“‘Thunder’! ‘Blaze’! ‘Thunder’! ‘Blaze’!”
What Shinpō had gained through [Ability Awakening] was a new derivative attribute.
One of them, the basic level of lightning-attribute magic, was called “Thunder.”
As the name suggests, it caused a bolt of lightning to strike directly onto the enemy’s head, accompanied by an ear-splitting roar and blinding light.
The [Needle Demon Tree Troll], subjected to repeated bursts of explosions and falling thunder, twisted its body while letting out cries of agony.
Since magic combat in reality was not turn-based, it was possible to fire off spells in rapid succession like this.
Moreover, with no limit on mana and virtually no cooldown time, the display was truly spectacular.
Now that unique monsters had been added as new enemies, Shinpō’s firepower had increased in importance during their island life.
“Wh- Wait, isn’t one person doing this enough? Doesn’t it look like Yonjō-san alone is handling it?”
Momo could be heard saying that, barely audible over the roar as she plugged her ears.
My rock-falling attack continued steadily, but I didn’t think it was inflicting as much damage as Shinpō’s.
Also, since the enemy’s leaves were scattering from taking Shinpō’s attacks, I was storing those up as well.
Who knows what they might be useful for later.
The name stays as is: 『Leaves of the Needle-Demon Tree』.
If the unique monster doesn’t reappear, this battle will be the only way to obtain it.
Since you can’t recover it if you need it later without having it now, there’s no harm in securing it while you’re here.
“Shijou’s magical attacks are certainly magnificent, but… that’s only because we have support like the staff Kuno created, Yumei-san’s barrier, and Kan’a’s spectral beast. That’s why things are going one-sidedly this way.”
“I know, I know! You’re so much like a mother, Nene!”
Momo looked exasperated, while Inui seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Even if Fuka-hou is our main damage dealer, it doesn’t mean the others’ attacks are wasted.”
“You’re right, Kuno. With enemies that size, shooting arrows one by one feels pointless, but it’s definitely better than doing nothing.”
Tsubasa said this as she fired arrow after arrow at the enemy’s humanoid face portion.
“So… I’d like to believe there’s meaning in even the unglamorous jobs.”
Inimori made his shadow creep along the enemy’s wooden skin, climbing it up to a branch, where he then solidified.
Huge shadows, modeled after human arms, seized the branches and crushed them.
“No, Inimori. That performance of yours wasn’t unremarkable at all…”
Despite Fukaho’s over-the-top showmanship, it was a sufficiently active contribution.
“Hai! R-Really? …If you say so, Kuwano-kun, then that’s nice to hear.”
Inimori quivered with delight.
“Mm. Also, the mysterious blackboard refused questions about the unique individual. We should consider that there is some secret involved.”
Chiyu, clinging to my waist atop the Micron, said.
Meaning we shouldn’t expect to simply overpower them one-sidedly like this.
As if turning such a premonition into reality, the enemy shuddered greatly—and then it came.
Countless leaves were unleashed in all directions.
Each one as sharp as a knife; thousands must have been launched.
Judging that if they couldn’t see us, attacking from every angle was the way to go.
Possessing such a means of survival, it was indeed befitting of her as a Unique individual.
“—Storage!”
I shouted the command at split-second panic, stuffing as many leaves into my 『Inventory』 as I could process, but there was no way I could store them all.
Countless leaves closed in on us.
Then, some of them deflected just before reaching us.
It was Serina’s barrier.
Yet it couldn’t deflect everything.
“Gh…!”
Serina let out a cry of pain.
The endless barrage of leaves tore through her barrier.
But we weren’t impaled.
It was because there wasn’t just one barrier layer.
Every time a single layer broke, the leaves inched closer to us, their total number dwindling with each breach until they smashed through again only to slam into the next barrier, the cycle repeating at high speed. “Microon! Highrow!”
The phantasms flew higher than ever before, ascending even faster than I could call their names.
Even if the barriers rendered us invisible, the deflection had revealed our location to the enemy.
Thinking about what would happen once we weathered this storm, staying in this spot was a mistake.
“Sorry!
Need a breather!”
Serina called out with a pained expression.
“Deep spell!” 『Water Wall』!!!
Serina’s final barrier shattered as the massively reduced swarm of leaves rushed headlong toward us.
But every last one of them was intercepted by the wall of water that materialized at the last possible moment, stopping just before they could reach us.
The water wall vanished, and I met the gaze of the treant looming before me.
The enemy’s face was twisted with venomous hatred.
It wasn’t that we were being careless, but a single misstep in our movements could easily have resulted in someone getting hurt.
No, if the impact had landed in a different spot…
Reigning in my nerves at the prospect of the worst-case scenario, I focused.
“Those branches and leaves are in the way—Shinpo.”
I felt like apologizing for relying on her so much, but trusting her completely was our best shot at victory right now.
“Got it! ‘Storm Blade’! ‘Storm Blade’! ‘Storm Blade’!!!”
Countless invisible blades of wind erupted from Shinpo.
As if to avenge the earlier insult, a hurricane of razors raged across the battlefield, bearing down on the enemy.
The creature tried to defend itself by tearing its roots out of the ground to brace for impact—but it was futile.
Branches, leaves, and roots were all shredded to tatters.
By that point, Serina had finished redeploying her barrier, and the illusion beasts were already moving, ensuring our position couldn’t be pinned down. While we were at it, I swept up all the enemy’s materials into storage.
The now-bare ‘Thorn-Yokai Tree Treant’ tried to flee, but Serina used her barrier to block its escape.
It was a setup inverted from the usual configuration—configured to forbid exiting.
A few body checks might break it, but that much leeway was more than enough.
“『Blast Fire』! 『Blast Fire』! 『Blast Fire』!!!”
Explosive spells, boosted by a fifteen percent increase in attack power, were unleashed repeatedly, causing the enemy’s body to twitch and tremble.
And then, at last.
The ‘Thorn-Yokai Tree Treant’ dissolved into particles of light and vanished.
For a moment, no one spoke.
“W-we… did it…”
The first to break the silence was Fuka, the true hero of this operation.
At her words, the tension in the air relaxed.
“Just as expected, Fuka.”
Turning to face her, I said it, and she flashed a radiant smile, like a child praised by a parent.
First unique individual. Defeat complete.
Somehow, I’ve finished the make-up and update too.
Please take care of me in April as well!
The next regular update is scheduled for 4/5!
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