Chapter 17
THE SOUND of the doll’s engine was like a shrill scream, building up to a crescendo of horror. The hulking giant thrust out a single massive arm. This doll might look like it ought to be slow due to its size, but the spirits’ power within allowed it to move even faster than the smaller ones. A metallic arm slammed into the earth with the force of a cannonball. The destructive power would have left even Meimei wounded if it struck the sage directly—if.
“Speed and power aren’t too bad!” Meimei stood behind the weapon now, calmly analyzing her opponent’s strength.
Another arm swung toward Meimei. This one was like a gun barrel; it seemed able to shoot real ammunition. As soon as it had set its sights, the doll’s metallic arm shot a firebomb that exploded, attempting to swallow Meimei in its blast. The doll had managed to condense an immense amount of fire into the blast; as soon as it landed, it swelled like a miniature volcano and smoke spread all around.
The blue flames that had finally started to settle in the village were overwhelmed by a red blaze and burning winds. This fire, too, was strong enough to do real damage. Yet Meimei stood motionless as the fire split and spread neatly around her—as if some unseen force was protecting her.
Seeing this, the doll swung around and used its momentum to brandish another metallic arm. It once again failed to strike Meimei, resulting in little more than a storm of rushing wind. But the doll’s attack did not end there; as Meimei jumped lightly to evade it, the doll fired its cannon once more.
“Great combat rotation too!” Meimei casually complimented the fighting weapon before vanishing in midair.
A split second later, the second firebomb detonated. It struck a vacant home and spewed fire everywhere. As hot wind blew, there was a dull, metallic noise accompanied by the giant lurching.
“Tougher than I expected. But two should be fine…and just my right hand.”
Meimei circled around the doll once more, muttered to herself, put both hands together, and focused. Before the weapon could react, she used a technique that only she could perform. Meimei’s body suddenly burst with light, which turned into something like a chain before being sucked into her once more.
“All ready. Time to level!” she announced. Her movements changed. Before, she’d seemed as if she were testing the waters; now, she was like a ferocious beast closing in on prey as she attacked the fighting weapon. Indeed, to Meimei, this was where the battle truly began. Before, she was just watching to see what the boss would do—and seeing how much of a handicap she should give herself in this fight.
The technique Meimei had used was [Honing Techniques: Risky Trade-Off]. She loved using it; in exchange for handicapping herself, it gave her greater growth when she succeeded. The effect did not just extend to one’s body either; it was often involved in spell-learning requirements and the like. This time around, Meimei restricted both her stats and her magic, limiting herself to only two uses of Immortal Arts. Furthermore, she could only attack using her right hand.
***
It seemed this fighting weapon, with all the spiritual power it harbored, was an ideal opponent for Meimei. Ten short minutes after the battle had truly begun, the weakened Meimei and the weapon were at a stalemate.
As one might expect of an enormous weapon stationed at a vital outpost, the thing was stronger than most monsters out there. It commanded not just fire, but electricity, wind, and ice as well. Each blow was strong enough to neutralize Meimei if it scored a direct hit.
Against this force, Meimei used masterful motions and techniques that did not rely on stats to evade its ferocious assault. She struck joints and other vulnerable points with perfect precision. Thanks to her self-imposed limits, Meimei’s attacks were far weaker than normal. The weapon’s plating didn’t have a scratch on it, but she had managed to deal some damage to its more fragile spots. To destroy it, though, she would need to hit it many times.
Fortunately, Meimei loved hitting things.
***
“I can’t believe she can smile in a situation like that,” Mizar muttered to himself in amazement as he watched from afar with his subordinates.
The battlefield was surrounded by an intense blizzard, with flames and lightning shooting through it every second. It was as if Meimei and her foe fought in a different dimension. When Mizar caught glances of Meimei’s face, she clearly seemed to be enjoying herself.
He wondered to himself, what sort of strategy would he and his subordinates have used if they had to fight that behemoth? “Definitely not a close-range battle like that.”
With almost inhuman movements, Meimei toyed with the doll. If she was even a fraction less agile, she’d have taken a fatal blow from the swings of those arms already.
After racking his brain for a while, Mizar found himself doubly grateful for Meimei’s presence. Thanks to her, he wouldn’t have to worry about it.
***
Twenty minutes had passed since Meimei began fighting. The moment finally came. Blow after blow had piled up until, finally, the weapon’s two right legs buckled at once. Two of the supports holding up its weight had broken from the joint. It lurched violently as it lost its balance and almost collapsed. Its most nimble arm reached out to the ground, stopping it from falling over entirely.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for!” There was a fierce gleam in her eye. Meimei approached the doll’s arm with a smooth use of Shrinking Earth and placed her hand on it.
[Immortal Arts Earth: Contact Eruption]
Meimei’s first spell was one that sent shockwaves through whatever her hand touched. This was enough to shatter the enemy’s metal arm with ease.
With a loud crash and the shrill shriek of metal, the giant fell to the ground. Though it had lost the arm that served as its last source of maneuverability and defense, the machine had no option to surrender. Sitting on the ground, it waved its remaining arms and legs in an attempt to fight off Meimei.
“Good game. But it’s over.” Meimei dodged through the most intense fire and lightning yet, weathering the blizzard as she slipped into striking range. She approached the thickest part of the doll’s plating, which the thing had protected with its nimble arm at all times. Even Meimei would need to gather strength to break through it, especially given the obstacle that was its nimble arm.
Now, with that arm out of the way, this was her ideal opportunity.
The sage gently placed a hand on the weapon’s highly guarded torso. She then put her other fist on the back of her hand—an unusual stance.
The machine realized something was coming and began attacking indiscriminately, even ready to hurt itself as it focused its firebomb and lightning strike cannons on Meimei. But it was too late; this flailing had only weakened its stance further.
Meimei’s was a sublime blow—a blow so overwhelming as to prove the difference in strength between them.
***
As the battle progressed, Mizar’s attention was gradually drawn away from his subordinates back to Meimei’s fight. He realized along the way that Meimei was limiting herself. Despite that, she’d stood on equal footing with her opponent. Moreover, with every blow, she gained more and more momentum until she was overwhelming the huge doll.
Perhaps she’d learned everything she needed to know about her opponent in the heat of battle. That would take absurd observational abilities, but Mizar was certain that’s what she had done. And now, she’d finally broken the fighting doll’s legs and its defensive arm. At this point, Mizar had lost track of his own unit’s battle entirely and found himself entranced by hers.
Finally, the end had come. This final salvo was more astounding and mystifying than anything Mizar had ever witnessed thus far.
[Immortal Arts Inheritance: Śakra’s Bloom]
Meimei froze in place for a moment, emitting mana for just an instant. Immediately after, with no additional movement, the machine’s torso exploded into smithereens. Mizar had paid close attention, never missing a detail—but this stupefied him. He truly had no idea what had happened.
Having lost its torso, the weapon fell to pieces with a glorious crash. Metal shards in the air fell like a shower of cherry blossom petals illuminated by the flames.
After confirming that the doll no longer moved, Meimei raised her hands happily and squealed, “Winner!” She patted the head of the giant fighting doll and complimented its fighting, “That was my best fight in a while. Thank you, thank you.”
“I’m amazed. That’s the renowned strongest warrior Meilin for you. Your fighting is every bit as incredible as I’ve heard!” Mizar excitedly ran over to Meimei. As a fellow martial artist, his heart was moved.
“Aww, shucks. I’m still training—” Meimei was stoic when it came to battle, but she loved compliments. She was clearly happy to hear Mizar’s praise, but stopped mid-sentence. “Oh, hang on? Who’s Meilin? My name is Meimei. You’ve got the wrong girl.”
Did she think changing her name would be enough of a disguise?
Meimei stammered a bit, her eyes looking everywhere but forward. She then tried to change the subject, adding, “Oh, I forgot the most important thing!” and ran to the other side of the machine’s remains.
“I see. My mistake.” Mizar understood her intent and bowed. With a start, he suddenly remembered his duty and ran off to where his subordinates were fighting.
***
The battlefield was still bathed in flames, and Mizar’s unit could be heard in the distance. But it was beginning to sound more like a rout than a real battle; the conquest of the control center was in its final stages. Now that Chimera’s last defense had been trounced, their members were running for the hills.
It was too late. This village had already been surrounded by the Isuzu Alliance.
Meimei used her Biometric Scan, which boasted awe-inspiring range, and found people running away and others closing in on them. She decided to leave the rest of the job to Isuzu. “They got this.”
She surveyed her own surroundings. Around her, she found enemy corpses and many fighting dolls that had become scrap metal. “Okay. Here goes.” Meimei retrieved a rosary from her Item Box. On it hung a pale-green gem, like the winds of the clear plains, which gave off a divine aura.
What Meimei had said before—that she’d forgotten the most important thing—was actually more than just an excuse to leave an awkward conversation. She pointed the rosary at the doll before her. Suddenly the remains began to emit light.
“Easier than I thought.”
The gentle light flowing from the weapon’s remains drifted up and dispersed into the sky. Meimei watched as it disappeared. Then she approached the other fighting dolls and repeated the process over and over. This rosary had been given to her by Glad. It was a necessary religious object for various Skyfolk rites. But thanks to some of Glad’s modifications, it was able to exhibit various effects beyond its original usage.
Those effects were detection and release. It could search for spiritual power, the souls forcefully bound by Chimera Clausen, and return them to nature. That was Glad’s one desire, and he was willing to tamper with a religious object to see it done.
The rosary was the embodiment of his truest desire. Why, then, did Meimei have such a precious item? Simple: Glad had entrusted her with this duty.
Glad and Meimei knew from his preliminary investigation that there were many dolls and weapons confining the power of spirits in this village. However, Glad had an even more important duty to fulfill today—so he was unable to be here to free them.
Thus, he had entrusted it to Meimei. Faith, trust, or other emotions—Meimei didn’t know exactly what was going through his mind, but she gladly accepted it so he could do his part without concern.
Meimei used the rosary for the next twenty minutes, liberating the fighting dolls, their remains, and the weapons of captured Chimera Clausen soldiers. Eventually, she had freed the spirits’ power and souls from every one.
***
“That should be the last one here.”
Nobody noticed when Meimei left the village for the cave that was the spot they’d arranged for her to await Glad’s return. She did not go toward the scene of Glad’s battle. The priest had spent years of his life working toward this moment. She knew the strength of his resolve, so she believed it would be best to leave him alone.
Earlier, Glad had told her, “If I don’t return by morning…assume the worst.”
Meimei sighed. “The stars are pretty tonight…” She looked up and waited patiently for his return.
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