Book Eater

The roar was heard even in outer space, where sound didn’t echo! Orochi’s roar wasn’t just loud. It also contained a physical pressure. The eight Killer Bots that got caught in the roar shattered, while the rest had their limbs twisted in a gruesome manner. In the past, the old gods of Japan needed to work together to beat it. However, this power exceeded Theo’s expectations.

Okay, I can reverse the situation.

Theo grinned fiercely. He thought he could use it as a distraction if it was only a hydra, but Orochi’s strength surpassed that of a dragon. The Killer Bots harassing it were flattened like wheat before a scythe. Even if Wrath produced more, it was meaningless in the presence of Orochi. One of its scales was wider than a small mansion. It was like there was a storm swirling around Orochi’s huge body as the bodies of the Killer Bots were torn into many pieces and thrown out into the universe.

■■■■―?! ■■■■■――!!?

Orochi was confused about being summoned before Wrath in outer space, but Theo didn’t explain why. No, he never had any intention of holding the reins from the beginning.

I would’ve tried if the Heavenly Sword was still intact… but now I can’t afford to deal with Orochi. I will leave it alone to do its work!

The Killer Bots were nothing but toys that Wrath controlled. The worst development was not being able to stop the material world from being destroyed by Wrath. Theo took deep breaths as he rested for a few seconds, concentrating all the magic power of his nine Circles.

“Gluttony, number 17.”

- Yes.

A hole appeared in the palm of his left hand, and an artifact emerged from Gluttony’s mouth. It was a dagger made of a mysterious metal, with a bright crystal on the hilt. This was the favorite tool of the alchemist, Paracelsus, the Azoth Sword. The Azoth Sword was a legendary tool which omitted all alchemy processes.

「 Substance conversion. 」

The blade which accepted magic shimmered with light. This was the artifact Theo had used to fight Paracelsus’s creature, Mercurius, a few years ago. The spell had consumed the Philosopher's Stone set in the hilt and turned any substance the dagger touched into another substance. It wasn’t a difficult spell for Theo, but the Azoth Sword was being applied to ultimate magic.

「 Ars Magna. 」

At this chant, the blade shone.

「 Become water, Wrath! 」 ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏｖｅ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

As soon as the stone embedded in the hilt of the Azoth Sword shone with a golden radiance, the blade fired a beam of. This was the light of the ultimate magic, matter conversion.

Wiiiiing!

Surprisingly, the light worked on Wrath. The wall, which had seemed like an ultimate obstacle, shook and started to boil as it transformed into water! The vacuum of outer space reduced the boiling point to the point where it instantly turned into gas. The surface of the outer wall evaporated quickly, leaving behind hundred meter holes that were gradually growing deeper. The residual damage left behind by Theo’s plasma body attack and the Heavenly Sword had weakened Wrath’s outer shell.

■■■■■■■■――!!

As the ground around it turned into a puddle, Orochi glared at Theo. It didn’t know what this situation was, but it knew Theo had called it here.

- Die.

There was no desire to communicate. Instead, Orochi’s eight heads started to belch a poison that melted everything, with no distinction between inanimate objects and living things. This was closer to a corrosive breath than poison. It dissolved cell walls, destroyed the molecular structure, and eroded the surface of the target.

“Ick!”

However, despite its lethal force, the poisonous smoke was too slow. Theo maintained his plasma body and retreated out of the range of the poisonous smoke without difficulty. His nerves were accelerated, causing one second to feel like one minute. It gave him enough time to look at the water and the poisonous smoke.

Isn’t it much worse than I thought?

Wrath’s outer wall and the space in this area were completely contaminated. Moreover, it wasn’t a material poison but a conceptual poison. Theo couldn’t completely resist it in his plasma body. The poison couldn’t be burned with force or blown away with wind. The only way to get rid of it would be to use purification or a greater destructive power.

“... But why should I?”

However, Theo had no intention of getting rid of this poison. Orochi’s poison, which could threaten a god, was melting even Wrath’s outer walls. Wrath would quickly come up with a countermeasure but Theo would let the poison cause as much damage as possible in the meantime. Theo decided on his next move and shot away.

Pajijik!

He was a lightning bolt of an unidentified color, leaving an afterimage behind him. Orochi’s poison roiled toward him, but it couldn’t keep up with the lightning. The outer wall of Wrath was abused as the two transcendent beings played tag. The substance conversion ray caused large holes in Wrath’s outer wall while the poison melted its surface.

[Reconfirming the damage situation. There is an urgent need for exclusion of the object.]

Finally, Wrath came out to counterattack.

[ (Damage 1) 312 meters worth of damage to outer wall due to Ray of Material Conversion. Minimize the interference of the light ray by changing the surface wall to glass. Recover the material lost using the other exterior walls. Emergency restoration.]

[(Damage 2) Persistent damage observed on the outer wall due to the toxic attack of Yamato no Orochi, a serpent dragon type. Remove contaminated areas. Urgent need to isolate the object. The entity is a demonic beast from this material world. Requires a physical attack. Repair.]

The logic circuits found an answer in a few seconds.

[Super Vibration Smash]

At this moment, Theo realized that a reaper’s scythe was descending on him. He predicted the future 0.03 seconds ahead and executed an emergency move.

「Dimensional Leave! 」

Theo’s body turned from plasma into a spiritual body.

Wouuuuuuong!

The silver sphere, three kilometers in diameter, started to vibrate at an incredible frequency! It exceeded the limits of what could be measured. It was a super vibration, a vortex of power that crushed all objects it touched. The remnants of the Killer Bots left on the surface of the outer wall were atomized, along with anything in Wrath’s resonance range.

Theo and Orochi were no exception.

“Uwaaah!”

The impact of the few seconds it took to change from a plasma body to a spirit body tore at him. After taking a few bottles of potions, the blood rising in his throat disappeared. However, the damage done to Theo wasn’t the problem.

■■■■■■―!

Orochi was the greatest victim of Wrath’s counterattack.

■■■!? ■■■■■!!!

It was useless no matter how much poison it poured out. Wrath’s outer wall no longer melted. Even if it did attack the vibrating wall, it would only receive a shock in return. The body of Yamato no Orochi exploded, as flesh and scales fell away like rain. The more durable bones and skeletal muscles held out a bit longer.

Peeeeeong!

However, every head exploded, causing a red blood mist to spread everywhere. A demonic beast from myths was destroyed with one counterattack.

Crazy...! Orochi couldn’t even last ten seconds?

If Theo hadn’t become a spirit body, he would’ve died too. Plasma wasn’t immune to physical attacks and it was even more vulnerable to attacks that cut off the flow of electrons. Additionally, Wrath followed up with a second vibration attack.

[It has been confirmed that object name ‘Yamato no Orochi’ has been destroyed. Survival of object 1, escape to the Astral Plane. Searching for effective means to attack a spirit body―complete. Performing the wide-range Soul Stake.]

The ability to move between spirit and reality was fairly rare, but it wasn’t difficult for Wrath who had destroyed many worlds. If a physical attack didn’t work, Wrath would have to use other means. There were a number of attacks which allowed both physical and spiritual interference.

“What―” Theo felt an eerie sense of foreboding.

He ran through the air just as sharp awls emerged under his feet. Like the Killer Bots that emerged from the surface of Wrath, this was a surprise attack that couldn’t be read.

Kkikikikik!

An unpleasant metallic sound pierced Theo’s eardrums.

No, it can’t be metal!

It wasn’t a vibration of air. The noise resonated in the Astral World. The soul stakes clashed with each other, and the wavelengths tore at Theo’s body. They were very difficult to endure, even if they weren’t direct strikes. Moreover, even more soul stakes kept appearing.

Kikikikik―!

The silver spikes were bigger than lances, and they sprang up to skewer him. Theo could foresee them and did his best to evade, but he couldn’t completely avoid a thousand awls springing up from the ground. Blood flowed from his shoulders, thighs, and sides.

“Ugh!”

It was blood, but it was white, not red. This was proof that Theo’s soul was taking damage. If this damage kept accumulating, his magic ability might suffer.

If I can’t avoid, then I can only attack!

Theo’s translucent body shone brighter as he created two blades in both hands. Soul Caliber, the technique passed down by Reynolds Spencer, became much stronger when he was a spirit body. If it could interfere with a spirit body, then a spirit body could also affect the object.

Kiiing――

There was a sharp sound as several soul stakes broke. More than a hundred soul stakes aimed for him, but Theo avoided half of them while breaking the rest. It was a perfect defense. The soul stakes specialized in spiritual attacks and were less durable than the Killer Bots, making them easier to destroy. However…

[Identifying a unique astral weapon.]

Wrath’s database even responded to this.

[Refining a part of the spirit body, raising the durability of the soul stakes to an appropriate level. Searching for defensive means to damage the astral weapon. Complete. Departed Soul Summoning. Release of a spirit corresponding to the target object and homogeneous species.]

Wrath’s response wasn’t a Killer Bot or a silver stake. Instead, red swords started to emerge from Wrath’s surface. They were unlike Theo’s green swords. The dark red swords that resembled clotted blood increased endlessly in number. They were evil spirits with human forms. Each spirit was on the level of Hipatia. Ten… one hundred and thirty.. Four hundred and eighty… Theo stopped counting once the evil spirits numbered more than a thousand.

“Only doing things I hate. Isn’t this a nasty personality?”

He didn’t know. Theo could exercise physical force as ghosts and undead were vulnerable to holy swords. However, Soul Caliber embodied the soul of a user. If it clashed with the sword of the evil spirit, Soul Caliber would absorb their wicked desires. It wasn’t a big deal if he was facing a demon like Reynolds had done. The real problem was if Theo continued maintaining his spirit body.

If a sword is stabbed into mud over and over again, it will eventually dull and rust.

Wrath’s move was an excellent counter to Soul Caliber.

Should I withdraw? If I use other means―

Theo stepped back and organized his thoughts. He still had a lot of tricks left. The conversion had damaged Wrath quite heavily. If Theo didn’t give it a chance to recover, the damage would accumulate. It was at this moment that…

Kuoooooh—!!

Suddenly, the whole area was covered with bright flames, and Theo’s field of view became a scene of white. He hadn’t received any impact or injuries, but he had to turn his eyes away from this shocking fact.

Flames? The surface is burning in space? No, don’t tell me―?!

The meteorite was burning wildly as it encountered friction from the atmosphere. As the meteorite, which had enormous energy, collided with the air resistance of the planet’s atmosphere, it started to combust.

As he looked at the planet they were approaching, Theo shouted, “Gluttony! Time remaining!”

-?Eleven seconds until the entry of Wrath. Hurry, User.

Gluttony said, with irritation rising in its blasé tone.

Theo couldn’t do anything. As he stared at the evil spirits that filled his vision, he rushed without a chance.

“Shitttt――!”

The apocalypse had arrived.