"No matter how much we attack, he just keeps healing. I'm like, 'How much calcium does this guy have?"

"Calcium probably has nothing to do with it, but I agree that his regeneration ability is troublesome," 

Upon hearing my response, Mitsukawa Hana widens her eyes in surprise, exclaiming, "Oh!"

"Amazing, Tatsuya-kun, you have a strategy to break through this situation," she says with enthusiasm.

"...Huh? How did you know?" I ask, genuinely curious.

It's... kind of amazing if she can guess.

The blond-haired girl showers the Devourer Monster with a flurry of sword strikes, smiling shyly and saying, "No, no, it's not that big of a deal."

"I just measure Tatsuya-kun's breathing and attack intervals and wonder why he can maintain a constant rhythm even though he's aware of his regeneration ability. Isn't it strange? Normally, if you know your attacks aren't working, you adjust the power or speed. But Tatsuya-kun keeps repeating the same attack with the same force. Moreover, the attack locations are scattered. Mostly around the back, but not concentrated in one point. And above all, your spiritual power is visibly decreasing. So attacking a regenerating opponent, consuming a large amount of spiritual power, and persistently striking with attacks you know are futile means, in other words..."

"You're an amazing girl!!" I can't help but interject.

What's this about showcasing expert swordsmanship while displaying a detective's observational skills to see through my intentions? This goes beyond merely being quick to understand, right?

Mitsukawa Hana is awesome. Her combat-related talent is completely out of this world.

"Aaaaaaaaa!!" As I am taken aback by Mitsukawa Hana's unexpected detective side, the Devourer, who is getting pummeled, suddenly howls.

The monster skeleton begins to rage, spewing pale flames all over its body.

It's an impressive sight, but since it begins to snap while Mitsukawa Hana and I are having a conversation, it does look like a frustrated virgin who begins to rampage upon discovering his crush talking to another man.

A pitiful guy. I have neither sympathy nor mercy for him.

"Tatsuya-kun, let's fall back for a moment."

"The chain is coming your way. Don't get caught."

"I know, I know!"

True to her words, Mitsukawa Hana deftly dodges a cluster of chains that attack from behind and wipes them out with a counterstrike.

She really is something, completely overcoming what could have been her demise.

"It's troublesome if caught, but if you know it's coming, it's no big deal," she says.

"It's good that these chains are not combined with regular attacks, and it's getting slower than before."

During the previous battle, it attacked multiple times, but this time, it seems to act only once per turn.

This is fortunate. The slower the enemy, the more it plays into our hands.

"So, Tatsuya-kun, how are we going to beat that thing?" she asks.

"Poor attacks will be instantly regenerated, so we need to crush it with a powerful attack that won't allow regeneration or stop its regeneration ability," I explain.

It's a concise explanation, even by my standards.

That said, there's no time to detail the actual procedure. I hope she's satisfied with this for now.

"I see. So I should understand that you're charging a powerful technique for now?"

Her response is more intelligent than I expected.

"That's correct. It would be helpful if you can work with that understanding."

"Understood. So then—"

Mitsukawa Hana begins to make some sort of suggestion, but then there's movement from the enemy.

"umdgjを8*zmdakpォオオaaaAfnn77やklvーーーー"

The Devourer Monster stares at us and begins chanting something like a mantra.

I don't understand what he's saying, but I have an inkling about what he intends to do.

"It's a new pattern, isn't it? I wonder what he's up to."

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's calling for allies?"

My prediction is immediately confirmed.

Countless black holes appear, blocking our retreat, and from them emerge skeletons that look like a smaller version of the Devourer Monster, forming ranks.

"Oh! Tatsuya-kun, your prediction was right!"

"I appreciate your admiration, but we're currently surrounded."

"Eh, is Tatsuya-kun scared? Don't worry, this is life."

I can sense excitement bubbling inside her. She is a true battle maniac.

"Of course, this is life, and it's even more fun to crush those trashy skeletons right here and now."

That's what I say with a smile, and then the blond-haired girl next to me suddenly bursts into laughter.

"Hey, what's so funny all of a sudden?"

"No, no, hehe. It's nothing serious. It's just that your smile just now was so villainous. Pfft, ahaha!"

"You... How dare you point that out so brazenly?"

"No, I'm not making fun of you. It's just that the villainous look suited you so well. Pfft, hahaha!!!"

I'm going to smack her ass later.

"...Well, fine. We'll deal with that later. For now, let's handle the problem in front of us. What should we do? I think splitting into two groups would be a wise strategy."

"Yeah, about that..."

With that, Mitsukawa Hana whispers something into my ear.

"...and then, with this, and like that, what do you think? Shall we go with this plan?"

"Understood. Let's proceed with that strategy."

"Ah, wait. There's one more thing that's bothering me."

"What is it?"

With our brief strategy meeting over, we sprint toward our respective positions.

Mitsukawa Hana is to take on the skeleton army.

And then...

"How about we play a game of death?" I say to this creepy Devourer Monster as I take out the sword hanging behind me. It's good I took this sword from the examiner Jun.

I don't like fighting at close range, but I don't have any other option.

"Hey there, you piece of crap. How about playing with me for a while?"

Naturally, this Devourer would try to pursue her, but I wouldn't allow it.

"How crazy are you for her? You know, it's only creepy stalker people that go after little girls."

I land a blow with my sword on the creepy stalker's jaw.

I'm about to follow up with more attacks on the staggering creepy stalker when...

"Uaaaaa!!"

The stalker's scythe comes flying at my head.

Oh, did you get more agile? Interesting, very interesting and this spot... I might die if it hits me.

I guess I'm also a battle maniac, getting excited over this dangerous situation, haha.

Hey, this is bad, I might die.

"You have to wash my hands and legs, don't go and die."

Haha, sorry about that and thanks. I evade the stalker's scythe with a burst of speed beyond my body's limits, and I move half a step out of his range.

Well, the stalker is a mutant, a creature classified as a map-roaming, assault-type boss enemy.

It's stupid of me to let my guard down, but hey thanks, stalker, because of you I came so close to death and enjoyed that feeling that I'm craving again.

Am I seriously mentally ill or something? Well, it doesn't matter.

However, to experience the feeling of that death, I'm not going to attack while letting my guard down. I will attack him with all my power and full focus, only then its true feelings of death will come and I will enjoy that.

I'm seriously mentally ill.

I coat my sword with black attributes, smile at the stalker, and rush to him with a straight forward swing. Which is naturally neutralized by the stalker's scythe.

"Yaaargh!"

I strike again, changing position, and swing down once more.

But the stalker blocks all these attacks with his scythe.

However, with every attack I'm getting near him, our faces are just inches away, his face is really creepy. The name of creepy stalker fits him well. I spit the dark metal ball at his open mouth and then dash back.

"BBOOOOM"

The loud noise resounds within the stalker's body. He begins to stagger around, not able to stand firmly, he shakes a lot. The regeneration ability also slows down.

My dark attributes are strong, so strong that it can even suck regeneration flame. Spitting that Dark Metal Ball inside him with dark attributes sure did damage to him and slow down his regeneration ability.

Or that's what this creepy stalker wants me to think.

Sure, my dark attributes are slowing down his regeneration ability, it's slowing down, not stopping. He is still recovering.

This Devourer Monster being a creepy stalker is smart, showing such an obvious gap in strength, leaving himself full of opening.

If I attack him now, then obviously, I'm going to fall for the trap and might feel the experience of near death again, which I want to feel but not like this.

I want to feel death naturally and suddenly, that's the true experience of near death, when knowing that I might die from this obvious trap isn't exciting at all.

I turn my gaze at Mitsukawa Hana, to check her situation since this pathetic stalker trap isn't going to work on me.

I blink my eyes and it's amazing.

A mountain of skinless corpses, a river of blood, and bones everywhere. There are probably many words to describe this situation.

But surely, the most concise and essential phrase is this:

Mitsukawa Hana is strong, way too strong.