──Miranda was in a hard fight.
「This might be a bit hard.」
At the beginning she was able to face the enemy with composure, but something happened that made the situation changed drastically.
It was the griffon.
Other than the corpses of orcs and ogres nearby, there was also the corpse of a hippogriff lying on the ground.
The golems she created with her Art were facing the griffon.
She created a black spider and panther. Both of them were bigger than six meter, but they were forced into a hard battle against the griffon.
When the griffon opened its mouth widely and let out a loud voice, the surrounding allies would cover their ears. Even Miranda felt pained in her ears.
「You've been noisy since some time ago!」
She sent her spider to rush it, sent her panther to jump on it, and Miranda herself was throwing her special knives at it.
The griffon trampled the spider, and shook free from the panther biting on its body.
The blade of the knives Miranda threw was created from clay. When it touched the griffon's body, the knife would stick on the body and caused explosion.
「……This is really frustrating.」
The griffon was slowly walking out from the smoke that was caused by the explosion. The golem in the form of panther was grabbed by its front leg and then it was crushed in its grip. The golem turned into sand and vanished.
The spider was also stepped on and vanished. There was no more wall in front of Miranda.
(Even my golem lost in power. I also used up all the explosives I brought, can I make do somehow with my remaining tools?)
It was going well until the middle.
She used her tools like explosive and directed the battle to an advantageous direction. But, the situation was overturned with the griffon's entrance.
The griffon didn't even show any sign of getting damaged.
(Honestly speaking I was underestimating it. I thought I can do it because the hippogriff was defeated easily but……certainly anyone who can defeat this can be called a hero.)
It was completely different in everything compared to hippogriff.
Miranda let out string from her left hand. She formed a net with her sticky string and threw it to the griffon.
When the griffon stirred due to the sticky sensation, the net entangled it.
She threw several more nets to seal its movement, but the griffon forcefully spread out its wings and flapped, shaking its body. The strings were scattered to the surrounding with that.
「This thing, isn't cute at all.」
While Miranda was luring the griffon, her allies brought the prepared net.
「Captain, please leave it to us!」
The net was thrown by the knight's order and the griffon was captured. The knights and soldiers pulled the rope connected to the net.
「You won't be able to move with this!」
The griffon didn't even try to dodge. Mrianda ordered everyone.
「Let go of the rope right away!」
「──Heh? NUWAAAA!」
When the griffon swung its body, dozens of men holding the rope were swung around and sent flying.
The griffon then freed itself by cutting apart the net using its beak and claws, and then it opened its mouth just slightly. That face looked like it was laughing.
「It got bad personality.」
Miranda used the time that the soldiers bought her to form the framework of golem around her. The surrounding ground rose up and clung on the framework as flesh.
Her form that was clad in golem was like when she fought Lyle.
A spider woman like arachne.
「This isn't a form that I really want to display, so I've got to finish this quickly.」
The griffon stooped down and leaped after seeing Miranda's figure. With its speed, the distance had been closed when she noticed. Griffon's largely opened mouth was approaching.
Miranda's upper body came out from the spider's head part.
The golem's arms were big and the legs were eight spider legs.
She ran backward on the ground to take distance, but the griffon's movement was fast. When the griffon swung its front leg and its claws hit the ground, that part was gouged.
「You-!」
She jumped to get above the griffon, but the griffon leaped backward and ran to the sky.
When she looked up, the griffon swooped down and grabbed Miranda's lower body before moving to soar to the sky once more.
(No good! I've to cancel this right away──)
If she got carried high to the sky, she would be tortured to death there or thrown to the ground. Miranda wanted to avoid that and dispelled her golem. She fell to the ground.
The distance to the ground wasn't that great, but the griffon attacked Miranda in the middle of her fall. Miranda who couldn't move midair wrapped a string from her right hand to the griffon to forcefully change her trajectory.
She escaped from the claws with a movement like a pendulum. She cut off the string and took distance from the griffon.
When she tried to land, the momentum was too strong and she rolled around on the ground, but she quickly stood up. However──.
「……This monster is really abnormal.」
The griffon was already coming down right beside Miranda.
It lifted its front leg to tear apart Miranda with its claws.
(──Not yet!)
The instant she was about to take her next action.
「I WON'T LET YOUUUUUU!」
「Lyle!?」
Lyle came running and landed a knee strike with all his strength on the griffon's head──.
While running at full speed, I saw the griffon approaching Mirandsan.
It was trying to tear apart Mirandsan with its front leg's claws. I exerted even more strength to run and prevented that from happening──and noticed that I didn't bring any weapon.
If it was like this then for now I'd just send the griffon flying. Using the Jewel's power──I used Arts and strengthened my body and kicked the ground.
I was thinking to kick the griffon's head, but my momentum was too strong I couldn't adjust my posture and landed a knee strike.
However, it was a clean hit. That was why, there was no problem!
『That's why I told you to bring your weapon!』
『What're you doing, Lyle?』
『It's good that you make it in time when Miranda is in a pinch.』
『Yosh, continue right away to the griffon subjugation.』
『Lyle, you're thrilled right!?』
『This is one majestic griffon! It's worthy to be prey!』
Perhaps because it was hit by my knee strike in full strength, the griffon escaped to the sky.
It was searching for the one kicking it from the sky. When it saw me in front of Mirandsan, it bared its claws in anger and noisily cried 'gyaa gyaa, kii kii' noisily.
……My ears hurt.
Mirandsan explained the situation behind me.
「You saved me. It went well until the middle but, that guy came and acted as it pleased. I'm also worn out. It's the first time I'm cornered by this much since Lyle.」
「It's that strong?」
「It's at different level from hippogriff. Or perhaps it's at different dimension. Even I am completely helpless. Even after using up most of the tools I had, I only managed to scratch it.」
「……That's terrifying.」
Mirandsan was looking really tired.
「For now let's buy time. Perhaps we'll be able to defeat it somehow if we surround it.」
I really wanted to do just that but, the fellows inside the Jewel were noisy. Since some time ago they were clapping their hands rhythmically saying「One-on-one! One-on-one!」.
I looked back and smiled.
「Sorry. One-on-one fight is Walt House's style.」
Mirandsan opened her mouth wordlessly from surprise at the beginning, and then.
「Lyle, you'll die.」
「I've no plan to die. Well, I'll manage somehow so during that time please reorganize the troops.」
I wished Mirandsan would get back on her feet as well as doing something about this situation.
The battle was still not over after all.
「Now, come──this bird bastard chief.」
──Monica returned to the evacuation site and confirmed the situation. Her expression darkened.
「……To think that boy who I thought as someone reasonable would go outside.」
Luka's mother was apologizing to Monica.
「I'm sorry. He was gone when I took off my eyes from him for a bit. That boy, he saw Lyle-sama being chased by hippogriff.」
They gave up fixing the entrance and put up a barricade there.
(……I should go searching for him but, I also can't leave this place.)
She couldn't expose everyone who was evacuated here to danger just for the sake of Luka alone.
(Even telling chicken dickwad is impossible because he is in the middle of battle right now. It's also problematic that I can't leave this place, and above all else……)
Ahead of her gaze, there was Norma trembling from seeing hippogriff and ogre from close by.
She would be useless like this.
(It also doesn't look like she can be entrusted with sending message.)
Monica prioritized protecting this place just like the plan at first──.
Thinking carefully, wasn't it a mistake to face a large monster using thin sword like saber?
The griffon that was so big I needed to look up to it had a large head of eagle and the lower body of a lion……it was a monster with four legs despite being a bird.
It also had large wings.
The saber I had felt unreliable.
If I was asked what I wanted to say, this wasn't a creature to be challenged by a single human.
It was shouting *Kuwaaah!* or *Guwaaah!* while thrusting its large beak at me.
Its movement was also fast. That strength could open a hole if it crashed on a building's wall.
「Don't screw around! How do you fight this kind of thing!?」
『You can do it!』
『Show your guts. Guts!』
『Pathetic. There're many things you can try.』
『Isn't it great because you can't defeat it easily?』
『Lyle, can't you show how you've grown up slightly?』
『This is a path that us and also our predecessors had walked. By the way, it seemed that in the past people even defeated it barehanded.』
I'm different from you guys, I'm not a savage who would challenge this fight barehanded.
The griffon extended its front legs at me. Its rear legs were certainly lion's legs, and yet its front legs were the legs of bird. The claws were approaching so I rolled to dodge while slashing but──.
「Hard!」
The sensation was different when I slashed.
I rolled and ran around, and then I only attacked bit by bit.
In that case. I changed my grip on my saber and stepped deeply toward the approaching griffon and thrust my blade. The blade cut apart the griffon's skin and entered for several centimeter but──.
「Shit!」
I was the one unable to endure and pulled out my blade. Even the flesh was hard. I got fed up and pointed my left hand.
「Thunder Bullet!」
I fired my magic. It created crackling sound and light attacked the griffon. But it charged at me without any considerable damage.
I escaped with a dash.
「GOD DAMN ITTTTT!」
The pursuing griffon leaped to the sky.
When I turned around and took a stance, the Second gave me advice.
『Calm down. Lyle, certainly the enemy is big and strong. It's honestly powerful.』
I calmed my breathing's roughness.
『But you see……in this world there is no monster who can't die. No matter what kind of monster it'll have vital spot and weak point.』
I got it. However, griffon and dragon that would make you got treated as hero if you defeated them were race with few such weak point. Because of that I was troubled like this.
I tightly grasped the Jewel.
It would be easy if I could just finish it off with the First's great sword, but it was difficult to handle that great sword that was like a raging horse. It would be great if it hit the griffon, but it would be scary if I missed.
The great sword would take away all my mana with one swing. If I missed, I would collapse in front of the griffon.
It would be great if I could approach near and landed a hit, but in the first place such attack──would be something the griffon was on alert against.
I looked up at the griffon that was circling above me.
「Close range. If I can get into a close range……that's right. If I can ride on that guy's back」
I got an idea. What should I do to carry it out──.
The griffon was flying in circle above, but then it showed a posture of swooping down toward me. In that timing I held my saber in my mouth by biting it.
I emptied both my hands and took a rope that fell near me. Its length was also enough, and it was also solid.
The Sixth spoke 『Hou』 in admiration, but right now I had no leeway to talk.
The griffon nosedived. It fell vertically, and then it spread open its wings to fly straight at me.
Fast. If I lost focus I would be captured by those claws, or a hole would be opened in my body. Or perhaps I would be blown away into pieces.
I used my Arts in full power.
My body was making ripping sound and bluish white flame blazed from my body. It wasn't a flame that was burning my body. It was the last stage of the First's Art.
I measured the distance using the Second's Art.
I focused all my mind and crouched to wait the griffon in order to decide the battle here.
I exerted all my strength. I wouldn't be able to do the same thing multiple times.
The griffon thrust its front leg to capture me. In that instant, I held the rope with both arms and formed a circle──and placed it around the griffon's neck. I imagined strangling its neck.
Because I was focusing, the surrounding's motion felt slow.
The expression, movement, all those things of the approaching griffon looked clear.
I kicked the ground and leaped to mount the griffon's back.
The griffon rampaged.
The griffon tried to shake me off from its back. I held its torso tightly using my thighs and tightened the rope while handling it like a rein.
「I chaughf fhouu」
I was biting my saber so I couldn't speak clearly, but I wanted to say 'I caught you'.
I used the rope to strangle the neck of the bird bastard that had put me through many hardships using all my strength.
The griffon cried while rampaging.
It felt like riding a raging horse.
However, it smelled worse than a horse. Even though I was riding a griffon, rather than feeling happy the smell was making me disillusioned. In addition the lion torso looked like it was covered with bushy fur, but it was strangely sticky. The texture was the worst.
The rampaging griffon charged to a building and smashed through the wall, even so I didn't let go.
I strangled the griffon with all my strength. It seemed to be suffering. A lot of drool was flowing from its mouth.
The griffon flew up.
──Troublesome.
「I whon't lhet fhou」
I squeezed out my mana and used magic in full power. Fire would burn the rope. Lightning was the same.
In that case, the best option among the remaining options would be water.
「Water……Storm!」
Water spouted out from the ground and whirled to envelop me and the griffon. The force was great and created a water tornado that even the griffon couldn't oppose. The inside was like a storm in the sea. We were intensely swung around and unable to breath.
My body was brought toward the sky fast.
When I noticed, I could see the cloud. We were launched until a place at the same height with the cloud.
……I overdid it.
『……What's this?』
The Third's astonished voice.
The Second was also unable to hide his surprise.
『Eh, magic? The water tornado just now was Lyle's magic?』
I was also surprised. To think that it would be this powerful, I never even imagined it. Anyway my eyes were swirling. It felt like I would fall from the griffon's back if I lost focus.
When I looked below, the town where we were fighting looked really small. I was made to realize that I was fighting in a really small place.
The griffon seemed to be losing its sense of direction too from getting suddenly launched up. It was hovering unsteadily in the sky. It barely maintained a sense of balance to fly.
Right now was a chance, but if I finished off the griffon in this height then I would also fall and lost my life.
My mana was also at the limit. I also didn't feel like I would be able to do something skillful like using magic one more time to reduce my falling speed.
It was extremely cold because I was high in the sky while soaking wet.
My breath was white. It felt like my stamina was taken away along with my body temperature. Even the blue flame blazing out from my body was vanishing.
My limit was also near.
The griffon was slowly decreasing its altitude.
I wished that we could arrive on the ground slowly like this, but before that this guy might return to its senses and shook me off.
My sight looked hazy.
At that time──.
『Lyle, aim at the heart.』
I heard the Second's voice.
『These guys are simply tough. Especially the like of griffon, it's not rare for them to keep rampaging for a while even after their body is pierced through. A stab into the heart. If you do that, even if this guy weaken it should be able to continue flying somehow. It'll lose any leeway to mind about you.』
Heart……even if I was told that I didn't know where it was located.
『You have my Art aren't you? Sharpen your senses, then you should be able to sense even the opponent's heartbeat.』
The Second's Art was conveying the state of inside the enemy's body to me.
I let go of the rein and grabbed my saber.
『Aim at the gap between the bones from its back and stab. You get it? Finish it off with one attack.』
「……Yes.」
When he concentrated, it felt like he could see until inside the griffon's body. He felt the beat of the pulsing heart and he even understood the position of the bones accurately.
Thick skin and thick fur.
In order to pierce through those, he grabbed the saber's hilt with both hands──and stabbed the blade with all his strength.
The blade aiming toward the heart from the back pierced inside the griffon's body and its tip reached the heart. The saber stabbed in until the limit.
Then, the griffon rampaged around. Even now with its heart pierced, the griffon was still resisting. He could only feel astonished. The saber was still stabbed. The more it rampaged the wider the wound became, and yet it didn't quiet down even then.
Within the cold air, the griffon's blood showered me. the blood was warm.
I gripped the saber with all my strength.
「Even if the outside is no good if it's inside──what about thiissss!」
I fired magic without holding back anything. Electricity was produced from my body. It flowed through the saber into the griffon's body.
The rope strangling the griffon's neck burned into ash due to the electrical discharge. I wrung out the remaining mana from my body and converted it all into magic. Lightning was overflowing from my body like sparks that scattered to the surrounding.
Even then the griffon continued resisting. The strength of its vitality was absurd.
The griffon cried remarkably loudly and gave off the burnt smell.
「Not yet, NOT YETTTT!」
The griffon was rampaging, but the electricity flowing from the stabbed saber burnt the inside of its body, and then it spasmed and spewed out white smoke from its mouth.
The magic was gradually receding and I who was breathing roughly was also at my limit.
When I pulled out the saber, the smell of burnt meat came from inside the griffon's body. Above the sky, the white smoke must be water vapor. The smoke was blown away by strong wind.
At this point, the griffon's movement was finally becoming frail.
I looked at my saber.
「I heard that it's good quality weapon but……it really endured well.」
It didn't snap when used to face griffon, and then it also endured my magic. This saber was really reliable.
『Lyle, great job!』
The Second praised me. His words were warm and happy as though he was feeling joy for something he had done himself.
With a sorrowful shout, the griffon cried high in the sky──its voice reverberated far away and it began to struggle. It flapped its wings as though resisting from simply falling down. It was struggling with everything it had. What was different from before was how frail it felt.
When the ground was getting near, I could see the town's outer wall.
「Over there is──the place where Arisan is at?」
It looked like the battle was over.
There was sign of the soldiers going out of the city because there was no need to be on guard toward the sky anymore and fought the monsters there.
All four sides were victorious.
──In other words, it was our victory.
『What, so even Aria and Sophia were working hard.』
The Second's voice sounded happy.
I was already near my limit, I stopped using Arts and clung on the griffon.
The griffon was flying on the sky unsteadily and approached the outer wall. The griffon became unable to even control its direction and crashed hard through the wall.
I was thrown away to the air by the impact.
「Lyle!」
The one who leaped and caught me was the blood soaked Arisan. Arisan's warmth was transmitted to my freezing body.
Arisan landed on the ground with a slide.
「Aa, finally the ground.」
「Lyle, you're soaked wet! Besides you're cold for some reason.」
Right now I was unable to say things like feeling shy or the like.
When I turned my gaze to the griffon, it was surrounded by knights and soldiers who were watching the situation. It didn't look like it was alive at all, but it helped that they were still on their guard even then.
Inside Arisan's arms──it was warm and pleasant.
「……Please let me be like this for a bit. It was really cold I couldn't stand it.」
Arisan's face was bright red.
「……It's fine but, I'm dirty from the blood spurt all over me.」
「Aa, you don't need to worry about that. I'm also smeared in blood, in addition there is also this animal smell. I'm soaked wet and it's cold.」
It had become evening when I noticed. I could see grey cloud at the sky.
「Looks like I'm still in better state than you. Come on, I'll lend you a shoulder so stand up. You'll catch a cold at this rate. I'll bring you to where everyone is.」
「Thank you.」
I felt relieved thinking that it was finally over. Tension left my body and my strength was also vanishing all at once. However, I didn't lose my consciousness like usual. I felt happy just from that.
I could even hear applauses from inside the Jewel.
『With this Lyle is also an adult. There isn't anything else that I can teach him.』
『Well~, I wonder about that. After all he is still ignorant of the world after all.』
『There're a lot of things that he still has to learn, but with this Lyle is also an adult.』
『The griffon was really big and strong. Like this there isn't anything to complain about.』
『You're right. However, at my era it was a powerful griffon that was bigger and more cunning──』
『Please leave your bragging for later. Lyle, you did great. As expected from a man of Walt House.』
……These people were really noisy. They were also, people who could be relied on. They were always noisy and free. It was bothersome for me who got bossed around by them but……it didn't feel lonely.
Compared to when I was in the mansion, it was really warm. I felt happiness even from this noisiness.
「Lyle, can you stand?」
「Somehow.」
I borrowed Arisan's shoulder and stood up, then I could see Luka's figure at the distance.
「Eh……why is he outside?」
──Luka rushed out from the evacuation site.
It was because he was anxious about Lyle's safety.
「Err, if I climb to a high place then I'll be able to find him right away──」
For Luka who lost his father, Lyle who was looking after him was an existence who was like an elder brother. When he asked him why he was acting kind to him, he said 「A request from some people, and atonement, I guess?」.
He didn't really get it but, Luka himself also felt closeness with Lyle.
He saw such Lyle getting chased by a hippogriff. He became uneasy and went out because he was still childish.
He climbed to a high place in the town with his small body. There was an old watch tower there. Because it was tattered and in the verge of crumbling, Lyle didn't choose that place as the spot to take command from. A part of the wood was rotting. It would creak and shook if an adult climbed it.
But, a child like Luka could climb it. He was told by his parents that it was dangerous, but the children of the town were always playing there. It was also a familiar place for Luka.
He climbed and searched where Lyle could be. Then he heard a loud sound from the direction of the wall.
「The, the wall was destroyed!?」
Luka was surprised. He understood that if the wall was destroyed, the monsters would surge in. However, the situation was strange.
The adults were cheering.
When he looked carefully, he found Lyle's figure.
The eyesight of Luka who was a son of a hunter was good. He could see the scene clearly.
Lyle's safe figure──and then the griffon that was lying unmoving on the ground nearby.
Luka became happy and waved his hand energetically.
「Lyle-sama won! He took revenge for dad! Ooooii!」
He raised his voice from extreme happiness. Luka continued to wave his hand toward Lyle──.