“Yahhhhh!!”
“Gijuu, jyuu…”
The old lady attacked the monster armor beast with her full strength, and it groaned as blue blood gushed from where it was cut.
But a simple nata knife did not do much damage, and her opponent quickly composed itself.
It countered quickly by waving its arm, which sent the knife flying, and made the old lady fall back.
That brought Melt back to her senses, who yelled as she ran to her.
“Ma’am, hold on! Are you all right!?”
“I’m fine. Take the kids and run. I’ll act as bait to buy you time.”
“I can’t do that! What are you saying!?”
“There’s an order to this sort of thing. I’ve lived enough, I can’t have young people like you overdo it and lose your lives. If I can use my life to save you people, that’s what I want. I’m just going where my husband is waiting for me.”
She staggered to her feet, as she clenched her fists to face the monster armor beast for the sake of Melt and the children.
Melt gulped as she watched her, and thought back to her weak-hearted attitude while clenching her teeth.
(I’m an idiot…! This old lady that can’t fight at all is trying to stop the monster armor beast, while I keep hesitating and not knowing what to do… Someone who wants to protect people as a magic knight can’t act so cowardly…)
That was her dream. Become a magic knight, protect people, become a powerful sword.
Yuugo was not with her, it was a bad situation, she could not move because she was not sure of what to do… She could not keep relying on those excuses.
She would fight until the end. Following the pride of magic knights, and protecting those that needed her.
Hero condition number one… Don’t give up. Melt remembered what Yuugo said, and stepped in front of the lady to face the monster armor beast.
“Ma’am, stand back. I’m not going to lose. I… I’m a hero!”
Melt faced the crab monster armor beast foaming at the mouth with gross, wet noises, and put her strength into sending a magic blade flying.
But it was stopped by the hard shell, and did not cause damage.
But she roused herself again, not giving up, and started thinking about a way to break through. And then she noticed something, and gulped.
(That’s right. The old lady’s attack worked, so maybe…!)
It was a simple attack by a frail old lady with no magic energy infused. And yet, it drew blood from the monster armor beast.
Why… Melt thought about it, and noticed blue blood overflowing from the gaps in the shell.
Yes, the crab had a hard shell, but it had gaps between sections.
The old lady’s attack just happened to hit one of said gaps, and dealt damage… Melt found a way to break through this situation, and infused her Seward Ring with magic energy.
(I can’t throw it from a distance. I need a blade that’s as light and sharp as possible, and aim for the gaps!)
She was scared. There was still fear in her heart from watching Zenon get stomped just minutes ago.
But she knew that overcoming it and fighting anyway was what a magic knight did, what a hero did so she created a blade, and attacked the monster armor beast.
“Yaaaaah!!”
“Gijyuu…”
The monster armor beast responded to the approaching Melt with a big swing of its heavy claw, but she saw through those slow moves. And since it was a wide swing, it created an opening that let her get close, and she pushed her violet shining blade right between the arm and shoulder armor.
(Yes! This one is weaker than the one Yuugo fought! It’s slower, and easier to predict!)
She swung the blade that was still stuck in the monster armor beast, and cut its arm.
The monster that Rush transformed into regenerated on the spot, but… This one did not seem to be able to do that, as the arm that was cut just hung there limply.
Everything from technique to general abilities was below the one they encountered before. This was a much weaker specimen.
“I can do it!”
“Gajyuu…”
She swung her sword again at the cut arm, and this time, cut its left arm clean off.
It sprayed blue blood, as it seemed to not even understand what was happening. That reaction gave Melt the confidence that she was right, and she nodded strongly.
There was no way for her to know this, but this situation closely followed a rule of tokusatsu.
‘An enemy that comes back is weaker than the original’… Was surely what Yuugo would say if he was there.
Her attacks connecting with the enemy gave Melt her composure back, as she held the sword again and faced the monster armor beast.
But… At the same time, she sensed something gradually drawing near.
(I’m the only one who can really fight at this point. Even if I defeat this monster armor beast, can I do something about the people acting weird and take everyone to safety…?)
Zenon’s defeat sent her colleagues into a panic, so they all ran away or were taken into the mist.
Melt was all that was left. She would have to both fight and escort the others.
And to make things worse…
“Pyugyuuuh!!”
“!? Another monster armor beast!? No way…!”
She heard yells from inside the mist, and a strange looking monster armor beast came out.
It was a combination of mushroom and bee monsters. The boss of this quest, Toad Stinger.
The crab monster armor beast, the Toad Stinger, and the crazed people. It was a desperate situation, where she would have to fight on three fronts while protecting everyone.
But Melt did not give up. She gripped the blade she created, and yelled to the people behind her.
“Don’t give up! Trust me! I’ll… I’ll protect everyone!!”
What despair? What quitting? She would fight until the end.
Melt not only did not give up, but roused herself to protect the people behind her. And as she faced the approaching enemies…
“Shtuoooooop! You bee shroom kaijin!!”
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I read in the comments that apparently the title is a reference to the pitch of the original Pretty Cure.
Then it is certainly fitting their 20th anniv season is themed after “hero girl”.
Reference Time:
Yep, an enemy boss who reappears later will be a mob.
Best example of that is Gaim and Build.