Arasauto-9

I pondered if there was any way to defeat the monster. Victory is impossible unless every available resource is used.

But even then, the only thing available is something like this fog...

To defeat the bovine monster, I'd need an electric strike stronger than my full power.

Naturally, a powerful lightning bolt came to mind.

But generating such a bolt requires a large amount of moisture and tiny ice particles.

At the very least, it's impossible with my own power alone. Yes, with just my own power alone...

Whether by luck or misfortune, there's a massive amount of water vapor here—created by the opponent. There's no reason not to make use of it.

Thanks to my past dungeon clearings and battles, my body was moving frantically, yet my mind remained astonishingly calm. My vision cleared, and ideas began to come one after another.

Instantly cool down the large amount of fog.

While there are many theoretical approaches, right now, at this very moment, the options available to me are limited.

There was no time to ponder which one was best—I had to check them one by one.

A judgment based on no logic, purely on instinct, yet an overwhelming confidence surged from deep within me.

I activated the wind magic, spinning the water vapor around me and launching it upward.

The released vapor spread widely as it drifted high above, resembling a small-scale typhoon.

The water vapor rising into the sky dispersed widely and vanished from sight. That should be fine. I should have reduced the ground fog somewhat as well.

Good, it's working. I repeat the process over and over, each movement resembling a stalactite stretching toward the heavens.

Such a pattern would make an ideal target for my opponent. Repeated, powerful charges follow one after another.

I narrowly dodge, but since I'm using mana to generate steam, I have no room left for recovery or evasion.

Small wounds gradually accumulate. Cuts on my arms and back throb painfully, but I can't give up now.

Behind me are only Captain Roll and the others.

If Captain Roll and the others are also defeated, we'll have no choice but to retreat, leaving the city vulnerable to invasion by monsters.

That would be our defeat, meaning massive casualties. We absolutely must avoid it!

We'll do everything in our power!

Our wounds will only grow worse, but we're definitely raising steam.

By releasing steam into the air, it spreads and disperses, causing its own temperature to drop. That's the goal. The expanding gas uses its own heat to move, resulting in a drop in overall air temperature.

Like static electricity building up, several special arrows were shot.

Seemed to hit the mark.

The steam, which should have risen and dispersed out of sight, transformed into dim rain clouds, and without anyone even noticing, localized showers had begun.

Lightning flashed from the rain clouds. At that instant, the monsters first realized that the surroundings had changed.

Good! That's enough.

Activating the wind crystal mounted at their waist, they soared at high speed into the diagonal sky. They could float for only an instant.

From above, a space filled with suspended water vapor spread out in a circle, and the bizarrely distorted bovine monster stood motionless at the center, staring directly at them.

Instantly realized—numerous special arrows I'd fired over time, along with iron arrows from the mercenary group, were still embedded all over the monster's body...

! The base of its newly grown leg was grinding and deforming grotesquely, moving violently enough to make a thunderous sound that echoed through the sky.

Most strikingly, the part used as a leg was thinning and flattening, reshaping itself in response to the movement.

It must be that it alters its body at high speed like that, adjusting its physical capabilities to achieve superior combat ability.

That monster is dangerous. It reshapes itself according to the situation and its opponent. The longer the battle goes on, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us. We have to eliminate it for sure, right here and now.

First, he activated a lightning spell, charging the lightning cloud he had created with electric shocks. A few massive bolts of static electricity surged sideways, eventually subsiding.

By using the lightning magic, he had equalized the electrical voltage of his own body with that of the storm cloud. Current does not flow between points of equal voltage.

From a distance, the mercenaries watching him would likely see him as if he were masterfully controlling the very lightning itself.

Yes, like a being from a fairy tale... like that one...

With the thundercloud at the same voltage as himself, and using his most proficient lightning magic to manipulate the static electricity within the raincloud, he controlled tiny ice particles, accumulating even more static electricity.

Eventually, the thundercloud, charged to an extreme voltage, could no longer contain its energy and seemed on the verge of spilling over. Obedient to the mage's will, it tore through space, heading toward the ground—the path of least resistance.

Using the ox-like creature, a metallic beast easily leapt upon, as a conduit...

It was an enormous pillar of light.

The pillar of light continued to shine for an unusually long time, far beyond what could occur in nature, sustained by lightning clouds and lightning magic.

The impact site was likewise engulfed in blinding light, its condition utterly indiscernible. The lightning kept falling without pause.

Eventually, the lightning clouds I had been controlling with my lightning magic exhausted all their energy, and clear skies quickly spread open.

At the same time, suffering from a headache due to the complex control that caused my mana to run dry, I activated the wind magic stone and barely managed to land on the ground.

The mist was blown away by the shockwave of the lightning strike. A faint cloud of dust rose, but gradually cleared, revealing a sky now fully clear.

Where the dust had settled, a crater had formed that was unrecognizable in appearance— the ground was charred black and still glowing red-hot.

Unable to summon strength properly due to a lack of magical energy, I crawled forward, peering into the center of the crater, where a single magical beast stood.

Can it really not fall even now!? Despair spread through my heart.

The realization that there was nothing left to give, and that I could no longer move, only intensified that feeling.

Yet my despair did not grow any further. The magical beast did not take a single step forward.

Upon closer inspection, the magnificent horns were completely broken, and the magical stones embedded in its body had been blown off in various places.

The wing-like structure, which had begun to deform, had stopped midway and was twisted out of shape.

Perhaps a gust of wind returning from the crater? A slightly stronger breeze entered the crater.

The monster, swayed by the wind, toppled sideways and ceased moving entirely.

Seeing this, my consciousness dimmed at the same time.

There was no strength left to resist. The relief spreading through my heart extinguished any will to fight.

A few minutes after losing consciousness, people began approaching from all directions.

Among them was Captain Roll, who had commanded the final defensive line.

The bright pillar of light, clearly visible even from the last defensive position.

Just as I heard a massive explosion, the sounds of battle suddenly ceased.

I came rushing here upon hearing that the monster had been defeated, waiting for confirmation of the news.

Seeing the actual scene, I felt a chill run through me.

The ground around a massive hole had been burned in a way beyond comprehension, as had the monster itself.

Everything was utterly beyond normal standards. And right beside it, a young mage was receiving medical treatment.

He's unconscious, but apparently he's only suffering from magic exhaustion—no immediate danger to his life.

The wounds he sustained were rapidly healing. Speaking of which, what was his nickname again...? The Flash Mage.

As he thought about that, he also remembered his own words.

"This might truly be... an entity of a higher order. A wizard..."

Eventually, he issued orders for confirming the remaining units and carrying out the final cleanup, then returned to the command post.