Episode 90: The Seeker’s Nemesis
“A black, gigantic body, a cobra’s head, and countless centipede-like legs. The Seekers felt terror at its grotesque appearance, but they were a Seeker Clan confident in their abilities. With their numbers, they tried to surround and defeat the monster.”
Aisha cut off her story. An unpleasant atmosphere filled the air.
Yuma hesitantly urged her on, “And then, what happened?” Aisha sighed and continued.
“The only survivor was a rear support Seeker in charge of supplies. The remaining forty-nine Seekers all died… that’s the only confirmed combat record of that monster.”
“S-So, it’s that strong?”
“According to the surviving Seeker’s testimony, fire, water, lightning, and wind magic were all ineffective, and it had an outer shell that repelled physical attacks. Its strength was terrifying, and everyone was killed almost instantly.”
“That’s insane!”
The president spat out.
“That’s not all. That monster apparently changed its body to suit its opponent. It had the ability to transform into various creatures, changing its form to make it easier to kill its enemies.”
Silence spread. Both the president and Yuma were speechless.
They had never heard of such a terrifying monster.
“The International Dungeon Research Organization designated this monster as the highest rank, Triple A. They judged it to be more dangerous than Dragonkind and warned everyone to never approach it.”
“More dangerous than Dragonkind… such a monster exists?”
The president frowned. Among Seekers, Dragonkind were recognized as the strongest monsters.
“Since there was only one witness and it was immediately designated as a dangerous monster, the details of its ecology were unknown. However, among the researchers who knew the whole story, this monster that transforms into multiple creatures was given a name.”
“A name?”
Aisha raised her eyes, prompted by Yuma’s question.
“Chimera… a mythical monster from Greek mythology.”
“Chimera…”
Yuma swallowed the name, repeating it over and over in his mind. Peering from the stone pillar into the depths of the cave, the monster was slowly approaching.
At this rate, they would eventually be found and killed.
“Aisha-san, I’ll do it! I’ll defeat it and get us out of here!”
Yuma stepped forward. With their retreat cut off, there was no way to escape.
Even if it was a Triple A-ranked monster, they had no choice but to fight. That’s what Yuma thought, but Aisha shook her head in distress.
“It’s impossible to defeat it. It’s far too strong.”
“But we have to try. Aisha-san, is there any chance I can win against it?”
Aisha pondered for a moment, then looked at Yuma’s face.
“…If there’s any possibility, it would be your ‘Liquid Metallization’ ability.”
“Liquid Metallization?”
“Do you remember, Yuma-kun, when you became Metal Armor at the hotel, your weight increased?”
“Y-Yes, I remember, but…”
He certainly remembered his weight increasing by about twenty kilograms, but what did that have to do with it?
“The Deca Slime’s ability that you defeated wasn’t just a simple ability to change its body. It’s probably the ability to convert Mana in its body into mass.”
“Convert Mana into mass?”
“If it was just changing its body, there’s no way your weight would increase. The weight increase must have been procured from somewhere.”
“And that’s Mana!?”
The president couldn’t help but interject. Aisha nodded with a serious look.
“This is an amazing ability. If you can master it even more, you might be able to stand against it, but…”
“I’ll try! If that’s the only possibility.”
Yuma recalled his battles so far. He had become more proficient in using his ‘Liquid Metallization’ ability than before.
Yuma stared at his hands.
He had been using the ‘Liquid Metallization’ power, thinking it was convenient, but to defeat the Chimera, he had to unleash more power.
He didn’t know exactly how to do it, but he had to try.
He was confident that he had become stronger, and he had conserved his ‘Metallization’ and ‘Bloodstained Ore’. Time-wise, it should be okay.
Yuma gripped his Pickel and stepped out from behind the stone pillar. He clearly captured the huge, ominous monster peeking through the haze with his eyes.
“Let’s do this!”
Yuma, standing before the giant monster, took a breath. Then, he put strength into his body with a grunt.
His body was dyed black, and his entire body was covered in steel. Furthermore, using ‘Liquid Metallization’, he changed his body into metal armor.
His arms and legs were encased in armor, and spike-like protrusions emerged from his fists, elbows, and knees.
Sturdy shoulder armor was formed on his shoulders, and spikes were added there as well.
His head transformed into a helmet, and a horn protruding from his forehead stretched out like a sword.
Retractable Longswords were equipped on the back of his hands, and his body grew about twice its size.
He poured Liquid Metal into the Pickel he held, turning it into a larger hammer, and the pick part was changed into a more acute shape.
–If it drags on, it will be disadvantageous. I have to give it my all from the beginning and defeat it in one go!
The monster in front of him raised its cobra-like neck warily, glaring at the prey below.
Yuma held the Pickel with both hands, positioning the head downwards.
A touch-and-go situation.
The towering giant cobra and the Metallized Yuma.
They glared at each other, cautiously observing each other, trying to see who would make the first move.