Each finger on that silver arm was roughly the size of a human. If we were crushed by something like that, we wouldn't walk away in one piece. That was why we kept our distance, observing from afar.
"...What is it? Is it attacking!?"
Lowell’s shout cut through the air as he noticed the shift.
The silver arm slowly rotated its palm toward us, shuddering violently.
A moment later, the surrounding space shimmered as several entities materialized. They were a disturbing silver, matching the arm. These twisted abominations looked as though various parts—arms, legs, and wings—had been fused together at random.
"――――! ――――!"
"Ugh..."
"Mr. Abarum!"
The grating, discordant sounds emitted by the abominations set my teeth on edge. It was a sickening sensation, as if I were being plunged into a bottomless well of anxiety for no reason at all. We were just barely able to endure it, but Mr. Abarum collapsed to the ground, clutching his head.
"La~♪"
The pressure eased almost instantly as Halfa’s voice rang out. She was singing the Song of Bravery. While its primary function was to boost attack power, it also carried the secondary effect of mitigating mental interference. It seemed she had made a split-second decision to support us.
"Sorry, you saved me. Are these things the Evil God’s forces?"
"No, I don't think so. They’re... something else. Something far more alien," Spira said, rejecting the idea. I found myself agreeing with her.
I’d faced the Evil God’s minions several times now, but their presence was entirely different. These things radiated an aura of the incomprehensible. It was a visceral sense of rejection—my instincts were screaming that we were fundamentally incompatible.
However, we weren't the only ones feeling that way. Once enough of the abominations spawned by the silver arm had gathered, they lunged at us as one.
"〈Create Golem〉!"
There were far too many of them to face head-on. Falling back on my usual tactics, I conjured a massive golem to act as a barricade. I felt a pang of guilt for tearing up the Sacred Ground, but with our lives on the line, Mr. Abarum would just have to forgive me.
The golem successfully blocked the narrow canyon, creating a massive bottleneck for the abominations. Still, a few managed to squeeze through the gaps and reach us.
"...What!?"
"Impossible!"
Lowell and Mr. Abarum cried out in shock as they met the charge. Their slashes appeared to carve right through the silver soldiers, yet the creatures continued to move as if they hadn't felt a thing. Not a single wound remained on their metallic bodies.
"I felt the impact, and yet..."
"Indeed. They aren't spiritual bodies like ghosts. But then, what...?"
Usually, opponents that nullified physical attacks were incorporeal, but these things felt different. In fact, the soldiers Spira had ensnared in her Ice Vines were clearly struggling to move, proving they were physical.
"Shiroru, what about your lightning?"
『It’s no use! It doesn't feel like it's doing anything at all!』
So they nullified both physical and magical attacks? While the Abomination Soldiers weren't particularly fast, their invulnerability made them a nightmare. If we couldn't thin their numbers, we would eventually be worn down. But if we fled carelessly, we risked letting these monsters loose upon the world.
As I weighed our options, one of the soldiers lunged at me. I dodged the strike and, despite thinking it would be futile, drove my dagger into its torso. The blade sank into its body without a hint of resistance.
"—Gah!?"
The soldier let out a sharp, sudden cry. Unlike the discordant noise from earlier, this was unmistakably a death rattle. Along with that choked scream, the creature dissolved into silver grains of sand, caught by the wind and swept away until nothing remained.
"Tort! What did you just do?"
"Eh? I didn't do anything!"
Lowell’s voice was thick with shock, but I was just as confused as he was. I had simply stabbed it. I hadn't used any special techniques.
Before I could think further, another soldier attacked. I intercepted it, and it easily crumbled into dust.
"I see, the usual, then. Fine! We’ll focus on support! Tort, wipe them out!"
The usual? What was that supposed to mean?
I felt a little annoyed by his phrasing, but it was clear that only my attacks were getting through. Following Lowell’s lead, I began picking off the soldiers one by one with my dagger.
It felt like I was being cheated somehow, seeing how easily they vanished under my blade while they remained completely unfazed by Lowell or Mr. Abarum’s strikes. I truly didn't understand the logic behind it.
Eventually, picking them off one by one became tedious. I decided to try something else and unleashed a Shredding Storm toward the cluster behind the golem. There was a chance the magic would be nullified, but it was worth a shot.
A violent whirlwind erupted. The blades of wind sliced through the silver ranks, and each time they struck, the soldiers dissolved into sparkling grains of sand. It was a strangely beautiful sight.
By the time the wind died down, every last soldier had been reduced to dust. The canyon was once again empty.
"Just what was the meaning of that...?" Mr. Abarum muttered, looking at me with a face full of utter bewilderment.
To be honest, I felt exactly the same way, so I had no answer for him.