C100
When the Divine Beast was cornered by Terence and Vinetta, my eyes caught it.
The scene where a stone the size of a human hand's palm fell from the shiny body of the beast.
As shown in the novel, when the Divine Beast was in danger, it tried to escape.
"Vinetta! You must catch it!"
Vinetta did what I told her and quickly pursued the meteorite while Terence cut the form of the beast in half.
"Understood!"
She finally managed to snatch it and ran towards me.
"Divine Beast!"
I reached out my hand and shouted as Liena did in the novel.
"Obediently be mine!"
My hand touched the rough surface of the meteorite.
The meteorite vibrated and radiated light. It was struggling desperately.
"Why, why... are you okay?"
The beast that fell helpless to the ground, more precisely the clone of the Divine Beast, emitted a sound.
Because it was a voice transmitted in my head, the Divine Beast was able to convey its words even with two halves.
"I should have eliminated these guys from the beginning."
This was said about Terence and Vinetta.
"There was no sensation that the attack was blocked by a shield or something. But why...?"
I responded to the clone's question without removing my hand from the meteorite, which is the main body of the Divine Beast.
This is something that will be mine in the future, so I can convey this level of kindness.
"What attacked you were not these two people but the magic stone that Terence imbued with magical power."
The beast's eyes widened.
"You had felt his magic once, and when you felt the same power, you confused the magic stone with it."
The Divine Beast realized our presence in the mine when Terence infused magical power into the magic stone.
In other words, it meant that the Divine Beast could sensibly feel the magical power of other living beings.
Thinking that maybe I could exploit the nature of the Divine Beast in reverse, I came up with a plan.
First, after Terence infused magic into the magic stone, we separated. Both paths had different entrances but led to this place.
Although I boldly appeared first and attracted the attention of the Divine Beast, the two acted in secret.
After placing the magic stone in a suitable place, they hid in a completely different place.
Since both had an artifact with a concealment effect that I gave them before we separated, they could deceive the Divine Beast even more thoroughly.
When I looked inside the backpack, one of the two artifacts that caught my attention was the jewel left by Elliot, and the other was a stealthy artifact.
"It wasn't a very expensive artifact, so the concealment effect might not have been perfect..."
The clone of the Divine Beast received my words.
"I was taken by surprise because I felt that man's magic. If I had paid a little more attention, I might have noticed it."
The shattered body of the animal turned into two small beams of light.
"You..."
The two halos merged into one slightly larger one.
"I thought you were a foolish person blinded by greed, but you're quite intelligent."
It was a sudden compliment.
"Moreover, you can face the attack of my entire body without any protection. Even if you had prepared a plan, it was something you couldn't even attempt if you were ordinary."
"Oh, that is..."
I was going to explain that, in the first place, it wasn't my intention to do that. But something completely unexpected happened.
"Ethel!"
Terence, who had not lowered his guard and was watching the halo of light with Vinetta, ran towards me.
"As expected, were you attacked without a magical barrier? Why did you do something like that?"
He seemed very angry.
"You promised me that you would always use the bracelet!"
"C-calm down."
"What should I calm down about? It could have been really dangerous if Elliot Rudd's artifact wasn't as good as you expected!"
He examined my body meticulously with serious eyes. It seemed he was checking if I had any injuries.
"I'm fine. I'm fine!"
I said that, but honestly, it hurt. This was because the jewel that Elliot handed over to me crumbled like dust.
"I was very lucky."
Perhaps, if the Divine Beast's attack had been stronger or the eccentric inventor who created the artifact had been less competent, my body might not have thrived.
That's why Terence and Vinetta handed me their bracelets.
Even if everything is destroyed, once there is a magical barrier, the Divine Beast's attacks against me will weaken.
After a while, Terence's mood decayed when he confirmed multiple times that I was not injured at all.
"...I'm sorry. I can't believe I was shouting loudly."
"No. I was really reckless."
"I know why you did that. You probably wanted to deal a bigger blow to the Divine Beast."
Since the artifact's effect was a reflection, the more risks I took, the more chances I had to win against my opponent.
At the moment I saw the countless beams of light created by the Divine Beast, I made a decision. I decided to prioritize our victory over my own safety.
"But please don't do this again."
His voice trembled painfully. For some reason, his facial expression didn't look very good.
"You should value yourself more."
"Terence..."
Vinetta also added.
"I agree."
I couldn't bear to say anything. When I removed the bracelet, I couldn't even think about the people who cared so much about me.
It only filled me with the desire to defeat the Divine Beast and the desire to be of help as well.