In the World of Midgar 85 — The Dwarf Country Blutgang (21)

꒰ঌ The Dwarf Country Blutgang 20

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Yeah. I'm tired.

I repaired all the broken golems, as well as the three mass-produced Pennys that were still standing. Then after that, I used the permanently busted mass-produced Pennys's parts to make a weapon. Still, with Jenny's knowledge, I had managed to make something much better than I'd expected. I suppose that would only be natural for Jenny, though. Well, I wouldn't know how good the weapon actually was until it had been used, though.

"Let's go give it a test run first."

"Yes, master."

The new weapon I ended up making wasn't technically a weapon. More accurately, it was a 'weapon-type' golem that was autonomous to some extent. Basically, it was something similar to Honda. Its most defining feature was that it would respond to Penny's call and rush to her from anywhere.

In order to test its capabilities, Penny and I had come to a deserted place outside of Blutgang. I'd confirmed there was no one near the rocky mountain that would be our target, which was one kilometer or so off in the distance.

I'd had to. If anyone got killed there by accident, a "sorry" just wouldn't cut it.

"Then I will start…" Penny raised her voice and shouted, "Armament Selection: Astraia!"

The golem port in Blutgang immediately opened, and a set of steel wings came flying out. The object, which resembled a small plane, rotated in the air a bit before stopping directly above Penny and transforming. At the same time, Penny jumped, and lines of red light connected the two golems. Then, the two golems approached each other as if magnetically drawn together before the Astraia golem docked onto Penny's back.

Once that was done, two large cannons deployed over Penny's shoulders, facing forward. Each of those cannons were copies of Penny's right scale, Zuben El Genubi, which had only existed in her right arm up until now. By equipping Astraia, Penny effectively tripled her attack power.

On top of that, there were a further two cannons deployed at either side of her waist. This method of powering her up was far away from the usual fantasy rules and relied on pure firepower. However, that firepower could turn any fortress to ash with just one salvo.

Lastly, Astraia's wings split, turning into three steel wings on each side of Penny's back.

This was the new form of the fully autonomous killer maid Penny. I named it 'Super Penny." 'Or maybe 'Astra Penny' would be better?

The superpowered Penny deployed her right arm's cannon and aimed all five of her weapons — her three electromagnetic cannons on her arm and shoulders, and her two anti-fortress cannons on her waist — locking them all on the rocky mountain that was her target.

"Maximum power… All cannons concentrate on one point… Fire!" For a single moment, my vision was turned pure white.

Three rounds accelerated by electromagnetism and two rounds propelled by gunpowder flew in a straight line, accurately impacting the poor, innocent rocky mountain, turning it into a pillar of fire which erased everything within it from the face of the world.

"…"

Yeahhh, uhhhh… Crap.

By my estimation, the results would be catastrophic, even with Blutgang as the target. While it probably wouldn't destroy Blutgang in one salvo, it'd probably still pierce through and completely mess up the insides. It might even instantly evaporate Levia.

Of course it would. After all, there were a couple conventional cannons on top of all the firepower three Zuben El Genubi's brought to the table. If this were a game, would this be a five-hit attack? It was so powerful that I was left seriously pondering whether even Jaune could survive it.

The rest of my companions were all staring at me with exasperated expressions, and all I could do was avert my gaze.

I-I couldn't help it… Any mecha otaku who gets hooked on stuff like this would want to make one… We're all romantics for this sort of thing…

Still, I had no choice but to accept that this was too much firepower. Like, Penny could one-shot all the Seven Grimms of Purgatory at once with that attack just now.

When Penny once again descended to the ground, she gave me a bow. "What wonderful power, master. With this, I will be able to lay waste to any enemy."

"I-Indeed."

"Thank you very much for granting one such as me a weapon. By the way, master…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

Penny was looking at me with upturned eyes. Normally, this wouldn't happen, because we were very similar in height. When I looked closer, I noticed that Penny was standing on slightly lower ground than I was. It seemed to be a clearly calculated move.

"Where is the enemy I should use this on? Or should I ask, when will we encounter this enemy?"

Faced with that question and Penny's undoubtedly excited tone, despite being outwardly expressionless, I instantly decided to seal Astraia away. At the very least, I've got to make it so that she won't be able to use it without my permission. I didn't really have a right to talk, since I was the one who'd made Astraia, but Penny was the type of person who should never have been given heavy firepower.

***

Far above in the skies of Midgar, someone flew close to the stratosphere, even higher than the peaks of Vanaheim. He had deathly white skin and glowing crimson eyes with black sclera. His long, spiky silver hair reached down his back, and his pitch-black cloak signified to the world that he was the king of grimmfolk. Behind him was an army of high-level monsters, all of whom tirelessly followed the Grimm King's orders.

The Grimm King Jormungandr Vår had a goal and was single-mindedly flying around the skies looking for 'it'.

It had been one week since he'd started his quest. He had heard that what he was looking for was around here, but since it was constantly moving, it was very hard to get hold of, even for the Grimm King. His efforts had been worth it, though. The thing he'd been searching for was currently right in front of his eyes.

"Found you," Vår muttered, looking up.

He was looking at a ship. More specifically, he was looking at the top of the mast of the ship, which had gigantic wings sprouting out of it as it flew through the sky. There, a single woman stood. She was a beautiful, tall, and athletic masculine young woman with waist-length red hair that she wore in a ponytail and green eyes. Her outfit was similar to that ancient Greek warrior. The chest piece of her silver armor also features a bird design. A red cloth is wrapped loosely around her body.

Her name was Pyrrha. She was also known as one of the Heavenly Twelve Zodiac Guardians, the half of the Gemini constellation.

"So you came… I learned that you were searching for us a couple days ago. What do you want, Grimm King?"

"Pyrrha… I have no business with you. What I want is the treasure hidden within the ship."

Pyrrha didn't flinch or fall back even one step in the face of the Grimm King, but Vår also never stopped smiling his fearless smile. The situation was reaching critical mass. Both sides maintained their composure, though, as if both sides knew they would win if it came down to a fight. Even so, neither let down their guard.

"I see. So you're after the treasure. If that's the case, want me to give it to you?"

"No, no. Unfortunately, what I'm after isn't anything that I can exchange for money. I want the key that will allow me to reach the heavens."

"Now that would be impossible. The only one who will be reaching the heavens is my one and only master. Not you."

"So you insist on staying under Morrigu, huh? You and your little sister… I suppose that's all you'll amount to." Vår laughed tauntingly, but Pyrrha coolly refused to take the bait.

They were first playing a game of verbal dodgeball.

"True, I am Lucifen's subordinate. I won't deny that I am her loyal servant. I have no memory of ever having to answer to you, king of grimms."

"Oh? Are you implying that I come up short against the Twelve Zodiac's Guardian? Now, that hurts my pride. I'm very sensitive, you know."

"Well then, I apologize. Unfortunately, I'm rather honest and blunt. I'll only tell you the truth."

Neither of their smiles held any enmity. In fact, their smiles were so clear they almost seemed refreshing. If one didn't pay attention to what they were saying, it might have seemed as if they were two good friends reminiscing or something. But the words they unleashed were like poison, and they both dodged the storm of barbed words in order to throw their own.

"Oh my… Would you like to test that?"

"I don't recommend it. I don't like fighting battles where the conclusion is obvious." Vår narrowed his eyes tauntingly, and his surroundings started to waver as if they were just a mirage.

At the same time, Pyrrha picked up her weapon, a javelin lance, and jumped off of her beloved ship, Argo.

Pyrrha stopped in midair, facing Vår. "But if you're going to come at me, then I'm not going to let that go unanswered. You're gonna have to be prepared to get burned if you want it."

"So all I'll get is a burn? How kind."

"It's still a burn if you're only ash."

One flash. Two.

Pyrrha swung her javelin so fast that the sound of her swing had to catch up. Those attacks, which caused gale winds, were aimed straight at Vår. Vår blocked them with his bare arm before unleashing some compressed mana from his palm. Pyrrha easily spun her javelin and deflected the compressed mana before throwing out another large swing.

"Wind Cutter!"

The swung javelin conjured a blade of wind. While this was the same kind of Wood-element attack Mercury had used, its strength and scope were far removed from what that member of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory could achieve. It was a great invisible blade that could bisect a small island. If it hit, even Penny would be hurt.

Even that Vår defended against with only a single hand. Vår then rushed Pyrrha and threw out a kick, the aftershocks of which managed to leave a wound on Pyrrha's cheek.

"I already knew this, but you really are stronger."

The skirmish only lasted a scant few seconds, but Pyrrha had already gotten a pretty accurate sense of the difference in their power levels. As she'd expected, Vår was stronger. Pyrrha wasn't sure she'd be able to win, even if she bent over backward for it.

But she'd already expected this, and she'd planned for it. There was nothing for Pyrrha to be worried about.

Pyrrha's true strength wasn't in one-on-one fights in the first place. As an individual, Pyrrha lost out to the likes of Sienna and Penny. Even so, she never doubted that she could bring to bear the greatest strength among all the Heavenly Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. Fighting wasn't just all about the individual. The overall strength of the group, or 'army',was what truly counted.

Pyrrha raised her right hand into the sky. It served as a signal, and dozens of human forms gathered on Argo's deck. Each one of them had the aura of a strong fighter, and they all waited with an imposing air for the command to sortie.

Vår's composure disappeared, a grim expression on his face. "Argonout, my comrades! Show me your power! Our great enemy is right here!"

Pyrrha gave the order. Instantly, the heroes identified as the 'Argonout' jumped.

They numbered in the triple digits, and every single one of them was over level 500. In fact, the strongest of them were level 1000, even surpassing Pyrrha in level. They were all survivors of the great war one thousand years ago. Actually, they hadn't exactly 'survived'.

They had all undoubtedly died before. They were all ancient heroes who'd sided with Lucifen during that battle. Even after having been defeated and losing their lives, they'd managed to be reborn thanks to a fairy and were all still warriors who'd pledged loyalty to their black-winged lord.

A small fraction of the dead didn't ascend to the afterlife but instead remained in the world. They became ghosts, walking corpses, or some sort of other monster. But an even smaller fraction of them, the ones with the strongest souls, had managed to retain their reason and nobility to become 'heroic spirits.'

Pyrrha's little sister, Mavis — the other half of the Gemini guardian as well as the Fairy Princess — had the ability to use mana to grant heroic spirits temporary bodies and essentially revive them. The skill, which essentially made her a personal army, was named 'Argonout.' While the skill was basically cheating, Mavis herself had no combat power and no leadership ability. That was why her older sister, Pyrrha, was the one leading them.

In other words, the skill was only successful when the two of them worked as one. That was the true power of the Argonout skill.

"Pay close attention, Grimm King! This is our power and our bond! This is the Fairy Princess's sword, the Zodiac army led by me, Pyrrha!"

In perfect timing with Pyrrha's shout, the heroic spirits all attacked at once.

Vår's magic bullet was completely defended against by a priest's shield. A swordmaster's blade cut into a monster that followed Vår. A grappler's fist blew another monster away. An alchemist transmuted blades through which it created a storm, and another alchemist transmuted a giant golem which crushed several monsters all at once.

The power of those from one thousand years ago was tremendous. Each and every one of them could have been substituted for an army of thousands. Each was basically an entire national army unto themselves.

Since the skill was canceled when not in combat, the Argonout's Monster Tamers and alchemists couldn't use their skills to grow the army's strength. Even so, the Argonout could be considered Midgar's strongest army. Even the Grimm King knew of its power. That was exactly why he'd taken his army of monsters with him.

But their strength was just different! The monster army, which was certainly not weak, was getting steadily and one-sidedly destroyed!

"You are certainly strong, Grimm King. As an individual, you probably rival my lord. Your monsters as well. They're not weak. But that's all."

As lone units, the monster army wasn't inferior, but the fight was still one-sided. The monsters were indeed grouped together, but they were no army. No matter how far you tried to stretch the definition, they were simply a 'herd'. The monsters had no teamwork, and with one hundred monsters there would be one hundred individual fights.

But the heroic spirits were different. Even with one hundred of them, they fought as one. All one hundred of their powers converged, and they used their perfectly synced movements and loyalty of steel to face their enemies. Each one of them relied on the other in battle. They encouraged each other and inspired bravery among themselves in order to face strong opponents. With the Argonout, one plus one was not two. It was ten, or even one hundred. That was why they were an army. They were the definition of united.

"You and your horde that knows nothing but straightforward clashes have no chance against us, who have united under Ouzelia Lucifen's banner! As a leader, you are far outmatched by our lord!"

Pyrrha veritably slid through the air and slammed her javelin at Vår.

Vår's arms and Pyrrha's javelin clashed several times, each accompanied by a shower of sparks. Vår's black cloak flapped in the wind, and Pyrrha's red cloth billowed. Both were like comets, speeding through the skies and clashing over and over. If the one-on-one battle continued, Vår would probably win.

A strider jumped in to help Pyrrha, managing a shallow cut on Vår's wrist while a sorcerer's magic engulfed him.

"This is the end, Grimm King! Scatter, heroes! This last hit will finish it!" The heroic spirits heeded Pyrrha's orders and retreated all at once. Then, Pyrrha unleashed the greatest Wood element attack spell she could manage. A storm was conjured, lightning struck, and behind Pyrrha appeared the majestic, shining forms of fifty giant gods.

In this world, the one true god was Naru, but religion would always branch off and splinter depending on the times and the area, so the gods born from humanity's imagination were endless. These conjured forms were all apparitions of gods that had been buried in the darkness of history in Naru's name, their religions brought low as heretical cults, and their worshipers possibly even thrown to the demons. It was a summoning.

"Hecatoncheires — Gods of Fifty Names!" With Pyrrha's cry, the fifty false gods attacked at once.

There was a main god of a mythos born from human imagination. There was also a war god and a god of the underworld. There was even a half-deity, one with human blood. Some false gods breathed fire, and some attacked with their fists. They brewed up storms, caused lightning to strike, and used their divine brilliance in other ways to trample the enemy.

Eventually, their attacks finished, and not a single monster was left standing. As for Vår, he was no longer there.

"So it's over."

Pyrrha, who'd still been floating in the sky, dropped to the ground, exhausted, and looked around at the monsters. Those who had lost their lives would eventually return to the earth and dissolve into mana, which would circulate the world.

I've somehow managed to protect that which my little sister left me.

For one thousand years after her lord and master was defeated, Pyrrha had been safeguarding this item using her ship and heroic spirits. It was a key to reach the heavens, which, if used incorrectly, could destroy the world. There was no way she could allow it to fall into the hands of the grimmfolk. It was for her lord who would eventually return and her only.

While her little sister didn't have any combat power herself, she was the Fairy Princess and possessed a mysterious ability. It had been she herself who'd told Pyrrha that their master would one day return.

So, Pyrrha had been ordered to protect the key. That was one thousand years ago.

I can only lead armies and fight, but my little sister definitely sees what will happen in the future. Either that, or our lord gave her an order before that battle.

That was why Pyrrha was still here. She believed in her lord and her little sister, so she had continued to fight for one thousand straight years.

"Now then, I should move the ship before the next challengers come." Convinced of her victory, Pyrrha made to return to the ship.

That's when it happened. Suddenly, a black flash parted the clouds and sliced through the ship.

"What?!"

There was someone left?!

While being forced to watch her smoking ship sink, Pyrrha readied her javelin and turned around. Her heroic spirits also prepared for battle, each one readying their weapons. That was when they saw their enemy. It was big — too big — and it writhed beyond the smoke and clouds.

"Wha— what…?! Th-that's…? No way… That's impossible !"

Just how long is it?! One kilometer? No. Ten kilometers? No!

Its form was way too large and way too long… Long enough to wrap around all of Midgar…

The huge shadow pierced through the clouds to show its face, giving the heroic spirits a large dose of fear.

"W-waaaaaaarrrrgghhh?!"

As an army, they had certainly won. Vår's horde had been completely destroyed, but they weren't aware… They didn't know that some truly unfair and unimaginable beings existed in this world, or that devastatingly powerful individuals who could overwhelm entire armies existed. But they realized that fact today, just as they realized the real reason why the Seven Maidens of Midgar had been defeated one thousand years ago…

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