Episode 81: Steel Monsters and Steel Warriors
Amidst the roaming steel-bodied monsters, the Varlin, Yuma and the others hid in the shadows of the rocks, observing the situation.
“We managed to get this far somehow,”
The President said, looking at the wriggling monsters while carrying his Hexagonal Rod on his shoulder.
Yuma nodded in response to the President’s words.
“Yes, I still have forty minutes left of ‘Metallization’, and I haven’t used the power of the Bloodstained Ore yet, so we have some leeway.”
“From here on out, go all out, Yuma! If we defeat that ape and a Demon Ore drops, I’ll collect it. You just focus on blasting them away.”
“Understood!”
Seeing Yuma’s grim expression, Aisha called out to him.
“It’s okay to use up all your ‘Superpower’. You can use it again by eating the Demon Ore we collect. Anyway, the goal is twenty bodies.”
“Yes!”
Yuma jumped out of the shadows of the rocks with great vigor. While running, he activated his ‘Metallization’ ability, transforming his entire body into metal armor.
Several Varlin that were wandering inside the cave noticed Yuma’s presence.
The monsters, displeased with the uninvited intruder, turned towards him.
“Come and get me!!”
Yuma was already in battle mode. He unleashed the power of the Bloodstained Ore, and streaks of light like blood vessels ran through his entire body.
He slammed a right straight into the face of a Varlin that jumped at him.
His fist sank in, and the Varlin’s steel body flew backward. It hit the ground several times and rolled away.
Two more Varlin jumped at him.
Yuma put his right hand on the ground and leaned forward. He put strength into his whole body, and countless thorns suddenly grew from his back, head, shoulders, and arms.
The two Varlin were pierced by dozens of thorns, stopping their movements.
Yuma pulled out the thorns and returned his body to normal, and the Varlin’s body staggered. Not missing the opportunity, he stepped in and unleashed a front kick on one of them.
The Varlin, taking the hit head-on, couldn’t withstand the impact and flew away, crashing into the rock wall.
Yuma immediately regained his posture and set his fist on his waist. Before him was a monster bleeding from its entire body.
From his feet to his waist, from his waist to his shoulder, from his shoulder to his arm. He reproduced the karate movements he had learned from the President.
“UOOOOOOOOOO!!”
He unleashed a full-force Seiken Zuki, but the Varlin guarded with its right arm at the last moment.
Even so, Yuma’s attack shattered the Varlin’s arm and sent it flying. The monster screamed and rolled away.
The three monsters remained motionless on the ground. This all happened in just ten seconds.
–It’s working. My power is definitely working!
“Yuma! Don’t let your guard down. Those guys aren’t dead yet!!”
Yuma looked up with a start. Indeed, the Varlin hadn’t turned to sand and disappeared.
Thinking about how incredibly tough they were, Yuma approached the fallen Varlin to finish them off.
The Varlin, whose right arm had been shattered, got up unsteadily. It let out a roar that tore through the atmosphere and attacked Yuma.
He brushed aside the left hand that was trying to grab him, stepped in, and unleashed a barrage of boxing punches.
To the side, to the chest, to the face. He inflicted damage accurately.
Yuma pursued the Varlin as it staggered back. A Longsword sprang out from his extended right arm, and he pointed the tip of the sword at the monster.
The red blood vessels flowing through his body increased in brilliance, and the sword, thrust with all his might, pierced the steel monster. The sword pierced deeply, and the Varlin let out a deathly scream.
The monster slumped and turned to sand, disappearing.
“I did it…”
Yuma had become able to adjust the power of the Bloodstained Ore to some extent.
He was convinced that he could defeat even powerful monsters if he unleashed his maximum power at the crucial moment. That conviction drove Yuma forward.
–First, one down. Two more to go…
Yuma approached the fallen Varlin with his Longsword, intending to finish them off.
But the other Varlin in the cave jumped down one after another from the cliffs and rocks. More than ten monsters began to surround him.
“Damn it!”
There wasn’t time to defeat them one by one. He clicked his tongue, realizing that he didn’t have the power to defeat the Varlin with a single blow.
While dodging the thick arms of the Varlin that were coming at him all at once, he looked for an opportunity to attack.
“With this many, it’s impossible…”
Just as Yuma grimaced, he caught something in the corner of his eye. Below the steep cliff, there was the Pickel he had dropped before.
–That’s it!
Yuma slipped through the hands of the Varlin trying to grab him, ran to the bottom of the cliff, and reached for the Pickel that had fallen there.
He firmly grabbed the handle, turned around, and faced the monsters that were chasing after him.
He should be able to use ‘Liquid Metallization’ better than before. If it’s now–
He held the Pickel in front of him. Liquid Metal stretched out like a ribbon from Yuma’s arm and wrapped around the tip of the Pickel.
It transformed into a giant Hammer.
The pick part became sharper, and the blade part changed into a surface for smashing the opponent.
Yuma swung the sharp pick part down on the head of a Varlin that jumped at him.
The pick pierced the steel monster’s head, turning it into sand with a single blow.
Next, he swung the head part horizontally at two more Varlin that were attacking. The monsters, struck by the giant Hammer, flew all the way to the wall with tremendous impact.
When another Varlin attacked, he dodged with a back step and swung the Pickel up, smashing it into the monster’s head.
Its skull shattered, and its body was crushed. The monster turned to sand with that one blow.
“Alright!!”
Yuma couldn’t help but smile at his strongest partner, who had returned to his hands.