Black Iron Magician

Chapter 237 The Final Form

The ground continues to shake. No, the source of the tremor is coming. White arms crawl up from the crater to the ground surface. Then, a strange-looking huge body appears, and everyone looks up. Completely different from his previous form, which was large but still had humanoid shape, Hund crawls on the ground with six arms (or legs?) like a beast, and his lower half body has become a very long snake-like tail. His blue skin is covered with white bones that serve the same purpose as Therese’s armor. Huge bones that could be mistaken for a mountain of needles are lined on his back, and they seem to visualize the danger to keep everyone away. It may be a mask, or it may be a helmet, but whatever it is, his face can’t be seen because it’s hidden by the bone.

「T-That’s Hund-san!? Isn’t that completely something else!?」

「S-So cool…!」

Looking at Hund who has completely changed, Therese and Weerel raised a surprised voice.

「He probably used his Unique Skill to transform his entire body. We fought him in that crater while he was changing, but he’s now stronger than how he looks. His whole body is protected by those hard bones, so a half-hearted attack won’t work on him. Please be careful.」

「It feels like the final form of the last boss! His status should have been reduced a lot, but his power is still amazing as he looks. It may be dangerous to receive his attack directly. Therese-san, his speed probably has been dropped instead, so please ward off his attack instead of stopping it.」

「U-Understood desuwa!」

「I will continue to support you…」

The heroes of Adelheit once again confront the transformed Hund. At that time, a crack ran in the mouth part of Hund’s white mask, and it divided into upper and lower parts.

「You are not afraid even after seeing this figure, huh? As expected, you seem to be different from the humans I have fought so far.」

Hund’s voice came out of the crack in the mask. The voice echoes louder than when he was in his previous form, giving the illusion that as if he is speaking directly to the head.

「I have a proposal for you. If I win this battle, how about you come to my army? Your abilities are worthy of admiration. I want you to assist me by all means.」

「Ah, I know that! It’s something like, I’ll give you half of the world, so be my ally, right!? The answer is no!」

As if feeling some kind of déjà vu from Hund’s words, Haruna opened her mouth. She’s also being somewhat excited.

「What are you talking about? There’s no way I can hand over the vast world to just an individual. The ones who give and accept such a proposal should question themselves.」

However, Hund replied seriously. He gave a very proper answer.

「Ah, no… you are right. Please pretend that didn’t happen….」

「Haruna-san, what’s wrong?」

「Well, I misunderstood the intention of the words a little bit….」

Haruna feels a little awkward. She can’t avert her gaze since they are still in battle, and it’s really uncomfortable.

「I don’t know what you misunderstood, but I understand that you don’t have the intention to accept it now. Is it the same with the others?」

「I’m the same as Haruna.」

「Of course desuwa!」

「In the first place… we are not going to lose….」

The four of them clearly rejected Hund’s invitation. Being rejected so, Hund is somehow laughing.

「Hah, I’m relieved. I didn’t expect you to accept this invitation, but I can confirm once again that your loyalty is genuine. Now you don’t feel like it, that’s fine. That’s not a problem. I just need to show my magnanimity as someone who stands above. For starters, I will show you my power here…!」

His six arms (legs) stepped firmly on the ground, and the tip of his long tail lifted into the sky like a scorpion’s stinger. Sure enough, there’s a vicious huge bone spear at the tip of the tail that can only be seen as something to kill living things. As the tip dangled from a great height, it seemed to be greedily aiming at the prey on the ground.

「…… It seems that the longer this goes on, the less chance we have to win. We have to settle it with a short decisive battle.」

「We have to outsmart him and attack him with the biggest firepower the moment he shows an opening!」

「Leave the decoy to me. But, I know that I can’t do it alone. Wee, can you help me?」

「Of course… Let’s crush that spear together…!」

The discussion was settled. And from the sounds of the battles, the two other battles taking place on the cape seem to be about to end. The four seem to agree to decide it in the next attacks.

「Good eyes. Good preparedness. Now, let’s see if they are real!」

「Come!」

Therese set up the Staff Fortress Coalesce on the ground and shouted. Immediately after, Hund’s giant tail of spear swooped down at Therese and is coming straight for her. Therese feels goosebumps all over her body and feels that death has materialized and is approaching her.

A mistake in her defense is absolutely unacceptable. This time, the attack won’t just pierce her right shoulder. It’s something vicious that she can easily imagine that she would become a lump of flesh the next moment it grazed her skin directly. The fear is grabbing her heart, she’s sweating, and her instinct is telling her to run away. However, Therese immediately removed that option. She understands that she must not retreat here to pass the baton of the slight opportunity to Haruna and Chinatsu.

(I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared desuwa…! But, I believe in Wee!)

Therese expanded the shield of Coalesce to the maximum and used all the magic that she could use. She gave nutrients to Coalesce with Ment and hardened it even further with Solid Dirt. She fixed her scaffolding with Shackle Grass and Bean Whip. By using Rock Lance, she created spears of rock on the ground as much as possible to obstruct the trajectory that Hund’s attack would take. She renewed her emerald green armor with Sculpture. She also used many other things. Her magic power, her brain, Theres used everything at this moment.

――――But, it’s still not enough. She won’t escape death.

「I will just… make up for it…!」

Weerel, who is standing behind Therese, chanted Silt Crab and created a large number of shell shields. She’ll be exposed to the danger of death if Therese is defeated. Even so, she is staying together with her. After all, she believes from the bottom of her heart that the two of them can prevent it.

「I’ll pour all of my remaining magic power into this…. Tashitan Tortuga…!」

Weerel created a tortoise shell shield at the end of the countless defensive barriers. It’s the last fortress just before Therese’s Coalesce. After chanting the Water Paint Magic level 100 『Tashitan Tortuga』, Weerel, who has used her everything, collapsed on the place.

「I’ll leave the rest to you….」

「Ohohoho! Leave it to me desuwa! ――Now, come!」