Novel Bin Chapter 454: – [Storm of the Fly King]
Above me, Beelzebub once again takes on the form of a giant monstrous fly with a swollen abdomen.
『With that wing, there’s no way you can fly properly. I’ll kill you in an instant!』
Beelzebub’s six arms shower down a series of blows down towards me. I press on the water with my wings, and just barely manage to hide myself behind the splashes of water that rise from Beelzebub’s blows. Staying in his blind spot, I manage to create a little distance.
I leave the ocean’s surface and desperately force my numb left wing to flap. But, I can’t gain any speed. It looks like this is the limit to how far I can get away. Even without humanising, he’s easily keeping up with my flight speed.
『I won’t miss this time! [Inhaala]!』
The giant mouth in his abdomen opens, and the same magic circle as before appears. It’s coming! The combo of his inhalation followed by his enhanced breath attack is coming!
Seawater is lifts up and is pulled into his gaping mouth. As I flap my wings, I keep them as spread as possible to increase the wind resistance against his pull as much as possible. But in my current state, I can’t fully resist the [Inhaala]. Little by little, my body is forced backwards.
『Hahahahahahahahaa! I’ll eat you whole!』
Endure, endure, endure! Right now, I need to endure this at all costs! As long as I can get through this―I can see a way of escaping. Of course, the chance of it working is as thin as a spider’s thread, but…!
Suddenly, the suction pulling me back cuts off. His [Inhaala] has stopped. I did it, I was able to endure!
Now, I need to fly up with all my might. It wouldn’t be strange for his [Storm of the Fly King] to come at any moment. I need to hurry.
『You’ve lost your mind in fear!』
Beelzebub laughs mockingly.
I understand why he said that. To avoid his [Storm of the Fly King], the best option would be to fly past him, as I coincidentally did the first time. A half-baked attempt to create distance like this is the riskiest option of all. He must see me as a foolish dragon who is too focused on running away to notice what is happening. But that is fine. I’m prepared to take one of his attacks.
I continue to fly up. His attack still hasn’t come. I catch my breath and restore my HP with [Autoregeneration].
From behind me, I sense an overwhelming swell of magic power. It’s coming! I don’t know if my judgement here is correct, but I have no other options.
I activate [Humanisation Technique]. My body shrinks down. I do my best to leave my wings as they are, and spread them wide in the air.
[Humanisation Technique] halves my maximum HP, attack, and defence. I haven’t been able to keep my HP above half, so the reduction to my maximum HP isn’t a disadvantage right now. But, it’s a gamble as to whether I’ll be able to survive his attack while my defence halved. Upon seeing the poison-soaked sea earlier, I came to the idea that the primary feature of his attack is the poison, and that the actual power of the skill could actually be fairly weak. It’s a plan based on an optimistic theory.
『Did you think you’d be able to get away from my attack just by getting smaller? I’ll blast you to pieces!』
The sealed mouth on his abdomen aims up and opens. I turn to face him head-on, and spread my wings tight. The next instant, my entire body is assailed by the storm.
I can no longer tell what’s happening. Within an instant, the world revolves three times over. A dull pain is aching through my entire body, and my consciousness is becoming faint. I feel my outstretched right arm suddenly torn off by the storm.
It felt like it lasted for a long time, but it could have been over in an instant. I don’t know. When I come to, I realise that the sensation from my entire body has become faint, and I’m unable to open my eyes. I’m just barely able to sense that I am tumbling over cold soil.
The plan worked. No, rather than a plan, it was almost entirely a gamble. Using his [Storm of the Fly King], I reduced my weight with [Humanisation Technique] and flew up so that I would be blown away.
But, I really did just barely survive. My HP is probably almost entirely gone, and my entire body is being worn away by the poison. In this state, even though I was able to get away and finally reached land… Once he chases me, I won’t be able to run away.
I made it, and yet… Through sheer determination, I was able to take the first step towards escape, but in the end, as a result of the successive battles and the difference in stats, I’m going to die here. If partner was still here and I was in peak fighting condition, we might have been able to get the better of Beelzebub…
“――? ――!”
…What…is this? Is something poking my body? I feel something cold against my body. The numbness of the poison seems to fade.
What is happening? I heal my ears and eyeballs with [Autoregeneration] to see.
“Kishi?”
I hear a familiar cry, and open my eyes wide. A giant black lizard, one size bigger than my current humanised form, is staring at me from right in front of my face.
“B-black lizard…?”
“Kishii!”
The black lizard chirps happily and reaches out to lick my face. The pain fades. Is this [Detoxification]…? That skill should have been taken by the slime. But I can’t think of this as anyone else. The size is bigger than before, but this is unmistakably the same black lizard I parted with in that forest.
It feels like not just the poison, but also the pain is fading. She might have learnt some higher tier skills with evolution.
I’ve narrowly escaped death. Did she see the ruin as I was leading it away and come to investigate? I can’t call this anything other than a miracle. I was at the point of giving up hope, but I’ve now obtained a minimum amount of HP and relief from the poison.
『Thank you, black lizard… But, it’s dangerous. I’m being chased by someone scary. You should get away…』
I try to stand up as I speak with [Telepathy], but quickly collapse. Looking at my body, I see that my wings that I thought I were still attached and my right arm are missing, and my remaining limbs are shaking unsteadily as a pool of blood spreads from me. D-damn it… Will my body not last any longer…?
There is a moment of silence. As I flop onto the ground, I look at the black lizard.
『Anyway, you have to run.』
After looking at the distant sea where I came from, the black lizard appears to think of something and looks back at me. I tentatively turn my focus back to her.
『Somehow…a little smaller…』
Smaller…?
『If you don’t care about the shape or my ability to move, then I think I can become a small lump of meat.』
I think the MP consumption might even be less than my current high-precision human form. But, why…
“Kishi, kishii!”
The black lizard cries, urging me to hurry.