LDM 542 – VS 10 core (2)

“Kehma, deactivate [humanization]!”

Following the instructions of Rokuko’s voice, I release Narikin’s [humanization]. Whoa, I can breathe now, well not, to be exact. Right now, I’m not breathing because now I’m a living armor. It doesn’t have any lungs to be crushed by gravity.

“Kukuku, so that’s what you bastard are! How do you like this? You filth!”

The 10th core looks down at me with a twisted grin on his face and provokes me.

But thanks to the fact that I’ve been released from [humanized] form, I can think properly now.

The 10th core has gone beyond the absolute defense of [God’s Blanket] and passed a magic attack on me. It seems that God can kill God. Damn, I had never heard of such a thing!

But it’s not right to complain just because the enemy has done something you don’t know about in an all-or-nothing death match. It’s my fault for being overconfident with the [God’s Blanket]. I was completely caught off guard… I need to reflect on that for the next time. Because even if he kills Narikin here, I still have the next chance.

….. No, wait. What if he attacks the soul that possessed Narikin, and I cannot be revived?

I almost forgot that the 10th core can use a skill that [erases existence] in the first place. Haku’s guess is that it is the power of the Light God, and it is unknown if it is still possible for the current him to do that, given the situation where the Light God has abandoned him. But no, it was an unknown attack to begin with, which means it’s not strange if he still has it.

Should we retreat then? But should I was to retreat, I would like to retreat with Narikin.

“Now then, how shall we cook you….? Well, living armor is not compatible with my power. It takes a lot of work to turn an inorganic object into undead.”

Saying this, the 10th core approaches me. And I release [Elemental Burst] without chanting. He comes close enough to reach me. The light distorts, but it is still grazing the face of the 10th core, which was moving backward.

“Oops, you can still resist? –[F Force Drain]!”

A strong sense of tiredness falls into this body. It’s the feeling of having your life force and magic power taken away from you. My power is drained while I am unable to resist the gravity effect enhanced by the [Force Gravity]. No longer able to support my body, I collapsed and crumpled on the ground.

CRASH! The head part, aka the helmet part, is stomped on.

“I took enough from you so that you won’t die. Kukuku, you no longer have any magic power left to shoot the [Judgment Ray], right? And even more so without chanting.”

I can see that Narikin was recovering rapidly under the effect of the blanket tho, but I’ll keep my mouth shut.

Well, just now, my [Elemental Burst] was distorted, but the damage came through. And the 10th core already recovered by using a drain, but it also means it’s not completely ineffective. It can pass through the 10th core super magic [Enchanted Route: D] if I fire it at close range.

…? Enchant…?

That’s right, his skill is enchantment. Which means that there was a change of state. Not a normal state, that is to say, it was some kind form of abnormal state.

If it really is – it’s worth a try.

“Ha ha ha ha! Fua Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Do you want my help, huh? You piece of shit armor?”

I could hear *gung, gung, gung* as he kept stomping the helmet, but this did not hurt at all. It’s just a helmet, after all. And while he was distracted, I secretly open [storage] within my armor body, and I bring out my trump card.

Without wasting any time, I silently and immediately use my trump card – [God’s Alarm]. This is God’s bedding that forces all conditions to be [normal]. My target is the 10th core, or rather, the entire space around here. Only my [possession] is exempted.

“….? What have you done?”

The 10th core clearly looked upset. From how he looks, I know that my plan has succeeded.

At the same time, I hit the 10th core with [Elemental Burst], and while he tried to move away from me, I still managed to injure his leg. So it was also true that he won’t escape unscathed at this close range!

“How did you break the super magic?”

The heavy gravity imposed on me has returned to normal. As expected of [God’s Alarm], it was truly [Father] ‘s masterpiece.

It’s inconvenient that I can’t speak, so I [humanize] again.

“It seems to have worked.”

“M-My super magic, how dare you! But, once again, I will just activate my super magic again!– [enchant route: M] ……CK, I activate my super magic– [Enchant route: M Em]……tsk, I activate my super magic– [Enchant route: M]…  [Enchant Route: 30S S] …… Oh, shit, oh, shit! What’s going on! It’s deactivated as soon as it’s activated?”

Yeah, because right now, the [God’s Alarm] is still ringing. You can’t hear the sound, though.

…now what?

Can 10th really use an effective attack against me in this situation?

But at least I had proven our attack could go through if I used [Elemental Burst] close quarters. If that’s the case, we should start the counterattack.

“Don’t get too close! [Dark Lance]!”

The black spear of dark magic flies toward me, but it pops right in front of my eyes. It’s only as effective as a blindfold at best.

“Judgment Ray!”

The 10th core holds his cane in front of him, distorting my attack and not allowing me to hit him.

But it was fine. My aim was to stop his feet.

I immediately approach him while throwing my attack at him. Take this! [Elemental Burst] directly from my fist!

“Judgment Ray Punch!”

“[Retreat]!”

Within an instant, the 10th core disappears. The punch and [Elemental Burst] hit empty air.

He seems to have escaped rather gracefully. As expected from a long-lived core, he properly knows when to retreat.

“Kehma now is your chance to go through the boss room. Why don’t you just collect the core of this dungeon? I’ve rewarded Soto with a reward, and she’s ready to work for you.”

“Papa, I’m ready–! …*cough*sorry, I choked a little. Kinue’s socks are the best!”

Oi Soto, what are you doing at a time like this! Well, anyway, I’m going to attack this dungeon core before core 10 comes back.

I step into the core room and touch the black core. At the same time, Soto retrieves it, and the core disappears from the dungeon.

“I guess we’ve won now. Let’s go to the next dungeon.”

Bashnnnnn! A black splash popped out. It seems that something was hit and then nullified by the [God’s Blanket]. I looked in the direction from which it flew and saw the 10th core staring at me.

“Damn you, what the hell are you? I just got closer, and my super magic is nullified!”

“Oh, you tried to activate it after moving away from me. I’ll at least praise you for that.”

“Hmph, only now can you talk like that. ……[domination]!”

The eyes of the 10th core glowed red, but that’s it. Nothing happens. As I watched him without moving, the 10th core suddenly laughed in a good mood.

“Kuka kaka! It’s working! The curse mediated by the undead core has worked! This is the curse I put in place to control the dungeon core. Can you resist it!?”

Yes? …Sorry, I don’t understand? I don’t know what you did to me.

“I’ll tell you. This curse is a curse to control those who destroy the undead core. How do you like it? You can’t move even a finger, can you?”

“…wa-what?”

Come to think of it, after the first core was destroyed, I… huh? I can think?

I could normally reply just now. I mean, I can even move my fingers, right?

“Mmn, so you can still talk! Is that the resist effect of that equipment? Then it’s better if I take care of you quickly. For now, kill yourself!”

“…n?”

“…..m?”

Nothing is happening… and after a short while, a transmission comes in from Soto.

“Papa! The black core I just stored was destroyed by some strange caterpillars that were attracted to …… it! Oh, but those caterpillars suddenly died, as if they were eating poisonous dumplings?”

……? I don’t understand what’s going on.