Striking Twice

Ah lol, striking it down twice.

The Judgment of the Thunder Brain, laden with yellow lightning, burns the Kraken to a crisp.

The Kraken's origins lie in the sea and the sky — and the two are in extreme opposition.

The Kraken's Territorialization never reaches the heavens. Short of whipping up storms or twisting the state of the atmosphere, it can exert no influence there at all.

What's more, lightning is the quintessential power of the sky — and against 'water,' it is the single most lethal force in existence.

"GYAAAAAAHHH!!!"

Beyond merely scorching the Kraken, the thunderbrain sent charged current flooding across the entire stretch of sea.

As the monster thrashed in the grip of the lightning, the tentacle coiled around Child Lily came loose.

Even Child Lily, her body shielded by the White Savior, felt the prickling sting of it and shot upward into the sky in a hurry.

"Whoa, that lightning is…"

─Spectacular, isn't it?

"It looks like it's in so much pain."

Trembling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠convulsively, the Kraken could offer no resistance to the thunderbrain whatsoever.

But that, too, was only relative. Lightning may well be its weakness, but for the 'real' Kraken, unless it was lightning wielded by a high-ranking angel or demon, it would amount to nothing more than an electric massage.

Of course, the Kraken in this dungeon was in a considerably weakened state, which was why even lightning of this caliber could stun it, if only for a while.

Child Lily clutched the hammer once more and took a stance, poised to strike at a moment's notice.

"Did you catch it? Or will there be another one…"

─Not yet.

Even though it looked utterly helpless, the Kraken was a being close to semi-immortal, like its progenitor. Even if 99% of its body were blown away, it could regenerate its flesh, and its soul was so absurdly sturdy that it would not die under anything short of extraordinary circumstances.

'A high-ranking angel did kill it once, after all.'

But whatever the reason, it had come back to life anyway.

KUOOOOOOO!!!

As if it had only been waiting for the chance, the aftermath of the thunderbrain subsided, and the charred body of the Kraken began to regenerate.

Drip. The eyes that had rolled back in agony snapped open, and more than twelve legs surged violently toward the sky.

It's completely lost its temper now.

Child Lily panicked, her gaze darting between me and the Kraken.

"Ah, ah… attack it right now─!"

─Don't worry.

Rmmble.

Current coursed through the cloud-heavy sky once more. Another judgment, born of the White Savior's replication.

The Kraken's eyes bulged wide open, and Child Lily too widened hers with a little ah! of realization.

The storm clouds coiled across the heavens.

The current of the Thunder God Dragon, which I had been holding in reserve, was dropped straight down.

The Judgment of the Thunder Brain came crashing down a second time.

"Come on, everyone! Over this way!"

"One! Two!"

"We've got to get that water out of there! Otherwise it'll all get swept away!"

"Whew, this one's a hopeless mess."

With the Kraken, which had been on the verge of drowning the whole village, now fast asleep, the Territorialization that had spread through the area came to a halt.

The moment the domain vanished, the sea level around the village sank back down, and the villagers returned home, busily draining the water from house after house.

Only a few hours ago the village had been a shambles, but with everyone pitching in to help one another, the restoration came together piece by piece, and before long the mess was all but cleared away.

"Lily!"

"Mom!"

Snuggle!

Child Lily shed her armor and threw herself headlong into her mother's embrace. She clung to her for a long, long while, nuzzling and sharing warmth.

I watched the scene with a fond smile, then turned my eyes to the chat window.

"It's mostly over, but… there are still a few things left to do."

The Kraken had merely fainted from the overwhelming current, nothing more. On Day 5 it would wake up, and given its nature, killing it outright was probably impossible.

Working on it while it slumbered would have been the best move, but with time to spare, there were things I needed to confirm first.

"Since killing it is off the table, from here on out I'll be hunting for hints."

I had subdued the Kraken, the dungeon's final boss — but when it came to the 'clock,' the sorcerer, and the escaped Gio, I had almost no information whatsoever.

With free time granted and the constraints of plausibility all but gone, any hints I found were bound to help. First things first…

"I told you already! The Dreamland Fairy—!"

"Is that really true? Goodness gracious…"

Let's let them have their conversation. There's plenty of time.

It was five hours later that Child Lily returned, having finished her talks with her parents, the villagers, and her friends.

She wore an apologetic look for having kept me waiting, but thanks to the skip, only about ten minutes had passed for me.

─There you are.

"Hehe… took a while, didn't it? I'm sorry. There was so much to explain, and so many people to talk to…"

─It's fine. Hardly any time at all.

"So… what happened to the nightmare?"

─It's asleep. I intend to deal with it before it wakes again.

"Phew… thank goodness."

……

"It won't show up again, will it?"

─No.

At least, not here. If it appeared again, it would be a month from now — and only in the world of Deoen, beyond this dungeon's Child Lily's sight.

─You did well. It can't have been easy, in such a small body.

"Ehehe… it was all thanks to you, Dreamland Fairy. If it weren't for you, I'd have been shaking like a leaf and couldn't have done anything at all."

Mm-hm. Child Lily nodded her head earnestly.

I gave her one more fond pat, then broached the real business.

"Might I borrow your body… for a moment?"

─The sorcerer who wandered about to hold back the Nightmare Great Demon King. And a man named Gio — I want to know about them. I have to find them.

"Oh, oh… then you could just tell me in my heart, like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before—"

─As you know, in this state I can barely use my power. Sleep for just a moment, and I'll sort it out.

I could have simply issued ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instructions in my fairy form and had her search, but I was currently occupying the role of the 'Dreamland Fairy,' and in this state I could not wield any great power.

Besides, by now it was clear to both of us — whether I spoke into her heart or moved through her dreams, I was not her. Rather than manipulate her without her knowledge, it was far better to ask permission directly.

Child Lily considered it for a moment. Even with that serious expression, her adorable little face ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠held for a beat — and then she nodded.

"I'll lend it to you."

─Thank you.

"In exchange, you have to tell me everything too! I want to know who they are!"

She thrust her little fist into the air as she said it, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I seeped into her body.

"You will."

Wriggle.

Child Lily's body, mine to inhabit again after so long.

I ran a quick check over the flesh and rose into the sky.

Because I had asked for her consent, the ownership I'd gained was no longer temporary but semi-permanent, and the constraints of plausibility had all but evaporated. Unless I suddenly went mad and hurled a meteor at the village, there was little chance of losing it now.

"First, let's track down every last hint."

After so long, I wrapped my body in 'Divinity.'

Pristine white divinity filled Child Lily's small frame, and things that had been invisible became visible, and things I was never meant to feel began to make themselves felt.

Srrrrk…

Her blue hair bleached a radiant white, and a tiny outstretched hand swept through the entire village in the span of a breath.

Twip! Twip!

At last, a small wristwatch and an enormous alarm clock shot up into the sky, floating before me.

I gave the clocks a light flick to set their times, then drew out two letters.

Starting with the small one.

Flutter.

Wrong, actually. I just ripped it out with Divinity.

"Hm… so that's why there was no ship…"

Perhaps it was a person who had lived aboard that wrecked ship swept away by the waves. That person might well be Gio.

The spot where the ship had been anchored left no trace whatsoever, after all. It would be a plausible explanation if the clock had been used to relocate its very existence.

Having confirmed the record was complete, I opened the final letter.

Aside from these two, nothing else had turned up — so this was most likely the last letter of all…

I opened it.

The material was different from every letter that had come before. And on the very first line, in a different hand entirely, a phrase was written.