Vol. 2, Chapter 40: Seed of Extremity (Author’s Note + Illustration at the end)
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"Domain? What kind of ability was that?" Shiori asked her.

"I've heard it once from Veylir. She told me that amongst the Natural Abilities, a certain kind of Ultimate-class ability that reigns above the lower and same classes. And those abilities were called Domains..."

"And according to the Appraisal's results, Gargantua possesses that kind of formidable ability, the Domain: Sudden Death!"

The three of them noticed that the sky suddenly went bright. The sunlight that mysteriously disappeared came back as if nothing had happened. Now that the late afternoon sun illuminates the place again, the devastating effect of Gargantua's domain attack is completely visible.

"How cruel that ability was... to think that every living thing was killed without even a chance to escape!" Geruldo murmurs.

"This is troublesome. If that monster managed to execute that ability once more, we're doomed!" Reika exclaimed.

Back to the settlement, everyone also noticed the sunlight coming back. However, they were fixated on Gargantua's domain attack, of which they were oblivious.

While everyone was baffled and started asking questions, Soru wasn't bothered by it. Instead, his mind was busy thinking about what happened to the sun. In fact, he was the reason why it did happen in the first place.

Did I use the sun's energy for too long for that to happen?

"It seems like the effect was quite imposing," Soru murmurs.

Despite such absurdity, Soru simply dismissed the idea in just an eye's blink. While the ogres were distracted, Soru continued on his way in silence. Up ahead, he saw Veylir, who was busy healing the injured warriors and keeping the monsters away from the area. He went on her to ask about the situation.

Meanwhile, Reika was busy thinking of a way to deal with Gargantua. Now that they're out of conventional options, dealing with the monster will be tough for them.

"We can't defeat that monster... It's simply too strong!" Shiori exclaimed.

Seeing that Shiori seemingly lost all hope, Reika immediately felt a sense of anxiousness. Even Geruldo, who is a straight and rigid person, began to sweat profusely as he gazed at the monstrosity in front of him.

Just then, Reika suddenly walked forward and stopped. She stepped inside the withered grass field, while Gargantua was seen trying to regain its lost strength by standing on its legs. Shiori and Geruldo noticed her action and looked in her direction.

"It seems like we had no choice but to fight fire with fire, huh..."

Reika quickly turns around and looks straight into their eyes. The two of them noticed the fire in her eyes, unwavered by the monster's threat.

"We need to try one more time! If we do it properly, we can defeat that overgrown crab!" Reika exclaimed.

Upon hearing her words, Shiori was surprised and started to question her.

"Are you serious? We did all we could just to deal with that monster, yet you dare address that idea? I know that you're young, but don't let your age dictate your recklessness!" Shiori exclaimed.

"She's right, Miss Reika. We have no chance on defeating that monster with our current strength—"

Geruldo's sentence was halted when Reika raised one of her fingers and waved it in the air.

"Tsutsutsu~ relax; I'm pretty sure we can do it this time."

"What solution has your mind thought, then?" Shiori asked her while walking in her direction.

"You saw that Gargantua used Domain right? If that monster managed to use its strongest attack, then we should outpower that bastard to claim victory!"

"Outpower? And how would you even do that?" Shiori asked her.

"Hehe~ I have a few tricks up in my sleeve, too. Just trust me this time."

Seeing that Reika was serious, Geruldo decided to trust her and agreed.

"She's right, Chief Shiori. We had no chance of escaping in the first place; we might as well do our best to survive this predicament.

Hearing Geruldo's words, Shiori stepped back and grabbed her sword.

"Hmph. If you're determined to charge yourselves to death, then so be it! However..."

Shiori gripped the handle of her greatsword tightly and exuded an immense aura from her body.

"Running away due to cowardice was an ogre's greatest shame. I would rather die on a battlefield than shrivel up someplace further from here!"

Upon hearing her words, Reika brightened up and smiled.

That was some great speech; I'm feeling pumped up just by hearing it!

Reika looked back and faced Gargantua, who was completely out of the softened ground.

"Shiori! I need you to use all your strength to lift Gargantua in the air!" Reika exclaimed.

"What? With my current strength, doing that is—"

"I believe that you can do it."

Hearing her words, Shiori sighed and gave up.

"Tsk. Even though it seems impossible, I will handle that matter."

"Sir Geruldo! Please assist Shiori at all costs. I won't be able to help you two if you're being besieged by monsters and Gargantua!"

"I heed your command, Miss Reika," Geruldo answered.

Just then, Reika activated her Draconic Transformation and flew up in the sky. The rest of them ran towards Gargantua.

"Let's do our best, everyone!" Reika exclaimed.

While Reika was up in the sky to gain a vantage point, Shiori and Geruldo began to fight the monster.

"Twofold Cleave: Extended!"

Using her immense aura, Shiori unleashed two massive slashes that shaped like a cross and hurled towards Gargantua's abdomen. However, its Aeon Barriers manage to dampen her attacks, causing little to no damage to the monster's exoskeleton.

"Damn it! I used every armament techniques and abilities on that monster, yet this is all I could do?!"

Shiori was suddenly paused in the midst of the battle. She was thinking about how to deal with Gargantua now that she had run out of options.

Think, think, think! What shall I do in order to win this?

While distracted by her deep thoughts, the ogre didn't notice that one of Gargantua's pincers tried to attack her at full speed. Geruldo, who was also busy fending off some monsters who went amok, saw it and warned her.

"Chief Shiori, behind you!"

Shiori finally snapped out of her thoughts after hearing Geruldo's warning. She looked back, only to find out that the attack was close and escaping was utterly impossible.

"RAAAAAGGGHHH!!"

Several tremors could be felt approaching Shiori's direction at increasing intervals. After that, a figure suddenly charged towards Gargantua's pincer and knocked it away. When the dust subsided, Geruldo was seen holding it back with his body while trembling.

"D-Don't lose your focus, Chief Shiori! This is b-battlefield, Nggghhh!" Geruldo exclaimed while struggling to hold back Gargantua's clamp.

"I apologise! I...!"

"W-We need to fulfil the role that Miss Reika had given to us...!"

Without saying a word, Shiori simply nods her head and turns around. Now that she realised there was no time left to spare, she stabbed the ground with her greatsword and closed her eyes.

"Fuuu~"

Shiori began to meditate. While maintaining the rhythm of her breathing, the ogre quickly fell into a trance. All her senses had been shut off, and all she could feel was the subtle beating of her heart. Unaware of her surroundings, she let herself go from the world.

I need profound strength!

Her intense desire to defeat Gargantua burns the flame in her heart, igniting violently as the beat goes by. She was pleading not in the heavens but to herself.

Out of nowhere, a voice echoed in her mind. It was uncanny, yet the sense of etheriality lightens her heart.

<Individual "Shiori" will be granted an Ultimate-class ability.>

Suddenly, an orb of light emerged in front of Shiori. It was highly unstable, fluctuating into different shapes every second. Although she was oblivious to it, she instinctively grabbed the orb.

When her hands grasped it, the orb quickly assimilated to her body, and several pieces of information flooded her mind in a flash. There she finally understood its purpose and smiled.

All her senses are coming back together after comprehending that information. Several noises of monsters can be heard in all directions, getting louder as seconds go by. She could also hear someone screaming her name.

"...Chief S-Shiori...! You're completely surrounded!"

Shiori opened her eyes with a serious look on her face. She saw the monsters surrounding her, leaving her no room to escape. However, she was unbothered at all, because she already found a solution for that predicament.

<Dismantle>

Countless slashes suddenly emerged in all directions. Every single slash managed to hit every monster within the vicinity, killing them in just a matter of a second.

Geruldo was left speechless upon seeing her unusual ability. In just a moment's notice, she managed to kill hundreds of monsters even without removing her greatsword on the ground.

What did she do? I didn't see her moving even at once!

Shiori looked above and saw Gargantua's abdomen, guarded by several layers of Aeon Barriers. The ogre pulled her greatsword from the ground and took a deep breath.

<Release Potential!>

Shiori immediately felt an abrupt pulse that resonated throughout her body, trembling every muscle and tissue inside her. The ogre felt a surge of power dwelling inside her, increasing exponentially in every second.

"Chief Geruldo, please buy me some time."

Hearing it from Shiori, Geruldo simply nodded and used all his strength to restrain Gargantua's clamp from attacking further.

"RAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Geruldo grunted loudly while barely keeping the monster's gigantic pincer to its place.

Meanwhile, Shiori waited for her newly obtained ability, Release Potential, to raise her overall power to a certain extent. She could feel that her body would seem to burst at any moment due to its incapability to contain such a level of strength, but the ogre persisted through the end.

This should be enough!

Shiori took a stance, aiming her attack on Gargantua's abdomen. The monster tries to retaliate by using its other pincer and attacking her, but immediately senses that something is wrong. A deep sense of danger lingers around Shiori's entire existence, causing the monster's instinct to scream on high alert.

Out of caution, Gargantua quickly retracted and tried to dodge the trajectory of her attack by flipping to the other side. However, the monster was too late to dodge it completely.

<Equinox Cleave>

With just a swift wave of her greatsword, the world suddenly turned gray. Every colour on land was stripped, devoid of any pigments that the eye could perceive. On her blade's tip emerged a single streak of white line travelling at insane speed.

Everyone was baffled upon witnessing such a strange phenomenon. The sun's abrupt flicker earlier was already confusing to them, but what happened just now supercedes that. They followed the white streak with their eyes as it distorts the very fabric of space.

Gargantua noticed it beforehand and began to deploy several Aeon Barriers, stacking them up to ten layers. However, the white streak that Shiori unleashed ignored the barrier's defences and went straight to the monster's body.

The attack instantly severed Gargantua's rightmost abdomen like butter in just a matter of a second. The white streak travelled upwards, stretching across immeasurable distances and splitting the monochrome heavens in half before it vanished.

The monster was hurled even further from the ground due to the additional momentum caused by Shiori's attack. Reika, who's still up in the sky, noticed the monster and saw it as an opportunity to properly end Gargantua. With the chance that was given to her, Reika raised her hands and made a triangular handsign, aiming it straight to Gargantua's position.

When every colour on land was reverted, a large transluscent sphere appeared in the sky, encasing Gargantua in a matter of a second. Suddenly, a pulsating glow emerged within the centre of the sphere.

<Domain: Nuclear Combustion!>

The glow suddenly exploded in a violent manner, incinerating every living thing within the sphere. The temperature of the attack was extremely hot, comparable to the sun's surface. Its shockwave instantly spread in all directions, knocking trees and monsters within the vicinity.

BOOOOM!!

Everyone who saw the attack was shocked and trembled. Despite being a few kilometres away from the explosion, they could feel the intense heat caused by it. Some of them were knocked away by the shockwave, while others barely managed to stand on their ground.

Witnessing the sheer scale of Shiori and Reika's attack made everyone surprised to the core. It was their first time seeing a terrifying power beyond comprehension.

"W-W-What just happened...? What the heck is going on?!" One of the human warriors exclaimed.

"Those attacks—I thought that the heavens would collapse!" Another one of them exclaimed.

Veylir, who witnessed those events with her own eyes, also fell in disbelief. The dragon felt slight shivers on her spine.

I don't know what just happened earlier, but Reika being able to use my strongest offensive ability is something I'd never expect in my entire life!

Meanwhile, Reika tries to check if Gargantua actually died on her attack. Since she was oblivious to how devastating the ability was, she was shocked to see that no traces were left behind on Gargantua's massive body.

The heck?! I knew that this was Veylir's strongest attack since she told me before, but to think that it was "this" strong... To the point that the monster was obliterated without any remains!

"That ability was actually terrifying!" Reika exclaimed.

Now that Gargantua died, the monsters were freed from Gargantua's control and wreaked havoc on the battlefield. Although it was quite a mess, the extermination will be easier since the monsters became uncoordinated.

After she saw that everyone could handle the wave on their own, Reika flew in Shiori and Geruldo's direction, exhausted from the battle. Although she was tired as well, she still healed Geruldo from his injuries.

When Geruldo was healed, Reika undid her transformation. Remembering Shiori's attack from before, she got curious and confronted the ogre about it.

"Shiori! That awesome attack you unleashed earlier..."

The ogre turns around but notices that Reika's complexion isn't good. She was wobbling slightly and might collapse any second now.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Eh? I... am—"

Reika couldn't finish her sentence when she collapsed to the ground. Luckily, Geruldo managed to catch her.

"What is wrong with her? Could it be...?"

Shiori looked straight into Geruldo's eyes, confused by her sudden collapse.

"It seems like she used too much aeon and fainted as a result..."

Moments after she fainted, Reika found herself in an empty space when she opened her eyes. She looked around and realised that she's inside her subconscious space again.

"This is..."

Up ahead, she saw a strange oval object. It glows faintly and emanates an otherworldly aura. She got curious and walked towards it.

What was that thing? It seems like my body's drawing towards it...

Reika touched the object and felt its warmth instantly. Just then, she thought of something interesting.

Wait. Appraisal also works on objects too, right? I wonder if it reveals information like other items...

"<Appraisal>"

Suddenly, the name of that object was revealed. This made Reika wonder, since this is the first time she'd seen that name.

"Seed of Extremity...?"

Since using Appraisal on items only reveals their name, Reika wasn't able to obtain further information from it. However, the name reminded her of something, and she began to speculate.

There's "Extremity" at the end of its name, though... Could it be related to those so-called Extremity Beings on this continent?

Reika let her hand go from the Seed of Extremity and stepped back.

"Well, I could just ask Veylir and others about it later."

But setting that aside...

Reika looks around at the empty space again. There are no signs of her waking up since all her senses have been shut off from the outside world.

"Sigh... It seems like I exerted too much aeon, drained it without my notice, and collapsed as a result."

She sat on the nonexistent surface and lied down, looking at the Seed of Extremity above.

"I guess I'll be stuck here for some time..."

...

The people and monsters that evening had a small feast to commemorate their victory against the two Disaster-grade monsters and the monster wave. Most orcs and goblins flocked Soru, praising him for his bravery to face Adeptus and saving their lives.

"Thank you, young man! If you hadn't bought us some time, we wouldn't be able to survive here and eat our fill!"

"That's right! Your heroic deeds to us will be remembered by the Orc Tribe for generations!"

Although Soru couldn't understand what they were talking about, he simply acted like he did by giving them subtle body gestures.

Meanwhile, Shiori and Geruldo was also praised by others. Although they're not the ones who finished Gargantua, their contribution greatly helped in eliminating the monster.

While others celebrated, some of them watched the unconscious Reika. The dwarves, the dryads, and Veylir gathered on Reika's bed, checking her situation. Just then, Soru arrived and saw them.

"How was she?" Soru asked Veylir.

"Hmm... It seems like she depleted her entire aeon reserves and fell unconscious."

"I see..."

"W-Well, when will she wake up?" Alguis asked the dragon.

"I think it might be days or weeks. In the end, it depends on how fast the body recovers the aeon that was lost within her."

"Then, is she going to be alright?" Aeden asked.

"Yeah. Let her rest for some time. She'll wake up eventually."

Since they confirmed her condition, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Moments later, they left one after another, with only Soru remaining in the room. He walks closer to her bed and stares at her beautiful, sleeping face for a brief moment. He lifted the blanket and covered her body before he left.

As the night continued, the air was filled with laughter and bliss. Everyone was extremely glad to survive the predicament they had faced. Their one-month thorough preparation had been paid off, saving the settlement and their loved ones.

 

Although various races are present, everyone forgot their differences. They shared drinks and ate at the same table, laughed together, and talked each other's stories with glee. Their joyful interactions crossed the very boundaries of their races, united for the sake of their survival, and enjoyed the night without a sense of discrimination.

————————————————————

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! It's me, your author Boundless! It's my first OFFICIAL A.N. and I just want to tell you that thank you for reading this story of mine (especially those old readers of mine, if you still exist lmao.)

 Actually this is my second WN (the first one sucks, this one's slightly better), and as you can tell I SUCK at writing lmfao. Most likely I write in narrative/script-ahh work with minimal to no essence, rather than demonstrating it (which is one of the common mistakes by newbie authors, just like me.)

I will do some minor revisions for God-knows-when (no changes in the story, just the writing and delivery style) in order to make my story bearable and professional/author-like. 

Now that the 2nd Vol. is concluded, we will enter the 3rd Vol. Now that's where the real world-building begins. The next volume introduces new characters, new nations and especially new conflicts! We will also see a glimpse of Shin Soru's past, and how he handles his powers when he was a child. Probably, Vol. 3 starts next year, so... Stay tuned!

I did the Vol. 2 Illustration ( Katouku's my artist name, don't be confused) + character introduction. Hope you like it!

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