Chapter 170
≪I am the one who enacts Heaven's will. I am the one who knows the laws of Heaven and earth. The hour of judgment has come. Let the guilty tremble and the innocent rejoice. My words are the words of God. My strike is the strike of God. The inferno that scorches the heavens gathers in this hand. O flames of Heaven, reduce the guilty to ash—Execution Prominence≫
A huge magic circle rose into view, and a flash of blazing flame shot toward the Spirit Turtle.
It was a strike in lieu of a greeting.
It was the magic that had once burned an entire mountain to ash along with Mother Slime, but I fired only one shot to see whether it would work on the Spirit Turtle.
The Spirit Turtle did not even try to dodge my magic. Well, if something that huge could move nimbly enough to dodge, I'd be amazed.
"Oh!? It hit dead-on! Did we get it!?"
"No..."
"It didn't affect it at all."
The Spirit Turtle emerged from the cloud of dust. I had thought it might have taken some damage, but its body was completely unharmed. The mountain atop its shell had been blown away, but from the Spirit Turtle's perspective, it had probably done it a favor by blowing away a nuisance.
It looks like we'll have no choice but to fire off high-powered magic repeatedly.
"For now, I want to see what move it has. Egor-dono."
"Understood."
In response to my words, Egor closed in on the Spirit Turtle in an instant, then began climbing straight up its leg.
His target was probably its neck and the face beyond it. Even the Spirit Turtle's defenses should be thinner there than elsewhere.
However, the Spirit Turtle wasn't so slow as to allow that.
Having once suffered a serious wound from Egor, its reaction was fierce.
"Hm?"
While running at high speed, Egor leaped aside to evade something flying at him from the side.
It was a scale.
The scales attached to the Spirit Turtle's shell had been launched at him. And there was not just one. Hundreds—perhaps even a thousand—scales were attacking him of their own accord.
They were scales my magic couldn't even faze. Once they began flying at high speed, they would have an edge sharper than that of the finest sword.
Egor welcomed the scales' attack as though he found it amusing.
"Too easy!"
He effortlessly batted away the scales that came at him one after another.
He managed to defend against the entire barrage. Swordsmen across the continent would have applauded the Sword Saint's skill, but unfortunately, the ones here were a mage with no interest in swords, the Fairy Princess, and a Hero of equal standing. On top of that, their opponent was the Spirit Turtle. Swordsmanship at that level would not be enough to create an opening.
"Well, well."
Egor muttered softly.
Ahead of him, twice as many scales as before were preparing to charge.
At this rate, it would never end.
I teleported to Egor's side, then brought him back to our former position.
"Fairy Princess-dono."
"Understood!"
Facing the countless scales flying toward her, Orihime raised a barrier in every direction.
The scales pursuing Egor were unable to break through Orihime's barrier. They obediently returned to beneath the Spirit Turtle, and the first exchange ended.
"So? What do we do?"
"Its defenses seem perfect at both close and long range. How confident are you that you can slip through?"
"I'd put it at fifty-fifty. With that many, they'll stop me somewhere."
"If they stop you, we'll be attacked from every direction. I can defend against that, but I'll lose any chance to attack."
"What useless swordsmen. The Sword Saint and Hero—what a joke."
Orihime said something unnecessary and provoked both Egor and Erna.
Egor laughed and called her harsh, but Erna furrowed her brow and glared at her. It was the sort of expression a lady was never supposed to make.
"You're awfully mouthy for someone who can only protect people."
"What did you say?"
Their gazes clashed fiercely.
Honestly, bickering in front of the Spirit Turtle... They were a carefree bunch.
"That said, neither of you can overcome this alone. If you don't understand even that, I'll have to teleport you to the rear."
"...I know that."
Erna turned away sulkily.
Orihime also looked dissatisfied, but she did not argue with me.
If I didn't put them to good use, this would become the worst kind of war of attrition. I couldn't have them fighting among themselves here.
"If breaking through alone is impossible, how do you plan to bring it down, Silver?"
"Attacking from long range won't get through its defenses. We need to attack a weak point."
"Its face, I suppose."
"Indeed. There are scales on its neck as well. Its eyes or mouth, most likely."
"I'll support the female Hero. Fairy Princess-dono, support Egor-dono. Attack in pairs and aim for the face. The swordsmen will make the main assault."
After I conveyed the simple plan, everyone nodded.
There would be no detailed strategy. We did not even know what moves the Spirit Turtle had hidden. We would have to rely on our individual abilities and adapt as we went. In fact, this was a group capable of doing exactly that.
"Move as you see fit. We'll adapt."
"You don't need to tell me that. If you can't respond quickly enough, I'll leave you behind."
"Same goes for me. If you're too inept, I won't support you."
"What did you say!? Supporting me is your job, isn't it!?"
"Fear not, Sword Saint! I shall protect you!"
"How nice. I wonder when was the last time someone protected me."
"Indeed! Hold your ground and leave it to me! But forgive me if I happen to forget to put up a barrier!"
"Why are both support roles so unreliable...?"
Not that the swordsmen were any better.
As I thought this, Erna let out an exasperated sigh and slowly raised her right hand toward the heavens.
"Hear my voice and descend! Radiant sword of the stars! The Hero needs you now!"
A white light descended from the heavens.
Erna caught it in her hand, and the white light gradually faded, transforming into a shining silver rapier.
Five hundred years ago, the Hero had used the legendary Holy Sword, Aurora, to defeat the Demon Lord. Said to have been made from a meteor, it could cut through all things and tolerated no demonic existence.
It was the strongest sword imaginable.
Egor probably had more experience than Erna, but Erna possessed sheer power that could easily blow all that experience away.
There was no doubt that Erna's attack power, with the Holy Sword in hand, was the greatest on the continent.
Even so, Erna would be at a disadvantage if she tried to break through the Spirit Turtle's defenses head-on.
The Holy Sword was the strongest weapon on the continent, but even Erna could not wield it to its full potential. She probably could not use it as well as the First Hero had. Erna herself had said so in the past. Being able to summon it did not mean she had mastered it.
"The Holy Sword. I haven't seen it in ages. To be able to summon it at your age is impressive."
"I'm honored by your praise, Egor-dono."
"Wait. Why is your attitude toward me different?"
"As a swordswoman, of course I respect a master. Isn't that obvious?"
"Are you saying I'm inferior to this lost old man!?"
"Being lost is irrelevant. A Sword Saint is a Sword Saint. You're different from a Fairy Princess who can only put up barriers."
"Grrr!"
"Ha ha ha! What delightful young ladies!"
"Please, just focus..."
Why couldn't I sense even a shred of tension from them...?
Well, it was better than having an atmosphere of gloom hanging over us.
Besides, no matter how much they fooled around, they were among the most powerful people on the continent.
They knew when it was time to get serious.
As I thought that, Erna and Egor slowly started forward. The air around them already differed from before.
Their prickling presence made them resemble blades.
Perhaps spurred by them, Orihime had already entered a battle-ready stance. Her appearance was closer to that of a beast closing in on its prey.
Reassured by the sight, I opened a teleportation gate in front of Erna.
"I wish you good fortune in battle."
"That's not necessary. There are people who will pray for me even without your prayers. I will never lose to anyone—I am the sword."
With that, Erna leaped through the teleportation gate.
Erna reappeared directly above the Spirit Turtle. Seeing this, Egor charged straight toward it as well.
From above and below, the continent's greatest swordsmen launched a simultaneous attack.
In response, the Spirit Turtle let out a tremendous roar and tried to intercept them with its scales.
After knocking several scales aside, Egor leaped high into the air, then came to a stop midair.
No, he hadn't stopped—he had landed. Orihime had created a foothold with a barrier. However, the scales surrounded Egor.
Yet the scales remained motionless.
"Don't assume barriers are only for defense."
It seemed Orihime had trapped each individual scale inside a small barrier, immobilizing them.
A gap had opened in the Spirit Turtle's absolute defenses.
Egor seized it and charged through.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Erna was intercepting the scales as she descended. But there were too many of them.
Countless scales soon gathered around Erna. At that moment, I teleported myself to her side.
"I'll take care of things here."
"How considerate of you."
With that, I opened another teleportation gate.
Erna passed through it, escaping the encirclement of scales.
I generated countless bullets of wind around myself and began intercepting the scales that attacked me.
The Spirit Turtle couldn't afford to ignore me, so it couldn't recall the scales.
Then, with its defenses thinned, it was forced to take attacks from Egor and Erna.
Now then, how will it respond?