Volume 3 Chapter 23 Toxy's Determination
In the distance, a sound like an explosion could be heard.
"That's the sound of Clay fighting...!"
Running with her breath heavy, Toxy said.
"Ugh...! Clay-kun is desperately fighting, buying us time...!"
Receiving a nod from Ice, Toxy bit her lip.
In the rearguard, the two of them. Toxy, along with Ice carrying Moruru, ran desperately through the forest.
"W-what should we do...!? If Clay made that decision, it means he's been caught up."
"There's no choice but to fight!"
"Yeah, but...!"
At that moment, a particularly loud crashing sound echoed. Suddenly, the area behind them fell silent. Ice and Toxy both paled.
"Mama, are you okay...? What happened to Clay? Sandra has fallen too...?"
Moruru looked worried as she spoke. Ice could only hug her tightly in response.
"It's okay, that's why... Us, Mama will definitely protect you."
"Yeah..."
Despite their conversation, the two didn't stop walking. They couldn't afford to lose Moruru. So, they ran. Running was the only thing they could do now.
However,
Escaping on foot from a magician with enhanced mobility was almost impossible.
"Hello. You've run quite a bit. Are you out of breath?"
Windy, despite their torn clothes, descended gracefully from the sky.
Ice and Toxy could only watch them warily.
"What's wrong with Clay?"
As Toxy glared at Windy and asked, Windy smiled softly in response.
"He was brave and tough. Who would have thought he would come up with a new strategy on the spot like that?"
"..."
"However, it's common to fall short of power. Don't blame him. It was just that the opponent was too strong."
The sound of a chilling wind echoed. Toxy swallowed nervously.
"Ice-chan, I'll take care of this. You run, Ice-chan."
"I... got it. I'll leave Daruma-chan (Snowman) plenty behind, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks... I really don't want to be seen too much though."
Ice left behind a large number of snowmen, carrying Moruru as she ran off.
"Next is you, Toxy-sama. You're the rearguard. Wouldn't it have been better if the two of you teamed up?"
"I'm a rear guard who can actually handle close combat a bit, but Ice-chan is a super rear guard who can exhibit the same abilities in both long-range and close-range combat. So, it's like we're almost always fighting together."
"I see. So, what about it? How are you going to entertain me?"
When Toxy hears the word "entertain," she senses Clay's achievements. Initially focused on acting quickly, now the emphasis is on having fun.
This is all thanks to Clay's efforts. Clay has revealed the essence of an adventurer who fundamentally enjoys combat through his skills. So, Toxy will do her best to entertain Windy by fighting as much as possible.
"...Wade. I'll work hard to earn money for when you come back. It'll be bad if I don't make it in time."
Toxy swallows several pills she wants to bring out from her hand. Windy watches Toxy's actions with great interest, saying, "Hmm."
"Toxy-sama, are you ingesting poison magic...? It's not that you're poisoning yourself, right? What are you planning to do..."
Toxy feels a surge of power spreading throughout her body. A sensation as if her nerves reach to the tips of her limbs. She feels omnipotent, as if time has slowed down.
All these sensations intricately connect, and Toxy's mind opens up.
"Aha"
Seeing Toxy's smile, Windy looks stunned.
Immediately after,
Toxy's kick strikes the vulnerable side of Windy's head, knocking them down.
"!?"
"Aha! This is fun――――――――――! Ahahaha!"
As Windy falls, caught off guard, Toxy steps on their body. Finally, Windy's defense kicks in.
"What!? What are you doing!? He-hehe, you surprised me! Who are you?"
"I'mmmmmmmmmm Toxyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"
Windy dodged the attack with wide eyes, avoiding the arrow that was swung at them, with brute force. Then they sprang back up.
"What!? Why did I dodge this and... poison? No, what? What is this?"
"Ehehehehehehehe."
Toxy, feeling excited, spins an arrow with her fingers and shoots it like a bullet.
The arrow hits a tree behind Windy, shattering. Confused, Windy wonders how Toxy managed to generate such power without using a bow.
"Just now, what did you do? Did you achieve the same or greater power without using a bow?"
"Correct! And then, boom!"
Toxy then releases a mist of poison from the shattered arrow, causing Windy to struggle to escape. Windy tries to flee while covered their mouth, but it was no use.
Snowman froze the ground with a "Kippi!" and Windy's feet were caught.
Seizing the opportunity, Toxy shoots multiple arrows using their fingers, one of which goes off in the wrong direction.
"Wind Shield! Cough"
Windy deflected that barrage with a wind shield. With that momentum, the poisonous mist was dispersed. Toxy pouted and complained, "Boo boo!"
However, Windy was getting worked up.
"...Did you crush your finger to release that finger barrage just now?"
"Huh? What~?"
"Don't you realize... If you look closely, you're pushing your body to its limits. I see, if you were this strong, I thought you're attacking with Clay-sama, but it seems you had a hidden ace up your sleeve."
"What do you mean~?"
Toxy tilted her head, running her finger to her mouth. For some reason, her finger was covered in blood, making her mouth dirty.
"Oh my~! Ahahaha!"
"...It looks painful. In that case, swiftly defeating you is also a form of kindness."
"I won't lose."
Toxy smiled slyly.
"I won't lose, that's why. Ahaha."
"No, I will defeat you. Because I'm your opponent."
Windy, unable to move from the ice-covered ground frozen by Ice, took a knife in hand. Three in the right hand.
"Following Wind"
Their right hand trembled. At an incredible speed, the knife rode the wind, aiming for Toxy's limbs.
Toxy's heightened dynamic vision captured it. The rune 'Concentration' engraved on the bow. Tracing it while fleeing enabled her to perform feats beyond ordinary people.
For example, catching and stopping a thrown knife.
"Aha!"
Toxy stopped the knife with both hands and her mouth, then discarded it and approached Windy. However, before that, Windy, having discarded their shoes taken by the ice, was heading towards Toxy.
Toxy kicks Windy. But it was stopped. Her ankle was grabbed, and with the sensation of the wind, the ground turned upside.
"Go to sleep."
She was slammed down. The impact reminded her exhausted body of its limits.
"Cough, cough... Oh, come on. Are these freshly graduated copper rankers? Seriously? And even after desperately training, they still can't reach the Leader Wade-sama?"
Haha, as Windy was hit by poison mist from Toxy, they quickly took out a potion from their pocket, drank it, and tossed the bottle away.
Then Windy took out a knife and started smashing the snowmen that had gathered around.
"...I don't want to think about it. Let's put it aside for now. I'll just do my job calmly."
Toxy gradually regained her composure and reached out with turbulent emotions.
"I won't give Moruru...!"
"No, it will go into the hands of my young lady. That's what being a noble is."
Windy said and left. Unable to do anything about it, Toxy lost consciousness.
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