Episode 278: A Barrage of Iron Fists
Yuma returned his right hand, which had transformed into a hammer, to its original state and extended swords from the backs of both hands.
He crossed the swords, which glowed green, and raised them above his head. The Great Serpent attacked, slithering along the ground. Yuma didn’t panic and swung down both swords.
He generated a massive “Wind Blade,” but it wasn’t the usual kind.
The winds overlapped and flew forward in a crossed formation. The raging “Wind” sliced through the Great Serpent’s body, shattering it into tiny pieces as it shot through and beyond.
The crossed blades didn’t stop, pulverizing the city’s buildings as well.
The Black Giant leaped out without a moment’s delay, raising its sword. The Great Serpent couldn’t move because part of its body had collapsed.
Yuma enveloped his sword in wind. The wind wrapped around the sword, turning it into a blade over a hundred meters long.
Swinging that sword down would cleave the Great Serpent in two from head to tail.
“Oooooooohn…”
A weak voice came from the collapsing Great Serpent. Its body fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust, but it was obviously not dead yet.
Yuma poured all his Magical Power into it and unleashed dozens of “Wind Blades.”
They tore through the enemy’s flesh, bisecting it, blowing it away, and shaving it off. The blades continued to fly, carving up the city as they went.
The wounds inflicted by such powerful Magical Power couldn’t be easily regenerated.
The Great Serpent desperately struggled to reattach its severed body parts.
But Yuma wouldn’t give it the chance. He reverted his sword and began gathering Liquid Metal into his right fist. The arm, swollen with the gathered liquid, became more than twice its original size, turning into a massive Iron Fist.
When he infused that Iron Fist with Wind Magical Power, green紋様 patterns emerged across his entire arm.
“Eat this!!”
An uppercut that thrust upwards from below. The Great Serpent’s body was blown away by the force of the wind, but that wasn’t the end of it.
The wind swirled in front of the thrusting fist, transforming into a Tornado that pierced the sky.
The Great Serpent’s body was dragged into the Tornado and lifted into the sky. Inside the Tornado, it was pure violence; the Great Serpent was shredded, torn apart, and scattered into pieces.
The Tornado reached a height of over five hundred meters, appearing to connect with the heavens.
Eventually, the swirling wind dissipated, and fragments of the Great Serpent fell from the sky.
Thud, thud—many chunks of flesh fell, raising clouds of dust. Yuma silently observed the scene.
The Great Serpent’s fragments twitched, shuddered, and then began to gather in one place.
“That’s some incredible tenacity.”
Yuma was amazed. He drew back his massive arm in front of the black mass that had gathered to some extent.
He lowered his stance and stepped forward with his left foot. What he unleashed was a Seiken Zuki (Straight Punch).
The Conglomerate’s body was crushed, the earth cracked, and the violence of the wind exploded.
Everything was blown away—buildings, houses, cars. When the wind subsided and the dust cleared, there was nothing there.
A fan-shaped Wasteland stretched for several kilometers.
The “Green紋様 Patterns” that had been floating all over his body disappeared. It seemed the Wind Magical Power had run out.
“I guess it doesn’t last long after all…”
Yuma, still in his giant form, strode forward. Then, near the center of the Wasteland, he saw a black object gathering.
The black object stood as a wall about twenty meters high.
It felt very weak. This was probably the “Core” of the Conglomerate. It writhed and threatened him.
He no longer had Fire Magical Power or Wind Magical Power. Even so—
“Don’t underestimate me!!”
Yuma put all his strength into his body. Several red streaks, like blood vessels, ran across the surface of his skin.
—Bloodstained Ore (Bloody Ore)!!
When he kicked off the ground, the earth shattered as if it had exploded. In an instant, he closed the distance and positioned both fists in front of his face.
What followed was a furious rush.
His powerful fists gouged into the Conglomerate’s body, shaving it away. The Black Giant’s movements were so fast that afterimages were created, and the opponent couldn’t keep up at all.
The punches, delivered from all directions, numbered in the hundreds.
The Conglomerate could do nothing against the onslaught, its body simply being whittled away.
Finally, it was reduced to the size of a compact car. The black mass groaned, “Aaaah…” and trembled.
This was the pathetic end of a giant Monster.
Yuma showed no mercy, lifting his foot and stomping down on it.
He thought he heard a popping sound, but it didn’t matter. Yuma deactivated 【Giantification】 and slowly shrunk his body.
Returning to human size, he glanced at a depression a little further ahead.
All that remained there were the footprints left by the giant and a large amount of sand. Yuma walked to where the sand was, squatted down, and brushed it away.
“Just as I thought.”
What he found was a black stone. It was the Demon Ore dropped by the Conglomerate.
Yuma picked it up with his fingers and held it up to the sky. The surface was black and smooth. At first glance, it looked similar to the Metal Slime’s Demon Ore, but the stone had a plant relief on it.
“Not this again.”
So far, this pattern had only been on the Demon Ore and Magic Gems of the Deca Slime, Chimera, Red King, and Green Lord.
He didn’t know what it meant, but it probably had something to do with the 【King】 and Monsters related to them.
In any case, it would definitely increase the power of the transformed Metal Armor.
If that was the case, then this was also—
As Yuma was thinking about this, he heard a voice from afar.
“Heyyy, Yuma!”
Rui was waving and running towards him. It seemed he had defeated the Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter).
Well, he didn’t think that guy would lose anyway. Rui, who had reached Yuma, put his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.
He raised his face, straightened his back, and smiled brightly.
“You defeated it, didn’t you? The Conglomerate.”
“Yeah, I picked this up.”
Yuma showed Rui the Demon Ore with the plant relief.
“This is the Conglomerate’s Demon Ore… I wonder what kind of ability it has?”
“I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be scary if it had the ability to incorporate all sorts of things into its body and turn into a big mess?”
“Definitely.”
Just imagining it made him shudder. Was this a Demon Ore that was safe to eat?
“Speaking of Demon Ore, I also…”
Rui rummaged through his pocket and took something out. He placed it on his hand for easy viewing—it was a gray Demon Ore.