NOVEL WEB Chapter 421: An Unexpected Development
Alice would normally tie her hair into twintails using panties to make it convenient for whenever she needed to grab a pair. Although it was an abnormal behavior, it saved her from the embarrassment of having to strip in the middle of a fight.
However, as luck would have it, she didn't have her hair tied today. Or, more specifically, she would normally let her hair down at home. Meanwhile, she was at home when she discovered Luna unconscious, so in her hurry to help Luna, she rushed out of the house without tying her hair.
Because of this situation, if Alice wanted to secure a pair of panties right now, she would either have to use the pair she was wearing under her skirt or grab one from her waist-side pouch.
The problem was that both methods required some time to accomplish.
In the former's case, it went without saying she would need time to take off the panties she currently wore.
As for the latter's case, Alice was ashamed to admit that she had stuffed too many things into it recently, such as the Hero's Sword's weapon box and the several tools made using the Demon King's Power's essence. The addition of these items filled her pouch to the brim and pushed her arsenal of panties to the bottom. So, if she wanted to reach the panties, she would have to struggle with the other items for some time.
After realizing this problem, Alice felt she should probably get a specialized spatial storage for her panties. For example, she could get a spatial ring to store them. That way, whenever she needed the assistance of a pair of panties, she could immediately summon one with just a thought.
At the same time, Alice also realized that she was getting a little too complacent recently. After gaining sufficient strength to contend against individuals such as Gunst, she started to think that she no longer needed panties to resolve her fights like before. Ultimately, her arrogance had gotten the best of her, and she was taught a harsh lesson by Fugallo. It turned out that she wasn't the only one capable of increasing her strength through external means. Some Demon Kings could similarly accomplish such a feat.
"Tempest!"
Fugallo shouted in a hoarse voice. Accompanying his shout, powerful wind blades spread out from him in all directions, overturning the surrounding land and reducing many trees into tiny wood chips.
In response, Alice and Andusia promptly used their mana to protect themselves and jumped away from Fugallo. Although they still got struck and injured by some wind blades, their injuries were shallow and wouldn't hinder their movements. Then, after enduring Fugallo's attack, Alice and Andusia gathered their mana to launch another attack.
…
In the blink of an eye, several minutes had already gone by since Alice sealed parts of Fugallo's mana with her Forest Crystal. During these several minutes, Alice, Andusia, and Fugallo traded many blows with one another, bombarding the forest with numerous taboos.
The forest next to Haydn's mansion was originally a lush forest situated outside of Icarus City. Although it was much smaller compared to the Gryffin Forest, which served as a natural barrier separating the Gryffin Kingdom and the Ymir Kingdom, it was still a large forest compared to other forests in the human realm. However, because of the trio's fight, more than half of the forest had been reduced into a ruined land riddled with smoking craters.
If the treants were here to see this devastation, some of the older treants would probably faint on the spot.
Fortunately, repairing damaged forests was a relatively easy task for the people of this world due to the existence of wood magic. The elves also had plenty of spells that could be used to expedite the growth of plants. Although growing an entire forest from nothing still required time, it wouldn't take more than a few months to create a lush forest, which was why there were hardly any barren lands in the human realm. When it came to maintaining forests, the inhabitants of this otherworld were leagues ahead of Earth's inhabitants.
This was also why Alice and Andusia didn't bother to care for the surrounding trees when fighting Fugallo. Both of them fought with all of their strength throughout the fight.
However, despite their efforts, Fugallo was simply too strong. Even though Fugallo currently had half of his mana sealed, he still managed to fight Alice and Andusia to a standstill, with both sides having exhausted their mana and taken heavy damage.
At this time, Fugallo no longer had any control over his left arm, the limb crippled after taking a direct hit from Andusia's Sunburst. There was also a terrible wound in his stomach, a gift from Alice's Hero's Sword. Furthermore, he could no longer see through his right eye after Alice had clawed through it while using Wind Hunter, a taboo of the catkins.
Alice and Andusia weren't in any better shape, either. Alice's chest was originally flat as a board already. However, after receiving a bludgeoning attack from Fugallo's Weaponized Body, her sternum and ribs shattered, and her chest caved in. She also had the nerves of her left shoulder severed by a wind blade, which, in turn, prevented her from moving her entire left arm. Because her panty pouch was placed on the left side of her waist, she would have even greater difficulty retrieving any panties from the pouch now.
As for Andusia, although she looked the best out of the three, numerous cracks were already covering the surface of her body. In her current state, her Living Wood body would probably shatter after taking a few more direct hits. Fortunately, the clothes she wore covered all of these cracks, so Fugallo still hadn't realized her body was made of wood even until now. Otherwise, he would have promptly used a wood-type taboo against her, just like Alice did against her previously.
"We can't continue like this, Alice," Andusia said. She was brimming with confidence a few minutes ago, but after several exchanges, hardly any of that confidence remained. Instead, replacing it was frustration and helplessness. "We might be in a stalemate right now, but this guy… If he buys enough time for himself, another Demon King's Shadow might appear."
This was the part that Alice and Andusia were most concerned about. If their fight with Fugallo dragged on for too long, Fugallo might gain a new Demon King's Shadow to possess. Should Fugallo become any stronger than he currently was, the only thing Alice and Andusia could do at that time would be to die.
After staying silent for a moment, Alice eventually sighed and resolutely said, "Fine. I guess I'll have to use this move…"
"Oh? Did you come up with a new plan? Out with it, then. What do you need me to do?"
Andusia was a little surprised by Alice's words. She didn't think Alice would still have a solution to their already abysmal situation. So, she promptly turned to ask Alice about what she needed to do. However, as soon as she did so, she saw Alice slowly crouching down before using her right hand to lift her white skirt.