Chapter 211
“Light Ball”
It’s a magic tool that, as its name suggests, emits light when it’s filled with magic energy .
It’s as big as a pebble you can easily grip .
Fwooshh!
The light ball is thrown through a gap in the noise wall .
The direction where they were thrown was towards the four cardinal directions .
The throwing distances were also divided from near to far .
The area where these balls of light fall increases in brightness .
There’s no problem even if the monsters in the vicinity would become attracted to the light source .
After all, there’s no way that any monster in this area can beat me .
Rather than those monsters——- It’s to detect the movements of that unidentified “being” .
This was our first priority .
I, Ruin, had already made my vow .
That I would completely abandon any half-heartedness towards this adversary .
Everyone was currently filled with anxiousness .
“Let’s have fun . ”
Yes, I wanted to say that .
However, now isn’t the time to say such things .
We’re facing our first ever critical situation that our group, Heroic Sword, had faced......
I looked at Satsuki’s corpse which was still stuck in the middle of the opening of the noise wall .
Constantly looking at it, I quickly turned my gaze away and returned my awareness back to the enemy .
In the short amount of time, we’ve already lost two people .
Strife .
Satsuki .
There’s also four people who I don’t know whether they’re dead or alive .
Toad .
Bardwitcher .
Caro .
Nana Tout .
Before I knew it, I’m only certain about the safety of 4 people .
That’s already less than half of the number of my group .
[Isn’t it dangerous to launch ourselves here, Ruin?]
Yuugungu asked while he was leaning his body against the wall and peeking through a gap .
[My intuition tells me that it’s a bad idea to let the enemy perceive our “whole body” . ]
In fact, it seems like the enemy couldn’t make their attack .
I can’t imagine the reason why though .
However, it’s probably necessary for us to go on the offensive .
My guess is that it has something to do with perceiving our “whole body”——- or something close to it in the enemy’s field of vision .
(Is the enemy one of those people said in legends? The users of mystic eyes?)
There’s no way that’s the case .
I’ve never even heard of the mystic eyes in my adventures .
After all, legends would just be legends .
Everyone was feeling a bit suffocated .
Our nerves are always strained, trying to detect even the slightest movement .
[......I guess being unable to attack would also go for our group as well huh . ]
We would need a long-range weapon that can be fired from the inside .
Fortunately, we have bows and arrows .
Right now, Yuugungu and Arene have switched their weapons to bows and arrows .
The other way that we could use to attack from the inside was with a magic tool for attack magic .
Myana is exactly holding such a magic tool that has a form of a staff .
As for me—— I have Satsuki’s katana in hand .
I could use it as a throwing weapon .
I tightly gripped the hilt of the katana .
Grip!
(I’ll be using this, Satsuki...... Also, I’ll definitely scrape Nyaki’s ears off with this katana...... I promise you!)
Turning my gaze towards the outside, I saw insects swarming around the light ball .
[It seems like the enemy can’t go on the offensive unless they can perceive our entire body . ]
[Does that mean...... that Satsuki attacked us like that because he doesn’t have the strength to fight it himself?]
[That’s what I think but...... ———!]
I placed a hand over my stomach .
Desperately stifling out a nausea that was about to burst out of my mouth .
[Hey!? Are you okay, Ruin?]
[......I don’t feel good . ]
[I- Is something the matter?]
[The presence I felt was strange . ]
All the time, I’ve always been feeling this .
The sensation of my temples being tightly gripped .
It was as if my brain was being racked up and stirred .
[It was mismatched . ]
[Mismatched......?]
It’s probably my intuition at work .
[The being we’re facing isn’t strong...... Yes, the being we’re facing isn’t strong at all . However, it’s so sinister...... By the strength of this being I’m feeling, we should be able to win against him . If I were to fight “this being”, I would definitely win——– And yet, I’m feeling “terribly afraid”......!]
It’s too mismatching .
It’s as if I’m being confronted by a problem that doesn’t hold any solution .
However......
[The true identity of this mismatching aspect——- I feel like this is the key to our victory . If we were able to grasp this mysterious mismatch...... If we were able to know our enemy’s true nature, I feel like it would bring us to victory......!]
As if to cheer himself up, Yuugungu raises his voice .
[That means——- The one telling this!? That instinct of yours that has always saved us!?]
[Yeah, then it can’t be mistaken! Unraveling the identity of this feeling is our “solution” to victory......! Ahh! It’s telling me...... My intuition!]
I felt my breathing get rougher .
[It’s telling me to live!]
“Know the true identity of the enemy”
(That’s the first step for our survival......)
Human?
Human-Faced?
Demi-human?
An assassin sent from the Faraway Country?
Or perhaps, a second group of assassins sent by Mira?
Neither of those answers felt right .
It doesn’t feel like those answers fit right into the missing puzzle .
[Haahhh——– Haahhh...... Haahhh——-]
Our bodies are drenched in sweat .
The temperature isn’t so high .
However, everyone was sweating .
At that moment......
[......Footsteps . ]
I can certainly hear footsteps .
I tried listening to it even more carefully .
What I was hearing was......
[A horse......? Isn’t that the sound of a horse’s footsteps......?]
Normally, horses are afraid to step into the Demon Zone .
They can’t mentally endure being inside the vicinity .
And yet, I can hear the sound of horses .
(Moreover, there are two of them......)
Two horses were running in a row .
Running round and round .
They are galloping around our group, though they are also trying to keep a safe distance away from us .
That means......
[There are at least two enemies......]
The first thing I needed to grasp was the number of people .
I focus my hearing on the sound of footsteps .
Although my awareness is somewhat taken up by detecting these footsteps, I don’t stop being alert with my surroundings .
[Nngghh———]
I graps on my chest again, feeling an increasing amount of pain on it .
[Ruin!?]
[......They’re different . ]
[Different?]
[Our enemies aren’t riding on these horses . ]
The being with mismatched aspects .
They were......
[There is someone other than them here......]
However, the horses seem to be unusual too .
Whether it’s their speed......
Or the strength of their steps as they tread through the ground .
It feels like their tenaciousness is unusual .
That means that they aren’t just normal horses .
There’s a high probability that they’re monsters .
“Are you having fun now?”
(That voice...... I can’t hear it anymore...... Have I just been hallucinating when I heard it? However......)
[—————–!]
The pressure I felt in my body rapidly grew stronger .
And then——– It suddenly appeared .
[! Arene, light balls!]
[Y- Yeah!]
As if I was snatching it off her hand, I took the ball of light from her hand .
[Show me the solution!]
With an underhand throw, I threw it as hard as I could towards the “pressure” I felt .
Thereupon...
Beyond the dense sea of trees———
There was that gigantic “being” .
Seeing that being, my eyes opened wide .
[A slime......?]
A gigantic monster——– that should be a slime .
Yes .
The light shone on a gigantic slime .
It was only for a moment that I could see it .
The figure of that slime immediately disappeared from the range of the light ball .
How could I describe this......
It was as if it had shrunk in the blink of an eye .
However, I certainly saw it with my own eyes .
A majestic appearance, just like a king standing at the pinnacle of all slimes .
I’ve certainly never seen a slime of that size in my whole life .
[Fufufu...... I see...... So that’s why——–!]
With his eyes shining, Yuugungu, who also saw that giant slime, looked over his shoulder .
[Ruin! That’s...... That’s the real identity of that “mismatching aspects” you’re talking about!?]
[——-Yeah, I guess so . ]
Slimes are recognized as insubstantial monsters .
They’re just monsters that are usually crushed and played around by humans .
Probably because they were crushed and killed for fun, you don’t see them much these days......
[It’s just a weak slime, but for it to have this much pressure...... That’s why you feel that something’s “mismatching” . They’re originally just weak monsters, but because of some mutation or something like that...... The true identity of the enemy is a mutant slime with a special ability to drive people crazy! Arene, give me more light balls!]
I began lighting up that area with a ball of light at once .
[..................... . . ]
I focused my attention on the area where that slime had been .
It’s faint——– but I can certainly detect its presence .
The target is surprisingly small .
It also had lots of things shielding its body .
(However———-)
[I won’t let it escape . ]
I can do this .
I can definitely bring it down .
With just one swift strike .
(Lend me your strength, Satsuki . )
Tightly gripping the hilt of Satsuki’s katana, I held it over my shoulders .
All my nerves......
All my senses......
Gathering all of it, I set my aim towards the presence of that slime .
Line of fire, secured .
——–Creakkk———
Bending my arm, all the muscles in it bellowed .
Then......
[PIIGGGGGGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII——————-!!!!!!]
An unusually loud squeal echoed around the area .
[What the heck is that!? Shut up, will you!?]
[What the heck is with that slime!?]
[Kyaaahhh!?]
I heard the voices of my three companions as they covered their ears from that uproar .
Their voices were drowned by the volume of the squeal though .
It’s as if its loud cries were amplified to be even louder .
[Is this an attempt to intimidate us...... Or perhaps, is it frightened? Either way——–]
I’m ready to throw .
I’m completely prepared .
[It’s too late...... After what you’ve done to us, it’s already too late to regret it now———–]
—————— Shudder ——————–
Thereupon, I noticed .
A presence . Yes—— It was just in a moment .
However, it was a very strange feeling .
I suppose you could call it a sudden acceleration of thoughts .
I can’t think of a better way to describe it .
[You———-]
As I was in my throwing stance, I looked behind me, over my shoulder .
Since when was that being there?
It was as if he appeared from beyond my recognition .
That being was peeking through the gap of the noise wall behind me .
Before I knew it——–
I could see “that being”, as if he came right out of legends .
Bearing the face of the Fly King......
A skin dyed in red and black——–
(When the heck did he——–)
[Since when have you been theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee—————————!?]
In a position where he can see everyone’s “whole body” .
That being in red and black who was peering into the room, pointed his finger towards my direction .
Speaking of which......
When I was just turning around——— I felt like I heard something .
If I remember correctly, yes——-
I think I heard something like......
” < Paralyze > “
————————- Crickle, crackle ————————
Thinking about it now......
For some reason————- My body can’t move .
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