༺ Estelle Hadassa El Rath (6) ༻
The conditions for summoning the ‘Over Master Form Nature Wicker Warrior’ were extremely tough to meet.
Firstly, you needed to complete the character growth of Kranel Luden and Yuel the Druid.
Secondly, one of them needed to acquire the ‘Maige Tuired Handicraft Set’ from Mag Mell, the Island of Treasures.
Finishing the growth of two named characters was nothing easy to start off with, and the difficulty was further amplified by the fact that a party member’s acquisition of a treasure at Mag Mell was random.
However, the final result matched its level of difficulty.
-Kwang! Kwaang!
The heavy golem hurled its fists to bash up Balor the King of Titans.
-Kwang!
Balor stumbled after being hit by the slow yet heavy punch but retaliated immediately.
-Vuung!
The titan’s fist sliced through the air and landed on the Wicker Warrior’s face with a fearsome force. The golem’s head turned to the side and it faltered, as stone fragments of its face crumbled down.
❰13% damage done to the face❱
『Knng…! Kranel, are you okay?』
『Not yet! Our soul! Our spirit will not waver just from this!』
『Umm… You mean, ‘your soul’, right?』
‘Don’t drag me into this,’ Yuel added.
In any case, Kranel was burning with a fiery spirit. Even though he was usually considered a gloomy nerd, he became passionate every time he got on his two-legged super golem.
『Go, Nature Wicker Warrior!』
The Wicker Warrior sprinted at Balor. Its fist, supported by the roots of Wicker Man, struck Balor on its face.
Balor stumbled but fought back at a faster speed, and with more efficiency than the Wicker Warrior.
The result was an all-out brawl. Neither of the two giants bothered to dodge and continued bashing the opponent like there was no tomorrow.
-Kwang! Kwaang!
-Kwagang! Kwang!
Punch, crush, punch, crush, punch and crush. It truly was a battle of true men, and slowly but surely, the evil titan started to be pushed back.
“GUWOOOOO…!”
Balor was the first one to retreat from that blood-boiling battle of punches. Balor’s fists had bones sticking out of its skin after striking the tough shell of the golem on repeat, and blood was dripping from the tears on its shoulders.
『Good! Let’s push on just like…!?』
That was when Kranel couldn’t help but doubt his eyes. Balor’s shoulders, which were supposed to have been crushed, suddenly overflowed with snakes before transforming back into flesh!
『Regeneration, huh!』
The core of Balor, the King of Titans, was the Cauldron of Abundance, Undry. Due to that infinite source of vitality, the titan was able to regenerate its flesh in the blink of an eye.
And regeneration wasn’t the only tool in its kit.
-Jiiiii!
Along with a sharp noise, the Evil Eye of Balor shot a laser at the Wicker Warrior from point blank.
-Kwaaaang!
Upon being hit by the ray of light from the front, the Wicker Warrior faltered and fell on its back.
『Kyaaaaak!』
『Kuaaaahk!』
The fall of the Wicker Warrior was a disaster in itself. The ocean behind it erupted, creating a rainbow in its wake.
『Kugh… A, are you okay?』
『It’s fine! This golem will not crumble that easily!』
『…No, I’m asking about you, Kranel.』
Despite saying that, Kranel knew how dangerous that was. That attack just then had destroyed half of the Wicker Warrior’s armor.
『We have to deal with it before it can recharge its Evil Eye!』
『Do you think I’ll let you do that?』
As the Wicker Warrior tried to step back up, Balor picked up the layer of ice underneath it. The Great Mage of Gold immediately cast an alchemic spell that transformed the chunk of ice into a bullet and shot it.
-Kwaaaaaang!
The result was an enormous explosion. The pressure from the explosion created aftershocks as flames soared into the sky after combusting all the air surrounding them.
A cloud of dust crawled up from the ground. The two giants and a pit of flames surrounding them appeared like a scene marking the end of the world.
『A combination of Junk Golem and a Wicker Man, huh? An interesting approach but it’s too old-fashioned. Do you have any idea of how much we had to progress in our study of magic to complete this Balor?』
King of Titans, Balor. Using the old remains of that titan to resurrect it into this modern era was a miracle… and a demonstration of cutting-edge technology made possible through the combination of golem studies, chimera studies, and alchemy.
The amalgamation of two old-fashioned and outdated spells was definitely not going to be enough at the face of this progression of magic!
『Don’t look down on us…! It’s not about how amazing or modern the spells are.』
『What?』
『It’s about how deep the connection between the golem and the human is… The combination of their connection is the ‘true progress’ that nothing could ever surpass!』
『Utter nonsense…!』
-Kung! Kung! Kung!
Loud footsteps echoed from behind the thick layer of dust. Walking out from amidst the fog of dust was none other than the Wicker Warrior.
Despite losing one of its arms from that explosion, the golem unhesitatingly pounced at Balor. Balor collapsed onto the ground after a direct tackle from the golem that weighed several dozen tons, and that was when the golem followed through with a descending elbow drop.
-Kung!
Balor got ripped apart and parts of his body caved in, but that wasn’t the end of the onslaught. The elbow, upon dropping on the titan, started to bend like the body of a bow before being opened right up.
❰Posture/Balance Control Formula — Check❱
❰Magic Booster Formula — Check❱
❰Target Tracking Radar — On❱
❰Nature’s Weapon Wooden Fist Equipped❱
❰Forced Explosion of Elemental Core x 5❱
❰Unlimited Union, Wicker Warrior
—Elbow Rocket!❱
Using the rampaging burst of mana as a boost, the upper arm of the golem shot forth. The fast and heavy Elbow Rocket of the golem landed straight on Balor’s face!
“GUWOOOO…!!”
Balor fell back into the ocean along with a crack on his face. After making the golem stand on top of the titan who was powerlessly lying down in the middle of the ocean, Kranel shouted out loud.
『Yuel! It’s time…!』
『Ugh… You mean that?』
Although Yuel had trouble following through with Kranel’s excitement, she could immediately tell what he was referring to because they had been practicing it multiple times together. Instead of the control stick, she grabbed onto her oak staff and poured mana into it.
-Jiiing! Click! Clank!
❰Nature Weapon 32. Opening the launching tube❱
The chest of the Wicker Warrior flipped open, revealing dozens of launching tubes from within. It was the super killer move that was made by combining Kranel and Korin’s ideal dreams into one!
『Super Killer Move—!!』
『…』
『Super Killer Move—!!』
『…Do I have to say it?』
『You have to shout out the name of the skill to increase the output by 50%! Korin said so!』
『…I don’t think that’s how it works.』
Yuel hesitated for a second or two, but they didn’t have much time in their hands, so she decided to satisfy Kranel’s wish.
『Super Killer Move—!!』
『…Breast Bomber.』
Her voice was crawling towards the end, but in any case, the name of the super killer move was at last unleashed onto the world—
❰Unlimited Union, Wicker Warrior
—Breast Bomber❱
-Kwagagagang!!
Elemental cannons were shot from the dozens of launching tubes that were on the golem’s chest.
It was a move that sacrificed a portion of the elemental cores that were powering up the golem, but its explosive power was spectacular. The direct hit to its body tore the titan apart!
『Nice! Did we do it…?!』
But that was when one of Balor’s arms, which had been ripped out of its body from the explosion, tightened its grip around the Wicker Warrior’s ankle.
❰Alchemic Spell – Lighten❱
-Grit!
Suddenly, the Wicker Warrior started to fall down. Yuel let out a gasp, confused by the sudden turn of events.
『W, what’s going on?!』
『The right leg has been weakened! They’re fighting back!』
The lightened leg of the Wicker Warrior couldn’t support the weight of the body, and thus the fall! The two giants were in a completely different situation, with the titan now looking down on the golem.
『As long as Undry is at the core of the King of Titans, it will not matter how many wounds you inflict on its body.』
Proving Adelene’s statement, the King of Titans was regenerating the flesh that had been bombarded by the Breast Bomber at a rapid speed. No matter how tough and powerful the Wicker Warrior was, there was a limit, and it seemed inevitable that it would soon kneel before the display of infinite vitality.
『All according to plan.』
『What?』
It was then. Adelene turned around after suddenly feeling a blazing heat from behind.
The sky was open, and descending from the center of the abyss on the other side of the dimensional crack was the Sun.
『So that’s… the Sun. That means that must be—』
Korin Lork.
The one who inherited the Divinity of the Sun.
❰Sun Manifestation❱
Descending onto the earth was the God of Sun with a spear in each of his hands. The mighty and oppressive Sun fell with nothing but a single gesture.
-GOOHHH…!!
The Sun was incredibly heavy. The large Sun, which had entered the Manifestation stage, weighed down on the King of Titans.
“KUWOOOO…!”
Balor, the King of Titans, roared out loud. Although the Evil Eye was the only part of the king’s body that persisted through the cold environment, it still responded to the reappearance of its rival from a thousand years ago.
The Sun pressed down while the King of Titans retaliated the push. It appeared like a giant carrying a large planet on its shoulders.
『Don’t be full of yourself. Did you forget that the King of Titans had killed the King of Gods during the war at Maige Tuired?』
The powerful Sun, which had overwhelmed Dun Scaith, the King’s subject, and had instantaneously cleansed Gerolge, the King of Undead, and his 1.2 million undead followers, was stopped by Balor.
It was thanks to the special trait of Balor, the King of Titans. His resistance to all magic, which had allowed him to break through the ranks of the gods to murder the King of Gods, was exceptional.
Even the Sun, Claiomh Solais, fell short of his magic resistance.
“Well, I figured that would happen.”
As if he had been expecting that all along, Korin went further down and jumped towards the flesh that had yet to fully regenerate.
“Red Spear, Gae Derg.”
He pierced forth with the red spear, as something incomprehensible began to happen the moment his spear came into contact with Balor’s skin.
It was but a simple stab – that was all there was to it, and yet the flesh around the spear started to rupture and crumble at a rapid speed.
『What have you done?』
Gae Derg, the Red Spear – one of the treasures of Manannan Mac Lir.
The power of the spear was in nullifying all effects of magic. As such, the alchemic spell that was composing the body of Balor returned to nothing as soon as it touched the spear.
“Haven’t even fully created the outer skin yet. Way too defenseless.”
Originally, it wouldn’t have been this easy to have this much of an advantage. Even the red spear that nullified magic would be forced back if it was up against two or three layered spells.
But that wasn’t the case here.
Not only were they short of time, but the body was also composed of random tattered body parts of other titans, so it was much weaker than Balor’s original body.
Balor would have resurrected in full without the assistance of Dun Scaith in the original storyline of the game, and hence would have been much stronger than now.
Their shortcomings this time around, were all because they didn’t have time.
“Look. I can see the core now.”
『You…!』
Korin said as he gazed at the large cauldron inside – the great source of energy that acted as Balor’s core, Undry of Abundance. The moment he reached out trying to grab it, someone similarly reached out and held onto his wrist, stopping him from touching the cauldron.
“Peek-a-boo.”
“…Right. I was wondering where you were.”
Dun Scaith absorbed the flesh immediately after the interruption to the spell and transformed into a bull.
“You can’t steal someone else’s precious belongings!”
“What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is also mine. You’re the villain; that’s just how it works.”
“Hihit…!”
Holding onto Korin’s arm, Dun Scaith jumped out from inside the titan, and landed on the ground with the King of Titans behind him.
“Can you put the titan back into one piece?” Dun Scaith asked.
『…As long as you can hold that man off for the time being, I can do it once.』
“Good good.”
Scaith lowered his waist and marched forward with his horns. It was the strongest attack of a bull, and one he had used several times to crush through everything in his path.
Logically, the wiser move would be to dodge the attack but Korin showed no signs of avoiding the charge.
“Compression.”
Something strange started to happen.
The large Sun, which had been pressing down on Balor, started to flow somewhere like a river. The stream of mana from the Sun arrived at Korin’s left arm, which was radiantly gleaming in bright silver.
❰Airgetlam – Sun Compression❱
The power of the enormous Sun was compressed into one arm. Carrying that infinite surge of power in his arm, Korin started to sprint forward to match the charge.
“Uhk…!”
The compressed form of the Sun was fast approaching Dun Scaith, who couldn’t stop despite feeling his skin burning from the heat. He couldn’t raise his waist back up, and his feet couldn’t be stopped. He was already going too fast.
As soon as he collided against the Sun,
Dun Scaith foresaw his death.
Their clash did not result in a thud or anything of that sort. Anticlimactically, his body dissipated like graphite before an eraser… In fact, even graphite would have lasted longer than he did.
Scaith somehow managed to twist his body at the last second, and was able to survive at the cost of his left brain, shoulder, heart, one of his lungs and legs. They were wiped clean as if they didn’t exist in the first place.
“KUHHKKK—?!”
It was an overwhelming difference in might. Before the power of the compressed Sun, Dun Scaith was nothing more than graphite.
“Sorry but… I stopped worrying about you the moment I acquired the Sun.”
“You bastard…!”
With a roar, Scaith moved his remaining arm. It was clear that Korin had used up too much mana to keep the Sun going.
Even though his body was going to fall very soon, he decided to inflict as many wounds as possible so that he could defeat him after reviving through Undry.
He reached out, but his arm was deflected by Korin’s Lan Na Zha. Scaith, with half of his body gone, was no match to Korin who was already under the buff of Shura and the Precepts.
“Uht?!”
“And you just happen to be a beast as well.”
『Dun Scaith has been affected by the Curse of Bestial Hunt.』
-350% additional damage will be inflicted.
-Those under the curse cannot escape the hunting ground.
-A mark has been engraved on the target. Your accuracy has been increased with the Hunter Buff
Korin swung his spear, which shredded through Dun Scaith’s body all too easily. It started from his arm to his ankle, knees, stomach, and wrist.
Spinning Heaven Turbulent Spear
The red spear rotating dozens of times ransacked through his body. Even a little scratch left a critical injury on the body of the King of Beasts.
“Krrrrhk…!”
In the end, Dun Scaith fell on his knees as the spearhead easily beheaded him.
The head of the bull rolled down onto the ground, but that wasn’t the end. Dun Scaith was the union of countless beasts. Even after death, he could gain a new body and be reborn through Undry, because his real identity was that of a group of beasts locked away inside the cauldron of Undry for eternity.
『Korin…! Be careful!』
Kranel warned from inside the golem. While Korin was dealing with Dun Scaith, Balor had recovered its mana with the support of the mages and was in the middle of creating a beam of light with its Evil Eye.
The Sun, Claiomh Solais, held an absolute advantage over Dun Scaith, the infinite union of beasts, but the opposite was true for Balor. Balor had the advantage over Korin, who had inherited the divinity of Nuada.
That Evil Eye was the very attack which had killed the previous God of Sun.
“…I’ll try to stop it.”
After coming to the judgment that it was already too late to dodge the attack, Korin unsealed all of his Aura Cores. Accessing Sebancia’s Aura Core, he directed the abundant flow of aura into his Silver Spear.
The final demonic form of Sebancia Duke. This dragon-slaying attack was one Korin hadn’t been able to use until now, and it was a risky move that could leave detrimental damage to the Aura Core.
He wasn’t a fan of such gambles, but there was no other choice.
『Die.』
❰Heaven Falling on-
Right when the mythological power was about to clash with the legendary attack, a nun wearing black clothes started to descend from the sky with the fluttering wings of a crow.
The nun gathered onto her leg a horrifying amount of aura that surpassed what even the legends were able to use, and from above Balor’s head—
“Go away.”
-Kajik!
She trampled on the titan’s head.
-Kadudududuk!!
It created a sound one wouldn’t expect from the scene of a human stepping on the head of a titan – it was a horrible sound of a skull being crushed all the way down.
The flesh that had been quickly gathered to fill up the body of the titan was not from the original King of Titans, and was therefore unable to resist the Heavenly Yaksha trampling down with all her might.
-Bang!
Before long, the head exploded into pulps. Balor’s eyeball shot out of the erupted head like a cannonball and unfortunately for the mages, it dropped in the middle of them.
“Kuaahk…!”
“Huahk!?”
Mages were immediately crushed to death by the enormous eyeball. Seeing that, Adelene muttered from Balor’s neck while vomiting blood.
“Cough…! You bitch!”
“H, Hua Ran?!”
The sudden and unexpected appearance of the hidden trump card was a surprise to Korin let alone his enemies.
Balor, however, was still alive. Even though its head was crushed and even though its eyeball was no longer a part of the body, the titan was still holding onto its shape.
Korin didn’t ask where Hua Ran had been until now. What was important was that they had to finish the titan off while Balor was at the weakest stage of its life.
“Kuaahkkakakkkk…!!”
Flesh was bubbling out of the Holy Grail as Dun Scaith underwent the process of rebirth. Korin had to stop that, so he gave an order to Hua Ran.
“Hua Ran…! Rip them to pieces!”
“…Okay.”
Without any hesitation, Hua Ran followed his order and jumped towards what was remaining of Balor. Large snakes without any scales and huge toads shooting out venom… countless animals were around the cauldron protecting it, but Hua Ran ripped all of them apart.
Hundreds of toads were crushed and hundreds of snakes were shredded to open up a path towards Undry.
“I, I, I’ll kill you—”
“Noisy.”
Venomous serpents with terrifying fangs bit onto Hua Ran’s neck and arms, but the fangs were unable to pierce through her skin. Instead, their fangs ended up breaking after the attack.
At last, after massacring all the crawling beasts, Hua Ran carried the cauldron – the source of all their lives – and raised it into the air.
“Do you need this?”
“Excellent work!”
Korin cheered at Hua Ran who shredded all the obstacles to pieces before he could even get to them, and raised a small flask towards Undry, which was about to pour out another thousand animals.
“Even if there is an infinite life inside it, what would happen if the bowl itself gets contaminated?”
“T, that thing!!”
Dun Scaith shouted with a trembling voice upon instinctively realizing the identity of the poison inside that small flask. Anything with life couldn’t help but notice what it was – that was the strongest and the most wicked poison in the world that could destroy civilizations.
『Boiling Venom』
“Let’s end this once and for all!!”
“N, NOOO!”
Using all of his energy, Dun Scaith tried to stop the venom but all the animals that left Undry were mercilessly ripped apart by Hua Ran.
In the end, he couldn’t do anything but watch the Boiling Venom fall into Undry. The flask shattered as the venom started to spread all across Undry.
“Hua Ran, that thing’s dirty! Throw it away!! But make sure it doesn’t go into the ocean!!”
As soon as Korin said that, Hua Ran tossed Undry towards the beach. The cauldron stopped after rolling across the sand several times, but the inside was very different.
“K, Kuaa, kukik! Kurrrk?!”
“KAAAAAAAAAAHK!”
“Kuraaaaaaaaaaaaa…!!”
All sorts of beasts screamed out in pain as they crawled out of the cauldron. Thousands of them tried to force their way out. They ripped apart their skin and flesh, but could not escape from the poison that was putting them through an endless spiral of pain.
“N, NO… AHKK! AAAGK…!”
An enormous serpent tried to soar into the sky but fell, unable to reach heaven.
“Mas, ter…”
With a pale countenance and blank eyes, the King of Beasts fell back down onto the ground.
There were no more resurrections for the king.
***
“It’s dangerous, Saintess. We must return to the camp…!”
“I’m fine. It’s only a bit, but I have recovered a small amount of sacred energy.”
Estelle left the dissuading priests and knights behind her and walked forward to watch the final battle of this long war. The well-ornamented golden rosary was no longer hanging on her neck.
“I have the duty to watch the fight of those who came here to help me.”
She thought she had the responsibility to watch the fight of the warriors who were putting their lives on the line, and the military which had been gathered to save her.
Leaving the Tower of Mages and the archipelago which fell all too easily unlike her expectations, Estelle headed back to the Dingle Peninsula.
On a Hresvelgr that was owned by the kingdom, Estelle watched the final battle unfold, and… she, along with the priests and holy knights, all saw it.
❰Sun Manifestation❱
She saw the descent of the Sun – its radiance, warmth, and magnificence.
That truly was the Sun.
It was the light that brightened up the world, gave life to the living, and chased out the darkness. But… there was more to it in the eyes of the priests that prayed to the god…
“T, that’s…”
The energy they could feel from the Sun was way too similar to the sacred energy they were given.
“Ahh…”
Estelle unconsciously let out a mutter. She was the girl closer to the god than anyone else – one who was connected to the god.
And that allowed the girl who could feel the ‘power of gods’ with her skin, to awaken the power lying dormant inside her. The Saintess, who could gather at will the divine energy that had been neglected after the era of gods, finally realized the truth.
Not rationally or logically, but instinctively, she understood it.
“…Lord.”
The ‘god’ was in front of her.
She couldn’t help but think that.
