episode_0021

*****

Grumpy. The sound of human bones and flesh being crushed is so familiar to me. The sound rang out clearly even in the middle of a crowded square, and was immediately followed by silence.

Of course, the silence was soon broken by screams and shouts.

“Ouch… . Are you okay?”

“Hi, hee, heeik… !”

The man who fell in front of me let out a threatening sound and sat back down before almost crawling away. Oh my, I scared the shit out of you. Still, it’s much better than people who are frozen and can’t move.

There was no way to guess the monster’s specifications to push it away, and there was a risk of injury to push a person. So I intervened and blocked it with my body, but I guess the visual was a bit shocking.

Meanwhile, the monster was growling and chewing my arm. I grit my teeth and hold back the groan that is about to come out involuntarily.

First of all, all eyes were on me. Although I am strengthening my arms, there is a limit to how much I can hold on. However, there were still too many people left to fight properly.

“Aaagh!”

“Green onion, arm… .”

“It’s okay… ?”

People who are frozen in fear and cannot move, people who sit down because their legs are loose, and even people who approach me out of concern. As the times change, we may be familiar with evacuation tips, but aren’t humans creatures that act as they want in an emergency?

Of course, I didn’t waste my time as a hero, so I’m used to dealing with situations like this.

“Ta-da~! Magical girl Fafnir appears! Come on, everyone! I’ll take charge of this place, so please evacuate to a nearby shelter quickly! Oh, there’s a man in blue clothes and a blue hat! Please help the woman with loose legs next to me!”

There was no time to be ashamed of the transformation. Let alone a monster, you can’t lead an evacuation accident alone. Here, you need to make the most of your role as a hero.

I quickly put on my hero suit and started guiding people to evacuate.

In times like these, the important thing is a smiling face. The more relaxed the hero appears, the easier it will be for citizens to evacuate. I covered my chewing arm as much as possible with my body and appealed to those around me for my composure with a smile.

The shocking sight of a small girl dressed as a magical girl having her arm chewed by a monster. However, the people of this world have been exposed to this surreal scene through news and internet videos. Despite this situation, once order was established, we began to evacuate easily as trained.

All the while, I was holding onto the mouth of the monster that bit my arm to prevent it from running away. I was worried that something like tentacles would come out and attack the citizens, but fortunately, its attention seemed to be completely focused on me.

“Bang, harm, obstruction, obstruction… ! I have to clean it up, I have to disturb it, I have to clean it up… .”

The monster spewed out incoherent words and bit my arm with increasing force. Watching it chew with its jagged teeth feels like having my arm stuck between a chainsaw that is spinning mercilessly. Ah, I’m feeling a little creepy now.

I say it as a joke, but honestly, it hurts. It hurts like sticking hundreds of toothpicks into the wound and twirling them around.

Still, it wasn’t so painful that I couldn’t laugh. Thanks to this, I was able to hold out until I could no longer see people in the square.

Except for one person.

“Ugh, huh, ah, ahae, huh… .”

A girl with tears in her eyes was clinging to me and shaking her head. He’s saying something with his mouth, but I can’t even understand it because he’s crying.

Of course, what it means is obvious when you consider that it was a child that a man was holding by the hand before it turned into a monster.

There was no time to comfort the child as it was at its limit. I put my right right hand in and somehow opened the monster’s mouth and pulled its arm away. However, the monster’s teeth were all bent at the ends, so just by pulling them out, all of the flesh on the arm was torn off.

… There shouldn’t be any trauma to the child.

Place the injured arm behind your back, hug the child, and jump back. As soon as I pulled out my arm, I kicked the swung monster in the mouth once more to widen the distance.

I wanted to leave the child somewhere safe, but the monster didn’t give me that time and charged right in.

Now, let’s summarize the situation. First of all, I can’t use my left arm for a while. The right hand is holding the child. And as long as that monster is chasing me, it is impossible to put this child down anywhere.

Right now, aggro is being drawn to me, but there is no guarantee that the monster’s attention will continue to be focused only on me. In other words, it is a situation where you have to fight with only two legs.

For normal monsters, this is not a very difficult problem. The reason it was not destroyed immediately was because of the possibility of damage and psychological shock to citizens. If I wanted to, I could easily turn a monster like this into a piece of meat.

But I watched it. The person who was probably the father of this child in my hands turned into that monster. In a situation where most heroes would hesitate, I even guess the identity of that monster.

Moreover, I saw this child crying and pleading.

“Give it to me, let it go, interfere with it, give it to me, mine, interfere with it… .”

“Urrrr, chacha!”

I continued my thoughts as I kicked the monster’s mouth several times, which had now started crawling on all fours. Should I continue to drag on like this?

No, that’s a handshake. If this monster is the monster I suspect, there is a possibility that it can evolve. If tentacles form, my child and I are in danger.

And the second reason is that heroes still haven’t come. If you listen closely, you can hear explosions coming from several places in the distance. Perhaps something happened somewhere else as well.

If possible, I’d like to go help Hwain’s, but right now my nose is a stone.

“I don’t think they will let me go that easily!”

Wide-open mouths pushed in like walls from left and right. This time, instead of pulling back, he jumped up and struck the closed mouth from below. About half of the monster’s mouth was torn off, and the monster screamed and retreated—

“Oh, it hurts! It hurts! Give it to me, it hurts, I need to get rid of it… !”

─Before we could chase after it and inflict additional blows, the monster’s mouth had returned to its original state.

No, it’s not in its original condition. Because it was divided into four parts. As expected, it would be difficult for me to subdue a monster with regenerative powers without killing it.

Like most things in the world, hero activities are also a series of choices. However, the weight of that choice is just a little heavier than other jobs.

The child’s request and the child’s chances of survival. Time until help arrives and time for that monster to grow. When thinking rationally, it was clear which one should take priority: killing or subduing the monster.

“Ebebe~, this way, this way! If you were hurt, please pay back to your heart’s content!”

“Get rid of it, get rid of it, everything… !”

And when I weigh the rational and the unreasonable, I usually choose the unreasonable one. Why? Because that’s cool. Isn’t it best to imagine a country that walks an extremely unreasonable path?

It also saves children. Save your father too. The difficult thing about being a hero is having to do both.

Are you prepared? I am… , it is done!

***

And usually, it is a set of things that you regret to the point of death.

“Wait a minute, stop, I’m in trouble now.”

“Die, die, disappear… !”

“Oh, I got hit in the bone!”

I half nervously dodge between the flying tentacles and kick away anything in the direct path of the attack. Nevertheless, the monster still showed no signs of stopping its attacks.

The monster had now changed from a deformed crocodile to a monstrous hydra. This is because its mouth is split into seven branches and tentacles sprout from both shoulders.

Did I realize that the child in my arms was a weakness, or was it just my instinct as a father? The monster’s tentacles were now explicitly targeting the child.

The child is now whimpering with difficulty, as if he has no strength to cry. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I can still hear crying.

I’ve been moving as carefully as possible since a while ago, but I’m still anxious. Now that I’m holding the child with only one arm, it wouldn’t be surprising if the child’s neck would break if I moved too quickly.

Is the situation on the other side not over yet? Isn’t it right that someone comes to help us soon? I lasted a really long time. It’s about time it gets really dangerous.

“Oh, what is it? You’re having a blast first.”

So when I heard those words, I literally turned around with joy. However, when he saw the owner of the voice, his expression immediately became frowning.

“Eek, what is it? Are you a jerk?”

He has dyed blond hair and a cheeky attitude. Before I knew it, this guy who left a deep impression in many ways because he looked so frivolous and even handled magic was standing behind me.

“You’re such a brat. Then you call me kid too?”

“… Yangachi cancels. Sorry, I was in a hurry so the words came out without a filter.”

“Then it means that you always think that way, kid.”

“Oh, then you shouldn’t say such nonsense!”

“Then you come when you grow taller~.”

If I go back to my original body, I’ll have to fool you with my height all day in front of me. It has been decided now.

At first impression, a very unpleasant guy came, but he was also a hero. You could think of it as a reinforcement group.

As the number of people increases, that alone will be helpful, so even though it is unpleasant, I feel a strange sense of welcome.

“So, kid, explain the situation.”

… Who’s the kid! I feel like I want to refute this, but it’s like a chimney. I was the one who called him a bully first, and since conveying the situation is my priority right now, I let it go for now.

From the moment the gangster appeared, the monster became quiet as if observing the situation. During this time, I realized the current situation—that the father of the girl I was holding in my arms had suddenly turned into that monster, and that it was difficult for me to do anything about that monster, so I was waiting for time until help arrived. That monster has the ability to regenerate and adapts to the situation. It was said that the appearance continues to change depending on the situation.

Hearing what I said, the gangster smiled in an unpleasant way.

“What’s funny.”

“No, just. I thought you were insisting on the expression “monster.” Are you even sure that that thing isn’t a monster?”

“… … .”

“Still, you survived the little topic well. I was wondering why the guy who knocked out the iron ball with one hit was acting so irritated. Was it difficult to kill the father in front of the daughter? haha. Even heroes have a hard time~.”

“… You are a hero too.”

“If everyone who graduated from hero school is a hero, then everyone who graduated from philosophy majors will make a living doing philosophy? Ah~, ah~, it’s okay. I have no intention of arguing about this right now. Tell me what I can help you with.”

… Really, why does this guy only choose to say such disgusting things?

“Just one thing before that. Are you the only support group?”

“No? I’m not a support group either.”

“Didn’t you just say you had no intention of arguing?”

“I’m not joking or playing with words, I’m serious. Are you fighting because you know there is a barrier around here?”

Barrier? I was startled by the gangster’s words and looked around. It is completely indistinguishable with the naked eye. It doesn’t even show up with magic power. I hurriedly extended my magic power to the surroundings, and only after extending it a long time did I discover something vague that I thought was a barrier.

I was quite distracted by that monster. But I didn’t even notice the signs of the barrier unfolding. Is there such a thing as a barrier magician like that? Behind that monster?

At the same time, the gangster who came in after seeing this barrier that even I had not noticed also became wary.

“… How did you find out about this place?”

“Well. Isn’t it the same reason as you?”

I asked to get my money’s worth, but surprisingly the answer came back bland. Same reason as me? ──Ah. That unidentified energy.

“I guess I have a guess. Well, there’s no way you wouldn’t have felt this power.”

Referring to it as ‘this power,’ Yangachi raised his demonic energy into his arms. Although it wasn’t as much as before, I could feel the tingling sensation in my horns and the fact that demon energy was gathering in those arms.

In other words, did this guy feel it just like I felt that unidentified power and came to investigate like me?

“Outside, some citizens have turned into monsters and are running rampant. So I came to the direction that seemed easiest, but there was a barrier, so I just came in. So stop being skeptical and tell me quickly what to do, kid.”

“, I didn’t have any doubts.”

I think I’ve roughly figured out the context. It seems like they threw a huge rumor that they sneaked in while there was a barrier of this size in place, but that can be investigated later. Let’s be thankful that reinforcements that would never have come have arrived now.

“That guy has regenerative powers. Is there a way to seal that regenerative power?”

“Yes.”

Yangchi immediately agreed to something I was very concerned about. He said it so simply that I was confused.

But if you think about it carefully, it wasn’t that strange. Being able to act recklessly at a school with many veteran heroes is nothing short of proof of one’s skills.

“Do your work, Savnak.”

With a single gesture of the gangster’s hand, a blood-stained magic circle was drawn in the air, and from there, something resembling a rotting lion’s head appeared. I frowned, feeling like my nose would be crooked from the smell of blood and corpses.

The level of demonic energy proved that it was not a devil-looking summon or something that could be called a devil. I never thought I could really summon a devil.

Even though it was a powder machine rather than the main body, it was quite surprising considering the status of the devil in this worldview.

“If I cast a corruption curse on him and control the curse, I will be able to deal as much damage as it heals. Then, as a result, playback is blocked. But what is that doing?”

We had been talking for quite a long time up to this point, but the monster did not make any movement and was just quietly observing us. Then, now that the gangster’s demon had been summoned, it was repeatedly moving its snout back and then pointing it at us again.

Considering that the monster’s characteristic is that it follows fragmentary desires, the monster seemed to be at the crossroads of some enormous internal conflict.

“It looks like you’re contemplating whether to run away or attack me?”

The judgment itself is not incomprehensible. My horn reacted to both that monster’s strange power and Yangachi’s magical energy, and Yangachi also felt that monster’s power. In other words, that monster might also be able to feel the devil’s energy.

So, as soon as the bully arrived, we started observing, and after observing, the demon summoned was pouring out such magical energy that it could be felt through the skin, not the horns. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for the monster to try to run away. Or it could just be that the pages are pushed out and stick out.

But if you can make that decision, why are you trying to do it? As I was puzzled, a thought occurred to me like a revelation.

[Maybe he’s contemplating whether to save his daughter or run away.]

Mr. Intuition, it’s been a while. One of the cheats I received from God, intuition, suddenly came to me. I was worried because I couldn’t really feel it after changing into this body. I’m glad I didn’t lose it or anything.

Nothing my intuition told me was meaningless. Perhaps my intuition is trying to tell me that there is still some humanity left in that monster. Even if it is only a fragmentary desire.

If you think about it that way, the tentacle attacks just now might not have been attacks, but a move to get my daughter back from me. Of course, if I had been caught in that movement, my daughter would have been crushed, so my behavior would not have changed as a result.

“Then I’ll ask you a favor, you idiot.”

I’ll finish it quickly, so just wait a moment, man whose name I don’t know.

“───, ─────.”

When the gangster muttered something incomprehensible but very unpleasant, the devil twisted his body in response. Immediately after the devil’s squishy magic energy was instantly shot by the monster.

The devil returned his twisted body to its original position and returned to the magic circle as if hiding his eyes.

“Now, attack. It’ll probably work.”

As soon as the devil disappeared, the monster attacked us as if it was at this moment. I left the child with the schoolboy and kicked the tentacles of the flying monster.

Five of the nine tentacles were torn off by the previous blow, but unlike before, they showed no signs of trying to regenerate. This was thanks to the black demonic energy blocking the area where the monster was injured and burning it.

The monster was easily subdued, as if all the hardships I had endured so far were a lie. In the difficult problem of subduing a monster with good regenerative ability without killing it, regenerative ability was omitted, so it would be a natural result.

In the end, when all nine tentacles and two legs were torn off, the monster became unable to move other than wriggle.

“Wheeyu~, great workmanship.”

“Anyway, it’s something you could do on your own, right?”

“That’s right. If you had left it to me to do everything, I would have done it. The cost would have been greater.”

cost. I looked at the gangster with an expression of disgust at that unfortunate sound.

“Don’t misunderstand. That’s because when I directly help someone with my potential, I have to get paid accordingly.”

“Don’t lie. You can see all the lies in your eyes.”

“Wow, how did you know? If you make this excuse, most people will overlook it. Then why don’t I tell you this. If you tease me, don’t get help.”

… Let’s think positively. Rather than getting help from this guy, wouldn’t it be better to just settle the situation cleanly as if it were a transactional relationship?

When I asked what he wanted, Yangachi said he would hang it as a light. I wonder what on earth they are trying to do by collecting all that… .

Well, you can listen to it later and if it’s something you can’t use, you can reject it.

Rather, the problem was this. The child just looked at the wriggling monster with tears streaming down his face. Without even asking me or the gangster what was going on.

“… … .”

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I can joke and brag about most things about myself, but I’m not good at dealing with other people. Especially the kind that cannot be undone.

What should we say to a child whose father has become a monster? There is even no confirmation that my father can return to normal. The obvious consolation that everything would be okay was impossible, at least for me.

In the end, all I could do was go to the child and hug him. I could feel the child’s tears on my chin soaking my shoulders. Pat, pat. When I patted the child’s back to the sound of his beating heart, the child relaxed his body and leaned more towards me.

Perhaps the limit had already been reached. Not long after, the child began to make heavy breathing sounds in my arms.

“I don’t think it’s a skill I’ve tried once or twice. I would do well as a babysitter, you.”

“… shut up. I’m going to wake up.”

“But can you afford it? Your team must be quite dangerous too.”

“… What?”

I felt like I had been doused with cold water by the bully’s sudden words. I skipped it because I was focusing on this, but if you think about it, there were explosions elsewhere too.

It was quite possible for the Chinese people outside to get caught up in the incident.

“I saw those kids on the way, and they were fighting a pretty dangerous villain.”

Moreover, it seemed like Yangachi had actually witnessed the situation that Hwa-in’s were in. If you came here looking for the easy side, it means you also know the difficult side.

I felt like my fever was instantly rising at the confident declaration that I had pretended not to see my classmate.

“You… !”

“Uh-huh, I’m going to wake up. I helped you, so shouldn’t you be thankful?”

Gratitude is a piece of cake. In the end, if we held on this side, things would have worked out somehow, but that side was different. If the skills of the gangster I just saw were dangerous enough, it’s not at a level that the current painter can handle.

But even saying that is a waste of time. Anyway, that idiot won’t even blink an eye. Instead, I handed the child I was holding to the gangster.

“Hold it tight! When the hero comes, hand it over!”

“What… ? no. Why do I have to babysit?”

“You can hang it on anything! Come on!”

If you don’t receive it, make it happen. The girl must have sensed my spirit and accepted the child, even though she had a shocked expression on her face.

I was a little relieved that he was holding it properly despite what he said. Well, you take good care of yourself too.

But there was no time to play around with it. After catching a glimpse of the gangster behind me, I ran towards the place where I could faintly hear the sound of heavy drinking.

***

“Damn, you look like an incompetent monster! You didn’t do anything right!”

Inside a lab. A huge man over 2 meters tall was sitting in front of a desk filled with all kinds of buttons and screens. However, the man──Mayer’s expression was distorted with anger.

Mayer, wearing a white lab coat instead of his usual coat, hit the button vigorously. The blow, which also served as an act of anger, caused the drone to self-destruct, and immediately the images and fluctuating graphs on the screen stopped. Either that or not. Mayer turned his chair and shouted into the darkness of the laboratory.

“Hey, pussy! prostitute! Wake up now!”

“Huam~, it’s Lilith~… . What are you doing in broad daylight? Oh really. A good mother should sleep in the middle of the day… .”

“Good mother will freeze to death! Okay, just look at this screen!”

Lilith did her best to lay down on the sofa, but there was no way for her to do anything until Mayer dragged the entire sofa over. In the end, Lilith stared at the screen while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Here, do you see this screen?”

“Yes, well… . This is the place where you came so close and laid a barrier before going to bed… . Why wasn’t the barrier installed? It’s strange, it’s designed to unfold with just one button press… .”

“That’s not it! Now, look, what’s on this screen?”

In my mind, I just want to keep sleeping despite the screen. Since the hot-tempered Mayer might actually overturn the sofa, Lilith looked at the screen more clearly this time.

However, there was no way the paused screen would change; it was just the same screen as before.

“There are two cute girls and one disgusting guy. What’s wrong with this?”

“Did you see it? Did you see it? I keep watching. Don’t turn your head! Don’t close your eyes!”

“Hi~ing… .”

Lilith once again became resentful of Ymir for ordering her to become Mayer’s supporter, but what could she do? Ymir was a contractor for Lilith’s immediate boss, even if she was just a contractor.

Lilith knew very well what would happen if she made a complaint to Asmodeus, so in the end, she had no choice but to do as she was told.

However, as the video’s viewpoint changed, the drowsiness gradually disappeared from Lilith’s face.

“Now, this is the point where the barrier was struck. Even with the drone’s camera and other measuring instruments, it’s clear that there are only two bitches within the barrier’s range. Right?”

“Yes… . Yes… .”

“And at this point, look, this man broke through the barrier and entered here.”

“That’s right, it was opened… .”

“I’m upset that it was pierced, but even the alarm didn’t work because it was pierced! What, you installed it correctly!?”

“The design of the barrier was not wrong at the time it was activated. Rather, how on earth… .”

Lilith, who was fully awake, pushed past Mayer and stepped forward to watch the drones’ video.

I wanted to see how that man broke the barrier, but no such video existed. At least according to what was captured by the drone, the man appeared to have penetrated through the barrier as if it were not there.

And Lilith was able to find out what she thought was the reason.

“Sabnak… .”

The powder of the devil, which she also knew well, was captured in the video. A demon summoner, a high-ranking demon summoner at that.

Of course, since he could control demon energy, he would also be able to sense her barrier. Although it is unclear what kind of devil he went into.

“Damn it! Neither this nor that helps, help! Where on earth is that mercenary and what is he doing!?”

“No, you didn’t specifically hire me. I heard you are moving together with the Sword Demon… .”

The sword demon aims for the flame. Mayer aims for the dragon girl. The two, whose interests coincided, decided to move together temporarily.

Originally, the man who turned into a monster while Lilith’s barrier divided the two sides should have pushed the girl to reveal her power as a dragon. The problem was that the monster was ridiculously weak for that.

Still, I thought the dragon girl would push back because she was protecting the girl, but even then, when the demon summoner came out, the situation ended ridiculously easily.

Mayer had long since concluded that the cause was two external factors: Lilith’s barrier and the ‘seeds’ provided by Genesis.

“So does this damn seed. what? Can you create the strongest monster? under! The bragging should be just as good!”

“Mayer, you didn’t listen to the committee’s announcement properly, right? Since the seed grows through emotions and desires, the host must be chosen carefully. If a huge monster appears just by throwing it at a man walking down the street, why would we go through all this trouble─.”

“Noisy! If I study these seeds properly, I can make 100 or 1,000 of them! The breach of the four-year barrier is much bigger than the monster! Damn, if it weren’t for that, we would have gotten meaningful data.”

“Heeing… .”

Lilith also had a lot to say. How can you mass-produce a seed that has limitations even with Genesis technology, which is at the cutting edge of magic engineering? Or, when Mayer gave information about heroes who were likely to invade the barrier area, there was no information about high-ranking demon summoners.

However, it was clear that this stubborn and hot-tempered man would further protest and go on a rampage if she said that, so Lilith chose to just keep quiet. For Lilith, who had to help Mayer for the time being, the sofa in the lab was more important than Lilith’s pride.

“Once you finish researching the dragon girl and the seeds, you will be able to surpass the others. For that, data is needed. We need a way to secure data.”

“Fighting.”

“You should think about that method too!”

Outwardly agreeing with Mayer’s actions, Lilith prayed and prayed that her time as a dispatched employee would end as soon as possible.

*****