Page 165

On the sandy ground, fragments of wooden carriages were scattered among the sandgrass, mixed with iron frames. Crocodile-skin tires rolled aimlessly, and half of the "Dog House" was ablaze, casting an orange-red hue over the night sky.

Rifle was "thrown" out and his current whereabouts were unknown.

The culprit behind all of this stood before me, all of these things happened due to the petite figure that was standing before me.

"Hand over the 'Miracle Water,' and I'll let you go," she said.

A charred deer skull covered her forehead, and the eyes of the figure that can be seen from the skull arecomplete, with a pair of ruby-like red lights glowing in the eye sockets. Additionally, two spherical objects, also with red lights for eyes and wrapped in white cloth, floated beside her.

The figure is clad in worn-out adventurer attire and her body is tightly wrapped in bandages, there was no exposed skin except for her face.

And from the gaps in the bandages that she wrapped around herself, a constant stream of black gas emitted, it's, simply said, the taint of death, something that should only exist on those who have danced with death.

It's as if this figure is death itself.

Or should I say... "Wither."

▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ Lori Aivett ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇

A red health bar occupied the upper part of my field of vision, a constant reminder of what I was facing.

...In Minecraft, there are only two types of boss creatures that display health bars above the player's screen when they appear, and given her attack patterns, I already had an answer for what I was up against.

But in my heart, I couldn't accept it, nor did I want to believe it.

This girl is similar to Grace, she is a reincarnation of one of the mob in minecraft, but... the danger level of this entity and the combat prowess she had just demonstrated were beyond anything Grace could compare to.

For all the "Withering" events I had encountered over the past sixteen years, suddenly, they all pointed in one direction - right in front of me.

"Hand over the 'Miracle Water,' and I'll let you go," she repeated, casually tossing something onto the floor.

It was a twisted and deformed iron ingot, emitting steaming heat, a result of [ARMA] earlier explosion.

This weapon I made is known for its ferocious firepower, its bullet is unstoppable within a five-meter range... of course, if the one who stands at the other end of the barrel is a Wither, it would be a different story altogether.

Intense pain made me grit my teeth... my left arm and right leg were broken.

This mysterious girl approached our campsite out of nowhere while claiming to want the "Miracle Water"?

This girl is also a reincarnation of one of minecraft's two bosses, the Wither, and they were after the potion... Was the Vantinom-Grella branch really strong enough to hire even someone like this?

Could it be that this series of "Withering" events was somehow related to the church!?

But in the current situation, I didn't have the luxury to ponder this matter in detail.

"I refuse," I said, and at the same time, a figure rushed from behind me towards Lori, unleashing blue magic!

It's Derisha, the Valkyrie of the Wind herself, with Anti-Melon Spear Prototype 1.0 in her hand.

Lori, represented by the red dot, retreated rapidly amidst the sandstorm created by the explosion, but the attack wasn't over; another purple figure launched a pursuit.

"Dragon Soul Possession!" As Grace shouts that, Melon launches her attack at Lori, the strongest attack she had ever launched in her life, and it's a direct hit.

And just like that, the wither girl did something that made both Melon and I freeze.

Black sand flowed around her hand, forming black claws that simply grasped Melon's strongest attack without any issue, Melon, upon realizing that her attack did nothing, immediately gave up the possibility of retracting her fist, delivering a knee strike instead.

However, just before the kick landed, Melon was pushed back by a black magical force.

"I don't want to fight," The Wither Girl said impassively.

With that shove, she retreated about ten meters, just in front of me.

"This..."

"Walson, I don't want to scare you, but this girl is strong, I used 80% of my full strength and she acted like she didn't even notice it." Melon and Derihsa, as close-range fighters, stood in front of me, seemingly resolute but unable to hide their astonishment.

At the same time, flower petals fluttered, and Grace appeared behind me with Barella, the elf girl bow in her hand.

The team members have all gathered... From the connection with the Magic Beast Mark, I knew that Rifle should be relatively unharmed. The "Mini-map" showed Alice and Tanaya hiding behind the dunes on the west side... It seemed like everyone was okay.

"Hand over the 'Miracle Water,' and I'll let you go."

The formidable enemy who had caused this battle showed no damage from the recent attack. She stood silently, watching us.

"I refuse," I furrowed my brow. It seemed challenging for me to get involved in this battle.

Spider silk wouldn't be effective in this wide terrain, explosives could harm our team members, and the [ARMA] had just been confirmed to be ineffective. Moreover, I had lost my hands and feet, making me essentially useless.

To catch a [ARMA] bullet with bare hands, what kind of terrifying reflexes and strength did she possess?

"...I just want to save my mother," she spoke after a few seconds of silence, her voice rigid.

Now she intended to appeal to our emotions? It didn't seem very convincing. If she is trying to make us pity her and willingly let her rob us, her attempt is quite laughable. She acts like this is the first time she robbed people.

"I object. Your words cannot be trusted," Melon's crouching body swayed rhythmically, and "Band of The Bold" in her arm emitted the clicking sound of reloading.

"We also find it hard to believe a robber's words," Derisha raised Anti-Melon Spear Prototype 1.0 with one hand, aiming the spearhead at Lori.

Barella silently drew the string of bow, and Grace took off her glasses as surging and tumultuous magic began to surge around her.

"..." Lori didn't say much, but the black gas that rapidly spread from beneath her feet is all that is needed for us to know that she is preparing for a fight.

The black gas that she let out contaminating the restless sand. In the next moment, a black sandstorm rose, starting to envelop her body. Simultaneously, the sand beneath their feet seemed to come to life, rushing toward the swirling sand tornado!

What kind of skill was this!? The Wither I knew from the game didn't have this kind of ability!

Accompanied by a strong sense of unease, six red dots appeared in the sandstorm!

"...OOOO, OOOO—[Shadow Bind]." Grace was the first to react, a purple magic circle unfolded, and six magic chains shot toward the sandstorm, seemingly aiming to restrain something.

"OOO, OOO—[Luminous Wing Shot]!"

A massive light arrow, shining with white wings, detached from [Apollo] and pierced through the air... only to be bounced back by a strange force from within the sandstorm!

Something burst out of the sandstorm. When I saw the colossal creature that stood over thirty meters tall, an indescribable shock overwhelmed all my thoughts.

Creatures from Minecraft evolved as their levels increased in this world, resulting in greater combat prowess than in the game.

The Creeper was just like that, the Ancient Guardian was like that... and it seemed the same for Grace.

However, this was the first time I had seen an example that's so exaggerated.

It looked like a giant skeletal dragon missing its hind legs. Instead of shoulder blades, it had two additional heads with glowing red eyes. Its body was a mix of charred bones and the color of lava, emitting scorching heat. Its enormous claws for crawling were a body structure that the original Wither lacked. The size of its head accounted for over thirty percent of its body... Was this still a Wither!? It was practically a different monster!

The colossal creature's dark shadow exuded an oppressive aura. At this moment, a hoarse voice sounded.

"...Then I'll try... to go easy on you as much as possible."