Chapter 265: I’m Coming to See You Now (2)
Chapter 265: I’m Coming to See You Now (2)
“Grwaaaaa!”
A green giant, easily three times my height, let out a deafening roar.
An Ogre. Among large monsters, they were always top-tier in terms of pure physical stats.
A crimson aura began to emanate from the creature’s entire body. It was the Blessing of Reckless Roar, which made an already powerful Ogre even more formidable.
An Ogre in a berserk state was no different from a living siege engine, capable of crushing fortress walls with its bare hands and causing earthquakes by stomping its feet, but…
Crunch!
Before a stone stake falling vertically from the heavens, it was nothing more than an equal heap of meat.
“Heeya! Heeya! Iris is really good at this, isn't she? Look, it landed right on the crown of its head!”
“I agree. I’ll have to set aside a day later to give her the ‘airplane’ treatment and lift her high into the air.”
“…That’s supposed to be a reward, right?”
Iona tilted her head in confusion even as she swung her arm toward a Troll that had frozen up in the face of the sudden natural disaster.
Splatter.
The droplets of blood she flung pierced the Troll’s body, leaving behind tiny puncture wounds. The creature blinked, staring blankly at the holes carved into its flesh.
Then, looking back and forth between its wounds and Iona, it let out a smirk. To a Troll with immense regeneration, wounds of this caliber were nothing.
…That was a premature judgment.
Perhaps thinking that another stake wouldn't fall, the Troll stepped bravely through the Ogre’s blood and reached out.
“Uwoooo!”
But just before its thick fingers could reach Iona—
Squelch!
Skewers erupted from within its body, leaving it unable to move. The blood she had injected into its system had absorbed the target’s vitality and manifested as thorns.
Iona had dispatched the Troll with ease, but an Orc saw this as an opportunity. The moment she passed the dripping corpse of the Troll, it lunged from behind.
Or rather, it tried to lunge.
“Chwee…?”
Its body suddenly stiffened. Its limbs trembled against its will. As the creature let out a bewildered sound, unable to understand what was happening, it struggled to lift its head.
That was the Orc’s end. One of the Holy Knights following behind to support us sliced its head clean off.
“That’s a scam! A total scam! The magical tool Iris made shouldn't have a function like that!”
“I just tried it, and it worked.”
I gave a small smirk at Iona’s relaxed demeanor even in the heat of battle and raised my staff.
“Come forth. O thou who art deep as a river. O thou who art fierce as a waterfall. Leave thy footprints upon this place. Tidal Wave!”
A magic circle was drawn in the air in an instant. From within it, a massive volume of water surged forward. It looked as if a section of a river had been cut out and brought here, or like a serpent made of water crawling across the earth.
From the monsters' perspective, the medium and large-sized creatures that had been holding the front line were already gone. Furthermore, unlike in the past when I resonated using only my heart, I was now using my entire body as a core for resonance.
Unless they were variants, mere Orcs could neither block nor escape this.
Rumble!
The Orcs were swept away by the torrent. Their burly bodies were forcibly bent and twisted as they were washed away.
I kicked off the muddy ground and shouted.
“Let’s run while we have the chance! If anyone is injured or exhausted, speak up now!”
After making one Holy Knight who raised his hand drink a slightly excessive amount of potions, I started running again.
The pattern after we began our breakthrough in earnest was relatively simple.
If there was a large monster that was difficult to clear quickly, or if monsters were densely packed, Iris would provide bombardment from afar.
For medium-sized monsters, either I or Iona—whoever was free—would handle them, while the Holy Knights supported us by clearing out the small fry jumping out from the sides or rear.
It wasn't much of a grand strategy; it was a method of pushing through with raw power… but the enemy was doing the same. Since our firepower was superior, we were able to pierce through them effectively.
After occasionally recovering with potions and refilling blessings, we finally arrived at the entrance to Solaris.
Standing at the entrance of the ruined city, I looked up at the Solaris Grand Temple, which was now significantly closer, and let out a sigh.
“There’s really no end to them. I must have killed hundreds, nearly a thousand by now, and yet they’re still swarming like this.”
“The real deal starts now. Keep your wits about you, Student Yandel.”
“I know. The atmosphere around this entrance has become noticeably heavier.”
Even without that, anyone would nod in agreement seeing the city landscape packed with the large monsters we had only seen occasionally before. It was clear that their main forces were concentrated here.
However, we weren't given time to get sentimental over the ruined city or to steel our resolve at the sight of a cyclops peeking out from between buildings. Just stopping for a moment caused Orcs to swarm in from the flanks and rear like a rising tide.
“Let’s go.”
“Mm-hmm.”
We finally entered the interior of Solaris. Perhaps there had been a specific order, but the monsters outside did not follow us in. They simply gnashed their teeth and let out coarse roars.
Relieved that we wouldn't have to worry about our rear for a while, I hurried my pace.
“…There isn't a single place left intact.”
“Well, of course. So many large monsters gathered here. Most buildings would break like toys just by them moving around a bit.”
Iona was right.
The many mansions of the residential district and the vibrancy of the commercial district were all shattered, leaving only rubble rolling around. Seeing how many buildings only had their corners torn off rather than being intentionally demolished, it really felt like they had been broken by accident as the monsters moved.
If there was any silver lining, it was that the claim of a quick response seemed true, as almost no human corpses were visible. Instead, the carcasses of monsters strewn about were more prominent. These were likely the remnants of the battle fought right until the divine barrier was completed.
Well, now they just seemed to be a meal for the remaining monsters.
“Kuo?”
“Duo?”
A Twin Head Troll, which had been feasting on the corpse of a Minotaur, spotted us.
Our eyes met. Its mouth was still munching on meat, seemingly having not yet grasped the situation.
A Twin Head Troll.
Just as there were cultists among humans who rose to high positions by better accepting the Evil God’s blessing, there were individuals among monsters who could better digest the Power of the Evil God.
Usually, it ended with their appearance becoming more flamboyant… but Reckless Roar was an authority that granted power acting solely on the physical body.
Followers of Reckless Roar could not withstand the power of the god they served, and their flesh would begin to twist. More grotesque, and more powerful.
The Twin Head Troll before us was the same. Because its regeneration had been enhanced to the limit, its body had undergone a mutation, resulting in its current unnatural form.
It would be that much more powerful in every aspect.
“Grwaaaaa!”
“Guwaaaa!”
As it pushed itself up from its crouching position, a physique even larger than most Ogres was revealed. It was a sight that could hardly be considered a medium-sized monster.
That’s how variants were. They were called variants because they were beings that had surpassed the limits of their species.
However, if it was a large-class creature, we had taken down countless numbers of them on our way here.
…Not me, but Iris.
CRACKLE!
A spear of lightning flew in a parabolic arc. It resembled the intermediate magic Thunder Calling that I frequently used, but it was far more powerful. It was a massive spear forged from a cluster of lightning bolts rather than a single streak.
Even though there was a fair distance between us, a mass of electricity—enough to make my hair stand on end—slammed into the Twin Head Troll’s abdomen.
“Graaaaaagh!”
“Awoooooo!”
The creature clutched the spear piercing its belly, howling in agony. Its mutation-level regeneration allowed it to endure without dying, but it didn't allow it to pull out a spear of lightning that had no physical form.
Its internal organs would cook, regenerate, and spill out, while its flailing hands would sprout anew only to scatter black charcoal dust, repeating the cycle over and over.
As the creature completely forgot about us, Iona reached out her hand.
Her lips moved slightly. A dark red energy, drawn out like threads from her entire body, began to condense within her palm. It was a small seed she had been able to create thanks to the time Iris had bought her.
“Take this!”
It was a cute shout, but the result was anything but.
The seed instantly burrowed into the Twin Head Troll’s body and took root. Feeding on the creature’s vitality and Iris’s magic, it swelled in size.
“Grrrk!”
“Kugh….”
Realizing something was wrong, the creature frantically clawed at its chest where the seed had embedded itself. But it was already too late. Its chest began to bulge more and more until—
Pop!
Its upper body literally exploded.
A new green corpse was added next to the half-eaten Minotaur. I lightly kicked away a head that had rolled to my feet and looked up.
The monsters that had been focused on destroying the barrier noticed our presence and were looking around toward us.
“We’ve caused enough of a stir, so shall we proceed with the final plan?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m ready.”
First, we held hands and gathered in a circle. As I poured mana into my robe, our bodies instantly became transparent. Iona also cast invisibility magic on herself and the Holy Knights.
Up until now, we had intentionally run in a conspicuous manner to receive Iris’s fire support, but there was no longer a need for that. The interior of Solaris was crawling with large monsters, likely to break the barrier. No matter how high-grade the magic was, it was difficult to wipe out multiple large monsters with a single shot.
If Iris and Iona joined forces like they did in the last scenario dungeon, the story might be different… but that was impossible right now.
One or two might be fine, but if five or six swarmed us at once, we would be the ones in trouble. So, we decided to forgo support and approach stealthily instead. It was also around the time Iris would be busy confronting the monsters outside.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of the earth shaking grew closer. A Minotaur poked its head out from a nearby building, sniffing the air.
I quickly cast levitation magic on everyone. It was a sensation that made my spine tingle, as if I had been freed from gravity.
In that state, Iona kicked off the ground with her vampire strength and various buffs.
Bam!
With a crisp sound, our bodies were propelled forward. Iona led us, hopping across the roofs of the half-ruined buildings.
The Grand Temple was drawing closer at the speed of the wind hitting my face.
I was getting closer to Helena.