Nice one, Middray, thought Carrera, eyes wide.
She liked him already, but this demonstration of strength was even more praiseworthy in her mind. Simply getting to watch this advanced exchange between two awakened masters felt like a tremendously useful experience for her.
For now, though, Piriod—the sole remaining problem—was a more important matter. With Mujika defeated, Carrera’s allies could pool all their resources together against this threat. Carrera thought it’d be nice if she could join the effort, but her battered and bruised body wasn’t quite listening to her yet. That was just how devastating Zeranus’s strike had been.
Carrera was frustrated with her own pitiful state, but she still calmly analyzed the situation.
These insects really are such a pain…
That was her conclusion, and she meant every word of it. Piriod had just experienced yet another power boost. Defeating Mujika was good and all, but it had just added to Piriod’s strength.
The reason? She had absorbed Mujika’s force. Zeth’s power had been directly taken by Zeranus, so none of that went back to Piriod, but when someone like Mujika died on the battlefield, Piriod received every bit of that power—strength she could use to perform Reconstruct Life on herself. That was what made Piriod, supreme ruler of this fight, such a tricky foe.
Her entire body was covered with samurai-like armor, with an eerie-looking sword in one hand. Mujika’s traits and experiences had become her own, which meant Piriod had a certain mastery of melee combat as well.
Her weaknesses are disappearing, one after the other, thought Carrera. If she can take strength from everyone in the area like this, I’m really glad we followed that “no casualties” order to the letter.
The power of anyone who died on this battlefield, friend or foe, went straight to Piriod. The only way to break that cycle was to destroy the barrier covering the field. But that was impossible because both Zeranus, leader of the insectors, and the demon lord Milim were devoting energy to keeping it up. If it weren’t for that, this whole planet would’ve been blown apart long ago. Zeranus’s goal was to rule this planet, not destroy it—the only real point both sides agreed on. This naturally led to barrier-based protection around the fight, but thanks to that, Piriod was gradually becoming invincible. It was a headache of a situation, but it was too late to do much about it.
But I guess she won’t get any stronger now…right? We can’t panic here. We just have to find some way to handle this.
Apart from the king and his queen, there were no insector survivors left. Unless some of Carrera’s allies were killed, there would be no further powering up for the day. Obela and Middray, too, had realized this, and that dictated their strategy. They were stretching this out over the long run, avoiding reckless or sacrificial attacks in favor of a slow, steady approach. It wasn’t glamorous, but it’d work if practiced long enough. This was actually their strategy from the start, so nobody felt panicked or mentally burdened by it. Even if Piriod found a way to get stronger, the plan didn’t change—they’d keep up their strategy, centered around Obela and Geld, and just wait until Piriod finally tired herself out.
I gotta hand it to them. But…
Even though the powerful Middray had joined the battle, the tide of this war wasn’t turning their way. In fact, it was going in the opposite direction. Carrera grew increasingly concerned; if things continued as they were, her side would lose.
The battle between Milim and Zeranus was being fought in such a different dimension that she couldn’t consciously keep up with it. What she needed to think about was how to defeat Piriod before any of her friends got killed. They didn’t have any surefire winning moves. The battle was still evenly matched, which was miraculous, but this balancing act was unlikely to last long. A single mistake, like a single hole opening up in a dam, could instantly cause the whole thing to fall apart.
I need to do something before that…
Carrera frowned in anger once more. She glared at her right arm. It showed no sign of responding to her. If she couldn’t move, there was no reason for her to be there. That was a big problem, one that made Carrera ask why she was even on the battlefield. She had sought strength for so long because of occasions like these.
Her Golden Gun began to faintly glow.
Then I will lend you my strength.
Carrera heard a voice in her ear, one she never expected.
No way.
She was startled for the first time in ages. Then, at the next moment…
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