Day 571-580/Day 572

Day 572 / 102nd day
　When I reached the final point where the ancient past causal time emperor "Histoclock" was waiting for us, the deepest part of the "Time History City Historinor", the thing that greeted us was a silver wall approaching at high speed. It was the back of a huge cow-headed humanoid that looked like it could be seen. I jumped to the side as quickly as I could, but it might not have been a problem even if I hadn't done that.
　The silver cow-headed humanoid was very similar to the shadow of our predecessors from the past, 【Shadows of time, Shadian】. In addition, the size and details of the figure suggest that it is the bull-headed demon Minotaur that fell again and again in the stairwell when I first entered the shaft tower. I wonder if there is some kind of connection with this guy.
　Anyway, the 【Shadow of Time】is an illusion that reflects the past, so it has no substance. So, even if we had bumped into it, it would have just slipped through.
　But at the same time, there is a strong sense of discomfort.
　In the first place, the 【Shadow of Time】is supposed to be a unique phenomenon that occurs only inside the axis tower, the 【Shadow of Time Tower】, one step ahead of the 【Emperor's Domain】. But why is it that it is also occurring in the Heavenly Domain of the Time Lord? It's a good idea to take a look at the details of the phenomenon and see if it's possible, or if the appraisal was wrong in the first place.
　Or is it possible that this bull-headed demon is something else, similar to the shadow of time, but completely different?
　Personally, I prefer the last theory.
　This is because the bull-headed demon in front of me gives me a real sense of presence, as if it were actually there. If you don't avoid it and hit it, you will be crushed by the mass difference. This is a feeling that I have never experienced before, even though I have encountered the Shadow of Time many times.
　In fact, the silver bull-headed demon did not disappear in a certain amount of time like an illusion, but remained.
　On the contrary, it was so huge that it hid most of its huge body of more than ten meters, and at that moment, a golden explosion was created in front of the wall shield. I can't seem to see the attack itself in the first place, but from the scale of the golden explosion, it must have prevented something of considerable destructive power. The explosion occurred ten times in the next second, but I was able to deal with it by adjusting the angle slightly or pushing it out. The slightest movement was enough to show how skilled the bull-headed demon was. The more I looked at him, the more I felt as if he was actually there.
　The more you look at it, the more it seems like you're actually there. But is it just my imagination or did I feel like I've seen the Cowherd Demon moving forward while being intermittently attacked and not wavering a bit?
　While I was slightly distracted by the bull-headed demon, I felt a hint of impending death and a quiet killing intent. My body naturally moved and I thrust out my red spear, and something deadly approaching at high speed was sliced through it with ease, passing through both sides and piercing the floor.
　A dazzling golden flash scattered, and the strong impact caused the mechanical arm to tremble slightly, and the atmosphere to chatter and shake.
　If you follow the wreckage behind you with your eyes, you will see that it was a golden arrow that the red spear sliced through. It wasn't just any arrow, but a huge arrow that seemed to be at least a meter in diameter. The golden arrow, which looked like a log, stuck into the ground, and after a little while, it glowed faintly and returned to the magic power, slowly disappearing. The golden arrow was not made of matter, but was probably generated by magic power or ability.
　This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing. As I was preparing for the chase, a golden arrow suddenly appeared about a hundred meters in front of me. It was as if the golden arrows had materialized the moment they got close enough to me. The golden arrow is fast to begin with, but the fact that you can't see it until it's within a certain range makes it seem even faster than it actually is.
　Perhaps this was the attack that hit the ox-headed demon. With this in mind, I sometimes cut down the golden arrows and sometimes avoid them with minimal movement.
　In just a few seconds, the number of golden arrows shot exceeded ten. Not only from the front, but also from the left, right and above.
　It's a good idea to keep your eyes on the prize, but it's not always easy. In fact, they were getting faster, more numerous, and more powerful. I wondered if the archer's mind was leaning toward increasing the speed and destructive power of the shots, reducing the need to aim at a target that did not move significantly. If I could see him, I might be able to understand some of the subtleties, but the trouble is, I can't find the shooter either.
　【Time Emperor's Heavenly Domain】 is a realm that exists in the space directly above the "Time History City Historinor". The floor was transparent even though it existed hard as if the entire surface was made of super-strengthened glass, and the hour hand, so huge that it could be seen from the outside, was moving just below. Further down, on the surface of the earth, we can look down on all the areas we've been through, such as the Maze of Time Changes, the Capital of Time Turning, and the Shadow Tower of Time. Because of this structure, there are no obstacles to block our way. If I had to guess, I'd say there are clouds nearby, but ordinary clouds blow away in the aftermath of an attack, so you won't be able to hide from them.
　In other words, if you can't find the shooter here, which is a very good vantage point, there is a high possibility that he is wearing 【Optical Camouflage】or some other means of hiding.
　Staying here will put you too far behind, so take a break from the attacks and run forward. I had a general idea of the direction of the attack. Even if the archer was moving, I would be able to find something if I closed the distance to the archer so that I could see the golden arrows within a certain range.
　I thought so and started running, but it seems I was right. The closer I got, the more I could sense the presence of the archer. I couldn't see anything where the presence was coming from. However, the slightest sound, smell, or the slightest hint of secret magic power told me that there was indeed something there.
　If you can perceive that much, the rest is easy. I astride the gray wolf that is running alongside me, and pour magic power into the 【Gear of the Fire Beast Group】 floating on my back. The cog spinning with an unprecedented amount of magic power poured into it at once, spun at high speed while burning black, and spewed out a huge black flame towards the rear like a jet engine. This is one of the three abilities that the cogwheel possesses, 【Fire Flight Acceleration】.
　This dramatically increased the speed of the Ash Silver Wolf, and it quickly closed the distance to where something was. In the meantime, golden arrows were flying, but all of them ended up piercing far behind. It seemed that the accelerated gray wolf was not able to catch up with his aim at all.
　After quickly approaching the place where the presence of the wolf is felt, he directs the black fire beast to the whole area. The sparks that flew from the gears turned into beasts, and the black fiery beasts became black panthers and black eagles, flying through the air, and then exploding in a chain reaction to reappear in space. The firepower of the self-destruct suicide attack seemed to have more destructive power than ever before, perhaps because the magic power contained in the fire was so much that it became a black flame instead of the usual red flame.
　And the self-destruct suicide attacks of the black fire beasts that exploded one after another succeeded in bringing the invisible enemy into relief.
　The invisible enemy revealed by the flames and blasts seemed to be a golden giant that was over ten meters tall. The size of the golden arrow was also understandable, given the enormous size of the archer. 　However, unlike my expectations, there were multiple enemies.
　There were more than ten golden giant archers caught in the massive explosion. Half of them had been fatally wounded by the explosion and turned into golden particles and disappeared, while the other half had lost their limbs and were flooding with golden particles like fresh blood. The other half had also lost a limb and was flooded with golden particles like fresh blood. I didn't want to leave anything behind, so I sent an additional fire beast at the dying golden giant archer to make sure it was killed and eliminated it as well.
　At first, I succeeded in eradicating the group of golden giant archers that had attacked me, but now the golden arrows came from another direction. Apparently, there were still some left. 　The action continued without a break.
　I sliced through the new golden arrows with my vermillion spear and turned my gaze in the direction where the new arrows would be.
　It was a thrust with its fortress shield thrust forward and a huge battle axe on its shoulder. Every time its huge legs stepped on the floor, dazzling silver flames and lightning were generated, and it pushed forward at a speed that was unimaginable from the outside.
　The golden explosions on the surface of the fortress shield continued intermittently, so it must have been under attack. However, the bull-headed demon pushed forward without wavering, and swung his battle axe down.
　It was a blow that seemed to tear the world apart.
　With a swing that almost sent chills down my spine, the silvery flames and thunderbolts that arose violently reaped the space. The golden explosion that accompanied it must have killed all the golden giant archers in the area at once.
　While admiring the bull-headed demon's appearance as if it were an incarnation of pure violence, I took out a magic item from my pocket. What I took out was a pair of star reading glasses that I had just gotten from the treasure chest 【False Name of Starry Blue】.
　【Astrologer's Star Reading Glasses】is a kind of appraisal magic item, made of a blue crystalline material that looks like twinkling stars, and fitted with thin silvery lenses. It's not just that the amount of information I can get is far greater than the simple appraisal glasses I' ve been using, it's also that it has a number of other abilities.
　When I used it to look at the silver cow head demon, which was useful in a variety of ways, I found out that it was apparently a being called "Tarshiva, the silver bureaucrat of time difference.
　It is said to be the alter ego or shadow of a being that exists in a different time axis and has reached the Heavenly Domain of the Time Emperor to challenge the ancient past causal time emperor "Histoclock". He rarely appears, or rather, he is set to appear as a phenomenon, but the conditions are so strict that he rarely appears.
　In addition to the fact that it is rare for anyone to reach this point in the first place, it is said that the condition is that another challenger must reach it just in time during the battle. According to the astrologer's star-reading glasses, which can even read past information engraved in the world, it has been confirmed only twice in the past. The name of the group at that time was very interesting, but let's put that aside for now.
　If I'm going to experience such a precious event, then I guess the bull-headed demon and I have some kind of connection. It might even have something to do with my lost memories.
　With this in mind, I quietly observed the bull-headed demon as I directed the fire beast towards the new golden giant archer.
　It seems that they can recognize us, just as I can recognize the bull-headed demon. So we can cooperate to some extent.
　However, it seems that the situation changes depending on each time axis. For example, the position of the golden giant archer. Even if the location where the golden giant archers first appeared is the same, the movements of the golden giant archers will differ depending on our actions. Therefore, each battle situation would be similar but different, and the priority of each action would change. Therefore, there was no way we could coordinate highly.
　However, if we kill the enemy, the same enemy will disappear from the battlefield of me and the bull-headed demon, and since our attacks don't hit each other, we don't have to think about the direct hit or aftermath of the attack, which is a big advantage. In addition, both of them share the same enemy, the ancient past causal time emperor "Histoclock", so it is still a reassuring presence when attacking.
　However, there is a downside to this, and it seems that the "Histoclock" is strengthened when the "Silver Ministers of Time Difference" are present. 　In the event that you have any questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at our own web site.
　Although it is an enhancement that cannot be overlooked, such as an increase in the amount of magical power, there is a 【Intuition】 that seems to increase the taste when you kill as strong as it is, so I personally cannot say that it is a complete demerit, which is a little troubling. The 【Astrologist's Star-Reading Glasses】 were a great help in this. 　Just by looking around, you can easily find them even if they are hiding, and you can even see their abilities and what kind of beings they are.
　According to the report, the golden giant archer is the result of the ancient past causal time emperor's "Histoclock " ability to recreate things that existed in the past with golden magic power, the 【Engraved golden time of all phenomena Goldion Brandin arc】.
　In the past, there was a great deal of controversy over the use of the word "goldmine" to describe the use of the word "goldmine. You can find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing. In the end, he was able to create up to a hundred alter egos with abilities equal to his own at the same time, and as a group led by a single will, he ravaged the battlefields of the past as a one-man mercenary group that killed enemies with giant bows and arrows created with magic power.
　The results of the battle looked amazing even at a cursory glance, and that's how strong he was in life. It's a pity that I can't eat him, because he would be very tasty if he had blood and flesh. While I was dissatisfied with this, I continued to eradicate the hidden golden giant archers with the bull-headed demon.
　We had probably killed a thousand of them by now. I heard the clear sound of bells ringing, ringing, ringing. I looked around, bracing myself, and when I looked at the hour hand at my feet, I saw that the time had just changed.
　As I was on the alert for any change, a golden light poured down from above through the clouds. The golden light was so dense with magical power that I felt energized just by being bathed in it, but at the same time, I had to endure the immense pressure from the beings emitting it.
　As I felt suffocated, I looked up at the sky where the light source would be.
　There was a thick cloud. They were so thick that I could not see through them with my naked eyes.
　However, the 【Astrologist's Star-Reading Glasses】not only read that the cloud was a special kind of cloud called the 【White Cloud of Time Transmission】, where the past and the present were intermingled, but also saw what existed further in.
　It was a being that was hiding in the clouds but emitting a golden light. It was a golden cube about five meters on a side, rotating slowly about a hundred meters in the air.
　I thought the way it shone like the sun was beautiful, but the moment I saw it, I understood that the golden cube was the ancient past causal time emperor "Histoclock". It had such a strong presence and a sense of weight that sent chills down my spine.
　The sight of his prey naturally raised his will to fight and filled him with magic power. While being protected by the White Cloud of Time Transmission, a kind of absolute defense that sends attacks into the past and neutralizes them, I was thinking about how to first drop the Histoclock that was still in the sky, when I saw rainbow-colored patterns on the golden surface. The patterns vary from side to side, some look like clocks, some like horoscopes, some like calendars, and some like world maps.
　The only thing is that the other two of the six sides had deep cracks instead of patterns on them. The cracks spread out like spider webs from the center of the deep cracks, which looked as if they had been caused by a battle axe slammed into them, so they were probably caused by the bull-headed demons that had been fighting before we entered.
　I feel bad that we entered the battle of the bull-headed demon afterwards, but we can't do anything about it because it seems to be designed that way, and such feelings are irrelevant to the "Histoclock". As the pattern that emerged shone more strongly and the golden magic power irradiated and scattered more strongly in the surroundings, my 【Intuition】 worked to tell me that the next attack was coming.
　A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly moved the gray and silver wolf to move at high speed. The bull-headed demon reflected in the corner of my vision also immediately jumped back from the spot and prepared a fortress shield in preparation for the attack.
　The correctness of our decision was proven by the golden roaring thunder, huge hailstones, and cursed winds that poured down from the heavens countless times immediately afterwards. According to the astrologer's star-reading glasses that I still had equipped, this was a recreation of a weather disaster that had occurred in the past.
　The tremendous roaring thunder that rained down more than a dozen times a second was a recreation of the inexcusable and unfortunate imperial thunderstorm that occurred in the sky in the past when the "Thunderbolt Dragon Emperor" and the "Thunder Hammer Dragon King" fought with each other. The huge hailstones, each over fifty centimeters in size and heavy, falling like a light rain, are a reenactment of the Sovereign's ice breaking, which was caused by the sneeze of the "Ice Sea Giant King" and fell for a few days after his birth. The cursed wind that swirled around and consumed lives was a reenactment of the destruction of the Kingdom of Wind, born from the tears of grief and hatred of the Prophet, who was beheaded for political falsehood.
　Even a single reenactment of this disaster would have destroyed a civilization, but three of them overlapping was like a 【Divine Disaster】. It is not possible to avoid a rough attack that covers the whole surrounding area without aiming from the sky.
　The gears were spinning at high speed to create a huge black fire, and countless fire beasts were released to intercept them, but the other side had by far the greater amount of material. They shot down roaring thunderbolts, melted giant hailstones, and deflected curse winds, but there was still no end in sight. And just like the golden giant archers, there was no way to reduce the number of them if you killed them, so a lot of time was spent just trying to defend against them.
　By the way, the bull-headed demon that was fighting next to me was not damaged by the roaring thunder, but on the contrary became energetic. As a person who has actually experienced the same thing, I can't help but feel jealous of the way they easily dealt with natural disasters with their overwhelming individual abilities. In its current state, the bull-headed demon is probably stronger than me. It would be a great help, but it would be shameful to rely on it, so I made up my mind that I would definitely kill and eat the "Histocloc" myself.
　Leaving aside my own personal thoughts, battling a "Histoclock" that recreates not only people, but even the weather, seems to be a difficult task even if you have a bullheaded demon to rely on. The battles with the various other recreated nanakas become increasingly fierce.
----
RAWS
　"百二日目　／　五■七■二目"
　古代過去因果時帝“ヒストクロック”が待つ最終地点、≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫の最深部である【時帝の天領】に到達した俺達を出迎えたのは、高速で迫る銀色の壁――に見える程巨大な牛頭の人型の背中だった。咄嗟に横に飛び退いたが、そんな事をしなくても問題はなかったかもしれない。
　というのも、銀色の牛頭の人型は過去の先人達の幻影――【時刻の影シャーディアン】に酷似していたからだ。それも、大きさや細部の特徴から軸塔に最初に入った時の吹き抜けで、何度も何度も繰り返し落下していた牛頭鬼ミノタウロスだろう。コイツとは何かしらの縁があるのだろうか。
　ともあれ、【時刻の影】は過去を映す幻影なので実体はない。だから例えぶつかったとしてもただすり抜けた筈だ。
　しかし、同時に強い違和感がある。
　そもそも【時刻の影】は【時帝の天領】の一つ前、つまり軸塔――【時刻の影塔】内部だけで生じる特有の現象の筈だ。なのに【時帝の天領】にまで発生しているのは何故か。現象の原理の詳細までは把握できていないのでそんな事もあるのか、もしくはそもそも鑑定内容が間違っていたのか。
　あるいは、この牛頭鬼は【時刻の影】と似ているが全く違う別の何かなのか。
　個人的には最後の説が有力だ。
　何故なら真に迫るというか、実際にそこに居るような存在感を目の前の牛頭鬼から感じるからだ。回避せずに当たれば質量差で呆気なく潰されかねない、という感覚があった。これは【時刻の影】に何度も遭遇してきたが、一度も覚えた事のない感覚だ。
　実際、銀色の牛頭鬼は幻想のように一定時間で消えずに残っている。
　それどころか十メートルを超える巨躯の大半を隠してしまうほど巨大な城壁盾を構えると、その瞬間に黄金の爆発が城壁盾の前面に生まれた。俺には攻撃自体そもそも見えないようなのだが、黄金の爆発の規模から、かなりの破壊力がある何かを防いだのだろう。爆発はそれから僅か一秒の間に十度は発生していたが、僅かに角度を調整したり、あるいは押し出す事で対処している。僅かな動作だけで牛頭鬼の技量の高さが伺えた。戦う様は幻影とはとても思えない迫力と戦意に満ち、見れば見るほど実際にそこに居るように思えてくる。
　それにしても断続的に攻撃を受けているのに小揺るぎもせず、むしろ攻撃を受けながら前進する牛頭鬼の姿は、どこかで見た事があるような気がしたのは、気のせいだろうか。
　そんな牛頭鬼に僅かに気を取られていると、迫る致命の気配と、静かな殺気を感じた。自然と身体が動いて朱槍を突き出し、高速で迫る致命的な何かがアッサリと切り裂かれ、左右を通り抜けて床に突き刺さる。
　眩い黄金の閃光が散り、強い衝撃で機械腕が少し震え、大気がビリビリと震えた。
　背後に流れた残骸を目で追えば、朱槍が切り裂いたのは黄金の矢らしい。それもただの矢ではなく、直径で一メートルはありそうな巨大な矢だ。まるで丸太のような黄金の矢は地面に突き刺さって少しすると淡く輝きながら魔力に還り、ゆっくりと消失した。黄金の矢は物質で作られたものではなく、魔力か能力で生成された矢なのだろう。
　予め製造する手間が無く、魔力などがあれば幾らでも生成できるだろう黄金の矢は、それを裏付けるように一本だけでは終わらなかった。追撃に対して備えていると、百メートル程前方で突然黄金の矢が出現した。鋭い鏃から太い矢柄、太い矢柄から大きな矢羽と順に現れて飛来する黄金の矢はまるで俺にある程度近づいた瞬間に実体化したようだった。黄金の矢はそもそも速いのだが、これだと一定範囲内になるまで見えない分だけ実際の速度以上に速く感じる。
　恐らくは牛頭鬼を襲った攻撃もこれなのだろう。そう思いながら黄金の矢を時には切り伏せ、時には最小限の動きだけで回避する。
　数秒の間だけで射られた黄金の矢は十を超えた。正面だけでなく、左右や上方からと油断はできない。
　それでも捌くのにも少し慣れたが、しかしこの場で留まり続けても黄金の矢の連撃は止みそうにない。むしろより速く、数を増やし、威力が増しつつあった。大きく動かない標的を狙う手間を減らし、連射速度と破壊力の向上に射手の意識が傾きだしたのだろうか。姿を見る事が出来ればその辺りの機微も少しは分かるかもしれないが、面倒な事に射手の姿も見当たらない。
　【時帝の天領】は≪時刻歴在都市ヒストリノア≫の直上の空間に存在する領域だ。床はまるで一面が超強化ガラスのように硬く存在するのに透き通り、外から見えるほど巨大な時針がすぐ下を動いている。その更に下の地表では俺達が通ってきた【時変の迷路】、【時転の機都】、【時刻の影塔】といったエリアが全て見下ろせる。そういった構造をしているので遮るような障害物はない。あえて挙げれば雲が近くにあるが、普通の雲は攻撃の余波だけで吹き飛ぶので身を隠す事は出来ないだろう。
　つまり非常に見晴らしのいいここで射手を発見できないとなれば、【光学迷彩】など身を隠す術を身に着けている可能性が高い。
　このまま留まるのは後手に回りすぎるので、攻撃の合間を見て前に駆ける。攻撃される方向は大体分かった。射手が移動していたとしても、黄金の矢が一定範囲に入れば視認できるように、射手との距離を縮めれば何かしらの発見があるだろう。
　そう思って駆けだしたが、正解だったらしい。距離が近づいた事で、射手の気配を感知する事が出来た。気配がする場所は、やはり何も見えない。しかし僅かな音や匂い、あるいは秘匿された魔力の僅かな気配が確かに何かいるのだと教えてくれている。
　そこまで知覚できれば、後は簡単だ。並走する灰銀狼に跨り、背中に浮かぶ【火獣群の歯車】に魔力を注ぎ込む。これまでにない大量の魔力を一気に注ぎ込んで回る歯車は黒く燃え盛りながら高速回転し、まるでジェットエンジンのように黒い大炎を後方に向かって噴き出した。歯車が持つ三つの能力の一つ【火翔加速】だ。
　それによって灰銀狼の速度が飛躍的に向上し、何かがいる場所まで瞬く間に距離を詰めた。その間にも黄金の矢は飛来するが、その全ては遥か後方を貫くだけに終わっている。加速した灰銀狼に狙いが全く追いついていないらしい。
　気配がする場所まで瞬く間に近づいた後は、辺り一帯に黒い火獣を差し向ける。歯車から飛び散る火花が獣となる【火車化獣】によって生じた黒い火獣達は黒豹や黒鷲となり、地を駆け空を飛び、そして空間を薙ぎ払うよう連鎖的に大爆発した。込める魔力が多く、通常の赤い炎ではなく黒炎となっていたからか、自爆特攻の火力はこれまで以上の破壊力を秘めていたようだ。
　そして次々と爆発する黒い火獣達の自爆特攻は、不可視の敵の姿を浮き彫りにするのに成功した。
　爆炎と爆風が浮き彫りにした不可視の敵は、身の丈十メートルを超える黄金の巨人らしい。黄金の矢の大きさも射手の巨大さからすれば、納得の大きさだ。
　ただ予想と違い、敵は複数存在した。
　大爆発に巻き込まれた黄金の巨人射手は十を超える。その内の半数は爆発によって致命傷を負ったのか黄金の粒子となって消滅し、残り半分も四肢を失って鮮血のように黄金の粒子が勢いよく溢れている。放置して何か置き土産されても面倒なので、瀕死の黄金巨人射手には火獣の追加を差し向けて確実に仕留め、同じように消滅させた。
　一先ず攻撃してきた黄金巨人射手の一団を殲滅する事に成功したが、しかし黄金の矢は今度は別方向から飛来した。どうやらまだ残っているらしい。
　休む間もなく行動は続く。
　新手の黄金の矢を朱槍で切り裂き、新手が存在するだろう方向に視線を向けると、驚くべき事に銀色の牛頭鬼がその方向に突っ込んでいた。
　城塞盾を前に突き出し、肩に巨大な戦斧を構えての突貫だ。巨大な脚が床を踏み締める度に眩い銀の炎と雷が発生し、見た目からは想像もできないほどの速度で突き進む。
　城塞盾の表面では黄金の爆発が断続的に続いているので、攻撃は受けているのだろう。しかし受け止めながらも小揺るぎもせずに突き進み、牛頭鬼は戦斧を振り下ろした。
　まるで世界を切り裂くような一撃だった。
　背中が寒くなりそうな一振りと共に、生じた銀に輝く爆炎と雷撃が空間を激しく薙ぎ払う。それに合わせて黄金の爆発が発生したので、そこに居た黄金巨人射手達を纏めて仕留めたのだろう。
　純粋な暴力の化身のような牛頭鬼の姿に感心しつつ、俺は懐からとあるマジックアイテムを取り出した。取り出したのは宝箱【星降る青の偽称】から手に入れたばかりの【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】だ。
　【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】は鑑定系マジックアイテムの一種で、星が煌めくような青い結晶体で作られ、薄っすらと銀色に輝くレンズが嵌め込まれている。今まで使っていた【知識者の簡易鑑定眼鏡】とは比べ物にならないくらい上等な品で、得られる情報量などは段違いなだけでなく、その他幾つもの能力を秘めている。
　色々と有用なそれを使って銀色の牛頭鬼を視てみると、どうやら【時差の銀僚タルシーヴァ】と呼ばれる存在らしい事が分かった。
　異なる時間軸に存在し、【時帝の天領】にまで辿り着いて古代過去因果時帝“ヒストクロック”に挑戦している存在の分身、あるいは影だそうだ。コイツは滅多に出現しない、というか現象として発生するように設定はされているものの、条件が厳しいので滅多に表れる事はないという。
　そもそもここまで辿り着く者自体が稀有である事に加え、戦闘中に他の挑戦者が丁度到達する事が条件になっているらしい。世界に刻まれた過去の情報すら読み解く【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】によれば、確認されたのは遥か昔に僅か二度だけだ。その時のメンツがとても興味ある名称だったが、流石に今はそれは横に置くとして。
　そんな貴重な事象を経験するとなると、やはり牛頭鬼と俺は何か縁があるのだろう。失われた記憶に関係している可能性すらあるのではないだろうか。
　そんな事を思いつつ、俺は新手の黄金巨人射手に火獣を向かわせながら、牛頭鬼の様子を静かに観察した。
　俺が牛頭鬼の存在を認識しているように、向こうも俺達を認識できるようだ。だからある程度は協力可能である。
　ただそれぞれの時間軸によって状況に変化があるらしい。例えば黄金巨人射手の位置などだ。最初に黄金巨人射手が出現した場所が一緒だったとしても、俺達の行動によって黄金巨人射手達の動きも違ってくる。その為、それぞれの戦況は似たようで異なり、それぞれが行動する優先順位は変化する。だから高度な連携などとれる訳もない。
　ただ敵を仕留めれば俺と牛頭鬼の戦場から同じ敵は消えるし、攻撃は互いに当たらないので、攻撃の直撃や余波など考えなくてもいいのは大きなメリットだろう。それにどちらも古代過去因果時帝“ヒストクロック”だけは共通の敵なので、攻略の際は心強い存在である事には変わりない。
　ただしデメリットもあり、【時差の銀僚】が存在する時は“ヒストクロック”に強化が入るらしい。
　魔力量増加など見過ごせない強化ではあるが、強い分だけ仕留めた時の美味さが増しそうな【直感】があるので、完全なデメリットとも個人的には言えないのが少し悩ましい部分だろうか。
　ともあれ、それから暫くの間は不可視の黄金巨人射手達と戦い、どんどん敵の数を減らしていく。これには【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】が大いに役立った。
　ただ周囲を見るだけで隠れていてもアッサリと見つけられるし、その能力やどういう存在なのかすら分かるからだ。
　それによれば、黄金巨人射手は過去に存在したモノを黄金の魔力で再現する、古代過去因果時帝“ヒストクロック”の能力【刻まれた万象の黄金時ゴルディオン・ブランディンアーク】によって生じている。
　そして“ヒストクロック”の黄金の魔力を依り代として再現された黄金巨人射手は、かつて名を馳せた【分身の勇者】パルマンド・ラという巨人だそうだ。パルマンド・ラは元々狩人だったが、ある日【分身の神の加護】を授かった。それから経験を重ねて【勇者】となり、最終的には同時に最大百体まで自身と同等の能力を持つ分身を生み出す事が可能になり、一つの意思で統率された群体となって魔力で生み出した巨大な弓矢で敵を仕留める一人傭兵団として過去の戦場を荒らしたという。
　その戦績はザっと見てみただけでも凄そうで、それだけ生前の彼の強さが伺えた。血肉があればとても美味しそうな存在だけに、喰えないのが少々残念である。そこに不満を抱きつつ、俺は牛頭鬼と共に隠れた黄金巨人射手の殲滅を続けた。
　そして軽く千は倒した頃だろうか。リンゴーン、リンゴーンと清らかな鐘の音が響いた。身構えながら周囲を見回し、ふと気になって足元の時針を見ると、丁度時刻が変わったタイミングだった。
　何か変化が起こるだろうと更に警戒していると、上空から黄金の光が雲の隙間を通って降り注ぐ。黄金の光は濃密な魔力を帯び、浴びるだけで活力を得られるが、同時にそれを放つ存在から受ける特大の重圧感に耐えねばならない。
　息苦しさすら覚える中で、光源が居るだろう上空を見上げた。
　そこにあるのは分厚い雲だ。裸眼では流石に見通せない程に濃く、分厚い雲で視界は遮られている。
　しかし【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】はその雲が【時送りの白雲】という過去と現在が入り乱れる特殊なモノである事を読み取っただけでなく、その更に奥に存在するモノまで見通した。
　雲に隠れながら黄金の光を放つ存在。それは百メートル程上空でゆっくりと回転する、一辺が五メートル程の黄金の立方体だった。
　まるで太陽のように輝く様は綺麗だとは思うが、見た瞬間、黄金の立方体こそが古代過去因果時帝“ヒストクロック”だと理解した。それだけの存在感を放っていたし、背筋に寒気が走る程の重圧感があった。
　獲物の姿を視認した事で戦意は自然と高まり、魔力が漲った。攻撃を過去に送って無力化するというある種の絶対防御である【時送りの白雲】に守られつつ、上空に留まる“ヒストクロック”をまずはどうやって落としてやろうかと考えていると、黄金の表面に虹色の紋様が浮かぶ。紋様な面によって異なり、時計のような紋様もあれば、ホロスコープのような紋様や、カレンダーのような紋様、そして世界地図のような紋様もある。
　ただ六面のうち、残りの二面には紋様の代わりに深い亀裂が刻まれていた。まるで戦斧を叩きつけたような深い亀裂を中心に、そこからクモの巣状に広がるヒビ割れから、恐らく俺達が入る前から戦っていた牛頭鬼によるものなのだろう。
　牛頭鬼の戦いに後から参戦してしまった事には何だか申し訳無さを感じるが、そういう仕様らしいので俺達ではどうしようもないし、そんな感情など“ヒストクロック”には関係ない。浮かび上がった紋様がより強く輝き、黄金の魔力がより強く周囲に照射・散布されると、次の攻撃が来ると【直感】が働いた。
　背筋に寒気が走り、咄嗟に灰銀狼を動かして高速移動させる。視界の隅で映る牛頭鬼もまた即座にその場から大きく飛び退き、攻撃に備えて城塞盾を構えていた。
　俺達の判断の正しさは、その直後に天から無数に降り注いだ黄金に輝く轟雷と巨雹と呪風が証明したといえるだろう。装備したままの【天星術師の星読み眼鏡】によれば、これは過去に起こった天候災害を再現したものだった。
　一秒間に十数発以上も降り注ぐ凄まじい轟雷は、過去に“雷光龍帝”と“雷鎚竜王”の兄弟喧嘩が上空で起きた理不尽で不運な帝国雷壊の再現。小雨のように降り注ぐ一つ一つが五十センチを超える硬く重い巨雹は、“氷海巨人王”のクシャミで生まれて数日降り注いだ宗国氷壊の再現。そして渦巻き命を蝕む呪いの風は、政治的に偽の罪で断頭された“預言者”の悲嘆と憎悪の血涙から生まれた王国風壊の再現。
　一つの再現でも文明が滅びた災害だが、それが三つも重なるのはまるで【神災】のようだった。空から狙いもつけず、周囲一帯を覆い尽くすような大雑把な攻撃は到底回避できるものではない。
　歯車を高速回転させて黒い大火を燃え上がらせ、無数の火獣を放って迎撃するが、物量は圧倒的に向こうが上だった。轟雷を撃ち落とし、巨雹を溶かし、呪風を反らしてもまだまだ尽きない。それに黄金巨人射手のように仕留めれば数が減らせる訳もなく、かなりの時間をただ防戦するためだけに費やされた。
　ちなみに、隣で戦っていた牛頭鬼は轟雷を受ければダメージを受けるどころか逆に元気になり、降り注ぐ巨雹は城塞盾を傘にして呆気なく受け止め、呪風は全身に炎を纏う事で簡単に対処していた。圧倒的な個の能力で天災に簡単に対処している様は、実際に同じ体験をしている身としては羨ましいと思う他ない。今の状態なら、俺よりも牛頭鬼の方が強いだろうな。助かるが、それに頼るのは情けないので“ヒストクロック”は必ず俺が仕留めて喰ってやろうと心に決めた。
　そんな個人の思いはさて置き、人物だけでなく、天候まで再現する“ヒストクロック”との戦闘は、例え牛頭鬼という頼れる存在がいたとしてもやはり一筋縄ではいかないようだ。その他にも再現される様々なナニカとの戦闘は、激しさを増していく。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3