The battle between Rei's group and the Queen had already passed the three-hour mark.
Under normal circumstances, this would be the point where stamina and mental fortitude ran dry during combat—and it would come as no surprise if a fatal mistake resulted from that exhaustion.
Yet even in such a situation, Rei's group continued their seemingly endless battle with the Queen without committing any critical errors.
Of course, this was not without reason.
Rei's body had been created using the Zephyle Clan's technology to its fullest potential, and Set was a being brought into existence by Rei's vast magical power.
Vihera, though perhaps originally human, had since absorbed Unbris—an extremely powerful monster—and had become something beyond human.
It was precisely because they were this particular pair and their beast that Rei's group could sustain a fight for the tremendous span of three hours.
Granted, in actual warfare, battles lasting not just three hours but over half a day were hardly uncommon.
...What set this apart from those battles was that in war, when a unit grew fatigued, they could be rotated to the rear to rest.
But this fight was, in every sense, Rei's group battling the Queen nonstop.
A battle in such an extreme state that even the slightest misstep could result in catastrophic consequences.
That they could keep fighting under such conditions... was surely because of who they were.
"Still, it's about time you dropped dead! How much of your Regeneration Ability is left?!"
Shouting, Rei hurled the Twilight Spear once more—a weapon he had already thrown dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
Propelled by the physical abilities enhanced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, the spear tore a massive hole through the Queen's body, just as it had countless times before.
However... a wound that would normally be fatal, the Queen's Regeneration Ability instantly sealed shut.
"Ah."
As the Twilight Spear returned to his hand, Rei caught a glimpse of a single Flame Serpent visible inside the wound for just an instant before it closed, and the word slipped from his mouth.
From Rei's perspective, the fact that numerous Flame Serpents were still devouring and burning the Queen's body even after nearly three hours of combat was reassuring, despite them being a product of his own magic.
(That said, since they were created by magic, the Flame Serpents should vanish once they reach their limit. If possible, I'd like to finish off the Queen before that happens... but I wonder. The Regeneration Ability shows no sign of weakening. If there's a silver lining, it's that she's largely stopped using Breath and the like.)
That was surely proof that the continuous assault was wearing the Queen down.
Thinking so, Rei took the returned Twilight Spear in hand and once again took aim.
But in that instant... the Queen's movements suddenly stopped.
"...What?"
Startled by the Queen's abrupt action, Rei halted his throwing motion.
He wasn't the only one who had ceased attacking.
Vihera and Set, equally suspicious of the Queen's sudden stillness, had broken off their attacks as well.
"Vihera, Set, fall back to me."
Rei gave the order because something about the Queen's behavior unsettled him.
A different kind of unease from when she had simultaneously fired Breath from across her body—the kind used by white-scaled Dragonias.
That time, Rei had sensed the danger and deployed Magic Shield in time to counter the Breath.
But that had been sheer luck.
The multiple holes that had opened across the Queen's body—mouths that existed solely for firing Breath—had unleashed their attacks, instinctively timed to strike Rei in unison, perhaps to concentrate their force.
What stopped the concentrated Breath assault was Magic Shield, which could block any attack as long as it was only a single strike.
It had worked precisely because the simultaneous volley was treated as one attack, allowing the shield to hold.
This time, there was no telling whether such luck would carry them through. But regardless, Rei needed to prepare for whatever came next.
"Magic Shield!"
He swapped the Twilight Spear in his right hand with the Death Scythe in his left and activated the skill.
The Shield of Light materialized before him.
Though it could only be used once, this absolutely invincible shield could block any attack—provided it wasn't struck multiple times simultaneously.
"What do you think?"
Rei positioned the Shield of Light in front of himself and asked Vihera beside him.
Vihera, perhaps owing to the fatigue of moving constantly and attacking the Queen for three straight hours, was breathing slightly harder than usual. ...Then again, that only meant her exertion after three hours of all-out combat was enough to make her breathing ragged—nothing more.
Vihera considered Rei's words for a moment... then spoke, half in jest.
"Personally, I'd like to think she's already dead."
"Yeah. That would certainly make things easier for us."
If the accumulated effects of their attacks had pushed the Regeneration Ability to its limit and killed the Queen, it would be a tremendous relief.
But the motionless Queen before them, at least from what Rei could see, did not appear dead at all.
If anything, she looked as though she were gathering power for some kind of attack.
"Whatever she's planning, we have no choice but to respond. ...Vihera, Set, you're ready?"
"Leave it to me."
"Gruu!"
Vihera and Set each acknowledged Rei's words.
(Still, what kind of attack is she planning? Would it be better to strike right now and prevent her from acting at full readiness?)
He weighed what kind of attack to make.
First, closing to melee range was out of the question—he couldn't shake the sense of danger from that approach.
If that was the case, then the most effective option would be...
"This, huh."
He glanced at the Twilight Spear in his left hand and muttered after a brief pause.
"You're going for it?"
Vihera looked at Rei, and rather than asking what was wrong, asked if he was going through with it.
Precisely because she was Vihera, she could read what he was about to do just from his demeanor.
"Yeah. I don't know what the Queen is trying to do, but it's better than letting her execute it at full strength. And if she does launch some kind of attack, we have Magic Shield to fall back on, so defense isn't a concern."
In the anime, manga, games, and novels Rei had consumed back in Japan, he had always wondered why neither enemies nor allies were ever attacked while performing combinations, transformations, or transformations.
Of course, that was an established convention, different from reality.
Even so... the place Rei stood in right now was reality.
Given that, Rei could not bring himself to stand idly by and watch while the enemy gathered power for an attack.
"I see. Then hand me a spear too, would you? You still have some, right? Besides, Set has long-range attack skills. If we all strike at once, we should be able to deal significantly more damage."
"...Got it."
Rei nodded, temporarily planted the tip of the Twilight Spear into the ground, and withdrew a single spear from his Misty Ring.
It was a shabby, battered spear that couldn't even compare to the Twilight Spear.
These were spears Rei had been collecting for some time—disposables meant for throwing.
Spears that sat in weapon shops and smithies, broken and no longer fit for use.
If thrown with Rei's arm strength, any ordinary spear would shatter on a single throw.
Knowing this full well, Rei had gathered a large supply of expendable spears.
He had never heard of Vihera throwing a spear in combat.
But Vihera, when it came to martial talent, was first-rate—no, beyond even that.
Because of that, even if her throw couldn't match Rei's in raw power... there was a strong possibility she could still deliver a considerable strike.
"Thanks."
Perhaps because she herself had almost no experience with spear throwing, Vihera didn't voice a single complaint about the chipped spear Rei handed her.
With the tip chipped, air resistance could throw off her aim, but given the Queen's massive body, that was hardly a concern.
"Set, for long range... Wind Arrow and Ice Arrow are both at Level 4, right? Oh, but Water Ball is Level 5. ...Set, you decide which skill to use. Actually, since we're attacking a Queen who uses Earth Spirit Magic, Earth Arrow might be best avoided."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred, "Leave it to me!"
With everyone's preparations in place, Rei twisted his body to ready the Twilight Spear for a throw... and in sync with Rei, Vihera and Set each readied their own attacks.
"Grurururururu!"
Along with Set's cry, twenty ice arrows materialized around him.
Rather than Water Ball, which had reached Level 5 and gained power, Set chose Ice Arrow for this moment.
The arrows of ice trained their tips on the Queen's body.
"Let's go!"
With those words, Rei twisted his body and hurled the Twilight Spear at the Queen.
Vihera hurled the chipped spear as well, and Set launched all twenty Ice Arrows toward the Queen.
Each attack flew straight at the Queen... and in the next instant, the Twilight Spear tore a massive hole through her body, Vihera's thrown spear embedded itself halfway up the shaft into her flesh, and all twenty of Set's ice arrows pierced into her as well.
But... even after those attacks landed, the Queen remained silent.
This, despite the fact that until now she would have screamed loud enough to echo across the battlefield.
"...What's going on here?"
"What could be going on, I wonder."
Vihera muttered with an equally puzzled expression.
"Well, it's clear at least that she isn't dead."
Rei muttered as he recalled the Twilight Spear to his hand, watching the hole it had opened seal shut before his eyes.
If the Queen were dead... or if her Regeneration Ability had reached its limit, she shouldn't have been able to regenerate from that last attack.
But the Queen recovered from the damage inflicted by Rei's group as though it were nothing.
That meant she was still alive... and hoarding power for something.
(What do I do? I expected some kind of reaction, but I never imagined there'd be no response at all. What's the right move here?)
Bewildered by behavior clearly unlike any enemy he had fought before, Rei hesitated on what to do... and in the few seconds he spent deliberating, the situation changed dramatically.
The gigantic mass of flesh that constituted the Queen suddenly began to shake.
Not like before, where only the tips of the tentacles growing from that mass of flesh had been vibrating—the mass of flesh itself had begun to vibrate.
What exactly had happened, none of them could comprehend—not Rei watching the scene, nor Vihera, nor Set.
But judging from the current situation, there was no doubt the Queen had taken some kind of action.
The problem was that they had no idea what that action signified.
"For now, if the Queen's trying something, we respond in kind!"
Shouting, Rei hurled the Twilight Spear once more.
The spear flew straight and, just as before, should have torn a massive hole through the Queen's body.
But the instant the Twilight Spear struck her flesh, it let out a high-pitched metallic screech—"Gyaririririn"—and was deflected.
The Twilight Spear throw... and moreover, a throw powered by the enhanced physical abilities of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, had been deflected.
That sight was astonishing even to Rei, and the words "Seriously?" slipped unbidden from his mouth.
Even so, he snapped back to his senses immediately and managed to recall the Twilight Spear to his hand before it hit the ground—a very Rei-like reaction.
"Well now... she's gone and done something troublesome."
Her entire massive body vibrating had granted her enough defensive power to deflect even a Twilight Spear strike.
Facing the Queen in such a state, Rei shifted his gaze from the Twilight Spear to the Death Scythe.
Even if the Twilight Spear couldn't pierce through, perhaps the Death Scythe, channeled with magical power, could tear through the Queen's body.
That was what he thought—but at the same time, considering the Flame Serpents that should still be rampaging inside the Queen's body, perhaps simply waiting would be enough to bring her down.
Yes—he found himself wavering.