Chapter 10
"Bwoooooooooooooooooo!"
The Mad Head opened its enormous mouth and let out a horrifying roar.
The flesh at the edges of its mouth split, making it even wider.
"I-It got bigger...?"
Goutan stared blankly at the Mad Head, unable to process what was happening.
"That look... It has no idea!"
That was only natural.
Existence Evolution itself was an extremely rare event.
It was no surprise that Goutan, a D-Rank adventurer, had never heard of it.
But the Mad Head's Level had shot up from 【33】 to 【40】, and it had suddenly gained a slew of attack Skills.
It was a vicious monster, in an entirely different league from the Ghoul Head, which only made simple, sweeping attacks.
Without prior knowledge, it would be difficult to deal with.
In 〈Magic World〉, these sorts of nasty events happened fairly often, despite their low probability.
This was exactly why we should have agreed on what to do if we had to retreat, even on an easy extermination quest.
Especially on a large-scale quest like this one, with so many people—a 〈Raid Quest〉.
"Goutan, don't stand in front of it!"
I shouted just as the Mad Head opened its enormous mouth.
"Bwoooooooooooooo!"
"Ugh!"
Goutan hunched over as he took the Mad Head's roar head-on.
Too late... That was the Mad Head's Skill, 〈King's Roar〉.
This mana-infused sonic attack stunned anyone standing in front of it, temporarily stopping them from moving.
The Mad Head's claws were aimed at Goutan.
"Tail, Paul! Distract the big guy!"
I shouted to the two who had accompanied Goutan as his vanguard.
"W-What... What are we supposed to do? If I use magic against a monster like that, I'll get killed..."
Tail's voice trembled as Tail spoke.
I clicked my tongue without thinking.
Who was it who'd said cowards were in the way and shouldn't come along?
"If Goutan goes down, we'll all be wiped out anyway! Don't you get it? Keep our chances of winning alive!"
Even if we focused on escaping, with the command structure already falling apart, half of us would probably be killed.
The Mad Head was far faster than us, after all.
But even when I shouted, Tail didn't move.
The Mad Head's savage claws swept toward Goutan.
The axe flew from Goutan's hands, and Goutan's body was sent hurtling effortlessly through the air.
"Gah...!"
Goutan fell to the ground, bleeding and convulsing.
This was the worst.
That looked like the paralysis status ailment from the Mad Head's Trait, 〈Paralyzing Poison Flesh〉, had activated.
When someone took a direct hit while defenseless, status ailments were more likely to take effect than usual.
"Bwooooooo!"
The Mad Head swung its claws at Goutan for a follow-up attack.
I slid in front of Goutan, set my sword against the Mad Head's arm, and swept it aside.
"〈Parry〉!"
But I couldn't deflect it completely.
A blow like a punch to my whole body sent me flying backward.
I barely managed to keep from falling, then looked up at the Mad Head's face.
The Mad Head wore an ugly grin as it edged toward me.
For the moment, I'd diverted its attention from Goutan to myself.
I steadied my breathing and looked up at the Mad Head.
"I'll keep it occupied! Tail! Get Goutan to safety and heal him with 〈Heal〉 and 〈Paralysis Heal〉!"
As a Red Mage, Tail should have already learned both of them.
Was that the only thing we had going for us right now?
〈Paralysis Heal〉 could cure paralysis.
If I only had to hold it off for a little while, I could do it, even with this Level gap...!
"I-I have 〈Heal〉, but not 〈Paralysis Heal〉..."
Tail said weakly.
"What are you talking about? You should learn 〈Paralysis Heal〉 and 〈Poison Heal〉 at 【15】 in the 〈Red Magic〉 Skill Tree..."
"...I put the points into 〈Attack Boost〉."
Th-This guy...!
A Red Mage's strength lay in their wide range of support and auxiliary magic, as well as their ability to fight as a swordsman.
Even if you pursued the swordsman path first, you'd only end up as a worse version of a specialized Class.
"Anyway, get Goutan somewhere safe and heal him with 〈Heal〉!"
I said, then turned and ran away from the fallen Goutan.
The Mad Head chased after me.
"Bwooooooooooooooo!"
Being chased by a monster far bigger and stronger than me was terrifying.
There was too much difference between a game and reality.
And to make matters worse, this fight was stacked against me.
I glanced back at the Mad Head.
――――――――――――――――――――
Monster: Mad Head
Lv: 40
HP: 94/94
MP: 14/31
――――――――――――――――――――
I checked its status again, partly to see how much MP it had left, but it was still absurdly powerful.
If I took a direct hit from one of its attacks, I wouldn't get off lightly.
At least I could be grateful that its MP hadn't recovered since before it evolved.
One small mistake could mean death.
"...Come on, Mad Head. I'll keep you busy until Goutan gets back on his feet."