How Do We Beat Him?

Bonfam, the big man engulfed in flames.

Normally he would have suffered severe burns, but he showed no signs of damage.

Some kind of power must have been protecting him.

I'd heard of monsters with bodies made of lava, but a living being burning like this defied the logic of life itself. Fire is what burns life.

Yet here he stood before us.

"Don't flinch! Loose arrows!"

At Mani's signal, the soldiers with bows let fly at Bonfam.

The arrows traced arcs through the air, whistling as they rained down.

"What the hell, this is annoying!"

Bonfam raised his right arm to block the arrows.

Several pierced his flesh, blood splattering.

The blood that fell instantly ignited, charring into stains on the ground.

Was even his insides on fire?!

"Don't let his blood touch you. It'll probably do worse than just burn you."

Alexia's voice rang out.

Perhaps because she wielded fire magic herself, she had sensed that Bonfam's flames were no ordinary fire.

"Tch."

Bonfam grabbed the embedded arrowheads and yanked them out.

Everything but the iron tips burned to ash in an instant.

Even the iron was glowing red-hot from the heat.

"Here, take 'em back."

Bonfam crushed the arrowheads in his right hand, wound up, and hurled them.

"Get down!"

Azu immediately pressed my head down to protect me.

I wondered what was happening. The iron from the arrowheads had melted into liquid and was being scattered everywhere.

Fine particles of superheated iron, broken apart on contact with the air, were heading our way.

"Shields!"

Mani and the others raised their shields to block, but screams came from soldiers who hadn't reacted in time.

It might not be life-threatening, but anyone hit by that wouldn't be returning to combat.

Finn and Alexia dodged it beautifully.

Elza had flipped over a nearby rock to use as an improvised shield.

If arrows could take him down, we could have fought from a safe distance, but this was counterproductive…

"How about I cool that head of yours!"

Alexia unleashed water magic at Bonfam.

A bold spell that simply slammed a massive volume of water into him.

It could have put out even a major fire.

The water magic collided with Bonfam, contacting the flames and evaporating into steam.

Visibility deteriorated as fog spread around us.

… The fog only grew thicker.

The ambient temperature was rising too.

It felt like a sauna.

In other words, the water wasn't extinguishing Bonfam's flames.

Alexia cut off the spell and, taking advantage of the poor visibility, fired off wind magic.

"Ow!"

A voice rang out.

As the fog cleared, Bonfam stood there, his flames slightly diminished.

"Done with the water games? That ain't enough to put out my fire."

With a grunt, Bonfam flexed, and his flames surged back along with his muscles.

… No, they were even stronger than before.

There had been a wound on his chest from the wind magic, but it vanished as if consumed by the flames.

"He regenerates like it's nothing… Just like that princess."

"That said, it doesn't seem to be instant recovery. If we take his head off, it probably won't reattach."

That princess must mean Princess Yupe.

She was an ordinary person now, but when she had harbored the power of an Apostle, she possessed overwhelming physical abilities along with tremendous regenerative power.

Even after being beheaded and her head separated from her body, she had immediately pressed them back together and revived. An astonishing feat.

I'd been shocked when I witnessed it.

The basic assumption that humans die when decapitated had crumbled with an audible crack in that moment.

According to Elza's assessment, Bonfam didn't possess that level of power.

"What should we do? His temperature can melt iron, so freezing him with magic would be difficult."

"If we can't let his blood splash on us, slashing attacks are problematic too. And my daggers couldn't inflict a serious wound to begin with."

Alexia and Finn were deep in thought.

That fire was a major problem.

It severely restricted our options.

Elza's protection and Alexia's support could boost our fire resistance considerably, but even then the heat was dangerously high.

Even the ground at his feet was starting to slightly melt.

"If it comes to it, I'll charge in and take his head."

"That's not a bad plan, but you'd get badly burned."

"… I'd rather not, but if it means protecting Master, I can handle it."

"I appreciate the spirit. But that's a last resort. Alexia-chan, come here for a second. Finn-chan, can you keep his attention for a bit?"

"Easy for you to say."

Finn pulled explosives from her coat and threw them at Bonfam.

But the heat set them off before they could reach him, sound and shockwaves rippling outward.

"Shut up! Throwing all this crap at me!"

"That's because you're so slow, you lummox!"

Finn taunted him, then darted around to keep his attention.

Finn should be able to manage for a while.

"Elza. Did you come up with something?"

"Sort of. His tactics seem to be pure brute force, so I think it'll work."

"Offense and defense wrapped up in those flames, so he doesn't need any tricks. So what's the plan?"

"The idea is we don't need to beat someone like him head-on. If he were a smarter opponent it'd be a different story. Can you dig a deep pit?"

"I've been worked to the bone with earth magic by Master, so yes, I can do that. But it needs to be deep enough, so it won't be instant."

"Mm-hm. Azu-chan and I will buy time, so signal us when it's ready. Let's go, Azu-chan."

"Understood. Master, please stay behind Mani-san and don't move."

"Be careful!"

That was all I could manage as encouragement.

Alexia began concentrating, and the ground started hollowing out on its own.

She was using magic to move the earth.

Elza and the others moved to keep Bonfam's attention away from her work.

Finn fell back momentarily.

She hadn't taken damage, but her breathing was slightly ragged.

The nearby flames must have been making it hard to breathe.

"Got a plan?"

"Yeah. The three of us will stall a bit longer."

"Can I trust you on this?"

"Alexia-san will handle it."

"Fine then."

Finn took one deep breath, and her breathing steadied.

She moved forward with Elza and the others, the three of them taking point.

Bonfam was visibly frustrated.

His flames intensified accordingly.