Episode 20 Duel at the Windmill
Kian climbed the spiral staircase of the windmill and burst out onto the bare top floor.
On the top floor, he sees the giant body of Griffin and Robert, holding a demolition knife and shouting threats.
The big bear-like man was covered in scars all over.
It seemed that he had been running around desperately trying to escape Griffin's claws.
His wounds on his back were particularly deep, inflicted when he was taken into the sky.
His armor around his waist was stained bright red with blood.
「Shhh!」
Kian swung his axe and aimed at Griffin's back.
A gap in the bone.
It would slip through the vertebrae and sever the nerves――!
But Griffin also seemed to have sensed Kian's surprise attack with what might be called a wild instinct.
The same as when it gutted Funnelwing.
The Griffin kicked up its strong back legs and tried to kick Kian's torso away.
「――――!」
He ducked as quickly as he could.
Kian ducked like a snake wrapped around its hind legs and chopped the griffin's butt with his axe as hard as he could.
Feathers and blood splattered.
The smell of iron mixed with the strong smell of beast.
With a lion's roar and a hawk's cry, the Griffin writhed in pain and flapped its wings wide.
GOOOO――A tremendous wind pressure rushes in, and immediately after, the huge body of the monster soars up into the sky at once.
「Wh-Why are you here!?」
「I'm here to help you, my client, Robert-san.」
While answering randomly, he looked up at the black shadow that flew up into the sky.
The sun is shining brightly in the endless blue sky, and huge wings are flying in the clear sky.
A griffin is circling the sky above the broken windmill.
(It's angry. It doesn't look like it's going to let us go.)
Kian looks around the bare attic, keeping an eye out for the monster in the sky.
The space is narrow, no more than twenty meters wide.
If it spread its wings and swoops down from the sky, the chances of avoiding its attack are slim to none.
...... It would be very dangerous to fight here.
Kian shouted.
「Get out of here now! If you don't run away, I can't run away either!」
「......!? Ah, yeaah!」
Robert crawled towards Kian.
『 It's coming, Kian.』
The voice of the glasses.
In the sky, he can see the griffin accelerated by the turning action, spreading its large wings horizontally.
「……!、……!、……!!」
He kneads his magic.
He put ten buckets of it on his body and stepped forward to replace the fleeing Robert.
He gathers the magic power into the axe in his hand.
In front of him, he saw a griffin swooping down with its black claws dancing against the sun.
「......!」
He won't run away.
He opens his eyes.
Kian's arm, holding his axe in the lower part of his body, was filled with strength.
As if in response to the courage of the wielder, the ordinary large axe was covered with the wind.
In fact, it was magic power that covered the axe, but a white aura of steamy air swirled around the silver blade.
「Hurraah!」
And a second before the close encounter, Kian had raised his large axe.
One of the four basic techniques, "Shoot".
It's a technique that sends kneaded magic power flying towards the opponent.
The blade of the axe cut through the sky, but the white impact it wore cut through the surrounding air and struck Griffin in the chest.
「――――――――!!!!!????」
A huge body rolls to the top floor of the windmill house, leaving behind a loud scream.
But just before he did, Kian deployed his basic technique, "Wall," and further strengthened his muscles and bones with a technique that western swordsmen use to enhance their physical abilities. He used his magic power, but this was not the time to use it sparingly.
「Gughh .......!」
He jumped backward to kill the impact and prevent himself from being caught by the huge body.
He was holding his right arm out in front of him and the impact almost broke his shoulder, but fortunately, it did not dislocate or break his bone.
Unable to kill its momentum, Griffin skidded across the stone floor of the windmill and crashed into the stone wall at the back.
The remaining wall on the top floor of the windmill shook like a block of wood, sending up a brown cloud of dust.
(Hard skin. Thick feathers.)
He stands up, spitting a gritty mixture of spit to the side.
He wipes his cut cheek with a piece of flying stone.
A single red line ran across the back of his hand.
A Griffin with folded wings pokes its head out of the dust with a small grunt. The yellow eyes were fixed squarely on Kian.
(The stone floor was heavily scraped. The walls, though old, were torn to pieces by the blow of its body. If I take its blow seriously, the basic defensive technique of "Wall" can't prevent it.)
「GAAAHYYYYYYYYYN!」
（The basic long-distance technique, "Shoot," is)
Kian's eyes twisted and he gritted his teeth.
The Griffin's feather-covered chest had not shed a single drop of blood.
There was no sign of damage to its bones or internal organs.
(If it was a surprise attack, the effect would be enough to weaken the power of the enemy's dive. But)
He moves slowly to the side, axe at the ready.
The Griffin was moving in the same supple manner, tracing the perimeter of the windmill.
Glaring at each other one-on-one, Kian and Griffin shifted their positions in a circular motion.
(If I strengthen my axe with "Impulse", I can cut off its flesh.)
The first attack was a surprise.
Griffin's buttocks were wet with blood as he slashed and gouged with his axe from behind.
The blood seemed to have already stopped, probably due to its high physical ability.
But if he uses magic power in his weapon, he can damage it with an axe.
「............」
Taking a low stance, Kian rolled a few small barrels filled with explosives from his waist against the wall of the crumbling windmill. If he hit them with an axe or other strong impact, the glass containing the chemicals will break and explode.
「―――――!!!!!!」
A Griffin barks at close range.
It was so loud that he could not distinguish it from the sound.
The tremendous sound pressure shook his brain, but Kian held on with his hands on the ground.
Its flying-colored wings spread wide.
It was a threatening move by the Griffin.
It seems that this thing is trying to kill Kian as a male.
Come to think of it, this monster was one of the stragglers.
It must have lost its place in the pack, been ostracized by its friends, and made its way down from the sacred mountains to this place near the highway.
And it's fighting alone to survive.
"It's just like me," Kian said, his mouth quirking up into a smile.
「Fuhh ......」
Put his right hand out in front of him.
His left hand holding the axe is at the lower rear of his body.
Kian took a stance.
「Come on, you monster. I'll take you on.」
× × ×
It's like a gust of wind――
Kian's eyes twisted in front of the griffin that was charging at him with a roar of anger.
He swung up his axe, which he held at the lower level.
Feathers and blood flew, and the monster's chest was sliced open in an upside-down motion.
Don't get hit by the black claws that swing down.
He twisted as he attacked and slid under the lion's body, mimicking Serena's move.
Once there, he rolled across the stone floor to the back of the Griffin.
As Kian tried to get up, its strong hind legs were right in front of him.
『Kian!』
「......!」
He quickly deployed the "Wall" and was blown backward.
He remembered what it was like to be blown away by a force outside the norm.
The impact on his body reminded him of the merciless wooden sword blows he received from Sarah and Jibreel when he was a child. He rolled across the stone floor like a ragdoll, but still managed to keep his spirits up with all his mental strength.
Even if he fell down, he wouldn't wake up for nothing.
Or, rather, he rolls and escapes downstairs without getting up.
「............」
Kian rolled down the spiral staircase that led down from the top floor of the narrow windmill house, as he had originally planned.
After a beat, Griffin drilled the stone floor with its paw, and as soon as it realized that it had struck out, it chased after Kian's body and stuck its head into the hole at the entrance of the spiral staircase.
「Ha!」
He slammed his axe into the stretched-out face.
The monster pulled its head back, leaving behind a strange howl.
Red and black blood soaked the stairs.
(It's shallow. Its feathers and skull blocked the blow.)
The blow to the brow, however, would have caused the enemy to bleed profusely.
Not bad.
Kian thought and flew down the stairs in an erratic, ape-like fashion.
A little later, he saw the Griffin roaring in anger above him, causing the stone floor to collapse.
It seems that it was trying to step through Kian with the entire floor, but unfortunately, he has no intention of fighting a siege.
When he landed on the first floor of the windmill, he found Robert covered in blood, tending to his wounds.
He looked pale as if he had spilled too much blood.
「H-hey, you!」
「Focus on stopping the bleeding. This place is in danger of collapsing. As soon as the treatment is over, get out.」
But outside, it was an unobstructed hilly area.
There are only green hills and dry river beds where windmills were once used.
If a wounded Robert jumped out of this hut, he would be easy prey for the Griffin.
So he had to take it down before, or at least distract it.
「I'm sorry, but once I stop the bleeding, I'll cover you――」
「No need. Once the bleeding is stopped, you can run. But don't come to the hills. Go down the riverbed as fast as you can. You got it?」
That's all he said, and he ran out.
The Griffin was already in the sky.
As Kian rolled out onto the green hill, it flapped its wings in the air and scattered its brightly colored feathers like snow.
A huge roar "Iiiiiinnnn" burned his eardrums.
(Did I crush its right eye?)
Kian moved away from the windmill house, looking at the face of the giant beast stained with blood.
No matter how physically strong it is, it doesn't seem to have the curse-like ability to restore its body at will like a vampire.
Its eyesight has definitely been robbed.
The damage to its nerves was also evidence that it could not recover.
("Blink"――)
The magic power was wrapped around his legs to enhance his movement speed.
In a series of ghostly blurs on his tattered armor, Kian moved up the hill.
Up in the sky, a Griffin circled like a bird of prey.
Another dive from the sky is coming ......!
A flying griffin spreads its wings horizontally.
A huge black body fell headlong with a strange buzzing sound of the wind.
「 ......!, ......!」
Knead magic into small pieces.
Enhanced mobility.
Evade by jumping to the side.
After a moment's delay, the blade-like wings passed by with such force that they seemed to uproot the meadow.
「...... Tsk.」
He rolled over to catch himself and frowned at the wind pressure.
The Griffin flew in a low-altitude scrape, and without losing momentum, it flew up into the sky.
It's like a U-shaped trajectory.
He could avoid it by using "blink," but at this rate, he would only continue to be attacked from the sky in a one-sided manner.
The amount of magic power consumed is small, but if it continues like this for an hour, he will make a mistake in evading before the Griffin gets tired.
（However, if I try to take it by using "Shoot" and "Wall" as I did in the windmill house, I will take away 14 or 15 buckets of magic power at once.)
While dodging the second plunge, he continued to think.
Keep an eye on his surroundings and find a way to turn the tables.
(The magic power that I had in my two bathtubs was wiped out by a quarter in the earlier attack on the windmill house. Even if I continue the same attack and defense, I can only do it twice. If I do it a third time, my magic power will be depleted and I'll be stuck.)
In the next plunge, Griffin's legs gouged the surface of the earth.
The grass and dirt burst apart at close range, and Kian covered his face with his arms.
(I still have magic power, so I'll just try the same thing one more time.)
He'll think about what to do next.
As soon as he made that decision, Kian held his axe at the bottom and stuck both feet on the hillside.
「......, ......, ......!!」
He kneads his magical power.
The power is drawn out from within his body as if squeezing it.
A fiery heat covered his entire body, turning it into a white aura that flickered like a shimmering fire around his body.
The Griffin running in the sky, sensing Kian's fighting spirit, growled high in the air.
Feathers fluttered like snow as it spread its wings horizontally in a majestic display.
A huge black shadow circled once in the air, then accelerated and plunged toward the surface of the earth.
Kian forgot to even blink as he measured the distance between him and the Griffin.
His heart *ba-dump* *ba-dump*
If he was too late or too early, he would be run over and killed.
He was enjoying this last-minute battle.
The edge of his mouth hangs open in elation at the prospect of death.
The muscles in Kian's right leg rose up into the fabric.
As he stepped forward with his left foot, he swung his axe out to the side.
The basic technique of "Shoot"――
As if the wind pressure of the axe had materialized, a white shockwave was released.
It flew at Griffin's face as it came at it head-on.
「―――――!?」
It was easily avoided by the monster who twisted dexterously just in front of him.
It scattered the wind feathers on its neck, spun its body like a bullet, and fell at Kian.
He immediately jumped in the blink of an eye, but it was too late.
A strong impact shot down his body and he rolled down the slope of the hill, bouncing like a ball.
「Gughh ......」
The soft grassy earth and slope killed my momentum and redirected the force well.
His life was saved.
But he felt unbearable pain in both of his arms.
No bones were broken, but it was possible that he had strained a muscle.
Kian stood up immediately.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow of the monster jumping heroically up the hill again.
He aimed for the eyes again, but it was easily avoided.
Then it would be foolish to repeat the same action for the third time.
(Now, what to do?)
After a quick look around to rethink, Kian caught sight of a large man jumping out of the windmill house and running away at a glance towards the riverbed.
It was Robert.
Apparently, the bloodletting was over.
His footing was shaky, but as a former senior adventurer, his vitality seemed to be unnecessarily high.
「Ugh......」
Kian held his shoulder and dropped his axe with a plop.
He staggered to his feet.
He stumbles toward the windmill house as if to flee.
「KYYYYYYYYYN!」
The metallic cry of a hawk echoed.
A Griffin in the sky.
Seeing that Kian could no longer hold his weapon, it let out a victory cry in the air.
Of course, there is no law of the wild that says you can't attack a warrior who can't hold a weapon.
The Griffin scratched at the air with its claws, then flapped its wings and began to plummet toward Kian's back.
It wouldn't let him hide behind the windmill.
It'll catch up with him before he reaches the hut.
It would not give him a moment to recover his position, but would go on to cruelly tear the life out of its hated opponent who had taken its right eye from it――And.
「......!」
Kian turned at Griffin's whine.
In front of the windmill.
He couldn't hide in time.
He clicks his tongue and pulls out a wooden sword from his back and holds it up.
But it was no heavier or sharper than an axe, just a toy.
The Griffin was so close that it leaped to its feet and attacked Kian, who was holding the wooden sword.
「Haaaaaahhh!!」
Kian bent down and kneaded the largest amount of magic power he had ever used.
It was the equivalent of a full bathtub of magic power in his body.
He gathered up most of the remaining magic power in his body and confronted the Griffin in the sky.
The grassy earth that the young man stepped on cracked and rose up, tearing the roots of the grass apart.
A moment later, Kian's body disappeared, leaving a glint in his eyes.
「――――!???!?」
He dodged Griffin's thrust with a blink of an eye.
It's not just a matter of time before the monster unleashes a predatory strike that sends its claws deep into the grassy earth.
Kian suddenly appeared on the right side of the lion's body.
It's as if a shadow lifts from the ground.
Right next to Griffin gouging out the soil, he raises his wooden sword in a slippery motion.
The wooden sword has the magic power of a bathtub.
A tremendous amount of white energy clung to the wooden sword.
The monster hawk's eyes snapped open.
「――――!」
The shockwave that was released with a sharp breath was not from the side of the griffin - but far above his head.
The yellow eyes of the Griffin followed the blow that was launched almost straight up into the blue sky.
「Fuuhh」
Kian lifted the edge of his mouth.
The shock wave that was shot in the wrong direction.
It struck the stone wall of the top floor of the windmill hut, right above Griffin, as if to scoop it up.
A powerful impact.
Inside the windmill house, there was also the sound of a bomb exploding.
『I see, you were sprinkling them earlier when you were standoffish in the windmill house.』
(It's a homemade barrel bomb. It's small, though.)
The stone wall collapses.
It collapsed with the skeletons of the wooden windmill wings, making a crunching and unpleasant sound.
Kian immediately used "Blink" to move away, but Griffin was too late in its decision and was crushed by the rubble of the stone wall and windmill before it could run out.
A raw, human-like scream erupted from the monster's mouth.
BEEEEEEEE
It was a cry of sorrow.
The griffin's huge body was buried under a massive amount of rubble.
A cloud of dust flew up, and Kian covered his mouth with the worn-out scarf around his neck.
Quickly picking up his discarded axe, he glared at the collapsed windmill.
(I won't miss it.)
「......, ......!」
He put all he had into it.
He stomped on the ground and used his "Blink" to rush into the dust.
In the dust, he saw a Griffin clawing at the ground with its paws, trying to pull its lower body out.
The metal part of the windmill had pierced the thin wing membrane on its right side and gummed it up.
A strangled cry of "Gee, gee――" went up.
It seemed to be screaming desperately to live.
But he's not going to let this thing live.
It would be better for him to kill the monster that had lost its eyes and wings as soon as possible.
It crawled out of the rubble and slashed Griffin's paw with his axe.
When the monster is frightened, he slams the blade back into its face.
「――――!!!!!」
An inarticulate scream.
Turning red with returning blood, Kian leaps twice, flanking the Griffin and jumping on its back.
「It's over.」
He spat out, breathing on his shoulder.
Its wings fluttered feebly as it fought back.
Kian swung up and slammed his axe into the back of Griffin's neck.
「――――、…………」
The huge body shuddered and crumpled to the ground as if it had lost its strength.
Its nerves had been severed.
It couldn't move from the neck down anymore.
As Griffin twitched, Kian balanced himself and swung the axe down again.
He felt the bones being severed.
The yellow bird of prey's eyes lost the light of life.
Gritting his teeth, Kian raised the axe three times.
This time, he sliced off the head of the hawk lion, leaving only the skin of its neck.
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