Mushoku Tensei

Volume 23 Chapter 18: Fighting God's Menace

Part 1

After hearing of the enemy ambush, the one that stood up with great joy was Atofe.

“Where is the enemy!?”

“At the beach. It’s Fighting God Badigadi! Sándor-san is holding him back for now, so we should fall back for now and gain some di─”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA! So Badi has become an enemy! He will be a worthy opponent! Imperial Guards! Follow meeee!”

Without letting me finish what I had to say, Atofe took her Imperial Guards along and went towards the beach.

There was no time to stop her.

Of course, Ruijerd and Eris obediently followed me and Cliff quickly casted Detoxification on everyone.

After that, we assertively evacuated the Ogres.

“I fight too.”

But the Ogre God was different.

As if to keep his promise with us, he quickly followed Atofe.

Atofe and the Ogre God ended up going to the battlefield.

At that moment, my mind’s objective changed from retreating to fighting.

Sándor, Atofe, and Ogre God Malta.

If the three of them fought and then lost, we would lose a lot of our fighting force.

I concluded that even if it was disadvantageous to some extent, we should still fight head on and hold our ground here.

I’m not going to be at my wits’ end.

With me, Eris, Ruijerd, the warriors of the Supard race, Cliff, Elinalize, and then Atofe, 10 Imperial guards, and the Ogre God.

We had more than enough strength.

Somewhere deep within my heart, I thought that we could win.

I ran towards the banquet hall and boarded the MK. I that was put there.

Part 2

After giving out the instructions to evacuate, I boarded the MK. I.

Within that short amount of time, the battlefield had moved.

Not far off from Third City Heilelul, with his waist submerged in the sea, Badigadi and Atofe had started their fight.

Fighting up close were Atofe and Malta.

Badigadi was fighting both of them simultaneously while carrying Gisu on his shoulders.

The difference in their power was evident. Even while carrying Gisu on his shoulders, he was easily able to stand his ground against Atofe and Malta as if playing with children.

Overwhelming.

I couldn’t see Sándor.

He couldn’t be seen anywhere. Was he done in?

The Imperial Guards had surrounded Badigadi and were firing magic spells.

Ice arrows, fire arrows, and stone cannons were all pouring down on Badigadi like rain.

But they vanished just before hitting him.

The magic spells fired by the Imperial Guards weren’t reaching Gisu.

Was that the power of the Fighting God Armor?

Or was Gisu using some kind of Magic Item?

If it’s the latter, then I want to kill Gisu quickly.

I should’ve killed Gisu during the fight between Badi and Sándor.

No, Sándor should’ve fallen right after I separated from him.

Taking down Gisu would still have taken some time, then I wouldn’t have been able to rush to the banquet hall and might have died.

Gisu should know quite a lot about me.

He had already taken steps to deal with me.

Even when I was in front of him, he had a lot of composure.

Then, it should be fine to think that hitting him with a stone cannon wouldn’t have been an instant kill.

There was no reason not to.

There was also no time to think.

Atofe and Malta were both tough, but even from an outsider’s point of view, Badigadi was superior in power.

It wouldn’t be strange if the frontline were to fall at any moment.

“I’ll go as well!”

“Stop!”

I commanded Eris who was about to rush in and loaded mana in both my arms.

Luckily, thanks to Atofe and Malta, there was quite some distance between us.

Atofe and the Ogre God.

I’ll aim for the moment both of them are blown away.

“I’ll be jumping in with magic first. Cliff-senpai! Please snipe and provide magic support!”

“Alright, leave it to me!”

I hesitated, thinking that Atofe and Malta would be wrapped in it as well.

But I could clearly see Gisu. I didn’t know whether it would get through or not, but I could get a direct hit.

This was my chance. I didn’t have time to think about my failures.

It was fine if it were just one hit.

The spell I’ll use………will be stone cannon.

No, it should be lighting.

Since the stone cannons fired by the Imperial Guards were easily getting erased.

I do think my stone cannon would have some effect, but I’ll still use a different magic.

Alright.

“Suu─”

While taking a deep breath, I raised my left hand up.

I sent the blood flow inside my body towards my left hand.

And then, with my left hand raised towards the sky, I not only used my mana, but a gust as well to make clouds.

While holding down my impatience, I took my time and made the cloud bigger.

The surroundings started to rain.

Thunder could be heard from a long distance.

The wind blew and the sea was getting violent.

Cumulonimbus

Originally, before the completion of this spell, it should be compressed and then it should be dropped.

But I expanded it.

Using both the updraft and tornado at the same time, a thunder cloud was quickly getting larger.

Rain started to fall heavily on the beach.

Not yet.

The waves grew higher, and sprayed the three fighters with water.

Just a little bit more.

The entire sky was filled with dark clouds.

The surroundings became dark and visibility was only up to 50m.

But I had the clairvoyance eye.

The clairvoyance eye continued to watch the three fighters without any change.

It watched Atofe and Malta.

My right hand.

I released the stockpiled mana from it.

The clouds shrank at once.

While suppressing the violent mana, I concentrated it at one point.

I timed it.

Atofe and Malta fought simultaneously and were blown away simultaneously.

At that moment.

I let it……fall.

『Lightning』

That wasn’t a flash of lighting.

It was just a long cylindrical pillar of light.

The moment it arrived, a sound could be heard from the surroundings.

The rain paused for an instant, and the world was covered up by light and silence.

A huge column of water came out of the pillar of light.

A thunderous roar.

A sound similar to a lightning strike struck our eardrums.

“………hand………is……of earth………”

Within that thunderous roar, I could barely hear Cliff’s spell.

But I grasped what spell he was going to use and fell back to support him.

In our view, there was a mass of surging water.

That mass of water swept everything away and approached us.

It approached us very fast──

『Sandstorm』

The sand clashed with the mass, offsetting each other.

Due to Cliff’s and my magic, the mass of water became light-brown rain and polluted the beach and sea.

I cut my clairvoyance and looked for the golden armor while straining my eyes.

“……………”

I could see nothing.

My clairvoyance wasn’t activated, but………

When I looked around my surroundings, I could see the others similarly straining their eyes.

Regardless, we couldn’t see anything.

Nothing could be seen.

His appearance couldn’t be found.

“Did we do it?”

I reflexively muttered.

I ended up muttering.

There was nothing wrong with my murmur, but those words were ill-omened.

“!”

It was too late when I realized it.

Eris and Ruijerd.

With their sixth sense, everyone was watching above them.

In the next moment, a sand pillar was standing in front of me.

Something was falling down from the sky.

It was dancing in the sky. It was glittering and sparkling, even while being bathed in muddy rain.

With a golden color.

“Ough.”

A voice leaked out involuntarily.

That guy landed right in front of me.

The Golden Armor.

Was there really a face under that helmet that I would recognize?

“I thought I was done for.”

That voice came from the shoulder of the armor.

That guy had boarded it while covered with mud.

The monkey-faced person.

“My name is Fighting God Badigadi! The one who has taken the name of the Fighting God only as a sworn friend of Hitogami! I challenge Rudeus Greyrat to a personal duel!”

“I-I r-refuse.”

“FUAHAHAHAHAHA! NO USE IN ARGUING!”

I was hit by the golden armor.

One hit.

With just one hit, my armor was completely broken into pieces, and I took flight with my hazy consciousness.

My consciousness was receding.

As I was about to fall unconscious, I saw it.

Eris, Ruijerd, Atofe, and Malta.

Attacking the Fighting God all at once.

───────That day, Third City Heilelul was annihilated.

Part 3

When I came to, I could smell something nice.

I could smell a little bit of sweat too, but it was nice.

A nice smell that I was accustomed to.

I could see red hair swaying at the edge of my vision.

At the same time, I could feel warmth around my cheeks.

My cheeks were touching something.

“………Are you awake now?”

A voice came out from that something that was touching my cheeks.

It was Eris’s voice.

“!”

And then my consciousness quickly came back.

Eris was carrying me on her shoulders.

“………What’s going on?”

I quickly stood up and surveyed my surroundings.

Many people were walking around the surroundings like refugees.

Cliff, Elinalize, and Ruijerd.

“We lost.”

After that, Eris and the others challenged the Fighting God, and were completely defeated.

Eris fainted in just one hit, and Elinalize’s shield broke.

Malta and Atofe put up a good fight, but they were still sent flying every time.

Moore took over when I fainted and told everyone to retreat.

Ruijerd collected Eris and I. And then with Atofe, the Imperial Guards, Malta, and Sándor who regained consciousness as the rear guard, the retreat was successful.

“I see.”

It was a shock.

It was a shock that we were so easily defeated.

I never really thought of myself as the strongest.

Even when I fought for the first time with the MK. I, I lost to Orsted.

It wasn’t invincible.

But I was certainly getting victorious these days.

I defeated both Atofe and Alek.

Regarding Alek, it wasn’t a solo battle, but a victory was still a victory.

But I should’ve always taken the assumption that I would lose.

But one punch was a first for me

It was one hit.

With just one hit, my armor broke into pieces and I fell unconscious.

……I might’ve underestimated Badigadi.

Was it because I thought that even if he was the Fighting God, he would still cut corners being that Demon Lord-sama?

“What are we supposed to do next?”

On Eris’s inquiry, I pondered.

Next.

What should be done next?

We hadn’t run out of options.

But I wonder if we can win against that Fighting God with my impertinent plan.

We didn’t have Sándor nor Atofe, nor the Imperial Guards.

They might’ve died as well.

Our fighting force was uncertain.

There was Eris, Ruijerd, Cliff, Elinalize, and me………and then some warriors of the Supard race.

Even if I say that, I couldn’t be counted as a war potential. I, who had lost the MK. I, was only an insect now.

The best I could do right now was to make rivers, make mountains, and set fire to the mountains.

The Three Charms.

The Fighting God would just drink up the river, jump over the mountains, and extinguish the fire on the mountains with the water that he drank and then come after us.

We couldn’t win with our current potential.

“There’s no way but to run.”

“……Ruijerd-san.”

Ruijerd spoke while looking at me.

“That guy is one of the Seven Great World Powers, the real deal. He’s not someone who can be defeated even if we attacked him in a group.”

So we should run.

We should run until the Supard village………

And then……what?

If it were the Three Charms, then the priest-sama that took shelter in the temple used his wit to exterminate the mountain witch.

Orsted(The Priest) was there in the Supard village.

But……Fighting God Badigadi and Gisu.

Their aim was my life, and to exhaust Orsted’s mana.

And if Orsted were to fight the Fighting God, his mana consumption would be nowhere near the level that it would have been if he had fought the Sword God or North God.

It was a substantial defeat.

To achieve their goals, they would go to the ends of the world.

No matter where we go, there won’t be a place safe for us.

“……Even if we run, we can’t win.”

“Then there’s no choice but to fight with the resolution of an honorable defeat.”

A fight with a resolution of an honorable defeat would still be a defeat.

We couldn’t win.

If we died, it would be over.

“………Rudeus, get a hold of yourself.”

Eris suddenly held my hand.

It was a strong and warm hand.

It was a hand which had saved me many times.

It was the hand which had held my child.

“Ah.”

I calmed down a bit.

Think.

Think about a way to win.

First, there’s a need for information.

For example, the weakness of the Fighting God Armor.

But I heard that the Fighting God Armor was the best armor made by Laplace himself.

Even the person who built it himself was tied in his battle.

Would there even be a weakness?

But even if there wasn’t any weakness, there might be some kind of capture method. There was still a way to fight.

And from there, we could probably find some kind of hint.

Who is the one who knows that?

Atofe is……not here.

Orsted?

That’s right, I must ask him.

And if we still couldn’t get anything………

“………”

No.

Even if we couldn’t get anything, he was an enemy that we must fight someday.

We will fight now.

Atofe, Malta, and Sándor weren’t here.

But there should be a method to win.

But still, I want to keep the damage to a bare minimum.

I didn’t want to involve the Supard village with the battle.

Since Norn was there as well.

There should be a chance.

Even if it was less than 1%.

That’s right.

Now that I think about it, I still had one trump card left.

I originally planned to use that trump card much sooner.

“………We’ll retreat until the village and hold out there.”

I decided to wager on that.

“Got it.”

Everybody nodded.

Part 4

Then, we returned back to the Supard village.

My trump card was still being prepared.

I wonder just what was really going on.

Would it be fine to just wait?

While suppressing my wavering heart, I sat in front of Orsted in seiza and reported to him everything that had happened up until yesterday.

“That’s all. We don’t know what has become of Sándor, Atofe, and Malta.”

“………”

Orsted wore a rigid expression.

“Fighting God Badigadi?”

“Do you know of any capture method?”

“……No. I know about the Fighting God Armor, but I’ve never once fought Badigadi wearing the Fighting God Armor.”

“I see.”

I had expected this, but I still couldn’t hide my disappointment.

But there was no need to show it on the surface.

“Then, please tell me about the Fighting God Armor.”

“Fighting God Armor is the best armor made by Laplace himself.

It sank to the innermost part of the Magical Cavern, at the center of the Rings Sea.

Its surface gives out a golden spark when fired with mana, bestowing its user with the strongest power possible. But that much mana makes it sentient, and it hijacks the user’s mind.”

“But, it didn’t seem like Badigadi’s mind was hijacked?”

At the very least, I didn’t feel like Badigadi was being manipulated.

It was the same Badigadi as in my memories.

Although, it was possible that he was being manipulated, but it wasn't apparent.

After all, he didn’t bother arguing with Atofe and Sandor.

“……It will take some time before a complete hijack.

From the moment one puts it on, the Fighting God Armor will start dominating your mind, and you will gradually be unable to differentiate between good and evil, and will only wish to fight. Although, Badigadi’s body is made up of a special meat which can’t be perceived by the Demon Eye.

It’s possible that the Fighting God Armor can’t completely take over him.”

So that meant Badigadi hadn’t worn it for that long.

Still, I’ve heard about this hijack thing somewhere before………

“The Fighting God Armor is similar to your Magic Armor. The only difference it has from yours, which moves with the wearer’s mana as fuel, is that it takes the wearer’s very life force as a fuel and you can’t take it off until it completely drains you of it.

If it has attached itself to Badigadi’s body, it can almost operate forever.

The moment that the armor is put on, it will adjust itself to the perfect shape for the wearer. In doing so, the optimal weapon is obtained.

Although the weapon range depends on the weapon itself, if Badigadi equips it, it probably won't be long distance.

The golden light radiating from the armor will render most magic ineffective……but there is a limit. Your full powered stone cannon may be able to get through.”

He’s very knowledgeable.

But I see, rather than a lightning strike, the stone cannon would have been more effective.

“Orsted-sama, when you fought the Fighting God, who was wearing the armor?”

"One of the Sea race. Although, his mana quickly ran out and he died."

"Any other cases?"

"I’ve put it on myself a few times, a human put it on once, and a Demon race once."

He experienced it himself before?

Well, I guess if he hadn’t put it on himself a few times, he wouldn't have understood the details.

"So how exactly are we supposed to defeat it?"

"……I do not know."

"You don't know?"

"When wearing the Fighting God Armor, you feel neither pain nor fatigue. And on top of that, it is possible to fight constantly at full strength. But it is simply forcing you to move. It cannot heal injuries sustained while wearing it. Therefore, if you manage to land an attack, a battle of endurance will be in effect……"

But with Badigadi as the opponent, that becomes impossible.

The Fighting God Armor will continue to move until its wearer dies.

Badigadi is immortal.

In other words, perpetual motion.

"How did Laplace defeat it?"

"He overwhelmed the defensive limits of the Fighting God Armor by hitting it with a spell with a massive output, temporary annihilating the contents, and separating them. As a result, a large hole opened up in the continent and the Rings Sea was created."

"……I see."

Depending on the power of the attack, it was possible to deal damage.

It was just a matter of his recovery after that.

But if it was so, then this gives us one plan…

"But I heard the wearer from that time died. So it was Badigadi."

"You didn't know?"

"Laplace, at that time, also didn't seem to know who was wearing it. After I heard about his death, I lost my remaining interest. Since I never would’ve thought that the Fighting God would appear before me like this."

"Did you………hear it from Laplace himself in a previous loop?"

"That's right. I am the son of the First Generation Dragon God. First Generation Dragon God also instructed me on how to apply this curse."

"…But you said that Laplace must be killed."

"That’s right. To reach the place where Hitogami is, the five Dragon Generals must be killed and the sacred treasures retrieved."

"……"

I think this is the first time that I've heard him say clearly that they must be killed.

So it’s like that after all.

Then I guess we really can’t count on Perugius's support after all. I also wouldn't want to help someone who has the intention of betraying me later on.

But I guess there's no benefit in discussing that here.

"This is probably an unpleasant conversation for you."

"……No."

Right now, I have to think about what's in front of me.

That is, Badigadi.

If Hitogami was acting while seeing his own future, then he couldn’t freely move such a chess piece like Badigadi, who acted selfishly.

Or this might even be the final trump card that Hitogami held.

When I saw him a few days ago, he seemed to be at his wits’ end.

Fighting God Badigadi.

Badigadi was originally Hitogami's apostle.

It was unknown to me just why Hitogami didn’t use Badi until this loop, but let’s consider that he was suddenly dragged out this time.

Well, if he didn’t come out in any of the previous loops, then I would have to be the cause.

"So what do you intend to do?"

"Fight. There is no escape."

"Alright. I'll come. I haven't done it before, but it shouldn’t be something that we can’t do."

As Orsted said that, he started getting up.

However, I interrupted him.

"No, please wait."

Orsted sat back down.

I couldn’t see his face because of the mask, but I could understand that he probably had an astonished expression.

"If Orsted-sama were to exhaust his mana here, it would be a defeat overall. There wouldn't be any meaning."

"If you die here, it would also result in defeat. There wouldn't be any meaning."

"……Well, that's also true."

Should we take the chance now or take it later?

But I've tried my best until now.

I wanted to at least stick through until I think it was truly impossible.

"But even if Orsted-sama must fight, before then, it should still be possible to weaken the Fighting God."

"…You'll die."

"If that happens, then please take care of my remaining family members."

I don't want to die. I want to return back alive.

But this was definitely a do or die situation.

The Fighting God was Hitogami and Gisu's final card.

There might still be another card, but in this situation, the Dark King, Sword God, North God, and Ogre God have all been defeated.

There's only one apostle left too.

All of his cards were in the open.

There were no more cards to pull out.

If we defeated the Fighting God here, the other side should suffer in turn.

We must persevere, fight and take the victory.

"I understand. But as soon as you realize that you can’t win, retreat immediately. Understood?"

"Thank you very much."

I bowed my head and stood up.

"So………Did Roxy contact you yet?"

"Not yet."

"Is that so. When it happens, please let me know immediately."

After I saw Orsted nod, I got out of the house.

The soldiers were waiting.

With a sharp glint in her eye, radiating bloodlust was Eris.

Standing with a clear bearing was Ruijerd.

The slightly nervous, scared, and excited Cliff.

With an expression that wanted to protect Cliff was Elinalise.

Sad after hearing of Sándor's defeat, the weeping Doga.

Having lost all his clothes during the previous battle, he was wearing the Supard's local dress, Zanoba.

And the Supard warriors aiming to protect the village.

This group.

Honestly, I'm uneasy.

The gap left by Sándor, Atofe, and Malta was huge.

But Zanoba and Doga were a good replacement for the Ogre God.

Badigadi was a close combat type. The compatibility wasn’t bad.

They were inferior to the Ogre God. Even if their compatibility wasn’t bad, it was unknown just how much meaning that held.

It was possible that this group would be able to stall for time for 2 days, or at least 1 day.

And within that 1 or 2 days, the possibility of my trump card arriving was low.

Then, there was no guarantee whether or not I would win even while using my trump card.

But it was possible that my comrades would just die in vain.

“Let’s go.”

However, I walked nonetheless.

I had a plan, but no chance of success.

I couldn’t even guarantee whether my decision was right.

We might have some time to lay traps, but the enemy wasn’t someone who would be defeated from just that.

“………”

Everyone, without expressing any opinions, simply followed behind me.

I will fight the Fighting God.

Author's Q&A

Q. Was the reason that the Ogre God’s speech was crude and that he didn’t use Demon God Language while negotiating because there were people around him who didn’t understand Demon God Language?

→ The Ogre God who was an Ogre who surrendered to Rudi who was a human. That’s why he thought that talking in Human Language to respect the winner were obvious manners.

A. That’s how it is!

Q. If the President was fighting the one who was wearing the armor, then his words that the Fighting God never once stood in his way as an enemy was a little strange.

A. This is a little difficult, but bear with me. In short, he meant that he hadn’t fought anyone at the level of the 3rd World Power wearing the Fighting God armor.

Q. The President knows nearly everything, it’s like he’s Wikipedia-sensei or Google-sensei. And the lithograph looked like his Twitter.

A. You’ll often get “This article does not exist”.

Q. An inertia game is better than Arcana Heart, you know!

If it’s a fighting game with fighting in the sky while ignoring inertia, then I guess a Touhou like game system is close to it.

A. They don’t have floating steps in that image.

Q. The person who wears the Fighting God armor becomes the Fighting God? Or His Majesty Badi who wears the Fighting God armor is the Fighting God?

A. The latter.

Among the SGWP, it becomes a somewhat special type of pattern.

Q. If the conditions for the change in SGWP monument is losing consciousness or death, then when the abstinent Rudeus carelessly reached his hand out to Eris’s mountain range and was knocked out with one punch, would it change then?

A. When they realized, the Seventh rank was changed to a Sword God Style mark!

Q. When the city was annihilated, I got the image that it disappeared without leaving any traces. Shouldn’t it be collapsed or destroyed? Or was it literally annihilated?

Why, in a hand-to-hand battle, was the city was annihilated?

A. It’s the result of normal hand-to-hand combat and the support that Moore and the rest provided using magic for a long period of time.

At the very least, it was possibly annihilated.

Q. When Orsted wore the Fighting God Armor, was he unable to take it off until he died?

A. Yes. He died right there and then looped.

Q. It feels like the President’s mana capacity absolutely can’t be charged by outside factors. Would there be no other choice in future other than normal self-recovery?

A. This……might be researched by someone in the future.

Q. A God Rank for a swordsman has made an appearance but a God Rank for a mage has yet to come out. And someone with a God Rank Magic who can cure the Magic Stone Disease hasn’t come out yet either……this work is going to be over soon, but does that mean they will never appear?

A. Probably never.

Q. It has become such a desperate situation, but there’s still not that much bloodshed yet.

How come there’s no fight scene either!?

A. Let’s see.

I did write that Rudeus fell unconscious. I should’ve depicted it with more depth I guess.

Q. After fighting the Fighting God, literally everyone’s still alive (expect those who are still missing). Does that mean that Badi is going easy on them?

A. Even without wearing armor, it may be that the rest of the guys are at a level where it would be hard to kill them instantly.

Q. But Orsted should’ve disposed of the Fighting God Armor.

A. When performing a speedrun in an RPG, the strongest most powerful weapon was in an extremely deep labyrinth. It’s not required to defeat the Last Boss, and hence there was no need to get it… something like that.

There was a time when he tried it once for trial and error, but he thought that it was unreasonable and wasted a lot of mana (just hitting with the Godsword is fine), and so he didn’t use it.

And for someone who doesn’t want to be famous and stand out in the world for getting it, it’s quite unreasonable.

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