Triple casting Arcane Arrows, triple casting Magic Missiles, and, when there’s a brief pause, conjuring Arcane Blades to throw daggers and prevent damage downtime. Continuously refreshing the Arcane Shield every time it breaks.

This was Lilith’s first time executing this kind of magic cycle, having taken the attack magic route, and it wasn’t bad at all. Since she could triple-cast, every spell hit its mark effectively.

‘Good thing I learned attack magic, honestly.’

If she had only taken the support magic route, like the typical Lilith, Agnes would have had to face that troublesome tentacle demon alone. She would have run out of magic before dealing with all the spirits, and they would have lost the fight.

But now, Agnes was using her magic efficiently, following the cycle I had laid out. As for the overall distribution of attacks, it was about 70-30 between Agnes and me.

Of course, I wasn’t just focusing on the attacks, so the numbers didn’t reflect my total contribution.

"Kill... I’ll kill you all!!"

Shwoooosh!!

We had already stripped away about half of Mel’s soul barrier when she extended several tendrils from beneath her skirt, stretching them across the ground toward us. It was obvious that getting caught by one would result in a gruesome fate, so now was the time to use my own personal weapon hidden beneath my skirt.

"Agnes, keep casting spells! I’ll handle anything that comes your way!"

"...Got it."

Agnes responded briefly and continued chanting her spells, trusting me to defend her. It was just like when I had protected Lige in the royal palace. I positioned myself in front, cutting down the approaching tendrils one by one.

Slash! Schluk!

"...Ugh, damn it! Ugh!"

I had never given it much thought in the game, but in real life, these things were disgusting as hell.

Which was all the more reason why I had to block them. Letting even one pass would mean those horrifying things could crawl into our clothes—into Agnes’s or mine. I had vowed to never let another man touch me besides Ethan, and I couldn’t let these disgusting monsters violate Agnes, who was on her pure love route with Antonio.

‘I’d rather be shot or stabbed than let those things anywhere near me...!’

Several more swings, slicing the tentacles dozens of times over. Eventually, it seemed Mel decided it wasn’t worth it and retracted the tendrils as she prepared for phase two. I took this chance to communicate with Sei in my mind.

‘Sei, soon something will rise from the ground and try to engulf me and Agnes.’

‘...Yes.’

‘If you see anything emerge under Agnes, push her backward with a fierce gust of wind.’

‘...What about you?’

‘I’ll dodge on my own. Just focus on protecting Agnes.’

‘...Understood.’

Sei didn’t seem too happy about it, but in this fight, protecting Agnes was more important than protecting me.

Swish! Swishswish!

‘It’s coming...’

Sensing the pattern that always appeared before phase two, I prepared to cast a shockwave spell beneath my feet.

Thud!

‘Now!’

I narrowly dodged the tentacle that shot up from below, throwing myself out of its path just in time.

Stab!

"Guhh...!!"

...Well, I dodged most of it, at least.

Whoosh!

"Ahhh?!"

At the same time, Agnes was blown backward by a gust of wind, Sei’s assist coming in handy.

"...What just happened..."

Stab!

"…Thanks."

‘Hmph.’

Agnes started to protest, but when she saw the tendrils rising from where she had been standing, she quickly muttered her thanks to Sei.

Sei returned to me with a cold expression, having completed her task, but her gaze fell on my leg, pierced by a tentacle, and she looked visibly shaken.

‘Lilith, your leg...’

‘It’s just a scratch. Don’t worry about it.’

‘...You said you could dodge...’

‘I did dodge. I’m not dead, right? It’s nothing Saint Serista can’t heal.’

‘……’

I could feel Sei’s affinity with me drop in real time, but I had no choice. If I hadn’t sacrificed my leg, it would have been Agnes’s life at stake.

Agnes finally noticed my injury and gave me a guilty look as I struggled to stand on my injured leg.

"Lilith, did you do that because of me..."

"It’s fine. Once we get to Serista, it’ll heal. Focus on the battle for now. Stop using the previous cycle and switch to triple casting Chain Fire Explosion."

Though reluctant, Agnes nodded, preparing her final spell. Mel’s soul barrier had dwindled to about ten layers. Luckily, she was following the same phase two cutscene I remembered from Luminar Academy.

"...Did you know, Lilith? I was born and raised in Bridget Village, just like you."

"Huff... huff..."

"Even though I’m working with the bandits to kill you all now, there was a time when I lived peacefully in this village."

As Mel rambled, I checked on Agnes to make sure she was following my instructions and preparing her spell. If we didn’t finish her off in one blow once phase two started, there was no way we’d win against her and the remaining bandits.

"I dreamed of love, marriage, and having children—living my life peacefully in this village forever."

"......"

"Do you wonder why I turned against the village, betrayed it, and sided with the bandits? Well..."

‘...Crap.’

Noticing Mel’s attention shift to Agnes, I had to pull her focus back to me before she attacked my vulnerable companion.

"Are you ignoring me while I’m talking...?"

"I couldn’t care less about your sob story, to be honest."

"...What did you just say?"

"I’m saying I don’t give a damn about your tragic, unavoidable circumstances that led you to betray the village."

"......"

With just a few words of provocation, Mel’s hatred turned back toward me, her expression darkening as she shifted her focus away from Agnes. It would take Agnes a little longer to finish her spell, so I had to keep this tentacle witch’s attention on me.

"You—do you even know what I’ve been through...?"

"What, let me guess. Your parents, husband, and children were all killed by the bandits, and you were dragged away and suffered every humiliation imaginable. Meanwhile, the villagers didn’t come to rescue you, so you turned your anger toward them because you couldn’t do anything to the bandits. Then, after gaining some power from a demon or some shady monster, you decided to become the bandits’ lackey and make the other women in the village suffer the same way you did. Isn’t that it?"

"...H-How did you..."

"It’s such a cliché story, there wasn’t even anything to guess. Women who’ve been victimized by criminals often end up sympathizing with them. You probably think your tragic circumstances make you special, but really, you’re just another typical case."

"......"

"When you were taken away, the villagers became your enemies in your mind because they didn’t save you. Meanwhile, you got closer to those filthy bastards who violated you, and your heart followed suit."

"You... you b*tch...!!!"

‘Now...!’

Mel, her hatred now fully directed at me, extended her remaining tendrils toward me. With my leg in bad shape, I couldn’t dodge them on my own. I needed Sei’s help again.

‘Sei, use a gust in the opposite direction.’

‘Lilith, in your condition—’

‘It’s better than dying, right?’

‘...Alright.’

Reluctantly, Sei conjured a gust of wind that pushed my body out of harm’s way. I narrowly dodged the writhing mass of tendrils as my body crashed to the ground.

Thud!

"Guhh, aaagh!!"

Without the use of both legs, my landing was rough, and I couldn’t absorb all the impact. Pain shot through my injured leg, making me cry out as Mel’s tendrils closed in.

"I’ll kill you...! I’ll pierce every hole in your body and kill you!!!"

...Looks like we made it just in time.

Before the tendrils could reach me, dozens of fireballs hurtled toward Mel from behind. Agnes had poured all of her remaining magic into her spell, sending the fireballs crashing into Mel’s body.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!!

"Aaaahhh!!! H-Hot! It’s burning!!!"

Mel’s tendrils writhed in agony just centimeters away from me as her body was engulfed in flames. In less than a few seconds, she was completely consumed.

"Haa... haa... damn it..."

...Who said Humanities Exploration Class was an easy class?

I swear, I’ll never take this hellish course again.