CHAPTER 36

A Great Hope

So the reason I now have a bald spot is that Seiya needed a high platform to stand on. I get the sudden urge to punch him right in his stupid face, but the perpetrator is long gone.

…Because he’s currently high in the sky, attacking Oxerio’s head with a platinum sword bearing a crimson aura. Seiya tears away at the monster’s armor, which is probably even stronger than steel. While he can’t use Flight in Ixphoria, he’s somehow managing to remain airborne while twisting his body and attacking. Watching the Hero’s graceful attacks slowly makes me forget why I was even angry. After finishing his combo, Seiya lands by my side as a crackling noise echoes in the background. Then, as if the damage has finally caught up with him, Oxerio’s head shatters.

“Y-you did it! You landed a fatal blow!”

I rejoice with Jonde as the inside of Oxerio’s head is exposed, revealing wires that sparkle like fireworks. Most people would assume that we had already won, but Oxerio isn’t a living creature. He’s a machine. Even losing half his head won’t hinder him. At the very next moment, the cannons on his stomach begin glowing.

“Seiya! He’s gonna shoot more lasers!”

I yell to Seiya, but Oxerio’s stomach suddenly bursts into flames with an ear-piercing explosion. And just like that, the massive robot comes crashing down.

“What the…?!”

As I watch in astonishment, Seiya calmly says:

“I sent a few earth serpents into the cannons before attacking the skull.”

“Wait. So that explosion was caused by the earth serpents?! You blew up his laser cannons?!”

“Yes. While I understand the desire to attack seamlessly, leaving the hatch on his stomach open was a poor move. You should always close a door after opening it. By the way, whenever I go out and lock the door behind me, I turn the knob and pull thirty times to make sure it’s really locked before leaving.”

“‘Thirty times’?! How do you not break the door?!”

I think doing it once or twice is enough, but this isn’t the time for debate. The enemy’s head is half-destroyed, and his stomach is damaged as well. I really believe that we’ve won this time, but the cautious Hero shakes his head.

“The battle isn’t over yet. Go hide behind Mega Rista.”

“B-but I seriously doubt he’s going to be able to do anything after taking that much damag—”

Oxerio gets back up on his feet before I can even finish my sentence. Seiya was right. He can still move. In faltering tones, Oxerio utters:

“Theoretical values… Speed… Foreseeability…”

“D-did that make any sense to you?”

“He’s probably analyzing me.”

Oxerio’s eyes then light up.

“Analysis…complete…”

The Machine Emperor’s body then transforms! His arms and legs vanish with a mechanical clang, seemingly sucked into his body.

“Huh?! What’s going on?!”

Oxerio’s new form is reminiscent of a turtle, and I can’t figure out what he’s doing…but that’s when I see it—gun barrels on both his stomach and his back!

O-oh no…!

“SD Laser: Omnidirectional Blast.”

Gigant Oxerio anchors himself to the ground as he transforms himself into a cannon before shooting lasers out of his back! Countless blinding beams twist and turn toward Seiya like guided missiles.

“Berserk: Phase 2.6!”

Seiya promptly raises his Berserk Mode to the same level he used to defeat Grandleon, then instantly becomes a red blur. The lasers rain down like a squall, but they cannot catch the crimson flash of lightning as it scorches the ground. But even then, Oxerio pours all his remaining energy into these consecutive laser attacks.

“Living creatures can only dodge lasers coming from every direction for so long.”

Oxerio’s sinister voice echoes. The crimson trail continues to zigzag, dodging the blasts before suddenly stopping. By the time I finally get a good look at Seiya, he is already surrounded by lasers from every direction.

“S-Seiya…!”

It was as if Oxerio calculated where Seiya would stop and lured him there. Lasers are closing in on Seiya from above, behind, the sides—every angle imaginable. And yet, Seiya dashes straight forward, recklessly swinging his sword horizontally at one of the beams coming at him.

…There’s no way you can cut a laser with a sword. It looks almost like he’s making an attack out of desperation after being driven into a corner. But the moment the laser hits Seiya’s sword, it changes direction! The beam is reflected right back at Oxerio and explodes on impact! The Machine Emperor seems just as puzzled as I am.

“You reflected it? How were you able to quickly respond to a move you had never even seen before?”

“While it may have been the first time I’ve seen it, it’s merely an improved version of the general-purpose Killing Machines’ Evil Laser. In addition, I discovered that I could reflect Evil Laser with a platinum sword during my research.”

What?! Is that another one of the things he learned during his ridiculously long Killing Machine analysis?!

And just like that, Seiya transforms into a crimson beam once again. How can he freely move around faster than the eye can see while still countering with such accuracy? Almost every laser heading for Seiya is reflected back at Oxerio. Black smoke spews out of the monster’s body as he continues to be bathed in his own destructive rays.

“Cannot be analyzed… Cannot be analyzed… Cannot…be…analyzed…”

Oxerio’s red eyes then slowly begin fading until he completely shuts off. I use Scan, focusing on his remaining HP.

GIGANT OXERIO

LV: 99 (MAX)

HP: 28,671/3,487,570

“Yes!! Just a little more to go!”

My voice is brimming with excitement, but Seiya still wears a stern expression as he quietly stares at Oxerio.

“No. I have to be even more careful now. I don’t want to get caught up in the blast if he explodes.”

“What?! Are you saying he’s going to self-destruct?!”

“Probably. I saw it once on TV in my world. A robot that got backed into a corner ended up pressing a skull-shaped button and self-destructing.”

“Y-yeah, but…that was just something you saw on TV, right?”

“That’s not all. When I scanned Oxerio, I saw a move called All Destruction among the skills. It’s highly possible that it’s a self-destruct attack.”

“Oh… That…actually makes sense.”

“I’ll finish him off with Crimson Boom before he activates his self-destruct mechanism.”

Seiya lightly taps the ball of his foot on the ground, and an earth serpent emerges with two sheathed swords, which Seiya equips.

“When I hypothesized that Oxerio might have a self-destruction mechanism in his body, I was worried that the flames produced by Crimson Boom might set off the device, but a mechanism like that could accidentally blow up the possessor when attacked by an enemy. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Oxerio’s self-destruct mechanism must be something that can only be self-activated. Nevertheless, if by some chance I did cause an explosion, Crimson Boom’s blast would be able to offset it…”

While approaching Oxerio, Seiya mutters to himself as he speculates about a self-destruct mechanism that we don’t even know exists. From a distance, Oxerio already appears dead, but once Seiya gets close enough, his faded eyes light up red once more.

“Preparations…complete.”

Seiya was right!! He’s about to do something! D-does he really plan on blowing himself up?!

However…

“I’m not going to let you press your skull-shaped switch.”

The Berserk Hero already has both hands on the two swords at his waist as he charges Oxerio. The blades simultaneously slide out of their sheaths in a double arc, creating an X-shaped slash.

“Double Crimson Boom…!”

The move that defeated Grandleon returns—even more powerful than before—as Seiya wields two swords. The moment the crimson cross is carved into Oxerio’s body, he is effortlessly sent flying back until he explodes a few dozen meters away with a terrible screech, but the blast never reaches us. I don’t know if Seiya immediately reverted into an Earth Spellblade after using Crimson Boom or if he made preparations ahead of time, but a tall stone wall suddenly emerges from the ground and protects us. After a few moments go by, Seiya lowers the wall.

“I put up a stone wall just in case, but the explosion ended up being a bit lackluster.”

…I honestly still don’t know whether or not Oxerio really had a self-destruct mechanism in his body, but there is one thing that’s clear: He was completely destroyed by Double Crimson Boom. Oxerio’s body is in so many pieces that not even the overly cautiously Hero could doubt that the battle is over. Seiya approaches Gigant Oxerio’s parts and begins carefully dropping each one into the ground using Endless Fall. Jonde, who has been quietly watching, suddenly parts his quivering lips:

“Y-you destroyed the machine corps and Machine Emperor Oxerio himself without sustaining a single scratch! You are unbelievably strong! You could have fought on the front line and won if you wanted to!”

“If I can win a battle without even fighting, then of course I’m going to do it without fighting.”

“Seiya!! You’re amazing! You annihilated that giant robot!”

“Ideally, I wanted to have the golems and Mega Rista deal the final blow, but unfortunately, all Mega Rista was good for was being a platform.”

I feel like I’m being insulted, but when I look up, Mega Rista has a cheerful smile on her face. Yep…boobs out and everything…

“M-Mega Rista?! At least cover your chest with your hands!”

“I don’t really mind! It’s no big deal!”

“…?! To me it is!”

I scold the mountainous mega-me. Even now, the scraps of cloth covering the tips of her chest flutter in the wind, ready to fly away at a moment’s notice.

“Listen!! Everyone’s going to be able to see…th-the rest if you’re not careful!”

“The rest…? Oh! You mean my nips!”

“Don’t yell it!”

I glance over at Jonde after my outburst.

“Wh-what?! I told you I’m not looking!”

After he looks away from me, dignity slowly returns to the general’s face before he smirks.

“At any rate, that colossal doll did a good job protecting Termine.”

Jonde is overcome with emotion as he says:

“…Yeah, she did.”

In actuality, Mega Rista did far more than just act as a platform. Who could have imagined that the Hero would leap out from under her hair and strike? It’s obvious that she was essential in defeating Oxerio. Seeing Mega Rista with an innocent smile as she covers her breasts naturally causes my lips to curl upward as well.

You really did a good job, Mega Rista!

As I mentally praise her, Seiya is quietly staring at her, his swords still unsheathed for some reason.

“Well, it’s really big and takes up a lot of space, so I guess it’s about time I destroyed it.”

“What the…?! Seiya, wait! Seiyaaaaaa!!”

Seiya sends me a puzzled gaze as I scream.

“What? Mega Rista served its purpose. I don’t need it anymore.”

“That doesn’t mean you should destroy her! How can you be so cruel?!”

“What’s so cruel about it? It’s a doll. It’s not alive.”

With his cold gaze locked on Mega Rista, he asks:

“I’m going to destroy you. That’s okay, right?”

“Aye, ayyye!”

“No! Not ‘aye, aye’! Anyway, just don’t do it, Seiya! I don’t want to see a doll that looks just like me be destroyed!”

…I’m able to convince Seiya to let her stay outside the Termine walls to keep watch after that. It’s kind of like letting your dog run freely outside, but it still beats destroying her. I also ask Seiya to fix her torn dress and fried hair, but he mutters:

“Are you trying to piss me off? I have more important things to do.”

“Like what?”

“First, I need the golems to gather all the broken Killing Machine parts so I can drop them deep into the planet’s core with Endless Fall.”

The usual cleanup. This time, though, there’s an unbelievable amount of bodies to be disposed of. Regardless, there’s something worrying me more than physical labor.

“Hey, uh…are you sure you’re okay, Seiya?”

I look at Seiya, trying to gauge how he feels. Oxerio told us that the Killing Machines were once human. While Seiya acted like he was okay, I can’t help but wonder if he was merely putting on a calm front. However, there isn’t even a hint of concern in Seiya’s expression.

“There are at least ten thousand bodies that need to be disposed of. It’s going to be a lot of work, but it has to be done. If even one machine out there still works, someone could get hurt. At any rate, it shouldn’t take too long if I use the remaining golems.”

Disposing of the bodies is the only thing on his mind. I don’t know if I should feel relieved or bothered that he doesn’t seem to care.

…Anyway, Seiya left to go take care of the Killing Machines’ bodies, so I walk over to Jonde.

“It’s probably going to take a while, so how about we go back to Termine?”

I open a gate to the watchtower, but Jonde doesn’t move. He quietly stares at Kiriko, curled up in the distance.

“Hey… What are we going to do about that?”

“You mean Kiri? We’re going to bring her with us, of course.”

After finishing my sentence, I turn to Jonde with a reproachful gaze.

“Jonde! I hope you’re not still thinking about destroying her!”

“O-of course not. Her soul is human, right? Destroying her would be wrong.”

“Then what’s with that look on your face?”

“I was thinking about her future. Even if Kiriko was to return to Termine, it would probably be difficult for her to live as a Killing Machine.”

I gaze at Kiriko. She’s a timid, sweet Killing Machine who likes flowers. She was probably just a little girl when she was human…until the Demon Lord suddenly appeared one day, robbing her of her future.

I make a firm resolution while imagining Kiriko’s life as a human and approach the cowering Killing Machine.

“Kiri, let’s just head back to Termine for now, okay?”

“B-but I…”

I place a hand on her back, then speak in the most cheerful voice I can:

“Hey, Kiri! Want to go on an adventure with us?”

“What?! With you and Seiya?!”

While Kiriko looks up at me in astonishment, Jonde, on the other hand, cries out incredulously:

“You have got to be kidding me! Are you serious?!”

“Of course I am! After all, she won’t get hurt if she’s with us!”

“B-but even I have a pretty good idea what the Hero is going to have to say about this.”

“I’ll persuade him! It’ll be fine! I’ll even get on my knees, bow, and cry if I have to!”

“Where is your pride as a goddess?!”

Ignoring Jonde, I turn to Kiriko.

“Kiri, I actually used to be a human, too, before I became a goddess.”

“R-Rista…? You were once…human?”

“Yep. So you and I are kind of alike.”

I take Kiriko’s hand.

“So come on, Kiri!”

After a brief moment of hesitation…

“Okay!”

Kiriko’s reply is quite chipper.

We walk through the gate and return to Termine. All the guards in the watchtower join hands and rejoice as we tell them of our victory. The queen, who has been in the palace under Seiya’s orders for safety, comes to the tower and congratulates us as well. Then, after two hours go by…Seiya finally returns as well. I take in a deep breath to calm my racing heart. As I face the cold-blooded Hero who didn’t even blink when he heard that the Killing Machines had once been human—who tried to destroy Mega Rista the moment he was done with her—I timidly ask:

“H-hey, uh… Do you think we can take Kiri with us?”