Seeker 362

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Chapter 362. Battle With The Roc

As the boys hid in the bushes, watching, the battle began, like it or not.

The kidnappers attacked the giant monster with their weapons and magic, each using their strengths.

But none of those attacks were enough to deliver a fatal blow.

The Roc swooped down, tearing apart the awakened men with its talons, one after another.

"Gahh! The power is on a whole different level...!"

"We never had a chance! We should've run...Gyaaah!"

"Damn it, I don't wanna die here...No, stop it—Aaaah!"

It took less than 30 seconds for the battle to be decided.

The men’s bodies were brutally torn apart by the Roc’s relentless attacks, falling one by one.

Soon, silence fell over the scene. Three unconscious men lay on the ground, their eyes rolled back.

The Roc wasn’t unscathed either.

The men's attacks had left small wounds on its body, and a little black mist leaked from the gashes.

But of course, no matter how injured it was, it wasn’t an opponent a boy could possibly take on.

Even men far stronger than him were defeated in an instant.

All the boy could do was pray that the giant bird hadn’t noticed them and stay hidden.

The black mist leaking from the Roc’s body eventually ceased.

The massive monster, resembling an eagle, scanned its surroundings.

Seemingly satisfied there were no more enemies around, it began pecking at the fresh prey it had just hunted.

Seeing its blood-stained beak, the boy was reminded that this was a monster that slaughtered humans.

On the other hand, a girl, seeing the giant bird devouring human flesh, let out a small scream, “Eep!”

The boy hastily covered her mouth.

The Roc, momentarily looking around, soon became engrossed in its meal again.

It seemed the Roc hadn’t noticed them.

It’s okay. We can survive this.

The boy held the trembling girl tightly, praying to any god that would listen.

The Roc finished eating quickly.

It slowly flapped its massive wings, ready to take off.

Yes, just go like that—

The boy watched from the bushes, silently wishing for the monster to leave.

But then it happened.

The giant bird’s glaring eyes seemed to look directly at him.

His heart skipped a beat.

No, it can’t be. There’s no way it saw me. It’s just my imagination—

But his desperate hope was crushed.

The massive creature turned in midair, clearly heading towards them.

“—Damn it!”

“Wha...!”

The boy shoved the girl aside and bolted in the opposite direction.

He drew a dagger from his waist and hurled it at the flying beast.

“Over here, you monster!”

He recalled something he once heard about monsters.

They typically don’t attack regular people as long as an awakened fighter remains to threaten them.

He didn’t know if that was true, but he acted without thinking.

“Kid, while I distract it, you run—”

The boy was trying to use himself as bait to give the girl a chance to escape.

But that noble act of self-sacrifice didn’t buy much time.

The giant bird caught up to him in seconds, swinging its sharp talons to tear him apart.

Sensing death instinctively, the boy turned around.

He saw the enormous talons coming towards him in slow motion, knowing they’d soon kill him.

It was an illusion, a mind trick brought on by facing certain death.

He couldn’t change that future.

But even if the boy couldn’t, someone else could.

“What the...!?”

“Guh...!”

Something—or someone—crashed into the boy from the side, rolling with him across the ground.

Blood sprayed everywhere, but the boy felt no sharp pain.

Instead, the woman who had saved him, now rolling on the ground with him, bore a deep gash across her back.

It was a beautiful woman in black, her long dark hair flowing behind her.

Despite the injury, she got back up without hesitation.

“What about you? Are you okay?” she asked, concerned for the boy.

He nodded vigorously, and the woman in black said, “Good,” before turning her gaze to the Roc.

A young man, clad in brown armor, now stood proudly before the Roc, wielding a divine spear.

With a rapid thrust of his glowing right hand, he landed a three-hit combo on the bird, eliciting a pained roar.

“Kazane, you okay?”

“Yeah, got hit a bit, but I’m fine! The kid’s safe too.”

“Alright, I’ll hold the front. Kazane, support from the back.”

“I’m fine! I’m not letting you hog all the glory, Daichi-kun.”

“You already took the best part, and now you want more?”

“Hehe, girls are always greedy!”

With that, the woman in black dashed towards the Roc, joining the young man in brown armor in battle.

Her movements were so fast that the boy could barely follow. She leaped right and left, attacking with twin daggers.

The wounds she inflicted were surprisingly deep, much more so than one would expect from daggers.

But the strikes from the young man’s spear were even more devastating.

Even after enduring multiple attacks from the Roc’s talons, he remained unfazed.

“Girls, huh?”

“What? Got a problem?”

“None at all. Kazane-sama, you are a flawless maiden.”

“Good. Now, after this, give me a nice hug as a reward.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be my reward?”

As they bantered, the young man and the woman in black continued fighting the Roc.

“Ugh, they’re flirting again! Let me in on this too, grrr!”

From a distance, a glowing ice arrow pierced the Roc’s massive body, shattering into a dazzling display of frost.

The Roc let out another anguished cry.

Following the path of the ice arrow, the boy saw a girl in a mage’s outfit, readying another glowing arrow from her bow.

“W-what is this...?”

The boy could only watch in disbelief as the Roc, now in a desperate struggle, was overwhelmed by the trio of young adventurers, who fought with ease.