Monster King (2)
Monster King (2)
Although the flames and sword energy had managed to damage the beast, the most devastating strike came from Balea.
Trees began wrapping around the body of the monster, which had half-emerged from the forest.
They coiled around its legs like living snakes.
Trees wound themselves around both legs. There were far more than just one or two.
On top of that, roots burst forth, piercing the monster's legs and feet.
Squelch!
Roots surged up through the tops of its feet, spraying blood.
Surprised by the incredible attack, I looked back.
Balea was kneeling on the ground, both hands pressed against the earth.
Sweat poured down her face like rain.
Her hands were trembling violently, and the veins in her neck bulged.
It was painfully obvious she was pushing herself past her limits.
Now I understood why she had refused my request. There was no way she could flee while pushing herself that hard.
With the Divine Sword in my hand and Balea exerting far more power than I'd expected, we had a chance.
At this rate, victory wasn't entirely out of reach.
I leaped forward once again.
Near the monster's feet, I spotted the Princess alongside the two knights.
Despite her young age, she was swinging the sword I'd given her.
She struck the back of the beast's ankle with all her might, as if swinging an axe.
The two knights' swords couldn't pierce the mana barrier, but the Princess's blade cut right through it and wounded the monster's flesh.
One by one, the beast's Achilles tendons were being severed.
This was our chance.
Kicking off a half-fallen tree, I soared up to the monster's waist.
Once again, I channeled mana into my sword.
By now, I could use the Divine Sword's abilities to some extent.
The Divine Sword possessed all the abilities of its sibling swords: the ability to heal and the ability to ignore defenses.
Both abilities were far more powerful than those of its siblings.
Although I hadn't fully unlocked all of the Divine Sword's secrets, I could use these two abilities to their fullest.
"Haat!"
Shouting at the top of my lungs, I plunged the sword into its waist.
Thump!
Once again, my sword ignored its mana and shattered the beast's waist.
It was a strike powered by pure brute force.
When dealing with a beast like this, conventional swordsmanship designed for human opponents was useless.
In a fight against a giant monster of this scale, the outcome would likely be decided by strength, speed, and destructive power alone.
That was why other inherited ability users were far more highly regarded than knights—or rather, physical ability users.
Just like Balea, who was currently holding the beast down.
After blasting open the beast's waist, I landed on top of a half-broken tree.
The Princess managed to sever its Achilles tendon just in time, too.
Rumble.
The beast dropped to one knee.
Its Achilles tendons had been severed, a gaping hole had been blasted in its waist, trees bound its legs, and roots pierced its feet. Even a monster like this couldn't possibly hold out against all that.
As the beast knelt, its entrails spilled from its waist.
Thud.
Startled, the Princess and the knights quickly backed away.
The beast bowed its head.
Surely, this wasn't the end?
Perhaps because its body was already damaged, the beast wasn't as strong as I'd expected.
'Was it only tough on the outside?'
At this rate, it felt like we could actually win, not just escape alive.
The moment that thought crossed my mind...
Click.
The entrails spilling from its waist suddenly stopped.
Then I heard the Princess cry out.
"The muscles... The muscles are knitting back together!"
And the beast began to stand up again.
Grind.
Though the trees pulled with all their might and the roots tore through its feet, they couldn't stop the beast from rising.
Crunch.
The trees splintered and were ripped from the ground.
The roots shattered, and the beast stood fully upright.
"Aaah!"
Balea's scream echoed from behind me.
Damn it. I'd known this was too easy.
The gaping wound in the rising beast's waist was already closing.
I should have realized it when I saw it endure despite its tattered body.
I should have anticipated how absurdly powerful its regenerative abilities would have to be to maintain its form.
The fist I'd shattered earlier was already being covered in fresh muscle over the bone.
Watching bone and muscle sprout right before my eyes made my stomach churn.
The problem was, that very fist was now flying straight toward me.
I hastily threw myself out of the way.
As expected, using the defense-piercing ability continuously was too much of a strain.
I could still slash at it, but cutting a fist like that wouldn't stop its momentum. I'd only end up getting crushed.
If I took a direct hit from a fist that size, I wouldn't survive.
As I dodged, the beast did something utterly absurd.
Rip.
Using its newly regenerated hand, the beast ripped off its perfectly fine other arm.
Then it threw the arm with all its might.
Whoosh!
Its target was the ruins where the Grand Archduchess and Balea were.
Suspended in midair, there was no way I could block it.
"Get out of the way!"
As I screamed and turned my head, the severed giant arm was already crashing down on the two girls.
Boom!
The arm exploded. Chunks of flesh splattered in all directions, and blood rained down.
It was an insane attack. Tearing off its own arm just to throw it...
It was on a completely different level from throwing a sword or a boulder.
The arm the beast threw was saturated with mana.
Unlike a thrown rock or sword, the mana infused in the arm didn't dissipate immediately.
The impact of that thrown arm was no different from a direct strike from the beast itself.
Whoom.
A translucent hemisphere had expanded where the flesh and blood scattered.
It was a barrier erected by the Grand Archduchess.
A sigh of relief escaped my lips.
But seeing the hemisphere flicker, I could tell it had reached its limit.
The Grand Archduchess's face had turned stark white. She had clearly exhausted almost all her mana.
Damn it.
In an instant, two of our party members had been taken out of commission.
Winning? My ass. I had to find a way to get us out of here alive—and fast.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
I whipped my head around.
The beast's leg loomed right before my eyes. Its massive form was sweeping horizontally.
Oh, my God.
While my attention was diverted, the beast had swung its leg at me.
Its speed was unbelievable.
Had it been moving slowly at first just to deceive us?
I raised my sword to block.
At the same time, my ring automatically drained my mana.
Boom!
Everything went black.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
I felt like I was flying through the air, my body bouncing again and again.
It seemed I'd been sent flying and crashed through the trees.
As that realization dawned on me, my consciousness returned—and with it came a sudden, agonizing wave of pain.
"Ugh."
A crimson haze filled my vision, blinding me.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—I wasn't dead.
Though it felt little different from dying.
The pain wracking my body was barely distinguishable from the sensation of death.
My eyes felt as if they'd ruptured, and my limbs seemed broken.
Gulp.
Blood spilled from my mouth. My internal organs must have ruptured as well.
Though nothing was severed, these were injuries that might not even be curable with a potion.
Fighting in this state was impossible.
Should I just give up on this life?
Just as that thought crossed my mind...
"Young Lord Alex!"
"Alex!"
"Sir Alex!"
Voices calling out to me echoed from afar. They belonged to my companions.
Their voices were desperate and pleading.
'I can't just give up now, can I?'
I smiled bitterly to myself and clenched my hand.
Fortunately, I was still holding the Divine Sword.
I forced my stagnant mana to move, channeling it into the Divine Sword.
Hum.
I activated the Divine Sword's other ability, the one I hadn't used yet: its healing ability.
I felt the Divine Sword vibrate as it drank in my mana.
Hum.
At the same time, the Divine Sword, which had felt distant until then, fit perfectly in my hand. The pain began to recede.
'Did it finally recognize me as its master because it's healing my body?'
I had merely received the sword; I hadn't actually been acknowledged as its master.
I'd thought it was just being picky because it was a sword once wielded by a Hero, but it seemed there was a specific way to earn its recognition.
The pain subsided, and breathing became easier. The crimson-stained world slowly began to clear.
The bleeding from my mouth stopped, and I could feel my ruptured organs shifting back into place.
My arms and legs began to move.
I stood up.
Perhaps because it had recognized me as its master, the sword felt incredibly light.
Looking around, I found myself in the forest just beyond the ruins.
Although I was surrounded by dense trees, I could see the ruins where we'd fought the beast directly ahead.
That was because every tree blocking my line of sight had been snapped in half.
They were all trees I'd broken through as I crashed into them.
Crashing through trees like that, it was a miracle I hadn't died on the spot.
I checked my body.
I wasn't perfectly fine, but I could move.
That was enough.
I kissed the ring that had saved my life, then channeled mana into my necklace.
Hum.
Unbridled mana surged wildly through my body.
Feeling the mana boil, I lunged forward.
Bang!
In an instant, I burst out of the forest.
The beast's back loomed before me.
Thud, thud, thud.
The beast was stomping wildly on the ground.
To my surprise, the Princess was rolling across the ground, dodging the beast's attacks.
The rest of the party lay on the ground.
Those who had run out of mana and those who were injured were scattered all over the place.
Fortunately, everyone was still alive.
It seemed the beast hadn't finished them off because it was too distracted by the Princess.
Or perhaps it had left them alive on purpose.
The way the beast tried to stomp on the Princess looked like a child playing a cruel game.
Whether by luck or design, I was simply grateful.
I channeled mana into my sword and dashed forward.
Before the beast could notice me, I approached from behind and drove my sword into its ankle.
Thump.
Using the Divine Sword's defense-piercing ability, I bypassed the mana barrier, then used Mana Materialization to extend the blade.
Then I swung the sword with all my might.
Slash.
The blade sliced clean through, and blood erupted.
The beast's ankle was completely severed.
Rumble.
With its ankle severed, the beast collapsed to the ground.
"Sir Alex!"
Covered in dust, the Princess cried out joyfully when she saw me.
She seemed incredibly relieved to see me back.
I, too, was proud of her.
I admired her for not giving up until the very end. Rolling in the dirt without a care for her royal status was truly admirable.
"Move the others!"
I shouted to the Princess.
This wouldn't end with just a severed ankle.
We had to move our fallen companions somewhere else, and fast.
"Yes!"
Hearing the Princess's reply, I lunged at the beast once more.
Thunk.
No matter how badly I tore its flesh or severed its muscles, I couldn't kill the beast.
Its regeneration was simply faster than my attacks.
Thanks to the mana necklace, I could dodge its attacks, but that was only temporary.
My mana was depleting far too quickly.
The wounds I'd inflicted had already healed completely, and the beast stood as if nothing had happened, launching attacks at me.
Thud. Thud.
The ruins had been completely flattened into an empty field.
That was because the beast was stomping around relentlessly.
Fortunately, the Princess had moved the others into the forest. Otherwise, they would surely have been trampled to death.
Fighting an opponent that couldn't be defeated was incredibly exhausting.
I was gradually growing tired.
I'd wondered why it lacked any special abilities despite its massive size and mana, but the beast did indeed possess a special power.
Endless regeneration—that was the power of this beast, or rather, the Monster King.
I realized this as the battle dragged on.
There was no way a monster this powerful was just an ordinary creature.
It had to be a Monster King, ruling over a certain territory of the Seal Grounds and commanding other monsters.
I also understood why these ruins had remained unknown.
The Monster King had slaughtered everyone who ever stumbled upon them.
And now, it was our turn.
I didn't have much mana left. Regrettably, it seemed I'd have to wait for the next opportunity.
"Everyone, run!"
After shouting at the top of my lungs, I channeled the last of my mana into the sword for one final strike.
Rumble.
As the mana flooded in, the Divine Sword hummed.
As expected of the Hero's sword. It seemed to have sensed my resolve.
At that moment,
Flash!
The sword burst into a brilliant light.
Rumble.
The ground began to rumble.
The beast—the Monster King—flinched and froze.
Rumble!
The rumbling grew louder and louder.
To my astonishment, the Monster King actually faltered and took a step back.
And then,
Thump!
Dirt erupted high into the sky from the packed earth.
Through the rising dust, solid rocks came into view.
The sound I'd heard from deep underground echoed once more.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Through the swirling dust, golems began to reveal themselves.
An endless stream of golems rose from the earth.
A light identical to the one from my sword began to glow from the crests engraved on the golems.