Defense specialization meets its conclusion.
Seconds later, the silver light fades and vanishes.
The ground is pitted and scarred by laser fire—evidence of the weapon’s strength.
Maple stands with her great shield raised upon the ruined earth.
Sally escapes the lethal beam thanks to that solid defense.
Sally restores Maple’s HP with [Heal].
Hidden behind Maple, she drinks an MP potion and restores her magic.
[Gluttony] has one use left.
Yes, I know.
She had no choice but to activate [Gluttony] to withstand that laser.
Survival came at the cost of a precious damage source.
The situation grows worse.
If another laser comes, use [Cover Move] at full power. Stay close.
Sally speaks quickly and charges toward the grotesque bird.
Maple follows Sally toward the grotesque bird.
At the moment the bird is distracted by Sally, she intends to fire the [Poison Dragon (Hydra)].
The bird rips its claws violently from the ground and floats upward, launching icy shards.
The target is Sally.
Sally knows.
She knows that even a glancing touch from these ice shards—ones she once easily blocked—would end her.
As she did when fighting the great fish, she sharpens her focus to its limit.
The shards grow slower. A gap appears. Just enough.
Sally twists her body to avoid.
She ducks. She leaps. She strikes the shards down with her weapon, closing in on the bird’s chest.
“[Double Slash]!”
Sally does not relent. She dodges the shards and claws, weaving her skill into relentless cuts.
The monster bird’s claw presses toward Sally’s life—just shy of the mark, Sally evades.
The more the monster attacks, the more its outstretched leg is severed.
“[Slash]!”
Small wounds delivered without pause.
The paralysis poison poured steadily accumulates—finally binding the monster’s body.
“[Venom Dragon]!”
Sally’s desperate opening could not go unnoticed by Maple.
The monster’s sluggish movements cannot dodge Maple’s great technique.
Sally gives full support, ensuring Maple’s strike lands true.
And Maple responds precisely.
The monster bird’s HP bar drops to just above forty percent.
“[Venom Cutter]!”
Maple strikes again. The spell lanced from the blade’s sigil falls short of the venom dragon but delivers clear damage.
Sally continues casting, seeking any edge in damage.
The monster bird’s HP drops below forty percent. Paralysis breaks. The bird regains freedom.
It targets Maple, unleashing a barrage of wind and shrapnel.
Maple is unharmed. Sally lowers her great shield, conserving her rare [Evil Feast].
While shrapnel rains on Maple, Sally finds safe ground to strike. A chance.
Maple’s HP falls to thirty-five percent.
Yet Sally’s attacks drain MP rapidly.
She must manage her magic carefully. Otherwise, she cannot unleash full power when needed.
At the moment her HP reaches thirty-five percent.
The strange bird halts its gale attack and soars upward into the sky.
Maple and Sally feel a sharp unease at the same moment, drawing together toward the center, rigid.
The strange bird rises in the snowy sky, its white wings darkening into an obsidian so deep it swallows even shadow.
At the same time, the bird’s HP gauge begins to diminish, slowly, stopping only when one-tenth remains.
The bird lets out a cry that shakes the air.
“Coming!”
“Understood!”
Maple braces her great shield, prepared to discard even her final [Evil Feast], ready for whatever comes.
The obsidian bird folds its wings and charges forward.
It strikes Maple’s great shield, leaving sound behind.
The final [Evil Feast] reduces the bird’s HP bar by half, but at that moment, Maple’s strongest shield, meant to protect her, loses all power.
The monster bird’s claw strikes Maple at high speed.
Shatters the large shield she raised.
Rips her armor apart.
Reduces her HP bar to less than ten percent.
“U… aah…”
Maple groans from the shock of the damage. Black light spills from the bird’s beak.
“Maple!”
Sally leaps forward.
The greatest relief for Maple is that Sally did not stop thinking.
“【Cover Move】!”
Maple shouts, summoning every ounce of strength. Her body moves at speed toward Sally, narrowly dodging the following laser.
The monster bird charges forward for a follow-up attack.
A violence beyond prediction. An unreasonable speed that even Sally cannot anticipate.
Just before the strike pierces Sally.
“【Cover】!”
Maple steps between Sally and the monster bird.
Despite only one-tenth of her HP remaining, Maple chose this final action to protect Sally.
Because she wanted to.
The monster bird’s claw shattered the reinforced shield and armor forged by 【Deconstructive Growth】, tearing through Maple’s body.
A torrent of damage effects scattered.
Yet Maple did not fall.
She stood, wrapped in a white effect, her HP bar barely above zero.
“【Leap】!”
Sally realized this instant—the last chance—after the bird withdrew its claw. She halted all thoughts of Maple, of how she had endured, and leapt toward the bird.
Maple followed at high speed.
The short blade in her hand glowed with a violet magical array.
The bird was unbalanced, just after withdrawing its claw. It could not avoid. Not now.
Sally was certain of victory.
Yet, in the instant the strange bird’s eyes glowed and a pitch-black magic circle unfolded between them, she understood it was all an illusion.
A look of urgency or shock crosses their faces, but in the air, they cannot move.
A pitch-black magic bullet, fired before the poison dragon.
The last gambit of the monstrous bird carries the two away as it flies.
The figures of the two swallowed whole faded, fleeting.
Yes, just like that.
As if a dream or a vision.
How was my special one?
A moment after the magic bullet passed, the air shivered and Sally appeared.
The very end.
The Mirage, kept hidden for this very moment.
The strange bird, seeing it for the first time, could not discern the illusion.
"【Cowl Move】!"
Maple approaches Sally, even as the real one draws near.
No time exists to evade the zero-distance attack of the strange bird.
【Poison Dragon (Hydra)!】
Swallowed by the poison dragon.
A long cry echoes.
The strange bird finally sinks its body into the ground.
White light spills from the bird, shining as if blessing the two.
We did it… We won…
So tired… Want to sleep…
They mutter, collapsing into the ruined hall.
Right. What was Maple’s skill again? The one who endured the final attack.
Wait a moment… It’s called 【Unyielding Guardian】. A shield-only skill obtained when one’s HP drops below ten percent, shielding allies. It can be used once per day. It withstands any attack with only one HP remaining.
Ah. So that’s how it works… I suppose I just leveled up… Wait—Maple’s HP is one now!? 【Heal】!
Warm light wraps around Maple, restoring her HP.
She will not die now, not even by accident.
The two rise and begin their exploration.
"Please, no exploring through the poisonous sea—there are dangerous birds there."
"What about Sally?"
"I’ll check the bird’s nest."
They split and begin searching separately.
No chest appeared. There must be a reward somewhere appropriate.
Maple advances through the poisonous sea, jabbing forward, heading toward the bird’s location.
"Ah! Materials remain!"
Four massive black claws, capable of piercing even Maple, and three pure white feathers lie scattered.
Each is undoubtedly top-tier material.
"Maple! Come quick!"
Sally calls from within the large bird’s nest.
Maple trots over and looks up from below.
"Should I go higher?"
"Yeah! Use 【Cobr Move】 to come up."
"Okay! 【Cobr Move】!"
Maple lands beside Sally, having leapt from the wall. What she sees is two eggs and five medals.
"Are these... from the strange bird?"
"No. The sizes and colors differ. Maybe they were picked up from somewhere... We don't know what kind of eggs they are."
"Can we take these back?"
"Yes. The inventory prompt appeared. Which one do you prefer?"
"Can I choose first?"
"Sure! Take whichever you like."
One egg has a deep green shell. The other is pale purple.
"Then... I'll take the green one."
"Then I'll take this one."
They confirm the egg data.
【Monster Egg】
Warms and hatches.
"Information is limited."
"I agree. If it just hatches into a monster, that's unpleasant... But maybe it can be tamed?"
There were no summoners or tamers in this game, so the possibility was low. Yet, given the difficulty of defeating the monster bird, this might be a special reward.
The two decided to take the egg back for now.
The materials would be two claws each, and in return for selecting the egg first, Sally would receive two feathers.
They descended from the nest and moved toward the magic circle.
"Three magic circles appear?"
As Maple said, three circles had manifested.
It was reasonable to assume they led to different locations.
"Sally, which one shall we choose?"
"I don’t have the 【Gourmet】 ability, and I’d prefer a place with little fighting…"
Sally paced, hesitating, then stopped before one of the circles.
"This one!"
"Alright! Then let’s go!"
The two stepped into the circle and vanished, consumed by light.
Only the battered remains of a fierce battle lingered here.