Chapter 513

“…You want me to fight that?”

Leonor muttered, sounding utterly exhausted. The Right Arm of the Evil God, now moving as an independent entity, exuded such an overwhelming presence that it made her steps falter and her fighting spirit dwindle.

“Miss, I don’t want to oppose your opinion, but… this seems like absolute madness.”

“Isn’t this still better than the main body descending?”

“No, back then, it was so overwhelming that it didn’t even feel real. But this… just looking at it sends chills down my spine. It’s even worse.”

It was more ominous than when they had witnessed the main body.

Well, a tiger in your room is scarier than a dinosaur roaring outside your window.

“So, should we run?”

“…No, not that. It’s just… overwhelming.”

Leonor wiped the cold sweat trickling down her cheek with her thumb and let out a deep sigh.

**[Gro҉͍͔҇̈́͜ͅo҉̧̳̰͕̎̈́͡o҉͓͎̚͢͝o҈̨̭̘̽͛͊͞ͅ!̵̳̋̕͜]**

A roar like thunder. The monster born from Invidius’s arm, drenched in streams of Magi, writhed its eight arms and heads incessantly.

It was clear that a single swing of those arms would crush a human body like a squashed tomato.

“…Can we even kill that thing? Even if we cut off its head, it’ll probably keep squirming.”

“Well, if it’s alive, we can kill it. Let’s cut it down first and figure it out later.”

If we keep cutting, burning, and smashing, it’ll die eventually. Whether that’s actually possible… honestly, I’m not sure.

—

The distance between us and it was closing. The stench of Magi was already thick in the air. Lacey had blessed all of us except Seilon, and Seilon began preparing to unleash his divine power, “Judgment Day,” while reciting a prayer.

I gripped Durandal’s hilt tightly, feeling a thread of fear I had long forgotten seep into my heart.

The golden light of the rune began to spread across the blade. Just like back then.

…It must have judged that this being was stronger than me, an enemy I couldn’t defeat. It was an unwelcome but undeniable truth. Since reaching the Realm of Heroes, this had never happened before.

Whether it was against Ryu-rik, Cardinal Rübitz, or even Seilon and Diraid—clear heroes in their own right—my strength had always been superior.

The outcome of a fight isn’t determined solely by strength, so I’ve struggled at times… but in the end, I always won.

That’s why, for Durandal to reveal this power now… it meant that the monster approaching us was a threat worth risking my life to fight.

“Everyone, be careful. That monster is stronger than any enemy we’ve faced so far.”

“Understood!”

“Yeah, it definitely looks that way…”

Compared to that tumor-like monstrosity, Ryu-rik was like a cute puppy.

[If only Or-han were here. We could’ve just thrown him in, and he’d fight until he died.]

Even Hersela, who usually seemed far from fear, couldn’t hide her unease.

“Seilon and I will draw its attention and figure out its attack patterns. You guys protect Lacey and observe. Once you get a feel for it, join in. Prioritize not getting hurt over dealing damage.”

Nigel and Leonor nodded. They already knew. This was a situation closer to death than any battle they’d experienced before.

Make a mistake, and you die. Even if you don’t make a mistake, you might still die. That’s what this fight would be like.

And so, we advanced toward the black lake churning beneath its feet.

And then.

**[Gr҉͙̙̰҇̋͜r҈̰̔̊̕͜r҉̨̠͓̀̕̚….҈͍̌̔͜͡]**

It noticed us.

The eyes embedded in its thick neck rotated, all glaring in our direction.

My breath caught, my teeth chattered, and cold sweat dripped down my spine. I felt like prey cornered by a hunter.

Its massive frame, about 18 meters tall, was utterly daunting up close. While there were large monsters of similar size, this one was on a completely different level.

Most large monsters moved on all fours or hunched over, making them seem smaller than they actually were. But the Arm of the Evil God stood upright, making its head seem impossibly high.

I could probably reach it if I jumped, but the sight was still overwhelming.

Can we really kill something like that? I doubted myself.

But even so, I couldn’t back down. If I retreated, everyone would die. A sense of duty, almost like certainty, pushed me forward.

**[Gya҉҇҈a҉҇҈a҉҇҈a҉҇҈a҉҇҈a҉҇҈!̵̸]**

The monster let out a shrill scream and spread its eight arms wide.

Five black rings floated in front of its eyes, and vast amounts of Magi began to condense within them.

It was clear something was about to be unleashed. I felt a chilling dread creeping up my spine as I gripped Durandal tightly with both hands.

“Prepare for battle! It’s about to fire!”

“Elpinel, guide us!”

Lacey’s blessings fell upon everyone except Seilon.

Continuous healing, physical enhancement, mental protection, and Magi resistance. She had unleashed every blessing she could.

My steps gained more strength, and the fear tightening my chest slowly subsided. The terror induced by the endless Magi spreading across the city was being washed away by the divine light.

In other words, the fear stemming from my own emotions was still there.

“His wrath shall descend upon the earth, and the ‘Day of Judgment’ shall come!”

Seilon finished his prayer and activated his divine power, “Judgment Day.” His entire body was bathed in divine light. A golden scale appeared behind his head, and thorns wrapped around the longsword he held.

Unlike Lacey’s blessings, this was a limited miracle that only strengthened himself, but it was several times more powerful than her blessings.

We split into three groups: me, Seilon, and the others. No words were needed—we understood each other.

It’s common sense to spread out when facing magical attacks. Staying together would just mean getting roasted by concentrated magic.

Soon, the condensed spheres of Magi within the black rings shot out as massive beams.

– Gooooooo!

Beams as fast as lightning, as fierce as fire, and as immense as a mountain.

Out of the five beams, three were aimed directly at me. Just grazing them would melt even steel.

I stopped worrying about whether Seilon and the others could dodge and focused solely on the beams coming at me.

Overthinking in battle slows your judgment, and slow judgment leads to sluggish movements. Against an enemy I couldn’t beat even at full strength, showing such weakness would be fatal.

“Kyaaaaaa!”

I vaguely sensed a safe spot and hurled my body toward it.

Two beams narrowly missed me. The hem of my skirt that brushed against the darkness disintegrated into dust. The beams that missed left deep, long craters in the already ruined ground.

– Kuoooooo!

And then, the final beam coming straight at me. I poured the Power of Feats into Durandal, now glowing with a brilliant golden light, and swung my arms wildly.

The superhuman physique granted by the Hero’s Feats and Lacey’s blessings combined to carve a storm of slashes into the void.

Golden arcs overlapped, forming a hemispherical barrier.

The true power of Durandal.

The ability to cut through space and wound the world turned the space before me into nothingness.

Along with everything that had been there.

– Kwaaaaaa…!

Without recoil or shock, the dark beam touched by the spatial severance vanished as if erased. All I had to do was keep swinging my sword until the black light before me disappeared.

Back when I was just a master, maintaining this barrier for a few seconds was my limit. But now, I felt like I could keep it up for dozens of seconds.

Before long, the dark beam, now thinning, completely dissipated.

“Haaaa…”

I let out the breath I’d been holding and lowered Durandal’s blade. Though remnants of Magi had scraped against my armor, I was unharmed.

Even my stamina, drained by the effort, was quickly replenished by the vitality flowing through the hilt. Since I hadn’t used the Heroic Tale, the consumption of Feats wasn’t severe.

And so, the monster’s first attack had been thwarted.

…! Though it was just one attack.

**[Gr҉҇҈u҉҇҈u҉҇҈u҉҇҈….҈]**

Perhaps displeased that its attack had been blocked, the Arm of the Evil God let out a low growl. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and charged toward it again.

“Everyone! Report your status!”

I shouted to confirm the safety of my companions. Out of the five beams, only one had been aimed at each of them.

I didn’t want to think they’d been taken out by just one.

“We’re all fine here!”

“We blocked it!”

Nigel and Seilon responded, confirming their survival.

Lacey, Nigel, and Leonor had somehow dodged, while Seilon had blocked it with his own power. Thanks to Astraea’s divine light, which grew stronger against the deeply sinful.

I let out a sigh of relief and poured more strength into my running steps.

The beams from earlier were just probing attacks. If we kept fighting from a distance where we couldn’t counterattack, we’d exhaust ourselves before even reaching it.

Even if I could endure thanks to Durandal, the others had clear limits to their stamina and divine power.

So, we had to close the distance as quickly as possible.

To bring our blades within reach of that abomination.