I roared, dashed, arrived, and slashed. A clearly different sensation from before ran through my palms. Id Invicius was tough, but I could cut it. I wasn’t sure whether I’d reached its meat, but I had definitely pierced its skin. I now had conviction that my blade worked. My spirit soared, surpassing the fear and panic I’d once felt in the face of this enormous foe.
All kinds of emotions ran through my heart in an instant. This was probably the polar opposite of a zen state, but it wasn’t a hindrance at all, nor was it unpleasant. It was a form of energy that I needed at that moment.
“Graaaah!”
Naturally, one hit wasn’t enough to bring down this opponent. My blade worked, but due to its sheer size, it couldn’t be killed quickly. Things would’ve been different if I could’ve bisected it in a single slash, but that was definitely impossible against a monster this size—at least with human strength and without magic.
“Allucia, shave away at it! Joshua, only this part of the chest can be cut!”
“Right!”
“Understood!”
Following Surena’s example, I fell back out of range of its forelegs. Being able to attack didn’t mean we had to sit there and wait for a counterattack. Considering its size and strength, one blow would take us out of the fight.
However, I’d already participated in such battles multiple times. Zeno Grable and Lono Ambrosia had been the same, and if anything, the saberboar boss from last summer had been too. The plan was to avoid fatal wounds while steadily driving in attacks. Such was the motto of our dojo: fight without losing.
On my own, and even teaming with Surena, it would normally be impossible to beat Id Invicius. The ability to turn invisible and its absolute defenses were beyond us. We wouldn’t even have been able to identify the weak point on its chest.
It was due to Lucy’s aid that we’d broken through that iron fortress. If Allucia, Joshua, and Misty hadn’t been here, we wouldn’t have had enough hands on deck, leading to a much more difficult time. Though it was a bit weird to interpret it this way, it was precisely because of their help that we’d discarded the possibility of using some nonsensical magic to obtain an unsatisfying victory over our fated foe.
“Heh... Ha ha...!”
The current situation was born of many coincidences and lots of luck. The world wasn’t so soft that the best result always came to be, of course. You could almost laugh at this grand intersection of fate. That just seems to be my style.
I didn’t fit the picture of a hero who cut his way through all obstacles in the world on his own. But with everyone pushing my back, I somehow managed to face forward. It was quite a lot of progress compared to my days of always looking behind or down.
I’d once recklessly charged this enemy only to limp home beaten and bruised. Since then, I’d improved my skills, but no matter how much I polished my art, I would never claim to be able to beat this thing on my own. A swordsman’s compatibility against its abilities was far too lousy—I wouldn’t even have been able to observe it in a one-on-one fight.
Regardless, victory was now in sight. A part of this was because I’d definitely grown, but a far larger factor was because I was blessed with many connections. I could also rely freely on these reassuring allies of mine.
This was a choice I could make because of my age. On a global scale, there wasn’t much my strength could accomplish on its own. But figuring that out at a young age would’ve been too much to ask of me.
Still, I’ve come to realize that now. That’s why I can beat you. You’ve looked down on us humans too much, Id Invicius, though it might not sound convincing from someone who’s totally relying on others to win.
“Graaaaah!”
“Quite the roar. I get how you feel.”
Id Invicius was clearly panicking. It cried out in irritation. Or maybe it was trying to bluff. That said, I really did understand how it felt. It should’ve had an overwhelming advantage, free to pick off humans at its leisure, but the entire situation had been flipped on its head due to the appearance of a single person: Lucy Diamond. It was a horrible joke if you looked at it from the monster’s perspective.
We couldn’t afford to lose. You could say this was the kind of monster that was impossible to defeat without someone of Lucy’s level around. If we didn’t kill it here, it was easy to imagine the harm it could inflict in the future.
The battle was taking a hectic change in our favor as Joshua let out a sharp command.
“Misty!”
“Yes, sir!”
Misty immediately responded with a crack of her whip. I was glad to see that they were this coordinated in battle. Joshua did call her his partner, after all. She had a perfect grasp of what he wanted just from a single call of her name.
“I can only buy a moment,” she said. “The rest is up to you.”
“Grrrrrrr!”
Much like before, Misty’s whip wrapped around Id Invicius’s leg, but this time, she held her ground. It was like a tug of war. Obviously, she had no way of winning such a contest. Misty’s strength wouldn’t last for more than an instant—anyone could see that. Nevertheless, she braced herself for as long as she could, all to buy a split second. Thanks to that, its foreleg was halted.
“Oooooh!”
The path to its chest was now open—more than enough for a swordsman of Joshua’s caliber to exploit. Surena and I wouldn’t be able to make it in time. The reason was simple: We weren’t in sync with Misty. That was a necessity for taking advantage of such a small window. I wasn’t looking down on her abilities or anything, but it was pretty hard to team up with someone for the first time, especially when they were using an unfamiliar weapon.