292 - - A fierce battle is ongoing.

There's really no end to it!

With a disgusted look on his face, Kugase kicked the ground.

The girl's body instantly moves backward, and a tentacle shoots out from directly below her, passing where she was just moments before.

Kugase, who had brilliantly avoided the surprise attack, kicked the ground again, this time to move forward.

His large frame, leaning forward, closes the distance without blinking.

His left fist, which had been thrust out in an arc from his lightly shaken shoulder, pierced the monster's skin.

He steps back and shifts his weight to his right fist, which follows.

Shifting his body's center of gravity in small increments, Kugase's left and right fists cut through the wind one after another.

Immediately, the tentacles' outer skin was gouged away, exposing their eerie red insides.

But the girl does not rest her hand, and takes another big step.

Her undulating dorsal muscles put all of their strength into her left arm.

The fist is released straight, and it becomes a full-fledged blow that blasts the tentacles through to the other side.

The severed end of the tentacle bends and falls to the ground, and the tentacle, having lost its upper part, retracts into the earth without a sound.

Kugase successfully repels the monster's attack, but his face and hands are covered with numerous lacerations and severe burns.

The tentacles were scattering molten rock fragments all over the area as they sprang out of the ground.

Furthermore, the boiling bodily fluids of the king of the labyrinth, a demon tribe, burns just by touching him.

Frowning, his face twitching in pain, Kugase exhales deeply.

A cheerful voice echoes in his ear.

"Migi-daya-migi-daya-migi-daya-migi-daya-migi-daya-migi-daya!

He pulls back on his heels and simultaneously sits down.

At the same time, he half-dodges a tentacle that has come out of the hole on the right side, and slams his fist down hard into its side.

A part of the monster is snapped off halfway and easily returns to where it came from.

Kugase, having chased off the tentacles one after another, dexterously wipes the sweat from his hands with his basket hand and mutters a prayer.

"O, long root of the great earth tree ......, from whose yoke ......".

As it is, he bends down in a heap.

A beat later, a tentacle emerged from the ground behind Kugase and headed for the sky, just barely snatching his head.

"It's ...... to unleash--."

The girl, who had finished chanting the lightening spell, turned around and struck him with an elbow, then twisted her body and struck him with her fist.

The monster, pierced in the flesh, quickly ran away under the ground again.

I have already severed and broken dozens or hundreds of them, but they show no sign of backing down.

They regenerate one by one.

There is really no end to this kind of opponent.

Kugase gulps down a potion for restoring his magic power from the pouch in his waistband, and looks around while catching his breath on his shoulder.

There seems to be little change in the figure of the labyrinth master standing far away.

His allies, however, looked quite battered.

Less than two hours had already passed since the battle began.　

During that time, the tentacles from the ground continued to attack us without ceasing.

The ground was already full of holes, making it extremely difficult to move around.

Furthermore, the dug up lava was scattered all over the place, and the air was filled with a terrible heat.

If it were not for the crystal necklace of vajra stones, we would have reached our limit long ago.

No, I have reached my limit many times.

Each time, I asked him to restore my exhausted strength, or to splice my nearly shredded arm back together.

It is thanks to the efforts of Ram Merulla and Mordamo, who are water users, and Yuril, who keeps the main body glued to the ground, that we are able to maintain the front line.

There is no way that the labyrinth master, who is a demon tribe, would overlook such a supportive rear guard.

Naturally, they are the first target of the tentacles.

However, at present, Yuril and his men have not suffered any noticeable injuries.

There is only one reason why the rear guard has been able to avoid attacks in this battlefield with the worst possible footing.

They are being carried by the clay figures that are walking around silently.

"Are you okay, Cu?　Would you like to switch to ?"

Rummelera, standing on top of one of them, asks in a worried voice, "What is it that you are doing?

In response to the call, Kugase crushed the tentacles at his feet and forced himself to raise his voice.

"Hu...... hah......, I can still go. Ram-chan."

Sitting on the shoulder next to her sister, Licori is currently playing .

We cannot stop this song that helps us to evade.

On the shoulders of the three servants controlled by Kugase are the Rummella sisters, Balconia and Mordamo, and Sora, Mu and Yuril.

He moves all of them at the same time, guiding them to places out of reach of the tentacles, while he himself fights off the oncoming attacks.

This is an act that no ordinary person could ever pull off.

This was the reason why the girl was called a genius.

But it is not only Kugase's talent and magical support that make this possible.

"There she is, Nene!

I got it, Lili!

"Left, left, left, don't you dare!"

"d*mn, you're still a little picky, aren't you? ......"

A large amount of information gathered by the twins as they travel around the battlefield.

These were shared by everyone here through Mu, who was spinning a shiny ring, the Thunder Ring of Heaven's Majesty, above his head.

Thanks to this, we managed to keep avoiding the tentacles that attacked us from beneath the ground.

However, there were some adverse effects, such as the unpleasant sensation that made my skin crawl, and even the twins' inner conversations were overheard.

However, from the information that was coming in, it was clear that the scales of victory were slowly tilting in our favor.　

If not for that, our hearts might have been broken long ago.

As she slammed her fists into the two tentacles that attacked her at the same time, the girl thought about the approaching end of the battle.　

"We could buy ...... at least one village for the reward. ...... hmmm, then all the siblings can live together. I know, we can take the heartbroken Ram with us.

"Here they come. Concentrate!"

Watch out, Cu!

"It's coming, it's coming, it's coming from above!"

"Oh, shut up!"

At that moment, something reached out and tangled itself around the girl's neck.

Before she could scream, she was dragged backward at a tremendous speed.

After a pause, an oval-shaped object pierced the spot where Kugase had been standing, making a loud noise.

"What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Stay sharp, you idiot."

Kugase's life was saved by Kikiriri's arm, which grabbed the girl by the scruff of her neck and pulled her to her feet just in time.

Kugase, who had been pulled up to his feet, blurted out a few words of thanks, his cheeks flushed red.

"Oh, thank you, sir. I'm in your debt.

"I don't care. Anyway, Sola, are you done yet?

"I'm sorry, you have two minutes to re-use the erase!"

"Lili, I'll take care of this."

I'm on it. Come on, it's time for you to step up to the plate and make it easy for me!

Kugase watches Kikiriri glide away, and again slams his fist as hard as he can against the tentacles that have appeared in his face.

Then he muttered a little in his heart.

"...... I think it might be fun to work in the fields with Kikiriri and the others."