Nature's Threat

An adventurer clinging to the Ice Golem's leg was sent flying.

Its mere walking was a disaster.

With every step, the ground shook and accumulated snow scattered.

Normally in situations like this, even if the vanguard got injured, priests would heal them and they could quickly return to battle.

So even if the fight dragged on, the reduction in fighting strength wasn't that significant.

However, due to the troubles with the Church of the Sun God, the total number of priests had decreased drastically. Including Elza, there were only a handful of priests handling healing miracles.

While working as adventurers was officially allowed, many had left the Kingdom due to the awkward situation.

As a result, healing couldn't keep up, and the number of people knocked away by the Ice Golem and leaving the front lines was increasing.

They received just enough treatment to walk and were sent back inside the city walls.

The only ones left were veteran mid-rankers; the lower ranks had all fallen back.

(I wish Elza-san could help with the whittling down too.)

The ice was incredibly tall and thick.

Rather than gathering ordinary forces, it would be easier to have a strong power chip away at it all at once.

"The arm's been worn down quite a bit!"

A large adventurer swung his hammer and chipped away at the ice.

What had been a thick arm was now worn thin in the middle and looked unreliable.

"I'll break it off!"

Azu shouted, then jumped onto the Ice Golem's raised foot.

She wound up her sword and focused power in her legs, leaping from there toward the now-thin left arm.

They were getting quite close to the city walls.

She wanted to break off the arm here and end this with the next spell from the mage unit.

Azu released the power of the Apostle.

Rainbow colors appeared in her right eye, and powerful energy coursed through her entire body.

"Take this!"

Carrying the momentum from her jump, she swung the wound-up sword with all her might.

The instant it connected, tremendous hardness transmitted through her hands, but it didn't matter.

The Sealed Sword Grungaus activated its effect, and the blade shattered through the ice.

She clenched her teeth and poured in even more power. In that moment, the sword suddenly felt light.

The arm had been severed.

With too much momentum, she tumbled through the air several times before crashing to the ground on her back.

"Are you okay?"

Elza rushed over to heal Azu.

"Ow ow. I landed on my hip."

"There, this will heal quickly."

Elza said that and performed her healing miracle.

As the pain in her bruised hip faded, Azu looked at the Ice Golem.

Compared to its initial imposing presence as a mass of ice, it now looked quite pitiful.

One arm had its shoulder gouged and hand blown off from the wrist down; the other arm had been cut off.

Its legs had been worn down by continuous attacks, leaving them uneven and rough.

This wasn't an opponent beyond their ability to handle.

The treatment finished and the pain subsided.

If she could damage its legs now, she could greatly slow its advance.

She readied her sword.

"The next one's a big one! Get clear!"

"Alexia-chan's really going all out."

"Elza-san, I agree, but it's dangerous here."

Azu grabbed the admiring Elza's hand and pulled her back to create distance.

Looking toward Alexia's position, she could see multiple red lights, unlike before.

This was definitely going to be a powerful attack.

The area around the red lights appeared distorted.

Even from this distance, the pressure from the massive amount of mana felt like it was piercing her skin.

"When it comes to fire, that girl really is exceptional."

"Is she? I don't really understand magic."

"Hehe. You'll understand eventually."

Elza said that and put up a barrier around them.

Probably as a precaution against the backlash from Alexia's magic.

The other adventurers had taken cover behind rocks and trees.

The Ice Golem, now having magic aimed directly at it, had completely stopped walking and was staring at the red light.

Multiple red lights converged into a single point.

Yet the intensity of light only increased, brightly illuminating the surroundings while melting the nearby snow.

It was as if another sun had been born.

The small red light moved, or so she thought, and in that instant, the Ice Golem's upper body evaporated.

The light hovered above Azu and the others, illuminating the surroundings.

It had apparently moved at a speed even Azu couldn't perceive and blown away the Ice Golem.

Having lost its upper body, the Ice Golem's center of gravity collapsed, and it toppled over, mowing down trees as it crashed to the ground.

The impact and loud noise momentarily numbed her ears.

The scattered snow instantly melted into water, turning the ground into a muddy mess.

"Search for the core!"

The guild master's voice finally became audible, and they hurried toward the fallen Ice Golem.

A purple gemstone was emerging from its melting body.

Judging this to be the core, Azu stabbed it with her sword.

It felt like very hard rubber, but the blade slowly sank in until it completely pierced through.

Then it shattered.

Once it did, the remaining lower body rapidly melted away, leaving only the broken core behind.

Alexia's magic that had served its purpose slowly faded.

(Is it over now?)

With that thought, she shook the water off her sword and sheathed it.

The moment she turned around to face Elza, the Water Elemental within her body issued a strong warning.

Communication with the Water Elemental still wasn't perfect.

She tried to process what it was warning about.

What's coming, she thought… and in that instant, the shattered core liquefied and reformed.

It began moving away as if fleeing.

Azu was about to chase it when she saw an avalanche heading toward them and stood frozen.

"Run to the city walls!"

At the guild master's signal, the adventurers all broke into a run.

"Let's go!"

Azu was pulled hard by Elza and finally snapped out of it.

"What is that?"

"I don't know. But if we get caught in it, we'd probably die."

A natural threat.

But there shouldn't be any mountains around the city that could cause an avalanche.

Without understanding what was happening, she ran alongside Elza.