Adventures Of The Ero Bunny-Chapter 46: Armored Spartoi

Standing well over six and a half feet tall, the armored spartoi was a hulking brute that would have been extremely terrifying if it had been covered in flesh, but even now as it shuffled towards us as just metal and bones it exuded power and lethality in abundance.

Its bones were far denser and sturdier than a normal person's skeletal structure, and to make it even more overbearing some of the bones were coated in metal to create armor or strengthen the weakest points of the monster.

The joints primarily were where the metal had grown out of, causing the mana tendrils that acted as the tendons and other 'muscular' necessities to have a stronger area to work with that ensured continued operation and ensured better protection of these necessities.

All five of its arms were far wider than my own, and even without actual musculature it looked like a hulk of a monster that was overflowing with danger as it tilted its horned skull to stare at us, appraising us from afar and readying its five different weapons.

A heavy mace, three different kinds of swords and then a short spear all moved fluidly through the air as the monster inched closer, studying us and waiting for someone to make the first move, all while that horned skull constantly twisted around, allowing it to 'look' at us one after another before looping again.

"It's armored by more than just the metal bones... those mana tendrils are stronger than the armor, so be careful. However..."

With a grin Heidi stepped forwards, the blonde warrior readying her weapon and eliciting a creak from the monster as its jaw ground together, creating an unsettling noise that was drawn out and used like a weapon.

My hairs stood on end as I stared down the monster, and yet it ignored me and became focused on Heidi, all five of its weapons angling towards her as she continued to approach it calmly, still speaking to us despite inching ever closer to striking distance.

"Using so much mana to just exist means it doesn't have a whole lot of stamina, so if we draw this out then that will lead to an easy victory~!"

Her confidence was palpable, and as soon as that short spear lunged forwards the blonde's grin only widened, the strike expected and the counter more then prepared; with a flourish of her blade and a low grunt, Heidi batted the spear to the side and managed to secure the first trade.

But there were four more lined up for the moment she managed to go against the first, and three swords and a mace soared through the air towards her from all sides, each one glinting with a little mana that promised to cleave through the warrior's armor.

"Sister, stop being so..!"

Hilda let out an irritated groan and dashed forwards, the lithe blonde catching two of the swords with her equally lithe spear while Aiko flickered forwards, her katana intercepting the third sword; that only left the mace, and it clanged against Heidi's shield like a bell getting chimed, echoing throughout the cavern.

My 'benefactor' almost buckled beneath the heavy blow of that mace, but with her two companions beside her and her own strength being enhanced by her magic, she was able to stand her ground and withstand a blow from this powerful monster.

I could practically feel the vibrations she must have felt when I saw her shield buckle a little beneath the weight, and watching the metal fold only made me wonder what was happening to her arm as I continued to remain behind.

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Izzy and Ulya rushed forwards a second after the other two, joining in and lending their weapons as they helped bog down the monster, leaving no arm uncontested and ensuring that all five weapons were being occupied by one person.

They had the numbers to make this work, and after another second of watching as the armored spartoi brought its weapons to bear and created a whirlwind of metal and bone that threatened to bring my comrades down I finally came to the realization that I was still scared.

My body felt rooted in place, my mind quivered at the thought of fighting this monster and my muscles trembled at random, leaving me in a state that was utterly despicable considering the situation.

My comrades were fighting and I was just watching like some kind of coward... they were working together to bring down a strong monster and I was just in the back, observing and not helping...

Anger mixed with shame as my fingers curled around my hammer, causing it to tremble a little before I finally dragged in a breath and gathered up my resolve, releasing the hammer and freeing my hands.

I didn't want to get close, but I could still help them even without engaging it from up close; as Aiko slashed at the spartoi and left a gash across its ribs with a flaming sword, as Heidi slammed her rocky shield into the mace yet again, as Hilda coated her spear in wind to catch the glittering swords... I pushed my mana into my hands and prepared a spell.

Something small, but something that could give them an advantage; a large sphere of mana that I then condensed down into a bullet laden with the idea of explosive energy, of strong flames that could melt down almost any metal in the world.

It zipped off of my finger the moment I felt it was empowered enough, and I followed it closely as it flew through the air and burrowed into one of the spartoi's shoulders, chewing through the mana and exploding after another moment, ripping an arm free and enabling the warriors in front of me to have a true numerical advantage.

It took most of my mana yet again, and I felt my head empty before growing numb just like it had before, but unlike earlier I was able to hang on as I watched the dismantling of this monster from afar, my contribution done now and a lesson learned.

I wasn't useless in this world even in this weak, pathetic state, and all I needed was someone strong beside me to give me the confidence to act; it might be pathetic to admit that I wanted - that I needed - to have someone beside me in order to succeed, but to me that was just facts.

And my answer for the question that the Gjallarkisa sisters had given me was now decided; access to even more people to stand beside was going to be my way forwards, and if they were anything like my current companions I was going to be in good hands going forwards.

Both literally and figuratively, of course.