Chapter 182: Three-Form, Tiga-Type Mecha
Outside the plains of the beginner town.
A black and blue figure constantly darted in front of the Destroyer, narrowly dodging the giant, stomping pillars each time.
Kobayashi's time piloting the mecha was still too short, but as he dodged back and forth, his movements became more and more agile and swift. As he continuously adapted, he became more and more adept, his speed even a notch faster than the Destroyer's!
However, he couldn't effectively damage it, and was even being treated as a provocation.
VMM—
With a tremor, the golems on the Destroyer were triggered, and several lasers shot towards him with lightning speed, but were easily dodged.
The giant eight-legged Destroyer, finding that it hadn't killed the bug, was furious. What followed was an even denser and faster barrage of lasers.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Like a Gatling gun with infinite bullets, an attack that seemed like a cheat, it rained down like a dense storm. The lasers pierced the earth, and a huge cloud of dust instantly rose up. The hearts of the adventurers waiting on the city walls were also in their throats.
"S-so strong!"
"That's too ridiculous!"
"No wonder it's called the Destroyer!"
Such powerful an offense... no town could withstand it, let alone Axel, which was just a beginner town with no strong fighters.
To state it again, the Mobile Fortress Destroyer was, in essence, a weapon of war built to fight the Demon King's army!
After witnessing its power, the adventurers unconsciously clenched their fists. They could only pin their hopes on him, who was currently entangled with it.
Someone even unconsciously shouted, "—Go for it, big bro in the mecha!"
Unfortunately, he couldn't hear their cheers, because his spirit was highly concentrated at this moment.
Under the high-frequency laser attacks, he and the mecha gradually synchronized, forming a high degree of coordination.
The agile mecha continuously dodged underneath the Destroyer.
Because he had discovered that as long as he hid underneath, the golems on top couldn't hit him. After all, it was impossible for them to attack through the Destroyer's own body.
However, if he could think of this, how could the person who built the Destroyer not have thought of it?
So, just as he thought he could catch his breath for a moment, the base of the Destroyer, which was built of stone, suddenly opened hundreds of holes, and from within, dark gun barrels were revealed.
The necklace on his neck—the elven sigil—sent out a warning. In an instant, the hairs on his body stood on end, a cold sweat broke out on his back, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
As the gun barrels flashed with a dangerous red light, he did a sliding tackle and shot out from under the Destroyer.
But its speed was even faster!
Because the mecha was too huge, it needed a few seconds to adjust its center of gravity. And the highly intelligent Destroyer had seized this opportunity. One of its eight legs, a giant pillar, instantly stomped down!
He was firmly pressed down!
"Kobayashi!"
"Kobayashi-senpai!"
"Kobayashi!"
The party members all shouted in worry. Megumin was even in such a panic that she was about to instantly cast an Explosion, but she was stopped by the quick-eyed and deft-handed Kazuma.
"Wait, Megumin! Have you forgotten that the Destroyer has a barrier? Your Explosion magic won't work!"
"But Kobayashi, he...!"
She was extremely anxious, and Kazuma was also very worried, but right now, he had no way to help.
At this moment, Aqua, on the contrary, smiled confidently.
She held up the megaphone and shouted, "[Kobayashi! Give them a little shock! Let them see just how powerful the mecha I remodeled is!]"
On the plain in the distance, the Destroyer's figure paused, not knowing what had happened.
After the dust slowly settled, a small figure appeared in the field.
Compared to a normal person, it was huge. But compared to the Destroyer, it was tiny. Right now, it was holding up the fallen pillar with both hands, as if holding up a pagoda, and was in a stalemate with it.
"It's him!"
"He's actually okay!"
"Thank goodness!"
The spectating adventurers let out a sigh of relief.
"You see? My mecha is invincible!" Aqua puffed out her chest proudly.
It was just that... the slightly swaying body looked like it was struggling.
As it continued to press down, the mecha's body swayed more and more violently, and the hearts of the crowd also swayed along with it.
"Hold on! Hold on, Kobayashi!"
"You're a man, so hold on for a hundred days!"
"Don't back down! Push it up!"
"Go for it, big bro in the mecha!"
The cheers of the crowd were endless.
Unfortunately, he was not Tiga, nor could he use a Spirit Bomb. Their cheers could not be turned into light or energy.
But—
Aqua, seeing that the time was about right, once again raised the megaphone and shouted.
[It's time! Kobayashi! Full power! Watch closely! This is the power to conquer the world!]
The power to conquer the world?
What is this idiot goddess talking about?
Kazuma was speechless. He clearly hadn't expected a goddess to actually make a statement about conquering the world.
If the Axis Order believers heard this, their fantasy of the goddess they believed in would surely be shattered.
...Wait, the Axis Order believers are a bunch of people with a screw loose. It's possible that, after being encouraged, they would become even more insane?
He suddenly felt that the end of the world was coming.
And on the battlefield, with her shout, the mecha, which had been predominantly black, was gradually dyed blue. Perhaps because this color was too pure, the pure blue mecha, on the contrary, became even more elegant and gorgeous than before.
At the same time, he, who had been suppressed, also suddenly had a surge of great strength. He lifted the pillar that was pressing down on him and threw it!
But he did not manage to topple the Destroyer.
The eight-legged mobile fortress was not only fast and good at running on all kinds of terrain, but its balance was also top-notch. Naturally, it would not be toppled.
But to be able to withstand it... that was enough to surprise the spectating adventurers.
"This is..."
"True Blue Mode! In this mode, all limiters are released! Whether it's strength, speed, or mana conduction, it's more than twice as strong as before!"
Seeing that someone had asked, Aqua quickly explained. It was as if she had long been expecting someone to be her straight man, so that she could smoothly show off.
"Ooooh! As expected of Aqua!"
"That's really amazing!"
"You are our savior!"
The adventurers continuously flattered her. She laughed "hehehe" and accepted all their compliments and flattery.
She had always been like this. And under these circumstances, she, who had made a huge contribution, did not arouse anyone's jealousy or indignation.
...Except for Kazuma.
He muttered, "True Blue Mode... be careful she doesn't sue you for plagiarism. And according to the usual tropes in anime and novels, once this kind of mode is activated, it will definitely shorten the usage time. It's a trope that relies on burning the remaining energy for a short burst of power. If they don't solve the Destroyer quickly, then he'll be in danger."
Of course, he didn't point this out directly.
In this situation, everyone was pinning their hopes on the mecha. He would naturally not say anything to strike down their morale. Most importantly, if something bad really did happen, everyone would surely turn their anger on him and blame him for being a jinx.
Kazuma, who had been screwed over by the problem children in his party many times, was very experienced in this area.
So he very wisely kept his mouth shut.
On the other side.
Kobayashi was very helpless. He really wanted to grab her face and punish that idiot.
Because this [True Blue Mode], although it seemed strong, was actually not controlled by him. And he didn't even know it existed.
To not use this mode at the right opportunity... he had wasted a trump card that could have turned the tide.
But the buff it brought was huge.
After the limiters were completely released, he had no more hindrances. Even if he was in sync with the mecha's wavelength, there was still a slight feeling of awkwardness.
But after the limiters were released, it was completely gone. In chuunibyou terms, it was "man and machine as one."
In this situation, he could use more attack methods.
For example:
The greatsword that Aqua had equipped the mecha with!
A "Knight"-like mecha, how could it be without a matching weapon?
He drew a ship-cutting saber from its back.
It was blue all over, but the black blade shone with a cold light under the sun.
[True Blue Greatsword: Aqua-go Mark I]
Even the name made one want to complain.
The greatsword, which was held by the mecha, looked no different from an ordinary one, except that it was hundreds of times larger. But there was a switch on the hilt that could be twisted. As he continuously twisted it, water-blue mana instantly enveloped the entire blade!
Now, it had the ability to break through barriers!
"Hmph hmph hmph. I thought of it when I was remodeling it! When we go to attack the Demon King's castle, we'll have to let the mecha make a move! So I took the first step and engraved it with magic that can dispel barriers! It seems I'm very far-sighted!" Aqua raised her head proudly, her little nose in the air.
"Wait, using the word 'attack' for the Demon King's castle... are you serious?"
Kazuma pouted and subconsciously retorted.
Aqua, however, waved her hand. "Don't mind such small details. What's important now is... [Kobayashi! Give it a good thrashing! We can't let it destroy the plains anymore!]"
With the goddess's fierce command coming from the megaphone, he also nodded in agreement. After all, he had suffered a loss before because the plain had been destroyed.
"Since that's the case, then first, I have to destroy its extremely fast mobility."
The water-blue mecha leveled its greatsword, charged forward at an extremely high speed, and after getting close, it leaped up and brought the greatsword down with a mountain-splitting blow.
A transparent film instantly appeared and blocked the attack.
—It was the barrier!
The Destroyer had its own magic barrier.
Unfortunately, this time it was a physical attack!
In just one second, the barrier-film was melted, and then the ship-cutting saber smoothly cut into the pillar. He had thought it would be met with difficult resistance, but he hadn't expected it to be like cutting through butter. It directly severed the pillar.
Seeing this, he didn't hesitate, and like a whirlwind, he spun around the Destroyer.
In just a few moves, all eight legs were destroyed.
The mobile fortress, which had suddenly lost its legs, landed with an extraordinary rumble and a huge bang. After its bottom hit the plain, it followed the law of inertia and slid straight towards the town.
The giant, sliding object did not hit the barricades in front of the town, but stopped right in front of Darkness.
The exploding, fragmented legs turned into shrapnel and rained down from the heads of the adventurers.
The mecha he was piloting had arrived in front of her a step earlier, shielding her from the falling debris.
Darkness did not move.
To be honest, the ice-cold, proud female knight, who did not retreat a single step in the face of danger, with her large cape fluttering in the breeze, was really cool.
But she hadn't done anything. She was just striking a pose.
He deliberately teased, "We're amazing, aren't we, Darkness?"
"Wh...!"
She immediately blushed, twisting her body and wanting to protest, but with everyone's eyes gathered on her, she really couldn't make any other strange movements.
Although she was also enjoying the pleasure of wanting to move but being unable to.
And on the city wall, Wiz had raised a protective shield, blocking the other part of the fragments.
After the rain of falling debris had ended, the adventurers, who were finally able to calm down and grasp the situation, all let out a "Ooooh..." of some unknown exclamation.
Kazuma wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It was cold sweat.
It would be great if this incident could just end here.
But if things were that easy to solve, they wouldn't have had to work so hard.
At a time like this, one should be careful with their words, to avoid the customary raising of a death flag with lines like "Did we do it?"... We must remain vigilant. Everyone must work together to slowly consolidate the encirclement. We absolutely must not become arrogant in victory...!
However, he had forgotten one person.
An idiot goddess who would get carried away after a victory.
"What's the big deal? I was thinking that a name as ridiculous as 'Mobile Fortress Destroyer' would be so amazing, but what a disappointment. Alright, let's go back and drink! At any rate, this is a bounty target that has destroyed a country. I wonder how much the reward is!"
Aqua had smoothly raised a fatal flag!
"You idiot! Why do you love falling into such a cliché! If you say something like that...!"
Kazuma desperately tried to stop her.
But it seemed it was already too late.
Suddenly!
A tremor that seemed to shake even the earth... the source was, naturally, the Destroyer.
The adventurers looked up uneasily.
At this moment, suddenly, a mechanical voice came from inside the fortress.
[This unit has stopped all movement. This unit has stopped all movement. Unable to exhaust heat and consume motive energy. All crew members, please evacuate this unit immediately and take shelter. I repeat. This unit has stopped all movement...]
This passage was repeated over and over.
KazDatsumiuma was so angry he took it out on her, roaring, "You see! You! Every time you succeed at one thing, you have to fail at another just to drag everyone down! Are you only happy then?!"
"Wait! Wait! It's not my fault! I didn't do anything this time!" she defended herself, aggrieved.
That's right. The jinx this time was her.
"You... what do we do now?!" he said, staring at her with dead fish eyes, making her think of a solution.
And she did not disappoint. She patted her chest and said, "Don't be anxious! I have a plan!"
While he was not hopeful, she, on the contrary, gave him a surprise.
The megaphone blared again.
[Kobayashi! Use True Black Mode! And take it and fly into the sky!]
"Hey, fly into the sky is..."
Before he could figure out the reason, he saw a shocking scene.
The mecha he was piloting changed from water-blue to pure black. Then, a large amount of mana surged from its back and legs. A very strong thrust lifted the entire Mobile Fortress Destroyer up and flew towards the sky.
"You're kidding me..."
He was dumbfounded.
Aqua could always do the unexpected in strange ways.
Why can it fly? Why does it have such a strong thrust? And what's with the three forms? Are you Tiga?!
There were too many 'WTF' moments.
He didn't know how to complain, or where to start. More importantly, he didn't know who to complain to.
He was momentarily dazed.
"Ah, this is bad!"
She suddenly let out a loud cry, which pulled him back from his daze.
He said, annoyed, "Now what?!"
She slowly turned her head and said uneasily, "This Destroyer... no matter how you look at it, it's about to explode, right?"
"If there are no accidents, that's right," he nodded.
"Then, given its size, the explosion range will surely be very wide, right?"
"After all, it is a 'Mobile Fortress.' Its size is a given, so Kobayashi-senpai needs to push it very high, very far away from us. But... what's wrong with that?"
"Actually, the mecha's energy is charged by my divine power."
"Oh, is that so? So what's wrong? Can you stop beating around the bush?!"
The hot-tempered boy was gradually getting impatient. But he couldn't be blamed. It was all the long-winded goddess's fault for not getting to the point.
Aqua swallowed hard and said, "Do you remember the 'small problem' I mentioned? Although the material of the mecha is very good, it can't withstand my divine power for too long, which is why there's a True Blue Mode. But True Black Mode is different. It gathers all the energy in the back and legs to form thrust. Although it saves energy, it also causes a problem... that is, the temperature is too high."
For some reason, after hearing her explanation, he also had a bad feeling.
"...What's the result?"
"It will explode."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!
As soon as her voice fell, a light that was bright enough to blind people bloomed above their heads.
A grand firework exploded above them, as if to celebrate their "difficult" victory against the Destroyer.
Of course, it would have been even better if there weren't scattered fragments.
(End of Chapter)