The Beast That Vanished – And the Hero's Desperate Leap
“Could you, Abel.”
“Eh?”
“What? ‘Agares-rank’?”
“With that much power. And such immense size. It’s already surpassed Amon-class monsters. The only weakness we can infer is that it has a delay in attacks. It isn’t currently unleashing continuous strikes. And its massive pupils have closed again.”
Estelle began analyzing the monster with an unusually calm voice. But it was hard to accept in my mind.
The fact that the soldiers and Holy Knights who had fought alongside me were all dead hit me like a truck.
I had seen soldiers and knights dying in previous battles, of course. But back then corpses remained. At least I could offer some solace for their passing.
But right now, nothing at all was left. The word ‘evaporated’ fit perfectly.
The sheer shock of that reality left me shaken. How could so many Holy Knights and soldiers die in a single instant… it stirred my heart deeply.
“Abel.”
A hand gently grabbed my shaking one. It was soft and much smaller than mine. Yet it was always the one that guided me.
“Wait a sec, Estelle! It’s burning hot here!”
Even my sabatons—steel-made shoes—were melting right now. Since I had received Estelle’s blessing, I wouldn’t burn, but Estelle wouldn’t be spared either.
Still, Estelle spoke in the same calm tone.
“I know. Just listen anyway.”
“…Huh?”
“It’s not your responsibility. No one could have stopped it. So don’t blame yourself.”
“…I wasn’t blaming myself.”
“And if you want to comfort those who died, you just have to defeat that monster.”
Estelle released my hand and jumped onto untouched ground. She sat down with a thud and began treating her feet.
“Estelle, that’s not okay!”
“Don’t make a fuss, Abel. Right now you should be thinking about this instead of…”
Estelle pointed at the monster.
“Just focus on defeating it.”
“…How much stronger is an Agares-rank monster than an Amon-class one?”
“It’s hard to give exact numbers, but Agares-rank and above are called ‘calamities.’ Even Amon-class can trigger national emergencies, but Agares and higher—Baal-class—are on an entirely different level.”
…A monster like that appeared? Dammit, how did the North Queen even produce something like this? It was huge.
“So many monsters were hiding all this time… Monsters really are cunning. They must have been secretly raising it.”
“…Can I defeat it?”
“…It would be tough on your own.”
Negative words came from Estelle’s lips, who had always assured me I could handle anything. It was proof of just how brutal our situation had become.
“But I’ll help. It’s tough alone, but if I assist, it’ll work out.”
“Eh?”
“You’re going to use divine power again?” I shook my head. Estelle chuckled.
“I won’t use divine power. With proper effort, I can take it down myself.”
“Eh?”
…Defeating an Agares-rank monster alone?
“But… you hate using powers, Abel, so let’s combine our strengths and defeat it. With your current self, it should be possible.”
“…Use it if your life is in danger.”
“Of course. I’d use it even if it meant risking you.”
“I’m fine…!”
“Don’t be so careless, Abel. What would I do without you?”
.......Suddenly saying something like that was cheating.
Estelle spoke to Celine.
“Celine, don’t leave my side. Since we don’t know how this monster will attack, I can’t send you anywhere. So my side is the safest. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
After finishing her treatment, Estelle stood and dusted off her clothes.
“Then, Abel, I’ll give you the plan.”
“What is it?”
“First, it’s too high up. Abel flying and swinging wouldn’t reach it~♡”
“…Yeah, that’s right?”
...Why did she suddenly sound like that? A bit odd, but Estelle kept her mesugaki tone and expression.
“So I’ll drop it for you. In the opening, use your weak sword skills to slash this ugly monster♡ Got it, you dummy Abel~?”
...It seemed she was trying to ease my tension. I nodded.
“It’s not attacking right now, but I don’t know what kind of attack it’ll unleash when it gets close. So treat it like any other attack and fight. You’re not useless, are you♡”
“…I can do it.”
“Good. Then let’s start.”
Estelle glanced at the monster once more and corrected herself.
“Ah, let’s start a bit later.”
“Eh?”
“Come here, Abel.”
I was pulled into Estelle’s arms. She extended her hand in front and activated her holy magic.
《 Sacred Barrier 》
When Estelle’s holy magic activated, the Agares-rank monster’s pupil opened again. This time the beam shot toward somewhere farther than the burned ground. Still, we weren’t out of its range.
The beam was so bright it hurt to look at. I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.
“Ugh!?”
“Don’t move. Stay still, Abel.”
Estelle’s holy magic perfectly blocked the monster’s powerful attack. Maybe because it hadn’t targeted us—it only grazed the surface.
“…Where is it shooting?”
“Looks like it’s aiming for the border. It might have hit the defensive outpost and nearby villages.”
“…Insane.”
“So, to prevent more damage, we have to do this now.”
Estelle gripped my sword-wielding hand and said.
“You can do it, Abel.”
“……”
…Yeah, right. After all, I’m the only one who can.
But honestly, my legs weren’t moving. Maybe because I’d seen something too brutal, or maybe I was scared…
Then another hand grabbed my other one. Celine.
“Hero, I believe you can do it. Remembering what you’ve shown me so far… you’ll win again. So have confidence.”
“…Huu.”
The two people I cherished most believed in me.
Then… no matter how hard or impossible it seemed, I had to do it.
“I’m going.”
“I’ll drop you as low as possible.”
“Got it.”
#
The moment the Agares-rank monster’s bombardment ended, Abel charged forward. Estelle activated her holy magic to keep the monster’s gaze off Abel.
《 Sacred Sword 》
《 Sacred Blade 》
Two differently shaped swords of sunlight appeared. They were much larger than the user, Estelle, but tiny compared to the giant spherical monster.
But they were enough to draw the monster’s attention. When strong holy power struck its massive body, the monster snapped its eyes open and roared.
Kiiiiiig!
“Ugh!”
Estelle and Celine covered their ears, fearing the sound would deafen them. They had clearly dealt damage. They had also succeeded in turning the monster’s gaze toward them. The giant pupil staring back made Estelle feel strangely uneasy.
“…Disgusting.”
After the roar ended, Estelle continued casting holy magic with full focus.
《 Sacred Arrow 》
Dozens of sunbeam arrows flew toward the monster. The monster gathered tiny light from its wide-open pupils. The resulting beam was far weaker than before, but still deadly.
BOOOOOOM!!!
《 Sacred Shield 》
A massive shield formed and blocked the beam. It was only a tiny beam, yet Estelle’s shield cracked from the sheer force of her divine power.
“…It seems it can’t fire that big attack repeatedly.”
Estelle glanced at Abel’s position. He had already climbed the ridge and was rushing toward the sky-high monster.
“…I’ll drop it a bit more, Abel.”
She told Celine.
“Celine, even if it’s useless, strike the monster with holy magic. Just to annoy it.”
“Yes.”
《 Divine Sword 》
《 Sacred Hammer 》
A hammer of sunlight and a sword of wind appeared in the air. The hammer struck from above, the sword from the pupil. The monster didn’t stand still. It gathered small light and fired its own beam at the wind sword.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Instead, the hammer landed a solid hit. The hammer smashed downward, pushing the monster lower. The monster hit by the hammer roared again.
Kiiiiiig!!!
“…It’s protecting its pupil. That must be the weakness.”
Abel had probably noticed too. Abel was always calling me idiot, but he was pretty sharp.
《 Divine Arrow 》
Wind arrows pierced the monster. Unlike Estelle’s, Celine’s weaker holy power couldn’t break the thick hide.
Still, Celine kept using her holy magic.
《 Divine Blade 》
《 Divine Hammer 》
《 Divine Axe 》
Annoying it like this, the monster started moving like a human furrowing its brow. The movement was slow but clear—it was coming toward Estelle and Celine. The shadow cast by the approaching monster grew darker.
“…Now.”
《 Sacred Chain 》
CLANG! CLANG!
Red sunbeam chains shot into the air and wrapped around the monster’s round body.
The monster tried to fire its beam at the chains. Seeing it, Estelle moved her hand.
BOOOOOOM!!!
On cue, she pulled the chains down. The monster’s body twisted, and the beam cut through the sky.
Clouds in the blue sky split apart like two halves and scattered. The chains binding the monster also snapped and fell.
But Estelle had already lowered it enough. She shouted.
“Abel!!!”
Hearing her cry, Abel leaped high. He squeezed all the power surging from his blessed body into a single jump. It was like a bird soaring into the sky.
“SHIIIIIIIAAAAA!!!”
The only problem was that he jumped too high. He lost balance and spun downward holding his sword with both hands. Estelle’s expression hardened.
“What are you doing, you idiot!?”
“Aaaaaaah!!!”
“You idiot!!”
At that moment Celine activated holy magic on spinning Abel.
《 Divine Chain 》
A wind chain lightly caught and released him. With that, Abel caught his balance, sighed in relief, and landed on the monster’s body.
“That was the perfect assist, Celine!”
“Stop messing around!”
“Yes…”
Abel muttered to himself, ‘Yeah, I did it straight,’ then stood proudly atop the Agares-rank monster’s head.
“Abel, aim for the pupil! It’s a vital spot!”
“Got it!”
The pupil was right in front. Because the body was so massive, it hadn’t even noticed someone landing on it.
I could just jump and stab, but Abel was stuck. The spherical shape made it slippery. Falling from here would mean losing the perfect chance.
“…Hmm.”
While debating how to proceed, the monster suddenly moved. Abel nearly lost balance but steadied himself and looked ahead. The monster had stopped paying attention to Estelle and Celine and was moving toward the border again.
“That bastard…”
The intent was obvious. It wanted to burn more of Apollo Kingdom’s territory. As if venting its rage over its mother’s death at some safe place.
“…This is it.”
Abel drove his toothed sword blade into the monster’s body. No matter how tough the hide, the sword’s sharpness pierced it in one go.
Kiiiiiig!!!
A spurt of blood exploded with the monster’s roar. The monster shook its body violently. It finally realized something had landed on it. But Abel held his sword firm and didn’t fall.
Thanks to the firmly embedded teeth, Abel stayed on top even while holding the sword. The deeper the monster shook, the deeper the blade dug.
The monster thrashed, then calmed and moved again. The moment it calmed, an opening appeared.
“Scratch your head, you bastard.”
Abel gripped the sword and charged forward. The toothed blade tore through the skin, creating a massive wound.
Kiiiiiig!!!
The monster shook violently again. Abel braced harder.
“Ugh, dammit! Stop moving!!”
The monster fired beams from its pupil but had no way to attack the one on its body.
As the thrashing slowed, Abel moved again. Abel’s sword carved deep into the skin and blood poured from the monster’s entire body.
While running and wounding it, Abel suddenly pulled out the sword. The monster’s pupils had risen as it thrashed. The moment Abel reached the wound, the weakness was exposed.
The monster tried to gather light in its pupil, but it was too late.
“Stab it, Abel!!!”
“HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!
Holding the sword with both hands, Abel swung it down with all his strength.
CRACK!!!
He stabbed, then twisted the blade to carve a huge gash into the pupil—the black core. The monster’s violent movements finally stopped.
“…Done?… Eh?”
Abel sensed something wrong. He felt instinctive danger and leaped down.
“Abel!?”
“What are you shooting!!”
“Yes!?”
“Catch this!!!”
As Abel said, a beam of the same overwhelming power as the first shot fired from the monster’s upward pupil.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM——!
With a thunderous roar, a pure-white beam split the sky in half. The white clouds decorating the sky were scattered to nothing by the blast.
Estelle saw the falling Abel and urgently cast holy magic.
《 Sacred Chain 》
CLANG! CLANG!
Light chains caught Abel as he fell. If she had been even a second later, Abel would have kissed the ground. Thankfully, she wasn’t.
Estelle and Celine rushed to Abel. Estelle patted the back of the chained Abel.
“What are you doing, you reckless idiot!?”
“Haha… but if I had stayed up there, I would have died.”
“Really…”
Celine poked Abel, pointed at the monster, and said.
“Hero, you did it.”
“…Eh.”
Right after the Agares-rank monster’s pupil shot its beam, blood gushed like a fountain from its pupil. Blood poured over Abel, Estelle, and Celine even from a distance.
“Ah…”
“…I’ll have to wash first when I get back.”
The monster’s body, still spewing blood, began sinking slowly toward the ground.
“Wait, if I’m here I’ll be crushed…”
“Kyaaa! Run, Abel!”
“Shit!”
Abel quickly grabbed Estelle and Celine’s waists. He lifted the two saintesses and ran.
“Kyaa! Abel, my skirt!!”
“Not the time to worry about that!!!”
KUUUUNG!
The monster’s body, its life flame extinguished, slammed into the ground and raised a huge cloud of dust.