[Nightmare]

"Hey. There are very few problems that a large chain reaction of explosions can't fix." Helix declared with a frown.

Marie giggled in bewilderment.

She couldn't look at Helix's face without laughing.

"Spoken like a true politician. You're officially a leader."

Helix gave her a wry smile.

"I have my moments." He replied sarcastically.

"I doubt your manhood is the only reason behind this strategy." Marie remarked with a stunning smile.

Helix gave her a warm gaze for a moment.

Then he continued.

"Yes. I'll use Containment Charge Triggers to show that we can kill beasts through trapping and tactics since most people don't have our power." Helix explained with a slight smile.

"But the primary benefit of using [explosions] is getting rid of the evidence."

Marie narrowed her eyes.

"Getting rid of evidence?" She asked with an interested smile.

Helix gave her a mysterious smile.

"Of course. Monster blood doesn't dissolve after it touches open air." He commented.

"And tinker can only drag one Laymond Cow behind him to the fight."

Marie's eyes widened in realization.

"So we're short on blood to leave behind." Helix explained.

"So we'll have to wash away the evidence."

"Wash away the evidence?" Marie asked with a discerning smile.

"Yes. Literally." Helix affirmed with a slight smile.

—

"MARIE! NOW!" Helix yelled.

"[Implosion]." She said with an evil grin.

No one could hear her, but that didn't matter.

Rubbbbulerrrrublerrrublerrruble….

A massive line of cracking ground ripped across the battlefield in a breathtaking display of raw power.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The area underneath the Lagrock exploded and shot into the earth.

"SOLDIERS, TURN AROUND AND DUCK!" Helix ordered at the top of his lungs.

"[CHARGE BARRIER TRIGGER]!"

Glowing orange lights shot across the battlefield.

There was one in front of Helix, Riley, Charlotte, and finally, a faint glow on the mountain top.

Barriers.

"Turn around!" General Masov roared.

Many soldiers, otakus, and weebs obeyed, while others were too stunned to move.

Macron started forcing people down.

Oakley pulled people from the wall, and Masov started barking orders.

He knew whatever happened wouldn't end well if Helix was triggering barriers.

Helix was satisfied with the response after ten seconds.

Riley gave him the thumbs up, confirming that most people had followed suit.

"[FLOOD CHAIN TRIGGER]!" Helix roared.

Sky blue light exploded in the area.

Six [Flood] circles activated a fraction of a second later, shooting water in the direction of the Lagrock.

It was a gorgeous showcase of circle modifications to control the output of an otherwise chaotic spell.

Unfortunately, most didn't watch it.

PRSSSSSHHHHHH!

A massive explosion of steam and smoke assaulted the area as the flooding water touched the fires.

The people on the guard tower started yelling.

Suddenly, a massive heat wave blasted them, turning their skin red.

They were grateful that Masov, Oakley, and Macron started beating people who didn't turn around.

Those that laid down were grateful.

Luckily, the steam was 100-feet from the 80-foot walls.

Otherwise, it would have done serious damage.

General Masov turned to assess the situation, and his eyes widened in shock.

The otakus and weebs that obeyed and didn't peak turned around instantly.

Soldiers soon followed.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as water filled the massive crater the Lagrock was in.

"GOOOOOOOOOOORR—!"

"GOOOOORN—"

"GOOR—"

"GOOOOORN—"

"GOO—"

"GOOOOORN—"

Massive title waves shot from the crater as the Lagrock thrashed around.

It fought for breath as the water flooded inside the crater, slowly drowning it.

Its arms were useless, and Helix cut a leg off during the battle.

So it only had its left leg to push it out of the water.

As a result, it was drowning with no way to escape.

The kingdom's soldiers, otakus, weebs, and military leaders watched the pathetic creature drown.

It would doubtlessly be a gruesome ten minutes.

—

"That's… one hell of a way to wash away evidence." Marie giggled.

"Damn straight it is." Helix laughed nervously.

"I like it. So why do you sound nervous?" She asked with a tilted head.

"That… so we're dazzling the otakus to give them strength, yeah?" He asked rhetorically.

"Yes…?" Marie replied in confusion.

"Well, in the real world, drowning is a very… laborious process." Helix commented.

"Hmmm. I'm not sure I like the way that sounds."

Marie's eyes widened in shock and understanding.

"Yes… It does make a dazzling, victorious death difficult." She affirmed.

"It's… a lot more brutal and depressing, plus it's a constant reminder of how dark it was."

He cringed and gave her a solemn nod.

"The largest challenge we'll face is helping the otakus and weebs on the verge of trauma recover." Helix sighed.

"We don't have a choice, considering what's coming will be much worse.

So we must reverse the fear after the battle, which is difficult with such a brutal death."

Marie nodded with a serious expression.

"But we don't have a choice about using water." He sighed.

"So…."

Marie gave him a serious expression.

"So… what? You don't seem too pleased."

He gave her a wry smile before taking a deep breath and sighing.

"So, we'll have to turn its [should be gloriously cliche] death followed by a cringe-worthy and inspiring speech into—"

—

The death of the Lagrock was shocking, but not in a good way.

Everyone was excited about the cliche rescue, followed by the dazzling firework show.

However, watching a creature drown a pathetic un-warrior like death wasn't exciting, romantic, or desirable.

It made them cringe.

Helix would [not] allow that to happen.

"Charlotte! Are you okay?" Helix called out.

Charlotte turned on her magic circle after a brutal thirty seconds of anticipation.

She was trying her hardest to calm her laughing.

Helix was dying on the inside, knowing what was happening.

"Yeah. That asshole ruined my shirt, so I had to change."

The five hundred people burst into laughter.

"Haaaaaah. Glad to hear it. Do you want to help me teach that asshole [wannabe titan] what happens when monsters touch my women?" Helix asked with a cheeky voice.

Excited gasps rang through the crowd.

The otakus and weebs lit up like a New Years' celebration.

Helix heard their cheers and sighed a breath of relief.

The epic, brutal ending of the Stalkwalker was extremely heavy.

While it was awesome for soldier morale, this [story] was about making a point without causing titan night terrors and trauma.

The titan scene was too much, so they had to reverse that damage through a lighter atmosphere.

"Well~yeah, dummy! I've been waiting [for~ever] because the guy giving the order to keep damage to a minimum was taking a nap!"

A moment of stunned silence.

A single confused chuckled.

Bewildered laughter erupted in the area again.

Helix smiled wryly at the response.

He was having difficulty keeping his composure and breaking out into real laughter.

—

"Ah. The tragic victim Charlotte plays off the traumatizing scene like it was a comedy set." Marie giggled.

"She's per~fect for that role."

Helix gave her a hopeless smile before becoming nervous.

"Too perfect. Charlotte needs to control her desire to laugh seriously."

Marie and Helix burst into laughter.

"Of course, it can't stop there." He chuckled.

"Anyone can pretend something traumatizing didn't happen, and most do.

So if we want to do it seriously, we'll need to make it an intentionally anticlimactic spectacle."

Marie's eyes glided to the left.

"I… don't even know how to approach that." She confessed.

He gave her a wry smile before taking a deep breath.

"It doesn't match my personality…." Helix sighed.

"But I have a strategy."

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)