Volume 2 Chapter 44 The Blossoming Of Madness - Toxy
Sandra is a genius who reached the silver rank area, where many veterans and skilled individuals belong, in less than a year after graduating from the training school.
Talents like her are quite rare.
It's not easy to rise to the normal rank, with most teenagers remaining at the normal iron level. It's only in their twenties that they might reach copper. In their late thirties to forties, they might finally achieve silver before retiring, that's the usual path.
In that sense, being copper in their teens is a clear sign of excellence.
Hardly anyone underestimates someone with a copper adventurer's badge. If they show a copper badge to a thug, the thug will back off knowing that picking a fight won't end well.
In that sense, copper is already a 'pro'. Ordinary people can't compete.
So, what about silver?
Basically, Silver has given up being human. They have surpassed the realm of ordinary people with their magic, reaching a stage where they can defeat monsters in person.
Sandra, on the other hand, had already reached that level upon graduating from the training school.
Her upbringing played a part in this. Her grandmother excelled in various types of magic, and her parents stood in the abnormal realm of the gold rank. She was raised based on such extraordinary individuals.
So, what kind of life does one need to lead to become strong? Sandra seems to intuitively understand where she needs to grow and evolve.
However, instead of relying on intuition, if it was to put it into words, what is necessary to evolve? What are the qualities needed to reach Silver?
Sandra answers,
"Madness."
―――Now, the wyvern is roaring. An inexperienced genius and three others, who have begun to harbor 'colors' in their eyes, confront a monster that humans cannot defeat.
Clay shouted,
"Let's win! We will win! So, can you give me some time to come up with a plan for that? We must defeat the Wyvern no matter what. Can I rely on you guys for that!?"
Clay always remained calm and collected. His sanity and reason were evident in such moments, as noticed by Sandra. That's why Sandra insisted that such a crisis was necessary.
"Got it. Let's do it, Toxy-chan. Sandra-san."
Ice was nervous and lacked confidence. However, there was no hesitation in her actions, and Sandra believed she was closest to blossoming.
"I-I understand...! Let's do it. I don't know how far we can go, but let's try."
Toxy was sensible and level-headed, but there was a hint of acting in her attitude. Surely, she had already blossomed, but she was hiding it. Therefore, a situation where she didn't need to hide it or shouldn't hide it was necessary.
"First, I'll stall for time. But eventually, the Wyvern will realize that I'm not worth much. That's when everyone will come to the rescue. Hang in there!"
Sandra said as she takes a step forward. Then, she says,
"Thunder Speed."
Sandra's body turns into lightning.
Her speed is like a flash of lightning. In the slowed-down time, Sandra runs with legs that feel faster subjectively.
She rushes ahead of everyone and runs through the Wyvern's body. Lightning-fast Sandra even runs on walls. So she climbs up the Wyvern's body as well.
Then, she releases the magic and chants,
"Spark."
She aims for the Wyvern's eyes and strikes them with lightning.
"GRRROOOOARRR!"
The Wyvern reels in surprise more than pain and starts thrashing around. So, she quickly evades using the lightning magic. She temporarily blinds the Wyvern. The first half of the battle is going smoothly.
"Everyone, now...!"
"""Kippi"""
The snowmen made by Ice had somehow wrapped themselves around the Wyvern's mouth, and one by one they entered inside. Sandra was impressed by this.
"Freeze them solid... Ice Blow!"
"GRRROOOOARRR!"
The Wyvern clearly suffered and thrashed about. The damage was all coming back to it. The Wyvern spat out blood, writhing in pain.
"Ice-chan is amazing! Can you keep this up!?"
"Toxy, don't let your guard down. The Wyvern won't die from just this."
"Huh!?"
However, the Wyvern stood up, blood flowing from its body. It trembled all over, radiating heat.
"N... no! I can't freeze its insides completely!"
And then, the Wyvern leaped high into the air.
"It's coming!"
Flying, the raging wind flaps wildly. Mixed within are tornadoes created by magic.
Just by receiving the onslaught, all members sustained injuries all over their bodies. They had to brace themselves and endure somehow.
However, the real threat starts here.
Sandra shouts.
"Ice! Run away!"
"―――Okay!"
Ice didn't hesitate and fled. The wyvern swoops down towards that direction. A direct hit would mean instant death, a meteor-like assault. But they won't let it happen that easily.
"Thunder Speed, Spark!"
Sandra turns into a flash of lightning, soaring high up. She then appears in front of it, blinding its eyes once again.
"GROARR!"
The wyvern flinches, but couldn't stop its massive body from crashing down. The power was enough to upheave the surrounding earth in an instant. Without hitting Ice who was running away, it blew her away.
"Ahh!"
After being hit by a shocking wave of impact and earth, Ice was blown several meters away and tumbled. She could barely move, appearing to be in a stunned state. She couldn't switch to evasion immediately.
"Ugh, no way. Wh-what should I do? Clay! Still no ideas!?"
"―――..."
Clay, with his bloodshot eyes darting around at various things, seemed to be pondering. His battle as the commander. There was a hidden depth there, quiet yet inaccessible to others.
"...ugh"
Toxy flinched and looked at Sandra. Sandra spoke.
"Toxy. I'll say it as many times as needed. We can't defeat the Wyvern by ourselves. The four of us can't do it. We're saying we'll defeat it. But to do that, we all need to break out of our shells. We have to cast aside common sense."
"...ugh"
Toxy trembled. What could be seen from there was fear. The fear of rejection. The fear of exclusion. And the fear of loss. Sandra chuckled inwardly.
What's with this kid? At this critical moment, she's not afraid of the threat of a wyvern, but only of losing a friend.
So, she said,
"Don't be afraid. It's okay. Everyone here is already crazy. So, why not let yourself go crazy too, Toxy? Who cares about the others. After all, this party is led by Wade, the most naturally crazy genius."
"...Ah"
Break it. Show it.
"Toxy"
Sandra smiles. She accepts it and shows it with her whole body.
"It's okay to be crazy. It's not strange to be crazy. Above all, if you don't go crazy here, Ice will die. So, I want to see your madness, Toxy."
"..."
Quietly, Toxy stared at Sandra. She shed tears. They increased in volume, becoming unstoppable.
"Ah, no, I didn't want to show this, I didn't want to show this at all, no, no, no, no, no!"
Suddenly, Toxy realized that a huge amount of pills were welling up in her palm. Toxy devoured them eagerly.
Without caring if some spilled from her hand, she hungrily ate the pills, and then...
"..........ahaha"
Her face twisted in ecstasy.
"...Toxy?"
Sandra secretly shuddered as something unexpected came out.
At that moment, Toxy was already in front of her.
"!"
"Sandra, I'm happy. I'm so happy you said that, Sandra. Thank you. Haha, thank you!"
Blushing, Toxy hugged her tightly. Then she handed something over. Pills. It seemed like she wanted her to take them.
"What's this?"
"Antidote. I'm going to go a little wild now."
"...Got it."
She took them. There was no immediate change in her body.
When Sandra looked up, she was distributing medicine to everyone in an unusually relaxed manner. She gave the fallen Ice a drink, and Clay drank it almost instinctively without interrupting his thoughts.
Then, a Wyvern roared. Accompanied by shockwaves, it approached Toxy, carving the ground as it moved.
"Toxy!"
"Hmm? Ahaha."
Facing the Wyvern's sweeping tornado, Toxy laughed.
"You're slow! Hahaha."
Toxy stood in a distant place, bouncing around. Sandra widened her eyes as she watched.
"...When did you move? I didn't see it. What did you do?"
Ignoring Sandra's agitation, Toxy aimed her bow at the sky and released it.
"Poison, mist――――――――!"
Contrary to her energetic voice, a large amount of poison spread from the arrow launched, enough to engulf the entire area.
"...I see. The antidote from earlier was for that."
After being hit by the toxic mist, the Wyvern clearly went haywire. It staggered and struggled to stay on its feet, looking as if it was intoxicated.
But Toxy didn't stop. Due to the strange movement speed that started with the timing of the medication, she found herself moving to the Wyvern's feet without even realizing it.
And then, Toxy reached into the Wyvern's open mouth, drooling saliva.
"Clay said it's a poison as harmless as possible, but..."
She smirked.
"It's not the time for that kind of talk, right?"
―――Poison Liquid.
Upon Toxy's incantation, the Wyvern's mouth overflowed with venom.
"Gobble, screech, gobble gobble gobble!"
"Hahaha! I've never seen a dragon drowning in poison before!"
Toxy laughed heartily. Sandra couldn't tell which one was the monster.
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