The memories of the man still drifted through my mind like fragments.
I had somewhat mastered the general usage of the Result Eye, but that was all.
I couldn’t understand the more detailed principles.
It was due to the fact that I never saw the decisive scene in its entirety.
The final demonstration of the Result Eye by the Great Witch.
I had to witness it.
My body, which had rebounded like a bouncy ball, was about to be thrown onto the ground.
If it weren’t for an unexpected person catching me, I might have once again seen a tired-looking man spattered with blood.
The sound of catching me with a thud was quite stable.
The weight of an adult man was no small matter. Moreover, my muscular body had been accelerated, making the momentum even harder to handle.
Despite this, the maiden merely took a couple of steps back and deflected all the impact.
A shade of gray hair briefly crossed my vision.
I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, its meaning incomprehensible.
“…Ceria.”
“Senior Ian, are you alright?!”
Ceria’s face was filled with concern, not unlike Celin’s. I leaned against her chest for a brief moment, then wobbled to my feet.
I had suspected as much from observing the soldiers under Yuridina, but seeing it with my own eyes made me feel even more relieved.
Thus, all our vanguard forces were now assembled.
Fighting alone was several times less effective.
Even Celin, startled, rushed over to me, and I made my request to the two women.
“Ceria, you take the right leg. Celin, you handle the left…since we’re grounded, it’ll be hard to deal with it in the air.”
“Are…Are you insane?!”
Of course, Celin wasn’t the type to readily obey such an order.
She immediately scolded me harshly.
“Do you have any idea what state Ian is in right now?! You could drop dead at any moment! We could just handle this location ourselves….”
“It can’t be done with just the two of you.”
It was a plain and simple truth.
While the two of them would provide some help, to surpass the healing ability of the Corpse Giant, I was necessary.
The technique capable of crushing the Corpse Giant’s arm in a single blow was none other than ‘Release (解).’
While ‘Bond (結)’ was a technique to endure within the flow, ‘Release’ was one to disrupt the flow.
To put it another way, it was like piercing additional streams into a flowing river.
By applying this, I could scatter the components making up the Corpse Giant’s body.
Connections were also a form of force, after all.
And only I, among our group, could use Release.
Ultimately, there were no objections to my order.
Ceria merely asked a single question.
“…What’s the signal?”
“The moment I leap.”
That was our last exchange.
Celin was about to say something to me but, soon letting out a long sigh and shaking her head, realizing that no matter what she said, it wouldn’t get through.
Truly, she knew me too well.
Once again, my eyes were directed at the enemy.
The Corpse Giant had already restored its lost arm in that brief interval.
The grotesque howl of the monster violently shook my eardrums.
Uurgh-!
It was an annoying sound that had become tiresome after repeated exposure.
A thought occurred to me, and I asked Ceria:
“Ceria, do you happen to have any painkillers?”
“A…Yes! I have one for emergency first aid….”
While saying this, Ceria fumbled about and pulled out what seemed to be a painkiller potion and handed it to me without reserve.
Ceria merely tilted her head in confusion.
Of course, I had my reasoning.
As the perception of pain diminished, my mind grew increasingly hazy.
The more confused I got, the clearer the man’s memories became.
My body had already reached its limit, after all.
Even if I pushed harder, death was the only result waiting. In this case, it was better to rely on the power of drugs.
Thunderstorms returned, and lightning began to rain down.
It was the magic maintained by the Rainelle Clan’s Magic Troops.
Although it was strange that Senior Elsi didn’t move at all, I was grateful that they were keeping the Corpse Giant in check.
It had been a while.
The Lady Virgin Saint had weakened the Corpse Giant.
Celin and Ceria stood beside me now, while Senior Elsi was undoubtedly preparing something in the rear.
Strangely, the absence of Senior Delphine felt especially lonely.
Given my body’s limitations, the opportunities left to me were few.
However, the arrival of comrades in this life-or-death moment made them feel more reliable than ever.
I chewed my lip, feeling this might truly be the last time.
The Corpse Giant, as if sensing the strange tension, merely stared at me intently without moving.
Between my heavy breaths, strange scenery began to intrude once more.
Yes, it’s now.
I madly ran and pushed off the ground, leaping into the air.
It was an unexpected dash, but the Corpse Giant’s reaction speed was fast.
The Corpse Giant swung its right fist.
In response, the silver aura blazing from my sword cleaved through the world.
The silver line pierced into the Corpse Giant’s fist. And soon, with a burst of blood and water, scattered corpses.
Amidst the falling flesh, another fist cut through the void.
It was a repeated attack that had already knocked me down once. If this continued, my second defeat was certain.
There was, however, one difference from before.
I had assistants now.
A pitch-black flash raced sharply across the Corpse Giant’s right leg.
Ceria’s falling sword slashes were like a torrential downpour.
She beheaded it, executed a single leap, and then gracefully stepped on countless corpses, carving wounds from its ankle to its knee.
Her clean strokes methodically severed the core joints of the Corpse Giant.
To the point where it could no longer support the weight of the Corpse Giant.
As its right knee collapsed, the Corpse Giant immediately lost balance.
Kekekekekek!
The fist aimed at me swung idly through the void.
I landed on the fist and began running along the giant’s arm.
The flames burned through my vision.
Once again, the stranger’s memories intruded.
My master raised my index finger and said:
“Bond (結) is to stand against the flow and uphold yourself. If one wishes to not waver and actualize an image, they can also be free from the flow.”
Right, that’s how it is.
And that’s why I’m facing this absurd enemy.
Shaking off the hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, I continued to race forward.
Before long, past the arm, onto the shoulder.
The Corpse Giant targeted me with its partly restored arm.
Of course, it was a tactic that wouldn’t work on me.
The sword tip drew a straight line.
Even though only the tip of the sword touched, the Corpse Giant’s hand couldn’t proceed further.
When it was too late, it tried to grab me with its fingers, but it was futile.
The corpses composing the giant’s hand scattered and fell to the ground.
In the end, the Corpse Giant had only one arm left.
The monster tried to use its last arm to knock me away.
Just then, Celin had already reached the left knee.
With a bang, a small explosion sounded in my ears.
Celin’s forte was pouring a large amount of mana at once.
Though her skills might be lacking compared to Ceria, the power of her all-out strike was on par with Ceria’s, if not more potent due to her consumption of the Hunting Festival prize, “Dragon’s Pure Blood.”
The Corpse Giant’s left ankle shattered instantly.
With another support lost, the body of the Corpse Giant made a thud and began to rapidly descend. Amid its wobbling balance, I adjusted my stance and thrust my sword forward.
The giant’s palm met the sword.
The palm, by volume and mass, had an overwhelming advantage.
However, the revealed result was the opposite.
The giant’s palm split with a tearing sound, and silver light seeped out.
The following event was unsurprising.
With a boom, the remaining hand of the Corpse Giant exploded violently.
Flesh and bones scattered in all directions.
Time began to flow more heavily.
During that interval, I delved further into the deeper memories.
It was another unfamiliar landscape.
“…And Release (解), it means…”
The master slowly lowered the raised index finger and said:
“To break apart.”
There was no need to ask “what.”
The gathered mana was already revealing its grand presence.
The moment after the master’s index finger pointed to the ground.
Everything tore apart.
Time and space were no exceptions.
Nothing was left in the void’s rupture.
It was emptiness.
For an extremely brief moment, I witnessed the world’s void.
Eventually, a woman’s voice echoed in my ears.
“Yourself.”
The master had said, that too, was imagery.
The world transformed once again.
With a heave, I panted heavily and regained my senses.
Time started to flow again. The proof was the sound of blood and water pouring down.
There was no time to catch my breath.
I immediately climbed onto the Corpse Giant’s head.
Keeeeeek!
Several unfamiliar faces screamed unpleasantly, but after swinging the hatchet a few times, they grew silent.
Or rather, I silenced their mouths thoroughly.
Just as I somehow reached the Corpse Giant’s forehead, the creature suddenly roared and slammed its own head into the ground.
A thud echoed, along with immense shock that pierced to the bone marrow.
I couldn’t help but vomit the rising blood.
I had used Bond at the last second, but it wasn’t enough due to the time constraint.
A terrifying sound rang out, signifying the rupture of my crushed internal organs.
Not only I was caught off guard by this sudden counterattack.
Ceria and Celin, who were supporting me from the side, also got caught in the aftermath and tumbled on the ground.
Overwhelmed by the pain, my eyes involuntarily widened.
