Ch.169Reunion (3)

In this world, there’s no madman who would wait for an opponent to transform or fuse to power up.

….Correction. Some battle maniacs do wait for opponents with insufficient power to enjoy the fight, but aside from that, it’s fair to say that no one silently waits for a transformation to complete.

Despite knowing this well, I couldn’t do anything about what was clearly transforming right before my eyes….

‘….My muscles!’

This was entirely due to the rebound from the overwhelming physical feat I had just demonstrated.

The “Layered Slash” that could completely ignore factors like the opponent’s defense. When a mid-tier forcibly used a privilege of the higher tiers that inherently causes mystical phenomena, the backlash was directly transmitted to my body.

My overexerted muscles sent shooting pains throughout my body, and the joints that had to bear excessive impact went beyond creaking to complete functional shutdown.

Moreover, the spiritual backlash from forcibly using power beyond my level blurred my consciousness. Thanks to this, while I couldn’t regain my senses, the creature’s transformation was mostly completed.

Like ice cream on a hot summer day, it melted into a slightly purplish liquid, then quickly coalesced into its final form—a spherical mass protruding from the ground like some kind of fruit.

An appearance that anyone would reasonably judge as something that shouldn’t be left alone.

Having barely regained consciousness, I tried to move my now-recovered body to kill it before anything could happen, but….

—CRACK!

Most regrettably, I seem to have been a step too late.

With a sound like something hard breaking apart, the “earth fruit” begins to crack little by little like a hatching egg.

Just like a real bird’s egg, the shell breaks and scatters, but its contents are far from a cute baby bird.

A spider body covered in hair reminiscent of a tarantula. The massive body, easily exceeding 5 meters in length, has the upper body of a “demon” rising where the spider’s head should be.

Its overall shape resembles the large bovine species sometimes called a Minotaur, but looking at the details, there are clear differences from an actual Minotaur.

The eyes are compound eyes hidden behind eyelids. The mouth doesn’t resemble a bull’s but opens bizarrely sideways like that of a dragonfly or fly.

Additionally, an eye similar to the one on its previous armor protrudes from the center of its forehead, and its entire body, including the head, is covered in elaborate thin armor that evokes ancient nobility.

To top it off, a pair of moth wings sprouts from its back, with a wingspan of nearly 4 meters, flapping incessantly and scattering excrement.

This monster, born from a fruit barely a meter in size, had already reached its maximum size before I could act, and as if that weren’t enough, it let out a roar announcing its “transformation” with a strangely familiar feeling.

[—■■■■■■■■■!!!!]

And thus, having completed its “transformation,” this half-human, half-beast “spider demon” opened its hideous maw wide and spoke.

[It’s been a while, Maggot Archduke.]

“….You.”

That voice belonged to Meckiles, a mid-tier demon who had once been summoned from the corpse of a giant controlled by a black mage—a demon whose summoning had failed but had left quite an impression.

※ ※ ※

Meckiles, this wicked demon, was one of the vile monsters that corrupted humans’ primal desires and lusts.

In the past, he had attempted to descend using a giant’s corpse, but when his summoning failed due to my interference, he proceeded to shake me with his verbal attacks.

This demon, who had left such a strong impression in my mind, was now grinning before me while displaying his wickedness unfiltered.

[Well, well. Did you miss me, Archdu—]

—SLASH!

Of course, it’s an undeniable reality that nothing good comes from exchanging words with a demon. So I swung my Unicorn Longsword to cut off his words and attack, but….

‘….Tch.’

Perhaps he had come to the mortal realm fully prepared. He effortlessly moved his massive body to avoid my attack, and immediately counterattacked by swinging his legs down like hammers.

—CLANG! CLANG! CLAAANG!!

‘….So heavy!’

Each of demon Meckiles’ leg strikes was lethal and weighty, and due to the demon’s inherent physical resistance, cutting with my sword had minimal effect.

It was so bad that slicing with my sword only managed to cut through the outer shell, and beyond that, some “something” beyond physical durability intervened, limiting me to merely tearing the surface.

While the tarantula’s surprisingly sturdy carapace was certainly a problem, from my perspective, its physical resistance was an even bigger issue.

To be frank, no matter how tough and sturdy that spider carapace might be, could it really be stronger than my Unicorn Longsword that cuts through iron like tofu?

‘Ah, this thing is disgustingly tough—!!’

If he hadn’t chosen the method of “transformation” or had just been summoned normally, his physical resistance would have been nullified before an Aura user, but unfortunately, the fact that he formed his body through the very special method of “transformation” was the real problem.

If “ascension” refers to the entire process of a mortal transforming into an immortal without a physical body, then “transformation” is when an immortal plants part of its soul in the mortal realm, manifesting as a mortal being.

As difficult as the conditions are, the returns are equally substantial—it eliminates the disadvantages of regular summoning while retaining all the advantages.

—CLANG! SLASH! SCRAPE—THUD!

I deflect the sharp tips of the incoming spider legs with my longsword, deliver consecutive strikes, and simultaneously deploy blade shields in all directions to disrupt his senses.

The durability of the spider parts, which I can’t even scratch with my current maximum firepower, can’t be penetrated by the remotely controlled blade shields with their reduced power, but….

Would that apply to his human parts as well?

—SLASH!

‘….Bingo!’

Indeed, as I continued the engagement, frantically moving all twelve blades while focusing on defense, my blades managed to cut his exposed flesh, causing drops of purple blood to fall.

Of course, the wounds heal almost instantly, suggesting some kind of ultra-regeneration ability, and there’s clearly some physical resistance there too, given how my attacks are slightly impeded.

But it’s evident that his humanoid part is weaker than his spider part, so I began inputting a pre-designated pattern into my blade shields to prepare for a full-scale spatial battle….

As the blades floated and rotated at fixed intervals around the target according to the pattern,

I quickly sensed that about half of my mana remained, and with that, I released Aura from my thrusters, stepping on the blades as footholds to leap—

[■■■■ ■■ ■■■!]

—Black magic spells cast by the demon Meckiles rain down on me as I hover in the air.

Weapons made of hellfire fly toward me, while dozens of man-eating flies appear in midair and swarm me.

The demonic powers manifested through wicked forces tried to push me back as if to eliminate me while I was airborne, but for someone who’s been engaging in exciting daily battles with Hanna and Droop, handling this much shouldn’t be a problem.

[—Come forth!]

So I summoned the shadow of a basilisk using the power of my pendant, intending to use it as a “shield”—the most effective means in the current situation.

Though it’s a degraded version of the original monster with weaker physical abilities and no special powers, this mid-tier magical beast is in some ways of a higher class than me.

Its overwhelming weight and size, along with the durability derived from pure mass and material density, make it much tougher and more solid than I am. To be blunt, as a field boss, it has higher durability than me, a player.

In short—it can easily withstand those magical attacks and serve as my shield.

The barrage of general black magic and “gluttony” black magic that the mid-tier demon unleashed with all his might—each a crystallization of wicked magical power—instantly eroded the basilisk, causing its shadow to collapse….

‘—Huff!’

In that interval, I expelled the minimal toxins that had accumulated in my lungs with a breath, and now attempted to circle around to the rear of the enemy where there were no eyes, aiming for its moth wings and thorax.

However, the field of vision of its bull-like head was apparently wider than I had imagined.

What flew directly at me was a centipede-like tentacle extending from its body. The tip was visibly stained with an ominous poison, clearly intended to finish me off—a trump card.

“Uh—”

From a completely unexpected location—a pseudo-centipede bursting through the spider’s abdomen. I hurriedly swing my sword and concentrate my armor at the expected point of impact, but it’s not enough against him.

Passing through my sword as if it didn’t exist, the centipede tentacle carrying the “corruption” venom flies toward me.

A single strike divided through equivalent exchange for just one hit. A strike that “definitely hits” on a fate level. By deliberately making my nerves relax and aiming for this opening, this attack was something I had no way to counter—

—SQUELCH!

“….Huh?”

And so this centipede tentacle, according to the determined fate, “definitely hit” its mark.

“Gu, Gus…?”

It hit Gus, who had sensed my danger, pushed me aside, and taken my place.