「…..ly!…..Milly! Get it together Milly!」
「...n..nya?」
After I called her over and over, finally Milly's eyelids opened.
Lydia hasn't stopped bleeding and shows no signs of waking up.
「…..huh? Zeph what's wrong?」
*Kyoton*(Astonished SFX) Milly looks at me vacantly and it seems like she doesn't understand the situation at all.
「Hurry and cast healing on Lydia!」
「Huh? Ummm…..!?」
Seeing the blood covered Lydia, Milly's expression instantly changes.
She rushes over to Lydia and begins to cover her in Healing magic.
「The boss pounced on and assaulted us. Lydia covered you when you fainted, and now Claude is facing it alone」
「…..!」
I reported the desperate situation and she gasped.
When I heard it coming out of my own mouth, it even made me feel like crying.
「…..Is Claude ok?」
「It's tough」
Milly blanched and focused on speeding up her healing.
However, when I said "it's tough" I meant "it'd be tough for her to do it alone".
If I go, then I should be able to handle it one way or another.
…..but, shit…
My magic is still hasn't even recovered to 20% as of yet, because I'm in such a rush and my calm has been disrupted, I can't meditate properly.
It can't be helped, even though this goes against my nature...
I bend myself over the unconscious Lydia's stomach, stuck my hand up through the bottom of her clothes, and felt around.
「Wh-wh-wh, What are you doing at a time like this Zeph?!!」
「Sh-shut up fool! Even I didn't want to have to do this if I didn't ha…..there it is!」
I pull out Lydia's bag from between her breasts. I stick my arm into it and grab the Magic Recovery medicines from inside it, then I drank.
While I was drinking I cast Time Square, then Healing twice.
The healing light layered on top of Milly's and brightened further, Lydia's horrible complexion became a little healthier.
But, it seems like she still hasn't regained consciousness. I've already taken many magic recovery medicines and even my pocket has some stuffed inside.
「I'm going back to give Claude back up. Milly, I'll leave Lydia in your care. Be careful of the roc birds around here.」
「O, Okay」
I cast teleport to return to Claude's position. The battlefield is quieter than it was before, and I can't help but get a bad feeling about this.
When I teleport back to Claude the fight seems to be nearing its end.
One of the Sunny Raven's wings is cut, shredded, and dyed red with blood.
Its beak is cracked and chipped in several places. The tip of the battered beak is wet with blood and Claude's body is inside it.
Her body is dangling loosely from the beak. She isn't moving at all, not even a twitch.
「CLAUDE!」
The Sunny Raven turns toward me as it hears my scream and begins to growl.
The moment I see the Sunny Raven's emotionless face, the entire world is dyed in blood red.
「…..Kill」
I face the Sunny Raven and prepare for battle as magic floods out of my body. The moment I cast Time Square to utilize Gravity Sphere, Claude's hand twitched in response to my voice and she moved.
Thank goodness, somehow she's still alive.
However, I still want to kill this bastard.
I aimed at the Sunny Raven and magic gathered in my hand.
「Gravity Sphere...Lock」
I have to quickly save Claude from that evil bird's beak.
At that moment the Sunny Raven opened its beak wide to swallow Claude.
「…..Crash!」
I aimed at the scruff of that thing's neck and invoked Gravity Sphere.
The magic sphere appeared and warped the space around it, dragging the thing's body in while distorting it as it let out a creaking, crunching sound.
「Gururururururu eeeeeeeee!!」
It let out a cry as it tried to endure, it opened its beak wide and released Claude, who fell towards the ground. I managed to teleport fast enough to catch her.
Claude dropped from a considerable height, and when I caught her my arms received quite a shock, strong enough that it felt like my arms were going to fall off.
「Heavy…!」
I was supposed to catch her all cool and suave, but I let out a groan and spoke without thinking.
As expected, my strength has fallen back to how it was as a child.
It looks like I'll have to train myself once again.
「....That's horrible of you…..to say you're heavy to a girl...」
Holding onto consciousness, Claude whispers this while smiling slightly.
So she heard that just now…
「…..the armor is heavy」
I played it off with all my might, but she smiled and it seemed like she'd seen through it.
*Tsk*, this isn't over.
I smiled wryly as I held Claude in my arms and was about to teleport away, but it looks like things weren't going to work out like that.
The Sunny Raven's eyes shine sharply, it is forcefully pushing Gravity Sphere down and attacking me with its wing.
By chance it misread the distance and when I jumped back I was barely able to dodge.
I cast teleport, but I can't activate it properly.
The Sunny Raven is getting close, and I'm carrying Claude.
It takes more concentration to use teleport, I need to calm down or I won't be able to use it.
Sensing my flustered mental state, Claude whispers in a small voice.
「Zeph-kun, leave me…..」
「Are you a fool? If I planned to abandon you then I wouldn't have come to save you in the first place」
「I guess so...」
Claude grabs onto my clothes.
「Hold on tight」
「…..ok」
I cast Time Square while embracing Claude.
Inside the time suspension I cast Black Boots twice and activate it.
My feet are surrounded by wind and I run with all my might…..but, the weight of two people lowered the speed more than I had thought.
The reason for this is physical enhancement magic largely depends on the subject's initial physical abilities.
「Jump to the left please!」
I react to Claude's voice and jump left, and a large yellow beak passes to my side.
The Sunny Raven creates gusts of wind as it stabs down.
If I get hit by something like that, even if I have Safe Protection, it won't end without injury.
The wind pressure breaks my balance slightly and I quickly look to the side, and see at the end of a long neck, a big bird's head looking at me and smiling.
No, it's flame leaking from the beak, that's what that expression means.
—–Red Barre....「Pyro Crash」
The spiraling flames that I blasted forth, smashes the Sunny Raven's jaws open, and it engulfs the Red Barrett as the spiral continues to grow.
「_____________!!」
The smashed beak of the Sunny Raven issues a mute cry as the flames spread to its head and neck.
Now when I have the chance….!
The appearance of the Sunny Raven's wrecked body, gives the feeling of a fallen king.
——When a boss takes a certain amount of damage it can enter into Madness/Rampage mode, in this mode fighting power increases.
The shell of the Raven crumbles, and a burning red body made of flames is revealed.
As it spreads its wings fully, it seems like a flaming fortress.
...*Tsk* damn, it's entered its madness mode huh?
One of the conditions to enter madness mode is to have magic power lowered to one-third of the total. Claude's valiant fight against it may have backfired in this situation.
Furthermore the Sunny Raven has....
——-such overpowering magic.
Madness mode bosses spread out overpowering magic, magic with a certain range including teleportation magic that requires good concentration are basically sealed.
The range of this fallen king is remarkably vast.
It seems like it's no longer possible to run away.
Its red eyes burning with a desire for revenge, the Sunny Raven glares at me.
It flaps its wings towards me as if waving hello, and from there a huge number of fire balls are flung towards me.
Geh...Red Ball! Moreover such an insane number!
「White Wa....」
As I cast White Wall, I stop.
Shit, the magic power I have now is...
Magic recovery medicine….!
I desperately try to search the bag, but by now the Red Ball is almost right on top of us.
No good I won't make it...
「Zeph-kun!」
Claude cries out, embraces the back of my head, and I suddenly feel a soft sensation pressing against my lips.
Instantly my mind stops.
Right in front of me, with her eyes closed, is the face of a furiously blushing Claude.
Claude's tongue enters into my mouth, and at this point I finally understand what has just happened.
The next moment the Red Ball rained down on us, a pillar of fire and a cloud of smoke exploded into the air.
The smoke cleared up and little by little a big round shadow slowly crumbled.
That was the White Wall which at the very last instant blocked the rain of Red Balls.
From behind the crumbling wall the figures of myself and Claude appeared.
We separated our faces, and *Puwaaa* breathed.
There is a slightly bitter taste left in my mouth.
A while ago, Claude fed me the magic recovery medicine mouth to mouth.
Though I had Claude take the magic recovery medicines before, I never thought that it would come in handy like this.
「Sorry. You really helped me out.」
As one would expect, it's embarrassing.
I thank Claude with a red face.
「...Um, this should be left a secret from Milly-san...」
This last sentence was said very quietly.
We're so close that we can hear each other's heartbeat.
「Well Claude, a secret is all well and good, but can you keep what I'm about to do to yourself?」
「Eh…..what are you…..Yaaah!?」
I slightly drop Claude making her let out a little scream.
When I regain my balance properly, I once again lift Claude back up.
「Since the Sunny Raven has entered its madness mode, its magic has a big range. In this situation escaping is really difficult. That's why, I'm just going to kill it」
「That's…..yeah, ok. But, why did you want it to be a secret…?」
I gave the confused Claude a roguish smile and answered.
「Because I'm not going to use very decent or respectable methods」