"Rei, don't get careless. I doubt a monster of this magnitude is going to die just because it has a spear through its eye and throat."
Clutching his Death Scythe, Rei was cautiously narrowing the gap between himself and the Lemures when Egret approached. The warrior, who had been the one to drive a spear into the creature's right eye, called out as he drew near.
Hendeka, who was providing covering fire with his arrows while the Lemures thrashed on the ground, shouted over his shoulder toward Rei.
"Rei-san! Wouldn't magic be more effective than attacking with that great scythe?"
The archer aimed for the beast's head, but the Lemures was rolling in agony from the spears embedded in its eye and throat. His arrows struck the torso instead, only to have their tips diverted by the slick purple corrosive liquid. By the time the shafts hit the ground, the arrowheads were already rotting away beyond recognition.
Rei watched the arrows dissolve while pondering how to land a decisive blow with the Death Scythe. He shook his head at Hendeka’s suggestion.
"If that corrosive liquid covering its skin evaporates, the secondary damage will be catastrophic. That’s why... tsk!"
Rei moved to decapitate the Lemures in a single stroke, but the creature seemed to sense its impending doom even through its thrashing. It swung its neck violently, the sheer momentum checking Rei’s advance.
Under normal circumstances, Rei could have slipped past the strike and delivered a fatal blow. However, as he tried to plant his foot for the dash, a sharp pain flared in his side, slowing his reaction.
(Tsk. They aren't broken, but this pain is a real nuisance.)
He clicked his tongue inwardly. Closing the distance on foot was going to be difficult.
(Fine. If I can't do it myself, I'll just use another way!)
Ignoring the pain, Rei watched the Lemures, which remained fixated on him despite its injuries. He shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Egret, Miroir, Hendeka! Distract it! I’m going to land the finishing blow!"
Simultaneously, he pulled another spear from the Misty Ring and hurled it at the Lemures's face as a feint.
It was a frustrating standoff. The creature’s torso was the largest and easiest target, but because it was coated in corrosive liquid, the adventurers couldn't touch it. This worked entirely in the Lemures's favor.
Still, the monster couldn't ignore the man who had already pierced its throat. Shedding tears of blood from its ruined right eye, the Lemures swung its head, snapping its jaws to parry the thrown spear with its bared fangs.
"Seto!"
"Guruuu!"
Seto responded instantly to Rei’s command, diving from the sky. The moment the gryphon swept past him, Rei leaped onto its back.
"Guh!"
The maneuver was reckless, and the impact sent a throb of pain through his side, forcing a grimace.
The Lemures had no intention of being considerate. It shook its neck to bat away the arrows and stones peppering it, then lunged at the pair it deemed the greatest threat.
"Flying Slash!"
Rei swung the Death Scythe as the Lemures opened its massive maw to crush them. The shockwave of the flying slash struck the base of the creature's jaw, leaving only a shallow gash.
(Dammit. Even without the corrosive liquid, a Flying Slash is barely a scratch to this thing.)
Rei clicked his tongue, but his annoyance was quickly replaced by shock.
"What!?"
"Guru? ...Guruuu!"
Seto looked down at the ground, its cry mirroring Rei's bewilderment.
The Lemures, boasting a body length exceeding thirty meters, appeared to be shrinking. To be more precise, the color of its skin was shifting at the edges, dissolving into the surrounding scenery.
After a moment of surprise, Rei's mind cooled.
(I see. So the reason no one ever saw the Lemures wasn't just because it stayed on the seafloor. I don't know if it's conscious or instinctual, but if it can blend into the environment like that, it's no wonder it was never spotted underwater. ...But that trick only works because of the water. On land, it's almost useless.)
Rei circled high above, turning back toward the beast.
Down on the ground, Egret was already barking at the stunned Hendeka to resume the attack.
"Blending in doesn't mean it's invisible! If you hit it, it still hurts! The real problem is that we can't see the corrosive liquid anymore!"
The purple corrosive liquid seeping from the Lemures's skin—the substance that could ruin a blade's edge in seconds—had changed color along with the monster’s scales.
"The only relief is that it can't use its Water Breath... probably. Whoa!"
As if to compensate for its lost breath weapon, the coiled Lemures suddenly snapped forward like a giant spring. Its massive body, far larger than Seto's, launched into the air with its fangs bared.
It was a surreal sight that defied logic, forcing the observers to question their own eyes.
Seto, however, lived up to its reputation. Flapping its wings with all its might, the gryphon put distance between itself and the monster, narrowly escaping the jaws of death a split second before they snapped shut.
As the Lemures began to fall back toward the earth, Rei pulled another spear from the Misty Ring and hurled it. His aim was slightly off due to his unstable footing on Seto's back, but the weapon still managed to lodge itself in the creature's head.
"Shaaaaa!"
The Lemures shrieked, perhaps from the pain of the shallow hit or the frustration of missing its prey. Rei watched from above, sighing in relief as the monster coiled itself again.
"Tsk. Between the camouflage and the scale, it's hard to judge the distance. And why is a Sea Serpent acting so comfortable on land anyway?"
"Guruuu!"
Seto rumbled a reminder to save the complaints for later. Rei nodded and focused on his next move.
(If external attacks are no good, I have to go for the inside. 'Dancing Flame Serpent' would definitely work. The torso is a no-go because of the corrosion... wait. If I channel magic power into the Death Scythe, can I ignore the liquid?)
The idea excited him for a moment, but he shook his head.
(No, it's a possibility, but I can't risk the scythe being damaged. And cutting through a torso that thick would require a massive amount of magic power. My best bet is hitting the head with 'Dancing Flame Serpent.' But that body is just too big... No, hold on. I only planned for the 'Dancing Flame Serpent' because I thought fire magic would be weak underwater. This thing is on land now. I don't need to overcomplicate it. The head... I just need to get to the head. If an enemy is too big, you attack from the inside. And I have just the thing.)
The Lemures lay coiled, waiting for an opening. Seto flew through the sky, eyes locked on the prey. It was a standoff between two apex predators, but while the Lemures had to focus entirely on Seto, Rei was free to think.
Rei wasn't alone. Egret, Miroir, and Hendeka were still on the ground, and the Icebird Shen was in the air. The three people and one beast continued to harass the coiled monster. They couldn't land a killing blow, but they were perfectly capable of ruining the Lemures's concentration.
The monster found the constant stinging attacks to be a nuisance, yet it couldn't turn away from the deadly pair hovering before it.
After a few minutes of this, Rei reached out and stroked Seto’s neck.
"Seto, I have an idea. If it works, we can end this. But it’s risky. ...Do you trust me?"
"Guruuu!"
Seto rumbled without a moment's hesitation. Of course it did.
Rei smiled and outlined the plan.
"It’s simple. I’m going to shove a barrel full of that scrap iron and blade fragments from the battle with the Bestia Imperial Army into its mouth, then blast it with flame magic. We’ll shred its head from the inside."
"Guru?"
Seto gave a worried chirp, concerned for Rei’s safety, but Rei patted its neck reassuringly.
"Just as you trust me, I trust you. Seto, dive in. Get as close as you can. Then get us out before those teeth close. Think you can do it?"
"Guruuu!"
Seto gave a high-pitched cry of affirmation. A moment later, it tucked its wings and charged straight at the coiled Sea Serpent.
The Lemures didn't just sit there. It watched the gryphon’s approach, timing its counter-jump... but just as it prepared to leap—
"Kikikikikiki!"
Shen approached from the opposite direction, conjuring nearly thirty ice arrows and unleashing them in a volley. Most slid harmlessly off the monster's slime-coated back, but several struck the back of its head. It wasn't enough to kill, but it was enough to shatter the beast's focus.
"Sha—Shaaaaa!"
In that split second of hesitation, the Lemures lunged upward to catch the incoming Seto, opening its mouth wide to swallow them whole.
"Eat this!"
Rei roared as he hoisted a barrel from the Misty Ring. Using his own strength combined with Seto’s momentum, he shoved the heavy container deep into the Lemures's throat.
"Sha!?"
Confused by the object suddenly lodged in its gullet, the Lemures let out a muffled cry. It didn't have time for a second one.
"Flame, burn my enemies according to my will."
Switching the Death Scythe to his right hand, Rei chanted the short incantation. He didn't need a high-level spell with a long chant; he needed speed and raw force.
(I'll force the power through with pure magic power!)
The efficiency of a short chant was usually low, but Rei compensated by pouring an astronomical amount of magic power into the construct. A fireball approximately 30cm in diameter manifested at the tip of the Death Scythe's blade.
"Fireball!"
The compressed sphere of fire followed the trajectory of Rei’s swing, flying straight into the open maw behind the barrel.
"Seto!"
"Guruuu!"
Responding to Rei’s command, Seto beat its wings and banked hard, pulling away from the monster’s face. The Lemures watched them go for a fraction of a second—
BOOM!
The barrel inside its throat detonated.
The monster's head was shredded by a thousand metal fragments and instantly incinerated by the superheated blast. The force was so great that it didn't just stay inside the mouth; the skull literally disintegrated, spraying the battlefield with a gruesome rain of meat, bone, blood, and scorched brain matter.
When the greedy adventurers from the City of Emocion finally crested the hill, they were met with a sight they hadn't expected: a thirty-meter-long corpse cooling on the grass, and beside it, four people and two beasts sitting on the ground, quietly catching their breath in the aftermath of the slaughter.