Wrath
“Urgh?!”
This humanoid creature has a combination of dragon and fishlike features.
And I just sliced off one of its arms.
“Damned child!”
The…draconic merman…? waves his remaining arm around.
A torrent of water whirls through the air in sync with his movements, attempting to engulf me.
I fling a knife-size exploding sword at it.
The resulting explosion collides with the gushing water.
There’s so much water that one small explosion was only enough to slow its momentum for just a moment.
But that moment is all I need.
I use it to close the distance between myself and my opponent, aiming to slice off his head.
The creature avoids my slash by ducking out of the way, and my sword only nicks his skin.
Good thing I’m a dual-wielder.
I thrust my other magic sword toward his chest, aiming for his heart.
Just as it’s about to hit its target, a cascade of water slams into me, forcing me away.
Dammit.
I guess I should’ve expected no less of an ancient dragon. None of my usual moves are enough to take him down.
Still, he’s lost an arm and is wounded all over.
This is one of the ancient water dragons that’s attacking the Upper Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Sophia managed to hold them off at first, but obviously she couldn’t defend the entire Upper Stratum of the world’s biggest labyrinth all on her own, which is why I came running to belatedly join the fight.
The narrow, winding passageways of the Great Elroe Labyrinth are far from my ideal battlefield.
My greatest strength is using exploding swords and other magic swords to inflict damage on a wide area at once, which isn’t the best idea in the Upper Stratum, where it could easily cause a cave-in.
As much as I would have preferred to let Sophia handle this alone, this is hardly the time to be choosy.
Thanks to the multitude of ancient dragons attacking all at once—not to mention all in different places—to open up holes that let the ocean flood into the Upper Stratum, the entire Great Elroe Labyrinth is starting to get submerged in water.
Considering the sheer size of this place, it’s not likely to get totally flooded anytime soon. Even so, it’s not the kind of problem we can just ignore, either.
The best solution would be to take out the water dragons ASAP.
Unfortunately, they’re all ancient dragons.
Dragons are powerful enough as it is, to say nothing of the ones that have lived an especially long time and grown even stronger accordingly.
It’s going to be tough to take them down—in fact, I might even get killed in the process.
Or so I thought…but so far, that hasn’t been the case at all.
“Damn it all…! I won’t lose to a mere human…!”
“Sorry, but I’m not actually human.”
I’m an oni, to be precise.
Evidently taking my words as a challenge, the water dragon lets out a roar and raises more water.
I charge forward in response, clashing with my opponent.
The water dragon’s head goes flying.
Immediately, the wildly moving water he was controlling drops back to the ground with a splash.
I watch the dragon’s corpse sink beneath the water, then move on to find my next target.
Water dragons are strong.
They reign as the apex predators of their ecosystem, turning the ocean into a territory that no one else can cross.
They’re certainly nothing to sneeze at.
But that strength is now working against them.
They’re actually too strong.
Since they were unopposed for so long in their home field of the ocean, they’ve probably grown accustomed to destroying their targets with little to no resistance.
Which means they don’t have much, if any, battle experience.
They’ve always been able to just sink their foes into the ocean without having to fight at all.
Strong as they are, they’re used to wielding that strength in the simplest way possible.
That makes them much easier to deal with.
On top of that, this isn’t their usual ocean territory.
Unlike the ocean with its endless supply of water, this is land, albeit land that’s starting to get submerged.
They have to keep their powers in check here, just like I do.
And their usual forms as dragons are probably enormous.
All the water dragons I’ve seen have been in human form.
While most dragons can transform into humans, their powers definitely shine brightest when they’re in their original form.
With all these constraints and their lack of battle experience, it’s only natural that they wouldn’t be able to beat me.
Honestly, I feel a little bad. They’ve lived long enough to be called ancient dragons, and now I’m bringing their lives to an end without them even being able to fight at their full strength.
But I wouldn’t say their deaths will be in vain.
The holes they created linking the Upper Stratum to the ocean are still open.
Sophia can freeze the water to cut off the flow, at least temporarily, but all I can do is destroy things with fire and lightning.
There’s nothing I can do to close up a hole in the ceiling.
It certainly makes me wish I’d studied Earth Magic or something, although there’s no point in complaining about that now.
I feel foolish for only being able to destroy things, even though I chose to build up my strength in that direction.
At any rate, we have to take out the water dragons as quickly as possible and seal the holes they created.
The only one of us with the ability to do the latter is Sophia.
Which probably means that I should take over her battle against the chief of the water dragons, freeing her up to go around sealing those holes.
That’s why I’ve been making my way toward Sophia, defeating any water dragons I encounter along the way…except those two keep moving around as they fight.
I’m barely getting any closer, even though I’m chasing them as fast as I can.
All because the chief of the water dragons is keeping away from Sophia as they do battle, prompting Sophia to get annoyed and go after her.
She’s pretty good, that water dragon chief.
I’m guessing she’s realized that she can’t beat Sophia and is stalling for time instead.
She’s trying to survive as long as she can, in hopes of putting us on the ropes, even if she likely won’t manage to drag it out until the Great Elroe Labyrinth is sunk completely.
Sophia must realize that, too.
But she still can’t finish her off.
It wouldn’t be wise to just let the water dragon chief run free, either.
If such a powerful enemy was left to her own devices, I’m sure she would open another massive hole somewhere, flooding the place that much faster.
That leaves Sophia with no choice but to keep chasing after the chief, even knowing that she’s only stalling for time.
…At least, I’d certainly like to think that Sophia is not just getting wound up and chasing her around.
Ideally, I was hoping Sophia and I could catch the water dragon chief in a pincer attack and make short work of her, but clearly it’s not going to be that easy.
The fact that the two of them are moving away from me as I go after them means that the water dragon chief has already sensed my presence and is acting accordingly.
She’s quick at assessing the situation and making smart judgments.
This is going to be tough.
I have to get to Sophia as soon as possible, even if we can’t pull off a pincer attack.
Except water keeps blocking my path.
I’ve entered a zone that’s already completely submerged.
The Upper Stratum is already hard enough to navigate at full speed with its narrow, winding passages, and now parts of it are underwater as well?
Talk about frustrating.
On top of that, I already sense another water dragon obstructing my way forward.
Fighting will take up more time, making it even harder for me to catch up to Sophia.
Still, I can’t just ignore the water dragon and keep moving, either.
“What a pain…”
I groan aloud despite myself.
I’ll just have to take out this frustration on the water dragon blocking my way.
But just as I’m bracing myself for a fight…
Four shadows speed past me and attack the waiting water dragon.
Aren’t those the puppet taratects?
Why are they here instead of guarding Miss Ariel?
No, I guess that’s a silly question.
Miss Ariel must have seen the current situation, decided that we needed backup, and sent them in to help.
Honestly, I am grateful.
But what about Miss Ariel’s safety?
The enemy could easily launch a surprise attack on the Lower or Bottom Stratum while we’re busy here in the Upper Stratum.
As strong as she was before, Miss Ariel can barely even fight anymore.
Will sending her guards away work out in her favor, or against her?
I’d hate to see Miss White’s reaction if something happens to Miss Ariel…
Now I have even more reason to hurry it up.
“I’m going on ahead!”
With a quick word to the puppet taratects, I rush onward, leaving them to take care of the water dragon.
The four of them together should be able to handle it, even if the water dragon is more powerful individually.
Besides, while the water dragon can’t fight at its full strength due to the terrain, the spider girls have home-field advantage in this cramped space.
The Upper Stratum is basically their hunting ground.
It might be a little harder to navigate now that it’s partly submerged, but that shouldn’t be too big of a problem for them.
They were able to catch up to me easily enough, anyway.
The fact that my speed stat is probably higher than theirs didn’t stop them.
That’s probably because they’re much better at using the walls and even ceilings of the labyrinth to move even faster.
Between that and my inability to seal a hole, I guess I’ve still got a long ways to go in many respects.
It’s ironic that I’m realizing my own inadequacy in what will be our final battle.
Too bad I’ll never have a chance to put that knowledge to use.
…Too bad, huh?
If I’m thinking about it that way, maybe I still have attachments to this life after all?
I never planned to survive this battle.
My hands are stained with so much blood already.
Enough is enough.
The moment I killed Buirimus and avenged my goblin clan, my life lost all meaning and purpose.
In fact, when I died back in the classroom, I probably should have just stayed dead.
I only stayed alive in this world out of habit.
Yet even though I was living on nothing but inertia, I still sent countless others to their deaths.
Eventually, I have to pay the price.
And all I have to offer for that is my own life.
So whether we win or lose this battle, I had no intention of surviving.
And yet…
The chaotic days of the recent past flash across my mind.
Sophia flaring up at me, Mr. Merazophis panicking behind her, Miss Ariel gently trying to calm everyone down, and Miss White watching in silence, or occasionally kicking Sophia to the curb.
Those times might have been crazy, but they weren’t bad.
But that’s all over now.
We can never go back to that again.
I’ve known that for ages, or at least I thought I did.
So I can’t falter now.
Stay sharp.
Finish what you started.
And the first step is taking over this fight against the chief of the water dragons!
There!
Running as fast as I can, occasionally swimming through a sunken passage, I finally catch up to where Sophia and the water dragon are locked in battle.
The water dragon chief is purely focused on keeping away from Sophia and attacking from afar, while Sophia is determinedly chasing after her.
They’re evenly matched in terms of long-distance warfare.
However, the nature of the water and ice seems to have Sophia at a bit of a loss as to how to break through.
Sophia can freeze her opponent’s water, except then the ice ends up serving as an obstacle that aids in the water dragon chief’s retreat.
But if she doesn’t freeze the water, her opponent will be able to control it and move freely.
No wonder this battle has been taking so long.
I’m sure Sophia would win eventually, due to her superior abilities…if the Great Elroe Labyrinth doesn’t flood completely first.
“Sophia!”
“…Tch!”
Noticing me, Sophia clicks her tongue, looking annoyed.
“Leave this to me and go seal the holes!”
“…Ugh, fine, I know! You handle it, then!”
With that, Sophia crossly turns on her heel and leaves.
Knowing her, she probably wanted to finish this fight herself.
But she still let me take over because she knows our overall victory is more important than her winning this particular battle.
Otherwise, there’s no way someone as prideful as Sophia would hand over her prey.
Since she was selfless enough to prioritize the team’s goals over her own satisfaction, I’d better make sure I live up to her expectations.
“Oh dear. I’ve been dealt quite the difficult hand.”
The water dragon chief quirks an eyebrow.
“But are you sure you oughtn’t have come at me two against one?”
“No need. This won’t take long.”
She wrinkles her nose in apparent displeasure at my statement.
“You’d do well not to underestimate me, hmm?”
“I’m not. That’s why I’m going to use all of my strength to finish you as quickly as possible.”
The water dragon chief must be very strong.
If we fought in the ocean, where her full strength would be on display, she might very well have defeated Sophia and me both.
She has far more finesse than the other water dragons, too.
That much is clear from the fact that she was able to keep Sophia at bay for so long.
So I’m going to give it everything I’ve got, too.
Because I have no other choice.
“Such overconfidence! Oh, I can hardly wait to smash it to pieces!”
No, it’s not overconfidence.
It’s just that because I recognize how powerful the water dragon chief is, I’m going to break out my ace in the hole right away.
My Wrath.
“GRAAAAAAHHH!”
As soon as I activate the Wrath skill, the world is dyed a deep red.
My brain, my body, my pulse, every fiber of my being demands that I slaughter every living thing in sight.
I let that overpowering urge take control, swinging my magic sword at the water dragon chief before my eyes.
Though my war cry seemed to intimidate her for a moment, she quickly recovers and sends a wave of water toward me.
The torrent takes up the entire narrow passageway.
There’s no way to dodge it.
But I don’t need to, anyway.
I unleash the full power of my magic swords, surrounding my body with their might.
Flames and lightning twine around me, evaporating the wave of water.
“But…how…?”
The evaporating torrent produces shock waves that churn toward me, but I ignore them, press forward, and slice the water dragon chief in half.
When Wrath is activated, all my stats reach 99,999.
That’s the max value they can have, stronger than even Miss Ariel in her prime, at least in terms of numbers alone.
In this state, no ordinary attack can lay a scratch on me, and almost nothing can withstand my blade.
However, it comes at a high cost.
“Hfff…hfff…! Calm down! That’s enough!”
I turn off Wrath and stop my spirit from being swallowed up.
The Wrath skill makes the user lose all sense of reason.
If it fully consumes me, even once, I’ll be permanently transformed into a senseless monster that attacks anything in sight.
Even after training up the Heresy Resistance skill, which reduces negative effects on the soul and spirit, to the point of becoming Heresy Nullification, it still wasn’t enough to get rid of the effects of the Wrath skill completely.
For now, I can bring myself back like this if I only use it for a short time. But if I keep using the skill, I know for a fact that eventually I won’t be able to come back anymore.
I imagine the Wrath skill has special settings that prevent its consequences from being fully negated.
All this is why I’ve avoided using it at all costs, but against the water dragon chief, I had no other choice.
Sophia and I are about equal in power, I think.
If she couldn’t defeat that opponent over a long period of time, this was the only way I’d be able to do it quickly.
“Koff! I’m…sorr…I…offer…”
The water dragon chief murmurs something, despite her upper and lower half being neatly separated.
Then her body crumbles into dust and disappears.
…I see.
She must have offered herself up…sacrificing her soul to the system.
By offering your soul to the system, you can turn all its energy into the system’s fuel.
Of course, that means you’ll never be reborn again, since your soul itself is lost.
It’s a fate beyond death: nothingness.
Yet as she was about to die, she offered up her soul.
That proves she must have come into this battle fully prepared to end it all.
Just like me.
“Wait a little longer. I’ll offer myself up, too, before this battle is over.”
Whether we win or lose, I intend to sacrifice my own soul.
Death alone wouldn’t be enough to atone for everything I’ve done.
So I’m going to give up all that I am.
But the time hasn’t come for that, not just yet.
First, I have to fight my hardest for the ivory god’s victory, so that the deaths of everyone I’ve killed won’t be in vain.
Even if it ends with me disappearing forever.
I take a moment of silence for the place where the water dragons’ chief fell, then move on in order to defeat the rest of them.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login