episode_0045

Chapter 45 – Deja Vu

Ten minutes into exploring the temple, Deborah, who was surveying her surroundings, let out a small groan.

“Hmm… something feels off.”

“Why? Are you hurt?”

“No. It’s just that… I feel like I’ve seen this place before. It feels familiar somehow…”

As if her memory was hazy, Deborah kept tilting her head, expressing her confusion.

I dismissed her opinion.

“How could that be? Isn’t this your first time in this forest too?”

“That’s true. Still, it feels familiar somehow…”

“Stop saying strange things and get ready. I feel like there’s something dangerous ahead.”

“Hmph… alright.”

Deborah whined.

She probably thought I’d find her cute if she kept pestering me like that, but she was gravely mistaken. I was a cold person; I felt no emotion whatsoever, except for the corners of my mouth trying to rise involuntarily.

Deborah and I, tense once again, slowly made our way deeper into the temple.

How much time passed like that?

In this silent space, enclosed by walls on all sides, the flow of time was hard to perceive.

It felt as if a very long time had passed, or perhaps just a fleeting moment.

A short while later, we arrived at a large cavern.

Beyond the darkness, where the light couldn’t reach, a glimpse of a colossal altar and a slumped figure in front of it could be seen.

“Is that… a person?”

“No. It’s not a person.”

Deborah’s sensory stats seemed low, so she couldn’t see well, but the figure before us was covered in shaggy fur from head to toe.

Moreover, its height exceeded 2.5 meters, making it difficult to even consider it a beastman.

Most importantly, that low growl didn’t sound like a creature with intelligence at all.

—Grrrr!

Finally, the figure turned its eyes towards us.

Deborah, facing the bright, yellow beast eyes glowing in the darkness, recoiled her shoulders and confessed its identity.

“W-werewolf.”

The werewolf, a different species of the demon realm, renowned alongside vampires.

I distinctly recall that in the Abel Chronicles, werewolves were nearly Level 150.

Fortunately, there was no full moon here, so the werewolf wouldn’t go berserk, but it was still dangerous nonetheless.

Just as I was about to warn her.

—ROOOOAR!!

The werewolf roared wildly, then charged with a speed that was barely visible to the eye.

I quickly pushed Deborah aside.

CRASH!

Immediately after, a terrible impact struck my entire body.

Thanks to defending with Arachne’s Gauntlets, I avoided being crushed by its claws, but I couldn’t withstand the immense force and was sent flying like a toy, smashing into the wall.

Since I had intentionally not worn the Fortress of Iron Wall, the damage accumulated directly on my body.

When I lifted my head, the werewolf was standing right in front of me.

“ROAR!”

Then, as if to finish me off, it swung its claws without giving me a moment’s respite.

‘Move. Move!’

I exerted strength throughout my body to evade the attack, but my deeply embedded body wouldn’t budge easily.

At that critical moment.

SLASH!

The claw narrowly missed me, leaving a long gash on the wall.

“Ah…?”

As I blankly gasped, Deborah shouted.

“Get out of there quickly! Its magic resistance is strong, so it’s getting harder to hold it!”

She had her hands outstretched and was trembling.

A cluster of purple stars, originating from her hands, was entangling the werewolf’s entire body.

Seeing its blurry eyes, it seemed she had distorted its vision through illusion magic.

Without thinking deeply, I somehow twisted my body and freed myself from the werewolf.

As soon as I stood in front of Deborah, the illusion magic on the werewolf dispelled.

—Grrrrrrr!

As soon as it regained its senses, it bristled with caution.

Though it was only a low-level werewolf and not highly intelligent, it had realized that Deborah’s magic was a threat to it.

From now on, it would likely relentlessly target Deborah to eliminate her.

I took out the Fortress of Iron Wall from my subspace.

“Deborah. Take this.”

“Huh? This is…”

“It’s an artifact. It can block one attack, so remember that.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you!”

Deborah, though gazing worriedly at my bleeding back, didn’t waste time and quickly put on the Fortress of Iron Wall, which had been crafted into a pendant.

I liked how she became sharp and quick-witted after going through a few dangerous situations.

“Listen carefully. I have a way to defeat it. But it’s a one-time use, once you use it, that’s it. Can you completely stop its movements?”

“…It’ll be possible if I squeeze out all my magic power. However, it will take some time to cast. About a minute.”

“Alright. Then I’ll hold it off until then. Send me a signal when the magic is ready. Understood?”

“Yes. You have to block well! Otherwise, I’ll die!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll die before you do.”

At words that made her doubt if they were even comforting, Deborah gave a small smile and immediately began casting her magic.

At the same time, the werewolf howled.

“ROOOOAR!”

It charged again with the speed of a gale.

I immediately blocked its path and punched its claw.

CRASH!

An impact that felt like my shoulder would be torn off!

Knowing it was targeting Deborah, I could somehow predict its trajectory, but the absolute difference in physical abilities was something I couldn’t overcome.

If we collided just a few more times like this, my fragile wrist would snap like a corn stalk.

If there was any comfort to be found, it was that all this impact was accumulating in the Thread.

Though it would be meaningless if I died anyway.

BANG! CRASH! CLANGCLANGCLANG!

In the ensuing struggle, I gradually adapted to the werewolf’s speed. At first, I could barely see afterimages, but now I could even deflect its attacks.

However, my struggles seemed to truly annoy it.

—ROOOOAR!

The werewolf, its eyes dyed crimson, stopped targeting Deborah and began pouring all its strength solely onto me.

As a result, predicting its trajectory became harder, and the burden on my body accelerated.

BANG! CRASH!

With each blow I took, my bones rattled.

Having held on well until now, I finally couldn’t bear it anymore and questioned Deborah.

“Are you done yet?”

“Almost! Please just hold on a little longer!”

“Damn it! Hurry!”

I don’t know how many seconds passed after that.

All I know is that as the offense and defense continued, my left wrist, pushed to its limit, *snap!* and broke.

“It’s ready!”

In that instant, Deborah finally sent the signal.

“Use it now!”

“Yes!”

At my command, Deborah stretched out her arms and activated the magic she had been casting.

The dazzling purple magic from her hands was instantly absorbed into the werewolf’s body, and its movements became incredibly slow.

It moved desperately, but its speed was worse than a newborn’s.

“Well done!”

As soon as I confirmed the magic had successfully taken effect, I immediately punched the werewolf.

CRASH!

The energy accumulated in my gauntlet was released at once, shattering everything in front of me.

The punch, carving a long scar into the ground, swept forward, carrying the werewolf with it and creating a hole several tens of meters wide in the wall.

It was truly terrifying power.

*

Meanwhile, at that time, Abel and his party were climbing a mountain to search for monsters.

Alisa frowned as she looked around.

“Something’s strange. Why are there so few monsters? There’s a valley nearby, so they should definitely be visible around here. What do you think, Abel?”

“…I think it’s strange too. Something must have happened. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be like this. We should be more careful. Everyone, stay alert.”

Everyone nodded at Abel’s warning.

As they advanced, with heightened tension, a group was suddenly spotted in the distance.

They were struggling against a black-furred Saber-toothed Tiger.

“Hanson, don’t block it head-on! Kevin, just keep it distracted! Wait until my magic is complete!”

The person standing in the center, even in the arduous situation, calmly analyzed the Saber-toothed Tiger’s strength and issued appropriate commands.

Alisa asked Abel for his opinion.

“What should we do?”

“We should help. That’s no ordinary monster. If we leave them, they’ll be annihilated.”

His voice was filled with conviction. Abel’s gaze was already fixed on a fallen corpse whose neck had been torn.

The bow clutched in the corpse’s hand was striking.

Abel advised Nidia, the archer responsible for the team’s rear.

“Nidia. As you can see, the Saber-toothed Tiger seems to be targeting the back first. You need to be careful. Understood?”

“…Yes, thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright. We need to join them first, so Nidia and Uni, tie down the Saber-toothed Tiger’s feet!”

“…I’m not confident I can hit it.”

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

Nidia and Uni gave starkly different answers, reflecting their respective personalities.

The party waited until Uni finished casting her magic, then, as soon as preparations were complete, they immediately headed towards Skadia’s group.

As the distance closed to within 100 meters, the Saber-toothed Tiger, which had been attacking Skadia’s group, turned to face them.

Abel immediately gave instructions.

“Both of you, please!”

Receiving the signal, Nidia and Uni began their prepared attacks.

A shower of arrows poured from Nidia’s bow, and Uni summoned dozens of small fireballs above her head, unleashing a barrage.

Since the attacks were random, their accuracy wasn’t high, but that made them suitable for restricting movement.

While the Saber-toothed Tiger retreated, the party quickly joined Skadia.

“Are you okay?”

“You guys are…”

“I’m Abel! Let’s talk later. First, we need to take care of that monster.”

They had many things they wanted to say to each other, but the situation wasn’t opportune.

Skadia readily assented.

“That’s a wise choice. However, I’ll be giving the commands. It’s better to unify the chain of command. Do you agree?”

“Yeah. I don’t mind. But could you tell me your name? It feels awkward not knowing what to call you.”

At those words, everyone’s gaze converged.

For them, it was utterly unbelievable that he didn’t know Skadia, who had never dropped from first place since enrollment.

Uni made an ‘oops!’ expression and poked Abel’s side.

“Abel! She’s the class president of Class 1! The one who got first place in both the class placement exam and the midterm. Did you forget even after seeing her with me last time?”

“Huh? Oh, I see. Skadia, I’m sorry. My memory isn’t very good. I apologize.”

Abel bowed his head in apology.

Whispers spread among those around them again at his casual use of her name, but the person concerned didn’t pay it much mind.

Skadia’s gaze remained fixed on the Saber-toothed Tiger.

“…It’s fine. Anyone can forget. More importantly, let’s focus on the fight. If we let our guard down, we’ll be in big trouble. Abel, first, you should switch with Hanson. He doesn’t seem to be able to hold on any longer.”

“Understood!”

Though he might have asserted his pride as the leader of a team, Abel moved to carry out Skadia’s command without any resistance.

He took over blocking the attack aimed at Hanson and confidently confronted the Saber-toothed Tiger.

Skadia saw a chance for victory there.

‘We can win.’

She cast her magic while simultaneously issuing commands, leading the battle.

The two, who should have been rivals, joined hands in the midst of the worst crisis.