"Everyone! Move!"
Belle shouted as Ouka hoisted the unconscious Chigusa onto his shoulders and the others scrambled to steer clear.
The creature surged forward, its massive body crashing through the street as if it were paper, pulverizing the spot where Belle and the others had been standing only moments earlier.
"—!!"
Belle, who was the closest to the monster, barely rolled aside, stone shards cutting into her arms as she hit the ground hard.
'Too fast...!'
Her heart lurched as she scrambled to her feet.
The plant monster screeched, enraged now, its vines writhing violently as several of them shot forward at once.
Belle raised both of her weapons instinctively...
A sharp impact rang out as the Hestia Knife intercepted the attack, the sound of collision echoing through the street and clearly showcasing its durability.
'What an amazing knife...'
However, when the next strike came, Belle raised her other weapon to block.
The moment it met the monster's blow...
The dagger shattered instantly, bursting into fragments that flew in every direction.
Metal shrapnel grazed her left cheek, drawing a thin line of blood as she staggered back.
And yet... the assault didn't stop.
CRACK!
Pain exploded through her side.
"Guh—!"
One vine struck her ribs head-on, sending her skidding across the street like a rag doll.
She slammed into a shattered stall, the impact driving the air from her lungs.
Belle coughed violently, vision blurring as she forced herself upright.
'Move!'
'If I stop, I'm dead!'
The monster didn't give her time.
Its shadow loomed overhead as its massive stalk came crashing down.
Belle threw herself forward at the last second.
The ground exploded behind her.
She hit the street again, scraping her palms raw as she rolled.
Her breathing came out broken and uneven.
Her eyes flicked to the others.
From the monster's earlier charge, the others had not come out unscathed.
Ouka was badly injured, one arm hanging limply as he carried Chigusa over his shoulder.
Mikoto was supporting another wounded familia member, her clothes soaked through with blood.
The sight sent Belle's thoughts racing as she searched desperately for a way out of the situation.
There were three options before them.
'We can run... defeat the monster ourselves... or stall long enough for a higher-level adventurer to arrive and slay it.'
The first option... running away... was discarded instantly.
'Retreating would only put us at a greater danger. That monster is faster than us... and trying to escape while carrying the injured is impossible.'
The second option... defeating the monster themselves... seemed like the most straightforward answer at first.
But Belle knew better.
'It'll be difficult... the monster is too strong. And since it's a new species, we don't even know where its magic stone is.'
When facing a powerful monster, the usual strategy was to target the magic stone.
Destroy it, and the body would crumble into ash.
But that was easier said than done.
A monster wouldn't simply stand still and allow it.
Then there was the third option... stalling for time and hoping someone stronger would arrive.
Perhaps members of the Ganesha Familia... if they weren't already stretched thin.
'It's uncertain...'
Whether they would fall before help arrived... or whether help would arrive at all... there were far too many unknowns.
'What am I thinking? Stop being so pessimistic.'
Belle shook her head, realizing doubt had begun to creep into her thoughts.
'The moment your mind falters, you've already lost.'
Alfia's voice echoed clearly in her head.
'That's right... a hero can't allow their judgment to be clouded by fear or negativity.'
'I just have to do what I can do.'
The time for hesitation was over.
Belle steadied her breathing, tightening her grip on her blades as she focused entirely on the present.
The monster roared and charged again.
Belle clenched her teeth, forced herself into a stance as she grabbed an extra dagger from her holster.
She dashed in, slashing wildly at the incoming vines.
Shing!
Shing!
Two vines were cut cleanly... but a third wrapped around her ankle.
"Ah!"
She was yanked off her feet, her body smashing against the ground as she was dragged across the street.
Pain ripped through her leg.
Her dagger slipped from her grasp.
The vine lifted her into the air, tightening around her waist.
Her ribs screamed as pressure crushed down on her lungs.
'I can't breathe!'
Belle's vision darkened at the edges.
Her fingers brushed something cold.
The Hestia Knife.
"—!"
With a desperate cry, Belle drove the blade into the vine constricting her.
The monster shrieked and loosened its grip.
Just enough.
Belle tore herself free and crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop several meters away.
"Belle! Watch out!"
Hestia's shout made Belle turn her head.
Her pupils shrank when she saw the monster's jaws already upon her, gaping wide and ready to devour her whole.
'It's too fast... I can't move out of the way in time.'
She grit her teeth and shut her eyes.
But the expected pain never came.
When Belle opened them again, the plant monster was frozen in place, its maw still wide open.
"I respectfully speak to you, my War God who can break through anything. Lead me from the precious heavens. Grant my petty body the divine power of your grand form..."
A chant echoed through the battlefield.
The monster twisted its head, its attention snapping toward the source of the voice.
There... Mikoto knelt on the ground, hands clasped as she continued her incantation.
It was as if the monster had completely forgotten about Belle.
With a furious screech, it charged toward Mikoto, treating her as its sole target.
'That thing reacts to magic.'
Belle forced herself upright and snatched the Hestia Knife from the ground.
'This is our chance.'
She tensed her legs and sprinted forward.
"Everyone! Protect Mikoto!"
Ouka shouted as he and the other members of the Takemikazuchi Familia rushed in, swinging their weapons down with everything they had.
"Ahh!"
The plant monster screeched and bulldozed straight through them, bodies flying through the air like broken dolls.
Judging by its movements, it was almost as if the monster snorted in disdain before turning its head once more, preparing to charge again.
However...
"Stay here!"
Despite the pain wracking his battered body, Ouka threw himself forward, wrapping his only functioning arm around the creature's massive form and holding it in place.
One by one, the remaining adventurers followed suit, clinging to the monster's vines and stalk with grim determination.
"Rescue them, light of purification. Sword of crushing evil. Sweep forth, blade of suppression... sacred sword of conquest. By my command, arrive here now..."
Mikoto ignored the chaos unfolding before her, her voice steady as she continued chanting.
Sensing the danger of the spell, the monster roared in rage and thrashed violently.
The adventurers' grips loosened one after another, and they were flung away in every direction.
Over a dozen adventurers working together... and they could only hold it back for a few seconds.
And yet...
Those few seconds were enough.
"Descend from heaven and rule the earth... Shinbu Tōsei..."
A purple magic circle flared to life.
"Futsunomitama!"
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