97-97 Princesss Bet (1/2)

After I launched a large fireball at the swarm of demons and wiped them out, I looked up at the sky and gasped at the sign of something strange.

”────That's ...... no way.

The monster's black body transformed into something alien.

The monster was about to quit being a lump of flesh and revert back to its previous bony form.

At the sight of this, I lost my voice and shuddered in surprise.

And I hesitated to believe what my eyes had witnessed.

Because ────

It was so much like I had predicted (・・・・).

You've finally decided .........

It is now transforming its body into one suitable for high-speed movement.

Probably the thing it feels most threatened by is Dr. Noor's Black Sword.

That monster can only be hurt by it.

However, even though Dr. Noor struck the Black Sword with a powerful blow that pierced the depths of the labyrinth from the ground, it did not seem to do any damage to the bones.

Perhaps that flesh is in the way.

As long as that flesh is there, the attack cannot reach the bones.

Our biggest challenge was to deal with that swollen flesh.

The monster must have known that.

But what if... ......

But if I could convince the monster that the flesh was no longer meaningful (・・・・・・).

That's why I sent Inez and Lara up into the sky.

Lara and Inez just kept chipping away at the flesh and burning it.

Dr. Noll can't take that kind of attack.

If they continue to do so, the monster's body will eventually shrink to a small size.

If it is ......, what will it do then?

In the end, the only threat to it is Dr. Noor's Black Sword.

The Black Sword will repel all of its attacks.

But as you confront it, you will surely realize that the black sword can only be handled by Dr. Noor, and that even if it is handled by someone other than Dr. Noor, it cannot be a threat.

If it is ────, it will surely understand that its user (・・・・・・) must be destroyed (・・・・・) at all costs.

But Dr. Noor's speed is extraordinary.

If you want to challenge him with the determination to stab him in the back, that huge amount of meat will surely get in the way.

Then, I thought, I should challenge it with the minimum amount of flesh armor that can barely withstand being hit by the Black Sword.

Now, that monster seemed to have come to that decision.

It was a gamble whether or not it would come to that conclusion.

...... to begin with.

To challenge or to escape.

That was also a major fork in the road.

The worst that could happen was that it would run away (・・・・・).

The worst thing that could have happened was that it would have analyzed our strength, prepared for us, and stalked us from then on.

But I was confident that it would not do that.

──── It's Pope Astira.

I don't even know why I think that.

But there is something close to certainty.

”Pope Astira” and

Pope Astira and the man standing right there right now, Astira, are two completely different people.

I know this because I've met him face to face.

That arrogance of taking everything for granted.

The self-righteousness that thinks it's okay to trample and toy with everything for its own sake.

The vanity of thinking that all beings should serve him.

That's why it's impossible for it to choose to escape here (・・・・・).

I had something close to an intuition.

And it seems that I was right.

It is now cornered by Dr. Noor, Inez and Lara, and is about to play its final game.

In order to defeat Dr. Noor, who has the Black Sword in his hands.

Things are going exactly as I envisioned, to my horror, and I'm inwardly surprised.

But you can't let up now.

Because this is where it all begins.

That monster probably doesn't realize that it was a bad move.

It was distracted by Inez's [divine shield] and Dr. Noor's [black sword], and doesn't think that there is anything on the ground that is blocked by Inez's shield.

I hope you're right.

I hope so, because the main attack to cut its flesh is this one.

The talisman I was given by Professor Oken.

With it, I can deliver a blow that surpasses that monster's imagination just once.

──── ”Keraunos,” a tiny portable magical artillery device.

It's the only prototype magic tool in the world that was developed by Oaken-sensei with the secret technology of the Magic Empire in his hands.

This magic tool contains a huge magic stone that was kept secret by Dr. Oken.

It's the highest quality ”Demon's Heart” that Mr. Oken says he's never seen a better magic stone in his life.

With this, I can cast a single spell of tremendous power.

I've decided to bet everything I have on this.

There is only one chance to shoot in every sense of the word.

If I put all my magic into this prototype, it will quickly fall apart.

Besides, once it is detected, people will be wary and it will be difficult to hit it again.

──── Once you shoot it, that's it.

There is no second chance.

It's a one-time, risky gamble.

I'm putting my life on the line for the rest of us here.

That fact makes me feel nauseous and dizzy.

But as far as I can tell, there's no more ideal hand at hand.

Before we left for Mithra, Dr. Oken handed us his best trump card.

It was as if he had foreseen this in advance.

The only question now is whether or not we can take advantage of ────.

I think it was a real gamble.

Of course, not everything will work out the way I envisioned.

Also at ────. Fortunately.

I've won the bet so far.

Everyone is doing incredibly well.

Inez, who is aware of this strategy, has been guiding the monster, without a hint of unnaturalness, directly above the stone marker (・・・・) that we have built on the ground.

Yes, that's not exactly a wall.

It's a ──── marker.

It's a huge imprint carved into the earth in order to coordinate with the sky here on earth.

For this reason, I never moved from my predetermined position and waited patiently for this moment.

At last, I am getting ready.

The situation is as good as it's ever going to get.

No, everyone has worked so hard to make it ready.

──── All that's left is me.

Yeah, just me.

I'm the only one who has to fail.

So if we give Professor Noll with the Black Sword a chance, we can win.

We have a chance.

There has to be.

That's what I believed when I envisioned and orchestrated this mission.

I envisioned and orchestrated this mission as a gamble, as reckless as it may seem.

That's why I can't afford to fail here.

I mustn't fail.

My breathing is ragged from the pressure.

...... Don't worry. I'll hit it.

You'll hit it. That's it.

You're already doing a great job.

All that's left is for me to make sure I don't screw up the operation of this trump card.

That's all there is to it. ────

So I looked up at the sky to take a deep breath to calm myself down: ────

Immediately, my body became cold.

A shiver went through my body, and just before I could make up my mind, all of my questions started to swell.

”...... guess ......?　And ......?　How the hell did ...... do that?

That question quickly turned into despair.

The huge body in the sky above me was moving around like lightning itself.

What's going on up there is a battle of unimaginable proportions.

The target is huge.

But it's too fast.

Too fast.

...... hit that thing?

How can you do that?

...... Absolutely not.

My naive plan falls apart at the last minute.

──── I guess I was naive.

──── I will fail.

────I will fail. ────I will fail.

I'm sure I'll fail.

My nature, which leads me to dark conclusions immediately from logical thinking, comes out.

It's not ────. Even if you can't, do ────.

I deny and warn my inner voice, forcing my faltering heart to spit out my trembling voice.

We've come this far, there's no turning back.

I can't let my weakness ruin the situation we've all built up to this point.

I clenched my teeth, summoned up what little courage I had, stretched out my hand toward the heavens and took a deep breath. ──── I gave my final instructions to the people around me.

I will no longer be attacking demons on earth (・・・・).

I'm sorry, but please take care of the rest.

That was all I could say.

No, ......, this is not a very good explanation.

This is not enough to convey my intentions in this confusing situation.

”......What?　What do you mean?

Confusion ensues as a matter of course.

I haven't explained this to them.

If I tell them, there is a chance that the monster will sense it.

...... I failed.

I don't even have time to try to fix it. But.

”──── Okay. I'll take care of it. We'll reconfigure the formation around her.

Wait, ......, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

This is the big game, Miranda.

Yeah, we'll be fine. We'll be fine.

Prince Tirens, Astira and Sigil instantly understood my intentions and took care of me.

Leaving the rest to them, I focused all my attention on the inside of my body.

The ──── attack will come from here, you know.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

It's only a few dozen seconds away from being directly above me.

The moment it reaches the top of my head, I'll unleash an attack with everything I have.

I must put everything I have into that blow.

I must hurry and prepare for it.

Failure is not an option.

I can't afford to fail here.

Even though it's ────.

And yet.

”...... why ......?

Even here, my body was still trembling slightly.

The more I tried to contain the trembling, the louder it became, more than I had ever experienced before.

──── Why?

...... Why?

...... It's obvious.

What I'm about to do is a genuine ”gamble”.

No matter how you look at it, I'm going to do something reckless.

Deep down inside, I know it well.

That's why my body won't move.

The ──── teacher showed me in the basement of King's Landing, using the ten (.) magic [fusion magic].

I'm not sure what to do with it.

With that kind of power, it would be easy to rip off the flesh of that monster in an instant.

Based on such theoretical calculations, I constructed this situation.

It's not wrong in terms of possibility.

It's just a possibility.

But the possibility is ──── infinitely close to zero.

In the first place, it is a skill that can never be acquired overnight.

In fact, I couldn't acquire it.

No matter how many times I tried, I never succeeded.

No matter how hard I tried, the more I repeated, the more I realized that I would never be able to reach that realm.

I should have known that.

And yet.

I'm about to do it now.

I'm going to do it now, and I know what it means, but I've incorporated such a vague thing into this operation.