78: The final boss’s supposed to show up last, right?

Raidock glanced at Camille for just a split second at her declaration.

In that tiny opening, the boss frog’s tongue lashed out at him.

"‘Prismatic Barrier’! Don’t let your guard down!"

"Sorry!"

The defensive spell barely made it in time, deflecting the tongue attack.

Thank the stars it didn’t have magic immunity—otherwise we’d be screwed!

In the blink of an eye, Camille snatched the barrel I was holding.

"Hey! Camille!"

"Got it."

She moved with impossible speed, despite being waist-deep in water, cradling the barrel as she darted around the Titan Duke Frog, scattering the burning powder.

How the hell is she doing that so fast!?

Camille’s a swordsmen’s heir, but her fighting style’s nothing like the others. More like a ranger—or even a killer.

No one else but Camille could pull this off—she’s fast, she’s agile, that’s why it’s her. But I get why Raidock lost his cool.

It’s too damn dangerous.

But we can’t stop her now. She’s already plunged in. We’re stuck with it.

The problem’s not just around us. Titans Duke’s whole damn perimeter’s swarming with Baron Frogs.

If we keep going like this, Camille’ll be isolated.

“Damn it! Solar and Jitarou, cover Camille! Craft, seal the hole!”

“““Got it!!”””

Raidock’s quick to redirect the two archers right to Camille—damn sharp.

Leave it to us!

No flashy, high-magic spells. Just constant barrage of attack spells, enough to hold back the Baron.

Firing attack spells in real combat, you really feel how inefficient it is for mana consumption.

Sipping mana potions at a steady pace, keeping the Baron at bay.

Mana potions are scarce due to ingredients, so we’ve got to consume them as efficiently as possible.

“Still, Camille’s movements are unbelievable.”

Bardack, having finished the potion he’d been handed, stopped casting spells and focused on assessing the situation.

“Yeah… even Solar would struggle with that kind of motion.”

Compared to Solar, who bore the ranger’s insignia, Camille’s movements were smooth.

Then it hit me—maybe Camille’s insignia isn’t the right one after all. Maybe there’s another insignia, one that fits Camille better… just like mine does.

Not that my current insignia’s a bad fit, not like when I had the mage’s crest back then.

No. Not the time to think about that.

I shot a lance of flame at the Baron Frog lunging at me from both sides, holding the line.

Meanwhile, Camille skated across the water’s surface, scattering fuel, hopping onto the creature’s massive back at times to scatter powder.

Darting around, avoiding the Baron Frog’s tongue attacks from every direction—it looked like she was dancing.

“Craft! You think we’re ready yet!?!”

Jitarou shouted, firing arrows at the Baron Frog closing in on Camille.

Glancing at the boss frog, its body was already powdered over. At the same time, Camille tossed aside the empty barrel.

“Raidock!”

“Got it! Get back, Camille! Fire arrows, Solal!”

“Got it!”

Solal quickly pulled out a cloth and smeared oil on it. Confirming Camille had retreated to Raidock’s position, he loosed the blazing arrow toward the frog boss.

"Turn into tempura!!!"

Solal shouted with a crackling surge of will.

...Yeah. Definitely looks like he's covered head to toe in flour, like a piece of fried chicken dusted in cornstarch. Looks like that in this situation... am I hungry?

The flaming arrow struck the boss frog, and instantly a massive burst of flammable substance ignited.

A specially crafted concoction designed to completely incinerate the mountain-sized corpse of a Cocatris. The heat was nothing short of extreme.

Good. No magical suppression effect on the alchemical agent, as feared. A small sigh of relief.

The sheer heat vaporized the Titan Duke Frog’s bodily fluids.

"Craft! Eva!"

"Yo!!"

What's the best magic in this situation?

The fire damage’s already hit. Layering on more fire? Nah, that’s messy.

If we’re doing this, we want heat damage deep in the body.

This frog bastard’s weak to physical attacks, mostly.

Now that we’ve wiped out the magic resistance, physical damage is what we want.

Water around us, so I’ve been avoiding earth magic all this time!

Rock formation—more mana, more steps, but that’s exactly what we need now!

“Eva! Earth magic! Bury that blob in a deep hole!”

“Got it!”

That was all I needed to say.

“Raidock! Bring down the big one! If it fails, we bail!”

“Copy that! Everyone, cover the two of them!”

“““Yeah!!”””

Eva, already primed with her spell, unleashes her full power!

Watch this! Raidock, you dog! “Spinning Rock Piercer”!!

The massive stone spear conjured above Eva’s head streaks forward, driving straight into the boss cael.

Its force could probably level a small manor.

The wound from Raidock’s attack and my earlier magic was already half-healed, but now the colossal stone spear impales it perfectly—right in the healing spot. Even the titan duke frog lets out a shriek so loud it sounds like it’s screaming at the sky.

“GekoooooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooOOOOO!!!”

So it’s true—without magic nullification, mass attacks actually work!

I unleash the fully charged spell formula, channeling magic through the sigil in a single, explosive surge.

“Burst apart! ‘Meteor Rock Crushing Mallet’!!”

What formed above my head was a colossal stone pillar, far surpassing Eva’s rock spear—big enough to be a battering ram.

Spinning at blinding speed, its piercing power pushed to the absolute limit.

At the same time, *thud*—air split apart, and the boulder shot forward at an invisible velocity.

It was nothing short of a meteor.

The shattering rock effortlessly pierced through the massive Titan Duke Frog’s body, emerged on the other side, and kept going, slicing through every Baron Frog in the sky, before driving deep into the far bank of the swamp and sending up a massive geyser.

“…What kind of power is that?”

“This’ll leave no impression on Raidock at all!”

“Huh! Still don’t know the meaning of ‘modesty,’ Craft, huh?”

“Nice one! Craft-kun!”

Jitarou’s getting a beating later.

Boss Gaer had a massive hole torn through his body, gaping open. Might not even understand what just happened.

Then crimson flames slipped inside, erupting from within in an instant.

"Gego... gego... gego... gaga... gaga... gaga... kokoko... koo... koo...!"

The Titan Duke crumbled slowly, screaming.

His regeneration ability couldn’t keep up—not even close. He turned to ash.

"Craft-kun! You did it!"

"Nice one, Craft!"

"Now I understand. My true enemy was him."

Hey, Eva, wait a second! That’s going too far, even for revenge!

I try an emergency dodge.

"R-Raidock! Eva’s magic was pretty awesome too, right?"

“Huh? Yeah, of course! If it weren’t for Eva, we’d’ve lost the front line ages ago. Made her drink half a dozen mana potions just to keep going. Thanks, Eva.”

“Mewwwwwwww! Raidock, you’re such a—!”

“…Craft. We’re talking later.”

Wait a second—now it’s Soral?!

What the hell am I supposed to do now?!

“Tonight’s tempura!”

“Can you even eat this?”

“Frog tempura’s actually pretty tasty, y’know?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Sure enough, the Titan Duke Frog was behind it—around us, the Baron Frogs suddenly slowed down, movements sluggish.

Back to regular wild frogs, they scrambled away in disarray, some fleeing in panic, others blindly attacking whoever was nearest—us. But honestly, giant frogs with no coordination? Not exactly a threat.

If the paralysis poison had worked, there’d be few foes more terrifying than this. But my alchemical brew wouldn’t allow it.

“Craft!”

“Craft-san!”

The lizardmen burst from the village, sprinting toward us.

“Saw it, Craft! Raidock! You’re no doubt heroes!”

Jurara, the village’s acting leader, clapped both shoulders hard as she reached us.

“Leave the stragglers to us. You rest in the village!”

“You sure? There are still some left?”

“Thanks to you, Craft, they’re not paralyzed. No lizardman warrior worth his scales would lose to that.”

“Huh… got it. Honestly, that’s a relief. After all that fighting, I’d’ve run out of mana potions by now.”

“Hmm. Rest easy. Shururu! Guide the heroes!”

“Got it!”

“Your tone!”

“U… yes, sir!”

“Seriously…”

The lizardmen warriors charged forward, leaving only Shururu behind to finish off Baronfrog and his men.

Shururu was the female lizardman I’d met first in the forest.

Jurala and Shururu were siblings—but they looked nothing alike. Jurala resembled a lizard almost entirely, but Shururu looked like a woman with a tail. And big boobs. Bounce, bounce.

Once she confirmed her brother Jurala was out of sight, she suddenly threw herself at me. What the—!?

“Craft-san! That was amazing! So cool!!”

She hugged me with surprising strength. My head went white for a second.

Felt really soft…!

“Ah… ah, thanks!? Uh, calm down, okay!?”

I grabbed her shoulders and managed to pull her back.

Then what met my eyes was her impressive chest armor!

This armor has zero defense—but it's a hostile armor that deals massive damage to a man's mind!

Is it the lizardfolk's traditional garb? The cleavage on display is ridiculous!

So much mountain canyon, two dragons wrapped tight and cramped!

My head's spinning, but I can't look away!

"Craft-san. Got it. This is something special."

Don't read my mind!

Aaaah! Even Leifan's giving me a dead-eyed stare now!

No! It's not lust! It's pure species curiosity, that's all!

"Uh... if you really wanna look... maybe at night..."

For some reason, Shururu hooks her fingers into her own collar and pulls it down, making the cleavage even more obvious.

That's it! No more! I can see it! The mountain peak of her chest is showing!

"...You're the worst, Craft-kun."

Giiyaahhhhhhhhhhh!!

Should’ve taken down the boss’s Titan Duke, but now some scarier boss shows up? Seriously?!

Wrong! It’s a misunderstanding—!!

Craft, you might as well just give up.

No way, no way!!!

And so, we pulled the lizardfolk village out of the crisis.

...somehow traded the title of pervert for this.

I don’t get it!!

Can't keep up, man.