639 – Rematch, Strongest Guardian

With Aro and treant on my back, I fly towards the hecatoncheir.
Like last time, once we pass a certain distance, it stirs and readies its sword.

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[Hecatoncheir]
Species: Hecatoncheir
Condition: God of Madness
Lv: 140/140 (MAX)
HP: 10000/10000
MP: 10000/10000
Attack: 1500+200
Defence: 4000
Magic: 1500
Speed: 1500
Rank: L (Legendary)

Equipment:
Hand: [Greatsword of the Giant Statue: L]

Divine Skills:
[Human Realm (replica): Lv-] [Asura Realm (replica): Lv-] [Hungry Ghost Realm (replica): Lv-]

Characteristic Skills:
[Grisha Language: Lv5] [Presence Perception: LvMAX] [Automatic HP Recovery: LvMAX] [Automatic MP Recovery: LvMAX] [Ultraregeneration: LvMAX] [Hyper Recovery: LvMAX] [Sixth Sense: LvMAX] [Swordsman Talent: LvMAX] [God of Madness: Lv-]

Resistance Skills:
[Physical Resistance: LvMAX] [Magic Resistance: LvMAX] [Magic Decomposition: LvMAX] [Physical Damage Halving: Lv-] [Status Condition Nullification: Lv-] [Seven Attribute Resistance: LvMAX]

Normal Skills:
[High Rest: LvMAX] [Autoregeneration: LvMAX] [Dimension Rend: LvMAX] [High Jump: LvMAX] [Exorcising Blade: LvMAX] [Meditation: LvMAX] [Shadow Dance: LvMAX] [Mana of Nature: LvMAX]

Title Skills:
[Guardian of the Tower that Pierces the Sky: Lv-] [Unwavering and Unbeaten: Lv-] [Final Evolution: Lv-] [Former Hero: Lv-] [Former Demon Lord: Lv-]
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I look over the hecatoncheir’s status one last time.
No matter how many times I see it, it really is a strange status.
It has the terrifyingly strong [Physical Damage Halving] and [Magic Decomposition], which stack with its maxed out basic resistance skills.

But, I won’t give up and run away this time.
We don’t have much time left, and Miia’s God of Madness could progress at any moment.
We should have enough power to defeat it now.

『This won’t go like last time, hecatoncheir…!』

The hecatoncheir shows no reaction to my declaration.
I fly to its right, rapidly closing the distance.

We need to defeat it before we run out of MP.
For that reason, I don’t use [Dimension Claw].
It would be a waste to use it while I’m just approaching.
Unless I can use it to support Miia somehow, [Dimension Claw] will always be a waste, even if it hits.
I’ll be mostly aiming to damage it through direct attacks.

Matching my movements, the hecatoncheir raises its sword.

“They aren’t your only opponents!”

Miia says as she sprints over the ground towards the hecatoncheir.
Unlike us, she’s headed for its left.
As though to avoid exposing a blind spot, the hecatoncheir breaks into a run towards me.

“So you don’t want to let us surround you? But don’t you think it’s stupid to expose your back to me?”

Miia raises her sword.
A dark magic circle flashes in the air, and a sphere of black light flies towards the hecatoncheir.

“[Dark Sphere].”

As she is now, Miia’s magic is much more powerful than her physical attacks.
The power of her【Magic: 4444】is massive.

The hecatoncheir turns and raises its sword to block.
It seems to have judged that it should avoid a direct hit from that attack.

Miia kicks off the ground and surges forward, using [Godspeed Flash].
Then, she swings her sword.
The slash departs from the sword and skims over the ground towards the hecatoncheir.

The attack has some distance to cover, but it’s too sudden to be reacted to.
It’s not just a normal [Shockwave], but rather has been powered up by [Godspeed Flash].
I didn’t know they could be used together like that.

The slash overtakes the [Dark Sphere] and crushes the hecatoncheir’s wrist.
Its sword lowers, and then the black light explodes against its exposed chest.
Huge cracks run through its upper body, and several of its arms hang down limply.

As the black light clears, Miia is standing in front of the hecatoncheir.

“What’s wrong, hecatoncheir? I’m going to keep attacking.”

Accelerating with [Godspeed Flash] again, she swings her sword into the reeling hecatoncheir.
Its body trembles with the impact.

I-I knew this already, but Miia is seriously strong… Her stats and skills are one thing, but what’s more important is her complete lack of wasted motion or hesitation, which make the refinement of her techniques clear to see.

But this is no time for me to be impressed! Despite how strong she is, she was forced to retreat from it once before.

Moreover, the reason she’s using up so much MP on her opening attack is so that treant can land his [Death God Seeds].
It’s not like she’s going to keep this pace up for the entire fight.
This is just so we can ensure our plan won’t stumble at the first step.
The opportunity she’s given us is more than enough.
We can’t afford to waste it.

“GuuoOOOOOh!”

I roar as I put all my weight behind my tail, slamming it into the hecatoncheir’s side.
One of its legs lifts off the ground.

『Now, treant, Aro!』

“Yes! I’ve prepared my maximum power [Dark Sphere]!”

Aro’s [Dark Sphere] explodes against the hecatoncheir’s side.
Treant then spits out several bright green seeds into the cracks opened by Aro’s attack.

『I did it, master-dono! I’ve applied my maximum amount!』

『Great! Good job, treant!』

This is the best possible opening we could have hoped for.
The longer this fight now lasts, the more impactful the [Death God Seeds] will be, so it was important that we applied them at the outset.

We’ve caught the hecatoncheir in a pincer attack.
Its balance is broken.
We should keep up this pressure and cut down its HP and MP…!

But, my claw attack passes through empty air.
The hecatoncheir’s huge body has shifted into shadow, allowing it to rapidly move away before rematerialising.
It’s used [Shadow Dance].

『I suppose it couldn’t last… That skill is way too versatile.』

Even if we pincer it, it’s pointless the moment it uses [Shadow Dance].

『It also got a taste of our coordinated attacks there.
It’ll probably use it a lot more proactively from now on…』

“That’s fine.
No, if anything, that’s why I wanted to be so aggressive at the start.
It’s good if it’s overly cautious.
Each time it uses that skill will exhaust it further.”

Miia says, readying her sword.
I see… So that was part of it too.
Miia really is a reassuring ally.