kscans

Chapter 283 - The Miasma-Clad Giant and the Goddess in the Rainbow Aura

Though it was just an estimate, this mountain range stretched on endlessly, with peaks reaching a thousand, some even over two thousand, meters high. Our village was nestled in one of its valleys. From this vantage point, how high would the surrounding mountains even appear?

The presence of the giant, standing tall enough to pierce through those very mountains, made me feel as if I'd wandered into a miniature world.

Its movements were ponderous. But a single one of its steps would cover a distance that would take us tens of minutes to walk.

"Is that the God of the End?"

I looked at Myra, who was staring blankly just as I was.

"I-I don't know! But... but that is not the form of a god we imagine..."

The black miasma shrouding its massive form held not a shred of the divinity Laciel possessed, only a malevolent, sinister aura. The thought that this was just one fragment of the God of the End, and that there were many others like it, filled me with a sense of despair.

I shifted my gaze to Famu.

"Hey, did Okita Soji really challenge something like that with a single sword?"

Famu nodded in response to my question.

"But Okita Soji was ill. I heard that he lost."

"No, even if he were perfectly healthy, that's impossible."

I stood beside Famu, looking up at the giant.

Its size was absurd. I couldn't imagine any of our weapons doing any damage to it whatsoever. The pain from the giant crushing a tree underfoot would probably hurt it more than any of our attacks.

The giant slowly lifted its foot.

"Master, your weapon!"

I shook my head.

"It's no use. We need to evacuate the villagers."

But where could they possibly run? The thought felt hollow even as I said it. Just then, the giant brought its foot down. It had only taken a single step closer to the village, but that alone unleashed a shockwave-like gust of wind and another violent tremor, just like before.

The sound of houses groaning and collapsing echoed through the air as a cloud of dust rose, staining the village brown.

Someone was coughing violently, their throat dry. Amid the chaos, the villagers began to gather, weapons in hand.

I glanced at Erne, who stood next to Famu.

"Hey, get out of here, now! The giant seems to be targeting this village. If you scatter into the forest, you might be able to escape its sight!"

But he shook his head.

"If you feel you must flee, then you should leave this village at once. We have been training for self-defense, taking into account what happened to Famu's village."

"Don't be ridiculous! Don't compare that thing to a bunch of bandits. Even if this village is destroyed, as long as you all survive, you can rebuild!"

I had just seen the ruins of Famu's village. Famu, a former resident, was here. Sameim was alive, and so was the adventurer named Chichi. But the village would not return to what it was.

I knew it was empty comfort, but I had to say it. They knew it too. That's why they wouldn't leave. As I expected, Erne shook his head again.

"You are an otherworld hero, same as Okita Soji, are you not? We, the dog-eared race, are indebted to him. This time, it is our turn to be of assistance to you."

"That was over a thousand years ago! I just met you people. This isn't what I want!"

"Time is not the issue. You are the one Famu brought here. She believes in you."

This was getting nowhere. I looked at Famu, hoping she could talk some sense into them.

"Master, I will block one of the giant's attacks with my special skill. If Mizuki can land a blow on it in that time..."

"We don't know if you can actually block it. According to Myra, not even Laciel's spear worked on it. And if Mizuki's sword can't deal any damage, her special skill won't even activate."

Besides, does a god even have a concept of 'death'? Would Mizuki's [Super Kill] even work on such a being? As I was thinking, she drew her sword and showed me the blade.

"Mash, the legend says Okita Soji lost because he left this sword behind in Miglutt. With this sword from Laciel..."

She raised the blade, and it glinted in the sunlight. But then the giant blocked the sun, and the light vanished in an instant.

Famu and Mizuki's plan was nothing more than wishful thinking. It wasn't a certainty. I couldn't let them fight based on such a slim possibility. Why was the giant coming toward this village? The question of its purpose crossed my mind. Maybe if we stayed quiet, it would leave.

It was a naive thought, but one I wanted to cling to. Just then, a great tremor shook the village.

An immense shadow fell over us.

The giant, now right before us, was looking down on the village.

Famu and Mizuki stared up at it. They must have steeled their resolve. I glanced at Myra, Marmi, and Nephi.

"You three, run."

Myra gave a wry smile in response.

"If only I had a special skill like Famu or Mizuki, right?"

"You have healing magic. We'll need you after the fight. So..."

She cut me off, moving closer.

"No. I'm not running. I want to be with you, Mash."

Marmi pressed against my other side.

"...With fire magic, [Bunker Buster], I might be able to make it so it can't walk."

"The spell you used against Marina? But we don't know if we can lure that giant to the right spot."

The spell worked by creating a layer of water underground, then striking it with a super-heated spear to cause a steam explosion. Marmi pointed at the monster's leg in response to my doubt.

"...Instead of underground, I'll create the water layer in its leg."

My eyes widened at her idea.

"You can do that?! That might be a good plan. But getting within the spell's effective range will be tough."

"...Also, if that thing is a living creature, it might resist a physically affecting spell. I might not be able to create the water layer."

Her concern immediately deflated my hopes.

"I see. Then let's save that as a last resort."

Marmi nodded obediently. But it was clear she had no intention of running either. I looked at Nephi.

"At this point, I think the safest place to be from a strategic standpoint is near you."

She twisted her lips at her own ironic words. Just then, Famu dropped into a low stance.

"Master, it's coming!"

The giant was raising its fist. It swung down. The descending fist, aimed right at us, looked like a jet-black meteorite.

"Special Skill, [Yata no Kagami]!"

At Famu's cry, a glowing circular plate materialized in front of us.

The fist slammed into the plate and shattered, turning into a black, ash-like sand that rained down on us.

'Mizuki, who had been about to charge in to match the blow, and Marmi and Nephi, who had been preparing to launch their own spells, were all frozen in place, weapons ready.

The giant's body slowly rose. It raised its other fist, the one that was still intact.

At the same time, the circular plate that had protected us flickered and vanished.

"Famu!"

Famu's body began to crumple. I rushed to support her. Her eyes fluttered open for a moment before she went limp, leaning against me. I shook her, but she was completely unconscious. I remembered she had exhausted her mana fighting Okita Soji this morning and hadn't had enough time to recover, but it was too late now.

"...Mash, I don't know if I can block it completely, but I'll put up a defensive barrier this time. While I do, come up with some kind of plan..."

Marmi said, raising her wand. I pushed her hand down.

This was no time for hesitation. To survive, we had to use everything we had.

"Wait. I'll do it."

I held out my hand.

"Goddess Summon!"

At my shout, space itself split open, and a blinding light poured out. The black dust from the giant that had been settling around us was blown away.

Within that vortex of light, she descended, perched on her spear, looking down at us. Her rainbow-colored robes and golden hair fluttered as she alighted on the ground. The moment she saw me, she sighed.

"Mash, I told you again and again and again that next time would be a date!"

She paid no mind to the villagers, who were staring at her, frozen, holding their breath.

I held a hand to her lips, cutting off her protest.

"I'm the one who should be protesting. Look at that!"

I pointed at the giant.

"You really thought Mizuki and I could beat something like that and transferred us to this world?! Give me a break! To beat that thing, you need a dinosaur or... I don't know, something else strong! Summon one of them!"

"I can't have you being so fainthearted. Now that you're in this world, I expect you to pull your weight. Especially since you're having a better time than anyone else."

Her rebuttal came in her usual infuriating manner. I took a breath to argue back, but then I remembered the situation we were in.

As if sensing my thoughts, Laciel turned her golden eyes to the giant. Her gaze swept over it from foot to head. The giant, for its part, seemed to have paused its movements, surprised by Laciel's sudden appearance.

"Mash," she murmured.

"What is it?"

"I will do my best. But I cannot defeat that being."

I sighed at her words, remembering the myth Myra had told me about Laciel losing to the God of the End. So that myth contained a kernel of truth.

"Don't worry. I've prepared a weapon for you."

From my storage, I produced the sword that Akitsuki Uta had held. Laciel froze for a moment, staring at it. She traced the blade with a fingertip.

Her lips trembled, and I thought she might say something about Uta, but she swallowed the words with a gulp.

"This is not my weapon. Therefore, I cannot draw the same power from it as I can from my spear, and I do not know if it can withstand my strength."

Her words told me that this sword could work against the giant. It was strange to think that such a sword couldn't withstand a god's power. It also meant that she had, at the very least, anticipated that we would fight the God of the End. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given this sword to successive otherworlders. Or was the Demon Lord she wanted us to defeat a being on par with this giant? In any case, Mizuki was the one who held the sword she had entrusted to us. This role wasn't meant for me. I wanted to complain, but she remained motionless, her hand on the sword, looking troubled.

"It doesn't matter. We're finished anyway if that fist comes down on us."

At my reply, Laciel gripped the sword's hilt and turned her gaze to the giant.

"Mash..." she whispered.

Laciel's body floated gently into the air. A rainbow-colored light began to envelop her.

At the same time, the giant began to move. Its fist, brought down from high above, looked like a comet cloaked in sinister black miasma.

Laciel spread her arms, becoming our shield. Uta's sword hovered before her, its tip pointed directly at the giant's fist. The blade was now cloaked in the same rainbow particles as Laciel.

Just as the giant's fist was about to consume everything, blotting out our view, Uta's sword shot forward with incredible speed.

It transformed into an arrow of light that dispelled the black miasma. In an instant, it tore through the giant's fist and pierced through its body.

It all happened so fast that I could only stare at the scene in a daze.

The giant, missing an arm and with a gaping hole in its chest, looked down at us. I couldn't read its expression through the black miasma, but it seemed to be staring at Laciel. She, in turn, stared back at the giant in silence.

"Laciel..."

Just as I was about to place a hand on her shoulder, the giant turned. I braced myself for another earthquake-like tremor as it took a step, but none came.

A faint, rainbow-colored light enveloped the village. We were protected by her barrier.

The giant walked steadily southward without stopping, and then vanished like a mirage.

"Did you defeat it?"

"No, I couldn't."

"I see..."

The scene before me warped, and a throbbing pain hammered at my skull. My mana was running out. I tried to organize my thoughts, to figure out what I needed to say to her, what I needed to ask, but nothing came to mind.

All my thoughts were being swallowed by darkness. As a last act of resistance, I threw my arms around her body. Then, I buried my face in her chest.

My consciousness faded there.