Let me sum up my situation.
A 1.57m tall adventurer facing a lion-like creature, juiced up on super soldier serum, with the ability to fly and a certainly venomous scorpion tail.
And that's all? No, since the creator (alchemist) of the manticore has given it a certain level of intelligence.
As a bonus, it's of a similar race to Sylvia, the Demon King's general I'm targeting.
So a chimera-type monster, which is the kind of creature that has a decent level of magical resistance.
As for my chances of victory?
Honestly, I estimate it around 15 or 10%.
At least, in a head-to-head fight without the items bought from Wiz.
If I include all these factors, then my victory rate reaches 25% alone, and adding Megumin increases that to 50%.
It all depends on my ability to keep the beast's attention, but also on my ability to survive long enough.
If I die during the process, while Megumin hasn't finished her spell... no need to go into detail.
Bam!
Without a shadow of surprise, the manticore charged at me with abnormal speed for its enormous size.
I barely managed to dodge with a backward jump.
Whistle.
Of course, I shot a few arrows aiming for its eyes.
Bing.
Metallic sounds echoed between me and the fierce beast, after my arrows bounced off its body.
"Wings are cheating."
Maybe it's the level gap? Or just that the manticore's skin is incomparable to the Giant Toa's resistance, but whatever.
My arrows can't damage its wings, even with a speed buff accompanied by a Boost buff.
"H...human, you shouldn't have come to my territory."
The creature's voice was shrill and unpleasant to the ear.
Unconsciously, I came to think about something while observing this magical creature.
Have I really faced real monsters in the world of Konosuba?
On the expedition island in the Hell's Paradise universe, I faced grotesque and frightening creatures.
Each of them proved to be more dangerous than the Giant Toa, causing enormous casualties every year towards winter.
As for the golem? It was a strong monster, but flawed in the end.
It had no real intelligence, despite its powerful defense and enormous physical strength.
This is my first truly dangerous fight in the world of Konosuba.
I have a powerful opponent, who is generally better than me except in two aspects.
Preparation and a partner.
"A...are my words funny? *Growl*"
Snowball.
"W-what?!"
The manticore remained stunned for a moment by the useless attack I performed on its face.
Before I noticed it myself, a strange smile appeared on my face while observing my opponent.
Have I become crazy too?
Maybe.
But...
"Shut up, and come at me." I pulled an arrow from my quiver and tightened my grip on my bow.
Now the struggle for survival begins.
Why not the strongest?
Cause: A fight is all about survival!
...
Megumin's POV.
Did he really greet the manticore?
Is he crazy?
But still, it's Renji.
All his plans and approaches against monsters are reckless or bizarre.
For example: who charges at a giant toa with an arrow intending to plant it himself? Or what mage uses magic in close combat?
Honestly, I... I'm a bit nervous about our situation.
I really didn't want to take these quests at first, since they're unnecessarily dangerous.
We've already earned enough money from the last quest to live comfortably without taking too many risks.
All thanks to Renji, who was able to understand the magnificence of explosion magic unlike the other idiots in Axel.
He alone understands the greatness of the explosion path!
Renji even bought potions in an attempt to imitate me, but he himself declared that my magic is better.
Sometimes I feel guilty for having deceived him about the number of spells I can use, and even though he hasn't asked me anything explicitly about it, I must admit that I insinuated I had other spells.
But now, I'm sure he's already somewhat understood my situation related to Explosion magic.
Why?
He proposed a plan that's centered on me.
It wouldn't have been weird if Renji had proposed using other spells besides Explosion.
However, he didn't mention it.
He's really nice.
It's the same as when he carried me to Axel, when I was unable to move alone.
An embarrassing situation.
My lack of mana was a huge clue about my inability to use other spells, because this magic is too demanding for my level.
But once again, Renji simply ignored that.
Is he stupid? No.
He's too reliable for that.
Maybe he didn't want to hurt my pride?
After all, I am the sovereign of explosion magic, me, the great Megumin of the Crimson Demon clan!
He could have also done it just out of pure kindness.
After all, Renji is kind.
I still remember last night, Renji stayed watching over me while he seemed to have other concerns.
Stupid Megumin, why did you leave his hand on yours...
"Madness!!"
While I had gotten a bit lost in my thoughts while observing Renji's back...
He threw a snowball right in the manticore's face.
A stupid act... no, it's at the level of pure and simple madness.
B... but why am I not afraid looking at this furious creature in front of Renji?
Ah... I see.
It's because I believe in Renji.
Even though we've known each other for a short time, he remains among the few, with Yunyun, to believe in me besides my little sister.
Yes... even if I'm nervous about the idea of accomplishing such a difficult quest, I'm not alone.
Renji is there.
...
Back to Renji's POV.
"Madness!!!"
The manticore's scream resonated loudly, but I maintained my calm.
Contrary to any observer's expectation, I took the initiative.
"Create Earth, Wind Breath"
I threw sand at the manticore, while its mouth roared its rage at full volume.
Basic magic is normally useless in full combat, but it's different in the hands of a normal man from the 21st century.
It's also thanks to that that I was able to throw that snowball.
Bam.
"M... *cough*... miserable"
The manticore's attack missed, because its accuracy was affected by the sand throw.
This situation reminds me a bit of my Pokémon game back in the day, and I plan to play dirty against this creature.
Pierce.
The monster's scorpion tail pierced the ground, as I approached to try to drive my arrow myself into its eye.
Unconsciously, I frowned while observing the manticore sniffing and moving its ears.
"Hmm... I see"
It's using its other senses to compensate for the loss of sight.
In this situation, I must stay at distance.
It's unfortunate that I don't have the stealth skill from the thief class.
But I quickly adapted to this situation.
I immediately put my hand in the special pouch containing the explosive potion vials, and threw it at the manticore in a snowball.
Why in the snow?
An attempt to hide the potion's smell.
Boom!
After that, I charged into the heart of the explosion.
It's close to advanced magic, but it's still in the intermediate spell range.
It's not enough against this monster.
As for the explosion's fire?
"Damn..."
I knew I'd be hurt, but...
Pierce.
Blood.
I drove two arrows into the beast's eyes, however...
"*Cough*... B... blessing... resistance, and MEGUMIN!"
"Explosion!!"
As the manticore flew away in an attempt to escape despite its blindness, Megumin's magic hit it.
As for me? I found myself falling towards the trees.
I was pierced in the shoulder by the magical creature's poisonous stinger.
I had no magic for flight, but I used the two buffs that could help me.
One increases my luck, and the other improves my physical resistance.
Normally, I could have resisted such a fall without too much difficulty.
But the blast from Megumin's explosion literally sent me flying without any resistance on my part.
"D... damn, *blood* t... that's why we need another member in our party," I said while getting up.
"D... did we get it?"
To Megumin's question, lying on the ground, I just smiled while nodding painfully.
"G... great..., but how... are we going to get back?"
After sitting down painfully, I glanced at the wound that the manticore's stinger had inflicted on me while frowning.
I was definitely poisoned.
In my state, it would be a miracle to return to Axel without help.
As for returning alone with Megumin in my arms? It's impossible... I'm screwed.
As my face became dark, my eyes were drawn to the band of crows.
They hadn't left, but stayed to observe the scene.
At that moment, an idea came to my mind.
[Guys, do you want to eat manticore? I'll leave you the corpse, but transport us to...]
I sent the crow chief images of Axel and the path.
At the mention of the word "guys," the crow chief seemed offended, but he nodded to my proposal.
I was satisfied with his cooperation, but I was a bit dismayed when he left with his subordinates without explanation.
But that was temporary.
As I carried Megumin despite my injuries towards Axel, the crows returned in greater numbers before catching us.
No, they didn't do anything suspicious.
They transported us to Axel's gate.
For the first time since my arrival in this world, I was grateful to have a light weight.
I won't see Eris in goddess mode anytime soon.