3 minutes have passed since the termination of Dvalka's magical support. Well, maybe even less. But still, it feels like 10 minutes have passed.

"I confess that I am a barbarian. I've never met a bastard like you in my life.

I never looked back. Whether Vagos tried to drive a wedge into this team or not, even if Dvalki was in a state of panic, I decided that nothing would change.

But did he find it boring?

"I use your soul to good use. So just die.

This meant that the games were over. He stabbed me with a dagger that he took from his belt. The blow was struck at such an elegant angle that it was impossible to block or dodge it. At best, all that remained was to choose the lesser of the evils. I twisted my body with all my might and gave it my lungs instead of my heart. It must have been an almost fatal injury, but I still had an advanced potion, right? By drinking it and curing it, I'm going to hold out somehow. Both Misha and Hikurod will wake up soon.

[Soul Depletion] will not last forever.

In a split second, I had made a plan and was about to put it into action when a blinding light poured in from behind.

*Shh!*

Dozens of magic arrows twisted, emitting a pure white light. From such a downpour, this bastard took a step back in bewilderment. But, as when Hikurod, Rothmiller, and Misha opposed him, this was not a meaningful response.

*Weeeep!*

Arrows of light pursued him, bending as if each shot had a will of its own. At this moment, Vagos stopped running away and began to deflect arrows one by one with a small dagger. In appearance, this was not much different from scooping water with a stick.

Holy shit...

Surprisingly, his actions worked. Although he turned into a hedgehog whose entire body was pierced by arrows of light, Vagos managed to protect his vital parts.

*Top*

Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me and only then did I come to my senses. Actually, I expected this, but Dvalki was standing behind me. Simply put, this meant that the magic that had just been cast had been cast by him.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It took me a while to make up my mind.

"Make up your mind?" What happened...

"That's what we can discuss after we get rid of this man," Dvalki looked away, as if evading the answer. Seeing this, I was sure that this was the same Dvalki I knew.

Какого черта?

I could not understand it. Mana flowed from his body, so concentrated that even a barbarian with zero ability for magic could feel it.

It was interesting not only to me.

"Magician, what have you done?" The bastard asked, even as blood dripped from his body. If I were him, I would have run away by now.

"You're asking, though you already know.

A what? He knows?

When Dvalki looked at him and muttered coldly, Vagos turned into a mute. What, does he really know?

"I'm sorry if you tried to stall for time. But we don't have much time.

What the hell? What the hell is going on?

Since when did Dvalki become so attentive? My head could not keep track of what was happening for a long time. Still, I could judge one thing. For me, it was a very positive event.

I can hear the explanation of what he did later...

I focused on the situation in front of me.

*Top*

Instead of sprinting down the aisle and running away, Vagos lunged at us with his wounded body. Dvalki said to me:

"Stand back." You can get hurt.

"Oh, oh. Of course.

I couldn't adapt to the change of character, but I did as he said. What was it now?

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast an 8th rank spell [Ice Spear]].

Ice spears large enough to fill half of the passage fired two times in a row.

Indeed, they flew towards Vagos, spewing out overwhelming wind pressure. However, it seemed that the guy had a lot of experience with magic of this magnitude. He calmly stared at the ice spear and then quickly took out an arch sword from the subspace.

*Zzzzzz!*

The sword emitted sparks, as if rejecting his touch. However, gritting his teeth, he grabbed it and swung it, causing veins to bulge out in his neck.

*Bam!*

As befits an arch sword with anti-magic properties, the huge ice spear shattered into pieces as soon as it touched the sword.

Even in this state, Vagos pushed off the ground again to close the distance.

*Jerk!*

Judging by the fact that Dvalka's eyes trembled slightly, this was also a surprise for him. But this did not last long.

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast a 7th rank spell [Ice Storm]].

He finished the spell in less than a second.

*Shaaaa!*

At that moment, it was not blocks of ice that fell on him, but small ice spears. And this time, the problem was the same arch sword. Vagos was getting closer and closer through the snowstorm. When it became possible to verify this with the naked eye, I saw that his figure was moving forward, cutting only the largest pieces of ice with his sword.

Yes, after all, he would not give up so easily.

I sighed quietly and prepared myself for what was to come next.

There was nothing special about it. My life was far from simple, and isn't it the lot of a tank to protect the one who causes damage?

'Behellaaa

The one who strikes the first blow wins. Taking aim at the moment when Vagos broke free from the blizzard, I swung my mace. But even at this moment, the bastard was on his guard. Despite the surprise attack, he reacted quickly and blocked the mace with his sword: there was a collision between the Class 1 Iron and the Class 6 Arc.

*Colic!*

Regardless of the thickness and density of the mace, it was cut like butter. However, Vagos was not satisfied with this, and he aimed at my neck.

*Zzzzzz!*

At this moment, sparks bounced off the sword in a frenzy and he flinched. His hand was red-hot and even smoking. Could it be that the fact that his entire body was covered in burns had something to do with this sword?

I couldn't know the details, but he put the sword back into subspace, deciding that it could no longer be used.

*Jerk!*

Vagos took out his dagger again and grabbed me. It was quite clear what he wanted. I wondered why he had gone so far as to break through magic, but that was what he was aiming for.

"Bjorn, get away from him!"

It was a strategy similar to the Steadfast Barbarian Mode I had used before, using me as a shield to suppress Dvalka's magic. I didn't think they were using me like that.

[Riol Varb Dvalki casts a 9th tier spell [Slow]].

Instead of attack magic, Vagos was cursed with magic, but it was not so easy to get rid of him, because he pressed against my side and brandished a dagger.

Okay, let's try.

I struck with a mace that turned into a kind of spear. Magic isn't the only thing that can kill him.

*Blow!*

It wasn't as difficult to deal with as it used to be, thanks to the [Slowdown], which was further enhanced. Furthermore, instead of [Ice Spear] or [Ice Storm], Dvalki maintained and subtly controlled a small number of [Magic Arrows]. The situation was clearly in my favor, but this made me even more wary.

It is impossible that he did not know this either.

That bastard knew about the current situation, which Dvalki avoided telling me about. Nevertheless, he rushed at me. Why?

"But we don't have much time."

The answer was time. Dvalka had little time left to maintain this state. Perhaps Vagos knew more about the remaining time than Dvalki.

"Dvalki, use [Ice Storm]!" I decided.

—…

Judging by the expression on Vagos' face, it was correct.

However, Dvalki hesitated.

"But...!"

Despite the fact that he has changed somewhat, Dvalki remained Dvalki.

"Don't worry about me and just use it!"

When I shouted a remark, Dvalki cast a spell. A cold whirlwind swept through Dvalka's hand.

"Do you tolerate the cold well?" I asked Vagos.

"Crazy bastard.

Hey, more praise. I raised my shield and moved away from Vagos. Blocking the way of small blocks of ice with my shield, I was determined to endure it somehow.

*Shaaa

Soon, the passage we were in was filled with a snowstorm that froze our skin. But what is it? Through the blizzard, in which it was difficult to see even an inch ahead, he drew a dagger.

*Blow!*

The blade, about 20 centimeters long, went deep into my lungs.

*Cough*

I couldn't breathe. Meanwhile, chunks of ice flew and crashed into my body. Crystals as sharp as an ice spear sliced through my skin. But I wasn't going to get more damage just like that.

*Blow!*

My body reacted first, and I struck with all my strength with the short spear that had once been my mace. At that moment, the snowstorm ended earlier than expected, and I regained my sight.

*Shaaaa*

I quickly checked my surroundings. Surprisingly, in that short moment, three unexpected events happened.

—…

First, Dvalki was on his knees, blood flowing from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

—…

The second was a short spear that I threw haphazardly, piercing the bastard's heart.

[The conditions for activating the Second Heart of Regal Vagos have been met].

Thirdly, the bastard had another numbered item that he hadn't used yet.

Ha, I really didn't want to swear like that anymore, but... Damn it, that damn fucking son of a bitch.

[Until Regal Vagos's heart recovers, he will receive absolute protection].

***

Something red, resembling muscles, covered his body. Looking at this, I thought, "How the hell am I going to kill this?

Is it possible to kill him?

I didn't know, but so far I was vomiting blood.

*Блеххх! Кашель! Чхшшшшшшш*

The heart-shaped shell did not make a single corrosive sound when it was covered in acidic blood. I turned away without regret.

№ 3120. The Second Heart is a consumable numbered item that is activated by dealing instant lethal damage to the heart.

At my current level, no matter what I did, I couldn't overcome that barrier. This means that you will have to take care of what needs to be done.

*Dragging*

I forced my body, which couldn't even breathe normally, to take a slow step. Fortunately, Dvalki was a cold mage. If it weren't for the state of [Frostbite], he would have bled to death by now.

— Dvalki.

To say that the condition of Dvalka, still on his knees, was deplorable, is to say nothing. Blood flowed from every pore of his body. When I checked his pulse, I felt his heart pulse as if the speed limit had been violated.

"Please... Stay.

Since there were no external injuries visible, I poured an advanced potion into his mouth - only half of it, because other people were dying now.

*Dragging*

I walked as fast as I could. Every time I walked, my stomach twisted and I couldn't breathe, but I used the short spear as a staff to speed myself up.

— Roth... miller...

Fortunately, he was alive, at least for now. He went to death in a completely different way than Dvalki. His heart was beating weakly, as if it could stop at any moment. I poured the remaining potion on his wounds.

*Chhhhhhh!*

The wounds boiled and began to heal. I sat down next to him and focused on my breathing. I kept coughing, blood gushing out of me, but all I could do was wait hard for Rothmiller to recover. After all, the two remaining potions were in this guy's [Treasure Vault].

In a minute or so...

"B-bjorn...!" The dwarf regained consciousness, knocked unconscious by his head hitting the wall. "What about Dvalka?" Where is he?

Hey, I'm dying too, actually. Does the best friend come first?

Not having the strength to speak, I pointed in the direction of Dvalka.

"What the hell happened!?" He rushed to us, examined Dvalki, carefully took him in his arms and carried him closer. "He's unconscious.

Misha, who was lying about 4 meters away from me, raised her head with difficulty. — ... Bjorn?

"He's alive."

"Thank God...

As always, I only have you.

Mike stood up with difficulty, holding on to her broken ribs. Then she came over and sat down next to me.

— Rotmiller...?

"I gave him... potion," I coughed.

It was like a meeting of the sick. I wanted to rest for a while, but after finishing transporting Dvalka, Hikurod came over to me and bandaged my wound.

"Bjorn, what's wrong?" What is this strange shell?

I didn't want to explain. I didn't have the strength, and what difference did it make? I focused on my breathing and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry. You are probably tired too, rest. I'll take care of the rest somehow.

The dwarf apologized and went back to find out more from Dvalka.

[Abnormal state of [Soul Depletion] removed].

Finally, after about a minute, my readings returned to normal, and it became a little easier to breathe. Even if I no longer had the natural ability to regenerate, the strength of the body itself was different. I slowly opened my eyes.

— ... Hey! Hold on, my friend!

"B-Bjorn...?" Rothmiller trembles. He should be fine, right?

The line between life and death was coming.