466 Brave Sword Assault

466.

After blowing away the huge thing that was attacking my comrades, I landed in a pose that even I thought was too cool.

But what’s the situation? I kicked it away with my special move, Flying Hero Kick, in a hurry, but where did Rea go, and that big black tree is the Great Tree, right? Why is it moving?

“Hero! Rea is inside that! She’s controlling the Great Tree with the power of the sacred statue!”

“Okay. I got it.”

As expected of Blade. He scratches the itch by pointing out the exact points. Then my role is just one thing: to take down that big monster right now.

It is the hero’s duty to bravely face the giant monster. But what I hear now is not cheering, but sighs.

“Ah, Great Tree-nim…!”

“Without that, what would we believe in and rely on…”

“*Heuk*, *euheuk*…”

In this Bertre village, that giant tree must have been a symbol of faith all along. It must have been the center of the village, literally. They are in a situation where they have lost such a thing. I understand the elves’ reactions, but I can’t just not take it down.

But there was one person who voiced a different opinion. It was a somewhat unexpected person for me.

“Hero-nim, I beg you! Please defeat the Great Tree, no, that monster!”

It was Arbeni who shouted that, who seemed like she would insist on faith more than anyone else.

“Ch-, Chieftain-nim?”

“Arbeni-nim!”

“Are you okay, Arbeni?”

“Ah, it doesn’t matter. This village is more precious to me! If there is no village, if there are no residents, what good is faith! Please defeat it, as a hero!”

“Okay. Just trust this hero Elena!”

She’s quite strong-willed. When I think about it, when Arbeni first appeared before us, she came to tell the villains who were destroying the forest to stop. She is a role model as a chieftain. I’m starting to like this elf old woman a little.

“Defeat it? You’re going to take down this sacred tree, which has been the concentration of Utranag-nim’s blessing for hundreds of years? Even if you’re a hero…”

Rea’s voice was heard. As clearly as if the giant tree itself was speaking. As Blade told me, it seems clear that she is on board inside.

Was the sacred statue of Utranag found inside that tree? The reason why the Great Tree grew so huge, and the reason why it was able to exert mysterious powers such as the marriage magic, must have been due to the influence of that sacred statue. And now, it has become such a ferocious figure according to Rea’s will.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I can’t defeat it. No, rather, I think it’s an excessive underestimation to try to stop the hero with such a tree monster.

“You’ll have to try to find out, I’m going!”

But there isn’t much time. After fighting an aerial battle with Selina and persuading her a lot, the duration of Overdrive is now running out. With the thought of ending it quickly, I flew towards the center of the Great Tree.

The Great Tree’s fist, intertwined with branches, flies towards me in the air. Fist for fist, I put my fist against the tree fist, carrying the momentum of flying.

“Hero Punch!”

*Paaak!* With the refreshing sound of logs breaking, the Great Tree’s fist bounced off greatly. About 30% of it is broken, centered on the place where it collided with my fist. I scattered particles of light behind my back and accelerated further towards the center.

“Th-, This can’t be…!”

This time, tree trunks are stretching out from all directions. Vines and branches rushed in like tentacles to bind my arms and legs. I swung the True Abyss Sword at them at a rapid speed.

“Whirlwind Slash!”

The tree’s tentacles were cut off and scattered without even touching me. Now Overdrive was really about to end. But this distance seems to be enough.

I began to gather all the magic power and the light of Overdrive into the True Abyss Sword. My ultimate skill, Brave Sword.

At the same time, I accelerate further towards the center of the Great Tree.

The important thing is timing, the timing of contacting the target when the Brave Sword is at full power.

If the Brave Sword is fully charged too early, the energy to use for acceleration will disappear, and if it is too late, the impact of acceleration will not be properly utilized.

It’s my first time trying it, but I somehow had the conviction that I would definitely succeed. As if to prove my belief, a long-awaited message window was appearing before my eyes.

[You have acquired a new skill: Brave Sword Assault]

“Brave Sword Assault!”

Just before touching the Great Tree’s body, my wings of light disappeared. It wasn’t because Overdrive’s time was over. It was because I put all my power into the True Abyss Sword at the exact timing.

Brave Sword Assault. A powerful new skill that concentrates the output of the Brave Sword at one point and adds acceleration.

The pillar of light, no, the spear of light, generated by the Brave Sword, accurately pierced the center of the Great Tree. The Great Tree, which had its upper body completely disappeared based on humans, began to collapse. And I, who came out through it, was also falling in the air.

Oh, wait a minute. I didn’t think about how to land…

“Euh, *euwaat*!”

“Are you okay, Hero? That skill just now…”

“Ah, thank you, Blade…”

Fortunately, thanks to Blade, who ran like lightning and caught me, I was able to avoid the sight of showing off my new skills and crashing to the ground. There is room for improvement in this area.

*Kuoooooong-*.

The Great Tree fell over with a tremendous sound. The surface, which had been dyed black, was gradually regaining its original tree color. I can take it as a sign that Rea’s control has been released.

At this point, I can assume that Rea has turned to powder along with the sacred statue of Utranag. I looked at the night sky in Blade’s arms. The night sky, studded with stars that shone peacefully as if it had nothing to do with the ground, which was in chaos with flames and dust.

=======================================

“Hero-nim, it seems that Rea has survived after all. Then we should assume that the sacred statue has also fallen into Rea’s hands.”

It was Genfu’s words.

“Huh, really? How do you know?”

“It’s Rea’s spiders. Right after Hero-nim defeated the Great Tree, the spiders that attacked the village retreated in unison. That would not have been possible if the manipulator, Rea, had died.”

“Hmm, but Hero-nim’s skill was incredibly powerful. How could she have survived?”

“Well, maybe she was already thinking of running away the moment Hero-nim appeared? There’s no way Rea wouldn’t know Hero-nim’s strength. She must have been watching from the basement of the royal palace, seeing Redo, who had become the incarnation of Utranag, being defeated.”

Hmm, that’s true. Then that means that Rea was already running away the moment I rushed in after saying something that seemed to underestimate me. Leaving behind a spectacle that you can’t take your eyes off of: the great battle between the hero and the giant monster.

“The sacred statue of Utranag… that power was real. I even think that not only the Great Tree but also this entire Belt Forest may have grown into such a large forest thanks to that sacred statue. Since she got such a thing in her hands… Rea’s plan might progress considerably…”

According to Riel, the sacred statue is a thing directly connected to Utranag. A sacred object that spreads the power of Utranag around it. In other words, it can be seen as a materialized blessing magic. The scale is smaller than the blessing magic that affects the entire continent, though.

“But Hero, there were gains too. First of all, we learned that the Nagrak Scripture is needed for Utranag’s descent. Conversely, this means that Rea’s plan cannot be established as long as we have this Nagrak Scripture.”

“Oh, um, then can’t we just burn it?”

“It is my opinion that it could be dangerous, Hero-nim. The power of Utranag contained in the Nagrak Scripture may be released indiscriminately. In the worst case, the same phenomenon as Selina-nim may occur on a wide scale…”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Then I can’t destroy it either. Well, as long as our hero party has the Nagrak Scripture, there is not much risk of it falling into Rea’s hands.

“I’m most relieved that Selina-ssi has returned. Hero-nim’s expression has been dark ever since Selina-ssi became like that.”

“Wa-, Wait, Riel…! Saying such a thing in front of the person…!”

Glancing, everyone’s eyes inadvertently turned to Selina when Selina’s topic came up. Selina flinched, noticing the gaze.

Ah, Selina was acting as my footrest in a dogeza position while naked. When I stretched out my bare feet and gently stroked her back, she flinched, which was hot.

“Well, let’s leave Rea’s story at this for now. I have something to talk about with Selina for a while. Can you leave the room? Well, Selina might prefer to be punished in front of everyone, though. *Huhu*, right, Selina?”

“Hi-, *Hiik*…”

At my words, Selina’s buttocks, like hills made of softness, trembled. Whether it’s because of anticipation or shame. No, in all likelihood, it’s both.