Chapter 195. Absolute Soul (7)
"Strange…"
The number of monsters in the air was increasing. They were desperately trying to stop us. Even though the giant tuna Aikan had become an undead monster with its power as a guardian intact, it could not continue to march forward freely with so many monsters blocking the way.
"Oppa, is Uruto gone?"
"Uruto is dead."
"Uruto…"
Plus, after finding out that a friend had died, the children"s mood and morale had turned for the worst. They cried in Ren"s, Lebuik"s, and my embrace. Though they lasted this far in such a hopeless situation, after finding out that a friend they had talked and laughed with had been a bug the entire time, the shock caused them to lose all of their energy.
As I had told Ren and Lebuik about the truth before, they weren"t in shock, but they seemed worried about the enervated children.
"Should I have done it differently?"
I could have easily killed the fake Uruto when the children weren"t looking. However, I didn"t do so, because there was valuable information to obtain, like how they operated.
"It"s more shocking when someone disappears suddenly. That was Book Walker"s method. Once we woke up from sleep, our friends would be gone. One by one, it was terrifying."
"Mm… It"s a bit different in our case though."
Daisy discovered what I was thinking instantly and consoled me. Perhaps, my thoughts flowed into her while I wasn"t paying attention. With a wry smile, I held up my spear and swept away dozens of monsters with a swing.
"We"ve come far. We should be able to bring the children to safety soon."
"About that, there"s something…"
Daisy brought herself next to me and whispered something in my ear. It was rather simple.
"The skill point I have left, if I use them, I can bring two people. To Earth, total six people."
I shook my head.
"No, it"s not enough."
"Just one, we have to give up."
"I"ll get mad, you know?"
"That might be, less sacrifice. We don"t know, what will come… Kang Shin might live, but the children, all might die."
Seeing Daisy"s serious expression, I flicked her forehead. She took a few steps back with a surprised face. With how big Aikan was, just taking a few steps back still put us on the same level.
"Don"t worry, I won"t let any of them die."
"But you only have talent, for fighting."
"I have elementals! Ren and Lebuik are trying hard too. So Daisy, please."
"Then, fine. You"re the guild master, I"ll respect your wishes."
"I know you came to help me. Thanks."
"To save our worlds. We are in a contract."
"Right, contract."
I grinned at her words. Perhaps because I refused her offer, her cheeks were puffed up. She looked incredibly cute.
Of course, with the situation being what it is, I couldn"t leisurely stare at Daisy. The sky was practically made of monsters that were attacking us from all directions.
"Aikan"s secret skill, Beam!"
"Is that what it was trying to use before!?"
While I asked in shock, Aikan opened its mouth and gathered mana. At its immense suction power, the monsters that were pulled inside all disintegrated from the high density of mana.
[Guaaaaaaaaa!]
Soon, a mana wave thick enough to envelop a whole building shot out from its mouth. The path taken by the mana wave shone like a white slate.
To our dismay, however, the area swept by the mana wave were filled up with monsters again in just 20 seconds. They kept coming and coming like homework. Daisy seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"… More coming, I"m tired."
"Can"t you use those tentacles?"
"Spines. Once per day."
She was still insisting on it being spines. While Daisy sulked that nothing changed even with Aikan"s mana wave, I thought about what I could do. I looked back at Ren and Lebuik. Ren was focused on taking care of the children, while Lebuik was focused on shooting down monsters with her crossbow. With that, a thought suddenly flashed across my mind.
"Haa, I really didn"t want to do this, but it looks like I have no choice…"
"What?"
"It"s a bit disgusting, so close your eyes. Gigant Time!"
Thankfully, Sky G.o.d"s Play was still in effect for about 10 minutes. Before that, however, I used Gigant Time. Without this skill, what I was about to do would have no meaning.
After I used Gigant Time, I closed my eyes and imagined the form I would take. As I had practiced many times before, I could soon feel that I transformed.
"Kyaaaa."
Daisy must have been extremely surprised, as she screamed without an exclamation mark. But since she screamed, it meant that the transformation was a success. I opened my eyes.
Then, feeling dizzy from the 360 degrees vision, I almost vomited.
"What did you do!?"
Lebuik, who turned around to see me after Daisy"s scream, also asked in surprise. I replied bluntly.
"Can"t you see?"
"I can"t! That"s why I"m asking! W-What is that disgusting…"
My original eyes were located further up than normal. With Sky G.o.d"s Play, I transformed my body into a 10-meter tall giant. Even Aikan probably found it hard to carry me. With this size, however, even though I would be able to move freely with my high stats, fighting would be more c.u.mbersome than usual. Of course, I didn"t become a giant just to fight the monsters like this.
After all, what I gigantified with Gigant Time wasn"t my weapon, arms, or legs, but my eyes. I was thankful that everything went as I imagined.
"Everyone look here! If I"m what you want, come!"
[You used high-rank Provoke! All enemies burn fiercely with hatred and hostility towards you!]
It was worth holding in the dizziness and shouting. Though the El Patiz were controlling their bodies, in the end, they were still monsters, which were weak to provocation. They didn"t hide behind bigger monsters to hide from my Evil Eyes. They simply charged toward me with piercing killing intent. Of course, with so many of them, I couldn"t help but sweat at the sight of them.
Just one second afterward, a countless number of rocks fell to the ground.
"Come! Come!"
[You used high-rank Provoke! All enemies burn fiercely with hatred and hostility towards you!]
Rocks rained down. There were even monsters that lost their lives after being hit by them.
"Come!"
"So that disgusting look was on purpose…!"
I pretended not to hear Lebuik. Hundreds of eyes covering my body blinked repeatedly as they aimed at more targets.
"This is the combined power of the mythical Argos and Medusa!"
Argos, the thousand-eyed giant ordered by Hera to watch over Io and slain by Hermes. With eyes covering its body, it had no blind spots. It was the perfect appearance for my Evil Eyes!
"Come! Come attack me!"
I shouted triumphantly and blinked once again. Monsters closing in on us all turned to stone, and only the monsters with an abnormally high resistance survived. Lebuik then commented on my appearance.
"Eyes all over the body… gross."
"I can"t maintain it for very long anyway."
It was Zeus who ordered Hermes to slay Argos. As the holder of Zeus" true name, it was a bit ironic that I took Argos" form.
The monsters filling up the sky visibly decreased. By the time Gigant Time ended and it became hard for all of the eyes to have an equal effect, only a few powerful monsters were left.
[Gaoooooo!]
[Kuaaaaaaaa!]
Feeling satisfied by the monsters roaring after losing their friends and subordinates, I returned to my original appearance. Although Sky G.o.d"s Play should have lasted a couple more minutes, it had ended prematurely. It was perhaps because taking Argos" form used more energy, or because I strengthened the power of my Evil Eyes with it.
Regardless, as I had obtained the result I wanted, I was satisfied. There seemed to be some hope now. With a sigh of relief, I took out a Mana Potion from my inventory.
"Aikan, forward. Crush everything."
[Uoooooong!]
There really were only a few left. Realizing this, Daisy ordered Aikan in a cool pose. Although it was undead, Aikan intelligently responded with a roar and charged forward. The few monsters that were left had no chance against Aikan.
"Just 5 km more, Crown Prince!"
"Ren-nim, calm down! Look forward!"
"Kuk, how can I calm down, Lebu…ik?"
Aaah, though it was a difficult journey, once we arrived at the coast, everything would be over…. Eh?
"As expected… there"s an army."
Of course, I"d somewhat expected it as well. I didn"t think they"d try to stop us with just monsters. However, the army standing by the coast like beach lifeguards seemed to surprise Ren and Lebuik more than me or Daisy.
"How dare they…!?"
"Dear G.o.d…"
Ren and Lebuik"s exclaimed. Did they know someone? I surveyed the ground. Though there weren"t as many as the monsters we faced in the sky, the refined spirit and keen killing intent of the soldiers radiated out. Of course, with most of them being men, there really wasn"t a reason to keep staring at them. After all, I couldn"t be certain how strong they were before I fought them.
Other than the army, I focused my attention on… the commander. Right, the strength of an army really was in the hands of its commander. I looked at the man standing in the front. Golden hair like a lion"s mane, deep wrinkles across the forehead, and brilliant golden pupils. The firm, strong muscular body, and a set of jet-black armor. Finally, in his hands, a large claymore.
He was too similar to someone I knew. In fact, they almost had the same face. No matter how dense I was, it wasn"t hard to figure out who he was.
"Your… Highness…!"
"Kuuk, Father…!"
The last trial awaiting us at the coast. It was none other than the Panan continent"s Hero, and the world"s enemy.