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Chapter 72: The Trap

"Here it comes! The Idol's coming!"

I raised my head at Tena's voice. She was right; the shape of the t.i.tanic Idol I'd seen not too long ago was clearly visible. The way it gradually grew in size made it just as clear that it was drawing closer.

"Everything going smoothly over there?"

My question was directed at Leonora, who was stationed right beside me, indulging in the view of the Idol just as I was.

The countermeasure we chose to adopt - namely digging a giant hole for it to fall into - was meant to be a means of driving it into a corner, but the truth of the matter was likely not quite up to par. After all our target, despite its mobility, wasn't a simple living creature - it was an Idol. If we couldn't even compare this to shooing some beast until it was cornered and ensnared, we certainly couldn't say that we were hooking ourselves into it and spurring it on.

To boil it all down, we were just digging a hole where the Evil G.o.d Idol's route would move through and waiting for it to draw closer. Naturally, should the Idol decide to veer off course, then we would have dug the entire pit for no good reason and that would be the end of that. That made its trajectory all the more vital.

Leonora took some time to mull the situation over, but was eventually able to muster her confidence. She gave me a nod.

"Yes, it's going well. If things go on like this, it should definitely pa.s.s through the trap we've set."

That was good to hear. If I'd heard that the thing had gone off course, my mental state would've been drenched with icy sweat.

"I see. Could you do me a favour and tell him that?

"Oh, sure. Got it!"

I asked Orlaine, who was standing right next to me, to go and take up contact with the Pope, who was still in the middle of taking command, directing the progress of the trap's construction. She nodded and ran for the area on the opposing side of the approaching Idol, to the area where the pit was being dug.

"By the way, Lady Anri… May I ask a question?"

"What is it?"

Tena decided to question me while I was still looking at Orlaine's retreating figure.

"Let's say that the Idol does fall into the hole.  What do we do then?"

Come to think of it, while we'd already made the decision of capturing it by having it fall into that pit, we'd left just about every other aspect vague and fuzzy.

Before we could even go further, we had to ask ourselves whether having it fall in would even const.i.tute as a capture. There was no point if it crawled out of there when it did fall in.

First of all, no matter how many believers and followers were dispatched to dig the hole, there was a certain limit to how much could be done overnight. In any case, it was unlikely they could dig one of a size that would allow the Idol to just slip in without issue. It could gulp it up to its thighs at best.

If we didn't have anyone who could utilise Earth Magic, then it was unlikely we could even get that far.

Using my own body as a reference, it was clear to me that any obstruction that reached up to my own things wouldn't be overcome unless I raised my legs by a good portion or tried to use my arms to lift myself out. Since the Idol only seemed to ever move forward, I could imagine it being unable to proceed once it was buried up to its thighs.

But I still couldn't count that as an absolute. It was just as possible that the Idol would, upon coming into contact with the pit, would just continue moving forward and destroy it all in the process.

"For now, we'll just bury it until it can't get out."

That was why we had to have it fill up the hole in a way that would prevent it from escaping. That much should be enough to keep it from moving.

But, since the Idol's outer appearance was almost a carbon copy of my own, just the thought of that imagery was enough to make me feel off.

"Right. What do we do after that?"

"I haven't given it that much thought, but how about stopping it by looking into the mechanism behind the way it moves…?"

Just what kind of principles did that Idol use to move? The way that clump of metal could walk forward without any real joints was a mystery beyond me. If we could just understand that much, we might become able to put a stop to it without too much of a fuss.

If I was going to be honest, I didn't have high hopes for that.

"What if we can't look into it?"

"I think the only thing we can do then is to destroy it."

My reply to Leonora's query is immediate. If we were really unable to figure out how to stop it, then that would be our only option.

"Lady Anri…"

I wondered if the worry etched into Tena's face was because the Idol looked just like I did.

To tell the truth, the cold-blooded destruction of something that shared my looks certainly couldn't be described as a pleasant notion, but there was little I could do about that at this point. And besides, I hadn't put in all that much empathy for the thing. I'd live.

"Well, you're not wrong. That really is our only option. That Pope might have a few things to say about it, though."

"Then I just have to convince him."

"Please do that. Also… this place isn't safe anymore."

While we'd been busy with our conversation, the Idol had closed a huge gap between us. It was in a position close enough to make its entire being visible.

Since it was quite likely that we'd all be crushed under its feet, we decided to retreat.

We had to hide close to the hole if we wanted to be sure that the Idol would fall inside. And in case it didn't fall in, then we had to make preparations for battle. We'd gone far out of our way to prepare an ace, but I really didn't want to use it if we didn't have to.

Casting one final glance toward the direction of the Idol as it continued to draw closer, I could see that it was surveying its surroundings while walking at its leisure.

"What?"

Just then, I felt a draft of unease wash over me.

"Lady Anri?"

"Hey, what's the matter? We have to get going now or we won't make it."

"Uh, right."

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