Chapter 18: Extra: The Onslaught of Despair 2

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The moment the Skullhound Lord let out a roar, the air around them changed entirely. It was as if the world itself had gained hostility, the surroundings filling with scorching miasma. Elena took a step back and pressed her back against the wall as she stared at the enemy.

That thing was not just an undead-attribute monster. The density of the miasma, the surrounding mana reactions, the nature of the blazing black flames… No matter which aspect she looked at, it existed on an entirely different level than the gargoyles they had been fighting earlier.

Its beast-shaped skull face creaked, gi-gi…, as it turned toward them.

Their eyes met. The bluish-white flames burning in its eye sockets glittered as though they pierced straight into the depths of Elena’s soul. In that instant, her legs froze. Her instincts screamed at her to run. But she couldn’t. Forcing down her fear, Elena took a deep breath and began preparing to chant.

“I guess we have no choice. Here we go!”

At Elena’s shout, Garo, Fran, and Julius each answered: “Oh!” “Yeah!” “Of course.” She wanted to retort, Who’s the real leader of this party?, but this clearly wasn’t the time for that.

“Source of all creation, power that permeates all things… O flame, form a barrier!〈Flame Wall〉!”

She quickly deployed a wall of fire in front of them, buying distance from the enemy. But the Skullhound Lord didn’t even flinch at the barrier. Instead, it opened its mouth wide and inhaled in one massive gulp.

“What… No way!?”

Elena’s flames were swallowed in an instant. After licking up her flames clean, the Skullhound Lord’s magical energy swelled.

“Elena, fire won’t work! It’ll eat it and turn it into fuel!”

“Yes, quite regrettably so!”

Julius shouted, and Elena yelled back. She didn’t need to be told that. But who would ever expect an enemy to eat a wall of fire? Immediately after, as if saying “Here’s your payback,” the Skullhound Lord spat out the flames it had just consumed toward them.

“Leave it to me!”

Fran instantly cast 〈Holy Shell〉, barely preventing a direct hit. However, the heatwave broke her stance, and she dropped to one knee.

“Hot—!! Hey, this thing is way too strong! My holy magic can’t block that!!”

At Fran’s pained cry, Elena couldn’t say anything in reply. She felt exactly the same. This thing was far above their level. They should have been thinking about retreat rather than fighting. But the men hadn’t realized that yet. Garo immediately charged forward with his axe raised.

“Gahahaha! Magic might be strong, but a bag of bones like this? I’ll smash it to dust with one hit!”

With a dull sound, the axe struck the Skullhound Lord’s shoulder. But—it was the axe, not the bone, that broke. Clink, the blade chipped off.

“Wha-…What the hell!? M-my axe…!”

Garo’s expression stiffened. The Skullhound Lord slowly tilted its head, then swung its thick bony tail. A shockwave-like strike erupted, and Garo’s massive body was sent flying into a wall.

“Gah!”

“Garo, are you okay!?”

Fran shouted, but she couldn’t run over to heal him. The monster’s gaze had shifted to her. At this rate, she would be the next target.

You little… Don’t you dare look down on humans!

Elena immediately began chanting to draw its attention toward herself.

“Source of all creation, power that permeates all things… O ice, become spears that pierce the enemy—〈Ice Spear〉!”

Four ice lances formed around Elena and shot toward the Skullhound Lord in a straight line. But it didn’t show any sign of taking damage; it remained completely unfazed.

“No way…!? Physical attacks don’t work, magic doesn’t work… How are we supposed to beat something like this!?”

Her cry of despair was soon followed by Julius’s irritated voice from behind her.

“Fran, use Analyze! Hurry and find this mutt’s weakness!”

Julius readied his sword and ran forward. He deliberately took the monster’s front to draw its attention.

“Come on then, fight me—gah!”

The Skullhound Lord’s foreleg slammed down. Julius blocked with his sword, but its brute strength sent him flying. This was bad. Without knowing the weakness, nothing they did mattered.

“Fran, hurry!”

Julius shouted.

“I’m trying… But it doesn’t have a weakness!”

Fran strained her eyes, reading the creature’s mana wavelength. But no clear weakness appeared.

“That doesn’t make sense, that shouldn’t happen…!”

Then Fran’s expression suddenly shifted in realization. Watching Julius and Garo desperately hold the monster back, Elena asked.

“You figured something out!?”

“…It’s a curse attribute.”

Fran’s face twisted in despair. Just like the proverb “Cursing others digs two graves”, a curse attribute monster’s weakness was also a curse attribute.

“Then that means…”

“Yeah. Lloyd’s magic sword would’ve taken it down easily.”

The moment Fran said his name, Julius’s expression twisted during the battle.

“That’s impossible! Even without that defective loser, I can handle this myself!”

Julius roared and stepped forward. He lifted his sword high, gathering magic throughout his body.

“I’ll finish this. Take this, my ultimate—”

『GwoooooOOOOOOONNN!!』

Before Julius could unleash his ultimate skill 〈Rainbow Blade〉, the Skullhound Lord’s roar thundered out. The air trembled, their vision warped, and Julius’s mana spiraled out of control.

“Ugh… Aaah…!?”

Julius’s eyes lost focus, and he collapsed to his knees. The sword he held trembled and lost all strength.

“D-damn… M-my strength… It won’t…!”

His sword fell helplessly, never swung. The Skullhound Lord’s roar apparently had a mana-disrupting effect. If hit by it, magic became unusable.

“N-no way… We… Struggling against a monster like this… Impossible…”

Even Julius, who had been acting so confident, showed despair on his face.

This is bad…This is really bad…

Magic and physical attacks didn’t work, and the roar even corroded their minds. How were they supposed to win against an enemy they couldn’t even endure? Even so, Elena didn’t stop chanting. She continued inside her heart.

Fran can still move. And I’m still…

Julius twisted his expression, gritted his teeth, and forced himself back to his feet.

“Don’t screw with me. Even without that guy… I… I won’t lose!”

He raised his sword once more, but his hand trembled uncontrollably. If he couldn’t use his ultimate attack, Julius’s attacks wouldn’t get through at all.

If only Lloyd were here…

Elena called his name deep in her chest. If he were here, they could have fought even a monster of this level. With that black magic sword, he might have been able to extinguish this cursed flame. But… Lloyd wasn’t here now. Julius had expelled him from the party, and Elena and Fran had given up trying to stop it.

What do we do…? How do we get out of this predicament…?

The skeletal demon hound quietly stared at them as if it were deciding who to kill next. At this rate, total annihilation was unavoidable. Elena made her decision.

“Julius, Garo, buy us some time. Fran and I will look for a breakthrough!”

“What!? Who do you think I am!? Don’t order me around!”

“Then give us instructions, Hero-sama! If you can turn this situation around, then do something!”

At Elena’s shout, Julius ground his teeth hard. Then, with frustration thick in his voice, he muttered:

“Fine… I’ll do it seriously. Time for a Resonance Skill.”

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