The One-Eyed Giant

The Goat Monsters' horns grew in tight spirals, tapering to sharp points.

They used them to thrust upward, hooking or impaling their targets.

The horns' hardness rivaled steel in some individuals, though they detached easily after death.

Every last horn had come loose from the monsters Alexia had incinerated.

Yohane confirmed the area was safe and grabbed one of the charred Goat Monster horns.

It crumbled to pieces at his touch, disintegrating in an instant.

The horns could be ground into powder for use as a medicinal ingredient and sold to alchemists, so losing them was a real shame.

As for the meat, if they cut away the burned portions, it looked salvageable.

That would be tonight's dinner, then.

At the very least, he could consider it saving them the cost of a meal.

Yohane decided to think of it that way.

Being able to harvest the magic stones was a silver lining, at least.

After the Goat Monsters, a colossal Tree Monster appeared, and Azu engaged it.

Multiple vines lashed out trying to ensnare her, but she evaded with nimble movements and cut through any that came close.

Elza had finished her blessings and joined the fight, though her mace didn't seem very effective.

"Burning live wood is no easy feat. Firewood catches in an instant, but this…"

So said Alexia as she pelted it with fireball after fireball.

Living wood was full of moisture, not dried out like kindling.

Without the water content having evaporated, it simply wouldn't catch fire.

Still, Alexia's fire magic was powerful in sheer output.

Each impact charred the spot it struck.

Even without spreading flames, the effect was more than sufficient.

Naturally, materials were not forthcoming.

Yohane had come here dreaming of mountains of harvestable materials, yet here he was, scrounging through what meager scraps survived.

"… I'm starting to feel a bit guilty."

Alexia muttered, looking uncomfortable as she watched Yohane, her master, picking through burnt remains.

Yohane told her to keep at it, then responded to her muttering while still gathering what he could.

"Can't be helped. Holding back and putting yourselves in danger would be worse."

"I'm sorry about this."

Orleans apologized, while atop her head the Fire Elemental danced merrily.

The barrage of fire magic had strengthened the ambient fire energy, putting the spirit in high spirits.

"At this rate, I could probably even take on a court mage."

Alexia raised her right hand as she said this.

That alone sent a massive pillar of fire hurtling toward the Tree Monster, finishing it off.

The pillar was so enormous that it just barely singed the tips of Elza's hair.

Long hair came with its hazards, but Elza pinched the charred ends between her fingers and leveled a stare at Alexia.

"Alexia-chan… anything you'd like to say?"

"You were standing in the wrong spot."

"Hair is a girl's life, you know. So mean."

Elza slumped in dejection.

Meanwhile, the next monster was already emerging.

An Armor Monster wielding a black sword and shield.

Humanoid in shape, but hollow inside.

"Oh, come on, I'll fix your hair later, so focus!"

"Okay, okay. Whatever you say, Azu-chan."

Azu barked the order while holding her sword at the ready.

Elza was still unhappy about it, but she followed Azu's lead and turned her attention back to the fight.

The Armor Monster proved far tougher than the previous enemies, but against Azu's well-coordinated team, it wasn't an unbeatable foe.

Once they'd destroyed enough of the armor, it stopped moving.

The sword, shield, and remaining armor pieces were all in reasonably good shape. Finally, some proper spoils of war.

The magic stones were decent, too.

And so they continued, killing every monster that appeared.

Fortunately, once a monster emerged, there was an interval before the next one appeared.

As long as they could defeat each one in that window, they wouldn't be overwhelmed by numbers.

Monsters that spawned in packs tended to be weaker, which Alexia's area-of-effect magic dispatched handily.

Yohane busied himself collecting magic stones during the lulls.

Orleans helped too.

They tried moving magic stones and materials to accessible spots for Elza and Azu to grab, but whenever a monster appeared, combat took priority, so it wasn't terribly efficient.

Alexia maintained a constant state of readiness, preparing spells between waves.

Even with all the various boosts and her above-average mana reserves, the sustained combat was beginning to take its toll.

Azu had dodged every single monster attack and taken no damage.

But even her agile movements were starting to lose some of their earlier sharpness.

Elza alone showed no signs of fatigue.

Perhaps it was her healing miracle, or the effects of her blessing.

Her contributions grew more prominent as the battle wore on.

By the time the sun began dipping behind the mountains, they had felled a monstrous three-headed Bird, each head sporting an enormous beak.

That one had been relentlessly tenacious.

Yohane had had to scoop up Orleans and flee as the creature thrashed wildly across the area before it finally went down.

Azu drove her sword into the ground and leaned on it like a cane.

Her breathing was ragged, and beads of sweat fell from her chin to the earth.

Elza, too, could no longer hide her exhaustion.

Alexia was nearly out of mana entirely.

The monster wellspring's presence had faded dramatically compared to the start. It was clearly on the verge of drying up.

But it hadn't dried up yet.

And then the sun vanished completely, and night set in.

Thanks to the Fire Elemental, they weren't fighting in total darkness, but that was the only comfort.

The monster wellspring shuddered.

The telltale sign of another monster emerging.

Black mist dissipated as it summoned the creature forth.

"Give it a rest already!"

Alexia couldn't help but curse.

Azu drew a deep breath, steadied herself, and raised her sword.

Her fighting spirit hadn't wavered. Admirable.

Elza renewed her blessing on the entire group.

She carried herself with a solemnity befitting a priestess.

The final monster was a One-Eyed Giant.

A creature said to rival dragons in power.

That said, the one that appeared was only about twice Yohane's height, hardly the fearsome behemoth its reputation suggested.

Most likely, the monster wellspring simply hadn't had enough power left.

The One-Eyed Giant swung its club down at Azu.

It missed, slamming into the ground with a tremendous impact.

Azu dodged and circled behind it, slashing with her sword.

But the wound she'd managed to inflict sealed itself almost immediately.

Regeneration and raw strength on a completely different level from ordinary monsters.

It brought to mind Etoroki, the werewolf they'd fought before.

At full strength, this wouldn't have been a problem. But as the last opponent after an entire day of fighting, it was an incredibly tough draw.