Chapter 331

This time, the magical beast was a giant, monstrous bird, about thirty meters long, with vivid, translucent lime-green wings.

Though it didn’t seem to be of the dragon species, it exuded an overwhelming oppressive aura that would make even lesser dragons flee barefoot.

As if testing its newborn body, the monstrous bird twisted its neck side to side with a creaking sound, then suddenly fixed its gaze on Tatsuro and the others, as though noticing them for the first time.

“Probably a rare magical beast, huh? Nice. It’s pretty cool. I want its egg”

“No way. Because someone gave Tatsuro the Magic Egg Forging skill, now we’ve got some weird mission added”

“It’s saying to leave at least the brain and heart intact, right?”

“Either one will do. But if it gets too dangerous, don’t worry about that—here it comes!”

While Tatsuro was speaking, he sensed wind-based magical power gathering around the monstrous bird and urged everyone to stay alert.

However, it wasn’t an attack spell.

“It’s a skill called King’s Wind Armor, it seems. It’s about as powerful as Athena’s wind-attributed Dragon Armor, so ordinary attacks will be repelled by it”

“It’s prioritizing defense first, huh? Doesn’t seem like a birdbrain”

“But if that’s the case!”

Ai channeled Lion’s Mantle into the Gem Sword she held, envisioning slicing only the wings as she unleashed a slashing strike.

The Lion’s Mantle slash passed through the King’s Wind Armor, cutting through part of the wing.

“Gukeeee!?” the bird screeched.

“It’s surprised, isn’t it? Then I’ll give it something to be shocked about!”

Clad in Dragon Armor powered by Golden Lightning, Athena used Dragon Force Path to swiftly dash past the giant bird’s massive leg, slashing it with her scythe.

“Kukeeee!” the bird cried out.

Even though the leg was supposed to be protected by King’s Wind Armor, it was lightly sliced through, and now anger seemed to outweigh its pain.

Realizing it wasn’t facing an easy opponent, the bird finally activated an attack skill.

“It’s transforming its feathers into swords and launching them in large numbers. Everyone, be careful!”

“Neigh!”

As Leah described, the bird spread both wings with a loud flap and soared into the sky, shedding hundreds of feathers from its body.

The hundreds of lime-green feathers transformed into swords and rained down diagonally toward Tatsuro and the others below.

Jeanne leapt forward first, activating Spirit Division: Giant Arm Shockwave. Wielding a massive Halberd, she spun it like a fan, combining it with the power of Waves to block the rain of swords.

Meanwhile, Nana applied Stats boosts and auto-recovery to everyone. Cardina and Leah, riding a tiger-shaped machine, fired True Dragon Wing Blade Magic Bullet and Grenades from a distance, gradually dealing damage to the bird.

“Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, let’s go!”

Tatsuro pushed Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi into High Output Body mode, enhancing their performance. He then combined ice, wind, and light magic, boosted by Light Magic, into a Dragon’s Breath—a light-ice-wind dragon’s breath—and unleashed it while soaring into the sky.

Exposed to a ferocious, shimmering storm of ice, the bird struggled to resist, but it couldn’t withstand the full-force attack from Tatsuro, Amaterasu, and Tsukuyomi. It began to freeze, its movements slowing.

“Here I go!”

Ai leapt onto Jeanne’s shoulder, using it as a springboard to reach the monstrous bird high in the sky.

The bird reacted a moment too late but still managed to unleash a tornado-like Dragon’s Breath from its mouth toward Ai.

Before it could hit, Athena darted in front, countering with her own tornado—this one laced with Golden Lightning. The tornadoes canceled each other out, but the lightning shot straight through, searing the bird’s throat.

“Gweeee!” it screeched, sounding choked.

Despite its efforts to resist complete freezing, its resilience was commendable.

Entrusting defense to Athena, Ai used Air Walk to kick off the air, leaping higher than the bird. She then flipped her body, diving downward with momentum, and swung a twenty-meter-long blade of Lion’s Mantle from her Gem Sword toward the base of the right wing.

The Lion’s Mantle blade slipped through the King’s Wind Armor, severing flesh and bone, and cut off one wing.

Unable to stay aloft with only one wing, the giant bird flailed as it fell.

Tatsuro positioned himself in the air with Banramonte Mountain at his back, maintaining the light-ice-wind Dragon’s Breath. He added earth magic hardened to the extreme with darkness magic, creating pointed earth spikes and mixing them into the breath, launching multiple spikes.

The spikes barely pierced the King’s Wind Armor, shallowly embedding into the bird’s body.

The spikes themselves didn’t deal much visible damage, but once a certain number lodged into the bird, the embedded Spirit Magic activated.

“Gugeeee!” the bird screamed.

The Spirit Magic was Gravity Magic. The earth spikes transformed into impossibly heavy weights, sinking deeper into the bird’s body, dragging it down to the ground despite its attempts to land gracefully with one wing.

As it crashed, Jeanne wielded a Hatchet in both hands and a Halberd with Spirit Division: Giant Arm Shockwave, obliterating the remaining wing at its base.

Now wingless, with hundreds of steel-hard, heavy earth spikes pinning it to the ground, the bird was immobilized.

“We’ve already hit the target points, but we still want those SP, right?”

As Tatsuro slowly descended from the sky, preparing to use Level Eater, Leah suddenly shouted through the machine’s loudspeakers.

“Everyone! Get away now! And don’t try to block it—absolutely dodge it!”

“Something bad’s coming!”

Ai added, her Crisis Detection reacting.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ the group wondered, but trusting Leah and Ai, they began to distance themselves from the bird. Then it happened.

The bird, thought to be incapacitated, glowed with a brilliant lime-green light. As if undergoing astral projection, a mass of light in the shape of the bird emerged, raising its head toward Tatsuro.

At an incredible speed, it charged straight at him.

Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu quickly ascended to evade, as Leah had warned. The light mass partially tracked them but could only move in a straight line, crashing into Banramonte Mountain behind Tatsuro.

“What the—!”

Before his eyes, the upper half of Banramonte Mountain vanished.

Relieved they hadn’t tried to block it, the group turned their gaze to the bird. Astonishingly, it was fully healed, as if its previous injuries were a lie.

“Sorry! I was focused on analyzing its other skills and didn’t catch this one properly! That was Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing, a skill that launches an attack amplified by the pain and injuries it’s received, while fully healing itself. It’s the ultimate counter skill.

“That attack carried all the damage we dealt, far exceeding the bird’s normal Stats. And it seems to activate automatically even if it’s killed instantly”

“So the more damage we deal, the stronger the counterattack, and it fully heals? How do we beat it!?”

“Don’t worry. It requires a massive amount of Magical Power to use. It’s currently feeding off the Wind Mountain to recover, but we’ve already removed its primary energy source. After thirteen more activations, it’ll run out and be done. If we keep landing attacks to trigger the counter and direct it toward uninhabited areas, we should win in the end!”

“What a troublesome magical beast…”

“Can’t Father’s Level Eater absorb that Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing skill?”

“Unfortunately, it’s a skill without a level, so…”

“Then we’ve got no choice but to keep at it!”

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

Cardina and Jeanne voiced their agreement with Athena’s resolve.

Hearing this while dodging the bird’s attention with Laser Cutter and flying through the sky, Tatsuro shouted to rally everyone below.

“We can’t let that attack hit the town, but luckily, this area’s been cleared of people! If we can direct it toward uninhabited areas, we should be fine!

“Leah, keep an eye on the timing of its activation and warn us immediately if it’s coming!”

“Got it. I won’t miss it”

“When you get the warning, everyone position yourselves with an uninhabited area at your back! And absolutely dodge it!”

“Got it!”

“Peewee!”

“Neigh!”

“Understood!”

“Roger that!”

Thus, Tatsuro and the others began their strategy to bring the magical beast to the brink of death thirteen more times.

Ai severed its neck for an instant kill, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. Part of the forest vanished.

Cardina pierced its heart, killing it, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. The mountain shrank further.

Jeanne gutted its abdomen with Halberd and Hatchet, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. Part of the forest beyond the mountain disappeared.

Nana riddled its neck with Dragon Evil Spear, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. Part of the mountain was gouged out.

Leah, controlling the tiger-shaped machine, blew its head off with a powerful Grenade, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. The mountain was further eroded.

Athena sliced it diagonally with a Great Scythe cloaked in Golden Lightning, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. The forest’s area was reduced to less than half.

Amaterasu blasted flames into its beak, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. More craters appeared around them.

Tsukuyomi, controlling Secom-kun, scrambled its brain through its eyes, triggering Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. Banramonte Mountain was reduced to just the Wind Mountain Area.

Tatsuro, mixing Spacetime Magic with various magics, succeeded in triggering it several times with flame, lightning, ice, and explosive attacks, two of which were directed skyward.

After twelve rounds of their fierce attacks and dodging equally fierce counters, only one more remained to reach Leah’s predicted thirteen.

Ai severed both legs, causing it to lose balance. Jeanne, using Spirit Division: Giant Arm Shockwave with four arms, swung the Halberd to snap its neck.

Timing the final Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing activation, everyone positioned themselves with an uninhabited area at their back. The attack was launched toward Jeanne, who had killed it, but she ascended rapidly to dodge, ensuring no casualties.

By this time, the mountain, once taller than Earth’s Everest, was reduced to a mere hill, with Wind Mountain depleted. The surrounding forest was scarred with deep craters, transformed into a desolate wasteland.

“This is the last one! Stay sharp!”

The bird no longer had enough Magical Power to use Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing. Though it still flew energetically, its magic-based skills were significantly weakened, and its level had dropped considerably.

Trying to use magic in this state was a mistake. As it attempted to spit a much weaker tornado, Tatsuro intervened.

“Magic Domination!”

“Gue!?” the bird squawked.

He dominated the wind magic system of the tornado, forcing it back down its throat.

Despite its shock, the bird mustered its remaining Magical Power to activate King’s Wind Armor for defense.

“I’ll take that too—ha!”

“Gugeeee!?” it cried.

The wind magic forming the King’s Wind Armor was easily dominated, stripped away, and turned into a tornado that plucked its feathers.

Confused and disoriented, the bird didn’t notice Nana approaching through the air. She stabbed three Dragon Evil Spears into its right thigh.

Enduring the pain, it tried to scratch Nana with wind-infused Claws, but Cardina flew in at blinding speed, slicing its left wing at the base with True Dragon Wing Blade, causing it to lose balance and plummet.

Jeanne’s Spirit Division: Giant Arm Shockwave grabbed its neck, Squeezing it and slamming it into the ground, pinning it.

While stopping the bleeding, the group began dismembering it, leaving only the head and torso of the giant bird.

“It’s over”

Approaching, he unleashed a black sphere with Level Eater.

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Level: 466

Skills: [Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing], [King’s Wind Armor]

[Charge Lv. 12], [Scratch Lv. 14], [Wind Claw Attack Lv. 12]

[Feather Super Regeneration Lv. 16], [Wind Feather Sword Attack Lv. 16]

[Wind Magic Consumption Lv. 17], [Magic Resistance Lv. 9]

[Tornado Breath Lv. 14], [Magic King’s Aura Lv. 6]

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(What!? Level 466!? What’s that about!? The skill levels are high too! And it’s got Magic Resistance Lv. 9, no wonder my magic didn’t freeze it instantly.

And what’s with Magic King’s Aura? Is this thing a Magic God or something? Its strength makes it plausible… Not just a boss, but like a secret boss level… Well, whatever. It’s just going to be our experience points now.)

---------------------------

Level: 466

Skills: [Pain-Received Pain-Returned Healing], [King’s Wind Armor]

[Charge Lv. 0] [Scratch Lv. 0], [Wind Claw Attack Lv. 0]

[Feather Super Regeneration Lv. 0], [Wind Feather Sword Attack Lv. 0]

[Wind Magic Consumption Lv. 0], [Magic Resistance Lv. 0]

[Tornado Breath Lv. 0], [Magic King’s Aura Lv. 0]

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“Thanks for the meal. Now, let’s finish it together so the experience points are shared evenly. We want the heart and brain, so aim for the neck again!”

“You’re really planning to make an egg and tame this thing, huh?”

“Yeah, after all this trouble, we deserve at least that much”

With that, they all unleashed a concentrated barrage on its neck, finally stopping its breath for good.