Chapter 32
"Ellie..."
Ariana fell to one knee with a pained expression, likely at her limit.
Her sunken cheeks made her already gaunt face look even more worn.
The Little Lizards that had been hit by "Confusion Dust" all suddenly went wild on the spot and, for some reason, charged at the Bone Lizard, letting out crazed roars.
It's probably a magic that affects the central nervous system. It doesn't work unless you scatter a large amount, but it seems it can confuse multiple targets at once in exchange for high mana consumption.
If I had used it at the beginning, we'd have had a hellish scene of more than twenty Little Lizards rampaging all over. It's a tricky spell to use.
The Bone Lizard that had taken Gargaine's full-powered Tansoku home run was on its back, flailing around trying to get up with its skeletal body. Seeing a creature made only of bones flipping over and writhing like a cockroach is downright disturbing.
Gargaine, you're amazing. Seriously.
One of the rampaging Little Lizards screamed and charged straight at Ariana.
"Ariana!"
She tightly shut her eyes, perhaps unable to move from exhaustion.
I don't care if my secret's out anymore!
"Thunderbolt!!"
A flash of lightning streaked across the prairie floor, crashing down with a crackling roar.
The Little Lizard that took a direct hit was scorched by the current and intense heat, blown to bits.
Holy crap!
That power's insane!!
"Ellie...?"
Ariana timidly opened her eyes, tilting her head in confusion as if she didn't understand what had just happened.
I gathered more mana.
"Thunderbolt!!!"
I aimed at the Bone Lizard fifteen meters ahead—"Thunderbolt" flashed brilliantly and plummeted.
It struck the Bone Lizard's right arm, and with a loud splatter, the white bones burst apart. Two nearby charging Little Lizards were also caught in the blast and charred to a crisp.
"One more shot!!"
Babababariii!
With a deafening, earsplitting sound, another mana-charged "Thunderbolt" slammed into the Bone Lizard's abdomen, blasting the white bones like popcorn across the prairie. The nearby Little Lizards were also completely incinerated.
Hell yeahhhhh!
Awesome. I'm awesome!
And "Thunderbolt" is awesome too!
As expected of an advanced composite spell. The power is unreal.
"T-T-Thunderbolt?!?!"
Even the usually poker-faced Ariana was shocked by "Thunderbolt," her fox ears standing erect. She couldn't close her gaping mouth.
"Legendary composite magic......!"
"Keep it a secret, okay?"
"Ellie... that was amazing."
"Right?"
"So that means you can use white magic and sky magic too...?"
"W-Well, yeah... More importantly, can you stand?"
Ariana shook her head while still looking surprised.
I offered her a hand and pulled her slender body up, then tried to cast "Heal."
"Ellie, behind you!"
I turned around, but it was too late.
A lone remaining Little Lizard had jumped down from the earthen wall Gargaine made, swinging its thick, scale-covered right arm. Since I was about to cast "Heal," I couldn't convert my mana to another element in time.
I instinctively shielded Ariana and rolled us to the ground.
I managed to avoid a direct hit, but the powerful swing gouged the earth and sent rocks flying. I carefully covered Ariana to avoid crushing her with my weight, acting as a shield.
Another Little Lizard pulled its head back and body-slammed us.
One came close to stepping on the unconscious Professor Harshüge, and I froze for a moment.
I immediately struck it with a speed-focused "Air Hammer."
A gust grazed just past my nose and eyes, hitting the Little Lizard squarely and sending it flying.
"Thunderbolt!"
Follow-up attack!
A flash ripped through the air, turning the lizard monster into mere charcoal.
That was close!
I looked down at Ariana, whom I was still holding.
"You okay?"
"Uh... um..."
For some reason, Ariana blushed and looked up at me with feverish eyes.
No no, I'm just a chubby lady, so things like that are a bit...
"You know..."
"?"
"Thank you..."
She gave a bashful smile—and she looked incredibly cute.
I want to take her home like this. Put her on display in my house. If only she had a bit more meat on her bones, I'd be totally smitten. No! I'm a chubby and cheeky girl, remember?!
I patted Ariana's head, fox ears and all.
Every time my hand brushed her ears, they perked up with a twitch. This could be addicting.
"That tickles..."
"It just felt nice, I couldn't help it."
"I don't really mind, though..."
I should probably check on the others soon.
But before that, rescue comes first. Professor Harshüge, Gargaine, and the prim lady are out of mana. Surume and Ama Kuso are injured. Continuing the training camp is impossible.
"Ariana, do you have the training camp booklet?"
"Mm..."
Maybe she understood my intent; she pulled out a pocket-sized booklet and opened it.
I flipped through it looking for emergency procedures. But Ariana's hand stopped and pointed forward.
"No way......"
"Huh?"
I turned around and saw the Bone Lizard's white bones moving on their own, reversing like a video rewind and returning to a flawless state. It clacked its jaw ominously and slowly approached, as if checking its body. Darkness swirled in its hollow eyes.
"KishuwAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"
A roar as if it had gone mad in rage.
"Tch...... Thunderbolt!!"
Bagaaan!
A thunderous blast and flash of lightning shattered the Bone Lizard's hind leg.
But the fragmented white bones flew back to the main body as if with a will of their own and regenerated.
"Thunderbolt! Thunderbolt!"
If the legs don't work, how about the head?!
A sharp crackle of lightning split the air and two "Thunderbolts" pierced the Bone Lizard's massive head—so big you couldn't hold it even with both arms.
The head shattered into pieces, but the fragments reassembled like puzzle pieces, and even the cracks disappeared.
"Ariana! What the hell is that?!"
"It's immortal... We have to purify it with sacred light."
"Sacred light? That's white magic, right?"
"Light magic might work... but that thing's mana is too strong..."
"So we really do need white magic, huh?"
"Seems that way..."
"But I can't use it!"
"Huh? Why not?"
"Ah, I'll explain later, so think of something!"
"Got it..."
To stop the Bone Lizard from getting any closer, I blasted its legs with "Thunderbolt."
Lightning raced across the midday prairie.
With its right front leg crushed, the Bone Lizard's march temporarily halted. If it gets any closer, it's all over. Someone lying on the ground could be attacked.
Ariana hesitated, then opened her mouth.
"Destroy it so completely that not even bones remain..."
"Because it's all bones, huh."
"Yeah..."
Alright, that's wonderfully clear and easy to grasp.
When a problem arises, return to simple thinking. Just like a businessman.
"Ariana, I'm about to fire my strongest one yet."
"Eh... You have a spell even stronger than that one...?"
"Pretty much."
Smirking fearlessly, she took a deep breath and gathered her mana.
First, I'll immobilize it, then fire the original spell I developed through special training: "Extreme Thunderbolt (Lightning Bolt)."
Normally, the Bone Lizard can only be purified by multiple people casting white purification spells. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sealed so half-heartedly near the edge of this prairie.
There probably aren't enough white magicians around, and since every country values healing magic that can instantly cure injuries, they must have chosen to "seal" this Bone Lizard instead of "purifying" it due to personnel constraints.
While I was thinking that, the Bone Lizard opened its huge mouth, locked its aim on us, and froze in place. It seemed quite angry about being immobilized.
Wait, isn't it gathering some insane amount of mana right now?
Isn't this basically what people call a surekill move?
Yeah, no doubt about it.
A black wave is rapidly gathering around its mouth!
This! Seriously! Isn't this bad!?
Ariana stood beside me in stunned silence.
"Gravity Wave..."
"Hey, Ariana! You have Dark affinity, right?! Cancel it out!"
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
When spells of equal class collide, their mana disperses and cancels each other out.
"I can't..."
"Why not?!"
"That's an advanced-level black magic..."
An upper-tier advanced spell?!?
I hurriedly began gathering mana.
The Bone Lizard closed its mouth, then slowly opened it again.
A jet-black wave was released, and a massive cylindrical black object came rushing toward us.
It's not that fast, but the ground the "Gravity Wave" passed over was gouged out along with the grass. If we take a direct hit, we're all dead!
I quickly moved into the "Gravity Wave's" line of fire.
"Ellie...!"
"I'm fine!"
Ariana's anguished cry rang out.
What kind of man can't protect a girl?!
Ah, right, I'm a fat girl.
That doesn't matter right now. Focus, focus!