CH 141

With the reinforcements from Fujita and the others, the situation on the battlefield took a turn for the better.



“Fire! Fire to your heart’s content!”



Bullets were being fired relentlessly.



The weapons from the civilized world were gradually damaging the outer shell of Alpha.



“Eat this, big Ant!”



“Die, big Ant!”



The Touka’s were also providing assistance with exquisite timing.



The flame bullets and the earth shells fired by the twins contained a significant amount of power.



(Amazing…)



That was what Nishino thought.



After all, Alpha, who almost decimated them single-handedly, was constantly forced to be on the defensive.



However, they had no time to relax.



“Rikka, can you still move?”



“Course.”



Behind Rikka, Goshogawara and Shibata were also waiting for instructions.



While they had been battered hard, their eyes had yet to lose their lights.



With the appearance of Fujita and his companions, they had regained their fighting spirit.



“Oh, how nice it is to be young. This old man here is jealous.”



“Huh? Fujita-san!?”



When did he come over here?



Nishino was startled by Fujita who spoke up suddenly from behind.



“Don’t surprise us like that…”



“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sur— Ouch! Who was it that just hit my head?”



“It was me.”



“Shimizu-chan…”



“Really, you vanished and completely lost contact with us… Do you realize how worried we were?”



Shimizu rushed up to Fujita with tears at the corners of her eyes, indicating how truly concerned she was about his well-being.



“C-close. Shimizu-chan… too close. I’ll tell you all about it later so…”



“You better! I’ll make sure you tell us the full story… geez.”



“I get it. I get it. So stop being teary…”



Nishino smirked at the appearance of Fujita who was trying his best to comfort Shimizu.



It was only then that he felt like Fujita had returned safe and sound.



“When will you end this farce?”



Nishino became tense when he heard the voice of Touka Igarashi, the Student Council President whom he was the most wary of.



She was glaring at Fujita while giving off a tremendous sense of intimidation.



“Touka-chan… Isn’t that a bit too harsh?”



“…Fujita Souichiro-san , didn’t I request you to call me Igarashi?”



“That’s not how you should be talking to ad… no, never mind. Sorry about that.”



“It’s fine if you understand. Our priority should be in defeating that thing. I don’t care who you flirt with or how you go about doing it, but please consider the time and occasion.”



“…Yes.”



“Aha, Ichiro is lame.”



“Nahaha, Ichiro isn’t cool.”



“Don’t try to fan the fire, you two!…Goodness, I wonder from whom you two inherited your personalities.”



Nishino felt discomfort listening in on their conversations.



(Not brainwashed…?)



Having been put under her “Enchantment” once, he knew that the people under her influence would behave differently from normal.



However, that wasn’t the case with Fujita.



What was going on?



“Well, Nishino-kun.”



Touka turned around to face Nishino.



“What do you want?”



“No need to be so vigilant. For now, I’m not planning on doing anything to you.”



“…”



There was no way he could trust her after being told like that.



Touka, perhaps understanding his inner turmoil, giggled abruptly.



“The Self Defense Force members are currently aggroing the monster, but we lack a decisive attack. If we are to slay her for sure, we would need to close-in on her and attack directly.”



Although the Self Defense Force’s attacks were effective, they weren’t enough to fatally injure their opponent.



As such, they had to land a decisive blow in close quarters.



“I’m thinking of creating a gap for Aisaka-san to slice her. What do you think?”



“…I agree.”



With all the support from the rear and Rikka being in her maximum-berserk state, she would be able to deal a sufficiently fatal injury on Alpha.



The problem now was how they would create such a gap.



“I already have a plan in mind, but if I’m being honest, I want to have another card up our sleeves just in case. I’d like to ask that of you… can you do it?”



Nishino laughed at Touka who asked in a provocative tone.



“I’ll show you that I can.”



And so their final strategy commenced.



“Hey, nee-chan, can you still go on?”



“Of course, my little brother! I can fire another hundred shots!”



“Wow, nee-chan is so great!”



A boy and a girl were running around on the battlefield.



Thanks to their tiny frames, they were able to weave through the gaps in the rubble and launch accurate attacks.



Their attacks weren’t enough to critically harm Alpha, but they were enough to stall her.



“Both of you!”



Turning around, they saw their sister Touka sending them some sign signals.



When they understood what she wanted, the two children got even more pumped.



““HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!””



The twins deployed a barrage of earth and flames.



Their occupations were both “Beginner Magicians”, but Shiori controlled the element of fire while Shido controlled that of earth.



“Gyiii!”



Alpha tries to retreat, but at that moment, a bullet from the Self Defense Force pierced her body.



“GYIIIIIII!!”



How irritating.



Alpha passed orders to the remaining Soldier Ants, telling them to hold back the humans with their lives.



““Gyi gyi!””



The Soldier Ants nodded and began to move.



Yet something totally unexpected happened to Alpha.



“Gyi!?”



The Soldier Ants had begun to attack their lord instead.



Igarashi Touka gazed at the situation in satisfaction.



(“Enchantment” – By the time we arrived here, we had put quite a number of them under our control.)



Touka held one hand over her forehead.



Touka’s “Enchantment” had increased in level, so she was able to put monsters under her “Enchantment” as well.



The Ants attacked Alpha one after another under her influence.



“Gyiii… GYIIIIIIIIIIII!”



However, Alpha’s confusion didn’t last long.



She immediately began to cut down the Soldier Ants with her claws.



Since they weren’t useful, she had decided to skill them for their experience.



“Gyii…”



The more troublesome one was the human who was coming close to her.



Only the attacks from the hatchets of the red-eyed human posed a threat to her existence.



“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”



The blades of the hatchets were closing in.



However, she still had plenty of time to dodge them.



She planned on landing a counter with her fangs, thereby killing the human.



The moment she planned to do so,



“Summon! Mud Bind Elemental!”



The area around Alpha’s feet transformed into mud in response to Touka’s voice.



It was the effect of “Spirit Summoning”, a skill that accompanied her occupation of “Summoner”.



Although the skill’s offensive abilities fell short of the twins’ magic, it excelled in obstructing the enemies by constructing walls of fire or by transforming the ground into mud.



“Gyi…”



Alpha was not longer able to move from the spot as she had sunken into the mud.



“Rikka-chan! Use this!”



Goshogawara threw the log he had towards the spot in front of Alpha, forming a bridge that floated in the mud.



“Nice, Ha-san!”



Rikka rushed to Alpha by running along the log.



Ha-san was Goshogawara’s nickname.



His full name was Goshogawara Hachiro, so his nickname was Ha-san. It was that simple.



Rikka’s hatchets were almost touching Alpha.



“Gyii…”



In that case, I’ll drag down this human with me.



The moment it thought so—



“‘I forbid you from moving’!”



“…!?”



Nishino’s “Command” sealed Alpha’s movement for a split second.



For the named and evolved Alpha, Nishino’s low-level “Commands” had barely any effect.



However, it was able to make Alpha rigid if only for a moment, which provided the perfect opportunity in this exchange.



“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”



With all these external supports, Rikka was able to slash Alpha under her maximum-berserk state, splitting the latter’s body in half.



“——”



Queen Ant Alpha was unable to utter even a scream before she dissipated in a single blow.



A fist-sized magic stone dropped near Rikka’s feet.



At the same time, everyone received announcements about acquiring a huge amount of experience.



“… Is it finally over?”



Cheers rang throughout the Underground Shopping Mall when someone muttered so.



“WE WON! WE WOOOOOOOOON!”



“WE DID IT! WE DID IT!”



“WE ACTUALLY WON!”



Everyone was thrilled and celebrated their victory.



Nishino also slumped down on the spot.



(Huu…. Huuu… We were able to somehow end the battle over at this side.)



They had fulfilled their minimum role.



(I leave the rest to you… Kudou-san.)



As his opponent was that huge Golem, Nishino was certain that their battle would be fiercer.



But why was it?



Nishino couldn’t imagine that man being defeated.



******************



Meanwhile, near the City Hall—



“Nuooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



Kiki and I charge forth without any hesitation.



The battles so far have told us about two of Titan’s skill, “Mimicry” and “Golem Creation”.



His raw strength is overwhelming as it is, but he also has these skills to supplement his combat abilities.



(Telling us to subjugate this monster… For real, something is up with the difficulty level.)



Still, it’s something I have to accomplish.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”



The roar is far more powerful this time around than ever before.



Titan leaps up high into the sky before crashing down with its hands held together like a hammer.



“N-no way…”



How can it jump so high with its ginormous body?



The Golem is completely defying the laws of physics.



The merciless blow rips through the air and ripples across the earth.



I expected this to be the case, but I was secretly hoping that it was otherwise.



—Titan’s main body is far stronger than its doll Golems.



Not only are its movements much sharper, its roars contain more destructive power than that of the clay Golems.



If its actual body is stronger, why didn’t it fight directly?



Titan probably has a similar mindset as I do.



—To be “absolutely certain” of its victory.



If its clones could get rid of its enemies, then there wasn’t a need for it to make a move.



If I was in his position, I would have done the same.



In the unlikely situation that the plan fails, it would come out and personally slaughter its enemies without holding back.



It’s always the most terrifying fighting against a monster that pays no heed to defense.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



“Pile bunker!”



The Golem’s fist of destruction collides with the pile bunker.



The power behind them are roughly equal, but Titan staggers slightly and stumbles.



“‘Duplication’.”



Through that window of opportunity, I disarm myself and create five clones.



“‘Art of Smoke Shielding’.”



By generating smoke around me, my clones and I shuffle positions.



“Ruuuu…”



Titan glances at us appearing from the smoke.



Now that I think about it, it’s the first time I’m showing this skill to the Golem.



As long as it can’t tell which of us is real, Titan only has one option to choose from.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



Sure enough, Titan crushes the boulders that it had in its hand and showers it in every direction.



As the clones are not protected by Aka, they are effortlessly ripped to threads like paper origami.



“Unfortunately, those were all fake.”



While all that was happening above-ground, I, the main body, had arrived at Titan’s feet through “Earth Style Ninjutsu”.



Coming out of the ground, I store the rubbles that Titan is standing on into the Item Box, making it lose its balance.



“Pile bunker!”



“RUOOOO



I manage to crush Titan’s left foot with the pile bunker, but Titan endures and brings down its foot.



ZUDON!



The ground shakes violently, and pieces of rocks scatter all around us.



“Gah…!”



I fail to block some of the rock fragments that flew towards me.



(Crap… there’s a crack on the pile bunker…)



The crack is still tiny, but it’s telling me that it’s almost about to break down.



Half of my HP has been docked off as well.



As Aka, the cornerstone of my defense, is in a dying state, any of Titan’s attacks can be lethal to me.



(I need to finish this quickly!)



I activate my “Wall Walking Technique” and run up Titan’s body, in time arriving at Titan’s “mouth”.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



“As if I’d give you the time to do so!”



Titan immediately proceeds to close its mouth, but I stop him from doing so.



I have taken out several telephone poles and bundled them up with shadows.



Normally, the Item Box doesn’t allow me to take things out inside the opponent’s body.



However, the story becomes different when the opponent is so massive.



“RUOO…OOOOOON!?”



As expected, Titan is struggling to close its mouth.



Titan attempts to remove them with its hand, but Ichinose-san’s bullet pierces through Titan’s finger.

To be more exact, the bullet destroys Titan’s thumb.



A second shot soon echoes throughout the area.



It has probably destroyed Titan’s other finger.



Ichinose-san won’t be able to provide any more assistance, but her shots have given me some time.



“Thank you, Ichinose-san.”



In that gap, I enter Titan’s mouth.



It feels like I’ve become Issun-bōshi. [1]



In the deepest part of its mouth, I find a large rock that shimmers in a strange light.



“Glad to know that the internal structure remains the same.”



This should be Titan’s Achilles heel.



From the outside, it would be hard to do anything against it, but from the inside—



“Pile bunker!!”



A huge stake pieces through Titan’s core.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!?”



Titan lets loose a howl.



When I hit it with another stake, a crevice forms on Titan’s core.



At the same time…



“Is this the limit?”



The pile bunker breaks down as well.



The problem is that Titan’s core is still intact.



So that wasn’t enough…!



I don’t have much MP left.



The pile bunker is gone as well.



Then there’s only one method remaining.



I wrap my shadow around my fist and strike at the core.



Break!



“Kyu!”



Kiki who is hiding in the hood casts her support magic.



With my slightly increased status, I activate “Full Might” and punch the core once again.



Break!



I hear the sound of something snapping in my hand.



“Guha…!”



I feel an incredible pain. It’s so severe that my vision turns dizzy and my consciousness threatens to fly away.



But I have to endure.



If I have the time to groan about the pain, I should instead be using it to punch the core!



I coat my blood-stained fist with my shadow and slam it against the core.



Break!



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



Titan shakes its body around in defiance.



I slip due to its movements and hit my head hard on the inside of Titan’s mouth.



What follows is an intense pain that feels like my brain is about to be split open.



“Sh*t…!”



This time, I wrap my shadow around my whole body and force it to move.



I don’t feel anything from my fist anymore.



I’ve also bitten my lips, so the taste of blood is spreading within my mouth.



But that doesn’t mean anything.



I absolutely have to win!



“I…”



I have to beat you… and live on with Momo, Ichinose-san, Aka, and Kiki!



To respond to her resolves and for entrusting her life to me!



I have to win! I have to return alive!



“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”



Putting my all into my fist, I strike Titan’s core while letting out a fervent yell.



“BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!”



—-And then… the core finally breaks.



Titan crumbles to the ground after releasing a miserable cry.



“I did it!”



I quickly jump out of Titan’s mouth.



Titan’s body is gradually falling apart.



It’s similar to what happened when we defeated the doll Golems.



“Aaah…”



Titan stood on its short legs and stared towards a single direction.



(Where is it looking at?)



Beyond its sight is the location of the City Hall.



Disregarding its crumbling body, Titan slowly stretches one of its arms towards the City Hall.



“…Ru…o…o—”



Bokin!



Its arm breaks and falls to the ground.



Eventually, Titan turns into a pile of rubble, leaving behind a purple magic stone that is twice as a large as a person’s fist.



“Is this the real thing?”



When I store it in the Item Box, it is displayed as “Titan’s Magic Stone”.



Along with that confirmation, a voice echoes insides my head.



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 24 to 25.”



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 25 to 26.”



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 26 to 27.”



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 27 to 28.”



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 28 to 29.”



“You have gained experience.”



“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”



“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 29 to 30.”



“Racial level has reached the upper limit.”



“Superior Races are now available.”



“Confirmed the subjugation of the named monster, ‘Titan’.”



“Analyzing the contribution of participants — Selecting the MVP.”



“Kudou Kazuto has been certified as the MVP.”



“Subjugation Bonus will be given.”



“‘The Right to Question’ has been released.”



A flood of announcements echo inside my head.



“Haaa… ha….”



Not good… even standing still is becoming difficult…



Immediately afterwards, my field of vision shook as I collapsed on the spot.