Ch.61Vulcan’s Giant God Soldier (2)

Slash-

What should have been impossible to cut was cleanly severed. The output was far beyond what I had expected.

But the result wasn’t entirely positive.

“Haa… Haa…”

My strength and mana had drained in chunks to produce such a result.

This was clearly a weapon that could serve as my trump card, but not one I could use recklessly.

‘In my current state, I can only use it four more times…’

Four times. Honestly, it wasn’t many. The last use would likely leave me collapsed from exhaustion, so effectively I only had three uses.

Considering that one slash only partially destroyed rather than completely shattered the target, it was woefully insufficient to take down a Titan alone.

But this battle wasn’t mine alone. After jumping off the partially destroyed Titan’s armor to create distance, I called out to Lilly.

“Lilly! Please finish it off!”

“Got it!”

Crack! Boom!

Lilly concentrated her fire on the area I had cut, and soon another piece of armor broke off and fell to the ground.

Now the only armor remaining on the creature’s left arm was the gauntlet extending from below the elbow to the hand.

‘Second rule of the trial: parts with completely destroyed armor cannot be used.’

This meant that if we destroyed the gauntlet, the Titan’s left arm would be neutralized.

Of course, the Titan knew this too, and its patterns and responses began to change accordingly.

‘When the left hand is in danger of destruction, it switches to the greatsword pattern.’

I predicted the Titan’s next move based on experience, and as if to prove my memory correct, the Titan began to move.

The Titan drew the massive greatsword attached to its back and pointed it at me.

The enormous weapon created a pressure wave that I could feel even though it was merely moved, not swung.

“Its bare hands were overwhelming enough, but with a weapon, it feels completely different…”

[I acknowledge your talent.]

[I acknowledge your ability.]

[Therefore, I hope you do not die.]

Whoosh-

With those words, the giant greatsword in the Titan’s grip began to move.

The mere movement pulled the wind along with it, and I felt my body being drawn in as well.

‘This feels like facing a mountain.’

Though enormous, it wasn’t actually the size of a mountain.

But as the Titan exuded its presence and pressure, it felt like something as massive as a mountain.

Seeing the greatsword being swung at me naturally made me want to shrink back and choose to flee.

“I’ll find my own way to survive. No need to worry too much about me.”

In that situation, I chose to advance rather than retreat.

I used a quick teleport to get on top of the greatsword and began running along it.

The Titan reacted by moving the greatsword to shake me off, but its body was soon bound by numerous shikigami.

“Binding ready…! It will hold for 2 seconds!”

“You’re truly reckless!”

With Lilly’s blessing of wind supporting me, I traversed the length of the greatsword in those 2 seconds of binding, closing the distance.

Arriving instantly before the Titan’s left hand with only the gauntlet remaining, I unleashed a blade aura.

Combined with Lilly’s wind enchantment, my nameless sword displayed its sharpness with a gentle breeze.

“Cut and destroy.”

With that short incantation came a single slash.

Slash- Crack-

The Titan’s gauntlet was once again split in half, but this time it didn’t end there.

The wind imbued in my sword penetrated between the split gauntlet, tore through its interior, and finally exploded completely, destroying the gauntlet.

“First… left arm cleared.”

[Impressive, but you’ve come in too deep.]

Boom.

The Titan, now free from its bindings, was trying to lift its greatsword with its remaining right arm to strike me down.

But its posture wasn’t very clean. The sword was too heavy to handle with just one arm.

“That’s too much for one hand, isn’t it?”

“Gravity barrier…! Completed!”

The gravity here was already ten times that of Earth. And Kitsune’s barrier, though limited to affecting weapons, increased gravity by four times.

In other words, the greatsword the Titan was holding now weighed forty times its normal weight.

And there was no way the Titan, with its limited output, could lift such an immense mass and weight.

Crash!

The greatsword, now too heavy for the Titan to handle, fell from its hand and crashed to the ground, breaking the floor and raising dust with a tremendous sound and vibration.

Timing it perfectly, I created distance between myself and the Titan again, and Lilly began her prepared attacks.

The Titan had no weapon to defend against the attacks and had missed the timing to evade them—the worst possible moment.

[You came thoroughly prepared…!]

And as soon as I moved out of range, Lilly’s attacks began—attacks using most of the power available in the real world.

A storm raged, restricting the Titan’s movement, and sharp wind blades rained down on its body.

If I had been caught in that, I wouldn’t have survived even ten seconds—such threatening attacks they were.

Crack! Thud! Boom!

Though my vision was obscured by the storm and dust, I could clearly hear the sounds of things breaking and falling.

With luck, this might end the trial.

“Haa… Haa… I’m at my limit…”

As Lilly used all her available power, the raging storm disappeared, revealing the Titan’s condition.

The Titan’s upper body that first came into view was completely devastated.

All the armor it had been wearing was destroyed and scattered on the ground, and traces of the blade attacks remained even on its orichalcum body.

But this wasn’t entirely good news.

‘There are too many marks on the orichalcum…’

The marks on the orichalcum spoke of Lilly’s strength, but also showed how concentrated the attacks had been in that area.

And with that many marks, it meant not enough attacks had been directed at the lower body to completely destroy it.

As if to prove my suspicion correct, the Titan began to move again.

[That was certainly dangerous.]

[But it wasn’t enough.]

Thud. Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Though the Titan had lost control of its upper body, it was still plenty fast with just its lower body.

It could only approach, kick, or try to stomp on me, but even that was not easy to avoid.

From the beginning, I could respond to the Titan not because of superior physical abilities, but because I knew its movements in advance.

‘It seems the attacks were concentrated on the upper body, but the lower body didn’t escape damage entirely.’

I avoided the Titan’s attacks within the range of possibilities I knew.

But that was gradually coming to an end. The action patterns I had memorized were running out and changing.

‘A downward strike? No, a sweeping attack.’

I needed to defeat the Titan before my knowledge ran out.

However, having prepared for a short decisive battle, we weren’t in good shape after expending most of our power.

First, Lilly had used all her capacity and could no longer act.

Kitsune too had consumed most of her spiritual energy sealing the Titan’s movements and manipulating gravity.

‘And I’ve already used True Word twice, so I’m reaching my limit too.’

The quick teleport stored in my shoes had only one use left.

Should I hold out and wait for my allies to recover? Or use the last remaining opportunity to break through the situation?

“The answer is obvious.”

I’ll take it down myself, right here and now.

The decision was quick, and the actions that followed were executed without delay.

As the Titan brought its leg down to stomp on me, I jumped. The Titan’s foot hit the ground, and I landed on its leg.

The Titan tried to kick me off into the air, but I resisted by stabbing my sword into a gap between its armor.

Whoosh-

The wind pressure created by that massive body’s movement hit me, but I endured to the end and continued my action before the Titan could move again.

With my sword stuck in the gap of the armor I was clinging to, I once again recited a True Word.

“Cut.”

Crack-

Since it had already taken considerable damage, the armor on the right leg split with a cracking sound and fell off when I cut it with my sword.

Now the Titan was effectively one-legged. It looked like it could barely move anymore.

But even in that state, the Titan moved.

It jumped on one leg and then tried to stomp down on me with that leg.

Matching its movement, I activated my last quick teleport. Taking position behind the Titan, I swung my sword with the last of my strength.

I could feel my mana and physical strength were insufficient for what I wanted to achieve, but I forced myself to continue.

“Cut… again.”

Slash-

The armor attached to the Titan’s last remaining left leg was also cut away, and the sound of it falling to the ground signaled the end of the trial.

At the same time, I felt myself reaching my limit.

“Cough…”

A large amount of blood expelled through my throat.

I instinctively knew this was the price for the True Words I had used.

‘So the fourth time was too much after all…’

Clang-

I lost my grip on my sword, and then I felt my vision gradually tilting downward.

Thud-

I realized this meant my body was falling to the ground only after I had already collapsed.

“I’ll… just rest… a little…”

With those words, my vision went completely dark.