“Perfect. Stick next to Haruka. And if she thinks things are looking bad, I want you to stop and take a break right away, all right?”
“…Okay.”
Her response didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but I figured she would be safe as long as Haruka stayed by her side.
“Well, Haruka. Looks like you’re in charge of Jupiter.”
“Yeah… You really are a good guy, aren’t you, Kyou?”
“What do you mean? I’m putting this exhausted little kid to work. You have any idea how many labor laws I’m breaking right now?”
“You’re seriously trying to play the bad guy again? C’mon now,” said the radiant star, cheerfully jabbing me in the ribs with her elbow.
I could feel embarrassment welling up inside me, so after a curt hmph, I turned away and moved back toward the front line.
Focusing my spiritual power into my right arm, I pulled the trigger on Eckesachs. A gunshot rang out as I activated the new battle cartridge I’d picked up from Guren. Then the jet-black greatsword in my hand started to wobble and change shape. Its angular form began to round out at the edges. Before long, its shape settled on a perfect circle.
“All right, I’m ready.”
Eckesachs had transformed into a massive shield. The slime steel’s black luster gave it a rugged, badass look.
That’s right—the new form I’d asked Guren to design for me wasn’t a weapon at all but protective gear. I’d also asked her to prioritize the shield’s surface area rather than focusing on durability or strength.
Shields tend to be heavy and hard—that’s what makes them useful for defense, right? It’s completely logical. Usually, it wouldn’t matter how big your shield was if it couldn’t withstand attacks from enemies.
That was why, according to Guren, you had to know what sorts of attacks you were trying to defend against when designing a shield. Once you had that figured out, you could add functionality based on your needs.
But my massive shield was different. We started off trying to protect as wide an area as possible. The shield’s actual defensive capabilities came second. So the whole thing was a bit ass-backward.
I knew it was terribly unbalanced and lacked the stats to function as a proper shield. But it suited my battle style perfectly.
The reason was simple—I’d had this shield specially designed to use in tandem with Fourth Field. By using them together, I was all set to perfectly tank area of effect attacks!
“Mr. Szilard. That’s enough for now. I’m gonna set this thing up.”
“Very well… But, my, that shield sure is large, isn’t it? For a moment, I thought you’d pried the wall off a castle.”
“Ha-ha! That’s not too far off base… Hup!”
I let the shield’s bottom edge hit the ground with a mighty thud, sending shockwaves all through the space.
Hah, wow. I can’t see anything ahead of me now.
Eckesachs was completely blocking my view of the battlefield, so I stopped relying on my eyes and switched to my spirit senses to keep track of Keraunos and adjusted my placement accordingly.
Even with Szilard standing by, we would be in deep trouble if I made even the slightest mistake. Suddenly, I felt caught between the overwhelming spiritual power Keraunos was charging up in front of me and my comrades behind, whose very lives were now in my care. It felt like I might lose my mind.
Part of me wanted to get the hell out of there. Thought this whole thing was impossible and wanted to throw in the towel.
I’m a weakling at heart.
I’m not some protagonist who can stand up to adversity without ever wavering. I’m just a regular guy.
It didn’t matter how much I trained—scary stuff still scared me.
It didn’t matter how much combat I’d experienced—pain still hurt.
Despite shamelessly admitting my own weakness, something kept me standing anyway: the friends I had counting on me.
I wanted to see them happy. So damn happy.
I felt proud that they believed in me.
So I held fast behind my shield.
“Bring it, Keraunos. Your little temper tantrum is about as scary as a kitty-cat’s sneeze to me.”
I could feel its spiritual power swell as it let out a roar of resentment.
Who’d ever believe the tutorial miniboss would take on the miniboss from the true route at full strength?
Well, whatever. I’ve got this.
If a cornered rat can bite a cat to survive, then I think a determined Kyouichirou can handle a little Keraunos.
So, c’mon, bring it!
Bring it, bring it, bring it, bring it!
“Hurry up and bring it on, you freaking scumbaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!”
And then, suddenly, something snapped.
I couldn’t tell if it was just mindlessly reacting to the sound of my voice or if the spirit understood my threat and flew into a rage. But one thing was certain: Keraunos finally stopped charging. It was ready.
The calm before the storm had come to an end. The incarnation of rage, now at full strength, unleashed its sublime power, and…
“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
…let loose its final attack.
The blast of concentrated rage flew at us as quick as lightning. The natural disaster the spirit sent forth had enough power to outclass even Szilard’s skills.
This was the Raging Dark—the skill that took its name from Keraunos’s master. It was so strong that, during the events of the true route, not even the hero’s party could survive it. Not without bringing something along to counteract it anyway.
The situation we were in was a far cry from the events of the game, of course. But that didn’t mean that by some miracle, Keraunos would nerf its own skill on our account, either… Well, I was 99 percent sure we wouldn’t be that lucky anyhow.
I was fairly certain that the beast no longer cared if its attack hurt its daughter or not. If anything, there was a good chance that, after losing to her in the cleansing ritual trial, Keraunos had come to see its master as the enemy. I wouldn’t put it past this loser, considering how self-obsessed it was.
This beast would never abide its daughter’s rebellion. It was full of hatred for the girl who had refused to reciprocate its twisted love, and it had no use for a petulant child who didn’t listen to her father.
And so it was going to kill her.
What a freaking joke.
This jerkwad was a miserable pile of contradictions.
Imagine being such a hater that you decide to kill the one person you swore to protect the minute she becomes an inconvenience. What a goddamn prick.