LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 113
“Ugh, why?! I’ve waited so long for this moment, and now you’re getting in the way!”
“Yeah… I’m sad about how things turned out too.”
I said this while pretending to wipe away tears.
But honestly, I was sad. How often does one get a chance to face the sticky, thick lyas? It might be an opportunity that never comes by again.
The thought of having to end it myself made me tear up.
Of course, I can’t just let those guys be. If I do, they’ll surely go on a killing spree.
Holding my spear, I aimed at them. My body felt a bit prickly from the light burns, but I was able to move just fine.
“Huh… Hah, I’m here.”
While we were in a standoff, Sephir approached us.
She looked slightly worn out, likely from erecting that massive ice barrier.
“I’m here to assist. Direct combat… might be a bit tough for me.”
“That’s enough.”
I nodded. That made three of us gathered here.
Myself, Niki, and Sephir. A measly number to take on a demon.
However, I wasn’t too worried. All of us present were no pushovers.
With two top officials from Lemegaton and my own hefty experience battling demons, I felt confident.
And all of that was solo experience. Compared to that, I had an abundance now.
Of course, there were some annoyances.
‘That guy’s heat is a bit much, though…’
Even though I was away from Andras, the sheer heat he emitted still lingered strongly. It was hot enough that if I got too close, my skin would redden.
Niki had fire resistance, so she was fine, but with my lack of such resistance and only decent regeneration, I had my reservations.
I had touched it earlier, and it wasn’t easy.
While I hesitated, my gaze inadvertently turned towards Sephir. Now that I think about it, she primarily used ice magic.
I asked her, “Do you know any protection spells to block heat or something?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not really my specialty…”
I almost felt disappointed that someone who used to be a tower master couldn’t conjure something like that.
But thankfully, her words didn’t end there.
“But I do have another method.”
“What is it?”
“We can freeze the entire area around us.”
“That sounds even better!”
Truly, as expected of a former tower master to think big. The plan was starting to take shape. Sephir would begin her incantation, and I would keep the enemy in check nearby.
At a distance where my body wouldn’t get burnt, that is. Making contact with the beast would be the next step.
‘The problem is that this will increase Niki’s burden…’
Since Sephir was busy with the incantation and I couldn’t easily jump in, Niki would have to hold the line. I felt a bit anxious, but in any case, she was also a manifestor like me.
If it came down to it, I could risk the heat to help, and honestly, I was a bit curious about her skills.
“……”
Thus, I quietly began to observe Niki’s battle.
*
Crack-!
“Ugh…!”
As the claws descended, Niki hurriedly blocked the attack with her longsword.
On the outside, those claws looked cute and cat-like, but their underlying power was no joke.
It felt like being crushed. Niki grimaced.
‘Yor was blocking these with ease…’
Experiencing it firsthand, I realized it wasn’t easy at all.
For a moment, a pang of jealousy rose, but she brushed it aside.
This wasn’t the time for distractions.
Thinking critically, she was currently facing a demon alone.
Yes, the raging flames around made it hard to deny her situation, but she never anticipated she’d be taking on this role.
‘I can do this.’
At minimum, you needed an entire knight squad to manage a demon. To handle that all alone felt daunting, but she steeled herself. After all, didn’t Yor fend off an entire squad single-handedly?
Niki took up the longsword again and fought fiercely against the demon.
She struggled to employ the swordplay she had learned as a mercenary in her teens and dodged as many lethal strikes as possible.
The only relief was that the deadly claws posed the main threat, while Plauros’s flames were not particularly dangerous.
Given that flames wouldn’t cause her much harm, they merely felt a bit warm.
Even if those high-temperature claws touched her, they only caused a slight sting, not enough to scorch her skin.
Thanks to that, Niki was managing to hold on just fine.
“Tch-!”
She bit her lip as she swung her sword.
Whoosh-!
A red afterimage remained trailing after her strike.
This was one of her abilities as a manifestor. With a strike, a path of flames would follow in its wake.
Clearly, it wouldn’t affect the demon, but at least it could serve to obscure its vision.
“…You.”
Upon seeing that attack, Plauros narrowed her eyes slightly.
Similarly, Yor, who had been observing from afar, was processing what he saw.
In a trance-like state, completely focused on dodging, Niki didn’t notice. But her attack bore an uncanny resemblance to someone else’s.
Her use of fire, or the way the afterimage lingered in flames; both were remarkably similar to the Plauros before her.
‘No way….’
This led Yor to make a cautious assumption in his mind.
“You’re quite bothersome. If I let you live, it’s bound to become annoying, so I have to kill you here.”
Plauros ramped up her attacks. Yor was contemplating whether to intervene.
“All set.”
Finally, Sephir completed her spell. The condensed mana froze the surrounding air. As she finished the incantation, she wasted no time casting her magic.
Creak-!
Right after, everything around us froze solid.
*
Crack-!
Out of nowhere, a spear comes flying in.
Niki, whose senses were fading, managed to notice it too late. Help was finally coming through.
A chill permeated the air. Even Plauros’s heat could be devoured by the bone-chilling cold.
Yor, grinning as he took a deep breath, said, “Nice. Perfect weather to catch a cold. Now, we can finally fight.”
Plauros scoffed as she backed off hastily.
“Hah, was that all? Just making it snow around here? You think that’s enough to win?”
Her words weren’t just empty bravado. Even if the ambient heat had diminished, her combat prowess remained intact. Her claws were still sharp and heavy.
The flames had shrunk only slightly, but they still had more than enough to burn a person.
From Plauros’s perspective, the addition of one human was hardly a threat.
“Well, seems to me it’s more than enough.”
Though, Yor quietly prepared his own attack.
He planned to wrap things up before the snowstorm cleared. As always, he gathered his sword energy and unleashed his blood magic.
In no time, he charged towards her.
It didn’t take long for the battle to reach its conclusion.
*
With a hole punctured in her chest, the demon’s body began to slowly dissipate. The demon, fatally wounded, would soon return to the demon realm.
“No, no! Andras! Andris…!”
Perhaps due to her recent emergence, the creature’s desperate shriek echoed in futility.
Niki couldn’t help but think that Plauros had a right to feel wronged. After Yor intervened, the fight was over in the blink of an eye.
A few exchanges… or rather, it couldn’t even be called an exchange.
He overwhelming pushed her back, only stabbing her heart at the end, leading to her demise.
Witnessing this, Niki expressed silent admiration.
‘What is this…’
Without hesitation against a demon, he handled things so swiftly, it was a formidable display.
‘Was he always this strong…?’
For a brief moment, that question danced in her mind. The last time she saw him, he didn’t seem this overwhelming.
Though it was her first time watching him fight, she had heard plenty of stories.
Even when he faced Dantalion, there were whispers of his strength.
He was definitely strong back then, but not to this level.
Facing the knight squad resulted in him gaining something valuable.
That left Niki in deep contemplation.
While she was contemplating his might, a sound interrupted her thoughts.
Thud-
As Plauros dissipated, something fell to the ground. It was the item that appeared when a demon was slain.
This time, it was Plauros’s claw.
“Hmm.”
Yor picked up the item. The reason he had left his cozy cave to hunt demons was for items like this.
Curiosity got the better of him, and Yor pressed the claw against his body, wondering if anything would change.
“……”
But of course, he only felt the lingering warmth of the claw—no real change at all.
‘Well, it couldn’t happen right away.’
Yor didn’t feel too disappointed.
He hadn’t held any expectations to begin with… This time around, he had someone in mind who might better fit this item.
Gathering all the claws he found on the ground, Yor handed them to Niki.
“Here, take it.”
He wasn’t sure if this was the right path.
And he doubted if this method would even work. But if any change were to happen, then she would likely be the one…
Yor felt confident in that.