Chapter 113
For some skills that exist in Midgard, there are things such as “restrictions”.
It might be the number of times it can be fired. If the skill was extremely powerful, it may be such that the skill might only be able to be used once every 24 hours.
It might be the race or species of the user. There might be skills or arcane magic that could only be acquired or learnt by a specific race or species.
It might be the combination. It might be a skill that could only be acquired once all the specific and required cla.s.ses were combined.
And it might be the level. It might be a skill that could only be activated once the required level was reached even if the individual had already learnt the skill itself.
The skill [Hamal], which Aries possessed, was one such skill.[1]
Amongst the offensive skills which Aries possessed, it was the skill which boasted the highest damage and, when allowed to activate, could potentially serve as a trump card which could flip the tide of the battle.
However, there was a restriction to the activation of this skill. As such, ordinarily, even if he wanted to use it, he was unable to do so.
The restriction was that the user had to be level 1000. In other words, it was a skill with a level restriction.
Furthermore, its usage limit was once every 24 hours.
Nevertheless, in exchange for having stringent prerequisites, its damage was monumental.
With a single use of the skill, it dealt damage equivalent to half of the enemy’s maximum HP, regardless of how much HP was remaining.
Although, if one were to ask Ruphas, she would probably answer that Brachium was far superior in firepower.
That was because there was a limit to how much damage could be dealt. Regardless of whether the enemy’s HP was 200 000 or 100 000 000, the maximum possible damage was 99 999. It was impossible to go above that value.
Furthermore, if the enemy’s HP did not surpa.s.s 200 000, it would not even reach 99 999 damage.
As such, she would deem Brachium, which would “definitely do 99 999 damage” as far simpler and superior.
However, that was only when considering Aries as a single individual. When combined with Karkinos, this skill had the potential to completely outperform even Brachium.
When combined with Karkinos’s skill [Altarf], this skill would truly become peerless.[2] It would become a flame which could even slay G.o.ds.
In other words, only in an extreme situation which satisfied the prerequisite conditions of Aries’s level being 1000 and Karkinos being unable to battle, Aries would possess the highest possible damage among the Twelve Heavenly Stars.
To double the damage on a skill which dealt half of the enemy’s maximum HP whilst ignoring the maximum possible damage cap set by the system – in other words, however high the enemy’s HP was, it quite literally became a skill which could possibly one-shot the enemy.
Nevertheless, per cent damage was still per cent damage. However much the enemy’s HP was shaved away, it was unable to completely finish them off. Thus, there was an outstanding weakness of the enemy always being left with 1 HP.
But that weakness was extremely convenient at this moment. If one were to consider that their goal was to stop Leon without killing him, it was a job well done.
As such, everything came to a conclusion as the lion stood fallen in front of a ram.
The result would not change regardless of how disgraceful the situation was.
Victory and defeat had already been completely determined.
“Well done. You did it, Aries.”
“Excellent! As expected, Aries!”
“Aries-san, that was amazing…”
Libra, Karkinos and Virgo congratulated Aries who had arrived in front of Leon.
Aigokeros and Scorpius, who had turned back into their humanoid forms, patted Aries’s back and also congratulated him on his successful win, causing Karkinos to also turn back into his humanoid form in a hurry.
On the other hand, Sei and his group were still in a daze after experiencing that battle which was out of their league, whilst the demihumans were dumbfounded after their leader, whom they believed to be invincible, was defeated.
However, because Scorpius started to talk to them at that moment, their expressions changed to that of despair.
“Now~ then. It means once we clean up the fools that followed Leon, everything’s over, right? Compared to Aries who defeated Leon, it might be a lame battle merit, but even then, these weaklings are still Ruphas-sama’s enemies, so I guess they should be properly taken care of.”
Scorpius coldly declared such and whipped her hair, which was braided into a sting.
The first individual that she aimed for was the spider bugkin, whom she believed to be their leader.
However, before she could kill him, Sei quickly stepped in and stopped the sting with his katana.
What happened next was that his katana broke into two and Sei went rolling on the ground.
Nevertheless, due to the unexpected interference, Scorpius’s attack also missed the target and only ended up piercing the tree which stood next to the spiderkin.
This result was not particularly because Sei’s ability was great or anything. It was simply because Scorpius’s attack was casually made without any effort and so half-a.s.sed.
If she was serious at the time….. No, even without being serious, if she had used even 20% of her power, let alone Sei and his katana, even the spiderkin behind him would definitely have died.
“Se, Sei-kun!?”
“…… Heeyyy, what are you doing, kid~?”
A fl.u.s.tered Virgo quickly approached Sei, who had collapsed on the ground, whilst Scorpius looked towards him with an exasperated expression.
However, Sei somehow managed to pull himself up and looked straight towards Scorpius.
“’What are you doing?’ should be my line. What are you doing all of a sudden!?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? Killing them.”
“Bu, but they can’t move anymore. And they’ve lost the will to fight already. Any more is just being excessive -”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…..eh?”
“To this mistress, their conditions are irrelevant. They’re subordinates of the fool who was hostile to Ruphas-sama. In other words, an enemy. To this mistress, that alone is enough. I don’t care to know about them. The conviction of the enemy, tear-jerking past or anything of that sort is all irrelevant to me.”
Sei had made one mistake.
No, rather than a mistake, it was a misconception.
Because Virgo, who was also one of the Twelve Heavenly Stars, was a kind-hearted girl. Because even though Castor was a little bit of a klutz, he was a trustworthy young man.
Because Ruphas Mafahl was an understanding person whom you could talk things out with.
Thus he was mistakenly relieved after believing that the Twelve Heavenly Stars were existences who were not really terrifying.
People were only excessively terrified of them due to the interference of the G.o.ddess and they were actually a bunch that would be understanding if one tried to speak to them – he was convinced after making such an optimistic observation.
Wrong. Way too wrong.
The Twelve Heavenly Stars was a gathering of what were originally magical beasts. Although Aries and Karkinos were a little bit understanding such that they could be reasoned with and might even accommodate your situation, when it came to Aigokeros and Scorpius, it would not be that way.
Retaining the mercilessness and ferocity of magical beasts, the two of them were individuals who had forcibly been turned into humanoid forms.
In conclusion, their patterns of thought were fundamentally different and reasoning with them would be completely meaningless.
Domesticated ferocious beasts might embrace their master. However, for anyone other than their master, they would forever remain as ferocious beasts.
“Now, scram. You don’t want to be killed together, right~?”
Although Scorpius told him such in a kind and affectionate tone, she had absolutely no such expression on her face.
Regardless of whether Sei scrammed or not, in a few seconds, Scorpius’s sting would heartlessly ma.s.sacre the demihumans.
– at least, that was how it should have been.
“O, o, ooooooooooooooohhhhhhh!!”
If only… Leon did not try to get back up.
“What!? Still….?”
Everyone simultaneously entered a battle-ready stance and directed their line of sight towards Leon.
Even Scorpius readied herself as if she had completely forgotten about the demihumans as she prepared for Leon’s next attack.
“Please wait. Something seems wrong.”
The whites of Leon’s eyes were showing and he roared whilst drooling.
His body was no longer in a state which could fight. Even if he was the Lion King, the damage he had suffered was far too much.
In contrast to everyone who was in a fright, Libra alone was calm and collected as she indifferently a.n.a.lysed the situation.
“This is… I see. What you would call the final fate of selling one’s soul to the G.o.ddess, I suppose.”
Leon was no longer able to fight.
However, right now, he was a puppet strung up and controlled by the G.o.ddess.
It was irrelevant that the person himself could not fight. If the G.o.ddess were to order him to “fight”, then irrespective of his will, he would continue to fight until he died.
And until something was done about it, Leon would continue to go berserk until he perished.
Due to the clash between the G.o.ddess’s regeneration enhancement and Scorpius’s poison damage, Leon was forced to suffer the painful transition between life and death repeatedly. Due to this pain, Leon was foaming from his mouth and bleeding blood from his eyes.
Under Libra’s [Observation], Leon’s HP had been repeatedly skipping back and forth between 1 and 0 since the end of the fight. Thus, he was truly in a situation where he could neither live nor die.
“I see~. Was this mistress also like this? ….. So, can you do something about this?”
As Scorpius recalled her own foolish actions from the past, she asked Dina who had only her upper body sticking out of a crack in s.p.a.ce-time.
As usual, Dina was in a fully prepared state to run away at any time. Nevertheless, she looked up towards Leon and shook her head.
“No, once he’s in this state where he’s already completely sold his soul to the G.o.ddess, it’s a little bit…. I mean, he’s no longer at the level of where his thoughts could be manipulated.”
“I see, there’s nothing we can do, huh. Even though it’s just karma, now that it’s come to this state, he’s quite pitiful.”
Scorpius released a sigh and then opened and closed her scissors which were created by mana repeatedly.
In unison, Aigokeros condensed a black chunk of mana and Libra held up her firearm.
Being surprised by those three’s reactions, Aries instinctively went in front of Leon as if to protect him.
“Wa, wait! What are you intending to do!?”
“Now that it’s come to this, there’s nothing we can do other than kill him. It’s a bit painful to lose the strongest battle prowess amongst the Twelve Heavenly Stars, however, if you consider that there may be further damage, the best-case scenario is to end it with the death of Leon alone.”
“It sucks to have the same opinion as you, but I’ll concur with that. There’s no other way than to kill him here and now.”
“So that’s what it means. Move, Aries. Otherwise, you’ll also be caught in the crossfire.”
Even though his HP was on the brink of death, he continued to move. Dina was also unable to help him.
As such, there was only one option left – To kill him and render him incapacitated.
As subordinates of Ruphas, it was unforgivable for them to erase another of the Twelve Stars without permission, especially if it was the possessor of the strongest fighting prowess amongst them. However, it could not be helped because it was the only option available to them. Their master would also understand.
After such determination, the three of them at the same time all chose to decisively kill Leon without the slightest bit of hesitation.
“Is there… no other option?”
“None.”
In response to Aries’s question, Aigokeros answered cold-heartedly.
If things were left on its own, Leon would continue to go berserk until his death, destroying the centaur village and inflicting who knew how much destruction as collateral damage.
It must not be forgotten that, however childish or immature the way he thought things were, he possessed the highest fighting prowess amongst the Twelve Heavenly Stars.
If he could not be saved either way, the only option was to put him down before the damage could spread.
After falling behind Libra and the others, Sagittarius and Castor also reached the same conclusion, lifting their weapons up at the same time.
Aries bit his lips in his own powerlessness to do anything, however, he was unable to say anything back.
He understood. He understood that Libra and the rest were correct.
It was because, right now, there was no one who possessed the means to salvage the situation in this place.
– No. At least, “supposedly”.
“…… Step away from there.”
A deep and profound voice, as if it rang from the bottom of the ground, resounded within Aries’s ears.
At the start, he perceived it to be a voice which was only directed towards him.
He believed it was just like Aigokeros and the rest, as such it was a voice advising him to move away from where he was.
However, it was strange. That voice did not belong to anyone in that place, yet strangely, it was a voice he was well familiar with.
As such, when he first heard the voice, he did not question, “Who’s voice is this?” It was because it was a voice he was well used to hearing.
Nevertheless, it was still strange. It was because he had still not grouped back up with the owner of that voice. As such, the owner of that voice should not have been here.
“Did you not hear me…? I told you to move away.”
Again, the voice resounded.
The second advice to move away from that position came again. However, it was not an advice which was directed towards Aries.
Aigokeros and others all turned back at the same time and looked at the owner of the voice who had directed that advice towards them.
Exactly, the owner of the advisory voice was not talking to Aries. It was directed at everyone in that place.
Its feet which gripped the ground were enveloped by steel boots. Its arms, all the way down from its elbows, were also enveloped by steel gauntlets.
It wore a black trench coat and carried an axe with one of its arms.
Its face couldn’t be seen as it was hidden behind a steel mask, thus it was impossible to figure out his facial expression.[3]
Nevertheless, Aries and the rest remembered that appearance quite well.[4]
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“You’re….”
“You are…. Taurus of the [Bull]. Why are you here…?”
One of the Tyrannical Ways Twelve Heavenly Stars, Taurus of the [Bull].
It was the name of a man who was supposed to be in charge of sealing the [Earth Ouroboros] and was currently supposed to be in the underworld Helheim.
He went past Libra who had called his name, pa.s.sed Aries and stood in front of Leon without the slightest bit of hesitation.
He looked up towards the crazily berserking Lion King and muttered with a voice which had no intonation.
“It’s turned into quite a weird situation… but generally speaking, you must have been tempted by that G.o.ddess or something. If I were to say it’s just like you, it’d be the end of it all, but how disappointing it is to see this. My former comrade, I’ll be destroying that useless power now. If you continue to flaunt around the G.o.ddess’s power in a place like this, there’ll be a negative effect on the seal.”
He clenched his steel hands and the sound of steel grating resounded.
Looking at that appearance, Leon must have instinctively sensed that he was a dangerous existence.
As it yelled wildly, the giant lion charged in to a.s.sault that man.
However, there was not the slightest bit of agitation from the man. All he did was intently stare at the lion with the cold pair of eyes which was hidden deep behind the mask.
“[– Aldebaran].”[5]
The man invoked the name of the skill and slammed his left palm into the Lion King’s nose.
Instantly, the world turned silent.
It was as if time had stopped, a place so awfully quiet that it felt unnatural.
However, it was the calm before the storm and anything could happen in the very next instant – that was how everyone in that place felt.
– clink.
The sound of something shattering resounded and a crack ran through the s.p.a.ce.
The sound did not resound only once and the interval between the countless cracks shortened whilst each time it happened, it became louder and louder.
The cracks in the s.p.a.ce continued to widen, eventually forming a complex array as if it was a spider’s web.
— Collapse.
An explosive sound, akin to forcibly smashing something very hard with a hammer that’s even harder, resounded.
Leon’s giant body was sent flying until it was ejected out of the forest from the impact of that fist.
All the trees in the way were broken without exception, signifying how powerful that single hit was.
“Wa, wait! If you use such a strong attack, Leon’ll end up dead! Right now, Leon’s HP is just 1, you know!?”
“… There’s no problem. My Aldebaran doesn’t break physical objects but [Power] itself. So, things cannot die from my attack. Have you forgotten about that after 200 years?”
“Oh, right.”
– Don’t “Oh, right”!
In response to Aries who acted satisfied after hearing Taurus’s words, Sei subconsciously retorted (tsukommi) within himself.
Perhaps this was what a retort in disregard of fear looked like.
What do you mean “Things cannot die from my attack”!? If you punch someone and send them flying that flashily, people will normally end up dead!
Not to mention someone’s satisfied with that answer as if it makes perfect sense without retorting back.
Is it me that’s strange!? Is it just that I’m thinking of things that are unnecessary!?
Thinking of such a thing, Sei suddenly wanted to start weeping.
Only the stupid dog rubbed its face against Sei’s foot as if to console him.
Ah, no, wait, I’m wrong. It just wants to play. Now it’s clinging onto my pants.
“S, so, how’s Leon?”
“…. Just then, I shattered the G.o.ddess’s power which was possessing him. I won’t be able to do anything if he’s stupid enough to be tempted again, but there shouldn’t be any problems for a while. ….. By the way, is Ruphas not here?”
“Ah, yeah. We’re acting separately right now.”
“I see.”
Dropping his fist down, the man called Taurus turned his back and started walking away as if he no longer had any business at this location.
His steps had no hesitation and it was very clear that he was truly intending to go straight back to where he came from.
However, at that moment, Scorpius shouted in a hysterical manner.
“Hey, wait right there! Are you planning to just go back after suddenly showing up out of nowhere and without explaining anything!? Do you think that’ll be forgiven!?”
“…. It’s because you guys were all berserking close to the sealed area, and to top it all off, started flinging around that G.o.ddess’s power, so I came here to shut you guys up. Now that I’m done, I’m going back… Is there any problem with that?”
“Of course there is! Even though you’ve finally had a reunion with your brethren after 200 years, you’re not even going to say, ‘It’s been a while’?”
“Ahh, I see, that’s indeed the case…. It may be as you said.”
In response to Scorpius’s words, Taurus unexpectedly admitted his mistake.
In contrast, Scorpius was perhaps a little satisfied with how he reacted, nodded and said, “Of course it is.”
“It’s been a while.”
Just one phrase. Taurus only muttered a single phrase to everyone.
Then, he immediately turned his back and started walking away.
When he did, Scorpius half fell down without meaning to.[6] She then got right back up and screamed in anger.
“Hey, youuuuu!!”
“….. There’s still more?”
“That’s it!? Is that everything from you!?”
“….. You told me that I didn’t even say, ‘It’s been a while’. So I answered your demand. Where is the problem in that?”
“There’s a major problem with that, you unsociable t.w.a.t! And you know, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, but what’s the meaning of you calling Ruphas-sama without honorifics? Does your loyalty really lie with Ruphas-sama, huh?”
“…………”
After being questioned by Scorpius, Taurus stayed silent.
However, Scorpius was able to sense that the eyes which lay deep behind the mask sharpened a little.
“For me, that person is my comrade in arms, my benefactor and a master who is worthy of me offering everything that I have. Is that answer unsatisfactory to you?”
The intonation of his voice was no different from what it was previously.
Nevertheless, one could definitely feel his seriousness from his response such that even Scorpius was momentarily suppressed by his conviction.
In truth, n.o.body really questioned Taurus’s loyalty this late in time. Although Scorpius questioned as such just a moment ago, she was well aware of how things really were. That this man’s loyalty was, without a doubt, absolute, and that he possessed a heart made of steel that would allow him to execute the duties of that loyalty without fail… to such an extent that even she would be jealous of.
The duration of the relationship between Taurus and Ruphas was the longest even amongst the Twelve Heavenly Stars, save for that of Aries, as Taurus was the second magical beast to be tamed by Ruphas.
Furthermore, unlike Aigokeros and Parthenos, when he was tamed, Ruphas at the time was not yet an absolute powerhouse like she currently was.
When Aigokeros met Ruphas, he bowed down and swore his loyalty in front of the power that she possessed. In other words, the relationship was a master-and-servant structure from the very start.
However, when Ruphas met Taurus, she was still not yet a peerless monster. Therefore, the relationship between the two of them was not that of a master-and-servant but more along the lines of comrades in arms who strived to progress towards the same objective.
As a consequence, Ruphas’s trust and reliance in him were firm, such that even amongst the members of the Twelve Stars, he alone was treated as a friend rather than a subordinate.
Thus, this very point made Scorpius so envious that she wanted to kill him.
It had always been that way. There were countless times Ruphas had sent the Twelve Heavenly Stars ahead of her to scatter the enemies away – however, when it came to standing behind her, it was always Taurus.
“Any, anyways. As I recall, 200 years ago, you couldn’t do things like break apart the G.o.ddess’s power, could you? How did you do it?”
Fl.u.s.tered, Aries, who noticed that Scorpius was accelerating straight into displeasure, changed the topic of the conversation as quickly as possible.
Taurus looked down towards the commendable sheep who was desperately trying to calm the situation down and decided to go along with Aries’s question.
Taurus could not care less about Scorpius’s displeasure, but merely decided to give face to Aries.
“Even if you ask me how… it’s not like I can give you an explanation. Even you guys wouldn’t be able to explain the mechanics behind how your skills operate. I just felt like this is what I wanted to do… I couldn’t shatter that woman’s power 200 years ago and because of that, things ended up in that way. So after thinking that I don’t want things to end up the same way, I polished myself for 200 years. That’s all there is to it.”
“Umm…. Do skills evolve just like that?”
“Don’t know. I don’t know the theory behind complicated things like that. For those kinds of things, wouldn’t the person that’s hiding there be better versed in such matters?”
“Eh?”
After Taurus said whatever he wanted, he clenched his fist once again and created a cracking sound.
He then released a single destructive burst of his skill (Aldebaran).
That attack was thrust upon an empty s.p.a.ce, but created a destructive sound as if something was there.
What was broken was – s.p.a.ce-time.
An empty s.p.a.ce-time continuum shattered and from the inside, Dina dropped down onto the ground.
“Wahiyaaaaa!?”
“I knew someone was there. I sensed ‘two’ portions of the G.o.ddess’s power, so I was thinking it was strange… but it seems that quite a weird one’s bunched up with you guys.”
Taurus stood in front of the absentminded Dina who was suddenly dragged out. He then looked down towards the self-proclaimed strategist with his steel-hard will.
Dina by now had finally realised the circ.u.mstances and was looking up at Taurus, stiffened.
She quickly met his eyes and tried to use the mind control skill… however, there was not a single effect on Taurus.
It was as if he was a golem or something. His will did not flutter in the slightest.
Even when the stupid dog came towards his foot, he did not falter in the slightest.
“It’s no use, deception doesn’t work on me… there is only one person who’s able to move my heart. Now, answer – who are you?”
…… Ehh? Is it that I’m in a deep end?
A precarious situation as I’ve never been in before in the past?
As she thought this, she was breaking out in cold sweat. Nevertheless, she was unable to change her smiling expression as she continued to look up at Taurus absentmindedly.