Necromancer 16

 Test

16. Battle with the Mid-Tier Demon 2

"Th-That's the mid-level demon…!"

Tanaka groaned.

"This is nothing like the usual low-level demons…"

Suzuki groaned too.

"W-What the hell, we're heroes, right? Low-level or mid-level, they’re no match for us!"

"…No, we should proceed with caution."

I cautioned Tanaka.

"This isn't a game. This is a life-or-death battle."

In reality, Tanaka and the others probably have only experienced 'easy' battles, but I’m different.

Since I’ve come close to dying in the dungeon before, his carefree attitude bothers me.

How should I put it—he's acting like it never even crossed his mind that he could die.

But as I just told Tanaka, this isn’t a game.

If an enemy's attack reaches you, you'll get hurt, and in the worst case… you’ll die.

And then there's Nayuka’s recent prediction.

[One of us is going to die]

Her predictions become less accurate the further into the future they go, and there's a chance she could be wrong.

Still, we should be careful.

Maybe someone will die in this battle.

In the worst case, we could all be wiped out.

"First, let's form a formation, ensuring we're prepared to defend and heal. Once we're set, we’ll whittle down its stamina—"

"Huh? Who do you think you are, Shigure? Don’t get cocky and start giving orders!"

Tanaka suddenly snapped.

"What’s your deal, man? You’re totally killing the vibe, yeah?"

"I told you this isn’t a game."

"We’ve killed every demon so far in one hit! Unlike you, weakling!"

Tanaka yelled.

"Let’s go, Suzuki."

"Roger. But let’s be careful."

"Yeah, yeah—I got this! [Flying Sword]!"

A sword flew from Tanaka’s hand.

It was a skill that transformed magic into the shape of a sword and launched it—[Flying Sword].

Even after it's launched, he can control the magic sword freely with his will.

The magic sword weaved unpredictably through the air, making multiple feints before slashing through Blood Claw.

Gwoooaaaaahhh!

The demon let out a furious roar.

At that moment,

"Now it’s my turn—[Fire Buster]!"

A ball of flame shot from Suzuki’s hand.

Boom!

It hit dead-on, causing a massive explosion.

"With my sword and your flames—there's no way even a high-level demon could stand against this combo!"

When the flames cleared, the demon lay on the ground, charred black.

It looked like it was dead.

Maybe, as Tanaka said, even a mid-level demon isn’t a threat in front of these classmates who are heroes.

—No, something felt off.

I had a bad feeling and focused my gaze back on Blood Claw.

Twitch. Its body shuddered slightly.

This thing—it's still alive!?

"Hahaha! Demons are nothing!"

Meanwhile, Tanaka laughed triumphantly.

Slash!

Suddenly, his head flew off.

"Huh…?"

Tanaka’s face was frozen in disbelief as his severed head rolled on the ground.

Blood Claw slowly rose to its feet.

Its arm had stretched unnaturally long.

The claw at the end of that elongated arm had sliced off Tanaka's head.

"T-Tanaka…"

I stood there in shock.

He was the first casualty in our class.