“L-like I’m gonna piss!”
The leader cursed.
It was then.
“Fireball.”
“Icicle Lance.”
“Gale Edge.”
“Stone Bullet.”
Four magic bullets. Each with a different attribute, rushed out with a tail of light.
Not towards Gerald but the Cyclops that was chasing them.
The bullets exploded.
Sparks of magic were visible as the sounds of flames, ice shattering, wind slicing and rock crushing came from the cyclops’ breast. Even those unfamiliar with magic would be able to appreciate this display of magic.
One of the four mages who had casted it grinned.
“How do you like the magic of the ‘Apostles of the Dawn’? Even though it was just a low grade of magic, it is still very powerful when performed by B-ranked mage.”
“Ug, gar, garr...”
The mage was bragging as the cyclops lost its footing and stumbled.
One of the parties in the alliance was a B-ranked party, ‘Apostles of the Dawn’. Similar to the Four-headed Dragon, they were a party composed of a singular type of adventurer — mages. This was a nearly impossible feat. Where would you gather a bunch of people who were gifted with talent for magic and had the capability to attend magic lessons? This was where the difference lay between them and the Four-headed Dragon. The Apostles of the Dawn was a group that sought to establish their ideal party, a party of only mages.
Swords? Spears? Bows and arrows? The firepower of magic was superior to each and every one of those barbaric tools.
A shield to protect you? Armour? None of those matter, so long as you fire magic from a safe distance.
Healing and blessings through faith? Prayers to God were obsolete in the advent of knowledge and magic.
An expert in the field of exploration? Unnecessary, since both detection and breaking seals could be achieved by magic.
The end result of such extreme belief in magic superiority, was this party. As proof of the correctness of their beliefs, their party had climbed to B rank in the short span of five years. Their defence was weak, but by timing and casting their magic as four together, their firepower could be said to match A rank.
The man who led the Apostles of the Dawn snorted derisively at Gerald.
“How unsightly, Red Lion. Showing your back at the stupid giant...what a great shame to your name.”
“I guess it couldn’t be helped, teacher.”
“The Red Lion may have made a name for himself, but that only applies in the frontier.”
“There is nothing like the magic of our Apostles of the Dawn, born out of refined education.”
The other members of the team were quick to follow their leader's lead.
Gerald lowered the remaining members of the Four-headed Dragon to the ground and readied his sword in his hand. The leader of the Apostles of the Dawn frowned in confusion.
“...Why the sword? You're not going to resort to violence, are you?”
“What are you boasting about?”
Gerald turned his head back towards the cyclops that should have suffered from the combined barrage.
“Goahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……!”
Smoke dispersed from the gaping hole of the bullet in the cyclops. As it rubbed on its wound, its eyes grew bloodier with rage. The monster was still alive and well, albeit a little shaken.
“Nonsense! Giants are supposed to be vulnerable to magic... especially cyclops, which should have no protection against elemental magic at all!”
“We've hit it four times, so it should be dying!”
“Teacher! What do we do now?”
The Apostles of the Dawn took a 180 degrees turn in their attitude.
It was true that cyclopes were weak against magic. If a party had a few good mages and fought from a distance, even B-ranked parties stood a chance.
But that did not mean they were easy to beat. The strength from their huge body could smash a human being in a single blow, and their stamina was so good that it might be thought as infinite.
How could they have underestimated the cyclops’ resistance to magic! If they had used a higher level of magic, there might have been enough damage to stop it in its tracks! Gerald had to resist the urge from chiding them.
“…Resume your spell casting! Use whatever magic you can!”
“Hmph! You might be A-ranked, but that doesn't mean an outsider can tell us what to do.”
Without paying heed to the hesitant mages’ complaints, Gerald rushed to face the cyclops and let out a battlecry. The blade he held gleamed brightly in sync with his fighting spirit. A trail of phosphorescent light trailed through the darkness of the forest. It was as if he was slicing through the darkness.
“……Ooooooooaahhh!”
The Red Lion’s gushing warcry stirred the air. The cyclops was distracted by his cry and turned his attention towards him.
At over 180cm tall, Gerald was no more than a baby when compared to a giant that thundered through the sky, or even worse than that. It was unclear if Gerald’s height could even reach the cyclops’ ankles. But there were still plenty of ways to fight against the giant.
Those with large bodies tend to be weak near their legs. The bigger they were, the further away their eyes were from their feet, and the harder it was to see around the feet. Combined with the fact that the feet had to support the giant’s excessive weight. This was what Gerald was aiming for.
“Take this!!!”
With heightened spirit, he unleashed a sword strike.
The target was the top part of the heel, or what we call the Achilles' heel. Even though they were giants, they were still humanoid, albeit of a different size. Their weaknesses and body structure were similar to humans. If the tendon was severed, then there would be no way for it to move.
He buried his curved blade halfway into its heel.
“Guaaaaaah……!”
The giants let out an unbearable scream at the pain of being cut and gouged in its weak spot.
But Gerald's brow furrowed as he ran the blade through the cyclops’ feet.
Too shallow.
The giant was still standing, despite the blade in its heels. The Cyclops was not just an A-ranked target just for show. The thick skin of the cyclops had prevented Gerald from cutting its tendons.
“Gu-u-u-u-u……!”
The Cyclops bent down to the ground and began slamming its fists into the ground like a crying child punching the floor. It was trying to smash Gerald, who was nothing more than a cheeky fly.
With strength that could wipe out several people at once, the cyclops beat down on the group rhythmically, like a drummer. The ground of the forest started to scatter everywhere, and with the continuous earthquake-like tremors, the very topology of the area was being changed.
“Eeeek!”
“C’mon! You guys gonna flee like that!? Shitty mages! Hurry up and use your spells!”
The Apostles of the Dawn looked like they were trying to flee, so the Four-Headed Dragon hurled insults at them. None would be able to tell they were adventurers with a great list of achievements now. The fear of death was so great that confidence, experience, and talent were meaningless. This was what it meant to challenge monsters of a grade higher.
In the midst of the panic and confusion, Gerald, the target of the Cyclops, was alive as he ran around to dodge the attacks.
“Hmp…!”
However, he was not unscathed either.
The pressure of a huge fist being swung down, the impact of a thrust from the ground, the flying earth, sand, debris and wood chips. He could avoid direct hits, but couldn’t nullify the secondary effects, and started to accumulate damage. At this rate, he was going to lose his agility and be beaten. It would only take a single direct hit to claim his life.
……But that only applied if he was alone.
“Haaaaa!!”
There was the sound of a violent gust alongside the shouting.
Something with a heavy weight flew through the sky.
The Cyclops, who was bending down to attack Gerald, was struck in its only eye.
“Boo-gyaaaaa……!”
The giant covered its eyes with its hands. Through the gaps, the aqueous humor spilled out like tears, followed by the blood-stained vitreous humor sloshing out.
“Just in time huh, Gerald!”
“I thought I was going to die, Cedric.”
Gerald bitterly smiled at Cedric while releasing the tension in his shoulders. The heavy warrior from the Scarlet Shield had thrown his weapon, smashing it into the eye of the cyclops. With Gerald as the bait, they managed to get the enemy to lower its stature. Had the Cyclops remained upright, the target would have been too high and the projectile would not have been as effective as it was.
And as they exchanged a manly smile, a new figure appeared between them. It was Gotsch, the Thief of the Scarlet Shield.
“Sorry if you are still in pain, but I’m gonna take advantage of this!”
