Life in Vain: Jobless Reincarnation

199 – Absolute Pin – III

Crimson spread across the white expanse before tearing it apart, leaving behind faint wisps that looked like flower petals.

After that, Pierre stepped in front of me, clicking his tongue. "I told you guys to be careful earlier."

I chuckled and picked up my left arm off the ground before sticking it back on with some healing magic. "And this is why we brought you along."

Rocks tumbled off to the side as Dad slowly got up. "Fucking cheating piece of shit. Ugh..." He massaged his stomach with his left hand before glancing at the sword in his right hand.

Or rather, what was left of his sword.

The blade had completely shattered, leaving only just the hilt. But as Dad looked at it, the hilt crumbled, revealing a bit of the tang. But then that too crumbled, turning into just motes of crimson light.

He clicked his tongue and said, "Kingslayer was such a good sword too..."

Pierre paused and then looked over. "You called your sword 'Kingslayer'?"

Dad brushed his hands and said, "Well, yeah. Was planning to use it to kill a certain king if he didn't get his nobles under control. Orsted talked me out of it though. Apparently, he called dibs."

I had... so many questions.

But they could wait.

I kept a close eye on the hydra, carefully watching its heads. Specifically, each of its heads' jaws.

"...You don't think this thing has enough for a third one of those, right?"

Dad shook his hand and said, "If it does, I sure as hell can't do anything about it. Unless you want to toss me your sword."

I glanced over at where my sword had landed... only to see it dissolve as well.

"Huh." I shifted my gaze back towards the hydra and said, "Looks like Being W's using godmode on his units."

Both my sword and Dad's swords were formed from mana, and after that attack, they dissolved away.

Which meant that the hydra's scales were definitely anti-mana.

But at the same time, it had not only nullified our attacks, but reflected them back.

If I hadn't instinctively swung my arm out to blast Dad away, he would've ended up a fine red mist.

That resulted in me losing said arm, but it was just a flesh wound. The cut was so clean that I could just plop it back on with a bit of healing magic, so no harm done.

But this was a problem.

Pierre stepped in front of me and Dad and said, "Godmode, huh? I guess that's a good description." He narrowed his eyes and said, "...I don't know how he did it, but this thing is definitely close to divine."

"I have MANY questions on how you know that, Pierre. But good to know."

I shook my left arm to get feeling back in it while analyzing the hydra and assessing the situation.

Ideally, we'd just leave and come back with reinforcements.

Although this thing was a hard counter for me and Dad, I was pretty sure we could figure a way out if I grabbed like Cliff, Eos, and Ruijerd.

And from the way Pierre was acting, it seemed he had a few ideas on how to resolve this too, so that was an option.

Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to think.

I hadn't noticed the first time, but it was clear now that it did a second breath attack that the damned snake was using Ena as a battery.

Not only that, but it was speeding up the corrosion eating away at her.

It was likely that if we left, the hydra would calm down and the mana corroding Ena would too.

...But it was also just as likely that the hydra would thrash in anger and lead to a worst case scenario.

Fucking cheating bastard of a god.

But whatever.

Problem here, solution needed.

I glanced at Pierre and said, "Just to check, this thing is definitely not a fucking Manatite Hydra, right?"

"Considering how you and Paul would have torn it apart by now, definitely not." Pierre frowned and said, "But it seems like it mutated from one?"

Dad let out a dry laugh and said, "Really? I wouldn't have guessed considering how this dungeon's monsters were gone and that fucking snake ATE our sword slashes. AND SWORDS."

I didn't respond, just carefully observing the hydra.

But as I observed the hydra, it was observing me too. No, not just me, but also Dad and Pierre.

...This definitely wasn't a simple-minded beast.

The hydra was clearly assessing us based on our combat potential.

And it also seemed to realize that its best attack wasn't working since it wasn't bothering to gather up more of those white flames.

...But that begged the question.

What other bullshit tricks is this snake hiding?

Was it going to go into a phase two as soon as we cut a head off and turn into Yamata no Orochi or something? It was already clearly a suped up version of the Lernaean Hydra with those nine heads.

Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it started infinitely spawning heads the more we cut.

Dad moved in front of me and then glanced back. "What's the plan, Rudy? Do we run?"

Pierre frowned. "That would be the safest bet... But I'm guessing you're saying no to that plan."

"Of course." I held up my left hand again and said, "What kind of father would I be if I ran away when my daughter is right there?"

Dad reached up to crack his neck and then lowered his hands. "Alright then. Guess it's time for me to test if I can do the whole 'body as sword' thing..."

Pierre let out a deep sigh. "Please don't. It doesn't work with a squishy human body. I've tried."

"Well, what else am I supposed to-"

Magic circles flared in front of me as I launched three water balls.

One, made of mana. Another, gathered and carried by mana. And then a third gathered and launched by mana.

The first dissolved like my sword.

The second harmlessly splashed against the hydra.

And the third flew back right at me.

I caught it and dispersed it back into the air, but then I frowned. "...And this is why trump cards need to be decisive."

It was a goddamned conceptual defense.

I was watching closely as I shot those water balls, and there was no mistaking it.

'Something' erased the mana when I attacked with the first two water balls. And 'something' reversed the force of the third water ball that I shot at it with just pure physics.

"Hah..."

Dad looked at me and said, "So... you figured it out?"

"Yeah. It's a bullshit cheating conceptual defense."

Dad blinked. "A what?"

Pierre groaned. "I hate those. The number of ridiculous attacks I had to deal with in the past..."

"Good to see you're familiar, Pierre." I nodded and then started walking forward. "...You wouldn't happen to have an 'absolute slash' technique that conceptually tears apart anything and everything, do you?"

Pierre laughed. "I wish. Would have made my life a LOT easier in the past." He paused. "I HAVE seen one though... but it's kind of impossible to recreate even for me. And no, Paul, you can't do it."

Dad clicked his tongue. "Bet I could. Give me like a month."

"..." Pierre ignored him and then turned back to me. "Any bright ideas then?" He glanced at the hydra and said, "That guy's just watching us right now, but I don't think he'll do that forever."

As if that was the cue, the hydra stepped forward, shaking the temple.

I clicked my tongue. "Looks like it realizes it has the melee advantage, huh?"

Pierre raised his sword, but he looked hesitant. "I... probably shouldn't cut it, should I?"

Dad raised his hands and said, "Wouldn't hurt to try a light one, right? Worst thing is you get a light scratch."

I waved them down and said, "You two keep an eye on Ena and wait for an opening to rescue her. Remember, the goal is to save her, not kill this thing. Besides, probably easier to figure out how to free her from that crystal than beat this cheating monster."

Pierre blinked. "That... is actually a much smarter plan than I would have thought of."

Dad laughed. "And you say that I'M the one who swings his sword at everything instead of thinking, Pierre."

"You are. I at least-"

Whatever they were saying next, I didn't hear.

As the hydra stepped forward, I jumped into the air and swung out my arm.

As I did, magic circles flared to life, armed with all the basic elements in multiple configurations.

Icicles formed from mana, icicles launched by mana, an imitation of the mana breath attack, poison gas, radiation, lasers, rocks...

In that moment, I threw everything and the kitchen sink to see if it really was a perfect conceptual defense.

If it was, that fucking Being W was smarter than I thought considering I only used a conceptual weapon attack against him once, and he figured out how to give it to a random monster...

Wait.

No, it was probably just divine authority, right?

That made more sense.

...But doesn't that mean that conceptual attacks and defenses are the same as divine authority?

And that meant that if you could do those-

'FOCUS.'

Right. Think about that later. At the moment, I had a snake to kill.

A kaleidoscope of lights splashed across the hydra.

I took in all the results in a single glance.

Poison and radiation went through, but the hydra wasn't affected.

Elemental attacks didn't work, physical or not.

Mana breath attack imitation just splashed off...

One of the hydra's head lunged at me. Another sent out a blast of regular flames. Another still sent out a blast of icicles. Yet another sent out lightning.

I dodged the lunge and then tried grabbing the elemental attacks to send them back.

It was mana, so I could direct it.

Unfortunately, said attacks dispersed all the same.

"It seems like the defense doesn't discriminate..."

I was hoping Being W took some notes from the Lernaean Hydra myth and made the thing weak to its own attacks. But it seemed like he was smarter than that.

Dad and Pierre dashed around the hydra, but they were chased by a few free heads and blasted with elemental attacks too.

Unfortunately for the hydra, both of them were swordsmen who knew how to cut through magic spells...

And Dad was a crazy guy who could even do that with his body?

...The Rudy Effect was a thing, huh?

But anyway... how to beat this thing?

Dad and Pierre wouldn't have an issue saving Ena, and I could definitely distract this thing long enough.

But the problem was that it was using Ena as a mana battery. And I didn't know how long that range for said battery connection was.

Knowing Being W, he probably also cheated with that and linked the two with his divine authority as well, meaning infinite range.

And also, Ena's wings were changing color, the white slowly being stained black.

A cliche fallen angel scenario.

...And judging by the developments, she'd be going insane and try to destroy the world, completely forgetting who she was until the last moment where she killed herself to save the world from herself.

Yeah, no.

Dad dodged a head lunging from him and said, "Rudy? Distraction please?!"

Pierre deflected a head and winced, spinning with the recoil towards another head. But he swung his blade and then used that force to dodge... somehow parrying the reflected slash?

Okay, definitely need to have that continually delayed chat with Pierre about what exactly he was and not just 'who.'

Pierre landed on the ground and dashed forward, weaving through a trio of hydra heads. As he did, he said, "Need you to stop spacing out, Rudy!"

"...Hah." I looked down at the hydra from my spot in the air. "Was hoping I wouldn't have to use this right now, but an emergency's an emergency."

The hydra's defense was two-pronged.

On one hand, it prevented magical attacks by completely erasing the mana behind them.

On the other, it reversed and redirected physical attacks it received on the attacker.

In theory, a perfect defense.

But you see, the thing with conceptual attacks and defenses is that details were important, along with interpretation.

If someone was 'immune to fire' for example, they'd think they wouldn't be able to be burned. However, 'immune to fire' wasn't the same as being 'immune to burns,' and they'd be in for a rough awakening when they got sprayed with superheated steam or acid.

So while the hydra was immune to 'attacks using mana' and it 'reflected physical attacks to the attacker'... that was it.

So.

Logically, if you used an attack that wasn't quite 'mana' and if the hydra was hit by a physical 'phenomenon' instead of an 'attack', the defense wouldn't trigger.

And as for which of those avenues I was going to pierce the hydra's defense...

I conjured a thin sheet of reflective metal in my hands.

The hydra pulled its heads to stare at me, carefully observing my actions.

Smart. I was definitely the most dangerous one here to it.

Unfortunately...

"You can be proud, Hydra. You were definitely strong. But strength isn't everything."

I lined up the mirror in my field of vision, splitting the hydra in half.

On both sides of the mirror, the hydra's other half of the body was reflected.

...It didn't do anything.

This was just for aiding my visualization for my next move.

And as for that move...

"<Space Inversion>."

An instantaneous effect.

Space bent and twisted as the hydra suddenly started to blur.

Ominous black smoke spilled out as 'something' tried to stop the twisting space.

Unfortunately, this wasn't an 'attack.'

It was an 'event.'

You see, it took a lot of know-how into space and time dimensions to be able to hop to and from an alternate timeline.

I had managed to get there with brute force, willpower, and mana the first time by following Stella, but the way back definitely wasn't as simple.

Of course, I made it LOOK simple. Had to show off to my lovely wives, parents, and sister, after all.

But it was actually a lot of careful calculations and knowing how shifting certain spatial coordinates could create a domino effect of collapsing space dimensions.

All of that to say-

*splat*

...The hydra was toast.

A mass of scaly black flesh fell to the ground in front of the white crystal.

I let out a sigh and then landed on the ground.

Dad looked at me and then said, "You couldn't have done that from the start?"

I brushed off some dust from my coat and said, "Had to make sure. It would have ended poorly if that hydra reflected literally everything instead of just attacks."

...Though in hindsight, maybe it would have been a good time to test if I could brainwash a monster with subliminal imagery.

Darn. Next time. Definitely next time...

Pierre sighed and placed a hand on his head. "I'm never going to stop being surprised by what else you can pull out of your hat, am I?"

"Until we beat Being W for good, no."

Pierre shook his head and then turned towards Ena. "Alright. Now we just have to- Wait." He paused.

Dad frowned and said, "What's up, Pierre? Is there something-" He paused, looking like he suddenly realized something.

For a split second, I wondered what that was.

And then I realized it.

"If the hydra's the boss..."

Pierre finished for me. "Why is Ena not freed?"

Dad's eyes widened and he grabbed Pierre before jumping to the side.

The moment he did, black tendrils shot out from the hydra's body, aimed right at Ena's heart.

I warped through space and spun around to intercept them. "Like hell!"

A ten-fold barrier flared into existence, deflecting the tendrils.

But they quickly spun around for another attack, this time emitting a black smoke.

I clicked my tongue and then swung out my right hand, aiming it at the white crystal.

A blast of pure force, sending the crystal ricocheting towards the back of the temple.

...Sorry Ena, but Dad's gotta be a bit rough right now.

Ena's crystal crashed against the back wall before landing on the floor, unscathed.

Dad immediately ran over there.

Pierre did as well, but he turned around to look at me.

I waved with my right hand and said, "Get Ena out of-"

*sching*

A clean cut and a sudden loss of feeling in my lower half.

I looked down to see my legs suddenly collapse on their own while the black tendrils pulled back.

"RUDY!"

Dad yelled and took a step forward.

Pierre held him back with one arm and said, "Not now!" With his other, he swung his sword and made a portal back to the surface.

Dad hesitated and then shouted. "Don't be reckless, Rudy!"

I laughed. "Reckless?"

The shadowy tendrils pulled back to the black mass that became the hydra. Maybe since it considered me harmless now.

Silly hydra. You aren't the only one with god-tier regen skills and an undying body.

I waved my left hand and pulled my body back together with mana. With my right, I warped through the temple to land next to Dad.

He blinked and then let out a relieved sigh before slapping me on the back. "Don't scare me like that, Kid! You know what your wives will do to me if they find out that-"

I grabbed Ena's crystal and said, "Talk later, run now!"

With that as our cue, we all jumped through the portal Pierre made.

An earthshaking roar echoed from behind us, but before anything could happen, we were through the portal.

I landed on the ground and then let out a deep sigh.

Dad laughed and said, "Well... That was an adventure and a half."

Pierre groaned. "I hate variables. SO much."

I chuckled and said, "Tell that to Being W when we get to him."

The portal had popped us out near Rapan instead of the entrance to the Teleportation Labyrinth.

Smart. The more distance we put between us and the hydra... or whatever it had become, the better.

I sighed and then walked over to examine Ena.

She was still trapped in the crystal, but thankfully that corrosive mana had stopped. Her wings were still stained black, but it didn't look like it was getting worse.

Seeing that, I shook my head and let out a soft smile. "Sorry I'm late, Ena. But Daddy will get you out of there as soon as possible. Just wait a bit more."

Dad gave me a weird look.

I noticed and looked back at him. "What?"

"I know that should be touching and all, Rudy, but..." Dad looked at Ena before saying, "...It's kind of weird for a grown man to be saying to someone who looks like a grown woman, isn't it?"

I snorted. "Please. As if Mama Lily doesn't call you that in the bedroom."

Dad blushed. "W-What?! Did they talk about that?! How did you know!?"

Pierre let out a deep sigh and said, "Can we please focu-"

A sudden tremor, causing all the sand around us to shift.

I froze, suddenly realizing something.

We were far from the entrance of the Teleportation Labyrinth since the city of Rapan was a fair bit away.

...But according to what I mapped out, the boss room was directly below the city. Meaning-

I quickly slammed my hand against the ground began making a defensive tower. "MISTAKES WERE MADE!"

A giant stone pillar launched us into the air before hardening into a glossy obsidian tower with Ena safely stored on a pedestal.

And immediately after that, the ground split apart as the giant behemoth bones hanging over Rapan were sucked into the ground, creating giant sinkholes all around Lapan.

...Okay. Definitely should have seen that coming.

From the sinkholes, swarms of monsters started emerging. Giant ants, spiders, bats... Basically all the monsters that should have been in the Teleportation Labyrinth but weren't.

I stared at the ensuing chaos and the people desperately fending off the monsters for a moment, wondering what to do.

Ruijerd, Laws, and Rostelina were in the mix down there, fending off monsters left and right. They'd also organized the adventurers and looked to be carving out an escape path for everyone.

In the distance, I could see Eos, Roland, and Cliff racing over with their forces...

Things would probably be fine if the city held out for about five minutes until everyone got there.

...It looked like it might be tough at this rate though.

I glanced over at Dad and Pierre.

Dad stared at me and then raised his hands. "Hey, I know I said that with great power comes great responsibility, but how am I supposed to fight without a-"

I pulled up a mass of sand, hyper-compressed it into a sword, did a bit of particle shimmying to strengthen it, and then handed it over to Dad.

He gave me a blank stare and then sighed, grabbing the glassy sword I just made. "Making your old man do all the grunt work, huh? I see how it is..."

After saying that, Dad jumped off the roof and slashed the air, falling through a portal right over a swarm of monsters.

Pierre stared at where Dad left and then sighed. "I'm never gonna hear the end of it if I let Rosie do all the fighting..."

After that, he left to join the fight as well.

Which meant it was just me and Ena here on the tower.

...Huh. Come to think of it, this was similar to how I first arrived in the Magic Continent, wasn't it? Me and Stella on a black tower with chaos unfolding all around, and then Ruijerd-

'Rudy.'

I blinked.

Speak of the devil... demon...

...Anyway.

'Yes?'

'We have a problem.'

I looked out into the city with Clairvoyance to track down Ruijerd.

He was doing fine though and easily fending off monsters left and right with his spear.

I frowned. 'I assume you don't mean this giant monster problem?'

Ruijerd smacked a spider away and shook his head. 'No. Rika just sent me an emergency call. A group of humans are attacking Arcadia, claiming themselves to be heroes sent to end the Demon Lord's lineage and free the humans brainwashed by the Demon Lord's magic.'

"...Not very creative, but I guess classics are classics for a reason." I muttered. But...

'Orsted is there though, right?'

'He is. But the group of humans include the Sword God, Water God, and a hidden tactician that seems to be causing a great deal of trouble.'

I let out a deep sigh.

Still...

'Focus on this situation first, Ruijerd. That side looks like it might be bad, but I placed the ultimate trap card there.'

'...Pardon?'

'...They'll be fine. Now, do your best to clean that up with everyone else so that-'

*clink*

I blinked and looked over to Ena's crystal.

...Was I imagining things? I thought I heard-

*clink*

A soft sound. Crystal clattering against stone.

I blinked and then realized that Ena's crystal had shifted a bit.

Not because it was cracking or because she was trying to break free. But instead, like it was being pulled somewhere.

Wait.

My eyes widened and I quickly created a set of chains to wrap around Ena's crystal. At the same time, I made a cube from magic barriers to hold it in place.

And not a moment too soon, Ena's crystal flew and crashed against the side of the barriers.

"Son of a bitch!" I spun around to glare at the city and said, "Learn when to quit! My daughter isn't yours to date, woo, or stalk!"

An earthshaking roar echoed in response.

At the same time, a towering figure began to form nearby.

Not near the city, but almost directly in front of the makeshift tower I just made.

In response, I clicked my tongue and reached into my personal pocket space for something to deal with this.

Nuke?

No, too dangerous.

Demonslaying Blade?

Wasn't sure if that classified as a demon, so wouldn't work very well.

Godslaying Blade?

Tempting, but saving that for Being W. Not to mention the replica of it didn't work against the hydra, so let's not tempt things.

Sword of Promised Victory?

Akito and I made a working prototype, but probably not the best thing to use right now.

No, weapons wouldn't help. At least, not while I had to keep an eye on Ena.

Instead...

I pulled out three badges from my pocket space.

It was kind of the reverse of what Stella had. Instead of calling me to the person who had the matching badge, I called that person to me.

And as for the three people who could help best right now...

Well, they'd be here in like three minutes, but the sooner the better. So...

"I choose you, Roland, Eos, Cliff!"

I chucked the badges on the ground.

Magic circles flared to life before Roland, Eos, and Cliff appeared.

Roland and Eos quickly recovered, but Cliff staggered a bit, shaking his head before focusing.

I wanted to brief them on the entire situation, but there wasn't time. So instead, I said, "Roland, Eos, get ready to protect us. Cliff, get over here and help me get Ena out of this thing."

The moment I said that, a black shadowy maw materialized out of thin air, lunging towards the tower and trying to devour us all.

I narrowed my eyes and prepared to blast it away.

But my kids were faster.

Roland swung his sword, smacking the shadowy head to the side.

At the same time, Eos glared at the thing and swung out her arm. Her wings spread in the same moment before shining green. And then sand tornado burst into existence and scattered the shadowy creature, turning it back into black tendrils.

Which immediately started reforming when they landed on the ground into a more cohesive shape.

...Wait a minute.

Shadowy tendrils. Freely shifting forms...

Did this fucking guy steal ideas not just from me, but freaking my alternate selves too? Those are essentially nanomachines, aren't they?

Roland raised his sword and said, "I don't know what's going on, Father." He glanced at Ena and said, "But I presume you can handle this side?"

I nodded. "Just keep that monster distracted." I pointed to Cliff and said, "We'll get Ena out of this thing and wrap everything up."

Eos rounded on Cliff and glared at him with pure venom in her eyes. "You had better save her. If you can't..."

Cliff clenched his fists. "I will."

Eos gave a stiff nod and then jumped off the tower, flying in the air.

Roland jumped off as well, but instead of flying, he plummeted straight towards the ground.

And straight into the head of the reforming monster.

A heavy impact reverberated and the monster let out a roar as it dispersed again.

That was good. Especially since it stopped trying to suck in Ena's crystal when-

Ahem.

Especially since the force pulling Ena in dispersed when it took a heavy blow.

But anyway.

I looked at Cliff and then gestured towards Ena. "It's up to you, Cliff."

Cliff blinked and then pointed at himself. "M-Me? I-I thought we would both be-"

"I'm pinned down here to make sure Ena isn't suddenly pulled into that thing. If I wasn't, I could resolve that quick, but since I am, it's up to you."

That was a lie.

Even though I was technically pinned down, I had learned my lesson from the situation with Stella and had a trump card I could pull out here if I really needed to.

But this was a good time to see just how much Cliff liked Ena. And also to see how much Ena liked Cliff.

...No I wasn't being a meddlesome old father who wanted to see his daughter get with a good man.

And I definitely wasn't shipping them, despite what Stella might say.

I just wanted to make sure my daughter was in capable hands.

Cliff shook his head. "I-I don't know about this..." He looked at me and said, "How am I supposed to do free her?"

"Figure it out. You're a genius."

Cliff flinched and said, "That's wrong. I'm not a genius. I'm just a fool who got the one he loved into a terrible situation-"

"All the more reason to save her. And besides, if a genius says you're a genius, you're a genius. Now." I stared at him and said, "If you really love my daughter... and if those aren't just empty words you've been saying these past few years, save her and show me that you deserve her."

Cliff hesitated. But then he took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll try."

"There is no try, there is only do. Now do."

Cliff nodded. "I understand. Then..." He took a deep breath and walked up to Ena's crystal. After placing his hand on it, he muttered, "...I will save you, Ena. I must."

I nodded and watched as Cliff focused.

It would be a bit tough for him.

The corrosive mana had taken root in Ena, and the crystal itself was another type of mana on top of it.

It wasn't a simple a solution as just chisel the crystal away or dissolve it.

Instead, you had to perfectly separate Ena from the crystal and corruption while maintaining her sense of self.

...It was a bit complicated to explain, but basically you had to strengthen Ena's sense of self and mana while weakening the influence of the mana in the crystal and that corrosive mana seeping into her body.

There were a few ways to do that, but Cliff was just researching into an avenue that could make that easy.

Now to just see if I had to blacklist the guy from my future son-in-law list after all or not.

But that aside.

While I held out my right hand to maintain the barriers keeping Ena's crystal in place, I looked up at the sky.

It wasn't visible, but I was sure that Being W was sitting there, gloating at this whole ordeal.

...Keep on laughing, Being W. You're a clever bastard, but you're no genius.

You might be able to manipulate the 'flow' of the world with Fate and Destiny, and you might be able to steal notes from me, but you sure as hell can't copy my bullshit asspulls I prepared just to beat your ass.

...Hm. Might be hanging around dad just a biiit too much recently. Or maybe I'm taking after him too much.

Note to self: Add a chapter about crude language and its influence on children in the Greyrat guide for dummies.

But anyway.

I shifted my gaze back in the direction of Arcadia.

Being W might have thought he pulled off a checkmate here by reading three moves ahead.

But jokes on him.

I'm playing F*re Embl*m.