Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture

“Even so, what a behemoth!”

“A headless giant with an indeterminate name, if I may say so.”

“That’s the one! I was stumbled upon by that thing, then chased by whatever its name is!”

“I see. So that creature is the master of this ‘Maze’ after all.”

[That should be the case.]

Simply put, what emerges from behind the cloud of dust is a humanoid monster with no head above the neck.

Its size, however, is certainly dozens of meters, and even though it is humanoid, the monster ought to be called a giant.

“Sora-san. What is the number and location of the red crystals that are the core?”

“There are red crystals stuck in three places on the right shoulder blade, neck, and left chest. Also, the surface of the body looks like a boulder.”

“So it looks like the only way to kill it is to shoot it with Akira-san’s sling or somehow knock it down.”

“It would be challenging to get it to collapse. Its feet are nearly level with the ground.”

“Since that’s the case, Akira-san, we will be counting on you…”

“If so…”

At the words of Sora-san and Date-san, I will ensure that my sling is in excellent working order.

Yeah, I have to execute a powerful enough attack on the core from a few dozen meters away. It may be a little too tricky to pull it off.

Otherwise, I am convinced that the attack won’t be in range unless I approach its foot.

“Hmm?”

“From that distance, what is it trying to do…”

[Muuu…]

The giant subsequently abruptly lowers itself to the ground for a brief moment, and as it places its right hand on the ground, a slight shifting of that hand can be felt.

…In a proper fight between a monster and a human, this distance is not adequate for a battle to take place, even if both parties are visible to each other.

Yes, if the size is proper.

“All of you, gather close to me!”

[Aaaaaaah!]

Right at the realization of what the giant is aiming to achieve, a yell erupts from me, followed by a wide swing of the giant’s right arm and the ejection of a myriad of boulders from its hand, each a pebble to the giant but sure to be crippling to us should we be struck by one.

Even if we return to the “Frozen Cloud” immediately, given its volume, size, and speed, escape is unrealistic.

Therefore…

“Freeze and… shatter!”

“Gyaaa!?”

I turn every incoming boulder into ice with the force of my right eye and extend the claws of both hands to smash the huge pieces of ice that have come in flying in contact with it.

The ice pieces that are smashed are slammed against us, and the surrounding temperature drops in one fell swoop due to the influence of this place, coupled with the horrendous collision noise of the ice and the ground, causing Date-san to shriek, but we can only conclude that it is preferable to be minced into meat by a direct hit from the boulders.

“Excuse me. Thank you for saving my life.”

“No matter. More than that, Toki-san and Sora-san will be on the ‘Frozen Cloud’ and will you be able to run, Date-san? If you have the speed to outrun that pack of monsters, you should be able to catch up with us.”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘Frozen Cloud,’ but we are going to make a break for it, aren’t we!?”

“No, it would be best to take it down right away now that the situation has arrived at this stage. So, first of all, I’m going to approach it in order to get a clear shot at it.”

“Hie!?”

“I don’t really mind if you run away. But I am unable to guarantee your survival in such a scenario…!”

“Uuuu…. uー!”

When the giant’s offense has ceased, the three of us get into the “Frozen Cloud” and begin driving towards the giant from the initial motion at peak velocity. After Date-san roars in distress a few times, she too proceeds to run after us.

[Muuuuuaaaaa!]

“We’re ramming it in!”

[[Yes!]]

“What is wrong with these people seriously!?”

The giant once more rains down boulders in the form of throwing rocks.

However, in contrast to before, our high-speed movement means that the majority of the boulders fall far behind where we are driving, and I respond to the ones that are heading for us by turning the steering wheel to the left or right.

Date-san is screeching something, but… well, if she’s alive, there’s no harm in it. 

“I see its surface fused to the ground!”

“All right, it seems like it would be impossible to topple it over if performed in the normal way.”

Our line of sight keeps moving towards the giant while avoiding the barrage of boulders, and ultimately its legs and feet are observed to be one with the ground.

Having reached a certain degree of proximity, I assess that attacking with a sling while operating the “Frozen Cloud” is unreasonable, so I abandon the “Frozen Cloud,” and all three of us descend together into the wilderness.

“Seriously… at least the steering handle needs to be upgraded.”

“Let’s ask Matsunami-san for the upgrade if we get out of here alive.”

“It seems it’s looking our way in any case.”

“Hah hah…”

[Muuuaaaa…]

Date-san reaches the spot where we are after a while, and all four of us look up at the body of the giant together.

Now, the issue arises here.

The size is too vast to even recognize where the moles that are the monster’s eyes lie, and with ordinary vision, determining what the giant is intending to play is also seemingly a challenge.

But somehow I can grasp that the giant is watching us right now.

“All of you, concentrate on dodging the giant’s strikes rather than defending against them; if you can’t, Toki-san will handle it.”

“I understand.”

With the giant in front of me, my instructions begin to flow out to all of the members.

We wouldn’t be able to even scratch an opponent of this magnitude if we confronted it in an undiplomatic manner.

“Sora-san, tell me what the giant is going to do rather than attack. Against an entity of this scale, we can’t even figure out its tactics when it gets this close.”

“Yes. I’ll do my utmost.”

“As for Date-san… do your best to escape.”

“Eh!? Is that all I have to do!?”

“What about you, Akira-san?”

“That goes without saying. Now, it looks like the foe is about to make a move, so everyone should brace themselves for it…”

[Muuuuaaaaah!!]

When everyone’s roles have been established clearly, a bellow loud enough to shake the whole area around us is once more emitted by the giant, and each of us sets up our own weapon and springs into action.