The size of a Demon Beast increases as its Beast Rank rises.
However, there are of course differences between species and individuals. Even among Lesser Beasts, a mouse and an elephant are definitely different in size, with the latter being much larger.
As for me, judging from the size ratio with the Demon Beasts I’ve fought so far, I’m probably a little below average.
I even lost to the Earth Kou, after all.
And then there’s this tiny body, about half the size of my already small frame. That was the appearance of the White Weasel before me.
But that doesn’t mean its power is also small.
In fact, it was gathering power in its hind legs—
“(—It’s coming!)”
Just as the blizzard caused by Zone Control blurred the enemy’s figure, I followed my intuition and released the Replicant Form of the Crimson Wings that hadn’t been destroyed.
Gakiin!
A high-pitched, metallic sound echoed loudly.
It was the sound of the White Weasel’s scythe (・) hitting my body, which has Toughness: 20,000.
Yes, the White Weasel was equipped with scythes.
No, it’s more accurate to say they were part of its body. At the tips of both forelegs, transparent blades of ice grew like claws.
It must have used these scythes for its first attack.
The fact that the damaged area was frozen suggests that, as it appears, it also has the effect of freezing its target. Even though the blade itself bounced off my skin, there’s a slight cold sensation.
“(Lightning Strike!)”
“Kiki!”
“(Well, it dodged, huh?)”
I immediately counterattacked, but the result was as expected.
My attacks couldn’t keep up with the White Weasel’s agility, which seemed to leave the wind behind.
“(I knew it, but the stat difference is rough.)”
My stats are still low for an Calamity Beast, as I’ve just undergone Evolution.
My Resist exceeded two thousand with the Earth Kou’s Experience Points, and even my lowest Power is about one thousand eight hundred… but even so, considering the Earth Kou’s average stats were two thousand, I’m still in the development stage.
I wouldn’t be a match for an Calamity Beast that has spent many years in the Great Demon Territory.
“(Even so, this speed difference is abnormal. It doesn’t feel like its Power is particularly outstanding, so is it a Speed-specialized type?)”
While analyzing, I focused my awareness on my surroundings.
In fact, the White Weasel had been running around me since a while ago, and was repeating a hit-and-away tactic, attacking when it saw an opening and immediately retreating.
With its overwhelming Speed, it was cutting through my dynamic vision, even with the Blink correction, and showering me with attacks that I couldn’t react to.
Landing a counterattack was out of the question.
I couldn’t help but wish I could have used the Earth Kou’s gravity magic eye as a weapon.
The key to that Skill wasn’t the eyeball, but the brain that interprets visual information, so I couldn’t make it a special effect.
“(But there are still plenty of ways to do this! S (Sparkle) U (Aproot)!)”
~Skill Details~
S (Sparkle) U (Aproot): Can imbue Mana with destructive power and fire it. Constantly boosts Mana output. Constantly boosts Mana attack performance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An abundance of Mana was released as magic bullets aimed in all directions.
The key to this S (Sparkle) U (Aproot) is the Mana firing… and other effects.
Rather, the Mana firing effect isn’t used in actual combat.
It’s more fuel-efficient to turn my body into an Artifact and fire than to use S (Sparkle) U (Aproot).
Also, the convergence accuracy of Mana is incredibly high, and the power hardly decreases even at a considerable distance.
If I use U (Update), I can customize it freely, and this time I set it to prioritize bullet speed to make it harder to dodge.
“Kukuu!”
But as expected, the White Weasel moved its small body nimbly, dodging the barrage of magic bullets with speed that was hard to follow.
The next moment I recognized that, its ice scythes were already hitting me.
With this speed difference, it wouldn’t have hit even if I had used L (Lock-on) AIM normally.
“(Replicant Form!)”
I immediately thrust out the Forest Turtle’s Halberd, but of course it was evaded.
Not only that, it even managed to land two slashes on the Halberd as it dodged.
It seems the White Weasel has a Combo Skill, and the Halberd’s shaft snapped with a crack.
All that remained were frozen necrotic cells. Strangely, there was no pain, probably due to the White Weasel’s Skill effect.
“(Replicant Form, sixfold!)”
While being slashed by the White Weasel that had instantly moved behind me, I imitated two types of weapons.
One was the Red Whip. A whip made from the Red Lizard, it emits magma-like high temperatures.
And the other was the Kou Spear.
A spear made from the Earth Kou, using the giant blade of its tail as the spearhead. It’s the largest Demon Beast weapon I have.
I imitated three of each of these two types and prepared for an attack.
The White Weasel, on the other hand, didn’t approach my main body, but started attacking the tip of the Kou Spear from just outside its range.
It must have realized that imitated weapons were a weakness after destroying the Halberd following the Crimson Wings.
“(That was close, even if they’re Calamity Beast weapons, they’ll break if they’re slashed too many times.)”
When I put my will into the Kou Spear, it bent like a snake raising its head, and stayed close to me.
The Kou Spear has a structure similar to a multi-section staff, and can be moved freely just by thinking about it.
This got me out of the situation of being attacked from a safe distance, but the White Weasel’s offensive showed no signs of weakening.
From the start, I couldn’t keep up with its speed at all.
I was swinging my weapons around wildly, but there was no sign of them hitting.
The Red Whip, which instantly evaporates any snowflakes it touches, was being observed, but the Kou Spear was steadily accumulating damage.
It was only a matter of time before it broke… and before that time came, it was time for my preparation to bear fruit.
“(Gen Shield, activate!)”
A faint light spread from the Artifact I had been imitating inside my body.
It was the moment the White Weasel finished its “hit” and was about to “away.” The light of deceleration captured the White Weasel as it tried to move away from me.
“(Replicant Form—)”
I immediately imitated the Forest Hammer, and swung it down while stepping forward.
It was a trajectory that would definitely hit the White Weasel in its current state, but… my opponent was also skilled.
It created a wall of ice between me and it, and kicked off it to accelerate further.
It retreated faster than the Forest Hammer could fall, landing on the ground far away,
“(—Quake Swing!)”
And at that timing, the Forest Hammer shook the ice floor.
This was the first time I used this Skill in this battle. It would cause some confusion and disrupt its posture.
Of course, that alone wouldn’t create enough of an opening to land an attack, but…
“Kiki!?”
“(Blast Dash! L (Lock-on) AIM! Lightning Strike!)”
The White Weasel, with its eyes wide open, looked up.
There, were countless meteors.
Breaking through the blizzard created by Zone Control, a meteor shower of magic bullets was falling.
It was nothing special, just a simple trick. I had simply set the trajectory of the magic bullets I had fired earlier to rise into the sky and then fall.
Changing trajectories was a popular technology in the Etha Kingdom.
I couldn’t predict the White Weasel’s future position, but if it was close enough, I could handle it with L (Lock-on) AIM in the end.
The magic bullets, set to prioritize speed to make them difficult to dodge, would land within a fraction of a second after entering the White Weasel’s Mana detection range.
A fraction of a second would be enough time for the White Weasel to evade, but that was if the ground (ice) was normal.
In addition, I landed a Lightning Strike in the gap created by its surprise and stiffening at the falling magic bullets.
The Lightning Strike, with the S (Sparkle) U (Aproot) boost, had considerable power, and delayed the White Weasel’s actions by another beat.
“(Compact Thrust, Compact Whip!)”
I and the magic bullets, closing the distance, reached the White Weasel at the same time.