"Shut up, you evil chimera! Your fate was sealed the moment we arrived here. You should be grateful you're still standing right now!"
Aqua placed her hands on her hips and let out an arrogant laugh.
"Hey! If you've got something to say, stand at the front yourself! Why are you using me as a shield?!"
Eiji glared darkly at the blue-haired woman behind him.
"That would make me an easy target for the angry monster! No way!"
The blue-haired woman flatly refused.
Creak!
Eiji could clearly hear his own teeth grinding.
He was pissed!
Seriously pissed!
Eiji clenched his fists.
What should I do? Even though it's our first meeting, I really want to punch her!
"Leave it to me, Darkness!"
Aqua, hiding behind Eiji, cheered happily for Darkness.
"Leave it to me, Aqua!"
Feeling encouraged by her companion, Darkness stepped forward with renewed vigor.
"Manticore, your opponent is me! As long as I stand here, you won't lay a finger on my companions behind me!"
Holding a one-handed sword, her stance to protect her companions looked as gallant as a true knight.
"Get down and stick your butt out! Here comes the Manticore!"
The manticore shouted, then circled once in the sky before charging at Darkness with centrifugal force.
"W-what a vulgar monster!"
Eiji wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the golden-haired, blue-eyed knight girl seemed somewhat excited as she charged forward.
With a loud thud, she was sent flying, bouncing several times on the ground.
"Aqua, you forgot to cast support spells on me!"
Then, as if nothing had happened, she jumped back up.
"My strength isn't enough to match that chimera. I need support spells to fight it!"
"Sorry, I forgot!"
Aqua blinked, suddenly realizing.
You only remembered something so crucial now?!
"Haste!"
A light fell upon Darkness, and her speed increased significantly, allowing her to dodge the manticore's charge.
"Power!"
Another light fell, and Darkness, looking delighted, met the manticore's charge head-on.
"W-what?!"
The manticore was shocked.
The armored woman who had been easily sent flying before was now not only holding her ground but even matching the strength of his front paws, making him feel an intense resistance!
"Protection!"
A third light fell, and Darkness seemed even more at ease.
Literally, it should be a spell to enhance defense, but since the manticore's attacks hadn't hurt her to begin with, it was practically useless.
But this is pretty impressive!
Eiji watched the battle before him with astonishment.
Though the knight named Darkness was merely enduring the manticore's attacks, after receiving several spells, she could easily match its strength—something unbelievable!
"Are this woman's spells really that powerful?"
Eiji gazed thoughtfully at the blue-haired woman who had been hiding behind him all this time.
Come to think of it, hadn't Luna mentioned that the high priestess with higher initial stats than him was named Aqua?
And she just called herself a goddess... Though she didn't radiate the divine aura Eiji had sensed from gods in the Danmachi world, could she actually be Aqua, the Goddess of Water herself?
"Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon!"
The blue-haired woman, suspected to be the Water Goddess, pulled out two folding fans and performed a cheerful little dance.
Eiji: "...Must be mistaken."
After a moment's thought, he quickly took out his adventurer card.
What a perfect opportunity! So many useful spells he couldn't miss—as long as they were used in front of him, they'd appear in his learnable skills list...
Looking at the required 10-point and 20-point skill costs, Eiji's face fell in despair.
Even "Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon" required 5 skill points—was there no justice in this world?!
"Dammit!"
The manticore staggered backward, its human face twisted in shock.
"How can a mere knight be this tough?!"
"I'm a Crusader! I maxed out both physical and magical resistance with my initial skill points!"
Darkness declared proudly.
Though her armor was full of holes and her black bodysuit torn in many places, the skin beneath remained flawless—not a single scratch or bruise!
Damn, what an unconventional freak!
Eiji clicked his tongue in amazement.
Crusaders were the most defense-oriented class, but even they typically learned skills like one-handed sword mastery. Darkness, however, had gone all-in on resistance skills, maxing out her defenses.
Combined with Aqua's support magic, she was practically invincible!
"Are you an idiot?!"
The manticore looked at her like she was insane.
"T-take this!"
Darkness raised her one-handed sword.
Her face flushed slightly, a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
Then she swung at the manticore.
"Huh?"
Clang! The blade completely missed the manticore and struck a rock instead.
The manticore hadn't even moved.
It just stared coldly as Darkness flailed about.
Then—wham!—it smacked her down with a massive paw, pinning her into the dirt.
"Moron! Shouldn't have dumped all your points into defense! How do you expect to win with zero attack power? Hahaha!"
The manticore roared with laughter.
What should've been a formidable opponent had been defeated embarrassingly easily.
Trapped in the dirt, Darkness couldn't find leverage to break free.
"Darkness! No way! Even after all my buffs?!"
Aqua turned pale.
"I don't want that monster slobbering all over me, covering me in gross slime!"
Please elaborate!
"I only go for the backdoor!"
The manticore raised its massive scorpion tail menacingly.
"Starting with this ultra-tough knight! No matter how hard your body is, your insides are still soft!"
Darkness shuddered violently.
Then, probably out of fear, Eiji could clearly see her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Strange, why was she shaking in waves?
"Hey! I'll buff you up, but you absolutely must protect this goddess! Sorry, Darkness, but you're on your own!"
At the thought of the tragic scene of being violated, Aqua turned pale and quickly cast various spells on Eiji in rapid succession.
Wasn't Darkness your comrade? Aren't you afraid she'll come after you for saying that?
"Eeek—!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Megumin! Darkness! Aqua! Someone, anyone, help me!"
About two hundred meters away, the shadowy figure of another giant monster could be vaguely seen.
It had picked up Satou Kazuma and was carrying him into the air.