In the next instant, Iris grips her longsword with both hands, and a brilliant golden light gathers once more. Magic power emanates from Iris, pressing outwards in all directions. The girl takes a step forward, and the longsword in her hands glows with an even brighter golden light. The radiant holy sword resembles the rising sun, bathing the world in a reddish-gold hue.
Without naming the technique, Iris simply grips the holy sword tightly and swings it forward.
The difference is that if she previously used five-tenths of her strength, Iris is now using nine-tenths.
A blade of energy, dozens of feet long, instantly cleaves through everything in its path. It seems as though only the sword energy unleashed by Iris exists between heaven and earth.
Magic power gathers in the sword without limit, and the very nature of the holy sword ensures that this strike will be extraordinary.
Like a comet piercing the sun, the brilliant golden light crashes down, striking the massive mechanical fortress.
The golden sword energy is a match for the enormous fortress.
At that moment, the ripples on the mechanical fortress are directly severed, and the faint undulations vanish completely.
The barrier protecting the mechanical fortress is gone.
Yunyun seizes the opportunity, pointing her silver-white short staff at the foremost part of the mechanical fortress.
Blades of light form, instantly severing the mechanical fortress's two front legs at the joints.
The fortress, which had been relentlessly advancing, finally stops moving. With a deafening crash, it loses its balance due to the loss of its front limbs and collapses to the ground.
However, after accomplishing this, the expressions on everyone's faces change drastically.
The two sides are quite close to each other. When it falls, it doesn't just topple straight down; it slides forward a short distance.
And that short distance is just enough for it to crash into them.
Darkness, standing at the front, roars and charges forward in her heavy armor, intending to use her physical strength to withstand the mechanical fortress and stop its advance.
As a crusader, Darkness possesses exceptionally high attributes, and her strength is almost beyond description.
But Darkness's charge is somewhat reckless.
Roa sighs. Darkness won't be able to hold it in this situation. Just as Roa is about to step in and help, Iris runs forward as well. The girl's small body leaps up, easily reaching Darkness's side. The girl extends her slender, fair hand and places it on the fortress. Her expression turns serious, and she appears to be exerting all her strength.
An unbelievable scene unfolds. The fortress, which had been pushing Darkness back, suddenly stops.
Everyone gasps at the sight.
Darkness alone certainly couldn't have achieved this, but with Iris's help, they're able to stop the massive mechanical fortress.
It's shocking beyond words. Iris's ability to unleash that kind of strike was already astonishing, but who could have imagined that her small body possessed such immense power?
After everyone brings the mechanical fortress to a halt, the massive machine seems to malfunction. It stops moving, collapsing to the ground and remaining motionless.
"Is it over?" Kazuma Satou asks, stunned. Things went more smoothly than expected. Kazuma didn't do anything; he just watched from the sidelines, and they managed to defeat it.
Roa nods slightly, satisfied with everyone's performance.
"It's over."
Indeed, it's over. Things went smoothly.
Everyone present contributed their share of effort.
Except for a certain lecherous NEET who was just watching the show, of course.
But Kazuma's purpose isn't really in combat. He's more like a binding agent. The team is certainly strong, and everyone has their own strengths, but even a slight miscoordination can easily lead to trouble.
When Roa isn't around, Kazuma is there to deal with any unexpected situations that might arise.
Since there were no unexpected events, Kazuma naturally had no opportunity to shine.
Just as Kazuma Satou is breathing a sigh of relief, a slightly mocking voice rings out beside him. Aqua skips over to Kazuma, saying in a taunting tone, "Ara ara, what's this, Lord Kazuma? I don't seem to have seen you do anything at all?"
Kazuma Satou's lips twitch. The boy glares at Aqua, annoyed. There's no need to say it; she's here to mock him. She has no good intentions.
But Kazuma doesn't know what to say in response to Aqua's words.
In a way, Aqua is right. What she said is true.
But the reality is one thing, and saying it out loud is another. Being told to his face makes Kazuma feel a little embarrassed.
After all, everyone in the group has their own role to play. Even Darkness, who seemed to have the least presence in this operation, fulfilled her purpose.
And Kazuma Satou just watched from the sidelines.
"Ara, can't you say anything? Are you not in the mood to talk?"
Aqua continues to taunt him. Kazuma says coldly, "Aqua, you still owe me money. Are you trying to make me ask for it now?"
Roa, who had been watching the fun from the side, is slightly taken aback. He looks at Aqua in disbelief and asks, "Aqua, you borrowed money again?"
It hasn't even been a month since Aqua borrowed money from Roa last time, and now he's hearing about this idiot borrowing money again. How could he not be shocked?
"How much can you spend? You're even worse than that spendthrift shopkeeper!" Roa complains speechlessly.
Aqua is reminded of her debt by Kazuma's words. She instinctively shrinks back, but then her eyes fall on the massive object in front of her, and her face lights up. She says smugly, "Kazuma, you can't scare me with that. We just defeated this monster, so according to the rules, the people who contributed will split the reward. This monster is worth a full 300 million Eris!"
As she says this, Aqua glances at Roa, and her voice suddenly becomes louder. "Of course, that has nothing to do with someone who was just watching from the sidelines!"
She's practically pointing at Roa's nose as she speaks.
As if that's not enough, Aqua continues, "After all, you hogged the entire reward last time. There's nothing wrong with me doing this, right?"
Roa, who was inexplicably mocked by Aqua, doesn't get angry. He smiles, a rare sight, and gives a comforting smile like an old father. He puts his hand on Aqua's head and pats it.
Aqua is slightly stunned, her expression still stuck on her previous smugness. She doesn't realize that Roa would do something like this.
Coming to her senses, Aqua swats Roa's hand away and looks at him warily. "What, what do you want?"
In Aqua's memory, the boy isn't someone with a good temper. There must be a trick if he's acting like this.
Roa isn't bothered by Aqua's wariness. He says, "I didn't expect you to have grown this much. You're even more impressive than I thought."
The "you" that Roa is referring to isn't just Aqua, but the entire team.
Seeing Roa, who usually has a cold face and scolds everyone at the slightest provocation, show such a smile, everyone is surprised.
After the surprise, they feel a little elated.
After all, it's quite a contrast. Roa's praise is quite rare.
Aqua is also taken aback. She didn't expect Roa to praise them so directly. Aqua's skin is usually thicker than a city wall, but even she blushes a little.
The girl straightens her expression, puffs out her chest, and says seriously, "Even if you say that, I won't give you a share of the reward, okay? Unless you're willing to call me Lady Aqua a few more times. Then I might consider it."
Roa chuckles and shrugs. "You should figure out how to clean up the battlefield. You won't get the reward if you go back empty-handed."
But just as everyone is starting to argue, a series of alarms sound from the top of the fortress.
[This unit has ceased operation. This unit has ceased operation. Unable to dissipate heat or consume operational energy. Crew members, please evacuate this unit as soon as possible and seek shelter. This unit is…]
The warning sound attracts everyone's attention. Kazuma Satou raises an eyebrow and his expression becomes serious. He says earnestly, "That sound doesn't sound good. Is it going to self-destruct?"
Roa thinks for a moment and nods slightly. "It's possible."
He almost forgot that this thing self-destructs in the original story.
The reason for the self-destruction is as the machine's voice said.
A group of people starts cleaning up the wreckage dropped by the mechanical monster.
Kazuma even tries to climb inside to see what's inside.
A few magical devices pop out, but Iris easily deals with them.
The fortress also has a considerable amount of space inside. Everyone quickly reaches the central room, opens the door, and sees a skeleton lying on the side. In the middle of the room, a pile of documents is scattered on a table, and in the very center of the documents is a brown-yellow book. It's a journal that might reveal some secrets about this mobile fortress.
There are many things, but Roa loses interest after a glance.
But everyone else is excited and crowds around. Kazuma takes the lead, picks up the journal, and starts reading: "The country's high officials gave me a difficult task, asking me to build a mobile weapon with this budget. It's impossible. But they won't listen to my protests. Even crying, apologizing, and begging won't work."