Chapter 98

Gu-gu-gu-gu-gu!

The earth groaned and trembled as a serpent nearing fifty meters in length—larger than most buildings—slithered across the terrain.

Boom!!!

The creature whipped its tail, slamming it into the ground with such force that the tiled floor shattered instantly, sending debris flying in every direction.

…What in the world is this?

As the snake reared its head high and unhinged its jaws, the armored warriors who had been battering it with cold weapons retreated. In their place, several individuals in robes stepped forward.

“Enhanced Flame Resistance!”

“Wind Shield!”

“Magic Barrier!”

A terrifying torrent of fire spewed from the serpent’s mouth, but it failed to pierce the spells of the three mages, scattering harmlessly into the air.

As if deciding it wasn’t enough, the snake brought its head down from its ten-story height, still breathing fire, attempting to crush the mages. This time, the warriors who had been standing by grabbed the mages and threw themselves backward.

The snake’s head slammed into the ground with split-second timing.

Kwa-aaaaaaaang!!!

With every movement of the serpent, gale-force winds howled, and the ground vibrated as if it were about to split open.

Black soil that hadn’t seen the sun in ages sprayed into the sky from beneath the tiles, and the upturned fragments of pavement shot out like shrapnel from a bomb.

I mean, seriously, what is this…?

“Kelly! How about a status report? What exactly is this!?”

“Ah, this? Oh, I guess someone from another continent wouldn’t know. This is what we call a ‘Raid’. In the Western Continent, monsters often drop from the sky like this.”

“What?”

“I’ll explain the rest later! I’m sorry! There’s no time! Senior Chel! I’m here! It’s Kelly!!!”

“Kelly!!? Why are you here!?”

A green-haired elf, who had been leaping onto the serpent’s back to swing a spear, flew through the air and landed in front of me—or more accurately, in front of Kelly. She then clenched her fist tight.

“Hey! What are you doing here! Didn’t I tell you to keep your temper in check for two years!?”

“Geez. Is this really the time for that? Shouldn’t we deal with that thing first?”

The elf called Chel looked conflicted, her expression clearly showing she was debating whether to beat Kelly to death right then and there, but she eventually lowered her fist.

“Damn it. Fine. We’ll talk about your return later. And…”

She shifted her gaze toward me.

Perhaps because she was in the middle of a battle, she was radiating an incredibly sharp, bloodthirsty intent.

“Who’s this human? Why did you bring something like this to the field!”

This time, Kelly got defensive.

“Are you blind, Senior? Does this person look like a mere human to you!?”

“You crazy girl! If he’s not human, is he an elf!?”

“No! I’m telling you, look at his soul!”

“Soul? At a time like this…? Wait, he really isn’t human!? My god, what is he? This strange person?”

“Hehe! Handsome, right? I’ve made him my Orabeoni!”

“You’re out of your mind! Enough of that. If you’re going to help, do it fast!”

Kelly nodded understandingly and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her atmosphere shifted instantly, as if a switch had been flipped.

“What are we dealing with? It’s a snake, but since it has a horn, I assume it’s a C-class beast?”

“A Horned Black Snake. It’s a B-class Intermediate. A tricky one.”

“B-class Intermediate? Why is a small-to-mid-sized guild like ours handling this? We usually take C-class High at most, or B-class Low in emergencies. What are the ‘Full Moon’ Guild members doing?”

“The Full Moon guys are the ones who sent the call. They’re currently occupied with a Dark Smoke Wolf. They told us they’d finish as fast as possible and send support, so just hold out for 30 minutes.”

“A Dark Smoke Wolf? You mean that black horned wolf? The B-class High one?”

“Yeah.”

“…I don’t think support is coming in 30 minutes.”

“Right? I was thinking the same thing.”

Kelly let out a long sigh.

“Guess we’ll have to figure it out. Specs? Give me the specifics.”

“The official Melsek Institute evaluation is based on B-rank ability users: 30 for a desperate fight to the death, 40 to maintain the status quo, and 55 to suppress it. Its characteristic is that while its magic defense is over 70%, its physical defense is weak—around 40%.”

“With that, can’t we just beat it down? It’s not like our physical DPS is low.”

“Not even close. Look.”

Kelly turned her gaze in the direction Chel gestured.

Feeling a bit like a sack of barley left in the corner, I also followed her lead and looked toward the indicated direction.

Thud! Ka-thud!

Even with the elf Chel having stepped away, the warriors on the front line were fighting well.

They blocked the wide-range flame breath with magic and read the wind-up of the massive physical strikes to dodge in advance.

The ‘Magic Bullet Storm’ that the snake seemed to cast directly was blocked by those warriors capable of it, while those who couldn’t retreated behind the mages’ barriers.

Whenever the snake showed a momentary opening after an attack was blocked, the warriors rushed in to deal as much damage as possible.

Basically, the mages were for defense, and the front-line warriors were the damage dealers.

“It’s not working, right?”

“Yeah. It’s not working at all.”

The problem was that while the warriors’ attacks caused knockback, they weren’t actually inflicting any wounds.

Looking closely, the cold weapons imbued with Aura and mana were being stopped by something iridescent before they could even touch the snake’s hide.

“It’s a physical barrier. It’s a snake, after all. It’s a smart one; it’s likely casting and layering them on its own body. It looks like it has seven layers stacked. Even if we break a few, it replenishes them instantly. The reason its magical attacks are limited to magic bullets is because it’s focusing all its concentration on maintaining those barriers.”

“Doesn’t even your attack work, Sis?”

“Mine would work. I didn’t get to be a Blaster by playing games. But how much damage can I really do alone with a single toothpick of a spear?”

“Phew… So that’s why it’s a B-class Intermediate and not a C-class. To land a proper blow, we’d have to blow away all seven barriers at once and then deal massive damage before it can restore them.”

“Exactly. But that’s the hard part.”

“Hmm…”

Kelly was lost in thought for a moment before her eyes sparkled as if she’d hit on something.

“Senior, do you have an Ultimate Skill stocked up right now?”

“The Merina-style is possible. The Lumina-style is a no-go. You don’t have one either, do you?”

“No. I can do the Merina-style.”

“You crazy girl. Why does a girl working part-time at a general store have an Ultimate Skill on standby?”

“Ugh, stop complaining when I’ve prepared one for you! Just accept that it’s a good thing!”

“Ah, damn it. Whatever. Fine. Let’s try it. I’ll go first from below, and you take it from above. That’s what you’re thinking, right?”

“Exactly. Ah, wait a second.”

Frowning at the serpent that was shaking its body and shimmering with iridescent light, she picked up a thick piece of tile from the ground and hurled it with all her might.

Boom!!

The barrier’s light flickered as the snake’s head was shoved back.

The enraged snake flicked its tongue and glared, but it quickly turned its head back irritably toward the warriors clinging to its side.

“That makes one layer, I guess. Hmm. This is going to be tight.”

“…We still have to try.”

“Senior, just in case, did you happen to bring my weapon?”

“Who would carry around that hunk of iron that only you can use? Just use your bare hands. Every other weapon is just a toothpick to you anyway.”

“Ah… if it’s bare hands, it’s really going to be touch-and-go. I wonder if seven layers will go down at once.”

Even as Chel said that, she smacked her lips in disappointment.

“What are the odds of success?”

“If we’re just talking about blowing away the barriers, maybe 30 to 40%? The chance of actually taking its head… I’d say about 20%.”

“You know what happens if we fail, right?”

“We grab the injured and run. As for the dead… we’ll just have to come back for them later.”

“…Good. You remember the drills. Then, shall we?”

Kelly gave a tense smile and held out her fist. Chel did the same, bumping Kelly’s fist with her own.

“…Welcome back.”

“You really can’t do it without me, can you?”

“You crazy girl.”

The two retracted their fists and glared at the snake simultaneously.

Just as they bent their knees, about to leap toward the serpent with all their strength—

“Hey, sorry to interrupt the mood.”

“Gah!”

“Eek!”

The two of them collapsed from their stances at the same time, letting out strange yelps.

“What the—! What are you doing!? At such a critical moment!!”

“Orabeoni… this little sister respects her handsome brother very much, but if you kill the vibe like this, I’m going to pick a day and beat you up, okay?”

I spoke to Kelly rather than Chel, who was still difficult to approach.

“I said I’m sorry. But your goal in striking that pose and preparing those chuunibyou-like skills is to kill that snake, right? Not to capture it alive?”

The answer came not from Kelly, but from Chel.

“Could you please watch your choice of words? ‘Chuunibyou’? You speak quite recklessly for someone with your looks.”

Mmm. I got a compliment. That was a compliment, right?

“Ah, my apologies. I just don’t have much tolerance for that sort of thing. Anyway, is that correct?”

“…Yes, it is. And?”

I brushed the dust off my suit, adjusted my collar with a sharp tug, and tilted my head.

“Then I’ll catch that snake for you. Let’s count that as my guild entrance exam.”

“…What?”

.
.
.

Hearing my words, Chel looked as though she was doubting her own ears.

“You’re going to deal with that monster?”

“Yes.”

Then, Kelly asked.

“Are you saying you’re going to take that guy down yourself, Orabeoni?”

Kelly’s question was essentially the same as Chel’s, but the meaning behind it was very different.

While Chel’s tone meant, ‘What is this madman talking about?’, Kelly’s was a question to confirm, ‘Are you actually stepping up to handle this yourself, Orabeoni?’

“Yeah.”

Kelly asked again, her voice devoid of hesitation.

“What do I need to do?”

“Draw its attention. Just for about a minute.”

“Will that be enough?”

“It will.”

Chel, who had been listening to our conversation with an absurd expression, grabbed Kelly’s arm.

“Hey! What kind of nonsense are you two talking!?”

“Ah, just stay out of it for a second. So, what’s the probability of success?”

“What kind of ‘probability’ do you need for catching a snake?”

“Aha. I see. A minute is a piece of cake, then.”

“Hey! Kelly, you crazy girl! Wait a minute!”

“Seriously, it’s fine! This Orabeoni is truly amazing.”

Chel clutched her forehead and snapped at me in a rage.

“You! What did you do to this girl!?”

“What do you mean, ‘what did I do’?”

“Brainwashing, hypnosis, or a Geas or something!”

“…….”

“Otherwise… there’s really no other way she would follow someone else this much.”

“I’m actually more curious about that myself. What does she see in someone she hasn’t even known for a week?”

“A week!?”

“And today is actually the first time we’ve properly sat down to talk.”

“Ha… wow.”

.
.
.

Kelly, who had dashed out first, charged toward the snake to rouse the spirits of the fighters.

“Everyone! I’m back!!! This is my comeback match after a year!!”

As her shout rang out clearly, a violent reaction erupted from her guild comrades.

“Oooooh!!! The return of Kelly, the Goddess of Destruction and Compensation!!!”

“Kelly! We’ve been waiting!!! Sister Chel is way too stiff!”

“I’ll work my tail off this year to pay for everything Sister Kelly breaks!!”

Despite the urgent situation with blood spraying and flesh tearing, they were all clapping, whistling, and making a fuss.

One of them even raised both hands to cheer, only to get showered by the snake’s magic bullets, coughing up blood as he rolled across the ground.

“Total destruction! I love it!!! Compensation… ugh, whatever! Let’s just start by ripping that snake’s jaw open!!!”

“Oooooooooh!!!”

Aha. I see what kind of position she holds in the guild. Well, if she was a leaking bucket inside, she’d be a leaking bucket outside too.

Whatever her personality or position, her joining the fray dramatically shifted the atmosphere of the fight.

Thud! Thud!

While the other front-liners were being pushed back by the snake’s magic bullets, she alone charged straight in and buried her fist into the creature’s flank.

One hit, two hits. And riding the momentum, a rolling sobat!

Boom!!!

To my surprise, the snake’s body flinched at her blow and actually bounced slightly into the air. With a single kick, she had launched that mass—which rivaled an apartment building—into the sky.

“Ahahahaha! Yes! Right! This is the feeling! I’ve missed this!?”