Even in this state, Olivas continued to fight back.
A loud guttural roar tore from his throat as his right arm suddenly swelled at a rapid pace and came crashing down toward Judas' head.
Instead of dodging, Judas simply snapped his arm out like a whip and drove his fist into Olivas' face before the attack could reach him.
A giant convulsing mass of flesh went flying across the pantry before slamming into the wall and sliding down to the ground with a sound less like a thud and more like a wet splash, his body continuing to convulse where he landed.
Revis stared at what Olivas had become and grimaced.
'Gross...'
And yet, Olivas tried to stand.
His limbs twisted at unnatural angles as he attempted to push himself upright, his body refusing to obey even the most basic commands.
One arm had swollen to nearly three times the size of the other, the skin stretched so thin it had turned nearly translucent, dark veins spiderwebbing beneath the surface like cracks spreading through glass.
He made it halfway before collapsing back down with a wet, heavy sound.
Then tried again.
'He still won't go down?'
Everyone watched with expressions caught somewhere between disgust and disbelief.
Olivas finally dragged himself upright... and then kept growing.
Three meters. Five meters. Seven meters. Ten meters.
Before long, Olivas had transformed into a grotesque mountain of flesh, barely supported by his legs as pus oozed from his body.
His torso had expanded grotesquely, his neck almost entirely swallowed by the bloated mass of his upper body.
One eye had sunk completely into the flesh of his face while the other burned with that hollow, frantic light that had long since stopped belonging to anything human.
When his gaze landed on Bete across the pantry, something seemed to snap inside him... as if a switch had been thrown, locking onto a single target like a predator recognizing its natural enemy.
Roar!
A guttural sound rumbled from deep within his chest.
He fixed his gaze on the crowd in front of him and charged, barreling forward at a speed that had no business belonging to something that shape and size.
"Oh shit!"
With every step Olivas took, the ground shuddered beneath them.
"Everyone fall back!"
Asfi shouted.
Everyone except the first-class adventurers retreated immediately.
"Bete... I think that thing has its sights set on you."
Alise said, quickly piecing together what was happening.
"You've got to be kidding me."
A bead of sweat dripped from Bete's chin.
Olivas swung one of his massive arms down toward them.
They threw themselves out of the way as the hand connected with the ground.
The earth cracked and split apart like a broken mirror, a shockwave of dust and debris exploding outward in every direction.
Fissures raced across the dungeon floor like jagged bolts of lightning.
Seeing that his attack had missed, the giant Olivas roared in frustration and continued his rampage.
"Hey! Olivas! It's me, you dimwit!"
Revis shouted as she too found herself being targeted.
The giant Olivas was no longer distinguishing between enemy and ally... it was attacking anything that moved.
She barely leapt clear in time as one of his swings nearly sent her flying, landing on her feet while her severed arm continued to regenerate.
"That's enough!"
Alise appeared directly in front of the giant, magic power surging and condensing into her fist.
"Wrath of the Scarlet Beast!"
The silhouette of a massive flaming beast blazed to life behind her as she drove her fist straight into Olivas' face.
The impact staggered him, engulfing his entire upper body in roaring flames.
'I think I broke some fingers.'
Alise winced quietly.
'As I thought... I can barely put a dent in him.'
The monstrous Olivas, staggered and burning from head to toe, simply flexed his entire body and snuffed the flames out in an instant before finding his footing again.
However...
'I felt it. His body changed... he's not nearly as durable as he was before.'
Alise grinned.
Her goal had never been to damage him.
It was to hold him still just long enough...
"Now!"
For the others to move.
Bete and Kaguya appeared simultaneously from both sides, grips tightening around their weapons.
"Die!"
"Haa!"
Their blades carved through both of Olivas' legs in the same motion, drawing a scream of agony that shook the walls.
Before he could even begin to fall, Judas appeared directly in front of him.
"It should be right here."
He muttered and drove his hand straight into Olivas' chest, fingers closing around the magic stone buried within.
Sensing the threat, the giant Olivas moved to retaliate.
"I'm tired of dealing with you."
Judas didn't hesitate.
He crushed the magic stone.
A sharp cracking sound echoed as he withdrew his hand, opening his palm and letting the shattered fragments fall to the ground.
He slowly raised his arm toward Olivas' stomach and clenched his fist.
"Olivas Act... this is the end."
He delivered a single one-inch punch.
The impact rang out and Olivas' massive body toppled... then crumbled, piece by piece, dissolving silently into ash.
...
"What a shame."
A deep voice echoed from the void, belonging to a mysterious figure lurking somewhere in the dark.
"Another failure."
The figure smiled faintly before dissolving into mist.
Judas felt his senses prickle.
His gaze snapped toward a specific direction, eyes narrowing.
...
Alise and the others exhaled.
Revis, on the other hand, had already begun to panic on the inside.
'Are you serious?'
A bead of cold sweat traced its way down her face.
'You gained all of that power and achieved absolutely nothing with it.'
'The least you could have done was take down one first-class adventurer. It doesn't matter how strong you became... in the end, you were still useless.'
She had already begun retreating, slipping away while their attention was still fixed on Olivas.
"Hey! Did you really think we forgot about you?"
Bete's voice rang out from behind as he closed the distance and launched a kick aimed straight at her.
Revis glanced back and snorted.
"Just you? Don't flatter yourself, mutt."
She said with open contempt and cocked her arm back.
'I'll break his legs first.'
Bete caught the danger in an instant and turned his head.
"Boost me!"
The shout carried across the area.
Judas read his intentions immediately and fired a spell.
『Air Burst』
A burst of compressed wind erupted from a green magic circle... aimed not at Revis, but directly at Bete.
Bete grinned and let it pour into his boots.
Flosvirt... a pair of mithril boots capable of absorbing magic and converting it directly into the wielder's own power.
The wind howled as it flooded in.
Bete felt the energy surge up through his legs like a current... raw, violent and hungry for release.
"Take this, you bitch!"
'Shit!'
Revis threw her arm up to defend.
The kick connected with a sound like a cannon shot.
But to Bete's surprise, Revis held her ground.
The earth beneath her feet shattered from the force, her heel burying itself several inches into the ground... but she didn't move.
"Looks like you're not strong enough, wolf."
Revis met his gaze, something sinister flickering behind her eyes.
"Don't fuck with me!"
Bete snarled through gritted teeth.
"Haaaaa!"
A roar tore from his throat as his leg muscles coiled like compressed steel and he pushed back with everything he had.
The magic boots groaned under the strain, hairline cracks beginning to spider across the surface of Flosvirt.
"...!"
Revis' eyes widened slowly as she watched the cracks spread, racing further and further across the boots with each passing second... until they reached their limit.
Flosvirt shattered.
"Take this!"
Blood poured freely from Bete's lips.
The wind-infused impact finally launched Revis clean off her feet and sent her hurtling across the pantry.
"Evilus! No matter how many times you show up, justice will always prevail!"
While she was still airborne, Alise appeared directly above her and swung her sword down.
"Agaris Alvesynth!"
---
+15 chapters at patreon.com/drdedot
