NOVEL WEB Chapter 20
The way the White attacks is similar to a scorpion.
Swinging its transformed forelimbs and stabbing with legs that have turned into a spear, resembling a scorpion’s tail.
“Cyaaaaa-!”
Of course, a real scorpion wouldn’t whip its pincers around like a whip or spew melting venom upon contact.
…But maybe scorpions in this world are different?
Anyway, since it mostly fights up close, the way to handle it was incredibly simple.
“If it doesn’t hit, then it’s fine!”
That’s right. Just keep your eyes open and dodge.
Hooosh!
The forelimbs came flying with a fierce whooshing sound. I crouched low and dashed forward, dodging it overhead.
The misshapen claws left deep gashes in the dungeon wall, and shattered bricks flew like a fountain.
“Kyak!”
Here came the tail attack. The sharp, hardened tip of the White’s leg aimed at my head. I swung my sword overhead and took the tail hit.
Clang!
That annoying grinding sound as steel and shell scraped against each other, creating sparks. A heavy shock resonated through my shoulder.
“Haaah!”
I spun halfway around, adding rotation to the sword’s tip. Its tail glided along the blade and crashed into the dungeon floor.
After tossing away the tail, I immediately pulled my sword and stabbed it toward the exposed side of the White.
Sploooosh!
It felt like stabbing a tomato, and the light imbued in the blade exploded through the White’s flesh.
A fist-sized hole gaped in its side. Rotten blood gushed out, drenching my armor.
“Gyaaaak!”
Its howl of hatred reverberated down the corridor.
“Ugh…!”
The sound made my ears ring, and I grimaced, biting my lip.
Truly a sight to behold, a sight indeed.
It was so loud that even my helmet was ringing.
“Krieaaac!”
The enraged White launched a more intense assault.
Like a tantruming child, it flailed its arms wildly, slashing everything in sight, while its tail came raining down like a madman.
The ground, walls, and ceiling broke apart, sending debris whirling like shrapnel.
“This much is nothing…!”
I kept dodging its tail while stepping swiftly, blocking the rapid swipes of its forelimbs with my sword swinging side to side.
“Haaah!”
When a gap appeared, I thrust my sword lightning-quick, puncturing its torso.
It wasn’t an easy fight.
In a matchup of similar levels, sheer size often wins. I still hadn’t escaped that truth myself.
“Ugh…!”
With each hit from its forelimb, my whole body was pushed back.
I was trying to throw off the shock, but even the leftover force was enough to make my waist feel like it would snap.
“Tsk. This ain’t easy….”
A sigh escaped my lips.
Its forelimbs, like a flail with the power of a mace, and its tail could pierce from the crown of my head to my abdomen in a heartbeat.
Not to mention the occasional spray of venom.
…Now I understood why lower-tier adventurers hesitate to hunt alone.
Thank goodness for Bolton’s buffs, or I’d be bleeding all over while struggling to survive.
Crash!
“My shield!!”
“Why are you blocking?! Dodge it!”
“Fast! Dodging is hard!”
Like party members struggling against a single White many meters away, they were in just as rough a fight as I was.
Kikel had tossed aside his shattered shield, rolling on the ground while swinging his claws and axe, and Amy was behind him, casting the spell “Invisible Hammer” to smack the beast repeatedly.
“Kaaak!”
“Poison incoming! Help!”
“Elianel, grant us your light!”
Bolton was focusing on defending against the venom with a holy barrier, seemingly out of ‘Punishing Arrow’ spells.
Zzzz…!
The venom hitting the blinding barrier turned to black smoke, a truly impressive sight.
While I was rolling on the ground, covered in dust to avoid that, they were blocking it effortlessly.
Boom!
Of course, what could be blocked was only the venom.
When the White’s foreleg hit the light barrier, the whole thing shook violently with a crack.
“Kyaaa! Is this still safe?!”
Amy, inside it, shouted in shock.
“No problem! No bug like that could break a holy barrier blessed by Elianel….”
Bolton reassured her, but—
“Kriaaaaac!”
Crash!
As the White roared and slammed its tail down, the holy barrier shattered with the noise of breaking glass, scattering fragments of light everywhere.
“It broke!!”
“Oh no, it seems my skills weren’t sufficient!”
Amy and Bolton shouted, hurriedly backing away.
“Kriririeec…!”
The White, having shattered the holy barrier, let out what could only be described as a laugh while reaching out with its forelimbs to slice them to pieces.
However,
“Look at me-!”
Kikel jumped up and rushed in with a booming shout, smashing his axe into its tail.
Sploooosh!
Flesh and bone fragments sprayed like a fountain. The enraged White twisted its body, and with a roar, it swiped Kikel with its right arm.
“Kahh…!”
Kikel, groaning like a deflated balloon, bent down.
Thanks to his heavy build, he wasn’t sent flying but pushed back; the impact was significant enough to contort his expression in pain.
“Kikel! Are you okay?!”
Bolton urgently tried to cast a healing miracle.
But Kikel shook his head as if there was no problem, shouting at them.
“Now’s the time!”
He had a leg of the White pinned down, so he urged them to throw some hits.
“Alright, keep holding on! Ignis Sagitta!”
“This is our chance! Haaah!”
Amy grinned and shot blazing arrows, incinerating the White’s tail, and Bolton thrust his spear, piercing the head of what resembled a snail.
“Kyaaak! Keigaak!”
The White shrieked like a dialect and went into spasms like a sick patient.
With Kikel’s axe had already half severed its tail, it melted away in the flames, dropping with a thud.
The Green goo that spewed from the snail’s head flowed down like tears.
“Kakak! Hot! Good!”
Kikel laughed gleefully, driving his spear into the White’s forearm, using it as leverage to rip the arm off entirely.
With a squish, that grasshopper-like forelimb came out, spraying rotten blood everywhere.
In a flicker, the White lost an arm and a tail, wailing like a starving child, thrashing about.
…At this rate, we might actually catch it.
Indeed, facing one foe as three meant we could never lose.
◆◆
After nearly ten minutes of fighting.
Boom…!
“Kakak! Got it, dead!”
“Finally!”
“We won…!”
We finally achieved victory.
The three of us… no, two of us and the Lizardman brought down the White after a fierce battle, joining up with me without a moment to rest.
What followed was a nightmarish scene of collective beating that couldn’t be described in words.
The White, now full of holes from my sword, quickly couldn’t withstand the added violence from the other three and collapsed, losing its breath.
“Haa… Haa….”
After confirming its death, I plopped down on the ground, struggling to catch my breath.
It had been a tough fight.
My arms throbbed so badly they felt too hot, and my lungs felt like they were on fire.
‘Water, I need to drink some water….’
I rummaged through my waist and pulled out my water pouch, tearing off the helmet’s mouthpiece and gulping down.
Gulp. Gulp.
The lukewarm water tasted like it had been heated by my body’s temperature, but right then, it felt as refreshing and sweet as ice-cold water.
I kept drinking for a while, downing the pouch until it was empty.
“Ahh… I feel like I can breathe a bit now.”
“You seem quite thirsty? Want some of mine?”
Amy offered her own water pouch.
“Ah, thanks.”
I had no reason to refuse.
I accepted her water pouch and gulped it down again.
Like a true mage, did she carry around magic items? The water she gave me was surprisingly cold, even after a fierce battle.
It actually felt that way, not just the perception.
A pouch that allowed you to drink cold drinks anytime, anywhere. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would consider getting one for myself.
“Here, drink well.”
“You’re welcome.”
After downing about a quarter of the chilled water, I returned the pouch to Amy.
I wanted to empty it completely, but I held back because it wouldn’t be polite to drink over half of someone else’s supply.
“Are you alright, Hilde? If you’re hurt, please let me know. We still have some healing miracles left.”
Bolton, who had been healing Kikel’s wounds, approached me to check on my state.
“Does it heal muscle pain too?”
The muscle aches were so severe I felt like my arms were about to fall off.
“Well… yes. Muscle pain comes from torn muscle fibers, after all.”
That’s a relief.
“Then can you heal my arms… and this side here, see this gash on my side? Please heal these spots.”
I pointed to the wound on my side. Inside my quilted armor, my white flesh was long torn, flowing bright red blood.
It was a scratch from the White’s claws.
In my exhaustion, I hadn’t dodged it properly. If I had been any more tired, my side would have been completely split open.
“Ah, yes. I’ll heal you right away.”
Bolton murmured a quiet prayer and placed his left hand near my side.
As the light flowed from his hand into my wound, the pain began to subside rapidly.
Next, Bolton infused healing power into my outstretched arms as well, just like my side.
“All set. It’ll take about half an hour for the gash on your side to fully heal, but your arms should be fine in ten minutes. Massaging them a bit may speed it up.”
“Thanks.”
Half an hour? Given it was a low-level healing spell, the recovery felt annoyingly slow.
I nodded in gratitude and, following his advice, began to massage my arms while taking a break.
The party members huddled together as well, catching their breath.
“My shield… it’s dead….”
“Just buy a new one with your mission reward? With that money, you could buy shields for both hands and feet.”
Kikel sulked, stroking the remains of his shattered shield, while Amy consoled him, saying a shield is nothing if you can just buy a new one.
…Is that really consolation? Anyway.
“Elianel, this glory is yours… grant us your blessing… and unyielding courage….”
Bolton had knelt in a corner, muttering his prayers, placing the dismembered bits of the White before him.
…A priest gathering rotten bits of a corpse to pray. It was a sight that couldn’t possibly be normal.
He seemed to think he was expressing gratitude for this victory due to the goddess’s grace, trying to show reverence…
Reverence? What a load of nonsense. With the overwhelming visuals of the White’s remains, it didn’t feel like a sanctified moment; it felt more like some sort of cult exhibition of trophies.