"Ark-sama! That's the monster!"
Fatima rushed to my side and pointed at the black chimera.
There was no mistaking the aura—it was the same creature that had attacked her in the night forest.
After roaring, the chimera charged straight toward us, trampling even the monsters in its path.
"Be careful! That one's the commander! Everyone who can fight—focus on it!"
Gaston shouted, but he and the adventurers right behind him were still fully occupied dealing with the surrounding horde.
I pushed through the monster swarm, running straight toward the chimera.
If I could stop it, this battle would end.
With this many monsters, prolonged fighting would exhaust Gaston and the others completely.
Besides, Fatima had said magic had no effect on the chimera back then, but my Instant Death Magic might still work.
Unlike normal magic, Instant Death Magic had a success rate condition, but when it landed, it was instant death.
All I needed to do was land that one hit.
『Gaooooooh!!』
The chimera's lion head lunged at me without slowing its charge.
But I had anticipated it and leaped backward to create distance.
Despite its massive size, the chimera moved with terrifying agility.
If I reacted only after it moved, I would be caught.
To evade, I had to keep circling to its blind spots.
The chimera turned toward me again, its lion head right in front.
I thrust my left arm forward and activated Instant Death Magic.
At this close range, it was well within effective distance.
""Quadruple Death""
A massive jet-black wave filled with countless skulls erupted from my palm, surging straight toward the lion head.
That night in the forest, the snake tail must have been vulnerable to Instant Death Magic.
That was why only the snake had become undead.
Meaning the magic nullification was not constant.
There had to be some condition for it to activate.
『Meeeeh…!!』
At that moment, the goat head on the chimera's back suddenly bleated.
Instantly, a purple wall-like barrier appeared around the chimera, and "Death" vanished upon contact.
(It really nullified it.)
I immediately dodged the chimera's sweeping front paw counterattack by running sideways.
From that movement, I roughly understood how the magic resistance worked.
The goat head's bleat created the barrier that blocked magic.
When I had struck the snake tail earlier, I had not heard that sound.
So the solution was simple.
"Blind spot…"
If the goat head was not facing me, the magic should go through.
The chimera moved like a ferocious beast, but landing even one solid hit would end this chaos.
I circled to the side and fired again.
""Quadruple Death""
『Meeeeh…』
Perhaps anticipating my movement, the goat head immediately turned and bleated.
The barrier reappeared, and "Death" vanished once more.
"Ark-sama! It really seems magic doesn't work on that monster!"
Just as Fatima had said, at this rate, Instant Death Magic would never land.
"Flames, consume my enemy—"Fire"!!"
A nearby adventurer mage unleashed a massive fireball toward the chimera.
The flames flew straight at its torso.
『Megegeeeeh!!』
The goat head bleated again, and the fire vanished right before impact.
『Shaaaaah!!』
"Wha—!? Uwaaaaaah!!"
The skeletal snake tail whipped out and sent the mage flying.
"Damn it! That chimera's immune to magic!"
A nearby adventurer shouted while staring at the chimera.
It was just one monster, yet it felt like fighting multiple at once.
I could feel fatigue slowly building in my body.
As the description stated, "Quadruple" consumed a massive amount of mana.
It probably went far beyond four times.
I needed a way to defeat it—fast.
"Ark-sama!"
Fatima cut through surrounding monsters and returned to my side.
"Ark-sama, are you trying to handle everything alone again?"
"Huh?"
She suddenly said that right in front of me.
"We're a party. There's no need to solve everything by yourself. If there's anything I can do, just tell me."
I had not intended it that way, but apparently that was how she had seen me all this time.
"…Most likely, that goat head is the source of the magic defense. If we can somehow deal with it, Instant Death Magic might reach the chimera."
Fatima nodded firmly at my words.
"Understood. Then please hold that monster's attention for a little while!"
"Wait—what are you planning?"
Without answering, Fatima charged straight into the monster swarm, heading toward the chimera's back.
I had no idea what she intended.
But with no other options, I had no choice but to trust her.
"Over here! "Death"!!"
I fired "Death" at close range.
『Megeh!!』
The goat head bleated again, nullifying the magic.
"Haaaah!"
But in that instant, Fatima appeared right behind the goat head.
She had used the moment the barrier went up to climb onto the chimera's back.
What reckless thinking.
Then she drove her silver sword deep into the base of the goat head's neck.
『Megegegegeeeeh!!』
The goat head thrashed violently, but the sword stayed firmly embedded.
Eventually, it went limp and stopped moving.
From this moment on, the chimera could no longer block magic.
Thanks to Fatima, the path for Instant Death Magic was open.
""Quadruple Death""
The unleashed Instant Death Magic plunged into the thrashing lion head and vanished inside.
『Goaaaaah!!』
The Shadow Chimera writhed in agony, then collapsed sideways with a ground-shaking thud. The undead snake tail lost cohesion and fell apart, scattering across the ground.
Soon after, every remaining monster in the area froze, then dissolved into particles of light and vanished into the air.
"D-did we really… defeat that chimera…?"
Gaston stared wide-eyed at the fallen giant, muttering in disbelief.
『Skill level has increased. Please allocate points.』
The level-up message appeared. I swiped it away.
『A new ability has been acquired by defeating a special monster. Displaying status.』
======================================
[Basic Status]
Name: Ark
Class: Magician
Level: 1
HP: 8075/8075
MP: 5080/5080
Attack: 2530
Defense: 2308
Stamina: 2280
Speed: 2470
Intelligence: 2180
[Owned Skill]
・Instant Death Magic Lv30
[Owned Abilities]
・Mana Consumption Halved Lv1
・Effective Range Up Lv1
・Success Rate Up Lv2
・Coffin of the Dead
・Soul Collection
・Quadruple
・Multiple Chant
======================================
A board visible only to me displayed my updated status and abilities.
In the lower-right frame, right beside the Skeleton Ogre symbol, a new lion-like chimera face appeared.
『Multiple Chant: Ability gained from the Shadow Chimera. Allows Instant Death Magic to target multiple enemies with a single cast. Mana consumption increases with each additional target.』
Defeating the Shadow Chimera had granted a new skill.
Previously, I could only target one at a time.
Now, I could hit multiple monsters simultaneously.
Cheers erupted all around.
『We did it! The monsters are gone!』
『We won! We actually won!』
『The town's safe! Hell yeah!』
"Ark-sama! We finally did it!"
Fatima ran over with a beaming smile.
"It seems so."
With the chimera defeated, this battle had finally come to an end.