Bloed's body froze.
Disbelief filled his face. In his mind, the image of his mother being swallowed alive repeated again and again.
The monster's mouth closed. His giant body, filled with tentacles and scales, jumped out of the sand and roared loudly.
"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"
Then, Bloed finally understood what happened.
"Mother!" Bloed bellowed. He rushed towards the monster frantically, forgetting everything about keeping calm and using his brain.
In his head, his only thought was about how to save his mother.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" His saber was unsheathed. The oscillating blade of the saber roared into life. Sparks of electricity covered the blade, filling it with an incredible lethality.
But when the blade slashed the monster, Bloed understood.
This enemy was not something he could face.
A mana barrier flickered around the monster, stopping the blade completely. Bloed's attack was unable to cause the monster even a scratch.
The next second, the monster moved.
Then, Bloed's body was sent flying away.
One movement. It was all the monster needed to deal with Bloed.
Fortunately, Bloed's armor absorbed part of the attack. Otherwise, he would have died instantly.
Bloed coughed a mouthful of blood. Two of his ribs had been broken, and his right arm was bent in a strange shape. Bloed was evidently out of battle.
Tito hurriedly flew towards Bloed. The AI created a quick energy barrier that was destroyed stopping the monster follow up attack. Tito then lifted Bloed and carried him away.
[Young master, are you alright?]
"… Cough… Tito, mother." Bloed looked at Tito and his eyes turned red. "Mother is… Mother is…"
[Calm down, young master.] Tito said. [You underestimate master. It's impossible for her to be defeated for a monster of this caliber.]
"But, but…"
Tito created another barrier and stopped another of the monster's attacks. It then looked at Bloed with its lone eye.
[Young master, this monster's energy level is around A-Grade. How can something like this kill master? Stop worrying, we just need to get away.]
Bloed was startled. Then, his eyes recovered a bit of hope.
The monster continued trashing, using its tentacles to attack them. But although the monster was powerful, it was relatively slow. Maybe it was the reason it controlled other monsters to hunt for it.
Tito, on the other hand, was a very advanced AI. Its round body moved through the gaps between the tentacles while it carried Bloed. When it was unable to avoid an attack, it put on an energy shield and used it to escape.
Finally, it escaped far enough to get away from the tentacles' reach.
[I think it's enough. Master, we are out of the danger zone.] Tito suddenly said.
[… Finally!] A woman's voice sounded from Tito's body. [I was already tired of this grotesque thing.]
Bloed's sighed in relief. "Mother!"
[Hahahaha, were you worried about your mom, child? Don't worry. This monster is nothing in front of your mother. Look how I destroy it for you!]
Then, she shouted.
[Explode!]
Camilla's ESP Ability, [Nuclear Fission], was activated!
Instantly, a muffled roar sounded.
Under Bloed's gaze, the figure of the monster swelled up eerily. Then, a blinding ball of light lit up the village.
The next second, a deafening sound impacted Bloed's ears.
*BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!*
"ROAAAAAARRRRR!!!" The monster roared in pain. Two-thirds of its body was consumed by the attack and the small mushroom cloud created by the nuclear explosion clouded the sun.
Above the monster, Camilla was flying using the propulsors of her suit. Not even a scratch could be seen on her body, as though she would not have been swallowed by a monster just a moment ago.
She was watching the monster with a thoughtful expression. One of her hands was touching her chin as though she was thinking hard about something.
"How interesting… It's still alive even after losing most of its body. Also, neither Tito nor I were able to feel it before it attacked. Could it be thanks to the mana or maybe it's something inherent of its species?"
She then shook her head in disappointment. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to study it. Otherwise, I would take its body to the laboratory. Such a shame."
Once she finished speaking, the monster's body swelled up again.
... And another explosion swallowed its remaining body.
Only ashes remained of its body.
Bloed's mouth opened wide. It was his first time seeing Camilla's full power. The fact that she was able to destroy such a powerful monster in seconds was unbelievable.
For the first time, he truly understood the meaning of being able to destroy a city singlehandedly.
Forget a city, Camilla probably could turn an entire region into ashes if she goes all out.
A strong yearning filled Bloed. This was true strength. This was the power he desired with all his being.
"What do you think, son?" Camilla landed in front of Bloed and smirked. "Your mom is incredible, right?"
Bloed nodded silently. She truly was incredible.
Seeing his reaction, Camilla smiled widely. "You will also be like that in the future, son. You only need to work hard!"
"I will." Bloed promised.
Camilla nodded satisfied. "Very well. Let's go back then. Using my ESP abilities after so long left me starving! Tito, bring the buggy here."
[Understood master.]
A few minutes later, the group departed back to the spaceship.
Unfortunately, none of them noticed the thing that remained in the crater caused by Camilla's explosion.
When the monster turned into ashes, a mass-like black thing appeared.
The black thing screeched in pain and hatred. Then, it twitched eerily and turned into a small rat-like animal.
One instant later, the animal burrowed into the sand and disappeared.