Mixed Beast Tree Chimera Trent
"Hahaha! Chimera Torrent! I’m delighted to meet such a formidable opponent like you! Hey! Don’t die so easily! ———— Slash of the Dragonbone Deathclaw!!!!"
The delighted laughter of Razelia echoed through the Sealed Forest.
Razelia dodged the lion’s front paw swung by the Chimera Torrent and jumped into its embrace.
Just as she seemed to pause for a moment, a massive dragon claw composed of dragonbone appeared at the tip of her raised left hand.
The tips of the claw were sharply pointed like scythes, and each finger was thick and powerful.
The gigantic dragonbone claw moved in sync with her left hand.
Indeed, the embodiment of violence attacked the Chimera Torrent.
"———!"
However, the Chimera Torrent easily maneuvered its giant frame, which stood five meters tall, and effortlessly avoided the attack.
...Is it possible to dodge that without a scratch?
"Graah! Gah!"
"Mmm… Rebounding Dragonbone Swordtail."
Moreover, it even counterattacked.
Razelia extended the dragonbone tail, resembling a blade, from her waist to block the lion’s claw assault.
The sharp clang of metal meeting metal rang out around them.
The Chimera Torrent was a mixed beast, a Chimera with a plant-like composition.
Its body was like a large tree wrapped in vines in places, with youthful green leaves flowing like a mane on the lion's head.
On the goat’s head, which was adjacent to the lion’s, twisted black horns were distorted.
The snake tail had a poisonous purple tongue flicking out, covering the blind spots from behind.
A plant-like monster with three heads: lion, goat, and snake.
Its six red eyes fixed on us.
"Graaaaaaaaaah!!!"
A roar.
The Chimera Torrent, having had its attack blocked by Razelia, was showing clear signs of anger.
It stomped the ground, creating cracks in the earth with its lion's front paws and goat's hind legs, causing vibrations that rustled the surrounding trees.
"Hmm, I managed to separate them from the High Lizardmen, but this is quite a wild beast. Well, otherwise, Habermesia wouldn't be foolish enough to storm into the High Lizardmen's village."
The separation of the Chimera Torrent and the High Lizardmen had gone fairly well.
That’s because this creature is easily provoked.
It was already unusually aggressive from the start, and when Razelia’s thrown dragonbone spear barely grazed its side, it charged at us with single-minded fury.
The force of its charge was tremendous, knocking down countless trees in the Sealed Forest as it barreled towards us.
"Mm, something’s off. …It’s about to do something."
"Grululul... Gah!!"
Responding to Razelia’s warning, Habermesia, who was positioned a bit away from me, braced herself.
Then, from the lion’s mouth, a thin jet of water was expelled.
"!? Be careful! It’ll cut through!"
Trees in the forest fell with a thunderous sound.
The water jet easily sliced through thick trunks and approached us.
A high-pressure water stream!
"Haha! That’s a good attack! You’re capable of more than I thought!"
Is this really the time to be laughing!?
"Ah, wait!?"
After applying Concentration magic enhancement and lifting Habermesia, I quickly moved out of the range of the water jet.
Razelia… is okay.
She had lowered her body, using the massive sword thrust into the ground as a shield to dodge the attack.
"W-W-Wait!? What is this!? A princess carry…!?"
Stop squirming in my arms.
When I shot her a sharp look, she seemed to understand and quickly settled down, albeit still embarrassed.
Sigh… she really is a troublesome woman.
“…Habermesia.”
“W-What!?”
“It’s not a question. Seriously speaking… The Chimera Torrent is huge but fast. Do you have any effective magic against it? Or could you defeat it with a spell like the ‘Infinite’ one you used to destroy the High Lizardmen’s village?”
“…Yes, with the magical power generated from the Infinite Magical Furnace, Magic Rise Core, I believe I could overpower the Chimera Torrent. But my magic spells are all linear in trajectory…”
“Then it’s settled. Razelia and I will draw its attention and create an opening. In the end, Habermesia, you finish it off with your magic.”
“Okay… Leave it to me.”
While still keeping her gaze fixed on the rampaging Chimera Torrent facing Razelia, Habermesia nodded firmly.
Her profile looked dignified and resolute, fitting for a court mage.
Now, even though creating an opening is the plan, the Chimera Torrent, which doesn’t give an inch against Razelia, is undoubtedly a formidable foe in the Sealed Forest.
But with Razelia and myself, and Habermesia waiting in the rear, there’s no way we’re losing.
“Here we go! Dragonbone Lancer!”
Razelia, wielding a massive sword in her right hand and a dragonbone spear in her left, engages in a fierce battle with the Chimera Torrent, which is swinging its lion’s claws wildly.
“Haha, this is fun! Chimera Torrent! Show me more! Show me more of your power!”
Hmm, she certainly doesn’t look like the same person I entrusted Mayurerica to when parting with Christina and the others.
But this furious part of her makes me oddly understand why she’s called the “Raging Dragon Princess.”
Still, having her by my side is reassuring.
…I can’t let myself fall behind.
“Take this. Double Grip ———— Ultimate Grip Cannon Full Impact Buster!”
A torrent of destruction.
A massive beam grazes the right shoulder of the rampaging Chimera Torrent.
However…
“Oh, I forgot to mention, but since the Chimera Torrent’s body is made of plants, it regenerates quickly. Half-hearted attacks won’t do any good.”
“…You should have said that earlier.”
“Hahaha, sorry!”
Well, it’s good that she’s straightforward, but… she must have enjoyed not telling me.
Really, she’s usually so considerate, but as soon as it comes to combat, this is how it is… troublesome.
So, it has regenerative abilities.
Habermesia’ firepower should handle it, though… When I glanced back at her, she nodded firmly as if to say it was of no concern to her.
"Heh, I knew about its regenerative abilities, but I didn’t know about its other attack methods. I’m not familiar with all the monsters in the Sealed Forest."
Is that so?
When I looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze, Razelia quickly averted her eyes, perhaps out of awkwardness.
"Anyway, let’s enjoy this thrilling battle for now! With me, Habermesia, the Second Seat of the Court Mages, Vanitas, we’re bound to win!"
It feels like she’s slightly evading the issue, but… it can’t be helped.
I take a deep breath and refocus.
The real battle starts now.
The battle with the Chimera Torrent was extremely fierce.
Beyond its aggressive nature, the regenerative ability was particularly troublesome. Minor attacks barely affected it, and it never halted its assault.
Additionally, while fighting alongside allies is helpful, the Anti-magic Void Space, which limits spell activation, proved almost ineffective. The Chimera Torrent, with its high innate physical abilities and plant-based body, also had attack methods not reliant on magical power, adding to its challenge.
“Baa—!!”
Isn’t that a goat?
Isn’t the sound supposed to be “meee”?
Aside from the bizarre cry, the goat head unleashed some vicious attacks.
After a thunderous roar, lightning rain would pour down.
Fortunately, the preparatory movements were clear, and the attack range was narrow, but dodging it was still quite difficult.
In addition, the snake tail would spew venom unexpectedly, pollen causing disorientation would be scattered, and vines would stretch out to attempt to bind us.
Yet none of these attacks were effective against us.
Razelia and I refined our coordination with each battle, and we were gradually becoming accustomed to the chaotic fight against the Chimera Torrent.
Now, it’s time to bring it to a close.
“Razelia!”
“Got it! Vanitas!”
We exchanged glances, conveying our intentions to each other.
———Let’s go all out!
“Grip——Impact Throw Spread Shot!”
First, we need to restrict its movements with a range attack.
We’ve already learned from this battle that its regeneration takes some time. We’ve also observed that this speed is gradually decreasing.
“Next is my turn! ———— Dragonbone Deathclaw!”
Taking advantage of the brief moment of stiffness, Razelia leapt into the air and unleashed the dragonbone claw from close range.
The Chimera Torrent, momentarily stopped, seemed certain to be hit this time, but at that moment, it attempted to intercept the dragonbone claw with its snake tail.
“Shah!”
It didn’t cut through completely.
But it’s still not enough.
“My attack isn’t over yet!!”
Razelia spun in mid-air with her momentum.
As she finished the swing of the claw with her left hand, the massive sword in her right hand sank into the long body of the snake.
“Ooohhh!!”
“Jeez!?”
The spinning consecutive strikes forcefully severed the elongated body of the snake. The glowing red eyes of the snake head lost their light.
“Next is my turn. Double Grip ———— Ultimate Grip Full Impact!”
A magical shockwave pierced through and blasted away the goat’s right hind leg at its base.
“Gah!?”
With this deep wound, regeneration should be difficult.
And one more move.
“Double Grip ———— Compress!”
It’s challenging to cover the entire massive body within the effective range, but it’s manageable to fixate on a part of it.
The focal point of the attack, the heads of the lion and goat, which are central to its actions and thoughts.
I compress with maximum output centered on these heads.
“Grr… Gg… Gaa…”
“Those front paws are mine… ———— Dragonbone Bite!”
A final touch from Razelia’s magic.
The dragonbone jaws bite down fully on the lion’s left front paw.
The vicious jaws, which had never been unleashed against Hildegard, now ruthlessly crushed the Chimera Torrent’s front paw, which disappeared in an instant without a cry.
“Habermesiaa!”
“Got it ———— Infinite Magical Furnace, Magic Rise Core!”
With the Chimera Torrent immobilized after losing half its limbs, the infinite magic is activated with full preparation.
The life of the Chimera Torrent… was extinguished here.
We were concerned about the Chimera Torrent's materials, but it seems Habermesia managed to control her strength this time.
Though most of its body was blown apart, the crucial parts like the magic stones were intact.
Afterward, despite showing signs of exhaustion, we successfully regrouped with Christina and the others, who had defeated the remaining High Lizardmen. We collected only the valuable parts from the defeated monsters and returned to our temporary base.
We explored the Sealed Forest, defeated monsters, and gathered resources. Despite occasional encounters with strong foes, we improved our skills and coordination, managing to overcome them without issues.
Life at the temporary base was surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the support provided, and time flew by quickly.
And so, a week had passed.
“All right! Let’s go to the hot springs!!”
Razelia’s unexpected announcement.
Our next destination is a place near the Sealed Forest known for its relaxing and healing properties.