Chapter 351: Libra (7)
Chapter 351: Libra (7)
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. And for tentacles... tentacles!
The roots of the World Tree were massive; even their thinnest sections were thicker than the trunk of a centuries-old oak.
At this size, they should be more than enough to handle that mass of tentacles. Since Cyclic Life had been confident, I was sure it would be fine.
As I nodded to myself, the thick tree roots and the grotesque mound of tentacles began to collide.
Thwack!
The sound of the impact—viscous flesh meeting solid wood—echoed like a drumbeat.
The roots and the tentacles, two entities entirely different yet strikingly similar in form, clashed violently.
Their long extremities lashed out, coiled around one another, and at times yanked with such force that they became a dizzying, tangled mess.
Since each individual tentacle was a separate entity, their movements were notoriously difficult to predict. However, the one controlling the roots now was none other than Cyclic Life itself.
No matter how bizarre the movements, the World Tree's roots followed every twitch and parried them without much trouble.
Squelch!
As they traded blows, the two drew closer. Before long, the roots and tentacles were intricately entwined like a knotted ball of yarn, becoming one massive, struggling heap.
With this, the tentacle monster was effectively sealed. On the other hand, we still had usable roots left.
The World Tree was so vast that while we couldn't use the roots from this specific direction anymore, there were plenty of others available.
However, it seemed the tentacle monster had a similar idea—or perhaps one of the high-ranking cultists was observing the situation and issued an order.
The massive mass of tentacles writhed while pinned down, then suddenly began to tear its own flesh away, decomposing into smaller clusters of tentacles.
It was trying to escape the roots and then regroup.
The World Tree's roots were large and powerful, but for that very reason, they couldn't efficiently catch such small fragments.
Now, it was Fay's turn to step up.
"H-hyah!"
Fay threw a potion bottle from atop the fortress wall. Her arm strength was weak, so it didn't fly very far, but that was enough.
A flesh-colored liquid bubbled amidst the shattered glass shards and began to swell at an incredible rate.
The sight of countless cylindrical masses of flesh sprouting from a single lump was quite familiar.
After all, those were the artificial tentacles Fay had created by mistake while experimenting with artificial muscles.
Unlike the kin of Ugly Prosperity, these were mere lumps of muscle, not even living organisms. They had no special abilities other than reflexively grabbing anything that came near them...
"Yaah! Hup! Hyah!"
Clink. Smash. Shatter.
Potion bottles broke one after another. As each one transformed into an artificial tentacle and lined up, the World Tree's roots picked them up one by one and scattered them around the fragmented tentacle monster.
It had been quite a sight when they filled the workshop, but seeing dozens of them writhing simultaneously was beyond gruesome.
The tentacles of Ugly Prosperity, suddenly surrounded, flinched as if panicked. However, seeing the artificial ones just flopping around aimlessly, they must have thought they were nothing special and charged forward to escape. And then...
Grip.
The artificial muscles reacted frantically the moment something drew near, seizing the monsters tight.
"Skreeeeeee!"
The trapped tentacle monsters began to shriek in high-pitched voices, struggling desperately.
They tried to melt the artificial muscles by spitting white digestive fluid... but while that might have worked on the old failures, these were intentionally made this way.
Since they were originally designed to serve as muscles for a giant golem, they possessed absurd levels of durability.
Though organic, they were tougher and more resilient than most metals. Their surfaces were slightly singed by the acid, but they didn't take any serious damage.
If anything, the stinging stimulus seemed to make the muscles writhe even more violently.
Crunch—!
"Skree... k-k-k..."
It wasn't just a grip anymore; it was closer to a literal wringing. Given their intended purpose, the pressure applied to the captured tentacle monsters was likely equivalent to a hydraulic press.
As a result, the tentacles trembled piteously as if suffocating, before finally going limp one by one after a final, thin scream.
I had been skeptical at first about whether this would work, but the compatibility was better than I expected.
I had been ready to provide support just like before, but it didn't seem necessary.
I watched Fay as she threw the bottles and scurried away to safety, and only after confirming she was secure did I look around at the rest of the battlefield.
Unlike the knights of the Levantine Empire, whose goal was the succubi while treating the goblins as an afterthought, Grimhill and his subordinates were fighting hard against the goblins.
The Authority of Ugly Prosperity must have been surging their sexual desires and making their bodies sluggish, yet their movements remained swift.
This was possible thanks to the natural agility of elves, the domain of the World Tree, and the priests who stood slightly behind them, constantly casting blessings.
No matter how numerous the goblins were, or how many high-ranking variants were popping up... it seemed impossible for them to overcome Grimhill and his men.
At least the large goblins had enough endurance to hammer on the barrier a few times while taking sword cuts... but every time they did, Helena, who had been supporting from the rear alongside the priests of Cyclic Life, would leap forward.
"How dare you! Don't even think about showing that hideous face here! Go back to your mother's side in peace!"
"Gurgle?"
The large goblin tilted its head as if asking if she knew its mother. Even as its ankles were being slashed by swordsmen, it maintained such leisure. Truly, size was a cheat code.
Well... it didn't seem to work on Helena, though.
"For your information, I'm the one who crushed your mother's skull! I'll be happy to send you to join her in the afterlife!"
Even after becoming a Saintess, Helena hadn't fixed her habit of hurling maternal insults at evil gods and their kin as she channeled her holy power.
Instead of her usual steady body reinforcement, she condensed her holy power for a momentary burst of explosive force.
Flash—
Helena emitted a light so intense it was hard to look at directly, like the sun descending to earth. Now visible only as a silhouette, she swung her mace upward in a great arc.
"Hyaaaaaah!"
K-boom!
With a roar like a cannon shell exploding, the giant goblin's upper torso was blown away. Its massive frame tilted and then collapsed.
The elven swordsmen who had been hacking at its ankles scrambled out of the way of the falling corpse and scattered to engage other goblins.
The pattern that followed was similar. The elven swordsmen, led by Grimhill, handled the smaller goblins, receiving help from Helena whenever they were injured or their buffs ran out.
And whenever a formidable foe or a giant goblin appeared—ones the regular swordsmen couldn't handle, even if Grimhill could—Helena, who had been casually assisting her allies from the back, would step up and shatter their skulls.
Occasionally, she would even summon just Solari's forepaw to deliver a "cat punch" to enemies further away.
As the one with the most to do, Helena was the quickest to tire, but whenever her concentration wavered, Solari would emerge to take over.
When the burden of Solari's spirit mediumship became too much, Helena, having recovered in the meantime, would reclaim control of her body and continue the fight.
The rest of the group was much the same. Everyone was doing what they could in their respective positions, thinning out the army of Ugly Prosperity.
...It's about time I stepped in properly, too.
My circuits, which had been hot enough to cause burning pain, had mostly cooled down, and the mana core integrated with my heart was beating rhythmically.
In this situation, it had to be that.
With a smirk pulling at the corners of my mouth, I began a simple chant. Then, I repeated the activation word several times at the end.
"[Fire Phoenix, Fire Phoenix, Fire Phoenix, Fire Phoenix!]"
Four birds of fire were born from the tip of my staff and took to the sky.
Scattering to the north, south, east, and west, the Fire Phoenixes began to fight autonomously like real living phoenixes—breathing fire, creating heatwaves with their wings, and slamming their scorching bodies directly into the enemy.
The power, which had been mediocre for an intermediate elemental combination, was bolstered by the mana and spirit language of a high magician.
Unless it was a high-ranking priest of Archbishop-class or higher, there would be no way to stop them.
I knew the day would come when I'd use this. Armed drones are god, and I am invincible!
I prepared my next spell with a satisfied smile.
The greatest advantage of the Fire Phoenix was that once cast, it only required maintenance costs; I didn't need to pay it any mind, allowing me to use as many other spells as I wanted.
At one point, I wondered how things would turn out, but if we keep this up, we'll hold out just fine. Once the reinforcements from the Church of Righteous Light arrive, it might even be possible to turn the tables and massacre the army of Ugly Prosperity.
Even as I thought that, I didn't let my guard down.
Not only was the battle far from over, but cultists were the type to always pull an unexpected trick out of their sleeves.
I had to fight cautiously until the very end.
...Perhaps it was that mindset that allowed me to notice the dissonance in the current situation.
"Wait..."
Isn't Boiling Silence being a bit too quiet?