"Wait... YURIIIIIIIIIIIII!?"
Rest screamed at the sight of his friend being swallowed whole. It had happened in an instant, right before his eyes.
A second serpent had snatched her. There had been two of them from the start. This one was a size smaller than the first—perhaps a mate, or maybe its offspring.
"Gishaaaaaaaaaaaa!" the beast hissed.
Damn it... I have to save her!
Knowing Yuri, being swallowed didn't necessarily mean she was dead. If he could force the creature to spit her out right now, she might still have a chance.
I need to kill it as fast as possible... without hurting Yuri.
She would be somewhere in the torso. That meant the target was the head—the beast's command center.
"Gishaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Shut up! Just die already!"
Rest triggered [Super Accelerator] and blurred as he bolted down the hill. Detecting his approach, the serpent glared and spat a glob of liquid.
"[Earth Shield]!"
He conjured a barrier just in time. The earth hissed and sizzled, melting halfway through upon contact with the mysterious fluid.
"Acidic venom...!"
He couldn't let that touch him. As the serpent unhinged its jaws to spit again, Rest unleashed his next spell.
"[Wind Bind]!"
Just as he had done with the shaggy beast, he used the air itself to restrain his foe. The wind lashed around the snake's maw, forcing its mouth shut.
"Gishuuuuuuuuuuu!?"
"No more venom for you. This ends now!"
Rest launched himself off the ground. A black sphere—a Dark Star that consumed all matter—manifested at his fingertips. He slammed it into the serpent's skull.
"[Star Eater]!"
"Gishu—"
The head vanished, sucked into the void of the Dark Star. The rest of the body slumped to the ground, blood geysering from the severed neck. He did a quick sweep with [Life Search]. There were no other monsters nearby.
"Yuri! Are you okay? Hang on!"
He could still feel her presence inside the torso. She was alive. He prepared to carefully slice the body open, making sure not to nick her in the process.
"Huh...?"
Before he could strike, the serpent's remains began to thrash. It should have been dead, yet the headless trunk bucked and convulsed.
"HRAAAAAAAAH!"
With a sickening squelch, the serpent's body burst open from the inside. Scales and gore rained down as Yuri pulled herself out of the mess.
"Phew... Oh, Rest! You okay?"
"That's... my line," he managed.
A blood-drenched Yuri beamed at him. It was her usual cheerful smile, but framed by the carnage, it looked terrifying.
"I can't believe I let my guard down," she said. "Sorry to make you wor—"
"[Waterball]! [Amplification]!"
"Whoa!"
A torrent of water slammed into her, washing away the blood, meat, and caustic stomach acid. He quickly turned his head away and hurled his coat at her.
"What's this for?"
"Just... please, put it on. Look at yourself!"
Yuri looked down and blinked. The stomach acid had completely dissolved her outfit, leaving her in nothing but tattered scraps of underwear. She was effectively naked, in no condition to be seen in public.
"Aw, man. I picked this outfit out specifically for today, too."
"Could you show a little more modesty? You're supposed to be a maiden!"
"Hmm? I don't mind if it's just you, Rest. You're going to be my husband, after all!"
Rest stayed silent. She didn't even try to cover up; she just stood there with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out proudly. He felt the walls closing in. Is this just a foregone conclusion now?
"Actually, how are we even going to get back?"
She was wearing his coat, but they couldn't exactly walk through the capital like this. Rest ended up using high-speed magic to sprint back to the Marquis Rosemary estate alone, grab a change of clothes, and rush back to her. He managed to handle the situation, but when Viola and Primula found out why he had returned home in such a state, he was subjected to a grueling interrogation.