episode_0079

There is no answer in close combat.

Sensing the attack that could not be avoided but shattered the area, I realized once again.

-!

The most intense roar I’ve heard so far pierced my ears. A screech echoed. The pile of rocks pounded my body.

“Damn it.”

Perhaps because it was larger, there was some room to dodge, but it was still too close for comfort, almost becoming a sitting duck.

It hurts. I surveyed the surroundings with spatial awareness.

Perhaps because that bastard is an alpha, he brought monsters with him. Monsters that could easily number in the hundreds were sweeping the area.

Even those who were blocking the shelter were now scattered, engaging in individual battles.

Fortunately, the shelter’s door was tightly closed. If it had been open… those horde of monsters would have rushed towards the door.

“Ugh…”

My left arm hurt.

I couldn’t completely avoid it. The flesh of my left arm, where the bone had already been completely torn off, was being torn away again.

Now it was uncomfortable to move my left arm. Goosebumps formed on the exposed bone at the wound site. I still wondered why it was moving.

Is it because I’m a superhuman? If I weren’t a superhuman, I might have died from shock.

I cast a bit of healing magic and wrapped the sky’s wing feathers around like a bandage.

Fog rose up and engulfed the surroundings. Even in that moment, Aerus’ two eyes were fixed on me.

“There’s no answer in close combat.”

If you get hit up close, you won’t last long. Even if you brush off the attack, it’s the same. It just prolongs the inevitable.

Then I have to strike from a distance.

I don’t have arrows and a bow to shoot from afar. I don’t have bullets and a gun to shoot from a distance, nor do I have any tools to throw.

But I have something else. Regulating my breathing, I clasped my hands together. It was a posture akin to starting an engine. Maintaining composure, I expelled the mana from my body.

– Hooong!

The mana turned into a projectile. A simple structure of mana. A mana consumption and structure that could be fired without any burden.

“Mana bullet.”

The mana sphere generated from behind was shot out. It didn’t end with just one. As soon as it was generated, it was ejected without delay. The mana bullets poured out and struck Aerus.

– Boom!

The explosion engulfed Aerus. It didn’t end with a single shot. The mana bullet collided with the crimson mist, causing an explosion.

It didn’t inflict damage. The mana bullet only slightly disrupted the blood oath without breaking through.

But it came with an explosion. I modified the spell to increase the explosive power. I can’t inflict damage, but I can push back with the explosion. The successive explosions pushed Aerus’ feet back.

– Krrrr!

The sound of a roar was heard first. The ground where Aerus stood was roughly carved afterwards.

A high-speed leap. I couldn’t deceive spatial awareness. I quickly twisted my body.

A harsh cutting sound grazed my ears. My eardrums were torn. I swallowed the pain that had now become familiar.

I twisted my waist. The strong energy wrapped around my legs violently lifted.

I tried to kick back. As soon as I observed the struggling blood oath, I gave up the attack and withdrew my body.

– Kwa-ga-ga-gak!

A crimson onslaught poured into the spot where I was standing. The blood oath wrapped around the claws elongated and turned into an onslaught that swept through the space.

An attack that wasn’t there just a moment ago. Were they hiding it? Are they engaging in psychological warfare with a beastly theme?

The plan didn’t change. Avoid close combat. Block the enemy from a distance.

I dodged, widened the distance, and unleashed various spells. Mana bullets, mana onslaught, attack spells with added elemental changes, and binding spells to restrain the feet.

Various magic traced its trajectory in the space.

Naturally, Aerus tried to break through and narrow the distance. A monster based on overwhelming physical abilities rampaged.

Everyone dodged and spilled blood. Except for the unavoidable damage that had to be endured, they tried to avoid it as much as possible.

If you have spatial perception, you can do it.

As long as the barrier is not destroyed in one blow, you can do it.

You can’t shake it off with just physical abilities, but if you infuse magic to stiffen it, it’s possible.

The magical power rapidly drained away. It forcibly pulled in the surrounding magical power. Unrefined magical power surged through the circuit.

There may be lingering effects, but it’s better than dying.

They bought time. Rescue from the outside. It’s unknown when it will arrive. Even if it arrives, it’s uncertain how long it will take to break through the outer wall, but there is nothing else to trust.

– Krrr…

After a while, the roaring mouth closed. The front paw that had been swinging back and forth came to a stop.

“What’s going on.”

Breathing heavily while keeping a distance, Aerus observed his expression, as if he could collapse at any moment.

For some reason, he stopped. The eyes staring at this side seemed to be contemplating something.

In any case, it was a moment of respite. The body, circuits, and core that had been on the verge of death were momentarily relieved.

The sweet rest didn’t last long. Aerus, who had finished contemplating, showed movement.

– Thud!

Aerus slammed the ground. The ground inevitably shattered, and a wide leap followed. Flying backward, he prepared a spell.

Blocking the approach. Keeping a distance and responding with magic, just like before.

The red mist loomed… but it didn’t. His trembling body shuddered.

Aerus didn’t turn towards me.

The direction was different.

The direction… was the tightly closed entrance of the shelter.

In other words, a place full of easy prey for Aerus.

“Oh, damn it.”

I already knew Aerus’s intentions. It was strange not to know the blatant desire.

I felt a blatant killing intent.

The bloodshot eyes, as if soaked in sticky blood, could only be described as such.

The term “killing intent” usually evoked dirty and filthy emotions.

The desire to kill someone usually stemmed from base emotions.

Proper killing intent was impossible to feel from the dirty, base, and vile emotions I felt from back alley thugs.

But he, Aerus, was different.

I realized it the moment our eyes met.

There was no need to add anything to the killing intent; it was a pure emotion.

Aerus’s killing intent did not contain any filthy grudges.

Appetite.

The root of the killing intent was nothing but appetite.

To survive, you eat.

You survive by devouring.

To devour, to avoid being devoured, you become stronger.

And thus, you devour.

A straightforward way of thinking. There was no sticky malice attached.

There is no complex reason why a wild carnivore hunts and devours a herbivore. It is not a reason to be condemned as an immoral act.

“……”

He was the same.

The reason he attacked me at first? Because I appeared as prey with no reason to spare.

The reason he now ignores me and heads towards the shelter? I am not an easy prey to eat, and the shelter is teeming with easy prey to hunt.

How much can the shelter’s door stop Aerus? I can break that too. So, can’t Aerus break it?

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still.

Aerus, who rushed into the shelter, stopped. Even the stones falling from the sky stopped.

It was the same as before.

When he dragged his foot back, it felt like the world was waiting for my answer.

The world slowed down. Thoughts accelerated. The monsters rushing in and the giants guarding the entrance were also disrupted.

There is no way to block it. If Aerus crawls into the shelter through the entrance, everyone inside will die.

I have to block it. That’s what I thought. I calmly calculated with reason. Can I block it? I questioned once again.

If I block it, can I survive?

This is not an open space like now. It’s not a space where you can easily avoid attacks and dodge. It’s not a space where magic can be easily shot.

Even if the passage of the shelter is wide, it’s not as spacious as this place.

Even if allowed, I have to withstand attacks that could turn me into minced meat, one after another, practically head-on.

I can’t just shoot magic recklessly. I have to endure it all with a body raised by strength and fortified with vigor.

That’s just suicide. It’s a foolish act of risking my life to buy some time.

Honestly, haven’t I filled enough excuses?

I thought so.

After the dungeon went berserk, I ran non-stop.

I killed monsters that appeared and saved those who couldn’t escape. I blocked monsters rushing towards those people.

It was all a matter of life and death. Even though I had some strength, I was just a novice who had never experienced a real battle.

I wandered around for a few hours, somehow managing to block even the monsters corresponding to Alphas and buying time.

I met the minimum requirements. I filled at least the minimum excuses. No, I overflowed without filling them.

If people hear my circumstances, there won’t be many who point fingers at me and call me a selfish bastard.

The people around me will say that I’ve done enough.

So, there was no need to dig my heels in here.

Crash! The ground I was stepping on broke. I stretched out my leg. The space changed abruptly.

A different speed than before. Phew! Blood gushed from my leg. My leg screamed red with excessive use.

I blocked the entrance of the shelter. Aerus widened his eyes. Momentarily, I was faster than that guy.

Aerus approached.

The thick front paw, the vicious claws protruding from there, the bloodthirsty aura enveloping it approached.

Death suddenly approached from an unseen angle.