Chapter 76
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Overwhelming Might
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gigantes swung its massive arm in utter silence.
The Beast Tamer and the Earth Dragon read the situation and unleashed a ferocious assault, while Bielle alone hovered in the sky, taunting them to come at her.
A heavy, swift strike.
The sheer majesty of the power contained within was evident from the sound of the air being rent apart.
Gigantes' fist, having missed me, blotted out the sky as it plummeted toward the ground.
Its enormous size was enough to make even battle-hardened fighters momentarily forget the fight, transfixed by the shadow looming overhead.
Boom!
Earth and debris scattered like thunderclouds.
The ground erupted as if from an explosion, cracks spiderwebbing out and thick dust billowing up.
The following gust battered my coat's collar wildly, ringing in my ears.
The road tiles shattered into pieces, buried under mounds of dirt, and what had once been a park was swept clean away.
But the vibrations shaking the very earth and the sandstorm-like devastation sweeping the area felt nothing short of a natural disaster.
An overwhelming display of violence impossible to resist or flee from.
It was so far beyond comprehension that even the will to fight evaporated.
All one could do was tremble and pray that the violence passed them by.
Faced with such abject terror, people crumbled.
If they were alone, that is.
With the blood-red moon at its back, Gigantes thrust its fist forward nimbly.
I launched myself toward it.
Boom!
Something crushed with a deafening roar that slammed into my eardrums.
Gigantes, losing its balance, staggered and stomped the ground.
A clear night sky, not even a wisp of cloud in sight.
The bright night made the fall of the colossal monster starkly visible.
The party swallowed hard as they watched the beast teeter.
Someone had kicked away Gigantes' fist as it struck.
A blow that pulverized everything it touched—something no human could possibly counter.
And so, the one who had deflected it...
Isel glanced upward from below at the figure floating in the sky.
"Professor."
For a moment, she watched with eyes full of admiration, like she was gazing at her idol.
"Phew..."
Climbing onto Gigantes' arm, I glanced down, taking in the sight of the allies Isel had brought fighting desperately below.
The demon's creations and the surviving monsters from my earlier attacks.
They were all insanely tough, so by any normal judgment, we should've ignored Gigantes and taken out the monsters first...
But seeing Elin and Radia responding more fiercely than anyone eased my worries.
'It's fine. No need to fret.'
They were originally just insurance, but that's why I'd told Isel to bring my students.
'In the original story, Elin and Radia held the tunnel without me.'
Elin, awakened during the field trip disaster, led a spirit legion in an even match against the Beast Tamer's masterpieces and monsters. Radia, forced to choose after those around her died, severed the Beast Tamer's arm.
Those two were protagonists chosen by the scenario.
Not side characters strong like me.
Of course, that didn't mean Elin or Radia were at their full original glory right now...
'But it's enough.'
If I took on the ones too much for the two of them, they could handle the rest.
I smiled faintly at the spirits materializing one by one below, mana surging.
"Elin and Radia can manage."
Which meant I had to do my part too.
I tensed my legs and dashed along Gigantes' tilting arm.
It was a bit reckless, but it was the only way to close the distance dramatically.
Gigantes, off-balance and stumbling backward, toppled naturally.
If it couldn't properly brace its legs, it wouldn't shake me off from its back.
And if that happened...
I drew my rapier and steadied my breath.
Hoo...
My breath lingered long, like trail from a passing cloud.
Bathed in red moonlight, the rapier gleamed with deadly sharpness, casting eerie afterimages.
"Now I'm in range."
The moment my sword flashed, the rapier traced a brilliant arc, unleashing intricate sword techniques.
Vibrant feathers sliced into flesh.
Muscles collapsed and mashed.
Bones shattered, unable to bear the weight any longer, and Gigantes' arm crumbled with every step I took.
In contrast, I accelerated, leaping dozens of meters in a single bound.
Slashslashslash!
Blood mist trailed as its dark crimson blood sprayed into the air.
Countless slashes tore its skin, spewing gore in gushes.
Unable to scream without a mouth, Gigantes convulsed instead.
The moment it shook as if cursing an ant like me for such insolence.
The scattered feathers swarmed back, sweeping the skies.
The essence of the feathers was aura.
Concentrated mana.
I could condense them endlessly or sharpen them at will.
The flock of feathers gleamed razor-sharp, extending toward Gigantes' crumbling legs.
Like a swarm of enraged locusts ravaging everything, the attack began with minor wounds but soon revealed its true nature, ripping flesh to expose bare bone.
The behemoth hundreds of meters tall flailed as it collapsed.
The terror that seemed invincible lost both legs without much fight.
With its upper body slammed to the ground, Gigantes' fate was sealed.
A torrent of faintly glowing feathers swept the earth, wrapping around the cradled giant like a blanket.
As a single small feather became a tiny blade.
Wherever the cascading feathers washed over like waves, only the thick scent of blood remained.
At that sight, the party battling the demon's creations let out cries of awe.
The dim night sky, lit only by the glaring red moon.
Now, a flock of white feathers joined, illuminating the darkness.
"Neeenom!"
The Beast Tamer gnashed his teeth, scattering spears of flame.
Dense and blazing like the sun's chromosphere, overwhelming crimson!
The massive, ultra-concentrated spear incinerated the sky red as it shot straight ahead.
A long line of heat scorched across the heavens, and with the explosion, it felt like the sky itself split in two.
I swung my sword as well.
Until now, I'd sealed thrusts to cover my flanks.
Aiden's life could be said to revolve around this single, sharply gleaming point.
The thrust was the beginning and end of Aiden's sword.
A genius who elevated that one technique to defy the world.
The flame spear's trajectory included not just me, but the protagonists behind me.
If I dodged, they might suffer fatal wounds...
"I'll slice and pierce through."
The light condensed foolishly to a single point scattered jubilant afterimages.
Not content with splitting the heat line in two, it shot straight toward the Beast Tamer.
"Wh-what!?"
Riiip!
The flame spear split down the middle, losing power and evaporating into smoke.
At its end, blood sprayed past his shoulder as the Beast Tamer's right hand spun away like a clock hand.
Gore soaked his cheek and dyed his clothes crimson.
"Grraaagh."
Ignoring the old man's piteous scream, I turned my head.
'That should stop him from using great magic from now on.'
The reason to keep the Beast Tamer alive was to draw attention by letting him live.
With the capital as an example, he'd strike key national facilities through tunnels multiple times.
The damage to the nation would be huge, but the more he did, the more eyes would turn to heretical mages.
Suspicion that they might be next.
Letting him live would spark public demand for nations to unite and purge heretical mages amid the crisis.
Killing him here ends with just him.
Heretical mages' ideology is dangerous, but ironically, their technology is alluring.
If he grovels, the heretical mages would shut up and bide their time.
'That can't happen.'
The Beast Tamer's existence is the lesser evil to avoid the worst.
'You need to live and dig up pure magic literature.'
That way, I'd have the pretext to crush the heretical mages' base myself later.
"And..."
My gaze shifted, and the Earth Dragon charged.
Mouth agape, eyes flashing, unleashing savage fury.
It looked just like a wounded predator...
"But there's no need to spare you."
The mana in my rapier exceeded limits, warping space with intense pressure.
"Time to end this farce."
Stab!
A clear diamond-shaped mark on its brow.
Cracks spread from there across its body, fractured light leaking from the fissures.
Even dozens of meters away, the Earth Dragon halted.
─Whaaat?
A puzzled sound.
Unaware of the discord in its own body, the Earth Dragon wailed.
Splatter!
Suddenly, a shadow loomed as the Earth Dragon's head tore free and flew through the air.
Thud, thump.
It rolled several times across the dirt before stopping, eyes darting left and right.
It had repeated such attacks until now, so it believed this would work again without fail.
"No reason to fall for it twice without any more obstacles."
Poison glands burst, spilling caustic liquid onto the ground.
Sizzle—it boiled, and the Earth Dragon's eyes widened.
As a cold-blooded creature, it'd survive headless for hours, but there was nothing it could do.
The headless body wobbled and collapsed.
Body fluids leaked from the severed neck, heaving up dirt mounds.
Now, only two remained—
Gigantes and Bielle.
Sensing the crisis, Bielle gripped a spear of solidified mana and met my sword.
"Proooffessoor!? You can't just end it so easily while I'm watching, right?"
If my eyes turned to Bielle, hers locked on me.
Our crossing gazes reflected myriad emotions.
I flashed a mischievous grin.
"Yeah. Hand over your head too."
"Not happening."
Soon, the clash of weapons echoed across the area.
* * *
The horrific creations of the demon strode forward.
Opposing them, exhausted and wounded, the group gripped their weapons tight, none showing weakness.
But they couldn't hide the subdued mood.
They tried lightening the atmosphere with ill-timed jokes, but facing the creatures breaking through countless spells, they could only swallow hard breaths.
"Eek."
"Get it together!"
"W-we shouldn't have come! We should've saved our strength!"
Those who'd opposed coming cracked first.
None had come to the battlefield thinking they could turn the tide.
They'd come solely for Professor Aiden, to tip the scales.
Without meaningful results, it was a mass execution...
"Wh...at?"
Someone on the verge of panic spotted the dragon head flying through the air.
Not so much severed as some inexplicable hallucination.
The sight of the dragon head floating without warning was utterly unnatural.
But the doubt vanished quickly.
As it smashed into the ground, kicking up thick dust like storm clouds, certainty replaced suspicion.
"Huh..."
The dragon's unspent venom pooled thickly on the ground.
The group watching gulped as one.
Turning back, they saw only a single monster and a dragon felled.
As if it was meant to be this way, the overwhelming display silenced them all.
The Tower Master stared incredulously at Aiden pouring out sword strikes.
"To think it's this much..."
The man who'd delayed an army for half a day, more exhausted than anyone, crushed them effortlessly once unchained.
The group slowly grasped the reality.
The fight would've ended already if Aiden hadn't protected the students.
And what happened when the students protected themselves.
A small variable had decisively tipped the scales.