Angelica, Eva, and I stood side by side watching five giant tentacles shoot out through the ground.
"It seems that the chimera is trying to escape but it's unable to do so easily due to its main body being buried so deep under the ground. That's why it is trying to use its tentacles to break through," I pointed out.
"But if that's the case... how do we kill it? Even if we attack its tentacles it shouldn't die unless we land a fatal hit on its main body," Angelica said.
"The easiest way would be to help him out of the ground so it can have a bigger area to attack but... it's too risky to let him out. For starters considering the combination of species the Quimera has in its body he could fly away and if he spread that green smoke from heaven we would be finished," I replied.
"B-But in that case, the only option would be to descend into the rubble and attack him from below the ground! Franz that is extremely dangerous!" Eva could already guess what I intended to do from the beginning of my explanation.
"I know, of course, even for me it would be crazy to do it with all those tentacles hanging around everywhere... that's why we have to take care of destroying them first," I said while pointing Geronimo at the tentacles.
Angelica and Eva nodded to my words.
"Thanks to the huge concentration of mana in the chimera's body, I can tell with some certainty that there are a total of seven tentacles and two of them are underground. Let's take care of destroying them one at a time as quickly as possible."
Soon, I started to move toward the first tentacle and yelled:
"You two follow me from a distance and attack with everything you've got!"
I immediately charged my sword with a moderate amount of mana and charged to cut down one of the tentacles.
To no one's surprise, the chimera instinctively sensed my attack and counterattacked.
Just like last time the attack was extremely fast and powerful.
I knew immediately that I wouldn't be able to block that attack without taking serious damage, so I focused mana on my legs and managed to narrowly dodge the attack.
Fortunately, though I was once again unable to land a swing with his sword, I was at least able to distract the chimera from a ranged attack made by Eva.
The air bullets penetrated the tentacle creating holes in its flesh but...
"Damn... Can this thing regenerate too?" Eva could clearly see the chimera's wounds caused by her attack heal at a fast speed.
"Well, that thing also has trolls and orcs combined in its body... No wonder it can regenerate too..." I said while sighing.
"How are we going to do it then? You don't mean to tell me that we'll have to completely destroy its tentacles."
"Nah, that would be a lot of work and even then we couldn't guarantee that it won't grow back. To be honest, I have a better idea but I'll need the coordinated help of both."
I quickly explained my plan to Angelica and Eva.
Then, I inhaled deeply and yelled: "NOW!!!"
I ran at full speed toward one of the chimera's tentacles, preparing a mana-charged sword attack.
Of course, just like the other time, the tentacle noticed my attack but this was within my expectations.
At the moment when I was about to be hit, my body suddenly disappeared...
Or rather, my body moved at a speed imperceptible to the common human eye.
I, who had previously disappeared, reappeared from behind the tentacle and with a sword slash managed to hit a deep cut on it.
Unfortunately, the slash was not enough to slice the tentacle in half and a counterattack was not long in coming.
- Tch.
I clicked my tongue.
'I have to apply a bit more mana to my attack.'
As I was annoyed for having miscalculated the amount of mana for my previous attack, I could see how the chimera's counterattack was about to directly hit me.
However, I instantly disappeared again.
How was it possible that I could evade the chimera's attacks while moving at such incredible speed?
Or more important.
Why could I do this now and not before?
The reason was actually very simple.
"Franz stop wasting time and cut it!"
Angelica yelled as she had her left arm raised pointing towards me with her outstretched hand.
'I'd better do it as fast as possible. I have no idea how long Angelica can keep her power without stopping.'
As it seemed, it was all thanks to Angelica.
According to our plan, she would help me move faster using telekinesis.
How could she possibly be using her ability on me if it only worked on inanimate objects?
It was a fair question.
Well, the way she made it work was by using her imagination a bit… I mean, even if she couldn't move me directly, she could do it through other means, right?
In that case, the answer was quite simple.
She just has to use telekinesis on my clothes and weapons.
Normally, using this method on my weapons would not be effective since being loaded with all my mana, Angelica's ability would have no effect.
However, due to my mana deficiency, this is not a problem at all!
In this way, I, moving at an incredible speed, approached the tentacle again and successfully cut it in half with a deep cut from my sword.
This wouldn't be enough normally due to the chimera's powerful near-instantaneous regeneration if it weren't for...
"EVA NOW!!!" I yelled.
Eva, who was prepared in advance, quickly approached helped by Angelica's telekinesis.
No wasting time, she used her unique ability on the severed area of the tentacle.
Her unique ability was Compression.
This power allowed Eva to compress all kinds of substances… So, it could even compress the severed tentacle.
In this way, we both watched as the tentacle writhed in pain until it stopped moving.
"Looks like it worked Franz!" Eva was jumping with happiness.
Before I could respond, multiple attacks were already directed at me.
"There is no time to celebrate Eva, focus!"
Even with my increased mobility, I was still having a hard time dodging the consecutive attacks from all the tentacles in a row.
"R-Right!" Eva replied.
I dodged multiple attacks and even used some tentacles as a surface to run on top of them.
In this way, I repeated the exact same process of cutting them again and making Eva prevent their regeneration.
By the time I dealt with the last tentacle, I was drenched in sweat and quite exhausted.
'There is still the most important part to be done. I just have to hold on a little longer.'
I looked over at the girls to see how they were doing.
They were clearly exhausted from the constant use of their unique abilities.
Angelica had to be using it uninterruptedly for a long time.
On the other hand, Eva's unique ability had a high mana consumption every time she used it.
"I'll immediately go down the cracks in the ground," I said with a serious expression.
"Don't you think it would be better if you rest a bit before you go?" Eva asked worriedly.
I was moved by Eva's words, unfortunately, I couldn't do that.
"That's what I'd like to do but it's
dangerous to take any longer than this. The chimera might grow new tentacles or transform its body again... Too many unknown variables to let it recover."
- Brmmm.
By the time I finished speaking, a strong earthquake started.
'Oh, what's happening now-!'
The earth began to split into fragments, the entire forest was changing its appearance.
Fortunately, we were able to slightly levitate thanks to Angelica's power, avoiding being buried alive.
Though this would not last long since Angelica was at the limit of her resistance.
While the three of us floated suspended in the air with great difficulty.
We were able to have a panoramic view of the forest.
And what we could see was...
'This is.... an earth whirlpool?!'
The entire forest began to twist until it took the shape of a whirlpool, though the scariest thing was what was at the bottom.
"The chimera is rotating its body from the epicenter of the eddy!" I was shocked at the feat the chimera was performing before my eyes.
"W-Well at least I won't have to dig underground to find it..."
Despite what I just said, I felt even more discomfort now since I would have to jump into something resembling a blender this time.
"Angelica, please move me until I'm right on top of the chimera, and then let me go."
However, I would not let fear stop me from fulfilling my goals.
"Roger!" Angelica on the other hand was getting nervous.
Not only she was literally throwing his friend Franz into a giant blender made up of a creepy giant chimera but her own stamina and mana were also running out.
If Franz doesn't deal with the chimera quickly, Angelica will inevitably be unable to stay in the air with Eva and they will end up falling to their doom.
Therefore...
"Please make sure you get back safely!" This time Angelica did not try to convince me not to do something crazy.