Chapter 66

The moment I pushed off the ground, the world shifted.

The sky that had been brightly lit by the moon suddenly switched scenes as if someone had flipped a switch, hiding itself beneath black storm clouds that poured down rain in a violent curtain.

Buildings and apartment blocks that had stood fine a moment ago instantly weathered as if centuries had passed—everything turned gray and pitted. Jagged rebar and crumbled structures were stained a dark, rust-red by the downpour.

Even as everything drained into monochrome, the blue lion that watched me only grew clearer and more vivid.

‘Weird space.’

Honestly, I had no idea why a monster like that existed in my mindscape, why those two had shoved me in front of it, or why I had to fight it. I didn’t know any of that. Still…

“…this is fun, isn’t it?”

Yeah. It sounded insane to say out loud, but I was enjoying the situation.

At a glance, that beast was no ordinary foe.

Thirty meters from head to tail. Twenty meters tall.

Sure, saying 30 meters and 20 meters made it sound like mere numbers, but imagine a ten-story building laid on its side and running at you on four legs. Picture that.

‘Last time, the twin-head ogre was only a bit over five meters.’

Bigger meant ‘stronger’, ‘tougher’, and ‘faster’.

In other words, unless that bulk was just filled with air, this was a Nemesis I’d never faced before. Well, at least for the me who was sealed now.

That was why the angel had warned me it wouldn’t be easy to beat a Grand Master even with great technique—the difference came down to raw output.

• I couldn’t break its defense, and I couldn’t stop its attacks.

The only hope I’d left myself was for fights “within two meters,” because my techniques were specialized for humanoid opponents of similar class.

But this thing was a colossal non-humanoid. Of course its output, defense, and durability would outstrip a Grand Master.

With a sword, my chances might have been around thirty percent. Without one now… who knew. Only the heavens could say.

While running I tried once more to call for a sword in my mind, but—surprise—nothing materialized.

It was odd. I’d learned from experience that this world responded to my will. I could change the weather and even rain down swimsuits if I wanted. So why couldn’t I conjure a single blade?

That made it—

“…even more interesting.”

Since fake-Shia and fake-Bel wouldn’t have shoved me here unless there was a reason, there were two possibilities: either I wouldn’t die (or death didn’t matter), or there was a way to beat it even in my current state.

If it was the first, I could charge in and see what happened. If the latter…

‘…If a strategy exists, there’s no way I couldn’t find it.’

KA-CHHHH!

I curved my lip into a smile and slid past the lion’s forepaw as it swung, then slammed my shoulder into the beast’s planted foreleg.

KRAAAANG!

Its front leg slipped on the rain, and its belly hit the ground.

RUMMMMM!

‘An opening.’

I planted my sliding body as if stamping the earth and charged again.

Tatatatatatat!

I moved to the flank, which looked less muscled and thus less armored. I readied my stance like plucking a bowstring, twisted my torso and arm, and lifted my right foot.

‘I haven’t had to do this much with bare hands in a while.’

Of course, swordplay was my most familiar weapon—specifically, one-handed blades—because that was what I’d practiced most as a weapon.

But next to that, my second-most familiar “weapon” was my bare hands.

Honestly, as an earthling who hadn’t trained with spears or clubs unless I specifically set out to, I wasn’t likely to be swinging polearms in daily life.

“Huu… hng…!!”

I stomped the ground with my raised right foot and released the coiled tension. With an intent to absolutely crush, I jammed my fist into the beast’s comparatively softer flank.

A technique that separated the hit point from the explosion of force.

Thwom!

The beast’s belly skin rippled and a rounded wave radiated out from the strike.

KRAAAA!!

A scream tore out of its maw—pain, then rage.

This time I didn’t try to hold onto the recoiling body; I stepped back and let it fly.

The sensation in my hand told me everything.

‘Solid. This isn’t going to work.’

Even after hitting past thick fur and tough hide into the inner layers, it only produced pain. A sinew-and-iron sort of musculature absorbed most of the impact.

That blow was the best strike I could deliver bare-handed in my current state. In other words, unless I could pin the thing down and string together rapid follow-ups, hitting alone wouldn’t cut it.

‘So blunt force is hopeless. What now?’

Countless ideas flashed through my head in an instant—things I could do, things I couldn’t, what was useful, what wasn’t.

And just as something was about to surface, a whisper brushed past my ear.

‘Up.’

I didn’t even have time to think about whose voice it was—I rolled aside on reflex.

Thudthudthudthudthud!

Sharp projectiles pierced down from above, striking the very spot I’d been standing a heartbeat earlier.

Even in the middle of the chaos, I glanced up—only to see the beast’s thick tail split like a fan in midair, its shards raining down toward the ground.

“Damn it…”

The whipcrack sound of impact echoed as those long, needlelike tails punched through the concrete ground one after another. Even after I’d retreated more than fifty meters, the rain of spikes didn’t stop.

Retreating, dodging, slipping past each strike—I finally managed to get through the barrage and steadied my breathing.

Then something caught my eye. The tail that had been swaying behind the creature just moments ago was now gone—completely.

‘Come to think of it, did it ever pull its tail back after the attack?’

It hadn’t. Meaning the tails were still buried underground.

That left two possibilities.

Either the tails were single-use—

‘—or they’re still lurking underground, waiting for another strike…!’

Realizing that, I immediately dove aside—

Sssshhhhhk!!

—but the tails were faster. Dozens of tendril-like appendages shot up from the ground, wrapping around me in an instant.

Crackkk!

“Ugh…!”

Hundreds of tendrils as hard as steel wire constricted around my body. Even I couldn’t break free like this. If I at least had a sword, I could try something, but…

‘Ah, crap… I’m screwed, aren’t I…?’

Krrrack!

Desperate, I gathered aura into my hands and managed to sever three, maybe four of the tendrils—but the cut ones twisted like living things, coiling around my arms instead. This time, it really felt like checkmate.

The bundle of tendrils binding me twisted and merged into the shape of a giant snake, flicking its tongue as it dragged me across the ground toward the blue lion.

The lion looked down at me with open mockery, then raised one paw. The muscles bulged, swelling to twice their size.

Seeing that paw, heavy with killing intent, I shouted in panic toward fake-Shia and fake-Bel.

“Hey! Are you sure I’m supposed to survive this!?”

“…….”

“…….”

No answer. Playing dead…? No, they wouldn’t—

Wait. What if I’d misunderstood completely, and they had actually thrown me to die here?

Or maybe they really believed I could handle it, and now they were panicking because their “strong guy” was getting flattened like a bug?

If I died here, what would happen? Would I respawn? Get ejected? Or worse—would my real body die too?

In the end, I decided to use my last resort.

Grrrrrrr…

“Uh… hey, buddy, hold on. Can’t we talk this out? I’ll make you a giant steak every morning and night. Believe it or not, I’m kind of the master of this world. I can do anything you wa—”

Before I could even finish, the beast swung a forepaw the size of a tree.

KRAAAAAAANG!!

An overwhelming shockwave—followed by the distinct sensation of my body scattering apart.

Ah, so this is death—

.
.
.

Soft.

“…I’m alive?”

The back of my head rested against something plush and warm. I slowly opened my eyes.

Beyond two heavy, towering mounds that filled two-thirds of my vision, I saw blue sky and drifting clouds.

Still dazed, not sure what was going on, I blinked—then a beautiful face peeked out from between the two hills.

Silver hair cascaded like silk, tickling my face as I muttered quietly.

“…Yuribel? No, fake-Bel.”

“……”

Which meant—right now, my head was on fake-Bel’s lap? The infamous “lap pillow” I’d only ever heard about?

When I opened my eyes, fake-Bel smiled as if relieved, then gently pulled her legs back.

“Ugh! My back, my stomach, my muscles—they’re all aching!!”

“…!?”

She froze mid-motion, puzzled. Tilting her head, she placed a hand on my chest, and a soft glow of holy light swept through my body.

She smiled as if to say ‘There, all better now?’ and tried to move her legs again—

“Argh! My head! My teeth! My… menstrual cramps!?”

“…….”

A brief silence. Then, with a sigh that practically said “What am I doing with my life…”, fake-Bel gave me a look of quiet disbelief.

Still, she didn’t move her thighs away. Victory was mine.

Smugly, I reached over, grabbed the nearby fake-Shia rolling around in boredom, and plopped her onto my chest. As she squirmed in protest, I patted her blue hair and asked,

“What the hell happened? Where’s that lion bastard?”

“…….”

Fake-Bel silently pointed behind me.

I turned my head—and froze, eyes widening.

The massive blue beast that had just killed me was lying right there beside me, eyes open and glaring.

“…What!?”

I jerked upright in shock—but fake-Bel calmly pressed a hand against my forehead and pushed me back down.

‘It’s fine.’

The meaning was conveyed directly through her touch.

Feeling the gentle reassurance, I relaxed a little and looked again. Sure enough—a transparent barrier stood between us and the giant lion.

The creature pawed, sniffed, and clawed at the invisible wall for a while, seemingly unable to see us. Then it gave a low growl and backed away.

“…Seriously, what is going on? Can’t someone explain this?”

But neither fake-Shia nor fake-Bel answered.

They only projected a gesture and a shared thought: Defeat it, and you’ll understand.

“Sigh… fine. Have it your way. But on one condition.”

“…?”

“…??”

“Ladies, if you’re gonna make someone fight, you should at least cheer them on, right?”

A few moments later—

I grinned in satisfaction as I watched the two of them dressed in cheerleader outfits, waving pom-poms above their heads.

“Heh. Knew it would suit you both. I’m actually amazed by my own taste. Truly inspired.”

“…!”

“…!!”

“All right, all right, I’m going. Don’t rush me. Just make sure you cheer hard, yeah?”

Pushed along by their impatient thoughts, I stepped toward the transparent wall separating us from the monster.

Well, now that I knew I couldn’t die, it was fine. A few retries, and I’d figure it out eventually.

.
.
.

The moment I crossed the barrier, the scenery warped and shifted again.

Black sky. Torrential rain. Lightning split the air, thunder rattled the atmosphere.

The blue lion, sitting off to the side, twitched its tail as it noticed me reappear, then slowly rose to its feet.

I waved cheerfully.

“Wasn’t that fun? Let’s give it another go.”

Grrrrrrrrr…

I listened to the low growl and smiled faintly.

“…This time, things’ll be a little different.”