Zero Percent Jet-Black, One Hundred Percent Divinity
The battle had erupted into a massive free-for-all.
In the tree-root-covered heart of the city, countless plant-type monsters surged up from the ground. From the city's outskirts, a horde of undead poured out of subspace.
The two forces collided head-on, and in an instant the front lines tangled into pure chaos.
Good thing I brought the Legion. Alone, that number would've taken me a full day to deal with.
Simon's role as Legion Commander was to lead the undead as they advanced, swatting down the white apples falling from the sky with preemptive slashes.
Grrr... Grrrrgh.
Wondering what the sound was, he glanced back — and saw villagers with plant stems sprouting across their bodies like veins charging straight at him.
Simon recognized them at a glance. The very couple who'd sold him information about Sasha for three gold.
Hm.
It was hardly a pleasant feeling, witnessing people he knew reduced to this.
Simon's face hardened as he swung the greatsword. Two of the villagers were cut in half at the waist, and the houses and plant-type monsters behind them were cleaved apart in the same stroke, collapsing into rubble.
This is a tragedy. Why is Figaro killing innocent people too?
[Kheheheh, isn't it obvious! Look at that alley!]
Simon's gaze turned.
Tree roots had bored into the fallen villagers' bodies like pipes. The roots pulsed and swelled as they siphoned away some kind of energy — and the more they drank, the more the people withered, growing gaunt and haggard.
[He intends to absorb every last villager in this town as nutrients.]
Nutrients?
[Yes. Did you think he'd stay in that enormous tree body forever? Once he gathers enough strength to perfectly control that girl Sasha's ability, he'll change bodies one more time. That will be the true nightmare.]
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A tree monster shaped like a rotten dead trunk lunged at Simon, but Corpse Spiders came flying in mid-pendulum swing and sank their fangs into it, felling it instantly.
Simon's head turned toward the top of the tree. Through his widened right eye, he could see it: Figaro, nothing left but his upper torso, grinning down at him.
Simon steeled his resolve once more.
I will climb up there and wipe that smirk off his face.
He pulled a zombie from subspace and pressed it against the ring on his left hand.
"Time to fight, Prince."
Krrrrrrrumble!
Black lightning struck down from the sky, dyeing the zombie's form pitch-black — and a boy dressed like a crowned nobleman rose to his feet.
[Ugh, why do you ALWAYS do this when you summon me?]
Prince looked up at the giant tree and let out an awkward laugh.
Simon shrugged.
"Hidden cards are only played when they matter."
[...Oh?]
At those words, color flushed into Prince's face and he started bouncing in place.
[That line! That line just now was SO cool! Hidden card! You mean I'm the hidden card of the Legion, right?!]
"Yeah, yeah. Let's move."
Simon, clad in Pier's Bone Armour, took off running with his cape streaming behind him. Prince and the undead followed right at his side.
[Hidden card, coming through!]
Thrilled, Prince kicked off the ground and leapt up, slamming his fist into the trunk of the colossal tree monster.
CLANG!
The monster went flying, smashing straight through the other plant-type monsters in its path.
Prince whistled as he examined his own fist.
[I got stronger! Your Jet-Black's way stronger than back at the Holy Federation!]
"Of course it is!"
Simon said, swinging the Greatsword of Ruin to cleave a falling white apple in two.
"You think anyone could survive that school and NOT get stronger!"
With Simon and Prince at the center, the Legion formed a spear-like cluster and charged.
The plant-type monsters and plant-people were all creatures built on the foundation of Sasha's ability rather than true Saintess power. In terms of monster threat ratings, they ranked Grade 1 to 3 — and the Legion's strength far outclassed them.
The Legion pressed forward like a tidal wave.
KWA-KWA-BOOM!
[We broke through!]
Prince said, batting away plant-type monsters with his fists. Now the tree roots loomed directly ahead.
It's towering.
Simon tilted his head back from the base. He had to bend it nearly to the breaking point just to bring the summit into view.
[Simon! Are we climbing?]
"Hold on."
Simon drew in a deep breath, gripped the Greatsword of Ruin, and hurled a full-force slash at the tree.
CLANG!
A massive gash opened in the trunk, but cutting it down in one blow proved impossible, as expected.
Moments later, white flames flickered over the wound in the tree's body, and it healed back to pristine condition.
The tree is Sasha's true body. The Saintess's power is active.
From his clash with Flema, the Saintess of Purification, during last semester's crisis, Simon knew: even with her body torn to ribbons, she had revived again and again alongside the Pure White Flame.
In other words, simply hacking down the trunk was impossible. The only way was to climb the tree, strike down Figaro, and rescue Sasha.
He'd been through something similar during the Island Survival Assessment, so he had confidence.
No time for cheap tricks.
Simon planted his right foot on the tree.
Forward!
Lifting his left foot off the ground and onto the bark, he bolted upward. Prince, the skeletons, and the Corpse Spiders swarmed after him.
[Eyes forward, boy! I'll control the Legionified undead!]
"Good to hear!"
Simon angled his greatsword sideways. A grotesque swarm of plant-type monsters was pouring down from above.
The feel of cutting through space itself!
SHWAAAAAAANG!
A white arc blazed across the air, and every monster caught between its paths was severed and fell away.
[HIDDEN CARD PUNCH!]
Prince thrust his fist into empty air, and a shockwave of Jet-Black spiraled outward, blasting every monster away.
"You liked that phrase THAT much?"
[Not really!]
TAT! TATATATATAT!
Simon and Prince kept carving a path with blade and fist alike.
And yet, it was harder than he'd expected.
This is brutal!
Scaling a slanted tree on foot — not quite vertical, but close — was exhausting even with Jet-Black assisting him.
So many!
Worse, plant-type monsters came swarming down the trunk without end.
Just as Simon raised his greatsword for another sweeping cut —
[Conserve your strength, you idiots!]
Pier's helmet rose up over Simon's face, reassembling into a skeleton's visage, and bellowed in a voice that rang like a bell.
At once, the skeletons and Corpse Spiders following behind them surged past Simon and Prince, attacking the plant-type monsters first.
"Nice one, Pier!"
The two of them slipped safely through the battlefield.
[How far up are we?!]
Prince asked, whipping his fist through the air to kick up a shockwave.
Simon kicked a monster aside as he answered.
"About twenty percent of the whole."
[Ugh! That's SO far!]
Just then, dead ahead of the running pair, tree branches twisted together into a braid — and a white apple popped open right there.
"Ah."
Simon's expression froze.
The fruit that had only ever bloomed on the great canopy branches could now be plucked straight from the trunk itself.
Proof that Figaro was growing more and more accustomed to the Saintess's power. Simon had to strike him down before he fully adapted to the Saintess's power and Sasha's ability alike.
Pop.
Pop.
Small apples dropped straight toward Simon and Prince, and the two of them unleashed blade-work and shockwaves to shatter them midair.
[WHOA—!]
Prince's face went white with alarm.
The instant the apples were destroyed by their attacks, they erupted into long, vertical pillars of divine explosion.
One blast caught Prince and blew off one of his ears. A hole tore open in his chest.
"You okay?"
[HOLY—!]
Prince staggered, spitting blood.
[Hey, you got enough zombie stock in subspace?]
"At least nine bodies."
[Then we're fine!]
Prince suddenly sprinted ahead of Simon and threw his arms around the falling white apples. Divine explosions bloomed, and Prince's body vanished without a trace.
Prince had been consumed. Simon immediately pulled out the next zombie and pressed it to the ring on his left hand.
Krrrrumble! With a crackle of black lightning, Prince reappeared.
[But man, dying feels GROSS!]
"...Haha."
They ran without rest — and they were only at thirty percent.
To reach the summit where Figaro's true body waited, they had to cover more than three times that distance again.
The road ahead was long, and his legs were beginning to tremble.
And still.
I have to climb.
Simon gritted his teeth.
No other thoughts. I climb to the top, no matter what!
As he ran, Simon reached back behind him and activated a magic circle.
At last, the moment to use this technique had come.
Emerald smoke billowed out, and from the opposite subspace he drew out a Golem Core, closing it in his fist.
The Golem Core merged with the emerald smoke, weaving itself into dark magic.
"Come forth."
The Blood Golem spell completed at last, and it soared up into the sky.
Simon halted his steps and pulled twenty skeletons from his supermassive subspace. Turquoise smoke coiled up around them.
Simon Original — Royal Guard.
Twenty summoned skeletons blazed with turquoise radiance, capes flaring.
[What—what is that?! Those capes look AWESOME!]
Prince was thrilled.
Simon panted hard and narrowed his vision straight ahead.
White apples were falling.
TAT. TADAT.
The Royal Guards shot out like bullets, tracing turquoise arcs, swords flashing.
The apples were cut down and exploded, and Simon ran safely through the gaps.
SREEENG! SREEENG! SREEENG!
The twenty skeletons moved with uncanny speed using Dash, like countless emerald flashes orbiting around Simon.
They sliced the apples, felled the plant-type monsters, and even cut down the branch-whips lashing in from every side.
"Kugh!"
Then one Royal Guard was caught in an explosion. Through the Cloud link, Simon felt an enormous surge of pain and his foot slipped.
[What are you DOING!]
GRAB!
Prince, right behind him, caught Simon's falling hand by a hair's breadth.
[You gonna snap out of it or what?]
And then, with monstrous strength, he hurled Simon upward. Simon flared his Jet-Black again and stuck fast to the tree.
"Thanks! Prince!"
[Shut up and keep climbing!]
Falling from here meant the end. With his stamina in this state, climbing the tree again from the very bottom to the summit was impossible.
I have to take Figaro down in this one push!
BAM!
THWACK!
Two more Royal Guards went down.
Nngh!
Every muscle in his body twisted against each other; his organs felt wrung out. The Royal Guard's single weakness was that, being made from Cloud, their pain transmitted straight back to the caster.
Simon forced himself to endure, eyes bulging. He could see the falling apples being cut down by teal sword strokes flying in from either side.
Royal Guards remaining: ten.
"GRRAAAAAAGH!"
Vision swaying. Head spinning. Burning pain flooding every inch of his body.
But he ran. He kept running.
This much pain he could endure even without the painless curse — Indolence.
Besides, his Jet-Black reserves weren't in any state to spare for Indolence anyway.
[Hey! Stay with me!]
Whenever he faltered, Prince came up behind and shoved him onward.
Bolstered, Simon planted his feet and ran again.
Forty percent now!
Just then, he heard Prince's shout fading into the distance.
Simon looked back — Prince was falling away from the tree.
Damn it!
A vine had erupted from the trunk without warning, snared Prince's ankle, and flung him into the air. He caught the tree again partway down, but Simon had no time to wait for him to catch up.
Simon ran on alone. The Royal Guards were down to six.
"Hahk! Hahk! Royal Guard, disperse!"
All the remaining skeletons froze, and the Cloud surged up into the air, flowing back into Simon's magic circle.
Simon panted hard and swung the Greatsword of Ruin.
From here on, he was alone.
He slashed madly, splitting the white apples apart. And then he stepped onto the tree's midpoint.
Half the remaining distance!
Now.
Now he was halfway.
His remaining Jet-Black: about four percent. He was overworking his core with mana breathing to generate more, but the core was overloaded and barely turning.
Step.
One step forward, one swing — and more Jet-Black drained away.
Jet-Black remaining in his body: 2%.
Half the climb still stretched above him, and Figaro was sneering from on high.
Vision swam.
His body whispered its limits.
I've come this far. I've done what I could. Even if I can't save Sasha, this much was out of my hands. She'll know she did her best too. The others will know they did their best too.
My best.
My best.
The word lodged itself in his skull.
Is this really my best? Have I truly thrown everything I have into this?
Not yet.
He swung the greatsword, cleaving a falling apple, and planted his right foot.
Current progress: fifty percent. Half the distance to Sasha still remained.
To climb this half, there was one thing to do.
Break past the line of limits.
Surpass common sense itself.
Drag it out.
Everything.
To climb the first half—
I'll give the other half of myself.
"GRRAAAAGH!"
His remaining Jet-Black hit exactly zero.
Strength drained from his body as if it had never been there; a crushing lassitude took hold of him from head to toe.
And yet.
He willed one more step forward.
What I need is just one thing—
Anything!
Faith.
Absolute faith in myself.
I CAN DO THIS!
FWAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
Figaro, watching from above, recoiled in shock.
Simon's eyes flooded with gold, and a pure-white radiance erupted from the dantian that had been utterly empty.
The end was a new beginning.
Where Jet-Black had dwindled to nothing—
one hundred percent Divinity now surged in to fill the void.
"HRAAAAAAAH!"
Divinity blazed up from both his legs as he began to run.
Swinging the greatsword in his right hand, he pressed his left hand to his own chest.
Strength.
Haste.
Endurance.
Different-colored Blessings coiled around his entire body, and Simon's speed climbed even higher. He ran with one hand pressed to his wounds, casting healing as he went.
It felt so good he could go mad.
Simon felt his chest burst open with exhilaration and roared:
"Keep up, Pier!"
[KUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]
Pier's body, wrapped around Simon, was likewise drenched in Divinity, swallowed by the radiance.
[Just you WAIT, whelp!]
The shadow cape transformed into a dazzling white mantle of Divinity, and in Pier's left eye socket, a snow-white flame kindled, flickering and blazing like a torch.
[You are truly OUT OF YOUR MIND! How much further do you mean to insult the dead?!]
In the very form of that Divine Undead that had once severed the right arm of the Saintess of Purification—
Simon and Pier swung the Greatsword of Ruin in unison.
SHWAAAAAAAAAANG!
Apples, plant-type monsters, everything — cleaved away in a single straight line.
[HOW—HOW CAN A MERE NECROMANCER—!!]
Figaro, who had believed his victory certain, screamed in desperation.
"I already told you!!"
Simon trampled the Divinity flaring under his right foot and shot forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.
"STAY RIGHT THERE AND WAIT FOR ME!"