Charge.
Block.
Amid the howling gale, the adventurers and countless tentacles fought out the final clash of offense and defense.
"Tsubaki and [Vanargand], slow down and hold off the tentacles as much as you can! Everyone else, keep moving forward!"
Bell shouted his orders.
From what he could tell, the Demi Spirit before them was different from the newly born monster in Rivira Town. It had clearly devoured enough Magic Stones. The enormous tentacles extending from the lower half of the Female Body Type were practically individual Enhanced Species, and their potential Status was nothing to underestimate.
The thinner tentacles lashed out at the boy in fury. At Bell's command, the Amazoness sisters engaged them in close combat, giving them no chance to pull back.
Bell stuck to that strategy, having Bete and Tsubaki buy time while the main force rushed toward the Female Body Type itself.
"Don't ask the impossible of me. But since you called me by name, I'll show you what a blacksmith can do!"
Tsubaki flashed a hearty grin.
She knew both sides had reached the point where the battle would be decided. At this distance, the Female Body Type no longer had time to cast Magic with a long incantation. The moment the boy gave that order, Tsubaki's role as a supporter was over. She no longer needed to carry the spare weapons and keep advancing with the others.
Tsubaki dropped the massive, heavy backpack to the ground and casually pulled out a battleaxe.
As a half-dwarf, blessed with the advantages of her unique race, Tsubaki easily lifted a weapon only a first-class adventurer could wield and brought it down hard on an incoming tentacle.
The tremendous impact numbed her arms, but with her finely honed Technique, she slipped past the counterattack, drew another longsword, and drove it into the yellow-green hide.
Tsubaki wasn't surprised by the boy's decision. During expeditions, she often joined monster hunts of her own accord whenever she spotted materials she wanted for weapon crafting. He had probably learned what she was capable of in battle from those occasions.
The boy's judgment was completely sound.
Battleaxes, halberds, longswords... Tsubaki had forged countless weapons, so naturally she understood how each one was meant to be used. She might not be able to sweep away all the tentacles, but buying time for the others was more than enough.
"What an incredible person..."
Tsubaki murmured as she switched between the different spare weapons.
When giving orders, the boy had deliberately used everyone's aliases instead of their names. A moment's thought was enough to understand why.
For commands to be given quickly, honorifics had to be left out. Bell might be on good terms with Loki Familia, but that only applied to some of its members. Calling everyone directly by name could easily rub them the wrong way.
Take Bete, for example. Even if he obeyed the order, his instincts as a first-class adventurer might still make him feel as though the boy were taking advantage of the situation to order him around from above. On a battlefield this dangerous, even a moment of hesitation could be fatal.
That was why the boy used aliases when giving commands.
Tsubaki would normally have been included as well, but she hated the name [Cyclops]. The boy must have remembered that and deliberately called her by name instead.
Bell Cranel had only been an Adventurer for a little over two months, yet he was already capable of thinking through details like this in the middle of a battlefield.
"Hmm... When I get the chance, maybe I should try dumping that red-haired kid..."
Tsubaki looked toward the calm white-haired boy, keeping the quiet remark low enough that no one else could hear it.
Not far to her left, the Werewolf was also locked in a fierce battle against the enormous tentacles.
"Tsk."
Bete lashed out with his silver boot. A tremendous impact shot up his leg, and he immediately adjusted his posture, using that force to launch another kick at a different tentacle.
Too weak.
How much longer was he going to remain among the weak?!
Gale, whom he had once warned, had already taken up her weapon and was fighting for the boy. There wasn't the slightest trace of weakness in her gallant figure.
The boy he had once mocked was now wielding wisdom and courage as his weapons, leading everyone into battle.
Bete knew better than anyone that when adversity and calamity struck, he should be the one charging at the very front.
Not Ais. Not Finn. It had to be him.
Only then could Bete live up to everything he had said before.
Scars, pain, all of it had to be borne by the weakling named Bete.
"Hold them off? Buy time? You've got to be kidding me!"
Bete pulled every magic sword from the pouches strapped to his legs and slammed them against his silver boots.
Violent flames erupted from the topaz at their center. The crimson light burned far more fiercely than when he had broken through the Dragon's Vase, rising high enough to scorch Bete's own legs.
The searing pain came again and again, but Bete paid it no mind.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAAAAAAY!!!"
The roar of the flames merged with the Werewolf's howl, carving a crimson path across the battlefield.
Shockwaves battered his entire body. Under the combined punishment of flame and impact, every part of Bete screamed in agony. Yet with the boy's commands ringing in his ears and Ais and the others visible ahead of him, he never stopped for even a moment.
The flames severed tentacle after tentacle. Amid Bete's furious roar, the silver boots carried him exactly where he wanted to be, to the very front of the entire group.
The Werewolf was simply too fast, and the enormous tentacles were already occupied with Ais and the others. The Female Body Type had no time to react. Much like Juggernaut, those tentacles possessed terrifying power, but their resistance to fire and bladed weapons was relatively low.
Bete's fiery charge tore through every tentacle in his path, creating an opening for Ais and the others.
"Charge straight through the opening in the center!"
The moment Bell saw the path Bete had blasted open, he gave the order.
"..."
Bete was covered in wounds, both legs charred black.
His stamina had reached its limit, and he dropped to one knee.
This was fine.
He and the boy weren't friends. Words of concern or worry would only make things awkward.
Bete could never become someone strong like Bell Cranel. Wanting to protect his comrades and the women around him was such a simple, ordinary desire, yet for Bete, it was a compass carved from countless scars.
The boy could navigate through a storm while avoiding those reefs of grief, but Bete couldn't. All he could do was hurl insults at those too powerless to challenge the raging storm, then charge to the very front and use his own body to shield them from as much as he could.
So this was fine...
A grin spread across Bete's face as he collapsed onto the wasteland.
"Hey, don't go falling asleep in a place like this."
Tsubaki took out a potion and roughly poured it over Bete.
As a green glow appeared, the Werewolf's wounds began to heal.
"Hah? Who asked you to..."
Before Bete could finish protesting, she cut him off.
"Just so we're clear, I'm only following orders. I don't give a damn about you. Besides, your injuries are one thing, but I worked my ass off making those silver boots. Repairs are going to cost you."
Tsubaki gave the boy a pointed look.
"Shut up..."
Bete slowly rose to his feet and stared at the remaining tentacles, fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.
"Tsk. That damn rabbit brat."
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