Seiya, on the other hand, slowly exhales before muttering:
“Berserk: Phase 2.6…!”
H-he’s getting even closer to Phase Three! Is he going to be okay?! There’s no way he can maintain that for long…!
But that’s when I notice it… Grandleon is clenching his teeth while struggling to breathe!
Oh! Grandleon can’t remain in Beast Hazard Mode for long, either! Th-that means regardless of who wins…this match is about to come to an end!
…The dark-crimson aura of chaos faces the pale aura of lightning. The Hero slowly points his swords at Grandleon.
“From this moment on, the continent of Rhadral will be free from your rule.”
“Don’t get too cocky, human…!” Grandleon roars. “Humans are toys! Humans are food! Rhadral belongs to the beastkin!”
“All of that ends today.”
“We’ll see about that!”
With the power of Volt, the Beast Emperor swipes his claws at Seiya. The Hero parries the first strike, but the following combo comes in at blinding speed. Nevertheless, Seiya blocks each strike with his dual swords while driving them away!
However…there’s a creak! Grandleon throws all his might into his attack, shattering the fresh platinum sword in Seiya’s right hand like glass! Grandleon smirks, but a trail of black blood runs down his cheek. Paying no attention to his broken blade, Seiya thrusts with his other sword, skewering Grandleon’s cheek! The king of the beasts growls deeply but resumes his relentless onslaught, determined not to let the now-defenseless Hero escape with his life. Seiya’s at a disadvantage, but the ground swells below him, revealing another earth serpent with a sheathed sword. Dodging Grandleon’s attack with his upper body, Seiya kicks the sheathed sword into the air. As the weapon spins overhead, the centrifugal force pulls the sword out of its sheath before Seiya grabs it with his free hand.
“A spare for the spare of the earlier spare.”
Seiya thereupon switches to the offensive. He can’t use any abilities while in Berserk Mode, but through sheer natural talent alone, he weaves together countless sword techniques from each and every direction. Scars begin to carve into Grandleon’s body as he fails to block every attack.
“You little…shit…!”
His sword breaks again mid-combo, but even then, another earth serpent instantly delivers a spare. Without even taking his eyes off his opponent, Seiya kicks the sword straight into his hand. This is the price for continuously attacking so his opponent won’t even get a chance to breathe. But all of a sudden, a third threat soars over Grandleon’s head to attack Seiya: the giant serpent tail! Normal people would have a hard time dealing with an attack from their blind spot, but Seiya deflects it with his blade as if he expected it.
W-wow! He’s overpowering Grandleon!
I then hear another metallic clang. This time, however, it isn’t a platinum sword. As I look at Grandleon, I notice that the claws on his left hand are broken!
“M-my claws…!”
Compared to Seiya’s seemingly endless supply of platinum swords, Grandleon’s claws are relatively worn. The Beast Emperor suddenly leaps back, creating some distance between them. Both his full-power Jet-Black Nail and his surprise attack thwarted, Grandleon bares his fangs with rage while glaring at Seiya.
“Powers greater than mine even after I surpassed the Dark Lord?! I won’t allow it! I won’t allow you to exist in this world!”
Spreading the black wings on his back, Grandleon takes to the sky. I rush over to Seiya.
“I-is he running away?!”
“…No.”
Grandleon comes to a sudden stop after gaining significant altitude. He then roars so loudly, we can hear him on the surface. The air around him trembles as the lightning flickering around his body increases.
“What in the world…?”
“He’s going to focus every drop of power he has left…to kill me.”
Seiya sheathes his swords as if he’s given up.
“S-Seiya?!”
“I can’t use any abilities or magic during Berserk Mode, so I prepared to make up for this shortcoming. The drawback is that it takes time to focus, but it should be perfect against an enemy’s most powerful technique.”
“But how are you going to attack with your swords sheathed?!”
“Slowly but surely, I’m remembering the Valkyrja techniques of destruction. The Seventh Valkyrja: Break Permission—through granting destructive energy to only material objects, I was able to give the soil an explosive charge.”
Seiya taps his foot on the ground three times. Before long, a serpent pops out with a sheath wrapped in cloth.
“This sword was specially crafted. When drawn, the friction will create sparks that ignite the explosive soil inside the sheath, thus creating more power along with the flames. The tremendous energy created will then be used to hit the target.”
By the time Seiya finishes his explanation, Grandleon is quietly staring down at us from the sky. The explosive lightning flickering around him is quietly absorbed into his body. He is then swallowed in a blinding ray of light instead.
“Die…! Volt: Sky Strike!”
With the overpowering aura coursing through every vein in his body, Grandleon rapidly descends in our direction like a shooting star followed by a pale ray of light. There’s no way we can block that…!
“Seiya! Use the move!”
“No, he needs to be closer.”
“B-but at this rate, we’ll…!”
“This is all I have left. If I miss, it’s over.”
Grandleon rapidly approaches at a blinding speed, but even then, Seiya doesn’t draw his sword.
W-we’re doomed!
The moment my eyes catch sight of Grandleon’s Chain Destruction–infused claws…Seiya’s hand on the sword’s grip twitches.
“Valkyrja Explosion: Crimson Boom…!”
The instantaneous sound of the sword being unsheathed is drowned out by the explosive roar in front of us. The thunderous blow dealt by the Hero with over one million attack power collides into Grandleon, the shooting star.
A tremendous shock wave and radiant light are created when the two extraordinary forces clash, blowing me away.
“N-ngh…”
…I slowly sit up to find Grandleon standing with his back turned to Seiya. Seiya quietly stands with his sword drawn as well. Neither faces the other. They’re both completely still. But almost instantly, I hear a crack. The platinum sword in Seiya’s hand shatters into ash, and Seiya falls face forward to the ground. Grandleon, on the other hand, reveals only a faint cut on his chest as he turns around.
Th-the attack barely did any damage! It took the full force of Crimson Boom just to cancel out Volt: Sky Strike!
But as the Beast Emperor approaches Seiya to deal the final blow, his chest begins to swell as a glittering red liquid bursts out of the faint cut. Suddenly, Grandleon’s torso catches fire. He screams as the flames try to escape from his body. I shiver as the king of the beasts lets out one final cry of agony while the numerous small explosions tear his flesh asunder.
The explosive soil was thrown into his body…!
Though they initially rage out of control, the flames eventually die down to reveal a charred Beast Emperor.
“Seiya!”
I rush over to Seiya and prop him up. His hair color has already returned to normal, which means he isn’t in Berserk Mode anymore. He winces in pain, but it looks like he’s still conscious. When he finally notices my presence, he instantly snaps to his feet like a whip.
“…What happened to Grandleon?”
“Don’t worry! Crimson Boom burned him to a crisp!”
I point in the direction of the body…but Grandleon is nowhere to be found.
“You win…human.”
Startled, I look in the direction of the voice. Although his body has been completely charred, he stands behind the queen.
“The wound is fatal… I won’t live much longer. But
I figured I’d pay you back…before I go.”
The beast then grabs a handful of the queen’s hair.
“I finally learned…what makes humans suffer the most.”
N-no…! Not the queen…!
“It’s having what’s most important to you…broken!”
I start sprinting for the queen, but when he sees me coming his way, he lets go of the queen’s hair.
“…That’s right. It’s you.”
Grandleon charges at me with his last bit of strength.
Huh?! Me?! Wh-why?!
It’s clear the Beast Emperor doesn’t have much power left, but he probably still has enough to kill me. Mere moments before his claws tear through me, a little face pokes out from my chest. It’s the earth serpent that Seiya left with me to protect me just in case. Paying no heed to the snake, Grandleon continues driving his claw toward my heart when…
“G-gwah…!”
He groans in agony. Before I even realize it, the earth serpent has latched onto Grandleon’s neck with its fangs! He grabs the serpent with both hands and tries to tear it off, but it wraps around him and won’t let go! Standing behind me, Seiya says in a neutral voice:
“The earth serpent protecting that woman…is the strongest I can currently create. You no longer have the strength to remove it.”
Grandleon’s eyes open wide, and he pierces Seiya with a hate-filled glare. He gives up trying to pull off the snake and turns to Seiya to take him to the grave with him…but all of a sudden, he stops. His grip around the earth serpent loosens, and his body droops forward before he lifelessly drops to his knees. Seiya extends a hand in Grandleon’s direction.
“…Endless Fall.”
Having returned to an earth Spellblade, Seiya unleashes his final attack. Without even touching his opponent himself, earth serpents forcefully drag Grandleon’s body underground. The instant he vanishes, the beastkin watching in the distance begin to panic.
“L-Lord Grandleon was killed!”
“The Dark God’s power is going to disappear!”
“We’re done for…!”
After losing their boss, the beastkin scatter like baby spiders. Seemingly relieved to see that, Seiya drops to a knee. I run over to the battered Hero, place a hand on his stomach, and heal the wound.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…! Because of me, you…!”
Seiya sends me a reproachful gaze.
“Stop crying and don’t apologize. You’re annoying me.”
“But…!”
“We won. That’s all that matters. Besides…”
Seiya exhales deeply, then continues:
“I told you in the spirit world I was perfectly prepared, right?”
“Yeah… You’re right!”
After I finish closing Seiya’s wound, he staggers to his feet.
“At any rate, we need to take the queen somewhere safe…”
But the moment those words come out of his mouth, he goes limp and collapses.
The next day, I find myself standing in Queen Carmilla’s old home in the town of Termine. Though the inside is a mess thanks to the beastkin, the furniture is still there for the most part, so Seiya is sleeping in one of the beds. Although I finished healing his wounds yesterday, I still put a cool, damp washrag on his forehead before leaving the room. The queen is talking to a familiar man in the adjacent chamber.
“I can’t imagine the pain you went through, Jonde.”
“It was nothing compared to what happened to you, my queen.”
The pale man speaks as if a wave of emotions has swept over him. I could never forget him. The beastkin turned General Jonde of Termine into an undead and forced him to fight us at the enlistment trial. When the queen notices me there, she introduces us.
“This is Jonde. He was the late king’s right-hand man.”
The general reverently lowers his head and lets out a bitter laugh.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, I’m now half-corpse, but I hope you can look past that.”
“Y-yeah, I mean…! Of course! It’s no problem! Oh-ho-ho-ho!”
I feel so bad for the awful things I did to him at the trial, to the point that I can’t look him in the eye. He’d probably punch me in the face if he found out I was that fish.
“The beastkin seem to have escaped from Termine. The Dark God’s power has disappeared with Grandleon’s death, and their powers have decreased to one-tenth of what they were. They likely feared retaliation and ran.”
The beastkin must have gotten pretty cocky, since the Dark God’s Blessing had given them powers far greater than any human. They didn’t take the surveillance or confinement of humans seriously because they didn’t take humans themselves seriously—and lucky for us. The people once kept in captivity are apparently gathering in the town.
The queen sends Jonde a smile.
“They always did call you the Immortal General, after all… It looks like they were right.”
The queen jokes, but her expression is brimming with compassion. Tears begin welling in Jonde’s sunken eyes. I’m sure he was a knight through and through. He looks away so the queen doesn’t see him sob.
“Th-there are probably still numerous people trapped in cells underground! I will go give the soldiers orders to search for and free the remaining prisoners!”
Jonde bows to us once more before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He may be undead, but he’s still a wonderful general. Now that the queen and I are alone, she asks:
“…Are you sure you don’t need to be by the Hero’s side when he wakes up?”
And the truth just slips off my tongue.
“Um… Honestly, I don’t really know how I should act around him, so…”
She gives me a curious look, but I smile.
“I-I’m a terrible goddess! I always mess things up and drag him down with me! Seiya’s a human, but he’s so much smarter, stronger, and more mature than I am! I mean, he probably would be better without me and—”
“Goddess.”
The queen cuts me off midsentence.
“The beastkin thought I was a cold woman who felt no pain, but in reality, I’m a weak person who couldn’t even acknowledge her own daughter’s death.”
The queen turns her eyes to the door of the bedroom in which Seiya is sleeping.
“That man is human, too. He feels grief, and I’m sure, deep down inside, he’s in pain.”
“‘In pain’? Seiya? B-but Seiya doesn’t have any memories of the past! Besides, he doesn’t care what people say to him. In fact, he gives knuckle sandwiches to anyone who—”
“While that may be true, you cannot expect him not to think about this world’s present state, which derives from what happened in his past. Regret, guilt—he will surely be suddenly overwhelmed with negative feelings from time to time. But he knows these feelings won’t help him save the world, so he suppresses them by locking them away in the depths of his heart.”
The queen’s face is overcome with sorrow.
“And that’s…a very painful thing.”
After relaxing her expression, she sends me a cheerful smile.
“All you need to do is stand by him. Just be by his side in this cruel world. Make a fool of yourself, make mistakes—because that’s what’s saving him whether you know it or not.”
“B-but Seiya doesn’t want me around… He thinks I’m…”
The queen rolls her eyes.
“Are you kidding? Even Grandleon noticed…”
“Huh?”
I stare at the queen, unable to understand what she means, but she suddenly places a hand before her mouth as it opens wide.
“O-oh my! I have been so rude to you, haven’t I?! Goddess, please forgive me.”
“N-no, I don’t mind.”
“It’s strange. I feel so relaxed around you. It must be because you were so kind to me as a fish-person.”
“Yeah…”
After sharing a smile, I hop to my feet.
“That’s a wonderful idea.”
After leaving the room, I whisper softly so the queen can’t hear me:
“…Thanks, Mom.”
I can’t believe my eyes when I open the door to the bedroom. Seiya is already sitting up and awake.
“Seiya! You’re awake?! You should be slee—”
“Rista. How long was I out?”
“Um… You slept through the night.”
“I can’t believe I did that…”
Seiya grimly clenches his teeth.
“Once the Demon Lord hears of Grandleon’s death, he’s going to send his men in droves to invade Termine.”
Seiya dons his armor, grabs his sword, and heads straight for the door.
“S-Seiya…!”
He walks outside and places a hand on the garden soil.
“I’m going to spread earth serpents throughout the town.”
The ground undulates around his hand. He must be sending dozens— Wait. It’s Seiya. He’s probably creating hundreds of earth serpents.
“You’re awake.”
I look over to find Jonde standing behind Seiya. The queen is now positioned by my side as well. Facing Seiya, Jonde says:
“Allow me to express my gratitude to you for defeating Grandleon and saving Termine. However, this would have never happened in the first place if you had defeated the Demon Lord a year ago…”
Jonde grabs Seiya by the back of the neck while his hand is still on the ground.
“Jonde, stop!”
“No! He’s not going anywhere until he hears what I have to say!”
The general turns Seiya’s head around so the Hero can see the fury in his eyes.
“Why…? Why couldn’t you save Princess Tiana?!”
“Jonde…!”
The queen and I both freeze. As a suffocating air reigns over our heads, Seiya places a hand on Jonde’s shoulder, and…
Whoosh!
The general is driven into the ground until he’s buried up to his knees!
“Huh?!”
Seiya then turns his back to the general and diligently continues making earth serpents.
“Wh-what do you think you’re doing?!”
The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Vol. 3 Page 21