Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Chapter  42   “Thunderstrike”

However, just as we repeated that pattern and thought we could defeat it with just a little more, the giant ape made a new move.

“Tenshi-san!?”

“Damn it! It can control its severed arm!”

Although the injuries had healed, the arm that was supposed to have been cut off, aiming for the young lady who still couldn’t move, flew off on its own.

The large arm befitting the size of the giant ape flew with enough force to easily crush a person upon impact.

At this rate, that young lady will die.

“Nice one, White Knight! But couldn’t you be a little quicker?”

“It’s not my fault we’re in this fight! Just be glad I made it in time!”

However, it didn’t turn out that way.

The man known as the top-ranked adventurer, the “White Knight,” whom I thought I had defeated, positioned himself between the flying arm and the young lady, shielding her.

“I’m still not in my best condition, so I can’t join the attack, but leave the rear to me!”

If he’s there, I wouldn’t mind leaving the rear to him.

However, as he himself mentioned, it seems like he’s not in his best condition, and prolonging the situation would be risky.

While pondering this, I glanced briefly at the arm that flew off earlier, and it hadn’t moved an inch.

Should I consider that his ability is limited to launching his arm, given that it flew away and it’s not moving anymore?

No, I shouldn’t be too optimistic. I should assume that the arm that flew off can still be controlled, as it might be to deceive us.

…There’s no helping it. I don’t want to do it, but Asada and the others are also tired and their movements are sluggish. If we drag this out any longer, someone might actually die. It involves some element of risk, but there’s no choice but to do it.

After making that decision, I let out a small sigh and shouted loudly towards Miyano.

“Miyano, I’ll create an opening. Aim for the head with maximum firepower!”

“But, but I still can’t fully control it…”

However, in response to my words, Miyano flinched and answered with uncertainty.

…I’m aware of that. He told me not to use it in the dungeon until I can fully control it.

However, considering the situation, I can’t afford not to ask for her help.

“Do it already! I don’t care if you can or can’t! If you can’t, you’ll just die! You ignored my teachings and stuck your neck out, so make sure to clean up this mess properly in the end!”

Upon hearing my words, Miyano hesitated for a few seconds, but then I sensed a surge of magical power emanating from her, as if she had made up her mind.

And that magical power, with her hair fluttering, overflowed from Miyano’s body and converged into the sword she held.

Witnessing that sight and being convinced, I ripped off the thin, pure white wristband I had on my wrist and swiftly tied it to the kunai I had taken out.

It was aimed at the giant ape’s torso, and in its current position, it would be unavoidable.

And it seemed the giant ape thought so too, as it swiped the kunai away with its arm. But–

“What’s… that?”

Whose voice was that?

As the giant ape attempted to deflect the kunai, its arm burst into black flames upon contact.

In an attempt to extinguish the eerie flames, it made a motion to brush them off with its other arm, but the flames spread to anything they touched, engulfing and burning.

“Miyano! Do itttttt!”

While shouting, I turned back to Miyano, who was now holding a sword enveloped in a glowing blue lightning.

“Yaaaaaaahhhhh!”

And with that shout, Miyano swung down her sword.

Let’s say it resembled an oval-shaped crescent. Lightning in such a form was unleashed from Miyano’s swing, flying towards the giant ape that was still struggling to extinguish the flames.

And then—light and sound devastated the surroundings.

A thunderous roar that made one think a thunderbolt had struck right in front of them.

An intensely dazzling flash that could be felt even with closed eyes.

Yet, we had anticipated such an outcome, so we managed to move somehow.

And it seemed Miyano herself had done the same. Although slightly unsteady, she directed her gaze towards the spot where the giant ape had been.

What we saw when we looked in that direction was a giant ape that, despite still twitching slightly, had most of its arms and body charred and reduced to a near-lifeless state.

If it had taken the full force of Miyano’s true power, it would have been an instant kill, but perhaps her mastery of her abilities was still lacking.

“We… did it…?”

Murmuring those words, Miyano either released her tension or exhausted her strength and sank down on the spot.

“Hey, Miyano.”

“Ah, Igami-san! We did it! We won!”

When I called out to her, Miyano turned towards me with an excited expression.

I understand her feelings. But, you idiot! It’s not over yet!

“Grrr… Ooooooh…”

“Huh?”

Miyano turned back in astonishment, but it would be too late for that guy to move now.

However, before the dying giant ape could attack Miyano, an explosion occurred between them. It was the bomb I threw.

As a result, Miya-no, who was sitting down, was blown away, but let her consider it as the price for her carelessness. Even if she had exhausted her power, it wouldn’t have been much of an impact.

But more importantly, what happened to that guy?

With a gun in one hand and a bomb in the other, I kept my gaze on the near-death giant ape without letting my guard down.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, there lay the giant ape, charred black.

I think it’s dead since it’s not moving at all, but I still remained cautious. I poured water into its ears and stirred it in the head once again.

Yet, there was no response, and I exhaled, realizing that it was truly dead.

Ideally, I would like to sit down and rest now, considering how the explosion made me roll on the ground and get covered in dirt. But not yet.

I approached Miyano, who was sitting there, dirtied by the explosion, and drew closer.

“Don’t let your guard down until the final blow, you idiot. You’ll receive counterattacks because of your carelessness when you haven’t completely defeated them. Didn’t I tell you not to underestimate during our adventures? Or am I remembering it wrong?”

“Well… I heard you…”

As I spoke to Miyano, who was sitting on the ground and looking up at me, they drooped with a gloomy expression.

“Hey, come on. We won, didn’t we? We should have some different words to say!” Asada interrupted, but their steps were unsteady. They must have reached their limit as well.

“Winning and having no room for reflection are different things, you know.”

“But… um…”

As Asada struggled with their words, Kitahara and Abe approached us.

Despite being tired from excessive use of magic, they didn’t seem to have any major injuries. They might be just hiding it, but at least they were alive. Well, that’s good enough.

Sigh “Well… overall, I think we did a good job, didn’t we?”