Defense specialization and destination.
The light that had filled both their vision faded away.
At the same moment, Maple raised her great shield, bracing for a preemptive strike, yet the powerful blow she had feared never came.
Not only that—there was no monster anywhere.
They continued their vigil, scanning their surroundings.
The space was a wide, circular chamber.
The walls were covered in glowing blue crystals, the ceiling open to the sky.
Snow fell from above.
On the far wall, a section of crystal jutted outward, and there, atop it, sat a large bird’s nest.
Yet the nest’s owner was absent now.
"Okay... Got it. The boss is definitely bird-shaped. We probably can't use [Great Sea]."
"What now? Shall we approach the nest?"
"...Carefully. It'll likely come if we get close."
They advanced toward the nest, eyes alert, inch by inch.
Five meters from the bird’s nest.
At that moment, from above, something struck the arena at high speed with a thunderous roar.
The two who had been alert barely managed to leap backward and dodge.
It was a sharp shard of ice.
Following it, a strange bird with wings like falling snow descended rapidly.
Gleaming eyes, a sharp beak and claws, the bearing of a dominant force wrapped around its form as it landed in the arena.
There was never any path to reconciliation.
Combat has begun.
Magic circles unfold to the left and right of the bird.
From them, ice fragments are fired—filling the entire field of view.
“Cover!”
Maple lowers her large shield and steps in front of Sally.
To endure these fragments would instantly exhaust the usage count of [Bad Feast].
“Good! Not penetration!”
Maple takes the fragments on her body, neutralizing them.
The strange bird, seemingly smarter than ordinary monsters, understood when attacks failed. It gathered one magic array and shot out ice identical to the previous strike from the sky.
Power came at the cost of openings.
Sally lunged forward, seizing the chance.
"Maple!"
"【Cobalt Move】!"
She forced her way to catch up, closing the distance to the creature to about three meters.
The bird let out a shrill cry, barely a step away.
A blinding white magic array spread across the entire floor of the hall.
"Damn...!"
A thunderous crack split the air. Thick ice spikes erupted through the ground, growing to about one meter in length and filling the floor.
Except around Maple.
Amidst swirling snow smoke, Maple adjusted her large shield, bracing it toward the ground.
"…Saved! Nice work, Maple!"
"【Bad Feast】 has six uses left!"
“Okey-dokey!”
Sally kicked the ice thorns, springing toward the monstrous bird.
The footing was treacherous. She could not stop anywhere.
The monster bird’s claw reached for Sally. Its speed matched hers.
“【Hyper Acceleration】!”
A sudden burst of speed. The bird’s reaction lagged for just an instant. That moment was fatal in the whirlwind of shifting battle.
“【Cover Move】!”
Maple closed the distance in an instant. Her large shield swung, swallowing the claw that was about to strike Sally—entirely.
The monster bird shrieked, pain and fury in its cry.
Yet that action only opened another gap.
“【Poison Dragon (Hydra)】!”
The three-headed poison dragon engulfed the monster bird.
Maple landed on the ice melted by dripping poison. Sally watched from slightly further away.
A terrible cold radiated from the monster bird. The poison surrounding it froze solid.
It cracked with a high-pitched ping, shattered into glittering fragments, and fell.
"Only ten percent of HP gone!?!"
"Impossible…!"
The amount of HP was far beyond what the two had expected from Maple’s attack, which they had planned to end swiftly.
Unmoved by their shock, ice thorns sprouting from the ground around the monster bird bent, broke, and gathered.
A moment later, they were fired like bullets.
"【Cover Move】! 【Cover】!"
Maple moved in front of Sally, lowered her great shield, and blocked the deadly strike.
A crimson effect burst from her body.
"Kuu… It's piercing through… 【Meditation】!"
A piercing strike through the 【Cavalry Move】 inflicts double damage. With each hit, Maple’s HP bar dips sharply, one-tenth at a time.
【Heal!】
The method chosen for when an unavoidable piercing attack comes is this: Maple in 【Meditation】, Sally behind her, repeatedly casting 【Heal】.
Endure until an opening appears.
Endure for twenty seconds.
The ice storm ceases. Only the torn earth remains.
Here we go!
Yes!
The two dash in opposite directions.
The monster targets Sally. It charges at full speed.
Concentrate!
She steadies herself, eyes fixed on the creature.
As it charges, shards of ice fly.
Yet, due to the momentum, gaps appear between the shards.
Sally avoids them with ease.
【Leap!】
Sally cuts through the charging creature’s path, leaping just past its body.
【Slash!】
She does not forget to apply 【Status Effect Attack】 in that moment, slicing through while pouring paralysis toxin.
This toxin may accumulate, creating a fatal opening.
The HP bar’s decline is imperceptible, but it is not absent.
The creature turns, spreading its wings and flapping.
Ice shards, lifted from the ground by the storm, rush at irregular intervals.
Sally leaps, cutting across the storm’s range.
【Poison Dragon (Hydra)!】
The poison dragon advances toward the creature as Sally clears the area.
Caught mid-flap, the creature cannot meet Maple’s attack with full readiness.
One of the three heads of the poison dragon is struck in the torso.
【Wind Cutter】 【Fireball】!
Sally strikes back as opportunity allows. Every bit of damage must be accumulated.
The clinging poison reforms into ice and is shaken loose.
The strange bird, sensing threat from the poison dragon, charges toward Maple.
Ice shards are ineffective against Maple, so this action presents no issue.
The bird’s charge closes in, unyielding.
Its claw swings wide, aiming to tear through Maple’s body.
The great shield swings wide, as if to swallow the bird whole.
The bird arches backward, scattering violent damage effects.
Maple seizes the opening, swinging the great shield again.
A faint red damage effect lingers at Maple’s body.
The monster’s attack pierced Maple’s 1,000 VIT without a skill, barely breaching her defense.
Yet the greater cost was plain to all.
The monster’s HP bar had dwindled to barely three-fifths of its original.
“[Leap]!”
Sally did not miss the opening. She leapt onto the monster’s back as it staggered from Maple’s strike.
“[Great Wave]!”
Water spread from the monster’s spine.
It seeped in instantly.
By the time the monster roared in fury, Sally had already retreated.
The monster’s speed dropped.
“[Poison Dragon (Hydra)]!”
The slowed monster could not evade the attack at point-blank range.
The HP bar dropped further.
“[Double Slash]! [Fireball]!”
Maple slashes at the monstrous bird in close combat.
Sally strikes and retreats, injecting paralysis poison while watching for an opening.
Then, Maple’s great shield takes the monster’s attack once more.
The monster’s claws had chipped away half of Maple’s HP, but not enough to be fatal.
The monster’s HP bar dropped below half.
At that moment.
The monster pulls back from the two, driving its claws deep into the ground.
Its beak opens wide, spreading a magic circle twice the size of Maple and Sally.
Both sense the danger ahead, instinctively.
“[Cover Move]! [Cover]!”
Immediately after Maple’s shout.
Their entire field of vision fills with silver laser light.