her join the battle."
"Finn!" Riveria turned her gaze to the pallum, giving him a confused and horrified look.
"Even if we have someone escort her back up to camp, she might still escape her minders and come back down here, especially since she had learned some…tips about that," Finn replied, pointedly glancing at Kazuma. He just as quickly turned his gaze back to Riveria. "Besides that, we don't have anyone to spare, and our window of opportunity is closing. We don't know how much damage Megumin's spell caused two days ago or how far the Monster Rex has regenerated so this might be our last chance while it's still weakened. We can't afford to waste it."
After a few long seconds, Riveria finally sighed as she unfolded her arms.
"She can be with me," Kazuma quickly added, raising his hand. "I'm familiar with her fighting style, and she's fast enough to keep up with me."
"I was going to put her with Riveria, but that works too," Finn said with a nod.
"Are you sure?" Riveria asked worriedly.
"She might act up otherwise," Finn replied. Indeed, having a melee fighter stay at the backline would essentially make them useless for anything other than defense, and that would defeat Ais' entire purpose in coming down here. It was likely that she wouldn't take that sitting down. "And if there is anyone she listens to besides you, it's him."
After a few moments of thought, the elven woman finally nodded in resignation.
"Don't worry," Kazuma said with a thumbs up. "I'll keep her safe."
Riveria nodded her thanks.
"Any objections?" Finn asked as he scanned his eyes over the rest of the group. However, everyone else either stayed silent or gave a shake of their heads. "Okay then, let's go over the plan again, though with the new addition."
The plan was simple.
Darkness and Gareth would be tanking at the front while Aqua, Megumin, and Riveria would be staying at the backline. The four of them—Finn and the old veterans—would be fighting in melee range, but keeping out of the crosshairs of the raid boss. As for Kazuma and Ais, they would be the quick response team, moving quickly through the battlefield and reinforcing when necessary.
"Does everyone understand?" To Finn's question, there was a chorus of nods, though he specifically looked at Aqua and Ais to make sure. When he was satisfied, he said, "Alright, recheck your equipment and make any last minute preparations. We will be starting in a few minutes."
Left to their own devices, Eris Familia began checking their gear.
"Darkness," Kazuma called out. When the crusader turned to him, he continued. "Remember, your role is to support Gareth. Don't rush ahead."
"I know, Kazuma."
"Aqua, focus on the tanks first."
"Like I need you to tell me!"
"Megumin, chant and prepare your spell when it's distracted. Don't fire until I give you the signal, same as last time."
"Worry about yourself first."
"Ais, stick with me. I'm serious. Don't look at me like that. If you go running off on your own, you know I'll have to follow you. Riveria will punish me harder than you. You don't want your big bro to get scolded, right? Right?"
"..."
"Okay, that's good enough. I'm glad you understand."
"Huh?" Aqua interjected. "All she did was stare at you!"
"We have a language that only siblings can understand."
"You're not real siblings!"
"Would you say adopted and step-siblings are not real siblings?"
"That's a different matter, and that's mostly due to the parents!"
"No, it's the same thing," Kazuma disputed. "If they can adopt, why can't I?"
"Because it's a legal issue that has to be approved by a legitimate government?" Aqua looked down on him. "You can't just say someone is your little sister just because you want her to be."
"Hey Ais, do you like being my little sister?"
The aforementioned little girl nodded her head.
"Want to keep being my little sister?
She nodded again.
"See! It's consensual."
"Would the police say the same?" Aqua squinted at him skeptically.
"Here, that would be Ganesha Familia, wouldn't it? I know a few people from there so I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Huh?" Aqua looked aghast. "That's police corruption!"
"I'm not exactly sure what you two are talking about," Darkness said, interjecting herself into the conversation. "But isn't it just like having a squire? That's not against the law."
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what books he has under his—mmmffhh!"
Kazuma quickly covered Aqua's mouth with his hand. How had she even known about those!?
"Kazuma!" Megumin shouted with an awed expression. "Have you been studying?"
"...in a manner, you could say."
"Is it about the power of explosion magic?!"
"No, definitely not." Though they were definitely explosive in another way.
Finn clapped loudly from beside them, having arrived unnoticed while they had been distracted.
"I don't like interrupting, but it's almost time. Please do your final checks," the pallum said with a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "And while I didn't hear the whole conversation, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to poach any members of my familia."
"I-It's not like that at all!"
~o~
After spending a few more minutes clearing things up with Finn and rechecking their gear, the expedition group finally moved forward, deeper into the floor. The signs of their previous battle were evident by the rubble and lasered trenches, still in the process of regeneration. The further they went, the more pronounced the damages were.
Despite the fact that the Monster Rex was born from the dungeon, it didn't seem to mind the fact that it was causing so much damage to its own home. Though, not everything that littered the ground was from the monster. There were also discarded potion bottles and flasks as well as broken equipment that had been left behind. Surprisingly enough, all the bloodstains were already gone, though it was hard to say how or why.
Kazuma's eyes looked around as they walked.
Sure, they talked about how the dungeon was alive and that it would spawn monsters to ambush adventurers who pushed too far beyond their limits, but being the otherworlder that he was, he knew the likely cause. The tropes and cliches were too similar to the roleplaying games that he used to play back in Japan.
Specifically, the dungeon core. On the last floor, there would probably be a dungeon core that was controlling the entire dungeon, though it was hard to say if it was working independently or at the behest of a dungeon master. In the case of the latter, seeing how this place was somewhere that gods and goddesses could not tread, the dungeon master would have to be a being of the same level or higher.
"There's Balor." Those words from Finn cut through the silence of the expedition, causing everyone's eyes to focus on the distant figure.
The monster in question was shuffling around, doing its patrol route but at a slower pace. The reason for that was obvious from a glance. While there were many small wounds, its chest had the most visible damage, thus making it likely the place that Megumi's spell had hit. A thick layer of scale and skin had been blown off, exposing the raw muscles underneath that were both still red and throbbing. There didn't seem to be any bleeding, but that could have been because the broken fibers and deeper wounds had already regenerated.
Still, it was an obvious enough weak spot, especially since it was no longer covered by armor.
"Kazuma," Finn called out. "Did it look like that before?"
"The wound is a lot smaller now."
While everyone had been escaping in the aftermath of the previous battle, Kazuma had stuck around to make sure every last person got out since he could use his teleport to escape. As long as he didn't get vaporized by Balor's eye beam anyway, but that was what his dodge skill was for. What he had seen of the wound during that time was a huge chunk of missing flesh, all the way to the ribcage. Now, it was mostly all sealed up, such that the full chestburster had become just a crater-like wound instead, centering at the middle of its chest and expanding halfway to its shoulders, neck, and abdomen.
Basically, it was halfway healed up.
If they had left it alone for a couple more days, it would have probably fully regenerated. Of course, its regeneration was slow enough that it was basically a non-factor in a fight, but a week would be enough time for it to heal from even the most grievous wounds and prepare for the next raid group. It was a very game-like mechanic.
Kazuma vocalized these observations.
"...while I'm not sure what you mean by game-like, you're right that we can't wait," Finn said. "I'm commencing the operation. Move out!"
As they all advanced forward, moving from cover to cover by using the large rocks, Kazuma couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. After all the ones that they had practically skipped over, they were finally going to have to fight a raid boss without any shortcuts. Not even explosion magic had taken it down in one shot.
This was it. A full raid battle.
As they got closer, they became more cautious. Each time they moved between the rocks, they waited to make sure that the Monster Rex wasn't facing in their direction. Their progress slowed down the closer they got, causing the tension to rise. Of course, with as many people as there were, eventually, someone made a mistake.
Noir—the full-bearded, mustached, hakama-wearing samurai—accidentally kicked one of the pebbles. It didn't actually make all that much noise, but it had unfortunately been enough to attract the giant monster's attention. By the time he had pulled back into cover, it was already too late.
The battle had officially begun.
"Aye, I'm coming for a piece of ye!" Gareth charged out from the rock he was hiding behind, brandishing his tower shield in front of him. "Come at me!"
Balor turned its gaze to this closer target, its sole eye beginning to glow bright red. It was only a couple of moments later before energy fired out of the pupil. Less than a second after it came out, the laser beam slammed into Gareth's shield, almost causing the dwarf to lose his footing from the sheer pressure alone. However, he held on, holding fast and breaking apart the beam upon his shield.
"Attack!" Finn's command rang through the air as the other three members of his team, the veterans, moved from behind their rocks and charged toward the monster. Despite being the oldest of Loki Familia, they looked and moved like men and women several decades younger, not even sporting any gray hairs.
Meanwhile, Riveria, Megumin, and Aqua were hiding behind rocks, waiting for their chance. Well, mostly just Riveria since she needed to chant; Megumin and Aqua didn't really need to do that so they were acting leisurely, chatting and commenting on the fight.
"Ais," Kazuma called out as he swiftly moved toward the right side of the battlefield in order to circle around the raid boss. The little girl nodded and followed just as speedily, keeping up with his pace.
It made sense, though. After all, Ais—sometimes with Riveria—occasionally came over to his home, so he had spent time teaching his newly acquired little sister at her request. Because of that, they had already sparred with each other enough times to be somewhat familiar with the other's fighting style. Combined with their relatively close relationship, they were cooperating with each other well even without saying much.
"Snipe!"
Even as he ran, Kazuma fired off an arrow that unerringly struck the wound in the middle of the creature's chest. A lit Tinymite with a long fuse was strapped to the arrow, and it exploded after a brief moment. However, besides blowing off a modest chunk of its exposed flesh, it did little else against the monster's massive size.
This was like fighting the Mobile Fortress Destroyer.
"...I want to fight," Ais commented.
"Fight smarter, not harder," Kazuma chided. "If you go now, you'll just be doing the same thing as Finn and the others, and they aren't doing much."
Finn and the three veterans were making attempts at the chest wound when they could, leaping up the distance to hit their target. However, that jump left them vulnerable to attacks, especially since they couldn't dodge in mid-air. That was why, despite leaving stabs with Finn's spear, slices with Noir's katana, chops with Dain's axe, and bruises with Bara's fists on the creature's weak spot, they couldn't produce enough attacks on that area to make a sizable dent.
Whenever they caught enough of the monster's focus, they quickly got behind Gareth or Darkness, letting either of the two withstand the laser beams or claw swipes with their shields. In the midst of all this, with the raid boss' attention constantly shifting, Riveria was casting her spell from behind a tall rock.
Balor turned its head toward the backline and began charging its eye. The moment it did so, Ais changed her direction and ran straight toward the Monster Rex.
"Oi!" Kazuma called out, but Ais wasn't listening.
Balor, spotting the little girl approaching from the side in its peripheral vision, swiped out a backhand at her.
However, Darkness quickly ran over and stood in front of the strike, letting it smash against her shield. Despite digging in with her boots, she skidded back a few feet from the impact. In the midst of it all, there was a blush on her cheeks and an ecstatic smile on her face.
Ais leaped onto the outstretched claw, running up the arm as—unconsciously—wind started to surround her. Her movement began to speed up.
Balor, noticing the girl running on its arm, finally took its eye off of Riveria, swinging its body around like a newly enraged bull. It reached over with its other claw to slap off the pest.
"Burn them through, Sword of Surtr—my name is Alf!"
At the end of Riveria's long chant, Vas Windheim—the very same magic she used in her contest with Megumin—was unleashed. Both ice and fire converged, bringing with it a void of annihilation. However, instead of being aimed at the creature's chest, it was directed at the swinging claw. The monster let out a shriek as its claw was obliterated while chunks of separated flesh on the periphery of the strike zone fell.
Even as Balor shook in pain, Ais ran up to the shoulder and leaped at the monster's head, swinging her sword at the eye. However, the Monster Rex reflexively shut its eyelid. Her blade smashed into the eyelid—and shattered without leaving a scratch on the monster's flesh. Its eyelid snapped open, its glowing red pupil staring right at the now weaponless girl.
"Ais, grab it!" Finn had thrown his spear at her.
Ais' hand moved toward the spear as it flew just beside her, intending to use it as a weapon. However, that wasn't what Finn intended, and it showed. Floating in mid-air that she was—without her feet on solid ground—the moment she grabbed the spear, she was carried off into the distance by the sheer strength and momentum of the spear throw, away from the Monster Rex.
In spite of that, Balor's eye tracked the girl's flight as magic energy converged in its pupil. It was going to hit his little sister! As an older brother, he couldn't allow that to happen!
"Darkness!" Kazuma ran and then leaped toward her. "Boost me!"
The moment Kazuma's feet landed on the dented and charred shield, Darkness swung her shield out with all her strength. Thankfully, it didn't require much aiming to point her shield in the general direction of the monster.
As he rocketed through the air toward Balor's head, Kazuma began to chant.
"Arga Arvana Arvelia!"
Casting Alise's spell, Agaris Alvesynth, flames enveloped his katana. Unlike her, he could only do a weakened version that covered only one part of his person, but that was more than enough. Especially since the passive skill he learned from her, Lubrude Bequia, was activated as well.
The three conditions of the passive skill—being in combat, facing unfair odds, and fighting against a stronger opponent—had all been cleared, granting him an increase in every single stat of his.
Distracted with aiming at Ais, the Monster Rex didn't even notice until Kazuma's flaming sword stabbed into its pupil, impaling halfway to the hilt from the sheer momentum. Balor roared, swinging its head back and forth in pain. Despite that, Kazuma held on and released the enchant magic, letting the fire flow down his sword and into the wound in a torrent of flames. The white of the eye bubbled up as the fire and heat cooked the inside of the eyeball.
However, it still wasn't enough. He began casting a spell.
"Crimson-black blaze, king of myriad worlds, though I promulgate the laws of nature, I am the alias of destruction incarnate in accordance with the principles of all creation."
As he chanted, he could hear Finn and the others fighting below, preventing the monster's arms from reaching him.
"Let the hammer of eternity descend unto me!"
Kazuma placed his feet onto the flesh around the eye. The moment he released his grip on the sword, he pushed off with his feet, leaping away as he aimed his hand at the sword hilt.
"Explosion!"
The blast struck the sword, driving the blade deeper into the eye until it reached the hilt. The power of the explosion magic was not as strong as it could be, but it was more than enough to propel him far enough away. He hid himself inside his Salamander cloak while flying through the air to protect himself from the blast and the next incoming one as well.
"Megumin!" Kazuma shouted at the top of his lungs. "Do it!"
At the backlines, Megumin was already standing on top of a tall rock while aiming her staff. Magic circles floated in front of her, all aimed at the monster's eye.
"Explosion!"
A beam of pure magical destruction fired out from the tip of her staff, amplified through the center of the many magic circles in front.
The monster, Balor, tried to close its eyelid, but the hilt of the sword was in the way. By the time it realized, it was far too late. The explosion beam struck the hilt of the sword and exploded, propelling the sword straight through its head and out the back. The explosion itself melted away at the surface layer of flesh, but the flames infiltrated through the tunnel left behind by the sword, burning the creature from the inside-out.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Kazuma cried out as he fell.
"Got you, lad!" Amidst the smoke and rumbling, Gareth caught the boy, having already dropped his shield to do so.
The towering monster, Balor, tilted unsteadily to the side before finally falling over and crashing down onto the ground. Its head was practically half-gone, hollowed out and charred.
Once the dust and debris settled, letting everyone clearly see the results of the battle, they all unceremoniously fell to the ground on their behinds and let out a tired cheer. Miraculously, aside from a few burnt hairs on the top of his head, Kazuma was mostly intact after his ridiculous stunt.
"Heal. Heal. Heal. Heal." While everyone was resting, Aqua was going around, doing the after-battle treatments in a leisurely and festive manner.
As Finn watched Gareth put the captain of the Eris familia back onto his feet, he couldn't help but think…Arga Arvana Arvelia, that was the chant that Alise Lovell used for her Agaris Alvesynth spell. It was a powerful, unique magic that only the captain of the Astraea familia possessed. He knew exactly what that magic was from seeing it in person during one of the Evilus raids that Loki Familia teamed up with Astraea Familia for.
So how was it possible that Kazuma was able to use that spell as well?
The only explanation he could think of was that Kazuma had a spell that allowed him to copy other people's spells. It made sense in a way, seeing just how many spells he seemed to possess. If he had a spell that allowed him to copy and use other spells…then he was even more ridiculous than he originally thought he was.
"...Hero of Justice, huh?" Finn murmured to himself before he chuckled.
It seemed the gods were right on the money with his title. The fires of justice seemed to burn within him just like with Astraea Familia's captain.
Hero of Justice indeed.
~o~
Authors' Note:
Icura: Poor Ais. She was forgotten.
SpecialFX: Kazuma got the older brother buff, lol. And you really should stop yapping so much Kazuma, tsk tsk. Don't dig yourself any deeper!