CHAPTER 35

Irregular

Near the south wall of Termine, a few dozen meters from us, stand Gigant Oxerio and a massive version of me facing each other.

“S-Seiya…! ‘M-M-Mega Rista’?!”

“Mega Rista is a giant doll I created with earth magic.”

“That’s not what I’m wondering! I want to know why it looks like me!! You could have just made it look like a golem!”

“I learned that it was impossible through mana alone to create an earthen doll that’s over fifty meters tall. So I used this.”

I gasp the moment I see what Seiya pulls out of his breast pocket. There’s no way I could forget that doll that looks like it was made from golden straw.

“Is that the Ristarte Hair Doll?!”

A memento of my embarrassing past—this doll is something I made for Seiya out of my own hair so he could use it for synthesizing.

“By using this doll as a catalyst, I was able to create a giant earthen doll. But because it’s your hair, it ended up looking like you.”

Of course I’m taken aback seeing the ridiculously enlarged version of myself, but right now, there’s something even more surprising to me.

“U-um… I don’t remember giving you that doll, Seiya!”

When we were saving Gaeabrande, Mash, Elulu, and Valkyrie were all creeped out by the doll and said things like, “Disgusting,” “That’s messed up,” and “Seriously?” That’s why I swore never to create another one, so I didn’t. However, Seiya plainly states:

“You didn’t. That’s why I pulled your hair out and remade it while you were sleeping.”

“S-Seiya…! Again?! Seriously?!”

I’m more worried than I am angry, because I know from experience how much hair it takes to make that Ristarte Hair Doll. I timidly rub my head.

“Ahhh! The hair around my crown’s considerably thinner!”

I scream, but Seiya’s expression doesn’t change.

“I am not going to listen to any of your complaints. As I’ve already said countless times, everything I do, I do to save this world.”

“Nrgh…!”

I tightly clench my teeth together as I groan.

Give me back my hair, you stalker!

…Is what I want to say to him, but Seiya’s right. He wouldn’t have been able to create a giant doll to fight Gigant Oxerio without my hair. I take a deep breath and subdue my anger while staring at Mega Rista. I pray that this colossal version of me will be able to defeat Oxerio and that my hair won’t go to waste.

Gigant Oxerio gets into a fighting stance to attack when Mega Rista appears, but he doesn’t move after that. Mega Rista also raises her massive, long arms in front of her chest and gets into position to fight. Eventually, Oxerio makes the first move. He pulls back one of his four arms, then throws a punch at Mega Rista at an unbelievable speed for a creature of his size.

Wham!

Oxerio’s vicious fist sinks into Mega Rista’s face.

“Oof!”

She lets out a ridiculous cry that echoes throughout the entire nation of Termine.

“Seiya?! Did she just say ‘oof’?!”

“She can say simple words just like the other dolls.”

“O-oh… More importantly, is she going to be okay?!”

“Don’t worry. She has higher durability than golems. She should be able to take a fair amount of hits with no problem.”

But Oxerio’s relentless combo only continues. He punches Mega Rista using all four arms, hitting her whenever there’s an opening in her guard.

“Nrk!”

“Nrgh!”

“Urgh!”

Mega Rista grunts every time she’s hit.

“Seiya?! She’s getting beat up pretty bad! Are you sure she’ll be okay?!”

“Yes.”

I-is she really going to be okay?! It feels like I’m getting punched, and I don’t know how much more heartache I can take!

Mega Rista appears to be on the ropes, but she capitalizes on the brief opening in Gigant Oxerio’s guard when he finishes his barrage and wraps her arms around his body, including his four arms.

“Whoa?! She counterattacked!”

Gigant Oxerio tries to escape her grip, but she tightens her arms around him even more.

“W-wow! I can’t believe she’s physically overpowering him!”

The tables have turned. Aaand that’s when I first notice it. As Mega Rista tightly squeezes Oxerio, her skirt begins to ride up, revealing her pure-white panties!

“What the hell?! Hey!! You can see my underwear!”

Seiya groans:

“That’s not actually you, you know? Don’t let it bother you.”

“Y-you can see my panties! How am I supposed to not let that bother me?!”

And of all the panties they could have been, why those?! They’re no different from the ones I usually wear, save for the fact that they’re huge! Was it really necessary for it to be this close to the real thing?!

All of a sudden, I notice that Jonde is looking up at Mega Rista with a hand on his chin.

“Hmm… Interesting…”

“What are you lookin’ at, you filthy zombie?!”

“Wh-why are you mad at me?! I’m just watching over the battle!”

“Don’t lie to me! You were checking out my panties, weren’t you?!”

While Jonde and I are arguing, Oxerio somehow manages to break free from Mega Rista and put some distance between them. From there, Oxerio’s stomach opens up with a clang, revealing multiple cannon-like barrels.

“A-are those…?”

Before I can even finish my sentence, beams of light shoot out and hit Mega Rista! I briefly shut my eyes before the blinding light. But the instant I reopen them, I almost faint because, despite being hit by those lasers, Mega Rista is still standing! Seiya wasn’t joking when he said she had high durability. All is well…except for the fact that the laser beams fried her hair and charred scraps of her clothing are falling to the ground! However, it becomes apparent that Seiya isn’t worried about the same thing I am.

“Don’t worry. Mega Rista still has plenty of energy.”

“Th-that’s not what I’m worried about! M-my body’s…!”

Mega Rista’s clothes are no more, and the only things covering her are a bra and panties. All she has left is her underwear!

“Don’t let it bother you.”

“How do you expect me to do that?! I’m basically naked!”

“Enough already. I told you. That’s not you.”

Sure, but her chest and figure are no different from mine! I think that to myself, but I’m too embarrassed to say it. I’m so embarrassed that my body feels like it’s on fire. The entire nation of Termine is probably watching right now. I randomly glance to my side, only to find that Jonde is still ogling mega-me.

“Hff… Hff… Hff…! Th-this is quite…!”

“Ahhh! I knew you were lookin’, you lecher! I hope you’re ready to have your eyes gouged out!”

“A-are these really things a goddess would say?!”

As Jonde and I go at it once again, Seiya watches Mega Rista constantly on the defense before muttering to himself:

“While it may look like that, it’s supposed to be an upgraded giant golem…and yet, its specs are lower than I expected. Did its appearance negatively affect its capabilities?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

Not only do I feel humiliated, but his rudeness really tests my patience. But when I turn my gaze back to the battle, I notice that Mega Rista’s face is bloodred while she’s being hit. The corners of her mouth curl downward as she wears a furious expression. Then, at the very next moment, she roars:

“Now…you’ve done it!!”

Taken aback by what I hear, I turn to Seiya and yell:

“S-Seiya! Did you hear that?! She just said, ‘Now you’ve done it’ like she was mad!”

“Yeah, she sure did.”

After that, Mega Rista holds her fists up, rage plain on her face, while staring at Oxerio with a piercing glare.

Is she about to use her ultimate attack?!

I watch, brimming with expectation, until…

Wham!

Oxerio hits her in the cheek with a right hook!

“Oof!”

Mega Rista grunts just like she did earlier as I turn to Seiya and scream at him:

“‘Now you’ve done it,’ my ass! I thought she was about to use her ultimate attack!”

“They were just words. Mega Rista doesn’t have an ultimate attack.”

“Then what was the point of saying that?!”

“It has a will of its own, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Seiya lets out a disappointed sigh.

“Creating monsters the way you want them is difficult. You sometimes create irregulars as well…just like that talking Killing Machine, Kiriko.”

When I look in the direction Seiya is pointing, I gasp as I spot Kiriko running to where Mega Rista and Oxerio are fighting.

“K-Kiri?!”

I immediately dash after her. She stops before Mega Rista’s feet, then looks up at Oxerio and yells out to him like a little girl.

“Father! Please stop fighting!”

Hearing Kiriko’s voice, Oxerio turns his gaze on her.

“Oh, it’s the Killing Machine that comprehends language. The Demon Lord told me that I was the only type that could converse, but…”

Oxerio’s mechanical, glowing red eyes distantly stare down at Kiriko.

“You are nothing more than an irregular created by chance during the manufacturing process. In other words, you are nothing more than one of thousands of others who act as my ears and eyes.”

“B-but…! Father…!!”

It must be painful for her to hear that, but I’m actually relieved.

This just means that Seiya was right! Oxerio is able to share sensory organs with not just Kiri but all the other Killing Machines as well!

This proves she isn’t a spy. However, Oxerio then hits Kiriko with another frightening revelation.

“‘Father’? Your parents are already dead. While general-purpose Killing Machines are powered by the Demon Lord’s mana, their cores use the souls of the slaughtered humans.”

Kiriko begins to visibly tremble.

“Y-you mean…I used to be a human?! Y-you mean my real father and mother were humans…and they’re a-already dead?!”

I’m just as flustered as Kiriko.

What?! Does that mean the Killing Machines Seiya has been destroying were really…?!

Before I even realized it, Seiya and Jonde were by my side. Oxerio’s giant red eyes move from Kiriko and lock on Seiya.

“Yes, Hero, the ten thousand Killing Machines you disposed of like garbage were once humans who lived in this world.”

Jonde and I freeze when we hear the shocking truth.

“N-no…!”

“S-Seiya…!”

I turn around, worried about Seiya’s mental state…but he doesn’t even bat an eye.

“When it comes to saving the world, a few sacrifices are inevitable. It had to be done.”

Oxerio replies in a monotone voice:

“I tried to stir your emotions, but…it appears you are similar to us machines.”

Kiriko, on the other hand, is crouching down with her hands on the ground, moaning in anguish.

“Kiri?! Are you okay?!”

I rush over to her and rub her back. Kiriko’s iron back is cold, but in a way, it feels more human than Seiya’s. From far up in the sky, Oxerio glares down at Seiya, who stands calmly, platinum sword in hand.

“Regardless, I am surprised you showed yourself, Hero. While you may have destroyed my army, it will all be for naught once I defeat you. The Demon Lord shall rejoice.”

Seiya laughs through his nose with a “Hmph.”

“Me being here means that my victory is already one hundred and twenty percent decided.”

“Not according to my calculations.”

Oxerio’s stomach then opens up, revealing his laser cannons.

“SD Laser.”

Black beams of light head straight for Seiya. Unlike the brightly colored lasers from earlier, these unmistakably bear Chain Destruction, which can destroy Seiya’s soul as well as mine.

“Seiya!!”

I scream his name, but Seiya just calmly gives orders.

“Mega Rista, shield me.”

“Aye, ayyye!”

Mega Rista replies in a goofy voice before planting herself before us with her arms spread out. The blinding light forces my eyes shut, but I don’t feel anything. Mega Rista protected us like a giant wall.

“M-Mega Rista? Are you okay…?”

My concern causes those words to naturally flow off my lips, and to my surprise, she answers.

“I’m better than okay! Everything is hunky-dory!”

I almost faint when Mega Rista looks back and gives me the thumbs-up…because Oxerio’s attack has blown the bra right off her chest! Fortunately, a few scraps of cloth are covering the tips of her breasts in an almost symbolic way, but she’s basically giving the world a full view of the goods!

“What part of that is ‘hunky-dory’?!”

I dash over to Jonde, grab his head with both hands, and twist it.

“Wh-wh-what do you think you’re doing?! You’re going to rip off my head!”

“Stop looking, then!! Stop looking, or I’ll really do it!!”

I start turning his head hard enough to decapitate an undead until Jonde screams:

“I—I won’t look! I won’t look, so please stop! We’ve got more pressing matters to worry about now! The Hero has disappeared!”

“What?!”

Those words break me out of my trance. I look behind myself, but Seiya isn’t there.

“What the…?! But he was here just a few seconds ago! Where in the world could he have gone?!”

I steal a glance at Oxerio while hiding in the shadow of Mega Rista. The cannons on his stomach glow as if he’s about to fire more laser beams.

W-wait! Don’t tell me that Seiya went outside of Mega Rista’s guard?! H-he can’t…! It’s too dangerous! If that laser hits us, we’re dead!

But before Oxerio can fire another blast, I hear a familiar voice tickle my ears.

“Berserk: Phase Two.”

I turn my gaze in the direction of the voice coming from way above and notice something leap off Mega Rista’s burned Afro. It’s the Hero, wrapped in a crimson aura.

“Wait! Where were you?!”

“I was using Mega Rista’s head as a platform so I can reach giant enemies with my attacks. This is the real reason I created her.”

Seiya admits this while soaring through the air before slamming the platinum sword into Oxerio’s head.