A Reincarnated Demon’s Life of Wonder

Mira's PoV:

I looked up at the hulking giant that was standing on the other side of the stage. Just how big can this guy be? 

"Everyone, are you ready for the first face-down of the tournament!!" - Mikazuchi

And why's the Spirit Lord the one introducing the combatants?! You're supposed to be participating, not judging! 

I looked at the awkwardly high-tensioned Mikazuchi that was introducing me and the giant crystal golem to the audience, but it's going from one ear to the other for me. It's mostly trash talk about me and praises to the golem. And why's she so good at it anyway? Don't tell me she's got an "announcer"-class or something. That would be too stupid even for her.

"-and finally, we have little Nain-chan as today's referee! Show him some praise, peons!!" - Mikazuchi

Ah, she's finally finished..., who's the dog? It's a small pup sitting in the corner of the arena while wearing a black-and-white-striped shirt. It got lots of white fur with some streaks of red mixed in. Is it one of those "guardian lions" I've heard about? No, it is a canine, no matter how you look at the little thing...

"Now that everyone's introduced, a quick summarization of the rules: if you die, you lose. If you fall out of the stage, you lose! If you're KO-ed, you lose!! If you surrender, then you lose both the match and your pride!!!" - Mikazuchi

"Can we move on already!" I shouted back at the spirit who was getting too loud for my ears to withstand.

"Someone's getting impatient! Not that I hate that attitude! So, as requested... FIGHT!" - Mikazuchi

*Ding!*

A bell was heard from somewhere and the golem started to move. It raised its giant arm and threw a punch toward me. I, like many others, didn't want to be turned to mush, so I ran away from the spot. 

*CRASH*

A loud noise was heard when the fist collided with the stage, along with a strong gust. *Brr*, just thinking what would have happened if I hadn't run away...

After the dust settled, I could see the result of the giant's punch: that part of the stage had been completely obliterated into crystal dust.

"THERE IT IS!! Competitor Gogorg's [Area Crush] strikes the field with style!!" - Mikazuchi

"Hey, referee! Crushing the arena's gotta be against the rules!" - Shiro

The vampire girl shouted from the sidelines, but both the doggy and Mikazuchi didn't seem to hear her. No, they did, but they're ignoring her. Mikazuchi's even holding her ears and pretending not to hear. 

Guess that means that crushing the stage to prevent me from running away from the giant's punches is allowed. Tch, dragging things out may not be possible after all. 

I switched mindset into finishing the match in a blitz and drew my still incomplete broadsword from my [Armory Storage]. And in the middle of that, crystal stakes suddenly grew from the stage. 

Tch, some sorta evolution of the [Crystal Spear] skill? The golem was the one who built the stage, so it may still have the "owner privileges" for the materials. 

I twisted my body to dodge the stakes and crushed them with my broadsword as I pulled it out from my storage. The golem itself wasn't lazying around and threw another punch in my direction, most likely loaded with that [Area Crush] effect again. 

I ran from the giant mass of crystal while side-stepping the sudden stakes from the ground. Another loud crash was heard from behind me, but I don't have the luxury to look behind. Predicting and dodging the stakes takes up most of my concentration. The vampire is shouting something again, but nobody's listening to her, so I'm not going to do so either. I don't have that luxury anyway.

It was then that a burst of electricity came from the various stakes that had been produced around me. No need to say that I was within the crossfire. It was just pure luck and my resistance towards lightning that stopped me from fainting on the spot. But the sudden attack stopped me from moving my body at that moment. Just when a stake extended towards my chest.

*Clank!*

Luckily, I could still produce a [Crystal Shield] in front of me. The impact of the stake and the shield caused them both to collapse-

*Stab!*

Ugh-!? My...my leg. That golem..., it used the first stake as a distraction to aim for my legs? Guess it's more clever than I gave it credit for.

While I was busy trying to pull out the stake that's been lodged into my leg, another "golem punch" was coming toward me. Dodging is-ouch! ...impossible. In that case, let's go for a frontal assault!

Using my Airgetám skill, I produced several silver-glowing copies of my broadsword before firing them as one bullet toward the golem's fist thanks to the "Force Shot" spell. Another loud "BANG" was made when the golem's fist and my swords collided with each other.

"Wha-!? Gogorg was...injured?!!" - Mikazuchi

Don't sound so surprised..., okay, it was surprising. Even I can't believe what I'm seeing right now, but the "cannon shot" made from my phantasmal swords had overdone itself. The golem's punch was not only deflected, visible cracks had been formed across its hand. 

I fired more swords at the wounded giant's hand in the attempt of crushing it completely, but then something impossible happened. My phantasmal swords, they...rusted?

From the giant's body, a dark-grey light emerged and formed a dome around the golem. It's when the swords touched this light that they started to rust. But how? Phantasmal swords are, as the name suggests, phantasmal. Even if they can be broken, they are strictly not of this world. "Rusting away" should be impossible.

"There it came!! Gogorg's ace-in-the-hole! The "country-destroying" Extra Skill!!" - Mikazuchi

Country-destroying!? Why does this no-name have such an awesome-leveled Extra Skill!? My Airgetám or Garami's Zahhak are looking like babes compared to something like that!

"...oh, so that is where I'd heard about him." - Blot

"What was tha-whoops!" - Mira

Blot started to talk behind my back, but the giant restarted its stake routine, so I had to focus on not turning into Shish kebab. 

"Before when Mira and I went to the capital to speak with the emperor, I heard the rumors of a mysterious creature that sometimes descends from these mountains to steal rare objects from nearby villages." - Blot

Ignoring my distressful situation, Blot continued to talk about...whatever it is.

"You were visiting the shogun!?" - Shiro

"Shiro, stop interrupting people." - Akai

"Many thanks. As I was saying, this mysterious creature, covered in flora from the mountain, leaves its mighty peaks in search of something. What they are looking for seems random, as they sometimes take food, sometimes jewels, or sometimes again simple toys for children. 

"One day, the villagers had enough with this mysterious thief, and due to Wakoku lacking the assets to provide soldiers to the villages so far away from the capital, they decided to take things into their own hands. Armed with spears, swords, and shields, the villagers banded together to a small army of 400 men and were ready to intercept the bizarre robber. The results were not what anyone expected.

"The bushy creature simply ignored the villagers, in the same manner as the previous times it came to their settlements in search for "treasures". The villagers were enraged over the creature's behavior and threw their weapons at it.

"It was then a strange light emerged from the creature. When the weapons touched the light, they started to rust into nothingness. And the light continued to radiate from the creature as it searched for its loot. The village was bathed in the light, and the villagers could not do anything but to watch as their homes and valuables turned into simple rust dust." - Blot

Yeah, yeah. Good story. How's that going to help!

"...and that "bushy" creature's this guy?" - Artemis

"From the current evidence, I'd say there is no doubt about it." - Blot

Gah! If those no-named girls could piece that together, what am I!? This battle must be more taxing on my body and mind than I first thought! 

"And with that in mind, Thunder Lord Mikazuchi?" - Blot

"......" - Mikazuchi

"There is no need to be such on guard. I simply have a few questions: this giant, Gogorg, he owns the [End of Civilization] Extra Skill, and has access to its Rust-properties, correct?" - Blot

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-..., I don't know what you're talking about." - Mikazuchi

"So I am right." - Blot

"Have to be." - Artemis

"Can't be wrong." - Shiro

"The little spirit lady must be incapable of lying when faced with the truth." - Ling

"...*snore*..." - Sara

"Stop sleeping! We're still on duty!" - Akai

"No worries. Miss Mira! That creature can rust any metallic objects that touch that dome will become destroyed! Only Godly-rarity items have a chance to survive!" - Blot

"You..., don't..., say!" I shouted back at Blot while trimming the literal grassland of crystal stakes that grew from the platform while also dodging lightning sparks that were released from the "grass". 

"As you probably have noticed by now, that creature specializes in Lightning and Crystal, which means that the only attribute left that it can specialize in is Rust! That dome cannot harm anything incapable of rusting!" - Blot

"Really!?" I shouted as I grabbed one of the stakes I'd just cut and threw it toward the golem. It touched the dome without rusting and proceeded to hit the golem right into one of the cracks on its arm.

"Really!" - Mira

"Good. But be careful. Your armor and sword will be of no use...watch out!" - Blot

The golem winded up its unharmed to another massive punch. All while keeping that "end of whatever"-light active. Dodging is going to be..., inefficient. ...geez. That stupid smith...?

Was I thinking about...

"Mira! In front of you!" - Ling

Oh, cra-!

*CRASH!!*

---

...did I blackout? What...

*crack*

This is...some jade necklace? Oh, that's right. The item I got from...from...

"Is this the end? Did Gogorg's mighty fist finish off that haughty half-spirit? ...remove that fist already! We can't see the result from here!" - Mikazuchi

...let's forget about what I can't remember and focus on the present. The golem's punch hit me and knocked me into the crystal arena and knocked me unconscious in the process. ...no, without the jade amulet, I'd be dead. I should have had multiple "spare lives" from having equipped it on me, but that single punch broke them all. What power...

But since I'm covered by the fist, the referee must be uncertain whether I'm alive, conscious, or whatever. This means..., I still have a chance.

The golem removed its fist and I could see the light of day again. And before it could notice that I was alive, I jumped onto its fist and ran up its arm.

"Wha-!? She's alive!?" - Mikazuchi

My armor and weapons, even the Djinn-based accessory had all turned into dust due to this guy's ability. All I was wearing was the black undergarments that came with the armor-set. But there's no time to grief over it now. First, this guy's going down for the count!

The giant looked shocked when it saw that I was alive. But that lasted for only a moment before the golem started to emit electricity across its arms, so I jumped off. Toward the big golem's head. I created a crystal shield, one of the few things I could make without having it rust on me, and slammed it into the ugly guy's face! 

The golem's upper body was pushed back from the force, and I gave the shield a good kick with my Genocide Drive active. And the second before the shield broke from the excessive force, I made it explode through [Crystal Bomb]. Please be enough...!

*CRASH!!*

"Wha-wha-whawhawhawha--!!" - Mikazuchi

"IT WENT DOOOOOWN!!" - Shiro

Yes! I got it out of the ring! That big body was a hassle, but constant attacks on one point knocked even that guy off his feet. And...hehe. He's out of bounds. More specifically, he's touching the ground at the place where he crushed the arena. Talk about being your own worst enemy.

I looked at the dog that's supposedly the referee and saw that it was holding up a white flag with a pair of crossed swords. Is that the symbol for our team?

"N-n-n-n-NOOOOOO!! WE LOOOOOOST!!" - Mikazuchi

It's our symbol. I kinda like it, even if it's damn simple. 

I limped off the stage while the thunder spirit was kicking up a mess. What a child. Oh, and I'm not limping because of the wound from the crystal stakes. The kick I did there was too strong for my good. Ouch...

"Mira, that was amazing!" said Ling when I returned.

"Amazing indeed..." said the vampire girl while failing to cover her eyes with her hands and having a nosebleed. The oni proceeded to do a german suplex on the vampire for that. Guess I need some more clothes.

"That was a fantastic match, miss Mira. Those last four seconds when you climbed up from the hole were simply-" - Blot

"Not now." - Mira

"Oh, I'm sorry. We will compensate for your destroyed equipment at a later date-" - Blot

"Not that." - Mira

"...is something wrong?" - Blot

"...come with me," I said to Blot. "We need to talk." 

"...about what?" - Blot

"About a trip down memory lane." - Mira

---

Kigal-Note/Extra Skills: [End of Civilization]