“You handled it quite well without me.”
I thought while looking at the melted Hayes clone all over the place.
“At this point, it must be almost at death’s door. Then the place I need to look at isn’t this way…”
“Lewis! Can you hold on longer?”
“I can do this all day!”
What a passionate guy.
Well, that’s why he’s the protagonist. You gotta show that level of spirit to grab the protagonist title.
“Elisa, Shuri! Stop using magic. And Viola…”
“Aren’t you drinking this? If Lady Karina finds out, I’m not taking the blame!”
“Fine, just hand it over.”
I took the potion and transformed my other arm into a tentacle, reaching out toward the Hayes clone.
As I pulled on the tentacle wrapped around Hayes’s large arm, my body bounced up like a spring. It’s clear that this guy is weakened, barely able to use his fog abilities.
As soon as I climbed onto Hayes’s shoulder, I swung the flask filled with the potion at his head.
“!@&!(#!!”
“After letting out a breath, my throat burned a bit. Sorry, but I hope you burn with this. Sprinkler.”
I sprinkled more oil and slammed a tiny flame into Hayes’s face.
The searing heat felt like it would burn off all the hair on my body. However, ever since receiving the Phoenix’s Blessing, I still feel heat but can’t get burned or injured.
Seeing him slowly melt away, it looks like this is coming to an end.
“Elisa, Shuri, Viola, reorganize your formation. The end is near.”
“Four!”
“Elisa, Shuri. How much mana do you have left?”
“I… I have about half left…”
“I have a bit less than half!”
“Viola, how about the potions?”
“Four left.”
That’s enough.
“Hand one more over.”
“What?”
“I found it tastier than I expected.”
“No… you aren’t supposed to drink this… how are you still fine?”
“It’s the power of the Phoenix.”
“…Nobody else would use the Phoenix Blessing like that but you, Uncle.”
Sighing, Viola handed me the flammable potion.
“Let’s hurry to help Lewis.”
We hurriedly made our way toward Lewis, who was fighting in the distance.
“Doesn’t it look like he doesn’t need help?”
“I knew Lewis was amazing! He’s almost taken down that monster by himself!”
“A-mazing…”
While the kids were marveling innocently, I rolled my eyes to check on the main body’s condition.
His left arm was severed, and the right was ragged. It was evident that his torso and legs were in a terrible state, looking truly on the brink of death.
But…
“Lewis! Get back!”
“Yes!”
Good.
I quickly glanced over Lewis, who was retreating without hesitation, and glared at the howling Hayes with arms spread wide.
Looks like it’s time for the final pattern to start.
Fortunately, the last pattern was the same as in the game.
After taking out the two clones, if I can leave the real Hayes in a near-dead state, it will begin.
“!@*(&#!()!”
“Looks like it’s gone crazy.”
This world strangely resembles reality, yet it retains weird game-like elements. If you’re going to do something, commit one way or the other. Why make it so ambiguous?
“Y-Yoahn…”
Elisa, startled by Hayes’s scream, clutched my sleeve and whimpered.
“Don’t worry. It’s just a last-ditch effort.”
After tormenting us for two days, the fog gradually thinned. I guessed he was drawing in all the fog from the Fog Graveyard for this final push. I turned my head to look at the three people waiting near the entrance.
“Is anyone hurt?”
“We’re fine!”
“We’re okay! Hang in there!”
“Let’s finish this quickly and go home!”
Is this a dungeon exploration or a gladiator arena? I looked up at Hayes, who was growing larger, feeling a little mismatched with the encouraging words around me. He was bound to be bigger than an ogre.
Now that he’s grown to a size that could easily crush us underfoot, Hayes howled at us.
“!@&(!#!”
“His voice got louder.”
“Wow…”
“Shouldn’t we have caught him sooner?”
“No, even if you had tried something earlier, he would have changed like this.”
If we compare it to a game, he probably has around 30% left now.
I charged at Hayes, who was raising his left foot. At first glance, it looked like a suicidal charge, but of course, there was purpose behind my action.
I popped open the flask and poured the potion into my right hand. The overpowering smell invaded my nose.
“Prepare to attack!”
Target: Hayes’s left foot. He raised his left foot, bringing it down directly over my head. If this continued, I’d be squished flat.
I ignited a flame on his foot. My momentum halted and I sharply turned right. Using the explosive force for a drift was an application of the Phoenix’s Blessing. The descending foot shook the ground fiercely as it filled my vision.
“Call of the Abyss.”
Before Hayes could perceive my next move, I wrapped my tentacle around his neck and shot up. As I closed in on his face, I locked eyes with Hayes, whose gaze was foggy and blurry.
Those chilling eyes.
It seemed necessary to break eye contact.
“…I’m not a god.”
My right arm was burning with all its might. Thanks to the flammable potion, my punch, more powerful than usual, slammed into Hayes’s jaw.
“Fire your magic!”
I heard a snapping sound from my hand, followed by a piercing pain.
My wrist felt like it had broken.
I retracted the tentacles binding Hayes’s neck, reverting to my original arm.
“Quite high up.”
Alright, right arm, time to push a bit more.
I rolled on the ground, performing a breakfall with my right arm.
It hurt a lot. Yet, it was still bearable.
“Joahn!”
“Uncle!”
“Stop calling my name and focus on casting more magic!”
We can’t let our guard down even though it’s not over yet. I stumbled and crawled toward Hayes, who was howling as his face was being targeted.
“Crafting.”
A pretty big pit formed where my right foot had been. Hayes, unable to adapt to the sudden tilt from continued attacks, fell over.
“!@*(&ㅕ(!$#!”
The ground trembled and dust began to fly.
I glimpsed at my right arm, which was starting to regenerate, and grabbed the shovel on my back with my left hand.
“Lewis. Heart.”
A brief call of his name. But that was enough for him to understand my intent.
A refreshing breeze passed by me. I watched as Lewis focused his aura into his sword and plunged it into Hayes’s heart.
It’s over.
“!@(&!(#$…”
The fog disappears. Naturally, since the source of the fog has vanished.
I fiddled with the shovel’s handle with my left hand before placing it back on my back. I wouldn’t need to use a weapon anymore.
“Karina! Heal me, please.”
“Why are you pushing yourself like this!”
Karina rushed over, looking up at me with teary eyes and scolding me.
“I wanted to test how far I could utilize my ability.”
Like, how much I could amplify flames using a combustible liquid as a catalyst.
How much healing power is embedded in the Phoenix’s Blessing…
“Please don’t hurt your body so much. It’s making the rest of us nervous.”
Her voice was quicker and sharper than usual, and I nodded blankly.
Did I worry her too much?
“…I’m sorry.”
“…Are you okay, Joahn…?”
“Joohahaan! Are you alright?!”
“Uncle, don’t push yourself too hard.”
“I’m fine, so step back a bit.”
I pushed the kids surrounding me away and stood up.
Karina’s healing magic is indeed effective.
“Lewis, did anything drop from that guy’s body?”
Since, just like in the game, his body dispersed like fog, a drop should’ve come out from that.
“A gray gem dropped.”
“Show it to me.”
Is this the fog stone?
It looks smoother than I expected. I examined the pearl-sized gray fog stone and stashed it deep in my pouch.
This is for my use, so I’ll keep it. Now, let’s check for treasures.
“Now let’s open the box.”
It’s not like something significant is inside, but we should still check.
We approached the ornate box that had mysteriously appeared in the center. Without hesitation, I slipped my hand into the opening and lifted the lid.
creeeak
“What is this…”
“It seems… many people died here.”
A voice filled with complex emotions came from Karina behind me.
Just how many died here?
I slowly started organizing items around the box, stacking them.
On the right, I placed equipment. On the left, miscellaneous junk.
Doing so revealed a fair number of useful items.
“This accessory has some value, at least.”
It looked like an elegant pair of earrings. I feel hesitant to give it as a gift, so I’ll either sell it or something.
“Sif, is there space on the cart?”
“We’ve eaten almost all the food we brought, so it’s a bit empty. Why?”
“I’m going to take all this with me.”
“Are you turning it over to the Explorer Guild?”
I nodded.
It’s standard practice for explorers to gather relics when they find a deceased’s belongings.
Utilizing what can be used and handing what can’t over to the Explorer Guild as evidence of missing persons is usually done.
“Let’s hurry and move it to the cart.”
I diverted my gaze from the old stuffed doll mixed among the junk.
With everyone working together, we quickly loaded everything onto the cart.
I gave a final check on the cart’s fastening and turned to my companions, who were waiting for commands, looking at my face.
“Now, let’s head back.”
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