◆ Port Suluard, West Coast ◆
“What is necessary in battle? I will teach you now.”
【Golden Battle King Baroffa has appeared! HP 16,900】
A massive black bull with twisted golden horns gleaming in the light. Its body is larger than Glade’s, with thick arms and legs. If it jumps with all its might, it could reach Platiu’s position. This is definitely dangerous.
From what I can see, it’s the strongest among the three. That snake-like creature grinning in the background is concerning, but first, I need to help Platiu.
“Don’t.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“You don’t need to help. Platiu can handle it alone.”
“But that thing is way stronger than the sheep from earlier!”
“I’m fine.”
Genia, who has come closer, is shaking her head while gripping my arm. At this point, there’s nothing I can do. For now, Sogokku and the other monsters are focused on this battle, so the others are safe for the moment.
“Good news. The Front Kashiram Allied Forces have successfully annihilated the units in the Garden of Beasts. Now it’s just us left…”
Kirkton glances at Platiu and Baroffa. He must think that there’s no need to watch this fight either. In the meantime, we’ve been quietly rescuing the injured and providing treatment.
“You humans are not suited for battle.”
“…Huh?”
“Throughout history, humans have fought among themselves countless times. But for what purpose? Wealth, status, territory, property, technology. Such things cannot exist without conflict.
That is not pure battle. What value is there in a struggle driven by filthy motives?”
“Uh-huh? Uh-huh…”
From the way he’s stretching his arms in the air and doing what looks like warm-up exercises, it seems he’s not really listening. But Baroffa continues to speak without care.
“We are different. We desire battle, purely and simply.
The unquenchable path to combat… Do you understand what you lack fundamentally?
It is the instinct to fight!”
Baroffa braces himself and leaps, using his powerful legs as a spring. Platiu, caught off guard, hurriedly tries to dodge. But there’s no way Baroffa will let a slow-reacting opponent escape.
【Baroffa’s Crusher Hand!
Platiu deploys a Reflector to reduce damage!
Platiu takes 301 damage! HP 527/828】
“Ugh…!”
“Platiu!”
A thin barrier appeared before Platiu. It resembles the barrier magic everyone used in the Wizard Kingdom. It likely absorbs physical impacts, but Baroffa’s monstrous strength can pierce through even that.
Unlike Glade, who creates tornadoes, Baroffa’s physical abilities are several levels above.
Fortunately, the armor hasn’t been destroyed yet, but the one wearing it is still a child. She shouldn’t be fighting in a battle like this. Yet, Platiu insists on doing it alone, and Genia watches with a smile.
“Genia, this is reckless. I’m going to help!”
“…It seems it’s already over?”
“Over?”
【Platiu’s Healing! HP fully restored! HP 828/828】
“If you want to stop Platiu’s life functions, you must completely penetrate the Reflector in one hit to end her breath.
The auto-activated Healing, which detects external injuries, can cover everything except for a state of death.”
In other words, according to Genia, Platiu cannot accumulate damage. Still, I can’t help but think that a child would be crushed by such a monster’s attack. But she’s Level 112.
And she shows no fear against Baroffa, who is supposed to be quite strong even among the beasts. Instead of looking down on her opponent with disdain, Platiu simply gazes back with sleepy eyes.
“She seems to have some strange defensive measures, but it’s utterly meaningless.”
“Power, speed, action patterns, analysis complete. Scan data updated.”
“…What?”
What?
“One hit is enough. The defeat of that monster, which allowed Platiu that leeway, is now assured.”
Even though she’s not fighting, Genia has been acting all high and mighty, which is a bit annoying, but I’ll set that aside for now.
Baroffa is about to make another move, but is it really okay? He crosses his arms and braces himself. Then, he leaps high into the air.
【Golden Battle King Baroffa’s Hyper Horn!】
“Oh wow, incredible. It’s like a continental ballistic missile.”
“W-What’s that supposed to mean?”
Platiu, who had escaped even higher into the sky, is now out of reach of Baroffa’s jumps. I don’t really understand the missile reference, but that must be Baroffa’s most powerful skill.
His charge is a simple attack method that goes straight for the target, but without the need to read the opponent’s movements, it becomes incredibly powerful with his physical capabilities.
He charges straight at his target. With that massive body crashing into them, the speed increases the impact even further. I can see Baroffa’s horn about to pierce Platiu’s stomach.
【Platiu deftly dodges!】
“…! What?!”
Having missed Platiu, Baroffa has no choice but to land after that jump. What was that? It looked like she dodged with the bare minimum of movement. She seems like a completely different person compared to when she took that last attack.
“Action pattern 04, charge. Evasion complete. Error margin from expected arrival time: 0.003. Evasion program correction complete.”
“Impossible…”
“Counterattack!”
【Platiu unleashes Eternity Nova!】
Everyone was left speechless. Even Baroffa himself probably didn’t understand what had just happened. From what I saw, a thick white laser was unleashed at a speed that seemed to escape the notice of anyone present.
Its power was tremendous, not only obliterating Baroffa without a trace but also tearing apart the beach and the sea behind him. The split ocean paused for a moment before the seawater rushed in to fill the gap.
A light slash that could even change the terrain. Yes, that laser was better described as a light-speed slash. It gouged not just the enemy but the very earth itself.
【You dealt 19,047 damage to Golden Battle King Baroffa!
You have defeated Golden Battle King Baroffa! HP 0/16,500】
“Cooldown, all weapons temporarily frozen.”
“Ahh… Why did you have to use your trump card here?”
The flames spewing from her wings diminished, and Platiu descended to the ground.
“W-What just happened?”
Finally, someone spoke up. Some were left speechless, their mouths agape, and despite being on a battlefield, there was a complete silence.
The fear of an unknown entity. The stronger it becomes, the more sensitive you feel it. I felt that way plenty at the end of the Abyss Cave. The incomprehensible, yet overwhelming power. When faced with it, my mind goes blank.
And as time passes, my whole body begins to tremble.
“I can’t believe she’s a human… The Kingdom of Metallica is a land of monsters…”
“If we anger her, we too will be obliterated without a trace…”
“Th-The battle isn’t over yet! Stay alert!”
Even Kirkton’s voice trembled slightly. Even he, who had led so many against such powerful monsters, was shaken. Shinbu stood frozen, unable to move.
“What do you call that skill of Platiu’s?”
“An awful technique… It’s as if it has extinguished even the soul…”
Only Tiferia and the S-rank Uncle seemed genuinely impressed. The monsters stood dumbfounded, even as Platiu appeared to be incapacitated, they remained frozen in place.
“I didn’t hear about anything like that being here!
Hey! If it comes to this, I’ll kill that brat! Let’s show the last of our pride in the Garden of Beasts!”
Just as I thought this was bad, the monsters that had been watching until now rushed at Platiu all at once, seizing the opportunity.
Platiu is in danger, but Genia, who rushed over, is in even more trouble. Even though she has a plasma railgun, she can hardly fight.
“You fools.”
Branburm sneered, his mouth twisting in mockery, and unleashed a skill called Vulcan from his chest at the feet of the monsters. The monsters, startled, halted their charge and turned their murderous gazes toward their attacker.
“Rua, isn’t Platiu strong?”
“W-Wait, are you showing me that just for my sake?”
“Yep. It’s my trump card.”
No, that’s not it. What good does that do? She could have died with just one wrong move.
“…Aren’t you going to praise me?”
Did this girl want me to acknowledge her? She unleashed her most powerful skill because she wanted my recognition. Did she want to show me everything she had? With tears welling in her eyes, Platiu looked at me like a small animal.
“Then you shouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”
Even though that was all she could say, I gently patted Platiu’s head. She blushed, her cheeks turning a soft pink, looking innocent and bashful like a child. She had been making excuses about wanting to investigate me, but perhaps deep down, she just wanted to be friends. Having worked tirelessly under Genia without any playtime, she hadn’t experienced much of what it meant to be a child. In the process, her expressions had faded away.
I had spent ten long years in the dark Abyss Cave. It was only after meeting Roel on the surface that I finally learned to smile again. Maybe Platiu and I weren’t so different after all. That was just my guess, but I felt that Platiu was genuinely smiling from the bottom of her heart now.
“Hey, Platiu. Next time, let’s—”
“Woooaah! What, are you ignoring us?! If you two are together, that’s even better!”
【Ruthless Snake Hand Serpenter has appeared! HP 11490】
“…Are you still at it? You don’t have that many left, and I don’t want to waste my time fighting you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You think I’ll let you go? That’s… that’s my line!”
【Ruthless Snake Hand Serpenter summons snakes!】
Snakes leaped out, kicking up sand as they swarmed, coiling around injured soldiers and adventurers. What irritated me was how they avoided tough opponents like Tiferia and the Five Elites.
“Ugh… let go of me!”
“It hurts! Please, stop!”
“Hehehe! You fools, you brought this on yourselves! Hey, you’re Rua, right? You seem pretty strong. Do you understand this situation? If you care about their lives, then take your own with that sword of yours.”
“I thought the Third Division was supposed to be impressive, but you’re acting pretty cowardly.”
“I’m just smarter than those muscle-headed idiots. A fight isn’t just about facing each other head-on.”
“Rua! Don’t worry about us!”
【Rua’s attack! Dealt 5,129,341 damage to Seal Snake x46!
Seal Snake defeated! HP 0/270】
In just over two seconds. When dealing with a wide area attack, it’s inevitable that there will be openings. I had to be careful not to hit those being constricted, which took a bit of time. Against a proper opponent, I would never give them two seconds, but against a monster that only talked big, it was a piece of cake. By the time they realized I had vanished from in front of them, the hostages were already free.
Ritta had started to say something, but I wouldn’t abandon her. From the way she was staring at the severed snake at her feet, it seemed she still didn’t understand what had just happened.
“Wha—no way…!”
“I absolutely despise cowardly tactics. If you want to fight me, do it fairly. If you pull any more tricks… I’ll kill you.”
“Yikes…!”
The snake man stumbled backward, clearly intimidated, as the long snake head trailed behind his body.
“Take your comrades and leave.”
“Don’t underestimate me… I am Serpenter of the Garden of Beasts, Third Division! Even when I destroyed the Human Kingdom, I always acted wisely and calmly… Don’t underestimate me… don’t underestimate meee!”
【Ruthless Snake Hand Serpenter’s Double Snake Hand!】
“One bite! With one bite, you’ll writhe in agony from the venom!”
【Rua unleashed Sonic Ripper! Dealt 623,728 damage to Ruthless Snake Hand Serpenter!
Ruthless Snake Hand Serpenter defeated! HP 0/11,490】
In my fervor, I nearly split the continent in two with the crack I created. The wind pressure threatened to blow away the surrounding soldiers and adventurers, sending them flying along with the sand. The sea, divided, sprayed high into the air.
Screams and shouts echoed from everywhere, whether out of shock from the power or anger at being caught in it. Either way, I felt I should apologize.
“The power exceeds that of the Machine Maiden’s Eternity Nova… According to my calculations, Rua could single-handedly destroy this continent in half a month.”
“I wouldn’t do that!?”
How rude of Genia to say such a thing. Sure, I was a bit angry at that snake man and put in some extra strength, but destroying the continent was impossible. What kind of calculations is she even doing?
“It’s way more dangerous than the Garden of Beasts…”
Some people took Genia’s joke seriously and began to genuinely fear me. Worse still, there were those who looked at me with clear trepidation.
Some even dropped their weapons, overwhelmed by the absolute difference in power. The common thread among them was that no one spoke a word. Looking at the injured, it seemed the battle had been fiercer than expected, and I understood that the enemy was strong. But I didn’t become this powerful without doing anything. I wanted them to understand that.
“S-So, Sogokku. It’s just the three Beast Warriors left now…”
“Wait! The ones who survive are strong, and the strong are respected. But right now, we’re trying to run away. That’s not respectable. So, does that mean we’re weak? Hehehe, that’s just pathetic…”
“Let’s just retreat, Sogokku.”
The so-called Beast Warriors were backing away slowly towards the sea, still keeping us in sight. No, Sogokku had increased to about thirty, so technically it was thirty-two Beast Warriors now. But whatever.
“C-Captain Kirkton, what should we do?”
“…I don’t have anyone among my subordinates capable of pursuing them. That’s just how it is.”
“Then what about Tiferia or that girl Rua…?”
“The adventurers, including them, are originally allies and not under my command. What they choose to do is all that matters right now.”
I had thought Tiferia was acting on orders from the Kingdom of Avangarde, but she was smiling and waving goodbye, so it seemed she had no intention of that at all. The only ones eager to fight were the Five Elites.
“We can’t let them escape.”
【???’s attack! Sogokku the Monkey King took 3,927 damage!
Sogokku the Monkey King defeated! HP 0/3,470】
As Shinbu entered an attack stance, one Sogokku was sliced vertically. Then another, and another, fell one after the other, cut down methodically as if preparing a meal.
During this time, no one seemed to grasp what was happening. The man with black hair I had seen earlier, his cape billowing, defeated all the Sogokku and then whistled a short tune.
“…Is that all?”
He glanced at the remaining two. Was that question directed at them, or…?
“W-What are you…?”
“Me? I am…”
【???’s attack! Gojou the Sky Swimmer took 4,410 damage!
Gojou the Sky Swimmer defeated! HP 0/3,130】
【???’s attack! Chohakka the Cleaving Boar took 4,021 damage!
Chohakka the Cleaving Boar defeated! HP 0/3,900】
“I am the Hero.”
The man who turned around looked more like an uncle than a brother. He seemed older than Seigel. His confident smile revealed a set of white teeth, and the sword he held glimmered, the very same one that had once deflected my attack.
Her combat style relies on brute strength, wielding a weapon reminiscent of a naginata. Contrary to her appearance, she possesses a surprisingly calm demeanor, often admonishing both Goujo and Sogokku.