Rest drove his attack into Subnock’s back, then landed on the ground as if repelled by the beast's coarse, rigid fur.
"Too shallow...!"
He had caught up to the monster using Super Accelerator, then leaped onto its back to unleash Star Eater. It was a Dark Star capable of consuming and annihilating anything it touched—but unfortunately, it hadn't dealt a fatal blow to a creature of Subnock’s immense scale.
Though the beast bled from the wound on its back, it remained standing, looming over him.
"GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!?"
Still, it had clearly felt the pain. Subnock halted its advance and turned toward him. Its eerily distorted compound eyes glared down at Rest, radiating pure wrath and murderous intent.
"You finally noticed me...!"
Rest swallowed hard against the mounting tension. He put up a front of bravado, staring back at Subnock with everything he had. Locking eyes with it like this only served as a reminder: this was a truly monstrous creature.
Its size was daunting enough, but the sheer volume of mana contained within its body was staggering. Even with the spring of infinite mana dwelling within him, Rest could never hold such a staggering volume of power inside his body all at once.
(So this is what it means to be the Master of the Magical Wilds... No wonder nobody has been able to slay it since the kingdom was founded.)
Rest felt cold sweat trickling down his spine as he searched for a way to bring down the enemy before him. His strongest card was Star Eater, the Dark Star that devoured all. However, as the previous strike had proven, even Star Eater couldn't claim Subnock’s life with just one or two hits.
(It would be a different story if I could land a direct hit on its brain or heart... but that’s a tall order.)
In truth, he had aimed the Dark Star at the beast's head. But Subnock’s speed across the plains was immense, and he hadn't been able to keep his footing even after leaping onto its back. He had managed to strike the spine, but sniping the head would be an arduous task.
(Star Eater is powerful, but that’s exactly why I can't use it in tandem with anything else...)
That was the technique's fatal flaw. Because the spell constantly drained a massive amount of mana, it was impossible to layer it with other magic. While the Dark Star was active, even his physical enhancement magic was forcibly deactivated, leaving his body in its raw, vulnerable state.
(Ten or twenty hits would probably do it... but that’s easier said than done.)
Could he really keep this giant beast at bay long enough to land that many blows?
"GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
"Ngh...!"
Subnock unhinged its jaws to their limit, unleashing a roar even more deafening than the last. It was a concussive shockwave. If Rest hadn't countered it with magic, his eardrums would have burst, and he might have been thrown dozens of meters back.
"GYAO!"
Immediately after the scream, Subnock slammed down a massive foreleg. For a split second, Rest considered activating Star Eater as a counter to take the limb off—but he immediately dismissed the reckless thought. He couldn't swallow a leg that size in an instant. Even if he gouged out a piece of flesh, he would be crushed by the rest of the limb's weight.
"Super Accelerator!"
Rest boosted his speed significantly, darting away from the falling leg. A thunderous boom like an explosion echoed through the air as dust billowed up. A small crater marked the spot where the foreleg had landed, leaving jagged, vicious claw marks in the earth.
"Fireball! Amplification! Compression! Accelerator!"
Dodging the physical strike, he unleashed a Quartet of magic. He compressed a massive fireball and fired it with accelerated force. The projectile struck Subnock square in the face, erupting into a brilliant scarlet explosion.
"GYAO!"
"Tch...!"
The damage was negligible. It had done little more than singe the fur on the beast's snout. Even with a Quartet, standard magic wasn't enough to inflict a significant wound.
Subnock retaliated, firing a high-pressure jet of Saliva of Decay. The other Corrosion Beasts used this same attack, but Subnock's version was on a completely different scale. It was less like a spit and more like a dam's floodgates opening.
"Wind Shield! Water Wall! Earth Shield! Fire Wall!"
He constructed four elemental barriers to intercept the deluge. The corrosive fluid splattered across the surrounding area.
"Gishaaaaaaa...!"
By sheer misfortune, a nearby monster was caught in the spray. Its body melted instantly upon contact, rotting away until only bleached bones remained.
"...That’s a horrific way to go. You really are a monster."
Rest realized once again that he could not let this creature escape the plains. If it ever reached the Royal Capital... he felt a chill of dread, his face tightening. He could almost see the vision of a city dissolved by saliva, its people reduced to piles of bone.
"...I have to stop it here. This is where the real fight begins."
Steeling his resolve for a desperate struggle, Rest focused entirely on finding a way to hunt the beast.
(Its fur has incredible magic resistance. Fire, water, wind, earth, ice, lightning... none of it will work. Poison? I haven't tried it, but considering it spits acid, I doubt it would be effective.)
That meant he had to use Star Eater, but landing it in a direct confrontation would be difficult. He might have managed it with a surprise attack, but the enemy was now fully alert.
(I lose my physical enhancements while using Star Eater. If even a single attack grazes me, I'm dead. I need a different strategy.)
"In that case..."
An idea formed. It would be a tedious, exhausting process. It was a method that required an infinite supply of mana—something only Rest could provide.
"Alright. Let's do this."
"GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Rest lunged forward, charging straight into Subnock's roar. On the Plain of the Magical Wilds, the battle to crown a new champion spiraled toward its climax.