Chapter 169
"Huh! It's huge! Isn't it a mountain by now?"
That was Orihime's impression upon seeing the Spirit Turtle. It was mine and Erna's as well.
It had a long neck, thick limbs, and a shell like a cliff face. On top of that shell was what appeared to be a real mountain, formed over the past two hundred years.
At a glance, it seemed to be several hundred meters high and several hundred meters long. It was big enough to make Leviathan look cute.
It was called a Spirit Turtle because of its shape, but seeing it like this, calling it a dragon carrying a mountain on its back seemed more fitting.
Even though the Spirit Turtle saw us watching it from the sky, it made no move. Honestly, it would be a relief if it remained docile until Leo and the others evacuated the nearby residents.
Fighting a monster this huge would require high-powered magic. We couldn't afford to worry about the surroundings.
"It isn't moving, is it?"
"Did you want it to move?"
"Not exactly, but isn't it a creature's instinct to become wary when a threat approaches?"
Orihime had a point.
What did it mean that nothing had changed even though the three of us had approached together?
Surely it should have recognized us as a threat.
"Don't tell me you're saying it doesn't even consider us worth noticing?"
Erna glared at the Spirit Turtle, looking slightly irritated.
Erna hated being looked down on or underestimated. And her opponent was a monster, at that.
She looked ready to summon her Holy Sword at any moment, so I warned Erna against it.
"I don't mind you getting fired up, but hold back for now. You'll get the civilians caught up in this."
"I know! You don't have to nag me!"
"This is why heroes are such a hassle. They get so combative that they can't see what's around them."
"You always have to add one more remark... Do you really think you're aware of your surroundings?"
"I am! Unlike you!"
"Then enlighten me. What did you learn by looking around?"
"Indeed! I was thinking about why the Spirit Turtle isn't moving. And I found the answer! It's sleepy right now!"
"..."
"..."
"It has been asleep for two hundred years, after all! It's probably feeling unwell after just waking up! That's why I think it isn't reacting to us! When I sleep for a long time, I can't think straight and stagger around, so it must be in the same state!"
Erna and I listened to Orihime's opinion and sighed at the same time. The fact that she wasn't joking somehow made it worse.
"I'll remember that as one possibility."
"You don't have to. That's definitely not it."
"What!? Then what is it!?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't be having this problem!"
"Then how can you say with certainty that it isn't!?"
While the two of them argued, I looked into the Spirit Turtle's eyes.
It wasn't looking at us. It seemed to be gazing at something far away.
It was unquestionably awake. This wasn't the sort of thing that could be explained by feeling unwell after waking up.
The reason it didn't regard us as a threat was probably because it sensed that we had no intention of attacking it.
If we had been obviously intent on attacking, it surely would have reacted somehow as well.
In any case, that didn't matter.
If it wasn't moving, that was convenient.
It was helpful that we had time to wait for Leo and the others.
Just as I reached that conclusion, the Spirit Turtle's previously motionless neck began to move.
It shifted slightly toward the forest where Leo and the others were, then stared intently in that direction.
The Spirit Turtle, which hadn't even reacted to us, was reacting to something.
Because of how strange that was, I immediately deployed a detection barrier and surveyed the surrounding area.
Leo and the others were fighting monsters.
They were protecting dozens of civilians, and the Imperial army was a short distance away, surrounded by monsters.
It was a dangerous situation.
Should we go help them? Just as I was pondering that for a moment,
an immense amount of magical power suddenly swelled beside Leo and the others.
Orihime and Erna must have sensed it as well, because they turned toward it in alarm.
In response, the Spirit Turtle slowly opened its mouth. Its face looked almost pleased.
It looked as though it had found a worthy opponent.
An enormous amount of energy began accumulating inside its mouth.
"A breath attack! Let's go!"
I grabbed Erna by the arm and teleported us to Leo and the others.
The Imperial army and Leo's group had joined up there, along with several dozen civilians.
But what surprised me was the presence of a dwarf elder among them.
"Egor-dono. So it was you."
"Oh! It's been a long time, Silver."
It was a brief greeting.
For a greeting between two SS-rank adventurers, it was remarkably subdued.
This white-haired dwarf, known as the "Lost Sword Saint," was an SS-rank adventurer who was impossible to contact.
There was nothing wrong with his character. He was an adventurer who brought down the strong and helped the weak. However, he acted as he pleased and never responded to requests from the guild. In fact, the guild couldn't even keep track of where he was.
That was the kind of problem child Egor was.
He was a dwarf elder over three hundred years old and the oldest SS-rank adventurer, having held that rank for more than two hundred years.
"I have something to ask you."
"Ask me anything."
"Were you the one who made that mistake two hundred years ago?"
"Yes, yes. I'm ashamed to admit it."
Saying that, Egor scratched his head.
Please don't talk about it like it was some minor mistake. Because of him, an SS-rank monster had been born.
"Fairy Princess-dono."
"Already done."
Before I could issue an order, Orihime had already erected a powerful barrier in front of us.
And the immense magical power beyond the forest continued to swell.
It was so immense and terrifying that even ordinary people could sense it. "I don't know why, but my body is trembling," the civilians said.
It was their instinct as living creatures. Their bodies were reacting to danger.
And then it became reality.
A tremendous explosion sounded from beyond the forest. At the same time, a huge black sphere came hurtling toward us.
It annihilated the forest in an instant before colliding with the barrier Orihime had cast.
A powerful light erupted, and a thunderous roar like the sound of a storm reached our ears.
The clash continued for a long time, until eventually the light and sound faded.
"No way..."
Someone muttered.
The surrounding terrain had changed completely.
The forest that had stood before us was gone, leaving nothing to obstruct our view of the Spirit Turtle.
With the terrain cleared, we could clearly make out the Spirit Turtle in the distance.
Its red eyes were fixed directly on us.
"It seems it was waiting for you, Egor-dono."
"I had that feeling. That's why I thought I'd approach without being noticed, but..."
"If that was your intention, you should have come to me."
"The idea occurred to me after I'd been lost for a week, but by then it was too late. Well, my sense of direction is hopeless, you see. It couldn't be helped."
Exasperated by Egor-dono's hearty laughter, I created a teleportation gate.
The lord of Rostock had evacuated the civilians to another city. This gate would take them there.
I couldn't call it safe, but it was better than staying here.
"The rescue operation is over. Go through immediately, and have the residents of that city prepare to evacuate as well."
"If you're saying it's that serious, is it really that bad, Silver?"
"Yes, it is. The guild seems to have assumed it was an S-rank monster, but that is unquestionably an SS-rank monster. Ordinarily, it's the kind of extremely dangerous monster that would require multiple SS-rank adventurers to be summoned. Still, by coincidence, two SS-rank adventurers have gathered here, along with two others whose strength is comparable to theirs. We may be able to handle it, but I can't guarantee that we won't drag in the people nearby."
So leave quickly.
After I told him that, Leo immediately sent the civilians through the teleportation gate.
Fortunately, Orihime's barrier was still holding.
It was only fitting that she was the greatest barrier caster on the continent. She had caught the Spirit Turtle's breath attack in that short time and blocked it perfectly.
But Orihime looked dissatisfied.
"Is something wrong?"
"That thing... It wasn't even serious. And yet it took a considerable toll on my barrier. Unforgivable...!"
"That wasn't serious...? How much stronger has it become than before, Egor-dono?"
"About a hundred times stronger. It wasn't nearly this big before, to begin with."
Hearing Egor's words, I let out a small sigh.
Fighting it alone would be far too dangerous. If this turned into an all-out brawl, the northern part of the Empire could be devastated.
We had to finish it off as quickly as possible, and we couldn't risk failing to kill it.
"Let's join forces. Fighting separately wouldn't be wise."
"Looks that way. I'll take command here."
"What are you saying!? I'll take command!"
"What are you saying, young ladies? As the elder here, I should take command."
"I will take command. The two on the front lines aren't suited to giving orders, and Fairy Princess-dono's role is to neutralize attacks with her barrier. I'm the skirmisher, and I can teleport as well. I won't accept any objections."
It was questionable whether these three understood the meaning of cooperation, but unless I put them to good use, the Empire would suffer a devastating blow.
We had no choice.
"I can't say I'm comfortable fighting as a party with this lineup, but that's how formidable our opponent is. If we lose, I'll take full responsibility."
"Oh? Are you thinking about losing?"
"That's an interesting thing to say. If I truly thought we'd lose, I wouldn't mention responsibility. Let me make this clear: the man known as Silver has never lost to anyone."
Saying that, I slowly stepped forward.
Leo and the others had already evacuated through the teleportation gate. If there were any other survivors, I was sorry, but we could no longer save them.
From here on, this was a battle on a level where such concerns were no longer possible.
"All right. Let's do this."
Just as I muttered that, the Spirit Turtle let out a powerful roar, as if daring us to attack.