Ch.11Sky Invaders

I narrowly dodge the Strike Falcon’s diving attack. As it brushes past me, the whooshing sound like a massive weapon being swung and the storm-like air current that follows testify to the Strike Falcon’s incredible speed.

“This thing…”

*Bang!*

I fire a shot at the falcon as it soars high and circles, timing its next attack, but it effortlessly changes course to avoid the bullet. The problem seems to be the distance and the slow velocity of the white magic bullet.

“I expected as much, but it still dodged.”

“Strike Falcons can precisely track the trajectory of any object flying in a straight line the moment it’s fired. Unless your attack is fast enough to hit simultaneously with firing, you’ll never hit it from this distance.”

“Ah… so that’s what you meant by a bad matchup.”

Against an opponent that easily evades bullets and stone blits, I’d need magic with either superior speed or homing capabilities, but unfortunately, Jessica doesn’t seem to know such spells.

However, I can’t just keep dodging forever. The Strike Falcon’s charging speed is comparable to a sports car on a highway. If I’m too focused on watching it in the sky and there happens to be a tree where I dodge, or if I misjudge the timing, it’s over.

“Here it comes again!”

*Bang!*

I fire a shot at the charging Strike Falcon and dodge. There’s no time to confirm who it’s targeting before moving.

At any rate, I figured that even a Strike Falcon couldn’t avoid a bullet when its diving speed meets the bullet’s velocity head-on. My judgment proved correct as the charging falcon couldn’t evade the magic bullet coming straight at it.

But that didn’t improve the situation. The magic bullet that hit the Strike Falcon’s body burst and scattered like light dust instead of penetrating or knocking it away.

“That’s useless too.”

“Seriously… what’s going on with that thing?”

“Strike Falcons deploy a kind of defensive magic in front of them when charging. Magic bullets and most attack spells will just glance off or bounce away, so you can’t damage it from the front during a charge.”

“Damn it…”

This is truly a situation where I’m completely outmatched.

I can’t hit it when it’s preparing to attack from above. When it charges, frontal attacks are ineffective. Try to target its back right after dodging? Too difficult given its speed and the time needed to regain my posture.

What about shooting its side while dodging like a bullfighter? Even with my quick draw skills, that seems impossible. If I mess up the dodge timing while attempting that, one hit would be fatal. Even a real bullfighter couldn’t handle the Strike Falcon’s charging speed compared to a mere bull… Wait?

“Bullfighter…? That’s it!”

An idea suddenly flashed in my mind. The question was whether I could retrieve what I needed from my backpack while dodging the Strike Falcon’s terrifying charges, but based on my experience so far, it seemed possible. To be certain, I decided to rely on Jessica’s knowledge.

“Jessica, does that thing immediately launch another charge after finishing one?”

“No, it doesn’t. It needs time to prepare its defensive magic again. That’s why it circles in the air, buying time.”

“OK, then I might have a chance.”

I drop my backpack to the ground and holster my gun, waiting for the Strike Falcon’s charge. Being some distance from Jessica, who was the target this time, I could spot it early and save time on evasive maneuvers. I quickly unfasten the backpack’s buckle and loosen the inner straps. That’s all I can manage with this timing.

“…!!”

The second attack comes for me. After swiftly dodging, I take out my canteen from my waist, open the lid, pull out the blanket I had placed on top in my backpack, and start soaking it by holding the canteen upside down against it. I’ll use up all my drinking water, but I can share Jessica’s water for today.

“Will! Look out!”

“Whoa!”

The Strike Falcon’s third diving attack comes before the blanket is sufficiently wet. Has it noticed I’m up to something? This time was close. After barely dodging, I managed to soak the blanket enough while the Strike Falcon regained its posture. Time to counterattack.

“…Will? What are you planning?”

“Get ready to attack, Jessica.”

I grab both ends of the blanket, lower my body, and then raise it to shoulder height, letting it hang down to block the view below my neck.

Now, I’ve figured out your attack pattern. Your terrifying high-speed diving attacks mainly target the head. Probably not to grab or tear with talons, but to deliver a direct hit with your defensive magic to the head or vital points, aiming for fracture or unconsciousness.

You can’t be certain of hitting me. If I dodge this time, you’ll try again. It’s a simple process of repeating one-sided attacks until the prey makes a mistake in dodging. That’s how the Strike Falcon monster has been taking down its prey until now.

Of course, not 100% of attacks targeted the head. But what if you can only see the prey’s head because of a large cloth blocking the rest? Would you aim for the cloth-covered parts where you’re not sure of landing a critical hit?

“Of course not!”

As expected, the Strike Falcon was charging straight for my head.

It could have targeted Jessica instead. But from the Strike Falcon’s perspective, Jessica was a target focused on dodging, while I was a target who had given up dodging and chosen to hide my body. And foolishly, I hadn’t even hidden my head completely.

When I judge it’s close enough, I quickly raise my posture. Now the Strike Falcon’s charging trajectory is aimed at my chest, hidden by the cloth. What matters isn’t where I get hit. What matters is that the blanket in my hands is now positioned higher than the Strike Falcon.

Of course, a mere blanket can’t withstand that tremendous mass and speed. The sports car-like force coming through the blanket would mercilessly slam into my chest, likely causing instant death or severe injury if I’m lucky. Do you think I’m crazy enough to just stand there relying on a blanket? As the Strike Falcon charges while gaining altitude, I throw the blanket over it and leap backward to the right with all my might.

“Got it!”

The Strike Falcon’s massive body is neatly covered by the blanket—a wet, heavy blanket soaked with water. Of course, with a body comparable to my height excluding its wings, it won’t fall just because of the weight of a wet blanket. But no bird would ignore something clinging to its body, blocking its vision and soaking its feathers.

As expected, the Strike Falcon chose to reduce its speed and hover in the air, raising its talons to tear away the wet blanket covering its head and shoulders, rather than maintaining its charge. It’s impressive flying ability, even with its wings exposed outside the blanket.

But that attempt would not bear fruit. Whether the defensive magic effect was still active or not, the Strike Falcon that had passed by exposed its side and rear to us. Only fools would let this opportunity pass.

*Bang-bang-bang-bang!*

“Stone Blit!”

*Thwack!*

For the first time, the Strike Falcon staggers from my quick draw of four remaining shots and Jessica’s Stone Blit.

At this distance, it would be hard to deliberately miss such a large target with its wings spread wide. My bullets hit three in the wing, one in the body. The Stone Blit succeeded in creating a large hole in the opposite wing. It took less than ten seconds to finish off the giant Strike Falcon after it lost its flying ability and fell to the ground.

“We won… we took down a Strike Falcon…”

“Yes, it was close, but we won.”

“I can’t believe it! Strike Falcons are known as the natural enemy of mages and gunmen! We took it down together! Kyaaah!”

Unable to contain her emotions, Jessica ran to me, hugged me, and started jumping up and down with joy. Soft sensations everywhere and a nice scent too. I should calm Jessica down before I lose control of my worldly desires.

“Come on, there might be other dangerous creatures around. Shouldn’t we collect the magic stone and move elsewhere?”

“Oh right, the magic stone!”

While Jessica, whose excitement showed no signs of subsiding, extracted the magic stone from the Strike Falcon’s body with light steps, I picked up the scattered utensils from the ground and tried to retrieve the blanket wrapped around the Strike Falcon’s body.

But the blanket, torn by the massive talons, was already ripped to shreds by about half, making it completely unusable for sleeping.

“I didn’t anticipate this. What are we going to do tonight?”

“Hmm~ I’ll figure out something else. Let’s give up on this blanket.”

“No choice I guess… I’ll need to ask for water too. I used all of mine soaking the blanket.”

We defeated the Strike Falcon and obtained the magic stone, but I ran out of drinking water and lost my blanket just two days into the journey. If I had been traveling alone, I would have suffered from thirst and the cold night. I’ll have to rely on Jessica’s help until we reach Oxville.