Chapter 182 Strongest Sage, Guards Against Attack
"…Is it working?"
I look up at the sky as I say that.
And then I saw some magic stones falling from between the flying monsters swarming the sky.
A few seconds after the magic stones were hidden away from view by the monsters.
The surrounding monsters suddenly slowed down, right as the magic stones fell onto the ground.
Looks like the first volley went well.
"Make more of them and throw them at the monsters!"
"Got it!"
Ruli mass produced the magic tools while Iris threw them.
Then the monsters around us began to stop moving one after another.
Eventually… Only one monster still moves among all the immobile monsters.
"…Now then, we can finally fight for real now."
It's a gigantic lizard monster bigger than even other gigantified monsters.
It's probably a Flame Lizard originally, but there's not a trace left of its original form after the parasite monster's empowerment.
Limbs that have been strengthened to their utmost limit, stretched out fangs.
Its current form looks closer to a kind of dragons than anything else.
Judging from the degree of power up, its body's hardness scale should match that of a dragon too.
However, unlike dragons, there should be a strain from its forced power up, it must have a weak point.
I probe that weak point with 『Perfect Detection』 and cut it up with my sword that's been enhanced with multiple layers of reinforcement magic.
"GAAAAAAAA!"
Flame Lizard screamed out loud with a grating voice.
I cleanly cut off one of the Flame Lizard's leg with my sword.
However…
"I-its leg!"
Alma shouted out while looking at the cut monster.
The reason is obvious in a glance.
A new leg has grown back at the stump where the old leg was cut.
And it's coming to attack me.
The Flame Lizard only took half a second to counterattack.
I jump back to evade the new leg's assault.
"It regenerated!?"
"How'd you beat something like that…? It's invincible…"
The girls sounded surprised to see the situation.
The new leg is in no way inferior compared to the old one… No, it's gotten even more powered up.
when people see regenerating monsters for the first time, it's not uncommon for them to assume that those monsters are invincible.
However, monsters do not have unlimited regenerative power.
If they continue to regenerate their wounds forcefully, their magic stone will be overloaded and break.
Undoubtedly before I run out of mana.
However… looks like it won't be that easy.
"Ga… Ga…"
Flame Lizard slowly raises its head while letting out eerie sounds.
And a magic that the past me had witnessed many times before is being reproduced inside the monster——
『Raw Magic Flame』.
It's close to Dragon Breath, but a false one.
It's a magic that converts the entire life force and mana of the host monster into a destructive force, you may even say this is the true worth of parasitic monsters.
"…It's come to this huh."
『Raw Magic Flame』 is basically a process of converting life force into mana and then transforming that mana into a flame which is then shot out, it's an extremely primitive spell art.
Thus, that spell art is not that sophisticated.
Due to that reason, it can't be neutralized just by slightly altering its spell art.
The 『Raw Magic Flame』 won't disappear even if you kill the monster, since it's a self-destruct attack to begin with.
Getting out of the harm's way is a simple task as there's still one second time till the firing… but the parasite monster is not only aiming at me, but also at Ruli and the girls behind me.
It's probably intentional, in order to block me from evading the attack.
If frontal attack isn't working, play out the trump card without hesitation.
And in the most effective way possible.
…Good grief, its capability to make judgment is way too good for a monster.
I don't seem to have any choice but to guard against it here.
"W-what's that thing!?"
"It looks like bad news!"
The girls seem to have noticed the unusual mana from the Flame Lizard too.
My remaining mana is about half of the maximum value.
Well, I should manage somehow.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Flame Lizard shot out a flame sphere about ten meters in diameter while wailing out its last.
This would have been easy if it were just a simple flame, but unfortunately it's not.
Humans won't even left any ash behind if they get hit by it.
Even 『Perfect Detection』 is meaningless in the face of such an attack.
"Everyone, do not move!"
I spread out a defensive magic while giving instructions to the girls.
There is no way to frontally negate a magic with such firepower.
I spread out the defensive magic while thinking so.
It's an anti-magic defensive spell that concentrates a huge amount of mana into a small area.
Then, the flame assaulted me.
I could tell that the surroundings' temperature had gone up in an instant.
A few seconds enduring it.
The flame finally receded and we got a good look of the surroundings.
The plain has turned into scorched earth as far as the eye can see.
The crowding monsters around us had been swallowed up in it too.
Only the place where I am with Ruli and the girls remain pristine among them.
Of course, I made an adjustment on the defensive spell to make this happen.
"Is everyone all right?"
"Yes!"
"It's really hot, but I'm fine!"
The Flame Lizard that had exhausted all of its strength slowly collapsed while I was checking everyone's well being.
Its head that shot out the 『Raw Magic Flame』 has turned into charred white bone, not a trace of its former shape remains.
"Err… I don't really get it, but did we beat it?"
"I think I saw an unbelievable amount of mana for a sec there… Don't tell me, it self destructed?"
"Yeah. It was a self-destruct attack. …Well, the real body is safe though."
As I said that, I burned down a space near the lizard's leg that looked as if it was devoid of anything.
Once the flame subsided, a small 5-cm long scarab beetle shaped monster laid there.