Chapter 976

Matsuyuki took the titan’s right leg, at the cost of collapsing in total exhaustion.

And yet, no one made any attempt to help her up. Not even Sakaki, who was standing right next to her. She simply stood watch as Matsuyuki tried desperately to catch her breath.

That’s when Ajisai approached Matsuyuki. She jumped down from the carriage and started jogging towards Matsuyuki.

In her hand was a jet-black scabbard, almost definitely Berserk’s.

Still kneeling, Matsuyuki lifted Berserk with her trembling hands and held it horizontally in front of herself.

Meanwhile, Ajisai took the scabbard with both hands and slowly sheathed Berserk. After a few long seconds, Berserk slipped all the way in with a click.

Then Sakaki immediately dove in to pick up Matsuyuki in her arms. Maybe there’s some reason why they can’t touch Matsuyuki while Berserk is unsheathed.

Matsuyuki laid motionless in Sakaki’s arms, probably unconscious.

She’s that spent without even releasing Berserk. I can see why releasing it causes the user to die.

（Master, we need to take out the titan.）

『You’re right.』

The supertitan achieved a tremendous power boost by fusing with another titan. However, he’s currently collapsed on the ground after losing one of his legs.

『He’s still not regenerating, maybe because of Berserk’s powers? Either way, this is our chance!』

（Nn!）

Now that the titan was struggling to get back up, everyone knew this was the perfect chance to strike.

Shikimi rallied the troops once again, and the adventurers followed as well.

「Little lady, give me five minutes!」

「Okay!」

Izario wanted to charge up an attack. That would allow him to deliver the most powerful blow possible without releasing his divine sword.

Fran and I also preferred it this way. Divine swords aren’t weapons that should be used so frequently. The recoil and wear on the user was a tremendous burden.

Thinking back, Ashwrath showed us the power of his divine sword so casually back in the Beast Kingdom. Now we know how crazy that was.

Izario needed quite a bit of time, but I guess that’s just how powerful the supertitan was.

『Fran, let’s crush the remaining left leg.』

（Nn!）

『Urushi, strike at his arms with Bottomless Shadow. Even if it doesn’t work well, it’ll interfere with his movements.』

（Woof!）

Bottomless Shadow is a spell that erases the target by engulfing them into a shadow dimension through a hole on the ground. The problem was that it takes forever for the shadows to swallow the target, and it needs to swallow their whole body. Otherwise, it will fail to activate, allowing the target to escape.

Of course, it would be impossible to swallow this guy’s enormous body. Still, the shadow turns the ground into something like a bottomless swamp, so it’s much more difficult to stand on than ordinary ground.

「Urushi, good luck!」

「Woof!」

Meanwhile, Fran and I aimed for the titan’s ankle. Just as he was trying to get up, we blasted him with a barrage of thunder magic.

「Haaah! Brilliant Lightning Rush! Kanna Kamui!」

『Kanna Kamui!』

Fran and I sent a total of four shots of Kanna Kamui, shattering the titan’s ankle. The supertitan had been trying to get up in the bridge pose, but this caused him to lose his balance and slam back down into the earth.

『Fran, one more round! Keep damaging his leg before it regenerates!』

「Nn! Haaaaah!」

After jumping through the air above the titan’s ankle, Fran unleashed a sword art with all her might. Not Heavenly Judgment, which would require a wind-up time, but a Holy Sword Art that could be performed instantly.

「Blade Rondo!」

This was the level 8 Holy Sword Art, Blade Rondo. Basically, it’s a flurry of ultra high-speed slashes. Her 12 slashes in less than 3 seconds inflicted a heavy gash on the titan’s knee.

This art was originally intended for attacking multiple enemies, but Fran concentrated all the slashes on a single point. The current Fran had almost complete mastery over even the higher level Holy Sword Arts.

However, the titan wouldn’t take this sitting down.

「Mrgh?」

『Whoa!』

He aimed a magic blast at Fran during her post-art stun, despite the fact that he would be blowing himself up too. It’s a good thing I prepared our teleport in advance!

I already knew this, but we can’t underestimate this guy.

His knee already began regeneration, but it will take a minute or so for it to heal completely. It’ll take even longer before the titan is able to get back up.

（Master, next is the arm!）

『On it!』

Urushi was currently hitting the left arm with Bottomless Shadow. The titan seemed unable to deal with the sinking sensation, and was having trouble moving.

『Then we strike at the right arm!』

「Nn! Haaaah」

「Blrrrrourgh!」

We slashed at the remaining right arm with Sheaths of Wind, then launched a series of thunder spells. These were mainly intended to impede the titan’s attempt to rise rather than damage his body.

The titan’s displeased roar entered our ears. Perhaps impatient with the situation going poorly, the titan attempted to ignore us and force his way up. But I had been waiting for this moment.

『Now!』

Right at the moment he attempted to thrust his arm to the ground, I slammed him with a full-throttle telekinesis. Subject to the invisible force, the titan’s elbow suddenly bent greatly.

「Boooooh?」

The titan fell back down on the ground with a confused expression. He didn’t understand why his elbow bent by itself. The impact of his body caused a tremor to run through the surrounding area.

His countless falls had already completely caved in the earth beneath him.

「Let’s take out the knee again!」

『Yeah!』

As Fran and I continued buying time by attacking the titan’s limbs, we heard Izario’s shout echoing through the air.

「Sorry to keep you waiting! Get back!」

At the same time, a pillar of flame shot up from where Izario was standing. He was right in between the titan and the city.

His intention there was probably to avoid as much damage as possible.

Fran and Urushi ran away at max speed without looking back. Then…

「Haaaaah! Turn to ashes!」

Izario released a huge sphere of flame.

The brilliant red fireball flew through the earth, melting the land like butter. When it landed directly on the titan’s torso, it exploded into a crimson dome consuming his entire upper body.

「Buroooooooouh!」

The huge 100 meter diameter dome was filled completely with flames. I could hear the titan’s pitiful screams echoing from inside.

Strangely enough, we didn’t feel much heat from here. It seems that dome trapped away the flames and heat.

Even the earth at the edge of the dome was only getting a tiny bit red.

Izario must have chosen an attack that would cause as little collateral damage as possible.

Half a minute later, the dome of flame began to shrink. Within a minute, it was completely gone. We saw no trace of the upper half of the titan’s body. It must have vanished into ashes.

The remaining parts, the lower half and some portions of his arms, crumbled into dust and disappeared. No matter how great his regenerative power was, it seems that he couldn’t regenerate with his torso vaporized.

「Pheeeew. Damn……」

Izario crouched down on the spot after witnessing his victory. He managed to use Ignis as a crutch to avoid falling completely, but his face showed obvious fatigue and exhaustion.

It seems this technique exhausted him more than the slash he used to slay the other titan. Even so, it’s better than releasing his divine sword.

This time, he managed to get away with only spending stamina and mana. Divine Sword Release drains something at a more fundamental level. Even I could tell that despite not being a divine sword.

「Izario! Are you okay?」

「Yeah, kinda…… I just need a little break.」