A redheaded young boy had appeared. Androgynous and short in stature, he was lightly clad in leather gear and held a longsword too big for him in his hands. Ever since it had undergone repairs, the sword had begun to draw people’s attention. Originally, it only garnered note for its durability and length, but now every impact caused veins of light to glow along the scars left where the blade had been reforged. For some reason, Shuna’s skill had improved in tandem with the illumination. No one knew why.
“Shuna, you’ve got impeccable timing.” Perfect, in fact. A bit farther off in the distance, I could see Bel making her way over, too.
“I dropped by ready to shake you down for lunch but then heard something crazy goin’ on over here. I thought maybe some shit was goin’ down, and I was right. Dude, tell me! Call me before you go get your ass kicked!” he barked, livid.
“Yeah, sure, I will next time.”
“So what the hell is that?” Shuna pointed his blade at the cauldron.
“The Dark Lord, Gormlaith.”
“Uh………pretty sure that’s a pot.”
“No, it’s the Dark Lord in its second stage!”
“The hell?” Don’t worry about it, kid.
Bel walked over as if on a leisurely stroll, placing herself between us and the Thing.
Shi— “Watch out! Behind you! Turn around!” Totally unfazed, the armored young girl brushed off my warning. Behind Bel, the pot monster trembled, then launched a million tentacles at her.
“Shield.” With just one word, my fear at seeing her skewered like a kebab proved utterly groundless. I’d seen this kind of defensive magic a few times before. A dome of light draped down around the cauldron. Caught off guard, the blob swung its tentacles around wildly, thrashing madly, but the wall of light weathered it all. The dome looked highly impenetrable, especially for one activated in a split second. What kind of beast was in Bel?
“Husband to Laualliuna, who might this dashing young man be?” Freyja stared at Shuna, dumbstruck. She gawked lecherously, a faint blush warming her cheeks, but quickly averted her eyes once the boy noticed her gaze.
Umm. I think I just saw the moment when someone falls in love at first sight. But c’mon, we don’t have time for that now. Try to pick a better time to fall for someone, would you?
“Freyja, you can’t get your golem to stand.”
Lana’s voice snapped the prim young woman back to her senses. “Oh, no, La Neowneow, my magic is working perfectly. The roots you are controlling are at fault here. They’re what caused Wrath’s legs to collapse,” the Champion retorted, choosing a life-and-death moment to revert to acting like a useless clown.
“I told you I’m not good at animating objects! You should’ve known from back at the academy!”
“Is your bosom the only thing that has grown since then? Have you failed to develop your skills as a mage at all?”
“If anything, my chest is smaller than it was. But I’m a much better mage now!”
“Oh, reaaally? It seems to me you’ve less to show in both regards.”
No fighting, girls. Your neglected golem looks totally lost. Damn, too bad they’re our only……… Wait, if I remember correctly, wasn’t there…?
“Roots? I can handle that.” An idea seemed to come to Shuna as he inspected the golem’s flimsy legs. The same thought came to me at that exact moment.
“Lana, leave this guy to us. We just need to fix his legs, right?”
“Exactly. But, darling, you don’t have the kind of power to—”
““Hell yeah, we do,”” Shuna and I cut her off in unison. Shuna was devoted to the God of Forestry, after all, a god who not only cultivated beautiful vegetables but could also probably encourage this tree to grow as well.
“Bel, how long will that shield last?” I asked.
“Who knows?” I’d have to do something about this punk’s shitty communication style later.
“Hold it as long as you can, please.”
“………” No answer.
“Go for it, Shuna. I’ll follow your lead.” It probably wouldn’t go as well as the Hoense double-team, but it was worth a shot.
“It’s just a spell I used as a kid to heal trees in our garden, so don’t get too excited.”
“If it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just relax and do your best.”
“I mean, I’ll do what I can.” After staking his sword in the ground, Shuna brought his fingertips and palms together. I joined my hands in prayer as well. “O Ukhazol, King of the Tree Spirits, I, Shuna of Azollid, beg thee for a miracle. Breathe life into this withered tree, revive those roots lost to rot, and small though we may be, grant these wishes to we who seek them so……umm…”
“O Ukhazol, King of the Tree Spirits, I, Souya the Otherworlder, call upon our provisional contract to beseech thee for a miracle. Breathe life into this withered tree, revive those roots lost to rot, and… What’s next?” I’d repeated Shuna’s prayer, but it had trailed off.
“……Uhhh, please hear our prayer. Make it big! Make it huge! I beg of you. Please, pretty please!”
Wait, that counts?!
Though, I guess magic in this dimension was all about asking gods and goddesses for their blessings, so maybe worst-case scenario, even this could work? I repeated the simple prayer. “Make it big! Make it huge! I beg of you! Please and thank you!”
Ignoring the cold glares the female mages shot our way, Shuna and I cheered the giant on. Just as I was thinking how much I felt like an exploitative boss—
“BOOOAAAAAH!”
—our prayers were answered, miraculously. Powered by Lord Ukhazol’s graces, the massive golem’s legs began to heal with new roots wrapping around them thicker and stronger. But it didn’t stop there. Vivacious energy surged through every part of the gigantic tree, which sprouted new leaves and bore juicy fruit.
Bold and confident, the King of the Meadow rose once more. He firmly planted his feet on the ground, flexed both powerful arms, and—“BOOOOAAAOOOOOORRR!!”—bellowed menacingly at our Teflon foe.
“Can’t hold on, shield’s breaking.” The dome of light Bel created shattered.
“Neeeooouuuneeeooouuuu!” The cauldron monster shrieked back, swelling up to match the golem’s eighteen-meter stature. Now we had another giant on our hands, and this one wore a pot on its head.
“Wrath! The head! Go for the head! All the metallic parts are its weak spots! Bring it down in one go!” I tried to order it. But would it obey me?
“BOOOOOOAAAH!!” came Wrath’s mighty reply. He continued to grow; in fact, he was expanding too fast. Wrath’s right arm alone had more than doubled in size.
“No way,” I breathed. The arborous giant’s right arm snapped off. He hadn’t been growing an arm—he’d been making a weapon.
“What in the world? What is this? Nyannyan?” Freyja clearly hadn’t caught on.
“I don’t know.” Neither had Lana. Though wooden, Wrath’s weapon had a circular guard extending out to a curved, thin, single-edged blade. Its design bore a striking resemblance to a Japanese katana. If we had Lord Ukhazol to thank for this, the list of his possible hometowns had just considerably shrunken.
“NEEEEEOOOOUUUU!!” the Thing roared, trying to make its own weapon. That was its downfall. Trying to copy your enemy’s moves in would only slow you down in battle and prove fatal.
The wind billowed as our giant raised its mighty sword up high, ready for the kill, striking a stance in the Shogen-ryu swordsmanship style. There was still forty meters between him and his opponent. Not the ideal distance if you asked me, but Wrath didn’t seem to mind; he brought his blade crashing down. (If you’ll excuse the spoiler, the battle left behind a trail of destruction within the Kingdom of Remlia, and afterward, I had quite a lot of explaining to do to the king.)
I closed my eyes to shut out the overpowering gales it created. A tremendous thundering boom and raging winds followed. Small rocks whipped against my ears and cheeks. It felt like a bomb had gone off. Squinting, I tried to check my surroundings, but all I saw was a cloud of dust. Someone crashed into me; I caught them and shielded them with my body. I could barely breathe. Covering my mouth with my poncho, I tried my best to take deep breaths, then, still tightly holding whoever I had in my arms, got low to the ground and weathered the storm.