In his right hand, Ur clenched the Dragon Fang Spear, while his left arm supported the fallen Shizuku. His body screamed in agony.
It hurts, It hurts, it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!!!!!!
Every inch of him hurt.
But the pain in his head and the right arm gripping the Dragon Fang Spear was especially intense. Even the slightest movement triggered lightning bolts of pain. He felt on the verge of tears. In fact, Ur’s face was a mess of blood, tears, and nosebleed, beyond his ability to wipe clean.
“…Ka…guh…” -Ur
Breathing was a struggle. Every time his lungs expanded, some part of his body screamed in protest. He couldn’t stay still. He felt an urge to roll on the ground and wail like a baby, a thought that flickered in the corner of his mind.
But he did not succumb.
Ur’s thoughts were dominated by something entirely different.
“…Ah, it pisses me off…” -Ur
It was rage.
Ur was angry. Furious. Boiling over. Enough that the crystal beast before him, whose every attack had been reflected with Shizuku’s magic, subsequently causing it to unleash its ultimate attack like a petulant child, seemed to even enter his field of view. Ur was filled with rage.
“Why…why must I…go through this…” -Ur
He forcibly pulled his body, embedded in the wall, free, gently laid Shizuku on the ground, grasped the Dragon Fang Spear in his left hand, and growled.
Why did it come to this? He could think of many reasons.
Firstly, the crystal beast in front of him was to blame. If it hadn’t rampaged around, things wouldn’t have come to this. The other adventurers, too. If they hadn’t interfered, they might have taken the risk of a lower evaluation and safely defeated the crystal golem. And then there was that fucking stupid adventurer(lol) who put his adorable Akane up as collateral for a loan, that damn father of his, the root of all this mess. He swore to kill that father of his a hundred times over, and even that wouldn’t be enough.
Ah, everything, just everything! But what made him the most furious of all was…
“Why the hell did I choose this path, you fucking dumbass!” -Ur
…himself, for stepping into this hell, this abyss.
『OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 』
“Shut up!!!” -Ur
Not losing out to the golem, Ur shouted and glared at it. His fear of death was drowned out by his anger.
“You’re too damn bright, you son of a bitch!!” -Ur
And then he lunged toward the glowing magic core, swinging the Dragon Fang Spear,
『GIAAAAA!!! 』
“Huh?” -Ur
The spear missed, cutting through empty air.
The reason was simple. The crystal beast had jumped backward, towards the opposite side of the large room. It had slammed its crumbling left arm into the ground and leaped back using the recoil. As a result, it lost its remaining arm, but it still twisted its head towards Ur and Shizuku, maintaining its luminous gaze.
『GU, GAGAGAGAGA』
It was laughing. A twisted laugh separate from the humming of the magic core. It was laughing at Ur and Shizuku, who were battered and bruised, mocking them with the knowledge that the spear would no longer reach. It was the derisive laughter of a maddened beast.
“—It switched to long-range attacks when it sensed danger. Clever, huh.” -Ur
Unfazed by the beast’s mockery, Ur leaked a voice of admiration.
“「Activate magic core」.” -Ur
He twisted the hilt of the Dragon Fang Spear.
The magic core embedded within the spear, just like the golem, began to pulsate. To use the Dragon Fang Spear, one needed to open the jaw and activate the core. Ur did the opposite, activating the core without opening the jaw. Naturally, if one were to do that, the massive energy inside would have nowhere to go, with the heat continuing to accumulate inside, eventually exploding.
That’s why,
“I’ll do the same.” -Ur
Ur “threw” the Dragon Fang Spear.
『AGA!!!!!?! 』
The spear, thrown with all the strength Ur had honed in the dungeon, plunged straight into the open mouth of the crystal beast and impaled the magic core. The sound of something breaking and a mad humming echoed throughout the large room. The beast’s light, about to be released, scattered, searing the ceiling and the floor.
And then, belatedly, the core of the Dragon Fang Spear that had been lodged reached its limit. The pent-up energy had nowhere to go and exploded.
『GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!? 』
“Nice.” -Ur
Satisfied with the result he had produced, Ur said so and leaped away. The Dragon Fang Spear he had been wielding was no longer in his hand, but in its place, there was already another spear.
“【Ice Thorn】” -Shizuku
A spear of ice, a last piece of magic that Shizuku had conjured just before losing consciousness. Holding it, Ur ran. The crystal beast was writhing in agony from the damage to its core, wriggling on the ground. The explosion of the Dragon Fang Spear had blown away half of the beast’s head, leaving the magic core completely exposed.
“Just die already.” -Ur
Leaping, Ur thrust the spear filled with all his might straight into the heart of the crystal beast.
『————』
Immediately after, the energy from the crystal beast’s magic core that had not yet been fully released shattered with a shock, and the crystal beast exploded.
◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆
All those who had watched the fierce battle between the crystal beast and Ur were left breathless.
Storms, thunderous noises, light, explosions…
『————』
The once-raging crystal beast was suddenly still.
The roars stopped, and the whirlpool of light ceased. As if in stunned silence, the immobilized crystal beast slowly fell to the ground according to the laws of gravity. The body that had shown such hardness crumbled, shattered, and collapsed upon impact.
“Oh, ohhhh…”
“H-Hey, he did it!!”
Adventurers who had been watching from a distance raised their voices in a mix of cheer and astonishment. Beside them, Codar, who had been managing the execution of the subjugation festival, quickly gave instructions to healing magic users and adventurers performing rescue operations, and directed them to remove the remains of the crystal beast. Among them were Nana and others.
In the midst of the bustling voices and people, the sound of the remains of the crystal beast being stepped upon echoed.
“————”
Everyone present held their breath.
Atop the remains of the crystal beast stood Ur, the victor. With Shizuku in his arms, he stood there, battered and bruised. His helmet was gone, and his armor had been mostly destroyed. The shield he had been equipped with was shattered, and the Dragon Fang Spear he held previously was no more than debris. Blood flowed from his head, dirtying his face.
Dragging his battle-torn body, Ur continued to walk. And upon finally reaching Glen, who had remained a bystander from start to finish, he stood before him and said,
“We, won.” -Ur
“Sure have. Well done.” -Glen
To Glen’s praise, the first he had received, Ur laughed weakly. Then, to all the adventurers gathered there, or rather to the world itself, Ur made a declaration.
“It’s our, win.” -Ur
With that, Ur pitched forward, collapsing to the ground.
Edit 9/20/23: Found this fanart of Ur and Shizuku (post-battle I assume)
Original Artist: https://twitter.com/MzNo32
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