Chapter 337

337 – Chimera Lich

From a branch of the giant tree, I look down. There’s no sign of the hopping freshly-severed woman’s head, nor the headless men. It doesn’t look like they chased me. I-I was able to shake those disgusting adams and eve off somehow…

I stick out my tongue, and out rolls a sphere of hardened earth. What…is that? As I think that, the sphere breaks, and Aro appears from inside. It seems the moment I stuck her in my mouth, she used [Clay] to make a shell of earth.

Y-you hated it that much…? Well, yeah, I guess it stinks of dragon. For the time being, should we get down from here and go somewhere relatively safe?

…No, it might be better to stay up here now that I know adams won’t attack. Depending on the situation, they could climb by jumping, but it doesn’t seem like they’re going to try and climb so proactively. That is, unless they’re currently digging a hole through the tree to get to me.

As I think that, I feel a faint presence of something drawing closer. Up here might not be safe either…

I turn my head toward the presence, but don’t see anything in particular. My partner suddenly stretches out and bumps my head.

『Look closely!』

I focus my attention, and… There’s a patch of space on the branch that looks oddly warped. The colours there look a bit faded, or rather it looks a bit unnatural…

I spit toward it, and can make out something crawling as my saliva floats in the air. It appears that there’s something there that changed its colour to blend into the background.

“Shishishi…”

It exposes its emerald body as it slithers around a thick branch. A snake… Is what it looks like. Attached to the snake’s body is the upper body of a human. But its face is clearly inhuman. Where its left eye should be there are instead three bright red eyes, and body fluids drip from its lips. Its long hair is dark purple. The left side of its scalp is cracked, exposing pink brain tissue. From her shoulder, a single tattered wing sprouts.

【[Chimera Lich]: B rank monster】

【The pitiful end of a mage who, seeking immortality and contrary to divine reason, turned herself into a monster.】

【Though it may have been a champion, now its sword points towards its former companions.】

【Eroded by insanity, none of its former wisdom remains.】

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『Daisy Tetrom』

Species: Chimera Lich

Condition: Cursed

Lv 67/80

HP: 295/295

Attack: 307

Defence: 358

Magic: 411

Speed: 420

Rank: B

Characteristic Skills:

[Mage Talent: Lv8] [Grisha Language: Lv1] [Undead: Lv-] [Automatic HP Recovery: Lv7] [Automatic MP Recovery: Lv7] [Tentacle: Lv2] [Colour Change: Lv-] [Onmitsu: Lv4] [Presence Perception: Lv4] [Flight: Lv2] [Darkness Attribute: Lv-]

Resistance Skills:

[Status Condition Nullification: Lv-]

Normal Skills:

[High Rest: Lv6] [Care: Lv5] [High Power: Lv5] [Dark Rest: Lv4] [Dark Sphere: Lv7] [Putrefying Breath: Lv3]

Title Skills:

[White Mage: Lv7] [Black Mage: Lv7] [Former Champion: Lv-]

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Another strange thing has shown up… For that matter, she still has her name from her former life… This’ll be hard…

But as it’s not an A rank, it’s no match for me. If it attacks, I won’t hold back…

…No, wait? Can’t Aro and the others somehow handle something like this? Putting aside the C+ Aro, the petit nightmare and treant wouldn’t be able to fight at all if I took them back to the ruins.

I’ll devote myself to a support role for this fight. This chimera lich… Its level and rank are high, but its HP is on the lower side. If their attacks can land, it shouldn’t be impossible for Aro and the others to take it down. All of their levels are close to the limit. There’s a chance they could all get enough to evolve.

If they can all get in the B to C+ range, then with my support they should be able to fight an adam. If they can pin down one of them, then conquering the ruins is a possibility.

However, Aro and the others are overwhelmingly inferior in terms of speed. With the chimera lich’s Status Condition Nullification, the petit nightmare’s Poison Thead won’t work.

“Guuah!”

I howl, and Aro jumps on my head as the treant waits diagonally in front of me and the petit nightmare hangs from a higher branch near my partner’s head. Its helpful for them to be close by so we can react if needed. A single hit would be a disaster after all.

Aro touches my head with both hands. It’s her [Mana Drain] skill. A black light leaks from my body and envelops her. Her MP should have already been full, but… Whenever she sucks up my MP she gets a boost to the strength of her magic. She should be able to attack in a way that even the B rank chimera lich can’t ignore.

Go for it, Aro! Nail it with a preemptive strike!

She holds a hand out towards it. As she does, brown light accumulates in front of the treant and a sphere of earth appears and flies towards it. That’s probably the skill it got from the fruit of wisdom, [Clay Sphere].

The chimera lich doesn’t react at all. The ball of earth loses its momentum part way and falls to the ground next it. Aro stares at the treant in surprise.

…In the first place, the treant’s magic power is 65, whereas the chimera lich’s defence is 358. Even if it hit, there’s a chance it wouldn’t do any damage.

Treant-san… You wanted to use your new skill, right? I understand… I’ve also felt that way…

『……』

The treant turns toward me as though to explain itself. That’s not what you should be doing now! Front! Watch the front!

“Shaaaaaaah!”

The chimera lich spreads its one wing as it leaps toward the branch we’re on. Its torn mouth opens wide as it swings its long claws down toward me. Its movements stop midair, a faint red line visible in front of it. The petit nightmare has wrapped a thread around it, it seems. It spits out more thread to reinforce the restraints.

But in the brief moment as Aro refocuses her aim, the chimera lich shakes off the thread and throws itself at me. I guess the status difference is just too big…

I lightly knock it away with my foreleg. With a bang, its body bounces back. It quickly gets to its feet and takes some distance.

It glares at me from a low posture… At this rate, it’ll be hard for them to land a hit. I don’t want to take my time so much that it notices the difference in strength and runs away, but I also want to take actions that could get seen as contributing too much.