That bastard. I met him in the Zenoasu castle. He's a warlike ruler-class. A haughty and cruel slaughterer.
Covered entirely in crystallized skin, that fellow — Gira points his red-eyed gaze right at me.
The pointed sharp arm of the variant attacks him, but Gira simply catches it with clearly seen irritation — even though the width of the arm is about that of a guardrail — and easily crushes it.
A sound of creaking metal reverberates, and the part he's holding gets squashed into an oval. Going even further, he pulls the whole body of the variant towards him and throws it with all his might.
The variant then disappears into the darkness of the forest. That guy does have an absurd amount of strength.
Still, a lower-class attacking a ruler-class… As I feared. Those variants are likely not regular frazes. Moreover, it makes me happy that Gira doesn't seem to be in the evil god's side.
As soon as he looks this way, Gira slowly extends his right index and middle fingers. Appearing out of nowhere, a small globe of light gathers on his outstretched fingertips. …This is bad!
Zuuaa! Gira shoots a laser beam with a dazzling flash.
「Reflection!」(Touya)
Invoking the reflection magic, I expand it at an angle in front of me.
「Damn…!」(Touya)
My barrier deflects the beam of light and sends it into the sky.
Although the strike had quite a punch behind it, Gira probably wasn't serious yet. I've already taken the same kind of attack before, and it was more powerful than the one just now. So he sent that attack as a light greeting to me, didn't he? That guy likes to mess with people, after all. In that case, I suppose I have to respond in kind.
I then take out a large hammer made of crystal material from the Storage and pump up my physical strength with Power Rise.
「Teleport」(Touya)
「?!」(Gira)
Moving instantly behind Gira, I strongly swing the brandished hammer as if I'm performing a home run.
Goo! And just before Gira is hit, I invoke "Gravity" to raise the destructive power.
At the same time, I release the hammer, both Gira and the hammer are then sent flying into opposite directions.
The ruler-class somersaults and rolls for a dozen meters through the wasteland.
However, he eventually stops his momentum and stands up as nothing had happened. Damn~, I should've expected that it would be ineffective.
「Yo~, Touya. Ain'tcha kinda overdoing that, with a surprise attack an all?」(Gira)
「I can't allow you to bother me today. Though I would've been glad if you just kept lying down」(Touya)
I respond to Gira's war-like smile with one of my own. With the gunsword Brunhild from Storage in my arms now, I transform it into gun-mode.
「Speaking of being busy, our side is the same. I have to beat that bastard Yura to a pulp, after all. … I think this is impossible, but I just have to ask. You aren't sheltering him, are you? Touya?」(Gira)
「… What?」(Touya)
What's he talking about? That ruler-class named Yura…. who seemed to be hanging out with that neet god until now. What the hell did he do?
Still, there are matters more pressing than that.
「… What do you mean I'm sheltering him? Are you saying Yura has already arrived to this world?!」(Touya)
「… Looks like you really don't know. Damn~, that's troublesome. That bastard. Where the hell did he go?」(Gira)
Gira smacks his lips with a frown on his face. By my conjecture, he's probably searching for Yura's whereabouts. I don't understand. Are they comrades or enemies?
Either way, if that Yura had managed to come to this world as Gira said, things are going to turn serious. Even if he was sent back to the dimensional gap by the Backlash, Yura will eventually manage to establish his existence on this side if he keeps crossing over here time and time again. If that happens…
「… What happened with the cocoon of the evil god? Those variants are born from it, aren't they? Is Yura the one who did all of this?」(Touya)
「Ah? Are you talking about the "Shining Egg"? You know something about that, don't you? It was likely left behind by that bastard Yura, but we can't lay a single scratch on it, be it a strike or a cut. What the hell is that thing? It captures our soldiers and turns them into strange, ominous things」(Gira)
I breathe a sigh of relief when I heard that. So the cocoon has not yet hatched and is still in the dimensional gap, eh? Good thing that Yura didn't bring it with him to this world.
In other words, Yura has separated from Gira and the rest of the ruler-classes, right? Looks like he left the cocoon behind and is currently moving by himself right now, but I can feel nothing but bad omen about this. There's no way he would've just abandoned the cocoon of the evil god. Damn it! I absolutely have no idea what the hell is happening.
「Well, I don't really care that he looks like he's scheming something with the evil god. I'll simply kill him if he gets in the way of the glorious me」(Gira)
「… aren't you both ruler-classes? Aren't you comrades?」
「I don't remember seeing him like that. Whoever gets in my way becomes my enemy. Same goes for you」(Gira)
Gira turns his right arm into a crystal spear and comes to me with a thrust.
「Slip!」(Touya)
(Black: Oh Touya. No one is really safe from your Slip, eh?)
「Gaa!?」(Gira)
Having his legs made to glide with Tumbling Magic, Gira magnificently falls on the ground. I try to shoot him with crystal bullets after he has fallen, but he manages to escape faster than I can shoot him.
Gira shoots the tip of his spear-arm into the nearest rock like an anchor and escapes the effective area of "Slip" by pulling his body.
「Hey! You've used a strange technique again!」(Gira)
His face warped in anger, Gira glares my way. Isn't that rude? With regards to fighting, this magic is quite effective.
「If you like it so much, should I make you fall down for eternity?!」(Touya)
「Chi~, it's indeed troublesome, but the point is that I should be okay as long as I don't touch the ground」(Gira)
Once Gira murmurs that, both of his heels stretch into something that looks like small protuberances. After that, the guy's body began to gently float a little above ground and then stops. Oi-oi, isn't that cheating?
Thinking about it again though, there are aviation types frazes, and it shouldn't be strange for ruler-classes to be able to fly as well.
「I won't be sliding anymore with this. Now then, it's time to settle the score!」(Gira)
Despite him floating, the way Gira comes rushing to me looks like he's totally running on the ground.
With Brunhild set up in gun-mode, I take aim at Gira and fire crystal bullets in rapid succession, but the force of impact gets stopped. Even though he's shot in his face and his chest, Gira remains composed and draws the tip of his spear-arm in my direction.
「! "Accel"!」(Touya)
Just as when the crystallized spear is about to reach my torso, I then barely manage to evade it with the help of acceleration magic.
However, upon seeing my movements, Gira strongly kicks the ground with his floating legs, forcibly changing his direction and thrusts at me again.
The instant his posture changes into a shoulder tackle, I notice multiple sharp thorns growing from his shoulder. This is bad! I won't be able to evade those!
「"Shield"!」(Touya)
Having deployed an invisible shield right away, I barely had managed to avoid my body being punctured by thorns; but I was unable to kill the momentum of Gira's tackle, was clumsily sent flying and was made to roll on the ground.
I try to immediately stand up and correct my posture, but Gira is no longer here. Upon looking up, his right hand has already reverted to its usual form, and he's holding it aloft while trying to bring it down on me.
GOGAA! As soon as I manage to dodge that strike by jumping to the side, I'm hit by a shockwave so grand that it's shaking the ground with a thunderous roar. Gira's hand greatly gouges the ground, showing just how much destructive power that attack had. What dreadful power.
「Ain't it boring to just continue to evade again an' again?」(Gira)
While saying this, Gira expresses a daring smile.
Damn~! It'll definitely be difficult to dodge attacks with "Teleport" when they are happening so fast. It's necessary to have a clear recognition of the point of the movement, which then makes that instant quite fatal.
On the other hand, that guy looks like he can keep up with the speed of "Accel". No way will I be able to land another surprise attack.
Another concern is that hardness of his. The shots I fired earlier clearly hit his face and chest, yet it didn't even penetrate him not even by two centimeters of length.
It seems that on top of being frazes themselves, the ruler-classes should also have cores within them. However, its location is unknown.
Regular frazes are transparent, which in turn makes their cores visible. But in case of the ruler-classes, only the crystal parts that grow from their bodies are transparent while the body itself is not.
Assuming they have organs like humans do, then their cores are probably in their heart or their brain…. In the head or chest, that is… Damn! I really should've asked Rize, the ruler-class who's accompanying End.
「Guess this isn't a place where I get to pick how I fight」(Touya)
I amplify divine power and make it course through my body. An explosive divinity is then released out from my body as an aftereffect of the "God's authority release".
「Oh? What's that?」(Gira)
Gira scowls at my transformation.
It looks like my haircolor did change, but its length didn't increase. It probably means that I've managed to control the process to some degree.
「Hey. If yer just gonna bluff, then you really ought to change yer form some more!!」(Gira)
In a single instant, Gira gets very close to me and releases the fist that broke the ground earlier. I can clearly see that roaring fist.
With my left hand clad in divinity, I firmly catch Gira's fist.
「Wha~at?」(Gira)
Casting aside the amazed Gira, I continue putting more power into my hand that's still grasping his. With the conspicuous sound of something creaking, Gira's hand eventually starts to break and turn into tiny pieces.
「! This bastard !! 」(Gira)
Jumping backward, Gira turns his yet unbroken right hand my way. In the next moment, its five fingers grow at a ridiculously fast rate and try to pierce me.
I can see it. With the blade of Brunhild strengthened by divinity, I strike all of his fingers, smashing them into pieces.
「YOU! What the hell have you done?!」
「It's just a mere magic trick. You see, I can't afford to use it, and you've just made me use it」(Touya)
I joke about it, but I really have no margin for error here. Fighting with divinification brought by the "God's authority release" puts a heavy burden on my body. Although I'm alright for now, I'll likely lose consciousness once I revert to my former body even if I do manage to fight and win in my current state.
So I have to settle this fight quickly. Even more so since my opponent is a regular fraze, and yet there are still some variants remaining.
「Ain'cha feeling composed? You're just a human! Guess I have to get serious as well! Be ready!!」(Gira)
With Gira finally snapping, both his broken right arm and fingers on his left hand then start to regenerate. However, the change didn't end at that.
The crystals covering parts of his body start to grow with a terrifying speed. From his head to his chest and abdomen, even the naked parts are being covered with crystals. With the exception of his eyes, his whole body is now altogether covered with a lump of crystal.
The nails on his hand transform into something fiendish. Multiple sharp crystals are now protruding from his back while his head now has a horn. He even grew a long tail.
Should it be fitting to call it "crystal beastification? If so, then he's a crystal therianthrope. Although he looks like a person from the dragon clan, this atrociousness is absolutely incomparable.
Is this the true form of the ruler-classes?
「オラァッ!!」
「Heeyaaa!!」(Gira)
A downward swing of Gira's nails produces an attack that looks like a shockwave. Thanks to my eyes amplified with divinification, I can properly see the attack and manage to somehow evade by hair's breadth, but several frazes behind me aren't so lucky and get cruelly chopped up into pieces.
I then aim at Gira and shoot several bullets clad in divinity. Crossing his arms, Gira tries to defend against the flying shells, but the coated bullets just pierce and sink into his arms.
「What the?! Even the strengthened fist of the glorious me got smashed?!」(Gira)
Alright! I can bypass that armor with the help of divinity. However, Gira's wound starts to regenerate the moment the bullet comes through, causing the bullet to fall down on the ground.
It looks like shooting and cutting him with divinity will have no effect no matter how many time I attack him. Unless I destroy his core, I won't be able to defeat him.
「You're shitting…! Don't make light of me! I will punch you to death, TOUYA!!」(Gira)
Gira fires his angry roar at me. I can't see his face behind the armor, but he's probably quite angry, seeing as his whole body trembles a bit.
Well… What's this? Gira's trembling body is now convulsing a lot, and light starts to overflow out of his body at the same time. Don't tell me… is he planning to shoot that pseudo charge particle cannon-like beam that the advanced-classes use?!
The light turns into a whirlpool, dying the surroundings with a dazzle. Everyone fighting nearby seem to have noticed what's coming as well and stop their movements.
「That's bad, if that goes on…!」(Touya)
That guy certainly will try to aim it at me. In my current state, I might be able to dodge it, but anyone fighting the frazes on the line of fire will certainly get caught up in his attack.
Paying such considerations no mind, Gira continues to amplify the radiant light.
Suddenly, a red shining, a marble-like object becomes visible inside this guy's throat. Is that… Could that object be this guy's core?!
Speaking of which, the cores inside the advanced-classes shine just like that before they fired the pseudo-charged particle cannon as well. There is no mistake. If I crush this core…
「This is the end! Eat thi-i-is?! 」(Gira)
The moment a giant torrent of light is about to be shot, Gira's body is assaulted by a tremendous impact.
Having flown in from somewhere, a huge crystal bullet smashes up into tiny pieces while scattering the sparkling fragments into the surroundings as a result of crashing squarely into Gira.
He staggers for only two or three steps without being blown away by the impact, but I didn't miss that opening.
I fire a bullet heavily clad in divinity out of Brunhild, aiming right into the guy's throat. The sound of breaking glass resounds throughout the moonless sky.
「….Eh?」(Gira)
With a stupid voice, Gira places his hand on his own throat. The air hole made by Brunhild goes through both his neck and the core.
The crystals become loose and fall down from Gira's body with a clattering sound.
「Im… pos… sible…」(Gira)
Gira's body continues to crystalize as if draining the life out of him. At the same time, the lump of crystals, which Gira had turned into, falls forward and gets smashed up into smithereens due to the shock of hitting the ground.
I continue watching him for a short while, but there are no signs that he's going to regenerate back. I managed to defeat him, right?
I slowly turn my eyes towards the faraway goddess who gave me that final opportunity.
The silhouette of the silver frame gear Brunhilde, with its sniper rifle lowered, is standing in the darkness. As expected of Yumina, I guess. Hitting a target at this range is something… That saved me.
Breathing out a sigh, I cancel the divinification. A terrible fatigue and dizziness assault my body in the next moment, making me utterly unable to continue standing.
With the strength drained from my knees, I crumble down when someone suddenly comes to my side and supports me just as I'm about to fall.
「Good job ~nanoyo. Leave the rest to us ~noyo」(Karen)
「That was quite an impressive fight, you know. Not bad at all」(Moroha)
When I forcibly open my heavy eyelids, I see a familiar face next to me and reflectively express a bitter smile, probably out of relief.
「Aren't my sisters too late every single time?」(Touya)
They probably flew here after sensing my and the variants' divinities. Karen-nee-san and Moroha-nee-san hold my arms to support me.
「C'mon! Don't say that. I just wanted to witness your growth directly on this occasion, so I told those two not to help」(Kami)
Yet another familiar face appears in front of my eyes. Ehh? Even Kami-sama came? Well, of course he would. He's down here right now. However, it seems that the other people, or rather, the other gods didn't come.
I don't know about Kousuke-oji-san's group, but I remember somewhere in the corner of my mind that Suika is definitely drunk and sleeping right now.
「Oh. That's bad. The barrier… probably…」(Touya)
「Everything is alright. Once those things are taken care of, I will send the others back with transfer magic. Please be at ease and rest」(Kami)
「Is… that so… Then… I will… take you up… on your… offer… 」(Touya)
It might have been due to fatigue, but I could no longer fight against the drowsiness and let go of my consciousness.