Volume 1
Chapter 22
I Encountered
a Praying Mantis
Several dozen minutes
had passed since Tekiru and I entered the forest───
"Phew, so
many."
Tekiru and I had
hunted a considerable number of monsters.
Tekiru seemed to see
the monster corpses lying in front of him as nothing more than money trees, and
he was about to start humming a tune as he cheerfully began dismantling the
monsters.
Since I couldn't
dismantle the monsters, I was gathering the monster corpses that were scattered
around into one place.
"Come to think of
it... why are there so many monsters today?"
After finishing
dismantling a certain number of monsters, Tekiru said this with a serious
expression.
"Huh? Isn't this
always the case?"
"No, it would be
bad if this happened every time. If monsters attacked in large numbers like
this in every forest, we couldn't possibly recommend monster extermination to
new adventurers."
"......Hmm, so
that's how it is."
"Don't 'hmm'
me... Kushina-cchi, just what kind of life have you been living?"
Tekiru looked at me
with a bewildered and surprised expression.
But that's right, it's
rare for so many monsters to attack like this. So, whenever I accepted a
request and entered the forest, was it just a coincidence that I was attacked
by a large number of monsters?
"......Huh?"
Tekiru stopped working
and looked up.
Apparently, something
else was approaching from the other side of the forest. I could hear the sound
of branches being pushed aside and trunks being broken.
"What is
it?"
Tekiru was already in
a combat stance. He lowered his waist and reached for one of the daggers he was
wearing.
The target was close.
The sound was getting louder.
With a creak, a nearby
trunk was broken, and the next moment───
"Shushururuuu!!!"
A giant red praying
mantis appeared.
"Wha!? A Red
Mantis!?"
Tekiru was clearly
shaken.
"...What's
that?"
What was in front of
me was a monster that looked like a giant, red-colored praying mantis... a
beast? Can we even call this a beast? Anyway, that... Red Mantis? I don't think
such a pompous name suits this creature.
"What!? You don't
know!?"
Tekiru seemed even
more surprised by my question.
"Are you kidding
me!? A Red Mantis! It's one of the few 'extremely dangerous monsters'
classified as Rank A!! Even you, Kushina-cchi, should know that much as an
adventurer, right!?"
"Hee~, I
see."
"You've got to be
kidding me!"
The so-called Red
Mantis, though it had appeared, didn't immediately attack. Or rather, was it
intimidating us...?
"Let's run away,
Kushina-cchi! Luckily, for some reason, the Red Mantis is on guard against us!
If we both run at full speed, we might be able to make it!"
Tekiru turned around
and started running even before he finished speaking. In the next moment, he
could be seen accelerating rapidly and moving to a distant place.
Wow, that's pretty
fast for a human.
Well then...
"I..."
□□□
【Tekiru's POV】
I was now running
through the forest at full speed.
Why... Why would a
Rank A Red Mantis appear in a Rank B area—and in such a shallow part of the
forest!? How could a disaster-level monster appear so close to town!?
And yet, I don't sense
that it is chasing after me from behind. Why?
No, that doesn't
matter right now. I have to warn the town about this danger as soon as
possible!
...Wait. There's no
sign behind me?
I turned around
abruptly.
"───!"
He's not there! Why
...... what are you doing, Kushina-cchi!?
Don't tell me, he
stays behind to fight? Against that Red Mantis!?
Why would he do
that...to buy me time? To sacrifice himself so I could get out of the forest
and inform the town of this disaster?
No, wait, Kushina-cchi
didn't know Red Mantis in the first place. Kushina-cchi doesn't know how
dangerous it is... no, surely he must know the danger of a Rank A, right?
"...Sorry...
Kushina-cchi."
I turned forward again
and ran at full speed.
□□□
I was now staring at
the giant red mantis called Red...something.
Tekiru was quite wary
of it, but it didn't seem so strong to my eyes.
But when I looked
closely...its outer shell was shiny, just like a beetle's. Maybe it's as hard
as a diamond.
Thinking about that,
my cheeks naturally relaxed, and───
"Shushururuuu!!!"
The next moment, the
mantis let out a loud growl, almost like a roar, and charged forward.
It raised its right
scythe and swung it down to slash my body.
...Nah, that's too
slow. It's about as fast as Tekiru a while ago. I guess it's fast enough for a
human, but for a monster, this speed... is a bit disappointing.
...Well, I'll take the
scythe, though.
Slash!
My body, which had
been slashed in half by the mantis's scythe, was split in two as neatly as it
could be.
I hadn't expected much
from the slowness of the attack, but...this was beyond my imagination. Maybe
the slowness just now was a bluff to make me let my guard down? ...I hope so.
My upper and lower
body fell to the ground with a splash of blood. A large pool of blood formed on
the ground.
"Shur?
Shururu?"
The mantis seemed
confused by how easily I was cut down. Well, any creature would put up some
resistance if it was attacked normally.
"Shur...ruu..."
Tilting its head in
confusion, the mantis passed by my body. It seems to have mistaken me for dead.
It's naive to not double-check. But it doesn't matter.
As expected, my body
began to regenerate. The blood pooled on the ground gathered together, and the
separated torsos approached each other, trying to stick together, and the flesh
joined together with a squishy sound.
The mantis, which had
already passed by, didn't notice this.
Well then, I'll return
the favor.
My body finished
regenerating. My cheeks involuntarily spread into a grin.
The opponent is a
near-invincible being that can take my life. On the other hand, I am a weak
human being who is involved in a senseless battle of life and death.
"Fufufu..."
I can't stop the joy.
That's right, this is
the feeling.
I stomped on the
ground so hard that it cracked, and jumped into the air.
The mantis looked back
at the sound of the ground cracking. However, my figure was already gone. There
was no trace of me who was supposed to be dead.
The mantis seemed to
widen its eyes in surprise—and suddenly turned its face up to the sky.
However, it was
already too late.
My fist had already
plunged into the mantis's brow and, with the same momentum, blew the mantis's
body apart. The shell shattered and flew apart with a cracking sound, and the
flesh was shattered and scattered by the impact.
The scene was so
devastating that it was as if there had never been a mantis there.
An indescribable
sensation ran up my spine, giving me even more pleasure.
I stood there, lost in
afterglow, and sighed.
"...Oh, shoot.
The body part..."
When my normal
thinking returned, I remembered that I had forgotten something important that
Tekiru had taught me about hunting.
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