Chapter 1008: I Hope You Can Help Me With Something
"What... is that thing?"
On the deserted street, Fujimaru Ritsuka stared in horror at the withered giant hand towering between heaven and earth.
Fear spread through his heart, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
"Could that be the completed form of the Great Calamity?"
Mash supported Gudako while gazing into the distance with a grim expression.
"If that thing makes landfall, the entire port city will be crushed!"
The enormous cursed hand, resembling a desiccated mummy, slowly moved its steps, crawling toward Norwich.
The fairies were completely unable to resist that incredibly powerful visual calamity!
Those hiding in their homes were relatively safe, but anyone attacked on the streets would have their sanity shattered the moment they laid eyes on the giant hand, collapsing limply to the ground without even screaming.
Even high-ranking fairies began retching uncontrollably when they looked at that thing.
The entire city became visibly silent.
It seemed everything was about to be destroyed in deathly stillness.
"Senpai, though it's regrettable, I still recommend we retreat."
Mash lowered her eyes, her bangs covering the unwillingness in her gaze.
"With our current strength, I'm afraid we can't handle such a powerful enemy. Even Black Barrel can't measure the opponent's lifespan value..."
That probably wasn't a living creature in the true sense, but rather a conglomerate of curses, a product formed by the natural accumulation of numerous curses.
The black gun wouldn't be effective against such a creation.
The magnitude of that ominous magical energy, though slightly weaker than the Machine Gods, was enough to rival that of deities!
"Wait, Mash, what's that?"
Gudako suddenly pointed outside the city.
There was a rapidly moving black shadow there - a figure shrouded in a black cloak charging straight toward the enormous cursed hand without any trace of fear.
"Mr. Eiji? Does he intend to fight such an enemy?"
Mash's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Mash!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked over.
"...I understand, Senpai!"
The two, sharing a deep understanding, had already grasped each other's thoughts just by exchanging glances.
Having made their decision, the two girls didn't hesitate any longer and immediately rushed toward the eastern gate.
Meanwhile.
"Is that the final form of the Great Calamity?"
Grimm had left the western gate and appeared in the streets.
He raised his eyes, gazing with a melancholy expression at the enormous cursed hand.
"So it really is you, Cernunnos..."
At the manor.
"Hey, I'm not the one backing down here, but shouldn't we escape now?"
Muramasa was drenched in cold sweat, trembling uncontrollably.
"After all, where there's life, there's hope. We can always find another opportunity later, right?"
"To be honest, I agree with Muramasa's suggestion!"
Da Vinci Junior forced a strained smile.
"That big thing doesn't look like something we can easily defeat. Even Eiji or Grimm might not be able to win against it, right?"
Eiji and Grimm were probably the strongest among them. Though Mash had inexplicably become much stronger, she still fell short, and Muramasa only had the advantage with his anti-god specialization.
Even Eiji, who once defeated two great Fairy Knights, or Grimm, companion of the savior Tonelico, would likely be powerless in the face of such a scene.
After all, this was the Calamity of the Millennium!
Even if all the Fairy Knights gathered, they might not be able to handle that thing, right?
How did the savior Tonelico of the past manage to defeat such an enemy?
"Of course, we can escape. We can flee Norwich before the giant lands."
But then Pepe spoke up, smiling imperceptibly.
"The problem is the humans and fairies here—they won't have time to escape."
He pursed his lips, gesturing toward the human guards and fairy refugees around them.
All the humans and fairies were trembling.
Some had already given in to despair.
Some fairies were still praying.
Others had a fierce glint in their eyes, as if they intended to do something.
Da Vinci-chan fell silent.
If they escaped, these humans and fairies would undoubtedly die!
"But do we really have a way to deal with that thing right now?"
Muramasa couldn't help raising his voice.
"Don't rush."
Pepe Perón giggled delightfully at his words.
"I can sense it—our fate won't end here!"
"Is it one of the Six Supernatural Powers, the Knowledge of the Extinction of Outflows?"
Da Vinci-chan suddenly understood.
The Knowledge of the Extinction of Outflows refers to knowing the end of one's own fate.
Since Pepe said their fate wouldn't end here, it meant they probably wouldn't die in this place.
But Muramasa's words also made sense.
At this point, how could they possibly fight such a monster?
What kind of support could they even hope for at a time like this?
"Is there a Grand Servant who could come save us?"
Da Vinci-chan's thoughts were in disarray.
"Hey!"
Just then, Muramasa's tense voice rang out urgently.
"Is that thing starting to fall toward us?!"
Da Vinci-chan was startled and quickly looked up, then froze in disbelief.
The two-thousand-meter-high Cursed Hand was slowly tilting toward Norwich!
"If that thing crashes down, the shockwave would wipe out all of Norwich in an instant!"
No matter how calm he usually was, Pepe couldn't help gritting his teeth at this moment.
"Everyone, I need your help with something!"
Just then, a voice suddenly spoke up.
...
Outside the city.
Eiji's dream clone rushed at top speed to the plains outside the city.
"The Mors are disappearing?"
There had been thousands of Mors on the plains, but now they were turning into dark particles, drifting toward the massive Cursed Hand—as if it were absorbing the nutrients the Mors had gathered!
"I see. The reason the Mors were sent to attack the city was to devour the fairies and strengthen itself. Now that the goal is achieved, the Mors are no longer needed. Better to absorb them all and turn itself into the ultimate bomb!"
In that fleeting moment, Eiji understood the Cursed Hand's logic.
But even understanding it—
Eiji came to a halt.
The enormous Cursed Hand loomed before him.
The thing had reached the coastline, its writhing, monstrous shadow blotting out the sky!
Standing less than two meters tall, Eiji seemed like an ant before a giant—a thousand times his size—utterly insignificant, so small it was hardly worth noticing.
The staggering height difference was enough to drive anyone to despair.
Faced with this towering monstrosity that seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky, even Eiji felt a tremor of fear in his heart.
Thanks for the invite, my megalophobia is acting up!
"Whether I can win or not depends on this one move!"
Eiji drew his spiritual armament, the shimmering light coalescing into the pitch-black Inverse Holy Sword.
All other dream clones vanished at this moment as Eiji channeled all his magical power into this single dream incarnation!
"Bring it on!"
Eiji licked his dry lips, his gaze instantly sharpening with determination!