Mud flew violently into the air.
Yet the sound of the black horse's hooves kicking through the mud and striking the ground was reassuringly solid.
The temperature seemed to have dropped.
White breath leaked from Slei's mouth and streamed behind us.
The monsters looked momentarily confused when we turned and charged straight at them.
But now they seemed to be thinking,
"So the prey has finally run out of options."
They surged forward with clear delight.
I steered Slei sharply to the left.
At the same time, I scattered Pigi-maru's tentacles, infused with status abnormality skills, toward the right at an angle.
The swarm of monsters changed direction and came rushing after us.
Some slipped in the mud and tumbled spectacularly.
Every time a monster rolled over, mud exploded into the air as if struck by a cannonball.
Still, the number that slipped and fell was tiny.
Very few dropped out.
…What a hassle, all this trouble for just one person.
"Do you guys really enjoy playing with humans that much?"
The golden-eyed monsters probably did love humans.
I had vaguely sensed it back in the Ruins of Disposal.
Their obsession with humans.
It might not be limited to the monsters in these ruins.
For the golden-eyed monsters and humanoid species, "humans" were coveted toys.
High intelligence.
Sometimes carrying noble and lofty will.
Sometimes revealing ugly emotions.
Perfect toys to break,
to damage,
to play with.
Elves and leopard people might be included in that category as well.
"Well, there are humans who like to treat other humans as toys too… [Dark]."
Monsters that lost their vision slipped in the mud and toppled sideways.
Thud!
Among status abnormality skills, [Paralyze] was the easiest to use in terms of range and effect.
It had the longest range among my skills.
After paralyzing something, there were many ways to finish it off.
However, this skill also had a fatal weakness at times.
Activating the skill required saying the skill name out loud with a certain volume.
And among my skills, [Paralyze] was the only five-character one.
In other words, it took longer to say than the others.
I had tested whether it could be activated by saying it quickly in the past.
It had not worked.
A certain speed adjustment was necessary when saying the skill name.
Basically, I could not do a "quick rapid-fire activation by speaking fast."
And that tiny difference of a single character could decide life or death against strong enemies.
That was why,
"[Dark]."
Regardless of its effect, the fastest to activate was the three-character skill [Dark].
In fact, after I changed direction, the only skill that had landed on the humanoid species was [Dark].
They had been bracing themselves expecting the five-character [Paralyze] or the four-character [Berserk].
Then suddenly a three-character skill came at them.
Naturally, their reaction was delayed.
As a result, they lost their vision.
They fell into confusion and tripped, dragging others down with them.
This was another pattern break.
After getting them used to the slower five-character and four-character skills, I struck with the faster three-character one.
I had been saving [Dark] until now precisely for this.
One of my trump cards.
It seemed to have worked.
However, [Dark] only robbed them of their vision. It did not kill.
I unleashed every attack I could while running, galloping, and charging at full speed.
Yet I did not feel like the number of monsters was visibly decreasing.
The distance between us and the swarm was finally closing.
But just a little more.
I was starting to see more and more fallen trees around us.
We had come back to the area we had passed through earlier.
Slei, who had begun showing signs of fatigue, exhaled forcefully and picked up speed.
Just a little more.
And then,
"Got it."
We were within range.
It was the spot where I had scattered paralysis earlier.
Dozens of paralyzed monsters were clustered there.
Thump.
My heartbeat pounded hard once.
There it was.
A humanoid species.
My eyes caught one that appeared to be in a [Paralyze] state.
Had the surrounding monsters gotten in the way and delayed its counterattack?
Or was its ability lower than the others?
No, it did not matter.
The reason did not matter.
What mattered was the fact right in front of me.
The simple fact that a paralyzed humanoid species was there.
I observed it just to be sure.
The anger it emitted, the regret filling it, the overflowing hatred.
I judged the chance of it faking was low.
It was not pretending to be paralyzed.
Therefore,
"[Berserk]."
Die without reservation.
I granted berserk rage to the paralyzed monsters, starting with that humanoid species.
Ear-piercing, muddy screams erupted.
Blood spurted upward like geysers toward the sky.
The sprayed blood mixed with the rain, showering the area with a rain of demonic blood.
[Level up.]
I ran on, transformed into a black bullet while bathed in the blood rain.
[LV 1903 → LV 1921]
I glanced at the status display.
My MP was fully restored.
"..."
The crystal orb on the back of Slei's neck.
Its light had grown slightly weaker.
I had been worried about that for a while.
The third form probably consumed magical energy gradually.
Maintaining the form required continuous magical energy.
It was not just the combined techniques with Pigi-maru.
Slei also needed magical energy replenishment.
I sent magical energy into the crystal.
His running speed improved slightly.
I lowered my posture, brought my face close to Slei's ear, and gave instructions.
After finishing, I said,
"This is where it really begins. Can you hold on a little longer?"
"Bururururu!"
A neigh that seemed to say "Leave it to me!"
I lightly stroked the back of Slei's neck.
"..."
Are you prepared?
I had asked Pigi-maru and Slei that.
But if the worst came, I could let Pigi-maru and Slei escape.
They were a monster and a demonic beast.
If I separated from them, they might be able to slip away by blending in with the monsters.
Tap.
A slightly hardened tentacle from Pigi-maru nudged my shoulder.
"Hm?"
"Pi!"
It was a scolding kind of cry.
…Had he sensed it?
My plan to let just Pigi-maru and Slei escape in the worst case.
I gently grasped one of Pigi-maru's protrusions.
I stroked it with three fingers, as if to reassure him.
"You know me well, right? I am a kind guy… I even saved you when you were being bullied."
"Pyuu…"
I snorted.
"Idiot. Why are you assuming I am going to die?"
"Pui?"
"I was just considering one possible plan. Besides… I cannot die until I make that shitty Goddess cry…"
"—Puiii!"
Pigi-maru reacted with a start and gave a signal.
Pigi-maru's "roots" were also spread across my back.
Until now, the way his roots tapped my back had been telling me the distance and direction of the monsters.
"…They are close."
There was no avoiding it anymore.
We could no longer run.
I looked up at the sky.
"..."
This heavy rain might actually be lucky for us.
The rain washed away scents.
It made scent-based tracking harder to follow.
Depending on how we did it, it could also help conceal our presence.
From here on, our tactics would involve repeated hit-and-run assaults.
While pulling away, we would gradually scatter the enemies, then strike isolated ones when the opportunity arose.
A strategy close to defeating them one by one.
I turned Slei around.
A sharp, magnificent turn.
The performance of his eight legs was impressive.
Many movements impossible with four legs became possible with multiple legs.
The eight legs assisted one another.
What stood out most was his agility.
Because he could turn tightly, he could make fine adjustments in movement.
As a result, his evasion ability was also high.
"…Haa."
I steadied my breathing.
Infusing magical energy did put some strain on me.
But there was no time to worry about fatigue.
"My MP is still sufficient…"
All that was left was,
"A fight to the death."
▽
Amid raindrops mixed with mud bouncing like bullets,
"GyoooooooruguegugyoooruaaaaaAAAAA—!"
The screams of monsters rang out one after another.
Slei charged forward, breaking through the curtain of driving rain.
Flying leaves stuck to the mask.
I brushed them away with my hand.
The whole area had now turned into a half-chaotic melee.
As a result of repeated hit-and-run attacks, the monster swarm had scattered widely.
Was it because I kept appearing and disappearing?
The monsters seemed to have begun falling into slight confusion.
The attacks I had scattered while escaping were also functioning as suppression.
The stronger monsters no longer approached as casually as before.
Even so, we were still surrounded.
Because of the heavy rain, I was gradually losing the ability to sense the distribution of the monsters.
During movement, I spotted an area thick with bushes.
It would be easier to hide here.
…Though it would not be enough of a hiding spot to let the monsters pass by completely.
Raindrops pattered noisily against the leaves.
There was no sign of the rain letting up.
"Ha… haa… haa… haa… fuu."
My own breathing had grown a little ragged.
A small cut ran across the back of my hand.
It had been made by a branch while moving.
Inside these bushes, the fine scratches were especially bad.
"…Two."
Two big ones were chasing from behind…
This presence felt like humanoid species.
Then,
"Gruaaa!"
A monster suddenly burst out from the bushes right in front at close range.
"—!? Tch!"
I had been too focused on the two behind us.
My reaction was delayed.
In that instant,
"Hiiiiiin!"
Slei raised his front legs high.
And then,
Gucha!
He kicked the monster's face with his massive hoof.
Slei crushed the monster's head underfoot.
The moment his front legs touched the ground again, Slei accelerated once more.
Dododododododo—!
"…Well done."
"Bururururu!"
▽
Basa!
Slei burst energetically out of the bushes.
A moment later, two medium-sized humanoid species also leaped out and began chasing fiercely.
"Behind us."
From behind those humanoid species, I launched a concentrated bundle of Pigi-maru's protrusions.
I caught the medium-sized humanoid species that had been caught off guard from the rear within range.
I was faster.
Midway, I split Pigi-maru's protrusions into two.
"[Paralyze]."
I dropped to one knee on the ground and hid myself inside the bushes.
Some humanoid species were apparently simple-minded.
It seemed they had not immediately noticed that I was no longer riding Slei.
They chased after the black horse running through the rain without any suspicion.
That became the opening.
I went to the paralyzed humanoid species and finished them off with berserk inducement.
[Level up.]
[LV 1921 → LV 1929]
My MP, which had dropped below half, recovered.
If I wanted to kill them quickly, the paralysis and berserk combo was the only way.
Along the way, I had also scattered [Poison] on some monsters I could not finish off…
I mounted Slei when he returned.
"…There are still some who are slowly closing in while watching the situation."
I could not tell the exact distance.
I exhaled slowly.
My body felt hot.
It was because I was sweating.
In truth, there had been a few moments during the melee where things had been razor-thin.
Our opponents were the monsters of the Golden Demon Zone.
If I let my guard down even slightly, I would be devoured in an instant.
I immediately set Slei running again.
The presences of the monsters I had sensed grew distant.
First, I needed to figure out how to break through this encirclement, but—
—Zok.
"—! Slei, lower your head!"
As I spoke, I leaned my body as far sideways as possible.
Bwoon!
"...Huh?"
Something had passed through?
For example, it was—
A giant scythe.
Looking around, the surrounding trees had been sliced apart.
Trees that had lost their support lost balance and toppled over one after another.
Slei avoided the falling trees and advanced while leaping.
Something had mowed them down.
"Gyoorururururuiiiiiiii—!"
In the distance, a huge monster with both hands transformed into scythe blades was roaring.
Its form looked like tentacles with scythes attached at the tips.
Because of the rain, I could only see its silhouette.
"Damn it… it reached us from that distance?"
Dead bodies of monsters sliced cleanly in half were scattered in the area.
The rain was washing the blood off the corpses.
I saw a humanoid monster walking unsteadily, missing everything above the neck.
Blood flowed endlessly from the cut surface…
"Pi!"
"Yeah, I know…!"
Another scythe flew toward us.
This time I detected it.
I leaned my upper body sideways to evade, just like before.
While circling around, I confirmed the location of the double-scythe monster.
Then,
Doshin!
A huge humanoid species suddenly appeared.
It was a humanoid-type humanoid species.
It had a large mouth with strangely thick lips.
Its face looked like it was wailing.
Its body hair was abnormally thick.
The part that seemed to be hair consisted of countless earthworms.
…Seras would probably faint if she saw it.
Its crude hands had large, sharp claws.
"Tch… another one joined in."
But,
"UgurugieaaaaAAAAA—!"
"Gyoorururururui—!? Gyooru!? Gyo…!"
That one—started attacking the double-scythe monster.
The humanoid species sank its teeth deep into the giant monster's shoulder.
Looking closely, the attacking humanoid species was bleeding from its side.
"Oh, I see. That humanoid species got injured by the big scythe earlier and is going berserk from rage…"
"Kaburuaa! Gabuu! Buchi!"
The double-scythe monster had its body torn apart piece by piece.
"Go… gyooorueee…"
The double-scythe monster's voice grew weaker.
I exhaled slowly.
"A good opportunity."
▽
"—[Paralyze]—"
Both of them had failed to notice my approach as I circled around while concealing my presence.
"Higie!?"
"Gyooru…!?"
The humanoid species.
The double-scythe monster.
"Sorry about this…"
Fisherman's luck.
"I will have you both become experience point feed together."
Berserk inducement.
I passed right by the side of the blood spray that rose like grand fireworks.
[Level up.]
[LV 1929 → LV 1966]
The tension suddenly eased.
"Haa… haa… ha… haa…"
Even after leveling up, the fatigue did not disappear.
…This was pushing it.
The combined techniques with Pigi-maru were originally meant for ultra-short decisive battles.
It was obvious that the burden on the body would become quite severe.
"Hm?"
On the other side of the slashed-down forest.
I could see the shadows of the monster swarm.
Had they been drawn by the cries of the monsters I had just killed?
Or drawn by the gruesome sprays of blood?
Or were they the ones who had been licking their lips, waiting for me to weaken?
The sadistic atmosphere that came when cornering prey was reaching all the way here.
"Haa… haa… haa, haa…"
Perhaps because of the low temperature.
My exhaled breath was white.
"..."
There was no particular reason.
For some reason, I switched the status display.
[Touka Mimori]
LV 1966
HP: +5898
MP: +64478 / 64878
Attack: +5898
Defense: +5898
Stamina: +5898
Speed: +5898
Wisdom: +5898
[Title: E-Rank Hero]
E-Rank Hero.
Everything had started from this ridiculous title.
I increased Slei's speed.
I spread Pigi-maru out widely.
That was why, from now on, with this ridiculous power—
"I will trample everything."
I began charging toward the swarm of monsters.
I gotta kill them all.
"I'm going to kill them all."