Volume 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)
The powerful enemy that could not have possibly been made by the [Viscosity] Demon Lord stood in Kuina's platoon's way.
The enemy in question was a gargoyle.
A gargoyle was a magical creature with big wings and a tough body made out of some mineral. Unlike the golems though, they possessed a good amount of intelligence.
And due to their ability to fly, they could move in any direction in 3d space.
Strong, durable, and mobile—they were flawlessly excellent in all of these points.
To top it off, this particular enemy's body was made of orihalcum which meant an even more spectacular hardness and resistance to magic. Such was the enemy that challenged Kuina and the others.
It flew in the sky and descended upon them. In retaliation, Kuina fired off her shotgun but its shell was simply deflected.
It then did a mindless charge at her but thanks to her natural agility, she narrowly evaded.
”Is this guy something like the golems you've made, Rorono-chan?”
”No, it's completely not. This thing's really alive.”
”But there's no way [Viscosity] could have made this monster… just what kind of…”
Mid-sentence, the Adamantite Gargoyles in the sky—the followers of the Orihalcum Gargoyle—gave her chase.
These Adamantite Gargoyles were easy to defeat in single combat but facing them all at once while also fending off the Orihalcum Gargoyle was decidedly going to be taxing.
Rorono provided some covering shots but against such tough opponents, the firepower of her assault rifle proved insufficient.
Furthermore, upon seeing the opportunity, [Viscosity] Demon Lord's original subordinates, the slimes and fishmen, surged against Kuina and her platoon. In response, the units in the mixed corps and the High Elves intercepted.
As the commanding officer, Kuina assessed the situation. Things weren't going so well for them to the point that unless they immediately did something about the Orihalcum Gargoyle, their annihilation would be imminent.
”That guy flew again… what's he up to?”
The Orihalcum Gargoyle in the sky spread its arms and Kuina sensed it gathering a huge amount of magic power. It was enough magic power to make even Kuina feel fear.
The positive note about this turn of events was that Kuina was able to accurately gauge how strong her opponent was: an A rank monster that could grow and had therefore been raised to the utmost of its limits.
Finally, an opponent she could fight with all her current might, she thought.
Pleased as she was, she could not let it fire off that magic it was readying. Thus, she created a small, localized explosion in the ground that propelled her upward.
At that, the Orihalcum Gargoyle was startled. Despite not having any sort of dominion over the sky like she had over fire, she moved in a speed that was inconceivable.
When she neared it enough, she activated the full-automatic mode of her shotgun and fired off consecutive shots of overwhelming firepower.
”GYA!!”
Even it could not endure the onslaught of the highly destructive shells fired off in very short intervals. It was blown away and lost control of the spell it was readying.
However, it seemed that with just sheer willpower alone, the enemy was able to activate it anyway. The spell summoned a meteorite and it was supposed to fall on Kuina and the others but instead only hit the ground, leaving behind a very deep crater.
Kuina was relieved to know that nobody got caught in it for even she would not be able to come out of being hit unscathed. That relief however was only for a moment since the Adamantite Gargoyles rushed toward her once more. Being unable to properly maneuver mid-air and being out of shells due to the full-auto firing she just did, she was forced to rely on her flame but the gargoyles simply went past it and assailed her with their claws and fists.
Wounded all over, she smashed into the ground. Blood spilled from her mouth and yet Kuina still smiled.
”Rorono-chan, that guy's no joke; we have to take him seriously. I'll focus on him so you focus on the Adamantite Gargoyles.”
Kuina had decided it was time to use her trump card—her [Transform]. By changing into her future, grown-upped self, she was able to make use of 100% of her hidden potential.
It was powerful but so were its drawbacks. Once she had used [Transform], she would be unable to fight for a few hours afterwards. Be that as it may though, she could not afford to hesitate using it against her current enemy for if she did, they would be killed.
”[Transform]!”
Kuina's body was wrapped in golden flames. Once the flames were gone, her golden hair was glossier and longer while her charming tail was fluffier. Her body had grown into one full of feminine charm. This strong and lovely Kuina was her future form.
”Now then, time for round two.”
Against her formidable foe, Kuina stepped forward. However, Rorono interrupted her advance.
”Kuina, let's change roles. I'll do something about that Orihalcum Gargoyle so please be the one to take care of the other gargoyles.”
”But won't that guy be too much for you?”
”I'll be using my trump card; I want to test it out. Besides, you've had plenty of fun with that guy already; it's my turn next.”
Kuina looked at Rorono and saw confidence in her eyes along with some hint of excitement.
”…Alright but our first priority is to break the crystal. Once I've finished with those guys and you still haven't defeated the Orihalcum Gargoyle, I'll unapologetically snatch it away from you.”
”Fair enough. I'll be finished with it in a moment, anyway.”
Rorono then unpacked the bag she was carrying on her back and within it were a countless number of silver metal parts.
”I'll show you the power I've got when Father had given me a name. …[Suit Up]”
Overcome with great emotions, she referred to Procell as Father, a thing she said she would only do on special occasions. That was her way of showing her resolve.
Rorono shouted powerfully. The countless metallic parts then floated in the air and came toward her. A lot of the parts assembled itself swiftly and became a garb sorts that wore itself unto her. The lightweight garb—emitting a metallic and mysterious polish—suited the silver-haired Rorono very well.
”[Mechanical Warmaiden]. There is no way the culmination of my techniques will lose against a stone fiend such as you.”
She then stepped forward and thrusted into the empty sky as though she was a bullet.
◇
When she received her name and thus became a [Monster of the Covenant], a new power had awoken within Rorono. And that power was the materialization of magic power into a material that contained one magic spell that could then be used.
As a production skill, it was beyond extraordinary. However, its only real advantage to her was it allowed her to easily use magic that she could use to begin with. Of course, it was a different topic altogether if someone other than her were to use the material but as far as her fighting strength was concerned, it didn't really contributed much.
She was well aware that she was more of a craftsman than a fighter but that didn't mean she had to stop on trying to become stronger than anyone else, especially now that she had [Materialization]—the union of her own special ability and [Creation] Demon Lord Procell Unique Skill.
Determined against such adversities, she had developed a multipurpose integrated tactical unit: the [Mechanical Warmaiden].
If the materials produced by [Materialization] contained only a single magic spell, then she just had to assemble those materials as parts of a single, cohesive unit.
Regardless of how much processing capabilities Kuina and Rorono had, it was still impossible for them to have overwhelming combat and supportive capabilities by activating multiple, varying magic spells all at once. That was until…
”Dance, [Mechanical Warmaiden]!”
First, the magnetic field generating unit installed on Rorono's ankle produced magnetic fields. By walking through the produced fields, her movement was greatly accelerated.
Additionally, a gravity-controlling unit allowed her to change which way was down or up for herself. Using these two units in conjunction thus made it possible for her to move in high speed in whichever direction she wanted to in the sky.
The Orihalcum Gargoyle was understandably surprised. It felt the danger and flapped its wings to create some distance between them. It flew at its top speed while following a zigzag pattern. It was convinced that she couldn't have kept up and thus turned around, only to find the silver-haired girl calmly giving chase. Or rather, closing the distance between them.
”You're slow; you won't get away from me like that.”
The Orihalcum Gargoyle was once again greatly surprised; a wingless, non-flying enemy was quickly catching up to him. Needless to say, that injured its pride.