Efusio of the Beginning (4)
It seemed the creature hadn't expected anyone to fully resist oblivion.
With a bewildered expression, it asked,
「What is this? How can you still stand so unscathed?」
'No, it wasn't really asking me. It was just muttering in disbelief.'
"That's not what's important right now, is it?"
「Hah, you're right, human. What's important isn't that you can move freely, but that you've dared to stand in my way!」
Efusio of the Beginning casts Reckless Charge.
Whoosh!
Efusio came barreling forward with the ferocious momentum of a maddened boar.
Damn it—Leisia was still crouched right behind me.
'I can't dodge. I have to meet it head-on!'
BOOM!
"Ghh!"
I poured mana into my sword and swung desperately, barely managing to block the lightning-fast axe strike.
'If this keeps up, I won't be able to retreat even a single step. The damage will pile up fast.'
Then I'll just have to draw its aggro and shift the battlefield!
I filled my blade with as much mana as possible, layered it with the killing intent I'd gathered while defending, and slashed upward.
BOOM!
Efusio raised one of its eight arms—the one holding a shield—to block my vicious strike.
'Lightning!'
Crackle!
After concentrating, I split the lightning into countless smaller bolts and rained them down. The barrage blanketed the space in front of me, forcing the creature to retreat with a grin.
「Quite ferocious. Is that woman your lover? Haha! How amusing, the way you're desperately trying to protect her.」
Son of a bitch. It was completely relaxed.
"Laugh while you still can."
I detonated the mana beneath my feet and charged.
Bang! Bang!
Clang!
The stabbing pain in my soles didn't matter in the slightest.
If I didn't do this, not only I but everyone caught up in this would die.
That single truth weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Clang! Clang! BOOM!
"RAAAAH!"
Like ink strokes painting a landscape, my pitch-black sword strikes tore through the space between us.
Crackle—
Purple lightning followed, crackling and flashing as it wove through the air.
Overwhelmed by my relentless assault that left no room for thought, the creature could only defend and retreat.
「How insolent!」
While being pushed back, it let out a furious roar.
Efusio of the Beginning casts Sprint.
Efusio of the Beginning casts Bash.
Efusio of the Beginning casts⋯
Efusio of the Beginning casts⋯
⋯
Whoosh—
In the slowed world, I frantically rolled my eyes.
Shit. It had started deliberately using its traits.
'There are too many trajectories. But⋯ I can still react to them!'
Most of the traits and skills it had stolen came from F- and E-rank adventurers on the lower floors.
Just because it had eight arms didn't mean its techniques covered every direction perfectly.
On the contrary, there were unnecessary movements and attacks that canceled each other out. This was doable.
One. A straightforward downward slash meant to bisect me—Bash. I immediately twisted aside.
Two. A Sting Dagger aimed at my throat. I ducked under it.
BOOM!
Three. A mace strike coming diagonally upward to crush my stomach. I poured mana into my sword and slammed it down to cancel the blow.
Startled, two of the creature's attack trajectories vanished.
It leaped backward and hurriedly prepared its next move.
Not a skill⋯ magic?
One of its arms held a wand, and a small gem at its tip was flickering with flames.
'I'll just take this one.'
One of Heinax's earring options granted strong fire resistance.
Trusting in that, I charged straight in.
Whoosh! BOOM—!
The fireball struck me dead-on, but I only suffered minor burns. In exchange, I seized the chance to counterattack.
「What! How?!」
"I'm not the same guy who used to clutch his burned legs anymore!"
I burst through the smoke left by the exploding magic and swung my sword.
Efusio raised its shield.
I concentrated mana into my right arm. Then—
Bang!
Mid-slash, I detonated the gathered mana, creating an opening the shield couldn't cover, and drove a lightning-fast strike through it.
Crack—!
'So its body isn't made of flesh and blood after all?'
「GRAAAAH!」
When I cleaved through its waist, instead of the sound of tearing fabric, something shattered.
The creature retreated, clutching the cracked area. Light was leaking from the fissures.
「Khh⋯ You insignificant insect—!」
Efusio of the Beginning casts Dash.
Efusio of the Beginning casts Single-Point Focus.
Efusio of the Beginning casts Wedge Breakthrough.
Efusio of the Beginning casts⋯
⋯
All weapons except the spear disappeared from Efusio's arms, dissolving into light.
Thud, thud!
BOOOOM—!
'Oh no!'
Damn it! Had it stacked every single dash- and enhancement-type trait it possessed?
The creature came charging in at a speed far beyond imagination, boosted by countless corrections.
My agility, enhanced by Steel Body and buffs, was clearly above C-rank⋯
Yet it was moving even faster than that.
I rolled my eyes and quickly began twisting my body.
'At this rate, I'll be too late!'
Just because I could see where the attack was coming from didn't mean I could avoid it in time.
'If I have to give something up, I'll sacrifice my left arm—'
Once we defeated this thing, healing and potions could fix anything, so I was prepared to endure the bleeding and threw myself to the right—
***
Thrum—
An intangible wave swept through my body, and a splitting headache began to pound.
Forget.
Forget everything.
A strange voice whispered in my ear.
—My beloved daughter, Leisia.
—Leisia! What kind of behavior is this? How can you be more hot-tempered than your own brother? You really do take after him.
—You want to become an adventurer? ⋯Hmm, I suppose blood runs true. I respect your decision. Starting tomorrow, you may join the morning training at the training grounds.
Crackle.
"Ugh⋯"
—I'm Calliope! I heard you're looking for party members. How about me?
—Oh my, a noble lady who's a martial artist? ⋯That "ohoho" laugh of yours certainly proves you're the real deal.
—Wow! Big sis Leisia! You're really strong, aren't you? Not just for show—actually strong!
Crackle.
—Huff, huff. Thanks to you, it only ended up like this. Thank you for saving me. As expected, my eye for people that day wasn't wrong!
—Big sis, I⋯ I'm going to quit being an adventurer and get a proper job. I'm sorry. I feel like I'm just causing too much trouble.
I don't want to forget—!
"Hah, hah."
It felt like my head was about to shatter.
Someone, anyone—make this pain stop. Would it be easier if I just forgot?
⋯No. No!
The moment I gave in to that whisper, I knew I would no longer be myself.
The mental attack resistance from the Indomitable trait.
Clinging to that, I barely managed to stay crouched on the ground. That was all I could do.
「Oh dear. I expended more power than expected as the price. It will take quite some time to fully assimilate what I've absorbed.」
Step.
「Well, compared to the time I spent asleep, it's nothing. I can endure this much. Now no one can interfere with me.」
Step. Step.
「First, the martial artist. I'll finish off that girl who's been the most annoying. Not that she'll understand my words anyway.」
'No, no. I can't die here⋯'
「I commend your resistance to oblivion. I'll grant you a swift death. Farewell.」
Whoosh—
Clang!
'Huh?'
I had squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the pain.
Instead, what I felt was the solid presence of a man standing firmly in front of me.
"You want to kill her?"
BOOM!
A thunderous crash erupted from the sword he swung, forcing the floor boss to retreat.
"If you want to kill someone, you'll have to get past me first."
Ah—
What followed was a desperate, fierce battle as he faced the floor boss alone.
He was pushing the creature back, fighting with everything he had to protect me.
And what was I doing?
'Move. Move, damn it!'
Creak.
The trembling in my body gradually subsided. Control over my stiffened limbs began to return.
Crack.
"Go⋯"
I had to go to him. Right now!
"Overdrive."
Whoosh!
***
Leisia casts Overdrive.
Stack: 1→0
All status ailments affecting the user are removed.
Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Mana are increased by two stages until the user cancels the skill.
Durability decreases by four stages. Damage taken is increased.
BOOOOM—!
「GRAAH!」
"Hoo⋯ You. What's your name?"
Leisia, wreathed in pitch-black flames, straightened her posture and turned to look at me.
"Aren. You looked like you were in bad shape earlier. Are you all right now?"
"Ohohoho! Of course! I'm perfectly—hup."
Wow. I never thought I'd see a noble lady's laugh in real life.
"I mean, I'm fine."
Why was she trying so hard to hide it?
Anyway, now wasn't the time for laughter.
What mattered was that her dramatic entrance had saved me from losing an arm.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I might've lost an arm and been in even worse trouble."
"No, no! If anything, I'm the one who should be thanking you!"
Rumble—!
The warm atmosphere lasted only a moment.
Efusio, sent flying by Leisia's punch, let out a roar and charged back in.
Bang! Bang!
Leisia slammed her gauntlets together and began rolling her shoulders.
"All right, I'll go first. Let's coordinate our attacks!"
Faced with her confident, mischievous grin, I could only nod.
With Leisia's arrival, the tide of battle began to turn.
Leisia casts Fierce Tiger Strike.
"You were so eager to kill me earlier, weren't you?!"
BOOM!
「Khh! Why are you suddenly so fast—!」
True to its name, she charged like a ferocious tiger and delivered a heavy blow.
An opening!
BOOM!
I pursued the creature as it was knocked back without even assuming a defensive stance and landed a mana-infused slash.
Crack.
「GRAAH!」
Light leaked from the creature's shattered left shoulder.
Leisia casts Chain Strikes.
"This is different from when I was already down, isn't it? Huh? Why aren't you answering!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Crack! Crack!
Wreathed in black-flame-like energy from Overdrive, her storm-like barrage of punches never ceased.
Each strike carried devastating power that the already heavily damaged creature couldn't easily block.
「GRAAAAH!」
"Fall back!"
Even as I told her to retreat without hesitation, Leisia trusted me completely and leaped away.
'Lightning—!'
BOOOOM!
「KRRRRH.」
Crunch.
'Good. The final attack landed cleanly.'
Every part of its body was cracked, light seeping from the fissures.
「■■■■!」
Efusio's body began to swell abnormally in various places, just like when it had absorbed the adventurers' traits.
It thrashed about, clearly having lost all reason.
'If we let it transform like that, this is going to get messy!'
Whirr.
Just as I was about to bring out my final trump card despite the headache—
"The twisted earth shall rise before the enemy's eyes—Earth Hill!"
It was Heinz!
Of course. He was a rank below Leisia, but as a mage, he must have had some countermeasure against mental attacks.
Better late than never—he'd pulled himself together and come!
Rumble.
The ground swelled into a rounded hill under the spell's influence.
Huh? There was someone on it.
Don't tell me—Victor?
"Go, Victor—!"
Victor casts Rock Splitter.
Victor leaped from the rising hill and swung his greatsword, now glowing yellow, with all his might.
His target⋯ Efusio, still swelling and unable to regain its senses!
"This time, it'll be different—!"
BOOOOM!
「■■■■■!」
Its back burst open, and a massive amount of the light that composed Efusio's body spilled out.
The creature's abnormal swelling halted in an instant.
'Now.'
I had saved this for exactly such a decisive moment, enduring the urge to use it earlier.
"Ugh⋯ RAAAAH!"
I gathered every last bit of killing intent I had accumulated—
'Killing Intent Release!'
A crimson aura of bloodlust began flowing from the grip, surging along the blade and taking shape.
When the sword trembled so violently that I could no longer contain the energy, I swung it toward Efusio.
Whoosh—
BOOOOOOM!!! CRASH—!
The moment it was released, the energy exploded, tearing through not only the creature but the very ground it stood upon.
"Hah, huff."
Whether from the skill's recoil or sheer exhaustion, my body felt drained and my breathing grew ragged.
"⋯Is it over?"
What?
'Victor, you son of a bitch.'
The madman had jinxed it, planting a resurrection flag on an already finished meal.
Crack. Crackle.
「■■⋯ I, defeated in a place like this, by these insects.」
Crack!
「No! This cannot be! How did I awaken? After being forced to sleep for so long!」
Thank goodness. It seemed the final attack had truly finished it.
Leisia and I approached the creature together.
Looking down at its rapidly crumbling body, I drove my sword in with a quiet sneer.
"Among the things Isaac said when he woke you, there was one rather impressive line."
Crack!
「Nooo—!」
"None of my business, you bastard. Just die quietly!"
BOOOOM!
⋯
⋯It was over.
"Haaaah."
Huh?
After Efusio's body shattered into pieces,
I moved my sword aside and found a massive, pure-white glass-like sphere resting in its place.