Claws covered in blood and eyes screaming with hunger, it was a monster, no, it was something that even monsters fear. A creature that could be considered as a living incarnation of fear. That creature was standing before us.

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【〔???〕】

【Species】???

【Sex】???

【Age】???

【Status】Unstable

【Mana Capacity】3,121 【Mana Quality】B

【Combat Power】5,712 【Threat Level】S

【Attribute】Null 【Magic Control】100%

【Physical Enhancement】100%

【Intelligence】64

【Description】

A manmade creature which is made for the sole purpose of destruction.

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With its strength, it could easily defeat everyone in this raid team other than me. No, forget about this raid team, thousands of lives will be lost if this creature is to be let loose.

I need to get everybody else out of here before it's too late. Thankfully, it's still distracted on eating its prey.

「Everyone, run away, I'll handle this.」Grey

「Grey-dono, what are you talkー」Kurt

「Kurt-sama, have you ever fought a Lesser Dragon?」Grey

「N-No...」Kurt

「Then I advise you to stay out of this fight.」Grey

「But isn't it that more reason to helー」Kurt

「Kurt-sama, let's fall back. If we stay here, we're just going to burden Grey.」Kurt

Kurt-sama tried to reason out, but before he could finish his statement, Kris-san cut his words by stating the harsh truth.

Unlike Kurt-sama, Kris-san knows my strength full well. And when he heard my words, he quickly understood what I was trying to imply.

「I understand... Everyone, fall back!」Kurt

After understanding the circumstances, Kurt-sama issued an order to retreat outside the hideout. But before falling back, Kurt-sama said something to me.

「Grey-dono, we'll be waiting for your return.」Kurt

After Kurt-sama said that to me, everyone retreated back from where they came from. Well, I say everyone, but Yuna stayed behind for some reason.

「Grey, you're going to win this, right?」Yuna

「Of course.」Grey

「I see... Then I'll be waiting for that curry you promised to cook for me. Umm... good luck!」Yuna

Having finished saying those words, Yuna quickly retreated and rejoined the raid team.

Huh...? Was that the reason she stayed behind...? Sometimes... I just can't understand what's going on in that mind of hers...

Well, that's a cute part of her too.

And... what's up with that question? Of course I'll be returning victorious from this battle, after all, if this were a novel or a manga...

I would be the main protagonist!

Not even a minute after everybody else left, the creature had already finished its meal, and as if noticing another prey, it turned its head towards my direction while it licked its beak.

「So you finally noticed me, huh.」Grey

Everybody should already be a safe distance from here... I guess it's time to take this thing down.

Kuruwaaaakkkkk

The creature screeched while generating strong bursts of winds by flapping its enormous wings, making the laboratory collapse. The laboratory which was once full of machinery was now in ruins, the same goes for Kris-san's 《Stone Forest》.

Needless to say, I was able to escape unscathed as the laboratory collapsed from the inside.

After destroying the laboratory, it then glared at me with eyes of that of a predator looking at his prey. It was obvious that it was ready to pounce any time.

As expected of a creature with the intelligence of a child... Well, I think it will learn soon enough that I... am not the prey!

Before the creature could start attacking me, I shortened the distance between us and...

「You're wide open!《Magnum Caliber》!」Grey

... I tried to deliver the first blow using a punch straight to its face, but before my attack could reach, the creature's eyes followed my movement.

Huh?

The creature then dodged by docking and counter-attacked with its tail, which I evaded by maneuvering mid-air with the help of wind magic.

So it's intelligent enough to dodge and counter-attack at the same time. Looks like I underestimated itー

Kuruwaaakkkk

Before I could even have the time to think, the creature pounced towards me. Too bad for it, it's screech gave it away, so I managed to evade with relative ease by jumping in the air.

「《Gale Waltz》!」Grey

I tried to counter-attack but the creature dodged it once again by moving to the right.

Tsk. It's reflexes are too sharp. On top of that, it's quick, my attacks can't reach it at all!

Taking the chance that I was still suspended midair, the creature pounced at me once again, and just like last time, I evaded the attack by maneuvering mid-air with the use of wind magic.

「《Gale Waltz》!《Gale Waltz》!《Gale Waltz》!《Gale Waltz》!」Grey

It tried to hit the creature again and again, but it managed to dodge all of my attacks before it could even reach 5 meters from it.

Well, if direct attacks won't work, then I'll switch to AOE! And even if it has wings, it shouldn't be able to fly in such a cramped space.

「《Purgatory》!」Grey

As I unleashed the spell, the ground was covered in crimson flames. The one dark hideout transformed into a place akin to hell. And the machineries destroyed by the creature are now nothing but molten metal.

Unluckily, there was one flaw in my plan. I did not consider the possibility that the creature was resistant to fire.

As it was created from the combination of a myriad of beasts, it managed to acquire some of their physical traits. One of which is the fire-resistant fur common to fire-attribute beasts.

The creature stayed on the ground, not even slightly affected by the heat which was enough to melt down metals, rather, the creature looked comfortable in the middle of the field littered with flames.

Tsk! If this continues, the oxygen will be burnt up... Well, if fire won't work, then I'll freeze you to death!

「《Winter Gospel》!」Grey

As ice spread throughout the central chamber, the crimson flames which once dominated the field were engulfed by deep blue ice, and the moisture in the air turned solid.

At that temperature, even lava would be cooled into a rock in an instant, but the creature remained unfazed.

「《Aqua Helix》!《Twin Spiral》!《Growling Plateau》!《Raging Lightning》!《Dark Canopy》!」Grey

After seeing that ice also won't work on it, I tried out the other attributes, firing them rapidly towards the creature, but just like before, the creature managed to dodge everything I threw at it.

Other than dodging my attacks, the creature even manages to counter-attack using its claws, tail, and beak, but I was also able to avoid all of them by either leaping in the air or by erecting a wall.

Kuruwaaaakkkkk

Before I could even take a rest, the creature once again tried to pounce at me.

「Stop pouncing at me, you bastard! 《Megaton Shotgun》!」Grey

I tried blowing its face into smithereens while it was still midair, but it still managed to avoid it by flapping its wings in order to stop itself midair.

Tsk! If this goes on, I'll end up drying up my mana pool. The fatigue from rapid mana exhaustion is also kicking in. I need to finish this quickly!

「《Binding Ivy》!」Grey

Hoping to capture the creature and pinning it down, I tried casting 《Binding Ivy》on it, but it was able to avoid the vines without even breaking a sweat.

Tsk. It's speed is so annoying! Only if I can limit its movementー

Wait, that's it!

Without wasting more time, I retrieved an 【Armament Ring】from my 『Storage』and quickly transformed it into a large war hammer. Although it was heavy, with my strength as an S-ranker, I was able to lift it as if it was made of plastic.

I then poured my mana, both null and earth attribute ones, into the hammer and threw it into the air. I then jumped after it and grabbed its handle. And just like what Kri-san did, I threw it to the ground with all my might.

「《Stone Forest》!」Grey

Just as I released that spell, hundreds of earthen pillars emerged from the ground and connected to the main chamber's walls and ceiling. As the process was taking place, the creature dodged here and there, being careful not to get hit by the emerging earthen pillars.

Although I say spell, it was a special type, only created by combining an attributed spell with null mana and transmitting it using a medium, in short, it was a combination of a spell and an art. Some people call it "Techniques".

Unlike spells and arts, the knowledge about techniques is somewhat scarce, that's why God didn't imprint it on my『Memory』. But by utilizing my ability to remember everything I see at least once, I managed to pull off《Stone Forest》just by witnessing Kris-san use it.

Now, let's see if it worked!

「《Gale Waltz》!」Grey

In order to confirm if my plan worked, I fired a《Gale Waltz》towards the creature, but it still managed to dodge it.

But I wasn't dissatisfied, since the creature's ability to dodge has obviously decreased. Because of its massive size, maneuvering inside the central chamber has become increasingly difficult. The emergence of the earthen pillars has prevented it from dashing towards one direction, and if it fails to maneuver successfully, it will crash towards a pillar.

It's now at a total disadvantage!

Getting ready to attack, I stored the war hammer back in my 『Storage』and readied myself to go on offense once again.

「You're finished!」 Grey

Without wasting any more time, I jumped from pillar to pillar, firing a spell towards the creature, and unlike before where the creature always manages to dodge them, my attacks now hit it every two or three attempts.

Kuruwaaakkkkkk

The creature screeched in pain, but there was nothing it could do. If it wanted to counter-attack, it needs to find its way towards me in the labyrinth of pillars, but by the time it gets there, I would be long gone.

The pattern continued for a while, until...

Kuruaaaaaaakkkkkkkkk!!!!!

... the creature became agitated and decided to destroy any pillar that goes into its way. Although it made it possible for it to reach me, it also took a lot of damage from doing that method. Not to mention that I always evaded before it can reach me.

Looks like it can't think well anymore. Well then... I'll be finishing this!

Taking the chance that the creature was greatly agitated, I stood still on top of a horizontal pillar and baited the creature to come towards me, which it did.

The creature dashed with all its might, but just a few meters before it could reach me, I leaped to the air and erected a wall in front of me to which the creature crashed magnificently.

Taking the chance, I maneuvered myself just behind the creature's head with a little bit of wind magic, and delivered the final blow.

Should I use Megaton Shotguー no.

「《Gigaton Gatling》!」Grey

A barrage of punches rained down upon the creature, with each blow packing the power to easily obliterate boulders into smithereens.

Receiving the attack, the creature screeched in agony and holes were punched throughout its whole body. Before it could even retaliate, the creature's body fell to the ground and its life came to an end.

「Haa... Haa... Haa... What a tough bastard...」Grey

When the battle was over, only less than 10% of my mana pool was left. If the battle had dragged a little longer, I might have lost.

Ah, no, I still have those【Divine Potions】. I probably would have won even if the situation had turned for the worse.

Haa... If this were a plot from a manga or a novel, the only reason I'm still alive would be because of that shitty plot armor. I didn't even get a single wound... But well, it's not that I'm not thankful for it, if that were the case.

Hm...?

Pfft... I should stop thinking about these stupid things. I should probably rejoin the raid team first, well, after I rest a little bit that is.

Even though I did not actually make the perpetrator pay for the destruction of Yuna's home village, this should fulfill my promise with the villagers I buried that day.

I wonder how Yuna is going to react after this...

Having rested for about 15 minutes, I started heading outside the hideout. Thankfully, because of my ability,『Memory』, I was able to get out in one try without going into any dead ends. And after a few minutes, I was finally out.

When I got out, I was greeted by a scenery bathed in the moonlight as the fresh cool wind gently caressed my skin.

Aahh... Being outside really feels good.

「Ah, there he is! Grey!」Yuna

「Grey-kun!」Vanessa

Not long after I came out of the hideout, Yuna immediately located me and everyone in the raid team followed her. Seems like she was using her 『Detection』all this time.

「Sorry to have kept you waiting.」Grey

「No, we should be sorry to not be of any help. Anyway, we're glad you're safe Grey-dono. I'm sure it was tough.」Kurt

「Yeah, it was. The enemy was really good at dodging. Thankfully, I managed to find a way to defeat it.」Grey

「That's good. If you had been there any longer, we would have ignored what you said and go back.」Kris

「We were really worried, especially Yuna-chan. She wouldn't stー」Vanessa

「Stop it, Vanessa-neechan!」Yuna

When Vanessa-sama tried to talk about how worried Yuna was for me, Yuna immediately covered her mouth to stop her from talking. It's also worth noting that Yuna's face was beet red at that moment.

I'm really happy that she's worried for me, but I can't just stop thinking of something strange that I heard. Did Yuna just call Vanessa-sama "Vanessa-neechan"?

... Nah, it must have been my imagination.

Anyway, the conversation is shifting into a weird topic. I should ask a question to get it back on track.

「Kurt-sama, Vanessa-sama, what should we do with the hideout and the remaining members of the Bellowing Specter? As I recall, some of them were injured.」Grey

「Don't worry about that, the government will take care of it. As for the injured people, we already casted a healing spell on them. Well, I'm sure it will be tough to lead them back to the city, so onee-sama and I will be staying behind to make sure none of them escapes while Kris-sama and Aria-sama reports what happened to Galderia's feudal lord.」Kurt

「How about Yuna and me?」Grey

「Well, unlike Kris-sama and Aria-sama, who's here with an official request from the king, you two were pretty much just dragged into this mess by us, so you're free to go. But don't worry, we will still compensate you for your help today.」Kurt

「I see...」Grey

「Well then, you should be heading back now. Oh, Kris-sama is calling you.」Kurt

Hm? Kris-san?

「Grey, Yuna, are you coming with us back to Galderia?」Kris

Ahh... So it's about that.

「I appreciate the offer, but I have to talk about something with Yuna.」Grey

「I see... It must be about that... Alright. Then we won't be bothering you two. Aria, let's go.」Kris

「Take care～. See you at Galderia.」Aria

「Yeah...」Grey

I don't know how, but Kris-san seemed to have perceived what I was going to talk about with Yuna. Kris-san really is perceptive.

「You wanted to talk about something with me?」Yuna

「Yeah, but let's go to a quiet place first.」Grey

It's not that our topic is top secret or something, but I just want to keep it private between us.

Hm... I wonder if things will change between us...

CHAPTER 24 END