Chapter 49: Grace's Goal
"Now then..." Grace wiped the smile off her face, holding the axe casually as she walked towards the Sword Boar.
The Sword Boar, on the other hand, responded by raising a frustrated roar, feeling underestimated by Grace's sudden appearance. It spread its arms wide and approached her.
Grace slowly bent her body, waiting for the right moment to strike. Just a little closer, within striking range...
"Defense Field!" My barrier magic surrounded the Sword Boar from behind as it was distracted by the presence behind it. Seizing the opportunity, Grace dashed in, her axe striking the boar's side with a resounding impact.
The sound was like metal clashing against metal, not what you'd expect from an axe hitting flesh. Unfazed, Grace swung her arm with momentum, forcing the massive boar to stagger backward with a powerful impact.
While Grace's blow did dig into the Sword Boar's side and tear its flesh, it didn't prove to be fatal. The boar confirmed the bleeding wound on its belly and glared at Grace, roaring in anger at being unexpectedly injured. It retaliated by swinging its arm towards her.
Unfazed, Grace stood her ground and chose to directly intercept the attack with her axe, clashing her weapon against the boar's strike with brute force. Sparks flew with every clash, and the surrounding monsters were blown away like leaves in a tornado when they attempted to intervene.
It seemed Grace deliberately chose this style of fighting, leading the enraged Sword Boar towards the group of monsters on purpose. Although the straightforward clash of strength against strength was clear, it came with risks. There were almost no obstacles in the path of their attacks, causing collateral damage to the surrounding monsters with each collision.
Eventually, the monsters seemed to give up on intervening in Grace's fight with the boar and turned their attention towards us. But they found themselves slowed down by the Defense Field, allowing Sheila to cut them down easily with her scythe. Caduceus skewered them at will, and Ashley aimed precise mace strikes to send them flying.
"Theodore-sama! The adventurers are still helping us escape!" I informed him.
"Understood!" Theodore replied.
The adventurers in the trees, after receiving Ashley's healing magic to tend to their wounds, joined the battle, effectively controlling the monsters with their spears and magic. They were indeed adventurers capable of reaching the 20th underground floor.
As long as the Defense Field held the front line, there was no need to retreat. So I focused on reducing the number of monsters to support the others.
I soared into the air and took the high ground over the monsters. I confronted the approaching creatures with my Ouroboros, activating magic.
"Rock Press!"
Fifth-level earth magic. I summoned large rocks from above, crushing the group of monsters as I circled around them. Reducing their numbers would ease the burden on everyone.
Meanwhile, Grace was handling the Sword Boar alone.
"Heh, heheh..." Grace narrowed her blood-stained eyes, smiling enchantingly.
Although they continued their intense clash of strength, my efforts to reduce the number of monsters had caused a slight change. Grace started to concentrate solely on her battle with the boar. Her axe clashed with the boar's strikes, forcing it back little by little. Grace held her ground without taking a step back, maintaining a constant distance from the boar, naturally leading to this situation.
"Grooarr!" The continuously retreating Sword Boar growled in frustration.
Though it was a Guardian-class monster and could likely withstand Grace's axe with its physical strength, it was bleeding from multiple wounds. Nevertheless, the boar's movements remained undeterred because its injuries were healing. Apparently, it had judged that Grace's axe wasn't enough to deal a fatal blow and started aiming for a trade-off attack by taking her hits and striking back.
Grace arched her body to evade the attack. As a lumbering arm reached for her from both sides, she bent backward and dodged it. With her axe, she unearthed a stone buried in the ground and raised it to her eye level. She then kicked the stone, sending it flying towards the boar's head.
"Gaah!" The stone shattered, forcing the Sword Boar to stagger backward, exhaling heavily.
Grace had changed her attack from slashing to striking, from line to point. The boar couldn't adapt to her shifting tactics. Every time it thought it had figured out how to deal with her, she pushed it back again. The boar, now forced to back down repeatedly, bared its fangs, clearly enraged and frustrated.
"Though I also have regenerative abilities, I have no intention of imitating you. More importantly, there's something I want to try."
Grace sighed as the distance opened between them. Then, she hurled her axe at the charging Boar with tremendous force.
The Boar crossed its arms to intercept the projectile flying at bullet-like speed, stopping its charge. It readjusted its stance and turned towards Grace, but she was no longer there. The creature's gaze wandered, searching for her.
At that moment, Grace appeared in the air, her axe raised high, radiating a purple glow.
With a powerful battle cry, she brought down the axe, enveloped in fighting spirit, straight from above the Sword Boar. A tremendous roar echoed as the impact cleaved the Boar's arms and sword-like fangs, leaving a deep crevasse in the ground.
Shaking off the blood from the blade in front of the Boar, Grace said, "Apologies, but I also want to accompany Teo. I can't just stand still in the same place."
Seemingly imitating the knight's technique she witnessed before, this attack was no mere imitation. It was a true martial skill, albeit one reliant on sheer strength, fitting her style. Grace had probably been inspired by the former knight commander's demonstration and managed to unleash this level of power, even though her control of fighting spirit was still unrefined.
After exterminating the remaining monsters, they returned to the temple using the red transfer stone after sending the Sword Boar's massive body and other possible loot through the dimensional stone.
The relieved adventurers collapsed on the spot, and Grace did the same. At her request, away from prying eyes, she applied a seal to her ring.
Leaning against a pillar, Grace let out a deep breath, looking paler than usual. When asked if she was okay, she hesitated in her response.
"Grace-sama, do you need healing magic?"
"Are you hurt?"
Ashley and Sheila also expressed concern, but Grace showed a slightly surprised expression and quickly waved her hand.
"Oh no, it's not that. Um... I apologize for causing you worry. I'm just feeling a bit hungry."
Ah, it was that kind of urge.
Grace must have been embarrassed or feeling guilty as she shrank her body.
"This urge hasn't come up in a while. Despite feeling great lately thanks to Teo, here I am. I feel sorry for Teo and those adventurers..."
It seemed to be something fundamentally different from the blood-sucking urge I experience from my vampire side, like the scent of human blood or the use of force through destruction and devastation. While these things might pull Grace toward her vampire side, being half-breed granted her some freedom, but at the same time, she couldn't fully immerse herself in the frenzy. Instead, she felt a mix of excitement, anger, disgust, and self-reproach.
Perhaps that's why she asked to handle the Boar herself.
"It's alright. I'll cook when we get back today. Well... we might end up with more mushroom dishes."
Considering she brought back a mountain of Whisper Mushrooms. When I told her that, Grace nodded with a small smile.
"Yes, thank you. I appreciate it."