"Well, I'm not that smart, so I might be wrong."
"Oh, don't worry about it. You did good. I'm the one who's wrong… It's true that getting scared and turning tail in front of the enemy would probably be exactly what they want. Hey, guys. Sorry, but I'm changing my vote. I think we should keep going." Teuchi revised his opinion, convinced by Haruto's reasoning.
With this, there were now five people for proceeding versus two for going back. Dove and Hana gave up and shrugged their shoulders. It seemed as if they'd made their peace with charging headfirst into danger.
Speed was now of the essence. The group needed to advance as fast as possible and crash in on the grimmfolk ahead. The more spells he fired, the more exhausted he would be in battle. The key would be how many spells Suigetsu would be able to get in before the battle properly started.
"Okay, let's go! Mitokado, hurry up and get yourself together!" Teuchi gripped Mitokado's head and started running ahead. The rest of the group followed behind him, and they started climbing up the mountain's caves.
This sacred mountain was curious, in that it was mostly hollow inside. The empty spaces formed a spiral incline leading upward, where the elixir was being kept at the top. In accordance with that structure, there was no place you could reach the elixir from the outside, so the entire mountain was like a natural fortress.
The enemy has to be at the top! There could be no doubt, given the direction of the water torrent.
The natural conclusion was that Suigetsu wanted them to leave. After all, because of the mountain's layout, it would be impossible for him to leave unnoticed as long as Haruto and his group were still around… In other words, he wouldn't be able to sneak out with the elixir.
Haruto was correct in his reasoning. This sacred mountain with its sealed mana was basically a dead end. Suigetsu had jumped into a trap of his own will, lured by the elixir. He knew this. Right now, he's the one in trouble!
"The second wave is coming!"
A second torrent of water rushed its way towards Teuchi and the rest of the group behind him.
Like I thought. He's up ahead!
Ahead of them, Suigetsu was already in check with the elixir. Suigetsu's mistake was his ignorance of Wendy.
She once again raised her hand in front of her. "Vindemiatrix!" The grimmfolk's Water spell was unilaterally erased.
Magic was a skill that gathered mana and converted it into physical phenomena, and because of that, Wendy's skill was all-powerful against it. The skill was the natural enemy of all magic users. Just having one person capable of using it on the enemy's side would render any magic user worthless.
Seeing the water disappear, Cardin whistled in appreciation, and he gave heartfelt praise to Wendy's efforts. "That's amazin', missy! I guess powerful people pop up in the most unexpected places, don't they?"
"No, I'm not that strong."
"Aw, don't be so modest! Believe in yourself! I'm telling you, you're plenty strong!"
The hero's party continued up the slope and eventually reached the top—the room where the elixir was stored. In front of the room was the pitiful wreckage of a golem that had probably been the elixir's guardian. Haruto and the others had most likely been meant to fight this thing originally. And they also knew who had done this already.
Looking up from the wreckage, Haruto and the rest saw a grimmfolk man holding a small bottle, glaring at the heroes with a dangerous look.
Looks like we managed to corner him. Now all we need to do is beat him.
Haruto and the rest of the group readied their weapons, fully prepared for what was to come.
Fiona sunk into thought. About what time would be right for me to intervene in this fight? Maybe I shouldn't intervene at all.
It would be easy for Fiona to take care of Suigetsu here. No matter how much the attribute match-up favored the other side, the gap between them was more than just 'hard to fill,' since Fiona more than doubled Suigetsu's level. It went way past mere advantage and disadvantage all the way to Fiona being able to use brute-force to defeat Suigetsu pretty much however she wanted.
In the past, Fiona had a hard time against Levia, a water golem. But without something that absurd, the level gap would be impossible to close. Levia was made out of an entire lake's worth of mana-filled water, and mana had the effect of enhancing things, living or not, like with level-ups. Fundamentally, golems could not be imbued with mana, since creating them with matter made from magic meant that whatever had been created would eventually disperse and return to its natural form. But Juvia had used mana in its pure form, before it was used in magic, and embedded a large amount of it into water, thereby getting around that flaw and creating a contradictory golem with vast amounts of mana.
I don't like her, but I have to give her credit for that. She deserves her title as a Witch Princess.
Back to the subject at hand, Fiona could claim victory over Suigetsu without much effort. He'd probably be a little more difficult than other members of the Seven Grimms of Destruction, but that was it. All the attribute match-up managed to achieve was making Suigetsu a little tougher and more annoying. Fiona's victory was still assured.
But Fiona still had to think. If I intervene, will that be good for Wendy?
Any other member of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians would probably have intervened without a second thought. They wouldn't have cared if their disguises had been broken. They'd have jumped at the chance to eliminate a member of the Seven Grimms of Destruction, and that would've been correct.
Wendy was even with the Seven Grimms of Destruction in level, so she wasn't guaranteed to win. There wasn't really any need to bother risking it; Fiona could just take care of the whole thing. And that would be 'correct.' But Fiona empathized with Wendy.
Fiona was different from the rest of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. The rest of them were strong by birth. Penny was the strongest golem. Tayuya was the queen of all demons in hell. Jaune was the pinnacle of all shelled monsters of the sea, and Anko was the queen of all scorpions. Kushina had been the chieftess of a clan that served the Goddess. The other Twelve Zodiac's Guardians were things like the queen of the fairies or the child of the Goddess. None of them would lose in strength to even the strongest of all monsters. The Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, except for Fiona, were a mighty group consisting of all the strongest class of elite beings gathered from every corner of the world.
Normally, all of them would've been legends in the areas they resided in, shouldering the balance of the world and spreading fear to the rest of it. If Naru hadn't gathered them all under her banner, they'd probably be enemies vying for supremacy among themselves. The Heavenly Twelve Zodiac's Guardians was a group consisting of only the elite, the strongest of all those superior specimens gathered from every area of the world.
But Fiona was different. She just happened to be lucky. She was part of the group because she'd been the first one to be captured and because Naru had come to like her. Otherwise, she was just a weak monster. Normally, she'd never have been able to rub shoulders with the others in a million years. In fact, she was so weak that she wouldn't have even been able to do so with normal-class monsters. That was just the kind of species Fiona was.
So Fiona understood how Wendy felt. She understood the feelings of the weak. Right now, Wendy was just like Fiona had been a long time ago. She was surrounded by strong people and unable to gain confidence. She was being endlessly assaulted by feelings of inferiority. She was no longer able to understand her own worth, ruled by doubts like, What am I doing here? Am I really needed? and, Shouldn't I open up my position for someone better?
Fiona wasn't sure if she was as lost as she had been once upon a time, but she should still be having the same thoughts. So Fiona decided not to act. After all, it would be extremely frustrating for her if she did. Imagine if the second something seemed even a little dangerous, another member of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians interrupted, even though she could have won that fight. Not to mention that she'd been told more than once that she was weak. She'd definitely think, Ahh, why am I this weak? Fiona was convinced that she'd feel frustrated, miserable, and pathetic. She might even lose sleep over it. Fiona knew the feeling.
You weakling. Don't you dare put something like yourself on the same level as me. Fiona had never forgotten what Sienna had said as she'd ridiculed her. She could still hear it ringing in her ears.
The other members of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians would never understand this feeling, since they were all strong without exception. So Fiona suppressed her desire to just jump in and punch the living daylights out of the member of the Seven Grimms of Destruction in front of her.
Not yet… I can't act yet. Jumping in now would be like saying to Wendy that she couldn't win and should just give up. Nothing will change like this, and she'll never gain any confidence. So not yet… I have to watch over her.
"What… are you?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Who else?"
Suigetsu fixed Wendy with a clearly hostile stare as he questioned her.
Being exposed to that hostility, Wendy was bewildered. Even if you ask me 'what,' I have no idea what you mean.
In Wendy's mind, she was only part of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians because she'd inherited the position from her grandma. She herself didn't have the requisite power. But it seemed like the man from the Seven Grimms of Destruction was really wary of her for some reason.
Suigetsu swiftly drew up a magic circle and announced to Wendy in a low voice, "No, it doesn't matter who or what you are… I can't allow anyone who can use that skill to live. I will eliminate you here with all my might!"
Along with that declaration, a bullet of compressed water shot out from Suigetsu's palm.
Yes, it was just water, but the compressed water was shot out at high speeds. It was turned into a deadly weapon that could crush rock.
As soon as the attack had been made, everyone scattered, and the water bullet impacted fruitlessly on the rock wall behind them, easily destroying it. If it had hit a person, they would probably have sustained major injuries.
"Oohhhhhh!"
Teuchi was the first one to take action. He swung his giant sword, which was one of the gifts from the Grave that he'd gotten from the king on the day of their departure. It had no special effect. It was simply heavy and powerful, but it suited Teuchi very well. It had more power behind it than any of the other swords Teuchi had to make do with by employing every trick in his book.
As a testament to its power, it cleaved straight through Suigetsu and continued to destroy the floor as well, raising up a cloud of dust. But such an attack wasn't enough to change Suigetsu's expression even a little.
"Useless. Such an attack will never work on me."
"Ha! I bet! But it'll take a little while for your body to go back to normal, won't it?!"
The attack won't work. It won't do any damage. Yeah. I get that. You're right. But so what?
Teuchi wore a bestial smile as he swung his sword more, cutting Suigetsu into slivers. His goal was never to hurt Suigetsu. Teuchi already knew from Pakkun that physical attacks wouldn't deal any damage, which meant that the only way to finish the battle was through magic. Teuchi understood that his role in this fight would be to go out in front and disrupt the enemy in any way possible.
Suigetsu's slashed body wriggled, and tentacles made of water shot towards Teuchi. The tips of the tentacles were sharp and pointed, and it was obvious that they would be able to pierce through any normal armor.
Teuchi's bestial smile only deepened, and instead of dodging, he only increased his efforts. As a result, all the tentacles pierced him, but Teuchi's trained muscles managed to stop them. The water tentacles didn't reach anything important.
"Too weak! Hah!"
Teuchi swung his sword again, cutting through Suigetsu.
Normally, Suigetsu's attack would have pierced straight through Teuchi. He really was weakened. While it wasn't easy, Suigetsu had been weakened enough that Teuchi's defenses could prevent any real damage. Even so, Suigetsu was still one of the Seven Grimms of Destruction. He was at least comparable even in simple physical strength.
Suigetsu's arm flexed like a whip and sent Teuchi flying. But the adventurers Cardin and Dove stepped in to take Teuchi's place, almost as if they had simply switched out.
"Let's go, Dove! Don't give him space to use magic!"
"I know!"
The cooperation between the two former adventurers who had been in a party together was smooth like butter. While Naru had claimed that Cardin and Dove were weak and unneeded, they were still some of the most skilled adventurers in the world.
Cardin and Dove's swords tore Suigetsu apart, giving him no time to cast magic. Russell continuously provided support fire with his bow from behind. By aiming at Suigetsu's fingers, he prevented the grimmfolk from being able to draw any magic circles. They didn't have to think about winning. Their job this time wasn't to clinch victory, after all. All they needed to do was buy time until their friends could defeat the enemy. That was the job of the entire front line in this battle.
"Don't underestimate me. You fools don't even know your own place." Suigetsu sounded annoyed as he launched a tentacle at Wendy.
But the attack never reached her. It was interrupted by an armored man, Lark, who took the attack instead. The attack did manage to inflict damage, enough to go through the man's armor, but it wasn't lethal. As long as it wasn't lethal, Wendy could just heal them up with heaven-arts.
And Wendy was frighteningly fast! Teuchi was already fully healed, as was Lark, even though he'd just taken a hit.
"So irritating!" Suigetsu yelled, punching Cardin in the gut.
Just one strike broke his ribs, and blood spilled from Cardin's mouth. Suigetsu went further, kicking Dove away and getting both adventurers away from him. Using that opening, he cast a motionless spell! Completely skipping the usually necessary magic circle, he instantly ripped out blades of water that flew throughout the room. However, Suigetsu's spell that had been cast without any requisite motion didn't have much power to it.
Wendy put up a barrier and easily defended against it. All that'd been accomplished was that Suigetsu had found out that wouldn't be enough to finish the fight at all.
"Yaaahhh!"
Haruto kicked off and jumped in, swiping with his sword. He wasn't to be underestimated; it wasn't just a physical attack. With the Chosen class, Haruto's skills exercised unexpected effects. 'Magic Break' was one of them, a skill only available to the hero, Haruto. Its effect was to damage the opponent's SP instead of HP. It was a back-line killer and also contained a limited ability to disperse mana. In other words, it allowed Haruto's physical attack to deal real damage to Suigetsu. Warriors also had a similar skill in their tree, but only Chosen obtained the skill this early.
However, Suigetsu wasn't the type to just take the blow. He immediately solidified his body, changing it to ice. Then, using his hardened arm, Suigetsu stopped Haruto's attack and kicked his jaw as a counter.
"Gwoof!"
Haruto flew backward, his body drawing an arc in the air.
But right afterward, a blade of light came flying at Suigetsu. It was a slash of light from Wendy's Xcalibur. Even though Suigetsu managed to dodge in the moment, Wendy was right there after he did so, having closed in using low-altitude flight.
Wendy's sword flashed! Her sword made contact with Suigetsu, and his expression changed.
"Gkk! Agh…!"
It worked! Wendy's attack had some real effect, but her lack of battle experience worked against her as she let down her guard.
Suigetsu instantly changed his focus to Wendy and swung his fist. He aimed for her neck. Having decided that it would be dangerous to not kill her in one blow, Suigetsu bet it all on an instant kill. With perfect timing, the ground shook wildly, throwing off his stance and his aim. As a result, Suigetsu missed his opportunity, and Wendy saw the chance to close in a second time and shave away at Suigetsu with her sword.
That just now… It was that black-clad one! Just who is that man in all black…! Suigetsu could tell that the one who'd caused the quake was the mysterious man in all black. The man stayed silent and acted as if he had completely ignored Suigetsu's gaze, but that was even more disturbing.
The situation wasn't good for Suigetsu. He had no choice but to admit that.
I understand now. I made a mistake.
I feared the revival of the guardian dragon with this elixir and made the mistake of coming to this mountain. I knew about the barrier and that I'd be weakened within it, but even so, I figured I could use the structure of the mountain to wash the heroes away with my magic. Even if I didn't, I should have at least been able to put them on alert enough to retreat.
How rash could I have been? It was my miscalculation. I never expected them to have someone who could neutralize magic.
Still, I thought I could win. I was confident I could come out on top against the heroes, even though I was weakened. But… That woman named Wendy… She's way too much trouble. Because of her, any damage I deal will just be healed, and if I show even the slightest opening, she'll come in swinging.
The thought of defeat rose in Suigetsu's mind along with a real sense of impending inevitability.
"No! I won't lose!" Suigetsu shouted, encouraging himself before turning his whole body into a blade of ice and attacking the heroes.
Right. I can't afford to lose. Even if this body is nothing but the Goddess's puppet, I'll never allow myself to just be something that exists to be defeated! No, I'm fine with that, actually. If that's my fate, then there's nothing for it.
But…
We grimmfolk may just be puppets… But even puppets have something they want to protect!
In the back of his mind, Suigetsu thought of the girl who'd been his childhood friend, the pink haired girl who had captured his heart. He thought of her smile. It was something Suigetsu thought of as a treasure, even though he knew it would never be directed at him.