Outer World Story: Basilisk of Ice Sculpture

[Muuuaa!]

“Incoming right arm swing!”

“Scatter yourselves!”

The giant swings its right arm down, and we all rush out, complying with Sora-san’s words.

In the midst of it all, my path takes me towards the giant’s feet so that I can strike at it.

Needless to say, following the right arm comes an attack by the left arm and a shower of boulders, but I manage to avoid them by continuing to stay close to the giant.

“Freeze… damn, only the surface is frozen huh.”

Eventually, having approached the foot of the giant, I exercise the ability of my right eye towards its left leg and the ground connected to the leg, only to find that both the leg and the ground have been slightly frozen at the surface, with no further sensation of power passing through them.

The resistance of the giant is apparently high, due to its status as the master of this “Maze”.

[Muuuuu…]

“Akira onee-sama! The right leg is incoming!”

“I get it!”

At the sound of Sora-san’s words coming from behind me, I move around to the giant’s back side in an all-out burst of momentum, and while withstanding the ground shaking and threatening to knock my leg off, I maneuver to fend off the giant’s trampling aggression.

The giant’s legs seem to attach to the ground only at times favorable to it.

Since that is what’s happening…

“Let’s stop this thing from moving first!”

“Please!”

[Mua!?]

While dodging the giant’s strike, I turn the ground connected with its right leg and right foot into ice, even if it’s only on the surface.

For the time being, moving around freely is no longer an option.

Nevertheless, the position of the core is still too high for me to launch a hit.

[Mu!? Muu!?]

“All right! Let the ice on its right leg melt and make it tumble.”

“Kagutsuchi-sama!”

“Ah, seriously, Mikahaya-sama!”

On the backside of the giant’s right leg, Toki-san’s shield with its surface heated and Date-san’s flamethrower are unleashed, causing the ice on the surface to melt, uncovering the body of the giant, whose texture is dissimilar to that of the surface beneath it.

“Tajikarao-sama!”

[Muuuuu!?]

Sora-san’s hammer then swings, bringing the giant’s right leg up, as if it were being tripped while breaking the ice on the surface. As a result of the right leg being driven out of alignment, the giant loses its balance and collapses onto its back.

With the sight of this, we all hurriedly move to our respective safety zones, while I concentrate all the force I can in my right eye and prepare my sling simultaneously.

“Muaaa!?]

“Do not give it time to rise!”

The second the monster slumps to the ground as though reaching its back with a roar, I fire a sling bullet into its left chest while aiming my right eye at the spot where it is linked in touch with the earth to render it impractical for it to rise up.

The giant makes an effort to force itself to rise with the aim of ripping off the frozen surface, but the sling bullet I fire misses the core and lands a little distance away.

“First of all… huh!?”

“Everyone remain apart!”

[Muuuuuuuaaaaa!?]

Toki-san’s voice rings out from the giant’s neck amidst all of this, and immediately afterwards, the giant exclaims and storms off, not even bothering to rip off the surface that has been turned to ice by me.

Flustered by the sight, I move away and see Toki-san and the others hurrying away from the rampaging giant.

Although unsure if it is the neck or the right shoulder blade, it seems that Toki-san has destroyed one of the cores.

“Even so, given that its surface is frozen over and it is willing to be torn to shreds, perhaps the giant’s boulder-like body surface is some form of armor.”

[That’s a strong possibility. That would explain why it was so easy to turn it into ice, and why it easily integrated with the ground. Whatever it is, now is our chance.]

“That is needless to say.”

After removing my hair clip, it is enlarged with divine power before setting it on the sling, to which I spin the sling, aiming for the left chest of the giant, who is writhing in agony.

In contrast, if it reaches a high enough velocity, it will fly faster and be more effective than the typical bullets, while being heavier and bulkier than the ones I often use.

[Muuuuuuu…]

“Whoa… raaaaah!”

When the giant is worn out from its rampage and has reached its limbs on the ground with some of its surface pieces peeling off, I release the sling once it has attained sufficient speed.

“Everyone stay away!”

[Mu!?]

At the sound of my voice that brings Toki-san and company aware of my maneuver, the harpoon-shaped bullet from my hand shoots into the giant’s left chest with such force and they rush away from the giant and run to my side, stopping what they are about to do for their next assault.

[Muuuuuuuu!?]

The screams of the giant resonate through the wilderness all over again.

The giant then goes berserk more than ever before, prompting me to go backwards from where I am currently standing and rejoin Toki-san and the others there.

“Hah hah, please leave a word to us if you’re going to do that.”

“My bad, my bad.”

“Is this what the Special Operations Squad is all about…”

“Phew… but now all that’s left is the one on its right shoulder blade.”

Both Toki-san and Sora-san are somewhat out of breath after rejoining me.

It is no wonder, though, since the giant’s assaults are all large-scale.

[Muuuuuu…]

“And it looks like the rampage is over…”

The giant eventually turns to us with its ravaged body, exhausted from its rampage.

It is still unclear where its eyes are, but I can tell that it is upset somehow.

[Mu…]

“Hmm?”

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

“Tsk!? No way!”

The giant directs its left hand towards us.

With the exception of Toki-san, the three of us are perplexed by its behavior, and when Toki-san recognizes what’s happening and dashes in front of us while putting out her shield…

[Ah!]

[[[!?]]]

“Lend me the power!”

The giant’s left hand is thrust forward and slams against Toki-shield, san’s which has been fortified to the utmost with the strength of all the Gods she has contracted with.

“Ugh!?”

“Toki nee-chan!”

“Damn!”

“Arghhhh!?”

What Toki-san has done is no doubt a defensive action with everything she has at her disposal.

But the weight difference between Toki-san’s shield and the giant’s left hand proves too drastic, and Toki-san’s defense is breached, leaving the rest of us behind her to be blown away.

“Ugh… sorry…”

“Toki nee-chan! Are you okay!?”

“Damn… I was careless…”

[Akira, are you all right!?]

“Ugugu…”

Although Sora-san rushes to Toki-san, who has fallen to the ground, to ascertain her condition, even from a distance, Toki-san’s arm is fractured, and considering the wounds that are probably not visible, we can only conclude that it is impossible for her to continue further combat.

No, on the contrary, her life would be in peril if we left her like this.

Damn, that would be an obnoxious mess that could only be said to have been a perfect carelessness.

Had I realized what the giant was up to earlier, I would have been able to avoid it or support Toki-san.

In the first place, it is common knowledge that in a monster fight, even a single wrong move can spell death.

What was I doing being so negligent…

[Muahhh.]

By pulling on something that resembles a cord that is attached to the part where it joins the wrist, the giant’s left hand returns to its left arm.

I then stand up while observing this.

“Sora-san and Date-san, disengage and give first aid to Toki-san.”

“What about you, Akira onee-sama!?”

However, what I need to do now is not to regret what has befallen us. That is something that should be addressed after everything is settled.

That is why I glare squarely at the giant and call out to Sora-san and the others behind me.

“I am going to destroy the last core while attracting the attention of the giant.”

“T-That’s reckless!”

“But if we don’t, there will be no escaping the ‘Maze’.”

“Damn…”

Date-san raises a reproachful cry at my words, yet finding a gate leading out of the “Maze” while fending off the giant’s onslaught from now on would consume excessive time.

In light of Toki-san’s condition, that would be an indisputable no-go nor is abandoning Toki-san a viable option.

My only course of action, therefore, is to defeat the giant.

“Akira onee-sama, please!”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“Cough… hopefully the fortune of war is on our side…”

“Yeah, off I go.”

After exchanging words with both Sora-san and Toki-san in such a manner, I rush towards the giant.

[Muuuuu… ah?]

No sooner do I launch myself forward than the giant determines that I am the only one still willing to put up a fight, and endeavors to hurl numerous boulders at me with its right hand.

Before the boulders can be flung though, I focus my right eye, which has been made more efficient by narrowing my sight, to convert the boulders into ice and render them unthrowable, opening a window of opportunity for me to get even closer to the giant.

[Mu…]

“Here it comes!”

Realizing that its right hand is now unusable, the giant aims its left hand at me in the same way as it did with the blow earlier.

On the other hand, I leap to the side the moment I catch sight of its movement.

[Aah!]

“Ugh…”

Right after jumping, the giant’s left hand thrusts into my former spot, setting off a mass cloud of dust and a resounding boom in the surrounding environment.

We may have been wiped out if Toki-san hadn’t provided protection because the preceding blow would have had the same amount of force.

This attack is both a danger and an opportunity, nonetheless.

“Now!”

[Muaaa.]

Approaching the left hand that has impacted the ground, I lunge with both claws outstretched, and the giant, oblivious to my maneuver, retracts its left hand the same way it did earlier.

Then naturally I move with my left hand, and after bearing the threat of being blasted away by the rapid acceleration and deceleration, I succeed in reaching the giant’s body.

“Fuu… hmph!”

[Muu!?]

The giant’s movement is sealed by me shifting both of its legs and the ground beneath it into ice, which causes it to direct its right hand towards me as if realizing that I am attached to its own body.

“Who’s going to be the one to get devoured!”

[Mun! Mun! Muaaa!!]

But not only the claws of my hands, but also the claws of my feet are grown out to serve as a non-slip, through which I move around the surface of the giant’s body, averting attacks that act like swatting flies. While periodically turning its joints into ice with my right eye, I render it difficult for the giant to remain in motion as I move towards the back of the giant

[Mu… a…]

“Suu…”

Soon after, after dodging between its ferocious attacks for a while, the giant’s movement slows to a crawl as its joints turn to ice. When it can no longer even shiver, I reach the red crystal in the center of the giant, which is noticeably larger than the core of a regular monster.

Then, with a deep breath, I…

“This is the end!”

[Muuuuuuaaaaaa!!]

In a spirited exertion, I shatter the core with my claws, and with all the cores destroyed, the whole “Maze” collapses with an outcry that seems to reverberate across the whole wilderness.