Chapter 378 - Chapter 14: Hot Spring Ruins Investigation ④
Proceeding through the passage beyond the door, when Fiona scouted, it was a Fenril.
Finally, the final battle.
The opponent uses powerful lightning magic, but I can bounce it back with Magic Reflection. Moreover, based on the experience of fighting so far, my form shouldn't be visible. The problem is the deployment of magic defense in addition to the magic defense of the main body. My magic will be almost nullified. If it becomes a battle of endurance, it will be disadvantageous.
"Hey, can Fiona's arts be blocked by Magic Reflection or magic defense?"
"Since they don't use mana, apparently they can't be blocked. But if the opponent is a higher-ranking ghost with high spiritual power, apparently they can be deactivated."
I see. In other words, it's spiritual power, not mana.
"Can Fiona dodge magic?"
"Yeah. Except for holy magic, I don't take damage even if it hits."
With this, the strategy was decided.
I have Fiona enter at the same time I open the door. At the same time I close the door, I have Fiona fly near the ceiling.
The Fenril, seeing that the opponent is a ghost, only stays on guard and doesn't attack. I have Fiona fly as if circling around to the front right. I secretly go to the front left.
The Fenril is pointing only its head toward Fiona.
It's a ghost, huh, it seemed to say, laughing through its nose with a hmpf.
Fiona took a deep breath and folded her arms in front of her chest.
"Lightning!"
A yellow light that crackled rather than lightning flew toward the Fenril. In short, it's Energy Bolt. The Fenril is good at lightning magic. It must have intended to deactivate it. It barked once. Naturally, it wasn't deactivated. It's not magic. It jumped back as it stood up in surprise. Fiona's lightning hit the ground where the Fenril had been and crackled.
"Lightning!"
One more time.
The Fenril barks. It deployed magic defense, but it passed through and hit the Fenril. For a moment, it shuddered its body with a bikun. Even though its magic defense is strong, it didn't matter. It seems to have dealt damage. No, it might be psychological damage.
"Holy Lance!"
When I aim for the wide-open flank at the same time, this also hits beautifully.
For a moment, its ear twitched, but it was distracted by Fiona and its response to me was delayed.
"Gyaun!"
It took a direct hit just as it was about to side-jump and fell sideways.
"Lightning!"
Furthermore, Fiona's lightning deals a follow-up blow.
The Fenril, which couldn't block the lightning on par with basic magic, deploys magic defense again. Magic defense is like a single wall. If you circle around to the back, it's wide open. If it were deployed on my side, I had intended to break through by walking, but it deployed it on Fiona's side. It couldn't deactivate the lightning magic it's good at, and its magic defense was bypassed. Moreover, by something on par with basic magic. It's completely confused and has already lost its cool judgment.
Since there's no need to circle around, I fire two more Holy Lances in rapid succession near its waist and stop its movement. Fiona also hits it with a third lightning.
Finally, it deployed magic defense on my side, but it's already too late. I've already entered the inside. Whether it saw through the trajectory of the Holy Lance or not, it stood up on only its front legs, raising its upper body, and released lightning magic. When I bounce it back with Magic Reflection, the Fenril, which barely prevented self-destruction, stops its movement as if it had frozen.
I fired a Holy Lance from point-blank range and dealt the finishing blow.
"D-Did we do it?"
Fiona flew down.
"We did it. It's okay now. It's not moving."
"I hit it three times!"
"You did well. If you learn a new art, we'll celebrate."
We high-five and rejoice.
"Is this the last one?"
"Yeah, I'm sure the Fenril is the last one. This fellow should be the strongest."
"Then, we've come to the destination."
"That's right. Counting from the snake, it's the fourth room... eh? Fourth room?"
The first room is the snake, and the Chat-Palu, which is shifted to the side from the frog's position, is the third room. The gray wolves in the second room I returned to once, and the Fenril is the fourth room...
I'm sure the fifth room was the Fenril both in Nakanohara and on the mountain. The Basilisk in the fourth room is missing.
There should be one more room. Could it be stronger than the Fenril?
The last room is the same as the first room with the snake; you absolutely have to pass through it.
When I open the door, there's a short passage connecting the rooms.
"Fiona. There's one more battle ahead. It might be strong. Could you scout for me?"
"Understood."
Fiona's reconnaissance result was a giant three-headed wolf.
The C-rank Cerberus.
"Is a Cerberus strong?"
Come to think of it, Fiona might not have faced one directly. In the fourth layer of the Demon Lord's cave, I had her go out as a scout after defeating the Behemoth, and she didn't participate on the mountain where the Fire Dragon was.
"It's C-rank. It's on a different level."
Why is it in a place like this? Generally, the cave of secret books was gathered by the dwarf using Subordination, which he can only manipulate D-rank or lower, so there should only be D-rank or lower.
No, wait. That's just what Alex said. No one has said until now that it's limited to D-rank or lower. I just assumed it on my own. Besides, at the wall, Wilson-san was saying something about Charm... No, no, Charm is Forbidden Magic... is that only for humans... The Charm used by the dwarf, the Great Spirit of the Forest, must be quite powerful... Apparently, the First King's arrows were teaching us the order to conquer properly. Not just the compatibility of spirits, but the level of battle too. If so, the earth cave that should be in Regnentes might have even more powerful monsters.
"Does it use magic?"
I returned to my senses at Fiona's words.
"Hmm. I haven't seen it using magic, so it might not. But it breathes fireballs from its mouths. It fires them in succession with three heads. Its magic defense should be higher than the Fenril's, and its speed is superior."
I heard that for monsters and the Demon Race, the first strike is the most powerful. If so, the succession of fireballs from the three heads should be the most powerful. Double-casting Resist should be able to withstand even a Wyvern's flames, but if I'm hit by fireballs again and again, it might not hold. Above all, my location would be exposed.
"Is your current form visible, Jeanne?"
"I don't think it's visible. When we faced it on the Fire Dragon's mountain, it wasn't visible at all."
"Then, I think we can manage somehow."
She's quite proactive.
Just in case, when I return to the Fenril's room, there's only the carcass. There's an escape route. If we defeat a C-rank here, Fiona's one-shot promotion might be easy. After all, she's a genius on par with Beatrix, who learned three types of basic magic at once. Her master is also ultra-high-level class, so let's try to hold out here.
"Understood. Let's try it even if it's a long shot. If it comes to it, just run away."
"Yeah! Let's do our best!"
I open the door halfway and see how it is.
The Cerberus, which had been sitting against the opposite wall, reacted sensitively and stood up while growling.
I leave the door open and go outside.
The Cerberus stops growling and is sniffing fun fun.
Actually, I smeared soap on the back of the shield. The considerable smell, which surpasses the magic power of Camouflage or Magic Reflection, seems to have stimulated the Cerberus's sense of smell.
Just like that, I charge. Since there's the Cat Stone, I closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
One of the heads spat a fireball. The other two bark.
The orange fireball that flew toward my face was, unlike the impression of seeing it from the side, considerably large. The diameter is clearly larger than my face.
I poise Will's shield, which I wore on my left arm, diagonally in front of my face and deflect it. It should be flame. There's no pressure, I thought, but from the impact of the hit, the shield slammed into my forehead. Even though I had double-cast Resist, I feel the heat.
If I take many shots from the front, I might be flipped over.
When I jump to the right and roll on the ground, two fireballs flew to the place where I had been before jumping.
I stand up and catch my breath. From the door to the Cerberus that had been on the opposite side was about twenty paces by eye. Ten more paces. I want to close about five or six more paces, but if I close them, it will probably pounce. If something like that were to press down on me, I'd easily be pinned down.
I take off the shield I wore on my left arm.
The Cerberus seems to know my position by the smell, and the three heads look this way.
They barked in unison, guwan guwan. Even though I'm casting Calm, my consciousness almost gets taken away. If I hadn't been doing anything, I might have fainted. Honestly, it's quite powerful. This must be one of its weapons too.
The Cerberus also changed the direction of its body. While growling, it put its right leg forward and lowered its posture. It intends to pounce once I enter its range.
I also gently put my right leg forward.
Sensing it, the middle head spat a fireball again.
I hold out until the last second and dodge by jumping forward to the right. It's a feat that can't be done without the Cat Stone.
At the same time as landing, I take off the shield and throw it to the side. The three heads turn toward the shield... to be precise, toward the direction of the soap smell, all at once. One is flying a fireball.
With a garan, the shield fell to the ground, and the Cerberus pounced. Its right flank is wide open.
"Holy [Over Flow]!"
When I release the [Over Flow] I had finished chanting toward myself, it bounced back with the Magic Reflection I had cast on my body, and a log-like Holy, just like the Headmistress's, caught the Cerberus.
Gyaun! I can hear a scream.
Since I caught it off guard, the damage should be large too. The aim should have caught it from the side, from the head to the heart.
When I jump two, three paces to the left, a fireball flew to the place where I had been standing.
Furthermore, the Cerberus charged.
Since I moved to the left, it's not the front, but the opponent is huge. I almost collided, so I hurriedly rolled to the left and escaped.
When I stand up and look at the Cerberus, one head is hanging down daran. Its breathing is also rough. I don't know if the head died or fainted, but I was able to make one-third of it combat-ineffective.
Two more. I run to put distance.
I threw the shield so that the back side, which doesn't have Camouflage cast on it, is facing up, so it's visible.
I fire one Holy Lance to let it know my location and immediately move toward the shield.
A fireball flew, but it passed by. With this, it's exposed that I moved. Moreover, it closed several paces.
At the same time as crouching and picking up the shield, when I show the back side, the two heads immediately spat fireballs.
The flying fireballs are at chest height. I crouch with the shield on my head and dodge them by a hair. Because it grazed the shield, a gakon sound occurred.
This is bad, I'm exposed!
I dodge the one that charged by rolling to the side. Just like that, I went into a half-kneeling posture, and from diagonally behind the Cerberus that had stood as if stomping on the ground, I aimed for one of the heads and released [Over Flow].
Without missing the aim, a log-like Holy just like the Headmistress's hit one of the heads directly, and it staggered.
After that, one.
The Cerberus, which now had one head, stands as if bracing its four limbs and is looking this way. It's about time to deal the finishing blow.
"Fiona! Come out!"
Since the opponent has one head, the trump card appears. With this, we can do a two-on-one attack. With two-on-two or two-on-three, I have no choice but to use [Over Flow], so I'm afraid of accidental hits.
I have Fiona hold the shield.
It probably sees Fiona's form; it made a face like oh?, but it seems to have recognized her as an enemy. The middle head, which is still healthy, barked.
The two of us slowly approach the Cerberus. The opponent's range is from five or six paces. Since it breathes fireballs and comes all at once, it's better not to enter within ten paces.
When we approach slowly, the Cerberus also senses it and lowers its posture while growling.
Fiona folded her arms in front of her chest and took a deep breath.
"One, two, three, here we go!"
With the signal, Fiona moves to the right and I move to the left.
The Cerberus is distracted by Fiona moving through the air. It's a collaboration of smell and form. I'm likely not being noticed.
"Lightning!"
She drops lightning while flying through the sky. The Cerberus responds with fireballs.
Fiona's lightning accurately catches the Cerberus, whose movements have become sluggish, and while the Cerberus's fireballs do hit the shield, they pass through Fiona's body.
The shooting battle between above and below was, if I say so myself, an exchange of low-power lightning and fireballs that don't hit, and it didn't seem like it would be settled at all.
While both were working hard, I slowly approached the Cerberus and finally finished it off by firing Holy Lances in rapid succession from point-blank range.
It fell with a dou, and just in case, I fired six Holy Lances into the place where the heart was thought to be, using both hands and my mouth, and completely dealt the finishing blow.
"Did we win?"
Fiona flew down.
"We won. It's okay now. It's not moving."
"I hit it three times!"
"You did well. If you learn a new art, we'll celebrate."
We high-five and rejoice.
"Is this the last one?"
"Yeah, I'm sure the Cerberus is the last one."
"Then, we've come to the destination."
"That's right. We defeated a C-rank, the two of us."
"No, practically you won alone, Jeanne."
"That's not true. It's meaningless unless you can deal the finishing blow. If distance is put between us, it's not easy to defeat. I was able to win because I could distract the opponent's eyes one after another; in the end, look, I was able to completely distract its attention from me with you and the soap smell, Fiona."
"Hehe, thank you."
"The lightning hit too, so it'll be nice if you learn some art."
"Yeah. I'll have the Madam look next time."
"Yay!" The two of us rejoice and open the exit door. Passing through the passage and opening the door, we came out from a dim place to a bright place. We arrived at the destination.
There are a table and several chairs, and there's also the bookshelf of our goal. Books are also lined up. As far as the characters on the spine go, they seem to be books written about barriers. It's just right for me, who has started learning, but this time we're supposed to return without touching them.
"This light is..."
Fiona is surprised at the ceiling, which is glowing to an extent that isn't dazzling. Come to think of it, it was Fiona's first time coming to this room. Basically, I had her look at the main shop. This time, I had her join as a special call-up member to distract the eyes of Engrio.
"I don't really know. But it's not the light of Light."
The hue is different, and I somehow knew it was different. I just don't know what kind of trick it is.
"Probably, it's the light emitted by someone's soul."
"A soul?"
"Yes. This room is protected by someone's soul."
"Could it be the Goddess?"
If so, it wouldn't be strange no matter what happened.
"It's not that. It's someone, probably a human soul."
"A human's?"
"Probably. The Madam might know something."
Could it be the Ancient Priestess? The Ancient Priestess sealed the Demon Lord in this land. She must have used the Testament. There's no doubt the connection is deep.
"Shall we ask Eleanor-sama if we can have the Queen of the Demon Realm look at it?"
"Yeah."
The ghost Fiona feels it. There's no doubt.
Returning to the passage, when I open the door of the room where I fought the Cerberus, I was able to return to the place where the dwarf is.
"I didn't hear anything about a C-rank."
"Huh? Who said there were only D-rank or lower?"
When I complained, I was entangled in return.
"Don't misunderstand. You're an advanced mage, right? I adjusted it properly according to your level. I'd like you to be grateful."
"Is that so?"
It's a surprise. Do I have the power to defeat a C-rank as a matter of course?
"Listen. If you use advanced Light, you can make it so a C-rank can't even approach, even if you can't defeat it. If you just drove it away from the front of the door, you would have been able to break through. You don't even know such a thing... wait a minute. Did you defeat it?"
"Eh? Well, yes. I defeated it with Holy and Fiona's lightning..."
"Gah! Despite not even being ultra-high-level, you actually won. Well, well, it's thanks to the support magic."
He went toward the wall while letting out a sigh of relief.
Um...
"Hey. Hurry up. Let's go outside. Don't worry, I'll properly secure the profit from the monster you defeated. You're coming again anyway, right?"
"Ah, yes. I'm coming now."
I meet Fiona's eyes. We both unintentionally laughed.
"Maybe it was a great achievement."
"Then, did I and you level up too, Jeanne?"
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Yeah."
I join up with everyone waiting in front of the wall.
"Jeanne, I'm glad. You're safe."
Beatrix and Will jumped at me.
"How was it inside? Were the monsters strong?"
Wilson-san asks.
"Yes. I defeated one Cerberus together with Fiona."
While everyone recoiled and the dwarf laughed, I acted quite pompous.