Seeker 339

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Chapter 339. Decisive Battle, Yamata No Orochi (2)

Following my torso, the dragon heads' fangs sank into my upper and lower body.

My vision turned pitch black as I was engulfed by the gigantic dragon head.

I could feel the sharp fangs digging into my shoulders and legs.

Am I going to die? That thought didn’t cross my mind.

My body, as a seeker, knew this damage wasn’t fatal.

The Orochi heads that had bitten me flung my body away.

I rolled on the ground but quickly used the momentum to get back up.

Blood dripped onto the ground.

Yamata no Orochi's gigantic body ignored me and advanced far ahead.

Thrown to the ground, I was left behind.

Ignoring me, huh? I cursed inwardly.

As expected, Yamata no Orochi continued charging towards Kushinosuke.

Regaining my posture, I started chasing the monster at full speed.

"Daichi-kun, are you okay!?"

Kazane, running alongside me, called out.

Looking at her, her black outfit was torn, and her injured skin was stained with red blood.

"Yeah, I’m fine. Are you okay, Kazane?"

"I'm okay—not completely, but it's not fatal."

"That's good to hear. Worrying about others' injuries over your own is natural. You can somewhat gauge your own HP loss."

"Exactly. I get it."

The attacks from the dragon heads' fangs weren't as powerful as they appeared.

While the damage might not render us combat-incapable instantly, it didn't seem likely to happen frequently.

More than Yamata no Orochi's attack power being insignificant, it was probably that our defense and durability were exceptional.

I saw Mikoto-san chasing Yamata no Orochi like us.

She also bore painful-looking wounds but didn't seem as gravely affected as she appeared.

Then, suddenly—

[[Grand Heal]!]

[[Hydro Heal]!]

Healing spells from the warrior monks flew towards us consecutively.

Surrounded by multiple healing lights, I felt my HP fully restored.

Kazane and Mikoto-san seemed to have recovered fully as well.

The healing magic team was very reassuring.

With them, even facing Yamata no Orochi head-on wouldn’t be easy to defeat us.

Above all, it was a relief not to handle healing myself.

That said, I couldn’t afford to miss my attacks.

Although the movement was fast, it wasn’t beyond my ability to follow.

Having been caught off guard earlier, I gripped my divine spear tighter, determined not to miss again.

A bigger problem was keeping up with Yamata no Orochi's speed, charging towards Kushinosuke.

"I'll go ahead, Daichi-kun."

"Yeah, I trust you, but—"

"Don’t overdo it, right? But at this point, there's no turning back!"

Kazane, running alongside, accelerated rapidly.

In no time, I was left behind.

With Kazane boosted by [Quickness], she might catch up with Yamata no Orochi.

I was also under the influence of [Quickness], but my speed couldn't match hers.

At times like this, my lack of agility was frustrating.

Being too far behind, the slower healing magic team wouldn’t catch up.

I needed to close the distance—thinking so while watching Yamata no Orochi, shining with regeneration.

Meanwhile, Kushinosuke, who Yamata no Orochi was chasing, appeared far away.

My Griffin familiar carrying the shrine maiden was now ascending steeply.

Seeing Kushinosuke clinging to Griff's neck worried me about her falling off.

But she was also an awakener, unlikely to fall easily.

Griff's flight speed was slower than Yamata no Orochi's running speed.

If flying close to the ground like a horse, they would eventually catch up.

So—the plan I devised was quite simple.

If horizontal didn’t work, go vertical.

Flying upwards, they could escape Yamata no Orochi's attack range.

Horizontally, they were about to be caught, but vertically, they were already out of Orochi’s reach.

Let's see how Yamata no Orochi reacts.

Regardless, closing the distance was necessary.

Chasing Mikoto-san and Kazane’s backs, I ran at full speed.

Eventually, Yamata no Orochi reached directly below Griff carrying Kushinosuke.

By then, Griff had retreated to quite an altitude, out of Yamata no Orochi’s reach.

Yamata no Orochi stopped, its heads looking up at the sky in frustration.

Like a chimpanzee stamping its feet, unable to reach bananas hanging from the ceiling.

"Yamata no Orochi has stopped! Now's our chance—Fenrir Arrow!"

Yuzuki’s voice came from diagonally behind, and an ice arrow shot out at high speed, striking one of Orochi's heads.

Ice shards scattered, inflicting a significant wound on Orochi.

"Orochi’s remaining HP, 1811!"

The warrior monk with [Monster Appraisal] reported the current HP.

From the HP decrease, it seemed Kazane and Mikoto-san had also hit their attacks, reducing HP a bit.

From the max of 2200, it was slowly being chipped away, but its frequent regeneration prevented fatal damage.

If only I hadn’t missed my initial [Triple Thrust], but there's no point in regretting the past.

Focus on the present and future.

Soon, I would reach the banana-chimp Yamata no Orochi, and land [Triple Thrust] again.

But then, all eight Orochi heads turned towards Yuzuki, as if annoyed by a pesky insect.

Around Yuzuki were the healing magic users.

All eight dragon heads opened their mouths towards them.

Inside each mouth, brilliant fiery energy began to gather.

Oh no—before I could react, all eight heads breathed fire simultaneously.