The night slowly shifted toward the early hours of dawn.
The sky was still dark, but the air was starting to feel warmer than during the night. Yet this time, the situation did not reflect that warmth.
Because this time—
that lump of flesh… rose again.
Even though this time it took the form of a tiger,
it looked unnatural.
And this time,
it wasn't just its appearance that was disturbing.
The air changed.
A smell spread.
Sharp.
Piercing.
Not just rotting—
but the smell of a corpse that was too real.
Too thick.
As if coming from something that should have long been dead… yet was forced to remain.
The thin mist that had previously only made eyes sting now mixed with that smell.
Every breath felt wrong.
Unnatural.
Rena reflexively covered her nose with her left hand again, her brows sharply furrowed, while the sword in her right hand stood ready to slash the creature. She muttered.
…this…!!!!
This creature really doesn't want to lose!!
With that, Rena walked confidently and calmly toward the creature.
The closer she got, the more her eyes watered, but her determination didn't waver because of that.
As she walked calmly toward the monster, she briefly remembered the news that the Headmaster was apparently already dead.
With this monster's presence, she didn't have time to cry, and now her heart felt like it was being sliced by a knife—such was the turmoil of Rena's current state.
Meanwhile,
Hero Claire and Hero Tina, smelling the odor, immediately closed their eyes as best they could. Both were very focused, and suddenly they opened their eyes simultaneously.
Ztak!!!
Quickly, mana flowed through their bodies, covering their sensitive areas like their eyes and noses.
Then, when Hero Claire saw Hero Tina doing the same, she squinted and said.
So the Calderia Kingdom uses the same technique, huh??
Hero Tina, covering her mouth with her hand, could only grin.
Yeah… that's how it is… and it seems the Lionia Kingdom does too, huh…
Anti-sting and anti-odor, now blinking slowly around our eyes and noses.
Hero Claire answered with a slight nod.
That's right… and it seems Hero Tina also uses the filter with just a small amount of mana, huh…
Truly a hero!!
When Hero Claire and Hero Tina realized Rena had already moved ahead, they both spoke firmly and loudly to her.
Rena…
Just lure that monster a bit to the east!!
Then Hero Tina said loudly, firmly, but still covering her mouth with her right hand.
We'll finish it there!!
Hearing that, Rena felt a bit frustrated. Her steps paused for a moment as she lowered her face toward the ground, muttering with her left hand tucked into her large robe pocket.
Am I really that useless…???
Biting her lip until it bled, Rena straightened up again and walked with a firm stance, her eyes now sharp toward the monster—as if hiding great anger in her heart.
Tch…
Then, quickly, she ran toward the monster, now very close to it. With her left hand still in her large robe pocket, Rena shouted loudly.
I can defeat it myself!!!
With one hard slash, Rena struck the monster without using her full power.
Ssssssssisss!!!!
The monster split in two—and so did the tree behind it, cleaved in half!!!
Seeing that, Hero Claire wanted to immediately go to Rena.
Suddenly, Hero Claire was blocked by Tina with her left hand. Her staff was now in her right hand. This time, Hero Tina spoke seriously, without covering her mouth, still looking at Rena.
Wait, Claire…
Let her be…
I'm sure there's something Rena can gain from this…
Hearing that, Hero Claire's expression showed slight resistance. A few seconds later, she sighed and stepped back a few paces, adjusting to match Tina's position.
Huff…
And now, Rena had cut the monster again—exactly what she had done before to defeat that lump of flesh.
Suddenly!!!
One part of the flesh lump leaped toward Rena's face!!!
Rena realized it, immediately stepped back, reacted quickly, and this time, she didn't underestimate it. She shouted.
Razor slash!!!!
Her sword now cut the flesh lump into smaller and smaller pieces—but instead of stopping, it became harder to handle. And this time, the small pieces got what they wanted.
They stuck to the blood on Rena's lips….
Rena realized the lump of flesh was clinging to her lip. As quickly as possible, she pulled at the part of her lip that was being gnawed.
Quickly, she pulled out her old sword from the plastic bag using her left hand.
Without hesitation, once she had taken the sword with her left hand—while the great sword in her right hand vanished automatically—
Instantly, Rena shouted.
Razor slash!!!
And finally—
Swooshsh!!!!
Rena cut off the part of her lip that had been hit by the flesh lump.
This time, Rena fell truly silent—not because she lost to the enemy, but because she lost to herself.
And now, Rena wasn't just suffering from teary eyes and a nose holding back a stench. This time, she had lost a lot of blood by her own doing.
Part of her lip was cut off!!!
Rena could only scream loudly, rolling on the ground.
Aaaaaa!!!!
Damn!!!!
I have to do it!!!!
Meanwhile, the flesh lump creature—
just stayed silent. And this time, it wasn't interested in the blood splattering from Rena's lip at all. Instead, it used this moment to slowly reform itself.
Rena, bombarded on all fronts—her nose holding back the stench, her eyes holding back the sting, and now her lip covered in blood—still tried to rise and stare sharply, even though her vision was blurry from the blood dripping from her mouth.
Tch!!
I have to defeat it!!
Alone!!!
After several movements, Rena finally stood up, unbalanced, wiping her eyes with her large robe to clear the blood.
But just as Rena was trying to wipe her eyes—
several shocked voices came from Hero Claire.
How is that possible??
That anomaly monster can mimic a human???!!!
Hero Tina, seeing it too, could only stare in shock, covering her mouth with her left hand while shifting her staff to her right hand, muttering.
That's right, that's right!!
What a despicable monster!!!
Then Hero Claire, also shocked when the monster fully merged into its new form, her lips slightly parted.
Don't tell me that!!!???
When Rena heard the commotion, she became very curious and hurriedly wiped her eyes faster with her large robe.
And this time, Rena fell silent. Shocked. Even visible from her teeth, exposed because of her split lip, Rena lost her resolve.
She couldn't speak.
Rena could only stare with a shadowed face, and this time her eyes were very watery—not from the sting of the mist, but tears coming from deep within her heart.
Huh??
Why??
As if in disbelief, Rena gripped her old sword tightly.
How can this be!!!
And sure enough, the human form the flesh lump monster had taken was the form of the Headmaster—Anna!!
With this, both Rena and the two heroes could only decide how to move forward—how to fight something that looked like someone they knew.