—The story went back to an earlier point in time.
While getting impatient due to the constant sound of battle that came
from outside the village, I was making final adjustments to the new
armament with Nazarie-san.
But what she made wasn't a weapon, but something in the shape of
magatama, causing me to feel anxious.
And that must have shown on my face.
"—Rest assured. This guy will definitely be useful for you," said
Nazarie-san while moving her hands, perhaps so as to calm me
down.
"But…"
"I understand your worries. So listen to me for a moment. You don't
know because you didn't see it in person, but when the Hallowed
Sacred Staff was born, the Holy Staff, which was made of
Hihiirokane, turned into particles and was taken into the Sacred
Treasure, which was made of who knows what material. This is only
my guess but, the Sacred Treasure is probably 'the materialization of
the power of god'."
"Materialization of the power of God…?"
"That's right. The fact that it fused with the Holy Staff means that
Hihiirokane has an affinity with the power of god."
"Affinity… In other words, they're 'compatible'?"
"Umu," Nazarie-san nodded deeply to my question, "and do you
remember? About that fact that Holy Armaments being able to be
summoned at will even from a great distance."
"Yes, I do. Arca exhibited it when I was fighting with her."
At that time, shining particles converged in response to Arca's
summon, which then transformed into the Holy Spear.
But what's that got to do with this?
As I made an uncomprehending look, Nazarie-san broke into a bold
smile and said, "What I'm trying to say is—you can take in this guy
into your body."
"What!?" I became shocked and astonished.
Nazarie-san then explained what she meant, "Your existence is
already close to that of a god. The name "Divine Phoenix" is the
proof of that. In which case, Hihiirokane should be able to attune to
your power. Or rather, you've been attuning yourself to Hihiirokane
since long ago, you know?"
"I've been attuning myself to Hihiirokane…?"
As I looked at her with puzzled eyes, Nazarie-san pointed at my
chest and said, "—Phoenix Robe. It must've been woven from
threads of Hihiirokane. That's why it can regenerate with you and
transform into the armor you call Vermillion Bird Form with your
power."
"I-is that so…?"
That's a startling fact.
In other words, I already had the strongest armor since before I even
went to Magrid.
"Umu, most likely. Hence, I came to the conclusion that Sacred
Treasure was a crystallization of the power of god, and made this
guy like this. Its name is, Infinite Blade—'Amaterasu Orb'."
"Amaterasu Orb…"
Gulp, I swallowed my saliva as I looked down. A crimson magatama
which swayed like it was burning was there.
"I've made this guy able to transform into more types of armament as
you grow. I honestly am not sure whether it'll work, but well, knowing
you it probably will somehow.
"Okay, it's done," Nazarie-san handed me Amaterasu Orb.
It felt warm to the touch, like a human's skin.
It was a proof that it had life.
As such, I clenched it firmly and said in a powerful tone, "—Thank
you! I'll definitely save everyone with this guy!"
◇ ◇
And so, I, having taken in Amaterasu Orb, was now overpowering
the Saints.
The orb was supposed to be one only, but two appeared the moment
I took it into my body, each of which coming out of the back of my
hands, and they were able to immediately reproduce every
armament that I could wield proficiently at present.
This was the power of Amaterasu Orb.
My—new blade.
"Amaterasu Orb, you say…"
"Yeah. It allows me to wield various weapons freely according to the
situation."
"Kukuku, no good… killin' you would likely feel fantastic…"
Shangarula, standing up while roughly wiping the corner of his lips,
made a leisurely smile despite the condition he was in and said,
"Then I—don't need to hold back…!"
"!"
Creaking sounds rang out from all over Shangarula's body and the
intimidating feeling he gave off increased sharply.
When it did, Boreios raised his voice in a slightly panicked manner,
"Stop, Shangarula! It's not yet the right time!"
"Shut up, Big Guy! You just watch from the sideline! I'm gonna—"
At that moment.
"That's enough, Shangarula."
""""""""—!?""""""""
Suddenly, the voice of another man echoed to the surroundings, and
we all looked to the direction it had come from.
Since when was he there?
What came into our sight was the figure of a man in his 30s with two
horns growing out of his forehead.