After meeting with my dad, I continued to walk around the city to calm myself down. By the time I noticed, the moon was already high in the sky, signifying that the time to fight the monster is approaching.
『We should go back soon.』
[Yeah.]
[You really took your sweet time, being late like this.]
[Sorry… various things happened.]
[Fu~hn, do you think you can appease me with such an excuse?]
[I met my dad.]
[Eh!?]
Eris was shocked. Roxy, similarly surprised, covered her mouth with her hand. Both sent me a worried look.
[Are you okay? Did you two fight?]
[We simply couldn’t. Otherwise, the city would’ve been in chaos by now.]
[Of course. Then, did you two talk?]
[About that, well, it’s an information from my dad, so I have no idea how trustworthy it is. First of all, Raine is safe. And she’s working with my dad now.]
[Raine-san is… thank goodness…]
[Yes.]
While listening to their sighs, I kept talking.
[One more thing. About that monster in the desert, dad told me that it’s a sacred beast.]
[Sacred Beast!?]
[What’s wrong? Do you know what a sacred beast is?]
[Un… well. A sacred beast…]
Eris raised her sullen face up towards the sky. And while still staring far into the night sky, she said.
[This battle, it’ll be better if it’s just me and Fate who go.]
[Eeeh!?]
[That maybe a bit too much. Can you tell me why?]
[Sacred beast… it’s not just any Area E monster. Are you sure you can protect Roxy while we are fighting it? If you are unsure, then it’s best to just leave her out of this]
[I will protect her. We will not only fighting the sacred beast alone anyway. We already know that the other monsters around it will also become aggressive.]
I gave Lishua a look, which she replied with a nod.
[We will not be able to focus our efforts on the sacred beast if the small fries keep getting in our way. That’s where Roxy comes in]
[Fai…]
[What I’m trying to say is… If you bring Roxy along to this battle for whatever reason, then you should be prepared for the consequences.]
[That’s…]
[You should’ve realized this already. If she really loves you, then she would’ve done it without any hesitation! Even if there is a risk of collapse phenomenon after reaching Area E.]
[Yeah… I’ll be okay if it really comes to that. Just, give me some time.]
[Fine. That’s what I want to say, but it’s all up to Roxy to decide.]
[Right.]
Having said what she wanted to say, Eris walked away from me. Then, with her usual tone announced our departure.
[Well then! Shall we go now?]
[Got it!]
[Yes!]
Lishua and Mimir saw us off.
[I’m sorry that you have to bear my burden. Godspeed.]
[Fate-sama, Eris-sama, Roxy-sama! Please do your best! If we fail here, then we won’t even succeed in Hauzen.]
[Leave it to us!]
[The sandman’s appearance… it changed. Its form is more rugged, and how should I say this… it’s like they become engulfed in the shadow of madness.]
[Collapse phenomenon?]
[No, not that. It’s like… they were forcibly blessed by the sacred beast.]
[What kind of blessing is that?]
Apparently, the blessing could draw out the creature’s hidden potential.
[Is that even possible? It looks like just causing an already ugly monster to become an even uglier monster to me.]
[Ahaha, that’s true in a way. Not everyone can adapt to the sacred beast’s blessing. If the target can’t adapt, then that is the result. An ugly monster becomes even uglier. But don’t worry. Fate, try to use appraisal skill on them.]
[Okay.]
=====
・Darkness＝Sandman Lv90
Skill: Wind Cutter Magic, Auto Recovery
=====
After appraising the wind cutter magic, I reported the result to both Eris and Roxy.
[Its name is Darkness=Sandman. Its stats are way above the regular sandman. Its strength is close to 300000, and its worst stat is agility at 10000. Its skill is wind cutter magic and auto recovery. The magic seems to be a long range attack by creating a vacuum blade. If you’re out of luck and can’t dodge in time, they could tear you apart from a distance.]
[That’s why, Roxy, please be careful.]
[I will.]
Eris then gave Roxy a look.
[Yosh! Roxy, are you ready?]
[Fighting that?]
[Yes. You will be on your own against them, as we will have our hands full dealing with something else. And I give you one more condition.]
[What condition?]
[Fufufu… how feisty. Before that, these monsters that couldn’t adapt to the sacred beast’s blessing, all of them have『Darkness』prefix. Since Darkness=Sandman is quite a mouthful, let’s just call them Darkness from now on. Fate too]
[Yes.]
[Okay.]
Eris then turned to the darkness, and smiled.
[My condition, Roxy has to be able to kill that darkness within 10 seconds. How about that? If you can’t then it’ll be better if you return to the city]
[Eris!? Are you still against it?]
[Of course. Let me be frank with you. If she has trouble beating that darkness within the time limit, she’ll get into even more trouble later on. I’m very strict when it comes to battle. So, are you up for it?]
Eris turned her line of sight toward Roxy. The girl in question replied without hesitation.
[I will do it. Even without Eris-sama giving this challenge, I myself also wish to know if I am truly capable of doing this.]
[Good! That’s how I like it. Well then, go ahead!]
[It seems that you’re ready.]
[Yes.]
[Then, begin!]
