Chapter 453

453 -【Speed: 1402】

As I fly past Beelzebub, I slam my tail into his back. But, his huge body doesn’t so much as tremble at the impact.

It shouldn’t be possible for his defence to be so high that my attack did nothing. But, it seems that because of the weightiness granted to him by characteristic skill [Slow Body], his ability to take a hit is abnormal.

I can’t force him back with a simple attack. A blow to his back as I try to escape isn’t enough to get through his defence, but if I try hitting from the front, I’d take serious damage from his counter attack. How am I meant to defeat this guy?

…Of course, the only saving grace is that his tankiness is only effective when he’s not humanised and his speed is halved. I have to force him into a battle of speed to get him to halve that toughness, attack, and defence.

Using the recoil of my strike into his back to accelerate, I launch myself at a steep climb. As long as I’m at a low altitude, I can’t dodge that attack of his… I need to be able to escape that ‘certain death beam’, where he strengthens a [Storm of the Fly King] with the [Inhaala] magic. But, as long as I’m high enough, I’ll be able to dive down to dodge it.

That attack has a terrifyingly wide area of effect. Anything hit by it not only takes serious damage, but also gets affected by a deadly poison. If I’m hit by a poison that strong, I’ll lose my ability to move.

My aim is the land. The predictable nature of [Roll] made it hard to use against the ruin’s stupidly long-range magic attacks, but with how worn out I am now, I have no choice but to bet on [Roll]. If I keep fighting over the ocean, then as soon as my wings are damaged, it’ll be the end.

『Hey hey, stop being so annoying. You know there’s no way you can get away with that tattered body!』

He chases me as though tearing through the air with his six arms. I adjust my altitude to dodge his claws then, using the slight difference in speed, I open up some distance. In his normal form, I am faster.

『Cheh, I guess there’s no helping it! It’s useless struggling!』

Beelzebub’s huge body shines brightly, and his silhouette shrinks down. Six arms, grey skin, and insectile wings. He’s back to the same humanised form I first saw him.

“I don’t like using this body though!”

It’s going to plan…! Now, I need to deal some damage while his defence and weight is reduced, and force him to withdraw. I glance back to grasp his position, then slow down slightly to fire a [Wind Slash] at him.

“It’s useless! Hahaha, don’t look down on my agility!”

He dodges the blade of wind with the least possible movement. I don’t think I’m going to be able to hit him. His speed while humanised stands at the top of all monsters I’ve seen up to now. But, I have to try.

If I fight normally, my attacks will never land. So, I’ll purposefully receive one of his attacks. Then I’ll hit him with a counter.

His attacks are lighter while he’s humanised, but they’re still far from being an amount of damage I can ignore. With how damaged I am, it’s a tactic I’d like to avoid. But there’s no other option. I need to hit. I need to hit for certain. Think, how will he attack me, and how can I respond?

“Hyahou, I got you!”

He speeds up, flying around my back. He’s even faster than I expected. But, as long as I can predict the timing of his attack, I can counter. Get closer. The moment he hits my back, I’ll nail him with my fastest possible strike.

The instant I feel a sharp pain in my back, I twist around and swing my claws. My plan is to then drop straight down towards the ocean. I experience the illusion of my claws cutting through him. But, instead, I feel my body tilt forward and I lose my balance. I missed.

“Dangerous, dangerous. I knew it was coming from all the bloodlust you were putting out, but it was closer than I expected. It grazed past me.”

I hear his voice coming from behind me. His speed is just way too fast. So this is the world of 【Speed: 1402】…

His second claw attack mercilessly tears through my back. My blue blood splatters. Sensing a crisis, I quickly dive down. The third claw attack grazes past my head. By mixing in irregular movements with the acceleration from gravity, I manage to dodge the fourth and fifth attacks, then turn a sharp right angle just above the ocean to fly straight towards the land.

I staunch the bleeding with [Autoregeneration]… It seems I was poisoned. It hasn’t had much effect yet, but it’s painful to know that my HP will only go down with time now. It has cut my options down even further.

My best plan was to hit Beelzebub while he was humanised to force him to retreat. But that is impossible. When I tried to attack, I came to understand that. Since he was able to dodge even when I had the best possible set up, any more attempts would just be a pointless waste of my MP.

So, I should bet everything on the next best plan. I’ll reach land, then use [Roll] to escape.

To be honest, my chances of success are almost zero. But, now that I’ve seen his fighting style, a plan comes to mind.

If I do this, I might be able to gain a little distance… My body won’t get away unscathed. It’ll be doubtful whether I’ll even be able to use [Roll] afterwards. But I’ll soon be killed at this rate anyway. I need to use anything that could possibly raise my chance of getting away. My partner sacrificed herself to keep me alive. I can’t let myself die here, I need to survive no matter what it takes.

“D’you think you can get away from me?”

Beelzebub skims over the ocean’s surface as he chases me. He’ll catch up in just a moment. But that is fine. Right now, I want to get as close to the land as possible.

“GuruuoooOOh!”

I snap my tail against the water’s surface. A spray of water shoots towards Beezlebub. He flies around the spray, then cuts towards me.

“Taking you down bit-by-bit doesn’t suit me. Is there no part of you that wants to charge at me and die a honourable death?”

I dive under the water, then fly out from just below him. As he pulls back in surprise to dodge, I carry on in the same direction to fly directly towards land.

“Your inability to give up is ugly! You damn coward!”

He quickly resumes his pursuit of me. After closing the distance again, he disappears into the sea. The moment I realise he’s coming from below, I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen and my body is thrown upwards.

I couldn’t dodge it. I’m taking even more damage…!

Having pierced through my abdomen, Beelzebub drops down to tear apart my left wing. Blue blood splatters. I feel more poison entering me. My wing feels numb.

“Guu…!”

I’m forced down into the sea. I try to swim, thinking desperately.

My wings are my lifeline. My ability to fly has now been drastically cut down.

“Die a pathetic death!”

Above me, Beelzebub’s body shines as he takes on his monster form again.

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