He Was Not a Hero

He Was Not a Hero

"Yahiro-san. Yahiro-san."

My own breathing was terribly irritating.

The taste and smell of stomach acid fouled my mouth, while my ragged breathing needlessly rattled my eardrums.

Perhaps because of that, Takanashi-san's voice seemed strangely far away.

"Calm down. Look at my eyes. Don't look at anything else."

Just when I thought she had placed a hand against my cheek, she forcibly turned my head.

Amethyst-colored eyes were right before me.

"Count to ten along with me. All right?"

"Why...?"

"I'll answer your questions later. For now, do as I say."

"...Yes."

"Thank you. Now, let's slowly count to ten. One, two..."

Without understanding what was happening, I recited the numbers along with her.

It didn't change the hellish scene around me. They were already dead. I could tell from the flow of magic.

I was astonished, as if from a distance, that the deaths of complete strangers could shake me so badly.

Perhaps that was why. By the time we finished slowly counting to ten together, my once-deafening breathing had calmed.

"...I suggest again that we move from here."

"...Yeah. Sorry for causing you trouble."

"No. Now, this way."

Following Takanashi-san's instructions, I went outside through the door overhead.

Once I stood atop the overturned train, I could see the devastation around us clearly.

"What is this...?"

It seemed the train running along the elevated track had derailed, lying there like a gigantic iron snake.

The buildings crushed beneath the cars that had fallen from the tracks had collapsed roofs and become heaps of rubble. Our car was a little farther back; apparently, it had fallen onto the road.

A quarter of the train still remained on the elevated track, but there was no telling when it, too, might fall. The rain was still pouring heavily, increasing the likelihood that the damage would spread.

"In any case, we need an ambulance...!"

I took out my phone and tried to call, but there was no signal.

I froze, wondering what was going on, and then a thunderous roar reached me. I hurriedly turned toward the sound.

"What the...!?"

What had happened? A red flame rose in the distance, and black smoke billowed into the rain.

Apparently, there had been an explosion somewhere.

A derailed train and an explosion. Had there been a major earthquake without me noticing?

No.

The red droplet I had seen in the rain denied that possibility.

That was unmistakably the red of blood.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and deployed my 'Spirit Armament.' I drew my staff with my left hand.

I slid the ejection port open a little to check that a scroll was loaded inside, then raised it with both hands.

"Takanashi-san. I'll check the train for any other survivors. Sorry, but while I'm doing that, keep watch over the surroundings───"

"Yahiro-san!"

I stopped speaking at the same moment Takanashi-san cried out sharply.

Then I immediately pointed my staff behind me. Half a second later, a footstep rang out with a sharp splash.

The owner of that sound, made by stepping into a puddle, was not a survivor of the accident. My Magic Eye was seeing the future that should have happened.

If I hadn't pointed my staff at it and stopped its movement, that being would have raised inhuman claws against us.

This thing was an enemy.

Its gray, stone-like bristles covered a massive body resembling a bear.

Its red eyes gleamed, and sharp fangs showed between the lips of its large, horizontally split mouth.

Though the upper half of its skeleton was close to human, everything below the waist was that of a beast. More than anything, its head was completely that of a 'wolf.'

It was an all-too-common monster. But that was something from works of fiction.

'Lycanthrope.'

A being that could also be called a 'werewolf' was staring at us.

As if it had found the finest prey imaginable.

'Vvvvvvaaaaaa!'

With a roar like the rumbling of the earth, the lycanthrope charged. Its beastly legs moved like springs, and it accelerated tremendously.

But I could see where it was going. I activated a scroll in its path, and Takanashi-san cast her magic as well.

The Wind Hammers flew through the falling rain. The spray they knocked aside made their trajectories visible.

But the lycanthrope did not dodge. It took both Wind Hammers head-on, throwing back its bear-like bulk. Its muscular body, more than two meters tall, staggered, but it soon turned its face toward us again.

'Grrrr...!'

The face snarling at us had its right half crushed. Its bones were shattered, and one tooth was broken.

Yet it healed as if footage were running in reverse. The head wounded by Takanashi-san's magic healed before my eyes.

Lycanthropes. Their defining trait was super-regeneration.

Even if a magic-infused bullet pierced their hearts, or a Gifted person's sword severed their necks, they regenerated immediately and continued fighting.

But nothing in this world was truly indestructible.

The left arm struck by my magic hung limply at its side.

'Mistletoe Arrow.'

The power to kill immortal things. Before this Gift, nothing existed that could not be killed.

There was another means as well: 'a magic-infused holy silver weapon.' Alternatively, 'an attack with massive force that makes regeneration impossible' could kill a lycanthrope.

The beast, far from immortal, attacked again in anger. This time, rather than charging straight at me, it added feints to the left and right.

But that was meaningless. I had already moved the lever and loaded the next shot. Reading its movements with clairvoyance, I fired my magic at its destination.

It struck the lycanthrope in the flank, making the werewolf stagger. I immediately loaded and fired the next scroll. The third shot smashed apart the lycanthrope's head.

Its regeneration was impeded, and the monster, its head reduced to mince, convulsed for several seconds before turning into black mist without even a death cry.

Ignoring the magic stone left on the road, I moved the lever.

"...Takanashi-san."

"Yes."

She stood back-to-back with me.

'Grrrrrr...!'

'Awooo! Awooo!'

'Gaaaaaah!'

Animalistic cries echoed from all around us.

These creatures must have derailed the train. They had used their ability to pass through objects not imbued with magic and infiltrated the train while it was moving.

Something was welling up from deep in my chest. It was a powerful emotion, different from the fear and shock I had felt moments ago.

I felt the blood vessels around my oni horns bulging with a crackling sensation.

I didn't need to think about the name of this emotion.

I clenched my teeth beneath my face guard and glared at the 'vermin' surrounding us. Then I drew my hand-and-a-half sword from its sheath with my right hand.

One sword, one staff. I'd practiced it, but this was my first time using it in actual combat.

Yet strangely, I felt no anxiety. In a place this spacious, I could do it.

"...I'll start Kenning. Buy me a little time."

"Got it."

The moment I answered, Takanashi-san's body floated upward. She had used a 'Float' scroll.

But as expected, her ascent was slow. She could not maneuver finely, only floating upward like a balloon.

The lycanthropes' leg strength would let them catch her easily at that speed. That was precisely why I was here.

"Haaah!"

Still in the grip of my rage, I fired at one that was turning and leaping toward Takanashi-san. The Wind Hammer punched the gray giant away.

Immediately afterward, I sensed something approaching from behind. I responded to the future foretold by my Magic Eye by dropping and bending my knee.

A claw sharp as a cleaver passed over my head, and I countered with a reverse diagonal slash. The single-edged blade parted the tough bristles and gouged the flesh beneath.

But the cut was shallow. The slashed lycanthrope let out a brief cry and leaped back, clutching its wound.

'Vaaah!'

Another creature leaped at me in its place.

It raised both arms and rushed forward with its jaws spread wide. I knocked aside the arm reaching to grab me with my sword, then thrust the tip of my staff into the gaping maw before me.

Along with the feel of teeth breaking, the beak-like ornament pierced the monster's throat. I fired in that position. The impact sent its massive body flying, tracing a red arc through the air.

As I loaded the next shot with a spin-cock, I turned and swung my sword. The slash I sent toward the point indicated by my Magic Eye cut into the owner of the outstretched claws.

'Gyaah!?'

Blood pouring from its neck, the lycanthrope reared back with a scream. A large shadow fell over the monster.

In the next instant, the gray giant crushed the werewolf's skull beneath its foot. Super-regeneration was meaningless before such massive destruction; the lycanthrope, most of its body, including its head, crushed, stopped moving.

The machine landed with a thunderous roar. Its armor was a gray that could only be called metallic, unlike the monsters around us.

Its rugged limbs made the sound of scraping metal, mixed with the noise of exhaust.

A steel giant with only its right arm made of organic matter. The artificial monster crushed the asphalt beneath its feet and slowly lowered its center of gravity.

'Sorry to keep you waiting, Yahiro-san.'

"No, I wasn't waiting."

Once again, I stood back-to-back with her.

Strangely, my vision seemed clear. It was a little like the sensation I had felt fighting the skeleton.

But this was different from that time, when I had wanted to run away without a second thought.

At the very least, I couldn't settle down until I had driven away the monsters before my eyes.

'Vvvvv...!'

The lycanthropes growled warily. But the standoff did not last long.

'Gaaaaaaaah!'

Starting with the one whose torso had been cut by a reverse diagonal slash, the werewolves charged.

In response, I kicked off the ground with sword and staff in hand. I planted my feet on the wet asphalt and accelerated.

Six creatures stood before me. I overrode my fear with anger and forced my body to move with the oni's fighting instinct.

I ducked beneath a claw sweeping at my face and cut down the wounded creature through the torso as I passed it.

One down.

Next, I knocked aside the arm of the lycanthrope attacking from the left with my staff and slammed the butt into its face. Broken white fangs went flying through the air.

Knowing I would be surrounded if I stopped, I let the recoil of the blow carry me in a sliding motion to the right. Immediately afterward, a lycanthrope's claws passed through the space where I had been.

I pressed my staff against the owner's neck and fired without pause. When I moved the lever with a spin-cock, the empty scroll case was ejected and fell to the ground.

Amid flying blood and screams, I kept hold of my sword and reached my right hand toward my waist. On the right side of my sword belt was a device resembling the case for 'Magic Expansion' attached to the bottom of my staff.

I pressed hard on its upper section with my thumb, activating the magic loaded inside.

'Scroll: Physical Enhancement.'

Strength surged through my limbs. I turned and slashed at the fangs approaching from behind. The blade slid into its mouth and tore through the flesh as it continued forward.

Blood sprayed like a fountain and rained down with the rain. It, too, quickly turned into black mist and vanished.

But my body moved faster than that. I took another step forward and slammed the tip of my staff into the belly of the lycanthrope ahead.

I ruthlessly pulled the trigger on the monster bent into a 'く'-shape. The magic activated, sending the werewolf flying.

Shallow. Three left...!

I swung the empty staff sideways, and just as my Magic Eye had foretold, a lycanthrope approached from the side with its jaws open.

With a clack, the creature bit down on my staff. I swung my sword down at its neck like a hammer. The thick hide split, and the white blade reached the bone.

'A, gaaah...!?'

I kicked the wide-eyed monster in the stomach and pulled back my sword and staff.

Two left...!

'Voh!'

The creature with the broken front tooth leaped at me, its eyes wet with rage. I dodged its sweeping right arm, only for the lycanthrope I had sent flying earlier to come biting at me from behind.

I foresaw it again with my Magic Eye and dodged to the side. I kicked it hard in the flank.

Watching that creature roll away from the corner of my eye, I slashed at the lycanthrope with the broken front tooth. In response to the diagonal cut swung with enhanced strength, it used its forearm as a shield.

Flesh split and bone shattered. The thick blade severed its right arm, but then slowed and stopped after biting only into its neck.

'G, gooo...!'

Groaning, the lycanthrope drew back its remaining arm. But before it could strike, I hit the spine of my sword with the grip of my staff.

"Haaah!"

I forcibly drove the blade in and completed the diagonal slash.

Letting go of the hilt in the momentum, I leaped back and produced the next magazine in my right hand.

I pressed the staff's magazine catch with my right thumb, dropping the empty magazine. In its place, I slammed in a new one.

I immediately moved the lever, loading a scroll into the chamber. I fired a Wind Hammer into the face of the creature I had kicked as it came toward me.

The lycanthrope, its head blown away, fell beside me, still carried forward by its momentum.

I moved the lever to load the next shot and swept my gaze around.

There were no enemies standing near me. When I looked toward Takanashi-san, Kenning was rampaging there.

'Gaaaaaaaaah!'

The werewolf roared and tried to leap at Kenning, but the steel giant slid aside on its spinning rollers. Its right arm countered by punching through the lycanthrope's chest.

The blow from the giant, so massive that the werewolf looked small beside it, easily inflicted damage beyond the possibility of regeneration.

Just when it seemed Kenning had blown away the enemy's torso with its right arm, it had already moved using the wheels on its soles with the movements of a speed skater. Unable to follow that maneuver, the werewolf was struck in the side of the head by the log-like stake.

It moved like a living creature. It lacked the mechanical 'stiffness' one would expect, moving smoothly as it overwhelmed its enemies.

Grinding and gouging the road, Kenning, controlled by Takanashi-san, used its right arm, which could serve as either spear or fist, to bring down the lycanthropes one after another.

Apparently, she didn't need assistance. More than that, I was afraid that firing carelessly might hit her.

For now, I reconstructed the hand-and-a-half sword inside its sheath, and it seemed Takanashi-san had finished as well.

The lycanthropes around us appeared to have been wiped out, leaving only magic stones behind. I could feel the magic flowing into me and causing my Spirit Rank to grow.

That wasn't the reason, exactly, but I felt the blood that had rushed to my head ebbing away. The blood vessels bulging around my oni horns seemed to have returned to normal as well.

The adrenaline filling my brain faded, taking the exhilaration of battle with it and leaving behind mental exhaustion.

"...Good work, Takanashi-san."

'Yes. Good work to you as well, Yahiro-san.'

As I breathed a sigh of relief, a gray fist extended before my eyes.

Apparently, she had moved Kenning and extended its left arm toward me. Was she asking me to bump fists?

Somewhat bewildered, I thrust out my right fist as well and lightly tapped its steel fingers.

It felt strangely ticklish. But I quickly came to my senses and realized this was no time for such things.

"R-right! Rescue... We need to rescue people! Takanashi-san, keep watch over the surroundings just like that! I'm going into the train! There might be survivors in another car...!"

The fist we'd just bumped blocked me as I hurried toward the train.

The open fingers tapped lightly against my breastplate.

'Kenning's sensors have detected no signs of life besides us. We must assume all the passengers are dead.'

"N-no...!"

'It was an accident of this magnitude. In addition, it seems the lycanthropes we were fighting devoured the souls of the few survivors while we were engaged with the first one. They are fast eaters and voracious.'

"Ngh...!"

I struggled to accept the words she had delivered so dispassionately.

...Calm down. Calm down, Yahiro Kota.

The car caught on the elevated track could fall at any moment. More fundamentally, an amateur like me shouldn't approach the train and make arbitrary decisions.

So there was something else I needed to do now.

"...I understand. Sorry."

'No. There is no need to apologize.'

"If there is no one left to save, let's move away from here."

'Yes. I believe that would be best.'

I tightened my grip on the staff and moved away from the train. Kenning followed diagonally behind me at a crawl, rotating the wheels on its soles.

I looked around as the rain beat down on me. There was no telling when those monsters might attack again. At the thought, my heart gave an unpleasant thud.

"...What should we do now?"

'As far as I am concerned, I believe I have already decided what to do.'

"That's true... So have I."

The microphone must have been high quality, because Takanashi-san could hear me clearly even at a normal volume.

As we walked, I told her what I planned to do next.

"Let's get out of this city as quickly as possible."

'Let's hurry to defend the evacuation shelter.'

"...Huh?"

'...Hm?'

We stopped in surprise at the words we had spoken almost simultaneously. Kenning's wheels stopped as well.

I looked up at the gray giant, and it looked back at me. What had she just said?

As I stood there dumbfounded, an unfamiliar voice reached me.

'A spiritual disaster is occurring! I repeat, a spiritual disaster is occurring in this city!'

I instinctively looked toward the voice and saw that it came from atop a large pillar right beside a utility pole.

An anguished, frantic voice issued from a white speaker.

'Please hurry and flee to a nearby evacuation shelter! Hiding inside an ordinary building is pointless! Hurry into the barrier surrounding the evacuation shelter!'

It was probably someone from city hall, but the person was shouting as though even taking time to identify themselves was a waste.

Amid the steady hiss of rain, someone desperately called for people to evacuate.

'Help will definitely come! So don't give up! Flee to the evacuation shelter!'

At that courageous voice, Kenning stepped forward. Its massive steel feet made heavy footsteps as it did so.

"Uh, ah..."

I was backing away with a small, frightened sound.

The passion from before had already ebbed away.

I was trying to flee home, after all.