The Central Sea Region.
As Kelvin clashed blades with Kuromel’s main body, Gerard faced Zildra, who had been extracted from the Machine Dragon’s abdomen. In less than a second, the Pursuit Fire carrying Gerard would collide with its target. At this proximity, the environment surrounding the core finally began to stir.
The core, shaped like a giant pearl that completely enveloped a human body, had been exposed and defenseless until now. However, as if waiting for Gerard to approach, the surrounding black tendril群 once again concealed the core, transforming into an offensive formation. What emerged from the writhing tendrils was an angry visage akin to an Oni God. Sharp tendrils, shaped like fangs and sharpened at the tips, stood in a row, seemingly biting the silver core. That wasn’t all. The parts that were the Machine Dragon’s arms swelled up, separated from the body, and became independent. The two fists floated in the air, each becoming a giant fist with a large red eye on its palm.
The Machine Dragon, which had barely maintained its dragon form after being taken over by Kuromel, now bore almost no resemblance to its former self. Its torso was grotesquely distorted, and tentacles and eyeballs writhed in the separated fists. Only the Divine Machine’s armor, embedded in the uncanny object’s boundary, seemed to attest that it had once been a Machine Dragon.
(Like an ogre’s face with an ogre’s hands… No, perhaps it’s a manifestation of Zildra’s resentment.)
In this fleeting moment, Gerard sensed the evil energy of Zildra, his enemy and nemesis. The form of the enemy before him was not something Zildra would have conceived. It leaned more towards Tristan’s aesthetic, something Zildra would have scoffed at. Gerard, having fought Zildra’s creations countless times, unintentionally understood Zildra’s pride. However, the current Zildra had thrown pride aside, possessing an ambition to defeat him with all his might, or rather, a dark heart intending to drag him down with him.
(To be in such a state, yet still cling to this world…)
The Oni god sneered. As if a famished beast had found prey after a long time, it loudly echoed the voice of Zildra’s soul, which it had absorbed.
“Gahaha, very well! As the King of the Underworld, I shall sever your grudges! Now!”
As he roared, divine magic was supplied to Gerard’s Demonic Sword, Dainsleif.
“Tenkai of the Heavenly Embrace!”
Gerard’s Tenkai, which unleashed immense destructive power through its slashes, was forcibly maintained on the blade using Melfina’s power. Even Gerard, in his current state, had to grip the sword with both hands to wield it. He directed the spearhead of this unrestrained, attack-specialized brute force towards the front. There, the Oni’s fist was already being swung down to crush Gerard.
The match was decided in an instant. Gerard slashed away the approaching Oni’s fist and pushed through the path laid by the Oni. With a divine speed of swordsmanship impossible for a greatsword, the two fists were swiftly severed. The red eyes, which inflicted numerous status abnormalities on those who gazed upon them, were ineffective against Gerard, who was in a state of absolute resonance. Similarly, he was not exposed to the threat of degradation abilities activated by mere touch.
“Ngh…!?”
However, even after being cut, the two fists did not intend to let Gerard pass unhindered. Sharp tendrils extended from the surface of the fists or from their severed cross-sections, attacking Gerard as they passed, attempting to pierce his armor. The tendrils became entwining thorns, penetrating his robust armor. While Gerard, lacking flesh, did not sustain severe injuries, damage was steadily accumulating. Seeing Gerard’s struggle, the Oni’s face contorted into an even wider sneer.
“It’s too early to mock me! Listen, Zildra!”
Shaking off the engulfing tendrils, Gerard swung his greatsword powerfully and stepped forward. Although caught in the blastwave emanating from the ground as the Pursuit Fire collided with the Oni, Gerard did not stop. He intended to cleave the Oni’s face, which surrounded the core, in two with his sword, unleashing his maximum attack while disregarding his own armor.
“Kuuuuuoooohhh—!”
The Pursuit Fire had deeply pierced the Oni, stabilizing his footing, so there was likely no fear of falling. Nevertheless, unlike the fists that were easily cut down, the Oni’s face was quite robust. Was it due to the sheer number of condensed tendrils, or because he was directly receiving Zildra’s curse? In reality, it did not matter to Gerard. Slash, slash, slash—regardless of how many attacks the tendrils launched or how much the Oni’s face sneered, all his nerves and thoughts were concentrated solely on cutting down the enemy before him. And his beloved Demonic Sword also responded to his wielder’s will.
When the brilliance of Tenkai of the Heavenly Embrace reached its peak, Gerard finished bringing down his weapon. The sword’s trajectory passed through the Oni’s face and reached the core within. As if to prove this, the Oni’s face was split wide open from side to side, stopping the sneer that had mocked Gerard.
—Crack, crack, crack.
What collapsed was the surface of the core and the blade of the Demonic Sword Dainsleif. The excessively powerful slash had indeed defeated the Oni, but it was also too much for the core, destroying itself just before it could be completely obliterated.
“Just a little more, what a shame?”
From within the core, a voice seemed to be heard. A faintly visible human figure appeared to be sneering in place of the Oni.
“No. Instead, I shall thank you for giving me the opportunity to avenge my friend.”
“What…?”
As the surrounding tendrils gnawed at Gerard’s armor, Gerard put away his broken Demonic Sword and took out another. It was both a sword and a gun. In other words, a gunsword, the weapon that Zildra, who had taken over Dan Dalba’s body, had once used.
“That’s—…!”
“I avenged my own grudges before. This time, I shall leave it to my comrade, Dan Dalba. Farewell, Zildra.”
“No, stop! Stop—”
He inserted the blade into a crack that ran through the core and pulled the trigger. The gunsword, imbued with Melfina’s magic, unleashed its full power, shattering the core along with Zildra’s body.
~~~
“Hmmmm…”
From high in the sky, Sera let out a languid sigh. Flapping her demonic wings, she folded her arms and surveyed the scene below.
“Muuu…”
She tilted her head to the right, then to the left. Relying on her innate intuition, she was searching for the Divine Machine’s heart, as instructed by Kelvin, but it didn’t seem to be going well.
“…Speaking of which, isn’t that heart over there? I don’t get any vibes from it at all!”
She wanted to stomp her foot, but there was no ground here. Her frustration grew with each passing moment. Fortunately, due to her emotional suppression effect, Sera quickly regained her composure. She took a deep breath and organized the situation anew.
(Let’s calm down. Logically, the heart should be embedded somewhere within that cool-looking object. But my intuition isn’t reacting at all. That means it’s in an unusual place, doesn’t it? I heard that thing was originally a joint creation of Zildra and Tristan, so they probably placed it in a very twisted location. Considering that, where would the heart be—!)
Her eyes snapped open, and Sera gazed in a direction completely unrelated to the Machine Dragon. Being quick to act, she took flight in that direction the very next moment.
