Gritting his teeth, Zaryusu lashed out with Frost Pain.
“Guh! Damn you, lizardman!”
Magic Arrow may have been impossible to evade, but it didn’t do a terrible amount of damage, either. It wasn’t about to take someone like Zaryusu, who had punished his body to its limits, out of commission.
Another round hammered into him. The pain reverberated at his core. Zaryusu suppressed it and swung his sword.
This back-and-forth repeated a few times. Zaryusu gradually slowed. The ache was leeching the agility from his movements. The difference between him and the undead who knew no pain became obvious.
Both Zaryusu and Iguvua saw it, wearing contrasting expressions.
The strong would win and the weak would lose. That was the natural order of things. If Iguvua and Zaryusu fought, the results would be clear. However, it was also true that if the weak combined their powers, they could equal the strong.
“Middle Cure Wounds!” At the sound of the voice, Zaryusu’s pain disappeared and his energy returned to him.
Iguvua had been feeling confident, but the spell from the rear enraged him, and he shouted, “You damned lizardmen!”
Zaryusu was fighting with comrades he trusted. Crusch, Zenbel. And…
“Rororo…I won’t lose!”
“Nonsense! I was created by the Great One! There cannot be any defeat for me, you fools!” Iguvua’s eyes blazed with loathing for the three of them.
The reason he hadn’t used any summoning magic was that the undead from his last spell were still around. Until they were destroyed, he couldn’t summon any more. That was why they played out the same monotonous exchange—Iguvua shooting Silent Magic: Magic Arrow and Zaryusu slicing into Iguvua’s flesh. It seemed like the fight would go on forever.
Then the only thing to do was to leave the breakthrough to the ones fighting in the rear. The battle would be decided by whose reinforcements arrived first.
They both knew it.
Crusch pushed through the pain shooting through her body from the lightning and cast Summon Third-Tier Beast. A huge—almost five-foot—crab with a giant right pincer appeared with a loud splash. It showed up as if it had just been sleeping in the swamp, but of course, it had been summoned with the spell.
It advanced, stood next to Zenbel, and clobbered a skeleton warrior with its giant pincer.
Zenbel grinned at the unlikely backup. He was happy to have the help, since he was protecting Crusch while under attack from every direction.
“All right! Weird thing, take those two!”
The crab—a snap grasp—waved its smaller pincer as if to say, Understood! and turned to the skeleton warriors.
Hmm… We’re in this awful situation, but I can’t help but notice how similar they are. Although it felt out of place, Crusch smiled, but she wiped the expression off her face a moment later. Watching the battle, she struggled to keep her breathing even.
Between the defensive and healing spells on Rororo during their approach and the support spells for Zenbel, she had cast too much magic. She was even using summoning magic now, so she was completely exhausted and could barely even stand.
She didn’t have enough energy to heal her own wounds. She couldn’t fight anymore, so she’d made the levelheaded judgment that it would be a waste to heal herself.
But if she collapsed now, she’d be anxious for Zenbel and Zaryusu fighting up in front. Blood dribbled out of her mouth. Her oral cavity was injured, and she tried to stay conscious.
“Middle Cure Wounds!” She cast a healing spell on Zaryusu, who was fighting at close quarters with Iguvua.
Her legs gave out and her field of vision blurred. Her whole body could sense water around her. Why that was, she couldn’t comprehend at first. She didn’t notice, but at some point, she had fallen and sunk into the mud.
She realized soon enough and confirmed the lack of new injuries, so she must have just lost consciousness for a second and collapsed.
She felt relieved—not that she was still alive but that she could still fight. She didn’t even try to stand up. No, she didn’t have the energy to stand—it would have been a waste.
The backs of Zaryusu and Zenbel floated in her hazy field of vision. They were her comrades with whom she’d traveled and fought so far, although it was just a short time they’d spent together. Both of them—Zenbel, matched evenly against the four skeleton warriors with a little help, and Zaryusu, withstanding Iguvua’s magic attacks—were covered in wounds.
Crusch desperately steadied her breath and shot spells. “Middle Cure Wounds!” She healed Zenbel. “Middle Cure Wounds!” She healed Zaryusu. “Gah-hack…” She choked in and out.
Something was wrong with her breathing. She inhaled frantically, but it felt like the air wasn’t entering her lungs. It was probably due to using too much magical energy. Her head was pounding, but still, she forced her eyes to stay open.
How much had they sacrificed so far? After all that, they couldn’t be the first to withdraw. Crusch’s eyelids seemed about to fall, but she held them open. And she cast. “Middle Cure Wounds!”
Zenbel drove his clenched fist into a skeleton warrior’s skull. The sensation of creaking resistance turned into one of crushing, and the skeleton warrior was destroyed.
“Twoooo. Gah-haaaagh.” He heaved a breath like he was exhaling his exhaustion and scowled at the remaining skeleton warriors. The crab Crusch had summoned was already gone, but because it had occupied two of the skeleton warriors, Zenbel had been able to defeat the two others. He’d gotten this far with Crusch’s support.
Now there were two left, the ones the crab had been holding off. When he was done with them, he could move on to Iguvua.
He flexed his huge arm; it could still move.
His left arm was covered in injuries, and he couldn’t really tense it. He’d used it to shield himself from sword strikes too many times. He gazed absentmindedly at it as it hung limply at his side.
“Well, it’s a fine handicap.” He glared at the skeleton warriors and moved his left arm a bit. A pain that he would never have thought could come just from moving his fingers coursed through his entire body.
But what did it matter? His friend had continued charging even though some of his heads had become deadweight. Could Zenbel Gugu do something so laughable as give up now?
How strong was a skeleton warrior? Zenbel had fought them, so now he knew. Two of them against him would be an even match. That’s how strong they were. If he had had to fight four at once, he might not have been able to win. Thanks to that crab. Maybe I shouldn’t eat mud crabs for a while. After giving thanks to his favorite food, he turned his attention back to the two approaching skeleton warriors.
He balled up his fist.
He could still fight. He could still stand.
Honestly, he wondered how it was possible.
“Hah! This is no time to think crap like that!”
There was only one reason.
He scoffed at his doubting self of a moment ago.
He saw Zaryusu’s back beyond the skeleton warriors. His comrade didn’t retreat even one step despite Iguvua’s overwhelmingly powerful presence.
“That’s the biggest reason…”
Yes…
Zaryusu and Crusch. Rororo. They had all fought together. That was why he could still fight.
“Whoa, Zaryusu! You’re really beat up! That’s worse than the time you fought me, isn’t it?”
He swung his powerful arm at the attacking skeleton warriors and sent one flying. The other answered with its scimitar, and he didn’t manage to block it completely with his left arm, and another cut opened on his flank around where Crusch had healed him before.
“Crusch is doing awesome even though her situation sucks, too.”
She’d shot over another spell that began to heal him. He didn’t turn around, but he heard her voice right at water level. He could imagine from what position she was casting. How could she still even use magic?<
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“…What a great female.” If he was going to marry, he wanted a female like her. Zenbel felt just a little jealous of Zaryusu. “I don’t want her to see me collapse first! That’d be pathetic!”
He feinted with his huge arm and whipped with his tail. Then he grinned. Plus I’m older than them!
The two skeleton warriors, concealing themselves with their shields, steadily closed in on him. The shields hid Zaryusu from his view, which triggered an intense emotional reaction in Zenbel. “You’re in my way, dammit! I can’t see that cool male!” He let out a war cry and charged.
Iguvua and Zaryusu’s back-and-forth continued. It was a fight where their eyes remained glued on each other, so Zaryusu felt it when Iguvua glanced away for a moment. His undead face warped in a horrifying grimace. And what happened next turned Zaryusu’s body and soul to ice.
There came a splash from the rear—the sound of someone falling.
“Look! Your friend collapsed!”
He couldn’t turn around. What Iguvua said might be true, but it might not be. A feeling like his scales were being pulled welled up inside him. But his enemy was overwhelmingly powerful. He didn’t have time to turn and look. It was clear that the battle would be decided the moment he turned. Zaryusu hadn’t come all this way to lose in such an idiotic way.
He had come here to claim victory.
Still, if what Iguvua said was true, he’d be in trouble if he didn’t find a way to deal with the enemy reinforcements that would be coming up from behind him.
I guess I’ll take one magic hit. As Zaryusu steeled himself, there was some heavy splashing as if someone was trying to stand up, followed by the sound of multiple bones breaking.
“Zaryusu! I’m done for! The rest is…up to youuu!”
“…Middle Cure Wounds.”
With Zenbel’s pained words, a huge splash echoed.
With Crusch’s voice, which was barely a whisper, Zaryusu’s wounds began to heal.
“Nrrgh!” At Iguvua’s displeased face, Zaryusu didn’t even have to turn around—the two of them must have done exactly what they’d needed to do. Then next up is—
“My turn!”
He swung Frost Pain, but Iguvua repelled it with the staff in his hand. “Heh-heh-heh. I am Iguvua, elder lich. Just because I’m inferior in close-quarters combat doesn’t mean you should discount me!”
Despite his boast, Iguvua felt with a chill that his chances of winning were low. If it were one-on-one, he probably could have claimed victory, considering the gap in their abilities. But with the white lizardman healing wounds from the rear, their positions in terms of remaining health had reversed.
Then came three attacks, of which Iguvua was able to block only one. The other two cut into his body. He had resistance against cutting weapons, like a skeleton, and the additional chill damage had no effect, but this was still an extremely bad situation for him to be in.
His blood boiled.
He had been created by the Great One, his master Ainz Ooal Gown, as the commander of this army. Loss was unacceptable.
He at least wanted to summon some undead soldiers to guard him, but with his ability, summoning magic took time to use. It would be pretty tricky to use it with an enemy right in front of him.
At this rate he’d be overcome.
So he decided to use his last resort. It wasn’t a very good move—depending on the situation it could be considered a bad one—but it was the only move he had left.
Zaryusu hesitated before attacking as Iguvua suddenly turned his back and dashed away. Iguvua took the blow in his back and staggered but didn’t fall. Zaryusu clicked his tongue at Iguvua’s seemingly infinite health and ran after him to close the new gap.
Iguvua turned around. His face was twisted up in a rage that didn’t seem very undead, but there was a hint of glee showing through as well.
A red light glowed in his hand. Fireball.
Zaryusu, who had closed in, had doubts. An area-of-effect spell at this distance? Does he plan to self-destruct? No!
Fear welled up in Zaryusu’s breast as he realized Iguvua’s gaze wasn’t directed at him. He was looking behind him—at Crusch and Zenbel, who were probably already down.
What should I do? Zaryusu stopped to think.
This was a big chance. If he abandoned them, he could finish off Iguvua. If he didn’t, though, he wasn’t sure how the battle would go. Neither of them had much health left. There was an extremely high probability that one wrong move could mean the end of his life.
To win against Iguvua—wasn’t that why they were here? And they’d sacrificed so many of their comrades. He had to leave Crusch and Zenbel. Surely they would smile and forgive him; he would if their positions were reversed.
But…
He didn’t choose to abandon his comrades.
He would save them and defeat Iguvua.
Once he’d made his decision, the rest was easy.
“Icy Burst!” Zaryusu created a wall of chill at his feet.
“Gwahhhh!” His body froze in the cold swirling up. The word ultra-painful failed to describe the agony that assaulted him.
Desperately clinging to consciousness, Zaryusu focused his piercing gaze on Iguvua and endured the pain.
As a scream broke through his gritted teeth, the chilling mist enveloped the pair of them and dominated the area.
Enveloped in the white frost, Iguvua grinned as Zaryusu expected. It was like he was saying, He could have claimed victory if only he had abandoned his comrades.
Iguvua was immune to chill and electric attacks. That was why he could just stand there in this torrent. He clamped his hand around the fireball to put it out. If he let it go and it hit the white mist swirling around him, he’d essentially be blowing himself up.
He could follow up with another attack on those two lizardmen after the mist disappeared. The first one he had to crush was still standing. Iguvua scanned the area and frowned. He had miscalculated one thing.
“Now…where is he?”
All the mist was obscuring his view. Iguvua could see in the dark, but he didn’t have an ability that allowed him to see in conditions with bad visibility. As a result, he’d lost his enemy.
But he didn’t need to worry too much. Judging by the distress in the lizardman’s voice, he must have suffered fairly serious wounds. After all, he’d radiated enough chill to cancel Fireball. The damage should have been equal to the fire spell.
One wrong move with wounds that heavy could be fatal, so Iguvua could take his time stomping him out.
I guess I should get through this mist first? Iguvua thought, but he immediately discarded the idea. If I move now, I’ll give away my position. The first thing he needed to do was summon more undead. If he had some guards, his victory was certain even if the lizardman was still alive.
As he was about to cast, Iguvua suddenly heard a splash.
One of the Four Great Treasures handed down through generations of lizardmen—Frost Pain. Legend said that it was carved out of the ice that formed the only time the “lake that never froze” froze. It had three powers.
The first was the ability to deal additional chill damage when cutting an opponent because its blade was enchanted.
The second was the special move Icy Burst, which could be used three times per day.
And the third…
The air sounded like it was ripping.
The tip of a sharp blade appeared in Iguvua’s field of vision faster than he could even detect what it was.
Something made impact in his head.
The blade that had entered his left eye disturbed his brain. Finally understanding what had happened, Iguvua screamed in shock. “Gahhhhh! Why aren’t you deeead?!”
Frost Pain was sticking deep in his left eye socket, and he felt a chunk of his life disappear…
Zaryusu’s hazy figure appeared before Iguvua in the mist, covered in frost, as the elder lich reeled with the blade still in his head.
Iguvua
couldn’t understand. How was Zaryusu still standing after taking so much chill damage?
Frost Pain’s third power was the ability to protect the one who equips it from virtually all chill damage.
Of course, even though Frost Pain’s defense against the cold was strong, it wasn’t enough to completely nullify Icy Burst. Zaryusu was weakened by the chill damage, and it was all he could do to stand. He was panting, and his movements were slow. His tail was even drooping into the water. Even breathing was too much work. It would be near impossible to fight anymore. He hadn’t even aimed that attack. He’d just mustered the last remnants of his strength and left it up to instinct.
It was only luck that he’d even hit him.
Zaryusu’s eyelids threatened to close, but he desperately fought to keep them open.
The blow he’d driven into Iguvua using the last of his strength had been fatal. He watched with a faint sense of anticipation.
Iguvua groped and staggered. As if he could no longer maintain his body, the skin on his face peeled off and cracks appeared in the bone. Even his clothes began to disintegrate into tatters. His destruction was only a matter of time now. The moment Zaryusu confirmed his miraculous victory—
—a hand of skin and bones reached out and grabbed his neck. “I—I was created by my master as his minion…! Do you really think you can destroy me…so easily?!”
The grip seemed like it would be easy to break away from if he tried, but—“Gwaaaaagh!”—a scream escaped Zaryusu’s lips as intense pain shot through his entire body.
Negative energy was flowing in, robbing Zaryusu of his life. Even Zaryusu, who had been trained in ways to withstand pain, had no way to manage a pain like the chill that was being directly injected into his veins.
“Diiiiiiie, lizardman!” Part of Iguvua’s face chipped off and floated up, crumbling into the sky. His life was almost at its end, but his devotion to his master made him cling to it.
Zaryusu desperately resisted, but he was frightened that his body wouldn’t move quite right. Zaryusu himself didn’t have much life force left, and the injection of negative energy from Iguvua’s touch was completely sapping him. His gaze wavered, and his vision started to go dim. A white fog seemed to be covering the world.
The Lizardman Heroes Page 16