As long as Palaig was holding the dispenser without taking it out, the path of the petrifying powder would be limited. The same was true for the other party, of course. If Palaig tried to keep the dispenser in his hand, it was nearly impossible to deliver a critical hit.

At first glance, this might seem like a stalemate without an answer, but Cadel disagreed.

‘I’m not going to let my subordinates get into close combat until he pulls out his dispenser. It’s enough of a deterrent. But not Palaig, who can’t shake the worry that at any moment the knights in his rear could gather and surround him.’

No matter how much wind pressure Cadel used to push the petrifying powder away, if Palaig focused all of it on Cadel, he would be trapped and petrified. If that bothered Palaig, he could ignore the wind and focus his attacks there.

But what if the other knights attack while he was doing that? The hammer was tied down by the magician, and there was no ranged support. Could he stay safe while petrifying the magician?

Palaig wondered. And Cadel, for his part, could anticipate Palaig’s decision.

‘He sees right through this Palaig’s fighting style. How? Has information already spread among humans? But even if he knew, responding like this……. He is an absurd human being.’

The path of the petrifying powder was twisted to target the magician. His demonic energy was mixed in with the petrifying powder. The wind alone was not enough to keep the powder at bay. Especially not one standing on the front lines.

As proof, the petrification that had reached Cadel’s thighs now burned up to his waist. And yet.

‘Is he confident that he can get rid of me before he is solidified? Cheeky…….’

There was no fear in Cadel’s eyes as he turned to face him. Palaig found that more distasteful than anything else. The feeling of helplessness, so out of character for him, that no matter how hard he struggled, he would never be able to escape the trap the magician had set, was replaced by anger.

“I don’t want to be stopped by humans twice!”

With a thunderous roar, Palaig’s thighs bulged. Bracing his lower body, he began to lift the flame-bound hammer.

‘Yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to go.’

It was a power to be reckoned with. Cadel maintained the wind pressure and added mana to the flames at the same time. The flames were tearing apart, strand by strand, crumbling before Palaig’s power, but there was still no hint of panic in his expression.

‘If he’s a guy who only believes in his own strength and rushes in ignorantly, he won’t use the dispenser for defense in the first place. Despite his appearance, he’s got a brain. There are probably too many things at stake to just ignore the what ifs and rush ahead.’

The flames could no longer hold the hammer. The hammer fell back into place, drawing a magnificent arc against the fading sunset sky.

“Knight Commander!”

A blast of powder, caught in the disheveled wind, petrified Cadel’s chest and left arm. Cadel stretched out his intact right arm to block the approach of his subordinates.

“No! Not yet.”

The raised hammer was not aimed at Cadel. Nor was it aimed at the other knights. Palaig slung the near pillar-like pole that supported the hammer head over his shoulder and fumbled in his bosom for something.

Cadel watched Palaig’s actions without blinking an eye. If he could get the dispenser away from Palaig, his part would be done. The rest of the victory would depend on his subordinates.

And finally, Palaig took his hand out from within his bosom. Cadel was already expecting what was inside, but Palaig opened his palm to Cadel as if to show off.

Three cuboidal pillars stuck between thick fingers. Cadel, who discovered it, had a look of agitation in his eyes.

“I don’t know how you discovered this Palaig’s abilities, but I guess you didn’t expect this. Petrification dispenser! You probably expected there to be only one dispenser!”

Cadel had to work on his facial expressions to keep from looking panicked, but it didn’t work.

Palaig’s fighting style broke from the game’s pattern, but only because of the variables created by his ability to utilize his skills. It wasn’t the types of skills Palaig used that changed.

Cadel thought so.

‘There are three dispensers……?’

The maximum number of dispensers Palaig could create in the game was one, and he couldn’t create more. This was something Palaig couldn’t do, no matter how uniquely he utilized his skills.

Had it come to the point where he couldn’t even predict his enemy’s techniques? In front of Cadel, who was stiff with shock, Palaig tugged at the corners of his mouth smugly.

“Only one dispenser is correct.”

“……?”

“Among these, there is only one real dispenser. The rest are just fakes made by Miss Emilia. But you won’t be able to tell which one is real!”

With a triumphant shout, Palaig tossed the dispensers into the air. The cuboidal pillars swelled to more than twenty times their size as soon as they left Palaig’s hand. Three massive pillars rose into the slowly darkening sky. Palaig gripped the handle of the hammer slung over his shoulder with both hands.

“I’ll smash you to pieces and turn you into manure for my new empire!”

He flexed his back, which had been twisted to its limit, and swung the hammer at the falling dispensers. The three dispensers that were hit by the hammer’s head flew across the sky with a refreshing hitting sound. The dispensers, fired in different directions, disappeared into the forest in a flash.

“……Hah.”

Cadel bit his lip as he spat out an involuntary chuckle.

‘You want us to disperse?’

This made it possible to deliver an effective hit to Palaig, but a bigger problem arose. If the dispenser was placed that far away, it was difficult to specify where the powder was flying from. The probability of being fatally petrified during battle had increased exponentially.

The first step in conquering Palaig was destroying the petrification dispenser. In order to attack Palaig and simultaneously find and destroy the dispenser, dispersion of power was inevitable.

‘He’s going to spray the petrifying powder against our halved power. ……I didn’t see this coming.’

And even if he did, there was no way to avoid it. Cadel, whose expression suddenly hardened, gestured to Lydon behind him.

“Lydon! Buy me some time!”

“Huh? Just me? Can I do whatever I want?”

“Yeah, do whatever you want.”

“Ahaha! Finally!”

It would have been more pleasant if his wings hadn’t been petrified, but Lydon stood before Cadel with a happy stride and a cheeky smile as he lightly kissed Cadel’s forehead, now more than two-thirds petrified.

“I almost died of boredom.”

“Never lift the barrier. Slow the petrification even a little. Do you understand?”

“Yes yes, Cadel, I’ll listen to everything you say.”

A strange madness flickered in the red eyes that reflected his own, but Cadel forced himself to look away. He needed Lydon’s strength now.

Turning to face Palaig, Lydon waved a hand in genuine greeting, his smile broadening into a toothy grin.

“Cadel said to buy time, so play with me for a while. Be careful not to get yourself killed, okay?”

“Kahaha! Are you saying that to this Palaig? You fairy, whose wings have lost, is talking nonsense!”

Palaig’s hammer swung back menacingly, and a blizzard of snow swirled around Lydon.