The axe blade flashed, and fresh blood sprayed.
The white-haired girl was trampling the Demon Beasts that relentlessly attacked.
“〖Paper Knives〗…!”
“Useless.”
“Tch.”
Scripture Bishop Molten clicked his tongue, having dodged all of the paper blades.
The paper blades, which weaved through the Demon Beasts with erratic trajectories and attacked from all directions, were normally impossible to evade.
However, Fiss grasped the position of every paper blade with her extraordinary hearing.
“Haaah!”
“Kyuoohh!”
A rhino Demon Beast, startled by a stray paper blade, was killed by Fiss.
Molten summoned a new Demon Beast from his Grimoire, sending it to reinforce the others.
However, in the instant that Molten’s covering fire ceased, another Demon Beast had already been killed.
Molten clenched his fist, lamenting the rapidly dwindling number of his subordinate Demon Beasts.
“Why? Why is the annihilation speed increasing…?”
Indeed, at first, the situation had not been so one-sided.
While Fiss’s physical abilities were astonishing, she was, after all, alone. Her stamina was limited.
She didn’t seem to possess any area-of-effect attacks, and Molten thought he could easily win if he pressed her with numbers.
There were two factors that tipped the scales.
One was the increase in Fiss’s 〖Level〗. The vast amount of 〖Experience Points〗 from the 〖Dire Beasts〗 had leveled up Fiss, who was already at 〖Level 82〗 at the start of the battle.
And the other factor was,
“〖Master Enhance〗.”
“What? There’s still more!?”
The growth of Fiss’s magic.
“Hmm, it’s a little easier now.”
Through her fierce battle with Molten, her magic had made remarkable progress.
The 〖Master Enhance〗 she had just developed and activated was the prime example of this.
The effect of this magic, simply put, was the enhancement of physical functions.
It was a secret art that was similar to, yet different from, boost-type or keen-type body enhancements.
Unlike conventional magic that enhanced arm strength, leg strength, and eyesight, 〖Master Enhance〗 brought about more fundamental enhancements.
Not just a simple increase in strength, but an enhancement of function at the cellular level.
“Could it be that you were holding back…?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Stronger, tougher, faster, more resilient. It was magic that raised the standards of a living being.
Not only muscles and bones, but also the cardiopulmonary system, core, and nerves were having their functions enhanced.
It was a different approach from previous magic. Therefore, 〖Master Enhance〗 overlapped with other buffs.
With this magic, the physical gap between Fiss and the Demon Beasts widened once again.
(As I thought, the consumption of 〖Master Limitless〗 is also reduced, they have good compatibility.)
The red-eyed girl thought as she felled a Demon Beast that was twice her size with a single slash.
〖Master Limitless〗 was also a magic that she had created during this battle. Its effect was like a burst of adrenaline in a crisis.
Just as a human in danger secretes a large amount of adrenaline and exerts power that is normally suppressed, this magic allowed her to draw out 100% of her physical abilities at will.
However, needless to say, pushing her power to the limit would also injure herself. It was a double-edged sword.
Fiss had previously been canceling out the backlash with recovery magic (〖Physical Recovery〗), but 〖Master Enhance〗 mitigated this problem.
Her body’s recovery power was also enhanced, so her wounds healed quickly, and she was able to save 〖Mana〗 used for recovery.
“Yaah!”
She cut off the arm of a mantis Demon Beast, immediately grabbed it, and threw it at a Demon Beast that was approaching from behind.
The sharp scythe pierced its head, and the Demon Beast died instantly.
She was already able to overwhelm the 〖Dire Beasts〗 with her pure 〖Stats〗 alone.
Her magic, honed in the fierce battle, was that powerful.
When a person 〖Sublimates〗, they learn the outline of their 〖Attribute〗. Therefore, even if they have just 〖Sublimated〗, there is no problem in using magic.
But there is more to the pursuit of magic.
By mastering the 〖Sublimated〗 magic, deepening one’s understanding of their 〖Attribute〗, one gets closer to its essence.
This is usually a path that takes years or decades to walk.
But Fiss, with her innate talent and concentration in extreme situations, was rushing through this long journey like a gale.
“Tch, has the analysis not finished yet?”
“Looking away?”
“Guuh, 〖Book Shield〗!”
The moment Molten tried to avert his gaze to check the progress of the Kouya’s analysis, Fiss kicked a stone at his feet.
Molten had no time to focus on anything else.
(It was the same just now…)
Molten had once tried to escape into the sky.
But at that time, his paper carpet had been destroyed by a thrown stone, and he had fallen.
No matter how many Demon Beasts he sent, if he relaxed his interference, he would be attacked immediately.
He had no choice but to fight Fiss with all his might, and this was the opportunity that Fiss had found.
Molten’s magical skill was high, but his 〖Level〗 was not that great.
Naturally, his 〖Speed〗 was also overwhelmingly lower than Fiss’s, and Fiss could complete two or three actions while Molten completed one.
Fiss knew from repeated practical battles that the difference in speed in combat was fatal.
And another thing that was working in Fiss’s favor was the never-ending analysis of the Kouya.
Because he continued to allocate his 〖Mana〗 control capacity to that, he could not use multiple combat magic at the same time.
(I can’t interrupt the analysis… troublesome…!)
The worst thing for Molten would be for the Kouya to escape.
For now, it was staying in place and fighting back, perhaps due to the Demon Beast’s instincts, but if it became disadvantageous, there was a high possibility that it would run away.
If that happened, it would be extremely difficult to catch up to the Kouya, which seemed to be a higher species of Jewel Slime.
That was why he needed to finish the analysis before that happened. If the analysis was complete, he could grasp the target’s location with magic.
However, the situation was so urgent that he couldn’t even think about such a distant future.
“The remaining 〖Dire Beasts〗 are also few. In this case…”
A single option flashed in Molten’s mind as he sensed defeat.
That was to use the Chaos Spawn he had been saving.
He had brought four 〖Feral Beasts〗 to defeat Fue Toukouya, but Molten had only released three so far.
If there were too many, they would get in each other’s way, and the 〖Brainwashed〗 Demon Beasts would not be able to attack.
In particular, the Chaos Spawn had the largest physique and attack range among the 〖Feral Beasts〗, making it difficult to handle in a situation where other 〖Feral Beasts〗 were present.
Therefore, it was planned to be used as a final blow after the Kouya was exhausted, and Molten could summon it from his Grimoire with a single spell, but—
“—No! There’s no way I’d use a 〖Feral Beast〗 against an adventurer!”
But Molten did not choose that option.
The arrogance of a former noble that remained within him, even as he spat out that it was ridiculous, would not allow such an escape.
Instead, he chose to defeat the enemy with his own magic.
He released all of the remaining 〖Dire Beasts〗 and retreated a few steps further to prepare his magic.
Sensing the movement of a vast amount of 〖Mana〗, Fiss tried to stop him, but the 〖Dire Beasts〗’ defense was solid.
“I acknowledge your combat power. But you are, after all, just a 〖Third Canon〗. You cannot defeat me, who has reached the core of magic. Now, open your eyes and witness! This is the secret art of the 〖Grimoire〗, granted only to me! 〖Locus of the Boo—〗”
The 〖Fourth Canon〗 magic of the 〖Grimoire〗, which could endlessly reproduce all the magic and substances recorded in the book.
Just before what was commonly called the core magic was activated, his movement was stopped. Something had pierced his chest.
“…Guh, hah?”
“?”
Fiss was confused by the sudden dissipation of 〖Mana〗.
But the confusion that Molten felt far exceeded that.
He had witnessed everything, but he could not understand what had happened.
Why was a Root growing out of the Grimoire on its own?
Why was the Root that he was supposed to be 〖Brainwashing〗 piercing his chest?
Why was he being attacked by such intense pain?
He couldn’t understand at all.
“Wh, why…”
As if his mumbling was a signal, the rest of the Chaos Spawn’s body burst out of the Grimoire.
At that moment, Molten was knocked off the Root, rolled down the slope of the mine, hit a rock, and stopped. He let out a faint groan.
The wound in his chest was clearly fatal, and he was still being attacked by an excruciating pain, but he was still alive.
He summoned the floating Grimoire and tried to open the page of 〖Regeneration Attribute〗 magic.
“…Why…”
But that page had already been torn, and the magic it had contained had already detonated.
It had been damaged in the momentum of the Chaos Spawn’s appearance.
As if to represent his despairing feelings, the book fell onto the slope with a thud.
At that moment, Molten’s eyes widened as he saw a page that had been opened by chance.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Race: War-Inducing Weapon Creation
Beast Rank: Feral Beast
Soul Accumulation Value (Level): 248
Stats
Life: 2906/1908
Mana: 3184/2257
Power: 1109
Toughness: 13712
Resist: 1259
Speed: 996
Skills
Sense of Direction Cover Climbing
Block Perfect Defense Fleeing Instinct
Whip Compact Whip Folly Comprehension
Slash Compact Slash Gesture
Telepathy Weapon Body Body Repair
Flee Flash Step Cross Counter
Challenge Focus Air Jump
Dive Accumulation Transport
Weapon Storage Replicant Form Bewitching Sparkle
Thrust Antibody Compact Thrust Shoot
Decomposition Fluid Charge Thrust Rampage
Charge Slash Compact Shoot Stealth
Mollusk All-Out Throw Parry Bite
Wave Slash Wave Thrust Capture
Heavy Slash Heavy Thrust Heavy Shot
Precision Shot Poison Hand High-Speed Regeneration
Arms Craftsman Escalating Warfare Multi-Weapon Style
Thousand Blades Burst Territory Parry
Swing Compact Swing Heavy Swing
Charge Swing Quake Swing Dance Fight
Assassination Storm Strike Last Stand
Raging Skill Diving Clairvoyance
Reverse Perforation Strangulation
Trajectory Prediction
Unique Skill: Earth Growth Thunderbolt
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
It seemed that the analysis was finally complete, which was not surprising. A considerable amount of time had passed, and it could have ended at any moment.
The sheer number of 〖Skills〗 was astonishing. Molten couldn’t imagine how he had obtained them.
But, however.
What shook his heart the most was.
(【Unique…Skill】…?)
It was an item he was seeing for the first time.
Information that was not in his knowledge, despite having analyzed countless Demon Beasts and read through various documents.
It gave him such a shock that he questioned it even in his final moments of agony.
“Why…?”
And then. A murmur, like air leaking from his lungs, became the last words of Scripture Bishop Molten.