A

by Ineedalife8394

.

7. 9

usroka TeNsei

Shirotaka

M

ion

VOLUME 25: ADULTHOOD - THEFINAL BATTLEARC PART 2 Contents

CHAPTER 1:

CHAPTER 2:

CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 4:

CHAPTER 5: CHAPTER 6: CHAPTER 7:

CHAPTER 8: CHAPTER 9: INTERLUDE: INTERLUDE:

Someone Notices Something Amiss

At the Bottom of the Ravine of the Earthwyrm

A Shot at Victory

The Mad Dog King vs. the Former Sword God

Kalman I vs. Kalman lI and Co.

Kalman I vs. Dead End and Co.

Alexander vs. Rudeus Rest

Making Peace with the Ogre God The Armor

IWanted to Be a Hero

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Color Inserts

Title Page

Copyrights and Credits

Table of Contents Page

Chapter 1: Someone Notices Something Amiss

Chapter 2: At the Bottom of the Ravine of the Earthwyrm Chapter 3: A Shot at Victory

Chapter 4: The Mad Dog King vs. the Former Sword God Chapter 5: Kalman III vs. Kalman II and Co.

Chapter 6: Kalman III vs. Dead End and Co.

Chapter 7: Alexander vs. Rudeus

Chapter 8: Rest

Chapter 9: Making Peace with the Ogre God

Interlude: The Armor

Interlude: I Wanted to Be a Hero

Character Designs

About the Author

Newsletter

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Chapter 1:

Someone Notices Something Amiss

IN A SMALL TAVERN tucked away in the Second City of Irelil, the second

largest city in the Biheiril Kingdom, Sandor von Grandour and a young man were having a drink.

"...So, you're saying the monkey-faced demon left the Second City of Irelil for the capital, then vanished?"

"Yeah. His mug's supposed to be unique, so I reckon it's true."

"After that?"

"I dunno... Hey, I swear I don't know any more than that! I'm just speculatin', but I reckon he caught wind that you was after him and did a quick vanishing act."

The informant speaking to Sandor was little more than a boy, but that boy knew more rumors of the Biheiril Kingdom than anyone else. Either he was older than he looked, or he was a pawn of the real information broker.

"Hey, mister," said the boy abruptly, "I've got a juicy story—only it'll cost you extra."

Sandor pulled a silver coin out of his pocket and clunked it down in front of the boy, who scooped it up quickly into his pocket.

"You hear about the devils in the forest?" he asked.

"Devils?"

"Yeah, you know the ones. Turns out, they're them Superd. Some foreign adventurer made 'em angry, so they slaughtered a whole village."

"Gosh. Nasty people who've moved in," Sandor said.

"They say the kingdom's gonna send out a hunting party any day now. I hear tell the forest devils make invisible beasts fight for 'em, so who knows how bad the fallout'll be..."

The remainder of the boy's story was made up of extremely exaggerated rumors. There was nothing to confirm it for sure, but it sounded like gossip someone might spread on purpose. That someone was obviously Geese.

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"Anyway, point is, right now they're recruiting for the hunting party, so I figure that monkey-faced demon what you been looking for might be hiding in their ranks."

"I see," Sandor said. "You've given me a lot to go on. Cheers." He paid the informant another copper coin, then exited the tavern. Outside, night had fallen completely. It was mostly quiet around the backstreet tavern, but he could hear a commotion.

"I want to get this information to Rudeus as fast as possible," Sandor murmured, "but it's late." His words melted into the empty night.

According to the plan, Rudeus was supposed to have come back to town that day with the two soldiers. He'd rendezvous with Sandor in the Second City of Irelil, then they'd go on together to the capital of Biheiril to conduct negotiations. The sun had long set, and Rudeus had not returned.

If that were all, Sandor wouldn't have worried. He'd have assumed that, Rudeus being who he was, he'd simply gotten carried away talking up the Superd Village to the soldiers.

"First things first, let's let the Dragon God know." Sandor went back to his room to share his information. He had a contact tablet in his room. If he used it to get in touch with the others, they might know the source of the rumors and what was delaying Rudeus. Dear me. What modern conveniences. Or rather, I suppose that's the power of the Dragon God. He turned his gaze to the contact tablet.

"Eh?" The other day, when Rudeus had used it, the tablet had emitted a constant blue glow. Now it looked like an ordinary lump of rock and nothing more.

"...Are you broken?" Sandor gave the tablet a casual rap with his fist, and the part he'd touched just crumbled away.

"Whoa, now..." he said, as his inner voice immediately cried, I broke it! It had gone dim at some point before he got back, so he chose to believe that it had already been fragile.

"This is a pickle, though..." he muttered. Sandor was confident in handling magical implements. In his life thus far, he was proud to say he'd handled more than your average number of them. He'd also broken more than your average number, and he was not confident in his ability to fix them.

"Hmm." If he couldn't fix it, he couldn't confirm his information. He

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worried over this for a few seconds, then made up his mind.

"Guess I'll head back." Perhaps it was different for other people, but he knew that if he were left to his own devices, it wouldn't lead to anything good. He turned to the teleportation circle.

But—

In that basement, Sandor looked in silence at the teleportation circle. It should have been ready to use, but it wasn't glowing. Sandor's alarm bells rang louder. His magic communication implement was broken, and now his magical means of transportation was out of operation. Sandor was an experienced warrior, so he sensed when he was in a trap. This was a perfectly crafted dead end—a cramped basement with nowhere to run. It was a location begging for a surprise attack. His extensive fighting experience brought him visions of enemies blowing up the upper floor and burying him alive... But no, they would have blown it up by now if that were the plan. His foe must want to do it with their own hands to ensure he was dead.

"How about you show yourself already?" he said, turning to the entrance to the basement. Their plan was probably to lie in wait at the exit until Sandor panicked and tried to leave, then stab—knife in the back. Sandor was used to surprise attacks.

He put on a brash voice and said, "I know you're there." He pointed his weapon—a staff—at the exit. He hadn't sensed anything, but he figured he ought to expect as much from someone who'd come to kill him. He waited. There was no response. Foolish of them, when he'd already found them out.

Sandor snorted, then walked forward with a light step, like he was going for a nice walk. Anyone who knew what to look for would get chills seeing that power walk. Thus Sandor left the basement, casting his gaze about to catch the moment the attack came. Whenever it happened, he would be ready. He kept it up all the way outside. There, a battalion of soldiers lying in wait for him...was nowhere to be found. The street was deserted. When Sandor emerged with his staff readied for combat, a passerby shot him a suspicious look.

He set off down the street. He cut a suspicious figure with his staff still gripped in his hands; a buzz of interest swept over the townsfolk. Sandor paid them no attention. That was how he strode through the town gates and out of the town. Seeing from his movements that he was no ordinary passerby, the guards let him get out of town without impeding his departure. Perhaps if he had tried to enter the town from the outside, they would have moved to stop him, but there

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was no need to call out to someone who was leaving.

Sandor got out safely. Even then, he didn't lower his staff. He walked until he could no longer see the walls of the town. When he arrived at an empty plain with good visibility, he let his guard down at last, and without a moment of hesitation, he set off running. He was heading for the Superd village. Something was terribly wrong. If he wasn't the target, someone else was.

"...I really did think someone was there," he said to himself. As he remembered what he'd said back in the basement, he went a little pink.

Sandor made haste to the forest of the Superd village and didn't stop at any towns or villages on the way. He hadn't been attacked back at the teleportation circle, but he was on his guard against an ambush. Whether he was deterring his would-be attackers or there just hadn't been any assailants in the first place, he couldn't say, but his journey passed without incident. He exited the forest and approached the ravine. When he went to cross the shudder- inducing depths, Sandor suddenly realized something was wrong.

"There's no bridge...?" The stone bridge that Rudeus had built had collapsed partway in. It had looked extremely sturdy, but he supposed it had only been a makeshift thing built with magic in the end. Sandor didn't know much about magic, but he vaguely knew that this sort of dashed-off magic bridge was prone to collapsing. It didn't strike him as odd. What caught his notice was the original bridge next to the broken one. There was something on the ground near it: the scabbard of a sword. If his memory served, it was the one the regular soldiers of the Biheiril Army carried.

"...What's this doing here?" he wondered aloud, his alarm bubbling up once again. He knew his own instincts well enough that when something felt wrong, he wasn't imagining it. Of course there were times he read too much into things, but still, he could trust his gut.

Looking around the bridge to ensure he was alone, he slowly began to cross it until, when he was partway across, he was greeted by a familiar sight. Splotched, black stains. Bloodstains. He couldn't tell whose, but judging by the color, they were likely human. The blood appeared to have come flying from the broken stone bridge.

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The bridge had collapsed. There was a scabbard lying near the original bridge. Sandor furrowed his brow as he pieced together a theory.

"Does that mean Rudeus and the soldiers were attacked on the bridge?"

He set off sprinting. He was across the bridge in a moment, safe on the opposite side. He'd feared attackers hemming him in on the middle of the bridge, but even now that he was on the other side, no attack came. At the end of the bridge, he kept his staff raised for a few seconds, looking for danger. When he knew there was nothing coming, he set off running again.

As Sandor approached the Superd village, he entered stealth mode. From afar, he confirmed that no enemy was occupying the village...and then some Superd warriors came out from the village to greet him. He confirmed he wasn't a threat, and thus they ambled back to the village.

Sandor headed for the residence of the warrior who—though still recovering from illness—he could trust most.

"Master Ruijerd!"

Ruijerd was eating with Rudeus's younger sister, Norn, but when Sandor came running in he stood up at once, ready to fight. It was the kind of quick shift you only saw in a legendary hero. Sandor felt his heart flutter.

"What happened?"

"Where is Master Rudeus?" he asked.

"He left the village with his soldier escort a few days back."

That was where it hit Sandor. "I think someone—maybe from the Second City, maybe the Earthwyrm Ravine Village—attacked him on the bridge! Rudeus is missing! Form a search party!"

"Understood!" Ruijerd picked up his spear and ran out of the house.

"Huh...?!" Norn gaped. "Huh...?!" She hadn't followed the conversation and gaped in bewilderment and alarm. Sandor smiled kindly at her.

"Fear not, Miss Norn," he told the confused girl. "Your brother is the right hand of the Dragon God. He won't go down easily. You can count on that. I'm sure he survived the attack and he's hiding out somewhere. Have no doubt that I will save him!"

"Uh—um, okay."

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Goldenagato

With that, Sandor ran to the village square where Ruijerd, who worked fast, had assembled five warriors.

"We're ready to go."

"Then let us be off." The warriors, like Norn, couldn't conceal their confusion, but their quick response showed their training. They followed Sandor without a single objection.

They ran through the forest. A few Invisible Wolves crossed their path along the way, but the Superd warriors put them down with ease, as though they were brushing aside branches. In no time, they arrived at the ravine. When Ruijerd saw the unremarkable stone bridge Rudeus had made, his brow furrowed.

"There are signs of a fight. The bridge has collapsed."

Trust a legendary warrior to see all that at a glance, Sandor thought, his heart fluttering again. Suddenly, Ruijerd's eyes went wide, and he ran out onto the bridge. That was where the specks of blood Sandor had seen were.

"This is Rudeus's blood," Ruijerd said.

"So he was attacked here?"

Ruijerd didn't reply, only went further down the bridge toward the side leading to the Earthwyrm Village. When he reached the end, he knelt and stared intently at the ground.

"Rudeus's footprints aren't here," he said. Sandor automatically looked into the ravine. There'd been an attack on the bridge, and now on the other side, there were two sets of footprints, neither of them Rudeus's.

Which meant...

"He was killed and thrown off?" Sandor asked. Ruijerd was silent, but from his grave expression, he guessed the likelihood was high.

Even supposing Rudeus wasn't dead, the ravine beneath them was teeming with Earth Dragons. Rudeus was a powerful magician, but even he couldn't make it out of such a place alone.

Sandor was deliberating on what to do when suddenly, Ruijerd crouched down at the edge of the precipice and began lowering his legs over it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sandor asked.

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Goldenagato

"That's obvious."

"...I know how you feel, but if we go into the ravine with this lineup, we're not coming back out." Ruijerd might be a legendary warrior, but down at the bottom of the ravine was an Earth Dragon den. They would end up in grave peril if they went, and that was a guarantee. They'd be throwing away their lives for nothing.

"Then what should we do?!" Ruijerd demanded.

Sandor pondered this. It was a tricky situation, no mistake. In the first place, they didn't know for certain that Rudeus had fallen into the ravine. They couldn't even rule out the possibility that the other two had set off for the village carrying him, slight though that possibility was.

"...Oh." That was when Sandor remembered something. He'd set up insurance so that this wouldn't happen.

"How many sets of footprints were there on the way to the bridge?" he asked.

Ruijerd glared, as though angry at the irrelevant question, but he answered. "Four."

Sandor looked around at their surroundings. He saw only empty forest. No trees had fallen, nor was the earth torn asunder. It was peaceful. Having confirmed this, he set off running. He was heading for the end of the bridge.

The side that led to the valley village. There, Sandor turned his attention to the ground. He saw a single footprint. It was a distinctive one, larger than that of an ordinary man, but not outside the mold of a human. He turned back to Ruijerd.

"Confirm this for me again. You only found Master Rudeus's blood, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's all right, then," Sandor said decisively. "What?"

"Let's leave Master Rudeus for the moment," Sandor said. "I expect our enemies are on their way." No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ruijerd seized him by the collar.

"You mean to abandon Rudeus?" he demanded.

"I do not," Sandor replied calmly. "I give you my absolute guarantee that Master Rudeus will return to us." His words were full of a conviction that made

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them strangely persuasive. Ruijerd was still confused, but he slowly released Sandor.

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Chapter 2:

At the Bottom of the Ravine of the Earthwyrm

WHEN I WOKE UP, I was in a white place. My body had reverted to the

way it was in my past life, a realization that washed over me with a sense of powerlessness. I hadn't felt that in a long time. With it, the feeling of defeat. I'd lost. Ruijerd had been the bait, and I'd fallen for it. After beating Vita, I'd let my guard down and contacted the Biheiril Kingdom, which let Geese know where I was. I'd ended up rolling out the welcome mat for the former Sword God and the North God. Thus I'd wound up in that mess alone, with enemies on both sides. It made me sigh just thinking about it.

Geese had been watching closely. I hadn't expected to lose the use of all my magic once my arms were cut off at the root. He'd chosen the location perfectly, too. Naturally, I couldn't summon the Version One on the bridge. He must have decided in advance to force the fight in a location like that. Thanks to the system Roxy built, I didn't need to draw out a magic circle anymore, but Geese didn't know that...

Well, those two weren't about to lose to me in the Version Two. It looked like they hadn't anticipated that the bridge couldn't withstand the updated Version Two stamping down on it. I suppose there had been an escape route— below me.

So where was Geese? Had he disguised himself as the king of the Biheiril Kingdom? The voice had been different...but we're talking about Geese here. Imitating a voice was within his abilities. Besides, it'd be a piece of cake with the Man-God's assistance.

Wait a minute, though. Sandor was suspicious too. His voice and face and physique didn't resemble Geese, but with a magical implement, or a magic item, he could have changed those. Maybe he'd infiltrated the Asuran Kingdom from the start and tied up the leader of the golden knights or something. The dude was good at getting information—too good—so it was very possible.

Man, it felt like there'd been a lot of these machinations lately. It was the same with Abyssal King Vita using dreams to mount a psychological attack.

Whoa, are you actually a slime creature? I bet that pixelation filter isn't to hide your identity. You were actually a slime all this time!

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No reply.

Asshole! I'm talking to you. Say something. I look like a dumbass talking to myself. Now that I've lost, you could at least show up to gloat while revealing your plans. That's what the bad guy does, so go for it. Tap me on the shoulder and say, "Nice try, but I win. Too bad, eh? Hur hur."

Why was he waiting? My fists wanted a final word, at least.

"...Go die in a hole."

Already did. So what's the story, Man-God baby? Your pixelated mosaic filter's not working so well. Feeling down?

"Every time you do something, my future changes."

Yeah. That's the idea.

"I can always see my own future. I can see all the way into my future."

Yep, I know. You have future vision. For three people at max, right...huh? Does that include you? Can your third disciple even see their own future?

"Three? I can see more than that. I just can't take my eyes off my own future. That's why only three."

Meaning...it takes most of your power to see your own future?

"It's like my future was red. There was a moment where it went dark."

Whatever. Paint it black.

"At first, it was just Orsted. Orsted's nothing. He's not my enemy. I'd

never lose to such a simple-minded moron."

Moron...? Okay, Orsted is a bit thick sometimes. Like when he didn't say anything about the Superd... Not that I'm one to talk.

"In that moment, a man appeared beside Orsted. A man I didn't know. Total blank. I think he wasn't of this world. Since then, things have gotten a little darker."

Ohh. Are you talking about Nanahoshi's boyfriend? What's his name again?

"They soon increased. A girl. Since then, my future has been dark and quiet. Every time you do something, Orsted's allies increase. Every time, my future grew darker. Now, it's all black."

Cool. So what I've been doing wasn't for nothing.

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Goldenagato

"Oh, it was. I'll make it nothing."

That's nasty. Whatever. If I'm already dead, nothing I can do about it.

"If you die, there's still time. This created future only came about because of one guy. I can overturn it by killing humans with strong fates. That's what I've done all this time."

Do you want me to beg for my life...? Press my head to the ground and plead, "Please, just spare my family!" Probably impossible at this stage, though, given the circumstances.

"Just die. Die, die."

"Die, die." What are you, eight years old? "Die in hell, Rudeus."

Listen to me, damn it!

My eyes opened. I felt terrible. Having someone tell you to go die to your face like that really puts you in a rotten mood. Still, for all that he'd told me to "go die," he hadn't said, "I'm gonna kill you." There's a lesson in there about how the Man-God relies on people, or...something. He didn't do his own dirty work; all he did was issue orders from on high. Bastard.

Anyway.

"So I'm alive," I said. I'd thought I was dead for sure. The Upgraded Magic Armor Version Two was extremely tough, but I was still flesh and blood. I'd blacked out. Jeez, that height. No way could my body have survived the shock of that fall, yet here I was, awake, so I must have survived. Had something cushioned my fall? It didn't look like there were any trees down here...

Anyway, thank you, Dada Paul and Mama Zenith, for making such a sturdy son.

"Ngh." I sat up. It was dim around me. Maybe a cave. Something felt weird. Just now, when I'd sat up. What did I do that with? I tensed my core muscles, then pushed up on my elbow...

"Huh? I have arms."

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Goldenagato

For some reason, my arms, which I was pretty sure Gall Falion had sliced off, were stuck to my shoulders. I don't have a self-healing function as far as I know... I thought, staring at my hands.

"Whoa! What the hell..." My hands were black, a lustrous jet black, like obsidian. They moved without any issue, and it felt like all the nerve endings were intact. I ran my eyes along them. The black limbs were affixed to my shoulders like plants rooted in soil. It was a bit icky.

Also, someone had taken me out of the Magic Armor Updated Version Two. The leg sections were gone too. I was down to my undies. My body was wrapped in bandages with blood seeping out the sides. I'd been given first aid. That meant whoever saved me couldn't use healing magic. I also had this person to thank for the arms...maybe?

"...Ah." I looked around and saw my clothes in a folded pile. On top of them, if you'll believe it, someone had tossed a severed arm. Freshly decap—or de-arm-itated, even.

Oh. I guess that was my arm. I could see the Dragon God's bracelet on it.

"Ow..." When I dragged myself over to my arm, my body was rocked by a wave of pain. I said a quick healing spell to close my wounds, then took the bracelet from my severed arm and put it around my new black arm. It...was working, right?

"Where am I?" I said out loud, tentatively standing up and producing a flame in my palm to illuminate my surroundings. I was in a space about five by four meters. The walls were earth. Going from the presence of a ceiling, I was in a cave, just like I'd thought. Some sort of fabric was spread out at the back of the cave, and I'd been laid down on top of it. That fabric... Was it a cloak?

First, I headed for the cave entrance to ascertain my location. The cave curved, but I quickly saw light. That was the exit. Someone was standing there. Someone with massively broad shoulders and armor to match. As I drew near, he turned around slowly and raised the visor of his helm. A familiar face appeared in the opening.

"Dohga..." I said.

"Uh-huh."

"You saved me?"

"I saw the bridge fall. Jumped in, right away. You were unconscious. Tried to carry you, but the armor was heavy. I took it off. Brought you here.

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Bound your wounds."

Dohga had saved me. He'd jumped down to the bottom of this ravine...

Oof. I'm sorry, Dohga, for saying that you didn't have any presence and you were useless...

"Well, thank you. You saved my life. I'm sorry for going off alone. I should have been more careful."

"...Mm. Sandor's orders," Dohga said with a weak smile. Even if he was just doing what he was told this whole time, Dohga had been looking out for me. What a good guy. I was the moron here, thinking I'd been looking out for those two soldiers.

"Were these arms you too?" I asked, holding up my onyx-black arms. Dohga shook his head.

"When I found you, you were like...a cocoon. I opened it. The cocoon turned into arms."

Huh? I was a cocoon, and then the cocoon turned into arms? If the arms were the cocoon, what the hell was the cocoon? Was I carrying something that'd make arms attach to me? I looked at my arms. Dohga looked apologetic.

"I found one real arm. I looked. But no other arm. Might have gotten eaten. I'm sorry."

"Oh no. Don't sweat it." I could grow it back with healing magic...if the black ones came off, that is. "Where are we?" I asked.

"Bottom of the ravine. The most deepest bit."

"Right... How much time has passed?"

"Dunno. No sun here. Two or three days, I think." Dohga moved to one side and light hit my eyes. It was faint and dim, bluish in hue. What looked like glowing moss and mushrooms were growing thickly outside the cave, illuminating the surrounding area. That wasn't all I saw, though. Outside the cave, blocking the entrance, were three corpses. They were animals with carapaces like dinosaurs. Earth Dragons. Three whole Earth Dragons lay there, dead.

"...Did you do this?" I asked.

"Uh-huh. To protect Rudeus." I noticed there was scarlet blood smeared

on Dohga's greataxe. Earth Dragon blood, I guess.

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Had he seriously taken them down alone? Way to go, Dohga! I might have underestimated him a tiny bit. The North God Kalman had said as much, actually.

"You're a North Emperor, is that right?"

"Uh-huh. Still learning. Master says I kill monsters good."

All right, what dumbass said Dohga was useless? Ariel sent a fighter who knows his business! Fine, it was me, I'm sorry. I underestimated him!

"Right..." I said. "You're really something." "Uh-huh." He smiled happily at my praise. If Dohga's a North Emperor...

"What about Sandor?" I asked.

There was a long pause, and then he said, "...I can't say."

"Right."

Never mind. I had a hunch. I'd grill him when I got back.

"All right. We should get out of here." Before anything else, we had to get back.

The former Sword God... No, Gall Falion might not be Sword God anymore, but his abilities were intact. I'd keep calling him Sword God. I mean, there were second and third North Gods, and besides, it wasn't like someone would arrest me for thinking of him as a Sword God. So...the Sword God and the North God. My enemies were powerful, and they were in disguise. It was possible no one knew they'd tried to take me out yet. If they really wanted to hurt me, then a hunting party would be coming to destroy the Superd Village. We could handle the hunting party, even if they came in hundreds, but it was a different story if those two hid inside the crowd.

I had to stop them.

"...First, take me to where I fell. I want to get my armor. There might still be some usable scrolls, too."

"Uh-huh," Dohga agreed. He set off walking, and I followed his sturdy and reliable figure.

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We reached the Magic Armor relatively quickly, killing two Earth Dragons along the way. Dohga took them both down in one hit.

Yeah, one. Hit.

He stood his ground as the Earth Dragon rushed him, then with one swing of his massive axe, its head went flying off. Now that was a guy you could count on.

Thinking back to the fight with the Invisible Wolves, he seemed to be weak to sneak attacks, but he couldn't be bested in a battle of sheer strength.

While Dohga was in great shape...

"Hmm..." The Magic Armor was deeply cut up. The Scroll Vernier on the back was ruined, the bundle of scrolls cut clean in two. Not only that, but my blood must have splattered inside the vernier—it was all clogged up. It was useless like this. I guess even the Magic Armor couldn't protect you when up against Sword God-level enemies. The sword must have been fragile. It had punctured through the armor, then snapped in half. From the blade fragment, it didn't look like anything special.

Gall Falion was supposed to have lots of magic swords, but he must have left them behind so he'd blend in. If he'd brought a thing like that, Orsted or Cliff would have picked up on it. If he'd had his own sword, the armor wouldn't have stopped it. I'd have been cut in half. That wasn't a pleasant thought...

"This is useless now," I said. It looked like I had no choice but to throw away the Scroll Vernier Roxy had made for me. After she'd worked so hard on it... I'll come back and get it later.

The armor itself would still move, though. It wasn't in perfect shape, but it still had one of the arm parts, and the leg parts were undamaged. Even so, not being able to use the summoning scrolls was a blow. I'd be no match for those two without the Magic Armor Version One. When we got back to the Superd Village, I'd have to pop back to the office straight away and bring back the spare. Well, I would if I had that sort of time.

"...Huh?" When I detached the scroll vernier from the Magic Armor, the sword tip impaling it fell to the ground, and with it, a scroll.

Except it wasn't a scroll. It was a box. There'd happened to be space inside the vernier, so I'd stored that box in it. It was about the size of a dictionary and engraved with devilish patterns. The kind of box that curses you

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when you open it.

"The box I got from Atofe..." This was the box I'd been told to open if I found myself in a desperate situation. It was when the sword hit this box that it had snapped. I could see the weak indent the blade had left in it. Hesitantly, I opened the box and looked inside. There was nothing there. It was empty.

Wait. There was something written on the inside of the lid.

This black flesh is an offshoot of Immortal Demon King Atofe. When in peril, release it and it shall protect you. Wield with care.

Black flesh... I thought, looking at my arm. ...Is that what this arm is? I was pretty sure I hadn't opened it, but maybe Gall Falion's attack had put a crack in it, and it had sensed that I was in danger, protected me from the fall, then parasitized my arm and staunched the bleeding...something like that?

Yeah, that had to be it. Facing east, I kowtowed. I thanked the violent demon king from the bottom of my heart.

"Lady Atofe..." I said aloud, "thank you!" No one replied.

Atofe would still be on her way, but if we saw each other, I'd give her a nice bottle of something. What was that wine with the dumb name?

"Right, let's get back," I said. The fight was approaching. I had to get home fast.

Or at least, that was my big plan. It turned out we couldn't climb the cliff face. I used earth magic to climb a bit of the way, but we left the area with the luminous mushrooms and moss and everything went totally dark. While we were engulfed in that darkness, what should attack us but a swarm of Earth Dragons? The footholds I'd made with earth magic were unstable, and then in the darkness, more than ten Earth Dragons jumped on us like geckos. One after another, they came at us from either side. They were so massive that we had no choice but to retreat. As if that wasn't bad enough, they used magic. Why wouldn't they? Come on! Earth Lances stabbed out from above, below, left, right, and even from the wall itself. Absolute nightmare.

Ugh. Dragons! "Phew..."

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I tried all sorts of things. I tried to use a catapult to launch us to the top in one go. I tried using earth magic to hide us while we climbed. Whatever I did, the Earth Dragons messed it up. They intercepted us mid-flight in our catapult launch and found us through my stealth magic. They were unexpectedly clever and relentless. Once they locked on, they chased us until we retreated to the spot where the mushrooms and moss grew. They didn't seem to like places like that. Maybe it was the mushrooms, or maybe they didn't see this area as their territory. A few did still pursue us down there, so it wasn't like they were physically incapable.

"What to do..." I wondered. "You know, Dohga, I'm impressed you made it down here."

"...Uh-huh. Not many attacked on the way down."

"Huh... Ah, hang on. That makes sense."

Earth Dragons' senses were dull to anything above them but alert to anything below. I knew that, but this was the first time I'd seen it in action. It was relentless, like how a rooster goes on the attack when it spies an enemy. I considered resorting to area-of-effect magic to blast them all away, but all that would do was get us buried in the rubble. The ravine was wide and deep, and the Earth Dragons could use earth magic. Even if I took out dozens, it wouldn't make a dent in their numbers. I didn't want to use a huge amount of magic unnecessarily when the fight with Kalman and Gall Falion was still to come.

Ugh, I was dithering. Meanwhile, their assassins' blades might be bearing down on the Superd Village. They could easily turn those blades in other directions too. Zanoba's location would be exposed at minimum. They might have already got to him. I was itching to get going...but I had to slow down. Rushing wouldn't make anything better.

For some reason, when I looked with the Eye of Distant Sight, the Earth Dragons were still watching us after we'd climbed back down.

"Let's see if there's somewhere with fewer Earth Dragons, yeah?" I suggested.

"...Uh-huh."

With that, we started walking, our path illuminated by the mushrooms and moss. It wasn't only Earth Dragons that attacked us. We had to contend with bugs as big as people that looked like praying mantises and centipedes. Perhaps the Earth Dragons survived by eating the bugs. An Earth Dragon had grabbed a

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bug in its jaws right in front of us before clambering off up the cliff. The body of another Earth Dragon came tumbling down—I suppose it died up on the cliff wall?—and got swarmed by bugs. Their prey was down here, and it was rare that anything came from above. It made sense that the Earth Dragons only paid attention to things below them. There was an odd food chain specific to this ravine.

Something occurred to me as we walked.

"This path is easy to walk on, huh?" I said. The path along the bottom of the ravine was unexpectedly smooth. Some areas were blocked off by huge mushrooms or rocks that must have fallen from above, but it was very flat and easy to navigate. I felt like I'd walked a similar path before.

"...Uh-huh. Red Wyrm Jaw's the same."

"Ohh!"

That place! The site of Orsted's heartwarming, awful memories!

It did feel the same as Red Wyrm's Upper and Lower Jaws, as well as the road to the Sword Sanctum. The mushrooms and fallen rocks made it hard to tell, but those places had felt like this.

"Does that mean someone made this...?"

There weren't any monsters on that road. That meant someone had made this path, then called the Earth Dragons... Just a second. Hadn't it been Laplace who'd called dragons to the central continent? Laplace could have made this path, too.

Why?

I had no way of knowing. I was looking for a place to climb up, not for the answer to a historical mystery. There might be a spot with rocky terrain that prevented the Earth Dragons from nesting there. I'd been looking up with the Eye of Distant Sight for a little while now, but the walls of the ravine were so full of holes, I worried about their structural integrity. It was like a city of skyscrapers crammed together without gaps. There wasn't an Earth Dragon living in every hole, but it was damn close to it. A thousand, maybe two. It was the ones living at the bottom that mostly came down to look for food. I didn't think there was enough food down here to support such a large number of Earth Dragons, but in this world, it wasn't unusual to see monsters in numbers that didn't line up with the amount of prey on offer.

...What if I can use that info to climb to the top of the ravine? But how,

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exactly? Come on, brain!

It was such a pain getting out after falling in. I had been told not to fall

into the Ravine of the Earthwyrm. But did I listen? Noooo... "Rudeus."

"Hm? Enemies?" I readied myself for another bug or something to pop up, but Dohga was pointing straight off to one side. There was nothing but a wall there. Wait—not nothing. It was in the shadow of a mushroom, which made it hard to see, but there was a hole. There were holes here and there around the bottom of the ravine, but this hole was a bit different from the others because of the stairs. It had a staircase!

It led downward.

We're supposed to go down from here?

Then—

"Uh?" The next second, my arm moved of its own accord. My right hand pointed at the hole. Like it was telling me to go in.

"Lady Atofe, is this the exit...?"

Atofe's offshoot didn't speak, but the arm went on pointing.

"I guess it is." It didn't look like we were going to find a place we could climb up no matter how far we walked. The ravine didn't go on forever, but even if we pressed on for ages, we'd probably just hit a dead end. Turning back to search the other direction would take time too. I might as well investigate everything that caught my notice on the way.

"Shall we see what's down there?"

"Mm-hmm." Dohga agreed without hesitation. Maybe he sensed something when he looked at the staircase too. So we set off, down into the dark.

At the bottom of the stairs was a massive altar. Massive altar... How else can I describe it?

It was in a vast space smothered with mushrooms and moss supported by two pillars decorated with engravings. There was a dais of quarried stone, and

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the wall behind it was adorned with a finely engraved fresco. The thing it depicted might have been a dragon. There were a whole lot of different things crammed into the design, but it was hard to tell in the gloom. Still, I had the feeling I'd seen something like it before. Now, where was that—oh.

"Is this a ruin left behind by the Dragon Clan...?" I asked out loud.

Yeah, that was it. This place looked a lot like the teleportation ruins. What's more, these carvings looked like things I'd seen at the floating fortress. That meant there might be teleportation ruins here. Even if there were, could I count on them? Where was I going to go, hopping on a teleportation circle that led to who knew where? I just wanted to go straight up.

Hold on, don't jump to conclusions yet. As far as I could see, there were no rooms other than this one with the altar. The Atofe Hand wasn't pointing that way—it was pointing toward the fresco, and a small stone shelf below it. Scratch that, the shelf only looked small because the fresco was so big. It wasn't small at all. Atofe's hand was pointing that way.

Atofe's face appeared in my mind's eye. Could I really follow the lead of a demon king with that awful face? Uncertainty grabbed at me for a second, but my legs were already moving. With the Atofe Hand still pointing, I went over to the shelf. On it, there were several bottles, cloudy and with open lids. There was also a cloudy crystal ball set into the shelf.

"There'd better not be booze in these," I muttered, picking up a bottle. It was engraved with a dragon pattern. I bet if I showed it to Zanoba, he'd be able to tell me how much it was worth. Oh, and it was empty.

"Okay... What do I do with this?" I asked the Atofe Hand. It didn't reply. Instead, it reached out. It went straight past the bottles for the cloudy crystal. It rested on top of the crystal ball, and with that, control returned to me.

What's this about? I wondered. What was it telling me to do? I had bottles and a crystal and an altar. It was like an adventure-game puzzle. In which case, I'd like a hint.

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"Rudeus. There."

Dohga, now standing behind me, was pointing at something above my head. I looked up and saw a blue glow coming from the top of the great pillars holding up the altar.

No, that wasn't right. The pillars weren't glowing—something that glowed blue was seeping down from above them. This crystal sphere—or the whole altar, I guess—was a magical implement. A magical implement that leaked blue water. Only, looking at the light, I couldn't help but be reminded of the moss and mushrooms around us.

"Okay, so what's the deal with the water?" I wondered if I was supposed to drink it, though the color didn't look healthy... Except there were bottles here, so maybe I had to use the water somewhere. Maybe I filled the bottles with the water, then poured them out into some contraption, then the contraption would move, and a door would open, and I'd get a legendary sword. Too bad I didn't need one of those right now.

"This, maybe?" Dohga was pointing at the fresco. There was a huge image there depicting people and Earth Dragons. Maybe it was set up so that the blue water flowed out when you moved the crystal sphere and activated the magical implement—the blue light threw the whole picture into relief, showing the river of blue water. At the top was the altar and a person was collecting the blue water that came from it in a bottle. Then, the person with the bottle poured it on the people around them, and they all picked up swords and spears and went after the Earth Dragons. They were hunting them.

Well, based on a quick look at the fresco, this water had to help with hunting Earth Dragons. There were letters written in the corner of the picture too, but I couldn't read them. They looked a little different from the dragon writing I'd seen.

"Oh, hold on..." Something had occurred to me. The Earth Dragons didn't come down to the floor of the Ravine. We had blue moss, blue mushrooms, and now blue water. Maybe people had lived here once, and those people had used the blue water to drive off the Earth Dragons, who didn't like some substance in the water. That same substance was in the blue moss and mushrooms. Plus, looking at the fresco, the people attacked the Earth Dragons from behind and went in on an angle from beneath them. From beneath, even though the Earth Dragons were primed to notice that...Was it possible the dragons couldn't see them? They couldn't see the things that gave off this blue light? That would

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explain why they rarely came down to the ravine floor. So, maybe, if we poured this over our bodies, they wouldn't see us?

I turned back to Dohga and asked, "...Want to try it?" I didn't explain what I meant.

But Dohga grunted, "Uh-huh," like it was obvious. *

Not long after, we stood at the top of the ravine. We'd escaped. We'd escaped the Ravine of the Earthwyrm.

"Ahh, it feels good to be a free man."

We'd left the cave covered from head to toe in the blue water. Then, I made an elevator with earth magic and lifted us up slowly. I kept it slow because I was worried the Earth Dragons might notice us if I went too fast.

I was right. The Earth Dragons looked at us, but they didn't react. Either they couldn't see us, or we didn't register as food. They just stayed stuck to the cliff walls, pushing up against one another and not moving. It was barely an hour after that when, after slowly elevating us, I saw the dark sky. It was nighttime.

We stepped off at the edge of the ravine. For some reason, the moonlight was making me emotional.

"We did it," I said, slapping Dohga on the back.

"Uh-huh!" He nodded happily.

It had taken a little while, but we'd escaped. Now we had to get back to the Superd Village right away and tell them about the two soldiers.

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Chapter 3:

A Shot at Victory

AHEATED DEBATE was underway when I got back.

"Our foe is at our gates. We must get ready."

"So we should go and search for Rudeus first!"

The second person yelling was Eris, and she was arguing with Sandor. Roxy was there too.

"Dohga is with him. They'll make it back eventually. In the meantime, we need to organize our forces, and set our trap..."

"Like that blockhead will be any help!"

"He's more capable than you think."

"Well, if we're talking about capable, how come you weren't with him?!"

"Hmph... Well that's..."

Next, the big question: would they come to my rescue, or assume I'd make it back on my own and engage the enemy?

Eris was arguing in favor of rescuing me. I appreciated that.

"Whatever, I'll go down myself!" Without standing on ceremony, Eris rose and spun on her heel. That was when our eyes met.

"If you're heading down, I'd recommend going down to the altar using the staircase in the shadow of the mushroom and getting the blue water," I said.

"Rudeus!"

Eris responded to my helpful puzzle walkthrough by throwing her arms around me.

Ow, ow. You're gonna snap my spine.

"I was worried about you!"

"I'm sorry."

Roxy and the others all looked relieved I was alive. Lucky, lucky me! "...By the way, what's with the arm?"

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"Oh, this... Look, I'll explain everything at once. Only, before that..." I looked around until my gaze came to rest on one man sitting there.

"You. Who are you?" I demanded, staring down Sandor. *

North God Kalman II, Alex Rybak. The protagonist of The Epic of the North God, who defeated the Monarch of the King Dragons, slew a giant behemoth, achieved numerous glorious feats on battlefields around the world, and eventually became one of the Seven Great Powers. He was the greatest practitioner of North God Style, and until a mere hundred years ago was regarded as the greatest swordsman in the world.

That was how Sandor introduced himself. To tell the truth, I wasn't that surprised. Part of me wondered what a guy like that was doing here, but mostly, it made sense. It made sense why Orsted had put him with me but not told me why. Why Ariel had sent him over the heads of Ghislaine and Isolde. Why Dohga was a North Emperor. He was North God Kalman II. It made sense.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked him.

"Just in case... The Man-God can see into peoples' hearts, but if no one on our side knew I was Kalman, I could conceal my presence. It made it easier to move too."

Fair enough. Pretty sure everything I know got leaked to the Man-God when I fell into the ravine, though.

He wouldn't know Kalman was on my team because I didn't know it either...but then, if he could see into Sandor's heart or Dohga's, did that even matter?

"...Really?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest, I kind of thought it'd be cool if I revealed my true identity at a crucial moment."

"Oh, granted. Of course."

People trip over themselves to look cool, yeah. Happens all the time.

"Wasn't it futile after it came out that Dohga was a North Emperor?" "I suppose... Though Dohga isn't an especially well-known North

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Emperor."

If I'd known the two of them were powerful warriors, I'd have tried to conceal them. Except if I'd done that, maybe everything would have gone even worse.

"Well, anyway. I'll be counting on you from here on out, Alex."

"Naturally. Only please keep calling me Sandor. That's the name I go by these days."

After confirming Sandor's identity, we moved on to putting together all our information.

Ten days earlier, I'd brought the Sword God Gall Falion and North God Kalman III to the village, and they shoved me into the ravine. I hadn't felt the time pass on the ravine floor, but I'd been unconscious for a long time. It was a day later, maybe two—I wasn't sure of the precise time—when the teleportation circles and communication tablets had stopped glowing. That was what had clued Eris and Roxy into the fact that something was terribly wrong, and they'd come to the Superd Village to meet up with me. They'd guessed that the magic circles at the Superd Village would have ceased to glow too, but they trusted that I was still active. They decided to see how things played out.

It was Sandor, who'd come straight back, who told them I was missing. He organized a search party with Ruijerd and the others to find me, which was when they'd discovered that Dohga had gone into the ravine after me. Sandor decided then to leave me to Dohga and stay on the alert for the enemy's attack. Reason being the information he'd gotten from his informant had gotten him anxious. The informant told him a totally baseless rumor that the devils in the forest were the Superd, and they'd murdered everyone in the surrounding area. Based on the rumors, the kingdom was mustering a hunting party.

"I see... Right..."

Backing up Sandor's information was the report from Eris and Roxy. They had only arrived yesterday. That distance should have been only a four-day journey, but it took ten days. They'd been held up by a huge ceremony in the capital they had to push their way through. It was the departure ceremony for the hunting party. The decision to hunt the Superd had broken out into a kind of festival, and I guess they decided to hold the departure ceremony a little early, in the midst of the festivities.

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Strictly speaking, it shouldn't have been held until a little later. Geese probably got the news that I'd been tossed into the ravine and set things in motion ahead of schedule. When Orsted's bracelet came off, that had alerted the Man-God to my survival, so maybe he'd wanted a speedy attack on Orsted before I got out of the ravine. Roxy and Eris had done some recon work around the too-early departure of the hunting party, and confirmed that the Sword God and the North God had joined during that.

As they did their recon, however, the two of them couldn't shake some questions: I was supposed to have negotiated with the kingdom, so how had things ended up like this? Where had I disappeared to?

Then, before they knew what was happening, the hunting party had set off from the capital. They followed anyway, keeping a close watch. They knew where the party was headed, but they thought maybe they could learn something. When they reached the Second City, Roxy suggested that further pursuit was too dangerous. They gave the town a wide berth then traveled through the forest, heading for the Superd Village. After that, they got lost—understandable—and wasted a few days. They arrived safely at the village in the end.

So here we were. Oh yeah, apparently Eris and Ruijerd had an emotional reunion when she arrived back at the Superd Village. The moment Eris laid eyes on him, she'd been struck by the urge to pounce. I suppose she was consumed by the desire for him to see how strong she'd gotten. She managed to hold herself back. She wasn't a child anymore. Ever since Ruijerd had recognized her as a warrior, Eris Greyrat had been a warrior. So as not to embarrass herself, she had to behave in front of her mentor. Telling herself this, she assumed her usual pose and said, "It's been a while! You look the same as ever, Ruijerd."

"Hey, Eris," he replied. "You've grown."

"Yeah, duh."

That was the extent of Eris and Ruijerd's conversation. It was enough to fill Eris with nostalgia and pride. Once, she'd had to look up at Ruijerd, but now, they stood eye to eye. In battle, she could fight alongside him. Eris told me all this with a smug look on her face.

"We don't have much time left. The hunting party is probably heading this way as we speak, and I expect it won't be long until the Ogre warriors join them."

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"Okay. Right, here's my report."

I told them how the two soldiers had been the Sword God and the North God, using the same rings that I had to disguise themselves. Geese was probably disguising himself in the same way and that was why we couldn't find him. I also told them that I'd fallen into the ravine, but the Atofe Hand and Dohga had gotten to me in the nick of time and saved me. I told them that when I fell, Orsted's bracelet had come off...and the Man-God had seen me. I finished with our escape from the ravine and ensuing return to the village.

"Rudeus," Eris said when I was done, her voice low, "I'll kill Gall Falion." She was staring at the point where my arm met my body.

"...Well, that is one option, but let's discuss it. I'm happy you want to avenge me, but I don't want you charging off alone, or you'll end up like I did."

Okay, let's recap.

First, Geese was definitely in a position where he could manipulate the hunting party. The most likely scenario was that he'd disguised himself as the king. I didn't know who the disciples were, but Geese had the Sword God, the North God, and the Ogre God on his side. The Sword God and the North God had scouted out the Superd Village using the power of the rings, and the Ogre God had gone with Geese to mount an assault on the office, robbing us of any place to run. Now, they were with the other hundred or so members of the hunting party, heading for the Superd Village.

Ogre God Marta had been sent to Sharia. Thinking about it again made my heart sink into despair.

"What happened to our house...?" I asked. Roxy looked down and Eris folded her arms.

Sandor stroked his chin, looking troubled. "The Ogre God may have just destroyed the office and then left. He might have gone on to attack Sharia too, but we have no way to know."

I thought this through. What would I have done? Right now, no one was in Sharia. No Rudeus, no Orsted. There wasn't a single person there who could stand up to the Ogre God. No way would he have just left it. Even if I didn't have the firepower, I'd probably attack anyway, just for the hell of it.

The room was silent. I got the feeling Orsted was glowering too. I couldn't know for sure because of the helmet, but he always glowered.

"Dear me! I'm missing the gathering!" There was a voice from the

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entrance. I looked around, and there he was. "Zanoba!"

Right, he's here too. No—I didn't forget about him! Of course I didn't! I just, um, I had my family to worry about!

"Sorry I'm late, Master. We just arrived."

"No, it's all good. I only just got here."

I saw Julie and Ginger behind Zanoba. They were beat up. There were scrapes all over them and exhaustion had put dark shadows under their eyes. It looked like their magic was nearly exhausted.

"We had some trouble with invisible beasts along the way, you see. If the Superd had not come to our aid, we would have been in grave peril."

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"You don't say. Okay, let's have those two lie down... Wait, no, you should tell us what you know first. You can sit in the corner and rest," I said. Without a word, Ginger and Julie tottered off into the hall and sank down next to a pillar. Roxy ran over immediately to cast healing magic on them.

"Okay, Zanoba. How much do you know about what's happening?"

"The gist of it. I'd be grateful if you could explain it to me from the beginning."

So with that, I explained. It was honestly annoying going through the same stuff again, but it had to be done. The important thing was for all of us to be on the same page.

"—and so, our concerns now are the hunting party coming this way, and what happened in Sharia."

When I finished, Zanoba gave a snort of laughter. I didn't recall saying anything funny. Surely, he wasn't thinking something like "Well, my whole family is safe here! Hahaha!" He wasn't like that.

"How interesting. On the way here, I found a monument to the Seven Great Powers, so I had Perugius's servant Master Arumanfi confirm some things."

"Ohh!" Standing up with a joyful smile was not me but Sandor. He looked around the hall, then sat straight back down again.

"Excuse me. And?"

"He said your family is safe, Master." Relief settled over the room.

Okay. They were safe. Leo must have done his job, or someone else had protected them. Maybe they saw a potential invasion of Sharia on the horizon; it did house the University of Magic, after all. Whichever it was, it was happy news.

"If Master Perugius joins our forces, that alone would tip the balance in our favor." Sandor looked around the hall with mild excitement.

Zanoba, on the other hand, looked mildly troubled. "No, Sir Perugius apparently said that he would remain a spectator in this battle. I doubt we can rely on his aid."

"Surely not! This is the sort of situation where he is strongest!" Sandor

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exclaimed, recoiling in a way I thought was a bit melodramatic.

Did the guy like Perugius that much? No, he was the Second North God. The First North God and Perugius were old allies, back when they'd been the Three Godslayers, which meant Sandor might be acquainted with Perugius. He might even have looked up to him, a man of his father's generation known as a hero. Setting that aside, Sandor was right. The power of Perugius and his twelve familiars would be especially valuable in a delicate situation like this. There was no better reconnaissance agent than Arumanfi the Bright, and Clearnight of the Roaring Thunder had the ability to share information. Putting just those two together would throw our opponent's hand open and get all our allies up to speed in an instant.

In the legends about Perugius, that was how he'd stripped enemy armies of everything. And that was just the beginning. Between all his familiars, they had powers that could cover every eventuality. If he said he wouldn't help us, though, then that was that. Orsted's policy was to not take help from Perugius, anyway.

Suddenly, Orsted spoke. "Ogre God Marta might be rough, but he is decent. He wouldn't attack non-combatants. If it had been Gall Falion or North God Kalman III, they would have attacked Sharia." His voice was soft, but it carried well. There was a bit of an echo, maybe because of the helmet. "Geese, however, is a coward. Through those other two, he confirmed that I was here. Because there was a teleportation circle, he couldn't rule out the possibility that I might return to the office. Thus, he sent Ogre God Marta. Even for me, it would take some time to defeat the Ogre God. In the meantime, Geese—or some ally of his—went around breaking the magic circles. He may have planned this from the start."

So that was Orsted's theory. Geese only brought the Ogre God along as a safety net. That safety net had protected my family. Then...he might not have meant to attack Sharia in the first place. I came first. My family came later.

Sandor chimed in with a question. "Then why didn't all three of them go?"

"I believe that is because the goals of Gall Falion and North God Kalman III differ from Geese's."

The goals of the Sword God and the North God? At this, everyone looked confused. Well, everyone except Eris.

"...Because Gall Falion wants to fight you, right?" she said.

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"As does Alexander Rybak."

Orsted was in the Superd Village. The Sword God and the North God knew that, which was why they'd stayed behind rather than go to Sharia. From that, I got the sense that Geese didn't entirely have those two under his control. They could have climbed down to the floor of the ravine and killed me if that was what they were after. I mean, even North Emperor Dohga had done it. The North God and Alexander could have. They weren't doing what Geese and the Man-God wanted from them.

"Well, I know my family is safe, so that's a relief at least. Though I can't really be relieved when the Sword God, the North God, and the Ogre God are about to attack us."

Three God-tier warriors, plus another hundred in the hunting party. On the Superd side, there were fewer than twenty warriors who could fight, plus the folk here. Orsted, Zanoba, Ginger, Julie, Norn, Cliff, Elinalise, Ruijerd, Roxy, Eris, Sandor, and Dohga. The Superd women and children, along with the medical team, were staying in the village. The medical team was one thing, but the hunting party had its sights on the Superd. If they breached the village, all of them could end up dead.

Ginger, Julie, and Norn weren't fighters. Cliff...wouldn't be much help in a fight either. As for Orsted, he wouldn't fight either. He was practically incapable of recovering mana, and his max amount went down as he used it. I'd become his follower to compensate for that. I couldn't ask him to take over just because there was going to be a fight. Tossing him onto the battlefield as a last resort meant putting him up against not one, not two, but three God-tier warriors together. He'd have to burn through a ton of mana.

Even if we avoided that, there was still the fact that we didn't know what Geese looked like. Maybe he still had some backup forces. If I were Geese, I wouldn't send in any old moron I thought would get brushed off in a head-on fight. I'd give them a surefire plan. Orsted was the queen at the back of the board. Sure, I'd win that exchange if I brought him out, but he'd be taken in the next move. Unless there was nothing else for it, it was better for him to stay back.

Three God-tier warriors. Without Orsted, it wasn't going to be an easy fight. It would be tough...but not so tough that we couldn't win. We had three strong fighters—Sword King Eris, North God Sandor, and North Emperor Dohga. If I worked with Zanoba and Ruijerd to support them...it wouldn't be

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easy, but whether we fought or fled, it wouldn't be totally impossible.

This all-out battle felt a bit poorly planned for Geese. My allies were all gathered in the Superd Village right now. It would be one thing if he thought I wasn't here, but when I fell into the ravine, it was revealed to the Man-God that I was alive. I was here, and so was Orsted. Was he really going to try for an all- out battle here and now?

Ah, right. He'd had Abyssal King Vita. All going according to plan, Geese had meant to use Abyssal King Vita to turn Ruijerd against me. Going off that, he would have tricked me as I arrived unsuspecting in the Biheiril Kingdom, then when the disguised Sword God and North God arrived at the Superd Village with the Ogre God. There would be three God-tiers plus Abyssal King Vita and Ruijerd—a guaranteed knockout.

That'd be what he was counting on. Yeah. Going off that, maybe it was fair to say that he now looked like he was down on pieces because I'd outmaneuvered him. Though you could also parse it as sheer luck on my part— I still didn't know who was a disciple and who wasn't. The info we had conveyed the same sense that Geese didn't have Gall Falion and North God Kalman III totally under control. How had Geese gotten them to work for him? If he offered them some conditions that they'd accepted, that would be why they were so desperate to attack. Conditions had come up in our conversation just now. The guys who'd attacked me wanted to fight Orsted. After seeing him, they were ready to fight. Geese had set up that encounter for them. That was it. Continuing that idea, Geese had assumedly sprang into action as soon as he knew I'd fallen into the ravine. He even sped up the departure of the hunting party, the one meant to have set off at the same time as the Ogre warriors. He'd have known that I'd struggle to get out of the ravine and tried to finish things while I was out of the picture. Geese, knowing that I wasn't dead, hadn't waited to send off the hunting party to strike a crushing blow at Orsted. He'd been busy while I was out of commission, but so had I. I got back before the battle began, and things had settled into place.

It was possible that he'd realized Sandor's identity. Also, going off how harried the Man-God had seemed...

"...This might be our shot at victory," I said under my breath. Just then, a youth came into the hall. He was carrying a white spear—a Superd warrior.

"The hunting party has come. They are half a day away." I'd made it back in time, but only just.

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Goldenagato

The Ravine of the Earthwyrm. It was, on average, four hundred meters across. At its widest, it extended to over five hundred meters, but at its narrowest, it was only around a hundred meters. The Superd had suspended a bridge over the narrowest point and used it to come and go from the forest. They crushed up and smeared herbs that repulsed the Invisible Wolves all over it.

Our enemies were many, but this was their only way through. Unlike a river, the ravine couldn't easily be crossed. They would have to stop there. If we took down the bridge, it would buy us more time. Also, unlike in the forest, there were no obstructions there to stop me using the Eye of Distant Sight. That put them within my firing range.

"Let's leave the bridge."

So the bridge stayed. We could bring it down if the hunting party came across it. Once you fell in, it was no picnic getting back up again—I knew from experience—and there were other benefits besides. There wasn't time to set a trap, but we decided to wait for the enemy here. Right now, we were fielding six players: me, Eris, Ruijerd, Zanoba, Sandor, and Dohga. The six of us would take on the three God-tiers. The Superd warriors would focus mainly on the hunting party. I had something else for Roxy to do, so she'd be stationed at the back. Elinalise and a few of the Superd warriors would be her guard. Cliff and the others would protect the village.

It was a pretty traditional battle arrangement, I guess. Warriors on the front line, magicians in the back. We could also send anyone who got injured back to the village to be healed. Speaking of healing, I decided to leave the Atofe Hand where it was for the time being. Right now, our time—as well as the scrolls Roxy and Zanoba had on them—were limited. My new arm seemed to have better specs than my actual arm, so I figured I'd leave it on, then grow my real arms back when the battle was over with. I could use a healing magic scroll when the time came. It was a present from a demon king, so I was going to have some fun with it.

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Goldenagato

Half a day later, we were staring down the hundred-strong hunting party across the bridge. Three men stood at the front on the Biheiril Kingdom side. A middle-aged man with a sword at his belt. That was Sword God Gall Falion. He'd already relinquished his title as Sword God to another, and he was seriously getting on in years. His skill with a blade, though? That hadn't deteriorated. I was proof of that. I hesitated to attach "former" or "previous" to his name lest I let my guard down. Then there was a kid with a giant sword slung on his back—North God Kalman III, Alexander Rybak. He was one of the Seven Great Powers, but his strength was an unknown quantity. Then, standing nearly three meters tall, broad as the trunk of a giant tree and wearing a necklace with what looked like a bell on it and a tiger-striped loincloth, was a red ogre.

That was Ogre God Marta. Orsted's guess was that he hadn't attacked my family, but we didn't know for sure. Maybe I ought to thank him for that...but I didn't plan on it. He'd attacked the office. Which meant grim things for the elf girl on reception. Her name was Fa...Farraris...right? No, wait. Um. Well. It was something like that. Okay, so I hadn't ever actually remembered her name, but I still wanted to avenge her.

"No sign of Geese, huh?" Disappointingly, I didn't see a monkey face. Was he hiding nearby, or waiting back in the Second City of Irelil? He wasn't in range of the Eye of Distant Sight, at any rate. That was Geese for you. If he didn't have things totally under control, he might have decided to throw it in this time and do a runner.

I saw scared faces amongst the hunting party as they looked at the Superd warriors with their green hair and white spears. Devils out of fairytales. If we won this battle, I was going to sell Ruijerd pamphlets on every street corner in the Biheiril Kingdom.

"There's nothing to fear!" Unlike the hunting party, the three God-tiers at the front didn't look scared of the Superd warriors. "We far outnumber them!" Alexander was particularly peppy. He waved his fist in the air, giving a rousing speech to raise morale in a voice loud enough to carry all the way over to us.

It was true, the hunting party beat us on numbers, but he was wrong. We were in the forest, and we had the Superd, so we had the advantage.

They all drew their swords while glaring at the twenty or so of us across the ravine with open hostility. Then, Alexander pulled the sword from his back.

"My name is Alexander Rybak, the Third North God Kalman! Follow me and together we shall have glory!"

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With that, Alexander set off running across the suspension bridge, howling. Sandor cried, "Now!"

I fired stone cannons from both hands. They flew straight at the base of the suspension bridge, smashing it to pieces. Ruijerd, in front of me, also made his move. He sliced through the vines that supported the bridge with his white spear.

"Aaahh!"

Everyone watched in amazement as the bridge fell. North God Kalman III went plunging down into the abyss.

We all just stared in amazement, even Sandor, who'd given the order.

No way. That did not just happen. You've got to be kidding me...

I mean, he wasn't coming back from a fall like that.

...Well, it was Alexander, so he might. Still, even if he survived, it was going to take him a while to climb up again.

"...O-okay, that's one down?" I said. No one cheered. No one looked angry either. The shock of what had just happened was burned into everyone's mind. This was our chance! I concentrated magic in my hands. The list of people who could attack right now was pretty damn short.

Let's do it.

I raised my left hand to the sky. Sending up a massive surge of mana, I created thunder clouds, then used my right hand to subdue the raging magical energy, compress it, and bring it down.

"Lightning!" A crackle of impending thunder rolled in; a bolt of lightning flashed down. My vision went white, then there was a crash. Thunder boomed around us in a full swell. A cloud of dirt rose on the opposite cliff. Flames engulfed the trees, which clattered and cracked as they crashed to the ground. I couldn't tell how much damage I'd done, but I felt it. I felt it so strongly my hands shook. It was the sense that I'd killed people. I pushed down my nausea, then I concentrated mana in my hands again.

"One more shot..." A second after I said it, something came hurtling out of the dust cloud. A red shape. The leap was effortless and at this distance, silent, like it was flying. Its momentum was overwhelming. The red shape closed in at startling speed and made impact. Impact was the only word for it. There was a bang and a cloud of smoke like a cannonball.

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A red-skinned ogre, and a forty-something-year-old human: Ogre God Marta and the former Sword God Gall Falion. They had jumped across the ravine. A hundred-meter-long jump. Seven Great Powers on full display.

"Right... Who's gonna fight me?" He was a grinning wolf. When I'd faced off against him last, he'd seemed a bit dopey. This was different. This was a battle with mortal stakes. At his belt, housed in its resplendent scabbard, was a sword. Probably magic. This wasn't like the one the armor had stopped. I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.

"That's me." Stepping forward like it was a foregone conclusion came a red-haired mad dog. She had two swords at her hips. She folded her arms and placed herself imposingly in front of Gall Falion.

"Yeah, that figures. Who else?"

"Me," I said.

Gall Falion scoffed. "Well, well! Looking good for a dead man."

"Alive and kicking, actually."

"Tch-hah. I told you we should've cut his head off," he muttered.

Who was this bad temper directed at...? Geese, I suppose.

There was one more of us. He didn't say his name, but beside me stood a brave, battle-hardened warrior with green hair and a white spear in his hand.

Three of us reunited. Eris, Ruijerd, and me. The three of us were going to fight together. Dead End was back.

It was three-on-one, but I didn't see anyone complaining. The plan had been for me and Sandor to fight Alexander, but then the kid went and screwed himself over with that dumbass move. Sandor, Zanoba, and Dohga would take the Ogre God, who focused on hand-to-hand combat. Zanoba and Dohga were crazy strong against powerhouse-type characters.

Sandor, North God Kalman II, was also supposed to have experience fighting big enemies. They were the perfect combo. They could win. We might lose someone along the way, but even so. We could beat these two.

"Hyup!" In that moment, I heard a shout from behind us. I spun around just in time to see something fly up from the cliff—not something. It was a black-haired kid. The one who'd literally just now fallen into the ravine.

Breathing hard, he mopped his brow and lifted his sword high into the air. Then, like he was in a theater production, he proclaimed, "I am North God

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Kalman III! I will slay the cursed god of evil, Orsted, and become a hero! Anyone who would stand in my way may challenge me if they dare!"

No way...this isn't happening. Did he run up? From the bottom of the ravine...?

To be fair, while it was a cliff, it wasn't totally vertical. With magic, even I could stop myself on the way down and come straight back up. Or maybe he'd run up from the bottom stabbing that sword into the wall as he climbed... That was the Seven Great Powers for you.

"...Nothing for it, then," Sandor said. "Master Rudeus, shall we take this bonehead?"

"Yeah." I nodded at him.

I was disappointed I couldn't fight with Eris and Ruijerd, but oh well. Back to the original plan.

"Watch out for that sword," he said. "It's the strongest in the world."

There was only one sword fit for the North God to wield: the legendary greatblade, forged after the defeat of the Monarch of the King Dragons. Kajakut, the King Dragon Blade.

The blade's master, however, was gaping at us, sword still raised. "... Why?" he demanded. "Why are you here?" The voice of North God Kalman III, Alexander Rybak, trembled as he looked at me.

Oh ho ho. Is it that surprising to see that I survived? Never mind that I was well enough to join the battle? I thought you'd have heard it from Geese, but I guess you didn't believe it. See, when you don't see a character die, like when they fall off a cliff, that always means they're coming back.

Wait, what? Is he...not looking at me?

Alexander's gaze was directed behind me. It was Sandor. He was looking

at Sandor. Oh, okay. That made more sense.

"Dad!" Maybe that shout signaled the battle to begin, or maybe it was just a question of timing.

"Ruooaaaah!!!"

The next thing I knew, Ogre God Marta swung his arms up and brought them crashing into the ground, roaring a battle cry. The ground thrust up, the cliff crumbled, and a row of trees toppled. I let the impact carry me along, and thus the battle began.

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Chapter 4:

The Mad Dog King vs. the Former Sword God

BEFORE THEY KNEW IT, Eris and the others were far away from the ravine.

This was because the moment after the Ogre God moved, Gall Falion started running away from the battlefield.

"You prefer this spot?"

They were inside the forest when Gall came to a halt, though it was a relatively open area. Barely a minute had passed, but Gall was fast; they'd run a significant distance from the ravine. Eris was a bit nervous about leaving Rudeus, but she focused her attention on the enemy in front of her.

"The Ogre God doesn't distinguish between friend and foe when he goes on the rampage. Let's stay out of his way," Gall said. He squared off against Eris.

He didn't draw his sword, as if to say he was happy to do this bare- handed. To Eris's eyes, his stance looked wide open to attack. She raised her own weapon, the Phoenix Dragon Sword, above her head. Her opponent was still the former Sword God. She wasn't quite sure if she should attack that opening.

"...You look well," Gall said. Unexpected pleasantries. Then again, Gall was a person like she was. There was nothing weird about him saying words. On the other hand, given the situation, hearing this man reach for words instead of his sword was, to Eris at least, fairly strange.

She cocked her head, suspicious. Gall scoffed. "Remember Gino? Gino Britz?"

"...Yeah, I remember the guy. Nothing special." At this, Gall laughed again.

"Yeah, him. He was strong for his age, but nothing special." He looked up at the sky. The trees swayed in the wind, leaves rustling. There was no sign of birds or forest animals. In the distance, they could hear trees falling and something ripping. That was the sound of the Ogre God fighting. Possibly the North God. Hard to say.

Gall's words continued over the noise. "Now he's the Sword God."

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"...I know."

"Do you, now... Didn't think your ears were that sharp. You go there to see him or something? Ah, well. Anyway, that's how it is. I surrendered the Sword God title to him."

Eris thought back on how she and Rudeus had gone to the Sword Sanctum to make this man, her enemy, into her ally. She hadn't met Gino Britz then. Even when Sword God Gall Falion told her now that he wasn't the Sword God, it didn't quite click for her. All she remembered was the sizable shock she'd had at finding the Sword Sanctum in such a drastically different state.

"What's that bastard's deal anyway? Going on about marrying Nina out of nowhere. So I told him, if he wants to marry Nina, he's gotta get stronger than me—and what d'you think the bastard did? He got stronger." Gall looked properly amused. His mouth curved as he reminisced.

"It was over in an instant. Even when I was young, I only swung a sword that heavy that fast once, maybe twice... No, maybe I was never that strong."

Gall waved his hand as though he'd remembered something. His hand chopped the air with such speed it seemed like it might produce a shockwave. He began to sweep it back, then stopped short.

"I don't strike twice, you hear? I don't get it."

Then, he folded his arms again. "I don't get it because ever since I was born, I was the strongest. I was born into this. I guess for normal folks, that moment comes where you must grow up..."

He looked up at the sky again. "Not the strongest any more though, are you?" he muttered under his breath, apparently to himself. After a brief pause, he continued: "Whatever. The brat got everything he wanted. The girl he was sweet on, the Sword God title... At the Sword Sanctum, he's got everyone's respect now. Won't be long before Gino's the name people think when they hear Sword God."

Here, Gall looked at Eris, finally observing her straight on. "What are you, compared to that?" he asked.

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dragon God Orsted was your enemy, but you snare yourself a man and now you're wagging your tail for him?" Gall let out a short laugh, but he wasn't smiling. There was rage in his face as he glared at Eris.

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"I left my dream to you. My dream of crushing that titan, the Dragon God Orsted. Moronic, thinking about it now. Why the hell did I entrust that to you? You've had your fangs all pulled out. Berserker Sword King? Hah. There's none of that in you now. Getting yourself a man's all well and good, but wife number three? You settled for that?"

He spat all of this out quickly, but none of it bothered Eris. So what? was all she could think to say. She didn't know what he was on about. She didn't remember him entrusting her with anything.

So, Eris said, "...You lost your nerve, huh?"

The Sword God's pupils contracted. The murder in his eyes grew concentrated and shifted to his hands.

"I expel you from our tradition," he said.

"Whatever."

"I'll never let you call yourself Sword King again."

"Make me, if you think you've got it in you," Eris retorted. She was ready to fight. If anything, she was confused about why they were still talking.

"You think you can beat me?"

"Obviously. You're nothing. I'll send your soul back to its maker with a single strike."

"Hah... You know, that's the second time anyone's ever called me 'nothing'." Gall Falion readied himself, standing to conceal his blade. He widened his stance, lowered his weight, and put his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw. It was the stance for the unbeatable strike favored by Sword King Ghislaine Dedoldia.

Eris saw this and clenched her back teeth. The core of Sword God Style was striking with a heavy blade as fast as possible. Within that style, there were three stances. The first was a mid-range stance, the basic stance of Sword God Style that could counter any technique. The second was a high stance, an aggressive stance suited to those who broke through an opponent's technique

to push them back. The final was the draw stance, a defensive stance suited to those who read their opponent's technique and sniffed out the perfect moment to strike.

Essentially: those who read their opponent favored the draw stance, those who broke their opponent favored the high stance, and those who specialized in

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neither favored the mid-range stance. Eris, who had an innate sense of rhythm and actively sought to break her opponents, favored the high stance. Ghislaine, who with her beastfolk's smell and hearing excelled in reacting instinctively, favored the draw stance.

Gall Falion had assumed the draw stance. The former Sword God could fight from any of the stances, but here, he'd chosen the draw stance. He'd judged that he could read Eris. Even knowing that, Eris wasn't afraid. She kept her breathing shallow while slowly, slowly closing the distance between them.

In that moment, Gall felt something wrong. Eris was strangely silent.

As the name 'Mad Dog' suggested, when she'd been at the Sword Sanctum, she'd bared her teeth and attacked with an idiot's directness...but now, she held back.

There was one thing that hadn't changed—her expression. She was smiling. There was a smug, unpleasant grin plastered on her face, even as she stood with the serenity of a monk in training.

Looking at her face, Gall found himself wanting to close the distance and cleave her in half. He wasn't going to. He merely put his back to a great tree and waited, as still as if time had stopped.

Neither of them said a word. It was an unusual scene. If anyone who knew the two of them had seen it, they'd have found it utterly bizarre. Both Eris and Gall liked to attack first. Only the bold rose to the top of the Sword God ranks.

Yet they didn't move. The tree leaves that danced on the breeze like snow were the only indication time hadn't stopped. It was like a scene from a time almost forgotten. Take Gino Britz, who had just come up in the earlier conversation, for example. He had seen a fight using Sword God Style once before, a few years ago, on the day that Eris became a Sword King. In the fight between Eris Greyrat and Nina Falion, neither girl had moved. Neither of them moved an inch. Someone unfamiliar with high-level Sword God Style warriors might have assumed this was how they fought.

Except they were moving. It was slow, only a fingertip at a time, but Eris was closing the distance between them. Now, they were just close enough for their sword tips to cross. Eris was within striking distance. They were still far apart—too far for one hoping to deal a decisive blow. They weren't close enough yet for either to use their strongest attack.

In the fight between Eris and Nina, the one who'd moved first had lost.

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Nina had loosed a perfect Sword of Light, but Eris had outdone her with speed.

For Gall Falion, for the man who had once been the Sword God, outdoing Eris would be easy. He could cleverly get out of her range, time it so that the point of his blade reached its mark just before hers. He didn't, though. Gall Falion stood unmoving. He didn't close the distance between them, nor did he change his angle. He stayed still and observed Eris, only Eris, as though she were the only other thing in the world.

By inches, Eris got into range for a killing blow. She was in position to use her ultimate, most reliable strike.

Eris felt a tiny, tiny flicker of uncertainty. Gall Falion's defense was perfect. If she used Sword of Light here and now, she thought she could cut him down—former Sword God or not. All the same, her opponent was Gall Falion. She remembered the moment of her humiliation on the day she'd arrived at the Sword Sanctum. She hadn't even seen him in the moment he'd sent her flying.

A moment later, Gall Falion moved. He went in, with perfect execution, for a finishing blow.

"Sword of Light."

She attacked with the most powerful sword technique in Sword God Style. Gall's eyes caught it—the moment he gripped the hilt of his sword. It wasn't the Reflection Blade. It was unmistakably Sword of Light. It just wasn't like any Sword of Light Gall had ever seen.

"Water God Style Secret Technique: Flow."

A slippery sensation swiped across Eris's palms. From her stance, with her sword raised high above her head, she'd struck with a Sword of Light, met Gall's lightning-fast intercepting strike, and been deflected. She'd sliced the tree behind Gall in two on a diagonal. Just before their blades parted, Gall applied the slightest pressure, making Eris's torso ever so slightly tilt. Still in that posture at the end of her stroke, Eris was knocked off balance. That was more than enough. With Eris's defenses down, Gall's eyes found her neck.

He struck back. Perhaps it was the price he paid for using the teachings of another, unfamiliar style, but his strike could hardly be called fast. It didn't reach the speed of light—speed of sound at best. At that distance, at that range, you didn't need Sword of Light to kill your opponent. Any strike to cut off their head would do.

The blade came down like a guillotine. There was a sharp noise, like a

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clang or a cling, as metal met metal. His sword stopped. It was digging into Eris's neck, but it had halted.

Gall's eyes went wide. A man had appeared behind Eris, a warrior with green hair, a warrior carrying a white spear. He stood as if he were hiding behind Eris, blocking Gall's blade like a guardian spirit.

If that had been Sword of Light, Gall thought for a split second. Then—

"Gyaaaaah!"

Eris's body twisted as she drew her sword from her right hip and raked it across Gall Falion's body.

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"...Ngh!" He swiftly leapt back, hitting the ground with a thud.

When his legs reached the ground, his torso wasn't on top of them. Gall Falion's upper half was airborne. It spun around three times, then fell back to earth.

Gall Falion watched his legs slowly topple over. He took in his own defeat.

"Damn..." he muttered from where he lay looking at the sky. He hadn't seen the Superd hiding behind Eris. No, he had seen him. He just hadn't paid any attention. With an opponent of her level, he hadn't thought it mattered.

The truth was, Ruijerd hadn't seen Eris's Sword of Light. It was so fast that even a legendary warrior like him couldn't perceive it. But Gall's second strike was a different story. It wasn't anywhere near that speed. He'd swung with the bare minimum power he needed to cut her head off. He'd been careless. Even then, an average warrior wouldn't have had time to stop him. That had been Ruijerd Superdia standing by; the veteran warrior of Dead End. He'd lived for centuries. Of course he'd seen it. Of course he stopped it. Gall had misjudged Ruijerd. Eris had trusted the Superd to have her back. If Eris had held any uncertainty, if she'd doubted even for a moment that Ruijerd might not stop the blow, then Gall Falion might have had his opening.

"Why didn't you use a Sword God Style technique?" Eris demanded of Gall where he lay on his back, as blood dripped from her neck. The battle had only lasted a moment, but her forehead was drenched with sweat.

"I thought I'd lose."

From the first strike, if he'd raised his sword above his head like Eris and attacked with a top-speed Sword of Light, he would have won—and he hadn't done that. He couldn't. In the back of his mind, he'd seen his fight with Gino Britz. He'd never doubted his sword or his skill then, and Gino had torn through both with total ease, and he'd lost. He'd shattered his right hand as his opponent threw him onto his ass in the training hall. He remembered everyone's eyes, and Gino looking down at him. That memory had dulled the will behind his first Sword of Light. Gall Falion was a genius swordsman. He had the name of Sword God, but he was full of enough brilliance to rise to Water Emperor if he'd been

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in a Water God Style hall. That was why he'd used the Water God Style technique. He was confident that he couldn't lose with that. Defiant, even.

He couldn't have done it back when he went by the name of Sword God. He had to act the part. As Sword God, he'd felt a sense of duty to only use Sword God Style techniques. Not this time. There was no downside in using a Water God Style technique to parry Sword of Light so that he could then use a surer method. That was why he'd tried to provoke Eris with his words, to make her move first. For that matter, cutting off Rudeus's arms as Geese had instructed him to was another thing he never would have done in his former position. The gears must have been out of alignment from the start, ever since he lost to Gino Britz. Gall Falion's old confidence was gone along with his old strength. The greatest swordsman of them all no longer existed.

"You were right. I'm a nobody who's lost his nerve," Gall said. He didn't make excuses. The person who believed in her skill had won, and the one who couldn't had lost. It was that simple. Everything he'd said before the battle sounded pathetic now. If he was going to make speeches like that, he should have attacked first. He really was a nobody—to Eris, he probably looked lower than a village drunk.

The sense that he had to fight Orsted, that he couldn't end things here, that he wanted one last bit of glory... That was what had pressed him to accept Geese's invitation. He couldn't believe he'd thought he could challenge Orsted as he was. He could hardly bring himself to laugh at the thought.

"...Who knows what I was thinking."

Looking down at him, Eris thought, How pitiful. An unintelligible sadness welled up inside her as she watched this man, who had once made her tremble, meet his end.

That was why she asked him, "...Do you have any last words?"

Gall moved just his eyes to look up at Eris. That girl with the red hair. Ever since the first time he saw her, he'd thought she had a gift. She was rough around the edges, but she had more raw potential than Ghislaine. But he hadn't for a second thought that she'd be the one to kill him. He'd always thought of her as below him—that if they fought, he would always win.

"The sword you wield only for yourself is pure, and a pure sword is the sharpest. People change. A blade you wield for another will be strong, but it will be influenced by them. Hesitate once, and afterward, you'll be haunted by that hesitation. Your blade will dull. That's what happened to me. I met a woman,

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then had a child. I trained my students. While I was hung up on crap like what the Sword God ought to do, I went dull." As Gall's grasp on consciousness grew weaker, he felt the words continue to pour out of him. He didn't have anything he needed to say. He didn't have any words he wanted to leave behind. He hadn't thought before about what he might say at the moment of his death. He didn't think he'd die in a place like this. His thoughts simply came pouring out of his mouth.

"Eris. I always knew you were something. You stayed strong. I thought you'd been taken in by love, but you're free. You're still free."

A thick stream of blood came gurgling out of his mouth, but Gall didn't bother to wipe it away. He held the sword he still gripped out to Eris.

"...Take it."

"All right."

The act bore no relation to his words, but Eris accepted it at once. Gall's hand, so close to death, was frighteningly cold, but the grip on his sword was hot.

"Hah..." Gall exhaled as he watched her take the sword. He didn't have enough strength left to take another breath.

"The strong live free... I like that..." His arm fell.

Sword God Gall Falion was dead.

Eris knelt in silence. She took the scabbard from Gall's waist, sheathed the sword in it, then pushed it through her own belt.

"Whew..." She let out a deep breath as she took a scroll from her pocket. It was a beginner-tier scroll of healing magic. She'd held on to it in case of an emergency ever since she'd received it. She held it up to the spot where blood trickled from her neck, then poured mana into it. The wound closed in an instant.

"...Eris."

"Let's go help Rudeus." "Yes."

With that, the two of them turned to go...but after a few steps, Eris stopped. She turned back. Taking in Gall Falion's awful corpse, she clenched her fist. Then, she recited a spell. Long, long ago, Rudeus had told Eris that if nothing else, she ought to remember this spell. She and Ghislaine had practiced it over and over again.

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"—Fire Ball." A flaming sphere burst from Eris's hand and set Gall Falion's body alight. Eris didn't wait to watch as the flames engulfed it. She turned and set off quickly from that place. The fire spread to the nearby trees, giving off a plume of smoke like a beacon. It went on burning, undisturbed, until the flames naturally died away.

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Chapter 5:

Kalman III vs. Kalman II and Co.

OGRE GOD MARTA was on the rampage. The giant ogre swept through

like a hurricane, smashing through rows of trees and turning up the earth. Carried along by the shockwaves, we found ourselves separated from the battlefield. Zanoba and Dohga were handling the big guy. The Ogre God was supposed to be a straightforward monster with brute strength, so they matched up well. No one could beat Blessed Child Zanoba on strength alone, and Dohga did well against aggressive opponents. I didn't think I needed to worry.

I didn't have the luxury of worrying about anyone except myself. In front of me stood Number Seven of the Seven Great Powers, North God Kalman III, Alexander Rybak. This was one half of the duo that'd pushed me into the ravine. On top of that, I didn't have the Version One this time, and the updated Version Two was incomplete. I couldn't relax. I couldn't hold anything back. Victory would go to whoever moved first. I'd open with Quagmire—

"I was waiting!"

Or so I thought. North God Kalman III made us wait. Of course, our opponent was a North God warrior. He could just as easily pretend to wait, then take us by surprise.

I put a Quagmire in place, then followed it up with a Stone Cannon.

"Before we fight, I want to talk a little!" He deflected the Stone Cannon harmlessly. Or, wait. Did it go off course? Whichever it was, it changed trajectory in midair and shot away. Not only that, even though I'd definitely put a Quagmire under the kid's feet, he wasn't sinking.

Is this the power of the North God?! No, never mind. I know about the King Dragon Blade's abilities.

"You have every right to be angry. Someone cut your arms off and threw you into a ravine. I'm sure you're itching to fight. But please, wait a little longer. When I've said my piece, I'm all yours. Even a runt like you is surely capable of waiting while two great warriors talk?"

Did he call me a runt?! Asshole! I'll send you home in pieces!

Or, I guess I'd have thought that if I had more of a flare for the dramatic,

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but I couldn't muster up the anger. From the perspective of one of the Seven Great Powers I was a runt. I'd been boosted so high lately the perspective felt refreshing, if anything.

I didn't want to hold off. He might be stalling to buy time, and I wanted to win quickly so we could go help the rest of the team. I took a step back and looked at Sandor. Just like Alexander, he made no move to attack. And I had no hope of winning this alone.

"Sorry," Sandor said with a shrug. He stepped forward, then said, "...All right, what is it, stranger?"

"Stranger? You call me, your blood, a stranger?"

"Isn't this the first we've met?"

"The first time we met was when I came out of my mother's belly, Dad."

Why was Sandor playing dumb?

"Enough with this. I know you, even underneath that ugly helmet."

The Man-God had gotten a look at me, so Alexander probably knew everything too.

"You are North God Kalman II, Alex Rybak!"

"Alec, you're stepping on my line," Sandor said. He sighed as he took his helmet off to reveal black hair and a middle-aged face. Alec had the same crop of black hair. Now that I got a look at them, the family resemblance was strong.

"You're supposed to defeat me, then say 'You were a worthy opponent. I would at least look upon your face at the end,' then take the helmet off..."

"Forget about that! I thought you were dead... What've you been doing?!"

"...Taking on apprentices and teaching my skills as I pleased. Though not long ago, I was inspired by Her Majesty Queen Ariel of the Asura Kingdom to become a knight."

"Apprentices? What were you doing taking on apprentices after you surrendered your sword to me and set aside North God Style?!" Anger flashed in little Alec's eyes. I didn't know what had happened between them, but Sandor's words had touched a nerve.

"Alec, I didn't set aside North God Style." "Liar! You don't even have a sword now!"

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"Hmm." Sandor raised his staff and looked at it. It was made from metal, and I was pretty sure he'd said it was an ordinary staff, but maybe it had some special power. It looked ordinary, though.

"I just think fighting this way makes you stronger," he said.

Alec was thunderstruck. "That's idiotic! You want me to believe that old stick is stronger than the King Dragon Sword?"

"That's not what I'm saying. Alec, that sword is the strongest in the world. I wielded it for a hundred years, so I know it better than anyone."

"Then...why?"

"That sword is too strong," Sandor replied simply, like he was making an obvious point. "Once you've got that sword in your hand, nothing stands a chance against you. Not the most enormous beast, the most cunning monster, or the most steadfast warrior. I won battle after battle, and I became a hero."

Sandor paused and regarded Alexander. "Only then when I stopped, I had a thought. I was a hero. Wasn't everything the same as before I'd taken up the sword? Was the North God II, Alex Rybak, really strong?" Sandor cast his eyes downward. "Once I'd had that thought, I could no longer fight as I had. Not to deny my own battles nor my allies, of course... I realized I was finished as a hero. That's why I surrendered the role of the North God as a hero to you, while I went to spread the teachings of North God Kalman I."

I couldn't help but feel left out of this. I wasn't really following, but here goes: Alex (Sandor) the dad had gotten tired of fighting, relinquished his symbolic sword, and gone to spread his school of fighting. His kid (Alexander) was mad about that. I mean, I can't blame the kid entirely. I'd probably be pissed too if my dad dumped something so heavy on me and then walked out.

Child abandonment—pretty uncool.

"So that's how we ended up with Auber—with the eccentrics?"

"That was one of the paths shown to us by North God Kalman I."

"I don't recognize the legitimacy of the eccentrics. That isn't North God Style," Alexander said, shaking his head with undisguised disdain.

Auber, huh... Well, he wasn't a swordsman, that's for sure. If anything, he was more like a ninja.

"It's not even sword fighting, is it?" Alexander went on.

"The First North God Kalman wielded a sword, but he taught that one

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need not rely only on the sword."

"What, and that's why you're using that old stick?"

"Yes. With this, I can feel myself getting stronger. Knowing one is growing makes one stronger still."

"...I don't get it," little Alec said unhappily.

He was still young. Once he'd decided something was one way, he couldn't see it differently.

"Now, Alec, It's my turn to ask you. What are you doing here?"

"I came to defeat Orsted. I'm going to defeat the Dragon God and become

number two of the Seven Great Powers."

"Aiming high, eh? Makes a father proud," Sandor said with a smile.

Um, Sandor? Hate to bring this up when you're all bursting with pride, but you're on my team, right? You're not going to suddenly say, "I'll give you a hand then!" and switch sides. Right?

"Well, I'll be fighting against you this time, but I suppose you're going to strike me down to challenge Orsted."

"Naturally. I don't care if you're my opponent. I will make the name of North God Kalman III one I don't have to be ashamed of."

A name you don't have to be ashamed of? Seriously? Although I guess you get hung up on stuff like that when your dad and your family are famous.

Still, I didn't exactly feel like cheering on little Alec's dreams.

"That's not all," he said. "I will wipe those Superd devils from existence!"

"Huh?" Sandor looked perplexed. "The Superd aren't devils. You saw them when you came to the village, didn't you?"

Alec nodded readily. "That's not important. Everyone thinks of the Superd as devils. If I kill them all, I'll be remembered as a hero for all eternity."

"That's not what a hero would do."

"It isn't, is it? If I get picky about methods, I'll never surpass your great deeds. My name will never outshine that of North God Kalman II."

"So outshining me is the same as becoming a hero?" "Exactly!"

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Sandor turned to me, his mouth half open. Then, he bowed. "I'm terribly sorry, Master Rudeus," he said. "I thought I could convince my idiot son. It turns out he's even more of an idiot than I thought."

"...It does look that way," I agreed.

Alec, it seemed, was a slave to the word hero. Rather than become a hero through heroic deeds, he just wanted to become famous so everyone would make a fuss over him.

Anyone with half a brain would point out, that's not how it works. Don't ask me the details of how it works, but it sure as hell doesn't work like that.

"Let's stop him."

"Yeah."

Sandor donned his helmet and raised his staff. Behind him, I spread my arms, ready to provide back-up. Alec glared at us, still grumpy. First, he'd had his choices disapproved of, then he'd been the subject of exasperated scorn. He was seething with anger and had no way to let it out.

"...You think you can defeat me with an old stick and that deadweight amateur? When I wield the King Dragon Blade?"

"Of course I do," Sandor said confidently. "I'm going to put you in your place."

At the words "put you in your place," Alec's patience finally snapped. "You're dead!"

Thus the battle between Kalman II and Kalman III began.

"Yaaaaah!"

Alec attacked first, slashing down on the diagonal at Sandor. He wielded the huge sword effortlessly with one hand.

"Whoa!" Sandor parried its devastating mass with his staff. Alec lost his balance...and yet his defense didn't drop. With formidable poise, he twisted around and came at Sandor again.

Sandor reacted like he'd seen it coming. As Alec spun around to strike at

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him like a hurricane, Sandor parried once more. As he parried, he used the principle of leverage to sweep Alec's legs out from under him. Just like that, Alec—no, he wasn't knocked down. He leapt as though to jump over Sandor, then plunged back to the ground with impossible speed. It was an insane move, but I recognized where it had come from. He was using the power of the magic sword, King Dragon Blade Kajakut—gravity manipulation.

"Grrraaaar!"

Sandor was ready for it. With his back still to Alec, he parried a blow from the King Dragon Blade, then another, then another. He turned a little each time until he was facing Alec.

Alec's blows weren't easy to parry. Every time he kicked off, he left an indent in the ground, and the shockwave when he swung his sword struck trees. Those trees began to topple, creaking, to the ground. I was standing a ways off, and the vacuum wave he generated was strong enough to bite into my cheeks.

The blow didn't hit Sandor. The guy might have been retired, but he was still the North God. He went on parrying Alec's strikes without ever looking worried. With his ability to manipulate gravity, Alec could move as freely and as acrobatically as he liked, which made him impossible to predict. Sandor was keeping up with him all the same. It looked like he wasn't moving at first glance, but his body almost quivered as he made minute adjustments to get into a more advantageous position.

So this was what a fight between North Gods looked like. They weren't that fast. Maybe because of all the training I'd done with Eris and Orsted, I was able to follow their movements. They were so tightly packed and so unpredictable that although I could follow the fight, I couldn't help.

"Take thaaaat!"

"Whoaaaaa!"

Man, these guys made a racket.

There was no time for thoughts like that, though. I steadied my breathing, then looked hard at the two of them. If they were evenly matched, my intervention could swing the battle. Even with the Demon Eye of Foresight, reading their next moves was no easy task. Even if I couldn't read Alec, I knew how Sandor moved. At the very least, he was also easier to predict than Alec. He had a pattern.

He went right, then left. When his opponent got directly behind him, he

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had a pattern...

"There!" I fired a Stone Cannon. Whoosh—it went barreling in a straight line right into Alec.

Scratch that, it wasn't straight, and it wasn't a direct hit. Its path warped. Even as it left an indent in Alec's armor, it slid off the surface and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

It did throw Alec off balance, though.

"Hah!" Sandor didn't miss his opening. His blow slammed into Alec's

solar plexus.

"Nngh...!" Alec let out a grunt, but at the same time, he leapt. He was heading straight at me.

He's fast!

"Butt out, runt!"

He steps in sharply. Slashes down on the diagonal.

Looking with the Demon Eye of Foresight, I took the blow on my remaining gauntlet.

"Oof..." The moment it hit, a crushing weight pressed down on my legs. The gauntlet cracked and I sank to my knees. I thought my left hand was going to come flying off...but then, with a grinding noise, the black arm parried the sword. The Atofe Hand was sturdy.

"That arm...!" Alec exclaimed. "No way. Is that grandma's?!"

"Electric!" I yelled, releasing the mana I'd stored up in my other hand. Alec's body was bathed in purple lightning. I poured mana into my left hand, preparing to fire a Stone Cannon at his face at point-blank range.

"Yooouuuaagh!"

Only, Alec didn't stop. Curving his back like a shrimp to dodge my Stone Cannon, he spun on one foot and slashed at my legs.

I jumped out of the way. By then, Alec had already regained his footing. I saw his blade coming straight for my neck.

"Yaaah!" At the last second, Sandor came charging into Alec from one side, ramming him with his staff. Alec went flying straight off in a tailspin to the side...and came back to earth in a gentle arc that ignored the laws of gravity.

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"...Hmph." At a glance, he didn't seem to have taken any damage. It didn't look like Electric had done much either.

Was this the power of the sword? The quality of his armor? Or was he just being stoic? Maybe he was trained differently. Perhaps his body was made differently. Anything was possible.

"Looks like I held too much back," Alec said, like he was on a losing streak in a fighting game. "Guess it's time to get a little more serious..."

All things considered, this wasn't a bad situation.

If we kept this up, we had a chance of winning. Sandor would be the front- liner, and I'd support him. If we each landed a hit every time, eventually we'd be able to bring Alec down. North God Kalman III was a tough opponent, but Sandor was strong too. They were evenly matched. I'd be the deciding factor.

I'm no deadweight! I thought, just as Sandor discouragingly said, "This is bad."

You're kidding. We've got the advantage! You haven't taken any damage.

That last exchange of blows had broken the Zaliff Gauntlet, but the Atofe Hand had even better specs. We could still do this.

"He's holding his power in reserve for his fight with Orsted later. He's going to get stronger and stronger."

Ah, crap. He was holding back. He was totally toying with us.

"How much longer will Miss Roxy be?"

"I don't know." She was supposed to send word when she was ready. It had already been half a day, so I thought she should be good to go soon. Unless Eris or Zanoba had gone down and the enemy had steamrolled Roxy too.

"He's much stronger than he was when I knew him. I may have promised a little more than I can deliver," Sandor said meekly.

Don't be like that. You can still try. I'll do my best to support you. I'm no deadweight, I swear! I'll buoy you up like a helium balloon! Only, I can't manipulate gravity, so maybe only emotionally.

"Let's buy some time for now."

"R-right." With this quick conference over, Sandor charged forward, and Alec ran once more to meet him.

"Uuah!"

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"Grrryaah!"

They got stuck into another exchange of blows. It was just as Sandor had said: I couldn't pick up on anything different at first glance, but Sandor was no longer deflecting Alec's blows perfectly. With every parry, his stance degraded a little further. The level of Alec's attacks had changed—they looked the same, but I guess he put more weight behind them.

If he got the advantage over Sandor, I wouldn't be able to squeeze in any direct hits with my Stone Cannon. The number he parried, deflected, or evaded would increase.

I stopped shooting. Instead, I used magic to shape the earth. First of all, I'd put a stop to the bouncy, physics-defying aerial maneuvers. That'd take the pressure off Sandor a bit and give him more flexibility for how he attacked.

Then, time to reintroduce my Stone Cannons.

"Earth Lance!" I raised pillars of earth to surround the two of them. I added, "Earth Net!" About fifty centimeters above Sandor's head, I formed a net out of the earth. If I blocked off the space above them, those gravity-defying leaps would...

"You pest!" One hit and the net was down. That was a no go, then.

"What's the matter, Dad? Is that all you've got?"

This was bad. Sandor was getting backed into a corner. It wasn't a difference in skill. Without a doubt, the difference was in the weapons. Every blow from the King Dragon Blade bent Sandor's staff further. I was frantically shooting Stone Cannons to back him up, but they were all thrown off course. He seemed to have decided to deal with me later, because even when they grazed him, he totally ignored them.

Dammit. We weren't even going to buy time at this rate. Things would get worse and worse until we lost.

"Gaaagh!"

Then it happened. A shadow came hurtling at Alec from the side, like a comet. A red-haired woman with a sword in each hand who threw herself at Alec with all her strength. Alec stopped that attack, but then ate another from Sandor and was thrown back. The red swordswoman followed, striking again. Alec made another landing that spat in the face of gravity, then immediately lashed out with his giant blade.

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The red swordswoman couldn't respond in time.

"Oof...!"

Behind her, following like a shadow, was a green-haired warrior who diverted the strike.

"Graaah!"

The mad dog howled. Steel flashed, running right at Alec's throat, but something invisible turned it aside. The blade dug into his shoulder, but his armor was unexpectedly sturdy and stopped the blow, leaving only a scratch. The mad dog didn't chase too far. The second she saw the attack hadn't hit home, she jumped back. The great sword swept across where she'd stood, slicing through a few strands of her hair.

There was distance between them now.

I saw red hair and green hair, standing with their backs to me.

"Sorry for the wait, Rudeus!" Eris said, casting a quick look my way. Ruijerd didn't turn around, but he probably used his third eye to check I was okay.

They'd come to help us. If I were a maiden, it'd have been love at first sight.

Hold me! Ravish me!

"Oh, come on..." While I was having my maiden moment, Alec looked taken aback. Or more accurately, he looked shocked.

"You can't mean Gall Falion is dead?" he demanded. I gave Ruijerd a questioning look and he nodded.

Holy cow. Sure, it had been two-on-one, but Eris and Ruijerd took out the Sword God.

"I knew he'd stepped down as Sword God, but I didn't think he'd go down so easily... I suppose I overestimated him." Alec's tone was haughty, but he looked upset. Come to think of it, he and Gall had seemed pretty chummy back when they shoved me into the ravine.

"I didn't know him long...but he was a good man..." Alec's demeanor had changed. All sense of easy confidence had evaporated.

"I thought he'd wipe the floor with the likes of those two. We were going to fight Orsted together..." Alec gripped his sword and dropped low into his

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stance.

Something was coming. Sensing the overwhelming aura rolling off him, Eris and Ruijerd's hackles went up and they too lowered their stances.

If he was just getting serious now, then he was too late. Eris and Ruijerd had joined me and Sandor. It was four on one. Even if the one in the equation was one of the Seven Great Powers, equipped with the world's strongest sword.

"In my right hand, a sword." Alec raised the point of the sword held in his right hand up to the sky. "In my left hand, a sword."

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He gripped the hilt with his left hand. A two-handed grip. Up until now he'd been swinging the greatblade with one hand, but now he held it in two. Was this his true fighting style, then?

Sandor cried out sharply, "We're finished! Flee!" He dived to one side.

He was too late.

"With these, mine arms, countless lives shall I claim. A hundred million deaths I will deliver."

Alec raised the King Dragon Blade high above his head.

"My name is North God Alexander Rybak."

I realized I was floating. Not just me. Eris, Ruijerd, and even Sandor, who'd tried to dive away. We were all hovering in midair. All the fallen leaves and branches were floating too. This was the King Dragon Blade's gravity manipulation.

We didn't fall, and we didn't climb any higher. I flailed my arms and legs, but I couldn't retreat.

As I hung there, totally defenseless, I could see power crackling through every fiber of Alec's body.

"Now, I avenge my friend and ally!"

Shiiit. Just then, my body started to move of its own accord. I concentrated mana in both hands and released a sonic wave. I sent Eris, Ruijerd, and Sandor flying far away. Right after that, I pulled the fragments of the Zaliff Gauntlet back to me, then pointed the tip of the Stone of Absorption at Alec. Whatever was in the space between me and the sword disappeared, and I fell back to earth. I threw the Stone of Absorption aside, then drove all my mana into my arms, and pointed them toward Alec who was already swinging down his greatblade—

"Secret Technique: Gravity Fracture." There was an explosion and a flash.

I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I was on top of a tree. I'd been sent flying, which I knew

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because my armored leg was broken. The leg segment was smashed to pieces and my leg was bent at a weird angle. My legs weren't the only casualties; my chassis had been smashed into fragments too, and there was an intermittent pain in my chest. My ribs were probably broken.

"Ack... Ahh, ahh." I coughed, and pain flared in my chest, but I could still talk. Right away, I cast healing magic on my wounds.

"How far was I... Whoa?!" When I tried to raise myself up, the tree branch supporting me snapped. I went tumbling down a fair distance, crashing through branches as I went.

I didn't reach the ground. I must have been really high up.

I saw a crater. It was about twenty meters across, right next to the ravine. It hadn't been there before. It must have just been made. Probably by that attack just now.

"Holy hell," I said. Then, I looked around. Over in the direction of the Superd Village, I saw something shining. I knew that light.

"Is that—whoa?!" Another branch snapped. Banging into other branches as I went, this time I fell all the way to the ground.

"Ow..." I'd gone and hurt myself again just after using healing magic. Right away, I cast more of it to patch myself up. Whatever was going on, I needed to get a handle on the situation. Where was Eris? Ruijerd? Sandor? What about Alec?

I stood up, then realized with a start that someone was standing right in front of me. I jumped, then got into a fighting stance. The person before me wasn't an enemy.

"Sandor!" I cried.

"If it isn't Master Rudeus... Could I trouble you for another healing spell?" he asked. He was covered in wounds. His armor was half in ruins, his helmet was shattered, and blood trickled down from his head. His left arm dangled, limp.

"Yes, of course." I laid my hand on him and healed his wounds.

"Much appreciated."

Barely taking in his thanks, I asked, "What about Eris and Ruijerd?"

If even Sandor had taken wounds this bad, those two wouldn't have made it out unscathed either.

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"Minor injuries. It was a good thing you allowed them to get some distance. They should be fine even without healing magic. They're still unconscious over that way."

That was a relief.

"What about North God Kalman III?"

"After he saw we were down, he went on ahead."

"He didn't try to finish us off?"

"That last technique of his was the strongest in North God Style. He probably assumed he didn't have to."

First pushing me into the ravine, and now this. The kid seemed a few cards short of a full deck. That had saved our skin, but even so...

We'd let him get past us. He was headed for Orsted. Orsted would probably win in a fight between them. I mean, he was supposed to have fought Alexander and the King Dragon Blade in all the loops up until now. In the plan, he wouldn't go out of his way to fight unless he had to, but if he did, I was sure he'd crush him without breaking a sweat, just like with Water God Reida.

That last technique gave me pause, though. Orsted wasn't the only one in the Superd Village. There were Superd, who'd only just recovered from illness, and then Julie and Norn... If Orsted had to block or deflect that attack on someone else's behalf, it would take a considerable amount of mana—even for him. Fighting a battle on the defensive was more difficult than the offensive.

If Orsted couldn't protect everyone, they'd all die.

"Can you still fight, Sandor?" I asked.

"You're going?"

"This isn't over yet. I saw a light in the forest just now. The light of a summoning. If Roxy's got everything ready, we're just getting started."

Just as I said this, two green-haired men came running toward us out of the forest. They were both Superd warriors, though neither one was Ruijerd. When they saw us, they approached us right away.

"We have a message from Roxy. The summoning worked."

"All right."

The Superd nodded.

"Right," Sandor announced, "I'll dive in first. I'll slow him down some."

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"Don't push yourself too hard."

"I won't."

After this brief exchange, Sandor set off running.

"You take care of Eris and Ruijerd. When they wake up, tell them to come and back us up," I said to one of the Superd.

"Understood!"

"Please show me the way."

"Understood!" Leaving Eris and Riuijerd with the Superd who had nodded before, the other warrior and I ran off to find Roxy. We went there directly, jumping over tree roots and plunging through undergrowth. With the Magic Armor broken, I couldn't move that fast...or rather, I guess because it had stopped working. It was heavy.

Thus, on the way, I pulled off the Updated Version Two Magic Armor so I could run unencumbered. North God Kalman III was stronger than I'd thought. I couldn't back down now. Not when the real fight had only just begun.

"Rudeus...!"

We reached our destination. Roxy wasn't there, only a Superd warrior and Elinalise.

Which meant, all according to plan.

"You look terrible..."

Despite patching myself up with healing magic, my armor and my clothes were in tatters. When Elinalise saw me, her eyes went wide, but her face smoothed back to a neutral expression in seconds.

"It's ready," she said.

There it was, behind her, crudely and quickly sketched. A magic circle. It had already stopped glowing. This was the same circle that had been on one of the scrolls rendered useless at the bottom of the Ravine of the Earthwyrm. That scroll's maker was Roxy Greyrat.

The circle was broken, crushed under the weight of a massive set of armor. The Magic Armor. The duplicate Magic Armor we'd made. As we'd predicted, there was a chance that it might get destroyed in the fight. This was the set we'd had to leave at the workshop because there was no room for it in the office armory. It was the one trump card that had escaped the destruction of the

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office.

"The Magic Armor Version One." All right, time for round two.

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Chapter 6:

Kalman III vs. Dead End and Co.

IBOOTED UP THE VERSION ONE, then went after the North God. I devoted

myself to the chase. Running through the forest, dodging past trees. As I ran, I dug deep for all the magic left in my body. I'd consumed a decent portion in the fight with the North God, but at that level, I shouldn't have even used ten percent. I still had magic to spare.

Only, since earlier, the thundering that had gone on without a break the whole time we were fighting the North God had stopped. No matter how well- matched Zanoba and Dohga were to fight him, maybe downing a God-tier opponent had always been out of the question.

I hope they're okay.

What if they weren't? Then we'd have both the North God and the Ogre God to deal with. Would my magic hold out? Or would it cut out partway through like it had in the fight with Orsted?

No, the real fight comes now. Stop worrying about what comes next. Start with what's in front of you, one thing at a time.

First up was my number one goal: North God Kalman III. *

By the time I arrived on the scene, Sandor had already lost. He was on his butt with his back against a tree, limp, face down. There was no weapon in his hand. That staff of his was bent and lying on the ground nearby.

Alexander looked down at him. North God Kalman III had conquered his predecessor.

"How long are you going to keep playing this game, Dad? You know by now, don't you? You don't have a hope of beating me. Not without a magic sword-class weapon."

Sandor didn't answer. Maybe he was already unconscious. Surely he wasn't dead.

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"Or is this another strategy? Playing dead. The eccentrics are all good at that, aren't they? Doing whatever it takes to win and achieve their goal. I admire that approach. Though if I'm honest, I think Auber and the others went too far... You taught them that, Dad. Why do you reject me?"

Sandor didn't reply. He just sat there, in silence.

"Well, it's about time I was going," Alec said and turned—toward me.

"...What?!" He looked like he'd seen a bear or something. I imagined what was going through his mind. I wasn't expecting this encounter. There's no way this guy can be here. That Magic Armor, how? It was broken. That was the sort of face he made.

"Listen here, my son, and I'll answer that for you." Only a few seconds had passed. As Alec stood there frozen, Sandor stood up.

"Playtime is over. You're right, without a magic sword I cannot defeat you. That's why I borrowed one from Eris. Only, it really is the bare minimum. With just a magic sword, I wouldn't have much of a chance. So I waited. I held on and on, played dead, and waited. So that I could be sure of victory." As he spoke, Sandor drew a sword from behind him.

It was Eris' s second sword. The Magic Sword Eminence.

"You want to know why I refuse to accept you? You want to be a hero, but in that pursuit you sully yourself with deeds unworthy of heroism. If you want to be a hero, act like it. Don't steal victory through underhanded tactics! Don't buy fame by beating down the weak. Find an opponent greater than yourself, against whom you have no chance of success. Challenge them, win, and claim your glory. Not as I did, but as the first North God Kalman did."

Sandor drew his sword from its scabbard with an air of lofty detachment and held it ready.

The Magic Sword Eminence was short. Wielding it, Sandor looked as mighty as befitted the name of North God.

Meanwhile, Alec shot a glance back over his shoulder.

"So that's it. You were waiting for backup... Geese did tell me not to let Rudeus get into the Magic Armor. All he meant was not to let an opponent get into peak condition. You can't seriously think you can win with just two of you against me and the King Dragon Blade?"

"Who said there were two of us?" Sandor said. As if in answer, the bushes

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behind him rustled, and out stepped a man and a woman. The woman had red hair, and the man green. It was Eris and Ruijerd. They must have regained consciousness while I was off getting the Magic Armor. They still had some visible injuries, but both were way tougher than me. Their injuries wouldn't hinder them in a fight.

Eris glanced my way. The look she gave me was strong and loaded with meaning. It said she trusted me to have her back. Ruijerd gave me the same look. He hadn't seen the Magic Armor before, but his third eye must have shown him it was me. He unflinchingly trusted me to support him.

And I would do exactly that. I'd support all three of them, including Sandor.

After all the effort of bringing out the big guns, of summoning Magic Armor Version One, all I was going to do was support. It felt a bit pathetic. Then again, this was how we'd done things since way back. Eris was front and center, Ruijerd controlled, and I ran support. We didn't need to discuss it.

We had one extra in the mix, but we had a kick-ass lineup.

"Bring it." At Sandor's words, our second round with the North God began.

The first to attack was Eris. She struck at her typical top speed along the shortest possible arc toward Alexander.

Alec parried it. As the attacks continued, too fast for my eyes to follow, he parried them without breaking a sweat, from time to time throwing out a counter strike. There were no breaks between Eris's attacks, but that was because I couldn't keep up—there were openings.

He countered, but all his counters were rebuffed. That was Ruijerd. Every time Alec tried to exploit a hole in Eris's defense, Ruijerd swung his spear and stole his chance. Ruijerd had become Eris's shadow. No matter what misstep she made, so long as Ruijerd was there she had no weakness.

Except for how Alec sometimes ignored gravity. Just when you thought you had him off balance, he'd make some bizarre contortion leading straight into an unpredictable move. Immediately after doing a big, acrobatic maneuver to

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evade, he'd suddenly plummet back to the ground and be back on the offensive.

Even Ruijerd couldn't keep up with moves like that. Those were the ones that Sandor blocked—Sandor, or the North God Kalman II, who was more familiar than anyone with gravity manipulation.

Must've been tough for little Alec. Sandor targeted him at the point he hit the ground, or when he was in midair. Alexander dodged the attack itself, but he couldn't move the way he wanted. By burning energy on simple mischief, he ended up taking more hits. If he tried to put some distance between them, he'd get a faceful of my magic. He might be able to use the King Dragon Blade to throw off my Stone Cannon, which even the great Orsted hadn't been able to dodge completely. By using the Stone of Absorption a split second beforehand I could delay his reaction and reliably get a few grazing shots on him. I wouldn't get a direct hit, but an obviously dense barrage would slow him down and stop him from putting distance between himself and Eris. Alexander had deflected the Electric I'd cast with timing I thought was sure to hit, but I wouldn't give him time to catch his breath. Thus, he wouldn't have to time use his ultimate weapon from earlier.

"Ngh...!"

Alexander was faster and stronger than anyone else here. Maybe because he was in a hurry, maybe because he was panicking—he was sloppy. Every move he made was starting to show roughness around the edges. Our team, on the other hand, was sure and steady, and we were doing reliable damage. The battle was swinging in our favor. There was no need to do anything reckless— and besides, it's not like there was any one big move that would definitively take him down.

So if we just kept on fighting like we were—eventually, he'd come apart. Both endurance and magic became depleted the longer you used them. Who'd pushed themselves the hardest since the fight began? Who'd had the least left in the tank beforehand? As the fight went on, those things always became clear.

A blow caught Eris across the face. It was only a scratch, but as time went on, the scratches mounted. Was she running on fumes?

No. There was a definitive weak point. Sandor. North God Kalman II, formerly of the Seven Great Powers, was our weak point. What could you expect? The third North God had hit him with his ultimate attack, after which he'd protected Eris and Ruijerd, then he'd gotten beaten to a pulp keeping North God Kalman III in place until we showed up. Even looking on from the

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sidelines, it was obvious that the vigor had gone out of his movements. He was still moving. He was still doing his job. Possibly he was keeping up purely because Alexander was being sloppy. He was human, after all, and humans have limits.

Eris was a given, but even me, with my Demon Eye of Foresight that let me read my opponents' moves, and the legendary warrior Ruijerd were getting out of breath. This was a grueling fight. With every attack and counter, we walked on a razor's edge. Another ten minutes might see Sandor reach his limit.

Thankfully, we had power to spare. Unlike before, I was wearing the Magic Armor Version One. My light of sight was elevated, making it easier to see the situation and expanding the area I could support. If Sandor went down, I'd shift from what I was currently doing to support him.

Timing it to his pattern of attack, I wove together an Earth Lance from directly below with a Vacuum Wave from directly above. I also upped the frequency of Stone of Absorption. Alexander could ignore gravity to move in three dimensions, but only because he had the King Dragon Blade. I had verified that the Stone of Absorption worked on the King Dragon Blade's power. By using it more I'd be supporting less, but Alec's range would be limited. That'd take about a third of the load off of Sandor. A big chunk, sure, but still only a third. It wasn't enough for him to get his strength back and end the fight. Victory was still a long way off. I had to think harder.

...Should I just continuously deploy the Stone of Absorption? We'd lose my long-range attacks, but with the Magic Armor Version One I could do close- range combat too. If I shut down his acrobatic moves, that'd put us in a more favorable position...right? No, scratch that. Right now, Eris and Ruijerd and Sandor were confronting him at point-blank range. There was no room for the massive bulk of the Magic Armor. Even if I could match them for power and speed, without the skill to go with it I could just as easily trip them up.

What about buying time? I could give Sandor the chance to retreat and recover his strength. A few minutes, tops. That'd make a big difference, right?

Hold on... Alexander was still the North God. Even if he couldn't control gravity, he'd still have the skill to fight. Duh. Gravity control wasn't the core of his power. Even if, by shutting it down, I brought him down a rank, I was still two, or three, or maybe even more ranks lower than Sandor in close combat. Even with the Demon Eye of Foresight I couldn't follow all Alec's movements. I might end up placing a massive burden on Ruijerd and Eris. They were already

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starting to take minor wounds. The difference of a fingertip, a hair's breadth, could lead to a severed artery.

Eris was fighting at full pelt. Since early on she'd been attacking without pause, and yet every strike went wide. Alec was just that good. It was possible she was tired from her fight with the Sword God, or that Alec's ultimate attack from earlier had injured her somewhere, but as far as I could tell, Eris was giving the best performance of her life.

Only, I didn't know how long she could keep it up. Ruijerd had only just recovered from the plague. I knew he'd been bedridden until only a few days earlier. His form was good now, but it was possible he'd suddenly collapse.

What should I do? We won't lose, carrying on like this, but we can't win, either. I've got my magic, but Sandor's going to hit his limit some time. What should I do? How can I do this?

I agonized. Do I deploy a max-power Stone of Absorption and risk going on the frontline? Or should I try and break the deadlock with a different spell? Reset the board?

"Oof!"

Just then, Alexander's target shifted from Eris to Sandor. Because he wasn't blocking Eris's blows as much, cuts striped across Alexander's body. But of course, none of them could be a decisive blow.

I could see what he was after. He'd picked up on it too. If he took out Sandor, that would break the balance. If he just paid less attention to Eris and focused on bringing down Sandor, he could wrest victory from inevitable defeat.

Something chilling ran down my spine. Sandor would die. Then, Eris would die. Then Ruijerd and then, in a one-on-one fight, he'd kill me too.

We'd lose.

You should probably win this quick, then, don't you think?

Panic flooded me, which I simply couldn't afford right now. Anxiety made me doubt my actions and misjudge things. I started making little errors. Ruijerd managed to cover for me all the same. I was obviously a burden on him. This wasn't working. I needed something, one decisive play.

Right as I thought that, it happened. The decisive blow came, right out of the depths of the forest.

First came a lump of gray iron. It came hurtling out, rolled like a ball, then

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crashed into a tree and stopped. The hunk of iron soon moved—its helmet was askew, its heavy armor was dented. Blood ran from its head and poured unceasingly from its nose. Its face was dazed. Still, it kept hold of its weapons, scrunched up its simple and honest face with all its might, and glared at the opponent that had thrown it.

It was Dohga. The next one to come hurtling along was a slim figure. He'd already lost his armor and was naked from the waist up. His scrawny frame looked like it might come to pieces the way he came hurtling by. He crashed into Dohga.

Zanoba.

Then came the decisive blow. It had red skin and long fangs and was close to three meters tall, a mountain of muscle that dropped down from above like a monkey. A weird sound, neither bam nor thud nor crash, resounded when the musclebound brute hit the ground nearby.

It was Ogre God Marta. The second I saw him, my whole body froze and a shudder ran through me. Disordered thoughts whizzed through my skull.

We were in a delicate balance. Why were they here? Could we win? Were we doomed? Should we fall back? Or should we attack?

"Hey there, Ogre God!" Alexander looked thrilled with this turn of luck. As soon as he laid eyes on the Ogre God, a beaming smile spread across his face. Seeing it made me wonder if he'd been panicking the way I had.

Right, we weren't the only ones struggling. That delicate balance we'd had meant he must have been struggling himself. He wanted to press on but we'd pinned him down. He wouldn't lose, but at the same time, he didn't have a plan to break through. He wanted to use his ultimate attack, but he couldn't. Dragging on in those conditions would take a mental toll even on him.

"Great timing!" Alexander said. The Ogre God looked grumpy. Grumpy, and like he was wondering what the hell we were doing here. Earlier, Alec had looked at me like he'd seen a bear. The Ogre God now looked like a bear seeing a human.

Oh, this was bad. This was a delicate situation, ready to collapse given another ten minutes, and now our enemies had increased.

"Mind helping me out here?" Alexander asked. The Ogre God nodded.

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We no longer had any power to spare. I had to provide support against two targets now, so I was constantly running around the battlefield. I caught an opening and managed to heal Dohga and Zanoba. Both of them had been losing against the Ogre God. He moved with unbelievable speed for his huge frame, and every attack sent one of them flying. Zanoba ripped up a nearby tree and threw it at him, but the ogre came back and tossed him away like it hadn't done any damage at all. Dohga attacked with his giant axe. He might as well have been a mosquito for all the marks it left, then the Ogre God punched him back and he went sailing into the air as well. Dohga and Zanoba weren't powerless, and yet he brushed them off like dust. His power was overwhelming.

Alexander kept his attack up without change. Sandor was eking out the very last of his strength to keep going, but somehow, he was holding his ground.

Okay, not "somehow." Sandor wasn't giving ground, but Ruijerd was getting tired. He was pushing himself too hard. This was bad. Real bad. We weren't looking for a way to break the deadlock anymore. In a few more minutes, our line was going to collapse. We had to retreat. There was nothing behind us. We'd end up taking the fight to Orsted. Orsted wouldn't die, of course. He could swat them like bugs...this time.

Are you sure, though? Are you sure about this? That means you lose. Are you really okay with that?

Was there really no way to improve the situation? I had to stop one of them at least. Think, Rudeus. There had to be something. If I used every trick I had, I had to be able to fight back.

After losing almost all my scrolls, I'd managed to get the Version One back. I had its gatling gun, its bulk, its speed, its power. Wasn't there something I could do? Something, anything?

Anything...!

"Ugh!" Finally, Sandor fell to his knees. I stared at the Ogre God in despair. This guy was a runaway train. We would be doomed if I didn't stop him here. I wanted one more idea. Just one more. We'd had a small and precarious advantage, now we were being pushed into a precarious disadvantage, but I could still turn it around. If I could do something about the Ogre God, Zanoba

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and Dohga could change out with Sandor, and we could bring him back to the backline to let him recover.

I just needed one idea. Just one.

"Aaaahahahahahaaa!"

Just then, a voice echoed around us, and at the same time, my shoulder grew hot.

Both Alec and Sandor's heads shot up and they looked around, like they recognized the voice.

"Things are getting pretty interesting here, huh?" the voice said. A second later, something black leapt from the undergrowth. The figure, clad in black armor and with a sword in one hand, faced the Ogre God head on.

"Graaaaah!" They swung at the Ogre God. There was incredible noise, somewhere between a clang and a crack, and the sword broke. Blood gushed from the arm the Ogre God had used to guard against the blow and he tottered back a few steps.

"Haaa!" The black figure didn't pay any attention to their broken sword. They closed in and threw a straight, sharp punch into the Ogre God's gut.

"Oof..." The Ogre God doubled over for a second and the figure threw a left hook. His head snapped around and he stumbled, but he didn't fall. Raising his uninjured arm, he punched the black figure. They went flying a few meters back, then spread their wings in midair, and landed lightly on the ground.

"Fwaaahahahaha! Good, good! I like that!" That was demon tongue, coming out of that black figure. I gulped.

"Lady Atofe...!"

It was Immortal Demon King Atofe. The most feared being on the Demon Continent was here in front of me.

"Why..."

She looked around at me and her face contorted into a savage grin.

"Heheheh. I smelt you were in trouble through my offshoot, so I thought the big fight must be close! I got here fast as I could! I've got no idea what's going on at all, but I made it in time! The Ogre God and Alec...Heheheh, fwaha...ha, fwaaahahahaha!" Atofe cackled so hard you had to wonder what was so funny. Her unsettling laughter echoed around the forest and left Alexander stunned.

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Offshoot? What offshoot...?

Oh, right. She was talking about the arm. Apparently, it hadn't accurately conveyed the situation to her, but still, she'd made it. Atofe was here. We had all the firepower we needed.

We could win this!

"I, Immortal Demon King Atofe, will wipe every last one of you from the face of the earth!"

Not every one of us, please! Ah, crap. Moore isn't around.

What about the rest of her personal guard? There's no one to rein her in! She's on the loose!

"Or, that's what I'd like to do..." she muttered. She faced off against the Ogre God. He was close to twice her size. Atofe was tall for a woman, but the Ogre God was huge in every dimension.

"Ogre God Marta!" Atofe cried.

"Am I to fight you next, then?" the Ogre God replied in fluent demon tongue. He spoke with a dignified air that didn't match his exterior. That's God- tier for you, I guess.

"My personal guard has conquered your puny Ogre Island! Leave here quietly, or we slaughter them all!"

The Ogre God stared at Atofe in shock. He was trying to work out the truth. Was she lying? There was one thing I knew. There was no way Atofe was smart enough to lie.

"Me, I'm happy to kill them all! In fact, I like that way best! Yes! Killing them all is best! Now fight me!"

Atofe spread her arms wide and stood ready to fight. Maybe the Ogre God got the sense from her posture that Atofe was for real. His next move was dramatic. He seemed to coil...and then he leapt, like a monkey, up into a tree. He looked down at us from his new vantage point.

"Hey...! Mister Ogre God?!" Alexander spluttered. At that moment, the Ogre God looked at Alec for the first time. Like he couldn't care less.

Then, he said, "Me, go home. Island in trouble." He spoke in human tongue. He had a strong accent, like he'd only just learnt it. I guess the Ogre God was better at Demon Tongue than Human Tongue. Still, he was bilingual, so good for him. Atofe couldn't speak human tongue at all! And she was fluent at

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speaking the Demon Tongue, but listening? No good at that in any language.

With that, the Ogre God jumped away from tree to tree and disappeared into the forest. Alexander watched him go, stunned.

He wasn't the only one. Ruijerd, Sandor, and I all stared after him, wide- eyed.

Then there was one. Alexander, all alone. Left surrounded by me, Eris, Ruijerd, Sandor, Zanoba, Dohga, and Atofe.

The Ogre God had gone home. Just like that. "Right, our enemy is alone!" "G-Grandmother..."

His dad was his enemy, and his grandma couldn't be reasoned with. You couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him in this situation, standing there, dumbfounded. He looked lost.

There was one person here who wasn't sensitive enough to pick up on that sort of thing.

"Gaaah!" Eris saw an opening and struck Alec with all her strength.

"Ngh!" Alec guarded. He guarded. He didn't evade or deflect, he tried to guard. He tried to guard against the Sword God Style's ultimate attack, the Sword of Light. He tried to guard against an ultimate attack that was impossible to guard against.

Before I knew it, Alexander's left hand was flying, spraying up blood. Around and around it went.

"Oh." The arm landed with a thud on the ground. That became the sign for the fight to recommence, the decisive move. There was hardly any structure to the fight as it started again.

If Alexander had had both arms, maybe he could have turned this around somehow. But alas! The hand holding all his cards had been cut off and sent flying. Without a left hand, this high-level, precariously balanced conflict wouldn't even be a fight anymore. And it wasn't. It only took five minutes. Alec, covered in wounds, went running pathetically away.

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"Hah...hah..."

It wasn't a tactical retreat. With fear and ragged breathing, he fled as if from death itself.

This was the North God. You wouldn't believe he was one of the Seven Great Powers. He was like a new hire who got into a good high school, then a good university, then got hired at a good company and only then for the first time experienced a setback. His flight was pathetic and frantic.

That was it for him. He had nowhere to run. After fleeing pathetically for an hour, Alexander was forced to circle back to the ravine. He was cornered. Five of us had been able to join the pursuit. The moment Alec ran, Zanoba collapsed and Dohga slumped where he stood. There were still five of us, though: Sandor and Atofe, Eris and Ruijerd, and me.

I could see the ravine. We weren't at a narrow point you could jump across, but at a precipitous cliff at least three hundred meters to the other side.

There was nowhere to run, and we had all the strength we needed.

"Damnit..."

Was he backed into a corner? Was this an act? Alexander came to a stop at the edge of the cliff, breathing heavily. He looked like he was at his limit, but we couldn't let our guard down. He'd lost one arm, but he'd started off wielding the King-Dragon Sword one-handed. When he had the King-Dragon Sword with its gravity manipulation powers, one hand wasn't the disadvantage we needed for decisive victory. He might be hiding something up his sleeve.

I was one to talk, after getting my own arm cut off.

Alexander's face looked frozen by fear. Still, he was the North God, so I couldn't let my guard down.

"Come now, give it up. You can't do it. You can't get out of this."

If Sandor was saying that...did that mean he really didn't have a way to turn this around?

"That's right! Now accept your death quietly!"

"Mother, I'm talking to Alec right now, so be quiet a minute, okay?"

"Hrmm...oh..."

She shut up at a word from Sandor. Atofe did what he said. Watching them, I was reminded again that these guys were family. Even if there was zero

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resemblance.

"Ahem... When you got your arm cut off after keeping your power in reserve to fight Orsted, you lost. I told you long ago to never, ever underestimate your opponent."

He was defeated. He held back, and that was a mistake he couldn't recover from. It happens a lot, y'know. Especially when you underestimate someone.

"Throw down your sword and surrender yourself. As your father, I will see you don't come to harm."

Kind words from Sandor. As your father. These past few years, I'd gotten weak to those words. Really, I couldn't let it slide that this guy had attempted to slaughter all the Superd. He wasn't a direct disciple to the Man-God, more like a disciple of Geese's, and it was only attempted slaughter... If little Alec gives a tearful apology, then I guess... Though, hm. Even then...

He looked young. Just like Paul had been young. I didn't know his actual age, but he had to be far younger than Paul was when I was born.

You could even call him a child.

Maybe...maybe if he applied himself to learn to be better from now on...

Then it hit me. Was a child like that going to quietly listen to someone talking down to him?

"I won't!"

Yeah, thought not.

"I didn't even fight with my full strength! The thing with my left hand was just luck! If the Ogre God hadn't run, this would never have happened!"

"That's why you lost."

"What, so I shouldn't rely on my allies?! You're one to talk, fighting in a group like that!"

"A hero does not blame his allies. Your allies will aid you in your time of need, but even if you should lose their aid along the way, you win anyway," Sandor said decisively, as though this were the only correct answer.

It was a strangely persuasive argument, perhaps because of that tone. I wasn't up on the details of the kind of heroic legend he'd made for himself...but clearly, this man was a legend.

"That wasn't the only reason you lost. Your strategy was flawed. You

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should have fought us with your full power and then retreated temporarily to fight again once you recovered."

"As if chances to fight Orsted just show up every day!"

"Who told you that?"

Alec was struck silent with a look that said Sandor was right on the mark. It had to have been Geese. The Man-God couldn't see Orsted, and Orsted had been widely believed to be missing for a long time. It was only because of who I was that I knew any old adventurer could go to Sharia if they wanted to see him. Maybe it was inevitable Alec would think he could only find him here, that this was his only chance to fight him. He was still so young. His claims to want to be a hero and his desire to surpass his father? I bet those stemmed from his youth, too.

There was no next time. He had to grab every chance that came before him. Of course he'd think like that. He was a bit aggressive with it, but I understood his mindset. Or at least, I assumed I did.

"You ought to have found some like-minded friends—or rivals—your own age."

"Shut up!" Alec yelled, disgusted with Sandor's pity. He raised his sword. Eris and the others raised their own swords, and I readied myself to cast more offensive spells.

Five against one. There was no hope he could win. Yet—

"No! I haven't lost, not yet! Now, now's when a hero turns the battle around! I'll take you all down! Kill all the Superd! Then Orsted! I'll kill the Dragon God and become a hero!"

The instant I saw some aura emitting from his sword, I raised my left hand.

"Arm, absorb."

Gravity distorted, but only briefly. For a moment, I felt weightless, like when an elevator starts to move, but then I felt myself sucked back to the ground.

"Raaaaaa!" Next second, Alec swung his sword. All five of us, including me, scattered, leaping back.

Alec wasn't aiming at any of us. "Gah!"

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His target was the ground. He struck the earth with the greatblade and broke it. An eruption of dust filled my vision for a second. Is he going to attack from behind the smokescreen? I wondered, bracing myself. Then, the Eye of Distant Sight caught a gap in the dust.

I saw Alexander falling backward, into the ravine...

No way, did he self-KO? Did he push himself into the ravine with his own attack...?

That wasn't it. There was a smile on Alec's face. A nasty smile. A victorious smile.

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Oh...right.

Alec had fallen off the bridge, but he'd be back. The King Dragon Blade's power was gravity manipulation. Even if he fell all the way to the bottom of the ravine, he'd have no trouble getting back up.

The next second, I jumped.

I jumped after Alec, into the ravine.

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Chapter 7: Alexander vs. Rudeus

AS I FELL, I kept my vision trained on Alexander with the Eye of Distant

Sight. As soon as I started to fall, I saw that Alec had noticed me. He was shocked. The gap between us narrowed rapidly. He was using the King Dragon Blade to control the speed of his descent. First things first: I removed that advantage.

"Arm, absorb!"

Alec's rate of descent sped up to normal. The law of inertia still held, though. Now that I was in motion, I couldn't stop in a hurry.

Could I slow my descent with wind magic...? No, I need to use gravity. I can't wrap myself in a battle aura. Physics, don't fail me now.

I used a sonic wave to adjust my positioning while accelerating, angling my descent straight at Alec.

"Whooooooa!"

Without changing our relative velocities, I barreled into Alec with my fist.

He used his sword as a shield to take the blow, but that didn't kill the momentum. He smashed into the cliff face, while I kept spamming the Stone of Absorption. The counterforce sent me toward the cliff face too, but I used Sonic Wave to right myself, then kicked off from the wall and accelerated.

Once again, I went after Alec.

"Graaah!"

Punch!

Using another sonic wave to pick up speed, I threw a punch. I generated relative velocity between us, and threw another punch, and another.

The laws of physics were my weapon.

"Aaaahhh!" Alec yelled. He'd lost all sense of what was going on, getting the crap beaten out of him in midair. Hell, I didn't know what was going on. I was supposed to be on support. How I'd ended up like this, I had absolutely no clue. I only knew I couldn't let him get away. I thought if I left this kid to his

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own devices, waiting for him to grow a conscience or a brain, it was going to go badly for someone. That someone would be on our side of the fight. My allies, or my family, or someone. I had to stop him.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhh!" I screamed back.

It's not that I wasn't listening to Sandor and Alec's conversation. It's not that I didn't think that he could grow if he reflected on his actions. I wasn't weighing up the pros and cons. I just punched him. Accelerate, then punch, accelerate, accelerate, then punch and punch...

Alec and I both slammed into the ravine floor at terrifying speed. *

I stood up in a cloud of dust. The impact of our fall had sent blue spore- like things flying around us. Visibility was poor.

First things first: I wasn't hurt. Gotta hand it to the Magic Armor Version One, it was one sturdy piece of tech. There was a little crack in it, but it was still totally functional.

"Phew..."

Alec made it out in one piece as well, but at least he wasn't totally unscathed. His armor was broken and one of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle.

That was all. I guess his battle aura protected him. He stood up on one leg, looking at me. He showed no sign of being in pain. What a beast.

"...You came after me alone," he muttered. "You've got guts."

I looked up. I could see the Earth Dragons crawling around in the darkness, but there was no sign of anyone coming down. Surely Atofe at least would be down soon. I mean, she could fly...

"My grandma's old-fashioned. I fell, and you followed. She won't let anyone come after us."

"You can't be serious."

"She's always had a thing for single combat between the demon king and the champion."

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Okay, I knew a bit about that. Atofe was chaotic, but she did have some weird hang-ups. I mean, she didn't attack her own personal guard when she fought, for one thing.

"This is a stroke of luck for me."

"...What is?"

"I'm injured. If Eris Greyrat or Ruijerd Superdia...or Dad or Grandma had come after me, I'd have been finished."

"Because it's me, you're not?"

"I don't see myself losing to you." He was confident.

Alec was badly hurt. He'd lost an arm and a leg. I was wearing the Magic Armor. After a long fight, I'd used a lot of magic, but because I'd been focusing on supporting the others, I didn't have any injuries to speak of. I was in peak condition.

"Don't you think you're underestimating me?"

"No, I don't. You don't have any battle aura, your reactions are slow, and you're wide open to attack. You didn't even notice when I gave sleeping drugs to North Emperor Dohga, let yourself be led by your enemies, and got thrown into the ravine. You don't have enough resolve or caution. You're a useless incompetent."

I didn't have any comeback for that. I was everything he said. Even with all this magic bursting out of me, I was still useless.

If Atofe hadn't shown up a few minutes ago, I'd have been screwed.

"So, even if we fight now, I'll win, and I can get away. If I get away, I've as good as won."

"You know even if you beat me you don't have any allies, right? The Ogre God ran, and the Sword God's dead... Pretty sure even with me gone, you've got no chance of winning."

Okay, I hadn't confirmed that the Sword God was dead. I mean, he had to be. This was Eris we were talking about.

"No, a hero can win. Heroes are made that way. Just now, you couldn't finish me off while we fell. I couldn't move and could only take your attacks, and even then, you couldn't finish me off."

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He said this like it answered everything. He was so confident. Of course, he was standing here on the ground on his own leg.

"I will win. I'll win against you, and Dad, and Grandma, and Orsted. I'll defeat you all and put my name down in history as the greatest swordsman who ever lived. Then North God Kalman will come to mean none other than Alexander III. Then everyone will think of me as the strongest in all of history."

He was battered and bruised all over, but he was no longer in a state where he had to just take my attacks. This was his chance to win. He could sense it.

His exact probability of success was unclear, but he thought he could pull this off. Here, in this critical battle, he believed he could beat me.

Was it because he wanted to be a hero? No, that wasn't it. It was because he'd made it this far overcoming danger like this. He knew he'd been backed into a corner. For sure, he was underestimating me a bit, but he wasn't going to hold back any longer. He planned on crushing me with all his power, then escaping.

My opponent was the Third North God Kalman. One of the Seven Great Powers, with sword-fighting skills and a magic sword that both classed among the world's strongest. He wasn't a rat in a corner. He was a wounded tiger.

Meanwhile, I didn't have much I could bring to this critical battle.

Either I used careful planning and crushed him, or I lost because I couldn't overcome the difference in our power. Those were the only options. He'd guessed that. After all of his fighting experience, he could tell that I wasn't the type who could swing things my way.

Either that, or he'd heard it from Geese, or the Man-God...

"...I have one last question. Are you a disciple of the Man-God?"

"No, I'm not. The Sword God and I got information from Geese, that's all. I admit to helping him, though."

"Right."

Who was the last one, then? No, never mind. I could think about that later. Here and now, I had to take this guy down.

Huh? Hold the phone. If it looks like a lost cause, I can just run, can't I?

I had allies. I didn't have to go all out here. If there was someone else other than Alexander remaining, wasn't I better off keeping my power in reserve?

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The Sword God was down, and we hadn't taken any casualties. In which case, wasn't the smart option to back down and create an environment where we could reliably win?

"...No."

Never mind. That wasn't going to work. Orsted lay beyond me. If I let anyone pass, we'd lose. Letting one or two people past wouldn't cause any earth-shattering disasters at first. All that would happen was that Orsted would use up more of his precious magic, the magic that he had just enough of to maybe last him eighty years.

I'd let myself relax too much. Since just after the battle began, I'd relaxed. The Sword God was defeated, and the Ogre God had withdrawn. The North God stood before me battered and bruised all over and ready to collapse. Even if I let the North God escape now, my allies were still ready to fight. Even if he got through them, Orsted had power to spare. He'd be used to taking out North God Kalman III. He'd be able to fight and protect the Superd at the same time.

In the face of that situation, I'd relaxed. I'd started thinking it was okay if I lost, that I had fallback options.

This was it. This was why Alec said he wouldn't lose to me.

Thinking back, I'd always been like this. I'd get to this point, then take a step back to leave a safety margin, only to fall a step short at the crucial moment. Alec could smell that on me.

Surge, momentum, luck, flow. Those I had. Admittedly, I didn't really believe in that sort of abstract stuff...but I couldn't deny that when it was there, it was there. If I retreated here or lost, Alec would gain something, and I would lose something. Something I couldn't put into words, something beyond my expectations.

So I couldn't lose. I had to win, here and now, and I had to stand my ground. In this scene, I had to shoulder the risk and go for the win.

This was it. This was a crossroads. This was where I saw if I could muster all my power and get serious.

"...I am Rudeus 'Quagmire' Greyrat, follower of the Dragon God," I said.

Alec's eyes widened, and then he said, "I am Alexander Kalman Rybak, the North God!"

I'd made up my mind.

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"Aaaaaggghhh!" I yelled, drawing my voice from the pit of my stomach.

"Gwaaaarghhh!" Alec's voice joined mine as he raised his sword.

His right hand aloft, a sword hilt clenched in his fingers. His left... Well, he didn't have a left hand, so let's just leave it at that.

He stepped forward with his right foot, planting his broken left leg firmly on the ground.

I ran at him. I had no plan. My instincts told me distance attacks were a bad idea. I faced Alec, lowered my stance, and ran. A split second beforehand, something flashed across my mind. It was a memory of Eris.

Right away, I raised the Gatling gun on my right arm and blasted off a full-power Stone Cannon.

Alec watched me charge forward, took a step toward me, then saw the barrage of Stone Cannons bearing down on him like rain. For a scant half- moment, he drew his right foot back in hesitation. The Stone Cannons disappeared, one after another, dissolving into dust before Alec's eyes by the power of the Stone of Absorption. I immediately leaned left. I knew I was within reach of Alec's sword. Still, I went straight in. My right hand was extended, so I pulled it back to shoot from the hip. I leaned forward so far, my chest almost skimmed the ground.

I aimed a kick at Alec's left side.

"Gr...raaaaah!"

Alec's shoulder moved. There was a flash of silver—I felt an impact on my right shoulder as part of the Magic Armor popped off. Miraculously, he hadn't cut through my arm. Once I knew that, I didn't bother checking anything more about the extent of the damage. I just planted my foot on the ground and raised my fist—

Alec's legs flex.

He was going to jump, to evade. As I thought it, I concentrated magic in my left hand. I stopped supplying magic to the Stone of Absorption and put it into another spell. I hadn't decided which one yet. Determined only to stop him from jumping, I concentrated magic in my left hand and went for Alec's leg—

"Wha?!"

For a second, Alec's leg floated in midair.

"Aaaahhh!" I yelled, raising my right fist with the Gatling gun attached. I

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