—Power surges through my body.
Yuma landed and immediately took off running. He pulled the Pickel back, and as the fallen Chimera’s body loomed close, he swung it with all his might.
The massive hammer struck the monster’s torso squarely. The impact blew away the haze.
The Chimera, its body crushed, raised its head as if enraged and lunged at Yuma with its mouth wide open, trying to bite him.
Yuma leaped to the side to evade, and the Chimera crashed into the ground.
Seeing the shattered rocks, Yuma gasped.
—Its power is still immense. Even so—
Surpassing it in speed, Yuma closed in before it could regain its posture and slammed a full-force blow into its head.
The steel skin caved in significantly, and shattered scales scattered around.
The Chimera, letting out a groan, extended its many legs like spears to attack Yuma.
However, Yuma dodged them all and used the Longsword protruding from the back of his left hand to sever the monster’s legs, which were stuck in the ground, one after another.
He then pointed the five fingers of his left hand at the Chimera, which was trying to raise its head.
In an instant, the five fingers extended like thorns and pierced the Chimera’s torso.
“Alright!”
He created barbs on the tips of the thorns to prevent them from slipping out, and then retracted his fingers. Yuma’s body sprang up, pulled swiftly towards the Chimera.
Attaching himself to the Chimera’s body, he retracted his fingers and instead grew countless Spikes on the soles of his feet.
Like a climber ascending an iceberg, he scurried up the Chimera’s body.
Extending the Longsword in his left hand, he plunged it into the massive monster’s torso. He then started running towards the Chimera’s head.
The Longsword tore through the steel hide, scattering sparks.
The Chimera, letting out a scream-like noise, glared at the enemy climbing its body.
—You probably never thought you’d be wounded by a human!
Reaching the head, Yuma retracted the Longsword, gripped the Pickel with both hands, and raised it high.
“Eat this!!”
The red veins all over his body glowed intensely. Yuma swung the Pickel down with all his might.
A Crushing Impact echoed. The hammer’s head sank into the Chimera’s head. Crushing skin, crushing bone, a satisfying sensation transmitted to Yuma’s arms.
The Chimera’s body tilted, then slowly collapsed.
Thud… The earth shook, and dust billowed up. An indescribable silence descended upon the Cave.
◇◇◇
“Hey! He did it, Yuma did it! He defeated that monster!!”
Kanzaki, who had been watching from a distance, looked at Aisha with great joy. But Aisha’s stern expression didn’t change.
“What’s wrong? Yuma won, aren’t you happy?”
“…You’re really naive, aren’t you? Take a good look.”
“Huh?”
Kanzaki shifted his gaze to the battlefield, where an unusual sight was unfolding.
“W-what… is that?”
The Chimera’s shattered body began to melt, turning into a dark, black liquid. The liquid moved as if it had a will of its own, gathering towards the Chimera’s remains.
The Chimera’s body, absorbing the black liquid, was gradually being restored.
“H-hey! That’s gotta be!?”
“Yes… You know the reason why physical attacks are said to be ineffective against Abyssal Monsters, right? That’s the answer.”
The Chimera, having returned all the liquid to its body, slowly raised its head and straightened its upper body.
There stood the monster, completely restored to its original form, without a single scratch.
“[Super Regeneration]. A common ability among Abyssal Monsters, and it’s said that only ‘magic’ has the effect of hindering it.”
“B-but this is the ‘Black Dungeon’!”
Aisha nodded at Kanzaki’s words.
“Yes, the Black Dungeon is known for having many Monsters with hard hides and shells, and even in the Depths, there are few Monsters with Regeneration. But it’s different.”
“No way…”
The expression on Kanzaki’s face, which had been joyful just moments ago, changed. If a monster with that much power also had Regeneration, Yuma would have no chance of winning.
That’s what Kanzaki thought, but then he noticed something.
“W-wait a minute! That monster turned its shattered metal body into liquid and restored it. In that case, isn’t it the same as Yuma’s ‘Liquid Metal’?”
“Perhaps… Liquid Metal, or an ability close to it.”
“Then Yuma can use ‘Super Regeneration’ too!?”
Kanzaki said as if he had found hope, but Aisha shook her head calmly.
“That’s not possible. I haven’t heard anything about Yuma-kun regenerating like a Metal Slime. There’s probably a difference in characteristics.”
“Difference in characteristics?”
“Metal Slimes have ultra-high hardness shells, but they don’t have the ability to regenerate their bodies. On the other hand, the Chimera doesn’t have the same hardness as a Metal Slime, but instead has a Regeneration ability called ‘Super Regeneration.’ That’s the difference in characteristics.”
“So, even if Yuma gets injured, he won’t recover like that Chimera?”
“That’s right. He’s ‘Metallized’ right now, so he won’t take physical damage, but it’s only a matter of time before that wears off. If he returns to his original body, he’ll be killed in one hit.”
“What the hell! That’s one-sided.”
“Also, if the Chimera’s body is Liquid Metal, it makes sense that it can freely change its shape to match its opponent. The really scary part starts now.”
“Why are you saying that so calmly! Yuma’s going to be killed if this keeps up!!”
Kanzaki looked at Yuma with a desperate expression.
Yuma, clad in metal armor and wielding a large hammer, stood still before the massive monster, panting.