“…What on earth…?”

I stopped moving towards the monster and couldn’t help but glance at her.

The Giant Ape seemed to realize that something was being done to it. It turned to face Fiora and let out a growl.

Was that supposed to be intimidation?

Even though we were nearly 50 meters apart, that distance was nothing for a Giant Ape with its exceptional physical abilities.

But it was nothing for Fiora either.

The light surrounding Fiora intensified for a brief moment, and just as the Giant Ape was about to step forward to charge at her, the hard ground beneath its feet turned into wet mud.

Maybe the timing was just perfect, but the Giant Ape, mid-step, got its feet caught in the mud and fell forward onto its hands.

Was that deliberate…?

The mud seemed surprisingly deep, sinking nearly 10 centimeters. It was also quite sticky, and perhaps because the sudden ambush had disoriented it, the Giant Ape struggled to get back up.

Of course, once it calmed down, it should be able to pull itself free easily enough… but Fiora had no intention of allowing that.

As if to consume the Giant Ape’s limbs which were still in contact with the ground, pillars of earth sprouted up.

Each pillar seemed to be about 50 centimeters thick. Even for a Giant Ape, breaking free from that unstable position would be impossible.

The effects of the 【Prayer】 were assisting her, but… she probably could have neutralized the Giant Ape even without it.

“…Huh?”

As I watched Fiora in awe, she waved her fan towards me.

Is that her way of telling me to hurry up and finish off the remaining monsters?

Well… looks like I don’t need to worry about the Giant Ape. Guess I should get back to work.

◇

“Welcome back.”

“I’m back. The Giant Ape still doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere.”

After finishing off the monsters that were unaffected by the poison, I returned to Fiora.

I had kept an eye on the Giant Ape throughout the battle, but… yeah, that thing isn’t going anywhere.

It kept glaring at Fiora and roaring, but…

At first, it had been swinging its still-mobile head around, trying to escape somehow, but now that’s all it could do.

“It’s completely restrained. Unless it’s a Demon King Type, a mere lower-tier monster like that won’t break free. More importantly…”

Fiora, looking thoroughly composed, was paying more attention to the monsters scattered around us.

“We can probably just leave them be. The real problem would be if they respawned while we were in the middle of an experiment.”

“That’s true. Here, take this. It works the same way as a combustion sphere.”

“Got it.”

Fiora handed me what she called an explosion sphere (provisional name).

Compared to the combustion sphere, the surface felt slightly rough—probably for grip.

As I rolled it around in my hand to get a feel for its weight and texture, Fiora continued her explanation.

Its basic function was identical to the combustion sphere, but this one explodes.

Apparently, the combustion sphere had already been distributed to some people, and this one might follow suit eventually.

Both items required a direct hit to activate, but it’s rare for a monster to end up as completely immobilized as the Giant Ape was now, so hitting the target reliably meant getting up close.

Besides approaching the monster itself, one also had to be cautious of the sphere’s shockwave.

This one was definitely more dangerous, but the intended users were all expected to be well-equipped, so they figured it would be safe enough.

Well, I’m a bit underdressed today, but I have 【Amber Shield】 and 【Wind Cloak】.

No problem there!

With the combustion sphere, I had struck the monster by speeding past and hitting it overhead. But since the creator was right here, I figured I’d try using it the proper way this time.

The distance I’m confident in hitting accurately… about 5 meters?

Even with the Giant Ape completely immobilized, slowly approaching it like this was still pretty nerve-wracking…

“One… two… three!”

In any case, I wound up and threw the explosion sphere.

The sphere whizzed through the air, landing right on the Giant Ape’s mouth as I intended…

With a dry “thud,” it emitted an intense flash of light.

Both events lasted only a brief moment, but the blinding flash reminded me of Zighart’s technique.

Luckily, my vision returned after a few seconds, but… wasn’t that a little dangerous?

I completely froze up for a moment there.

Well, that’s something for future improvements. Anyway, the Giant Ape…

“…Huh?”

The Giant Ape was gone.

The four earthen pillars were still standing… but the Giant Ape that had been restrained there was nowhere to be seen.

“Maybe… the blast was a bit too strong,” Fiora muttered from behind me, startling me.

“Whoa!?”

I had been puzzled over the missing Giant Ape, only to find Fiora had quietly moved behind me at some point.

Her voice had a hint of confusion… what on earth happened?

“The blast…?”

“…Oh!?”

Could it be that the explosion completely obliterated the Giant Ape’s core?

The Giant Ape?

With just one item?

Looking back at the spot where the Giant Ape had been, I saw only the four earth pillars still standing. Nothing else remained.

For an explosion, there wasn’t much visible damage… but what happened while my vision was blinded?

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Sera・【Hideout】+1【Prayer】【Mira’s Blessing】【Wind Garment】・【Floating Orb】+1【Shadow Sword】【Scarlet Bee Needle】【Fairy’s Eye】【Dragon’s Lung】【Amber Sword】【Danrem’s Thread】【Serpent’s Tail】【Ankle Bracelet】【Amber Shield】【Purple Wings】【Red Sword】・24 cards

Seriana・【Area Identification】・【】・36 cards

Elena・【】・【Green Fang】【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec・【Strong Strike】・【Red Shield】【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・9 cards