10-36. Burn ‘em all.
Houen exclaimed loudly and immediately took a stance, conjuring flames. Ten fireballs were created and all charged towards the Daichi no Mushi in unison.
” 【 Shuuen Tsuibi】 ! (Homing Flames)”
Whrarararara!
The flames raced forward, growing in power as they faced the wind. The roots tried to strike the fireballs, but they evaded and closed in on the main body. Though invisible, the flames created by Houen avoided all obstacles and hit their target accurately.
Boom! Kerrchak!
The impact caused the struck areas to ignite, making the main body burst with a snapping sound.
“Hmm!? It’s burning the main body!?”
“What’s going on!?”
“The main body is burning! The roots are made of stones and earth, but the main body is wood!”
“Oddly interesting… but still!”
Houen created ten more fireballs and sent them towards Daichi no Mushi. After avoiding the counterattack, the fireballs hit and continued to burn the main body. However, it seemed to have finally turned its attention towards him.
“Is it immortal or what!?”
“But now its figure is visible. We can fight it like this.”
“No, if you get hit by Houen’s flames, you’re done for. The skill called ‘Zetsuen’ won’t let the flames disappear once they hit you.” (Endless Flame, it should be inferno but it refers to Houen previous evolution’s skill)
“…It wasn’t like that during Amaka’s time though…”
Their skills were a bit different after all. I was curious about the details, but there seemed to be no time to dwell on it.
The rock was blown away as it approached us. Its movements weren’t that fast, but we need to do something quickly, otherwise, the roots might extend towards us.
However, the fact that it finally showed hostility towards us meant that Houen’s attack was effective. Now that we knew it was a tree, we could deal with it using fire-based magic.
My Fire Dragon was too big of a target and would be easily canceled out, but Houen’s skill allowed him to manipulate fire freely and avoid attacks. But how does he avoid them…?
Even now, we are continuously bombarding the main body with dozens of fireballs. Of course, the roots are trying to defend themselves, but it seems that the flames won’t allow even a grazing hit.
“Houen, you’re amazing! How are you avoiding attacks you can’t even see!?”
“Surprisingly, I don’t know!”
“Say what!?”
“Seriously, I don’t know, but the flames just naturally dodge it for me! It’s incredibly convenient!”
Well, as long as the attacks are effective, anything works!
So, what we should do is…!!
“Reizen! Let’s find a way to stop its movements. Houen, keep shooting!”
“Understood!”
“Leave it to me!”
“Then… I’ll enhance myself!”
Pulling out three dice from her pocket, Dacia immediately threw them on the ground.
Three twenty-sided dice.
The results were ’11,’ ‘6,’ and ‘8.’
I thought it was a bit subtle, but there’s no redoing it now.
So, she activated her skill right away.
” 【Nouryouku Jousho】 !” (Ability Buff)
Suddenly, Houen’s flames tripled in intensity.
Reizen’s Hard Explosive Wall became even more powerful, and my Tenwari’s cutting edge changed significantly.
The fireball that avoided the roots hit its mark.
The explosive flames made the Daichi no Mushi’s body jerk back, and the flames finally spread all over its body.
At that moment, Reizen’s Hard Explosive Wall exploded.
The blast was larger than before, and the shockwave reached us.
The heat was intense, but not unbearable.
After the blast subsided, I immediately unleashed Tenwari.
As usual, the slash cut through the roots, but this time it also severed some of the bigger roots.
Finally, the main body received some damage.
I didn’t know if it had a sense of pain, but it seemed to writhe and suffer.
Then, the invisible effect began to wear off.
The rocky roots emerged, and dozens of eyes on the massive tree turned towards us.
It was an incredibly huge monster.
Branches rustled, but all the leaves had been burnt to black ashes and fell to the ground.
Daichi no Mushi, covered in fire, groaned in pain.
It tried to lift its body with the roots, but most of the tree had burned, and even slight movement caused the bark to burst, revealing the burning insides.
Desperately trying to put out the fire with its roots, it ended up catching fire itself.
The Endless Fire, Zetsuen, mercilessly ate away at the life of Daichi no Mushi.
Branches at the tips started to rot.
The flames evaporated all the moisture in its body.
Finally, with loud noises, the body fell to the ground and stopped moving.
The roots were still active, but they would gradually stop moving too.
Seeing that, we finally relaxed our guard.
“W-we did it… We won…”
“That’s right! We did it!”
“Whew! What is this? Lunatic level?!”
I sat down on the ground, and Reizen collapsed on his back.
The battle against the Voice of the Earth was tough, and the fight against Daichi no Mushi afterward was no different. I was still fine, but Reizen and Dacia seemed to be pushing their limits. If we continued fighting, their MP would run out quickly.
“By the way, Houen… You’re late,” Dacia remarked.
“I also suffered from intense pain. Just be grateful that I regained consciousness while you guys were fighting,” Houen responded.
“You were unconscious?”
“It’s harder to endure ‘that’ pain, believe me.”
Reizen and I managed to endure it somehow… The pain was as intense as when I evolved into Seiryuu.
Then, I looked at Hakuryuzen and felt regret for missing the chance he created for us. We were so close to victory. I felt a mix of apology and frustration.
My fists clenched, and hatred for the Voices surged from the depths of my heart. I started thinking about how to find and confront them, but then someone tapped my shoulder from behind.
When I turned around, Houen was looking at me with a worried expression.
“Calm down, Ouren.”
“…I missed the chance that Tenda created, even if it meant his death. If I don’t avenge him, I won’t be able to face the oni in the Oni Village or Uchikage.”
“…I understand what you’re saying. But now is the time to stay calm and think rationally. Fortunately, we have more allies now.”
Houen glanced at Dacia as he spoke. Dacia noticed the gaze, and with a strong nod, she took a deep breath.
“I’ll explain everything.”
