Jeanne took a deep breath and met Leon's eyes:
"One last question."
"Will we win?"
Leon took off his goggles, swept his hair back, and flashed a confident smile:
"We'll win!"
"..."
They didn't know why, but when Leon said this so confidently, a strange premonition flickered through everyone's hearts.
As if something unexpected was bound to happen afterward.
Never mind the others, even Leon himself got a bad feeling the instant the answer slipped out.
Hey, hey, hey, no way, right? I'm not about to turn into a meme and become everyone's punchline, am I?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
He shook his head slightly and pulled his mask, goggles, and hood back on, wrapping himself up tight again. Then he quickly checked over his remaining usable gear and supplies:
First, weapons. The 8-million-Valis Magic Crystal blew out, so the staff is useless. Uh... well, not totally useless. As a long club for bashing heads in, it's actually pretty handy.
Two-thirds of the potions are left, enough to last through the coming fight.
The spirit-weave cloth armor is damaged, but with Frost Armor up, that's not a big problem.
Stamina's at half. My Mind was almost drained dry, but killing the Mirage Sand Dragon and the small fry I picked off along the way brought some back. A few Magic Potions will top it up.
Bottom line: I can still fight, just not at full power.
But... the problem now is that if we keep up this high-intensity slugfest, even if I can hold out alone, the others can't. So... fighting while retreating, kiting, is the right call.
"Arcane Intellect!"
"Blessing of Might!"
"Power Word: Fortitude!"
With a wave of his hand he applied buffs to the whole party, then downed two expensive Magic Potions and two Potions in a row. Feeling his Mind and stamina climb rapidly inside him, Leon took a deep breath:
"Now it's time to show off some real skill!"
Before he'd finished speaking, he raised his right hand and clenched it hard in midair.
The snowflakes drifting down from the sky seemed to freeze in place, suspended in midair, as though someone had hit the pause button on time, were it not for the monsters below still roaring and struggling as the ice locked them down.
Leon bared his teeth in a fierce grin:
"Now... fall!"
A torrent of magic poured into the spell. Amplified by Mage F, Hunter F, and the Secret Art: Transcendent Magic Circle, the Blizzard's power and effect surged visibly!
The snowflakes grew larger, until even their patterns were clearly visible.
The once-sparse snowfall turned into a frozen blizzard of thick, heavy flakes.
The blizzard howled. The ground of yellow sand turned white, and the snowy drifts, steaming with frost, crept up the monsters' bodies. In moments, dozens, even a hundred, frost-covered ice sculptures had sprung up among the horde.
Some were accidentally smashed by neighboring monsters in the chaotic scramble, some were simply blown apart, and only a very few "lucky sculptures" survived intact because the monsters around them were frozen in place too.
Laurier, gripping her short bow, watched the horde visibly shrink by a huge chunk, and she sucked in a sharp breath!
"Aaah! Th-that's one strong Blizzard!"
Aura's bowstring never stopped as she loosed arrow after arrow in a rapid hiss, covering Kureha, their glass-cannon Sword Saint. In a passing glance, a flash of shock crossed her eyes:
"The Blizzard in the subjugation battle before wasn't Mr. Leon's limit?"
"No, this time Mr. Leon is clearly trading coverage area for a stronger Blizzard attack..."
"I see, he's doing it through magic control?"
"What terrifying magic control!"
...
Killed Lv.4 monster (Strengthened Species), Excelia +49
...
Killed Lv.3 monster (Elite), Excelia +0.1
...
Killed Lv.3 monster, Excelia +0.1
...
Killed Lv.3 monster (Elite), Excelia +0.1
...
Two and a half hours later.
Fighting, fighting, and more fighting.
The continuous combat and repetitive, mechanical slaughter had dragged everyone's condition down sharply.
Their movements slowed, their reactions dulled, they struggled to focus and occasionally zoned out, they got hurt more and more often, and the injuries piled up on their bodies. Never mind that their kill speed had dropped by a huge margin, even the defensive line they'd formed was starting to totter under the tidal waves of monsters crashing against it.
They'd been in bad shape to begin with, and with their wounds on top of that, the fact that they had held out for another two and a half hours in such an ultra-high-intensity fight came almost entirely down to the hard-forged willpower holding them up.
Even Leon, with a hundred times the Mind, was starting to have his brain give out after continuously alternating ice clones, Blizzard, Ice Ring, and Ice Lance!
Right now, he had to not only keep his focus razor-sharp, but also burn a huge amount of energy maintaining precision, all while splitting his attention several ways to read the situation, protect the back line, and give precise support. Even as a battle-hardened "wage slave," he had finally hit his limit.
Then, in one moment of lapsed focus, he left an opening, and a Sandstorm Jackal swatted him flying with one paw. He hit the ground in an ugly faceplant with a thud, utterly dazed, landing right at Margaret's feet.
Margaret had flames burning in her palm and was about to hurl them when she saw Leon's pose. First worry crossed her face, then shock, and then she couldn't hold it together and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, Leon, wh-what kind of pose is that... haha!"
"..."
A certain someone's face darkened. He hurried to climb up off the sand and, feigning composure, brushed the dirt off his cloak. He was just about to speak...
"Cough, cough..."
The Frost Armor on his body flickered on the verge of collapse, and he coughed up a mouthful of congealed blood.
"...Just my luck."