"Damn, that's terrifying… this thing still has hidden moves?!"
Staring at the magic beam frozen in midair, less than half a meter from piercing through his skull, Guinivere broke into a cold sweat.
Fortunately, when he saw the Sphinx open its mouth, he sensed something was off and quickly activated his newly acquired skill "Grabroot's Time Stasis", planning to freeze time and observe first… only to find that his head had nearly been blown off.
Though he had already grown accustomed to using Endless Trials—allowing him to rewind time and try again even after being killed—surviving is always better than taking a hit. And it hurt like hell!
Taking a deep breath, Guinivere stared at the beam of magical light suspended midair, then decisively triggered Rune Overload. The moment he released Time Stasis, he twisted his head sharply to the left. The beam roared past his cheek and exploded into the sand behind him.
At the same time, Guinivere lunged forward. His spear blazed red, crackling with violent dragon lightning, and stabbed toward the Sphinx.
The Sphinx reacted quickly, hurling its massive hand—larger than a man—forward like a cannonball, whipping up a fierce gust as it swatted toward the incoming spear.
But Guinivere had already anticipated it. Activating Time Stasis again, he studied the Sphinx's strike trajectory, then canceled the skill and flicked his spear into a flourish—dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
He thrust forward once more, spear passing beyond the creature's arm, but felt an ominous premonition. Playing it safe, he triggered Time Stasis again.
This time, he saw a crimson glow forming just ahead—Sphinx's eyes firing a laser straight toward his chest in a desperate bid to trade blows.
"Damn it! It really has that many tricks?!"
Guinivere cursed under his breath, canceled Time Stasis, and twisted his body hard, narrowly avoiding the beam. At the same time, his spear drove home, piercing the Sphinx's body. In the next instant, Rune-Powder Barrel and ancient dragon lightning exploded together, blasting half of the monster's body into shreds.
"Phew… you weren't kidding. That was tough."
Wiping sweat from his brow, Guinivere felt a lingering chill. The opponent had indeed been much stronger than him—if not for his new Time Stasis skill, he would've died twice over, even with Endless Trials.
"Wow! That was amazing!"
A voice of awe came from behind. Turning, Guinivere saw Ritsuka Fujimaru rushing toward him, eyes sparkling.
"Guinivere-senpai! And you say your strength is average? That was ridiculously strong!"
"Indeed," Da Vinci nodded, smiling softly. "While your stats might look close to mine and Mash's, your refined combat skill is on a completely different level."
She continued, "If it had been us facing a divine beast like this, and without Koyanskaya self-destructing, the three of us together would've struggled greatly."
"A-ah, well, I did use a few tricks… maybe it wasn't a fair victory…"
Guinivere scratched his head, trying to explain. But Ritsuka, seeing his awkwardness, suddenly understood:
So that's it… this version of Guinivere lacks the confidence of the older one we met at other Singularities.
Smiling brightly, she clapped him on the shoulder. "Senpai! You're way too modest! Whatever methods you used—those are still part of your ability. And the result is clear—you finished it in style! That's proof of your strength!"
"…Can it really be seen that way?" Guinivere blinked, then relaxed. She was right—Time Stasis, retries… even if tricky, they were still his skills. The result spoke for itself—he soloed and crushed a divine beast.
"But… unfortunately, it's not completely dead." Da Vinci examined the fallen Sphinx. "Magical beasts like this can regenerate. We need to leave before it recovers."
"Agreed," Guinivere nodded. "But Da Vinci, if we meet Fairyland's Lancelot later, please don't mention the 'stronger than dragonkind' part in front of her."
"Oh? Fairyland's Lancelot? Sounds like an interesting Heroic Spirit—and a lady, no less?" Da Vinci tilted her head with curiosity.
They resumed their journey westward, toward an oasis Da Vinci had scanned earlier. But the trek was grueling—ten kilometers under a harsh sun.
"Master, please endure a little longer," Mash said gently to the stumbling Ritsuka.
"N-no… if possible, I'd rather Guinivere-senpai carried me…" Ritsuka panted dramatically. "Can't you be more considerate of a delicate girl like me?"
"Uh… well, if you need it, I… guess I could carry you." Guinivere scratched his face awkwardly.
"Pfft—what a straight-laced answer…" Ritsuka giggled weakly, clearly amused despite her exhaustion.
But just as she joked, her legs buckled. She collapsed forward—only for Guinivere to catch her at the last moment.
"Ritsuka! What's wrong?!"
Koyanskaya hurried over, checking her vitals—and her expression darkened. "Da Vinci! Quickly! She's suffering from mana poisoning—her life signs are unstable!"
Da Vinci quickly assembled a makeshift respirator to block excess mana. Once fitted, Ritsuka slowly regained color and consciousness—but not before receiving a fierce scolding from Koyanskaya for not speaking up sooner.
After things calmed, Da Vinci pointed toward a distant temple beyond the sandstorm. "Just a little further… But…"
Her expression soured. "Sorry. My mistake. The path is blocked."
"Huh?! But Master needs to rest—why turn back?" Mash protested.
"Look closely at the shadows along the road." Da Vinci sighed.
Mash squinted—and her eyes widened in shock. "Those are… all Sphinxes?!"
"Nearly a hundred of them," Da Vinci confirmed.
"I could try wiping them all out," Guinivere suggested.
"…Are you a pufferfish? Why are you inflating so fast?!"