The Valkyrie swung her spear and the golem's head was severed.
A small burst of sparks flickered at the point of impact.
Mana flowed from the spear into the golem, disrupting the formula.
It was only a momentary disruption.
But it was enough time for the golem to lose its form and crumble.
The golem that had been struck by the spear retracted from the fingertips back into mere earth.
"Ha!"
The Valkyrie's spear whirled and pierced the chest of a golem lurking in a blind spot.
Sparks burst forth once more, and the golem toppled and collapsed.
It had attempted to reconstruct its formula, but the Valkyrie's mana interfered and the attempt failed.
(A peculiar reaction. Could this be another trait of a hero?)
The Valkyrie's mana differed somewhat from that of an ordinary person.
In terms of sheer quality and quantity, it was nothing remarkable.
Only its nature was slightly altered, granting strong resistance to magical interference.
The fact that my soul-calming powers affected me as well likely stemmed from this.
It wasn't sharp enough to call a special ability, but for someone like me who relied heavily on magic, it was troublesome.
Either way, I needed to rethink my approach.
If I overplayed my hand with strategies, I risked being cornered instead.
I had to steer the flow of battle in a direction that wouldn't let her leverage her strengths.
Surveying the few remaining golems, I unleashed my magic.
The ground across the entire area writhed, transforming into earth golems.
Once about thirty had been created, I set them upon the battle maiden.
This repetition had been going on for some time.
The battle maiden fought desperately against the unceasing golem assaults.
She was a magnificent spear wielder.
Her technique of channeling magic into the golems was also first-class.
Strictly speaking, that wasn't magic.
Yet its effect at disrupting formulas was superior to clumsy sorcery.
Even setting aside her power to lay souls to rest, the battle maiden possessed strength worthy of a hero.
On the other hand, the subordinates she led had all been annihilated.
They had died under the golem onslaught.
Faced with nearly infinitely generated golems, they were struck down one by one.
A insidious but certainly effective method, one might say.
I merely stood at a distance, continuing to spawn golems.
They were too preoccupied dealing with the golems to have any leeway to counterattack me.
Thus, only the battle maiden remained.
Still, she would not fall easily, as expected.
Against the golems pressing in from all directions, she continued to fight on equal or better terms.
I had aimed for a war of attrition, keeping stamina depletion in mind, but the battle maiden's attacks only grew more ferocious.
The spear flashed with blinding speed, accurately destroying each golem.
Her breathtaking spearwork was unquestionably the skill of a first-rate warrior.
She could hold her own even against Diera, herself a fellow spear wielder.
In short, one could call it the pinnacle of the world's martial skill.
(I had heard she was a master of the spear, but I never expected anything quite like this...)
I had read reports, but witnessing it in person was something else entirely—the commanding aura about her was on another level.
Moreover, she was blind.
She fought by honing her other senses to a razor's edge.
Just how many years of grueling training would it take to reach such a level?
The ritual magic had indeed elevated her to the status of a hero.
However, without genuine strength of her own, she could never have attained such power.
The majority of my current abilities are borrowed ones.
What I had earned through my own effort was nothing more than a fraction.
And so the Valkyrie's strength left me feeling almost blinded.
Naturally, a sense of guilt crept over me.
That said, it did not cause any irregularities in my magic control.
The bulk of my attention was devoted to observing the Valkyrie.
Sacrificing large numbers of golems, I studied her fighting style and habits.
I also wanted to expose whatever she had hidden up her sleeve.
The scenario I needed to guard against most was receiving a fatal wound from some unknown ability.
The Valkyrie was an awakened hero.
Beyond the Soul Requiem, there might be other hidden strategies. Forcing disclosure of her abilities without risk by cornering her with golems was the priority.
(...Perhaps it's time to strike.)
When the moment was right, I casually raised my arm and released a beam of light from it.
The Valkyrie was in the midst of piercing a golem.
I deliberately timed the attack for that exact instant.
"Guh...!?"
The Valkyrie's evasive action was slightly delayed.
The beam grazed her shoulder, searing the spot.
Blood spattered.
She nearly dropped her spear but managed to endure and retreat.
She kicked aside the golems as she gained distance.
I fired a volley of beams toward her position.
The Valkyrie deflected them with her spear, spinning it around each shot.
It was a superhuman display of skill.
For most, a direct hit would have meant the end.
She could counter without using any magical means.
She was undoubtedly an exceptional warrior.
One I almost hated to kill.
Of course, she was not an opponent I could afford to go easy on.
Such carelessness and complacency are what invite one's own death.
One must persist with reliable methods until the very end.
While firing a beam with one hand, I spawned a large number of golems.
This time it was fifty at once.
I sent them charging toward the Valkyrie.
"Hm."
The Valkyrie's spear movements accelerated markedly.
With strikes that exceeded their previous limits, she shattered the overwhelming density of golems.
I observed this while firing my beam.
Whether it hit a golem or not, I relentlessly targeted the Valkyrie's life.
The Valkyrie, while dispatching the golems, deflected the beam throughout the sequence.
Midway, the special machine's response dulled.
It seemed the power of the soul-repose had intensified.
The Valkyrie was displaying her true strength at the critical moment.
(What a desperate struggle...)
I countered by increasing the output of the special machine.
It placed an immense burden on the frame, but I could no longer afford to care about that.
The battle had reached its climax.
I could not hold anything back.
Though damaged by the overload, the special machine continued to emit its beam.
The Valkyrie held on with only a single spear.
After countless exchanges of blows, it finally caught one of her legs.
Then it pierced through her abdomen, blowing a hole clean through.
"…Ugh!"
A follow-up beam of light pierced the Valkyrie's throat as she reeled back.
Her mouth opened and closed uselessly, and she swayed heavily.
She tried to use her spear as a crutch but wasn't fast enough, toppling forward face-first.
(Is this the end…)
I was about to witness the Valkyrie's final moments when I was struck with shock.
Just before hitting the ground, she suddenly planted one foot forward.
It was the very leg with a hole punched through it by the beam.
She pushed off from there and came charging at me in a forward-leaning sprint.
It was an acceleration born of catching one off-guard.
I immediately fired a beam, but my aim was off and it passed by her side.
"Ma…gh…!"
A hoarse voice escaped her along with a spray of blood.
Having closed the distance in an instant, the Valkyrie thrust her spear straight at me.