NOVEL NEXT WORLD 270. The Monster Arrives
At long last, the figure lifted a foot. Trees flew from the passing wind of its step. A shadow fell over the forest. Its foot slammed back down, and the earth jumped. Tremors reached where Ike stood, far away at the edge of the trapped zone. Looking at the figure now, with the trapped zone behind him, he felt nothing but embarrassment. They'd worked so hard on trapping an area that could barely fit one of the figure's feet. All the traps would amount to nothing before its bulk, not even a superficial wound on its soles.
His mind worked overtime. He glanced over his shoulder at the castle. Right now, the most important thing was to prevent it from destroying his castle. If that went down, the trial ended, and they all died, whether the figure killed them or not. He wasn't sure what the voice that had whispered in his ear, and his ear alone, was, but that voice didn't seem like part of the trial. If his castle went down, he could only assume the trial's rules would run properly and disqualify him, regardless of the state of the figure. Unfortunately, disqualification wasn't an out, but instead suicide, so that was no option. Before anything else, he had to redirect the figure's advance in a different direction, somewhere it wouldn't put the trial in jeopardy.
Ike eyed the figure. The burning pits that served as its eyes roved the land, taking in Ike and the other combatants, but scudded over the castle as if it couldn't even comprehend of its existence. It didn't care about the castle. It was merely a cataclysm that had chosen to descend near the castle, and it would, by total happenstance, wipe it out in the due process of ravaging the entire world. It didn't care about the castle. Which meant that as long as it didn't know he cared about the castle, it had no reason to target it. It exuded hatred, hatred he could feel directed at him. It wanted to kill him. If it knew it could use the castle as a bargaining chip, then just like a petulant child trying to bully another child, it would target it to upset him—but just like that bullying child, its real target was Ike. If it only perceived of the castle as an object, it had no reason to destroy it.
"Wisp," Ike called.
"What's up?" A small spider landed on his shoulder.
Ike startled. "How long have you been—like that?" Last time I saw her, she was a human being or a large spider. When did she enter tiny mode? Tiny mode was his least favorite form. At least in large form, he always knew where Wisp was. Tiny mode meant she could be anywhere, and there was nothing more terrifying than a tiny spider with incredible power hiding somewhere on his body.
"Wouldn't you like to know. What's up?"
There was no time to continue his protest, as much as he'd like to, so Ike suppressed his shivers and went on. "Tell everyone to vacate the castle. That includes the Old Guard, if they can. If they can't, tell them to descend to the lowest levels and suppress their mana signatures. This thing isn't properly part of the trial. It isn't going to attack the castle unless we give it a reason to. We'll mass to the west," he pointed in the direction where Rufus' castle had been, "and lead it that way. Pretend like we're holding that ground. It should be easily led that way, as long as we all head that way."
"And if it isn't?"
"Then we sprint back," Ike replied with a shrug.
"Easier for you than the rest of 'em. Well, whatever. It's no problem for me either, since I'm a spider." She paused. "Have you ever considered that your entire team is high mobility? Me, a spider, Mag, a bird, and you. How much do you like moving, huh?"
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"I had to pick people who could keep up," Ike returned.
Wisp chuckled, and the tiny weight left his shoulder. "I'll let 'em know. You hold the line, bossman."
Ike nodded. He turned to face the figure again. With the castle taken care of, he only needed to take down the monster.
Yeah. Easy.
The heat was blistering. He walked left, and the figure's head turned to follow him. One step at a time, toward the west. It lifted its foot again, and this time, it stepped toward Rufus' castle. Behind him, the others ran in, all moving to defend the west. Mag flapped around its head, watching it, but wary of launching any attacks between his burning feathers and the figure's ability to swallow spells. Ike glanced at him, then shook his head. He wouldn't move Mag away. Mag might not like it, but he was most useful as a scout. From an aerial position, he'd have a different perspective on any attacks they launched on the figure. He could ask Mag what worked and what didn't.
The only problem was, what kind of attack was he going to launch? He couldn't get close because of the heat. His biggest sword attack bounced off. Any external spells would simply get eaten—though, uh, not a problem for me, since I have almost no external spells.
Ike thought for a moment longer, then shrugged. He'd never know if he didn't try. He activated Storm Clad and flared aether to the armor portion of the skill. Winds whipped his skin, and freezing rain and sleet slashed his body. The heat grew weaker, to a bearable level, and Ike charged in.
As he got closer, the heat grew stronger. The rain boiled, and the sleet melted. The hot water no longer dissipated any of the heat beating against him. Ike circulated more aether into it, pushing the wind to rage faster and the rain to grow colder. That barely leveled the water to the temperature that it didn't hurt for it to strike him, but that was all. He ran in a hot shower, and that was still cooler than the heat around him.
The figure looked down. It watched him come, and it did nothing. In fact, it waited. Let him approach. And it smiled.
Ike snarled in return. I'm so weak you'll let me hit you? I'll make you regret that. It had already taken a sword strike from him, but that was unempowered. It was just the sword strike, without Storm Clad or anything else behind it. This time, he was putting all his power into it. Everything he had, every last scrap. If the figure didn't feel this, then he'd truly have to take a new tack.
It was Rank 4, yes, but he was Rank 3. He refused to believe he couldn't fight it. He'd fought Rank 3s at Rank 2. He would find a way to defeat it. Even if it took everything he had.