The first to move was me.

I sent my Silveit flying backward, grabbing onto the trees to propel myself away.

Distance. I needed to create as much distance between the monster and Aya-chan as possible.

This was a Rank Five monster, far stronger than any I had faced before. I couldn’t risk fighting near the car and endangering Aya-chan by dragging her into our battle.

…Follow me.

My unspoken invitation worked, and the monster took the bait.

Of course, it did. Its target wasn’t Aya-chan—it was me. If I ran, it would definitely chase after me.

Feeling a sense of relief that my gamble had paid off, I spread my Silveit throughout the forest.

“Shape Change.”

I muttered softly.

In the next instant, a barrier of blades materialized in the forest.

“Hmm, clever,” the monster remarked.

But before I could react, it leaped into the air, soaring about 30 meters to completely avoid the barrier.

“…!?”

Incredible physical ability!

As I stared in shock, the monster, still in mid-air, used Silveit to maneuver itself, looping it around its back.

It’s making a move—!

I quickly reinforced my body with six strands of Silveit, ready to counter whatever attack was coming.

But I wasn’t planning on engaging in a direct fight.

I didn’t have the strength for that yet. My reinforcement was purely defensive, meant to keep me alive.

In the next moment, the monster used “Attribute Change: Wind” to generate a powerful burst of air, launching itself toward me like a rocket.

“…!”

Reflexively, I created a barrier using “Shape Change: Harden,” but the monster deftly used its four arms to flip and take control of its movement, flying over the barrier with an impossible right-angle turn.

“Ah, I see,” the monster said.

I gasped as I saw Silveit extending from its back.

It was using its own body like a puppet to execute those insane aerial maneuvers!

“You won’t get away easily,” the monster taunted.

“Of course not!” I shot back, using Silveit to launch myself higher, creating more distance.

From above, I looked down at the monster.

“If all you do is run, you won’t be able to exorcise me,” it mocked.

Ignoring the provocation, I created a flaming spear. The spear ignited with a fierce blaze, and I extended a line of Silveit toward the monster.

Fortunately, the monster didn’t seem to possess the “True Eye” and couldn’t see my thread.

Here’s my chance!

I detonated compressed air behind the flaming spear using “Attribute Change: Wind.”

BOOM!

The explosion scattered leaves as the fiery spear shot toward the monster, piercing through it before erupting in a massive blast.

“…Flame Wasp,” I muttered as I landed softly on the ground.

The fiery spear had drilled through the target. A fitting name, I thought.

Watching the monster with a gaping hole in its abdomen, I asked, “Where did you send my dad and Renji-san?”

“…”

The monster remained silent.

As I pondered my next move, I noticed that the gaping wound in the monster’s abdomen was slowly but surely healing.

It can use healing magic!

I was stunned, momentarily speechless.

That’s incredible! I can’t even use healing magic yet…!

But this was no time to be impressed.

“If you don’t answer me, I’ll have to take other measures,” I threatened, trying to mimic the intimidation tactics I’d seen in movies and manga, while keeping a safe distance from the monster.

As I kept a cool demeanor, I realized my initial fear had begun to fade. A newfound confidence was filling me, making me believe that I might actually be able to exorcise this Rank Five monster.

But I couldn’t let my guard down. To stay alive, I had to defeat this monster.

Reminding myself of that, I kept my eyes locked on the enemy.

“I really want to devour that magic power of yours,” the monster said.

“You’re not getting it,” I retorted.

The monster extended Silveit from its fingers, connecting them to the surrounding trees.

“Come forth!” it bellowed.

As it roared, the trees stood up!

“…It doesn’t matter how many monsters you create,” I began to say, but before I could finish, I saw the animated trees extending Silveit toward me, and I instinctively leaped backward.

What is this? What’s it planning?

It’s not unusual for monsters to use magic, but this was the first time I’d seen minions created by a monster wielding magic. I kept my distance, which turned out to be the right decision.

A single acorn dropped from above onto the spot where I had been standing.

Why an acorn?

Before I could ponder further, the acorn touched the ground.

BOOM!

“…!”

The acorn exploded with tremendous force!

Luckily, I had distanced myself in time, but the thought of what might have happened if I hadn’t noticed in time sent chills down my spine. If I didn’t have the “True Eye,” I would have been caught in the blast for sure. Thank goodness for all those years of training.

“So you can see it, huh? Then you know what’ll happen,” the monster said, standing among the tree monsters it had created, looking down at me.

“If you kill them, every one of those will explode.”

I went silent.

There was nothing else I could do.

I didn’t know how many acorns each of these trees held, but I did know that an ordinary tree could carry hundreds, if not thousands, of acorns. If I destroyed the tree monsters, the resulting explosions would be hundreds of times more powerful than the one I just witnessed.

Not only would I be caught in the blast, but Aya-chan, who was only a few hundred meters away, would also be in danger.

Despite the dire situation, I maintained a nonchalant attitude and asked, “Let me ask you something.”

“…”

The monster remained silent.

“Well, it’s fine if you don’t answer,” I said.

“Is it possible that the ‘Teleportation Magic’ you used can’t send people too far away?”

“…”

The monster didn’t speak, but I noticed its eyes widen in surprise.

“Yeah, that’s all I needed to know.”

Of course, the range of magic is limited by the length of Silveit. “Teleportation Magic” would also be constrained by the same principle.

That’s all I needed to confirm.

I moved my fingers like a conductor leading an orchestra, manipulating Silveit to weave a net.

Then, I unleashed a powerful wind, threading it through the gaps between the trees.

WHOOSH!

The wind roared as it tore through the branches, snatching up the acorns, which were caught in the net and flung into the sky.

All that was left was to strike one of them.

That would be enough!

BOOM!

In a chain reaction, every acorn exploded in the air!

As a fiery display lit up the sky, I didn’t let the opportunity slip. With “Shape Change: Blade,” I sliced the trees cleanly in half, and the monsters dissipated into black mist, the telltale sign of their demise.

“This will be the signal. Dad and Renji-san will be back… soon.”

I smiled as I turned to face the young monster.

“And there’s no need to wait for them to return.”

The monster regarded me with a puzzled expression.

…I guess it still hasn’t figured it out.

“When I realized you could use healing magic, I knew that only a large, decisive blow would be effective. But I needed time to prepare for that.”

As I spoke, the sky suddenly darkened.

“I managed to buy enough time.”

The monster finally noticed the change and looked up, but it was too late.

Way too late.

“Meteor,” I said.

The monster, realizing its fate, muttered one final sentence.

“Ah, I see…”

And that was all.

A massive boulder, created with “Attribute Change: Earth,” the size of a small house, was hurtling down, pulled by gravity.

The monster’s final words were drowned out as it was crushed beneath the colossal meteor.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep