MTLNOVEL Chapter 54
Chapter 54. Aurora Strike
Mysterious monsters with unknown abilities.
For now, I need to figure out their capabilities.
“You’re up first.”
A half-mechanical monster.
At first, I thought it had psychokinetic abilities, but the way it produced a longsword suggests otherwise.
However, it’s not a creation-based ability either. That much is obvious, given the steel beams and longswords still floating around it.
I sprint toward the creature, using the rubble as a foothold.
“Take this!”
From my left, a drunken demon charges with a fist, screaming.
Can’t even pull off a proper ambush, huh?
I deflect the fist with the back of my left hand, twisting my body to aim a straight punch at its abdomen with my right.
“Urgh!”
Oh, come on.
This thing just absorbed my attack with its abs.
“Then how about another one—”
“I won’t let you!”
I tilt my neck to the left, narrowly avoiding a dagger swung at me from behind.
A strand of my hair gets sliced and flutters in the air.
…Annoying.
Letting my guard down even slightly could mean losing track of the haze.
“Get lost!”
The drunken demon’s kick comes with a roar, and I deliberately take the blow.
By channeling the force into the ground, the physical damage to me is minimal.
Still, the remaining impact sends me flying through the air, illustrating the demon’s immense strength.
As I’m hurled through the air, I twist my body to survey the surroundings.
Injured Igai and Iwaya have retreated to the facility for treatment.
The target I’m protecting clings to Igai, sobbing uncontrollably.
It’d be nice if they’d hurry inside the facility already…
Meanwhile, three pursuing monsters chase me, while a robed figure remains motionless.
(Not moving at all is unsettling. The only thing it did was utter the number “zero”…)
As I assess the situation, the three monsters finally catch up.
I twist my body to narrowly evade three steel beams thrown at me.
The drunken demon and the haze anticipate my landing, readying fists and a dagger.
As I touch down, a destructive punch and a gleaming silver slash come my way.
“[Absolute Zone].”
I eliminate all unnecessary distractions, focusing my five senses on the one-meter radius around me.
“What?!”
“Hmm?!”
Without turning, I reach back with my right hand to stop the demon’s punch and concentrate my fighting spirit on the part of my body that intercepts the haze’s blade.
As I try to counterattack, I sense something strange below me.
Iron sand gathers beneath my feet, forming the face of a dragon.
(It can do this too?)
Half-impressed, I watch the dragon’s face as it rushes toward me.
Just as its massive jaws close in to swallow me, I release the fighting spirit I’d been storing all at once.
“[Star Fall].”
The ultra-dense fighting spirit shatters the dragon’s face in an instant, and the resulting shockwave engulfs nearby buildings, reducing them to rubble.
“I thought I could take out at least one of them.”
Dust fills the air, but I can still sense four monsters alive and well.
As expected of S-rank threats.
Even the two behind me managed to dodge at that distance.
“What’s that?”
A faint streak of lightning flashes through the dust.
“Tch!”
I blow the dust away with a punch to regain visibility.
“Target locked.”
There stands the mechanical monster, its left arm fused with a menacing weapon.
The weapon resembles a gun, with lightning arcing between two rails.
It seems ready, as the barrel points at me, entering the firing stage.
“[Railgun].”
With a thunderous roar that shakes the air, a radiant light is unleashed.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
Even I can’t help but feel alarmed.
The railgun—a weapon I’ve heard of.
It launches projectiles using Lorentz force, achieving speeds of over 7,000 kilometers per hour.
For reference, Mach 1 is roughly 1,200 kilometers per hour. Comparing the two shows how absurd the railgun’s speed is.
(So fast!)
It’s not entirely untrackable, but at this speed, even the projectile appears distorted.
I tilt my body slightly to dodge—
“Fifty.”
The robed figure whispers, and the projectile alters its trajectory slightly, aiming back at me.
“?!”
No time for words.
Forcing my muscles into motion, I bend my upper body further.
By a hair’s breadth—just skin deep—I avoid the projectile.
It barrels forward, piercing through houses and buildings, breaking through the barrier enclosing the area, and creating a massive hole.
Finally, it strikes a distant mountain, obliterating its summit.
The sheer heat leaves molten trails in its wake, melting everything like ice cream.
“…”
I’m speechless.
(What is this, Ramiel?!)
The overwhelming power and range bring to mind a certain blue angel from an anime.
Looking back at the mechanical monster, its left arm glows red-hot, emitting smoke from the recoil.
It seems it can’t fire consecutively.
If it could, this would end without a doubt.
Summoning the sun god Ra might counter it, but I can’t use that here with so many non-enemies around.
Still, it’s clear now.
The mechanical one’s ability is [Magnetic Manipulation].
By controlling magnetic and electromagnetic forces, it can create swords, dragons from iron sand, and even fire railguns.
Troublesome… very troublesome. But I’m more wary of another monster.
The path of the sword I threw changed.
The railgun’s trajectory also altered mid-flight.
At first, I thought it was a trajectory manipulation ability.
But the whispered numbers, my unusually poor performance, and their ability to dodge attacks despite my enhanced state all suggest something else.
Covering my face with my hand, I hide my fatigue.
Its ability is likely…
“…[Probability Manipulation].”
From beneath the robe, a crescent-shaped grin emerges, chilling and eerie.