There were about fifty enemy monsters left, but none of them were cannon-fodder black wolves or green goblins. If even a handful of these creatures got in, we were toast. My exhausted villagers would be no match for them.
As though confirming my worst fears, I heard an explosion followed by screams from the north part of the village. I checked my phone for the overhead view. Another group of monsters had snuck around and broken down the fence on the other side.
Of course. I was dealing with two corrupted god players. I should’ve known they would split up and launch a surprise attack! I wanted to slap myself, but I didn’t have time. My initial count of fifty enemies was way off. The other group was mostly green goblins, but there were a lot of them. And if I sent my statue to them, the monsters holding at the front gate would be free to come inside.
“Dammit! I’m stuck here doing nothing!”
Gams and the rest rallied to stand against the second group, but their exhaustion and wounds dulled their responses. The elves had used up their arrows and were forced down to the ground to fight hand-to-hand.
If there was a way to win, I couldn’t see it.
Are we just supposed to wait around and die now?
Was this it? Was I going to let my village be destroyed again?
“No! It’s not over yet! I can’t give up! This isn’t the time to run away. Fight until the end!”
Think. Think! Is there a miracle I can use?
I was scrolling desperately through the miracles menu when I felt something cool against my burning face. It was Destiny. It pressed its front feet against my cheek and stared up at me from my coat. It then jumped to the ground and raced away towards the northern side of the village.
“Wait! Wait, Destiny!”
It ignored me, and I could only watch as its figure got smaller and smaller.
Destiny was a better fighter than I was, but its petrifying gaze only worked on one target at a time, and it was currently using it on the God of Fate statue. Its poison gas attack couldn’t be directed—it could end up injuring our allies. So what was it doing?
“Come back!” I couldn’t bear to lose Destiny on top of everything else. “No…come on, don’t give up!”
I slapped my cheek to knock the despair out of me and got back to my feet. I let the determination boil up inside me, then bent to pick up a discarded spear. I needed to do anything right now. Anything at all was better than lying down and dying.
I ran after Destiny, but my phone began to admit a blinding yellow light. When it died down enough for me to see the screen, I saw a line of text.
“Will you allow it to evolve?”
I immediately remembered what Sewatari-san had said to me on the phone.
“I’ll give you the gift on the day of.”
Was this her gift?
Who cares? It doesn’t matter right now!
Breathing around the splinter of hope in my chest, I tapped the screen. I looked at myself, the statue, and then back at myself. Nothing happened. Damn. I’d hoped one of us would get some sort of power-up.
“What did it mean by evolve, then—”
“Aaaaah! So bright!”
Cries echoed from the north side of the village—but they were cries of astonishment, not despair. I turned to look and saw an enormous monster, its body glowing with golden light. Its skin was protected by tough, sharp scales, and its six legs were as thick as tree trunks. It had to be at least a dozen feet long, not including its tail. It was kicking green goblins left and right.
“Destiny…san?” It was like something from a disaster movie, and so incredible that I found myself slipping into polite speech.
It was bigger, tougher, and had more legs than before, but under all that it still looked like Destiny. It breathed out purple smoke, leaving the green goblins writhing in pain on the ground. Other goblins flew over my head, whipped into the air by a sweep of its tail. Others still were turned to stone by a single glare—several of them. When goblins tried to flee, it trampled them. Monsters were supposed to lose their sense of self-preservation on the Day of Corruption, but they still ran away from Destiny.
After dispatching a ton of monsters in a very short time, Destiny turned its large, round eyes to me and gave a satisfied nod. I nodded back. It folded up its six legs and crouched down, kicking off powerfully from the ground. It cleared the fence easily, turning on the monsters grouped around the village gate. It mowed them down with its lethally sharp tail, cut off their movements with its six legs, and tore their heads off with its jaws. Any monsters who dared approach to try and help their allies were met with a face full of poison breath and rendered immobile.
I stared in astonishment. Monsters fell left and right, powerless to fight back.
“You’re amazing, Destiny. Wait! I can’t just stand here!”
While Destiny distracted the enemy, I brought the God of Fate statue back to the village entrance. I knew what to do now. The statue raised its right arm into the air. Spotting the signal, Gams turned and disappeared inside Kan and Lan’s place.
“We got it!”
Gams and Rodice emerged, pulling a metal rod along in a wooden trailer. Chem, Lyra, and Carol pushed from behind. That was all my original villagers, working together.
The statue approached the cart and took the rod in its hand. My villagers fell to their knees and began to pray. At first glance, the rod looked like a long spear—ten feet long, with a sharpened tip. It was heavy, but the statue could spin it above its head with no problem.