This Hero Is Invincible But Too Cautious

Chapter 89: Great Hope

I realized that my hair was only meant to be used as a "platform". I felt increasingly salty upon knowing this reason that I wanted to attack the person who robbed the hair from the back of my head. However, the culprit who did it was not near me now.

…On the top of our heads. A sword wrapped in a crimson aura smashed against the head of Oxelio and broke the metallic armor that was probably harder than steel. In Exfolia, the hero couldn"t use his flight skill. Yet, he used a "platform" to inflict damage on the enemy. His attack was so fast and accurate that it looked like he was floating in the air. My anger faded away after I witnessed the hero"s brilliant attack.

Seiya, who finished the offensive strike, descended down and landed right next to me. At the same time, a violent crus.h.i.+ng sound echoed around. Oxelio"s head was destroyed and it looked like he stopped moving.

「A…Awesome! You did it! It"s a fatal wound! 」

I also rejoiced upon hearing John Dae"s optimistic voice. Oxelio"s metallic head was destroyed at the front and the inside was exposed. The wires were damaged because they were on short-circuit, sparks burst everywhere.

It seemed that the battle was ending. Still, Oxelio was not a living creature. He was a machine. He shouldn"t have any problem with operational movements even though he lost half of his head. On the next instant, Oxelio"s abdominal area began to emit a strong light.

「Seiya!! A laser beam is coming!! 」

I screamed loudly because a laser was about to be launch. It could kill me and Seiya right then and now. But, as soon as the sound reached a climax, Oxelio"s abdomen exploded. The gigantic machine collapsed to the ground and created a violent tremor.

「EH!? 」

I was extremely surprised by this outcome. Yet, Seiya spoke as if nothing much had happened.

「Earlier, before I smashed his head, I managed to insert an earth snake into the abdomen"s reactor.」

「Do you mean that the explosion now was the work of an earth snake!? Did Oxelio fire his laser against himself accidently!?」

「That"s right. Even if he wanted to use that attack once more, it was a bad move from his part to leave the abdominal reactor open. So, I used that chance to go inside with my earth snake. But, I had to close the door of the reactor so that my plan would be successful. I mean, I went there and locked the door. Then, I pulled the door about thirty times to make sure it was really closed. And then, I went away.」

「Why did you certified it was closed for thirty times!? Are you sure you didn"t break the door in the end!?」

I thought that one or two times would"ve been enough. But, it didn"t matter now. Half-broken head. Abdominal injury. This time, I thought that he had defeated Oxelio for real, but the cautious hero shook his head instead.

「It"s not over yet. Go hide behind the Great Tarte. 」

「But…But, if the enemy took that much damage, then… 」

In the midst of my words, a broken Oxelio woke up. Seiya was right. Oxelio was still able to move. He spoke aloud as if he were chanting words repeatedly.

「Theoretical value…Speed…Foresightedness… 」

「Wha…What is he doing? 」

「Maybe he is a.n.a.lyzing me. 」

And then, Oxelio"s eye s.h.i.+ned brightly.

「a.n.a.lysis…Complete… 」

Soon after, Oxelio"s body suffered a dramatic change. Once I heard a robotic sound, his limbs disappeared as if they were sucked inside of the main upper body.

「Eh!? What the h.e.l.l!? 」

Oxelio became like a turtle. I couldn"t figure what his intention was. However, soon I noticed something peculiar. On the back of Oxelio, there was something similar like the reactor of the abdomen. It looked like a new place for the launch of his laser beams!

…No….No way…!!

「…CH Laser All Range. 」

His whole body was fixed on the ground! He deformed his body to become like a turret*! The gigantic Oxelio was ready to shoot a laser from his back! Along with a dazzling light, countless of lasers were launched like guided missiles! Those lasers tried to hit Seiya in twists and turns!

「State Berserk Phase 2.6…! 」

Seiya increased his Crazy Warrior state just like the same way when he won against the Grand Lion. On this very moment, Seiya"s movements became like a red orbit. The laser beams couldn"t catch Seiya amidst his supersonic movements, then fell upon the ground and burst as if they were like a pouring rain.

Even so, Oxelio didn"t give up and kept launching his missile lasers without interruption. The whole scene became like a relentless series of attacks that only focused on the laser energy that he had to spare.

「You"re continuing to dodge my lasers…But, it will be impossible for you to dodge them if they come from all over the place.」

Oxelio"s ominous words echoed on our earlobes. Before long, the red orbit, that was clearly avoiding the lasers with zigzagging moves, finally stopped moving. When the figure of Seiya was visible to my eyes, I noticed that he became surrounded by countless of lasers coming from all directions.

「Se…Seiya!! 」

It seemed that the enemy calculated the perfect place for Seiya to land. It was as if he drove Seiya to that spot on purpose. Right now, the lasers were coming for Seiya from all directions. From his head, his sides and back. He was basically trapped now.

However, Seiya dashed forward. Seiya slashed his sword towards the lasers that approached him recklessly.

…Still, the lasers were not supposed to be cut with a sword. It looked like a disastrous attack was about to happen. Nevertheless! The moment that Seiya"s sword hit the lasers, they changed trajectory immediately! The lasers went to Oxelio himself, and after it hit the enemy, a huge explosion burst aloud!

Like me, Oxelio wasn"t able to fully grasp what really happened here.

「You bounced them back…How could you repel the destruction force of the CH Laser All Range after you"ve seen it for the first time…?」

「Although I"m seeing it for the first time, yours is just a modified version of the average Killing Machines" Evil Laser. I figured out that the Evil Laser could bounce back with the reflection of the Platinum Sword"s blade upon a.n.a.lyzing it previously.」

…Re…Reflection…!! Did he find out about it after that long a.n.a.lysis on the Killing Machines!?

Once again, Seiya"s movements became like a red orbit. Seiya moved around so fast that my eyes couldn"t even see him. I wasn"t sure because I didn"t see much, but was he counterattacking the missile lasers? His counterattack proved to be accurate. Almost every laser reflected by Seiya returned to Oxelio. Then, Oxelio continued to bathe on his own lasers of destruction. Flames burst and a black smoke engulfed the enemy"s body.

「a.n.a.lysis inefficient…a.n.a.lysis inefficient…a.n.a.lysis…Ine…fficient… 」

And then, the light of Oxelio"s eye slowly faded out.

Oxelio completely stopped operating. I activated my clairvoyance ability to focus on his physical strength only.

Gigantic Oxelio

Level - 99 (MAX)

HP - 28671 / 3487570

「Great! Seiya! Just a little bit more to finish him off! 」

I shouted at Seiya with a cheerful voice. Yet, Seiya"s expression was still severe. Seiya stared fixedly at Oxelio with piercing eyes.

「No. I have to be extremely cautious from now on. There is a high risk that he"ll try to involve me on his own explosion.」

「Ehh!! Oxelio is going to blow himself up!? 」

「Yeah. I saw it on TV back then on my original world. When robots are detained, they might switch a b.u.t.ton of self-destruction.」

「Ah…Ah, but that…Are you basing your knowledge on a TV program…? 」

「I have evidence. I saw that he had a skill on his status called "All Destruction"…It"s very likely that it"s a self-destruction technique.」

「Ah…Actually, that may be true… 」

「Before he activates the self-destruction device, I"m going to clean it up with the Crimson Boom.」

When Seiya touched the ground with his toes, an earth snake appeared with two sheaths. Seiya wore both of them on his waist.

「Oxelio"s body is supposed to have a self-destruction device. But, that worries me as well. I don"t know if it will be ignited by the Crimson Boom"s flames. Besides, there is an eminent danger that that might fire back to the one who ignited it, me. Therefore, I considered that the self-destruction device could only be activated by Oxelio"s will. And if it does, it could counterbalance the flames of the Crimson Boom"s explosion…」

After explaining his thoughts, Seiya approached Oxelio while trying to figure out if there was really a self-destruction device in the first place. In the distance, Oxelio, who had survived his own self-attack, was almost non-operational. However, the moment he noticed that Seiya was approaching him, his dead eye lit up red again.

「…Preparation for launch…Complete. 」

…!! Seiya was right!! He tried to do something to Seiya right now!! Wa…Was he going to self-destruct!?

However…

「I won"t let you. 」

The hero, whose state transformed into the Crazy Warrior, was already close to Oxelio! Seiya held both of his sheaths with confidence! Then, he pulled out the swords from both of his sheath and directed the pointy blades towards the fallen gigantic Oxelio!

「Double Crimson Boom…! 」

The great technique that defeated the Grand Lion generated a bigger power and shock wave because of the dual sword style! The moment the strike was inflicted on Oxelio, his body began to squeeze dramatically!

Oxelio body created a ma.s.sive explosion as if the core of the earth convulsed. Thankfully, the blast wave didn"t reach us. Actually, immediately after releasing the Crimson Boom, Seiya deactivated his Crazy Warrior state and returned to being the Earth Magic Warrior once again…Or did he reverted at the same time of the Crimson Boom attack? Either way, Seiya managed to invoke a high rock wall in order to protect us from the insane blast.

After a while, Seiya released the rock wall.

「After the attack, I created the rock wall just as a precaution…But, it looks like there was no big explosion after all.」

We didn"t really know if there was a self-destruction device inside of Oxelio"s body. Just one thing was clear; the Double Crimson Boom made Oxelio into a complete wreckage. The cautious Seiya began to scatter the junk as if he doubted his own victory.

Then, Seiya approached the dismantled Oxelio and began to drop each debris to the underground by the power of the Endless Fall.

John Dae, who was silently watching the situation from nearby, opened his trembling lips and spoke to Seiya.

「You…You won against the Machine Emperor Oxelio without a single scratch on your body…!? Hey you…I can"t believe you"re that strong!! But, if you"re strong, why didn"t you fight in the battlefield since the beginning!? I"m sure that you"ll win without any problems…!!」

「Of course. But, if I could win this fight without fighting the enemy myself, then that"s better. Speaking of which, I thought it would be better for us to leave Oxelio to my golems and the Great Tarte. Well, actually, apart from the golems, the Great Tarte was only meant to be used as a platform.」

Somehow, I felt like I was being mocked. However, when I looked up, I saw that the Great Tarte had a big smile on her face. Yeah…Still with her chest fully exposed to us…

「Hey…Hey, Great Tarte!! Just hide your b.r.e.a.s.t.s with your hands, okay!? 」

『I don"t mind it! It"s no big deal! 』

「I"m not okay with it!! 」

After I yelled aloud, I stared fixedly at John Dae.

「Wha…What"s wrong!! I told you I wasn"t looking at her!! 」

After a while, the undead"s expression transformed into the dignified face of a great general. He laughed a little then.

「Either way, this giant doll made of clay did its best to protect Tarmine. 」

I also agreed with John Dae, who was deeply moved.

「…You"re right. 」

As a matter of fact, the Great Tarte didn"t serve as a mere platform only. Who would"ve imagined that the hero would appear at the top of the Great Tarte"s hair to strike against the Machine Emperor Oxelio? It was clear that the Great Tarte was the key to defeat Oxelio.

When I stared at the innocent Great Tarte that smiled earnestly while hiding her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with her hands, I laughed happily at her.

…You really did your best, Great Tarte!

While I was looking at the Great Tarte with warm feelings on my heart, Seiya pulled out his swords and pointed them towards the Great Tarte.

「All right. It"s big and it"s a hindrance. I"m going to destroy it now. 」

「No!! Wait a second, hey!! 」

I screamed back. Yet, Seiya didn"t even look as if he cared much about her.

「Why? We"re done here. I don"t need the Great Tarte anymore. 」

「I"m telling you that you don"t have to break her!! Don"t you have any compa.s.sion for your creation!?」

「Compa.s.sion, you say? That thing is a clay doll with no will. 」

Seiya asked a question to the Great Tarte with an extremely cold gaze.

「You don"t mind if I were to destroy you now, do you? 」

『Ye…Yes! 』

「You shouldn"t be saying "Ye…Yes"!! Anyways!! Seiya, just stop it!! I don"t want you to break a clay doll that looks exactly like me!!」

…Somehow, I managed to persuade Seiya to stop his intents of destroying his clay doll. Therefore, the Great Tarte was placed as a guard outside of Tarmine"s wall. She was treated like a guard dog, but it was much better than being destroyed.

Then, I started to annoy Seiya to convince him to fix the Great Tarte"s hair and clothes.

「This is too troublesome. You"re making me do lots of unnecessary stuff. I have other things to focus on.」

「What other things? 」

「First, I have to collect the wreckage of the Killing Machines destroyed by the golems and drop that junk deep underground with the Endless Fall.」

The cleaning up as usual. But, this time he had a lot more cleaning to do as the consequence of the largescale war. Still, I had a different worry than his long cleaning plan.

「So…Sorry…But…Is everything okay? Seiya. 」

I asked that question nervously while staring at Seiya"s complexion. After all, we were told by Oxelio that the Killing Machines were originally humans. At that time, Seiya pretended to be calm, but in reality, he was probably suffering on the inside.

Even so. Seiya had a bored expression on his face as usual.

「That junk exceeds ten thousand remains. It"s a lot of hard work. But, I still have to do it. If I leave behind a Killing Machine that can move, it will attack humans again. Well, if I mobilize all the golems to help me, it shouldn"t take too long to finish.」

He was only thinking about cleaning up. I was relieved to see that he was "okay", but at the same time, my heart felt convoluted because I wanted to say, "Where are your feelings as a human being" instead.

…Anyways. The hero went to clean up the remnants of the Killing Machines. Meanwhile, I approached John Dae.

「This will take some time. So, we should return to Tarmine in the meantime. 」

I summoned the portal to take us from outside the wall back into the lookout tower. However, John Dae was wary and stared suspiciously at Kiriko from afar.

「…Hey. What are you going to do about that thing? 」

「Are you talking about Kiri? Of course, I will take her with us. 」

After I said that, I turned my icy eyes on John Dae.

「John Dae! Don"t tell me that you"re still thinking about destroying Kiri! 」

「No…No. That thing"s soul belongs to a human being, right? Then, that means that it"s wrong to destroy it.」

「Then why are you staring at her with suspicion? 」

「I was thinking about that thing"s future. Kiriko will have problems living among humans when she returns to Tarmine…」

I stared at Kiriko upon hearing John Dae"s worrying words. She was a friendly Killing Machine that liked flowers. She was also a scaredy-cat. She might"ve been a young girl when she was a human being. And then, one day, the Demon King took her life away…

「Kiri… 」

I made a decision when I visualized Kiriko"s life when she was a human being. I moved towards Kiriko from afar and shouted aloud.

「Kiri. Shall we go back to Tarmine together? 」

「Bu…But, I… 」

I put my hands on Kiriko"s back and spoke with a bright voice.

「Listen, Kiri! Why don"t you go on this adventure with us? 」

「Ehh!! An adventure with Mr. Seiya and Miss Lista, you say!? 」

Kiriko was extremely surprised. And so was John Dae, who screamed upon hearing my words.

「Hey, hey, are you serious…! 」

「Of course, I"m serious! I"m sure that Kiriko will not get hurt if she goes with us! 」

「Bu…But, are you sure that overly cautious hero will agree with this? 」

「I will convince him somehow! It will be fine! I will even "beg with a dogeza" if I have to! 」

「Don"t you have any pride as a G.o.ddess!? 」

John Dae screamed aloud, but I kept talking to Kiriko.

「You know. To tell you the truth, I was a human being before I reincarnated as a G.o.ddess. 」

「Mi…Miss Lista was…a human before? 」

「That"s right. That"s why I think we have something in common, haven"t we. 」

Then, I held Kiriko"s hand.

「Let"s go, Kiri! 」

After she hesitated for a second…

「Yes! 」

Kiriko finally gave me a cheerful reply.

—

We went through the portal and we arrived at one of Tarmine"s lookout tower. When I reported our victory to the soldiers of the lookout tower, everyone rejoiced with their hands. The Queen, who had secured herself in the royal palace until now, came to the lookout tower to celebrate with us.

And then…Seiya came back after two hours.

I took a deep breath to suppress the insane speed of my heartbeat.

This hero was a cold-hearted hero after all. He didn"t care that the Killing Machines were originally made by the souls of human beings. Moreover, he tried to get rid of the Great Tarte as soon as we were done with the enemy…

「Li…Listen, Seiya…You know…Can"t we take Kiri with us on this saving quest?」

I was afraid. Yet, I let it slip anyways.

*A low armored tower, typically one that revolves, for a gun and gunners in a s.h.i.+p, aircraft, fort, or tank.

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