Book Eater

Ku kwa kwa kwang!

A roar didn’t resound in a space where sound didn’t exist, but a powerful shock wave burst out from Theo. This was the pinnacle of a 9th Circle magician! His plasma body was empowered by accelerating spells as it gained in power and speed. Its destructive power could make a crater out of a mountain. Even an ancient dragon wouldn’t survive this easily.

Kuk! This is ridiculous!

The moment that he clashed with Wrath’s silver outer wall, Theo realized the absurdity of his attack. His instincts told him that it was impossible to break through the outer wall with just the impact of his accelerated plasma body. Indeed, his intuition was correct.

Kukukung...!

He created a crater that spanned forty meters, throwing debris in Wrath’s wake and slowing it to 9.8 kilometers per second. That was all that Theo’s attack did. But a monster of several kilometers in diameter, a forty meter crater was nothing more than an insect bite.

“No, not yet!”

However, Theo didn’t feel despair.

“I already knew you were this kind of a monster!”

Theo had heard it several times. Wrath was the final weapon of the Seven Sins and was an apocalypse no one could prevent or avoid. The only way to survive was to leave the planet.

“―I will smash you!”

But Theo had come here in order to overturn the hopeless future.

Synergy-Harmonize.

Magic power of the four elements rose up around Theo’s body. Abraxas, the most powerful attack spell he could use, formed and pushed at Wrath’s outer wall. The pressure of the wall reduced but didn’t disappear. Even Abraxas’ strength couldn’t stop it completely. Theo quickly completed the fusion magic and reached out with a hand. 𝐛𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Great magic Abraxas (ΑΒΡΑΞΑΣ). Divine Artefact Heavenly Sword.

He fused it with the Heavenly Sword, recreating the attack that had split apart Cheonju Castle.

Fusion Complete: Unprecedented God-Sword.

It was a force that was two or three times stronger than before.

――――――――――!!

If it had been possible to make noise, the unpleasant grinding would’ve spread out over a few hundred meters. As soon as the Unprecedented God-Sword met the outer wall, there was an unpleasant vibration. That might have been due to Wrath’s defense feature activating or just a characteristic of the metal that made up the outer wall.

I don’t know! Don’t look at unnecessary situations.

Theo focused on the god-sword, trying to push it thirty meters deep. If what Gluttony had told him was true, Wrath would respond to this attack immediately. So, Theo had to gain as much of an advantage as possible before Wrath pulled out the countermeasures. It wasn’t as exciting as cutting Cheonju Castle, but the god-sword continued to move forward.

The god-sword pierced through thirty meters and then several meters per second after that. Theo didn’t know what this felt like to Wrath, but he knew it wouldn’t be pleasant!

[Detecting the attack of a divine weapon. Analyzing the properties of compressed magic power and the collapse of the four elements. The elements can’t be defended against. Suggesting the destruction of the divine weapon that is the medium. Repair.]

The logic circuit built into Wrath responded promptly.

[Generating a Killer Bot, fixing the force pattern of the core to ‘deicide.’ Command to move until the object is disarmed.]

This was the first time Wrath was encountering Theo’s magic, but it had plenty of experience dealing with gods. After detecting divinity in the attack, Wrath summoned its best weapon, the god’s nemesis, Killer Bot. It was an autonomous maneuver-type weapon made by consuming a large portion of Wrath. It had deployed Killer Bots in the past to confront the gods and heroes who opposed Wrath.

[Deploying thirteen Sword Breakers.]

Theo sensed them rising through Wrath’s shell, but he was confused when he saw the monsters coming out of the hard outer wall. They seemed like humans, but had sickle-like blades instead of hands. It almost resembled those of a praying mantis. The pale inanimate body was just one of the reasons for his confusion.

- Killer Bot! You must’ve made Wrath angry if it’s already bringing this out.

“What is it?”

- Be vigilant. I don’t know which design Wrath used, but thirteen of them can tear apart a grandmaster.

As Gluttony spoke, they moved.

Syuok!

The lack of air resistance made their movements ultra fast. The Killer Bots moved at supersonic speed as they swiped at Theo. Theo’s eyes widened as he sensed a gossamer-like web forming around him. A chill ran down Theo’s neck as he sensed his imminent death.

「 Time Acceleration! 」

If he focused on destroying the outer wall, he would be torn apart. Theo read the future and accelerated his time thirty times over, escaping before he was completely surrounded and defeated. An acceleration of more than twenty times was unreasonable for him, but it was the only way to escape. One Killer Bot was as fast as Randolph.

The blades for hands are also irritating.

He couldn’t feel magic power nor aura, but he still had a bad feeling. The discomfort caused by his foresight told him to avoid the net. Theo had escaped the net, but the Killer Bots moved again. They didn’t move mechanically, but used a footwork that had its origins in martial arts.

Theo’s brows furrowed. “They know how to use techniques? If I brought Gladio... No, then another one would’ve popped out. What annoying pieces of tin.”

There was no answer. No, their voices weren’t even heard. Theo summoned the air stored in the vicinity of his mouth and breathed like he was on the ground. That’s how he was talking to himself. It was a type of self-suggestion to overcome the anxiety and fear filling him.

Kakiing.

Theo held Soul Caliber with his left hand and the Heavenly Sword with his right hand as he faced the Killer Bots.

“Hey, aren’t you coming?”

Regardless of whether they heard him, the Killer Bots understood the provocation.

Syuok!

The Killer Bots shot toward him.

Ha, I’m sorry but I am already accustomed to this speed.

The same trick wouldn’t work twice on a magician. Supersonic speed? An attack beyond his reaction speed? He didn’t need to react to the attack; he just needed to counter his enemy’s speed. A ten meter magic circle appeared beneath Theo’s feet.

Six Killer Bots stepped forward while seven held positions around him. Were they trying to figure out Theo’s intentions by putting in half the number first?

「 Time, 」

Theo said solemnly as he raised his blades,

「 Return. 」

Simultaneously, the bodies of the six Killer Bots that ran into the magic circle shattered. Theo laughed at the terrible performance that didn’t include a regenerative power.

“I cut it three seconds ago. How does it feel to be a tiger moth?”

The technique of interfering with the time axis wasn’t meaningful to a transcendental existence. The biggest problem with time magic, resistance, was essentially invalidated. However, it was possible to use a technique like Time Acceleration which affected his body or in a space other than the enemy. The trick that Theo used was to cut the air in advance.

[Detecting the use of time magic. Time Restore, which calls a few seconds to remove the six Killer Bots. Raising the enemy’s risk level by two stages. Give the ability to detect magic to the remaining seven Killer Bots. Create thirteen identical objects.]

Nevertheless, Wrath just increased the number of Killer Bots. The eyeballs on the flat faces of the Killer Bots started to glow crimson. It was a vision spell to detect time and space magic.

This was an evil eye that was more obvious than Orta’s.

“... That really turns things around.”

This was more difficult than fighting the heavenly demon. Theo stopped thinking when he saw thirteen more Killer Bots emerge behind the already existing ones. He needed to buy time before Wrath reached the material world. He needed to clean up these tin cans as soon as possible.

Hidden technique.

Theo crossed his two swords. “Boundary of Heaven and Earth.”

Lights radiated from the ends of the swords. The power of the technique wiped out five Killer Bots without a trace, and the remaining fifteen Killer Bots ran through the gap. On the asteroid that was flying at 9.8 kilometers per second, the second match between a magician and the slaughtering machines began.

***

Kaaang!

There was a sound as sword and sword collided. Theo kicked the bisected Killer Bot away as he pulled back his right hand. A strange impact was accumulating on the right hand which held the Heavenly Sword. Was it a coincidence? Theo thought about it as he stabbed Soul Caliber into the head of a Killer Bot that was trying to flank him.

Jjeok.

The Killer Bot didn’t stop moving despite its head being split into two. After all, it didn’t have a brain. The persistence of the machines even after being cut into several pieces reminded him of the material world’s trolls. However, once Theo used Hellfire, they didn’t move anymore.

This is the 93rd one... They are easier to destroy than I thought, but if this continues, I won’t be able to block Wrath. What can I do?

The Killer Bots were moderately threatening. He could somehow hold on when they came twenty at a time. The problem was blocking Wrath. Wrath had slowed down for a bit, but it had now recovered to a speed of ten kilometers per second. The crater on the surface caused by the plasma and Heavenly Sword were completely restored.

“... Dammit.”

Whenever he tried to think, a few Killer Bots would interrupt him. Was it their role to hold onto Theo’s ankles? Theo stared at the glowing red light and raised his sword.

「 Time Acceleration! 」

He made a swift cut. Time seemed to have stopped in the black and white world. In fact, his senses had accelerated so much that his optic nerves couldn’t distinguish color. Theo drove the Heavenly Sword into the chest of the Killer Bot. Soul Caliber was a pretty good offensive tool but it didn’t have the sheer cutting power of Heavenly Sword. The Heavenly Sword killed the machines in succession and searched for its next sacrifice.

Kang!

Then the sharp blade broke.

“... Eh?”

The divine artifact was damaged. Theo stopped at the unexpected situation, and two Killer Bots dove toward him. Their blades curved like those of a praying mantis. The barrier Theo had created reflexively was cut apart, and his red blood dripped down. It might’ve been a fatal wound if he hadn’t been using Time Acceleration.

[Confirming the destruction of the divine weapon. Continuing the battle by converting the Killer Bots into human form.]

The form of the Killer Bots changed. The two arms increased to six, taking the form of hands rather than blades. The Killer Bots resembled the asura of Eastern Buddhist mythology, and they emitted a tremendous force.

“Hah,” Theo laughed bitterly.

The Heavenly Sword had broken. One excellent means of attack had disappeared.

The impact that was accumulating before... It meant the Heavenly Sword was being damaged. It happened every time the blade collided with these guys.

He hadn’t known it but the Killer Bots made by Wrath had the power to destroy a god. When they collided, the god would lose strength, and if the exposure was constant, they would lose full strength. Wrath had destroyed a number of gods so far and was a natural enemy of the gods. It wasn’t something a sword which contained the power of a god could endure.

“But I still have half the blade.”

Theo watched the slow approach of the remaining Killer Bots and held the broken blade. It was a bit more difficult than before. Now that they had achieved their purpose of destroying the Heavenly Sword, it meant they would concentrate on killing him.

“Not yet, you tin cans!”

Theo continued using the half remaining Heavenly Sword, instead of using magic to fill the gap. The legends said that this god-sword had been obtained from a demonic beast. Originally named Ame no Murakuma no Tsurugi, it was obtained from the body of a serpent with eight heads. If so, it was possible to invoke the demonic beast using this sword.

「 Aura, the snake that made eight valleys with its head and tail. 」

The pattern on his right hand started to glow again. As long as he had the power to control this material world, his summoning spells needed no sacrifices. All he needed was an intermediary for the summoning.

“Show yourself! Yamata no Orochi!”

The Heavenly Sword in Theo’s hand turned into a handful of dust. A gap was torn in the dimension, and a monster descended.

■■■■■■■■■■■■―――!!?

The eight-headed dragon, which spanned more than half the width of Wrath, let out a terrifying roar.