I couldn’t move from Eldia’s intimidating stare.
It’s like a frog being stalked by a snake, and I’m the frog.
I knew the difference in our status and resistance was high, but I didn’t think it would be this much.

【“H-Hurry up ‘n move already”】

Partner sends me a thought message.
Huh? Do you have a plan or something?

I turn to Partner and notice her eyes glowing red as she looks at Eldia.
She’s holding him back with〖Demonic Eyes of a Ruler〗.

Eldia’s eyes glow red too and he’s unable to move.
I-It actually worked?!
So〖Demonic Eyes of a Ruler〗can be used to stop enemies from moving.
I didn’t think it would work on Eldia though.
However, just as I was able to forcefully free myself from Partner’s control, Eldia can too. And from the looks of it, it won’t be long now.
Partner’s right, I shouldn’t waste this chance.

“Gru~u~ooo!”

I jump off the branch, down towards Eldia, and swing my claw at him.
But, Eldia read my movements and knew where I was aiming.
He then raises a claw.

【“So you refuse to even talk to me now?!”】

This is bad, because of his high speed stat, he’s gonna hit us first before we hit him!
Our Demonic Eye skill isn’t having much of an affect on him as I thought!
I remember that Eldia has the〖Demonic Eyes of the King〗skill.
I’m not sure if that skill offers him a certain level of resistance against other Demonic Eye skills.

As I brace myself from Eldia’s upcoming counterattack, unexpectedly, Eldia retracts his claw and instead jumps back, transferring to another branch.
Just when I was about to wonder what made him jump back, three spears of light pierce through the branch that Eldia was previously on.
The spears of light came from Lilyxila.

【“Pesky vermin!”】

It must be the saint’s max level〖Holy Spear〗skill.
That spear packed quite a ton of power. Even Eldia wouldn’t come out unscathed if he got hit with that.

“〖High Quick〗!〖High Power〗! ”

Lilyxila points her staff at me.
Then, my body start glowing two different bright lights mixed together.

The saint has given me a powerup boost.
Now, the question is, will this be enough against Eldia?

“Irushia-san, I shall leave the frontline to you! Just focus on hindering its movements!”

It’s quite reassuring to have a high-leveled ally for support.
Ever since I evolved into an Ouroboros, only few are capable of actually fighting by my side.
I know Alo is strong and all, but when up against a Rank A, she’s still not there yet.

Meanwhile, at the corner of my eye, I see Seraphim raising its head and attempting to let out a cry.

“Ku~uoooon!”

I thought Seraphim was down when it got hit by Eldia’s attack, but I forgot that it had the〖High Rest〗skill.
And man, it sure recovers fast.
Although, there’s still a big scar visibly seen on its abdomen. It’s the part where Eldia attacked.
Seraphim…… is definitely not something I consider a “small-fry”, but not being able to use〖Self-Regeneration〗to fully repair a body part must hurt.

In that aspect, Eldia is already a beast on his own, but he also has〖Self-Regeneration〗too.
So even if we miraculously cut off his wings, he can still regenerate it back if he has enough MP.
I mean, based on my experience, regeneration should wear someone out if they use it to repair a vital part of the body or if there isn’t enough MP, though I really don’t see Eldia having that kind of problem since he has a tough body anyway and a high MP to boot.

【“I’d rather you not belittle me like that, evil dragon. I am still considered a guardian deity of the Holy Land”】

Seraphim said so in my mind.
She then turns to Eldia and snorts at him.

Aw snap, I forgot she has〖Telepathy〗.
And from her tone, Miss Holy Dragon’s got quite the self-esteem.
Gotta be careful around my thoughts so she doesn’t peer into my mind again.

Seraphim lowers her torso and adds power in her hind legs.

【“Unlike before, I too have been blessed by the saint’s support magic. I shall not let myself be humiliated a second time”】

Upon saying that, Seraphim takes off from her branch, spreads her wings wide open, and charges towards Eldia.

S-She just set herself a huge red flag right there, will she be fine……?
No, forget that, I should follow after her and give her some backup.
Eldia attempts to swing another powerful claw swipe at Seraphim.
Seraphim bites Eldia’s forearm, and Eldia grabs her neck with another claw, occupying two of his limbs.

Eldia slams Seraphim at another branch, with several sharp chunks of wood puncturing her flesh.
But, Seraphim endures.
I-Is she gonna be alright?!
Seraphim’s unyielding eyes gave me the answer to that question, as if she’s determined not to let go no matter what.

I spread my wings, gather magic power, and fire a〖Wind Slash〗to Eldia at a safe distance.
But, Eldia responds by using Seraphim’s body to guard himself from my attack.
Seraphim receives the hit from my wind blade.

“Ku~u~oon!”

Seraphim opens her mouth and cries out in pain, letting go of Eldia and falling down the Great Tree with no more strength to even flap her wings.

【“How foolish of you to shoot while thinking of cowardly thoughts. Such incompetence……”】

Eldia’s〖Telepathy〗stops halfway.

It’s not like I’m just acting without thinking.
There’s a difference between my battle experience and yours.

I intended to shoot in that timing to make him guard that attack.
It was so I could get closer at a blind spot using Seraphim’s large body that he used to guard the attack.
I feel bad for Seraphim, but at least now she doesn’t have to feel so desperate about not letting go of his arm anymore.
I did at least reduce the power of my attack by a bit. But, not so much that Eldia would suspect anything since it was actually a rather weak attack.

Anyway, in that short slip-up that he used Seraphim’s body to guard my attack, in that short instant when he couldn’t see me because of Seraphim’s large body blocking his view, I was able to significantly close the distance between me and Eldia.
And from there, I rush in with a full-powered〖Roll〗.

“Gru~uoooo!”

【“Wha-?!”】

With my〖Roll〗, I fall directly on top of Eldia.
The momentum offered by flight, the gravitational force pulling us down, the full-powered spin that I instantly started with, and along with my added weight, I crush Eldia’s back as we both plummet to the ground at high speed.
Many giant branches get snapped one after another whenever we fall on top of them, causing the Great Tree to sway.

With my〖Roll〗boosted by〖High Power〗, there should be big damage inflicted on Eldia, but then he spreads his wings open to try and reposition himself from falling.
In response to that, I release my〖Roll〗and reach out to bite Eldia’s wings to prevent him from escaping me.

But, my mouth caught nothing.

【“Imbecile, go bite air!”】

In the next instance, I received a heavy blow up my jaw.
My upper and lower fangs forcefully collided each other. The pain was too intense, I nearly fainted.
S-So heavy…… so this is… an attack of 1500.

This was a clear reminder.
He is not an opponent I can easily get close to without repercussions.
I can still tank it thanks to my high HP, but it’s definitely not something I should be taking hit after hit.
I have to distance myself again and focus on recovery.
If I was damaged by this much with just one hit, then Seraphim should count herself lucky she didn’t die twice.

I can’t think straight.
My thoughts are blank. Everything is blurry.

Just barely, but I can see Eldia about to hit me again with his claw.
M-Move! Move! I have to… move away from it!
But, my body does not respond.

Beside me, Partner looks into my eyes with her own eyes glowing red.
Then, my body began to move on its own and we were able to avoid Eldia’s attack.
That’s right, it was me who received the attack of 1500 so Partner is still fine, and with her〖Demonic Eyes of a Ruler〗, she temporarily became the main body to move in my place.

Immediately after we evaded the attack, I regained control of my body.
Thanks Partner, I almost died.

Partner bites into Eldia’s wing.
Eldia struggles to shake her off, and because of that, he can’t fly properly, so me and Eldia are awkwardly falling to the ground at a weird position.

Hey Partner, if we keep this up, we’ll be in for a world of hurt!
Eldia’s bigger and stronger than us so he can easily pull us down and we’ll hit the ground first!
You need to let him go so we can pull up!

【“I-I can’t… I can’t pull my teeth out……”】

Seriously?
Just how hard are his scales?!

As Eldia and I remain entangled together, we crash into another large branch of the Great Tree.
That was enough to separate us from each other, and using my tail, we distanced ourselves further away.

Perched on a higher branch than Eldia, I use this opportunity to fix my broken jaw and fractured bones with〖Self-Regeneration〗.
Partner uses〖High Rest〗too.
Eldia does the same and uses〖Self-Regeneration〗to repair his ruptured wing and broken spine.

【“So you can put up a fight…… I was careless. I regret not using〖Physical Barrier〗first, thinking your puny group wasn’t capable of producing a strong physical attack”】

Eldia looks at me with bloodied eyes.
Then, another veil of magic surrounds Eldia's body.
He's using〖Physical Barrier〗to add more protection on himself.
Just…… just how hard can he get?

When Eldia braces his hind legs…… a dimly lit black cube suddenly expands around Eldia.
It became big enough to fit Eldia’s size.

【“…… Mm?!”】

At first, I thought it was one of Eldia’s skills, but from his reaction, it doesn’t look like he’s the one doing it.
Then, the black light became darker as the cube became smaller, like it was being compressed.

“Gru~a~a~a~a~a~aa!”

Eldia cries out a loud and painful roar.
The branch that Eldia is perching on gradually gets compressed as the black cube of light continues to shrink.
Eldia’s wings are also being compressed along with his body.

W-What is this……?

“The highest level gravity magic,〖Gravihedron〗…… It takes quite a while to set up a large one… and the magic required to cast it also increases the bigger it’s made……”

Lilyxila says from a branch a bit higher than mine, panting and on her knees.
Her attendant, Alphys, supports her on her shoulder.

〖Gravihedron〗…… huh.
Both〖Gravity〗and〖Gravidon〗are powerful at their own right, but this one takes the cake.
So, it causes spatial compression at a specific area using gravitational force.
This must be the reason why Lilyxila wanted me to only focus on hindering Eldia’s movements, it was so she could cast this skill when she saw the chance.
The high-stat and resistance-stacked Eldia is now compressed to only 3/4 of his original size.