Chapter 245

Athena charged into the field, scattered with sword claws using her dragon force path.

This time, since there were no enhancements at all, she was relieved that attacks wouldn't come at the level of crossing the dragon armor and dragon force smoke barricade like the first time.

As Athena charged forward while blowing away surrounding objects, the lion-faced monster released a powerful silver lightning strike at itself to become electrically charged.

And when Athena had completely entered the encirclement—at that moment.

The pointed ends of the sword claws standing all around were converted to S-poles of the electromagnet using the silver lightning charge.

Converting its front half to N-pole, it attracted all the surrounding sword claws toward itself at once.

Then dozens of sword claws flew at Athena, who was charging straight at the monster, surrounding her from all directions.

(Well, that's what I expected—)

However, she had anticipated this would happen after realizing that silver lightning was some kind of electromagnet.

That's precisely why this dragon force path was different from usual.

"—Hah!"

"Kuha?!"

The monster naturally thought she would charge in with a tackle like before.

However, when Athena was just a few meters from the monster, she began to decelerate to a speed incomparably slower than before and jumped upward to escape right in front of it.

The monster had thought it was just a meathead skill that could only charge straight ahead at tremendous speed.

However, this time's dragon force path was indeed initially accelerated by lightning attribute.

But partway through, she changed it to wind attribute.

With wind, speed can be adjusted from gale force to gentle breeze.

Therefore, she gradually decreased her speed and, at the end switched to earth attribute for a sudden brake.

And then jumped to escape when momentum had slowed—that was how it went.

The monster was stunned that things hadn't gone as planned, but quickly regained composure and, timing it with when the sword claws would pierce itself, reversed its own polarity to deflect the claws diagonally upward where Athena was.

"Kuhahahaha!"

"Oh. A combination technique, huh."

It fired golden lightning at those deflected sword claws, making them reflect here and there off the claws flying above to prevent Athena from reading their trajectory as they closed in.

Still, Athena calmly shot out ten thin wires total from the gauntlets on both arms to secure several of the incoming sword claws.

While manipulating the wires with earth magic and deflecting the silver lightning that had been charged with her own dragon force, she arranged the sword claws like a shield against the golden lightning that had reflected and was approaching from directly behind.

As intended, it reflected properly, and the golden lightning strike flew off toward the empty ceiling.

"Kuha—"

"Well, how should I put it..."

Athena transformed her dragon armor into a squat, stocky shape, increased its mass using earth attribute, and dropped down heavily in front of the monster.

Then returning the dragon armor to its original form, she switched the body portion to earth attribute, right arm and leg to lightning attribute, left arm and leg to wind attribute, and deployed smoke dragon force of lightning and wind around her.

The monster hastily fired off golden lightning, but it was deflected by several sword claws at the end of Athena's wires and went off in a random direction.

So it fired silver lightning at Athena again. But it was blocked by the lightning-wind dragon force deployed around her and couldn't reach.

Then, it tried switching its polarity to attract the surrounding sword claws.

However, they were deflected by small scythes held in Athena's dragon armor's five tails, merely coming toward itself.

"You know when you were sitting on the throne, I thought you were dangerous"

"Kuhahaha!"

It fired relentlessly at the gradually approaching Athena, charging the sword claws with golden lightning.

Instinct told it that it absolutely must not let her get close.

However, Athena deflected with the wind portions of her dragon armor while catching them with two scythes in her hands, gathering them together on the wires extending from her gauntlets.

"But without that—you're not much, huh?"

"KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!"

Though the monster didn't understand the words, it seemed to comprehend that it was being made fun of, and came charging at Athena in a rage.

Scattering lightning strikes wildly, it swung the sword claws growing from its elbows like a martial arts demonstration.

Athena deflected with the wind portions of her dragon armor while countering with strikes, slashes, and magic.

And slipping through the fierce attacks that, while seemingly chaotic, were clearly aimed to kill, she grabbed the golden horn that was like a crown on the enraged monster's head through her lightning-attribute dragon armor with her right hand.

"That crown is too good for you"

"KUHAHAAAAAAHAHAHAAAA!"

"Ugh—"

Golden lightning was released directly into the hand, trying to tear it off, and even Athena took damage from that.

But Athena, who desperately wanted it, never let go and kept applying force.

However, when it tried to release silver lightning along with that, she kicked its stomach to forcibly stop it.

"So hand it over. That belongs to ME!"

"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?"

With a ripping sound, Athena tore off the golden horn along with part of the skull.

As blood gushed from the monster's head, exposing its brain, she tried to grab the silver horns on both sides as well while she was at it.

But the monster fled at full speed with tears in its eyes.

Since she got what she wanted, Athena figured that was fine and removed the fur and skull to clean just the golden horn.

Then after polishing it with her clothes, she began eating it bit by bit as if eating a cone-shaped ice cream.

"Hmm—...mm...mm—"

While experiencing the strange sensation of something boiling up inside her body, Athena finished off the horn completely without leaving even a fragment of the tip.

|Skill [Brilliant Lightning] acquired.|

She didn't need to check what kind of skill it was. Athena understood it well enough.

Because this was now a property her own body possessed.

"Now I just need to take your life"

"Kuha...kuhaha..."

Athena glared at the monster that was trembling while giving her an unsettling look as if watching something eerie when she started eating its horn.

This one's done for. Feeling slightly disappointed, she gave up on the monster that was gushing blood from its head and gripped one scythe with both hands to use her new power.

When she wrapped it in dragon force and lightning magic using Brilliant Lightning, golden lightning dwelled in the scythe's blade.

And as she swung it horizontally, a golden slash flew out and easily severed the monster's head.

"...Somehow. It turned into quite a pathetic one at the end. Hard to believe it called itself a boss before—!"

As Athena was about to start cleanup while complaining—at that moment. Suddenly, powerful claw slashes rained down.

Athena leapt back reflexively, and five vertical claw marks were carved into where she had just been standing.

And looking ahead, the monster whose head she had severed began rewinding back as if being reversed, then sounds of something breaking from the inside like "boko boko" and "beki beki" could be heard.

Watching cautiously as this happened, its volume kept increasing until there stood a giant lion that must have been five meters tall.

"—KKUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA"

"That roar. I see, so it was you. Which means earlier was just like a preliminary battle, huh"

The opponent was completely unharmed. From its fighting spirit, it could be said that its vitality, stamina, and magical power were all fully recovered.

Meanwhile, Athena was covered in wounds from when it sat on the throne, and though her dragon force was recovering, it had decreased considerably.

She was completely in a state of having messed up her pacing.

"That's not fair. Only you getting fully revived"

However, a smile appeared on her lips as she said this.

The unsatisfying battle could still be enjoyed... she naturally ended up that way toward the monster trying to fulfill her new desire.

And as Athena was recharging dragon force into her scythe, she suddenly noticed its color had turned deep crimson.

And covering the scythe, many sharp crimson teeth formed like a saw.

|Reached [Level: 50]|

|Class changed from Scythe Artist to Battle Dragon|

|Skill [Indomitable Fighting Spirit] acquired|

"Did I break through? —Ah, is this the cause?"

Looking at the deep crimson scythe with many teeth that seemed they would cut just by touching them, she finally understood then that this was a Beast Spirit Technique.

And she was experiencing firsthand the effects of the skill she had just learned as the activation conditions happened to be met.

"Indomitable Fighting Spirit. Just hearing the name, you'd think it means your will to fight won't disappear... Basically, it's a skill that strengthens your status more the higher your fighting spirit is, huh"

Athena deduced this as she directly felt power welling up despite being exhausted.

However, that was slightly incorrect.

This skill indeed provides at least minimal enhancement in any state if fighting spirit is high.

But more important than that are the degrees of injury, fatigue, remaining vitality, and magical power, and other measures of depletion.

And factoring in the opponent's level and degree of depletion as well, the more disadvantageous the situation becomes, the more it rapidly increases status as if multiplying by the quantified fighting spirit at that time. That was the kind of skill it was.

In other words, as long as one's spirit isn't broken, it could be said to hold the possibility of turning around any disadvantageous situation.

And Athena glared back at the giant lion that was watching her vigilantly as the density of her presence suddenly jumped up.

Then, the other side also stepped forward defiantly, and silence flowed for several moments.

"Kuhahahaha!"

"—Hm"

The one who broke the silence was the lion monster.

It moved its huge body with unbelievable speed, elegantly jumped on four legs, and tried to crush Athena with its two lightning-wrapped front legs.

However, Athena easily dodged by shifting sideways while deflecting the leaping lightning strikes with amber smoke changed to lightning attribute.

But as if anticipating exactly where she would move, a worm tail—one that had changed to a more metallic-looking flesh than when it was humanoid—came rushing with its mouth wide open.

"—Haa!"

"—Bi"

Switching the Beast Spirit Technique-wrapped scythe strike that was going to cut its leg, she slashed horizontally at the worm tail attacking from the side.

The slash flew out and severely wounded it from its mouth to about halfway down its side with a clean cut.

But Athena noticed that the magical power forming her body was decreasing.

However, while she was thinking about that, a powerful strike from the right front leg came raining down, so she jumped far back to dodge it.

(Probably the work of that worm from earlier. It tried to eat magic before too. So it had a magic absorption skill, huh)

Though irritated at having extra magical power depleted when it was already decreasing, Athena still had no intention of losing.

She was given life in this world, guided by Tatsuro's heart that sought battle.

She had lost once, even if it was in a game.

But never again would she lose to anyone, no matter who the opponent or what the situation is.

As if responding to those feelings, her status kept rising, and she felt her body becoming lighter and lighter.

"This is a convenient skill. Perfect for me—"

"KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA"

Then, the monster fired a lightning beam from its mouth.

But Athena didn't move from that spot and horizontally radiated golden lightning magic using Brilliant Lightning with her scythe as a staff substitute, facing it head-on.

"HAAAAAAAAA!!"

That lightning easily blew away the beam with its original strength plus status enhancement and ravaged the monster's body.

Thanks to that, the worm tail that had been hiding in the monster's shadow waiting for an opportunity was completely killed, even as half of it was slashed away.

However, this Brilliant Lightning seemed to be quite a draining skill, as it took a huge amount of dragon force from Athena.

This skill could be applied to all lightning magic system skills, allowing them to be released and strengthened beyond light magic.

But unlike light magic, the degree couldn't be adjusted, so the drawback was that it turned everything into beyond full power strikes.

"GYAN"

"You can make beast-like sounds too—huh!"

Trying to finish it in one go while fully utilizing the skill that kept increasing with exhaustion, she closed the distance in one bound and tried to reap its neck with her Beast Spirit Technique-wrapped scythe.

"Kuhahaha!"

"—Tch"

But even while charred black and smoking in places, it dodged with a sidestep and even countered with a lightning-wrapped headbutt.

Clicking her tongue at that, she stopped the downward swing of her scythe and used that momentum to front flip while firing Dragon Tail Flash from her dragon armor's tail to strike its head and stop its momentum.

And while spinning one rotation in mid-air, she swung down the returning scythe to try to split its head vertically.

But it quickly pulled back, only receiving a shallow vertical wound on its face's surface.

The monster ignored the wound and opened its huge mouth to fire another full-power lightning beam.

On a direct collision course. Not only was the power incredible, but the attack speed was fast too.

So, with no time to dodge, Athena met it with golden lightning again.

"—Haa"

"GYARORORORUGRUORURUU"

While blowing away the beam, the golden lightning entered through its mouth into its body, this time scorching it from within.

However, perhaps because it had lightning resistance, it wasn't enough damage to be fatal.

But Athena didn't miss how its footing faltered for an instant.

"—Fu"

"GYA"

Swinging the deep crimson saw-toothed scythe, she cleanly severed its front left leg through the bone.

Though spraying blood, the monster realized it would be bad to keep Athena close and scattered lightning all around with all its might to try to shake her off.

Though she had been thinking to deliver the finishing blow right there, deciding the desperate attack was dangerous, she converted to triple dragon armor of lightning-wind-earth and put her smoke dragon force into defense as well.

While Athena was completely on defense, the monster put power into its legs to try to jump back and escape.

"Kuha—?"

But at that instant. Its back legs were bound by something, and it fell backward without understanding why.

Looking at what was on its legs, there were wires extended from Athena's arm gauntlets strengthened by covering them with dragon armor, binding its legs like a trap with loops.

The monster thrashed its legs trying to break free somehow, but the more it struggled, the more it got tangled in the wires that moved with a will of their own.

"Got—you"

"────!?"

Having changed from humanoid to beast form, to put it simply, it had become stupider.

So, this monster tended to focus attention on what was right in front of it.

Therefore. Until Athena whispered in its ear after sneaking up, it was too absorbed with the wires tangled on its legs to notice.

The monster immediately turned its face to fire a lightning beam from its mouth.

However, before it could do so, the guillotine had already begun to move.

"It's over—"

"...............────"

Athena added golden lightning and wind magic on top of the scythe's Beast Spirit Technique and brought down a slash on its neck, cleanly severing its head by cutting through even its mane which seemed to have quite high defense.

Though its limbs continued twitching for several seconds even after losing its head, that soon stopped as well—.

Eventually, it completely ceased all activity.

|You have Reached [Level: 57]|

|Title [Donal Ampelion] acquired|

"Oh, quite a level increase too————Gau?"

When it was finally over and her heated feelings began to cool, Athena's magical power to maintain her body exceeded the acceptable range, and she could no longer maintain [True Form], forcibly reverting to [Child Form] as a small tiger.

"Ga. Gauga ga—"

Well. Can't be helped. Taking it easy, she flopped down right there to rest her body, leaving material collection for later.