episode_0044

A being that appears to be a combination of a giant and a golem.

He blocked the giant fist that the Earth’s High Elemental Titan unleashed with incredible speed from its bulk by crossing both arms.

bang-!!

A sound that was hard to believe was made by a fist made of human flesh and a block of stone clashing echoed through the hallways of Dustin’s mansion.

“Ugh!”

Immediately afterwards, he swung the red longsword that he had been holding in his right hand without hesitation from above to below, even while crossing his arms.

Crunch-

The Titan’s forearm falls to the ground after a time difference, drawing a solid line.

And before his forearm even touches the floor, I move behind him and take control.

Woozikkun!

The fist dug deep into the Titan’s tailbone, and the creature’s waist arched like a bow in reaction.

Without delay, I retrieved my fist and swung the sword I was holding in my other hand to the left, slicing the Titan’s cracked back in half.

Ku-kung-

First, he raised his foot high towards the upper body of the Titan that had fallen to the ground with its severed arm and stepped on the part corresponding to its head.

Wood crack!

The head fragments, unable to withstand the shock, split into dozens of stone shards and scattered in all directions.

One, it was clear that the damage would be quickly repaired.

Even though its body had grown several times, it regenerated tenaciously, and even though its head was cut off, it did not die.

In fact, the fragments and upper body of the just-shattered Titan were floating in the air, sticking together and reassembling themselves to regain their original form.

‘Is there no concept of death for spirits in this space?’

It’s a difficult assumption to imagine in a time of such urgency, but I’ve come to think that spirits might truly be beings on a par with immortality.

But it wasn’t like I… no, it wasn’t like we just blindly and thoughtlessly rushed in.

“Ice Spear.”

A blade of ice created in the air froze the Titan’s forearm, still rolling on the ground trying to repair its head and upper body.

[Geuuu!?]

Until then, the guy who had been able to reattach the severed part or even repair it by gathering the fragments even if it was completely shattered was unable to do so this time.

“Operation was a success.”

Aria, who was looking at that sight, said with a slightly satisfied voice that the operation she had proposed was successful.

Afterwards, he repeated the process just before, detaching the Titan’s limbs and neck from its torso and freezing them individually.

[Joo… Ull… Lee… .]

Finally, the Titan, with his eyes slightly turned to gunfire while his head was frozen, called out the name of his contractor, Julian.

“… I will definitely save Julian, so rest in the meantime.”

As I said that with a bitter taste in my mouth, the guy turned his gaze to me for a moment and then slowly closed his eyes.

“… Eugene, let’s go. There’s no time.”

Aria also felt bad about bringing up urgent words in such a situation, so she cautiously suggested it.

“Okay, how many minutes are left?”

“Approximately… 40 minutes.”

40 minutes, an ambiguous amount of time.

The remaining higher spirits, excluding the fire Ignis and the earth Titan, are wind and water.

If we assume that dealing with each of them takes about 10 minutes like we did with Titan, then we have 20 minutes left.

Even if we assume that a variable may arise here and the situation may become more prolonged.

“I have to hurry.”

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no time to leisurely indulge in appreciation.

***

A superior spirit of the wind who took the form of a translucent green girl, Sylphid was a very difficult opponent in many ways.

First of all, not only was it impervious to physical attacks other than aura, but its ability to run away and hit and run away was also excellent.

Above all, as befitting a wind spirit, she uses a skill that takes away the air in the place we are standing, making it impossible for us to breathe.

Between me, unable to move vigorously because I can’t breathe, and Aria, floundering because she can’t chant because there’s no air to vibrate the sound waves.

“Goddess, grant us the right to breathe.”

Rene used the saint’s miracle not with her vocal cords, but with a mysterious voice resonating in her head.

“Poohat!!”

Rene passed by Aria, who was barely able to return, gasping for breath, and then approached me.

“Leave this to me and do what you have to do.”

“You can’t just leave me alone and go… .”

“Even in this situation, not being able to trust and entrust your colleagues is not worry, it’s useless meddling.”

Are you the kind of person who can’t properly judge the pros and cons of work?

“Above all, have you forgotten who I am? I am the one and only supreme and pure being in this world, a saint.”

“… … .”

“So, even the goddess will not allow my agent to suffer the humiliation that that mere spirit inflicted.”

Her lake-blue eyes, which matched her meadow-green hair, exuded strong confidence.

One, the abilities she has shown so far have proven that her confidence is by no means arrogant.

“Okay, then I’ll take care of it.”

“Yes, just trust me and move forward.”

Aria, who was standing next to him, looked at the saint with eyes burning with determination and said.

“… I don’t like it, but let’s make a temporary alliance this time.”

“I don’t really care whether you like it or not, sister… Well, do whatever you want.”

“Sister, stop talking like that and don’t get hurt and leave a bad taste in your mouth.”

Aria and I ran down the hallway, leaving Rene behind.

Of course, Silph tried to catch us as we passed by, ignoring him.

“Goddess, I declare this place a sanctuary.”

Soon after, a golden curtain appeared in front of him, blocking his pursuit.

“Where are you going in such a hurry, leaving me behind?”

[You’ve been interrupting me since earlier.]

“Oh my? You know how to speak? I thought you were inferior to other spirits because you kept your mouth shut all this time, but that wasn’t the case.”

At that provocation, Sylphid, who was floating in the air, opened his translucent eyes wide and looked down at Rene.

[Do you think you’ll be okay if you lock me up like that?]

“Well? More than that, it’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now… .”

He gave a command in a voice full of displeasure towards the Sylphid that created a cluster of small whirlwinds around it.

“I wish you wouldn’t look down on me. That’s presumptuous.”

[Shut up! Don’t even think about ordering the free wind!]

“Really? But did you know that? One of the duties of a priest is to discipline arrogant children who don’t listen to adults.”

Rene took another mace out of his pocket, the number of which he had not yet counted, and struck it against the palm of his hand.

“Would hitting a spirit really make it come back to its senses? It’s a rare opportunity, so I think it would be a good idea to try it out.”

***

Arriving at the dungeon of Dustin’s mansion, Aria and I were unable to move forward and had no choice but to stop.

“Mountain beyond mountain… No, in this case, is it water beyond wind?”

I looked down at the water level, which had risen so high that it was submerging the stairs leading down to the dungeon, and laughed in vain.

‘The one who committed this act must be the upper water spirit, Aqua.’

And the guy would be waiting for intruders beneath the surface, in the realm he had created.

As I was wondering how to overcome this, I looked back and forth between the red sword in my hand and the water.

‘Can you ring?’

At the moment when I was contemplating whether I should actually put into practice the story of the legendary swordsman who often appears in folktales and split the sea in two.

“Eugene, just a moment.”

Aria, who had been lost in thought like me, came up with a good idea and stepped forward.

“Reverse Gravity.”

As Aria cast her spell, the stagnant water rose to the surface and flowed out through the entrance.

In the stairs that were filled with water so tightly, a space was secured without water just enough for us to enter.

“You’ll have to keep your hand on the surface to keep it from filling up with water again… but for now, this will do the trick.”

She suggested that we move forward while maintaining the status quo, and since there was no other way, I agreed.

Chulpuk- Chulpuk-

The dungeon we arrived at after going down the still wet stairs.

“… I didn’t know I’d come here again.”

Aria looked around the dungeon, which was still underwater except for where we were standing, with a strange look in her eyes.

[I never thought it would actually come this far.]

One, a sharp, hostile voice flew from the water, as if to remind us that this was not the time to just sit back and watch.

[What on earth are the other guys doing? They’re just trash guys who are ashamed of being the same high-ranking spirits.]

Half man, half fish.

Aqua, the upper water spirit in the form of a blue mermaid, glared at me from the water with a gaze that did not hide her disgust.

“For something tainted by darkness, your mouth is moving smoothly… Is it enduring like the fire spirit from before?”

Aria asked me a question, but I firmly shook my head.

“No, the upper water spirit was like that from the beginning, so even if it’s dyed in darkness, it won’t show.”

“Huh? What does that mean…?”

“That guy is the one who has had the greatest influence on Julian’s current speech.”

Hearing that, Aria opened her eyes wide as if she had guessed something, and then sparks flew out of her eyes.

“Are you saying that’s the source of all the rude language I’ve been receiving?”

[What the heck, you bitch! Why are you opening your eyes like that? What are you doing that’s so unlucky!]

“… Okay, I decided. Eugene, leave that guy to me.”

I’ll make you some grilled fish myself.