Haru's eyes glowed with a crimson glare as he watched the Roachina approaching the classroom, devoid of any fear.
It wasn't that his nervousness or fear had disappeared entirely; rather, he pushed them down and chose to confront the threat head-on once again. His eyes were filled with the determination to survive and eliminate the monster with all his strength.
In fact, he felt an unusual sense of confidence and a hint of bloodthirstiness, eager to swiftly put an end to the monster before him. However, this wasn't a random feeling; it stemmed from a specific reason.
[Skill – Husbando's Aura is reacting with your sword!]
[The Aura is enhancing your sword's abilities to new strength and limits!]
[User's Efficiency with Black Chain has risen!]
[Cost to Manipulate the Black Chain -> 2 Prana per Minute]
Seeing the message in front of his eyes and the reddish aura with hints of gold covering not just his body but everything he held, Haru understood why his headache disappeared within a second and why he was effectively able to use the Black Chain spell again, which somehow even survived against the blast.
'Was this the reason behind the bloodthirstiness that I keep feeling from time to time?' Haru also realized that something was influencing his emotions and urging him to confront the monster that put him in such a condition. But at that moment, Haru didn't care much about it, as his attention was solely on the monster.
Rattle! Immediately, Haru covered Aki's entire body, except the nose region, with Black Chain, so as not to hurt her during the fight.
"SCREECHHH!!!" The Roachina screeched aloud, perhaps understanding the taunt that Haru gave it earlier, and entered the classroom with heavy steps.
Haru, standing in the middle of the classroom, clenched his sword and shield tightly, ready to fight at any moment.
The air between them crackled with tension as neither party showed signs of fear or backing down.
"SCREECHH!!!" Seeing Haru standing his ground, without a trace of the dread he once displayed when cornered, the Roachina's expression turned terrifying. Without a second thought, it lunged at Haru with frightening speed.
"AAHHHH!!" Haru, unyielding, jumped onto a desk and launched himself at the Roachina. In an instant, Haru's sword and the Roachina's scythe-like metallic arm came into contact once again, midair.
Ting! Sparks erupted, and the objects in between were blasted away due to their impact. Unlike earlier, there was a significant difference in this encounter. This time, the sword penetrated a centimeter into the Roachina's metallic arm which only Elite-Rank weapons could harm.
'It's working!' A grin appeared on Haru's face as he witnessed his sword becoming effective against the monster.
Despite the newfound effectiveness of his sword, the strength disparity between the two remained substantial since Roachina was an Elite-Rank. So, Haru, after landing a blow on its arm, swiftly retracted his sword to avoid being overwhelmed and pushed by the monster's strength.
"SCREEECCCCHHHH!!!" The monster screeched loudly at Haru as it noticed him stepping back a little, immediately throwing its second arm at him. However, Haru was already prepared for the attack.
As he got a good footing on the ground while trying to put some distance between them, he used his shield, not to block its attack due to its strength, but to parry it.
Bang! Right after parrying its second arm with the help of shield, he swiftly swung his sword at the monster's eyes.
Roachina, seeing the sword coming at its eyes, quickly moved its head aside, dodging it with remarkable speed. However, that wasn't Haru's primary goal.
As the monster dodged, just as he had expected, Haru immediately retracted his sword and jumped back to maintain a safe distance.
'Hah... Like I expected, although the sword might be able to hurt it, I still can't land a blow on its weak points, at least not without catching it off guard.' Despite the thought, Haru wasn't discouraged in the least bit. Now that he could use the Black Chain, he knew an opportunity would arise if he played his cards right.
'If I can't find one, then I will create one!!' With that intention in his mind, Haru immediately pointed his left hand toward the desk by his side and willed the chain that was in Shield form, to uncoil and coil around the desk instead.
"AHH!!!" Haru then, without wasting a second before the monster could lunge at him again, threw the desk against the Roachina.
"Screech!!" The Roachina, seeing the desk coming at its head, quickly dodged it easily and the coiled desk fell behind it. But Haru's goal wasn't that simple.
Seeing the moment when monster's eyes concentrated on the desk, Haru immediately lunged at it with the sword in his left hand.
The moment he came near it, he slashed his sword at its stomach region, but the Roachina saw that and quickly dodged it by turning to the side.
"SCRCEEHH!" Then it slashed its dangerous two arms toward Haru while he just finished his move.
Haru knew if they landed or hit, the damage would be very critical, but there wasn't the least bit of worry on his face as his eyes focused on the arms coming toward him.
Rattle! It was at that moment when suddenly the Black Chain coiled around the unsuspecting Roachina's unguarded legs, jerking them back and making the Roachina lose its balance and footing on the ground.
'It worked!' The chain didn't magically appear behind the Roachina; it was the same chain that was coiled around the desk Haru had thrown at it earlier.
While the Roachina was distracted by Haru's frontal assault, it ignored the chain on the desk, giving Haru an opportunity to launch a surprise attack from behind and make it lose its footing.
Because of its huge size, the Roachina fell more easily, causing its arms to hit empty space and giving Haru an opportunity to counterattack.
As the Roachina was tumbling forward, Haru changed his sword's trajectory and slashed it horizontally, aiming for its eyes.
'Will it work!?' Haru's eyes turned hopeful as he saw how close his sword was to slashing at the monster's eyes.
"SCREECCCHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" As Haru's sword came closer and closer, the Roachina screamed in anger and did something that Haru had never expected.
Swooosh! The Roachina opened its mouth and quickly formed a small fiery ball, the size of a ping-pong ball.
'It can't be--!!!!' Haru's eyes immediately widened, and he understood what the monster was going to do next.
Boom! A small explosion occurred within the classroom immediately after the fiery ball exploded. Despite being smaller in size since it was formed within a second, the impact and the blast from it were enough to compare to a normal grenade.
As the smoke cleared away and fire illuminated the classroom, two figures still stood on their toes.
"Hah... That was close..." Haru muttered as he maintained a distance from the creature with a shield made of chains erected in front of him, remaining unharmed.
"SCREEECHHHHEEE!!!!"
'But the same could be said for it...' He thought as he stared at the creature screeching, which despite being very close to the earlier explosion, still remained unharmed because of its outer shell.
'Damn it... Will I be able to get another chance like that--?' As Haru was planning his next move, something unexpected occurred, catching both him and Roachina off guard.
Crash! Something broke through the classroom window facing the corridor and moved between Haru and Roachina.
'Is that a-!?' Haru's eyes widened as he stared at the small black object that flew between them.
It was then a voice hit his ears, "Haru, close your eyes."
BANG! Immediately, the object exploded.