259: The more you trust someone, the clearer their inner voice gets, huh?

Nizhegg’s massive frame hurtled past us at breakneck speed.

The smoke screen worked perfectly.

Still, suddenly going blind was terrifying.

My inner voice slipped out—Persia shouts.

“You used that without explanation! Don’t think I’ll forget!”

“Chiyome did the actual firing.”

“You made the damn smoke bomb in the first place! You didn’t explain it either!”

“Y-yes, I’ll reflect on it.”

Focus—on the plan. No time. Nizhegg’s turning around now.

Take down that hulk in one hit? Impossible. No—wrong direction.

Think about stopping it. Slowing it down.

What have I ever alchemized before? Think!

I jump down from Tebasaki, putting distance between myself and the others. Stick together, and we’re all dead in one shot.

Combustion powder… no, don’t think about dealing damage. A little burn on that hulk won’t do jack.

Hardened stone… seriously? Just build a fortress here? I could harden it in an instant with special evaporative reagents and magic, but even then it’d only be house-sized, and that thing’s charge would crush it flat.

Trimochi… this might actually work. But dousing it in small doses? Pointless. If I’m gonna do it, I need a massive burst all at once. Problem is, I don’t got a way to do that.

General-purpose monster toxin… it’d probably work, but the lethal dose would be massive. And unless it’s sealed, it’ll turn into gas in a flash—so I’d end up poisoning Tebasaki too. Works on two-legged birds, too. This toxin.

Yeah! Can’t think of anything fast enough! Hands are all tied up!

I linked up the communication magic device to Professor Javir, waiting in reserve.

"Urgent reinforcement needed!"

"Ah, understood!"

One word and he gets it all. Just like the old man always does!

"Raidock’s coming! We’ll just buy time till then!"

I relayed that to everyone, and Nobuna smirked.

"Then I’ll just finish it before he gets here!"

Seriously, overconfident much? But that little jab calmed me down a bit. Gave me some room to breathe.

"Let’s weaken it a little first!"

I shot back with a grin, just to lift morale a touch.

After that, I successfully dodged four charges.

Might sound easy—just sidestep a bit from Nidhogg’s line of attack—but it wasn’t that simple.

The bastard’s not stupid. If we dodge sideways, he shifts his path to match. Big speed, big mass—just a slight angle change, but to Nidhogg’s massive frame, that’s meters of deviation.

Dodge too early, and the angle shift crushes you. Too late, and you’re still minced meat.

So you just have to lure it in, right to the edge, and barely dodge at the last second.

Four times! I thought I was dead for sure!

And two of those were aimed straight at me!

The other two were on Eva. If Tebasaki hadn’t stepped in, I’d be dead for sure.

“That’s my kind of help, isn’t it?”

“Why the hell can everyone hear my damn thoughts?!”

“You’re broadcasting it loud and clear!”

You can actually tell that much?!

He’s smart, I’ll give him that—hunting us slowpokes. Marilyn didn’t get targeted because she’s all support and healing. Not much of a threat, I guess.

But every dodge we make, Niedhag’s timing shifts. Can’t keep avoiding like this!

We’re throwing magic and skills at each other on the fly, but no big hits yet. Gotta find a way to lock his movement down.

Back when we first hit that smoke screen, Eva’s nasty spell worked. But since then, the smoke’s been useless. Now it just makes him speed up, charge straight through. Camille’s too careful to leap in recklessly now.

Damn it! It’s gotta be Trimoche! Got to hit him with a whole damn barrage at once!

But how the hell do we pull that off?

Trimoche’s stored in bulk, kept in large barrels. Hundreds of them, stacked up—how the hell do we use them?

Stack them and ram into them… no. If they all explode at once, fine. But most likely they’ll just get flung away before detonating.

Still, might slow it down a little?

No. If it fails, the barrels scatter everywhere—impossible to collect. Then the Trimoche plan’s shot for good. Can’t risk that.

But… shoving Nezhegg into a mountain of Trimoche? That might not be a bad idea.

But how the hell?!

If we’re gonna do it, gotta hit it with everything we’ve got—no room for error!

Just as I’m straining my meager brain, Persia’s voice cuts through.

“Craft!”

“Huh?”

Nezhegg’s already turned around—now it’s charging straight at me.

“Shit—”

Persia and Teyasaki are moving to grab me, but my first reaction’s too slow. Without my dodge, Persia’s follow-up couldn’t catch up.

I’m dead.

That’s what I thought—then the world goes slow-mo.

A massive tusk lunges straight for me, ready to crush.

From far away, I think I hear my comrades shouting my name.

It’s over.

Just as I’m giving up, something brushes past my cheek.

Magic-enhanced eyes barely catch it. The thing flying in from behind me—it’s a beautiful arrow.

Nezhegg must’ve noticed, too, shifting its path just slightly to avoid a direct hit.

But the arrow glows, as if it had expected that—angles mid-flight, and drives straight into Nezhegg’s forehead.

Then, from just beside me, a shadow leaps out, unleashing a fierce technique.

“Wave Shock Smash!”

The powerful strike slammed into the side of Nezhegg’s path, angled just right to barely avoid his charge.

My body jolted as a massive form shot past my face at breakneck speed.

“Made you wait.”

“Raidock!”

He sent me a smug grin over his shoulder, still facing forward.

Damn, he’s a man—still, I’m gonna fall for him!

“Soral’s here too.”

I turned. There she was, sprinting toward me.

That arrow—she shot it.

Soral reached my side, muttering.

“Never thought we’d pull out the ace so fast.”

“The ace?”

"A special arrow made for me by Leifan—olive-horn tip, dragon-hard mithril shaft, feathers from a cockatrice."

"Th-That's incredible."

They actually used olive-horn?

Right. Can't go squandering it on weapons, but a tip? We can manage that.

"Just one left. Don't make me regret it."

"S-Sorry."

I apologize, and Raidock shrugs his shoulders.

"Whatever it was, glad it worked out."

"Yeah. Saved me. Still, what the hell was that cool name?"

"Tried using Mizuho language. Not bad, huh?"

Guess Mizuho language's based on some ancient magical civilization. Makes me feel all charged up, magic-wise.

"Anyway, Craft. You better figure something out. That trick won't work twice."

"I know, I know..."

I wanna fix it too, but I can't think of a way.

Then Leifan shows up.

"Craft! I'll help with anything!"

She’s got a warhammer and a massive shield. Mostly guarding Marilyn. Forcing her to fight even though it’s not her job. Don’t wanna burden her more.

...Job?

Leifan’s a top-tier blacksmith. Also an architect.

Right. That’s it. She’s the one with the real skill here.

"Raidock! Ten minutes! Just ten minutes—give me ten minutes!"

"Got something?"

"Leifan! Eva! Chiyome! Help me! The rest is Raidock’s!"

"“““Got it!!”””"

No explanation. Everyone answers straight away. We’re gonna make this work. No choice. Not gonna fail.