Ch.1121When Things Reach Their Extreme, They Paradoxically Become Simple

My specialty is cutting, tearing, and burning. A power of slaughter specialized in destroying enemies rather than protecting myself.

Fafnir was a weapon of destruction created by ancient dwarves to annihilate enemies with divinity. Though equipped with sturdy armor plating, it was a machine where firepower stood out more than durability.

Invidius, which mimicked Fafnir, was the same. In terms of pure toughness, it was even inferior to Fafnir.

Naturally, the battle between the three of us could only take on an extremely violent and devastating form.

– Kwajijijik!

The sound of destruction repeated countless times already.

My swinging greatsword severed Invidius’s wing, and its claws struck and shattered Fafnir’s left arm.

Fragments scattered through the air, and the warning sounds echoing in the cockpit grew stronger.

「Warning! Left arm severely damaged, recovery impossible!」

“The right arm is still intact! That’s enough!”

I lifted its arm with my knee and deflected it, then extended my leg to kick the dragon-like head.

– Kwaaaaang!

【Khaaaaak!】

The metal carapace covering Invidius’s cheek crumpled from the impact.

Though it staggered slightly with a short scream as if dizzy, it swung its massive tail like a whip and violently struck Fafnir’s body.

– Kwaaaaang!

Fafnir’s side burst open explosively.

The force went beyond shattering the armor plating and dug into the frame. The mechanical dragon’s body flew through the air in a parabolic arc and crashed into the ground.

“Kuk…!”

The impact and shaking were incomparable to being hit by a train. My brain—no, my entire body felt like it was being shaken, making me dizzy to the point of nausea.

【Just die already…!】

Invidius attacked furiously in frustration.

Shells and missiles created by its power of mimicry poured from its entire body, and its half-crushed muzzle opened wide as blue light flashed inside.

Literally firing everything. It was clearly impossible to deflect with a sword.

“Block it!”

Well, if I can’t do it with my power, I’ll leave it to someone who can.

「Opening all gun ports. Beginning charged particle rapid acceleration.」

Long gun barrels protruded from various parts of Fafnir’s armor, and the thick chest plate split open, revealing the main cannon that had been moved inside during transformation.

「Caution for impact and recoil. Stable posture required.」

“I understand, just fire!”

A warning that the recoil would be severe. Following the warning, I slightly bent my knees to maintain a stable posture and shouted.

– Wooooooong!

The gun barrel rotated rapidly, accelerating charged particles inside. With the growing vibration, the entire main cannon began to be covered in light.

The next moment.

【Kraaaaaaaa!】

「Commencing bombardment.」

Blue particle beams burst simultaneously from Invidius’s mouth and from the center of Fafnir’s chest, colliding like lightning.

– Kwarrrrrng…!

The two beams, charged with particles, bent and twisted around each other like a whirlwind.

Starting with that lightning whirlwind, the two mechanical monsters fired countless shells and missiles from their entire bodies, creating a brilliant fireworks display in the sky.

Flames of chain explosions bloomed like flowers.

Missiles grazed by shells exploded, and other missiles that touched them detonated in succession, sweeping up the rampaging shells with shock and heat.

– Kwadeuk! Kwadeuk! Kwagak!

Only three or four shells made it through that wall of explosions.

Two of them tore through the machine’s armor plating as they grazed by, and another embedded itself in the left shoulder and exploded.

– Kwaaaaang!

Metal parts showered down. True to being a direct copy of Fafnir’s shells, its power was truly formidable.

「Left arm control system severely damaged! Power transmission impossible!」

Yes, this arm is unusable now. The forearm was completely shattered, and there was a large hole in the shoulder.

…Well, it doesn’t matter. The arm was already difficult to use properly from the moment the forearm was destroyed.

It’s actually fortunate that it hit that shoulder. What if it had hit the right shoulder? Both arms would have been damaged, and I would have had to fight with a sword in my mouth.

So, this is relatively—

「Enemy approaching rapidly!」

“Ah, it really doesn’t give me time to think!”

The evil god, cut and broken into a complete mess, charged through the wall of flames and smoke. I hurriedly swung my sword with my one remaining arm to confront it.

【Kneel!】

Invidius raised its two front paws and brought them down like iron hammers. Black lightning flickered on its melted, mangled claws.

“My ability! How can’t I use this?!”

「Observing power pattern. Spatial severance. Beginning divine amplification. Expanded implementation.」

I drew upon my slightly recovered power to manifest the ability of severance.

Fafnir, having observed how this ability was implemented, amplified my divinity and applied it to its sword in the same way.

– Kwajijijik!

And thus unfolded an enormous spatial severance strike.

The eight-pronged lightning claws and the space-tearing greatsword collided like stars crashing into each other.

– Kagagagagak, Kwaaaaang!

Explosion. Flash. Tearing air and bursting lightning. The sword and claws, unable to withstand the pressure, shattered into fragments that bloomed like flowers.

【Finally, that sword—】

“It broke. So what?”

I brought down the broken sword on Invidius’s head as it rejoiced in breaking Fafnir’s sword.

– Kwajik!

【Your death draws near!】

Invidius blocked my sword by sacrificing its one remaining wing and counterattacked with its jaws wide open.

Perhaps because the dark clouds that had covered the sky were almost gone, its ferocity was more desperate and passionate than I had imagined.

Yes, the moment those clouds completely clear will be your end. You won’t be able to hide in that darkness anymore. So—

“You’re the one who’s going to die!”

I let go of the completely shattered sword that had pierced through its wing, and forcefully tore off my tattered left arm to swing it like a mace.

The warning sounds blaring as if asking if this was really happening? I didn’t even care about that. Swinging something is better than bare fists, isn’t it?

– Kwaaaaang!

Fafnir’s broken left arm hammered into Invidius’s mouth.

The tattered forearm exploded outward, and the fragmented pieces scattered along with broken teeth.

【Keok…!】

Invidius let out a groan and staggered.

Though the impact seemed to have landed properly, causing it to hesitate and step back, it immediately extended its tail like a tentacle to wrap around Fafnir’s right arm.

– Kwadeudeuk…!

The armor plating screamed, twisted, and cracked.

Under the pressure of the tail squeezing tightly around the arm, Fafnir’s right arm distorted with sparks flying.

「Right arm moderately damaged, function severely degraded.」

【Now, what will you use to block?】

Invidius pulled my machine with its tail like in a tug-of-war and thrust its teeth and front paws at me. With no left arm to block with, I could only stagger helplessly.

“Hey! Do something!”

「Inferior species. Unable to recognize and utilize organs other than limbs. Primitive.」

Fafnir responded with a racial slur worthy of a dragonborn supremacist and operated the tail and wings in my place.

– Kwajik!

The tip of Fafnir’s tail pierced through Invidius’s tail like a sharp spear, and its two wings folded forward to shield against the creature’s claws.

– Kwadeudeudeuk!

The mechanical dragon’s wings shattered like firewood under an axe.

【Struggling is futile—】

“Eat this-!”

From amidst the debris falling like dust, Fafnir’s right arm shot up vertically like lightning, fist tightly clenched.

「Burst gauntlet, ignition.」

The armor behind the elbow opened with a clunk, and fierce flames burst out like a rocket.

– Kuooooo!

The right arm accelerated rapidly, spewing flames. The dragon’s claws that had been folded toward the wrist extended with a click to overlay the fist—

– Kwaaaaang!

The next moment, the fist equipped like brass knuckles mercilessly slammed into Invidius’s lower jaw.

【Kaaaaaaak!】

A strike powerful enough to shatter the jawbone and penetrate deep into the skull, shaking the brain.

Invidius’s head jerked upward with a thud, spraying countless fragments like a fountain. It was a wound that would have meant instant death for any normal creature.

“Did we finish it…?”

「Target life signs intact. Visual reconstruction surgery recommended.」

Fafnir answered with a rebuke almost before I finished my doubtful mutter.

Of course, I hadn’t particularly expected this to be the end anyway, so without panicking, I immediately swung my fist again.

“If its head is broken, it should rightfully die, damn it’s tough!”

【This body is merely a shell, I have no weakness!】

Invidius roared with its broken face, then raised its upper body like a kangaroo, firmly gripped its front paws with most claws broken, coated them with dark mana, and swung.

【Kuooooooo!】

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Our clenched fists struck each other’s heads, and wings, tails, shoulders, and legs collided like whips and hammers, breaking and crumpling armor plating.

I grabbed and tore off the swinging tail to drive it like a wedge into the opponent’s body, and used the torn wing as a blade to cut through the enemy’s armor.

A battle between transcendents who had bloomed divinity to attain godhood, enhanced with ancient dwarven engineering at its finest.

What concluded this battle was primitive violence. Raw, primal violence in its purest form.