Ch.133Is Mother Strong?

“Well, that’s all for today’s story!”

Frider, who had been setting the mood, suddenly cut off her tale while crossing her arms.

“What? Hey, wait. Who stops a story at that point?!”

I was so dumbfounded that the cigarette slipped from my fingertips and fell. Damn it. I’d only smoked half of it. I quickly stomped it out, worried it might set the carriage on fire.

“Well, well, would you look at that? There’s someone like that right here.”

Frider crossed her legs and laughed gleefully.

I frowned as I put a new cigarette between my lips.

Stopping right before the battle climax—that’s just inhuman.

“I’d appreciate if you continued the story before I flip this carriage over.”

“As if a member of Faelrun would be intimidated by threats of violence?”

Frider grinned smugly.

The way she slightly spread her hands behind her shoulders and shrugged was truly infuriating.

Perhaps if I squeezed that thought pouch sitting on her neck, the story would pop right out?

Just enough pressure without turning her into tomato stew…

Apparently unaware that my gaze was fixed on her skull, Frider continued laughing.

After laughing for quite some time, she caught her breath and took another sip of water.

“Hahaha… Enough joking around. So, what happened was…”

Fortunately, she resumed her story.

Quite fortunate indeed. The Duchess’s skull was moments away from becoming mushy.

In truth, I was only thinking about putting my hands on her head as a joke, with no real intention of squeezing it. Even I wouldn’t do such things to someone I’m close with. Probably.

======[Frider and Her Companions]======

“Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaaah!”

Making bizarre wailing sounds, the Cursed Mother approached them steadily. Her sagging flesh made her gait invisible.

Frider glared sharply at the creature, holding a saw in her right hand and a chain axe in her left. Though she appeared full of fighting spirit, contrary to her outward appearance, her mind was filled with dismay.

‘Of all the monsters, why this one… Was this room some kind of ancient nursery?’

The Cursed Mother.

A monster whose strength and defense weren’t particularly impressive… but difficult to deal with without a mage or priest.

After all, the rattle and doll in its hands weren’t mere toys.

‘This is tricky to handle with just us… Damn it, if only Haschal were here…!’

Under normal circumstances, even Frider would have considered retreating. If only their escape route hadn’t been blocked.

“No choice… Both of you, prepare for battle! We’re eliminating the hybrid monster, the Cursed Mother!”

“Yes!”

Demian shouldered his greatsword. The black iron blade emitted a heavy dark gleam.

Millia retreated to the back and aimed at the monster’s head. No matter how terrifying the monster looked, it was still just flesh without even a carapace. It couldn’t deflect incoming arrows with its body.

“While facing it, be most careful of its curse magic and the acidic fluid it sprays from its chest. The acid easily melts even steel, so you absolutely must not get hit.”

“Curses? Of all things…”

Millia also frowned in dismay. If they had brought even one decent priest, they could have blocked the curses… But among their party, only Haschal with his mana resistance could block curses.

“Watch its hands carefully. If it shakes the rattle, it’s trying to cast confusion on everyone who hears it. If it raises the doll, it’s going to curse one person. We can’t know what kind of curse it’ll be.”

Confusion.

A type of mental curse.

A curse that robs one of reason and judgment, trapping the victim in thousands of suddenly surging thoughts.

As a result, those afflicted with confusion either freeze in place, unable to move, or go berserk and attack those around them.

If all three of them were to fall under the confusion curse, they might end up killing each other and being annihilated.

“Our priority target is the hand holding the rattle. If you see it trying to shake the rattle, stop its movement somehow. If you can’t stop it, immediately take out holy water and drink it.”

About half a bottle of holy water… should be enough to block confusion once.

“What about the doll?”

“…We’ll just have to cover each other. The doll’s curse only affects one person at a time.”

‘It won’t use curses that cause instant death, so we should manage somehow.’

Demian and Millia nodded and took their positions.

Frider began spinning her chain axe.

Noticing this clearly threatening attitude, the monster’s demeanor, which had been approaching slowly, suddenly turned fierce.

Like a child thrown to the floor, the Cursed Mother let out a tearing roar. Yellow drool dripped from between its parted lips.

Millia released her bowstring.

—-

The arrow shot out like a beam of light, aiming for the monster’s skull.

Simultaneously, Frider hurled her axe with all her might toward the hand holding the rattle.

Unlike its previous slow approach, once in battle stance, the Cursed Mother’s response was surprisingly agile.

It raised the flat side of an old axe like a shield to cover its head, and swung a sword toward Frider’s chain axe.

Millia’s arrow was deflected at an angle.

“It’s fast…!”

“Don’t stop, keep shooting!”

Frider grabbed the chain attached to the axe and swung it. The chain undulated greatly, drastically twisting the trajectory of the axe blade.

The Cursed Mother’s sword missed and struck only the iron chain.

The chain folded sharply from the force applied to its side, causing the axe at the end to spin around the sword blade.

The chain axe wrapped around the Mother’s sword like a snake, becoming tightly entangled.

Frider yanked the chain hard. Like a tug-of-war. As the chain pulled taut, the Cursed Mother let out an irritated cry and pulled on the sword, causing Frider’s body to be gradually dragged forward.

Gritting her teeth, Frider strained with all her might to hold her ground.

“Demian!”

“Yes!”

Seizing the opportunity, Demian rushed in and swung his greatsword toward the monster’s arm.

Following Frider’s advice, he intended to cut off the arm holding the rattle.

The eyeballs attached to the back of its hand rolled around, all staring at Demian.

It was a chilling sight, but Demian paid no heed and continued to swing his greatsword.

Or rather, he tried to swing it.

The Cursed Mother’s chest swelled up and then sprayed a stream of greenish liquid from its tip.

Acid.

“Ugh!”

Demian hurriedly rolled to the side. The monster’s milk poured onto the spot where he had just been standing.

With a hissing sound, the floor began to melt. Had it hit him, Demian would have melted too.

“Aaaaaaargh!”

The Cursed Mother’s roar resembled a woman’s scream.

With a fierce whooshing sound, the old axe fell like a guillotine toward Demian’s back. Springing to his feet, Demian raised his greatsword to meet the axe.

– Claaang!

The dwarf’s black iron clashed with the ancient steel. The powerful impact slightly buckled Demian’s knees.

The Cursed Mother opened its maw wide. As if it intended to bite off Demian’s head.

The stench was dizzying. Demian, still reeling from the impact, had no way to dodge.

If he had been fighting alone, that is.

Millia’s arrow lodged itself in the monster’s mouth.

The arrowhead pierced through its tongue and into its lower jaw.

The monster let out a sharp scream.

Demian’s hearing was momentarily paralyzed. That’s how intense the shriek was.

But thanks to that, the pressure on his greatsword had weakened.

“Haaaah!”

Demian stomped his foot hard and put more strength into his greatsword.

The monster’s axe was deflected.

Just as his follow-up swing was about to cut off the hand holding the rattle,

the Cursed Mother extended the hand holding the doll… and squeezed it.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

The crushed doll opened its mouth wide and screamed like a little girl.

With its eyeballs half-popping out, spraying bright red blood from under its legs.

It looked as if it were squeezing a person, not a doll.

Demian staggered.

His greatsword, which had been aiming for the monster’s hand, cut through empty air.

“Demian!”

Millia’s desperate cry. Her shot arrow lodged in the monster’s shoulder.

Demian couldn’t hear Millia’s voice.

Blood was flowing from his ears.

Clicking her tongue, Frider released the tension she had been maintaining.

With the resistance suddenly gone, the monster’s arm was flung backward.

Along with Frider’s body, which was still holding onto the chain.

Frider’s saw, flying in like the wind, bit into the Cursed Mother’s torso.

The bumpy skin tore open, spraying burst pus and black blood.

Releasing the chain, Frider grabbed the still-staggering Demian and retreated.

She could have inflicted a serious wound on the Cursed Mother if she had continued attacking… but at the cost of Demian suffering a fatal injury.

“Senior Frider, Demian is…!”

“I don’t know, you check him!”

After throwing Demian toward Millia’s feet, Frider immediately drew her daggers and threw them at the enemy.

The daggers flew like arrows toward the Cursed Mother’s chest.

The monster, about to shake its rattle, hurriedly covered its chest with the axe blade.

‘That’s its characteristic. Thoroughly protecting its chest.’

Whether due to maternal instinct or something else…

That behavior pattern was one of the creature’s main weaknesses.

Frider pulled hard on the end of her saw’s handle.

The hidden handle inside extended fully, making the saw’s shaft about three times longer.

Long enough to be suitable for swinging with both hands.