Episode 272: The State Border Battle
As Muller and the other two watched, Rui and Yuma prepared themselves, loosening their shoulders.
“Well, shall we?”
Rui nodded at Yuma’s words, “Let’s,” and placed his hand on the hilt of his katana. Yuma also put strength into his body with a grunt.
His entire body gradually turned black, transforming into a monster covered in steel armor. Furthermore, he channeled [Liquid Metal] into the pickel he held, turning it into a large, formidable hammer.
Seeing this, Rui slowly drew his katana from its sheath, igniting the blade with overflowing flames.
“Alright, let’s begin!”
At Yuma’s signal, the two of them dashed forward simultaneously, running across the cracked road and leaping over the scattered concrete rubble.
After advancing a certain distance, the ground began to shake violently.
Rui and Yuma stopped, looking down. Cracks ran across the road, and it bulged and rose up.
The two jumped back, cautiously readying their weapons.
What appeared before them was a wall-like structure incorporating steel frames and rubble. Broken Marionettes were also visible in places.
“This is… a Conglomerate!?”
Rui grimaced and took a step back. The wall was ten meters wide and five meters tall. It moved in a wavelike manner, slowly approaching them.
Yuma stepped forward without hesitation, swinging his pickel, now a “Hammer,” horizontally.
He scraped the surface of the wall, scattering junk-like objects onto the ground.
Yuma didn’t follow up with a second blow, instead jumping back to observe. The wall only writhed, not seeming to take any damage.
“Hey, Rui. That thing…”
“Yeah. It’s got all sorts of stuff inside it.”
Looking at the inside of the wall scraped away by the hammer, they saw reddish-black dogs, horned skulls, and the corpses of large insects. Probably all Monsters.
“It’s killing Monsters and incorporating them into its body. I think it’s a special kind of Enhanced Species.”
Rui was probably right. He didn’t know what abilities it had yet, but he had to strike it down in one fell swoop!
Yuma held the hammer low and charged again.
Then, the “wall” writhed its body, changing its shape. It became nearly ten meters tall, but its thickness decreased accordingly.
–It can change its shape freely!? It’s similar to the properties of the Liquid Metal I and the Chimera use!
The wall collapsed forward, lunging at them like an avalanche. Yuma dodged the “wall’s” attack and raised his hammer.
He gripped the handle tightly, channeling [Fire Magical Power] into the hammer.
The iron hammer had countless veins of magma-like energy running through it. Yuma swung the red-glowing hammer high.
“Eat this!!”
The moment he tried to strike, the wall glowed blue. –Water Magic!?
When the hammer and the wall made contact, the water turned into steam and exploded. The impact blew Yuma away, and he nearly fell, but he managed to maintain his balance by bracing his feet.
Looking up, he saw that a part of the wall had been gouged out by the explosion.
However, rubble rose from the ground along with a gooey liquid, repairing the destroyed part of the wall.
“Is that… Regeneration too?”
He’d never seen that kind of healing method before, but there was no doubt that the Conglomerate had the power of an [Abyssal Monster].
Originally, it was said that the Monsters of the Black Dungeon were difficult to regenerate, but this one was an exception. Yuma thought, I’ll obliterate it without a trace! and tried to charge with his hammer ready.
At that moment, something emerged from the ground around them.
“Eh!? This is–“
Rui widened his eyes in surprise. What appeared were Marionettes.
There were over thirty of them that he could see. The Conglomerate seemed to be able to summon Marionettes at will.
“I see… a part of the Conglomerate. That might be an appropriate description.”
Rui pointed the tip of his katana at the Marionettes.
“Yuma, focus on the Conglomerate! I’ll take down the Marionettes!!”
“Got it!”
The two ran forward, launching attacks on their respective enemies. Yuma slammed his hammer into the “wall,” causing explosions and destroying it.
Rui created birds of flame, burning the surrounding Marionettes to ashes.
◇◇◇
Emilia and the others, who were watching the two fight, stood dumbfounded.
The onslaught of the Conglomerate and the Marionettes was a threat, but what surprised them even more was–
“What!? That man, he turned into a Monster! Are there Seekers like that?”
Wolfgang turned his gaze to Muller. But Muller was also confused, and could only push up the bridge of his glasses with his finger.
“I don’t know… I’ve never seen a Seeker like that. Emilia, you might know something, right?”
“No, I don’t know at all either. At least, I don’t think there were any Seekers like that in Germany.”
In contrast to the bewildered trio, Felix, who was a little further away, smiled and said, “You’re reacting the same way I did.”
“Apparently, he’s some kind of special Seeker. Aren’t there a lot of guys like that in Japan? “
Hearing Felix’s story, Emilia frowned and asked, “Is that so?”
Emilia had some knowledge of magic and Monsters, but she wasn’t an expert.
If she was told that there were people like that, she couldn’t argue any further.
Emilia looked at the two’s battle again.
The man who had transformed into a black Monster swung a large hammer, striking the Conglomerate’s body.
The hammer glowed red all over, and every time it hit the Monster, it exploded violently.
–He can use Fire Magic too!?
Emilia was even more confused. The ability to transform into a black Monster. That was probably the effect of the [Demon Ore] collected from the “Black Dungeon.”
She had heard that Demon Ore could be used to increase strength or harden the body, performing “Physical Enhancement.”
If that was the case, it wouldn’t be strange to transform and greatly enhance one’s physical abilities. But the explosions were due to [Fire Magical Power].
Moreover, it could only be handled after reaching the Second Stratum.
Emilia put her hand to her cheek and pondered. Was the transformation ability a Second Stratum or even Third Stratum Magic of “Physical Enhancement Magic”?
If so, that man had reached the Second Stratum or higher in both “Fire” and “Physical Enhancement.”
Emilia gasped as she watched the black Monster’s battle.
–He’s not just “Schmerz.” He has a different dimension of combat ability!
Emilia shifted her gaze to the other Seeker. Her eyes were drawn to the black Monster, but this one was also abnormally strong.
He was slicing through Marionettes one after another with his flaming sword, causing them to explode and burst into flames.
As he swung his sword as if dancing, flames burst from its tip, taking the form of birds and flying towards the Marionettes.
The Marionettes tried to knock down the birds, but the birds of flame lightly dodged and plunged into the Monsters’ chests.
The moment they touched the body, light spread and a violent explosion occurred.
The Marionettes were scattered on the ground in pieces. That was also an attack method she had never seen before. Could it be “Fire Third Stratum Magic”!?
While still stunned, Emilia couldn’t take her eyes off the two’s battle.