Chapter 448

Battle Tower Pharos (Part 3)

I wish you really were okay, though

Lilys eyes were so full of pity for me that it hurt . Its even harder to hear her reply, which sounds as if she understood that I was being stubborn .

So it really is impossible to lie to Lily, huh?

Never mind me, just hurry down here .

So I decided to change the topic, though my embarrassment was only half the reason . Our first priority was to do something about the golem, which kept on marching ominously towards the castle walls .

Thats right, we cant stay here for too long .

Agreeing with what I said, Fionas black clothes flutter about as she gently descends upon the golems shoulder .

She had been carried like a princess all the way down here by Lily . As opposed to my flight, Fionas experience seems to have been far more enjoyable . Thank you very much for flying with Fairy Airlines today! Though Lily doesnt seem to be very amused to have been used as an airplane .

All right, Lily, its your turn!

Yeah, leave it to me, Kurono . Ill pry that cockpit open in a second .

Lilys answer comes with a charming smile . Her plan to deal with the Golems was to open their cockpits and kill their pilots directly . Since these Ancient Golems are basically moving fortresses with incredible defensive power, it makes sense to exploit that kind of weak spot .

We wouldnt be able to do this if these golems had the mobility of those Super Robots you can see in anime, but thankfully, these guys are slow . Thats why it was possible to jump on them in the first place .

Okay, lets see how about there?

Lily jumps down from the golems trembling shoulder . Rather than heading to its front, she flies towards its back and stops in mid-air at the section where its shoulder blade would be if it were a human .

As if clinging tightly to the golems back, Lily reaches out to its rugged steel armor with her white hands . There doesnt seem to be any switches or levers to open a hatch or anything like that, so how would Lily make her way into the cockpit?

I was getting curious, but it didnt seem like we would have time to relax while she was doing all the work .

I knew it, there are guards .

Weve been followed, havent we?

A group of harpy-like chimera soldiers appeared in the air, letting out loud ear-splitting shrieks . The way they fly around the gigantic humanoid golem makes them look like feathered mosquitoes in comparison .

Though they were swarming, they didnt seem to have any military formation in mind, so they simply began swooping down one by one on Lilys exposed back .

Gatling-Gore Mode .

I summoned The Greed from the shadows, already transformed into a six-barrel gatling gun . The barrel used to fire that incredibly powerful Plasma Breath is now cooling down inside the Shadow Gate .

Too hot! Its way too hot, Master! was Hitsujis complaint as she was cooling down the barrel using pseudo-ice, which is the fourth Divine Protection I reluctantly obtained the other day .

She had coiled a countless number of thin tentacles around the barrel, releasing cold air from them . This had to be done slowly and carefully, or the barrel might break like Simons gatling gun .

It might even be cool enough by now, but I believe that machine guns will be more useful here . The barrels start to spin around and making mechanical sounds as I point them at the harpy-chimeras .

Burst .

Even if they are hard to aim at, they wont be able to avoid a barrage of bullets . Their once colorful feathers sway down from the sky, stained by their fresh dark blood . The harpy-chimera vanguard was quickly shot down, leaving behind only the echo of their repulsive screeches still ringing in our ears .

Come to think of it, this is the first time I have been at the vanguard together with Kurono .

Leaving my thorough counter-attack completely unnoticed, Fiona calls out to me as if changing the topic of conversation . Even standing over the shoulder of an ancient golem, Fiona always does things at her own pace .

Ah, now that you mention it, youre right!

I gave Fiona a half-hearted reply while getting ready to get down from the golems back who is still standing as upright as the castle walls in order to protect Lily . But shes probably right, this must be the first time us two ever fought at the vanguard together .

Ive been thinking sometimes that it wouldnt be so bad to fight at the front lines together with you, Kurono .

What made you change your mind?

Up until now, Ive never heard Fiona say anything like The rear guard is the best . Im the happiest when providing covering fire from behind to express herself about the appeal of her usual battle position . Still, she doesnt seem to be unhappy about it .

It was a bit fun to fight side by side with Lily before .

Dont get me wrong, I wasnt goofing around . More than that, I was having a pretty hard conflict in my heart .

But yeah, Lily is surprisingly easy to work with, so fighting side by side with her makes me feel like we have the teamwork of a well-coordinated sports team .

That may have seemed appealing to Fiona .

Well then, shall we try something to see whether it really is fun or not?

Yes, lets go, shall we? Formation: Vertical Limit .

After that, Fiona and I follow Lily and make our way down the golem . Of course, Im using Bind Arts as a lifeline .

As for Fiona, she breaks into a run, and dashes down the golems surface .

Shes definitely not simply falling down to her death . Just like when running over the ground, shes running down a ninety-degree wall using a steady posture and speed .

I hope Fiona would teach me her Air Walker next time

Fionas martial art technique was so flawless that I was murmuring such a thing before I knew it . She was like a witch .

Its like the phrase If you cant do this much, then you cant go solo . Its a popular phrase, but now that I think about it, except for magic control, Fiona is surprisingly skilled .

Me? I just set up a rifle and pulled the trigger while feeling the weight of my own lack of experience .

I have absolute trust in Lily, and Im relieved that she has my back on the battlefield, but Fiona is equally trustworthy .

Thats why now I have no worries about being at the front lines with Fiona . Lets continue to protect Lily with my fierce shots and her flame storms .