As I was doing final checks before the fight, Seigrena said.
"Hey. I have something to ask."
"What now?"
"……'What now'? How rude. Anyone listening would think I only ask pointless things."
"……"
In a sense, it's impressive.
That even in this situation, her self-awareness is this lacking.
"First…… what was your name again?"
"Kaindel."
I'd said it at the start, but she must have let my name go in one ear and out the other back then.
Not that I remembered this girl's family name either, so we were even.
"Kaindel? What a strange name. I'll never understand commoners' naming sense."
"Just state your business. There's no time."
"……Fine. All right. Kaindel. What should I do?"
At this point, I was a little surprised.
I hadn't expected her to ask first.
Of course, surprise aside, my mouth opened as if it had been waiting.
"What can you do?"
"Depends on what you have me do. I'll say this now—talking to souls or raising corpses, things like that are out of the question."
Come to think of it, she'd made a face like her stomach was turning after watching Kria raise the corpse just before.
"Let's be accurate. You couldn't do it even if you wanted to."
"That's why I said it's out of the question. And even if I had that ability, I'd decline."
"I see. Then, here. Take this."
When I held out what I'd been keeping hidden until now, Seigrena made a dumbfounded face.
"Th-this, isn't this that ash-gray branch from earlier?"
"Right."
"When on earth did you take it?"
"When we fled, obviously."
If I'd left it there, the Woodmen would have torn this lizard to shreds.
'I couldn't let that happen.'
Because this lizard might just be the thread to unraveling this fight.
"Go as high as you can and graft this thing on."
"……What's grafting?"
"……Joining it onto the tree, I mean. You remember when we first saw it? Just attach it to the end of a branch like that."
"Is that enough?"
"Probably."
Of course, actual grafting requires far more specialized knowledge and technique, but I had no leisure to teach that.
'No guarantee it'd take even if I taught her.'
Whatever the case, we're in an absurdly disadvantageous situation right now.
The more thorough the preparation against contingencies, the better, and the more variables, the better.
"Got it. Anything else?"
"That's it."
"That's it?"
"Why."
"No, I mean, fighting, or drawing attention…… or defeating all the Woodmen. I thought I'd be given a weightier mission."
Don't make me laugh. On what grounds would I entrust you with such a heavy responsibility?
……The thought crossed my mind, but with little time left and no room for bickering, I decided to say something I didn't mean.
"That lizard is the very core and key of this operation. Meaning your role is the weightiest."
"Hmm……. Really? Well, if that's the case, I suppose there's no help for it."
Seigrena preened with a smug face.
I think I'm getting a feel for how to handle her.
"The problem is that this time you'll have to climb the tree alone."
"……Well, that can't be helped either. Vulgar as it is, given the situation, I'll try it alone."
"Not 'try'—tell me first whether it's possible or not. How long it'll take, whether there's anything that concerns you. Things like that."
At that, this time she made an indignant face.
"What do you take me for! That measly tree, give me 10 seconds and I'll be at the top."
"……Sure."
If only she didn't have that bluster.
***
With the <Pyromancer> secured, I could once again make use of the strategy I'd worked out in the past.
A strange feeling, somehow.
Like a gnat hit with insecticide, flying about precariously this way and that, then landing—and the spot turns out to be exactly where I wanted, you might say.
'The problem is that there are two fruits.'
If there had been only one fruit, securing the Pyromancer alone would have been enough…….
Now, I'm not sure.
Considering this and that, the odds of winning are maybe around half, even looking at it positively?
"Whew."
Still, I'd prepared everything that could be prepared.
"……One minute now. Everyone, get ready."
In front of the root hole's entrance. Those waiting quietly raised their tension at my murmur.
I'd explained the rough outline of the operation two, three times.
Seigrena was a worry, but her assigned task wasn't all that hard, so she'd manage.
"Where did you say to attach this again……?"
"The very top."
"Ah, right. I-I just got a little mixed up, okay?"
……Would she?
Unlike the shaky Seigrena, Kria's expression was quite serene.
Honestly, that was fairly surprising.
Because everything from the class change to the process of raising the corpse had gone so naturally.
'The Pyromancer's condition looked good, too.'
The thought came that Kria's aptitude as a Necromancer might far exceed mine back in my player days.
If so…….
Rather than splitting up right after this exploration, I might need to build a long-term relationship.
'I'd like to check her status window again, too.'
That conversation just now must have raised her trust, so the information might have changed.
[Time Remaining: 00:10]
……No leeway for that either, I suppose.
I watched the time quietly, and from five, I spread my palm and folded one finger at a time.
5, 4, 3, 2…….
[<Baldi's Cursed Doll>'s duration has ended.]
"Run!"
With my shout, we dashed out of the hole like arrows.
First, Seigrena immediately began climbing the tree, and watching that, I was somewhat surprised.
'She climbs well?'
No, not just well.
Seigrena was sprinting up the grain of the tree upright, and as she'd boasted, she really reached the top of the tree in under 10 seconds.
Come to think of it, I'd never even seen this girl fight in person.
"I attached it! This is right, isn't it?"
Seigrena asked, having attached the lizard to a branch tip.
The problem was, I had no room to answer.
GROOOOOOOO—!
Groups of Woodmen began sprouting from beneath the ground.
Before they could fully emerge, I slashed them with the scythe.
Shlick!
A Woodman's defense is extremely low while it's rising from the ground, making it easy to cut.
Because its flesh is soft.
Of course, a trick like this only works the first few times.
WHOOSH!
While I cut down a few, fully emerged Woodmen charged at me.
I cut them down for a while, then at some point turned my back completely and took to my heels.
KRAAAK!
The Woodman group didn't pursue me to the end.
They seemed to follow a bit, then turned to look up the tree.
Wooooo…….
And immediately began trying to crawl up the tree.
"Uwaaah……!"
Seeing that, Seigrena let out a scream.
'So that lizard bastard bothers them most after all?'
I had to draw aggro again, but the black tree was some distance away.
It didn't seem I could reach easily, so I drew the tentacle whip fastened at my waist and swung it.
CRACK!
A Woodman diligently climbing the tree dropped off.
Due to the goddamned item's nature, it can't deal damage, but it does transmit physical force.
Meaning knocking down the ones precariously climbing the tree was possible.
WOOOOO!
There was an unexpected effect too—the ones struck by the whip went berserk and charged at me.
Does getting hit by a whip feel that nasty?
'Their movements seem faster, somehow.'
A creeping anxiety came over me, but since the goal of drawing aggro was achieved, I kept swinging the whip.
Before long, the Guardian group chased me in a dense cluster.
Skrrrrrrrrk!
The sound of wood pieces knocking and scraping together was quite eerie.
Imagining what would happen if they caught me made my hair stand on end.
How many is that in all?
Well past several dozen, it seemed.
'Just a little more.'
I drew them in to the brink, and at the point I thought it was truly the limit, I shouted.
"Kria!"
Clatter.
I heard joints—to be precise, a skeleton—creaking.
Before long, a skeleton revealed itself from within the root hole.
The typical form of a skeleton mage.
'A lich is out of the question at this stage.'
Skeleton mage level, but it didn't matter.
That thing was, in any case, a special individual even among the undead a Necromancer can raise—a so-called 'named.'
Lich or skeleton mage, there's no restriction on wielding <Pyromancer> Karen Hogbal's signature magic.
-Wi, ld…… Fi, re……!
Along with the halting voice of the dead, three enormous pillars of fire shot up.
OOOOOOOOOOO—!
Amid a howl that might have been a scream, the Woodmen numbering around 100 were sucked into the blue pillars of fire in an instant.
[Experience increases.]
[Experience increases.]
[Experience……]
The Woodman group that had been such a nuisance burned fiercely like dry kindling.
'Fire magic, sure enough.'
Experience surged up too, but I ignored the messages and kept my eyes forward.
Skrrrrrrrk……!
I could see several individuals that still hadn't been reduced to ash.
The flames made it hard to see, but the text above their heads alone came into clear view.
[Lv.50 'Woodman Avenger']
Right. Those bastards were still left.
The Avenger bastards stopped pursuing and began crawling up the black tree.
Even wreathed in flames.
'Goddamned bastards.'
Honestly, it'd be best if the flames spread and burned the black tree too, but that won't happen.
That gaunt black tree doesn't burn.
Attacks don't work on it at all, to begin with.
Not simply because it's a background object, but because it's been given invulnerable status.
Probably the type that can't be destroyed unless specific conditions are met.
CRACK!
I lashed an Avenger with the whip, but these things didn't easily fall from the tree, and they didn't so much as pretend to see me.
Like machines fed a single command, they just faithfully crawled up the tree.
"U-uwaaah……! Kaindel! What do I do about those things?! They keep crawling up! Disgusting! Disgusting!"
"Do something!"
"Do what, how?!"
"Kick them, or something!"
Seigrena kicked an Avenger that had nearly reached the top.
CRUNCH!
The Avenger's head half-shattered and dangled, and perhaps because it was a thing that resembled a human, it became quite a grotesque sight.
Something between a scream and a shriek poured from Seigrena's mouth as she kicked downward like mad.
"Die! Disappear! Get lost! Diiiie!"
Whatever leg strength she had, those wild attacks landed quite well.
'The flames lowered their resistance.'
They hadn't died instantly like the Guardians, but merely from exposure to the flames, they were plastered with debuffs.
In that case…….
I ran toward the black tree.
[Scorching flames engulf you.]
[Warning! Prolonged exposure to heat will cause the <Burn> status.]
Heat rushed in.
I was wearing the ragged cloak I'd picked up in the Corpse Pit, but I couldn't hold out long. And the protective magic built into the ring probably wouldn't activate against flames like these.
Tap-tap-tap!
So I had to hurry as much as possible.
I counted the Avengers clinging to the tree.
'One, two, three, four.'
Four in total. Because so many Guardians had burned? Fewer than I'd expected.
Right then, one of them, unable to withstand Seigrena's kicks any longer, fell.
THUD—the moment it hit the ground.
Shlick.
I cut its dangling neck with the scythe.
[Level up.]
[A new skill has been unlocked.]