Banished Healer Volume 2 Chapter 11

All-Out Stalling

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—Raust—

「Gh!」

A fireball approaching from right in front of me.
I managed to avoid it somehow by jumping sideways.
No, I couldn’t avoid it completely.
The fireball slightly grazed my leg, causing a dull pain.
But ignoring that pain, I put strength on my legs and kicked the labyrinth’s ground.

Despite only grazed, this was the flame of a phoenix, a super-high difficulty monster.
Normally, it wouldn’t be strange if I couldn’t use my legs anymore.
However, my body currently was fortified with the fire resist magic tool I made myself.
As long as it was only a graze, there would be no problem other than the pain.
Indeed, this time I was helped by magic tools.
Still, I couldn’t rely on those magic tools.

Being a tool, magic tools could break.
In short, there was a limit on how many times it could protect my body from the flame of phoenix.
Also, it could do nothing if I got hit directly by the fireball.
Combined with Laila’s healing magic, I could defend against the fireballs to some extent, but that too had a limit.

…Considering this, there was more pressure than I expected.

「RA─────A!」

「Uoooo!!!!」

Apparently, I seemed to be more nervous in this condition where I fought without using magic detection, guess I was still naive.
While barely avoiding the fireballs by kicking the wall and jumping around, I analyzed the current situation.

Right now, I didn’t use magic detection, I was dodging the phoenix’s attack only by lightly strengthening my body with ki.

I was unable to trigger magic detection which required complex processes in the interval between phoenix’s attacks.
Fortunately, magic detection seemed to be not very useful when fighting the phoenix.
On the contrary, magic detection could be said to have very bad compatibility with the phoenix who attack from outside its range.

…However, it seemed that not having magic detection, which taught me of the dangers around me, activated, was more burdensome than what I had imagined.

「RA───A!」

「Guaahh!」

The pain I felt when I jumped forward with all my strength to avoid the phoenix’s fireball reminded me once again of the value of magic detection.
Until now, I have been evading by the narrowest of margins.
But this time, I made exaggerated movements.
Without magic detection, I didn’t know if I really would successfully avoid the attack and so I ended up making an unnecessary move.

「Hahh- Hahh-」

…As a result, I was fatigued physically and mentally more than I expected.

By now, I didn’t know how much time I have earned, or how much longer I need to keep this up.
However, my fighting spirit was still ablaze in my heart.

「《Area Heal》」

Along with Laila’s dignified voice, my injury healed and my physical fatigue recovered a little.
Given my current fatigue, the physical fatigue recovered was just a mere consolation.

However, that 《Area Heal》 worked wonder on my mental fatigue.

To be honest, I had really bad compatibility with the phoenix.
It was much more troublesome than the hydra before it was mutated.

Even so, I was full of motivation compared to when I fought the hydra with Sword of Lightning.

The presence of the comrades I have behind me was what inspired me.
And so, I smiled as I grabbed the dagger I usually used after I threw the melting greatsword that just got in the way.

「Raust, back off!」

It was at that moment, Zieg-san’s shouted.
The moment I heard him, I immediately understand that Armia’s magic was ready.
I wasn’t aware how much time had passed as my sense of time was off during the battle
For a moment, I felt relieved, knowing that I managed to do my part.

「RA────A!」

「—!」

But the next moment, I realized something, my face tensed.

…It wasn’t just me who noticed Armia’s magic.

The phoenix was no longer interested in me.
At the end of its line of sight was Armia who had her eyes closed as she concentrated.
Looking at that, I was convinced that it really noticed Armia’s magic.

It wasn’t clear if the phoenix’s magic sensitivity was what make it noticed the almost completed magic or if there was another factor.
However, regardless of the reason, the phoenix was certainly aware of Armia’s magic.

「RA───────A!」

Phoenix raised a roar of anger at Armia.
Apparently, the phoenix had noticed the trump card we hid until the last minute.

「With this, we win…」

Yet, even knowing that, I laughed.
I was convinced that our victory was guaranteed.

After all, the course of action it took was the worst thing it could do.

Between the phoenix and Armia was the figure of Zieg-san and Narsena.
The situation might change if the phoenix noticed Armia’s magic a few minutes earlier.
However, no matter how desperately it fired the fireballs, its attack wouldn’t be able to reach Armia.
Armia’s magic would be completed before that could happen.

In other words, the action the phoenix took was completely useless.

And one more thing, the phoenix had overlooked something big.
Perhaps, the phoenix which head currently fully focused at Armia didn’t even notice it overlooked something.

Convinced with that, I opened my mouth as I ran toward the greatsword I threw away while I was running around.

「It has completely forgotten that I was the one that gave it a big wound at the beginning…」

Currently, the phoenix stopped paying attention to me.
That was something it should never do.

Even when I was trying to pick up the greatsword, the phoenix didn’t notice.
It seemed despite the deep cut on its body, the phoenix had already forgotten what happened at the beginning of the fight.

That I am also capable of hurting it.

While I was amazed by such fact, I lifted the greatsword.
The blade of the greatsword had melted and become rounded.
The blade most likely was brittle now.

However, it should be able to withstand the flame armor once more time.

After determining that, I reinforced my body with magic power and ki, reverse-grip the greatsword’s hilt and raised it.

「Haaaaaaaaaa!」

And then I threw the greatsword at the phoenix.
The greatsword flew straight toward the phoenix.

「RA────A!?」

And the phoenix just noticed that right when it was about to fire the fireball.
The phoenix held off on releasing the fireball and twisted its body, it was trying to ward off the greatsword with the fireball somehow.

…But, the phoenix was too late.

「RAAAAAAAA !?」

The next moment, the greatsword deeply penetrated the phoenix’s body, the phoenix roared in pain.

「Bless me oh spirit of water!」

It was at that moment, Armia’s magic completed.
In response to Armia’s last chant, a large amount of water appeared and engulfed the phoenix’s body.
For normal water, it wouldn’t be able to strip off the phoenix’s superheated flame armor.
The water would just evaporate before it could do anything.

But the water created with Armia’s magic wasn’t just normal water.
It instantly removed the armor of flame which should evaporate water in an instant.

「RA─────AA!」

The phoenix rampaged around to try to shake off the water from its body, alas that action was meaningless.
Tens of seconds later, the flame armor covering the phoenix’s body was extinguished.

Seeing the sight after the flame armor disappeared, we were convinced of our victory.

「RAaaaa」

No matter how powerful the flame armor was, super-high difficulty monsters weren’t such an easy opponent we would be convinced of our victory after sealing that.
Fighting against super-high difficulty meant being vigilant until the very end.
…Even so, the phoenix was in such a tattered condition that we were convinced that there was no way we could lose.

Under the armor of flame, the exposed body of the phoenix had two deep wounds on it.
One was the one I gave from when the battle just started before the flame armor extinguished.
I didn’t realize because of the flame armor, but the phoenix was already deeply wounded at that time.
It was so deep even the phoenix who had the ability to regenerate beyond what other super-high difficulty monsters able to couldn’t heal that off.

Still, until now, the phoenix fired fireballs and fought desperately.
However, the phoenix seemed to have reached its limits.
I knew that because the phoenix couldn’t even fire anymore fireball.

「It’s cruel to drag this on longer.」

Does Zieg-san arrive at the same conclusion as me? Holding the magic sword, Zieg-san muttered that and walked toward the phoenix.
I guess he wants to deal the finishing blow at the phoenix.
Seeing him, I was convinced this was the end for the phoenix.

The duration of this fight should normally be considered very short.
However, probably from the extended time of keeping the phoenix’s attention to me, my body was deeply fatigued.
But, this is the end of this phoenix’s subjugation.

Right, I took my mind off of it……

「rAAAAAa──────aA!」

「………Gah-!」

…However the next moment, I was stunned by the sight of Zieg-san being blown away together with his magic sword by the phoenix.

「…………Huh?」

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