The Great Turtle’s aggro was fixed entirely on us. As long as we held its attention, Alto could safely chip away at its health while firing from cover.
"Leave the backline support to meee!" Alto shouted.
Whump, whump! She fired rocks one after another, the recoil pushing her backward. Every single shot landed squarely on the Great Turtle—she really was in a league of her own.
"Well then... Lord Spirit, Tria will do her best!"
"Alright, let's do this!"
The Great Turtle extended its neck and glared at us, its eyes burning with pure rage. If looks could kill, I’d probably be a corpse by now... wait, my HP bar was actually draining?! Was it literally glaring me to death? Light Heal!
"I had Penpen prepare some HP recovery potions, but don't push yourself too hard!" I warned.
"Understood, Lord Spirit... Haaaaah!"
Tria closed the gap with a Short Dash. Her combat ability was on a completely different level compared to when we first fought this thing. She threw an upward punch aimed right at its jaw—25! Sparks from the Enchant Thunder effect crackled and flew, and she immediately followed up with a kick to the base of its neck. A heavy thud echoed out. The turtle didn't even flinch, but a damage indicator of 47 popped up.
Its defense was significantly higher than the Young Turtles, but we were definitely dealing damage.
"Good, it's working! But stay sharp, watch its counterattacks!"
"Ngh... Hah! Right!"
"Bumoaaaaa! Aaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaaaa!"
The Great Turtle let out a deafening roar that made me want to cover my ears while it swung its neck around. The massive limb was like a battering ram being used as a whip; if that connected, it wouldn't just be a scratch.
Suddenly, a rock slammed into it with a loud crack, momentarily halting its movement.
"Yeah! 10 damage! I hit double digits, y'know!"
"Nice, Alto! You're a lifesaver!"
Tria seized the opening to deliver a knee strike meant to crush its throat. I timed a Thunder spell to hit simultaneously! Total damage: 40... That was it? Maybe its throat wasn't a weak point, or perhaps it had high magic resistance. Even with the Thunder Kick, the electrical effect seemed to just slide off its skin rather than penetrating.
With a violent shudder, the Great Turtle shook Tria off. Then, it lunged forward, jaws snapping.
"Let's try this on for size!"
I plucked a bomb Penpen had crafted from my Inventory and tossed it right into its maw. The turtle’s tongue flicked as if trying to spit it out, but Alto jammed another rock in right behind it. Boom! 70 damage! Combined with the rock, it was a 77-point hit.
Alto was incredibly reliable. Having her here changed the entire dynamic of the fight. I was so glad I hadn't tried to solo this.
"Nice shot! Thanks, Alto!"
"Hehe, piece of cake, y'know!"
"Lord Spirit, here it comes!"
Tria saw the Great Turtle retract its head and immediately used a Backstep to create some distance. The boss tucked itself in and began to spin—faster and faster until it was a blurred whirlwind.
We retreated further. I called out directions to Tria, helping her weave through the Young Turtles cluttering the area behind her. Then, the Great Turtle charged.
"Whoa, whoa! It doesn't care if it runs over its own kids?!"
"It's totally lost it, y'know! Argh, my damage isn't going through!"
Even for Alto, hitting a high-speed, spinning turtle shell seemed impossible—or so I thought, but she still seemed to be landing hits. I couldn't even see the holes in the shell from this angle.
The Young Turtles withdrew into their shells faster than I'd ever seen before being sent flying like bowling pins. I guess they were sturdy enough to survive their parent's rampage... Wait, one was flying straight toward Alto!
"Ah, no worries, I dodged it. I had a bad feeling about that, y'know."
"...Is Lady Alto actually a god?" Tria muttered.
"She's definitely carrying us right now."
I hadn't realized the surrounding mobs were part of a collision gimmick. It was definitely the right call to thin them out before the boss fight started.
"It stopped! Now's our chance!"
"Oh, its head is out! Go for it, Tria-chan!"
"Right!"
The Great Turtle poked its head back out. Tria lunged at that exact moment, the tip of her right boot lined up perfectly with its left eye. The turtle tried to jerk its head up to evade, but a rock slammed into it, pinning it in place for a split second. Alto’s cover fire was perfect! Then came the strike from the Boot Knife—1500!! A massive critical hit flashed on the screen as the blade on the toe of her boot sank deep into the turtle's eye!
"Bumoaaooooaaaaaaa!!!!!!"
"Ngh... Ah!?"
A sharp snap echoed. The thread holding the knife to her boot had reached its limit and broken. The blade remained lodged in the turtle’s left eye, causing a stream of crimson blood to pour down like a tear.
The knives were designed to break off if they hit a certain load threshold to prevent the user from being dragged along. We hadn't gouged the eye out, but the left side was completely blinded.
"Oho! Now that's a nice, easy-to-see weak point, y'know!"
Alto didn't miss a beat. She began peppering the eye with shots. 74, 80... She was dealing ten times her previous damage, even outperforming our melee strikes. It was a testament to her skill that she could hit a small knife embedded in a moving target.
"You're hitting those shots so consistently I'd suspect an auto-aim cheat if I didn't know better. Great job."
"Haha! Alto-chan's body is just top-tier, y'know! My body moves exactly how I want, I can aim perfectly, and my vision is clear! Landing hits on a slowpoke like this is easy mode, y'know!"
The only time Alto missed was when she used a shot as a feint to control the boss's movement. Her very next shot always found its mark. This wasn't just auto-aim; it was like she was reading the future.
"Wait... Here it comes! Aggro's on me now! Tria-chan, now! Take out the right eye!"
"Right! We still have the other knife!"
"Yes...!"
The Great Turtle finally turned its attention away from Tria. I suppose if it had enough HP to survive a 1500-damage critical hit, it hadn't cared much about Alto's single-digit chips until now. But it couldn't ignore her anymore. And that was the opening we needed.
"Hah!"
"Thunder!"
Tria lunged at the bloodshot right eye. It was a mirror image of her previous attack. As if drawn by a magnet to the eye that was looking the other way, the knife on her left boot sank deep—1500!! But she didn't stop there. She used the embedded knife like a foothold, bending her knee and launching herself upward with a violent twist. Rip! Tear!
This time, it wasn't the thread that snapped. It was the Great Turtle's entire eyeball being torn from the socket.
"Bua... BUAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A thunderous roar shook the air, followed by a sudden, violent gust of wind. Then, the heavens opened up in a sudden downpour.
The Great Turtle howled, its right eye dangling like something out of a horror movie.
"Crap, I can't see a thing, y'know! ...Wait, ptooey! What the heck? The rain is red?!"
"Whoa, look! The shell is turning red too!"
"And the body has turned black," Tria noted.
Aside from the red rain, the shell itself had taken on a crimson hue, while the head and limbs emerging from it were now pitch black, as if carved from solid shadow.
The Second Form. A classic boss trope if I ever saw one.