Volume 12 Chapter 20 What's Needed To Get Stronger
As Fenrir suddenly took off in a certain direction, Ice grasped his intention even before Sandra did.
"Everyone! Wade-kun is in danger!"
Sandra, who was waiting a short distance away, rushed to Ice's side along with Toxy, their faces pale.
"Where's Wade?"
"What do we do?! What's going on?!"
As Sandra and Toxy pressed in, Ice answered without hesitation.
"It's the Merchant Guild's headquarters! We've taken Wade-kun there. That's where Fenrir-kun ran off to... so..."
"Got it."
The moment Sandra said that, she took off at incredible speed, without a moment's hesitation.
The cityscape flew by in a blur as Sandra ran. She jumped up onto a building's roof along the way, peeking out to see what Fenrir was up to.
At the same time, Sandra's communication ring vibrated. She heard Ice's voice coming from it.
'Sandra-chan...! How's it going? What about Fenrir-kun...?'
"I'll probably get there first. Fenrir's not going all out. Even if he was, he's still a bit slower than me."
From her vantage point on the roof, Sandra saw that Fenrir still had some leeway in its movements.
It's likely that Fenrir hasn't realized they've caught on to his plan. He's letting his guard down. Sandra wasn't going to let that slip away.
Sandra jumped down from the roof and took off running. If she jumped down, it would be almost impossible for Fenrir to spot her.
All she had to do now was take a route that wouldn't be noticed. She'd take a straight shot to her destination, avoiding any sharp turns――
"――Now, I've got it."
From that report, she could sense a clear feeling of relief coming from the other side of the ring.
No wonder. Wade is currently on the brink of death more than ever before. Since Ice and Toxy are extremely soft on Wade, this situation must be unbearable for them.
Sandra, on the other hand, is moving ahead of Fenrir, visible through the roof gap. If she maintains this speed, Wade can be retrieved, and they can escape without any problems for a while.
Sandra reaches her destination, the Merchant Guild headquarters. Since the communication hasn't been cut off yet, Sandra sends a brief report while releasing her magic.
"Arrived at HQ. Destroyed. Destroyed. Wade is here. Secured. Let's escape."
With a burst of electricity, Sandra destroys the headquarters' wall and charges in. Using her Ajna Chakra, she locates Wade, takes him from the ice soldiers, and starts running again. She also holds Wade tightly, just in case. Good.
However, after making such a big commotion, it's only natural that Fenrir wouldn't miss it.
"Hah! As expected of Sandra-sama! You're incredibly fast!"
Fenrir increases his speed to chase after them. Sandra, in response, utters "Thunder Speed" once more and escapes with a flash of lightning.
―――From here on, it'll be a game of cat and mouse between Sandra and Fenrir for a while.
Sandra predicts this. The reason is that Ice and Toxy are far inferior to Sandra in terms of mobility, but they make up for it with their exceptional intelligence and diverse methods.
The two of them will likely come up with a strategy to take down Fenrir.
However, that will take time, and it's Sandra's top priority to buy that time.
"Wade, are you okay? Are you in pain or anything?"
Sandra held Wade in her arms, whispering softly to him. Wade was deeply asleep, only making faint breathing sounds and didn't respond.
Wade had never been this weak since the incident with Muramasa. Or perhaps, he was even more exhausted than that time.
No wonder. It was ridiculous that even the main god of Norse mythology could withstand a fatal blow.
But he wasn't dying here. That was something Wade could do. And he was doing it magnificently. Sandra nodded and focused her energy on her legs.
"Everyone's doing their best. So, I'll do my best too."
Sandra increased her speed, using the remaining electricity to propel herself forward.
"Alright, Sandra-sama! Let's chase after you! I was just thinking I wanted to run at full speed!"
Just then, Fenrir appeared from behind, chasing after them. Sandra glanced back, checking on Fenrir.
Fenrir was running after Sandra, using his large body to jump and bound through the buildings.
―――It's fast. Faster than she had expected. No, it's gotten even faster, Sandra realized.
What she had seen as mere provocation until now was actually Fenrir's growing strength.
Growth. That one word summed it up, and it was happening at an incredible speed.
Just like Wade, Fenrir's growth rate was overwhelming. And with that, Fenrir's abilities and results were increasing.
The faster he ran, the more accurate his sense of smell became. That was what was happening to Fenrir.
"...This is bad, I'm in trouble..."
Sandra muttered to herself, not stopping her legs as she continued to run, carrying Wade with her. She kept increasing her speed, trying to escape with Wade in her arms.
"Wait, please! Sandra-sama!"
Fenrir accelerated again, going "Whoosh" as he increased his speed. Sandra was biting her lip, dashing across the rooftop with incredible speed.
"...I can't go any faster."
She was going at top speed, the literal limit of Sandra's abilities. Yet, she thought, she still had to keep running.
"Ah!"
Sandra gritted her teeth, her face twisted in a tough expression as she continued to flee from Fenrir.
"Hahaha! Sandra-sama, are you getting tired? You're slowing down bit by bit!"
"I'm not slowing down...! It's just that your speed is getting faster...!"
Sandra retorted, and Fenrir chuckled, "Is that so?" as he further increased his speed.
"This body is really amazing! It's truly, truly strong! Not like that weak Demon body at all! If I'm strong, I won't have to suffer from powerlessness!"
Strength. Sandra felt a sense of discomfort at Fenrir's notion of "strength".
"What's so good about being strong...? Is there anything good about being strong...?"
"There is, isn't there? At least now, I'm able to catch up to you, Sandra-sama, because I've become stronger!"
"What's good about chasing a good friend to the point of injury and exhaustion...?"
Sandra said, firing an electric attack behind her.
However, even with Zeus inside her, Sandra's attack was meaningless to Fenrir. It didn't even faze him, and Sandra gritted her teeth, continuing to run.
But Sandra's words had made Fenrir think about something.
"――――Then, what's good about being weak? Is there anything good about being weak? There's not a single advantage, is there?"
Fenrir's enormous front paw was about to swipe Sandra away, taking out the entire city with her. She barely dodged it by jumping high, landing on the rubble, and then took off running again.
Now, Sandra was caught in Fenrir's attack range. She glanced at Wade in her arms. If she took just one hit, Sandra might survive, but Wade would surely die.
"You're weak, and that's all you'll ever be! You'll just keep getting taken advantage of! Sandra-sama, we've seen those demons in the slums get taken down, haven't we?"
"I didn't say I'm weak. What I'm saying is..."
"Shut up! Gleipnir!"
"Huh?"
Without any warning, Gleipnir appeared in an instant and grabbed Sandra's leg.
But Sandra had the Swadhisthana Chakra. The infant Chakra within her womb protected her from all attacks.
However...
Fenrir had already experienced a battle with yogi through Don fen's memories.
"Ah, I see. Conceptual defense, huh? Then, let's do this..."
―――Gleipnir. Break Sandra-sama's conceptual defense and capture her.
"What...?!"
In an instant, Gleipnir extended and destroyed the two Chakras within Sandra with an unavoidable movement.
The Swadhisthana Chakra, the infant Chakra, was bound and restricted, and the Anahata Chakra, the second heart, was torn apart by the pressure of the thread.
From there, Gleipnir extended further and bound Sandra's leg.
Gnng, she was pulled back. She tried to struggle lightly, but soon realized it was impossible to break free as a human.
Then, there was only one option.
"Spark."
Sandra released electricity onto her own foot and severed the grabbed foot.
"Ah, you guys always get caught by Gleipnir, don't you!"
"Guh..."
Sandra barely dodged Fenrir's front paw attack, but it was not easy to recover her lost foot.
As a result, Sandra failed to land properly on one foot and fell. She bounced off the ground with incredible speed.
But even so, Sandra hugged Wade tightly, protecting him while getting injured.
"Haa...haa...! O, ow, it hurts..."
While gasping for breath, Sandra checked on Wade's condition. He was unharmed. She felt relieved that she had protected him.
However, when she checked on herself next, she saw that her foot was gone. The bleeding was severe, and she had multiple small injuries all over her body from the fall.
But Fenrir didn't care about her desperation.
"Finally caught you, Sandra-sama. Now, I can kill you and master together."
Fenrir approached slowly, confident in his victory.
Sandra gazed at Fenrir's figure, and suddenly, she remembered.
"...I get it. Fenrir is similar to my past self."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"――――."
Sandra didn't let Fenrir's momentary opening slip away.
She started running on one foot. Even if it was difficult, she could still escape if she used her Thunder Speed.
"You're saying I'm clever, huh?!"
Fenrir instantly accelerated and jumped at her. With her current speed, she was already at a significant disadvantage.
But Sandra doesn't think she's out of options. She took a sharp turn to the side, confusing Fenrir and dodging his attack.
"You're not giving up, Sandra-sama!"
Fenrir was momentarily thrown off by his own speed, but quickly corrected his trajectory and chased after her. Although Sandra managed to create some distance, Fenrir soon closed in.
Sandra thought desperately as she ran, trying to come up with a way to escape.
"I used to think the same way. If I was strong, I could solve anything. That's why I thought the weak were useless. Toxy, Ice, Clay, they were all just holding Wade back."
This was what Sandra thought when she first joined Wade's party. She thought that if she could just pull Wade out and form a 2-person party with someone strong, it would be fine.
"But it's different now. Being strong isn't everything."
"What do you mean? Sandra-sama, your words are just smoke and mirrors to me!"
Gleipnir! As Fenrir shouted, Sandra's arm was caught. Spark. Sandra cut off her captured arm.
With one arm and one leg, Sandra managed to carry Wade and make a break for it. As she ran, she taunted Fenrir.
"The meaning is, the meaning. Strength isn't the meaning, it's just a tool... a tool that you can obtain later. What's truly important is..."
Sandra finished her secret preparation and accelerated with one leg. "Huh?" Fenrir was suddenly left in the dust, confused.
There, Sandra turned around and unleashed a bolt of lightning with her grasped thunder, releasing Zeus's wrath.
"―――Willpower. A madness-level willpower."
Zeus' lightning bolts pierced through Fenrir's face.
"Aaaaahhh!!"
Fenrir let out a sorrowful cry, accelerating his speed as he fell to the ground. While destroying the buildings of Bazaar, his massive body rolled around.
Sandra stood victorious over him.
"Finally, it's working! Adjusting Zeus' speed while running was quite a hassle."
What Sandra did wasn't complicated at all.
When she brought Zeus down on her entire body, her consciousness was dyed by Zeus' power. That's why she couldn't think clearly and just moved on instinct, so she focused on limiting the areas affected to her arms and legs.
Luckily, she was able to strike Fenrir's weak point, equivalent to the nasal septum, with Ceraunor' lightning bolts.
"What's... going on... right now... what's happening?"
The effect was tremendous. The fallen Fenrir was in a state of confusion and numbness, unable to stand up properly. Even when he tried to put strength into his legs, he slipped on the rubble and fell again.
"Fenrir, strength is something that comes later. You were like that too, weren't you? What's necessary is willpower. That's what's important. Understand, Fenrir?"
Sandra gently laid Wade down on the rubble, chanting "'Indra'" to restore her chakra. As her hands and feet slowly regained strength, she took a deep breath and prepared for battle.
"All battles are clashes of willpower. It's not about comparing strength. The outcome is always decided by the total amount of willpower. That's why I don't think I'll lose to you, Fenrir."
"W-why...! I...!"
Fenrir tried to stand up on unsteady legs. Sandra declared aloud:
"I'm fighting to protect the most important person in this world (Wade). That's why I won't lose."
Sandra stared straight at Fenrir. Fenrir gritted his teeth and let out a loud roar.
"――I'll get Rollo too!"
"You're not doing this to protect someone, are you, Fenrir?"
It was Toxy who had hit Fenrir's weak spot.
Toxy suddenly appeared from Fenrir's mouth, as if coming out of a house entrance. Fenrir was taken aback, but quickly regained composure and tried to crush Toxy.
It looked like Toxy was bitten to pieces.
But Toxy emerged from Fenrir's mouth without a scratch. Toxy quickly spread her Hydra illusion, glided through the air with its wings, and flew down to Sandra.
"Hey, Sandra! Good job! Thanks for distracting Fenrir with your words too. I'm a bit battered, but..."
"You're welcome, Toxy. I'm fine."
Sandra and Toxy shared a light high-five, congratulating each other.
"What? Wh, Toxy-sama...? Wh, when did..."
"Haha, you two are really quick! But that's why you got careless, Fenrir."
A small bird perched on Toxy's shoulder, chirping with a "Chichit" sound. A cold, icy bird. A bird created by Ice's magic.
The bird was holding an ice-made hourglass in its beak, a time-keeping device made of ice.
"I snuck in with Ice-chan's Domain Control! Thanks to that, I could poison you as much as I wanted."
"...Haha, so that's what you mean. You're saying the poison you gave me earlier wasn't that serious, right? Now that I've grown stronger, it's not going to work, is it...?"
Fenrir suddenly felt a sense of discomfort, realizing his own tongue had become clumsy.
And he lowered his gaze, holding his breath.
His internal organs. As Fenrir spoke, his internal organs started to melt, and they poured out of Fenrir's mouth.
"Na, a, bo, bu..."
"The paralysis toxin I used earlier was adjusted to my liking, Fenrir. Since demons revive when they're killed, I made sure it wouldn't kill you. But you're stronger than I thought, huh?"
Toxy flashed a faint, shadowy smile and said.
"I'll just add a bit more, and make it a real toxin. If you die, it'll be a hassle, and I won't be able to go all out."
"...!? Gu, be, ga, ah, eh...!"
Fenrir, whose internal organs were melting and spilling out of their mouth, couldn't hold a decent conversation anymore.
Just being able to stand was a testament to their incredible vitality. Any further movement was impossible.
"Huh? What's going on? Explain why the toxin, as a toxin, doesn't affect me at all? Fine, I'll tell you."
Toxy grinned confidently, fabricating Fenrir's words. Then, she grabbed Sandra's hand and thrust it into her own body.
Sandra's arm sank into Toxy's body, which was now a liquid. Toxy's body was liquefying.
"I, you see, acquired the power of Hygieia, so I can turn my body into a liquid. That's why physical attacks don't work on me at all!"
With that, Toxy let out a faint laugh.
"Fenrir's Domain Control relies on physical contact, right? So, it was useless!"
Fenrir glared at Toxy with a fierce stare.
Sandra was also quite surprised when she received the explanation. She also obtained the Anahata Chakra, but Toxy has become even stronger.
It's likely that if Toxy hadn't gained this ability, the Fenrir battle would have been even more difficult. Thinking about it, she can only feel gratitude.
"Toxy's growth has been a huge help. I also got a bit stronger in that critical moment."
"You're amazing too, Sandra! You took down Fenrir in one hit! Ah, stop, Sandra. Please stop manipulating my internal organs with your incredible power! It's okay to move them around, but your control is just right, and my organs are going 'tap-tap'..."
"Sorry."
Sandra apologized to Toxy, who looked quite serious and was about to collapse.
"Anyway,."
Sandra started again.
"We were, just a year ago, not even worthy of being under Fenrir's feet. We were probably losers who would even lose to Renril, a demon, not Fenrir."
Sandra spoke to Fenrir. The gigantic wolf, the devourer of gods, was staring back at them with unyielding eyes, his massive paws trembling.
"But we grew stronger. We had to grow stronger. Wade was always one step ahead of us. We were desperate not to be left behind."
Sandra readied Ceraunos. The godly weapon, shaped like an arrow, began to charge with intense lightning.
"But the truth is, it wasn't just to keep up with Wade. Because Wade is kind. If we stayed behind, he would definitely come back for us. He would prioritize us over their own pride."
Sandra likes Wade, who is so kind. But even more than that―――She liked the Wade who gets excited and goes all out, full speed ahead.
"We wanted to protect the excited Wade. His shining figure was dazzling. We didn't want to lose that sparkle for our sake, no matter what."
The lightning accumulating in Ceraunos reaches its peak. Sandra takes a deep breath, shifts her weight forward, and swings Kelanos.
"What's important is willpower. The willpower that drives one to madness."
The god Zeus's lightning pierces Fenrir, the god-eater.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"
Fenrir screams, spitting blood and entrails. It's truly like the cry of a demon king.
"Strength comes second. Remember that, Fenrir."
The poison of god-slaying. The god's lightning. Having received them, Fenrir finally falls.
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