Beams from the Gun Rapier intercepted stakes from the Beowulf's Revolving Stake, while Phantom lasers countered bullets from its triple machine cannon.
Fortunately, ranged combat favored me, and the barrage steadily closed in on the Beowulf.
"Take this too!"
Extending the Beam Gatling and Linear Railgun barrels, I unleashed a full salvo. Electromagnetic rounds and relentless beams forced even the Beowulf to evade, leaping right—its first dodge in this fight.
"Now! Accelerate, Focus, Grapnel Thread!"
Using Accelerate, I closed in rapidly, shifting the Gun Rapier to my left hand. With my right, I channeled the T-LINK System's Psychokinesis Field into the Grapnel Thread, wrapping it around the Beowulf's right arm to halt its movement.
"T-LINK System, full contact! Slash!"
Pouring more psychokinesis into the thread, I generated cutting force, severing the Beowulf's right arm—home to the deadly Revolving Stake—at the shoulder.
"Vanish, Halberd Launcher!"
Despite the exhaustion from the SP drain of the cutting thread, I released the Grapnel Thread, grabbed the Halberd Launcher from the rack, and fired at the severed arm on the ground. The beam engulfed it, obliterating the Revolving Stake and arm without a trace.
"Guh!"
For a split second, I let my guard down, and crushing fatigue hit. Generating that cutting force, even briefly, with Level 10 Psychokinesis, was brutal.
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
The Beowulf's roar shook the battlefield, brimming with rage and hatred—not my imagination. But what I saw next stunned me. Vines of Einste sprouted from its severed shoulder, latching onto wreckage from a mass-produced Gespenst Mk-II. They dragged the parts in, coiling double, triple, forming a grotesque, makeshift arm. No weapons, but its organic appearance triggered visceral disgust.
"At least it's on plan…?"
"GAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Another roar, no longer human. Vines erupted from its body, snatching up scattered Mk-II parts. Some reached for the Grow Savior, but I blasted them with the Halberd Launcher.
The Beowulf had absorbed the fourth Mk-II, wrecked by Fire Daggers. The first, shredded internally by the Adaman Halberd, was ignored, but the second and third—torn by Nine-Tail Mode—were consumed.
"A mechanical kaiju, huh?"
The Beowulf, now triple the Grow Savior's size, loomed like a nightmare. I wished its bulk dulled its wits, but did an Einste-possessed monster even have wits? A glance at the monitor showed less than seven minutes until Rykeios' activation. A colossal foe, and time running out.
The warped humanoid thing raised its right arm and swung down—a simple punch, but with its mass, devastating.
"Big and slow, huh, giant?"
Dodging the fist as it cratered the ground, I slammed the Linear Railgun into its elbow at point-blank range, shattering the joint.
"Fragile?"
I muttered, but vines sprouted from the shoulder and forearm, fusing to restore the arm as if nothing happened.
"Of course."
Sighing, I pulled back. Normally, internal attacks were the way to handle giants, but…
"Not with Einste."
Diving into its core was beyond courage—pure recklessness. But then it hit me. The Beowulf absorbed three Mk-IIs, their nuclear fusion generators likely intact. What if I triggered a chain explosion?
There might be better ways, but with less than six minutes left, this was my only shot.
"Not fond of bad odds, huh?"
Recalling Kyosuke's line from the original, I smirked. This was the ultimate bad bet.
"T-LINK System, full contact!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAA!!"
Sensing my probe, the Beowulf roared, sprouting vines—or tentacles now—toward me.
"Too many to focus with T-LINK! Focus, Phantom!"
Using Focus again, I dodged the tentacles, burning only those about to hit with Phantom lasers. I needed to stop its movement, but the Grapnel Thread's short range was a problem. Wait—its psychokinesis-based, from my power. Could I…?
"T-LINK System, full contact! Grapnel Thread!"
Pushing my psychokinesis to the limit, I activated the Grapnel Thread, pouring power beyond its normal formation. Tentacles attacked, but I shot down the closest with Phantoms. They couldn't hold forever—Phantoms started falling, one by one, passing ten.
Finally, the Grapnel Thread extended.
"Take this!"
I bound the Beowulf and its tentacles in the thread, like Fenrir chained in legend. No time to rest—I used T-LINK to locate the generators.
…There! Three, clustered at its solar plexus!
Recalling all but six Phantoms to Chronos, I nearly blacked out from exhaustion. I'd overused T-LINK too much this fight. But this was the end.
"T-LINK System, full contact! Phantom, pierce the lone wolf's life!"
Six Phantoms, charged with maximum psychokinesis, bared laser-blade fangs, aiming for the generators.
"And this!"
Focusing on the solar plexus, I fired the Beam Gatling, Linear Railgun, Gun Rapier, and Halberd Launcher in a concentrated barrage. The Phantoms pierced the target, followed by a storm of Gatling beams, Railgun rounds, and Rapier shots. The Halberd Launcher's beams finished it, slamming into the Beowulf's chest.
Simultaneously, the overtaxed Grapnel Thread smoked and shut down.
"Accelerate!"
Staying meant getting caught in the triple generator explosion. I fled toward Rykeios' test site, the monitor showing less than a minute left.
"Damn it, will I make it!?"
Accelerate wasn't enough—I maxed Chronos' boosters. Seconds later, the test site appeared, Rykeios' transfer field already active.
"I made—!?"
Something approached from behind. I rolled the Grow Savior, and Einste vines pierced where I'd been.
The generators hadn't blown yet!? No time to counterattack—less than 30 seconds remained. But leaving meant dragging the Beowulf to the other world.
My eyes caught the test building's ceiling and the Grow Savior's chest-mounted Fire Daggers, ready to fire without aiming. Aiming at the ceiling while advancing toward Rykeios, I unleashed all Daggers. Explosions collapsed the structure, crushing the vines.
Without pausing, the Grow Savior entered the transfer field. As the timer hit zero, a massive explosion—likely the generators—shook the air, but I was already half in the dimensional rift, too focused to care.
"Not yet… not fully in the rift."
I was more tense than during the Beowulf fight. Too early, and the transfer fails; too late, and Rykeios is lost.
"Now!"
Whether psychokinesis, sixth sense, or something else, a gut feeling screamed now. I trusted it.
"Store, Rykeios!"
Confirming "Rykeios" in the spatial storage, relief hit as my consciousness sank into darkness, bound for the other world.
Character Stats: Axel Almer
Level: 25
PP: 95
Melee: 206
Ranged: 224
Skill: 216
Defense: 213
Evasion: 241
Accuracy: 263
SP: 342
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder/Special
Terrain Adaptability:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: A
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 20)
Awaken (SP 32)
???
Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recovery & Focus)
Psychokinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
???
???
???
???
???
???
???
Kill Count: 92