episode_0010

The heat of battle was palpable. It seemed as if a hot wind was blowing hard nearby.

The air around me gets warmer by the minute, and my breathing becomes increasingly ragged even after only moving for five minutes.

Even though it’s the body of a warrior, it shouldn’t tire easily, and it’s already like this.

Perhaps this is the real pressure of a monster. Since every second can determine life or death, the physical strength required is bound to be enormous.

One, nevertheless.

‘It’s worth doing.’

I thought so. The battle went smoother than I thought.

The power was so overwhelming that it was difficult to block it even for a moment, but fortunately, the pattern was monotonous.

Party members who were worried that trouble might arise are doing their jobs very well this time.

Thanks to that, we still had some leeway.

Of course, I didn’t let my guard down just because I had some free time.

It’s just that we have a little bit of leeway, things can always change.

“Keep pressuring.”

As I was thinking about this, Camilla opened her mouth next to me.

I only had to dodge a few axes, but the shield was now showing scratches here and there.

I readjusted my sword and spoke to Lily behind me.

“Prepare your magic again. This time, the right horn.”

“Tsk, you know even if I don’t say it?”

After grumbling once, she immediately began preparing her magic.

Slowly, a concentrated magical power begins to ripple around her.

Now, if I could hold out for 5 minutes like before and cut off the guy’s horn, the battle would be practically over.

But the world can’t be that easy.

-Gooo!!

Suddenly, the guy started to roar. It was a roar full of rage, as if he was quite upset about having his horn cut off.

And at the same time, it starts to run towards me.

The Minotaur’s characteristically merciless and powerful charge. The thumping sound of the ground gave an idea of its danger.

That’s the kind of attack that can’t be stopped.

“Avoid!”

Luckily, Camilla and I reacted in time, getting out of his path and using our senses to the max.

It was to prepare for the guy’s actions after the rush was over.

But the action the guy chose was neither to change the direction of his charge nor to stop it.

“Huh?”

It passed us and started to charge towards the wizard located behind us.

“Avoid Lily!”

Because of that, we couldn’t help but be quite embarrassed.

I never would have thought that he would ignore the two aggro-pullers and run straight for the wizard.

Maybe he realized what the biggest threat was.

Contrary to our hopes, monsters can think and reason.

It meant that he wasn’t a guy who just wielded an axe ignorantly.

So we each started taking action to stop him.

Camilla and I hurriedly swung our swords to inflict life energy on the guy’s lower body, while Adele, who was relatively fast, rushed to save Lily.

“Ugh!”

Fortunately, Adele arrived on time, so Lily’s head didn’t fly off.

Phew!

A giant axe passes over their fallen heads.

The guy who was charging swung his axe horizontally in that position.

The wind pressure generated gave an idea of its power.

“Lily, are you okay?”

“Ugh, uh. It’s okay. Thanks to you, I survived. ”

She gave Adele a brief thank you.

“But, all the magic I had saved up has disappeared… I have to start over from the beginning.”

“···I see.”

It seems that as my concentration was interrupted, the magic I had prepared also disappeared.

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk, as expected.’

The Minotaur guy also seemed to have become stronger than in the game.

The attacks are still monotonous, but even after being hit by so many sword strikes, his vitality is at a standstill.

Even considering that Camilla is a defensive character with low attack power, this was a somewhat unreasonable result.

That means the guy’s endurance has increased.

“Let’s change the plan a bit.”

Because of that, I had no choice but to make some modifications.

We can’t stop the guy’s charge with just our attack power. In that case, we’ll have to borrow strength from outside.

“Saint, could you please give me a bit more attack power buff here?”

I said as I looked at Yuris. Normally, she wouldn’t have listened, but given the circumstances, I was sure she would listen if she had the chance.

When I said this, a look of obvious embarrassment appeared on her face.

“Yes, yes? But then I have to remove the defensive blessings I have right now···.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just release it.”

If it doesn’t fit, then so be it. It’s a simple answer.

Luckily, I knew exactly what his attack pattern was. My body was like that of a warrior, so my reflexes were pretty good.

I was confident enough that it wouldn’t work out.

But despite this simple answer, she seemed quite hesitant.

I couldn’t help but notice that his pupils were shaking from side to side, as if he was so anxious.

Tsk, is this really where suspicion starts to kick in?

I said to her with a slight frown.

“If you’re worried, just tell me. There’s no need to remove Camilla’s defense buff.”

“No, that’s not it···.”

She sighed.

“Okay… Okay. I’ll walk you through it.”

Only then did Yulis seem to understand and started giving me buffs little by little.

Once again, I clasp my hands together and begin to recite the prayer.

Every time her voice echoes through the air, an inexplicable energy surges through my body.

A sacred flame given by Enen, the god of the sun. This will soon become a sharp blade that will punish the devil.

[‘Iron Wall Protection’ is removed and defense power is reduced!]

[‘Yulis’ uses a superior blessing. Strength increases significantly!]

[Your weapon is blessed. Sharpness increases!]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The sharp, sharp holy sword glowed sharply. It had the distinct aura of being able to cut through anything.

-Gooo!

Then the guy started charging again.

This time, the target is Lily, our team’s glass cannon.

It was exactly the same as before. Adele rushed in to prepare for any unexpected situation, and we swung our swords to stop the guy’s charge.

The only thing that’s different this time is that I’m a bit more annoyed.

Crunch.

A cool, cutting sound, different from before, echoes everywhere.

The buffed blade easily sliced through leather and other materials, and instantly sliced through the guy’s flesh.

Even so, I couldn’t cut all the way to the bone, but it was an undeniable fact that I was no longer an opponent that could be ignored.

-Ugh! Ugh!

Only then did the boy begin to scream in pain.

Bright red blood was oozing from the thigh I had cut.

I saw red eyes turning towards me, either because of a surge of anger or because the priority of the danger had changed.

I said with a forced smile.

“You’re finally looking this way?”

Those eyes that sparkled with madness and anger were really exciting.

My heart almost dropped, just like that.

Thanks to that, the aggro that had been directed towards Lily was completely lifted.

The problem is, is the aggro directed purely towards me?

The guy was seen swinging his axe, ignoring Camilla, who was wielding a knife next to him, as if his anger was reaching its peak.

It was a crazy mess no matter when I saw it.

An axe comes down straight on top of my head.

I hurriedly raised the holy sword above my head.

Kang!

“Ugh···!”

Even though I had received the strength training twice, I could not help but groan.

Splash splash!

Muscles that have been strained beyond their limits make an ominous sound.

It was the sound of muscles tearing and bones dislocating. It was also proof that my body was being fucked in real time.

The burning pain automatically causes a frown.

There was no time to wallow in pain, because an axe the size of my upper body was swinging again.

Luckily, this time I was able to avoid it by twisting my body to the side.

Phew!

The strong wind blows my hair.

“Hey, look here!”

“This··· Even if you shoot an arrow in the body, you don’t look back.”

Wrong. This guy looks really angry.

I could feel the murderous intent to tear me apart somehow.

Every time I swing my axe, a terrifying gust of wind makes me frown. Each and every blow is an instant death attack, and it is being swung fiercely.

However, I was able to feel a little relieved nonetheless.

‘thank god.’

As much as the guy focused on me, the damage was definitely accumulating.

If this continues, it will soon be the guy who gets tired. And if he just wastes time like this, his horn will be cut off sooner or later.

In other words, what I was saying was that if I just held on, victory was a given.

Even in the midst of the urgency, I called the party’s wizard and asked him.

“Lily! How many minutes are left!”

“······.”

“3 minutes, just hold on for 3 minutes!”

Strangely enough, the answer came from Yulis.

It seems that Lily was busy concentrating, so she answered instead. I don’t know how she measured the time, but she probably isn’t lying.

I chewed on her screams.

‘3 minutes.’

3 minutes.

If it was short, it was short, and if it was long, it was long.

And, for me, who is being driven to death in real time, it will be a very long time.

From then on, the chicken game between him and me began.

When the guy swings his axe wildly, I try to avoid it somehow.

Although the attacks were fast and powerful, the pattern itself was consistent.

An attack that is simply swung in a straight line without any technique or variation.

A single blow swung with the sole intention of tearing the opponent apart is terrifying, but it is also extremely predictable.

At this point, just concentrating was enough.

[You have acquired the skill ‘Battle Focus Lv.1’!]

In addition, with the help of his teammates, the guy quickly got tired.

“Pressure down!”

Crunch!

In an instant, Camilla’s sword coolly slices through the guy’s back.

A blue glow shimmered from her sword. Unlike mine, it was a sure and clear sword aura.

Although it took some time, she was a solid Aura user.

-Ugh, ugh, ugh!!

As a bonus, the guy’s movements were noticeably slower.

After that, it was an obvious result.

Soon, the same magic as before flies into the air.

He cuts off the guy’s horn without hesitation.

Crunch!

The horns fluttered beautifully in the air. At the same time, the guy’s two knees fell to the ground.

When I saw that, I cheered inside.

‘Okay!’

Okay, now you don’t have to worry about going berserk!

It seems like the guy’s strength has completely run out, so I’ll just cut off his neck for the last time───

──

─

.

That was when.

chin!

And then someone grabbed the back of my neck.

“?”

Before I could even begin to panic, the back of my neck began to be dragged backwards at a rapid pace.

It was a moment where it was difficult to even react. My body fell backwards in an instant.

At the same time.

Phew─!!

There was wind pressure.

The wind pressure was literally like a typhoon, incomparable to anything we’ve experienced so far.

I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t feel it.

I couldn’t even sense it, and it was impossible to even anticipate.

All I could see was the afterimage of an axe connected by a line.

[WARNING! WARNING!]

Just a loud warning message from the system blaring.

A red message flashes before my eyes.

[Forced fate!]

[An unexpected variable occurred in the scenario!]

“Are you okay, warrior?!”

“Huh, huh?”

When I came to my senses belatedly, I was able to confirm it.

The Minotaur, who I thought was dying, had red eyes shining.

I was seeing black smoke rising nearby, something I had never seen before.

[Caution! Berserk has been activated!]

It was the rampage that they had been trying so hard to prevent.

I was dumbfounded.

‘What the fuck is this…’