The one-hit knockout inch punch—Magic Bullet—was a move she learned from her foolish disciple.
Although using magic power could turn a one-hit knockout into a one-hit kill, Inaba Tsukiyo merely intended to incapacitate this guy.
"Honestly, I thought it would be an intelligent enemy BOSS, but it turned out to be just a comedic mission. Does this guy... think the more evolved a zombie is, the stronger it is?"
While those giants possessed basic intelligence, unlike the instinct-driven, crawling zombies, these guys were too easily misled.
She had prepared for the worst, only to find that the guy hiding here was a masochist. She truly didn't know what to say.
"Even if your body is enhanced, fragile organs like your internal organs cannot be trained. If your internal organs were made of rubber, they might be able to withstand an inch punch, but you are merely a human who can control zombies."
Picking up mikazuki munechika, she kicked the man trembling on the ground. Besides painful groans, he couldn't do anything else.
This was probably the most pathetic villain she had ever seen. Even Little Vi's villainous father, besides his brains, was quite good with a rapier, but this guy only indulged in daydreams.
"Well then... let me see where you've hidden that power."
There weren't many rooms on this floor, but the walls on this floor were laid out quite unreasonably. Unlike other floors, the walls were set too far inward.
Anyone who designed rooms like this was either bored or trying to tell people that there were many hidden secret rooms on this floor.
According to typical novels, to open an evil BOSS's secret room, there's usually some kind of mechanism, like an old candlestick, a specific book on a bookshelf, or an ornament on a desk.
"It shouldn't be that simple, right? In a place like this, even if you want to hide something, you should at least find a more concealed spot."
Just thinking about this guy's intelligence, Inaba Tsukiyo decided it was better not to overestimate him. Perhaps he really did set up the secret room in a simple way.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't immediately look for a switch on the bookshelf. For an enemy of this intelligence, the purpose of books was merely to highlight his high-class image.
It's like how some people who aren't nearsighted still love wearing glasses; these guys just want to appear smart.
She walked to the desk in the room. There wasn't much here; besides a few ornaments, there were no other documents.
But that made sense. The apocalypse had broken out, so no employees would bring files that needed processing. It was only natural for there to be nothing else.
She picked up a part of an ornament, and a door in one of the room's walls automatically opened.
Although she had already known such a result was possible, when she actually saw it, Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but want to complain.
"Hey! Can't you guys make places like this more impressive? A desk ornament is the switch to open a secret room? Your corporation is the largest in Megurigaoka City. Do you really need to be so frugal?"
"Or did you swallow the money that was supposed to be spent on building the secret room? This is too sloppy, not cool at all. I'm truly speechless."
"Hey! I'm asking you a question! Why aren't you answering me? Are you mute? Weren't you acting all high and mighty just now? How come you can't even speak now?"
The man, poked repeatedly by Inaba Tsukiyo's sword sheath, was in agony and couldn't answer even if he wanted to.
The Magic Bullet had hit his kidney hard. Now, even just opening his mouth to breathe felt like his stomach was being pricked by needles.
After poking him for several minutes without hearing any response, Inaba Tsukiyo, dissatisfied, kicked him and walked towards the so-called secret room with her weapon.
As soon as she got close, Inaba Tsukiyo felt a strong pull, as if something was attracting her. Inaba Tsukiyo quickly steadied herself.
But she soon realized there was no actual pull; it was just that the internal traction force was too strong, creating the illusion that she was being pulled by something.
"Finally found it, the thing that might destroy this world. But why has it become so enormous?"
Even without seeing it, Inaba Tsukiyo could sense the vastness of this energy. Unlike the small cluster that entered her body earlier, this was already the size of a room.
"lord alaya... I don't think I can deal with this thing."
How should she handle something like this? The small cluster of energy that appeared before was absorbed by her, but how was she supposed to deal with this thing, which was several times larger than her?
Absorb it? Is she kidding? With such a massive amount, could her body handle it? She felt that if she really chose to absorb it, she might break.
Hmm? Why does that sound so strange? Never mind, it must be her imagination.
"It definitely wasn't this massive from the start. It must have become like this for some reason."
Just like the energy within her body, this abnormal energy wasn't initially this huge. It definitely became so enormous due to some external factor.
However, what the reason was, was not something Inaba Tsukiyo needed to ponder. All she had to do was deal with this thing, and that would be enough.
"Tsukiyo! Wait, something's very wrong!"
As Inaba Tsukiyo tried to figure out how to deal with this abnormal energy, alaya's voice suddenly appeared in her mind.
This startled Inaba Tsukiyo. She had no idea alaya could do such a thing and even took a few steps back. Not sensing anyone else's presence, she touched her head, feeling a bit strange.
"lord alaya?"
"Mm, it's me. The moment you discovered this energy, I already sensed it. Well done, Tsukiyo."
"Ah? Oh! Th-thank you."
alaya knew about the energy the moment she found it; this was too bizarre. It felt as if alaya was constantly monitoring her.
But this thought was quickly dismissed by Inaba Tsukiyo. She didn't think there was anything about her that warranted alaya's attention. To some extent, she was just working under alaya.
"Um, lord alaya. What did you mean by 'something's wrong' just now? Is there another situation unfolding?"
"Mm, be careful. I'm not forcing you, but you absolutely cannot forcibly destroy this. If you destroy it, this world will be doomed."
"D-doomed? How could that be? This energy isn't leaking, so why would this world be doomed? What exactly is going on?"
Why would it suddenly be doomed? Kurumi and the others had already been sent out of Megurigaoka City. It should have been a happy ending, so why did it suddenly turn into a bad ending?
"It's like the principle of a balloon. When it hasn't found a host, this mass of energy will continuously absorb the world's origin. Along with the world, this mass of energy will grow larger and larger, so large that even the planet won't be able to contain it."
Even the planet can't contain it? This feeling is like in those funny comics, where the protagonist gets hit on the head and a super-large bump grows.
This energy is like the planet's bump, except this mass of energy doesn't disappear; instead, it grows larger and larger, eventually exceeding the size of the planet.
"Th-then what should we do? We can't destroy it. Are we just supposed to watch this energy continuously grow?"
"No... there's still a way, Tsukiyo. To some extent, this is the most suitable method for you."
Inaba Tsukiyo waited for alaya to explain, but after a long wait, alaya remained silent. This gave Inaba Tsukiyo a bad premonition. Was this guy planning something?
"Th-that, lord alaya. Could it be... your so-called method is for me to absorb this energy?"
After a moment of thought, Inaba Tsukiyo, who could only think of this method, asked cautiously in an uncertain tone.
Her previous experience of absorbing energy had shown that her body could withstand this power, and not only did she absorb it, but it also allowed her to meet Nero.
Could it be that alaya had been silent for so long because it was difficult to ask her to absorb all the energy?
"To save this world, I can only inconvenience you, Tsukiyo."
"But... but I'll break, lord alaya."
Inaba Tsukiyo was almost in tears. What was this? Why did it have to make her do such a difficult thing? Didn't it know she couldn't handle it?
"If you don't do it, then Takenouchi Yuki, Sakura Megumi, and Wakasa Yuri, whom you care about, will perish from the energy's explosion. Think about it carefully, this is the only way."
Of course, it was also a way to enhance Inaba Tsukiyo's strength. However, absorbing such a massive origin would likely require Inaba Tsukiyo a very long time.
"N-no, lord alaya. This is too much to ask. lord alaya? lord alaya?"
No matter how Inaba Tsukiyo called out, alaya didn't respond. Without thinking, she knew alaya had cut off the connection.
Unable to help but swallow, Inaba Tsukiyo faced the massive energy mass. Her small body surely couldn't handle it.
However, if she didn't do this, everyone who had left Megurigaoka City would be in danger.
Although she didn't know when this energy mass would explode, an explosion was only a matter of time.
"...I'll risk it! So what if I break! Ever since I became like this, I've already been broken!"
Watching Inaba Tsukiyo jump into the energy mass, alaya nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes, just like that. Hehe~ I'm doing this for your own good. For you, this is indeed the only method that can be used."
Emitting a strange laugh, alaya looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with satisfaction, feeling much better inside.
Okita Souji and Nero, who had watched from beginning to end, exchanged glances and sighed.
Actually, destroying that energy mass was quite simple; if it were handed to certain individuals in Chaldea, dealing with it would be a matter of moments.
But alaya didn't tell Inaba Tsukiyo about this, instead letting Inaba Tsukiyo experience the feeling of breaking, to alleviate its own gloomy mood.
"master (master)... good luck."
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