Published at 27th of July 2022 11:37:18 AM

647 Battle in the Sky Piercing Tower

We finally enter the tower. Treant cant fit in his normal size, so hes had to shrink down.

It doesnt look like there are any monsters. Thats a relief.

As the towers outer appearance indicated, the space inside is quite vast. Its big enough for treant to move around at full size.

Running up the circumference of the tower is a gigantic staircase. Looking up, it appears to continue on forever.

This must connect to

To our world, Im sure. Im sure theres nowhere else that Gods Voice would want us to go. Our guess wasnt wrong.

Miia says, apparently relieved.

Weve finally found the way out of this Forest. In addition, Ive gained a powerful ally in the form of Miia.

In our previous world, its likely that several [Spirit Servants] have been set loose by Gods Voice. Im not strong enough to deal with them by myself. In addition, I still havent got the slightest clue as to how to properly fight Gods Voice. In that sense, Im truly grateful to have Miia as an ally.

Hey, Miia, I couldnt say this earlier, but your friend, Umukahime, is still alive. She seemed to completely adore you, but she also thought you were dead. Once we return, you should definitely go see her. Of course theres probably a lot well need to do before that though

Im confident this staircase does connect with our previous world. But I have no idea where exactly it might take us out. I dont know what happened with the [Spirit Servants], or everyone who was left behind. The first priority will be gathering information, but at some point, I want Miia to see Umukahime.

Volk would probably also be delighted to meet her. Theyre fellow sword users, so Im sure theyll have a lot to talk about. Volk has even inherited her beloved sword, [Laevateinn of Life-Cutting, so Im hed be interested in meeting her. Im a little curious how he might react.

However, Miia doesnt respond to me.

Miia?

I look at her. She squints her eyes, staring far up the spiral staircase.

I see There doesnt seem to be anything in here. It was just the hecatoncheir. In that case, this is fine. Theres no point returning and being pushed to hurry out of fear of [God of Madness]. Its time to do what Ive been putting off.

Miia says, then puts a hand to the [Blackfly Greatsword] on her back.

Miia? Whats wrong?

She swings her sword, leaping up at me. Unprepared for battle, Im entirely unable to follow her movement. For a moment it looks like she teleported, but this her [Godspeed Flash].

Her blade is aimed at me.

Wh-what are you doing!?

I raise my foreleg to block.

[Afterimage Sword].

Her sword blurs and doubles. One sword slashes at my foreleg, while the other slips through my defence to cut my chest.

I counterattack with my claws, but she blocks with her sword. Aro aims a [Gale] at her in the air.

Get away from dragon-god-sama!

Miia leaps backwards, escaping to the floor to avoid the [Gale]. Apparently judging that she her attack wont land now, Aro lowers her arm.

Hmm, Id hoped to deal a little more damage with a surprise attack, but being outnumbered definitely hurts.

Wh-what wrong!? No way, has [God of Madness] developed now?

Whats wrong, you ask? Interesting. I thought you were pretending not to notice, but it seems you were genuine. Rather than naive, I think youre better described as unthinking, or even stupid. From what youve told me, this generation was much less rife with conflict than mine, so perhaps it cant be helped. It was soft enough for you to survive, after all.

Is she cooperating with Gods Voice? No, thats impossible. She should resent Gods Voice more than anyone.

Suddenly, the dots connect in my head. With my strength alone, I had no chance of breaking through the hecatoncheir. But then, conveniently, I found the possessor of the fifth divine skill.

I had been wondering before if I could find something in this forest that would allow me to escape from the shackles of [Final Evolution]. But with the appearance of the hecatoncheir, origin matter, and Miia, I completely forgot to think about it, focusing only on what was in front of me.

But, Ive already found a way of getting past [Final Evolution]. That is, Miias [Naraka Realm]. If I can get it, my [Final Evolution] will probably disappear.

Why didnt I notice this before? No, I might have been avoiding thinking about it, since it would inevitably lead to fighting Miia.

Y-youre joking, right? Weve worked together to get this far!

Thats because I needed to hurry to get out of here before my [God of Madness] progressed. I couldnt waste combat potential so casually, and I didnt have the time to slowly level up after evolving. I took a gamble by jumping into the origin matter. As I had hoped, someone with four divine skills appeared in front of me, and even helped to defeat the hecatoncheir that stood in my way. Thanks to you, I can fight Gods Voice again.

My mind cant accept Miias words. Jumbled emotions bounce around inside me, and Im unable to think anything.

Just by doing things a little inefficiently, it was easy to get you to trust me. Heh, I hate acting like Saint Lumira, but I see, it really is effective.

In my head, I see her happily eating with Aro and treant after the battle with the xiangliu. All of it was a lie

I look at Miias face. Her eyes are cold and emotionless. Ah, thats right. She often had this look in her eyes.

Dragon-god-sama! We have to fight!

Aro stands in front of me, glaring at Miia.

Could I persuade you to have treant-kun and Aro-kun stay out of this? Either way, they wont be able to do much. Im also grateful to you, Irushikun. Its not like I enjoy thoughtless massacre. Ive just grown a little used to it.

Miia says, extending a hand towards Aro.

Id also rather not deal with all four of the [Spirit Servants] by myself. My aim isnt contradictory to yours. I just want to free the world from Gods Voice. How about it,you two? If you dont interfere, Ill let you live. Even without Irushikun, you still have your aim of confirming the safety of all your friends

Im not confident Ill be able to protect Aro and treant in this fight..

If I die here, Im sure Volk, atlach-nacha, and everyone else will be wiped out. But with Aro and treant searching for them, its possible they could be saved.

I dont like it!

Treant shouts.

Im going to return with master-dono and Aro-dono! Then were going to save everyone! I wont accept anything less!

Aro also frowns deeply, glaring at Miia.

Dragon-god-sama! You dont need to listen to her!

Aro, treant

I really do have good friends. Theyre willing to go this far for me. I have no reason to disregard their feelings.

I see, I had taken a liking to you two, but this is a shame. To think Id have to massacre all of you.

Miia swings her [Blackfly Greatsword] into the floor. The ground splits, and the tower shakes.

To be honest, I still feel unconvinced. Im not confident Ill be able to fight proactively in this battle. Its not just the few days Ive spent with Miia. Its that she has her an incredible about of resolve and conviction towards her objective. Do I really have the right to trample over that?

But thats no good. I have no chance if Im hesitant. This battle doesnt just concern me. The safety of Aro and treant, as well as everyone we left behind depends on this.

Miia, I know your past was brutal. I understand why you dont want to leave defeating Gods Voice to me. But we will be the ones to return!

Its annoying when you speak as though you know what youre talking about, Irushikun.