Chapter 77

"Do you... have a choice?"

"Of course not, you idiot. Your life is mine now. Work like a horse."

I pulled Dongma up and poured half of the magic I received into him.

With the magic, the 'Blessing of the Holy Sword' activated, and his wounds began to heal.

"Well... being used by you might not be so bad."

Dongma stood beside me.

A strange sense of reassurance welled up inside me.

Right, I had forgotten.

This is the feeling of fighting alongside someone.

"Count on me, errand boy."

"That nickname is the only thing I won't accept!"

I drew the pitch-black greatsword, Kuromaru, from my magic bag.

Dongma also drew his holy sword and kicked off the ground at the same time as me.

"Lowly creature... how dare you put on airs."

The smoke that had covered his face cleared, and the so-called Creator God, Creasil, looked at us with a terrifyingly expressionless face.

My legs almost gave out.

Even though I couldn't sense any power or presence, what was this overwhelming aura?

Is this what a god is?

But it doesn't matter.

If this thing tries to erase my comrades, I'll erase it first.

Now and in the future, I will protect them this way.

"Roar!"

I stomped the ground and pushed my body forward.

At the same time, I raised Kuromaru to strike Creasil—only to find that it didn't happen.

"Hmph, it has a crack, but it's a good sword. However, with a wielder like you..."

What?

What happened?

A clear sense of wrongness.

Why is my arm and Kuromaru in his hands?

Why is my arm missing from the elbow down?

"When... did you...?"

The intense pain from losing my arm hit me.

I collapsed to my knees.

"Out of the way. Disappear from before me."

"Wha—!?"

A shock hit my chest.

I heard bones shattering, and my body was sent flying dozens of meters.

"Setsu!"

Dongma caught me.

But even he couldn't stop the momentum, and we both tumbled across the ground.

"Ha... ha..."

I was kicked.

I couldn't see it, but I caught a glimpse of his foot moving.

It was just a casual kick for him.

But for me, it was almost fatal.

My ribs and lungs were destroyed.

My arm regenerated, but I couldn't even breathe until it did.

Without our level of regeneration, we couldn't have survived that hit.

What do we do? How can we beat this thing?

"You... hurt my Setsu..."

"Hey!"

Dongma walked towards Creasil with a terrifying expression.

I hurried after him.

I'm not yours anymore.

"Only I can hurt Setsu! Let's go! Setsu! I'll kill that guy!"

"That logic is flawed... but I agree on the killing part! Bastard!"

We kicked off the ground again.

This time, I focused magic in my eyes to enhance my vision.

If I can see even a little, I can deal with it.

I won't think about pacing myself.

I'll pour the remaining magic into my body.

I'll aim to take him down before I take another breath.

"First, give me back that sword!"

I lunged to grab Kuromaru.

Creasil, still expressionless, said, "Hm."

"!"

As I reached for Kuromaru in his hand, his hand also moved towards me.

This time, he might pull out my heart.

But I can see it.

It's fast, but I can see it.

I twisted my body and dodged his hand.

Then I circled around and clung to his arm holding Kuromaru.

"Give it back!"

I punched his wrist.

His grip weakened slightly.

I took the opportunity to snatch Kuromaru and jumped back before lunging again.

"You think you can get away with that...!"

Creasil only turned his gaze towards me, keeping his body facing forward.

I thrust my sword at him with all my might, but it stopped the moment it touched his skin.

"Damn... tough..."

"Is it over already?"

"Not yet!"

Dongma attacked from the opposite side.

Creasil blocked his holy sword with his bare hands.

I took the chance to strike again, but Creasil didn't budge.

"You seem to lack both brains and legs. Did you think I would move with such a weak attack?"

"Yeah... you won't move. But!"

A basic fire spell, 'Smoke.'

Dongma casually cast it at Creasil.

It was just a smoke screen, but it blocked his vision.

Even a moment of blindness would slow his reaction.

"Setsu! Let's go!"

"Okay!"

"〈Flying Sword: Absolute!〉"

We delivered the strongest 'Flying Sword' at point-blank range.

It was a full-power strike, pouring almost all our magic into it.

If this doesn't work, my holy sword, 'Big Eater,' will be hungry until it's satisfied.

We quickly retreated to a safe distance and finally exhaled.

"Ha... ha... I felt something..."

"Yeah..."

It was a dull sensation, but we definitely hit him.

There was a slight feeling of cutting through flesh.

If it did any damage at all—.

"---I'm surprised, you two."

"!"

Creasil emerged from the smoke.

There were shallow but definite wounds on his shoulders.

But no blood flowed.

Particles of light gathered and quickly sealed the wounds.

"I didn't expect you to wound me. I underestimated you. Well, let me use a bit of power, then."

He didn't use any power just now?

Don't give me that crap.

"We did our best!"

"Here I come!"

Creasil's hand pointed at us.

"---〈Creation〉"

We dodged to the side at the last moment.

A loud boom echoed where we had just been standing.

The wind pressure sent me rolling again.

"Something... fell...!"

I managed to get back on my feet and immediately saw what had fallen.

A giant spear.

It must be as tall as a skyscraper.

Its tip was embedded in the ground, stretching towards the sky.

If we hadn't dodged, it would have killed us instantly.

"Dongma! Are you okay?"

"More or less!"

Is he alright...? I'm not injured, but I'm shaken.

He can drop this thing in an instant.

If he gets serious, he might rain down spears like this.

If that happens, we have no chance.

Everyone will be wiped out.

"Well, let's see how long you can endure---hm?"

At that moment, I saw his arm fall to the ground.

Like a piece of glued material peeling off, his hard body crumbled.

"---It seems I don't have enough blood. One girl's life isn't enough to move even one arm properly."

...I don't understand, but is this a chance?

"Fine. I'll collect the lives of those two as well."

"!"

Creasil set his sights on something.

I knew what he was aiming for.

Desas and the others were in his line of sight.

I knew what he was planning.

Creasil lightly kicked off the ground.

It was a simple movement, but he was fast.

But I can't let him.

If I don't stop him, they'll be killed.

"Like hell I'll let you!"

I ran to block his path.

It was a miracle, but my body managed to intercept him perfectly.

"---You...!"

I saw his surprised face for the first time.

But that doesn't matter now.

Without hesitation, I struck Creasil with Kuromaru.

"---You are somewhat dangerous. Disappear here."

"Wha... Kuro...maru..."

Kuromaru, which hit Creasil's shoulder, snapped cleanly in half.

As the fragments flew through the air, his hand reached for me.

"---〈Vanish〉"

Light filled my vision.

And then---my consciousness faded away.

"You're a handful... brat."

The last thing I heard was a woman's voice I had never heard before.