After Rio was blasted away by Orthos’s attack from the tree, Amy and River had no choice but to confront Orthos.
They had one artifact that allowed communication with the professors, but due to the aftermath of the previous attack, the artifact was damaged by Orthos’s flames.
It wasn’t just the communication artifact that broke.
A considerable number of artifacts prepared for hunting were also ruined.
Fortunately, the healing drugs were stored in another bag.
“There’s no need to take it down. There’s probably a ‘pin’ lodged somewhere in Orthos’s body. If we just remove that, it’ll return to its senses.”
“A ‘senses’ you say… then who’s controlling it?”
“That’s how it seems. Orthos doesn’t leave the depths of the Black Forest and has the intelligence to communicate. Right now, it seems to be under control.”
Although the companion who had been observing closely provided an answer, the situation didn’t improve.
“River! That monster is being controlled! There’s a ‘pin’ lodged somewhere in its body, and if we remove it, it’ll return to normal…!”
“If you know that, wouldn’t it attack a bit slower?!”
Even knowing they only needed to remove one pin from its body, Orthos was still a formidable beast.
It would be better if it only spewed flames; its true threat lay in its physical combat.
The flames were merely a distraction.
Due to Orthos’s swift movements, they couldn’t even counterattack properly.
For now, their only option was to utilize the space of the forest to hinder its movements.
With all sorts of obstacles around, it was hard to imagine how terrible it would be if they had met in the open plains.
“I can’t even make a proper attack before removing the pin..!!”
Having never experienced a proper sword piercing his body, how was he supposed to find a tiny pin lodged somewhere within?
Orthos’s body, covered in fur, didn’t appear to have anything sticking out.
They couldn’t coordinate any attack.
In his mind, River wanted to toss away his ring and retreat, but his competitive spirit against this strong foe kept him from doing so.
“Uagh?!”
Then, a problem arose.
As he tried to dodge Orthos’s charging body by running behind a tree, Orthos didn’t collide with the tree.
Instead, Orthos leaped onto the tree and then directly jumped at River, who had popped out to avoid Orthos’s attack.
‘At this rate… I’m going to collide…!’
Amy was too far away to cover him.
With how fast Orthos was charging, it was impossible to stop and not get hit.
It would be possible to dodge if he could run much faster than now, but he was already at his limit, so there was no chance of that.
Fortunately, it was purely a body slam and not something with sharp claws or fangs…
He braced himself for the impact, ready to accept a few broken bones as he pushed forward.
– Crash!!
“River!!”
Another sound echoed as a tree trunk shattered.
“Uh??”
However, River wasn’t injured in the slightest.
Orthos had crashed into the tree by itself.
How he managed it was unclear, but River had suddenly accelerated and successfully dodged Orthos’s attack.
“What the heck is this??”
River’s eyes glowed golden, and a golden aura enveloped his body.
He recognized what this sensation was.
It was a change that occurred when the full moon rose.
But why was it happening now when it wasn’t even night?
“River, are you okay?!”
“I’m not sure, but I feel fine.”
He didn’t understand why it was happening, but his body felt extremely light.
Orthos crawled out from the broken tree.
“I think I’ve gotten faster… Let’s try again. This time, I might have a chance to find that pin.”
“Yeah..!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Then, while they were fully engaged with Orthos again, they spotted Rio, who had fallen behind, and the trio regrouped.
Rio had been found far away after being blown away by Orthos’s flames and getting airborne.
“Hey, Rio, are you okay?”
“Thanks to you… I think I can use some magic.”
Due to the shock from his fall, he couldn’t control his body properly, but since his injuries weren’t severe, a single healing potion significantly improved his condition.
“Can you create a swamp or hole that matches its movements?”
“If we catch that thing… we’ll definitely win, right? I’ll give it a shot.”
Amy placed Rio down in a spot where Orthos wouldn’t notice him and charged at Orthos with her sword.
With both River and Amy distracting Orthos, it wouldn’t pay attention to Rio at all.
All over the forest, remnants of Orthos’s flames lingered, filling the air with a thick smoke.
Rio cautiously peeked over the treetops, observing the clash between Orthos, Amy, and River.
Amy was taking the frontline, receiving Orthos’s attacks while River supported her.
As he meticulously tracked Orthos’s erratic movements, Rio prepared to cast his magic.
Then he created a pit where he predicted Orthos would land.
[!!!]
However, Orthos caught on and twisted its body, desperately trying to avoid landing in the hole.
Orthos stopped right in front of the deep pit and scanned the surroundings.
[Growl..!!!]
As it spotted Rio, Orthos lunged at him.
“St… Stone Wall!!”
With his physical abilities, it was impossible to avoid it.
Rio tried to set up a barrier to block the attack, but he knew it was pointless.
One body slam from Orthos would shatter that stone wall instantly.
“Ugh..!!!”
At that moment, someone dashed out and slashed at Orthos’s side.
“Russell?!”
The intruder was Lucia.
Orthos, hit by Lucia’s attack, twisted and rolled on the ground.
[Bang!!]
But Orthos quickly regained its posture and attempted to unleash flames again. Suddenly, though, its head seemed to be fixed, and it lifted its gaze towards the sky.
A massive column of fire erupted high into the air.
“Looks like we really have a mess on our hands. This is quite impressive.”
“You’re late!”
Casey approached slowly, her magic glow radiating from one hand.
Using telekinetic magic, she had restrained Orthos’s head.
With Casey from the Royal Knight Order joining in, Amy felt more secure than ever.
“Need some help? Am I butting in?”
Although she intervened, Casey appeared to be questioning if she was overstepping, her demeanor hinting she would leave if her actions were just robbing others of a hunt.
“Of course not..!! That monster is being controlled. If we remove the pin lodged in its body, it’ll return to normal.”
“… A pin?”
After hearing that, Casey calmly observed Orthos and then released her telekinetic grip.
“That must be it.”
“Can you see it…?”
“Yeah, everyone step back.”
Once the telekinetic magic that held Orthos’s head was released, Orthos charged angrily towards Casey.
As Casey drew her rapier, a thin blade lit up with a blue aura.
Though the blade was slender, the intensity of the rising aura made it look as if she wielded a massive sword.
The brightness of the aura was so intense that everyone fell silent.
Casey stood ready, her rapier aimed toward Orthos, her feet shoulder-width apart, prepared to spring into action.
As Orthos rapidly closed the distance, intending to swallow Casey whole, she surged forward.
The ‘thick sword’ imbued with fierce aura pierced Orthos’s body.
[Gag…. Darn it….!]
Spitting blood from both mouths, Orthos spoke in a way that humans could comprehend.
As Casey withdrew her rapier from Orthos’s body, the thin pin, the size of a tack, was lodged at the tip of the blade.
That tiny pin had been controlling the giant monster Orthos.
It didn’t seem to be inserted from the outside but was instead lodged inside its body.
With a large hole in its abdomen, Orthos collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
“It’s nothing much.”
Without a hint of change in her expression, Casey brushed off the remaining hairs from Orthos as if it were nothing.
River’s eyes widened in disbelief that the smallest among them, Casey, had brought down such a troublesome beast in one strike.
“Should we finish it off…?”
“It’s under control, so no worries. It doesn’t seem like it wants to fight anymore either..”
“But… why are there no measures in place when creatures like this are roaming around?”
“I thought the Hunting Festival had set the limit at ogres.”
“It’s strange that nothing has been done even after all this time has passed since we encountered it…”
Orthos’s power was not something the students could contend with.
It was only thanks to someone like Casey, who was at the pinnacle among knights in the Royal Knight Order, that the situation had just barely been resolved.
Most ordinary students were merely at the beginner or intermediate levels and would have died instantly upon encountering Orthos.
Amy and River were stronger than typical students, which was why they were able to hold a defense.
With such monsters roaming about, why was there no response from the professors?
“How long have you been fighting that thing..?”
“It’s been a few minutes. About 20 minutes or so?”
“… By that time, the professors should have already known.”
The lack of management—we all envisioned the worst-case scenario, but no one voiced it.
Then Rio was the first to speak what everyone was thinking.
“This… you said it was being controlled by someone.”
“Right?”
“Then… that means someone is controlling it as well, right?”
“… That would seem to be the case?”
“Did it only control this one? The professors shouldn’t be in a situation where they can’t respond either….?”
Such ominous words made everyone glance at the rings.
It was plausible for a monster to break out from the depths.
However, having such incidents occur without any response was unacceptable.
“This won’t do. Let’s take off the rings… then we’ll know for sure.”
“Then… let’s do it one by one. It’s really strange regardless of how I think about it.”
“Gah!”
The first to remove their ring was River.
“Uh?”
But nothing happened.
Despite having removed the ring, the stored magic didn’t activate.
He had just confirmed it was working moments ago.
“What’s going on…? I saw four people go before Orthos just a while ago, so why isn’t it working??”
“Strange…?”
Others began to remove their rings one by one, but none of the rings activated.
“Just as I thought…”
-Crustle
At that moment, a strange presence rustled nearby.
“Who’s there!”
But there was no response.
Casey then reached out her hand.
“No need for that.”
“Uagh?!”
With a simple gesture, a person flailing behind the bushes was yanked out like a fish caught on a line.
It was Casey’s forte—her telekinetic magic.
“Professor Kegin…? What are you doing here?”
The figure she caught from the bushes was Kegin, the monsterology professor.
“Haha… I’m sorry. I wanted to save you, but that monster was too frightening, so I just hid away.”
He was sprawled on the ground, awkwardly smiling.
