Chapter 109 - Blazing Bird Peak – Part four

The journey was surprisingly peaceful after the Bursting Hedgehog was defeated. The heat also softened as they got closer to the peak, so it was a lot less uncomfortable than at the start.

But mountain type labyrinths had a problem that could not be found in forest and cave types, air thinning.

This was one problem that Sem’s healing magic could not solve.

Temporary headaches could be soothed with healing magic, and the typical dehydration could be mitigated with regular liquid replenishment, but nothing could be done about the rapid loss of energy. All they could do was take regular breaks and wait for their bodies to adapt, which took time.

On the other hand, the severity of the air thinning also meant that they were almost at the top. The Labyrinth City looked tiny from where they stood, and they could see the sea and port city beyond it.

Survivors took their final break as they enjoyed this view.

“I can see the top…”

Not only was the peak of Blazing Bird Peak visible from there, but two more from the same mountain range.

One was of course the one they were aiming for. The caldera was even wider than the Bursting Hedgehog’s territory.

However, it was a dormant volcano, and the last recorded eruption happened hundreds of years ago.

The second was called Thousand Blade Peak, and it was an even more peculiar labyrinth than Blazing Bird Peak. If Blazing Bird Peak was a den of monsters with divine fire protection, this was a den of monsters loved by blades.

All the monsters there carried some sort of blade, which made it a good place to test the raw power of a party’s vanguard.

Being able or unable to conquer this labyrinth said a lot about a party.

The third mountain was in the middle, and it was not only the most difficult of the three, but also one of the most difficult labyrinths in the whole continent.

“That’s the Fallen Angel Stronghold…”

Whispered Tianna, to which, Nick nodded.

“Yeah. I don’t know if we can get in there even if we rank up.”

This Labyrinth was not inhabited by monsters, but something above them. Demons.

Not only that, but particularly strong demons known as Fallen Angels lived there, meaning even A or B rank adventurers rarely received permission to enter it.

Fallen angels were renowned for their fierce fighting spirit, and apathy towards humans, who they saw as weaker beings.

For hundreds of years, there had been constant fighting inside the labyrinth, but it never spilled outside of it, so it was not seen as a particularly dangerous situation, and Survivors looked upon it with no concern for their safety.

“The air really is getting thin. Is everyone alright?”

“I wish we could do something about this with magic…”

“It can’t be helped, magic can’t solve everything.”

“No, that really should be the case.”

Said Bond in response to Nick.

“Magic is something created by humanity, born to protect one’s living environment and perhaps even expand it. If anything, it is offensive magic that is evil.”

“Is that true?”

Nick asked Tianna, and not Bond.

“Apparently it’s true. Ancient humans did not use magic, and races like the Beast People and Elves didn’t exist either.”

“Eh… That sounds so inconvenient. How did they even live?”

“Apparently they had to look for magic energy elsewhere, and they used technology to develop magic items. It’s said that at some point, magic energy appeared within them, and people started using it… But there are many theories as to why.”

“So what about monsters? Monsters are born with magic energy.”

“That’s a mystery.”

“What?”

“If people that are super smart and research this stuff don’t know, how am I supposed to know?”

“Sorry sorry, don’t get mad.”

“Well, it’s nice to be curious. It’s also important to know what is unknown.”

Said Tianna as she started lightly stretching her arms.

“Are you still doing alright?”

“Kind of… Karan seems perfectly fine though.”

“I don’t really get that whole air thinning thing.”

Dragon people have very good resistance against environmental changes. Their resistance against changes in temperature was excellent. Not to mention, they could walk around where the air was thin with no problem. Such abilities made Tianna look at Karan with envy.

“It must be nice. I wish I could feel good even when the atmospheric pressure is low.”

“That’s just the way our bodies are… It’s not all good, we have to sleep more than humans.”

“Having a good sleep is a great thing. I’m always the last one to wake up…” said Sem.

“I don’t know how to help you with that… But not having to wake up early at the same time every day is one of the benefits of being an adventurer.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to Nick’s sincere comment.

“Let’s keep going then.”

Said Nick as he got up, dusted himself, and looked sternly towards his goal.

◆

The boss of Blazing Bird Peak was known as Great Blazing Bird.

While a Blazing Bird was about the size of a regular falcon, the Great Blazing Bird was bigger than a cow. The sight of this huge bird soaring through the skies placed fear into the hearts of all those that saw it.

“Guaaaah!!!”

And with a low pitched roar, it shot a fireball from its mouth, right towards the Survivors.

“Kuh…! Give me a break already… Gust!”

Tianna fired her wind magic.

As the name implied, it created a gust of wind. Its purpose was to change the direction of the wind and reduce the impact of the fireball. It was not a very effective plan, but the best she had, since she could not use Ice Shield.

“Deryah!”

But it worked, and its speed was reduced enough for Karan to strike it with her sword. Its course shifted, and it fell off somewhere else.

“Gaaah!”

The monster growled as it drew a big arc and flew higher once again. Nick and the others figured it realized its fireball was not effective, so it would gain momentum to strike at them. Thus, it was eerily quiet before the attack.

“Then let’s prepare a big one for it too!”

Tianna started focusing her magic energy.

“Ah, Tianna! Wait!”

“What? I’m almost…”

“Don’t use lightning magic. It’s useless!”

“Why? I’ve never heard of Blazing Birds being resistant against lightning.”

“Well… It will probably work if you hit it, but you probably won’t. Do you still want to try?”

“I’ve already gathered the magic energy already… so… Lightning Strike!”

The moment Tianna cast her spell, heavy clouds appeared in the sky.

A familiar, ominous sound came from the sky and echoed all the way to the ground, and with a thunderous sound, a streak of light descended from the skies.

“I did… Oh?”

But the monster was left completely unscathed.

It did not need to survive against the lightning. After all, it simply was not hit by it.

“I’ve heard about this. It really doesn’t work…”

“W-what do you mean…!?”

Tianna looked at Nick with a shocked expression. A natural reaction, since her best move had just failed.

“I’ve heard that there are lightning rods built by the ancient civilization on the other mountains. All lightning, natural or created by magic, is drawn towards them. I wasn’t sure about this before but now…”

“S-say so earlier…”

“Sorry.”

As he glanced towards a sad Tianna, Nick tried to change the subject.

“Alright, let’s try this again! Karan! Bond! Combination A!”

“Got it!”

“I do not like that one bit!”

“Let’s go!”

Nick grabbed Bond, who had returned to his sword form, and ran towards Karan.

Karan held her sword low as she ran forward, but then held it sideways, and Nick jumped on it.

“Fly!”

Karan raised him into the sky, and at the same time Nick jumped higher than it should be possible for a human.

“Kuah!?”

The Great Blazing Bird opened its eyes wide with shock.

It was natural for a bird type monster to position itself high above its enemy and swoop down to attack it. Because of this, they tended not to think too much about how to deal with beings positioned higher than them.

“Eat this!”

But the monster just barely avoided Nick’s attack, and after going up, the only way Nick could go was down. It was easy to read his trajectory, and Nick could not change direction mid-air unless he was using Union.

But Nick was not alone.

“Go Bond!”

“Do not throw…!?”

Bond switched back to his human form, and at the same time used Parallel.

Three separate Bonds then slashed at the monster.

“Kyuaaah!?”

It was important for birds to have feathers when they flew, particularly the ones outside, necessary for lifting. It would be hard to fly high if they were damaged.

This monster did not use wind alone to fly, it also used the power of magic to lift its huge body, but it could not count on this alone.

Bond looked hopelessly flustered, but attacked the monster’s vital points with precision.

Unable to flap its wings, the Great Blazing Bird fell towards the ground…

“Eat this…!”

To where Karan was waiting.

She had received Sem’s strengthening magic, and concentrated her strength on one final attack.

She would usually use her Fire Dragon Slash, but opted for a pure strike this time.

“Gaah…!”

The Dragon Bone Sword severed the monster’s neck, and its lifeless body raised dust as it slammed against the ground of the peak of the mountain.