I looked up at the monster’s huge frame, which seemed like it was made out of tempered steel. It was a one-eyed giant that moved like a sentient mountain. It held a club made of stone in its right hand. It was…
“A cyclops…”
Ruchika, standing beside me, spoke its name as if talking to herself. It was indeed a cyclops—a demon soldier that was said to have single-handedly mowed down dozens to hundreds of humans in the Great Human-Demon War.
“Leonie, get everyone to safety. This isn’t the kind of opponent regular humans can take on.”
“…What do you plan to do?”
“I’ll buy you all some time to escape.”
“You can’t! This isn’t like a child fighting an adult—you’d be crazy to take that thing on!”
Her opponent was gigantic, like its own fortress. While Ruchika was certainly strong, I didn’t think there was anything she could do against it.
“I’ll use Gluttony at full power right from the beginning. It’ll be okay. I can at least buy you some time. Now go!”
She pushed hard at my back, making me stumble forward. When I looked back, she was already standing within reach of the cyclops. Slipping past the storm of club attacks, which looked like they could pulverize her with the slightest hit, she closed in on the giant.
“Ruchika… Please, stay safe…!”
There was no room for carelessness now. I needed to use the time Ruchika had bought for us and get the others evacuated to a safe place.
“Everyone, please remain calm and keep your distance! Slow and steady!”
Even though we hero cadets had been trained in this kind of thing, the students couldn’t help but be shaken by a threat of this level. Yet still, thanks to that training, they didn’t end up panicking. Without any pushing or shoving, they moved in an organized manner away from the monster.
“Leonie!”
“Nor? Please, get back!”
“I want to help Ruchika. I promise I won’t get in the way.”
“—!”
I was surprised. Nor was usually so timid and fearful. While she was surely one of the most-skilled students in our class, people overlooked her ability because of her disposition. But now that very girl wanted to stand up and fight against this terrifying cyclops.
“It’ll be dangerous.”
“I know. But I’m a hero cadet. And I think if my mother was in this situation, she’d do the same. I can’t just sit by and watch this thing kill Ruchika!”
“…Very well. Please, lend her your strength, Nor!”
“Okay!”
We exchanged determined nods as we headed back to the battlefield together.
“Leonie?! And Nor?! What are you doing back here?!”
Ruchika let out a scream when she saw us. Kicking off the cyclops’s boulder-like chest, she took a moment to retreat toward us.
“We don’t want you to fight alone.”
“We can help you!”
I used healing magic on Ruchika, who was already covered in wounds from just a short period of fighting. Then Nor chanted a support magic spell and cast it upon us all. I could feel power welling up inside me.
“Man, you guys never learn, do you?” said Ruchika.
“Speak for yourself,” I responded.
“This isn’t the time to chat, you two. Here it comes!” shouted Nor.
We ended our short meeting and scattered, and an explosive attack immediately came slamming down on the spot we had just been standing.
“Such strength…”
We had learned in detail about cyclops monsters in lecture. As soldiers, they adopted a fighting style that prioritized brute physical strength over using mana or battle aura. They excelled in both attack and defense and would rush into battle without even bothering to defend against superficial attacks.
“Tch…! Gluttony doesn’t work on this thing!”
It sounded like Ruchika was getting irritated. Gluttony allowed her to consume her opponent’s mana and battle aura and convert it into her own power. But this cyclops relied on brute strength alone, so there wasn’t anything for her to absorb.
“I’ll stop it from moving. Ruchika, Nor, you attack it!”
“!”
“G-got it!”
I quickly chanted a spell, aiming at where the Cyclops was standing.
“Muddy Soil!”
“—!”
One of the giant’s thick, log-like feet began to sink into the ground. Having lost its footing, the monster was momentarily rendered unable to move.
“Go for it, Ruchika! Air Burst!”
“Yaaaaah!”
As Ruchika threw a punch at the monster, Nor cast a wind magic attack in its direction as well. Their target: its gigantic eye. That was the cyclops’s only weak point.
But—
“Oh no! Ruchika, watch out!”
“?!”
“Grrraaah!”
My Gear had shown me a prediction of Ruchika being deflected and thrown backward. But my warning was too late; the cyclops let out a resounding roar, and Ruchika was sent flying back like a ball. Her small body bounced once, twice against the ground before stopping and going motionless.
“Ruchika!” I shouted.
“Leonie, I’ll distract it, so you heal her!”
“Okay!”
As Nor began a magical chant to stop the cyclops from moving, I ran over to Ruchika. It appeared she had managed to put up her guard before taking a hit from the cyclops, but still, she was covered in injuries from head to toe. Of particular concern was her left hand, whose bones were pulverized, appearing to have taken the brunt of the cyclops’s club.
“Ruchika, hold on!”
I used all my power to cast healing magic on her, but the damage she had taken was too great. She remained unconscious.
“Kyaaaaa!!”
Hearing a scream, I turned to the cyclops and saw that it had clasped one of its hands around Nor and started to squeeze her entire body.
“Aaaah…!”
I heard a faint sound—Nor’s bones were beginning to creak under the pressure. At this rate, our defeat was inevitable. I racked my brains for something I could do.
Then I remembered the time Ruchika had spoken about how auras had different flavors.
“Ruchika, your Gluttony is an ability that absorbs others’ aura and mana and converts them into power. And the more compatible the wavelengths of that aura, the more power you receive—isn’t that right?”
In that case… Ruchika was still unconscious in my arms. Looking down at her innocent face, her eyes still closed, I began to charge up my mana inside my body.
“Ruchika, I believe in your power—and in our bond.”
Even if Ruchika did wake up, I wondered how much more she could fight against that monster, and how her Gluttony ability would vary based on our compatibility. Both factors were uncertain, but I decided to trust in them.
If we wanted enough power to take down the cyclops, I couldn’t be stingy with my mana. I gathered it from every nook, every cranny of my body. I had to give everything I had to Ruchika, even if it meant my life. Feeling a strange sensation begin to bubble up within me, I drew close to Ruchika’s face.
“I entrust myself—my everything—to you. So please, Ruchika—”
I pressed my lips against hers.
Drunk on the ecstasy of my burning, overflowing mana, I poured everything I had into Ruchika. I could feel my power draining from within me, from the root of my very being. But I still didn’t stop sending mana into her body.
Please, Ruchika. Wake up.
I sensed my body empty out, and just before my consciousness faded away, I felt power beginning to overflow from someplace even deeper.
What is this…?
A dazzling, explosive light began to shimmer.