Early Release!!
=================================
Chapter 4 Part 20
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
"This
isn’t good!"
When
Nozomu arrived at the square where he encountered the demon beast yesterday, he
saw Shīna being caught up in the explosion of her own arrow and being blown
away.
"Uoooooooooooooooo
!!!"
Immediately,
he activated [Instant Move] with full power. He ran in a straight line, cut in
between Shīna and the demon beast, and drew his katana out. He cut through the
mouth of the demon beast with Qi technique [One Billion Severance].
"GABYAUU!!"
The
demon beast let out a pained scream from the second mouth attack it
experienced. Its head was torn off and bled even more. Nozomu grabbed Shīna's
collar and dragged her away.
Shīna
was shocked with eyes wide open. She simply couldn't believe the scene in front
of her. However, since Nozomu was here now, she forgot about her own
circumstances and glared at him with a fiercely.
"Y-You!
Why are you here !?"
The
first voice that came out of her mouth was, as expected, a swearing towards
Nozomu.
"That's
my line! You fool!! Why did you rush into this with no chance of winning!
Aren't you a lot more reckless than me!!"
"Wh-What!
A fool you say?! I was thinking of a way to win!"
Due
to her anger, Nozomu also swore at Shīna in a loud voice. In turn, Shīna was
also annoyed by his answer, so she replied more furiously.
"Then,
why are you in a desperate situation!"
"Sh-Shut
up! I just messed up a little!!"
"Messed
up!? In the end, it doesn’t mean anything at all!! "
Tit
for tat. To be clear, it wasn’t good to squabble in such dangerous situations,
but both were very serious.
Before
she knew it, the conversation, which didn’t fit their current situation, began
to reveal her real self, which had been filled with regrets and repentance.
"GAGYAAAA!!!"
A
demon beast's roar resounded in the forest. The two, who regained their
composure, glared at the black demon beast while holding their weapons.
"......"
Nozomu
tried to take the Flash Ball and the Noise Ball out of the pouch so it could
shroud their presence, but at the next moment, the black demon beast closed the
gap in an instant and swung its greatsword-like tail towards him.
"Kuh!!"
Nozomu
quickly flew to the side and dodged the tail that swung straight from above. He
dropped the Flash Ball and the Noise Ball that he took out. It seemed that the
hand he used yesterday couldn't be used anymore.
Another
tail swept his way, trying to cut Nozomu's body in two. Nozomu crouched down
and dodged the approaching tail, but the tail that had just been swung attacked
Nozomu again without a gap.
It
looked like the demon beast decided that Nozomu was more threatening than
Shīna, so it ignored Shīna and attacked Nozomu instead. Its attack pattern had
changed from simple attacks to repeatedly checking with its tail and waiting
for Nozomu to be exhausted.
Nozomu
managed to dodge the attacking tail, but the demon beast was ready to jump out
at any moment. If Nozomu showed even the slightest gap in his defence, the
demon beast would attack him.
Nozomu,
on the other hand, continued to dodge the approaching deadly tail with minimal
movement.
"Uwa!"
Nozomu
avoided the demon beast's tail that was swung diagonally from above with
minimum movement, but as the avoided tail was driven into the ground, the soil
rolled up and got into Nozomu's eyes. The black beast rushed toward Nozomu who
had stopped moving for a moment.
With
all its might, the demon beast rushed toward Nozomu in a straight line.
"Take
this!!"
However,
Shīna made up for that gap.
She
aimed at the demon beast's forelegs with the bow drawn to the limit with all
her might and shot an arrow. The arrow pierced the demon beast's left foreleg
accurately, and the demon beast's movement slowed down for a moment.
In
that short gap of time, Nozomu threw himself to the right side. It was the side
of the pierced leg. When Nozomu looked at Shīna he saw a different sight.
Unlike yesterday, she had a calm light in her eyes. After Nozomu knocked some
sense into her in their little argument, she was able to regain her composure
again, relaxing her previously tense body.
When
the demon beast's attack missed and passed by Nozomu, the demon beast shot two
tails towards Nozomu while its limbs scraped the ground.
Nozomu
rolled and jumped backward so as not to kill the momentum, and the tail of the
demon beast pierced through the spot he had just jumped from.
The
demon beast turned around in the meantime. This time, it turned towards Shīna
and casually shot one of its tails as if a cow was repelling a pesky fly.
Shīna
jumped backward to get past the approaching tail. Then she took four arrows
from her quiver between her five fingers, and pulled them out. She filled the
arrows she picked up with magical power and nocked the arrows to the bow again.
In
front of her, Nozomu was once again cornered by the demon beast. Shīna shot
four arrows in an instant.
The
arrows that were shot pierced the ground between Nozomu and the black demon
beast, exploding instantly. A cloud of dust spread over the area between Nozomu
and the demon beast, hiding Nozomu from the demon beast's field of
vision.
"Go!!!"
With
a shout from Shīna's, Nozomu ran with all his might. He rushed toward the demon
beast with [Instant Move] and broke through the smoke.
The
demon beast that noticed him approaching, rushed in with two greatsword-like
tails.
Nozomu
dodged the first tail with [Instant Move -Curve Dance-] and moved forward while
parrying the second tail with his katana.
While
moving, he sheathed his katana, built up Qi to the max, and compressed it
immensely.
The
demon beast tried to eat Nozomu with its huge jaw, but its body was already
within Nozomu's attack range.
"Fu~!!"
Nozomu
pulled out his katana while dodging the jaws.
The
katana with extremely compressed Qi was unsheated, and it deeply tore the right
shoulder of the black demon beast all the way to its right flank.
"Gugyaaaa
!!!"
With
a roar of agony, a large amount of blood gushed and spewed from the torn wound,
but the sludge covering the demon beast's body immediately tried to seal the
wound.
"I
won't let you!!"
Nozomu
thrust the scabbard on his left hand into the wound before the wound was
completely closed. He tried to release [Breaking Strike] to destroy the demon
beast's internal organs...
"!!"
However,
just before Nozomu was about to hit it, the demon beast's tail attacked, trying
to shake him off. Unwilling to let Nozomu injure its body further, the demon
beast lashed its razor sharp tail at Nozomu.
"Damn!!"
Nozomu
tried to dodge it by letting go of his scabbard, but couldn't. He had no other
choice but to hold onto his katana and try to parry it, but he couldn't fend
off the momentum of a full force tail swing, so he was blown away.
"Gah~
!!"
Nozomu
was blown to the edge of the square and slammed against the trunk of a tree.
The impact caused him to groan, and the air in his lungs leaked out. Nozomu's
movements were slowed down because he couldn't take a defensive posture when he
hit the trunk.
The
demon beast couldn't miss that opportunity. It rushed towards Nozomu who had
been blown away and tried to stab him.
However,
at that moment, a shining arrow pierced the right side of the demon beast.
Nozomu also stabbed the wound that was about to close with his scabbard. The
next moment, the pierced arrow exploded. It further opened the half-closed
wound, and the shockwave blew Nozomu's scabbard away, which was about to be
buried within the demon beast's flesh.
"GAGYAU!!"
The
demon beast groaned in pain and glared at Shīna, dyeing the myriad of eyes all
over its body red with hatred. Even though the wound was getting worse, the
demon beast spread its huge mouth open. Black dots of magical power converged
in its huge mouth. Shīna, who felt a chill down her spine, flew away from her
spot.
"GA~UOON!!!"
The
moment Shīna jumped away, a black ball of light was launched along with the
demon beast’s roar.
"Kyaaa!!"
The
black mass of magical power went straight and landed on a large tree at the end
of the square. A roaring sound and a black flash was scattered around, and the
blast that generated caused Nozomu and Shīna to hide in a hurry.
"Na!"
After
the explosion subsided, They saw saw a large tree that had been blown away
along with a gouged damp path that gave off a rotten odor.
"!!"
Because
she remembered her hometown, Shīna gritted her teeth.
In
the mean time, Nozomu calmly assessed the situation while keeping an eye on the
demon beast, but their situation was quite bad.
(This
is bad! If it can also attack at a long distance, there will be no way to
escape at all!!)
They
didn't know how often it could unleash that ranged attack, but at least they
knew it wasn't safe to keep a distance. It was an enemy that overwhelmed them
with its many abilities from regeneration to ranged attacks to just raw power.
What's more, as soon as the advantage of distance was lost, the tide of battle
would turn in the black demon beast’s favour.
The
demon beast rushed towards Nozomu again.
Nozomu
was still numb, and Shīna hastily nocked her bow with an arrow; however, it
didn't seem like there would be enough time to charge the arrows with enough
magical power to hinder the demon beast's attack.
"GA~UAAA!!"
(Damn!!
Do I have to use that!?)
Nozomu
touched the invisible chain that bound him, but he couldn't tear it apart.
The
release of Ability Suppression. Nozomu's survival instinct called for the
release of the ability suppression against the looming threat of death. On the
other hand, the anxiety of Tiamat being released clashed with his survival
instincts within his heart. The fear that he would get out of control and
massacre many lives scared him.
Every
time the demon beast took a step forward, the conflict inside his heart intensified.
Only the feeling of impatience increased, and the inside of his head was about
to turn white.
(!!!)
Nozomu
continued to hesitate like Shīna. He grabbed the chain that bound him tightly,
but by the time he realized it, the demon beast was in the corner of his eye.
(Damn!
This isn't the time to hesitate anymore!!)
A
huge mouth engulfed his field of view and tried to cover his body, but against
his will, Nozomu's hands still didn't let go of the chains binding him. He
simply closed his eyes and refused to move any further.
(W-Why!?)
Nozomu
was upset with his own hands which were not moving against his will.
"……Ah"
"Nozomu-kun!?"
A
surprised voice escaped from Nozomu's mouth. He realized that his death was
inevitable and his hands wouldn’t move against the looming spectre of death.
Just
as the huge fangs approached to tear Nozomu's body apart…….
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
A
voice of a girl different from Shīna’s broke into the square, and in the next
moment, a black shadow popped out of the forest.
The
shadow that jumped out of the forest plunged into the black beast with
tremendous force and slammed its supple legs against the demon beast. This was
the so-called dropkick.
Because
she was using some kind of wind or spirit magic on her legs, the demon beast,
which was kicked by the shadow, was blown away with a tremendous force while
shouting "GYANN!" and the demon beast disappeared into the bush.
"...
What?"
A
shocked voice escaped from Nozomu's mouth.
The
shadow that kicked the demon beast turned around in the air and landed on the
ground.
It
had the characteristic ears and tail of the Wild Cat Tribe. Big eyes that seem
to work well at night. It was Shīna's friend, Mimuru.
"Shīna~a~a~a~a"
Then
she turned her heels and jumped towards Shīna, who was just as shocked as
Nozomu.
"What?
Eh?"
"This
idiot Elf ~~~!!"
Mimuru
jumped towards Shīna, pushed Shīna down to the ground, and pinched her white,
soft cheeks.
"N-No
~o, D ~on't! ~Stop it!!”
"Who's
going to stop! Stupid elf! You ran ahead by yourself and left without telling
me... Tom and I are so angry that you made us worry!"
“……………..”
"Are
you okay? Nozomu-kun"
"Tom
..."
When
Nozomu was confused by the sudden turn of events, he was called from behind. He
turned around and found Shīna's friend and Mimuru's lover, Tom.
"...
Why are you here ..."
"We
can't leave you two alone. Not to mention, we also want to complain to Shīna..."
Tom
held Nozomu's hand and cast recovery magic on him, and magic power began to
heal his body, removing his remaining numbness in a blink of an eye.
"T-Thank
you"
"Yeah,
well, I've been taken care of by Nozomu, and thanks to you, Shīna survived ...
but later I have to scold her properly ..."
While
saying so, he looked at Mimuru and Shīna who were still chattering. He had a
fierce look on his face, but his eyes indicated relief at Shīna’s safety.
====================================
Tom's
POV
When
Nozomu rushed to the forest to find Shīna who was gone, Mimuru and I were just
stunned.
“…………..”
"Mimuru
..."
Mimuru
only paid attention to the letter that Shīna left behind. Her hands, which held
the letter trembled, and her face wasn’t visible as she faced head down;
however, she desperately clenched her teeth to endure something.
"...
Mimuru"
I
called her again. I knew her very well. Reason being, she was my beloved
person.
"...
It's my fault ..."
"……
Yes?"
"Shīna
went out alone ... It's my fault. Because I blamed her so much ... I knew she
wasn't looking right ... I know that, but I still blame her for your injuries
and for pushing Nozomu-kun to clean up her mess ..."
A
drop of transparent liquid fell on the letter Mimuru was holding. The drop that
fell from the shadow of her hidden bangs fell on Shīna's letter, creating a
small round stain.
Mimuru
regretted getting emotional and blaming Shīna because of my wound.
"...
Mimuru. I regret it too."
"……
Eh?"
“Because
it wouldn't have turned out this way if I didn't rush to release my magic back
then. If I had fought a little more decently, even if I was injured, I probably
wouldn't have been a burden to everyone so far."
Until
now, I’d been busy with research and study, and I wasn’t that fond of combat,
so I didn't try to improve. That was my regret.
It
might have been a little better if I worked hard, but studying, experimenting,
and reading books was much more fun than that.
However,
I ended up paying the price as a result when encountering such a demon beast.
Since the magic I was pursuing was only about strength, I blew away my own
ally, Nozomu. Because of that, he was hindered by the injuries he sustained
from my explosion.
Besides,
I was also injured because of my actions. It was impossible to fight while
protecting the injured in such a situation. In the end, we were forced to put
an extra burden on Nozomu just so we could escape. This made Shīna feel even
more weak.
"I
regret it. Very much so ..."
"Tom
..."
Mimuru
lifted her face and looked at me with teary eyes.
The
wind blew through the forest. For a moment, silence flowed between us.
"...
If we think about it. We don't really know much about Shīna's life before she
enrolled in the school ..."
"...
That's true. When I met her for the first time, she was always grimacing and
angry ..."
"That's
right. Even though she is so beautiful ... Why is her anger so extreme? I was a
bit scared~~"
"Yeah~~.
I wonder if it's okay to say that to her. I don't know what Shīna will say
later~~"
Mimuru
grinned and made fun of her friend with mischievous eyes. Little by little, she
seemed to go back to her usual self.
"...
It might be bad if we say those things to her face, but … We still need to.
After that, we just need to figure out how to reduce her scolding for saying
those things even if it's just a little ..."
After
that, I stared into the depths of the forest where Nozomu ran.
"...
That's right. Then I should ask Shīna directly. Things won’t end well between
us unless I confront her about everything that happened. Even if she hates me,
I will never give up on her!”
We
said so and ran. The destination was the square where we encountered that demon
beast yesterday. We wanted to be true friends with her. Friends, whom could be
considered as companions.
