It was an accessory embedded with a blue gemstone, resembling blue marine.
“The Azure Flame Guardian,” that is the name of this accessory.
It is a rare magical tool possessed by Fiona, infused with very high heat resistance, and its effectiveness has been proven when it protected me from the flames of the “Golden Sun” during the battle against the Eighth Apostle Ai.
On the night of the first day of the crimson flame moon, I received such a rare item.
“This is a present from me, please take it.”
A charm radiating blue light was handed to me by Fiona.
When I asked why, a simple answer came back: “I bought it.” That wasn’t the meaning behind my question, though.
“We have matching ones.”
I felt embarrassed by such a line that a man might misunderstand, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much this ‘rare’ item had cost, but all I could say was,
“Ah, thank you.”
At that moment, Lily’s strangely cold expression was a bit frightening…
When I cut through Raspun’s fireball attack head-on, surprise seemed to flash across his eyes.
Was it that unexpected for me to have passed through the explosion unscathed?
Well, if I hadn’t equipped the “Azure Flame Guardian,” I would have likely been burnt along with this unreliable apprentice robe.
This charm, gifted by Fiona, was tied to the leather belt at my waist through a chain.
The searing fireball could almost completely nullify its damage thanks to this.
The power of the explosion was beautifully countered by the “Black Shield,” which had become somewhat sturdier with the “Black Hair Curse ‘Coffin.'”
As a result, I only felt a slight warmth.
At almost the same moment that I slipped through the black smoke of the explosion,
“—‘Speed Enhancement.'”
A support spell shot from Fiona.
My body felt lighter, and my legs gained even more power, closing the distance of several dozen meters in an instant.
“—‘Strength Enhancement.'”
As I raised the “Curse Blade ‘Belly Split'” with all my might, another support spell was cast on me, increasing the power of my martial arts.
“Black Calm!”
Raspun backstepped with unbelievable speed from that massive body, instantly escaping the range of my black blade.
However, he couldn’t completely evade the enhanced martial arts unleashed by me, powered by both speed and strength.
I felt the sensation of slicing through a rubbery, elastic body from both hands gripping the hilt.
As Raspun landed after his backstep, fresh blood dripped from his left arm.
It was far from a fatal wound, but it had been proven that damage could be dealt with this blade.
Then I could take him down; I could defeat this guy.
“Haah!”
I stepped forward for a follow-up attack, and my opponent charged in, roaring in anger.
His raised right arm was enveloped in crimson flames, just like when he shattered the “Star Fall.”
I instinctively judged that this fire was more powerful than the fireball, and if I took it head-on, even with the “Azure Flame Guardian,” it might produce intense heat.
After all, even without such a concern, a punch from an arm like a siege hammer would likely result in a one-hit KO.
“Magic Sword!”
I freely threw all ten of my blackened swords.
Raspun didn’t care at all and took the black blades.
Seven swords stabbed in various places—shoulder, arm, leg, and chest—though all were shallow wounds; only the head was instinctively avoided by a swift shake of his neck.
And still, his raised right arm remained poised.
Damn, it clearly hadn’t dealt enough damage to stop the attack.
Even with both the charm and the gloves, defending against this flaming punch would be dangerous; since I couldn’t cancel the attack, my only remaining option was to evade.
What resurfaced in my mind were the days of mobile experiments when fighting large monsters was commonplace.
Back then, how did I face those creatures with just my body, without any weapons or armor?
The powerful charge that shook the ground, the sharp claws that could cut down to the bone, the jaws that meant no escape if captured—an attack exhibiting simple yet astonishing power birthed from a massive body that could never exist in a human.
It was only because I managed to evade successfully every time that I could fight and defeat such monsters.
That sense of maneuvering when battling large monsters, the theories—still etched in my body as unforgettable memories.
“Daah!”
Then, a burning iron fist descending from above.
Evading wasn’t backwards, to the right, or to the left, but forward.
Due to its massive form, large monsters tend to leave their feet and close quarters outside their attack range.
I leapt forward without hesitation, feeling an incredible heat and weight of a blow pass closely behind me.
The flame punch that missed me cut through the air, incinerating the ground covered in weeds as it went.
A sensation like a shockwave pressed against my back, propelling me forward as I rolled under Raspun’s body.
My posture was too broken to unleash martial arts, but I still swung the blade as I passed by.
A slight resistance—a close slash just barely reached and cut Raspun’s right rear leg.
As I emerged behind Raspun, I stood up and readied myself, but his reaction was swift, turning toward me before I could strike his unguarded back.
At that moment, what struck Raspun’s back wasn’t me, but Lily’s light beam.
It seemed to inflict little damage, but I sensed his awareness shifting away from me.
Was this a chance?—No, the flames in his right hand began to coalesce into a sphere.
“‘Shadow Tentacle.’”
From my left hand, which wasn’t gripping the blade, I spun cursed black hair to create a wire.
In the instant Raspun raised his blazing arm to unleash a scorching throw at Lily, the “Shadow Tentacle” ensnared him.
“Woooooah!”
Straining with all my strength, I pulled the wire, but even though it was enhanced, there was no way I, as a human, could compete with Raspun’s incredible strength.
The wire snapped one after another, eventually freeing his right arm from the binds.
But that was enough.
The fireball he released flew off far from its original target due to my interference.
Without following its trajectory, I attacked in pursuit.
I ran up his boulder-like body, pulling the wires that still clung to his right arm.
Raspun shook his body to throw me off, swinging his hands to grasp at me like I was a pesky insect.
In the moment he did so, my body leapt, soaring more than seven meters high, putting me above the monster.
As my freely falling body began its descent under gravity, I maintained balance through posture control and unleashed my martial arts from midair.
“Black Calm!”
I aimed for the neck covered in crimson fur.
Cutting through the thick, hard skull was harder than severing the neck, which was more likely to result in a fatal blow.
If I could miraculously slice through the neck along with the bone, it would mean victory.
Then, at that moment, as the lethal black blade reached its target,
Gwaaaaah!!
The deafening roar almost sent me flying, and the volume was enough to feel like my eardrums might burst.
But the issue wasn’t there; my instinct screamed of danger when I saw that the previously black-furred parts were instantly stained red.
However, there was no stopping the descending blade, nor was there any intention to do so.
Thick neck covered in fur and muscle like steel—but aimed without defense at the exposed weakness, my full-force “Black Calm” exploded.
“Ugh, tough—”
Yet, the sensation conveyed through my arm was akin to when I cut through the heavy cavalry’s great shield.
It was no mere illusion; at that moment, Raspun’s body exhibited defensive capabilities equivalent to steel, enhanced by magical defenses.
As a result, the strike fell short of decapitating him and instead left only a slight cut on the surface.
“—Seriously!?”
Raspun, now entirely red, had his formerly black-furred parts emitting a dull shine reminiscent of metal.
I faced Raspun, who exuded an intimidating presence akin to wearing armor formed of crimson metal, just as I landed after releasing “Black Calm.”
It seemed that this red transformation was not something like the martial art “Hard Body,” which only temporarily boosts defensive power.
Perhaps it could be called metalization; at the very least, his appearance, now fully red, was no bluff, achieving the hardness to fend off my lethal “Black Calm.”
“So this is its true strength.”
Cold sweat trickled down my cheek.
Having sealed the only means to inflict damage—a cutting blow—against Raspun, who possessed high heat resistance that nullified both Lily’s light and Fiona’s fire, we currently lacked any means to defeat him.
“…What do we do now?”