“This can’t be…”
A voice filled with despair emerged.
This can’t be. How could it be impossible to not inflict even a single wound.
Laikios shook its head roughly, as if trying to shake off a bug from its body. Sophia, who was now low on stamina, was unable to hold on and eventually fell off the snake.
“Ugh!”
After rolling on the ground several times, she sit something hard and smooth. She had fallen from quite a height, but because she was a master, she was able to survive. Sophia moaned and opened her eyes. The body of Laikios surrounded her on all sides. Soon its torso began to close in on her.
If someone was crushed by that, it was all over. Even the bones would be pulverized. She had to get out of there quickly. She ran away from the torso, which was trying to crush her.
Squeezing out the last bit of mana she possessed, she jumped high. It was barely enough to escape by jumping over the body that surrounded her on all sides. Then, its tail flew out from the edge, striking her mercilessly.
Crack!
Her body floated into the air and landed on the pile of Lamia corpses. A pain arose as if her bones had been crushed. When she lifted her head, a pair of bright yellow eyes were staring straight down at her. The enormous shadow of Laikios engulfing her.
However, even though the monster was approaching, she was unable to move. Something had broken during the impact with the tail. She had to watch it slowly approach, unable to even run away. She vividly recalled the scene from a moment ago, when it was eating the Lamia.
Her face turned pale. In a final effort, she tried to crawl down the mountain of corpses at the back.
She had been foolish. Stupid and pathetic.
No matter how urgent it was, there was no way she could have taken it on alone. She had proclaimed that she would save him, but look at her now. She was helpless. She didn’t want to die. Not this kind of death.
Laikios opened its mouth wide toward Sophia. She fell deeper into despair.
It’s really over now. The sharp fangs of the monster flashed as if they were going to tear he apart at any moment. It was the moment when he was about to bite down.
Pure white sword energy split the air. Light exploded and tore through the giant snakes skin. At the same time, a woman with white hair emerged from the shadows of the forest.
Sophia couldn’t believe her eyes. Even though she was quite far away, she could see clearly. Silver hair that appeared white in the moonlight. She recognized the woman.
‘Elaine…!’
Sophia was buried in the pile of Lamia corpses quite a distance away. Because of that, Elaine didn’t seem to notice her presence.
Laikios screamed and twisted his body. Elaine’s sword strike left a deeper cut than any of Sophia’s blows. This was the difference in their quality of mana. But, the wound still disappeared in an instant.
Elaine paused for a moment when she saw the remarkable regenerative power. Meanwhile, Laikios, who had discovered the human who attacked him, blinked his eyes. It pounced at Elaine, leaving Sophia alone.
She was reckless. They will both definitely die. Sophia screamed to herself that she could never win alone. But Elaine did not back down. She rushed toward Laikios.
A white sword flew toward the head. He dodged the strike by raising his head up high. It was then that Laikios slammed his tail down onto Elaine’s head.
The place it touched was shattered as if struck by a large whip. Trees were uprooted and rocks were cracked like eggs. But Elaine was no longer there. Before it knew what was happening, Elaine was already on its tail and running towards its head that was high in the air.
She was moving so fast, she appeared to be flying. Laikios struggled frantically against her, but she continued to run straight up toward the head. In an instant she had reached her destination and struck down with her white mana-wrapped sword.
Of course, there is a limit to the amount of mana a person could use. An average master would run out after using their sword energy a few times. Although it contained strong destructive power, it also consumed a lot of mana. However, Elaine was far beyond the category of average. She poured in a massive amount of mana that would have drained an ordinary master in an instant.
Even the dramatically increased regenerative speed could not keep up with her overflowing mana. As soon as it recovered, it was just cut again, and when it cut again, it cut deeper. Again and again.
After repeating this several times, half of the monster’s head had been cut off. Blood poured from its neck like a waterfall. Something Sophia had never thought was possible was unfolding before her very eyes.
She continued to watch the scene in fascination. The sight of a mere human taking down a top predatory monster with a single sword.
It was overwhelming to watch. How could a person pour out so much mana? There seemed to be no limit in sight.
Sophia had never seen such an overwhelming being, besides Ash. No one had ever been able to compare to him. No, maybe…
Laikios cried out in pain shaking its head frantically. Elaine paid no heed to him and plunged the sword even deeper into its neck. Explosive mana surged from Elaine’s sword. The sword quickly grew several times its original size. She grasped the handle with both hands and let gravity do the work for her.
There was a dazzling, flickering white afterimage. Following the trajectory of the sword falling vertically, the half-attached head was completely cut off. In the process, the core was caught by the tip of the sword and shattered.
Elaine fell down with the body, as blood poured from the neck of the monster. In the aftermath, the ground shook and a cloud of dust rose.
She landed, soft as a feather on its body. Then, with a cold look, she swung her sword and cut out the heart of Laikios from its body. The blood splashed out from the body covering her face.
Then Elaine turned her head and locked eyes with Sophia.
