The noisy, clamouring hall was instantly suppressed by Finn's voice. Clear and piercing, it cut through the chaos like a military trumpet, sharp and powerful.
As if shattering the darkness, the adventurers, who had been overwhelmed by the oppressive fear radiating from the enemy, were awakened by this horn call of courage. They snapped back to themselves, their spirits surging, their battle intent boiling over in an instant!
"Swish!"
Pointing his long spear at the eerie monster, Finn brought out his leadership to the fullest.
He would, one by one, crush terror itself!
"AAAOoOo––!"
The monster, having already lost human consciousness and its ability to speak, let out a roar. The deafening sound shook the adventurers' eardrums and even their skin.
"It's completely turned into a monster… heh… how pitiful."
Withstanding the explosive sound, Fron stood still, staff in hand. Even he couldn't help feeling sick as he stared at the grotesque creature.
"So gross, so gross, so gross! Aaaah! What do we do, Fron? I really don't want to use my weapon on something like that!"
"...Huh?" Fron glanced at his own staff, dumbfounded, and twitched his mouth as he replied to Tiona.
"If not with weapons, cough… do you plan to punch or kick it instead?"
"D-Don't say that… urgh…"
Even the powerful Tiona and Tione sisters had reached their limit when facing the monstrous, deranged creature Barca had become, complete with a curse-like mutation.
Of course, even as they talked, everyone kept their weapons raised and their formation tight. They were all veteran adventurers; when confronting the unknown, maximum alertness was essential.
As if venting something, the "Barca Monster" gradually came to a halt. Just when everyone was about to relax, it moved again.
"It's coming!"
Fron had barely issued the warning before the creature's twisted left arm unleashed a swift and forceful strike.
White tentacles wrapped in black veins swung down from above, buzzing with a shrill sound that tore through the air. Everyone could sense the immense destructive power contained in that blow.
"BOOM BOOM, !"
The next second, that single vertical strike tore through the center of the hall, forcing the adventurers to split left and right.
Behind them, Lulune, who had been communicating through her "Communication Crystal", snapped back to reality and hurriedly jumped away.
Fron wrapped his left arm around Amid's slender waist and avoided the strike with a light push of his toes, retreating with her in a smooth glide.
"Go!"
The hall trembled lengthwise. With the order given, the vanguard roared and rushed in with their heavy weapons.
Against a monster the size of a floor boss… heavy weapons clearly dealt far better damage.
"ROOOOAAAHHH!"
Barca roared primitively, instinctively swinging his swollen right arm at the approaching members.
It shattered the stone tiles, spiderweb cracks spreading from the point of impact.
Just as the confident vanguards moved to strike, their footing gave way, and in the next moment, the creature's left tentacle-arm swung wildly like a madman, flinging the front line away and catching them in a pincer attack.
In the blink of an eye, the first exchange plunged the battlefield into chaos.
A blue glow flickered in Fron's eyes, standing out sharply in the dark stone hall.
"Asfi, leave the vanguard to them. Your group supports from the flanks, cover and relieve the pressure by distracting the monster."
Seeing Asfi already tossing powerful explosives, Fron spoke quickly.
"Understood. We'll do that."
He set Amid at the center of the rear guard, the safest position.
"Amid, I'm counting on you for healing. I'm going to probe its abilities."
"Be careful!"
...
Fron narrowed his eyes, exchanged a look with Finn, and then burst forward like a flare of fire, charging at Barca in an instant!
"Ragnarok!".
Fron's power spiked in an instant.
"Nightweaver…"
"BOOM!"
Before the words were finished, a massive force wrapped in dusk-colored flames smashed into the monster's arm!
"ROOOAAARRR!"
Wracked with pain, the creature turned its rage toward the "small bug" before it, but its clumsy retaliation was laughably slow.
With a slight twist of his core, Fron spun midair and easily avoided the attack, as if it were child's play.
Landing lightly among the vanguard, Fron calmly analyzed:
"It's a human turned into a host for this parasite, but it no longer has any human consciousness or memories. Barca himself probably had no real combat skills or experience either. Combined with its swollen body making its movements stiff and dull… this is our chance. Understood?"
"Understood…"
Just one probing exchange, and Fron had grasped its nature completely.
He'd noticed its transformed, gastropod-like lower body lacked proper mobility, and its reactions were sluggish. He'd already seen the opening.
The group was just about to attack with renewed excitement when Fron raised a hand to stop them, his expression turning serious.
"Don't get carried away just because you spotted a weakness. Stay alert, especially those black veins covering its body. I suspect… those might be some kind of curse. Don't let your guard down!"
No sooner had he spoken than Tiona, Tione, and Gareth launched a coordinated frontal and rear assault.
They forced the monster's upper body to lean back, an opening!
The massive right arm was knocked upward by the Amazon sisters' strength, putting the monster off balance.
Tione rushed in to deliver the finishing blow.
"Die!"
The twin Amazoness sisters were about to kill it in one synchronized strike, but Fron grabbed both sisters by the arms and yanked them away at the final instant!
"Fron! What are you doing!?"
Fron stared calmly as the black veins covering the monster's entire body writhed with a sickening sound, then began to swell.
And swell.
At a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Huh?" Something horrifying was happening.
Every high-level adventurer in the hall, veterans who had crossed countless life-or-death lines, felt a simultaneous chill of pure dread.