119 - Nursery Rhyme

"Unni, watch out!" Adella screamed into the air.

The world was turning upside down. Probably because I was falling headfirst. Blinking my eyes, I saw the sun sinking below the horizon far away. Upside down, it looked like it was hiding above.

One single blow had launched my body into the air. If I hadn't carefully built my stamina stats with just the minimal opportunities up to part 3, I would've died in that instant, I thought.

In the inverted world, a massive fly leisurely strolled across the sky. Its ten thousand eyes moved independently before all fixing on me at once.

"Gives me the chills, seriously."

The ground swelled up like an airbag in an instant, cushioning me with soft, earthy scent. As expected, humans are meant to live on the ground. Flying around is for pests.

My heart stopped thumping like on a rollercoaster, and I slowly pushed myself up.

I knew it. Without Parma's execution sword, I'd have to hunt down Callistus's Life Vessels one by one across different maps. And that it would drastically slow down the clear speed.

I gripped Skia Vona, the one that had come this far with me. The pope, now a house-sized fly, flapped its buzzing wings and roamed the skies freely.

"You okay, unni? No injuries? What were you thinking, charging at that monster like that? You scared me half to death!"

Adella suppressed her emotions and helped me up.

Enormous wings shrouded the sky. The surrounding weeds began rotting away. Crows from who-knows-where circled the pope in dissonant cacophony. So damn noisy from all directions... chatter chatter...

"Adella, hand me a dagger."

"Huh? H-here..."

The hilt, warmed by Adella's body heat, felt comforting. I gripped the dagger reverse-style and channeled all my aura into my legs. Eyes wide, I charged at the damn fly, humming an old nursery rhyme I'd often sung long ago.

"A ship set sail across the distant sea in search of the continent. Laden with the dreams of thirty-two passengers. Fierce storm swallowed the bow. And the ship split in two."

The pope—no, the demon now called Baalzebub—roared. In sync with its roar, crows transformed into whirling blades and swooped in.

"The captain was an upright man. Prioritizing women and the elderly. The ship bobbed back up. Now sixteen remained."

Having watched Adella's fights, I'd absorbed most of her moves. Effortlessly deflecting the random blades, I accelerated further.

It was the moment I shot past beneath Baalzebub. As if refusing to let anything pass its domain, embers rained from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the sky—spilled from the fly's wings.

"Hoisting sails on a warm sunny day. The ship crashed into reefs and shattered. Captain, captain, water's filling the ship. Who will you save first?"

"The captain was considerate. Prioritizing the non-swimmers. The ship bobbed back up. Now eight remained."

Suppressing the stench of burning wood, rotting corpses, and sewage, I reached the first spot and plunged the dagger into the ground.

"Through the telescope, the distant continent appeared. But sharks tore the deck. Captain, captain, water's filling the ship. Who will you save first?"

No time to hesitate. I yanked the dagger out, sprang up, and charged back at Baal. Enraged by my taunting, its antennae quivered.

"The captain was just. Prioritizing the innocent. The ship bobbed back up. Now four remained."

Suddenly, my ears rang. Vision blurred, the ground heaved like waves. Waves from Baal's antennae toyed with my brain. A five-year-old wouldn't fall for this trick.

"The continent loomed through the fog. But pirates fired cannons. Captain, captain, water's filling the ship. Who will you save first?"

I headed to the opposite ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠side, inscribing runes into the pre-etched universal magic circle.

"The captain was brave. Prioritizing those to fight with him. The ship bobbed back up. Now two remained."

Baal's six legs scraped the ground. What looked small in the air loomed like temple pillars up close. Mud and filth blurred my vision wildly. My foot nearly stuck in sinking earth, throwing off balance, but Adella's help got me out.

Reaching the sun-facing direction, I inscribed the third rune.

"The continent was right before our eyes. But lightning struck, splintering the ship. Captain, captain, water's filling the ship. Who will you save first?"

What I was doing now was inscribing runes into the universal magic circle. To suppress sloth's erosion or face giants like this, it needed a fitting scale. Especially arabesque-based transmutations scaled efficiency with size, so I poured my heart into it.

Geomantic amplification coefficients 1, 2, 3, 13. Even at minimum, up to 3rd-order amplification should suffice.

Finishing all rune records, I returned to the coliseum center, breathing raggedly. Even in a game, this strain built fatigue fast.

"The captain was kind. Prioritizing the pregnant woman with child. The ship bobbed back up. Now one remained."

Mana flooded the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠50-meter-diameter magic circle. All ambient mana sucked toward the runes. Still hungry, it scraped every last drop from my body. Wind whipped my hair; Adella's skirt fluttered. The overbright circle blacked out, then—

Kraka-ka-ka-boom! Blinding flash erupted as geometric chains sprouted from the ground, coiling around Baalzebub's body. Endless in length, the circle devoured mana gluttonously, binding until fully wrapped. The Executioner's Knot, aka Arabesque Knot, perfect for life-transferring tricks like Baalzebub's. Sever all lifelines, force life and flesh onto the shell, then reap it. Convenient murder magic—topple the core, and done, no matter remaining lifespan.

"Utopia arrived at the continent. Captain and woman disembarked the deck. Cannibals seized them. Before death, the woman cried. Captain, you're a bad man. Among those you abandoned was my husband. The ship never rose again. Now none remained."

As the magic enveloped the demon's flesh, I turned to the chat.

"The captain tried saving as many as possible, met a miserable end. What lesson here?"

"Seems rational at first, but ends in catastrophe. Even if best choice... Would ditching all from start change it? Nah. So, story's point?"

I gripped Skia Vona's hilt, wedged in the ground. Slight arm strain pulled it free. Sword tip aimed at the mummified fly. Crystal clear what to do next.

"Captain shouldn't have sailed in that storm. Right, everyone? Unprepared or weak have no right to moral choices."

If the captain thought himself moral to the end, he was utterly foolish. Humans are myopic, don't judge past actions. Daniel too. Blindly charging survival leaves no self-awareness. "Had no choice" is easy excuse. That's evil, evil's banality.

In reality, everyday folk show "villainy" better than pleasure-killing popes. I judged him not from superior morals.

Difference between him and me?

"I don't need that execution sword to be plenty strong."

His unique magic blueprint unfurled in my mental library. Pauli exclusion from electron degeneracy pressure in swordplay? If Alphonse were in past life's mage tower, I'd take him as disciple.

"Triwiki is go— I'm invincible..." Before my mouth blabbered more, I resolved to squash the fly quick.

"So don't doubt me, you trash— mmph!"

Oh god, embarrassing for real. I hurriedly clamped my mouth, killed camera voice.

The insect, six legs flailing from Arabesque gaps like spiderweb-trapped, bore thunder to drop even the Demon King.

* * *

Swirling thunderclouds reached Baal's head. Light-stealing clouds unleashed inky blue bolts. Five lightning strikes pierced the massive fly's head and body.

Arabesque Knot blazed, tightening contents taut. Baalzebub's flesh crushed grotesquely between coils. At contraction limit, cracks spidered the giant cocoon.

Baaaaang—! Deafening explosion scattered the fly's body to dust, boss clear resounding worldwide.