Turned to stone

Frore was shocked and worried after learning about the penalties.

{Why would you lend me your speed skill, when you are fighting against a monster like that? What would you do if you can't use it when that thing attacks?}

[Don't worry. I can just block it's attacks with my strength and combating skills...Focus on getting here quickly, 'it' is about to start.]

Frore didn't ask what 'it' was. He just trusted Blaze and continued running.

----

Blaze was looking up at the monster which was clutching its head with both hands after losing all of its eyes.

It had stopped moving completely, as if it had frozen in its place.

Blaze was waiting for the Monoirister's final attack to begin.

{I should start making preparations as well.}

Blaze still had his regular agility and speed stats. He quickly ran towards the association's A rankers still in the area and warned them about a dangerous incoming attack and told them to go far away.

He went to a nearby building which was still half standing and brought out a large mirror from the inside. The mirror was still intact, it didn't have any scratches.

{Thank god. I was able to find one on the first try otherwise even I wouldn't be able to manage the damage that this attack is going to bring to both the people and their property.}

Blaze pulled back the sleve of his left arm. He used Kaiser and made a deep cut on his arm, shallow cuts would heal quickly so he had no choice.

He used the fingers of his other hand and drew a large circle with his blood on the rectangular mirror.

Then he took some more of his blood and drew a star in the centre of that circle.

At the pointed corners of the star he made symmetrical undo signs and in the middle of the star he wrote the word 'mana' in the Aswalt Empire's language.

Blaze placed his palm very close to the symbol, not touching it and infused his own mana into it while reciting a spell.

The symbol started glowing bright red and Blaze felt the mirror pull him towards itself. The pull had the same force as when a magnet attracts iron particles towards itself.

If Blaze had been a regular S-rank then he might have gotten pulled into the mirror. But that wasn't the case, so it didn't happen. Instead, Blaze felt a little dizzy because the symbol had sucked out a lot of his mana.

After a few minutes, Blaze felt the pull growing weaker and the brightly glowing symbol's light became dimmer.

{Good. It completed before Frore reached here.}

Blaze put the mirror in a safe corner of a building behind the stationary monster.

He then felt a sudden change in the air currents.

{So it's finally starting.}

The large vertical eye on the monster's belly was slowly opening up. When it had opened up somewhat, a large iris matching the eye's size was visible.

That iris in the middle was made up of many small irises of brown-blakish colour matching its skin.

{Seriously disgusting. It is even more disgusting to look at in person.}

Blaze felt that it was really revolting to look at and decided to avert his eyes. He had to be out of its sight before the eye completely opened up.

Just as he started to worry that Maragmus Lee might have done something to Frore, he showed up.

Blaze couldn't see anyone behind the sprinting Frore but he could feel that person's aura.

{The mage from the White Tigers must have used the invisiblity magic again, it's not like that matters now anyways.}

The mage was diligently doing their job and had sent a message via a communication skill to Maragmus Lee, telling him about the warning that Blaze had given to the other hunters.

But, would an arrogant man like him just listen to Blaze's warning? Absolutely not.

That was the reason why Blaze wasn't worried about his plan not working, Maragmus was the kind of man who would fall for this kind of simple trap. He was idiotically stubborn and excessively arrogant. Making use of his personality issues to device this sort of plan was an easy thing for Blaze.

Maragmus replied to the mage,

' that little bastard is still standing there and his brother is here. He looks relaxed, if that newbie thinks can defend against the attack then I have reason to run away.'

Blaze looked towards the eye again, it had almost completed opened.

{It will take about 20 seconds.}

Frore looked at Blaze who was basically unharmed and felt relieved.

He then heard Blaze's voice inside his head.

[...I will lend you my speed stats too so make it to where I am within 15 seconds.]

Frore's speed increased rapidly and he accelerated. He felt that his control was not good and he would collide with a building.

Blaze knew that it was Frore's first time using such a high speed so, he wouldn't be able to stop in due time. He opened up his arms and shouted .

"COME FRORE..!"

Looking at Blaze's stance, Frore understood what he wanted to do and stopped stopped running at once, but he still kept sliding forward, from between the monster's legs and collided with Blaze's chest.

Maragmus was staring at Blaze after this unexpected situation had occurred.

The monster's eye had completely opened at that moment and wherever it's irises went everything, even the air had turned to stone.

One of the irises spotted Maragmus and he wasn't spared either, whether he used an elemental, a skill or a weapon; it was no use.

Starting from his feet his body slowly turned into stone within seconds.

The last thing he did before he became a complete stone statue was glare at Blaze and Frore with an intense murderous intent.

Blaze snorted.

{At last, good riddance.}

He used 'heal' on Frore.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"That's good. Stay inside this building while I finish off this thing."

"Do you have a plan to stop it?"

Frore was looking at the surroundings which looked like a painting that had lost its colors, but in actuality it had turned into stone.

"Yes, I do."

Frore nodded and didn't ask anything more.

Blaze carried the mirror out.

The monster had realised that the toy who had hurt it was missing from the surroundings and was slowly turning around towards the building.

As soon as it finished turning around, Blaze threw the mirror vertically upwards, and all of its irises focused on it. 

The magic symbol began glowing once again and its skill reflected on itself, turning the huge creature into stone at once. 

The phenomenon behind that attack was toxic mana radiations.

The S - rankers in the novel had come up with a spell to reflect those radiations back to the monster, but they could only figure it out after a long struggle and loss of about 10,000 lives.

Though there was still a year left, to when Monoirister would have originally made its appearance; the outcome wouldn't have been any different if Blaze didn't have the knowledge about the future.

Blaze had just prevented that outcome and saved all those people from dying. He felt good and a smile appeared on his face.