Volume 3 Chapter 4.7
Ripples of Impending Danger Part 7
Translator : PolterGlast
"Nozomu
......?"
Her voice sounded like
she was dumbfounded. It had been a long time since he had heard her voice that
wasn't tinged with hatred.
(...... I made it in
time.)
For some reason, such
words came to his mind.
Her voice was the same
nostalgic voice as when they were still together.
However, the nostalgia
that came to him was quickly overshadowed by the intense heat that welled up
from deep within his chest.
Nozomu could not
describe the feeling in a single word. Was it anger at being betrayed or
sadness at being hated?
A smoldering mass of
heat, mingling in a jumbled mess. Along with the pain that rushed up his nose,
he bit his lip involuntarily due to the nausea.
Nozomu reached for the
invisible chains that bound him, trying to suppress his shaking emotions.
The most certain and
necessary means to eliminate the [Cracked-Crown].
However, the release
of these chains may cause a tragedy that even Nozomu himself cannot imagine.
In fact, he once
wielded this power in a fit of rage and literally created a bloodbath.
Perhaps the worst
scene he had dreamed of might become a reality. Such uncertainty makes him
hesitate to break this chain.
But while Nozomu was
hesitating, a sudden but powerful wind rose up on the flank of the giant
centipede he was facing.
"W-What!?"
The swirling vortex of
the wind was so strong that it stirred and scattered the [Cracked-Crown]'s
purple lightning.
Nozomu and the others
looked at the source of the wind and saw that Mars was pouring all his Qi and
magic power into his greatsword.
"If I use this,
even this monster will be- ......!"
"Mars-kun,
no!"
Tima's cries did not
reach him as he stared at the giant centipede with bloodshot eyes.
The pain from the
injury he sustained due to [Thunder Rain] had turned into anger, and combined
with the frustration of being suddenly confronted with a substandard being, it
had completely erased any sense of calm from his mind.
However, the technique
was originally incomplete and only imperfectly controllable. He was rushed by
anger and impatience, as well as the fatigue and damage that had built up over
the course of the past several battles. With all these bad conditions, there
was no way he could control it.
Unaware of this fact,
Mars used the magic combination technique, rushed by his impatience.
As a result, the
situation that Tima and Nozomu had feared before occurred.
"Guu~u~u~!"
The greatsword
screeches amidst the swirling torrent of Qi and magic power. The storm-like
vortex of power kept raging without harmony, and even Mars himself began to run
amok beyond control.
"W-hy
......Gaaaah!"
"Kyaaa!"
Unleashed along with
his cry, the raging wind finally left Mars's control and began to turn its fangs
on its surroundings.
The blast expanded and
blew away Mars, the user, along with Shina and Tima, who were nearby.
Shina was fortunately
protected by Rasward, but Tima was knocked straight into a tree and fainted.
*Gigigi ......*
To make matters worse,
the [Cracked Crown] once again began to cover its entire body in purple
lightning.
It is the same
torrential rain of lightning that devastated Nozomu and the others earlier.
Shina and others who
were capable of launching long-range attacks kept firing magic and arrows, but
they were dispersed by the purple lightning that the giant centipede was clad
in, and did not even reach its carapace.
Then, for the third
time, [Thunder Rain] was invoked, and a swarm of lightning so dense that there
was no room to evade it, attacked Nozomu.
"Nozomu!"
However, Irisdina
intervened in front of the downpour of lightning and deployed a magic barrier.
She deployed it in the nick of time.
"Iris......~!"
"Ugh, hurry,
...... while you still can!"
The magic barrier that
was instantly deployed began to be eaten away by the snake-like thunderstorms
in the blink of an eye.
And then, this time,
Shina with Razward jumped in.
"Raz, protect
them!"
[Dammit! What a rough
spirit user!]
Shina stood in front
of Nozomu, and together with Irisdina, she raised her hands to put up a
barrier.
But even so, the
torrential rain of lightning could not be stopped.
Both barriers were
pierced, and a snake-like thunderbolt slipped through the hole and struck them
on the cheek, leaving a laceration on their white skin.
There is no time to
hesitate. Nozomu put all his strength into his hand on the invisible chain and
tried to tear it apart with all his might.
"Wha ......"
But for some reason,
the invisible chains did not break.
Over and over again,
he pulled on the chains with all his might, but no matter how much force he put
into it, the invisible chain would not budge.
"W-why?......"
While Nozomu was
stupefied, the [Thunder Rain] finally broke through their barriers.
"Uaaaaa!"
""Kyaaaa!"
Their screams were
heard. The violent purple lightning engulfed them, and the pain was so intense
that their consciousness was bleached to a pure white.
In their flickering
vision, the giant centipede was raising its huge scythe arm.
Is it over for
us? ...... At that moment, on the verge of fainting, a man clad in silver
and white armor and carrying a huge black sword sprang out from behind the
bushes like a gust of wind.
◆
The darkness slowly
cleared up.
The first thing Nozomu
saw in his blurry vision was a white tent ceiling.
"Where am
I......."
"Oh, you're
awake."
A voice was heard, and
looking toward his side, Norn, the infirmary doctor, was coming from behind the
tent.
Reflected in the
corner of his vision was a simple bed covered with a cloth. Nozomu finally
realized that he was in a temporary clinic at the headquarters.
Norn let out a sigh of
relief after measuring his pulse, checking his pupils, and completing his
diagnosis.
"Un. Looks like
everything's fine. I was worried when I heard that you encountered such an
extraordinary demonic beast, but I'm glad to know that you're all right."
According to the
story, Jihad and the teachers who received the report from Karanti and the
others arrived just in time.
Although the situation
was dire, they managed to fend off the [Cracked-Crown]. Currently, they are
conducting a patrol of the surrounding area and keeping a watchful eye on the
situation. Naturally, the Special Comprehensive Exercise has been suspended.
Even this headquarters is going to be withdrawn soon.
"Umm...... what
about the others?"
"If it is
Irisdina and the others, they have already been treated and are outside.
Although their injuries could not be called minor, but they are not
life-threatening. The only one left here is her."
Saying so, Norn turned
her gaze to the edge of the tent. There was Shina with a bandage wrapped around
her head.
She had woken up one
step ahead of Nozomu and was sitting on a bed with only the upper half of her
body propped up. She was looking at Nozomu, who had just woken up. Underneath
her untucked coat, blood-soaked gauze and bandages peeked out.
".......~."
Red spots could be
seen on her white skin. This painful sight caused Nozomu's face to contort.
"......I'm going
to call Irisdina and the others. You both stay here and rest well."
Silence filled the
tent as Norn left. Shina was staring at Nozomu, but Nozomu couldn't make eye
contact with her.
(This happened because
I couldn't release my power back then ......)
Swirling in his mind
was a regret that made him want to scratch his throat. If only he could release
his ability suppression, his friends would not be injured like this.
"Hey
......."
Of course, that's just
a possibility. It's meaningless since it's already over.
However, the fact that
he couldn't do what he needed to do when it was crucial, pierced Nozomu's heart
deeply.
"Hey!"
"......Huh?"
Nozomu reflexively
raised his gaze in response to the loud voice that echoed through the tent.
"Are you
listening to me? I've been trying to talk to you for a while, you
know?......."
"S-sorry
......."
Nozomu hastily
apologized to the disgruntled Shina, but he quickly averted his gaze after
that.
Shina let out a sigh
upon seeing him like this.
"Well, it's fine.
Everyone is safe after all."
Perhaps she was being
mindful. Shina said so as cheerfully as she can. However, Nozomu's expression
was still not good. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as if trying to
endure something.
Shina showed a little
hesitation toward such Nozomu, but nonetheless, she tried to open her mouth
again .......
"Hey, you-
......."
"Nozomu, you have
woken up!?"
However, her words
were interrupted by Irisdina, who jumped into the tent.
She was breathing
roughly as if she was in a great hurry.
Following Irisdina,
who had rushed in, Tima, Tom, Feo, and the others entered the tent of the
simple clinic.
"Y-yeah. Looks
like everyone's alright as well."
"Thank goodness
...... we were worried you know."
With her jet-black
eyes moistened with tears of relief, she reached out to check on Nozomu's
condition.
"Yeah, Sorry, for
making you ...... worried......"
However, Nozomu's
expression turned even cloudier upon seeing Irisdina's appearance as she came
closer to him.
She too, like Shina,
has bandages all over her body.
The red stains left on
her tattered uniform. This appearance reminded him of the previous nightmare,
and he involuntarily backed away from her outstretched hand as if to escape.
"Nozomu......?"
Nozomu's avoidance
left a bewildered look on Irisdina's face.
An awkward atmosphere
spread through the tent.
"Well, everyone's
injured, but thank goodness everyone's okay. And more importantly-......"
"Oi ......."
Feo tried to soften
the atmosphere, but was interrupted by Mars' low voice echoing from behind him.
He walked over to
Nozomu's bed with a large stride, ignoring everyone else.
"Mars......"
In that instant, Mars'
fist filled Nozomu's field of vision, and a powerful shock struck him on the
cheek.
The sound of the
impact echoed through the tent. Nozomu's body was thrown out of bed with such
force that it knocked over a nearby table and threw the medical instruments to
the ground.
As everyone present
widened their eyes, Mars' face turned bright red and his shoulders trembled in
anger as he glared at Nozomu, who had fallen to the ground.
"Why!? ...... You
bastard, why didn't you show your seriousness!?"
While raising his
voice so loud and heavy, Mars grabbed Nozomu by the chest.
"If you'd really
give it your all, you could have easily defeated such a centipede!"
"............"
Nozomu had no answer
to Mars' words. He just turned his head down and gritted his teeth to endure.
He thought he deserved
to be beaten up.
"You-! ...... Oi,
say something!"
Seeing Nozomu's silent
reaction, Mars became even more agitated and again raised his fist.
Irisdina and the
others, who were stunned by the sudden situation, came to their senses and
rushed to stop him.
"Mars-kun,
don't!"
"Stop it!"
"Wait, calm
down!"
Tima and Irisdina
clung to Mars' arms, and Feo jumped on his waist.
Despite the three of
them trying to stop him, Mars does not lower his raised fist. He just lets his
anger take over and shakes Tima off, who is still clinging to him.
"Kyaa!"
"Tima!"
Tima, who was not
physically strong to begin with, was easily knocked away. She fell down and was
holding her own ankle with her face contorted in pain. Perhaps she twisted her
ankle.
However, Mars, whose
blood was rushing to his head, did not see Tima and he punched Nozomu again
with his freed arm.
Nozomu collapsed on
top of the scattered medical instruments, and as Mars was about to close in
further, Norn's angry voice rang out from the entrance to the tent.
"What are you
doing!? This is no place to make a scene!"
Upon hearing Norn's
angry voice, everyone quieted down as if water had been poured over them. While
everyone has an awkward expression on their faces, only Mars keeps glaring at
Nozomu. His eyes are tinged with anger, yet somehow sad and sullen.
However, seeing Nozomu
not saying anything, his eyes turned to disappointment.
"...... I thought
you were different from that bastard."
"Ma-,
Mars-kun!"
After squeezing these
words out of his heart, Mars turned on his heel and walked out of the tent.
Tima called to him to stop him, but he walked away without looking back.
"...... Nozomu,
are you alright?"
"............"
Nozomu did not answer
Irisdina's call, but stood up sluggishly and quickly walked past her toward the
exit of the tent. Irisdina turned around and tried to reach out her hand to his
back as he left, but her hand was not able to reach him, and it cut through
empty air.
After they left, only
a heavy silence drifted through the tent.
End of Chapter 4.
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