Whether I had any hesitation about that decision — well, I can't say I didn't.
Type Ω was a combat unit specialized for fighting Güliedistodiel.
To put it bluntly, its compatibility with
Whether it could even function inside the magic-disruption barrier was unclear, and she had Devour.
Type Ω's internal energy reserves were enormous.
But they weren't infinite.
If the fight dragged on, they would eventually run dry, and any external interference would accelerate that drain. That was only natural.
Devour had the potential to absorb even that internal energy.
After all, I hadn't fully analyzed every Skill out there.
The presence of a magic-disruption barrier didn't mean I could afford to be complacent.
Of course, poor compatibility alone didn't mean Type Ω could lose to Ariel.
Type Ω's combat capabilities, converted into theoretical Status values, came to: Physical Attack 150,000, Physical Defense 100,000, Speed 150,000.
Ariel's exact Stats were impossible to pin down thanks to the Sovereign authority's Appraisal interference, but they shouldn't exceed 100,000.
If that was the case, the sheer difference in raw power would be enough to overwhelm her.
Indeed, Ariel was being handled at Type Ω's convenience.
"Haaaah!"
On the other side of the monitor, Ariel screamed as she threw a punch.
But Type Ω dodged it effortlessly.
As a counter, it drove its arm straight through Ariel's body.
Not just any arm.
Type Ω's arm spun like a drill, grinding away at Ariel's flesh.
Flesh and blood were pulverized, making Ariel's small body even lighter still.
When Ariel finally broke free and created distance, nearly half her abdomen had been annihilated.
When I'd considered what the most efficient means of attack against a god would be, this drill was the result.
Severing was useless — the cut surfaces would simply fuse back together.
Blunt force was useless — crushed tissue would just repair itself.
Piercing was useless — the wound area was far too narrow.
Against a monster that could regenerate from a shattered state in an instant, physical attacks of this nature were mostly pointless.
You'd need destructive force powerful enough to completely obliterate the body.
But excessive destructive force wasted energy.
Whether attacking or defending, energy was consumed.
If an attack cost 100 energy, the defender had to spend a matching 100 energy on defense to block it.
Factoring in the target's base physical durability, the equation wasn't quite that simple, of course.
But in any case, the higher the opponent's attack power, the proportionally higher the energy spent on defense.
However, there was a tipping point.
A point where it became cheaper to simply absorb the damage and heal, rather than defend against it.
Think about it and it was obvious.
This was a monster that could revive even from complete obliteration.
Which meant it stored enough energy within itself to be obliterated and not care.
If the energy required to regenerate from a shattered state was, say, 10,000, then being hit by an attack costing 10,001 energy — rather than faithfully spending 10,001 on defense — it was more efficient to just take the hit and heal, saving one energy in the process.
Meanwhile, the attacker would have spent 10,001 energy in order to drain 10,000 from the defender.
An attack that actually ended up costing the attacker more energy than the defender.
Because this phenomenon could occur, spending too much energy on attacking a god was a poor strategy.
What you wanted was a low-cost attack method that still forced the opponent to spend energy.
The drill excelled in precisely that regard.
You could adjust the energy output based on the opponent's defensive power, and if it broke through their defense, it dealt a massive wound.
The bigger the wound, the more energy required to heal it.
Against a god who could regenerate from complete destruction, this seemed like it would have diminished returns — but even small expenditures accumulated into something significant over time.
Low cost, low return.
But the return was reliably larger than the cost.
And Ariel was not a god.
On this stage designed for gods, Ariel — who was not a god — was helpless, even with favorable compatibility against Type Ω.
My only concern was wasting Type Ω's internal energy.
The energy I'd so carefully gathered being depleted faster than expected against Ariel would be irritating.
But, as I'd told Ariel, I did think highly of her.
Highly enough to consider it fitting to use my strongest card as a send-off.
"Lord Potimas, how should we handle the interception forces outside?"
"Leave it to me."
So when a subordinate contacted me for instructions over the comm, I dumped it all on them.
I had no intention of taking my eyes off the monitor showing Ariel.
Trivial matters outside could be left to subordinates.
The only ones worth worrying about were the Queen Taratect and White, or whatever she was called.
If neither came close to Ariel's level, there was no need for me to intervene personally.
Right now, I wanted to focus on witnessing the end of my longtime nemesis.
Ariel held her hand against her ruined abdomen, breathing ragged.
Even though inhaling air thick with carbon dioxide would only make her condition worse.
She could barely manage to heal her wounds, all because of the magic-disruption barrier.
Of course.
That was what the barrier was for.
That was what the carbon dioxide was for.
The magic-disruption barrier restricted her combat abilities and regeneration as a god. The carbon dioxide slowly bled away her energy. And Type Ω accelerated the whole process.
A strategy I, a non-god, had devised exhaustively for the purpose of killing a god.
There was no way Ariel, who wasn't even a god, could overcome it.
"Aaaaaah!"
Type Ω lunged at Ariel once more.
Its drill pierced her chest, tearing a gaping hole through it.
But Ariel, fully prepared for such a wound, grabbed Type Ω's arm with her left hand and held it in place.
"Caught... you."
Until now, all of Ariel's attacks had been thwarted by Type Ω's speed — not a single one had connected.
Had Ariel deliberately taken the hit so she could land an attack on Type Ω?
Ariel's right hand clenched tight.
What she unleashed was a devastating straight right.
With its arm seized in Ariel's left hand, Type Ω had no room to dodge.
A full-power blow crashed into Type Ω.
The fist struck the area that served as its face, and the metal burst apart like a balloon.
But it didn't stop there. The impact transferred through its entire body, and Type Ω shattered in every direction like an explosion.
"How's that. Did you see?"
Ariel's face broke into a triumphant grin.
Despite having holes torn through her abdomen and chest — wounds that would be fatal for any living creature.
But I was afraid this was where the disappointment began.
"I'm afraid it's not over yet, you know?"
Before Ariel's eyes, Type Ω's shattered body was regenerating.
In less than a second, it had returned to its previous state — pristine and unscathed.
If a god could do something, there was no reason a being infused with comparable energy couldn't do the same.
And Type Ω, unlike a living organism, was a simple mass of metal.
All I was doing was remotely operating it with magic.
Between a complex biological body and a simple lump of metal, it was obviously the former that required more energy to regenerate.
It drained the opponent's energy efficiently while minimizing its own losses.
And yet it was capable of sustained, long-term operation.
That was the essence of Type Ω.
"Time for round two, then."
With those words, Type Ω charged at Ariel again.
It might end in the second round.
Didn't look like it would make it to the final round.
Not that there would ever be a final round — this was a hell with infinite rounds that would never end.