Chapter 145
Vengeance
Translator : PolterGlast
Its movements were almost human. It blended its presence
well, and the only incongruity was that it was in the forest at night without a
light. Thinking about something like that blending into the city... it’s scary
enough to send shivers down even my spine.
"Gree, hide
here and watch."
"...Hey, is that the Cruhamilion?"
"I don't know yet. There is still a possibility it's
just a human."
"...Okay. I'll wait here."
I reported that for now, and having hidden Gree in the shade of a tree, I
approached the nest. The Cruhamilion had entered the nest and showed no
particular movement.
Paying attention only to Gree who was waiting, I peeked into the nest. The nest was empty,
in a state no different from when I entered it earlier on my own.
It definitely entered the nest—just as I thought that, I
remembered that the Cruhamilion can vanish. I approached the nest closer
and strained my ears, and I could hear the sound of breathing coming from
inside.
I can't see anything, but it is definitely inside the nest.
The fact that it's invisible means it might have noticed my existence.
To be honest, its abilities are more troublesome than I
imagined, so I just want to crush the whole nest with Gravity Magic,
but... That would defeat the purpose of going out of my way to take the risk to bring Gree
along.
I stepped away from the nest for a moment and gathered the
strongest-smelling fruit growing nearby. Relying on the sound of breathing, I
threw that fruit at the Cruhamilion.
The Cruhamilion possesses the extremely troublesome
ability to erase its presence while changing its form, leaving no traces of
magic, but it likely cannot erase a smell attached to it. As the fruit hit and
burst, a distinct stench clung to the Cruhamilion.
With this, I can confront the invisible opponent by relying
on the smell. As I waited for the Cruhamilion to come out of the nest,
it slowly emerged while surveying the surroundings.
It remained in an invisible state, but since the smell
remained firmly attached, I could tell its location as if it were in the palm
of my hand. I won't let it escape now, and even if I let it run loose for a
bit, I can definitely finish it.
"Gree. I'm
going to defeat it now, so watch closely."
"Eh!? Where is it!"
"You'll see it soon."
Returning only those words to Gree, I openly revealed myself in front of the Cruhamilion.
Perhaps wary of my inexplicable behavior, the Cruhamilion stopped moving
completely, appearing to try not to let even the sound of its breathing leak
out.
"You intend to hide, but you're fully visible. It seems
you've been rampaging quite flashily, but that ends today."
I don't know if it understands language, but I called out to
the Cruhamilion. Since it still showed no sign of moving, I slowly began
walking toward the Cruhamilion.
Then, the moment I got within a certain distance, the Cruhamilion
finally seemed to realize its location was exposed; it approached me at high
speed and launched an attack. From the sound of kicking dirt, I knew it was
quadrupedal, and by trying to launch an attack, it leaked its presence, however
faintly.
Its form remained invisible, but with this much information,
I am unlikely to be hit. Dodging the Cruhamilion's attack by a hair's
breadth, I measured the timing and hammered my fist into its abdomen.
The texture was flabby and soft. Judging by the elasticity,
attacks below a certain level would likely be nullified, so I hammered my fist
in with the image of piercing through to ensure damage reached its core.
In addition to rarely having its attacks dodged, receiving a
perfect counterattack appeared to be completely outside its expectations; it
stopped its attacks after I landed just three hits. It seems the Cruhamilion's reputation for strength relies on its flawless
stealth capabilities. In terms of individual combat specs, it appears to be
inferior to a Berserk Bear.
"Done already? Your stealth and transformation
abilities were the real deal, so I had expectations... but this is quite a
letdown."
Just as I called out to it, the Cruhamilion canceled
its invisibility and transformed into a human figure. Of all things, it
transformed into a young, frail woman.
Even knowing it's the Cruhamilion, there is
resistance to attacking. The Cruhamilion knows that and is transforming
with that understanding... it truly is a devil.
"Gree, can
you see it? That is the Cruhamilion."
"It-It really was there."
"It has the form of a human, but it is a genuine
monster. If you followed me this far, witness its end."
It might be a shocking sight for the young Gree, but the fact that his parents
were killed and the year since then must have been far more shocking
experiences. Since he cannot avenge them with his own hands, witnessing the Cruhamilion's
end firmly... is definitely better when thinking about Gree's future.
I closed the distance to the Cruhamilion disguised as
a human in an instant and swung my katana down at its neck. The Cruhamilion
seemed to be trying to take some kind of action as well, but my descending
katana reached its neck first. Without any resistance, the katana swung down,
and the Cruhamilion's head danced in the air before—falling to the
ground.
I have no idea what the principle is, but the head that fell
to the ground had returned to the Cruhamilion's original head, and the
remaining body also reverted from a human form to a monster's form. The true
form of the Cruhamilion was an ugly, fat, lizard-like figure.
Its color was a toxic black-purple, and looking only at this
corpse, one could hardly believe it was a monster that transformed so brilliantly.
Anyway... is it all over with this?
I let out a long breath, then headed to Gree, whom I had hidden in the shade of a tree. I lightly patted
the head of Gree, who was clenching
his fists tightly, and took him near the Cruhamilion's corpse.
"This is... the monster that killed my dad and mom,
right?"
"Yeah. Sorry for taking revenge on my own."
"...No. Thank you. Because... I don't think I could
have ever avenged them myself."
"No, you are strong, Gree. I think you could have avenged them someday. ...You did well
protecting Anne."
When I spoke gently to him, Gree silently shed tears. I patted his head lightly once more, then
proceeded to dismantle the Cruhamilion alone so as not to look at his
crying figure.
While it wasn't a formidable opponent in the end, it was
quite a hassle until we faced off. I said it would be a day trip, yet I haven't
been able to return for two days; I might be causing worry for Ginia and
Aoi. Let's finish the dismantling quickly, return to the city, buy some
slightly luxurious souvenirs—and go back to Biodasdal.
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