Liber sent the greatsword floating toward the pursuing monster.
The exceptional Killer Ant was flying rapidly toward Liber and the others. Sensing the greatsword coming at it, it twisted aside to dodge the conspicuous attack.
After the monster easily evaded it, the greatsword silently turned around and swung toward the wings beating behind its back.
The sharp blade drew near, cutting through the air with a whoosh.
"Bzz!"
The sound of the exceptional individual's wings suddenly grew sharper and more grating. Its body rapidly climbed higher.
After rising to dodge the sneak attack, it abruptly dipped its head and swooped down, seizing the greatsword with its powerful forelimbs.
Its fierce, razor-sharp mandibles opened and closed a few times as if venting its anger, then it let out a piercing shriek.
The same corrosive liquid as before suddenly poured from its mouth, coating the greatsword clamped in its hooked foreclaws.
The greatsword began to corrode, its entire blade melting away like ice cream.
Seeing the blade ruined, Liber gave up controlling it.
He began experimenting with spinning the swords around him to increase their power.
At the command of his thoughts, the broadsword beside Liber slowly began to spin.
It spun faster and faster until, to the naked eye, it looked like an irregularly shaped rod.
He focused on making the broadsword spin faster, hoping this spur-of-the-moment idea would strengthen its power enough to kill the monster in one blow.
When he felt the broadsword spinning faster and faster beside him, he realized he couldn't make it go any faster.
Liber followed his instincts and raised his right hand toward the monster.
The sword spinning rapidly beside him stirred up gusts of wind.
"Bang."
With a sudden crack through the air, it shot straight forward.
Liber sent the still-spinning sword hurtling toward the exceptional individual.
As the sword tore through the air, Lefiya's urgent chant rang out.
"[Arrow of liberation, bow of sacred wood, I am the master archer.]"
Hearing the sound, the monster had just released the greatsword it had sprayed with liquid.
The spinning object reached it before the sound did.
It flew as high as it could, doing its best to dodge the incoming attack.
But it couldn't avoid it completely. It only had time to raise its chest before the spinning broadsword pierced straight through its lower abdomen.
The monster let out a hoarse cry of pain. Its wings seemed to feel the agony and stopped beating, sending its whole body crashing to the ground.
Lefiya fixed her gaze on the monster Liber had stopped. As she chanted, magical light began to glow around her, and she focused all her attention on preparing the spell.
The broadsword had passed through the monster, but Liber was still controlling its spin as he tried to turn it around.
"One more time. Let's finish this." Liber tried desperately to maneuver the broadsword while the monster was weakened, hoping to kill it outright.
"Clang!!"
Suddenly, the spinning broadsword rang out with the sharp sound of metal cracking.
Liber noticed the unexpected development and stopped controlling its spin.
The broadsword slowed gradually, then finally came to a halt in midair.
Looking up at the sword suspended in the air, he saw that only a small portion of the blade remained attached to the hilt.
The rest had shattered into countless fragments, scattering all around them.
The scattered metal shards fell to the ground as Liber watched.
Like the greatsword before it, most were stained with dark red liquid, bubbling as they corroded.
The fragments gradually dissolved in the liquid, blending together until they could no longer be distinguished.
The dark red liquid on the ground was giving off a strange, pungent vapor.
"[Take aim! Fairy Archer!]"
As the monster was knocked down, Lefiya smoothly continued her chant.
The fallen monster pushed itself upright again, crouching on the ground.
Its pierced abdomen lay exposed, its intestines twisted and torn. Blood and fluids of various colors spilled from the hole straight through its body.
They hit the ground together, forming a thick cloud of smoke that corroded everything nearby.
Standing on the ground, it tentatively flapped its wings a few times. Satisfied that they were unharmed, it began beating them rapidly again, slowly lifting itself into the air.
The monster shrieked repeatedly as if enraged, then flew low to the ground, rapidly closing in on them.
Seeing this, Liber gritted his teeth and continued controlling the broken sword, sending it after the monster.
"[Pierce through! Arrow that never misses!]"
The final stage of the chant began, spoken in quick succession.
Lefiya saw the monster rushing toward them, tensed her face, and moved her lips rapidly, speeding up her incantation.
The broken sword under Liber's control caught up and struck at the exceptional individual's beating wings, doing its best to hinder its movements.
The monster paused slightly when struck and, sensing the sneak attack behind it, shifted to the left to avoid the broken sword.
That brief pause disrupted its advance and bought them time.
Lefiya began to proclaim the final name of the spell.
"[Arc Ray]"
The monster in front of them was still rapidly drawing closer.
As the chant ended, Liber stared intently at the approaching monster.
He continued sending the broken sword after it. Suddenly, a powerful gust swept past him from behind.
A beam of light shot past him and flew toward the approaching exceptional individual.
As if it had sensed death beforehand, it stopped advancing, raised its head, and let out a strange cry.
The sound spread all around them, and something stirred among the swarm of ants behind it.
The thick beam of light from Lefiya's spell engulfed the monster from the head down.
As the light faded, the monster's Magic Stone fell to the ground with a crisp, crystalline clink.
Its remaining grotesque head fell alongside it, rolling slowly forward until it came to a stop at Liber's feet.
The head, a little larger than a soccer ball, weakly opened and closed its pincers as if struggling.
Then it stopped moving and began to dissolve.
Liber had just begun to relax when he saw that the swarm of ants, which they had left far behind, was already within sight.
Three red dots suddenly broke away from the dense swarm and headed toward them.
Several more flying Killer Ants—exceptional individuals—were chasing them.
"Why does trouble never let up?"
Liber thought, a little exasperated as he watched them.
Feeling that Lefiya had recovered from casting her spell, Liber turned and held out a hand to her.
He said to her with some resignation, "Looks like we're running for our lives again."
"Mm."
Lefiya, now recovered, looked behind him, then at the hand he was holding out to her.
She held her staff in her left hand, so she naturally placed her right hand in his and smiled at Liber in response.
Seeing her smile, Liber couldn't help smiling, too. He clasped her small hand tightly in his.
Holding her hand, he began another desperate escape.
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