"Tch...!!"
Sensing the shift in the opponent's demeanor, Laila gave up on stalling and immediately drew her staff.
"Tch. Planning to resist?"
As if any struggling would be pointless, the Evil God Cultist clicked his tongue while gesturing to the man drooling at his side.
"No need to waste my power on trash like you. Igor? Deal with her."
"Meat... meat!!"
The hulking brute charged like a beast devoid of reason, drool flying from his maw.
With a trembling heart, Laila recalled her master's teachings and hastily began chanting a spell.
"Barrier!!"
Opting for defense over offense, she conjured a light barrier. As the blue wall separated the brute from her, she trusted it and started casting a powerful attack spell.
"Meat!!!"
-Crunch!!!
"What in the...!!"
But the brute ignored the barrier entirely, smashing through it with his body alone. Laila urgently canceled her spell and rolled aside.
-Boom!!
"Kyaa!"
"Uwaaak!!"
The barrier shattered, but his momentum didn't falter. A rock pile behind Laila, who had barely dodged, exploded into shards.
I flattened myself to avoid the flying debris and cursed inwardly over and over.
'Fuck. Fuck... No wonder my luck's been good lately!!'
I'd been thrilled about this sweet gig, but to get dragged into this shit!
I frantically scanned for an escape, but in this underground lair, the only way out was the stairs we'd come down. And blocking those stairs was that man from earlier, arms crossed.
'Fuck. Evil God Cultists...'
As a lowly adventurer, I'd heard tales about Evil God Cultists.
Cancerous tumors on this world.
Sometimes the Adventurer's Guild posted hunts for fleeing cultists or joint ops with churches to wipe out their dens.
'Those quests are for C-ranks and up at minimum!!'
I had no clue their power level, but they sure as hell weren't for an E-rank scrub like me. All I could do was keep my head down, pray the fight's fallout missed me, and pin my hopes on Laila—my only lifeline.
"Cold Spear. Triple!"
Despite her lack of combat savvy, her raw skill shone through. Even in her shaky stance, Laila completed the spell, manifesting ice spears and launching them at the brute called Igor.
-Thwunk!!
"Grrraaahk!!"
Igor shrieked as a spear pierced his side, then yanked it free from his flesh.
-Sizzle!!
"What...!"
Laila smiled at the hit, but her face hardened as white steam rose from Igor's body, his wound healing rapidly.
"As expected, no real battle experience. First time seeing one blessed by Him?"
The man watched Laila's every reaction with amusement, sneering.
Laila glared at him, but the moment she glanced away, Igor roared and charged.
Knowing barriers were useless from before, she cast a minor spell. Wind swirled around her, visibly boosting her speed.
"Oh? Handling multiple attributes that deftly? I thought you relied solely on artifacts to find His ruins."
Her inexperience and apprentice robes screamed novice, yet the man's eyes gleamed at her prowess.
Ignoring his gaze, Laila ditched her ice specialty for flames.
"Ignis Bind!!"
Flames erupted from her staff like serpents, coiling around Igor.
He thrashed in agony from the heat, trying to extinguish them, but the fire clung, relentlessly charring his flesh.
-Sizzle!!
'As expected... flames work...!'
Laila's eyes lit up at Igor's faltering regeneration. She chanted another spell.
"Grrraaak! Meat!!"
-Crack!!
But in that instant, the rampaging Igor slammed his hand into the ground, ripping up a massive boulder and hurling it at Laila mid-chant.
"Huh?"
Frozen as the straight-charging beast suddenly lobbed a huge rock, Laila had just begun her spell. Yet her skill held; she barely redirected it toward the incoming boulder.
-Boom!!!
The explosion obliterated the rock, but Igor hid behind it, charging like a battering ram right up to her.
"Danger!!"
"Kyaa?!"
In that moment, I—who'd been flat on the ground praying for no stray sparks—leapt in, wrapping around Laila and rolling away.
My gut screamed that if she went down here, I was dead too.
We barely evaded Igor's charge, but the flames still licking his body grazed my skin, sending searing pain.
"Ngh...!!"
"...!!"
Laila, saved by me again, gaped, lips moving silently. I cut her off.
"Fuck. Don't talk—cast your spell!"
"....!!!"
Banmal slipped out in the heat. Stunned by my dropped politeness, she cooled her head instead, swallowing her words to chant.
Unable to cast, I drew the handaxe from my belt and hurled it at Igor.
"Eat this!!"
The axe that had felled countless goblins.
Too frantic for Replication, the original flew from my hand.
"Meat!!"
-Clang!!
"Eh?"
Igor's wild swing met the blade, shattering it to pieces.
Always replicated to spare it, my mind blanked. I muttered under my breath.
"Hammer Uncle, you fucking...!!"
Rage boiled toward the blacksmith who'd sold me this junk just as Igor's fury turned from Laila to me.
'...No way.'
Chills hit with a life-flashing vision. Trusting instinct, I rolled again. Shards from my broken axe rocketed past, pulverizing where I'd stood.
-Boom!!!
"Fuck!!"
Should've just stayed put, Laila or not!!
"Grrawk! Meat!!!"
His slurred speech and dumb charges screamed low IQ, but fuck, he was coming for me.
-Boom!!
"Uwaaaah!!!"
"Meeeat!!"
"Not meat! I'm a plant! Veggies!!"
"Veggies? Vegetables!!!"
"Fuck, no pickiness!!!!"
One worthless axe throw enraged him fully. Dodging his charges, heart pounding, I fled.
His physical gap was insane, but his brainless straight-lines let me evade somewhat.
-Thud!!
"Guh!!"
But limits exist. Dodging another charge, the crumbling ground shook me off-balance. His sweeping arm caught me, sending me tumbling.
"Kuhk... ugh...!!"
Ribs cracked? Breathing hurt; world yellowed.
Agony crashed as Igor loomed, drooling murderously.
"Vegetables!!"
Was "veggies" gonna turn me into a vegetable?
Gasping, mind frayed with dumb jokes as death neared.
And then.
"Pierce Buster."
While I'd bought time unwittingly, Laila finished chanting, staff aimed at Igor.
A blazing red projectile shot from the tip, piercing the maw poised to devour me.
"Grrk... me...at...!"
Clutching his gushing throat, Igor tried regenerating, but Laila slammed her staff down.
"Get down!"
Meaningless for already-prone me. Simultaneously, scorching heat poured from the embedded shot in his neck.
-Boom!!!
The mana in Igor erupted as flames, shockwave slamming even me.
Already down, I hunkered per her warning, waiting it out. As it faded, I cracked my eyes.
"Huck...!!"
The hulking man still loomed before me. I froze—
-Thud!!!
—then sighed in relief. No head atop those shoulders.
Igor's headless corpse crumpled. Mana-drained Laila panted, glaring at the watcher.
-Clap clap clap.
"Impressive. Thought you were just a green apprentice... but your spellwork rivals a full-fledged mage."
No revenge or alarm at his comrade's death—the man simply applauded Laila's skill.
And me? Fuck. I ran my ass off as bait, and zero interest? Damn.
"Shu... huck... up..."
Feigning composure despite leg scrapes from rolling, Laila—visibly exhausted—glared at the cultist.
His gaze flicked between us before dropping a bomb.
"The One I serve favors talent."
"What?"
"Artifact-dependent or not, unearthing His ruins shows observation. Toppling His half-blessed spawn, even imperfectly... excellent."
Muttering to himself, convinced, he spread his arms to Laila.
"Mage. What's your name?"
"Like I'd tell scum like you!"
"Heard you two chatting earlier. Laila, was it?"
Why ask then? Reacting as if he knew, he extended a hand.
"Here's my proposal. Join me in serving the true god?"
"What?"
"You saw Igor's regeneration. That's a fraction of His power—and he couldn't even handle that."
Dissing his dead ally as trash, the cultist pitched relentlessly.
"But you? With that talent, you'd wield His full might."
"Shut your...!"
"Don't you crave power? Risking this shady ruin voluntarily screams ambition."
"..."
He'd watched us find it, drag in a beggar like me—smirking.
"Become His child, gain power dwarfing Igor's. Plus knowledge beyond your wildest dreams."
"That crap...!"
"However."
His tone chilled, face hardening.
"Refuse, and we proceed as planned."
Sacrifices for the sacred object, as threatened—a veiled ultimatum.
Laila's eyes quivered. She closed them, pondered, then whispered her reply.
"...Explosion!!"
Her answer: preemptive strike.
-Booom!!!
Incredibly swift for mana surge, the spell manifested and blasted the proposing man defenselessly.
"Huck! Huck!!"
Mana circuits strained, Laila gasped, stabilizing her flow.
But from the smoke burst a figure.
"As expected... pity. Such chant speed."
-Thud!!
"Guhk...!!"
"Talent for high apostlehood, had you accepted peacefully..."
Unscathed—merely disheveled clothes—he casually kicked Laila's gut, then stomped her head.
"Hmph. Credit for finding His ruins despite artifacts... but stupid bitch."
-Thud! Thud! Thwack!!
After relentless kicks, somewhat sated, he smoothed his hair and turned.
"Ah, right. You're here too."
To me, frozen in terror.