Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 140: Ardius Fortress Siege Battle – Rampage

The golden-armored soldier proved increasingly responsive the more I provoked him, which made it easy to draw his attention. However, evading the beams of light was unexpectedly hard. Since he was an amateur, he swung his sword with chaotic trajectories, disregarding proper angles and sword techniques. This often led to blades approaching from directions that would normally be considered impossible.

Disregarding proper angles would render the sword surprisingly ineffective, and movements contrary to logic tended to lack sharpness. If the opponent had been an average-sized human, I would have easily countered and subdued him.

However, my opponent was a descendant of the gods. The blade of light created through spiritual arts paid no heed to proper angles, and movements contrary to logic were transformed into unexpected actions through his overwhelming physical capabilities. It might have been easier when I was deflecting the bullets of light. I almost wish I could revert to that battle style even at this point.

[Take this! Don’t run away!]

[Try to hit me, you clueless fool.]

[I won’t forgive you! I absolutely won’t!]

Nevertheless, for the sake of buying time, I had to keep provoking him. My feeble attempts at taunts, which had previously earned me Asumi’s appalled stares, continued to provoke the golden-armored soldier, enraging him further as he relentlessly chased me.

However, no matter how much he attacked, I evaded all his strikes. It seemed that his frustration was getting the best of him. The swinging light sword became even more wild, its movements growing broader, and the sword’s path becoming simpler. As a result, evading became easier than before, further fueling his anger.

As I continued to dodge, he grew increasingly enraged, and his attacks became more haphazard. As he fell into a self-perpetuating cycle of his own making, I found myself becoming more at ease. If I could maintain this rhythm, there was no doubt I could successfully keep him occupied.

Yet, no matter how angry and narrowed his vision was, there was a chance he might switch from fixating on me to pursuing the others if I attempted to flee. While I understood that my attacks were ineffective, I decided to counterattack to keep his focus on me.

“Shhh!”

[Gah?! Do you think that kind of attack will work?]

While evading, I struck the enemy’s golden helmet with the tip of my tail. It would have been a decisive blow capable of crushing a normal armored soldier, helmet and all. Unfortunately, my opponent was anything but normal. The sturdy helmet and the uniquely designed mask, different from the helmets of other armored soldiers, showed no signs of bending under my tail’s assault.

Of course, the poisonous stinger didn’t manage to penetrate his armor or mask. However, when his helmet and mask were struck, his vision appeared to blur. Despite angrily shouting that it had no effect, he shook his head slightly to readjust the position of his helmet.

Ah, I see. So this is one way to annoy him. After learning of this newfound tactic, I activated my spiritual arts and conjured a sand arm. I firmly grabbed onto his ankles, which were stained by the swirling sand.

[Whoa!?]

“If only you’d just die from this…”

[Aaargh!]

Being held by the ankles caused him to lose balance and pitch forward in midair. Seizing the opportunity, I leaped and landed on his back. Then I drove my twin swords through the gaps on either side of his armor, and I thrust my poisonous stinger through the openings in his helmet and armor, aiming for his neck.

The descendant of the gods convulsed in pain, letting out pained groans. Blood poured intensely from his sides, and the deadly poison, in exceedingly lethal doses, gnawed at his body even if it couldn’t kill him outright. While I didn’t get too carried away with the notion that repeating this process would finish him off, it was more than enough to buy time. A sense of satisfaction filled me inwardly.

[Phew… phew… Oooh… AAARGH!]

“Guah!?”

However, things didn’t unfold as smoothly as I had hoped. Letting out a bestial roar, he began to emit spiritual power more intensely and fiercely than before. The pressure caused the sand arm to disperse easily, and I, who was perched on his back, was once again blown away.

This battle seems to involve a lot of being blown away. I thought such unnecessary stuff as I adjusted my posture in midair and landed on both feet. With the still-roaring golden-armored soldier before me, I watched him carefully, not letting my guard down.

[Shhh… Shhh… Haaah…]

Just when the tremors from his roars seemed to settle, the golden-armored soldier’s shoulders trembled with breaths reminiscent of a wild beast. Despite being baffled by the abrupt change, I kept all my compound eyes fixed on his every move. The reason was that the pressure I sensed from him had grown larger compared to just before.

I didn’t know what was happening within him. However, there was no mistaking that he had become stronger than a moment ago. My survival instincts were sounding an alarm louder than I had ever felt in my entire life, urging me to leave this place immediately.

As I slowly retreated with beads of sweat trickling down my back, the sudden movement came to an abrupt halt. Then, with a swift and forceful turn of his neck, the golden-armored soldier locked his gaze on me. In that instant, a primal fear, reminiscent of being preyed upon by a predator, surged from within me.

[Ga… Garrrroooaaaahhh!!!]

“What…?! Too fast…!”

Though I managed to suppress the fear I felt for the first time in a long while, it seemed that the brief moment of hesitation due to that fear proved fatal. With his rapid acceleration, he closed the distance between us in an instant, and the fist fueled by the increased strength found its mark on my face. The impact of the blow sent me flying backward, rolling on the ground multiple times.

Phew, that was close…! If I hadn’t leaped backward the moment I was about to be struck, my head might have been crushed. While adopting a more beastly demeanor, he had not awakened to martial arts skills; on the contrary, his movements had become larger, which is why I managed to evade his fast attack in time.

However, even with the reduced force, I wasn’t unscathed. The small pincer on my left cheek and the exoskeleton around it were shattered, exposing the flesh that had been shielded. My cheekbone and jawbone were fractured, and one of my three large compound eyes had been crushed.

The object responsible for crushing my compound eye was a thick needle extending from the upper arm of the golden armor at the moment the fist struck. It was likely designed to extend simultaneously with the punch. It was ironic that the gimmick of the golden armor worked for the first time when this guy rampaged on instinct like a beast.

If it was like this, there might be several powerful mechanisms integrated within… He seemed to have possessed considerable confidence in his divine lineage’s strength and might have been so consumed by that power that he forgot to use the armor’s mechanisms. Even possessing overwhelming strength becomes meaningless if one can’t wield it effectively. That’s probably why I managed to avoid being killed until now.

But that’s not important right now. While my appearance must have been horrendous after the blow, the damage wasn’t actually all that severe. The shattered exoskeleton and fractured bones had already begun healing, and one crushed, large compound eye wouldn’t hinder my ability to fight much. Besides, by tomorrow, everything would probably be healed anyway.

[Garrrr…?]

“Mog… Pu! Phew, it seems he’s completely lost his rationality. He probably can’t even understand provocative words anymore… not that it seems necessary.”

I spat out the blood that had accumulated in my mouth, tinged with fragments of a molar. It was evident that one of my back teeth had shattered upon impact. Since I had already cut off my sense of pain, I wasn’t aware of the damage within my mouth.

I knew I was already beginning to heal, so the wounds would likely mend as I continued to fight. However, it was more crucial to remain cautious of the golden-armored soldier. In the same posture in which he had thrown me, he repeatedly opened and clenched his hand while twisting his neck. It seemed he didn’t understand how the mechanisms had been activated.

I understood that he had lost his rationality, but I never imagined that his intelligence would plummet to animal-like levels. It was pitiable to see a descendant of gods, adorned in such impressive and beautiful armor, reduced to this state. Yet he remained an enemy, still intent on taking my life. There was no room for sympathy.

[Grrrrraaaahhhh!!!]

“As fast as ever… but evasion is possible.”

With a beastly roar, the golden-armored soldier charged forward. His speed was incredibly fast, yet his movements were too linear, making them predictable. He charged straight ahead to slam down his massive fist. Knowing this, all I had to do was observe when he would launch its attack. I attempted to strike with the blades of my twin swords, but they merely produced sparks, serving no real purpose.

The golden-armored soldier, whose fist was evaded by me and cut through the air upon impact, had leaned too far forward and ended up toppling over. He came crashing down with great force, engulfed in a billow of dust…and this played out to my advantage.

[Gaoooooo!]

“Oh no… Gah!”

The golden-armored soldier had transformed into a beast and charged at me, driven by the impulse of intensified attacks. Between me and him, a natural smokescreen of dust enveloped us and obstructed my field of view.

He moved unusually swiftly, but his initial movements were discernible, and that’s what made evasion possible. Nevertheless, what would happen if my field of view remained obstructed? There was only one answer.

“Gobo… Not good; it’s a pretty deep wound.”

With his fingertips swung open in a scratching motion, my side was deeply gouged. Even though my flank was protected by my exoskeleton, it was torn as though it were paper. If his hand had remained clenched into a fist instead of swinging open, a significant hole would have been punched through me.

This might be better than having a fist-sized hole, but it didn’t change the fact that it was a serious injury. This wound had reached my internal organs, and the blood that had surged up from my abdomen was overflowing from my mouth. If I wasn’t able to block my sense of pain, I might not have been able to make a single move.

Spitting out blood that naturally welled up in my mouth, I calmly focused my fighting spirit on my abdomen, sealing the wound as I did so. This should prevent my internal organs from protruding through the wound. However, I had lost a considerable amount of blood. My body lacked strength, and it felt like my twin swords could slip through my fingertips. Even the view reflected in my compound eyes was blurred and hard to discern. I was in a dire situation.

“I won’t… die. I won’t meet my end in a place like this.”

Nevertheless, no matter how injured I was, I had the ultimate goal of “surviving for a hundred years”. I couldn’t die without fulfilling that mission. I intensified my fighting spirit and spiritual power while tensing my abdominal muscles and consciously gripping my twin swords tightly.

[Gargrooo… ooo!?]

“…Could the timing be any better?”

Just as the golden-armored soldier lunged forward again to charge at me, something long and thin came hurtling at high speed from the empty space behind me, striking him squarely in the face. The mask that protected his face was sturdy, and it only showed a slight dent, but the impact caused the golden-armored soldier to once again topple dramatically.

The airborne object that collided with the mask spun in the air before impaling itself on the ground. It was a massive poleaxe, unadorned and robust in its dull color, devoid of unnecessary embellishments.