Our Family Has Fallen

But Lance was already fully focused, not to mention that the Maid's maneuvers in front of him had made it clear there was definitely something hidden inside, so how could he be hurt by this?

Even his head-on charge was intentional, meant to lead up to this moment.

Facing the incoming proboscis, Lance planted his greatsword in front of himself. However, he didn't use the broad side of the blade to block horizontally. Instead, he stabbed it vertically, with the sharp edge facing both himself and the monster's proboscis.

The moment the proboscis collided with the sword blade, a tremendous force was transmitted. The greatsword immediately plowed a trench into the ground, and Lance understood why even Balistan couldn't withstand it.

However, it was this very force that split the end of the proboscis in two—a consequence of the creature's own collision.

Pain was alien to these monsters, but injury still drove it into a frenzy. The proboscis, about to retract, was not going to be allowed to escape so easily by Lance. He followed closely with quick steps, pulling the greatsword out of the ground as he moved and, employing a twist of his waist, struck the creature with a backhand slash.

However, the greatsword's sharpness was mediocre, and the slime on the proboscis greatly weakened its power. Coupled with the monster's tough fibrous structure, the blade failed to sever it, merely cutting a wound instead.

But let's not forget that Lance was never alone, and the others were not just for show.

Seizing the opportunity, Reynard rushed forward, not holding back and delivering a full-force strike on the wound.

The Champion's Proof once again lived up to its name, cleaving the stout proboscis in two.

The severed half of the proboscis fell to the ground and writhed wildly. From the cut, a pale yellow slime oozed out, corroding the fungal mat on the ground upon contact.

Reynard quickly flicked his treasured Longsword to rid it of the residual slime.

Thankfully, the Longsword had a specially treated surface with high resistance to corrosion. Combined with Reynard's meticulous maintenance and oiling, even if coated with corrosive slime, it suffered no great harm.

The problem was that the banshee's true form had just been wounded and was far from calm. Soon, the banshee revealed the secret beneath its skirt to everyone.

The fibrous halves that split open to its chest now opened to its abdomen, revealing an indescribable mushroom conglomerate inside. As it pulsed, a dense cloud of spores emerged.

Were those spores from earlier emitted by it?

"Dismas, the torch!" Lance shouted, then threw what he was holding toward the front of the banshee with all his might.

He absolutely couldn't let the team fall into the same danger again.

Seeing this, Dismas didn't hesitate to pull out his pistol from his waist and aim at the clay pot that had been thrown.

"BANG!"

With the sound of a gunshot, the clay pot shattered mid-air, scattering gray-black dust. The pot had been filled with gunpowder.

Before the monster, the gunpowder mixed with those spores, and at that moment, Dismas also tossed his torch out.

"CRACKLE!"

As soon as the flame touched the mixed dust, it ignited a blinding light, and a large puff of white smoke rose, clearing the spores away.

Although there was no explosive damage, the instant high temperature burned the monster, causing it to convulse in a frenzy, its body teetering on the brink of collapse.

Previously, only a dense and intense cloud of spores concentrated in a short period could cause a dust explosion. But now, in the open wilderness, the density of spores didn't reach that level, making it hard to ignite directly.

Of course, Lance had planned for this. I'll just add my own ingredients; won't that do the trick?

"Monster, taste the power of gunpowder!" Seeing the sorry state of the beast, Dismas felt his stress greatly diminish.

The bursting light inevitably drew the attention of the Witch on the other side. As the spore cloud enveloping the squad overhead was scorched to oblivion, she realized that her most perfect creation had sustained damage.

"No! Damn rats!"

The Witch roared and, no longer caring about the fragmented thorny cocoon in front of her—which was now so thin one could see the contents inside—raised her spoon and pointed it toward the monster.

The previously frenzied monster was abruptly calmed by some force, but in the next second, a strange power emanated from it.

Lance, at the forefront, was the first to be on alert. His heightened sensitivity to Spiritual Essence allowed him to detect the malicious Curse descending upon him. Yet, under the protection of Sanctuary, he was exempted.

But his immunity didn't mean the others were so fortunate.

"Quick, retreat!"

Although they didn't understand why the Lord would miss the opportunity to press their advantage, they did not hesitate to carry out his orders.

Unfortunately, Supernatural Power could not be judged by common sense. The three of them fell right into the Curse, a powerful sense of despair assaulting their wills.

Seeing them suddenly pause, difficulty etched across their faces, Lance knew trouble had struck—it seemed none could escape.

But the enemy wouldn't stop its advance; the monster writhed forward, aiming to devour those engulfed in despair.

At this moment, Lance held his sword with some bewilderment. What should he do?

Was this situation caused by the Witch or the monster? How could he break it?

It was then that the banshee, who had vanished earlier, appeared before him. It raised a hand to point at the monster.

At the same time, a light voice reached his ears. "The axe..."

Lance's mind was incredibly sharp, and he instantly realized what the voice meant.

He immediately pulled out the hand axe he had obtained earlier and, without a moment's hesitation, hurled it at the monster.

He hadn't specifically trained in throwing axes, but the target was enormous, and with his brute strength fully unleashed, the axe cleaved deep into the creature's body.

In that instant, the Curse that had been afflicting everyone broke. They were freed from the grip of despair, all pale-faced and gasping for breath, unsure of what they had just endured in those few seconds.

"The monster's abilities are sealed, but they still can't defeat us!"

Lance raised his hand to Bless them and refresh their conditions, but his attention shifted from the monster before him to the frenzied Witch.

"The enemy is restless! I'll deal with the Witch, and you handle this monster."

Lance made his decision then and there. He couldn't let the Witch regain her composure and attack the others. Besides himself, no one there could resist the Witch's strange tactics.

No sooner had he spoken than he dashed forward alone, ignoring the reactions of the others.

The power of the Blessing flowed through them. A sliver of hope sprouted in their despair-engulfed hearts, then instantly flared, banishing their fear.

Having experienced that despair, they now had even greater faith in the tremendous pressure their Lord, standing before them, had endured.

As long as the Lord was there, no monster was unbeatable!

If they had felt fear at the sight of the enormous monster at first, now their fear had greatly diminished.

The group charged forward. Reynard went in sword-first, thrusting it fiercely into the creature's body, then withdrawing it to chop into the torso, the sharp blade slicing a palm's depth.

On the other side, Dismas swiftly moved to flank the creature, drew his musket, pressed it against the body, and fired.

Propelled by gunpowder, the shell tore through the tough skin with great force, even burrowing deeply into it.

The strike elicited a fierce scream from the banshee. Dismas didn't even know where its vocal organ was, but he showed no mercy.

With a backhand draw of his Short Sword, he drove it in and stirred, then forcefully dragged the blade along the existing injury to tear a larger wound.

Balistan stepped forward, picked up the torch they had thrown earlier, and also moved to the other side to press the flame against the mushrooms growing on the banshee's back. When exposed to fire, those mushrooms began to release spores in a stress response, but were instantly burned away.

Being injured in quick succession made the banshee's true form increasingly aggressive. However, its feeding appendage had been chopped off, and the mushroom cluster on its body capable of generating spores was charred, leaving it short on means of attack.

Yet, to be called the Witch's most perfect creation, the true form of the banshee obviously had more than just these tactics at its disposal.

Finally, faced with the encroaching enemies, it opened its lowest pair of flaps. This revealed a slug-like body housing, to their horror, only the upper half of a decayed corpse—the lower half was fused entirely with the banshee's body.

From beneath the hem of its skirt, a ring of decaying corpses emerged. Upon appearing, they waved countless arms in a mad attempt to grab them.

"Oh! What in the world is this abomination?"

"I can't let them grab hold of me!"

"Such sacrilege!"