Chapter 174
Chapter 174
The entirety of Midgard was suffering from extreme weather.
The skies of Midgard were covered by the large frames of the ouroboroses and dark clouds. It was as if the Sun and the Moon had been eaten by them.
The great earth was torn apart, the seas withered away and the mountains crumbled into ruin.
Thunder roared continuously without rest and a blizzard blew throughout the world regardless of the season as if it was trying to bury all of Midgard.
It was what one would call doomsday. It was the world’s dusk, caused by an all-out war between God and monsters, that would extinguish all lifeforms in this world.
The day the world would come to an end had arrived.
“Ohh… it’s the Fimbulwinter. It’s the end of the world!”[2]
People were rushing in to pray at churches which were now within the Ark.
However, there was no meaning to their prayers. After all, that very deity was their enemy.
The priests were shouting as if they were having a panic attack, and the inside of the Ark was shrouded in a dark and gloomy atmosphere.
Similarly, at this moment, Sei was also within the Ark, holding onto his head.
He was currently at the core of the Ark, in the main control room.
There, many hobbits were working restlessly. Cameras, made through modern scientific achievements, were displaying various places within the Ark on screens.
Furthermore, Sei, along with other heroic figures and kings and queens of the various kingdoms, was standing at a seemingly important spot which was surrounded by many cameras, as if there was about to be a live broadcast.
– What exactly was she hoping that I’d do?
Ruphas had told him that she hoped he would persuade and ease the worries of the people.
“… No, that’s impossible. As if hearing words from someone like me would put people at ease in this kind of situation.”
“What a miserable brat you are. Why does Mafahl think well of someone like you anyways?”
“That’s what I want to know…”
In the face of Sei, who was being fainthearted, Benetnash showered him with scathing words. She then looked at the hobbits in the surroundings.
When she did, they switched on something, as if they understood what she wanted. This action caused giant screens to appear in the skies – It’s quite strange to say that there was a sky within the ship, but the ship was something which could accommodate the whole planet, so it was essentially no different from an artificial planet. Thus, the expression of the sky will purposefully be used – of every city within the Ark. Benetnash was displayed on all of those screens.[3]
After Benetnash made sure that it was working properly, she took hold of the microphone and spoke into it.
“You hear me, right? Listen, people of Midgard. I’m Mjolnir’s ruler, Benetnash. I don’t have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point. The whole of Midgard from the ground up has been peeled off and evacuated into this Ark. Right now, on Midgard, there are ouroboroses active. The end of the world has started already.”
After hearing what came out from Benetnash’s mouth, people became rowdy.
It was not something that they could readily believe.
After all, for them, they only felt that there had been some strong winds which had swept by them for a very brief moment, yet by the time it was over, they were still met with a familiar city with no noticeable changes.
Yes, the inside of the Ark was… At the very least, for ordinary people, their towns were still in the same form and shape as before, when the land itself had been taken into the Ark.
Ruphas, with her extraordinary precision while using the skill, had managed to relocate people to their respective habitats with very minimal disturbances.
Nevertheless, they understood that something had happened.
Furthermore, they understood that that “something” was beyond the realm of their imagination. It was something that was both very remarkable and unusual.
“But, there’s nothing that you guys have to do. Just shut up and continue to live as you have been. That’s all.”
Benetnash concluded her announcement by saying that.
In a way, she had put in a lot of effort.
But unfortunately, Benetnash was someone who was innately strong from birth. She could not understand the hearts of the weak.
Although she had gotten to experience a little of what it felt to be in the position of the weak after having gained a rival known as Ruphas, her very existence and every one of her actions was a perfect representation of what it meant to be a strong individual.
If there was an enemy, all she had to do was defeat it. If there was a difficulty, all she had to do was smash through and overcome it. She would never even consider the thought of kneeling down, trembling in fear and curling into oneself in the first place.
For her, it was simply impossible to understand and empathise with the fear and anxiety that the people were feeling.
“That’s not going to help, is it!? As if you’ll be able to put anyone at ease with that!”
“Huh? What do you mean? It’s enough, isn’t it?”
“It’s not enough at all! There are clearly better ways to phrase it!”
“… Then you do it. I’m going first.”
Looking bothered, Benetnash responded as such before flying out of the Ark.
Watching her leaving figure, Megrez laughed bitterly.
No wonder Ruphas left Sei here. Indeed, to calm down the hearts of the weak, one needs to be able to understand and empathise with their feelings. Truly, he’s perfect for this role.
In any event, with Benetnash’s words, the people from Mjolnir have calmed down. So it’s our turn next.
Megrez adjusted what was displayed on the screens in the air so that he and the other Seven Heroes were being displayed.
He believed this would be the most effective first move. In particular, the figures of Alioth and Dubhe, who were supposed to have been dead, should give courage to their respective kingdoms.
“Yo, idiots of Laevateinn. Does anyone know my face, mm? I’m more or less the founder of the kingdom, Alioth.”
“I’m Draupnir’s founder, Dubhe, bear. Well, I say kingdom, but technically the beastkin just gathered together and somehow turned into a kingdom by the time I noticed, and I somehow became their emperor, but yeah…”
“Is this the time to be saying that!?”
“I’m Phecda. Although… my kingdom’s already long perished… but anyways, it seems that my people are the ones who made this Ark, so I suppose there’s no need for me to calm anyone down.”
“It’s Merak. My citizens, please calm down and listen to what we have to say.”
Once the Seven Heroes had eased the citizens of their respective kingdoms, everyone turned to look towards Sei.
Although this is irrelevant information, Mizar did not end up saying anything in particular.
This was because his citizens within Blutgang were savouring this situation and burning with eagerness. In fact, they had remained within Blutgang with the intention of participating in the upcoming final battle.
Dwarves were very bold.
“Right now, Midgard is being assaulted by terrifying monsters… by the ouroboroses. To combat this unprecedented situation, we’ve formed an alliance with that Ruphas Mafahl and the Demon King. Let me introduce you now to the one who managed to make this alliance possible… the one from another world who answered our summons and appeared in this world… the Hero, Sei.”
“!?!?”
In response to Megrez casually introducing him in such an amazing way, Sei’s eyes almost rolled back.
Hey, wait a minute. Did I just hear myself being described as something appalling?[4]
I feel like I just got turned into the primary mastermind, or rather, the leader of the alliance between the Seven Heroes, Ruphas, the demi-humans and the demon race without my input.
Sei looked at Megrez as if to admonish him, but Megrez simply smiled back warmly.
Additionally, it seemed that the words Megrez had casually made up were very effective.
After hearing the statement that the symbols of fear, such as Ruphas and the Demon King, had become their allies, the people’s hearts were filled with hope. As the one who had achieved that great feat, the name of the Hero was etched into their minds.
The more a person was pushed into a corner, the more they would want to cling to hope and worship an idol.
The news of the emergence of the hero and the announcement of the establishment of an alliance turned into their hope and ran through their minds like a jolt of electricity.
“The Hero… Hero, Sei!”
“Ohh! It’s the Hero!”
“Hero-sama! Hero-sama!”
Subsequently, a few people in each kingdom and city started raising their voices.
They were the rangers who had previously travelled together with Sei and his group, but they had been left behind after Sei and the rest had met with Ruphas and received Tanaka and Suzuki as modes of transportation.
Because they were earnest in their work, they scattered across various cities like cherry blossoms with the intention of hyping up the hero in each of their respective locations.
The call for the hero resounded throughout various cities and kingdoms and the expectations for that hero throughout the Ark brimmed.
On the other hand, after having become the person in question, Sei could no longer do anything but laugh it off.
“… U, umm, so… h, hi everyone. I’m Sei, and I’m more or less the Hero right now.”
Sei took hold of the microphone with a stiff expression and started with an introduction.
It was clear that his misfortune would continue for a while.
*
The ouroboros of the earth roared then proceeded to drop the hammer of justice on the fools who had the audacity to challenge a deity.
However, its movement abruptly halted as it caught sight and looked down at the small people who were standing below it.
There stood Leon, who was at the foremost, followed by Aries, Taurus, Virgo, Parthenos, Aquarius and Ganymedes… Additionally, there were also Phoenix, Hydrus and the Three Winged Knights, who came to support this battle.
Those who had giant forms had already transformed into them and were fully enhanced and prepared to engage in battle.
Taurus, for example, had turned his upper body into that of a bull whilst his lower body remained as that of a human. Overall, his appearance had changed into that of a Minotaur, and he was holding onto an axe.
Leon and the others had similarly turned into giant forms corresponding to their titles and towered into the sky.
But this time alone, they were the smaller challengers.
「Small ones… You are impertinent enough to challenge me?」
The Earth Ouroboros scoffed at them.
Even though all it did was open its mouth to speak, the atmosphere trembled and a storm brewed.
Ouroboroses were personifications of something transcendent. Irrespective of how insignificant its individual actions were, each and every thing that it did would lead to a catastrophe.
When they spoke, a storm would brew. When they breathed, a cyclone would pass.
When they moved, an earthquake would be triggered and a tidal wave would rise.
If the ones here had not been Leon and the others, they would not have even been able to remain standing.
「You shall have the honour of being squished in an instant…」
The Earth Ouroboros’s eyes shone and then the space around them distorted.
At the same time, Parthenos shouted.
“It’s coming! Block it, Virgo!”
“Y, yes! Vindemiatrix!”
「– Gravity Amplification x 10000. 」
The compressed mana acted as a supergravity attack which dispersed with the Earth Ouroboros as the centre.
The very next moment, the earth caved in as if it had suddenly disappeared, changing the very shape of the planet.
Fortunately, thanks to the mana erasure skill that Virgo had cast at the very last second, the ground that they were standing on managed to remain in place. It was as if the place they were standing on had been turned into a cliff.
“T, the ground disappeared!?”
“No, it didn’t disappear. It was crushed.”
Aquarius calmly gave an explanation for the confused Aries, who did not understand what had just happened.
Nevertheless, her facial expression was quite grim.
They had anticipated it… but even then, after personally witnessing the difference in dimensions between themselves and the ouroboros, they could not help but feel uneasy.
The attack which had taken place was most likely far from its full power. In all likelihood, it would equate to nothing more than a light sweep for them.
But even something of that degree had this much power… Indeed, they were the representatives of the deity. There was a clear difference in scale.
「Humph, although its power was scattered, to think that it would be prevented… Then I suppose next time, I’ll amplify it by a hundred thousand times.」
The Earth Ouroboros opened its mouth and gathered gravitational force within its mouth.
It formed it into a cannonball with an extremely high gravitational force that it could crush even a planet with its pull. It was attempting to fire something like that at any moment.
In the face of the ominous rumbling sound ringing from it, everyone scattered from the spot without being told to do so.
As Parthenos and Virgo were riding on Aries, they were carried away without having to dodge it for themselves.
「Tera Graviton. 」[5]
The ball of compressed gravity was released, and it progressed towards Leon and the rest whilst it ate away at the planet.
Knowing that they would not be able to get away scot-free if they were hit directly by it, everyone dodged away from it before switching into the offensive.
The one to lead the offence was Leon.
The king of lions kicked the air then shot towards the Earth Ouroboros whilst baring its fangs.
「… Repulsion Force.」[6]
“!?”
However, the moment Leon attempted to get close to it, he was repelled by something as if he was being pushed away by someone.
The repulsive force, which prevented anyone from getting close to it, was something that not even Leon could readily overcome.
“Move. I’ll shatter it.”
However, irrespective of whether it was gravity force or repulsive force, as long as it was some form of skill or magic, it was irrelevant to Taurus.
After being buffed by Virgo and increasing his speed to the limit, he came before Leon and readied himself.
He then swung his giant war axe. The next moment, there was a sound of something shattering and the repulsive force disappeared.
Not wasting the opportunity, Aries, Aquarius, Phoenix and Hydrus all attacked at the same time.
“Mesarthim Version 3!”
“Absolute Zero!”
“Oceanus!”[7]
“Prometheus!”[8]
Four different torrents of power directly hit the Earth Ouroboros, causing an explosion to occur.
Although the Earth Ouroboros initially received those attacks in a disinterested manner, as a result of a few of its proud scales being burnt, it narrowed its eyes.
An ouroboros’s scales were not something which would crack or burn from ordinary attacks.
Even in practice, Prometheus, Oceanus and Absolute Zero had only managed to destroy one of its scales. However, Mesarthim alone had managed to burn away a few of its scales.
「… I see, it looks like there’s one who might potentially become a threat. I guess I’ll squish that first.」
The Earth Ouroboros opened its mouth towards Aries and, without a moment of delay, fired a roar imbued with gravity.
Although Virgo promptly used Vindemiatrix and attempted to prevent the attack, the amount of mana imbued into the attack was leagues apart from what she was expecting.
Nevertheless, she was able to erase most of the mana within the attack. In fact, she was able to erase about 90% of the effect.
However, as the original effect for the attack increased the gravitational force by a hundred thousand times, even when 90% of the effect was negated, the effect still increased the gravitational force by ten thousand times.
Aries used his body as a wall to shield Virgo and Parthenos from the attack at the last moment. As a result, he was directly showered by the attack.
If it’s something like this, I’ll be able to bear with it… As Aries was thinking something along along those lines, the Earth Ouroboros opened its mouth once more.
– A second strike!? It’s too quick!
The act of covering for Virgo had come back to bite him.
With the position that they were in, the gravity amplification effect would arrive before Virgo would be able to get in front of Aries and erase the mana.
The Earth Ouroboros was planning to crush the three of them using extreme gravity.
But Leon boldly leapt in between them.
“Ya bastard! Quit ignoring me!”
「I’m not.」
“…!”
At the same time as Leon leapt between them, the Earth Ouroboros faced towards Leon.
Faced with such a quick change in aim, Leon’s eyes opened wide in surprise and the world as seen by those eyes distorted.
Immediately after, he was hit.
A gravitational force which could crush even planets directly exploded into Leon’s body and he was flung up into the air.
Each individual attack was limited to 99 999 damage. As a consequence, it was impossible to defeat Leon with just a single move… or at least, that was how it should have been.
However, it just so happened that whilst the attack was in effect, the damage continuously stacked up.
Even though it was just a single attack, as long as the target did not manage to break free from the gravitational force, damage would be dealt continuously, such that even with Leon’s HP, it could be shaved all the way down to 0 in a short period of time.
“Tsk… you piece of shit!”
Leon somehow managed to struggle out of the area of effect where the gravity was amplified. However, he collapsed down onto the ground below.
Although there was no one present with the skill Observing Eye, if there had been someone, they would see that Leon only had 50 000 HP remaining after that single attack and had entered into a range where he was susceptible to an instant death.
Nevertheless, the severity of the damage that Leon had just suffered was clearly visible to everyone.
Confronted with such a scenario, silence hung in the air among everyone, and only the Earth Ouroboros’s voice loudly resounded.
「You probably had some confidence in your abilities. Did you also think that you would be able to win if you came at me with numbers? How laughable. Did you really think that we, as the representatives of the Goddess, would be that weak? I suggest that you cease underestimating the ouroboroses!」
Met with heavy words, nobody was able to respond.
Virgo, in particular, was not even able to stop trembling in fear.
A fear brought forth by an absolute being known as an ouroboros.
Such an emotion was slowly creeping in on that place.
__
(Author note)
The Earth Ouroboros used Earthquake! It was super effective!
Midgard’s HP: 900 000 / 999 999
Midgard: “（；゜Д゜）Please stoppppp!!”
– The most terrified one was actually Midgard.
(Author note end)
TLN: (1) Sei coming strong with his straight man retorts this chapter. (2) Does this author have something against Leo? He’s like a punching bag so far. I’m not a big fan of the author saying x character/skill is the strongest, but writing them to be useless every time… (E.g. Leon, Brachium)
__
[1] “https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Earthquake_(move)”.
[2] Fimbulwinter (aka Fimbulvetr; Fimbulvinter) is the immediate prelude to the events of Ragnarok, meaning the “great winter”. “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fimbulwinter”.
[3] Why do you write like this!?
[4] No you didn’t read it wrong. Yes, it’s negative. It’s Sei being Sei.
[5] テラ・グラビトン.
“Tera (テラ) is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting multiplication by 10^12 or 1,000,000,000,000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tera- …despite the ouroboros saying 100,000 times (十万倍). Such a barefaced liar…or the author just doesn’t know what “tera” means… Even if you multiply 100,000 by the initial 10,000, there are still 3 zeros short… That’s what happens when the author randomly makes up large numbers in the past few chapters. Now it isn’t even consistent.” – Footnote courtesy of Vecna.
[6] リパルジョン・フォース
[7] Oceanus (オーケアノス) is the titan of the oceans in Greek mythology. “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanus”.
[8] Prometheus (プロメーテウス) is the titan who created humans and stole fire for them in Greek mythology.
“https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus”.