𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝
“『Flash Sword』!”
ㅤ
Following the strategy briefly conveyed by Auntie Elle, Stella unleashes a high-level magical sword—though incantation-less, it still requires a brief charge—into the chest of the mountain golem controlled by Asgard.
As a result, the rocky wall that seemed to be shielding the mysterious metal, where we suspected its core to be, vanishes.
However, the damage dealt to the enigmatic metal itself is only a slight crack.
And that too is quickly repaired, as if kneading clay.
It seems the Holy Sword’s healing inhibition effect is completely ineffective, perhaps because the damage didn’t affect the main body.
ㅤ
Next, as expected, comes the golem’s counterattack.
Numerous small pebbles are fired from the mountain golem’s face, scattering in an area attack aimed at Stella.
ㅤ
“『Distortion: Garment』!”
ㅤ
I handle that attack.
Leaping out in front of Stella while spinning, I deflect the trajectory of the incoming pebbles using Sword Saint Shizuka’s robe as a shield, guided by the spin.
ㅤ
“One more! 『Flash Sword』!”
ㅤ
Utilizing the window created by me taking on the counterattack, Stella’s magical sword strikes at the mountain golem once more.
Though it yields the same result as before, that’s fine for now.
We prepare again for offense and defense.
ㅤ
『Hey, how long are you planning to continue this? Just give up.』
ㅤ
Then, a voice comes from within the mountain golem.
It’s a flat voice, devoid of any emotion.
It’s Asgard’s voice.
ㅤ
『You understand by now that you can’t break through my defense with your attacks, right?
If you’re trying to wear me down, that’s futile too.
As long as I’m connected to the earth, I can quickly recover both stamina and magic from the energy I absorb from it.
You stand no chance.』
ㅤ
Despite speaking, Asgard’s assault doesn’t cease.
This time, he raises his colossal arms above his head and swings them down.
In response, I use the jetting flames from Kurotenmaru and the wind armor on my legs as a propellant, accelerating to my limit.
Just as when I saved Blade earlier, I strike a new technique into that massive arm.
ㅤ
“『Sky Rebellion: Flame』!”
ㅤ
With the power of two weapons, the stronger impact penetrates the weakest point of the descending arm, obliterating the two fists from within.
Asgard’s attack ends in failure.
Seizing this opportunity, Stella drinks a Recovery potion for magic restoration from her Magic bag.
ㅤ
This is Asgard’s weak point.
Although the guy surpasses the Blue Flame Dragon form of Dragburn in attack, defense, and recovery, his attack speed is severely hindered by the mountain golem’s bulkiness.
Thanks to that, we have enough time to recover and counterattack, allowing us to freely use powerful techniques that require some charging and consume a lot of magic.
We can still fight.
ㅤ
『I don’t understand. Why does everyone try so desperately to live like that?
What awaits them at the end of living so hard?』
“Ah, geez! You’ve been noisy for a while now! There are definitely lots of fun things, you know! Seriously!”
ㅤ
Whether to capture attention here or just pure naivety.
Perhaps for about half-and-half reasons, Stella countered Asgard’s words.
ㅤ
“I want to live peacefully in a calm world, and I want to get lovey-dovey with the person I love!
I want to get excited over stupid conversations with friends, and I want all of us to eat delicious food!
That’s why I’m fighting against people like you who come to destroy that happiness!!
So there’s no way I’m giving up or can give up!!”
ㅤ
As she pours out her emotions, Stella continues to swing her sword.
Amidst it all, some words that stirred my heart slipped through, but if I pay attention to them now, it’s as good as losing.
To Stella’s words that carried emotions strong enough to disturb my heart,
ㅤ
『I really don’t understand at all. Such emotions are far removed from us demons.』
ㅤ
Asgard showed not even a shred of understanding.
He simply stated his inability to comprehend with an emotionless voice.
ㅤ
『Huh?』
ㅤ
However, Asgard’s movements suddenly changed.
ㅤ
『Ah, I see. So that’s what it is. That’s your hope, isn’t it?』
ㅤ
The mountain golem controlled by Asgard suddenly ignored us and aimed behind us.
There was Auntie Elle, shielded by Rin’s barrier, preparing to cast a grand spell with a long incantation, just like Stella during the Dragburn battle.
And there was Blade, wrapping that grand spell around his sword under Auntie Elle’s guidance.
Even if we distract and block the overflowing magic with Rin’s barrier, we’re bound to be discovered eventually.
ㅤ
Yes.
This is the crux of the strategy Auntie Elle had proposed.
It’s a bit too brutish to call it a strategy: Auntie Elle would unleash the ultimate spell crafted over time by the Great Sage Ernesta Yggdrasil, the most powerful wizard, using Blade’s extraordinary swordsmanship.
Given the mysterious metal’s durability that protects Asgard, even I can see that we’ll need firepower strong enough to destroy it, brains or no brains.
Our role is to protect Auntie Elle and Blade until that ultimate spell is complete.
The real battle starts here.
ㅤ
The mountain golem extends its arms wide, unleashing a crushing attack from both sides.
An attack coming from completely opposite directions.
Even I can’t fend this off alone.
Simply put, there’s only one of me.
If I could use Distortion Chain, it would work, but its ability to slightly alter an enemy’s trajectory makes it completely ineffective against this mountain golem.
Even if I could dodge this enormous attack just a little, there’s no escaping its overwhelming range.
ㅤ
But if one person can’t do it, then two should do the trick!
ㅤ
“I’ll leave that side to you!”
“Got it!”
ㅤ
I rush toward its right hand, and Stella goes for the left.
And both of us unleash our counterattacks at the same time.
ㅤ
“『Sky Rebellion・Flame』!”
“『Moonlight Blade』!”
ㅤ
My unleashed shockwave explodes inside the mountain golem’s right wrist, tearing it off, and Stella’s blade of light severs the left wrist.
Still, it didn’t care and reshaped the mysterious metal in its chest into a spear and fired it.
Both Stella and I, who had intercepted its attack from a considerable distance to avoid even the aftershocks, won’t make it in time to counter this attack.
But that’s not a problem.
Even if we can’t, there’s a third guardian protecting Blade and Auntie Elle, an expert in the highest level of defensive magic among humans.
ㅤ
“O Guardian Power, a fragment of divine might. O Guardian Power, a fragment of sacred light.
Manifest before us as we stand against the tyrannical great demon. Illuminate us with that light. Ward off calamity with that light.”
ㅤ
This incantation had been going on since we started distracting it.
Crafting each line carefully, spinning magic with each word, the spell was quietly progressing towards activation.
ㅤ
“The holy light illuminates all. Blessings upon the brave warriors, and damnation upon the malicious demons. Gather, light, and become a shield. Become the shield that protects the hope of the people.”
ㅤ
And now, the grand magic spell she had been silently chanting activates, unbeknownst to him.
It’s not a spell capable of defeating the Four Heavenly Kings.
It’s not a spell that will be the decisive factor in this battle.
It is simply the magic of the 『Saint』, who, as always, supports us when it matters most.
The spell activates just in time, in the face of the mysterious metal spear launched by Asgard.
ㅤ
ㅤ
“『Divine Shield Barrier』!!”
ㅤ
ㅤ
Asgard’s spear, stronger than any magic sword, sharper than any masterwork, and harder than any armor.
It is met head-on by the glowing barrier of Rin.
This is likely one of his trump cards.
The spear wasn’t conjured from nothing; he had extracted it from the wall of mysterious metal, thinning his own defenses to do so.
ㅤ
Yet, the strongest spear he’d risked so much to forge couldn’t penetrate the strongest shield that Rin had created.
ㅤ
As the spear grinds against the barrier, trying to break through, the barrier doesn’t budge or crack, ultimately halting the spear’s momentum.
This is Rin’s true power.
I normally consider her just an annoying, daydreaming romantic, but she is also a true hero worthy of the title Holy Warrior.
ㅤ
But Asgard’s assault does not cease.
He now manipulates the ground to send a massive landslide toward Blade and the others.
The place where they stand is barely outside his control, making the barrage slightly more bearable, but it still feels overwhelmingly perilous.
Rin prepares for the incoming landslide, maintaining her Divine Shield Barrier.
That should block any frontal attacks.
However, if the landslide is manipulated from the sides, it could spell trouble.
Still, with the barrier Auntie Elle has been casting since the start, we’ll be able to hold out for a bit, but we’ll need to provide support for anything that gets through.
ㅤ
“『Slashing Sweep』!”
“『Flash Sword』!”
ㅤ
Stella and I position ourselves on either side of Rin, defending the areas not covered by the Divine Shield Barrier.
Stella can blow away the landslide with streams of light, but what I can do is minimal in comparison.
Slashing Sweep is a technique that widens the gaps in wide-ranging attacks to dissipate them.
While it’s intended for such scenarios, it doesn’t offer much when the scale of the attack is this immense.
The openings I can create are like a drop in the bucket compared to the overall onslaught.
I can make just enough room for myself to escape, but can’t fully dissipate the landslide.
That’s why my compatibility with Asgard is so bad.
ㅤ
Even so, I continued to swing my sword, striving to cut off the raging flow of the landslide as much as possible.
I can’t say how effective it was, but in the end, Rin’s barrier withstood the relentless assault of the landslide, and Stella’s multiple magic bursts eliminated the rest.
Finally,
ㅤ
“Sorry for the wait! Our trump card is now complete!”
ㅤ
From within the battered barrier, Auntie Elle announces the completion of her magic.
Looking over, I see Blade struggling to hold down a massive sword, radiating immense magical power.
Sweat beads on his forehead, making it clear that just gripping it would require Herculean strength, even for someone as powerful as Blade.
ㅤ
That makes sense.
The magic Auntie Elle imbued into Blade’s greatsword is likely the most powerful multi-attribute spell, “Judgment of all Attributes.”
Just by chanting it normally, it obliterated half of a dragon swarm numbering over a thousand in the Elf Village—an absurdly powerful spell.
And she has supercharged it through an extended chant, forcibly compressing it into the limited space surrounding the greatsword.
To keep that destructive power in check with one’s own strength, even if Auntie Elle minimized the recoil with extreme care, I can only imagine Stella being able to do it besides Blade.
Since Stella was indispensable for holding off Asgard, Blade was the only one who could be entrusted with this task.
ㅤ
“Now, all that’s left is to slam it into the wall of magical metal! Go, Blade!”
“Leave the way clearing to us!”
“That’s why we’re leaving the main task to you!”
“Do your best! Blade-sama!”
“Let’s gooo!!!”
ㅤ
Blade lets out a spirited yell, and the strategy moves on to the next phase.
We run up to the Mountain Golem’s chest, following the platform Rin hastily created, in the order of Stella, Blade, and me.
The formation is solidified with Blade in the center, flanked by Stella and me.
ㅤ
Of course, Asgard isn’t just going to stand there and watch.
The first attack he launches is a straight punch from the front.
It’s an attack we’ve defended against multiple times, but it’s a powerful move that we can never let our guard down against.
It’s terrifying that even his regular attacks have the power of special moves, barring Vampneel among the Four Heavenly Kings.
ㅤ
However, the leading Stella intercepts this without doing anything.
Rin brings the Divine Shield Barrier she had activated earlier in front of Stella to serve as a shield.
The barrier continues to move straight ahead of us, becoming the key to our frontal defense.
Great job, Rin.
ㅤ
Asgard’s next move was to liquify the Mountain Golem’s body and, in exchange for breaking its form, concentrate its rocky wall on its metallic chest area.
A clear boost in defense.
It’s easy to forget due to the perilous nature of the mysterious metal, but that rock wall is also a labyrinth wall.
Its defensive power when gathered is extraordinary.
Given that our trump card takes time to prepare and is essentially a one-shot move, if he can withstand that, our chances of winning will greatly diminish.
ㅤ
“O Light Spirit, guardian of a corner of magic’s reason! By the power of holy light that is a fragment of divine might, combine light with light to become an aurora and dwell in my sword! ━━『Holy Sword』!”
ㅤ
Stella takes care of this.
Thanks to the leeway provided by Rin’s barrier, she had finished chanting her magic sword while running.
Before the gathering rock walls could unite, she obliterated them one by one.
ㅤ
However, it seemed that for Asgard, that was just a bonus.
He takes multiple actions simultaneously.
He manipulates the ground and aims at us with a multitude of rock spears extending from below.
Although we’re on a platform created by Rin, as we’re moving forward to deploy our trump card, we’re already within his domain.
Naturally, it’s safe to say that the ground beneath the platform is part of his body.
Therefore, an attack from directly below is to be expected.
ㅤ
“『Grand Freeze』!”
ㅤ
Auntie Elle handles this.
With ice magic that freezes a wide area, she stops the movement of the extending rock spears.
The ice is cracking and won’t hold for long, but the judgement must have been that it’s good enough if it buys time for Blade to reach his destination.
ㅤ
However, Asgard’s hand still remains.
As we approach, he maneuvers his mountain golem’s massive arm to envelop us.
I doubt he intends to crush us with this arm.
Throughout the battle, we’ve closed the distance significantly.
There’s no way he can launch such a large-scale attack in time.
And Asgard is not one to overlook this.
It’s clear from the way he’s fought so far.
Asgard has been calculated and composed, unlike some impulsive vampires, never controlled by emotions.
I can’t imagine someone like him making a mistake now.
ㅤ
My prediction proves accurate.
Instead of choosing to crush us with both arms, Asgard uses the mountain golem’s entire body to fire an enormous amount of rubble.
Face, chest, torso, ground, and the spread arms—it’s an ultra-wide wave attack.
Moreover, the extended arms block any support from Auntie Elle and Rin behind us. Plus, the arms circle around to our rear, sending more debris flying from the back.
As expected, Asgard remains rational.
ㅤ
But that’s not going to be the game changer!
ㅤ
“Second Strike Deformation━━『Distortion Chain』!”
ㅤ
I turn my back to Blade, who is leading the way, and deal with attacks from behind.
I leave the attacks coming from the front to Stella and Rin’s barrier.
I anticipate the positions and trajectories of all the flying rubble, and I distort the path of the first rubble towards my target.
As that rubble collides with others, the trajectories of the colliding rubble change, hitting yet another set of rubble. This way, I chain together and block numerous pieces of rubble.
I can’t use Distortion Chain against that supermassive arm, but it works against relatively small rubble.
Even so, facing this quantity of projectiles, I won’t be able to block everything, but I’ll make sure to shoot down as many as possible, especially those heading for Blade and Stella!
ㅤ
While we are desperately fending off attacks, finally, the part of Asgard that houses his true form enters Blade’s attack range.
ㅤ
“Take this!”
ㅤ
Blade lets out a war cry, stomping on the battered ground to leap into the air.
In response, Asgard transforms his mysterious metal part, releasing his trump card—a spear of the same material.
Blade, who is in the air, has no way to dodge or defend against it.
Using his greatsword to block it could result in a catastrophic backfire of magic.
ㅤ
But before Asgard’s spear can strike, Rin’s barrier stands in the way once again.
Looking back, Rin, who should have been obstructed by the mountain golem’s arm, had moved into a position where she could see Blade, stepping into Asgard’s territory to secure a line of sight.
She took the risk to maintain a delicate control over the barrier.
ㅤ
Despite its fragility from blocking so many of Asgard’s attacks, Rin’s Divine Shield Barrier shattered only after securely stopping the mysterious metal spear.
Now, nothing stands in Blade’s way.
ㅤ
“Go!”
“Finish him!”
“Smash it!”
“Blade-sama!”
“AAAAAAAHHH!!!”
ㅤ
In mid-air, Blade winds up his greatsword.
Controlling Auntie Elle’s grand magic with his own incredible strength and swordsmanship.
He drives the hope that we’ve kept alive as a party into Asgard’s impenetrable fortress.
ㅤ
ㅤ
“Sword of Judgment!”
ㅤ
ㅤ
At that moment.
The instant Blade unleashed a full-force strike on the mysterious metal.
A tremendous shockwave erupted.
The power of destruction was comparable even to the super-magic unleashed by the Demon King—the strongest being in the previous world, despite being battered and bruised.
The Sword of Judgment that could shatter all things was gradually destroying the ultimate metal, which even the hero could only slightly scratch, until finally. . . . . .
ㅤ
It blasted away the entire chest of the Mountain Golem, hurling the remains and Asgard’s core into the air.
ㅤ
“Keep the pressure on!!”
ㅤ
Taking Blade’s shout as a signal, we began our coordinated attack.
There was no longer any wall separating us and him.
The final confrontation between us, the Hero’s Party, and Asgard of 『Earth』, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, had begun.
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