Giant Skeleton (2)

Although I declared it as “Operation C” as if it were some grand plan, the truth was that Ethan and I didn’t actually have any concrete means to escape our current predicament.

From the start, Operation C wasn’t anything spectacular. The entire plan was simply: I buy time while Ethan lands an effective attack on the enemy. The reverse was Operation B.

How to buy time and what means to use for an effective attack were left to each of us to figure out.

It was more like solo play than party play, but since Ethan had confirmed his agreement, the plan was set.

‘Sally, Sei. Use fireworks magic to draw that golem’s attention to my side.’

‘Got it! Let’s go, Sei!’

‘……’

‘Sei! I said let’s go!’

‘…Okay.’

After the battle at Bridget Village, Sei had become slightly disobedient, but Sally forcibly dragged her along as they prepared fireworks magic in the air.

While making a mental note to do something to cheer Sei up soon, a small but intense burst of fireworks exploded above my head, drawing the bone golem’s attention.

-Fwooosh!!

‘Crackle, crackle crackle…’

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

The noisy fireworks made the Giant Skeleton shift its gaze from Ethan toward me, taking heavy steps in my direction.

At least this bought Ethan some time to focus. Now, I had to face this bone golem one-on-one.

-Whoosh!

“Haaahhh!!”

The bone golem swung its massive sword at me with terrifying speed, clearly intending to crush me completely.

The most troublesome aspect of the Giant Skeleton was its surprisingly fast speed. Unlike other large monsters, its skeletal structure made its arms light, allowing it to swing them rapidly.

Moreover, the blade of that enormous sword was made from the sharpest, most pointed parts of bones, meaning a single mistake could literally leave no bones to bury.

‘If I even think about blocking, it’s over. I have to dodge as far as possible.’

Until when? Until Ethan’s swordsmanship is ready.

He had told me he learned swordsmanship from Harold for fighting undead monsters, which likely meant he had mastered Ghost Slash or a similar technique.

Recalling my past life memories, using the Ghost Slash skill required gathering energy within the body and fusing it with mana.

‘In game terms, the fusion process takes about 2 or 3 turns.’

With experience, it could be done in one turn, but since Ethan had never used Ghost Slash before, he’d likely need at least three turns.

Assuming three turns, I had to somehow buy five minutes on my own.

‘Sally, I’ll give you mana. Transform into a Flame Giant right now.’

‘Great! How much?!’

‘Half.’

‘Yesss!’

Delighted by the unusually generous mana supply, Sally absorbed half of Lillith’s mana.

I felt a momentary emptiness, as if something had been drained from my body, but fortunately, the results quickly manifested.

-Fwoosh. Fwoooosh.

‘Lillith! I transformed! What now?!’

‘Attack the Giant Skeleton’s entire body as evenly as possible. From head to toe!’

‘Got it, Lillith!’

Without hesitation, Sally swung her giant fist at the bone golem while I mentally calculated its regeneration time.

‘FIRE PUNCHHHH…!!!’

-KABOOM!

‘First hit: left shoulder.’

As I tracked Sally’s first attack, I began counting seconds in my head.

After about two seconds, her next attack landed on the golem’s right leg.

‘Flame, SCREEEECH!!!’

-FWOOSH!!

‘Second hit: right calf. The left shoulder started regenerating after 2 seconds. The third attack, after another second, was the head…’

Sally attacked the large monster’s body as instructed, but of course, the Giant Skeleton wasn’t something she could defeat. Even with half my mana fueling her Flame Giant form, its regeneration outpaced her attacks.

What I was really tracking were the varying regeneration times across its body.

To damage an undead monster, identifying its core was crucial-and unlike conventional weak points, the core wasn’t always in the head or heart.

The easiest method would be obliterating all parts at once, but as mentioned earlier, I had no mana to spare for a Mana Blast.

Ethan would only get one shot, so I needed to pinpoint the core beforehand. Calculating regeneration speeds would help me deduce its location.

‘The right calf is farther than the head, and the head is farther than the left shoulder, so it must be around the abdomen or waist…’

‘Take this, you bastard!!’

-KABOOM!!

Amidst the chaos, I mapped the Giant Skeleton’s structure in my mind and estimated the core’s position.

Just then, the bone golem’s blade swung toward me again, and something soft wrapped around me just as my reaction slowed.

-Whoosh!

‘Ah, too late…!!’

-Swish!

‘…Lillith, dangerous.’

‘Ah, th-thank you, Sei…’

‘…Don’t do reckless things.’

‘It’s okay. I trusted you, Sei.’

‘……’

After thanking Sei for saving me, I refocused on the battle-or rather, the evasion circus using Lillith’s physical abilities.

-Swish! Swish! Whoosh!

“……! …! ……!!!”

Suppressing any exclamations that might distract Ethan, I twisted my body, using Awakening, Shockwave, Sei’s tailwind, and wind magic to buy time.

-Screech!

“…………!!!!!”

Damn it, fucking skull-face.

Why does a sword have a skull on it? Almost gave me a heart attack.

After several close calls over five minutes, Ethan finally signaled his readiness.

“Lillith! I’m ready!”

I quickly relayed the information I’d gathered while he was focusing.

“Wait, Lillith! I’ll cut off that skeleton’s head in one strike!”

“Not the head, Young Master Ethan!”

“Huh?!”

“The left flank! The Giant Skeleton’s core is inside its left flank right now!”

“…Ah, got it! So I slash the left flank?!”

“Yes!!”

Before Ethan could slash the wrong spot, I successfully conveyed the weak point. Without hesitation, he redirected his blade toward the golem’s flank.

Unlike usual, he wasn’t dual-wielding-instead, he poured all his energy and mana into a single sword, driving it deep into the Giant Skeleton’s left side.

-Crunch! Crunch crunch crunch!!

‘Crack… crack crack… crack…’

Ethan’s sword stopped halfway, as if stuck on something, but the Giant Skeleton’s body slowly began disintegrating from the edges.

It might have seemed like his strike lacked power, but that wasn’t the case-his blade had clearly reached the core.

-Clatter, clatter, clack clack clack…

The bone fragments, forcibly held together by the core’s magic, lost cohesion and collapsed.

Left alone, it would revive in minutes, so we had to seal it while weakened.

“Young Master Ethan! Use the Undead Sealing Magic Stone!”

“Got it!”

Ethan immediately pressed his magic stone against the exposed purple core, while I did the same with the fallen body.

This served as proof of our contribution and ensured the bones wouldn’t reform into another horde.

-Ssssss…

Under Professor Mamari’s mysterious sealing ritual, the Giant Skeleton was absorbed into our magic stones-Ethan’s containing the core, mine the body.

“Whew… seems like it’s finally over.”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

“Phew. At least the swordsmanship Father taught me worked. And you pinpointed its weak spot perfectly.”

“…Yes. Good work, Young Master Ethan.”

Ethan sighed in relief, but I couldn’t shake my unease.

‘We’ve only defeated one Skeleton-type boss monster. If this continues…’

The thought of facing consecutive boss battles tomorrow and beyond already made my head throb.