The Underground Giant (3)

"Why did I do that, seriously…"

Located in the Duchy of Astrean.

The vast expanse of shrubbery in the Astrean Manor boasted an eye-catching panoramic view that seemed to come straight from a watercolor painting. This was thanks to the subtle flow of mana from the Emerald Fairy, Sylphia.

The wide paved path stretched ahead without obstruction, which was one reason why the Duchy of Astrean was referred to as the center of commerce.

It was summer vacation, and Kaya Astrean had returned to the Astrean Manor.

Unlike when she left for the Märchen Academy in high spirits, upon returning to the mansion, she showed a devastated appearance which startled the household staff.

The reason was that she had contemplated her mistake during the carriage ride.

For a while, Kaya had no appetite and would hardly touch her meals. Her walking was sluggish, and she would bury her face in the pillow on her bed at night, sighing deeply.

She couldn't help it. She felt like she was going crazy.

During the vacation ceremony, she couldn't control her soaring emotions and impulsively kissed Isaac on the cheek.

He must have felt burdened by that, right? Of course, he must have. There's no doubt about it.

How many times had she repeated the phrase, "Why did I do that?" since that day? She had been drowning in the swamp of regret for days now.

She couldn't even bring herself to talk about it.

If word got out in the manor that Kaya was in love with someone, her father, Gerald Astrean, would definitely be furious.

He was an upright and conservative man. He had strictly forbidden Kaya to have romantic feelings, let alone a relationship until she graduated from the academy and met someone befitting of her ducal title.

The only friend she could confide in, Sylphia, the Emerald Fairy, had somehow managed to disappear within the forest.

…Kaya was going crazy.

Night. Time to sleep.

In the dark room, Kaya was tossing and turning in bed.

"Why did I… why did I do that. Ugh."

Kaya sobbed, clutching her Armana Wand, the magic weapon Isaac had given her during the end-of-semester evaluation.

For several days, she had repeated this pattern before falling asleep.

"…"

Of course, the regretful memory of the vacation ceremony wasn't the only one that lingered.

Moonlight was streaming through the window. Kaya turned her head to gaze outside.

A bright, crescent moon.

A similar crescent moon hung in the sky on the day they went to Tantak Underground Cave on Märchen Academy grounds. It had been so memorable to Kaya that she could even remember the shape of the moon.

It was the day she went camping with Isaac. She remembered that day vividly, her heart pounded so that she felt like it might burst with tension, and even now, that memory was fresh in her mind.

He had wrapped his blanket over her, and told her she was beautiful.

The smooth feel of the wand in her hand brought back memories of her end-of-semester evaluation.

He was adamant that I was someone he approved of. He has no idea how happy I am every time I think about those words.

"…I miss you, Sir Isaac."

She felt it all over again.

Before she knew it, Isaac's presence had seeped into Kaya's life like moonlight.

* * *

[Master, could it be that this child… is the Kaya you have telling me about?]

"Don't mind her."

When asked by Frost Dragon Hilde, I replied normally as I threw off the bothersome cloak of camouflage. No matter how twisted the scenario became, the only way to save Kaya was to defeat her.

Elphelt, who had become a parasite in the form of an earring, shared his blood with Kaya. In that parasitic state, he had the highest level of elemental resistance.

Just as a giant's outer shell distorted external mana, Elphelt had the power to neutralize at least one spell.

So, if I could inflict fatal damage on both Kaya and Elphelt at the same time, Elphelt would unconditionally endure my attack and exert all its strength to restore its host, Kaya.

There was no other suitable host after all, and as expected, someone sharing blood with a corpse would just end up dying.

Then, he would have ten minutes where he would be weakened and vulnerable to my attacks. Of course, I had no intention of allowing him to escape during that time.

With the giant red elephant as its center of gravity, Hilde flew in circles inside the giant's overly wide body.

In the center, Kaya Astrean, floating in midair on a reddish-green wind, stretched out her arms toward me.

With an expression of longing on her face, she seemed to find me appetizing. Although my muscles were quite developed and made me appear quite appealing, I had no intention of being eaten.

Next, a multitude of magic circles materialized in the air. The colors green and crimson blended together to form eight of them.

Behind her, grotesque chunks of flesh sprouted like tentacles, intertwining and forming shapes resembling crimson tree trunks. Leaves composed of human appendages densely bloomed all around.

The result was the emergence of a grotesque tree that radiated a brilliant crimson glow.

「Tree of Radiance (Plant Element, ★7)」 + 「Flower of Evil (Blood Element, ★6)」

= 「Tree of Blood (Plant + Blood)」

I remember being intrigued by that spell, created by combining the plant and blood elements, in the guidebook. I wondered if it was going to be released in the future as a DLC since it didn't appear in the game.

This tree provided swift and dramatic recovery by offering blood and flesh to allies. It was a higher-level version of [Tree of Radiance]. It was explicitly stated to be an unbalanced skill.

It was even said that if Kaya had summoned this tree in 「Act 4, Chapter 3, The Underground Giant」, there was no way to defeat her.

The only strategy was to render the tree unusable with a single attack.

[Buooooooooh─────!!]

[Bururuk, Bururuk, Bururuk──!]

[Bbbuuuuiiiiiiiiik──!!!]

[Bugyagyagyagyagyagyagyak──!!!!]

[Ppugyaaak──!!!!]

The wall made of the giant's flesh began to spew out winged, crimson elephant demons. Each one was nothing less than a member of Elphelt's body.

They swarmed like an army of ants, each holding a spear of bones in their hands.

With eerie cries, they flew towards me.

Hilde stopped gliding through the air and flapped her wings, gazing at Kaya. The white dragon's massive wings shimmered and scattered pure white cold mana as they swept through the air.

'Frostscythe.'

I extended my right arm to the side and instinctually summoned the Frostscythe. Pale blue mana gathered in the air and took the form of a chilling, dark blue scythe. The Frostscythe heeded my call.

As I grasped it, additional ice mana flowed into me as if I had opened an energy tank.

[Status] Name: Isaac

Lv: (169)

Gender: Male

Year: 1st

Title: Freshman Who Has Adapted to Student Life

Mana: (155000) / (119000) + (250000)

– Mana Recovery Speed (S)

Every time Hilde cast a spell, it took a nasty chunk of mana out of my summon upkeep.

It wouldn't hinder me as much, though, as a large amount of bonus mana that Frostscythe provided would be consumed first.

"Slaughter them."

I commanded, pointing the Frostscythe's head at Kaya.

Above my head, a magnificent pale blue arc of magic traced a path. It was Hilde's magic circle.

Hilde's mana glowed with brilliance, spreading out as an all-encompassing force.

Soon, the magic circles set up by Kaya responded, and they all released their magic at once, aiming at Hilde.

「Song of the Mountain Goat (Wind Element, ★7)」+ 「Blood Siphon (Blood Element, ★5)」

= 「Baphoment's Hymn (Wind + Blood)」

A reddish-green typhoon surged with the sharpness of a thousand blades.

Without distinction, the entire army of crimson elephant demons were ruthlessly shredded by the blades of wind.

One of Kaya's official patterns, [Baphomet's Hymn].

This wind spell gradually increased in power as it absorbed the blood of slain creatures.

───────── [Kaaaaaaaaaaa────!!!]

In defiance, Hilde unleashed a spell with a fierce roar.

「Hell of the Crimson Lotus (Ice Element, ★8)」

In an instant, shimmering silver lines appeared in the air.

Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa────────────────!!!!

With a thunderous noise, the lines transformed into a massive beam of light, pouring out extreme coldness.

[Hell of the Crimson Lotus] devoured [Baphomet's Hymn] and annihilated the elephant-like demon horde that had approached me.

The world was bathed in a pristine white, and the surroundings were covered in a white frost.

For a moment, even time itself felt frozen.

I remained calm, quietly blinking my eyes.

A frozen army of elephant demons came into view. Hilde's cold beam hadn't directly hit them.

This isn't a stroke of luck.

Crackle──

Crackle───

Hilde's cold beams burrowed into the bodies of the elephant demons and went on a rampage.

Soon, like a flower bud bursting into a full bloom, their flesh began to tear in all directions.

Whoooooosh───

An eerie crimson landscape amidst the white world.

[Hell of the Crimson Lotus]. One of the eight great cold hells, and a spell that freezes and bursts one's entire body with intense cold, transforming it into something akin to a crimson lotus flower.

True to its name, everything that came at me had transformed into falling crimson lotuses, plunging into the darkness beyond the cliff.

After defending Kaya with all its might, the [Tree of Blood] grew into a humming mass of flesh. Its trunk splintered into many branches as Hilde's cold beams churned within it, turning it into crimson dust before vanishing.

It was a futile end.

"What the…"

Lisetta, protected by my [Ice Barrier], exclaimed in a shaky voice.

The surrounding landscape regained its warmth as the giant's blood flowed, turning red again.

[…]

Kaya's face hardened. She began to fly away sideways.

One after another, masses of crimson venus flytraps bloomed on the wall made of the giant's flesh. The hellish carnivorous plants had mouths with rows of neatly aligned white teeth.

「Parasitic Ensnarement (Plant Element, ★5)」 + 「Vampirism (Blood Element, ★4)」

= 「Field of Slaughter (Plant + Blood)」

[Keekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekee──!!!]

[Keekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekee──!!!]

[Keekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekee──!!!]

[Keekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekee──!!!]

[Keekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekeekee──!!!]

Young, eerie laughter echoed from the carnivorous flower horde, [Field of Slaughter]. It was a spell that would drain me of my blood.

I felt a sensation inside my body as if the flow of blood was being twisted. If I stayed still, the blood coursing through my body would pierce my skin, float through the air, and fall prey to the [Field of Slaughter].

With that many, not a drop of my blood would remain.

That wasn't the end of it. A huge, grotesque flower bloomed, filling the entire wall. Its petals, like those of a clockwork flower, pulsed with a brilliantly colored bloodstream.

In the center of the flower, a round mouth gaped open, revealing a multitude of sharp thorns akin to a snail's mouth. It was like a passage that led to another dimension.

The giant flower with a gaping mouth. It was the [Apocalypse].

「Hell Flower (Plant Element, ★8)」 + 「Flower of Evil (Blood Element, ★6)」

= 「Apocalypse (Plant + Blood)」

[Apocalypse]. The setting stated that no living thing could survive where this flower bloomed, and the area around it would inevitably perish.

Kaya, hovering in the air with her back to the [Apocalypse], glared at me.

She seemed to have decided to go all out after being attacked by Hilde.

"Hilde, charge."

[Understood].

Hilde began to fly towards Kaya.

「Ice Sovereign's Majesty (Ice Element, ★7)」

A brilliant pale blue light emitted from my body. It was [Ice Sovereign's Majesty]. a spell that repelled all incoming attacks.

The [Field of Slaughter] stopped its laughter, and each one gushed out copious amounts of blood from their mouths, withering away.

Then, the radiance that had been emanating from me faded.

The horde from the [Field of Slaughter] that had withered helplessly bowed their heads in silence.

Soon, [Apocalypse] unleashed a magic circle where luminous iridescence and vivid crimson colors harmoniously intertwined, aiming at me. Its size was impossible to gauge at a glance.

"Kaya, please endure it."

As I flew through the air, I leaped upward, kicking off Hilde's back. I did this to get a good swing of the Frostscythe.

The flapping hem of my uniform fluttered as I firmly gripped the Frostscyth with both hands.

A pale blue, flame-like mana, intensely surged around the Frostscythe. As I swung it horizontally, shimmering pale blue lines appeared along the path of the Frostscythe, cutting through Kaya's abdomen and the form of [Apocalypse]. The lines then expanded rapidly, devouring everything the scythe touched.

「Absolute Zero (Ice Element, ★7)」

Chaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!─────────────!!

Frostscythe's unique active skill, [Absolute Zero].

It was a spell that indiscriminately cut and froze through everything in its path without regard for spatial limitations.

[Apocalypse] and the giant's wall of flesh were frozen and split in half due to the chilling beam that had penetrated deeply through them. Even the spot where the Frostscythe had sliced was frozen solid.

Suddenly, vividly colored blood spurted from Kaya's earlobe and enveloped her entire body.

The blood that had restored Kaya from the brink of death clumped into a single mass, taking the form of a small elephant.

It kicked off Kaya's body and leaped against the wall to escape. I opened the status window to identify the small elephant.

[Elphelt the Evanescent] Lv: 145

Race: Demon

Elements: Darkness, Fire, Blood

Danger: X

Psychology: [Wants to live.]

Yeah, no.

「Ice Generation (Ice Element, ★1)」

I quickly conjured a huge iceberg in mid-air to sustain my leap. With a burst of speed, I dashed through the air like a bullet towards the fleeing Elphelt.

Kwaaang────!!!

The pressure built as I thrust the iceberg, recreating the sound of cannon fire.

The Frostscythe turned into pale blue dust. I had put it there intentionally. Instead, my hands were now filled with a dense mass of ice mana.

[Ppukeuh?!]

As I approached the Elphelt the Evanescent floating in the air, I detonated the concentrated mana in my hands.

「Frost Explosion (Ice Element, ★5)」

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah─────────────!!!!

The ice exploded, engulfing Elphelt in a flood of ice. Weakened by defending Kaya for his own survival, his body was shredded to pieces by the force of an instantaneous explosion. He was trapped inside a massive iceberg that had formed in a matter of seconds.

Kaya lost consciousness and began to fall. Hilde swooped down and caught Kaya in her mouth. Hilde turned to me and started carrying me on her back.

Finally, Hilde flew to a fleshy leg and gently placed Kaya on the ground.

I also descended from her back with a perfect landing.

Kuuuuuu────!

The giant ice chunk landed with overwhelming force. I gently extended my hand toward the giant ice chunk.

Shalalalak──

The ice melted away. The massive iceberg instantly turned into a light blue powder and disappeared.

[Ppukeuk…!]

Elphelt, who had been pouring out blood, let out a pitiful cry before turning to ash and scattering in the wind.

[Congratulations! You've defeated the demon [Elphelt the Evanescent (Level 145)] and gained EXP!] [Level Up!! Your level has increased to 72!] [You've gained 6 stat points!] [You have unlocked the achievement ❰Dance on a Shell?❱! You have gained an additional 10 stat points!]

My body rapidly grew heavier as the [Hunter] trait was deactivated.

Rewards could be savored later. The loot would be left with Kaya, so I could check it out afterwards.

I quickly hoisted Kaya onto my back.

[Whew, we won. I am glad we fought together, Master──]

The mana cost of maintaining the summon was extremely high, so I immediately unsummoned Hilde.

'Maast-'

She tried saying in a confused voice, before disappearing in a blur of light blue mana.

I'm sorry, Hilde, blame your weak master.

With Kaya on my back, I began to run.

I urgently shouted at Lisetta, who had been staring at me in admiration up til now.

"Lisetta! Run!"

"Huh, what?!"

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—

The earthquake began, and Lisetta was startled.

Upon the defeat of Elphelt, the giant's body would slowly turn to ash, starting from its core. In its wake, soil, seawater, and other things that were originally there, would begin to return to the area where the giant once stood.

Touching them would instantly trigger the bad ending, [Live Burial].

In other words, we had to run full speed to the giant's mouth. It was the final mission of 「Act 4, Chapter 3, The Underground Giant」.

From the center, eerie crimson mana began to surge. The mana transformed into masses of sand and the ground.

The blood-colored mana gradually spread like a suffocating force.

'Huh, shit!'

It's actually scarier in person!

"Run, run!"

I let out a yell that bordered on a scream, and ran at full speed alongside Eden, who was carrying an unconscious Ian, and Lisetta.