The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Vol. 2
Page 9
“…What?”
“I heard she likes to paint, despite her appearance.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Who is ‘she’?”
“She apparently enjoys painting on the rooftop of the sanctuary, gazing over its one-sided view of the spirit world.”
“Okay? So who is it?”
Before I even know it, I am at the top of the staircase. Seiya places a hand on the door up ahead.
“R-Ristie! Seiya! It’s too late! He’s right behind us!” Elulu yells out behind us almost simultaneously as Seiya opens the door wide.
The moment it opens, a strong gust of wind blows by, shaking my bangs. On the moderately slanted stone rooftop of the sanctuary is a goddess.
“Th-that’s…!”
Just as Seiya said, she doesn’t look like she’d enjoy painting. The Goddess of Destruction, Valkyrie, wears only chains around her chest and lower body. She stares hard at the canvas with a paintbrush in hand. Valkyrie is so focused on her work, she doesn’t even notice us.
“W-wait, Seiya! Are you telling me that you plan on getting the strongest goddess in the spirit world to fight Thanatos?!”
“Exactly. But judging by what I know about her, she wouldn’t help us even if I begged. That’s why…”
The door flies open, and Thanatos springs out onto the rooftop. As Seiya faces him, the God of Death extends his cross, launching it at Seiya. After briefly glancing back, Seiya dodges the attack at the very last second. The cross continues growing until it rams right into Valkyrie’s canvas and skewers her painting.
“Perfect. It worked,” Seiya quietly whispers.
H-how cruel can he be?! He purposely got Thanatos to destroy her painting?!
“No… It can’t be… I was… I was so close to finishing it…”
The cross piercing the canvas shrinks, returning to its wielder. Thereupon, Valkyrie glares menacingly at the culprit, then slowly stands. A silver, fierce aura emits from her body.
“Look what you did, ya little shit! I’m gonna tear those limbs off one by one and cave that stupid, tiny head of yours in with them!”
Her undignified words echo throughout the spirit world.
“Get over here. You don’t want to be too close.”
Seiya gestures for us to come over to the corner of the rooftop. When I walk over to him, I look back out of curiosity to see what’s happening and find Valkyrie already holding Thanatos’s head in her hand.
Sh-she’s fast…! How did she do that?!
“Drop dead, you worthless grunt…”
The aura enveloping Valkyrie’s body instantly expands as it gathers in her right hand, which is holding Thanatos’s head.
“First Valkyrja: Shattered Break!”
Whoaaa! So this is the Goddess of Destruction’s special attack?! I-it looks strong!
…But nothing happens. After a few moments, Thanatos’s body turns into smoke, only to slowly disperse like mist. Escaping from Valkyrie’s grasp, the God of Death materializes a short distance away from her.
“What? A ghost, huh? Tch. All right, bring it on!”
Valkyrie promptly places a hand on the chain around her chest.
“First Valkyrja: Astral Break!”
The chain slithers through the air like a snake before wrapping around Thanatos, tying him up.
W-wow…! She has a move that can be used against ghosts, too?! That’s amazing! She can handle any type of opponent like this! Now, she’ll surely be able to…!
However, a black aura oozes out of Thanatos’s body, instantly turning the chain around his body into ash. Along with it, the links covering Valkyrie’s chest shatter as well, thus breaking her posture.
What the…?! N-nothing is working! Not even the Goddess of Destruction can defeat this thing?! I fall into despair like never before.
I can’t believe that not even the strongest goddess in the spirit world can defeat him! He has no weaknesses! This is the perfect life-form that transcends all! There isn’t anything in the universe that can defeat it!
“Hee-hee… Ha-ha-ha-ha… Heh-heh-heh-heh…”
After suddenly dropping to her knees. Valkyrie begins laughing. However, before long, her laughter turns into rage as the blood rushes to her face.
“Order! Ishtar…!”
Her roar shakes the heavens.
Order?! She’s going to unlock her goddess power!
Valkyrie’s silver aura instantly transforms into a blinding white light, signaling that she has received Great Goddess Ishtar’s permission.
J-just how much stronger is Order going to make her?!
I use Scan on Valkyrie…and gasp.
GODDESS OF DESTRUCTION, VALKYRIE
LV: 999
HP: 99,999,999
MP: 9,999,999
ATK: 9,999,999
DEF: 9,999,999
SPD: 9,999,999
MAG: 9,999,999
GRW: 999
Resistance: Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, Ice, Earth, Holy, Dark, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Status Ailments
Special Abilities: Status Limit Break
Skills: Valkyrja
Personality: Fearless
Wh-what incredible stats! So this is the true power of the strongest warrior in the unified spirit world!
I’m sure Seiya also saw. He faintly nods to himself by my side.
“No other deity even comes close. But, well, I suppose it’s only natural for gods to transcend the limits of human understanding.”
I have never seen such limit-breaking stats before! But even then, she’s still fighting a legendary monster that is immune to all attacks. We watch the battle with bated breath, wondering what the Goddess of Destruction will do.
After letting out a deep sigh, Valkyrie softly places her left hand over her right wrist, then points it at Thanatos. Thereupon, an overwhelming aura that could swallow the entire unified spirit world bursts out of her body.
“Take this…! Omega Valkyrja: Gate of Valhalla!”
I unintentionally imagine that something will shoot out of her hand, but I’m wrong. A thick miasma rises into the air as a monstrous gate appears over Valkyrie’s head. There’s a gypsum statue of a goddess’s face on the top of the ancient gate.
Is this summoning magic?! I bet she’s summoning something to come out of the gate!
The black gate isn’t made of bars, so what’s inside is shrouded in mystery. But before long, the gate slowly begins to open, releasing the miasma along with it. When the mist clears, I can finally see what’s inside, leaving me aghast. Behind the gate’s doors, a creature robed in black and carrying an iron cross appears—the God of Death that transcends conception—Crossed Thanatos.
Mash and Elulu shriek in astonishment.
“What?! Wh-why?! Why was Thanatos behind the gate?!”
“Don’t tell me that it split into two again?!”
But there are no copies of Thanatos around. The only God of Death is the one standing behind the gate… And it’s the one who has been fighting Valkyrie!
“Wh-what kind of attack is that?!”
The instant I mutter that, the eyes of the gypsum goddess statue open atop the gate. What I thought was an inanimate object drips crimson blood from its mouth.
“Gi-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”
Eerie laughter echoes as if from the pits of hell. I look at the goddess statue cackling as blood pours not only from its mouth but the eyes as well.
“…?! What is that?!”
I think I just wet myself a little.
Thanatos tries to crawl out of the gate, but the black door gradually closes along with the laughter. Countless spikes attached to the inside of the door slowly pierce the invincible God of Death, crackling and popping as if bones are being broken.
“Aaa…aaaaaa…”
I suddenly hear what sounds like a groan coming from Thanatos’s face—the deep abyss. Then…
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
The God of
Death, who I thought was void of emotion, starts to scream! But even Thanatos’s cries are drowned out by the insane laughter of the bloody goddess statue.
“Gi-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh-geh!”
Clang!
The door to the gate shuts along with a heavy clank. Then a few moments go by as the miasma clouding around the gate disappears almost simultaneously as the portal itself fades out of existence.
In the midst of our silence, Valkyrie mutters:
“The moment it transcends the law of causality and opens, it swallows the enemy without exception. That is the Gate of Valhalla.”
CHAPTER 39
Goddess of Destruction
“All things return to their origin after being crushed by the Spikes of Destruction. There are no exceptions.”
The Gate of Valhalla…! I can’t believe such a “cheat” exists!
While I tremble with fear before the menacing attack that destroyed the “invincible” God of Death, Valkyrie suddenly falls to one knee.
“V-Valkyrie…?”
Worried, I approach her. She is breathing heavily as if she were in pain.
“Stay back, Ristarte. Thirty seconds have already passed. It’s almost time.”
“Thirty seconds…? Almost time for what? Wh-what’s going to happen?”
Out of nowhere, red liquid begins spurting out of Valkyrie’s right shoulder, covering my face. I wipe off the sticky substance with my hand, look down, and scream:
“I-is this…? Is this blood?!”
Her arms, legs, stomach—every area on her body is covered in gashes, spewing out blood as if she were cut with something sharp.
“Eeeeeep!”
Elulu and I tremble at the sudden gruesome sight. While covered in blood, Valkyrie explains:
“Valhalla’s Gate…uses the caster’s life force as a catalyst—enough life force to kill a human…without fail.”
While speaking with a stammer, Valkyrie suddenly coughs up blood before collapsing to the ground like a marionette that had its strings cut.
“V-Valkyrie?! Are you okay?!”
But when I try to wake her up, she suddenly adopts an expression dripping with ecstasy.
“Shit… I—I could get addicted to this…! This feels so good!”
“…! I thought you were a sadist, but you’re a masochist?!”
I mean, just how many perverts are there in this spirit world?!
It was stupid of me to ever worry in the first place. Disgusting. Seiya, on the other hand, seems pleased as he watches by my side.
“Looks like she didn’t use Order to awaken that move but to survive the kickback.”
Seiya’s eyes are a different color while he gazes at Valkyrie. It looks like he’s using Scan. Curious about her HP myself, I use Scan as well.
GODDESS OF DESTRUCTION, VALKYRIE
HP: 3,198,512/99,999,999
She lost that much HP?! Seiya was right! …Hmm? Wh-what the…? What’s this feeling…?
While preoccupied thinking about Valkyrie’s status, my chest suddenly feels weird. Valkyrie is no longer lying on the ground anymore, either…because she apparently sneaked around behind me and is now fondling my breasts!
“Ahhh?!”
“Ristarte! You’re the one who summoned that piece of shit, aren’t you?! Don’t lie to me!”
“Y-yes, I mean, in a way…b-but anyway…could you…stop…g-groping my…breasts?!”
To make matters worse, Mash and Elulu are watching, too! Ahhh!
“My painting got destroyed! I mean, look at this!”
Valkyrie shows me her ruined work of art with one hand while fondling a breast with the other. The painting on the canvas looks like something a toddler drew with their nondominant hand, while lying down. It’s so ridiculously bad that, for a moment, I completely forgot that she is vigorously groping my boobs.
“You’re gonna pay me back for destroying my greatest masterpiece before I could even finish it! Lemme squeeze your bare tits!”
She’s trying to stuff her hand into my dress!
“My bare what?! Y-you’re joking, right?! H-hey! Noooooo!”
But no matter how much time goes by, Valkyrie’s hand doesn’t reach my chest. Perplexed, I look back and find Seiya tightly holding her wrist.
S-Seiya?! Are you trying to protect me?! Oh, Seiya…! You might not admit it, but you really do like me, don’t you? I’m right, aren’t I? You like me, huh? All right, then! It looks like we both have feelings for each other! Sigh… Okay, you win. Just this once though, okay? Next time we’re alone, I’ll let you touch my bare breasts.
However…
“Gwaaah?!”
Seiya kicks my butt as hard as he can. It’s so powerful that my underpants are completely exposed as I roll on the ground.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Without even glancing at me as I scream, Seiya shoots Valkyrie a penetrating look. It appears he wasn’t trying to save me but simply get rid of me.
“Valkyrie. You’re the one. Only you are worthy of training me.”
“Huh? ‘Train’…? You saw me fight. All my moves are like that. Every move comes at a price.”
“That’s fine.”
After fixing my dress, I stand up and yell:
“Seiya?! Do you seriously plan on training in the spirit world again?! You just learned archery from Mitis! Don’t you think you’re prioritizing training a little too much lately?!”
“Might as well train now that we’re here. Besides, we can’t continue like this. The enemies are gradually getting stronger, so I have to train more.”
He’s right about that. Not even Seiya would have been able to defeat Thanatos if it weren’t for Valkyrie. So it would be safe to assume that the upcoming battles will be as difficult or even more difficult than the God of Death. Seiya was unable to obtain the strongest sword, Igzasion; neither was he able to get the legendary armor. Maybe having him learn from the strongest goddess in the spirit world really is our only chance to save Gaeabrande.
“But Valkyrie said humans who use Valhalla’s Gate will die! No exceptions!”
That moment, a sharp pain shoots through my butt once more.
“Haooofff?!”
I let out a scream unbefitting a goddess while rubbing my aching cheeks. When I turn around, Valkyrie is looking at me with a furrowed brow.
“When did I ever say I’d help? I don’t plan on teaching my destructive techniques to anyone. Besides, they’re not something you can learn through instruction.”
Seiya glares at Valkyrie.
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“It’s impossible. There’s no way for humans to learn these techniques.”
“How about trying and seeing for yourself?”
“…You just don’t know when to give up, do you?”
Valkyrie scratches her head, messing up her silver hair as if she were annoyed by Seiya not backing down.
“Listen, you keep going on and on about training, but…have you seriously not realized it yet?”
“What are you talking about?”
All of a sudden, Seiya appears taken aback.
“I’m talking about you. You still don’t get it? Then let me show you. First—”
…I unexpectedly hear the sound of a sword being drawn, and before I even realize it, Seiya is pointing his sword at Valkyrie’s throat.
“The hell do you think you’re doing?” Valkyrie says in a threatening voice, causing me to panic.
“S-Seiya?! What’s gotten into you?!”
However, Seiya continues to stare at Valkyrie like a hawk.
“There is no reason to bring that up right now.”
“Oh…? So you did realize it?”
“That’s why I said I wanted to train with you.”
“I see. So because, you know, you… Interesting.”
They stare at each other in silence for a few moments.
Huh…? Wh-what are they talki
ng about? W-wait. Did Valkyrie’s intuition as a goddess tell her that Seiya doesn’t have the equipment we need to defeat the Demon Lord?
I wait for the turn of events with bated breath until Valkyrie’s lips suggestively curl upward.
“I see. He isn’t your run-of-the-mill Hero. He may very well be able to learn my destructive techniques, even if only slightly.”
Then Seiya lowers his sword, and Valkyrie’s smirk turns into a scowl.
“But I’m still not going to teach you Gate of Valhalla. Got it?”
“The other moves should suffice.”
Valkyrie turns on her heel; then without looking back at us, she says:
“Be in my room in ten minutes.”
After she leaves, I mutter:
“Sigh… More training? I should have known. I really wanted to relax today, though…”
Mash and Elulu simultaneously tug at my sleeves.
“Hey, Rista! You think we could go to Aria’s place to train, too, then? I want to continue our training from last time!”
“I wanna go with you! I can’t wait to learn some new magic!”
I figured they’d be sick of training since all they got to do was clean up fly carcasses last time, but…they’re really fired up. How innocent they are. But hey…that’s a good thing.
“Of course, you can. I’m sure Aria will be thrilled to help as well. Have fun, you two.”
After giving them permission, they wave good-bye before darting off, leaving only Seiya and myself on the rooftop. I let out a deep sigh.
“Whew… Looks like you’re learning destruction moves next, huh? I guess it’s not like you have much of a choice, though. After all, we weren’t able to get the sword or armor. Sigh… I don’t know. I get that this is an S-ranked world, but sometimes it feels like this is unreasonable, y’know? Nearly impossible even.”
Since nobody else is around, I decide to complain a little to Seiya. But even then, he doesn’t join in. In fact, he pushes me ever further away when he says:
“Complaining isn’t going to solve anything. Our only option is to do the best we can with what we have.”