Episode 7: Transcendent Battle
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
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The Corroded Nitric Flame Oni, Ramelga, has activated its [Territory].
[Control Zone: Scorched Earth – Chaos] has come into contact with the Forest Shackle Wielder, Dwazov’s [Control Zone: Great Forest Sea].
A Kai-Geki Phenomenon has occurred.
[Control Zone: Scorched Earth – Chaos] has partially seized control.
Environmental characteristics have changed.
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──Wooooooomph!!
A roar like a bomb exploding right next to my ear resounded with a powerful shock.
If I were human, the sheer volume might have wrecked my hearing.
“(W-What, happened…!?)”
The next moment after seeing a bright red light, I was blown away.
I somehow managed to gather information from my rapidly spinning vision.
I was in the air.
It seemed I was launched into the sky by the shock from earlier.
“(Those guys, they did it.)”
Looking down at the forest from above, there were two giant Demon Beasts.
Both were large enough to break through the trees, yet they were engaged in a blindingly fast exchange of attacks, their agility at odds with their massive size.
However, what caught my eye more than them was the state of the forest.
A part of the forest was ablaze in red flames.
The cause was probably one of the giant Demon Beasts.
It was a four-armed red Oni wreathed in flames, and the fire was spreading from its location.
But strangely, the plants that should have been burned to ash were still flourishing with green leaves.
Green leaves occasionally peeked out from the gaps in the flames.
Moreover, it seemed they were growing, extending branches and thickening their trunks even at this very moment.
As I was wondering about that, I began to fall.
I crashed into the forest, breaking branches as I landed.
Since I was blown away diagonally, I was quite far from the battlefield of the giant Demon Beasts.
Or so I thought──
“Gegaaaah!”
──The red Oni came tumbling down, mowing through the trees in front of me.
Probably due to a [Skill], the surrounding trees began to burn at the same time.
“Gilshaaaah!”
Another one appeared, rushing through the path created by the red Oni with tremendous speed.
If I had to describe that Demon Beast in one word, it would be a turtle carrying a forest on its back.
Its sturdy four legs shook the earth with every step. Its shell was covered in countless trees.
However, only its face was different from a turtle. It had a long neck, large fangs, and narrow pupils, like a dragon.
Saw-like horns lined its forehead to the nape of its neck.
“Geguguguguh!”
Before the Forest Turtle could launch a follow-up attack, the red Oni stood up, spewing flames.
The red Oni was rather stout overall, but there was nothing sloppy about its physique.
Quite the opposite.
The body glimpsed through the flames was densely covered in muscles, conveying the immense power it possessed.
For some reason, there was something like a plant bud growing next to the horn on its forehead.
“Gegwaaah!”
The red Oni slammed its fist into the ground.
Flames poured into the ground from its fist.
It must have used some kind of [Skill]. The red-hot soil quickly melted and solidified.
And when the red Oni pulled its fist out, there was a giant club.
The club was charred black, but it had a glassy shine to it.
The red Oni coated the club, created with a [Skill], with the same flames it was wreathed in.
“Gegeh.”
“Gryuryuh.”
As if to say it was ready, the red Oni charged, club in hand.
The Forest Turtle extended several vines from the forest on its shell, lashing out at a tremendous speed to intercept.
The vines wielded by the building-sized Forest Turtle were about as thick as the trunks of small trees.
Each time the vines blurred, a sharp cracking sound echoed, and the red Oni’s body recoiled.
The red Oni was also swinging its club at a speed that left afterimages, but it seemed unable to keep up with both offense and defense.
As if reflecting the tide of the battle, the area of the fire gradually narrowed, and the forest became more and more vibrant.
The plants blown away by the aftershocks of the attacks were already revived.
To break out of this predicament, the red Oni made a new move.
Its figure vanished, and then it appeared behind the Forest Turtle.
Judging from the explosion that followed, it must have used the blast of flames to move at high speed.
The red Oni swung its club at the Forest Turtle’s right hind leg, but was immediately swept away by its tail.
Turtles are usually imagined to have short tails, but the Forest Turtle’s was quite long and could be used for attacks.
The red Oni was sent back more than ten meters by a single blow, and the trees nearby tilted just from the wind pressure.
As if returning the favor, the red Oni sent out a blast of hot air.
What blocked it were the young trees that suddenly appeared in front of the Forest Turtle. They were still about the size of saplings, but they must have grown rapidly with the Forest Turtle’s power.
Though they were trees, they were able to withstand the flames.
Moreover, they extended their roots and pierced the red Oni’s flank.
The fire burning the forest weakened, and the greenery became even more lush.
“(This is the power of a Demon Beast King…!)”
I once heard from the knowledgeable Slime Elder. The Demon Beast Kings have the power to manipulate the world.
This must be it.
A clash between worlds. A battle for environmental dominance.
A power that can change the surrounding environment with its aftereffects.
“(…………)”
In a corner of such an indescribable fierce battle, I was trembling while activating [Block].
Not trying to run away. Just standing there, trembling.
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
…
Fue Toukouya (Jewel Slime) has acquired the [Skill: Unyielding].
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“(──Amazing…!)”
──To be able to wield such power, it’s just too amazing!
I was simply trembling with emotion.
At the fact that there were creatures with such immense abilities.
And at the miracle of being able to witness such a mythical battle up close.
Admiration overflowed in my chest.
The impulse to keep watching this scene prevented me from making the rational choice of escaping.
“Geeeegoooooooh!”
“Gruuuuururururyuuu…!”
But, regardless of my will, the battle entered its final phase.
The red Oni poured all the flames it could control, including the flames it was wreathed in, into its club.
The color of the flames surpassed red, shining with a blinding white light.
In contrast, the Forest Turtle opened its jaws and gathered [Mana], creating a sphere of light in front of its mouth.
The life force was drained from the surrounding trees in proportion to the increase in [Mana], but they were immediately revived by the Forest Turtle’s [Skill].
And then, the life force was collected again. The power of the [Mana] increased by one or two levels.
──They both completed their finishing blows.
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
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The Corroded Nitric Flame Oni, Ramelga, has activated [Oni Flame Blast Strike].
The Forest Shackle Wielder, Dwazov, has activated [Wrath of the Forest].
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The sphere of light, imbued with extraordinary [Mana], released a beam of verdant light, and the white-shining club struck it head-on.
A tremendous shockwave swept through, blowing away the surrounding trees.
The clash of the beam and the club, after a stalemate──the beam was the one that ultimately prevailed.
The beam, having destroyed the club, pierced through the red Oni’s body and continued to penetrate deep into the forest.
The red Oni, with a large hole pierced through its abdomen and chest, still took a step towards the Forest Turtle, but before it could take a second step, it collapsed to its knees.
Its death was as clear as day.
At the same time as the red Oni’s death, greenery began to sprout around the epicenter of the blast.
The small bud that had been growing from the red Oni’s forehead, which had not burned or scattered even in the midst of the fierce battle, withered, but such trivial things didn’t matter.
I was mesmerized by the Forest Turtle’s retreating figure, as if it had finished its business.
(──Someday, I’ll be like that too…!)
I didn’t have the courage to shout it, but I made a resolution in my heart.
It wasn’t about not having to worry about being hunted, or about showing up my old companions. It was just a pure, heartfelt decision, based on what I felt.
I will raise my [Level], [Evolve], and someday, I will become like them.
No, I will become like them…!
~Unidentified Information Recording Area~
…
>>Fue Toukouya (Jewel Slime) has met the acquisition requirements for 〖Skill: Folly〗.
>>Fue Toukouya (Jewel Slime)’s emotions have exceeded the threshold.
>>The 【Unique Skill】 has resonated.
>>【Heart Conversion】 has occurred.
>>【Best Harvest】 has sublimated into 【Earth Growth Thunderbolt】.
>>The analysis results have been added to the 〖Status〗.
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