Volume 4
Chapter 17
"Ga, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The black magical
beast slammed Tom to the ground and bit into his arm. The beast's fangs pierced
his flesh, and Tom screamed in agony.
"Tom!!!! You
bastard! Let goooooo!!"
Mimuru shrieked and
leaped onto the magical beast, but her knife was blocked by the beast's
armor-like hide and bounced off in vain. The magical beast paid no attention to
her frantic attempts to help Tom.
"Hmph!!"
Nozomu, having caught
up from behind, charged from the opposite side, sandwiching Mimuru and the
magical beast.
Nozomu's target was
the magical beast's jaw joint. Sheathing the katana he had drawn, he delivered
a "Vibration Strike" to the joint connecting the upper and lower
jaws.
"Gugyaa!!"
The Ki and shockwave
slammed into the jaw, destroying the structurally fragile joint. The magical
beast, its jaw losing strength, then dropped Tom's right arm, which it had been
biting, with a plop.
Nozomu pressed his
attack further.
He took a low stance
with both hands, compressing his Ki. He then slammed a Ki Technique:
"Vibration Cannon" into the magical beast.
The Vibration Cannon
couldn't blow away the black magical beast, but the powerful torrent of Ki
released at close range succeeded in making the beast flinch. In that opening,
Mimuru picked up her fallen lover from the ground and retreated. Nozomu also
moved between Shina and the magical beast, maintaining his distance from the
beast.
"Tom! Tom!! Hang
in there!!!"
"Uuugh…"
Mimuru was calling out
to Tom, tears streaming down her face, but his condition was not good. He was
dazed from the intense pain and shock from the bleeding, and it was clear, even
from a distance, that he was in a very dangerous state.
"Gahb!
Geh-hyaaah!!"
The black magical
beast's lower jaw wouldn't close because Nozomu had destroyed its jaw. It was
sticking out its tongue and making incoherent sounds.
Nozomu glanced at
Shina and saw her standing still, dumbfounded.
"Hey! Hey!! Get a
hold of yourself!!!"
"W-what, I,
I…………"
She was clearly
confused and in no condition to fight.
Nozomu slapped her
cheek, raising his voice.
"P—Pull yourself
together!! Shina Juliel!!!"
"………………Ah."
Her eyes regained
their light after being slapped.
Nozomu confirmed that
she had regained her composure and then faced the black magical beast again.
The magical beast, perhaps still reeling from its jaw being destroyed, was
coughing and spitting blood and drool onto the ground, its movements halted.
"Let's escape!!
Pull yourself together!!"
Nozomu ordered Shina
without giving her a chance to respond. He then glanced at Mimuru, who also
nodded repeatedly in agreement. She was also quite shaken by what had happened
to Tom.
"Alright, let's
get out of here right a—what!!"
Just as Nozomu and the
others were about to leave the area, they couldn't believe the sight that
unfolded before them.
As if a vertical line
had appeared on the face of the magical beast whose jaw Nozomu had just
destroyed, the beast's head began to split vertically with a creaking sound.
"Wh-what in the
world is that…"
"Aaaah…………"
While Mimuru watched
in dumbfounded silence, and Shina's face contorted in terror, the black magical
beast further transformed its appearance.
Spilling its own blood
around itself, the magical beast's head and neck split vertically. Countless
fangs began to grow from the torn wound. Where its head once was, three
exceptionally large fangs grew, forming a gigantic mouth, and a pair of massive
eyes appeared on the side of its neck.
Its already swollen
body further bloated, and its claws became large and sharp. It no longer
resembled a wolf at all, having transformed into the complete form of a
monster.
"Gigaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Opening its gigantic
mouth wide to the left and right, the magical beast roared.
"……………………"
Nozomu saw that and
judged that a simultaneous escape for all four of them was impossible. It was
not an opponent they could escape from while protecting an injured person.
(At the very least,
we'll need a decoy or a rearguard to hold this thing back... Mimuru will cover
Tom, and Shina... she probably can't do it right now... so it's just me,
then...)
Mimuru was probably
preoccupied with Tom, and a quick glance at Shina confirmed the same. Neither
of them seemed capable of serving as a rearguard.
They had to survive
without losing a single person. The most probable means to achieve that...
"Hey,
Shina."
"Eh?"
Nozomu, without taking
his eyes off the further transformed magical beast, took out a map from his
pouch and handed it to Shina behind his back.
"This is a map of
this area. There's a hut written on it, where you'll find a complete set of
medical supplies. Treat Tom there, spend the night in the hut, and then return
to the city tomorrow at sunrise to report this magical beast."
Nozomu gave Shina
instructions in a tone that allowed no room for refusal. The place he indicated
was Shino's hut. The only place nearby where treatment could be administered.
In this situation with
limited numbers, there was no time to treat Tom's injuries using magic or other
means. As his condition was critical, wasting any time was not allowed.
"B-but. Then
you'll be…………"
Shina's gaze darted
between Nozomu and Tom. Her eyes trembled, and she seemed overwhelmed by the
dilemma of responsibility and guilt.
But Nozomu didn't have
the luxury to be considerate of her at that moment.
"I'm the only one
here who can be a decoy or the rearguard! And look at Tom's condition! You
don't have the luxury to worry about me, do you!! Then prioritize your
comrades!!!"
Nozomu shouted at
Shina, who was still hesitating. Shina flinched and trembled at his loud voice,
but Nozomu ignored it and unleashed his Ki to full power, applying enhancements
to his entire body. Perhaps sensing his heightened Ki, the magical beast in
front of them lowered its stance and braced itself.
Nozomu raised his leg
and slammed it into the ground with all his might.
Simultaneously, he
channeled Ki into the ground, causing it to explode, blocking the magical
beast's vision and raising a cloud of dust and smoke to prevent it from knowing
Shina and the others' escape direction.
"Go!!!!"
"…Sorry!
Nozomu-kun!! I'm counting on you here!!"
"!!!"
As Nozomu shouted
that, Mimuru, carrying Tom on her back, started running, but Shina still
hesitated for a moment.
She squeezed her eyes
shut tightly, showing a pained expression, but then turned on her heel as if
shaking something off and disappeared into the forest.
Beyond the cloud of
dust and smoke, the completely transformed magical beast charged towards Nozomu
and the others as the dust and smoke swirled upwards.
However, Nozomu had
already factored that in.
Nozomu didn't watch
Shina's reaction until the end. Instead, he charged into the cloud of dust and
smoke, reached for his pouch, and threw something from it at the magical beast
through the smoke.
What he threw were
flash bombs and sound bombs. The blast bombs he had before were too expensive,
and Nozomu, in his poor financial state, couldn't buy them. However, he was
able to buy the former two, just like recovery potions.
The flash bombs and sound
bombs Nozomu threw exploded right in front of the charging magical beast. An
intense flash of light and a deafening explosion echoed through the
surroundings.
"Gugyan!!!"
The black beast
stopped dead in its tracks at the flash and explosion that erupted before it.
Nozomu dashed past its side with all his might and plunged into the forest in
the opposite direction from Shina and the others.
Nozomu chose to be a
decoy to lure the magical beast in the opposite direction, rather than fighting
it head-on to buy time. However, since he couldn't let it chase Shina and the
others, he deliberately charged and ran right through the magical beast's line
of sight to catch its attention.
"Gieeee!!"
Nozomu's plan
succeeded. With a terrifying roar from its gigantic mouth, the black magical
beast began to chase after Nozomu.
***
"Gigaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
A roar shook the air,
and the footsteps of the giant magical beast seemed to shake even the ground
beneath Nozomu's feet.
"Hah, hah, hah,
hah!!"
Over ten minutes had
passed since Nozomu started luring the magical beast as a decoy, and his escape
from the magical beast was still ongoing in the forest.
Considering the
difference in abilities between Nozomu and the magical beast, he should have
been caught and devoured by the magical beast in less than a minute. The reason
he was able to escape was simply that Nozomu had the terrain advantage.
It was the forest
where Shino had made him run around endlessly under the guise of training. A
place where he was often attacked by magical beasts and barely escaped with his
life. Nozomu knew this place better than the town's hunters.
The place Nozomu chose
to escape was a dense area in the forest with short, somewhat grown trees. The
trees were closely spaced, and the black magical beast, which had hypertrophied
into a giant physique, was hindered by its size and the dense trees, unable to
catch up to Nozomu.
However, Nozomu also
couldn't completely shake off the magical beast, and the distance between them
remained almost unchanged.
In this situation,
Nozomu was clearly at a disadvantage.
(I'll get through this
place soon. But it'll still take time to get to that other place. At this
distance, I might get caught before I reach it... Will I make it?)
He glanced back to
gauge his opponent's situation, and the black beast was still there, chasing
him with its gigantic mouth wide open.
(Daaaaaah! You're
persistent!! Give up already—!!)
The place Nozomu was
aiming for. There was still some distance to get there. If he could reach it,
he would have a chance to escape, but as things stood, he was likely to be
caught before then.
At that moment,
something crossed Nozomu's mind.
(…That's right! If I
use that, I might be able to stop it!! The question is whether it will work…)
Nozomu changed his
running direction. It would be a bit of a detour to his destination, but with
that distraction, he could definitely reach his destination. However, if the
distraction didn't work, he would definitely be caught and forced to fight.
"!!"
Nozomu's face twisted
slightly. What he thought of was releasing his ability suppression. He would
certainly need it to fight and win against that magical beast.
However, Nozomu still
couldn't shake off his hesitation.
His own self, brutally
slaughtering and killing everything in sight. The scene from yesterday flashed
through his mind, and above all, the fact that he had once given in to that
impulse kept him hesitating to release his power.
As Nozomu hesitated,
the scene before him changed.
The spacing between
the dense trees widened, and thick-trunked, tall trees began to grow around
them.
(Kuh! Damn it!!)
Nozomu still couldn't
release his suppression. He aimed straight for a certain place, but the black
magical beast was chasing him from behind, closing the distance.
Eventually, the flat
ground ended abruptly, and a steep slope appeared before him.
Nozomu ran down the
slope at full speed.
If he missed his
footing and fell, he would tumble straight down to the bottom and would surely
suffer a serious injury, but he couldn't afford to slow down now.
The black magical
beast also came down the slope, trying to chase Nozomu.
The distance between
Nozomu and the magical beast further shortened, and finally, it was right
behind Nozomu.
The magical beast
opened its jaws wide. Its gigantic mouth, opened wide to the left and right,
was stained crimson, and countless sharp fangs rattled loudly. Deep inside,
another circular mouth appeared, waiting for its prey.
Nozomu was running
with all his might to escape the magical beast's jaws, but it was clear he
couldn't escape.
And the moment the
magical beast's jaw was finally about to catch Nozomu. Nozomu vanished from the
magical beast's sight, and intense pain shot through one of the magical beast's
front legs, and fresh blood scattered.
"Gyan!!!!"
The magical beast lost
its balance greatly due to the sudden event. It tried to regain its posture,
but it couldn't balance on one leg and fell to the ground, rolling down the
slope.
"Guuuugh!!"
Nozomu lost his
balance and, though tottering with unsteady steps, somehow regained his posture
and ran down the slope, moving away from the fallen magical beast.
What Nozomu did was,
the moment the opponent entered his range, he applied "Flash Step -
Curving Dance" to change his running direction while lowering his stance.
He then escaped to the opponent's side and slashed the opponent's front leg
with the Ki Technique: "Phantom Void".
The magical beast,
having one of its weight-bearing front legs injured, couldn't stop its own
weight and momentum and simply rolled down the slope.
"Hah, hah,
hah…………"
It was certainly a
terrifyingly precarious action.
If his timing had been
off by even a single step, he would have either tumbled down the slope himself
or been eaten directly.
Nozomu, who had run
down the slope, didn't have the luxury to check what had happened to the
magical beast and continued to run. Probably still...
"Gieeeeeee!!!!!"
The magical beast's
roar reached Nozomu's ears again.
Looking back over his
shoulder, he saw the magical beast chasing him again.
(Damn it! It's not
working after all!!! I need to calm down, I am almost there!!)
He hadn't thought he
could defeat it with that much power in the first place, but he had managed to
gain some distance. Nozomu continued to run, and then a tree came into view in
front of him.
(There it is!! Please!
Work!!)
Nozomu rushed to the
side of the tree and kicked a large stone placed near the trunk.
The next moment, with
a whoosh! sound, the stone flew sideways, and ropes woven in a lattice pattern
appeared one after another between the magical beast and Nozomu.
The magical beast
chasing Nozomu tripped on the lattice-woven ropes and fell. It struggled to
escape, but that only made the ropes entangle it further.
This trap was
originally something Nozomu had set when he was left in the forest by Shino for
training, to escape from attacking magical beasts. It was made to act as a
distraction.
He had also considered
that it would be bad if other adventurers got caught, so the trap itself had no
lethal force and would not activate unless the stone that was placed on it was
moved. However, it had been made quite a while ago, and he was worried whether
it would still work.
Incidentally, as a
side note, Nozomu had set up such delaying traps all over the forest.
Nozomu, who was
inferior in physical abilities, had to use such things to survive. It was
simply a wisdom for survival.
Even so, it was just a
delaying trap after all. Furthermore, years had passed, and the ropes used were
woven from grass, not particularly sturdy.
As expected, the ropes
couldn't withstand the magical beast's strength and began to snap.
"Just as I
thought—!!"
Nozomu hadn't expected
it to hold, so he continued to run.
When Nozomu was barely
visible beyond the trees, the magical beast finally escaped from the ropes that
had restrained it and resumed chasing Nozomu.
(Just a little more,
just a little more!!)
Nozomu's destination
was getting closer, but the magical beast, which he had momentarily left
behind, was also closing the distance again.
Eventually, Nozomu's
destination became visible through the gaps in the dense trees.
There, green-skinned
little people lived. Tents made of wood, leaves, and hides stood in rows, and
the skulls of prey were impaled on the ends of poles. Fires were burning here
and there, and hunted prey was being roasted whole.
It was a Goblin
village.
Nozomu had discovered
this village in the forest before, but at that time, he had just started
training with Shino, so he had left the village undisturbed, thinking it would
be bad if the Goblins found him.
A Goblin on watch at
the village entrance spotted Nozomu running.
"Gyagya!!!"
The Goblin at first
thought that only one human was coming towards them and grinned, calling out to
its comrades. It probably thought it would serve the foolish human who had come
to their village alone for dinner today. But the moment it saw the gigantic
magical beast behind him, its face turned pale, and it began to panic.
The other Goblins,
called by the sentry, also changed their expressions and began to flee in
confusion the moment they saw the black magical beast approaching them.
Nozomu paid no
attention to the Goblins and plunged into the Goblin village, dragging the
magical beast behind him.
The Goblin village, as
expected, fell into complete chaos.
Some rushed out with
weapons in hand, some fled at full speed, and some panicked, not knowing what
to do.
In any case, the
screaming of Goblins could be heard from all directions, creating a tremendous
din.
Amidst this, Nozomu
and the black magical beast themselves were moving back and forth within the Goblin
village, further fueling the chaos.
Nozomu had plunged
into the Goblin village with the magical beast in tow, intending to create a
panic and use the confusion to escape.
However, the magical
beast itself was still chasing him from behind, its gigantic mouth wide open.
(That's it!)
An exceptionally large
tent was visible in front of Nozomu. It was probably the chief's dwelling. From
the entrance of that tent, a Goblin significantly larger than the surrounding
Goblins appeared. This was the chief of the village, the Goblin Lord.
The Goblin Lord, who
had emerged with a look of "What's going on?", gaped when it noticed
Nozomu and the black magical beast charging towards it. The next moment, it let
out a loud cry.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!"
"Uoooooooh!!"
"Groooaaaaaaaaah!!"
Nozomu, the Goblin
Lord, and the black magical beast then rushed into the chief's tent.
One person and two
beasts rushed into the tent, but the moment Nozomu entered, he used Flash Step
- Curving Dance - to escape to the edge of the tent. The black magical beast
lost sight of Nozomu again due to the dimness inside the tent and, mistaking
the Goblin Lord for Nozomu, attacked it.
Amidst the Goblin
Lord's screams, Nozomu immediately went outside, cut the ropes supporting the
tent, and collapsed the tent to cover the magical beast.
Nozomu had originally
intended to block the magical beast's vision with the large tent and escape in
the meantime. However, the Goblin Lord, who happened to be in front of him, got
caught in the crossfire, and the unfortunate Goblin Lord ended up being the
target of the magical beast's rage.
While the magical
beast rampaged under the collapsed tent, Nozomu fled at top speed.
"Hah! Hah!
Hah!!"
Nozomu's stamina was
long past its limit. On top of that, enraged Goblins noticed Nozomu during his
escape and shot arrows at him, but he mustered his remaining strength and
focused on fleeing.
After dodging the
Goblins' pursuit and somehow escaping into the forest, the black magical beast,
which had been buried under the tent, crawled out.
The magical beast,
realizing it had lost sight of Nozomu, attacked the Goblins as if to vent its
rage.
Nozomu continued to
run relentlessly, with the renewed screams of the Goblins echoing behind him.
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