The arrow of light remained in place without vanishing.

Then, accompanied by the crackling sound of electricity leaking, a growl could be heard mixed in… could it be that it’s being blocked?

“…Huh? Seriously?”

I had considered dodging or missing, but I never expected it to be blocked even when it hit directly.

After all, I pierced through that boss mantis even though its shell was peeled off, didn’t I?

I didn’t think… something like a regular monster could block it.

“Wait… what… what should I do… ah.”

Should I run away, circle around and attack, or just watch… As I hesitated over my next move, the light and sound gradually faded and eventually disappeared.

Although the sandstorm made it impossible to see the giant ape directly, I could tell through the snakes’ eyes that it was still alive.

I couldn’t tell how much damage it had taken, but… for now, it might be better to change positions.

Since there was no wind, it would likely remain like this for a while, but the ground had been disturbed, and small stones that the giant ape could throw were scattered everywhere.

“…Whoa!?”

As I spoke, a large stone, roughly the size of a human head, flew toward the spot I had just been.

However…

“Too slow… Was there any damage?”

The stone that flew toward me was slow enough that I could have dodged even if I had stayed in place.

I couldn’t finish it off, but it seemed like the attack had landed some damage.

“Good, good… If there was no damage from a direct hit, I would have had no choice but to run…”

Still keeping my eyes on the dust, I kept moving and finishing off the poisoned monsters one by one.

Now, it’s one-on-one with the giant ape until the next respawn.

I don’t need to worry about other monsters, and I can afford to take some risks.

“…Hmm. Almost no magic power left. Did it use it all up blocking the arrow?”

Preparing for a possible roar, I activated the 【Fairy’s Eye】 that I had been holding off on, and looked toward the giant ape. It seemed that almost no magic power remained.

I don’t know how long it will take for its magic to recover, but it won’t be ready in 10 minutes or so.

With this, it won’t be able to block a second shot.

This… is mine now.

◇

I was all fired up, thinking it was mine… but the dust storm still hadn’t cleared.

It’s been about two minutes, I think…

Was it because, while the giant ape endured the hit, it got caught in the sandstorm too?

I really don’t want to engage in close combat with poor visibility.

“Ugh… Huh?”

I was hoping the dust would clear soon, and after a brief wait, the storm calmed, and the giant ape’s figure started to appear.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be in one piece… but it looked like it had caught the arrow with its right arm.

There was no sign of bleeding, but its arm hung limply without strength.

It left a clear opening on the right… I’m not sure if the ape has a dominant arm, but… if I’m going to attack, it’ll be from the right side!

I slowly circled to the right, approaching wide.

The giant ape growled while watching me, but it didn’t come at me since we were still at a distance.

Maintaining a distance of about 10 meters, I reached its side and then quickly accelerated to circle behind it.

“Here we go.”

I attached myself to its back with 【Ankle Bracelet】.

It seems the giant ape couldn’t react to my sudden acceleration.

It was struggling to get its left arm around, but it couldn’t reach me, as I was too close to its right shoulder.

If its right arm had been free, things would have been different, but… heh.

When I took down the giant ape, whether it was the demon lord type or the normal one, I always amputated its limbs first.

With its long arms and bipedal stance, it could make responsive movements, so instead of trying to finish it in one blow, it was the usual approach to slowly wear it down.

I’ll follow that method now.

“Ha! …Hmm? Oh…?!”

I tried cutting off its right arm with 【Shadow Sword】, but… the arm was too thick!

I was able to sever the bone, but the skin and muscle were still intact, and it seemed like it could still move.

In retaliation, it swung its injured arm at me.

It seems it can’t move its arm freely, though—it was just a wild swing.

There’s no way it’ll hit me with that.

Another swing should be enough to sever that right arm.

But… keeping it hanging like that might actually limit its actions, which might be better for me.

“Now… what should I do?”

Dodging the stones it threw with its left arm, I kept flying around the giant ape.

Even though it didn’t move much, it was trying to grab stones with its right hand at times. It might be better to leave it like this without cutting it off.

The core is in the chest.

Even in this state, jumping into close range would be dangerous, so I’ll deal a little more damage first.

Although attacking the torso is difficult, I should aim for the neck or head… and keep attacking vital points until I find an opening!

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Garb】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lungs】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Snake’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】・7 cards

Seriana・【Range Identification】・【】・28 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・3 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・7 cards