We continued to cull the magic beasts without issue, but just as the end finally came into sight, several lines of light suddenly streaked across the ground.
"What is this!?"
"—! Loretta! I'm jumping us into the air! Stay still!"
Instantly recognizing the light as a massive magic circle, I called out to Loretta and exercised my ability. By reversing the gravity pinning us to the earth, we left the ground behind, "falling" upward into the sky.
"Oh... I’ve never experienced the sensation of falling into the clouds before. So this is your ability, Gravity Manipulation?"
Once I brought us to a halt about a dozen meters up, Loretta spoke with a voice that sounded strangely amused.
"Yes. Sorry for the sudden move."
"No, there’s no need to apologize. Your judgment was spot on, Orun."
Loretta affirmed my actions while gazing down at the ground. Beneath our feet, the magic beasts were being swallowed by the earth, vanishing into the glowing magic circle. Had we remained on the ground, we likely would have been consumed along with them.
"I don't know what that thing is yet, but for now, I'll use Space Leap to get us back to Lucy."
"Understood. Lead the way."
At Loretta’s reply, I poured mana into the spell formula I had been constructing and activated Space Leap.
"Loretta! Orun! Thank goodness you’re safe!"
When we reappeared near Lucy, she cried out in relief. The Jade Gale members from the second defense line had already regrouped, confirming that everyone was accounted for.
Half of the magic beast horde had been cut down by us, and the other half had been swallowed by the mysterious magic circle. For all intents and purposes, the stampede was over. However, given the high probability that the Cult was behind this, they had likely determined that the initial horde wouldn't be enough to kill the princess and had moved on to their next gambit.
I couldn't afford the optimism that this was the end.
"Yeah, thanks to Orun. But what exactly is that magic circle? Any ideas?"
Loretta turned to me after reassuring Lucy.
"No, I've never seen a formula quite like it. But I can guarantee it's nothing good."
As we spoke, a change occurred within the glowing patterns on the ground. A skeletal human arm, bleached white, reached out from the circle toward the sky.
"What... is that...?" Lucy whispered, her voice trembling.
Her fear was justified. The skeletal limb was freakishly large. Stretching straight toward the heavens, the arm looked to be at least ten meters long. It opened its massive hand and slammed its palm into the earth. The impact shuddered through the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Then, the arm braced itself, as if pushing off the ground to haul something up.
"Everyone, maximum alert! Lucy's safety is the top priority!" Loretta shouted.
At that moment, a massive skull emerged from near the base of the arm. Slowly, the creature crawled out of the magic circle.
It was a Giant Skeleton, nearly twenty meters tall.
"You've got to be kidding me..." one of the Jade Gale members muttered.
Even with the distance between us, the sheer scale of the skeletal titan standing on its two legs radiated a crushing sense of dread. A massive magic stone floated in its left eye socket, glowing with an eerie light. It raised a colossal sword—easily a dozen meters long—and swung it down toward the ground.
Jade Gale immediately reacted, activating their magic tools to deploy a mana barrier around the group.
It’s fine. We’re far enough away that we won't take a direct hit from the blade. The shockwave will be intense, but this barrier is strong enough to hold.
I racked my brain for our next move—until a sudden image flashed across my mind.
It was a vision: the skeleton slamming its sword into the earth, sending a shockwave that triggered countless bone-like spikes to erupt from the ground over a massive area. Our current position was right in the center of the kill zone. Lucy, having no combat experience, failed to react. Loretta threw herself in front of the princess to shield her, but the momentum of the skeletal spikes was too great. The bone spears impaled Loretta, continuing through her body to pierce Lucy behind her.
"—! Restoration: Septuple!"
The moment I saw that scene, I closed the distance to the skeleton before I could even process the thought. I didn't know why the vision had appeared, or if it was even a guaranteed future. But my intuition was screaming at me. It told me that what I had just seen was exactly what was about to happen.
I blurred across the distance in an instant, kicking off the ground to meet the descending blade.
"Third Form: Mont Drei!"
I merged my twin swords into one, flooding the weapon with mana until it transformed into a massive greatsword.
"—!!"
I swung the greatsword in a horizontal arc, slamming it into the side of the skeleton's vertical strike. At the moment of impact, I triggered Impact, forcibly diverting the trajectory of the colossal blade.
The skeleton’s sword struck the earth, and just as my vision had foretold, a forest of sharp skeletal spikes erupted from the ground. However, because I had knocked the strike off-course, the area where Lucy and the others stood remained untouched.
Having confirmed their safety, I immediately created a mana foothold in mid-air. I kicked off it, soaring higher to reach the magic stone in the skeleton's eye.
"Fourth Form: Mont Vier!"
I shifted the magic sword into a spear and lunged at the stone the moment I was in range. However, the tip was deflected by a localized barrier. An instant later, a shockwave detonated from the magic stone, blowing me backward.
I stabilized myself in the air, only to see the skeleton swinging its sword back toward me.
"Kh! —Reflective Wall!"
I used Gravity Manipulation to slow the sword’s momentum while throwing up a translucent gray wall to halt the blade's progress. Using the precious seconds I had bought, I used Space Leap to return to Lucy’s side.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
"Orun! Are you okay!?"
As I caught my breath and shifted my weapon back into a longsword, Lucy rushed over to me. Her hood fell back in her haste, revealing her face. Her crimson eyes were wide with genuine worry.
I thought so yesterday, but seeing her this close makes it undeniable. She looks just like Shion.
"Um... Orun...? You’re... staring quite a bit. It’s embarrassing."
Lucy bashfully averted her eyes, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"S-Sorry!"
"Orun, I get that Lucy is a vision of beauty, but maybe we could focus on the giant monster first?" Loretta cut in with a teasing tone. Even so, I could tell she was forcing the levity to keep her own nerves in check.
I shifted my focus back to the enemy. "Right. I’ve already decided on the plan."
The skeleton began a slow, lumbering walk toward us. Even "slow" was relative; given its twenty-meter stride, it would be on top of us in seconds.
"Impressive. Mind sharing that plan?" Loretta asked.
I nodded. "I’ll handle this thing alone. The rest of Jade Gale needs to take Lucy and head for Tsutrail immediately."
"Alone? That’s suicide! We’ll fight with you!"
"Don't lose sight of the priorities," I countered. "Your role is to get Lucy to Tsutrail safely. This isn't like the horde from before. This thing is on par with a deep floor boss. Get to the city and tell Selma."
"...Tell Selma?"
"Yes. The Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky will take it down. I can buy enough time on my own."
Loretta hesitated, then nodded. "Understood. Looking at that exchange just now, it's clear we’d only get in your way. We'll get Selma and the others. Just hold on until then!"
"Got it. Just make it quick."
Jade Gale accepted the command, immediately mounting their horses.
"Orun, I'm so sorry," Lucy said. "Getting you dragged into this, and then forcing this role on you..."
"Don't worry about it. But if you really feel bad, then make sure you reach Tsutrail alive. Losing you is the one thing the kingdom can't afford right now."
"............You're right. I understand. I'll be waiting for you in Tsutrail, Orun."
"I'll try not to keep you waiting too long."
With that, Lucy and Jade Gale spurred their horses into a gallop toward the horizon.
"Now then. Time for some skeleton smashing. —Culmination!"
Once I was sure Jade Gale was at a safe distance, I cast off my limiters. I had sent them to get Selma as insurance, but I knew it would be best to finish this quickly to minimize the collateral damage.
I had told them the skeleton was as strong as a deep floor boss to convince them to leave, but in truth, it was a tier below the Black Dragon or the Great Snake. I was significantly stronger now than I had been during last year's guided exploration. If I could take down the Black Dragon solo, I should be able to subjugate this skeleton while leaving some strength in reserve.
And if things got hairy, I could always fall back on waiting for Selma.
Plan A: Destroy the target.
I closed the distance, cutting off the skeleton as it tried to pivot toward Lucy’s path.
"Eyes on me!"
I circled to its rear-left and unleashed Heavenly Flash against the side of its skull. I was fairly certain the magic stone in its eye was the core. I’d hoped to shatter the stone through the skull, but it wasn't going to be that simple.
The Heavenly Flash, even reinforced with Impact, only succeeded in webbing the bone with cracks. An attack that could have vaporized a dragon's wing only left a few cracks? It was safe to assume the skull was reinforced beyond the rest of its body.
Regardless, I had succeeded in drawing its hate.
The skeleton turned its empty sockets toward me, and the magic stone pulsed. A chaotic barrage of mana beams erupted from the stone, lashing out at me.
"Fifth Form: Mont Fünf!"
As the light-speed beams closed in, I shifted my blade into a magic shield, projecting a black mana barrier to intercept them. Once the barrage ceased, I dropped the shield—only to see the massive sword descending toward my head.
"Tch!"
I abandoned the idea of a counterattack and hoisted the shield, bracing for the impact.
With this much mass... even with my physical abilities pushed to the limit and imbuing the shield with Impact, I'm not coming out of this unscathed!
I set Impact to activation standby, gritting my teeth as the colossal blade neared my shield.
—But before the sword could strike, a flash of light severed the skeleton's arm.
The slash was surgical, slicing through the elbow joint with ease. The forearm and the massive sword plummeted to the earth.
"!?"
I looked toward the source of the attack. Standing there was a figure clad head-to-toe in heavy armor. I dodged the falling debris, shifted my shield back into a longsword, and landed near the armored newcomer.
"...I have a long list of questions for you, but seeing as you're here, can I assume you're helping me take this thing down?"
"............"
The armored explorer didn't say a word, but he gave a sharp nod.
"Reassuring. It’s been about a year since we fought side-by-side, hasn't it?"
"...!"
The armored explorer’s breath hitched. Did he really think I hadn't seen through the disguise?
"Glad to have you back, —Oliver!"