Sofia and the others seemed to have dealt solid damage to the monster, but it was still going strong. And perhaps out of caution, it spread roots around its true self, showing a defensive posture.

“It formed a wall,”

I said. However, as long as the roots’ abilities haven’t changed, Sofia’s magic should still be able to blow them away. But it probably won’t be in a single hit—I guess I’ll provide support and take care of the wall too.

Just as I was about to give instructions with that thought, Sofia spoke up.

“Even if we attack again, we need a little more firepower or more combat strength.”

“Indeed.”

Kyarun agreed with her words. As my companions showed grim expressions… a change occurred.

“This is…”

A man’s voice from behind. When I turned around, there were two people.

One was a brown-haired man, like Stella, from Adventurers’ Wind… clad in leather armor. His weapon was a longsword, but it was somewhat oversized, and I immediately realized it was a greatsword-type weapon.

The other was a man in priestly robes holding a staff. His black hair and all-blue attire from top to bottom made him look quite out of place in this forest.

–The brown-haired man was Alto Moonrayt, one of the protagonists. And the other man was Ignos Alvan, a priest who could use ‘Divine Magic.’

“–Stella!?”

Then Alto, her brother, noticed his sister’s presence. Stella immediately looked awkward and said,

“Oh, brother…”

“You, what are you doing here—”

“Hold on a moment. Conversation later.”

I interrupted. Then he looked at me.

“Who are you?”

“We’re adventurers who are trying to defeat the monster in this forest. Uh, is she your sister? When the three of us came here, she was challenging it alone.”

“…Stella.”

“Don’t be mad.”

An argument seemed to be brewing. I suppressed it and pointed at the monster in front of us.

“For now, please focus on defeating that thing… We attacked it earlier. However, it’s still going strong, and we need more numbers to finish it off quickly.

“Alright.”

Alto holds his sword, facing the Monster.

“This opponent seems dangerous, so I’ll cooperate.”

“…Sofia, Kyarun. Attack with him.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

The two agree and ready their War Vessels. Stella also gets ready to move. Meanwhile, roots form a wall, expanding the dominion again.

“I’ll destroy the roots and make a path. Finish it quickly with a fierce attack from the four of you.”

“I’ll provide support.”

Ignos also agrees. I nod slightly and glance at everyone.

I don’t know if a concentrated attack will defeat it… but if worst comes to worst, I can support them and defeat the Monster. That’s a last resort, but Sofia and the others’ safety is the priority—I reaffirm my resolve and raise my arm to cast Magic.

I use “Flame Needle” to instantly destroy the roots crawling on the ground. This quickly creates a path, and Alto and the others rush towards the Monster.

I also use the same Magic to destroy the roots that formed a wall to protect the True Self—just then, the four of them approached the True Self at the right moment.

The attack begins. First, Sofia’s “Fire Slash” is unleashed, followed by Kyarun’s “Sonic Smash.”

Then Alto moves, unleashing the Greatsword low-level technique “Sky-Rending Sword.” It’s a single-hit skill that creates a slight shockwave with an upward slash from below.

And Stella adds a Sword Strike as if to deliver the finishing blow. Here, I cast “Flame Needle” at the regenerating roots nearby to seal the deal.

The four continue to attack. In the game, it would counterattack regardless of taking damage, but the petals aren’t moving—or rather, they can’t move. More precisely, it seems Sofia and the others are slowing its movements at the timing of their attacks.

Convinced that we could push through, I destroy any roots that might hinder the four with Magic. Ignos also supports this with “Holy Shot,” and eventually—

A muffled sound from the Monster. No, as a plant, it shouldn’t be able to make a sound, so it might have been the sound of it losing power and collapsing.

The roots also begin to rot. As I think it’s over, Sofia and the others return.

As everyone stood at a distance, holding their breath… the Evil Flower shriveled and grew smaller, eventually disappearing.

“We defeated it, huh…”

Alto speaks. Shortly after, I turn my head to Sofia.

“…Thank you for helping my sister. My name is Alto Moonrayt. This is my comrade, Ignos Alvan.”

“I’m Ruon Madin. And she is—”

After we finished introducing ourselves, I noticed something. In the place where the Monster’s True Self existed, there was a single glittering object.

“Ah…”

Stella mutters and approaches it. What she immediately picked up seemed to be the Dagger that had been swallowed.

“We found it, but it seems to have lost its Magic Power.”

“That’s natural, considering such a Monster appeared… but is it that valuable?”

“…Ah, we found that in the Ancient Ruins we first explored.”

“I’ve kept it to remember my beginnings.”

Ah, I see. That’s how it is. They treasured it because they got it first… In the game, it was swallowed, but now that it’s the real world, they were able to save it.

And the surrounding fog clears a bit. It’s not completely clear since it’s a place where fog naturally gathers, but it was probably even denser due to the influence of the Miasma.

“I guess we can say we’ve defeated the boss in this area.”

I mutter to myself and shift my gaze to Sofia and Kyarun.

Both of their levels have risen sufficiently… they haven’t learned intermediate-level skills yet, but they should acquire them with a bit more training.

And the event goal has been achieved. However, a question remains. Even with a fierce attack, the boss felt much more fragile compared to the game. This could be because Stella wasn’t absorbed, but if so, how should I interpret the roots’ Regenerative Ability…? I don’t know if I can figure it out by investigating the surroundings, but I should probably do it.

I ended up meeting Alto again… should I observe the situation around here? Well, it’s a fact that a connection was formed here, so it might be good to go back to Town and talk to him.

“Did you visit this Forest with some purpose?”

Alto asks. I shrug in response,

“For now, yes. We each have our own reasons for fighting the Demon Race. That’s why we’re fighting the Monsters in this Forest.”

“The Demon Race… I see.”

“What about you? Since you heard the words Ancient Ruins, are you a Treasure Hunter?”

When I asked, Alto replied, “Something like that,”

“But I did have some thoughts about the Shadow of the Demon Lord, which grows stronger day by day… Hey, Ruon. Some of the Demon Race establish Strongholds. Is this about challenging those kinds of Demon Race?”

“I haven’t decided what to do yet, but if we’re going to fight the Demon Race, that possibility isn’t zero.”

I shrugged my shoulders—it’s true that Redras’s Castle, home to one of the Five Great Demons, is nearby. But I shouldn’t have been able to enter without a certain event.

The same goes for the other Five Great Demons. The order in which they are defeated is free, but the Five Great Demons would not emerge from the dimensional distortion unless a specific event was triggered. This is because their goal is not direct control over Humans, but rather to control the Magic Power in the land and atmosphere of the Continent.

The goal of the Five Great Demons is to drive wedges of Magic Power into the Continent using Demonic Power. This is related to the Magic that activates when each of the five Protagonists defeats one of the Five Great Demons. The Magic Power infused by the Five Great Demons resonates with the destruction Magic unleashed by the Demon King, generating enough power to collapse the entire Continent. Currently, they are in the stage of preparing to activate the Magic while holding back Humans and Spirits.

However, if only one Protagonist defeats a Five Great Demon, it won’t activate. The reason is that when the Demon King activates the Magic, the Protagonist who obtained the Sage’s Power from the Five Great Demons will nullify that Magic. If all five Protagonists conquer them individually, their power isn’t united, so it won’t work like that. Therefore, the Demon King can use Magic to devastate the Continent.

Currently, no events related to the Five Great Demons have been triggered. Maybe I should investigate that in detail once I return to Town—just as I thought that,

“I never thought I’d be defeated.”

A youthful—not from my companions—male voice was heard.