Aria lays into Heljarl with an ever-changing flurry of strikes, from above, below, left, and right, but Heljarl blocks them all with his left hand; in his right, he grips his staff. There isn’t any sound of metal on metal—her attacks simply aren’t getting through. “So slow! So pathetically slow! Neither your strength nor speed are enough to reach me!” “It’s not…a regular wall—he’s averting the attacks using the flow of water surrounding him!” Aria put her entire being into that attack. The moment Heljarl took it head-on, wholly unscathed, she knew she had no chance of winning. There’s only one role left for Rabi—a decoy. She hides in Aria’s shadow before jumping out to strike. Her blunt hatchet sweeps sideways, aiming for Heljarl’s neck. He merely takes one step backward and avoids it completely. Her blade slices nothing but air. Rabi and Aria are dumbfounded as Heljarl screams, “…Is that…all you’ve got?! …Argh, if only you and that creature had switched places, then I’d be able to understand!!” “!!” “Guh!!” A massive impact hits the two of them. This time, Toudou was able to catch sight of it, even though it should be invisible. It’s water. Just as Rabi warned them—he’s controlling the water. The blast that knocked back Toudou and the attack on Rabi and Aria just now are one and the same. The only thing they weren’t expecting was how the attacks came without any warning at all. Aria is slammed against the wall and Rabi rolls along the ground. A sharp cry of pain fills Toudou’s ears. It’s an invisible attack. Although it’s not an especially powerful one, taking too many direct hits will definitely prove fatal. Toudou sees this and steps back in front of Heljarl. She has to keep him distracted from Aria and Rabi until they stand up again. Toudou raises her shield and rushes at top speed to close the distance between Heljarl and herself. “HAAAAAAAAA!!” “That’s it! Come! Come to me—and meet your death!!” “!!” The air—no, the water—begins to warp. It’s whirling toward Toudou like a pointed spear. There’s no chance of avoiding it. Toudou steels herself, shield raised, and intercepts the blow. The heavy impact jolts her entire body, and a fierce grating sound radiates from her shield before passing through her. The Shield of Radiance, already riddled with cracks, whines and creaks loudly. Toudou has never heard such a horrible sound, and she desperately manages to slice through the spear with the holy sword Ex. The invisible water spear offers no resistance and is cleaved in half, disappearing alongside the force pushing back Toudou’s shield. Heljarl’s eyes are wide with shock for the first time. “What…just…?” “…That…can’t be— How did you manage…to cut through my water spear using your paltry strength?! This must be…the power of the Holy Warrior!” Aria uses her sword to prop herself back up. Rabi remains crawling on her hands and knees and looks up at Heljarl in agony. Toudou is staring at her blade—the holy sword Ex. Her proof as the Holy Warrior. A relic passed down from the previous Holy Warrior, light as a feather and tremendously sharp. Holy Warriors of ages past have wielded this blade to slaughter demons, their leaders, and even evil gods. As the current hero, Toudou is still half-baked. She can’t fully utilize the sword’s power. Even so, the holy sword Ex is glowing brightly—it’s encouraging her. Toudou grips the hilt with purpose. A powerful throbbing sensation ripples through her, almost as if the sword is alive. Strength fills Toudou’s body. Seeing the shining sword capable of crushing pure evil, Heljarl erupts into crazed laughter. “Heh… BWA-HA-HA-HAAA! HA-HA-HA-HA! HA!!” Any traces of sanity in Heljarl’s eyes are long gone. “I see—it’s the power of the holy sword!!” he screams. “And yet, so pitiful— Even that cursed merman managed that! You—you are exceedingly inferior. Do not despair, for now you face a real monster! Rejoice in the good fortune of facing your demise here and now!!” “What the—?!” Toudou’s mind goes completely blank at the spectacle unfolding in front of her. The water spear that she managed to slice through moments ago has returned, only this time in infinite numbers. Their tips quickly whirl around and take aim at Toudou and her party. There are simply…too many of them, each one clearly just as powerful as the first. Even if Toudou manages to withstand them, in full armor and with a shield, her companion members won’t. “Rrrgh… Nao!!” Limis screams. Glacia’s eyes fly open, and she kicks off the ground with the kind of agility one would not typically expect from her. Heljarl’s lips twist into a merciless grin. Toudou raises her blade high with her eyes wide, focused on the movement of the water spears. Heljarl similarly raises his staff high overhead—and in the next second, he suddenly crumples. A thunderous roar echoes through the sunken temple. He scowls for the first time and braces himself with his staff as he falls to the ground. The water spears vanish. “It’s…an elemental spirit…,” Rabi utters hoarsely. A womanly figure draped in a robe-like wave of water appears behind Heljarl. The figure looks like Limis, but its expression is incredibly stern as it glowers at Heljarl. It lifts its staff and points it at him. This motion alone, without so much as a single incantation, sends a shock wave plowing through Heljarl. He spins around without the sense of composure he maintained a moment ago and thrusts his black staff at the figure. Their respective blasts of water smash into each other, and the sunken temple groans from the impact. Toudou feels an incoming rush, as if a raging wave was pushing against her body. “It’s…alive?” “Elemental spirits…do not die…so easily. This…is your chance. Toudou, lend it your strength—” The water spears collide again; the aftershocks make it hard for Toudou to even stand. The water spirit’s expression contorts, using its entire body to swing its staff in large, sweeping motions. A blade of water goes flying toward Heljarl, who then creates his own water blade to slash the spirit down. Neither of them takes any damage, but the gap in strength is evident. Heljarl is already back on his feet from the surprise attack. “How dare a mere lowly spirit oppose me! Even without Mar Animus, you are outmatched! Just who do you take me for?! I, Heljarl, am the true descendant of the God of Oceans—!!” he screams, his feet stuck in place. Before he even realizes it, Glacia has approached him and wrapped her long hair around his ankles. The second he realizes what is happening, Heljarl kicks at Glacia’s head in irritation, sending her flying. Aria slashes down on Heljarl from overhead, but he swats her aside with his staff, clearly annoyed. In the ensuing gap this creates, the water elemental spirit fires a projectile that hits Heljarl dead center, but his water barrier must still be going strong—he barely stumbles from the impact. With her hatchet in one hand, Rabi draws near to Heljarl, but then, perhaps in reaction to his bloodred stare, she simply flops back onto her rear. Heljarl erupts into rampant laugher and bellows, “Futile! Here, in this ocean, against me, Heljarl—there will be no victors! Including that vile creature! In good time, I will end him!! That brat and Kranos will also feel my wrath! Anyone who dares make a mockery of me—I will decorate their graves with their own heads!!” Heljarl’s intimidating presence continues to escalate with his fervent howling. Just as he claims, his life force is so immense that its influence extends to even the world around them. The word invincible comes to Toudou’s mind. Even with the grand water elemental spirit added to the Holy Warrior’s party, they don’t stand a chance against the overwhelming power belonging to one of the Demon Lord Army’s leaders. Yet, they can kill him. No matter how vast a difference lies between them, Toudou has the holy sword Ex in her hand. Heljarl must deem her to be insignificant, however, as she is now just mere steps away from him. The water elemental spirit is draining the last of its energy as it attacks Heljarl relentlessly. He has his back to Toudou. The holy sword can slice right through him. Toudou lets go of her shield and grips her blade’s hilt with both hands. Everything is riding on this next blow. “Toudou! Do it now!!” Rabi screams. In that instant, Toudou pours her entire being into a single sword strike. She points the tip at Heljarl’s back, focused only on piercing it straight through his heart. Heljarl realizes she’s behind him and turns around, but he’s too late. The shining tip of the holy sword Ex sinks into Heljarl’s back. —But then a powerful impact repels it. “…Huh?” Toudou’s eyes go wide as Heljarl brings his staff down on her head. Her consciousness begins to slip as her field of vision goes dim from the intense force of the impact. She slumps to the floor. The holy sword Ex was so firmly in her grasp, but the strength leaves her hands, and she drops it onto the ground. All she can hear is Heljarl’s ridicule. “BWAAA-HA-HAAA!! You fool! Even the holiest of blades can’t pierce this armor with your pitiful strength!!” With her dimmed vision, all she can see is Rabi, flopped down on the floor—her lip trembling, her thin arms and slender frame, her glasses slipping down her nose. The hatchet, her only weapon, gets swept away by the flow of the water and drifts off, leaving a hollow, futile sound in its wake. Toudou cannot die. As the only one capable of wielding the holy sword Ex, she must survive, or humanity will not prevail. Toudou’s sense of duty stirs her awake. Frantically moving her lifeless tongue, she manages to cast a healing spell on herself for the first time in ages. A sliver of strength returns to her fingertips. She subtly moves her hand so as to remain unnoticed, feeling for the holy sword Ex, which is surely nearby. Heljarl has to be off his guard right now. She has a duty—a duty to slice off his head. That’s all that matters to Naotsugu Toudou at this moment. She desperately gropes around with her hand and feels a hot sensation shoot through it. She tries to move her hand again, but it won’t budge. It must have been pierced by one of Heljarl’s claws. In her dim consciousness, she can hear him shouting, confident in his victory. “Futile! Your attempts are futile, Holy Warrior! None of you has the proper strength, level, or life force to defeat me! Bwa-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA! No matter how many of you! It’s all futile!” Mixed in with Heljarl’s derision, Toudou can also hear a small, stifled voice. “I’m…s-scared… Ooooh… Wh-why did I…end up…like this…?” Rabi is crying. There aren’t any tears underwater, but her bleary, bloodshot eyes make it apparent. A string of words, almost like complaints, pours forth from her small lips. “The Demon Lord Army’s elite inner circle… A-and here I am, just a peace-loving wererabbit… Why…why does everyone always bully me…? …Boss gives me terrible orders, and my master always pushes me to the brink of death with training… And Sanya is so insensitive, telling me that I’d make the perfect pet, since wererabbits can mate at any time, or that I have great features, so I’ll fetch a high price… She’s always kidnapping me and saying the most horrible things… Everyone really ought to be nicer to me… How can they all treat me so…horribly…? All I do is stay quiet, keep my hood up, try not to stand out, shaking… My dream is to become a bride, you know. Sanya should be the one getting such awful treatment, not me!” “…Wh-what the hell is she talking about?” Heljarl’s voice is tinged with agitation. “We’d all be better off…dead. I hate this! Oof… I think one of my bones is broken… He’s just gonna complain about me anyway, that I got the people I’m supposed to be escorting injured, and then he’ll cut my pay… UGH! He might even just pay me in…carrots…” Rabi stands up. At that moment, Toudou realizes the din of battle around her has ceased. The claw that punctured her hand and kept it pressed down against the ground suddenly goes limp. “…I really hate anyone obsessed with fighting. I absolutely despise them. They never show any weaknesses, and they’re sickeningly strong… I’m gonna go home, get my wounds healed, take a bath, and go to sleep in my nice, soft, comfy bed. It was great doing business with you.” “Hmph… You think I’ll let you go home?” Heljarl threatens Rabi, but his voice is feeble. Did Rabi’s attempt to escape reality manage to placate him? Conversely, her response comes quite readily. “Oh, I’m definitely going home. Because…Heljarl, sir, your head is no longer attached to your body.” Heljarl’s eyes grow wide. His black staff falls from his hand and tumbles to the floor. The water elemental spirit is also dumbfounded and wide-eyed as it simply observes the scene unfolding. “…Let me guess… Your body…isn’t functioning…the way you want it to, right? Boss says that even if he…lost his head, he’d just…use healing magic to reattach it before he dies, see? It’s truly unbelievable. No normal person…is capable of such a thing.” Rabi breaks into a smile that implies a slight appetite for sadism. Some distance from her, Aria staggers and stands up. Everyone in the room is capable only of remaining silent and listening to Rabi speak. “Heh-heh… When I let go of my weapon…and became empty-handed, you let your guard down…didn’t you? In reality…that doesn’t matter. My attacks are all thanks to my…divine protection—the divine protection of the God of Beheading. It’s an indigenous god…much more minor than the God of Oceans. But, well, you see, my dream is to become a bride, so… Did you…see my attack coming? Oh, you can’t hear me anymore? And maybe I’ve…said too much?” “…Im……poss…ible— Grego…rio—” Heljarl’s head gives a sudden jolt before landing next to Toudou’s face. His eyes are wide with shock and the humiliation of having died before he even knew what hit him. Rabi rearranges her thin mermaid-armor overcoat, which had become disheveled, and heaves a deep sigh. She forces the claw out of Toudou’s hand and grasps her by it, helping her to her feet. “Okay, we’re finished here. All done. Let’s go home. Ahhh, I’m so glad I researched monsters beforehand. That way, I was able to learn Heljarl’s weak point. Now it’s all been settled. Okay, Toudou, come on now—stand up.” “…Ngh… Owww. R-Rabi?! That hurts!!”
Chapter 41
13 min read