The centipede, made entirely of transparent crystal, twisted its body violently as if enraged by the invasion of its territory, attempting to attack us.
Before anyone could say anything, I erected a wall to prevent the centipede’s massive body from crushing us. Even though I had blocked it, I could feel the wall wearing down every time the centipede rubbed against it.
“What is that?! Yuna! I didn’t hear that such a thing existed!”
“I don’t know either if you ask me! But it’s clear it’s furious! Get your weapons out! It’s coming again!”
The centipede, which had briefly flailed on the ground like a fish jumping out of water, flipped its body and regained its posture before charging at us once more.
I didn’t know what kind of creature it was, but since its body was entirely made of crystal, couldn’t I do something with my abilities?
But first, I needed to take care of it. I sent spikes shooting from its belly, but instead of harm, it only slightly altered its trajectory. I thought I’d at least leave a scratch.
I managed to dodge its first charge, but it quickly twisted its body to prepare for a second attack. In the brief moment, I tried to interfere with the crystals that made up its body, but it had no effect whatsoever.
Just like when I faced Ereshkigal and lost control of the land, this too was filled with someone’s magical power. It was packed so densely that infusing my own magic to regain control was impossible.
“Alterra, it’s dangerous!”
It was too late to dodge. The centipede was rushing fiercely towards me. And I couldn’t keep running forever. I wrapped my scales around my hand and solidified the flowing magic.
Then, I grasped the centipede’s jaw, which aimed to slice me in half. Even with a defensive stance, I couldn’t break the momentum and was pushed back by the dull impact.
With my feet planted deep into the ground, I additionally drove my tail into the earth, straining to resist the charge.
“…Ugh… Ah!”
It wasn’t completely futile; while I was pushed back quite a bit, I managed to keep the centipede nearly still.
Even while I struggled against it, the sound of cracking filled the air as it twisted its body in a desperate attempt to push forward. Ignoring the risk of injury, I channeled magic into my horns and created several giant rocky hands to tightly grip the centipede’s body.
While I was channeling my magic, I felt something was off as I struggled against the centipede. My arm wasn’t moving properly. It wasn’t broken… maybe my shoulder got dislocated.
Regardless, I had it completely bound. I stopped the struggle and jumped back, repositioning myself. After forcing my dislocated shoulder back into place, I created a spear from stone and tried to hurl it into its mouth, but it remained ineffective.
The immobilized centipede was gnawing away at the rocky hands with its grotesque appendages. Even if I tried to strengthen the grip of the rocky hands, they wouldn’t crack under the pressure. I decided to abandon the idea of breaking it and focused solely on reinforcing my hands.
“What are you doing?! It’s tied up! Attack! Do anything to break it!”
My party members, who had been staring blankly at me binding the centipede, seemed to snap back to reality and each attacked the centipede in their own way.
Yuna relentlessly fired her merciless crossbow, and Myungho unleashed menacing purple slashes. Akashi stood with his arms crossed, watching calmly.
I would definitely kill that thing with my own hands. Grinding my teeth, I leaped at the bound centipede wielding my sword.
Attacking its body was ineffective, so I gripped the sword like a cleaver and brought it down on the more manageable legs. It seemed not as sturdy as its body; it broke under the weight and force of my strike.
Unlike me, every time Yuna’s arrows exploded, they left deep cracks in its body, but at this rate, I thought we would run out of arrows soon. Myungho’s purple slashes were utterly pointless.
We managed to bind it, but there was no way to kill it. Wait… wasn’t there one? Not the sword Myungho was currently wielding, but the brush.
I infused magic into the greatsword, solidified it, and drove it into its joints before running toward Myungho. When he saw me, he stopped swinging his sword.
“Myungho! Use the brush to kill it! At that size, you should be able to!”
I didn’t know much about the differences in rank, and while it was larger than the transparent spider we faced earlier, it was the only thing that came to mind.
Myungho seemed to recall this late, sheathing his sword and taking out the brush, but he hesitated, unsure if he could do it.
But then, Akashi, who had remained silent until now, suddenly addressed Myungho.
“Right. Don’t you think this is the perfect time to use the Holy Sword? No matter how you look at it, your sword slashes don’t seem effective against that soulless lump of crystal. Moreover, if we’re talking ranks, that’s well below yours.”
With Akashi chiming in, Myungho seemed to gather his resolve as he sheathed his sword, grasped the brush, and asked me for cover before charging forward.
Running alongside him, I held two spear-like creations made of rock in my hands and drove them into the centipede’s joints for Myungho to use. Like the greatsword before, I expected them to break in a few seconds. But that should be enough.
“Strike there! I’ll hold its attention!”
I focused my spears, hammers, and blades on one joint, desperately trying to stop that section from moving. Myungho seemed to seize the opportunity and leaped up onto the centipede, swinging the brush.
“Die…!”
As Myungho thrust down the brush to finish it off, the wildly thrashing crystal centipede fell apart, returning to a mere lump of crystal.
“…Huff, whew… It really is just a large rock…? What? A rock can’t move on its own…”
After coming back to my side and catching his breath, Myungho placed a hand on his shoulder with Akashi surprisingly saying it couldn’t possibly be that way and muttered some incomprehensible spell.
Then, a form began to appear on the transparent crystal.
“I don’t know who created it, but it’s a rock with circuits drawn so intricately that it surpasses imagination. It’s made to combine in any shape. It’s not even a golem; it’s a circuit that absorbs magical power. I’d love to see the face of whoever made it.”
I didn’t care about that. I grabbed the wizard by the collar and lifted him up. Akashi explained calmly, without struggling, why he had been silent.
“Are you asking why I was quiet? I told you just now. That’s an object that absorbs magical power. A magician like me wouldn’t have a chance against it. Well, even if I’m a dark magician. It doesn’t matter.”
Saying that, I threw him roughly. Akashi rolled on the floor and muttered something incomprehensible amidst several sneezes.
“Emotional indeed.”
For some reason, I didn’t like that. I lightly channeled magic into my horns and threw dirt on him, splattering it over his head. I’d been angry enough, and now I was headed back to where I felt the tree roots.
Something came to mind.
…When I felt that tremor earlier, there seemed to be plenty of strange things. Looking back, that strange thing… I thought it might have been that lump of crystal. In other words.
That means there should be more scattered around here. As soon as I thought this, I felt a vibration from underground as something began to tunnel up.
Oh please. If only it were lava bursting out of a volcano. But there was no misfortune; crystal insects surged up from the earth.
While they weren’t as mercilessly large as that centipede, there were spiders, scorpions, mantises, grasshoppers, and more. Crystal insects poured out from below and surrounded us.
“…Myungho, can you hold this for a bit?”
At first, the party members reacted to the first few, but when dozens began to crawl out, they stared vacantly at the ground as the crystal insects emerged without any expressions.
I took off my necklace and handed it to Myungho.
“…Akashi. Immediately, create the strongest possible barrier all around us. Right now.”
“Sure. I’ll set it up so you definitely end up fainting, so make sure to keep us safe until then.”
Receiving the necklace, Myungho urged Akashi while doing what he needed to do. Let’s confirm whether the necklace truly is the condition for my rampage or if something else is the cause.
I didn’t want to find out this way. My heart pounded, and scales began to rise from my body. The crystal insects were still just watching us, not making a move.
My bones twisted painfully as I gritted my teeth. I had just gotten my clothes back, and now they seemed like they’d tear again. Ah, should I just take them off now?
Endlessly thinking, I tried to keep my sanity. However, despite my efforts, the transformations in my joints ended, and even after being covered in scales, my consciousness remained intact.
…It really was my mother’s necklace that caused me to lose consciousness during rampage. Why, why? Why?
Doubts bubbled up, but there was no time to think. The crystal insects started moving. Now wasn’t the time for contemplation.
I sharpened my claws and wrapped the quivering golden magic around my horns, preparing to devastate the surroundings as I flowed magic into the ground.
But in that moment, I felt a strand of magic invading my territory. It was similar to the magic that filled the crystal.
Before I could react, that strand of magic pierced through the ground and suddenly transformed into a human shape, opening its mouth.
“Get lost, intruders. This is private property.”
