Chapter 133

“Alright, that’s it for today’s story!”

Friede, who had been setting the mood, suddenly cut off her words, crossing her arms.

“What? Hey, wait a minute. Who cuts off a story like that?!”

How absurd. So startled, the cigarette slipped from my fingers and fell. Damn. I hadn’t even finished half of it. Worried it might set the carriage on fire, I quickly stomped it out.

“What do we do now? Who would’ve thought someone like her would be here?”

Friede crossed her legs and laughed excitedly. I frowned as I pulled out a new cigarette.

Stopping the story right before the climactic battle? That’s not something a decent person would do.

“I’d appreciate it if you continued the story before I flip this carriage over.”

“A member of Faelune wouldn’t be scared of some brute-force threat, right?”

Friede smirked. She slightly spread her arms over her shoulders and shrugged, looking utterly annoying.

If I just gave that thought pouch hanging above her neck a little squeeze, wouldn’t the story just pop right out? Just a little… not enough to turn it into tomato stew.

Whether she noticed my gaze fixed on her skull or not, Friede kept laughing. After laughing for a while, she caught her breath and took a sip of water.

“Ahaha… enough joking. So, what happened next was…”

Thankfully, she started the story again. What a relief. We were just about to see how soft the Grand Princess’s skull really was.

Though I only thought about playfully reaching out, I wouldn’t actually squeeze her head. Even I wouldn’t do that to a friend. Probably.

======[Friede and the Party]======

“Waaaaah! Waaaaah!”

With a bizarre cry, the Cursed Mother slowly approached them. Her sagging flesh made her steps almost invisible.

Friede, holding a saw in her right hand and a chain axe in her left, glared sharply at the creature. Though she looked full of fighting spirit, her mind was filled with frustration.

‘Of all the monsters, why this one… Was this room some kind of ancient nursery?’

The Cursed Mother. While not particularly strong or defensive, she was a tricky opponent without a magician or priest. The bell and doll she carried weren’t just toys.

‘It’s tough to handle her with just us… Damn, if only Hashalleur were here!’

Normally, Friede might have considered retreating. If only the escape route hadn’t been blocked.

“No choice… Both of you, get ready for battle! We’re taking down the Hybrid Monster, the Cursed Mother!”

“Yes!”

Damien lifted his greatsword onto his shoulder. The black iron sword gleamed with a heavy, dark light.

Milia, who had stepped back, aimed at the monster’s head. Despite its terrifying appearance, it was just flesh—no shell to deflect arrows.

“While dealing with her, the main attacks to watch out for are the curse magic and the acid spray from her chest. The acid can melt even steel, so don’t get hit.”

“Curse? Of all things…”

Milia also frowned in frustration. If only they had brought a decent priest, they could have blocked the curse… But the only one in the party who could resist curses was Hashalleur, with her anti-magic abilities.

“Keep an eye on her hands. If she shakes the bell, she’s trying to confuse everyone. If she raises the doll, she’s casting a curse on one person. You never know what’s coming.”

Confusion. A type of mental curse. It overwhelms the mind with thousands of thoughts, causing loss of reason and judgment.

If all three of them got hit by the confusion curse, they might end up killing each other in a frenzy.

“The top priority is the hand with the bell. If you see her trying to shake it, stop her at all costs. If you can’t, immediately drink the holy water.”

Half a bottle of holy water should block one confusion curse.

“What about the doll?”

“…We’ll just have to cover each other. The doll’s curse only targets one person at a time.”

‘At least it’s not an instant-death curse. We’ll manage.’

Damien and Milia nodded and took their stances.

Friede began spinning her chain axe. Noticing the clear threat, the monster’s demeanor turned sharply aggressive.

Like a child thrown to the ground, the Cursed Mother let out a tearing roar. Yellow drool dripped from her gaping lips.

Milia released her bowstring.

—-

The arrow shot like a beam of light, aiming for the monster’s skull. At the same time, Friede hurled her axe with all her might at the hand holding the bell.

Unlike her slow approach earlier, the Cursed Mother’s reaction once in combat was surprisingly agile.

Using the flat of her old axe like a shield, she blocked her head and swung her sword at Friede’s chain axe. Milia’s arrow deflected off at an angle.

“Faster…!”

“Don’t stop, keep shooting!”

Freide grabbed the chain attached to the axe and swung it. The chain swayed heavily, twisting the trajectory of the axe blade.

The cursed mother’s swung sword missed, only striking the iron chain. The force from the side caused the chain to fold sharply, and the axe at the end spun around the sword like a snake, tightly entangling it.

Freide yanked the chain hard, as if in a tug-of-war. The taut chain. As the cursed mother pulled her sword in annoyance, Freide’s body began to be dragged forward bit by bit. Gritting her teeth, Freide mustered all her strength to hold on.

“Damien!”

“Yes!”

Damien rushed in the gap and swung his greatsword toward the monster’s arm. Following Freide’s advice, he planned to cut off the arm holding the bell.

The eyeballs on the back of the hand rolled and glared at Damien in unison. It was a spine-chilling sight, but Damien paid no heed and swung his greatsword anyway. Or rather, he tried to.

The cursed mother’s chest swelled, and a stream of greenish liquid shot out from the tip.

Acid.

“Ugh!”

Damien hastily rolled to the side. The monster’s milk poured onto the spot where he had just been.

With a sizzling sound, the floor began to melt. If he had been hit, Damien would have melted too.

“Ahhhhh!”

The cursed mother’s roar resembled a woman’s scream.

With a fierce sound, the old axe fell like a guillotine toward Damien’s back. Damien, who had sprung up, swung his greatsword at the axe.

-Clang!

The black iron of the demi-human clashed with the ancient steel. The intense impact caused Damien’s knees to buckle slightly.

The cursed mother opened its mouth wide, as if to bite off Damien’s head.

The stench was dizzying. Damien, still reeling from the shock, had no way to dodge. If he were fighting alone, that is.

Milia’s arrow lodged itself in the monster’s mouth.

The arrowhead pierced through the tongue and dug into the lower jaw. The monster let out a sharp scream.

Damien’s hearing went numb for a moment. The scream was that deafening. But thanks to that, the force pressing down on his greatsword weakened.

“Haaaaah!”

Damien stomped his foot and added more strength to his greatsword. The monster’s axe was knocked away.

As he swung his sword again to cut off the hand holding the bell, the cursed mother stretched out its hand holding the doll… and clenched its fist.

“Kyaaaaaaa!”

The crushed doll opened its mouth wide and let out a girl-like scream. Its eyeballs half-popped out, and a fountain of bright red blood spurted from below its legs. It looked as if it were squeezing a person, not a doll.

Damien’s body swayed. The greatsword aimed at the monster’s hand slashed through empty air.

“Damien!”

Milia’s desperate cry. An arrow shot and lodged itself in the monster’s shoulder.

Damien couldn’t hear Milia’s voice. Blood was flowing from his ears.

Freide, who had been gritting her teeth, released the force she had been holding back.

The sudden loss of resistance. The cursed mother’s arm, unable to adjust the pulling force, jerked backward, taking Freide, who was holding the chain, with it.

Freide’s saw, flying like the wind, bit into the cursed mother’s torso. The lumpy skin tore away, scattering pus and black blood.

Freide, who had let go of the chain, grabbed the still staggering Damien and retreated. If she had attacked then, she could have dealt a significant blow to the cursed mother… but at the cost of Damien suffering a fatal injury.

“Senior Freide, Damien is…!”

“I don’t know, you check!”

Freide threw Damien toward Milia’s feet and immediately drew a dagger, hurling it at the enemy.

Daggers flew like arrows toward the cursed mother’s chest. The monster, trying to shake the bell, hastily covered its chest with the axe blade.

‘That’s its trait. Protecting its chest thoroughly.’

Whether it’s maternal instinct or something else, I don’t know… but that behavior is one of its major weaknesses.

Freide pulled out the handle hidden inside the saw with all her might.

The hidden handle extended, making the saw’s handle about three times longer. Perfect for swinging with both hands.