novelYOUR NAME IS.
| ← Ch.026 | Ch.028 → |
Tenko who interrupted my usage of my trump card smiled and then spoke.
"Then, I'm off. El-chan, please do some repairs for me afterwards. And Oto-san, praise me lots later, okay?"
Tenko assumed a hip firing stance with her shotgun. She then set ablaze her surroundings.
It was a barrier made of flames. It was most probably deployed to counter the blades of wind.
She then ran with all her might towards the Emerald dragon within the tornado, her fox tail trailing after her.
And when she passed us, I saw there were traces of blood on her. Her bleeding still hasn't stopped.
"I'll back you up, no matter how little."
Elder Dwarf placed her hands on the ground.
Upon doing so, thick walls that ran along with Tenko on both of her sides appeared.
A protection against the wind.
However, the walls were being scraped off as each second passed. The scraped off pieces of the wall were sucked into the tornado and assaulted Tenko.
Despite that though, the moment those pieces of the wall touched her barrier, they immediately burned.
I guess by some kind of trick, the walls were made to be flammable.
Elder Dwarf was quite a considerate fellow.
"Elder Dwarf, what's Tenko planning to do?"
"My modified shotgun, the ED-01S, is also capable of firing fully automatically. She intends to make use of that. She has switched the lever from S to F so there is no doubt in my mind about that."
"It's built with a full-automatic feature? First time I've heard of it."
"It's still on the experimental stage so I haven't said anything to Master yet. All it can do at the moment is break when fired like that. I'm embarrassed of such an incomplete creation."
If that much firepower was fired in quick succession, it might just be able to penetrate through that dragon's tough defenses.
"Will it be safe? Will there be no accidental discharge?"
"If it's just going to be on fully automatic mode once, for just one magazine, it'll be able withstand it to the end. The magazine that Tenko has attached, it's been reverse engineered with ED-01S's power in mind. If it was going to break anyway, I have modified the shells to have the maximum amount of powder a magazine could have and still be able to endure one round of fully automatic firing."
"Thanks for telling me. But still, pushing through that wind and then firing fully automatically at point-blank range is no ordinary feat."
What was troublesome about the Emerald Dragon was that the power of the bullets were being reduced by the tornado around its body. In addition, its scales would then deflect and change the direction the bullets were on.
But a shotgun with that much firepower and firing fully automatically should be able to rectify that.
The first shell would clear away the wind and then the path made by it would be followed right away by the second and third shells.
If it was a normal rapid-fire, the path made by the first shell would already be blocked before the second shell was even fired.
A fully automatic rapid-fire would not have that problem though getting as close as point-blank range was necessary.
"It's something I can't do. But if anyone can do it, it's gotta be Tenko."
"It certainly seems so."
"I'm vexed by my inability to do anything."
Elder Dwarf tightened her fists.
Tenko advanced straight ahead, keeping her body close to the ground.
Her small body that looked like it'll be blown away at any moment desperately endured as the blades of wind, unaffected by her flame barrier, cut her body little by little. Ever onward.
Hang in there, I cheered within my mind.
Just a little more, just a little bit more and you're there.
And then, the Emerald Dragon slammed its tail to the ground.
From its jade green tail, countless sharp scales scattered.
Those scales then flew and swirled around with the tornado.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
Tenko screamed.
The wind blades looked like nothing compared to the scales that turned into superfast sharp knives that flew within the tornado.
Tenko's barrier made of flames was easily penetrated.
Unable to hold on anymore, Tenko was blown away. The distance she had shortened until her body was cut all over had once again widened.
"Tenko!"
I shouted so and saw Tenko bloodied all over as she tried to stand.
"It's alright, I can still, I can still go on. I'll win. I'm Oto-san's number one monster so I won't ever lose to another Demon Lord's monster."
No matter how I looked at it, she was battered.
And yet, Tenko still thought of diving in.
"Stop it, Tenko. It's enough already."
"No! Tenko won't betray Oto-san's trust on her."
Tenko, injured and all, once again plunged in.
If I used my Demon Lord's [Command], then maybe I would be able to stop her but that would only trample her resolve.
As I hesitated, Elder Dwarf shouted something.
"Master. Please give a name to Tenko. We grow stronger by just having a name. As she is right now, Tenko will die."
"El-chan, stop it!"
"Why!?"
"It's alright, a name is, still..."
Tenko, as she was glaring at the Emerald Dragon in front of her, spoke without turning her head away.
"But Tenko, I thought you've always wanted a name."
"I do, just not like this. I want to get it properly. I want Oto-son to love Tenko from the bottom of his heart. Tenko wants a name full of that love.... So a name just because of necessity, I don't want it."
That must have been Tenko's true heart's desire being voiced out.
I remembered the first day I met her. Back then, she tried to trick me to give her a name just so she could get stronger.
But now, that same girl was saying such things.
She must have grown up during our time together.
And for that, I was eternally happy.
I loved Tenko even under normal circumstances but this made me love her even more.
My overflowing emotions could no longer be suppressed.
Tenko was facing a dilemma so I...
"Don't lose, Quina!"
I called out her name and yelled.
The moment I said her name, some thumping sound echoed in my head and we were connected.
Tenko's, no, Quina's power flowed into me and my power flowed into her.
It felt good. And warm.
"Oto-san"
Tenko turned around, surprise in her face.
"Quina. That is your name. You're my first [Monster of the Covenant]."
"But a name, I didn't want it like this."
But Tenko swelled her face and pouted instead.
"That's not how you should feel. The name that I have given you was something I had thought of ever since we met. A name I've thought and thought about. A name I've decided to pour my heart and soul in just to make my most beloved daughter happy."
"... that's not true."
"It is. I know of your strengths, of your kindness, and of how much you love me. Therefore, I've decided that we should be together for the rest of our lives. It's not because we are being driven into a corner but simply it's because it's Quina. I love you, Quina! I am giving you this name, Quina. So, let us prove to them that my [Monsters of the Covenant] are the strongest in the whole world."
Tenko... no, Quina cried. As she did, she smiled and nodded her head.
"Okay, Oto-san. Quina is going. Oto-san has given me strength. This feeling, it's warm, no, it's burning me up. I feel like I can do anything!"
The second wave.
However, this time, it wasn't just about enduring, this was now a heroic march full of hope.
◇
[Monsters of the Covenant].
A Demon Lord's greatest assets.
By giving a monster a name, the Demon Lord was also giving power to the monster.
Especially so to the first three, the ones called the [Monsters of the Covenant]. They shared a much deeper connection with the Demon Lord.
Information about Quina flowed into me. I wasn't aware of it before, due to her overwhelmingly high status, but originally, the Celestial Fox was a late blooming monster. We were seeing but a small portion of her true stats and special abilities.
If I had made her to be on a static level, I might not have gone through this much trouble.
But at the same time, it became fun to see how strong she would become by the time I've raised her to her maximum level.
It wasn't just information that flowed into me, her thoughts as well.
I knew the things Quina was thinking about.
And my thoughts flowed into her too.
A newly born power. We decided on the form it would take.
"[Transform]!!"
Quina shouted so.
Originally, it was a power that only changed one's appearance.
No more than a mere deception.
However, it combined with my [Creation] to reach a greater height.
"Oto-san, a young Quina won't be able to beat that storm so, I'll become a stronger Quina to do so."
Her body was then enveloped in light.
All her injuries vanished. Not just that either. She grew up.
From a young girl of about twelve years of age to girl on the latter half of her teens.
Her height increased and her figure grew more feminine. Her face was prettier while her tail was fluffier.
"This, if I'm like this, I can do it."
It wasn't just her appearance that changed.
Her steps were heavy enough to shake the ground each time she took a step forward.
She moved at a speed that left everything following after her.
Her flame barrier even burned any and all scales that came into contact with it to ashes.
"GYUAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Emerald Dragon held fear to the suddenly stronger Quina.
It increased the thickness of the wind surrounding him.
But she just brushed away that storm.
Flames of gold and red then flared up. It was so beautiful, I was captivated.
And then, she was finally in range.
"El-chan, thanks and sorry for this."
She then readied her shotgun.
"Eat this!"
It was fired. With her finger still on the trigger, the large caliber shotgun fired fully automatically.
The four 4-gauge shells in the magazine she switched into were instantly spewed out.
Even after Quina had her stats increased, she was still pressed back due to the excessive recoil.
The four gunshots were so fast, their sounds overlapped each other.
The first shot pushed aside the wind, the second then destroyed the scales as the third gouged the dragon's flesh. Finally, the fourth pierced through.
The ED-01S shotgun which has already done its job could no longer endure and thus broke down.
"GUGYAAAA. GAAA"
The Emerald Dragon suffered a fatal wound. The wind surrounding it dispersed.
No, that's not it. The dragon gathered all its remaining strength into one point and readied to fire a resuscitating breath.
Quina glared and dashed toward it.
She then thrusted her arm towards the spot the shotgun shell had penetrated, and, with all her might, poured flames into it.
"It all ends with this!! [Golden Crimson Wild Dance]!"
"GA, GA, GA"
(Note: 【朱金乱舞】)
I guess even an Emerald dragon would be powerless when burned from the inside out.
The dragon issued out its death throes and fell down. It then turned into blue particles and shortly thereafter, vanished.
Quina returned to her twelve-year-old form and hobbled towards us, only to fall forward.
I hurriedly supported her.
"Are you alright, Quina?"
"I'm al~right. I'm just incredibly tired. That [Transform] is so tiring. I can't keep my eyes open anymore."
"You did well, Quina. We'll handle things from now on so just rest."
"Yeah, okay. But hey, Oto-san, I have request: stroke my head please."
"But of course."
And thus I gently stroked her head.
She looked happy as she smiled.
"Tenko, no, Quina loves Oto-san."
When I wrapped my arm around the back of her head, just like that, she fell asleep.
Quina has done more than what was expected of her. The rest was up to us now.
This was the third and final room.
All that was left was to break the crystal.
But when I was thinking so...
<This marks the end of this [War]. Due to the forfeiture of [Wind] Demon Lord Stolas, [Creation] Demon Lord Procell is the victor! [Wind] and [Creation], both did a marvelous display of their powers. It was truly a good battle!>
A screen in the sky was being displayed.
Clapping sounds echoed from the screen.
The other Demon Lords were celebrating my victory.
I then waved my hand to them.
Blue particles began to rise around us. The fallen monsters were being resurrected by the [Time] Demon Lord's ability.
The smashed Skeletons were coming back. How great.
While being delighted at the return of my fallen comrades, I thought up of ways to express my thanks to everyone that did their best.
Quina's transformed form:
LOL
| ← Ch. 026 | Ch. 028 → |