544 – Wrathful Blow (side: treant)

I can clearly see Aruane jumping at me.
But, I have no idea what to do in response.

I don’t know what I should do from here on.
Atlach-dono is already dead.
I can’t return with her alive.
So then what should I do? I don’t know.
My thoughts are a mess.
All that remains is a swirling blackness, telling me that nothing matters now.

Embracing my fury, I release my [Tree Spiritisation].
This cave is too small for me, but the ceiling is just barely able to contain my height.

“You can’t move like that…”

『O, OOOOO, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO！』

I swing my branches upwards.
The cave walls crack under the impact.
Crushed stones fall from the ceiling, but I ignore them and swing down towards Aruane.

Seemingly afraid to dodge and get caught up in falling rocks, she stops moving and catches my branch.
Her dainty arms easily hold up my thick branch.
She’s forced backwards slightly, but easily keeps her footing.

With my status, I am no match for her.
Even though I was miraculously able to land a hit, this was all that resulted.

Aruane glances slightly behind me.
Atlach-dono’s body is probably still in the cave.
She’s probably worried that the cave will collapse and she won’t be able to recover it.
Even in this situation, it seems she doesn’t view me as a threat.

How is this the power of a [Tyrant Guardian]…!? I can’t be called a guardian if I can’t protect even one of my friends by putting my life on the line.

I don’t need a half-hearted defence that can’t even buy time against a higher rank opponent.
All I want is the strength to repel the enemy in front of me.

『[Berserk]!』

I cast magic on myself, raising my attack power at the cost of my reason.

I know it’s usually used against enemies.
But, I need every piece of attack power I can get.
As it is, I don’t have enough power to strike back at all.

『[Guard Lost]!』

I cast another magic on myself.
This one lowers the target’s defence, making it easier for attacks to penetrate… The downside is that it also raises the target’s attack.

I probably couldn’t get it to hit Aruane.
So, used it on myself.
The attack boost from [Guard Boost] is usually not worth the loss to defence.
But, a single hit was already enough to take me out.

“You’re…not in any state to listen, are you?”

Aruane’s eyes open wide, and she stares at me.

I lift my roots up and slam them against the ground.
It’s the [Ground Tremor] skill.
The cave shakes, scattering earth and stones into the air.

Aruane kicks off the ground, leaping straight towards me.
She’s too fast for me to react.
But, fortunately, a lump of compact earth falls from the ceiling between us.

Aruane kicks off it in the air, leaping to the side.

『[Clay]!』

I quickly cast magic.
The lump glows with light, and a tentacle of earth stretches out to coil around Aruane.
She moves to untangle herself.

『I won’t let you!!』

Stepping forward, I lift my branch up.
I make the tip metal with [Statue], and compress it with [Gravity Compression].
[Gravity Compression] can be used for a temporary stat boost like this at the cost of HP.

I don’t care what happens to me.
But… I absolutely won’t forgive Aruane.
She killed atlach-dono…and is planning on using her death to torment master-dono.
Such an evil cannot be allowed to live.

As I swing down, Aruane finally escapes from the earthen lump.
She clings to the wall, then looks around and darts to a corner of the ceiling.

“It’s too narrow here, it’s no use.
Though there’s nowhere for Aruane to run now… But with your big body, you can’t reach Aruane, it’s impossible…”

『I will bring you to hell!』

With all my weight behind it, I swing my branch.
It carves through the ceiling and slams into Aruane.

She blocks with her arm like before, but this time I feel her arm breaking.
I smash into her body, and a huge spurt of blood escapes her mouth.
I’ve crushed her body all the way to her core.

Perhaps due to the damage to the main body, Ool, who had been keeping his distance, collapses to the ground.

My attack power has been strengthened by the fury of [Berserk], and the abandon of [Guard Lost].
The hardness and power of my branch were enhanced by [Statue] and [Gravity Compression] at the cost of my HP.
It can’t be compared to my previous attack.

Huge tremors run through the entire cave, and Aruane’s body slams against the ground.
I’ll keep attacking to overwhelm her.
I swing branch down again.
Even if it means I get buried alive, I’ll defeat her here!

I won’t let you do as you please with atlach-dono any further! I won’t let you touch Aro-dono or master-dono either!

Just before I can land my third hit, she swiftly crawls across the ground to avoid my blow.
Congealed blood is swirling around her damaged parts, forcing her body to move.

Her neck is at a strange angle too.
She’s undoubtedly in a state that would kill any normal human.
Her stance is horribly forward-leaning, as she crawls with both arms on the ground like a wild animal.
Her claws of blood are much longer than I have seen them.
She should be on the verge of death, but her eyes have an unsettling red gleam to them.

“As I thought… You’re the most dangerous.”

With her [Blood Doll], she can move as though she were in perfect condition, no matter how close to death she is.
That was what Aro-dono observed, but… It seems she was slightly mistaken.

The instant Aruane kicks off the ground, she disappears and I hear a sound from behind me.
Her movement is clearly faster than before.
She seems to have given up on moving Ool, and has left his corpse on the ground.
By focusing entirely on moving herself, she’s able to move this fast.

I hear another sound from behind, then from above and below.
It’s not that she’s playing around.
She wants to make me completely lose track of her before she gets a single definite hit in.

I use [Statue] to turn my whole body into metal, and [Gravity Compression] to squish myself down and raise my defence.
If I can’t see her, I’ll have to counterattack after getting hit.
As long as Aruane is dead… It doesn’t matter if I die too.

A sharp impact hits my back.
Aruane has leapt straight towards me.
I feel cracks running through my metal body, and can tell my life is running out.

“This is the end…!”

『This is the end!』

I whip my metal branch around, swinging behind me.
The [Wood Counter] skill… It relies on the impact of an opponent leaping at me to launch a semi-automatic counter attack.

Aruane’s body slams hard into the ground before rebounding up to hit the wall.
She tumbles away, knocking haphazardly into rocks.