Danmachi: Scavenger

"Front lines, get back!" Bors shouted, his voice carrying across the area as he stepped back along with the dwarves wall. "Big stuff's comin' in!" 

Ryu, Bell, and the other attackers immediately withdrew, putting distance between themselves and the Goliath. The beast's blood-red eyes widened as it realized what was about to happen, and just then, every single magic caster grinned, knowing there was no escape for their target now. 

In unison, they thrust their staff upward, and the battlefield erupted in a dazzling display of light and power. Magic circles flared to life around the Goliath, their intricate patterns glowing brightly as wave after wave of spells of every element pounded the Goliath relentlessly. 

Balls of flame burst against its back, followed by thunderbolts shaped like spears that struck with deafening cracks, ripping along its arm and torso. Tornadoes whirled around the beast, their winds mixing with fire blasts to create a raging firestorm. Thick, jagged swords of light rained down from above, skewering the Goliath from every angle.

The beautiful magic bombardment reflected on Rex's eyes as he stared in awe like he was a side character. Just then, a group of attackers equipped with magic swords added to the onslaught, their blades unleashing yet another round of flames that merged with the smoke and explosions engulfing the Goliath's body. 

The barrage continued, the cacophony of explosions and elemental fury drowning out all other sounds, and after about fifteen seconds, the magic finally ceased. This left the battlefield eerily silent except for the ringing in everyone's ears. All eyes were trained on the massive ball of smoke at the center of the battlefield that began to clear. 

A massive arm emerged first, but there was no hand attached to its wrist—it had been severed and now lay on the ground. Next, the Goliath's heavily damaged head and shoulders came into view, slumped forward in defeat. Its skin was torn to shreds, exposing raw muscle and gushing blood from countless wounds.

"That's not enough," Rex mumbled under his breath.

"Let's finish it off, maggots!!" Bors's voice boomed across the battlefield as he pointed his sword forward. "ATTAAAAACK!!"

The command was like a spark igniting a powder keg. All of the attackers surged forward at once, their weapons raised and their voices united in a battle cry. The ground trembled beneath their charge as they closed in on the wounded Goliath's head from every angle, each adventurer eager to deliver the final blow. 

But then—

"—FUOOOO."

The low, guttural sound froze everyone in their tracks. The Goliath, which should have been too badly injured to move, raised its head. Red specks of light began to emerge from its body, specifically from its wounds, multiplying rapidly as the damage was erased before their eyes. 

Its severed hand regrew from the bones, then muscles, then flesh, its mangled face smoothed over. The large gushes of injuries on its body caused by the bombardment of magic were quickly healed by the red light. Soon, the Goliath stood up with renewed vigor, its massive form towering over the battlefield once more.

"Self-regeneration," Rex muttered, a grin spreading across his face as if he were rooting for the monster. 'That ability might be mine soon.'

The Goliath's blood-red eyes locked onto the attackers who had charged in close, then shifted to the stunned and horrified mages. With a roar, it raised its arms above its shoulders, bringing its massive fists together above its head. Then, with a force that seemed to split the world itself, it brought both fists crashing down into the ground.

The great plain split.

A ferocious explosion erupted, sending a destructive shockwave rippling through the earth. The attackers were instantly swallowed by an ever-expanding tsunami of debris. The adventurer walls were overwhelmed, the mages overtaken, and everything—bodies, weapons, chunks of earth—was launched into the air.

Rex quickly pulled out his halberd and slashed downward. The axe blade split a massive tree trunk in half, both halves flying past him as the leaves on the tree's crown caught fire midair due to the surrounding heat. 

Another swing sent an adventurer's body flying to the side like a rag doll with the broadside of his axe, the body covered in third degree burns as it flew by. Debris rained down around him with loud booms, but thankfully the few pieces that reached him were deflected with ease.

The Goliath stood tall, its body glowing red and surrounded by thousands of swirling red specks.

"AAAAH!"

The Goliath's assault began without warning. It unleashed howl after howl, its sonic roars blasting anything that moved. Adventurers were blown backward, crushed under the impact, or left fading in and out of consciousness. The battlefield descended into chaos.

"Oh no…" Asfi uttered, her voice barely audible over the din. She turned to Boris, the city representative on the hill. "Boris, reestablish formations, now!"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?!" he roared back.

Confusion and fear had completely overtaken the adventurers. Some retreated to regroup, others tended to the wounded, and a few magic users began casting spells in a desperate attempt to turn the tide. But there was no unity—only panic.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

The Goliath's roar shook the battlefield once more.

"That bastard," Boris growled, his eyes widening as a fresh wave of monsters appeared on the great plain, answering the Goliath's second summoning call with howls of their own. 

The surviving adventurers suddenly found themselves facing far more than they could handle.

"Huu..." Rex exhaled, the surrounding heat causing some burns on his skin. 

Even the salamander wool was starting to burn at their edges, his armor and axe glowing brightly. He had started using Blue Papilio Powder a while ago to heal his body as the high heat started causing self damage. 

'Fuck, this is painful.' He clenched his teeth, barely able to breath in the heat. It had reached the point that he needed to use about two of his parral mind to keep it in control else it would explode out. 'After this I doubt I will be in a good shape, but My potion should survive this heat.' 

He glanced at his bag not too far away. He had upgraded his bag to a deep floor bag for almost two hundred thousand valis so it will survive and keep the heat from destroying the content inside.

'A few more seconds.' He thought. He was kinda unsure if his magic would kill it, especially when a bombardment of magic from other levels 2 and 3 barely left it damaged, but Scavenger had rated it high. 'Besides, this is a combination of multiple different abilities.' He was confident in this.

Boris, who had been scanning the battlefield, looking at the carnage and the approaching monsters, suddenly locked onto a hill not too far away. Standing atop it was a figure, but the surrounding air distorting violently made it hard for him to discern the figure.

The heat was so intense that it formed a pillar of shimmering air with a five-meter radius, rising high into the sky like a beacon. The pillar was impossible to miss, drawing the attention of the surrounding monsters that began rushing toward the figure, their roars and snarls filling the air. 

But as they drew closer, the heat grew unbearable. Weaker monsters, inhaling the scorching air, collapsed before they could even reach the top of the hill. Those that managed to cross into the five-meter radius of the heat pillar were met with a gruesome fate. 

Their fur ignited, their eyes burst from the heat, and their lungs burned as they breathed in the searing air. Third-degree burns spread across their bodies, and within moments, they fell lifeless to the ground.

The figure on the hill didn't even glance at the monsters. They stood motionless, their eyes glowing red within the heat mirage as level 2 monsters continued to charge to their deaths, like moths drawn to a flame.

Boris started, his mouth agape. "What the—" he began, but the words caught in his throat. 

Any high-class adventurer could sense the buildup of mind when a mage was casting magic, but there was nothing coming from this figure. No chanting, no magic circles, no signs of spellcasting.

"That's a skill??!!" Boris screamed, drawing the attention of the mages and adventure around him.

At that moment, the figure's glowing red eyes met his. Slowly, almost casually, the figure raised their left hand. Through the heat mirage, Boris could barely make out the gesture—a single finger raised, then five.

"Fi-fifteen?" Boris mumbled, his brow furrowing in confusion. Then, his eyes widened as the realization hit him. 'Fifteen seconds.'

———

"!"

The Goliath's massive fist grazed past Ryuu's body as she twisted mid-air, her heart pounding as she narrowly avoided the deadly strike that slammed onto the ground behind her. Without hesitation, she rushed forward, her wooden sword flashing as she aimed for the giant's exposed legs. 

The Goliath's earsplitting roars filled the air, but Ryuu remained focused, her blade cutting a deep gash across its ankle. She didn't stop there—landing two more strikes in quick succession before darting away to safety.

"Lion, that will get you killed!" Asfi's voice called out from a distance as she sprinted forward to join Ryuu in holding back the Goliath.

"Everyone is fighting with their lives on the line," Ryuu responded, her voice calm and monotonous. "I should do no less."

She dashed toward the Goliath's legs again, adjusting her position and attack angles with each strike, her wooden sword tearing through the beast's tough hide, revealing the raw muscle beneath. The Goliath roared in frustration, unable to ignore Ryuu's relentless and precise assaults, as her tattered green cape fluttered with her almost reckless nature of her attacks.

"Andromeda, shall we attack its core?" Ryuu asked as she performed a series of handless backflips to evade Goliath's stomp.

"Impossible," Asfi replied, dodging another sonic howl with a flying leap and landing gracefully next to Ryuu. "Its hide is too thick. None of our weapons are powerful enough to break the magic stone from the outside."

Both women took advantage of the brief reprieve to quickly down potions, their movements seamless as they continued to evade the Goliath's attacks.

"What about magic?" Ryuu asked, her tone steady.

"…My spell takes an absurdly long time and is rather dull," Asfi admitted, shaking her head. "There's no possibility it will have any effect on Goliath with its regenerative capabilities." Asfi's white cloak fluttered as she wiped spit and potion from her mouth with her forearm, a look of hopelessness flickering across her face.

"Understood," Ryuu said calmly. "That being the case, we need another volley from the mages."

"It will just heal again after taking a direct hit," Asfi countered, frustrated.

"If so, we hit it again and again until it can't heal anymore," Ryuu stated matter-of-factly.

"Are you insane…?!" Asfi exclaimed, her hand instinctively reaching for her belt.

Before she could say more, a voice cut through the chaos. "FIFTEEN SECONDS!"

It was Boris. All eyes turned to the man standing atop the hill, his sword raised high. "Give us fifteen seconds!" His voice boomed across the battlefield, commanding attention. 

"My mage is cooking something up!" he roared, pointing his sword toward Rex.

Every head turned, following the glint of Boris's blade, their gazes locking onto the figure shrouded in a pillar of shimmering heat that rose high into the sky, a beacon of intense energy. They watched as some monsters rushed toward him, only to collapse and burn as they entered the scorching radius. The sight was both mesmerizing and terrifying.

The Goliath's blood-red eyes shifted, locking onto Rex. Its massive jaws opened wide, a low hum building in its throat as it prepared to unleash its devastating breath attack.

Asfi acted instantly and withdrew more Burst Oil grenades from her belt and hurled them at the Goliath's face. The explosion was deafening, the force of the blast snapping the monster's head to the side. Its breath attack went wide, missing the entire battlefield and smashing into a tree more than a kilometer away, obliterating it in an instant.

"Fifteen seconds, Andromeda," Ryuu said, her voice steady as she picked up speed, darting toward the Goliath with purpose.

Asfi glanced back at the beacon of heat, then without hesitation, she changed her path and charged forward. 

The mage on the hill with Boris glanced at the figure, and then a will to continue fighting was ignited as the mages stood up and started chanting. They aimed to launch their attack in fifteen seconds, right as the other mage lunch whatever attack they were preparing.

———

Within the pillar of heat, Rex stood at the center, the air around him shimmering violently. Though he couldn't see the eyes on him through the mirage, he could feel their attention, the collective focus of the battlefield shifting toward him for a split second. 

'Fufufuf~' He laughed internally, a flicker of pride swelling in his chest as he felt his aura points go up rapidly. But he quickly pushed it aside. 'I need to focus.' Any fuck up now would be the end of him.

He glanced down at his arm, his gauntlets almost glowing in heat, the heat radiating from them searing into his skin. Second-degree burns were beginning to appear across his body, the intense temperature taking its toll. Even with the constant physical and mind regeneration brought by the death of the monsters rushing mindlessly toward him, and his own healing magic, his body was barely holding up.

'This internal temperature should be enough.' Rex pushed all distracting thoughts away and began charging his internal fire breath, the energy building in his throat as he prepared to unleash the magic. 

The concept of this ultimate ability was simple. First, he would use his external fire breath to create a blast of fire, giving him range and raw power. Then, he would release his internal fire breath, merging it with the external blast. The result would be a devastating combination—a fire breath with the range of the external attack and the power and control of the internal one. He had tested this multiple times, but this was the first time he was attempting it at this level.

'Alright.' Rex tilted his head back, facing the sky as he opened his mouth. His canines glowed with the bright light building in his throat. 'Charge.'

[Author's Note: These three chapters combined came out to be, 8006 without author's note and 8722 with author's note (yeah, 716 words of me yapping). And like every other time, it's actually one chapter split into three. Nothing much to say about this chapter. Just hope it wasn't boring and/or trash...

You know what I should have done? Post the next chapter tomorrow for that cliffhanger and get more reaction. But I decided to just post all three of them at once. So thank me!

Thanks for reading.]