Shun's Perspective The moment
Leisse-san, who had been aiming for the Demon King, was intercepted by Wakaba-san and killed on the spot.
The Black God had apparently also lost its fight against Wakaba-san and lay fallen.
And against Wakaba-san's long-range attacks, we had absolutely no way of fighting back.
As if guided by some kind of homing ability, her magic struck Guen-san and Hyuban-san with perfect Accuracy every single time.
Meanwhile, our own long-range attacks were dodged with ease.
The only way to turn this situation around was to get close to Wakaba-san.
"Kathia. We're going to sneak over to Wakaba-san."
"Wha—!? Do you even understand what's going on right now!?"
"Keep your voice down! I know—that's why we're moving."
Right now, Wakaba-san's attention was focused entirely on Guen-san and Hyuban-san.
She occasionally glanced toward Nia-san and
She was probably planning to take out Guen-san and Hyuban-san first while they were in dragon form—bigger targets, after all.
And as for me and Kathia, her attention was practically nonexistent. Not a speck of it.
To put it bluntly, we were the weakest combatants on this battlefield—the kind of presences that didn't matter whether we were here or not.
Wakaba-san understood that too.
That was why she had excluded us from her awareness entirely.
"But even if we get close, there's nothing we can do, is there?"
"We don't need to do anything ourselves. In fact, we can't. That's why we're going to revive Leisse-san."
The only thing I could do was resurrect the dead through Mercy.
Leisse-san's body was lying right behind Wakaba-san.
If things went well, I could revive Leisse-san and launch a surprise attack from behind.
"Think that'll work?"
"The odds aren't in our favor, but if we don't pull it off, there's no winning this."
We were at a disadvantage right now.
If things stayed this way, we would lose. No question.
Then even a long-shot gamble was worth taking.
"...Then let's head to Ronant-sama first."
"Understood."
That single sentence from Kathia said it all.
She was saying we should ask Ronant-sama for a teleportation.
"Once that's settled, we're going."
"Right."
"Fine. I suppose I can handle a diversion."
Just as we reached our conclusion, we heard a voice from nearby—Nia-san.
In the next instant, Nia-san transformed into her dragon form.
She positioned herself at just the right spot to shield us from Wakaba-san's view.
On top of that, Nia-san fired an ice breath at Wakaba-san in the most conspicuous way possible, drawing her full attention.
That should have completely removed me and Kathia from Wakaba-san's line of sight.
In my heart, I thanked Nia-san, and we began moving quietly.
Most of the spider-type Monsters had already been defeated.
There was nothing to obstruct us, and the corpses of those spider-type Monsters served as excellent cover, hiding our movement.
At this rate, we could reach Ronant-sama without being noticed.
And we arrived at Ronant-sama's location almost immediately.
Ronant-sama was locked in battle with a massive spider-type Monster—the Arachnarachtect.
The Arachnarachtect was a threat-rank-S Monster, a single step below mythical class.
Not something a lone human could hope to take on.
...And yet, Ronant-sama was fighting it to a standstill.
The Arachnarachtect charged at Ronant-sama, wielding its enormous body like a battering ram.
Ronant-sama launched a searing Fireball straight at the charging beast.
The Arachnarachtect countered with a dark projectile, but the Fireball swallowed the projectile whole and continued forward.
Unable to withstand it, the Arachnarachtect leaped diagonally backward to dodge, putting distance between itself and Ronant-sama.
Incredible.
This was the strongest mage of the Human race.
—Right. No time for admiration.
As the Arachnarachtect moved to charge at Ronant-sama once more, I crept up behind it and slashed at its hind leg.
Completely off guard, the strike severed one of the Arachnarachtect's rear legs clean off.
The Arachnarachtect let out an unearthly shriek.
It spun around in a flash, catching me in its field of vision.
"Are ye not aware that ye've left yer back wide open?"
That was Ronant-sama, addressing the Arachnarachtect from behind.
By the time the Arachnarachtect turned, a searing beam had already pierced through its body.
Hit by a beam that went clean through, the Arachnarachtect screamed again—that horrible, chittering wail.
I drove my sword into its head.
The Arachnarachtect's massive body convulsed violently, and the strength drained from the legs supporting it.
Then it toppled over with a tremendous crash.
"Whew. Much obliged for the assist."
"Not at all. I think Ronant-sama could have won this one alone."
I had only taken it by surprise—my contribution was minimal. Given how well Ronant-sama had been fighting just moments ago, I was fairly certain he could have handled it solo.
"Can't say that's true. Fighting something of that class while protecting a fallen comrade at the same time—it was no small feat."
Ronant-sama glanced down at the fallen old man.
That old man was the Pope of the Sacred Word faith.
He had used a Skill called Harmony to nullify the enemy's attacks—twice.
But the backlash from that Skill must have been severe, because the Pope lay collapsed in a pool of his own blood.
"Heal me... Not... me. The others... guagh!"
Mid-sentence, the Pope coughed up blood.
He was on the verge of death, no matter how you looked at it.
"...Ronant-sama, could you teleport us to where Leisse-san is?"
I abandoned the Pope.
If I used my healing magic here, I could probably save him.
But it would take time, and more importantly, healing the Pope alone wouldn't be enough to change the outcome of this battle.
Abandoning someone in need—it was an agonizing decision. But this was my resolve.
...What a terrible way to steel oneself.
"Dost thou understand? That power consumes thine own body in the process."
"I understand. My mind is made up."
I answered while looking Ronant-sama straight in the eye.
Ronant-sama let out a great sigh, then silently began preparing his magic.
"I shall see to this old man. After all, I can do no more against an enemy of that caliber. I'm simply doing what I can. And so, I would have ye do the same—what ye can, within what ye are able."
"Yes."
Those were words of concern for us, in Ronant-sama's own way.
Don't do anything reckless, he meant.
I'm sorry.
Right now, if we don't do something reckless, we can't win.
And with Ronant-sama's teleportation, Kathia and I were transported to where Leisse-san lay.