The Lord of Bird Mountain (1)

The Skill we'd been wary of was, needless to say, 【Command】. The presence of 【Command】 meant it necessarily had subordinates to command.

So what kind of monsters served as the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle's subordinates? When I considered that, I remembered its Job.

The Lord of the Mountain. In other words, every monster on this mountain was its subordinate. What would happen when the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle called them?

"Kii—!"

"Gyaa! Gyaa!"

The answer was that a vast flock of birds came surging toward us. Even from a distance, there was no doubt that their numbers were staggering. They were numerous enough to cover the distant sky!

"Magic circle deployed, spell adjustment, Black Field!"

Before the enemy horde drew near, I began working to create even the slightest advantage for us. First, I used a Black Field with its effect raised to the maximum to strengthen 【Dark Magic】 and all of us. That was the first bit of preparation.

"Summon, Wisp, Dark, Physical Boost, Physical Boost, Physical Boost, Physical Boost!"

Furthermore, through 【Summoning】 and 【Enchantment】, I summoned as many dark-attribute Wisps as possible, each with its stamina strengthened to the maximum. And then...

"Undead Boost!"

Fwoom, fwoom, fwoom!

I strengthened the Wisps even further with 【Necromancy】. The Wisps affected by the spell shook their heatless flames. The strengthening seemed to be working properly, which was a relief.

At this point, less than half of my mana remained. There was only one thing left to do. I waited for the right moment... Now!

"Star Magic Circle: Remote Activation! Evil Spirit Summoning!"

"Kyahahahahahahaha!"

Just before the flock of birds joined up with the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle, I summoned evil spirits into the very center of the flock. The evil spirits attacked nearby living beings other than me indiscriminately, so they shouldn't intentionally attack their allies.

"Go, Wisps!"

I sent the summoned Wisps toward the enemy while the evil spirits had them confused. Once my minions had infiltrated the flock, there was only one thing left to do!

"Self-destruct!"

"Kieeeeeee!?"

All the Wisps exploded at once, scattering dark-attribute damage around them equal to their remaining stamina. Black fireworks danced through the sky, which had already been darkened by the Black Field.

"This is the last of it! Magic Stone Absorption, Star Magic Circle: Remote Activation, spell adjustment, Dark Wave!"

I poured in almost all of my remaining mana, strengthened my staff with magic stones, and fired five Dark Waves in succession.

My desperate barrage of magic seemed to have been highly effective. Fewer than twenty birds remained, and the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle was battered. Surely that counted as a sufficient result?

But this was the end of the line for me! I was completely out of mana. At this rate, I was nothing more than a black skeleton. I had to recover quickly!

"Mana Gathering Circle! Everyone, hold them off for a while!"

"That's more than enough!"

I deployed a Mana Gathering Circle to recover my depleted mana. All I had to do was let Iris and Genjuro protect me while I devoted myself to recovering my mana as quickly as possible. Until then, Jigoro and Ruby would have to do their best.

"Let's go, Jigoro!"

"Yoshaa!"

The two of them unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks at the wounded birds. My magic had already dealt them considerable damage, and many of them fell because they couldn't evade the attacks. Good! At this rate, we could do it!

"Kiiiaaaaaa!"

"Kikii!?"

Damn! It wasn't going to be that easy! The Twin-Headed Wind Eagle's cry had dispelled their confusion. Not only that, it issued orders to the remaining birds and reorganized their forces, and they began forming a neat formation once more.

Their numbers had already fallen to sixteen, but an organized enemy was not to be underestimated! They say a flock of sheep led by a wolf is stronger than a pack of wolves led by a sheep. Birds of prey led by a boss monster were even more dangerous!

The birds charged toward Jigoro with the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle at their head... or so I thought. Instead, leaving the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle and three Aerial Eagles behind, the rest came toward us! Had they switched to targeting the rear guard!?

Damn it! I had considered the possibility that I might be targeted, but I never expected them to be this thorough!

I must have drawn too much hate by using such flashy magic. But if I hadn't chosen to reduce their numbers in that situation, they would have crushed us beneath their sheer numbers by now...

"Tch!"

"Sorry! They broke through!"

Right, I had to deal with the emergency in front of me. I could hear the frantic voices of Jigoro and Ruby. Thirteen birds would be a serious challenge even for Iris and Genjuro. And now they had me, a burden, to protect as well. We were at an overwhelming disadvantage!

That Twin-Headed Wind Eagle was clearly trying to reduce our numbers one by one. But I wasn't going to let it have its way so easily!

"Dispel! Defense Boost!"

Using the small amount of mana I had recovered, I dispelled the 【Enchantment】 I'd cast on myself before the battle, then raised my physical defense with Defense Boost and readied my scythe. Moving would end the effect of the Mana Gathering Circle, but I would focus entirely on defense and buy us time!

"I'll manage on my own! You two reduce their numbers!"

"Don't do anything reckless, okay!?"

"Understood!"

Unlike the worried Iris, Genjuro's voice was full of excitement. T-This old geezer! He wasn't even trying to hide that defeating enemies was more fun than protecting me! ...Well, there probably weren't many peculiar people who would find joy in protecting a skeleton.

In any case, I had been put in a position where I had to protect myself. I never expected to have to test the results of Jigoro and the others' Spartan training this soon.

"At least it's better than doing nothing. Activate, 【Abyssal Aura】."

I activated 【Abyssal Aura】, which had a cool effect but was far too conspicuous, so I normally kept it turned off. A pitch-black aura that stirred unease merely by being seen seeped from my body.

Huh? The amount of aura had increased slightly from before, and it was denser too. Was that thanks to my Skill level increasing? Yeah, it looked cool, but it was still way too conspicuous.

With my level increase, the chance of inflicting various status ailments had risen to 6%. The probability wasn't zero, so I wanted to believe it would have some effect! Just let it work at least once!

"Kiii!"

"Hah!"

I deflected the Aerial Eagle's 【Charge】 with my scythe as it came diving down from above. It took quite a bit of courage to face an Aerial Eagle charging at high speed head-on. How did all those melee classes endure this!?

But being frightening didn't mean it was impossible to deal with. Its 【Charge】 followed a straight trajectory, so as long as I watched carefully, I could defend against it somehow. As long as I didn't get greedy and try to attack it myself, I should manage.

"Hoooo!"

Perhaps it saw me dealing with the Aerial Eagle as an opening, because a Forest Owl released some sort of wave from behind along with its cry. If I remembered correctly, this was the effect of its 【Sleep】 Skill. Hearing the sound made you drowsy.

My first encounter with it was a nightmare. I had taken heavy damage from 【Ambush】, and Genjuro had fallen asleep from 【Sleep】... I had absolutely no fond memories of that opponent.

"It won't work!"

"Hoo!?"

But you picked the wrong opponent. I had 【Status Ailment Immunity】. 【Sleep】 wouldn't work on me!

Instead, while it was occupied using its Skill, I slashed the Forest Owl with my scythe. Just as I intended, I managed to damage its wing, and it fell to the ground. I immediately finished it off by striking its head with the tip of my staff.

Bird-type monsters that flew through the sky and toyed with you were troublesome, but their low stamina was their one saving grace. Even my strength was enough to bring one down.

"Kii!"

"Keh!"

Guh! This time, an Aerial Eagle and an Iron Woodpecker attacked together. I couldn't handle two birds at once. So I concentrated on reliably deflecting the Iron Woodpecker's attack, since its blows were heavier. I had no choice but to give up on the Aerial Eagle!

"Tch! Ngh!"

I managed to deflect the Iron Woodpecker's attack, but although I twisted my body, the Aerial Eagle's attack still grazed me. Apparently, I couldn't avoid taking damage after all.

Besides, the arm I used to deflect the Iron Woodpecker's attack was slightly numb. That was proof that I hadn't diverted the force completely. Jigoro and the others had drilled combat skills into me through Spartan training, but applying them against nonhumanoid opponents was difficult.

Even so, I was somehow holding out thanks to 【Enchantment】 and my scythe. I just had to endure like this until Jigoro and the others arrived...

"Aaaah!?"

"Iris!?"

"Hm!? No!"

Iris's scream drew my attention toward her. Had she been struck by the beak of the Iron Woodpecker approaching from behind? Its destructive power was enough to break even her tough cell walls.

And as if directed by the Twin-Headed Wind Eagle, an Aerial Eagle was diving from the sky at precisely the right moment! Naturally, its target was the part of her that had already been damaged.

She was certain to take massive damage, and in the worst case, she could even die instantly! Genjuro was too far away to make it in time. Jigoro and Ruby were in no position to help either. In that case...

"Haaaaah! Great Slash!"

I was the only one who could go! I threw myself between Iris and the Aerial Eagle and intercepted it with Great Slash, the most powerful Scythe Art technique currently available to me!

"Gah...!"

"Kyeee...!"

But countering such a speed-focused fighter while coming through unscathed was apparently too much for me. I managed to hit it with my scythe, but I took its attack head-on.

I was blown away, bounced several times like a ball, and then rolled across the ground. My vision spun in circles, and I started to feel sick...

The fact that I could feel sick told me I had somehow survived. However, my stamina bar was barely flickering. I probably didn't even have one percent left!

To think one blow could do this much... But if my defense hadn't increased even slightly thanks to my evolution and the extra bones I gained then, and if I hadn't had Iris's armor, I would certainly have died.

Honestly, my own frailty nearly brought tears to my eyes. And was the damage from bouncing off the ground so excessive because of 【Blunt Vulnerability】? This was ridiculous.

At the edge of my vision, I could see the Aerial Eagle approaching in slow motion to deliver the finishing blow. It was probably the same one I had intercepted. Damn it, I hadn't finished it off? I had suspected as much because the blow had felt so light, but bad predictions had a way of coming true.

Oh, well. My first death, right here. I hadn't finished off the enemy, and it was hard to say I'd protected my companions either. How embarrassing. I was painfully reminded that the road to becoming a cool villain was still a long one.

...Wait, why was I still alive? Hurry up and finish me... Huh? What? The enemy really was moving in slow motion. Was this that familiar phenomenon from fiction, where everything around you appears slow right before you die?

"Ah, right. I had that, didn't I...?"

I remembered something: a certain Skill of mine that I had completely forgotten because I had never used it even once since obtaining it.

"Giiia!?"

"It activated for the first time, 【Dragon Factor】."

As the Aerial Eagle charged at me, I casually caught it in one hand and muttered.