episode_0161

– Shyaaah!

‘Mwoooooo!!!’

With the sharp blade buff, Edan’s swordsmanship sliced through one of the Kraken’s arms in a V shape as if cutting it in half.

More precisely, he first sliced at a 45-degree angle with the sword in his left hand, then intercepted the tentacle pieces flying towards him with the sword in his right hand.

Regardless of the process, his attack definitely hit the mark. Thanks to that, we no longer needed to just dodge the creature’s attacks.

‘I thought we were done for.’

If that attack hadn’t landed, not only Edan but I would have been crushed like sardines behind him.

If we were to fall so grotesquely on this lake, not even Cerista herself could save us. Then our weekend date would truly end in disaster.

I was grateful that Edan trusted me enough to swing his sword until the end. If we hadn’t faced the enemy head-on, our buffs and all, we would have been lacking in power.

‘They say buff magic works better with higher trust, which means…’

For a moment, a thought crossed my mind, making it slightly complicated, but I focused on the battle in front of me.

More important than how Edan and I would change in the future was how our lives would fare in this battle.

I had worked so hard to get into the academy, I couldn’t afford to die to an event boss like this.

“Huh, huh…?”

Meanwhile, Edan, still holding his sword, seemed to be in disbelief that he had actually cut off one of the giant tentacles.

I shouted at him with all my might to snap out of it.

“Wake up, Edan! Is this the time to stand there dumbfounded?!”

“Oh, okay!”

“Remember that feeling just now! If I cast a support spell, you can cut off those thick tentacles twice!”

“Twice? So, I can do it one more time from now on?!”

“You cut them off simultaneously with the dual swords just now! It’s already done, so from the next attack, use one tentacle at a time!”

“Oh, got it! I’ll be careful!”

The advantage of dual swordsmanship was the ability to deliver powerful attacks with two swords, but it was somewhat vulnerable when it came to the ‘number of cuts’ associated with the support spells.

Buff spells like ‘Sharp Blade,’ which increase slashing power for the next n attacks, were essentially the same as doubling the number of cuts.

Since the same support spells couldn’t overlap in the system, each cut had to be used carefully. I couldn’t explain that far because the situation was dire, but at least Edan had gained confidence in cutting with one tentacle from now on.

Even if he looked clueless at the sight of the tentacles coming at him, it was best to believe that there was nothing he couldn’t handle.

As the son of a herald, he naturally had that kind of courage.

Even with my buff, it was practically impossible for Edan to decapitate the Kraken’s head with his current abilities. And for me, who didn’t even have a dagger or a spirit, there was only one effective means of attack.

Just shut up and follow along was the best course of action in the current situation.

“Edan, the only way we can kill that monster among the methods we have is with a Mana Blast.”

“A Mana Blast? You mean that magic where you throw a huge magical blast?”

“Yes. So while I gather mana to use Mana Blast, Edan, you…”

“You want me to buy time for you? Leave it to me, Relis.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Edan understood me perfectly before I even finished my sentence.

Openly asking for a dangerous role without hesitation, and even nodding without any hesitation.

Of course, it was impossible to continue stalling time with just my bare body without any plan, so I once again used the ‘Sharp Blade’ that I had used earlier on Edan…

“Dodge, Relise!”

“Eek?!”

-Swish!

Edan embraced my body and lay down on the water’s surface, narrowly avoiding the tentacles of the Kraken passing by us.

I hadn’t even had a chance to confirm the attack coming from behind. Of course, I was also being careless.

“Thank you, Edan.”

“Be careful, Relise. You need to use Mana Blast to defeat the creature, right?”

“…Yes.”

Yes, Edan was right.

If I were to die here unexpectedly, Edan would most likely die as well.

I may have unexpectedly gained a second life, but Edan didn’t. He was finally able to live a proper life after always being portrayed as a detestable character in other worldlines.

It would be too wasteful to let him die here.

“I’ve said it before, but this is the second time. Use it wisely.”

“……Okay.”

A cluster of mana floated lightly around Edan’s body after receiving support magic from me.

Standing up, I immediately began chanting Mana Blast towards the giant monster in front of me.

-Swoosh!

As soon as I started chanting Mana Blast, the Kraken attacked me again.

I felt the urge to cancel the spell and run away, but Mana Blast was not a spell that could be easily abandoned once started.

I had already decided to trust Edan completely, so I couldn’t stop now.

-Swish!

‘Grrrrr…!!’

As soon as I started chanting the spell, Edan used the first opportunity to protect me from the tentacles flying towards me.

The first opportunity was wasted when I hadn’t even chanted a quarter of the spell.

It was an unavoidable choice for the sake of the effectiveness of Mana Blast, even though it meant wasting the opportunity.

Fortunately, the Kraken, which had been hit by several of its own tentacles, hesitated to attack again after the last attack.

This gave me a little more time to chant the spell.

“…Gather all the mana! Pure power…”

‘Just a little more!’

As the spell lengthened, the size of the mana sphere forming above my head also increased.

When I had chanted about three-quarters of the spell, I heard the second slashing sound in my ear.

-Swish!

‘Grrrrrr…!!’

‘…Second one.’

I guess the effects of the support magic I had given Edan were all over now.

The timing was tight. If the creature didn’t suddenly act strangely, my spell would likely be completed first.

The calculations seemed to have worked out, as I managed to complete the spell just before the creature’s next attack.

With the final incantation, the huge mana sphere in my hand shot towards the abyssal Kraken.

“Release! Mana Blast!!”

-Swoosh!

…And at that moment, the creature’s final attack came straight towards me.

Since it was aimed directly at me and not Edan, there was no way to dodge or hide underwater this time.

As someone who had reached level 12, I suppose there was a chance I wouldn’t die in one hit if luck was on my side… but honestly, hoping for such a future was practically a miracle in itself.

Well, it was inevitable. In fact, this plan was quite clumsy from the beginning. After all, I hadn’t spent a single day preparing for a battle with that guy.

I started this battle with the thought that if I was lucky, I might even become a hero, but it would have been better if it ended with just one of us dying.

“Release!!”

“….”

…It seems like I won’t get an answer to my confession.

If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have just said it was okay even if it was empty words.

No, maybe if I had just done what Edan wanted from the beginning, like being a saint or whatever, I might have felt less guilty.

If I’m going to die anyway, I hope I die instantly and feel as little pain as possible. With that thought in mind, I was about to relax when suddenly a shadow blocked my view.

…It took me a little while to realize that it was Edan’s shadow.

-Chae Aeeng!!

“…Edan?”

Even though he must have used up all his two strikes, Edan appeared confidently in front of me, attacking the tentacles with his twin swords.

His reckless appearance almost made me wonder if I had miscounted the strikes.

However, there was no longer a glimmer of ‘sharp blade’ left in Edan as he wielded his twin swords in front of the giant boss monster’s belly, looking more serious than anyone else.

…What was even more surprising was that Edan was ‘deflecting’ the Kraken’s tentacles.

“….Huh?”

I momentarily froze at the unbelievable sight before me.

No matter how much damage he had taken from the previous battles, Edan wouldn’t have been able to withstand the Kraken’s attacks in his current state.

But contrary to my thoughts, Edan was sweating profusely as he parried the giant tentacle in front of him with his two swords.

From the tips of those swords, intermittent bursts of energy that looked like blue flames were emanating.

Wait, if that energy color is what I think it is….

“Edan, could it be that he’s already an expert…?”

-Kwaaaaah!!!

Just as the thought casually crossed my mind, a loud explosion was felt from the Kraken’s head.

At the same time, the tentacles that were attacking me and Edan lost their balance and were flung into the air as the main body collapsed.

“I-I’m alive….”

-Fwoosh!

“…Ugh?!”

Oh, right. I don’t have any magic left to use for underwater walking now.

…Damn it. I can’t swim.