Volume 5 - CH 1.2

Part 2

…I absolutely must prevent such a situation.

As I was thinking about this, another tentacle on the surface of Zogral’s body wriggled limply.

Is the target us, or Leticia and Lily, who are at a distance?

No, it wasn’t.

The destination of the thrusting tentacles was the royal capital.

“I can’t let it succeed!”

I headed toward the tentacles at full speed.

I put magic power into both of my swords and activated the “God of War Slash S+.”

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!”

I swung down the sword on my left and right hand in a crossed motion.

A slash of light was released in an X-shape, hitting the tip of the tentacle──and was absorbed as it was.

Of course, I had expected this result from the beginning.

However, I could not do nothing just because it was futile.

If I could divert the tentacles’ trajectory even a little, I might be able to avoid damage to the royal capital.

It was with this in mind that I activated the “God of War Slash S+” for the second time.

“Ooooooohhhhh!”

The X-shaped flash reached the tentacles and was absorbed in the same way as before.

Immediately after that──

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Iris’s scream was heard.

I glanced over and saw that she was holding the Holy Dragon Spear Fimbul slightly behind where I was.

“The “Absolute Freeze EX” was activated, and a blue flash was emitted from the tip of the spear.

It wasn’t just Iris who attacked.

“Here we go!”

Lily readied her Yggdrasil Bow and released it.

The silver arrows become shooting stars, heading for the tentacles.

“──[Falling Star].”

Leticia’s unique ability was released, and a meteor was summoned from beyond the sky.

A blue flash, a silver shooting star, and a meteorite.

The three attacks reached the tentacles almost simultaneously, and they were absorbed.

But then.

Here, something unexpected happens.

The tentacles, which should have extended in a straight line toward the royal capital, suddenly stopped moving.

Then, as if in agony, it shook and trembled──from the tip to the base, it burst at once.

The tentacles turned into purple particles that dissolved into the air and disappeared.

What happened?

As if to answer my question, the voice of [Full Assist] echoed in my brain.

Although Zogral’s tentacles have the ability to absorb, there seems to be a limit.

If energy beyond its limit is poured into it, it can be destroyed.

[Full Assist] was still in safe mode, and its tone of voice was mechanical and indifferent.

At any rate, I now know how to destroy the tentacles.

We could defeat an absorption-type enemy by making it absorb more energy than its limit. This was a standard tactic in video games and anime, but apparently, it could actually work.

Soon after, Iris and the others came to me, and I immediately gave them the information I had obtained from [Full Assist].

“So, it’s not like they’re untouchable, is it?”

“Yeah. First of all, let’s destroy the tentacles. Is that okay with you, Leticia, Lily?”

“I have no objection. Let’s start with what we can do, one by one.”

“The God of war in the basement says so as well. He said that we may be able to defeat Zogral.”

Lily muttered as she glanced toward the royal capital.

“We can’t let our guard down yet, though.”

I replied, turning my gaze toward Zogral.

At the moment, I don’t see any movement on its side.

Then, should we launch a move from our side?

That’s what I was thinking.

Gurgle, gurgle.

All of the tentacles on the surface of the Zogral wriggled at the same time.

The total number of tentacles probably exceeded a hundred.

“Simultaneous attacks, huh?”

“This is not good.”

Iris gulped.

If all those tentacles come at us at once, we won’t be able to crush them all.

“Don’t worry. I have already thought of a countermeasure.”

I replied, and then I reminded myself to activate the [Limit Break].

This was a skill that was obtained after the battle with the Gluttonous Dragon, and it could temporarily raise the magic capacity greatly.

My entire body was enveloped in a warm golden light, and my MP began to increase explosively.

One trillion, 10 trillion, 100 trillion──.

In just a few seconds, it reached a thousand trillion, and shortly after, it surpassed one quadrillion, which is one unit higher, and then reached one hundred quadrillion.

It was an extraordinary amount of magical power, even for me.

Turning to my left hand, I saw a crimson emblem in the shape of a dragon.

I raised my left hand and then thought of activating the [Summoning Calamity].

“In response to my voice, come from the underworld. You who were once called the Flame Emperor Dragon, that is, the Black Dragon of Extreme Destruction.”

With the chanting of the incantation, the emblem emitted an intense light.

A magic circle floated right behind me, and the black dragon appeared from there.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

A violent roar shook the air.

“I see. Now I understand what Kou-sama is thinking.”

Right to my left, Leticia nodded her head in understanding.

“If we are not enough, then we should increase the number of hands. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. I’m not done yet.”

I took a deep breath and continuously invoked the [Summoning Calamity].

Just to be clear, [Summoning Calamity] was a skill that summons calamities that I have already defeated in exchange for a billion units of magical power.

I have defeated several calamities so far in addition to the Black Dragon.

So it is possible to do something like this.

“Come from the underworld in answer to my voice. Once called the Ice Dragon, once called the Wind Dragon, once called the Earth Dragon. In other words, the White Dragon of Despair, the Green Dragon of Rupture, and the Yellow Dragon of Quake.”

Three more magic circles appeared, and three giant dragons were summoned.

“Guuuu… ooooooohhhhh!!”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Goooooooooooooooooooo!”

All three of them let out a roar and glared at Zogral.

“They are amazing, so powerful!”

Lily muttered as she rolled her eyes.

“Kou-san is really out of the ordinary to be able to control four of these calamities.”

“Thank you. But… it’s not over yet…”

“Eh?”

Beside Lily’s surprised voice, I chanted the incantation that floated in my mind.

“Come, follow my covenant. A man and a great calamity, a great calamity and a man. That is, Faraway Lazy Dragon.”

Originally, the target of the [Summoning Calamity] was only calamities, not great calamities.

However, because I had made a contract with the lazy dragon, Tidal, I was able to summon him as an exception.

A magic circle, larger than ever before, was drawn in the sky, and the gray-scaled dragon──the Lazy Dragon──appeared.

The lazy dragon turned to me, and a grin appeared on his face.

──Finally, it’s my turn. Alright, leave it to me.

It felt as if he was saying that.

“Tidal, I’m counting on you.”

“Gaaah!”

Tidal roared in response to my words.

The preparations were now complete.

As for our fighting force, in addition to me, Iris, Lily, and Leticia, there were four other calamities: the black dragon, white dragon, green dragon, and yellow dragon, and the lazy dragon of the great calamity, making it the largest force ever.

“I wonder if this will be enough to defeat Zogral.”

Iris muttered as she held up her Fimbul.

The tip of the spear was enveloped in a blue flash.

“Let’s win. By all means.”

Lily readied her Yggdrasil Bow.

The arrow that was placed in the center of the bow emitted a silvery glow.

“At this point, all we have to do is to give it our all.”

Leticia raised her right arm and entered the activation system for the [Falling Star].

“Everyone, good luck!”

I put the Gram Imitate back in the [Item Box] and held my free right hand out in front of me.

“──[Gleaming Dragon’s Breath].

This was a skill I created during the battle with the Demon God Dragon, which drew out the power of the Greedy Dragon that lay dormant inside my body and released it as a heat ray that annihilated all things.

The power of this skill far exceeded that of the “God of War Slash S+,” and it may be more accurate to call it a special move rather than a skill.

The magic power consumption was 150 quadrillion MP at a time.

Normally, I would never be able to activate it, but my magic power was currently bursting due to [Limit Break].

This amount of consumption was not so much of a problem.

Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

An irresistible, unpleasant sound, as if clawing at the glass, rings out.

Is this like Zogral’s roar?

Immediately afterward, the countless tentacles on the surface of Zogral wriggled and writhed in a very loud manner.

Then, all at once, they extended toward us.

“Now!”

I shouted and activated my [Gleaming Dragon’s Breath].

A circle and triangle-shaped emblem appeared, centered on my right hand, which was thrust forward, and an extremely large heat ray was released.

At the same time, everyone else launched their attacks.

Iris unleashed [Absolute Freeze EX], Lily fired her Yggdrasil Bow, and Leticia unleashed [Falling Star].

The four disasters… black dragon, white dragon, green dragon, and yellow dragon each opened their jaws wide and spat out their breath, and the lazy dragon gushed out lightning bolts from its entire body.

Our simultaneous attacks caused the tentacles to burst one after another.

Zogral continued to attack by creating new tentacles, but it was unable to break through our barrage.

The situation was that we were pushing, but we wanted one more decisive step… if possible.

Just as I was thinking this, I heard the inorganic voice of [Full Assist].

Since all of the above conditions are met, the [Divine Skill] is temporarily released.

The ultimate divine skill [Dinesleif] can be used.

At the same time, the details of the skill flow into my mind.

I see.

Dinesleif was the name of a magic sword in Norse mythology, but in this world, it seems to be the name of a skill.

The power of the four calamities─the black dragon, white dragon, green dragon, and yellow dragon─was contained in a sword and could vanquish the enemy.

The amount of magic power it would consume was greater than that of the [Gleaming Dragon’s Breath], and its power seemed to be considerable as well.

If it were to be released toward the ground, not only the royal capital but more than half of this continent would be blown away.

Of course, I would never do such a thing.

Anyway, now I have obtained the decisive factor for the game.

The incantation for activation was already in my mind.

I focused my mind and uttered the words.

“Dragons of calamity. Use your power to destroy the end. ──Dinesleif.”

As soon as I finished, my whole body shook with a tremor.

The black dragon and the others roared.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Guuuuuuu… ooooooooooooo!”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!”

“Goooooooooooooooooooooo!”

Soon after, the four dragons were converted into black, white, green, and yellow particles, respectively, and sucked into the Gram Origin I held in my left hand.

The silver blade of the sword emitted a rainbow glow.

The ultimate divine skill [Dinesleif], the countdown begins.

Ten, nine, eight, seven──

With the black dragon and the others removed, our barrage was considerably thinner.

Because of this, Zogral’s tentacles began to slowly close in on us.

“Everyone, just hold on for a few more seconds!”

I shouted and released one last [Gleaming Dragon’s Breath], regaining my grip on Gram Origin with both hands.

The sword was filled with energy like never before.

With this, it might be possible not only to wipe out Zogral’s tentacles but to defeat even the main body.

According to the appraisal, the interior of the Zogral’s main body was an infinite expanse, but just because it was infinite did not mean that it was unlimited.

In other words, there must be a limit to the amount that can be absorbed.

If I strike with all my might, I might be able to defeat it.

I held Gram Origin high in the air.

I was so close to activating it.

Three, two, one── zero.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

I swung the Gram Origin down with all my might, with all my strength.

A rainbow-colored flash was released, tracing its trajectory.

The flash bursted the tentacles approaching us one after another and finally reached Zogral’s main body.

An explosion erupted.

A gust of wind blew through the air, and black smoke billowed up around the area.