Volume 12 Chapter 9 The Poison That Affects Gods
Toxy, who had left Ice and was staying in a nearby abandoned building, was stunned to see Wade being brutally beaten from a distance.
"...What? Wade can't even move?"
Toxy's mouth couldn't form any words other than those of utter shock.
After all, Wade, of all people, was being defeated. And in such a miserable way. Something like this had never happened before...
"No way, it's not the first time. Remember when Sieg did the same to him?"
If they go even further back, Eiosnight, the master of the 100th floor of the dungeon, also beat him up. But in the end, Wade overwhelmed him. Toxy began to calm down.
The amazing thing about Wade is that he can quickly recover from being beaten up and turn the tables on his opponents. Even Ice was wary of that.
In other words, the problem isn't that Wade got beaten up.
The problem is that there's an enemy strong enough to beat him up, and that Wade might become even stronger as a result.
That's a much more serious issue. As someone who's trying to catch up to Wade, wthey...
So, what can Toxy do, what should she do?
"...Take down Sur before Wade does...?"
That's a tough task. Toxy clutched her head.
"No way~~~that's, I mean, it's just too fast! He's moving like Swallow did back then! And he's a giant, too!"
Giant's movements are basically slow.
Typhon is a good example; he's powerful, but from a distance, he looks like he's moving slowly. But the giant right in front of her, he's incredibly fast.
That's right, even from a distance, it's clear that Sur is releasing incredibly sharp sword flashes at an expert level. Her friends who are fighting on the spot must be terrified. Toxy doesn't want to fight.
No way.
"Uuuuuuuuuu...! I'm probably the only one who can move right now...! But I don't think I can win...!"
Toxy covers her head and starts to panic.
Just then, a voice calls out.
"You seem to be in trouble, Toxy-chan."
"Philia!"
Philia, who had parted ways with Toxy just a little while ago, appears and Toxy's face brightens up immediately. Toxy then dashes over and hugs Philia tightly.
"Philia! I'm so glad to see you! Did you see that? Sur's speed is insane! It's ridiculous, right?"
"Yeah, it's seriously ridiculous. We can't win against that even if we fight normally. Hahaha."
Since Philia says it so nonchalantly, Toxy becomes discouraged.
"Eh... so you think we can't win even with the teacher's group?"
"Hmm? Well, it's not like it's impossible, but... We'll just have to find a way to win somehow. But if it were just Mudi and me, it would be tough."
"Really?"
"From what I saw, Mudi and Sur don't get along. That's why Mudi pushed me and went after the other three."
"Mudi's free to do as he pleases..."
"That's because it's Mudi. Anyway, this is the main event."
Philia smiles mischievously.
"We're probably compatible, so let's go take him down together!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
"No way! It's true! People say 'head-on battles are the strongest'."
Philia's smile changes into a sly one.
"Since ancient times, people who rely on tricks are always weak!"
Convinced by Philia, Toxy holds her breath and hides behind a nearby ruin, watching Sur closely.
Surtr is walking around the ruins of the slum, targeting his prey like a bear. His massive body seems even bigger than before.
"...Is he growing? Or was he originally that big and just getting closer to it?"
Toxy was thinking about what kind of attack would be effective against Surt.
First of all, a normal attack wouldn't work on Surt. Even Sandra's lightning-fast attack was dodged by his massive body. Toxy alone couldn't do anything about it.
But it seemed that Philia was going to take care of that.
"Our attack method is special, so I can promise you it'll hit."
The problem was what came next.
Philia's one hit would create an opening in Surtr's defense. Toxy would then take advantage of that, and that was the rough plan for now.
...But Toxy was worried about what kind of attack to use.
"I don't want to use something that'll make him suffer too much, but I also can't hold back...what should I do..."
Toxy grumbled to himself, looking troubled.
The reason was that Toxy had taken power from her own god, Hygieia, and her poison magic had undergone a huge change.
She could do more things now. In fact, she didn't even know what she was capable of yet.
As she was worrying about that, Toxy suddenly felt a sense of discomfort and went "Hmm?"
"This...fog?"
Her vision became cloudy. And then, Toxy realized that Philia had set a trap.
Peeking out from behind the ruins, Toxy saw Philia challenging Surt head-on.
"Well, well, you're looking energetic, Sur-chan. Or should I call you Surtr-chan from now on?"
"This is Philia-sama. Please call me whatever you like. We're friends, after all."
"Kahahaha. That's a nice thing to say. But, don't you think you're standing in our way as our enemy right now?"
"Yes, that's right. Formally, that's how it is. Rollo-sama also said she'd bring about Ragnarok."
"So, can we crush you until you surrender?"
"Of course. Philia-sama, you can do as you please."
The atmosphere between the two became extremely tense, with swords at the ready. Philia stood with a fearless smile, while Surtr took a calm stance, preparing for battle.
Then, Philia said,
"Surtr-chan is weaker than I imagined."
Suddenly, a massive something emerged from the mist, striking Surtr with great force.
"―――――"
Surtr was clearly shaken. Toxy frantically called out "Hydra!" and flew away using the phantom wings.
"W-what was that?"
"Kyahahaha! You didn't see it coming, did you? If you didn't see it, that's fine. But I think it would've been better if you had seen it coming, don't you?"
Once again, something stirred in the mist. But if it was an expected attack, Surtr could react.
A flame-imbued sword flashed, cutting through the massive something. However, Philia didn't let up on her attack. "We're just getting started!" she declared energetically, launching another attack from the mist.
That's when Toxy's counterattack was decided.
From the high-altitude flight, she plummeted down from directly above Surt. Then, Hydra bit into his neck, and Toxy injected the poison.
"Ah!"
"Sorry, Sur!"
Through the wound opened by Hydra's bite, Toxy poured the poison in with all her might.
Probably, simply killing Surt wouldn't mean anything. It's possible that he might revive near Wade and make the situation even worse.
That's why Toxy chose a poison that would cause confusion. It was a toxin that even gods would be puzzled by, with the dissolving effect removed from the Hygieia mist.
The effect was tremendous.
"Ugh, get away! W-what, this is, my head hurts..."
Unlike the mist, the poison was injected directly into his body, so Surtr complained of a headache. Toxy thought about what would happen and quickly retreated from above Surt.
Toxy saw a hallucination of being scolded by her family, that detestable hallucination toxin. The initial reaction would vary greatly from person to person.
However, for now, Surtr would forget about his original target, Toxy and the others. He might become violent depending on the situation, but ultimately, he would be powerless.
Thinking that, she observed Surtr, who stared straight ahead with a dazed expression.
What was in front of her was something even larger than Surt's body, amidst the Slum ruins.
Surtr spoke, looking at it.
"...Father...? And, big brother and sister too..."
Toxy ran along the ground and joined up with Philia, watching Surtr's state. It seemed like he was having a vivid hallucination.
But the hallucination he was seeing wasn't good. This was, even though it was within expectations...
"Philia! Let's escape! Surtr will probably go on a rampage soon―――."
Right after, Surt swung his sword of flames at incredible speed, smashing the ruins to pieces.
Debris and dust scattered everywhere, making a loud rattling noise as the ruins crumbled.
Toxy was taken aback by this. Meanwhile, Philia was thrilled by Surtr's overwhelming power.
"Woah, Surtr-chan is amazing! And Toxy-chan is no match for him! Now that we've neutralized him, let's go recover Wade-chan and the others and――—."
Philia was about to say, but couldn't.
Surtr stabbed his sword of flames into the ground and said,
"Domain Control."
"—――――――."
Toxy and Philia gazed at Surtr in awe. Philia shouted "Attack!" but Surtr dodged it unconsciously.
Then Surtr bent down, put his weight on his sword, and stabbed it deeper, proclaiming,
"'The Fire that Ends the World (Fire of Surtr)'."
Domain Control unfolded, and a massive rain of fire poured down on the entire city.
"—――Protect us!"
Something emerged from the remaining mist, deflecting the rain of fire that was about to hit Toxy and the others.
It fell to the ground, gouging out the earth like a meteorite. In one hit. Philia whistled.
"Whoa! As expected, the giant who ended Ragnarok! Domain Control is pretty crazy too!"
"Yeah, it's crazy. If more of these things keep falling from the sky, it's gonna be bad, really bad..."
The surrounding scenery was being destroyed one by one by massive fireballs resembling meteorites. If Domain Control had been a bit stronger, the entire city would have been easily destroyed.
But, that's how it is. As Domain Control has been activated, they can't go outside until they defeat Surtr. In reality, Toxy and the others have been trapped.
"So, Toxy-chan, what are we gonna do? Your poison has made the situation even worse, you know?"
Philia says with a smile, and Toxy responds with a scowl.
"Yeah, it's definitely gotten worse than I thought. But this poison will eventually neutralize Surtr's powers. We may be trapped, but it's not forever."
"I see..."
"It'll eventually come to an end. Surtr will eventually be mentally crushed by illusions and sink alone."
That's how it was. The words of denial from Toxy's family had almost driven Toxy to suicide.
Toxy knew that because she had investigated the poison's components. This effect was universal, even for gods. There was no one who could help Surtr avoid it.
And so, Philia nodded with a smile.
"Alright, then! Let's decide to do it! We'll retrieve Wade-chan and the others and evacuate to a safer location!"
"Yeah!"
The two of them take off running. To fulfill their next mission.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)