640 – Master of Wearing Down

We got off to a good start.
We might unexpectedly be able to kill the hecatoncheir with energy to spare.
Miia’s presence is massive too of course, but the longer this fight lasts, the more [Death God Seed] will turn it in our favour.

The hecatoncheir is slow, and has no powerful attacks.
As a result, its strategy is to gradually wear down its opponent to make them use up all their MP.

Treant’s [Death God Seed], which will continuously deplete the hecatoncheir’s own MP, is a perfect counter to its strategy.
I was convinced it would be an effective countermeasure since the first time I fought it.

I take a look at the hecatoncheir’s status and find that its MP is going down even faster than expected.
If treant was a Legendary with his current abilities, he’d probably be able to win against the hecatoncheir all by himself.

In addition, because of the hecatoncheir’s slow speed, it’s reliant on counterattacking after getting hit.
But, with Miia’s level of swordsmanship, we’ll probably be able to get many opportunities to attack without being hit back.

In the first place, the hecatoncheir isn’t suited for taking on multiple opponents at once.
If it tries to counter Miia, it’ll open itself up to being attacked by me.
But if it focuses on me, it’ll struggle to respond to Miia’s attacks.

I circle around the hecatoncheir.
Aro aims and shoots a [Dark Sphere].

Upon entering its blind spot, I use [Ideal Weapon] to produce [Oneiros Mallet], and swing into its side.

【[Oneiros Mallet]: Value L (Legendary)】
【[Attack: +130]】
【A giant hammer with a faint purple glow.】
【Made from the bones of the [Dream Dragon] that rules over the world of dreams.】
【It is said that angels use it to ring the instruments of god’s world.】
【The target of this weapon has their physical resistance and defence temporarily reduced.】

[Oneiros Mallet] has a special effect that makes it easier to damage opponents with high defence.
From what I found last time, this is my best tool to fight it.
The MP cost is a little more than I’d like, since I need to use [Dragon Mirror] to be able to hold it, but the benefits still outweigh the costs.

Immediately after I hit it with my [Oneiros Mallet], the hecatoncheir stabs its sword towards me.
But, I swoop upwards, managing to dodge by a hair’s breadth. The reach given by my weapon helps a lot.
In addition, it’s unable to commit to hitting me back with Miia keeping it in check.

In the hecatoncheir’s fighting, I can sense the essence of swordsmanship, much like Miia, Howgrey, and Volk.
But its slow speed and large body are holding it back.

Miia is far smaller, and her speed eclipses its.
Moreover, her skill with the sword is probably too.

I get the impression that, while it probably used to be highly proficient with the sword, much of its skill has been lost along with its memories and sense of self.
When my [Telepathy] roused something inside it last time, its swordsmanship became terrifyingly sharp all of a sudden.
But there’s no sign of that this time.

『We might be able to get through this surprisingly easily…』

The truth is, I have no idea what could be inside the tower.
It wouldn’t be strange for another hecatoncheir to come bursting out.
That would be incredibly unreasonable of course, but then God’s Voice is practically the incarnation of unreasonableness.
It’s entirely possible that they’re watching me struggle pointlessly, when I’m already entirely stuck.

If we can get through this fight with energy to spare, then I’d like to do that.
If there’s another strong opponent waiting inside, or if the tower is no help at all for escaping this forest, then escaping with Miia will become hopeless.
In that scenario, I want to be able to move onto the next fight without needing to rest.

Miia swings her sword as she slips past the hecatoncheir’s guard.
It steps backs while trying to swing at her with its sword.
It’s entirely focused on her right now.
Approaching from its blind spot, I swing my [Oneiros Mallet] into its back.

Miia’s sword slashes through empty air.
The hecactoncheir suddenly disappeared.
It used [Shadow Dance].

I hesitate momentarily.
It stepped back and readied its sword again, so I naturally thought it was about to counterattack Miia.
But that was a bluff for [Shadow Dance].

Under my feet, the hecatoncheir’s body reappears.
It pretended to attack Miia so it could lure me in! Caught mid-swing with the heavy [Oneiros Mallet], I’m unable to adjust my aim.

I could throw it and use the recoil to escape upwards, but the MP cost of using [Ideal Weapon] again would be too much.
I can’t afford to let go of it so easily.

I push down on the air with my wings, swinging my tail towards the hecatoncheir to block.
It cuts through my scales and gouges out the flesh of my tail.

Sharp pain runs through me.
But, it’s enough just to stop the bleeding with [Autoregeneration].
The damage itself isn’t too much.
I use the impact of the sword to push myself further up, out of the hecatoncheir’s reach.

“We haven’t got any leeway! If either of us are forced to use MP for healing, it poses a massive disadvantage! The terror of the hecatoncheir isn’t in the first half of the battle, it’s when you start to see the bottom of your MP approaching and realise you’ve no way of winning! You were forced to retreat before, so you should know this.
In particular, stay alert for its skills! If you think our victory is inevitable and get complacent, then we really might not be able to win at all! If you mess up here, both of us will be screwed!”

…I let myself get too optimistic.
My certainty over us winning is fading.
Right, it’s still hard to say that we’re actually favoured in this fight.
If either me or Miia becomes unable to fight at any point, the situation would suddenly get a lot worse.

The hecatoncheir is poison.
The terror of it is only apparent once I start to falter.
And, once that happens, it’s already too late.

If we are forced to retreat, we’d have to choice but to pray Miia’s [God of Madness] doesn’t progress while we rest before we can fight again.
If it does progress, then Miia will become an enemy, and we’d be forced to fight the hecatoncheir without her.
It’s pretty much safe to say to say we’d have no hope whatsoever.

I need to take my distance and regain my balance…! Then, I need to carefully look for opportunities to attack while staying wary of [Shadow Dance].

It’s definitely easier said than done.
A momentary slip up can lead to defeat.
The hecatoncheir’s toughness will force me to keep up that constant vigilance for the entire battle.
But, I need to do it.
I can’t afford to think about anything unnecessary.  I haven’t got the leeway to think about what comes next.

Sharp pain runs through my chest.
My scales break, and blood flows out.

“Dragon-god-sama!”

Aro screams.

The hecatoncheir used [Dimension Rend].
I didn’t expect to be attacked again so quickly.  But, this makes me keenly aware that the only reason I was able to fight so well up to now was because it was focused on Miia.

The hecatoncheir is a master of wearing down its opponents.
I can’t expect to always be able to avoid its attacks.
If I try and hold back too much, there’s a good chance I’d just be one-sidedly attacked with [Dimension Rend].

It’s unfortunate that it was able to distance itself from Miia with [Shadow Dance].
Rather than trying to pincer it, it might be better if we stick together.