It was incredible. Camilla, alone, was cutting down hundreds of the assaulting tentacles.
This was the essence of her unique magical abilities. Decapitator shrank and expanded, moving as if it had a will of its own as it severed everything in a whirling dance.
The buffs I had cast were reckless, but Camilla was still standing. In fact, she had perfected movements that were only possible in theory, further polishing her skills in real time to stand on equal footing with the boss. She was keeping at bay a monster that a whole army couldn’t take on, all by herself.
Could anyone else have accomplished such a feat? I highly doubted it. This battle was inching into the territory of the heroes of legend.
This was what the strongest warrior in all of Filburn was capable of. I was really working with someone special.
I realized we couldn’t waste the time she was buying us. We healed the injured and prepared to run just as she had ordered.
“Heidemarie!” I carried two party members on my back while monitoring Camilla’s buffs, but then caught sight of Heidemarie carrying one of the injured herself. She was tiny, but she had always been strong.
“Wim! I knew you’d be safe!”
Maybe our schedules had just been busy lately, but it felt like we hadn’t spoken in a while.
“These are Camilla’s orders! She doesn’t need backup, so let’s do this together. Um, I’ll help carry him.”
“Thanks.”
That’s right, my job was to maintain Camilla’s buffs while I escaped with everyone else. That was it. Wait, what did I mean, “that was it”? This was a nearly impossible task, which meant I needed to give this my all.
“Hans is safe, but the other enemy detection squads next to him aren’t doing so hot. Let’s go.”
“Got it.”
I followed her, but damn did my body feel heavy. I wondered why. I was obviously tired, but that wasn’t it. It was as if there was a weight enveloping my legs.
Oh, that’s right. This was what I had felt that time with Drachenflügel. But I didn’t have the luxury of thinking about that right now.
Focus, Wim! Follow Camilla’s orders.
“Hey, Wim?”
Ugh, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. Why? This had never happened before! No, that was just an excuse.
Focus, Wim Strauss. You can do this. You’ve always made it through. Count to three, and when you’re done, go back to normal. You don’t need to think about this. The members of Nachtlibelle are all elites.
“Wim.”
All right. One, two…
“Hey, Wim!” Heidemarie screamed. “Look at me, you idiot!”
“Wh-what?”
“Let me tell you exactly what face you’re making.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“It’s stiff, and you’ve got that half-smile on your face. The same you always wore when you were still sucking up to Chronos!”
“What are you—”
“Don’t run, Wim. Think.”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
She didn’t stop, but her words were sharp enough to cut through my heart. “You’re hesitating, Wim.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Warmth rushed through my body. The discontent that always swirled within me—the same that had always hindered me—continued to dissipate.
I could go further. Much further!
There were more tentacles now, as the boss had stopped attacking the others and focused on me instead. Just as I had hoped.
What would I do once I went further? The answer was simple—cause it even more trouble. I would raise myself to my absolute limits until I found the right time to strike. Landing that single blow would open a path to escape.
So go further, Camilla! Move quicker and faster until you find the right time! My senses still didn’t quite align with my movements, but they had begun to slowly synchronize. Go further! Swing your sword! Go further, Camilla! Raise yourself up! Go higher!
My eyes could now trace every squirming tentacle in sight, and so I swung. My partner and I worked together to refine our movements, cutting down and repelling as many tentacles as possible with each slice.
A concrete image came to mind—the silver flowers Wim had created when fighting the golem. His blade moved as fast as lightning, leaving behind an afterimage. If I could recreate that here, I could get as close to the beast as I wanted.
That thought occurred to me just as I began to feel like I had finally gotten a hang of things. I was almost there! I could feel myself getting closer to that movement, and now I needed to recreate it—to move my arms and make sure I accomplished what I thought I could.
I leaped, spun, and slashed over and over. Occasionally, I would miss and go flying, but I kept a firm hold onto my partner, regained a proper stance, and immediately swung again.
I didn’t know how much time had passed. While it felt like an eternity, I was sure it had only been a moment.
The time had come. The beast was no longer attacking.
That was my moment, and as soon as I realized it, I kicked off the ground. My partner rippled like an ocean wave, ballooning in size. And I was airborne.
“[Giant Hunter.]”
It was a strike of pure perfection—without a doubt the best I had ever managed, not just in power, but in the fact that even the tiniest of movements culminated into a single, fluid strike. There was zero room for improvement. I could proudly say with confidence that there was nothing in the world that wouldn’t be torn asunder by this blow.
If only I actually landed the blow.
As absurd as it was, the boss rippled and promptly leaped to the side.