Chapter 26: Ryo, Minato, and the Formidable Foe Blocking Their Path
“Gwa!
Gwa!
Gwa!”
Drake shouted something incomprehensible while raising its flail that looked exactly like a leek with a flowered tip.
“A magic breath is coming!”
Shiranagi shouted, and Ryo and Minato braced themselves, ready for anything—
“Magic Technique Gwa-wa: Spring Leek Piercing Gwa-wa-ngwa-wa!”
In the next instant, thick leeks burst up from the ground in countless numbers.
“Whoa!”
“W-w-whoa…!”
“This is…!”
They shot up with great force, but since they were leeks, even getting grazed only caused minor damage.
The ground swelled slightly as a warning beforehand, so it was not difficult for the three of them to dodge.
However, there were a lot of them, and each leek was about twice as thick as a typical Western leek, making them extremely troublesome.
And even if the damage was minor, pain was still pain.
Worse yet, the leeks that had already emerged did not disappear immediately, remaining in place and obstructing movement when dodging the next wave.
Meanwhile, the drone operated by Kaori ascended higher than the leeks and filmed the scene from above.
From the drone’s perspective, it was impossible to see the warning signs on the ground.
It was judged better than letting the drone be smashed by a direct hit from a leek.
“Normally, magic techniques like this should disappear after a while, but…”
“There’s no sign of them vanishing.
This makes fighting difficult.”
In the plaza that had become the battlefield, thick leeks as tall as they were stood densely packed.
They were a massive hindrance both for movement and visibility.
“Gwa!
Gwa!
Gwaaaaa!”
Contrary to Ryo and the others’ confusion, Drake leapt high into the air after readying its flail.
“This thing…!”
Drake came down from above, swinging the leek flail straight at Ryo.
Ryo rolled across the ground to escape.
A moment later, the flail smashed into the earth, leaving a crater.
While dodging the attack, Ryo threw a knife, but it was deflected by Drake’s wing.
Without skill enhancement, it seemed he could not even tear a single feather.
As Ryo clicked his tongue internally, he heard Minato’s voice.
“Ryo-chan!”
Immediately after, Drake swung its flail wildly at Ryo.
The massive body and flail shattered some of the thick leeks jutting out of the ground.
Ryo retreated swiftly to avoid the attack and shouted to reassure Minato.
“Minato!
I’m fine over here!”
Right after replying, Ryo felt irritation in his eyes and throat and grimaced.
“Geh!
Is this allyl sulfide?
…That’s rough!”
Minato, who was a bit farther away, shouted involuntarily.
“…Cough, this is…”
“…This is really bad…”
Allyl sulfide.
The compound that causes tears when cutting onions.
Leeks contain it as well.
It must have scattered in large quantities from the shattered thick leeks.
“Cough…
It burns my throat too…”
Their eyes and throats irritated, all three of them grimaced.
“Gwa, gwa, gwawa!”
Only Drake remained unfazed.
It likely had resistance.
At this point, even destroying the leeks became a dilemma.
Even if they obstructed vision and movement, was it better than being blinded by tears and coughing fits?
The three hesitated.
But Drake did not stop moving.
“Gwa-gwa!”
Ignoring the leeks entirely, Drake swung its flail and attacked them.
They dodged, but Drake’s rampage crushed the leeks, scattering even more allyl sulfide.
They were forced to fight while enduring tears and burning throats.
Still, they could not let Drake do whatever it wanted forever.
When that thought crossed their minds, the first to act was Minato.
“Enough!
That kind of first-time-kill move is unfair!”
“Minato?”
“Cough.
You two, let’s counterattack!
There’s a limit to how long we can keep running around through tears!”
With tears streaming down her face, Minato shouted to Ryo and Shiranagi, then kicked off the ground and jumped onto one of the towering leeks.
“Gwa-wa?”
Standing atop the giant leek, Minato wiped her tears and raised her sword.
Perhaps sensing her fighting spirit, Drake turned toward her.
The moment Drake looked at her, Minato kicked off the leek she was standing on and leapt high.
While airborne, sword raised, she briefly glanced toward Ryo and Shiranagi.
Trusting that they understood her intent, Minato swung her blade midair.
“Take this!
Martial Art: So-gajin Air Break!”
A slash launched from a distance that should have been unreachable.
Sword pressure burst forth with the swing, becoming a shockwave that surged toward Drake.
Drake spread the wing of its flail-less arm forward like a shield.
The shockwave struck the wing and was stopped short.
“Not done yet!
Martial Art: Grand Slash!”
A technique that enhanced the performance of High Slash.
Leaping while raising the sword overhead, then bringing it down in a single, momentum-driven strike, unleashing a massively reinforced slash.
Minato executed it while descending after releasing the shockwave.
“Go!”
Drake did not lower its shielding wing and accepted the blow head-on.
Minato’s sword clashed against it.
A grating, metallic sound rang out as the blade slid along the wing.
Seeing that the wing was completely unharmed, Minato clicked her tongue.
The instant Minato landed, Drake raised its flail to counterattack.
But—
“Martial Art: Backstab.”
Ryo struck from behind.
A perfect surprise attack.
At the moment Backstab would achieve maximum effect, Ryo drove a large dagger deep into Drake’s back.
“Gwaaa-waaa!”
A cry of obvious pain.
The attack had dealt damage.
However—
“Martial Art Gwa: Twin-Wing Whirl Strike!”
Drake spread both wings wide and spun violently in place.
“Whoa!”
“Kya!”
Simultaneously, wing strikes and a powerful gust of wind erupted, sending Ryo and Minato flying in opposite directions.
Suppressing the urge to rush to Minato, Shiranagi unleashed the advanced magic technique she had prepared at Drake, which was still spinning with its wings spread.
“Magic Technique: Spiral Flare!”
A volleyball-sized fireball, wrapped in a spiral of flame like a drill, shot forward.
“Gwa-wa-wa…!”
For the first time, Drake showed signs of panic.
The magic had been released with perfect timing, leaving Drake no choice but to take it head-on.
Throwing away its flail, Drake crossed both wings in front of itself and blocked Spiral Flare.
The spell did not explode immediately upon impact.
Instead, the spiraling flames drilled into the wings, gouging them.
When small holes opened, the central fireball detonated spectacularly, the spiraling flames unraveling and licking outward.
The blast surged through the holes, widening them, and tore into Drake’s body.
“Gwa-waaaagh—gwaaa!”
Drake let out a scream like a shriek.
Ryo, who had been blown away earlier, recovered with a roll and immediately repositioned to observe.
Minato, though unable to fully break her fall, quickly got up and moved away as well.
Shiranagi maintained her post-casting stance, watching the center where flames and smoke swirled.
As the fire and smoke cleared under their gazes, Drake stood there with large, charred holes burned through both wings.
Its abdomen also looked scorched, though the extent was unclear.
The air was filled with the smell of burned meat and burned leeks.
“Gwa…”
Yet its fighting spirit remained.
If anything, its eyes were now blazing with rage.
“So even that wasn’t enough to finish it.”
Shiranagi muttered faintly, cold sweat running down her face.
She had unleashed her highest-damage magic, and the result left her shaken.
“Gwaaaaaaah!”
Immediately after, Drake spread its wings wide and released a roaring cry charged with shockwaves, blowing away lingering embers and black smoke.
The sheer pressure made the air itself feel like it was trembling, forcing Shiranagi to step back slightly.
Its glare and roar amplified the fear within her.
“…Did we just make it angrier?”
She muttered, realizing it all too clearly.
Dealing damage that made the enemy feel threatened but not fatally wounded was the worst possible outcome.
Drake had clearly identified Shiranagi as a threat and was glaring at her.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of fear…’
Cold sweat poured down her body.
Her throat felt unnaturally dry from tension and fear.
The scent of Drake’s scorched flesh drifting through the air seemed to burn into Shiranagi’s heart, turning into impatience and dread.
The other two seemed unharmed, but to let them escape, perhaps she would have to sacrifice herself.
Shiranagi steeled herself—
or rather, tried to.
Her legs were frozen.
The earlier roar and Drake’s piercing glare tightened their grip on her body.
‘…This is bad.
I know it is, but my body…’
These were not tears from leek fumes.
‘I… I…’
She felt tears of fear welling at the corners of her eyes.
‘If this keeps up, I’ll be swallowed by its presence…
I have to stay sane…!’
She pressed a hand to her mouth, suppressing the urge to cry and flee.
While Shiranagi struggled to steady herself, Ryo and Minato’s behavior changed.
Their light yet resolute voices rang across the battlefield.
“Hey, Ryo-chan.
Are we still considering retreat?”
“No…
Honestly, I don’t feel like retreating anymore.”
Calling out to each other from a distance, the two confirmed their resolve.
They were both covered in dust from being blown away, but neither was injured.
“And you, Minato?”
“Do you think so?”
Neither of them had given up.
That realization seemed to restore strength to Shiranagi’s body and mind.
‘Hah…
Even with the intimidation effect, freaking out on my own like that is pathetic…’
With a small, bitter smile, Shiranagi took a deep breath.
As the oldest here, she had to pull herself together.
“The sweet scent mixed with burned feathers…
Maybe some meat got cooked too?
It smells sweet and savory.”
“There’s no doubt that’s the smell of high-quality duck fat burning.
And there are leeks everywhere…
I can smell charred leeks too!
This is practically the whole ‘duck comes bearing leeks’ thing!”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.
As Otsuno Dia, I can’t overlook this!”
“As someone who loves chicken, I can’t overlook it either!”
Shiranagi, who had been breathing deeply, suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.
There was still plenty of allyl sulfide in the air, but more than that, she had reacted to their words.
In other words, the two of them had overcome Drake’s intimidating roar through appetite and curiosity.
Or rather, appetite and curiosity had completely blocked it out.
“If we’re going to kill it to eat it, I can’t use my poison-kill skill.
But if its wings are that damaged, I think we have a chance.”
“Does fire work on it?”
“Can you coat your sword with magical flames?”
“I’ve never tried it or heard of it, but I’ll try.”
Ryo and Minato were fully committed to defeating it.
And not just defeating it, but doing so in a way that would leave it edible.
“Um, you two…
Going easy on a named monster might be a bit…”
“Going easy?
Shiranagi-san, neither Ryo-chan nor I are holding back.”
“That’s right.
We’re even showing respect.
So we can enjoy it properly.”
In the midst of a difficult battle, there are moments when the flow suddenly changes and victory becomes possible.
That can happen not only against monsters, but in competitive matches as well.
And Shiranagi felt it now—
the moment when the tide had turned.
Though—
‘Is it really okay for it to turn like this…?’
She was utterly bewildered.
Before she realized it, the fear gripping her body had completely vanished, though she herself had yet to notice it.