Finally, the time has come.
　That's what I, Laust, was convinced of when Narsena was engaged in a fierce battle with Fenrir.

　Even as I closed the distance to Fenrir, I was laughing.
　With just one step, my body would complain of intense pain.
　In my condition, I wouldn't be able to avoid even a random blow from Fenrir.
　If Fenrir were to notice me now, I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight and would die easily.
　Knowing this, I walk towards Fenrir as if I were unfazed.

　It was impossible for Fenrir to look at me, I knew that.

　The way Fenrir is not paying attention to me, as if he is not paying attention to me, tells me that he never dreamed that I could move.
　I've been acting as if I couldn't move, not even using the "Heel", and I smile even deeper, I wonder if it's working for me.
　If I used "Heal" at that point, not only would it be a burden on Narcena, but I would also miss the opportunity to defeat Fenrir.
　It seems my decision to think so was correct.
　But I knew that Fenrir's primary reason for diverting his attention away from me was not that decision.

　The reason why Fenrir diverted his attention from me is because his trusty partner is able to get his attention completely.

　If she hadn't acted like this, my plan would not have succeeded.
　The blood was pale and white from my hands, probably because I had lost too much blood.
　Perhaps the discarded attack was answered, but Fenrir did not divert his attention from me as he fought Narsena.
　If the situation had continued as it was, I would have been unconscious or had no choice but to perform a Heal, praying that Fenrir would not attack.

　That's why I couldn't help but be grateful to Narcena for setting up all the boards.

　Even now, the fierce battle between her and Fenrir was still going on.
　Looking at the situation alone, it appears that Fenrir is being pushed around more.
　However, if one looked at the breathing martial artist, one would know that Fenrir was the one who really had the upper hand.

　Perhaps because he knew this, there was room for Fenrir's figure.
　He responded to the onslaught without losing his composure.
　Victory in a few seconds.
　That conviction was floating in Fenrir's eyes.

　He could smell the victory - without realizing that Narsena's aim was to make him and only him pay attention to the victory.

　Fenrir wouldn't know.
　Narsena began her onslaught right after her eyes met mine.
　It's not until she realized what I was after.

　Narsena, no matter how well things progressed, doesn't expect to win over Fenrir in a short battle.
　Even so, Narsena hasn't stopped attacking because she has other objectives.

　It doesn't matter if they can beat Narsena or not.
　Because as soon as he responded to the onslaught, Fenrir was in the palm of Narsena's hand.

''Ha, ha, ha.''

　Narsena, who has finally exceeded her limits, collapses to the ground, and Fenrir, confident of victory, laughs.

　Narsena, without even realizing that she has already reached her goal.

　At that time, I was already right behind Fenrir.
　In between daggers, I catch Fenrir's huge body in the nick of time.

''I'm sorry and thank you. Narsena.

''Fii──i!''

　I think as I look at Fenrir, who notices the presence behind me now and trembles his body.
　I wonder how much Narsena has to say and do to make me feel better.

　Being in my party, that's enough to save me.
　It's not enough for me to be bored with that, but as I declared, you've set things up so well for me as a reliable partner.
　If that's the case, I have to live up to their expectations at least a little bit.

　I'm not going to be able to get rid of it.
　I only have one blow left.

　But I knew that was enough.

''Haaaaaaah!''

Fii───────iiiiii!

　I am in a desperate situation myself.
　With the dagger looming, Fenrir, who has finally realized the situation, desperately wrenches the front paw ...... of the only one who can move and the claw I broke into it.

　But that resistance was no longer futile.

　The dagger I swung at crushed Fenrir's claws with ease, reaching his body without losing momentum.
　Then the dagger deeply tore Fenrir's body apart.

''Fiii.''

　Fenrir, bleeding horribly from his body, glares at me with his twin eyes burning with the flames of hatred.
　But that was the last resistance Fenrir could muster.

　I tear the dagger away and Fenrir's body, which has gone limp and powerless, lies on the ground.
　That was the end of Fenrir.



　◇◆◇



　The light faded from those eyes, which were burning with the fire of hatred.
　That's when I realized that Fenrir was dead.
　It's hard to say what a victory would be, but I was able to defeat Fenrir.

　That's when I reached my limit.
　Whether it was the relief of having defeated Fenrir, or the fact that my body had reached its limit, I couldn't help but fall to my knees as a feeling of pain and weariness suddenly assaulted my body.

''Brother ......!''

　Even though I, too, was too exhausted from the fight with Fenrir to get up, I could hear Narsena raising her voice.
　I didn't even have time to respond to Narsena's voice.

'...... don't lose consciousness yet,'

　I clenched my fists so tightly that my blood bled and tried to stay conscious from the angry shouts coming from around me.
　Indeed, I was able to defeat Fenrir.
　There's no doubt that it would greatly affect the outcome of the battle.

　Still, the battle isn't over yet.
　It's too early to leave the battlefield here.
　In the first place, if I lose consciousness at this point, even I might die.

　Having decided that, I forcefully pulled out the Ogre's dagger that was still stuck in my body.

''......!''

　A pain that makes even me, who is used to the pain, scream, pierces my head and blows away my sleepiness for a moment.
　Within that moment, I whip my slow-moving body and manage to take out multiple magic stone tools.
　In that case, the magic stone tool that I failed to grasp fell apart on the ground, but I didn't have the time to pay attention to it.

''Heel!''

　Desperately trying to stay conscious, I cast Heal to Narcena and then to myself.

'There's a pause.'

　The sensation of the wound cut by the dagger being healed, I breathed as I felt it.
　As expected, with the current situation where I'm too wounded, I can't fight right away.
　But after a little while, I should be able to move with no problems.

　With that in mind, I tried to stand up, and the next moment the ground spread out in front of me, and that was the next thing I saw.

''Oh?''

　For a moment I had no idea what had happened.
　After a beat, I realize that I've fallen forward, and I've lost my balance, or so I thought.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get your hands on the ground ...... as you think about it, because you've lost your balance, and it's only then that you realize that you're not going to be able to move.

　I'm not sure why I can't move my body.

"────!　────!

　When I managed to look up, I saw Narcena, her face contorted, shouting something.
　Despite that, I couldn't even recognize what she was saying.

'What do you mean?'

　...... I finally understood that my body hadn't recovered at all.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.
　I'm sure that the injuries I received this time are much heavier than the ones I've received in the past.
　But as long as the "Heal" is activated as usual, it's strange that you have to be able to move.
　My experience in handling the "Heel" thousands of times until now tells me that.

　Because I could understand that much, I couldn't understand what happened after all.
　Even these thoughts are swallowed up by the sleepiness.

'd*mn it ......'

　Even in that situation, I was trying desperately to resist.
　I beat my whip against my motionless body and reached for the magic tools that were scattered on the ground.
　The fight isn't over yet.
　You can't afford to lose consciousness here, so you desperately grab the magic tool.

　But it was only for a short while that I was able to encourage myself to do so.
　I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of the tools, but I didn't have time to cast a "heal" anymore.

　It was at that time that the ground suddenly trembled loudly.

''......!''

　I turn my eyes, which are no longer half open, toward the vibration.

　There it was, lying on the ground, a giant gryphon.
　Near it, one of its wings had been cut off, and its body was covered in wounds.

　And on top of that huge body, Ronald-san was standing with a shiny magic sword in his hand.

　So, I see, Ronald-san also put away the gryphon?

　The moment I realized that, the power that I was desperately trying to keep in my consciousness was released.
　And then my eyes went dark.