The Fool and the Berserker

The Fool and the Berserker

'Vaaaaaaaah!'

The pack of lycanthropes raised a war cry. I charged straight at them from the front.

Ten meters remained until the collision. I pulled back my raised right hand and pushed in the scroll from my sword belt.

'Scroll: Physical Enhancement.'

I accelerated. I closed the distance faster than a werewolf could attack, drove the tip of my staff into its throat, and fired.

The Wind Hammer blasted a hole through it, spraying blood across the face of the one behind it.

'Gah!'

As I ran past the lycanthrope covering its eyes on instinct, I swung once horizontally. The cut was shallow, but deep enough to expose its intestines.

I didn't stop. Continuing to run, I spin-cocked and swung my sword to the side. It cut through the right arm of a lunging lycanthrope, and as it lost its balance, I slammed magic into its face.

Rather than resist the recoil, I let my body flow toward the opposite side, where the chest of another creature struck my back. Its raised claws cut through empty air, and the beast's upper arm slammed into my shoulder.

'Vwah!?'

Though it cried out in surprise, it still tried to bite me. I knocked its jaw upward with the tip of my staff, then turned and slashed as I leaped away. Another lycanthrope drove its claws into the spot where I had just been.

'Voh! Voh!'

'Voooooooon!'

"Phew...!"

The breath I exhaled was hot. Even though rain was beating down on me, it felt as though all the blood in my body were boiling.

I landed by crushing a puddle beneath my feet and immediately slid forward. Three lycanthropes leaped at me as I sent up a small spray of water.

One came with claws, while the rest came with fangs. Relying on the information read by my Magic Eye, I knocked away the claws approaching from the right with my sword.

Immediately afterward, I used the recoil to move diagonally forward and to the left. As I felt the beast's jaws close above my head, I twisted my waist and swung my blade upward at its torso.

The fur split and the flesh was torn open, sending red spray flying. At the same time, I spun my staff and moved the lever, firing without pause at the central one as it turned toward me.

Ignoring the skull of its companion being blown apart beside it, the creature that had been on the right leaped at me. I slammed my blade into its face from the side as if striking it with a blow.

As I crushed the head of the lycanthrope rolling across the ground beneath my foot, I raced onward. Five monsters pursued me.

Using my Magic Eye to foresee the claws coming from behind, I dodged into a side alley. Ordinary walls were no obstacle to monsters, and the werewolves pursued me without hesitation.

But even if they could pass through objects, that did not mean they could see through them.

As I turned, I slammed my sword into the face of the creature chasing me straight down the alley, then pointed my staff at the wall on my right.

I fired into the head of the wolf that burst out from there, then deflected the claws approaching from behind with my guard without even turning around.

I could see it. The flow of magic, and the future.

I drove my knee into the snout of the creature trying to bite my stomach, then struck the top of its head with my pommel.

I followed with a spinning slash, severing the necks of the lycanthropes leaping at me from both walls at once.

After crushing the skull of the twitching creature at my feet with my pommel, I finished it with my heel, tucked my blade beneath my arm, and removed the magazine.

There were still scrolls inside. I quickly replaced the ones I had used and returned the magazine to my staff.

My cowardly nature had worked in my favor. I had not expected to fight Ishiyama-san, but I had brought the same number of scrolls as I carried while exploring, packed in a small backpack.

After confirming that there were no enemies nearby, I returned to the main street. I was not familiar with the geography here, but if I followed this road straight ahead, I should emerge near the evacuation shelter.

One creature was still writhing in the road with its intestines spilling out, so I beheaded it on the way and started running again.

The enhancement magic wore off, and my legs returned to their normal speed. As expected of magic, there was no sense of discomfort at all between my enhanced and normal states.

As I ran desperately, I began to hear screams.

"H-aaaaah!?"

"Somebody! Somebody!"

...Apparently, lycanthropes liked the screams of human beings.

They quickly finished off anyone who did not scream, but they hunted down frightened people as though they were toys.

A group of children around elementary- or middle-school age fled, covered in blood. Four lycanthropes were trying to surround them. They could have massacred them all instantly without bothering to do that.

But perhaps it noticed me approaching even through the rain, because one of them turned toward me.

I foresaw that moment and threw my sword. The spinning blade lodged itself in the creature's neck.

'Gyaaah!?'

It did not die instantly, and it let out a scream. Reacting to it, the remaining three turned their faces toward me.

'Vow!'

'Gaaaaah!'

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

I roared back at them. Otherwise, I felt my legs might stop moving.

I slammed magic into the chest of the lycanthrope about to charge, supporting my staff with my right hand while cocking it with my left. The empty scroll case rolled away behind me.

As the second shot blew the creature's head away, the remaining lycanthropes charged as well. In an instant, they closed the distance and entered claw range.

'Gah!'

"You...!"

I swung my staff to knock away the claw on my left, while catching the claw on my right with my gauntlet.

My armor creaked sharply, but it did not break. I forcibly knocked the claw aside, then used the momentum to draw back my fist and slam it into the creature's face.

With an unpleasant sensation, its fangs snapped and fresh blood sprayed. At the same time, my Magic Eye activated. I tilted my upper body backward, and a claw passed right in front of my eyes.

Using the staff like an uppercut, I knocked away the lycanthrope on my left, then drew a dagger from behind my waist with my right hand.

I drove the blade into the chest of the staggering creature, spin-cocked with my left hand, and fired magic into the face of the other one as it rose and charged.

Keeping watch on the four fallen creatures, I reconstructed my bastard sword and dagger inside their sheaths. After confirming that the monsters had turned into black mist, I approached the group of students.

"What the hell, what the hell...!"

"Mom...!"

"Calm down! Let's treat your injuries first!"

I activated my unique Gift on the children, who were crouched down and crying in a panic.

Their wounds healed before my eyes, and clean skin showed through their torn clothes.

"M-my injuries...?"

"It's okay now. It's okay."

I knelt on one knee and met the gaze of the boy who appeared to be the oldest.

I gently took him by the shoulder and looked him firmly in the eyes. It was all right. With the exhilaration I felt now, I could speak normally.

"You've done so well to make it this far. But run just a little farther. There are fewer monsters in the direction I came from. Run straight that way and get away."

"Uh, u..."

"I know this is hard. But please. You can do it. Take the other children with you."

I imitated Master's way of speaking as I addressed him. I knew firsthand how her manner of speaking could calm people down.

Perhaps because of that, the boy nodded firmly. I smiled behind my face guard.

"You're a strong kid."

I patted him lightly on the shoulder, stood, and started running. I moved the lever to load the next shot and prepared myself for the next enemy.

My body felt light. It was as though I had wings.

The blood vessels around my horns were especially hot. I had once heard that an oni's horns were not body hair or keratin, but a kind of organ, though I did not know whether that was actually true.

Whatever the case, I ought to be grateful for it now. In this state, I could fight.

While running, I caught sight of a man cornered beside a window. On the sixth floor of a building, he was trying to use a chair as a shield against a lycanthrope.

I kicked off the ground while using a 'Float' scroll. The acceleration from my leg strength carried me toward the wet wall.

I pressed the soles of my shoes against the wall and ran. 'Float' alone was too slow. But combined with this...!

"Eeeek!?"

'Grrrrr...'

I reached the sixth floor in a few seconds and fired into the face of the lycanthrope that had shoved the chair aside. As I entered the room, I kicked the staggering monster out of my way.

There were two more inside. I held my staff at waist level and rapidly worked the lever, firing a succession of spells into the monsters devouring human beings.

'Gah!?'

'Goh...!'

I subdued them before they could stand and come at me, then changed the magazine and turned toward the man behind me.

"Are you hurt?"

"N-no...! B-but everyone..."

The man, who had emptied his stomach, stared with trembling eyes. Following his gaze, I saw papers and a telephone receiver scattered across the floor, along with the corpses of several people.

"...!"

I felt the exhilaration beginning to cool. The instant I became aware of it, an overpowering stench of blood flooded my nostrils.

I could not sense any magic. Which meant they were already...

"You need to get out of here immediately. Go that way. There are fewer monsters on the main road right now."

"B-but there might be survivors...!"

"...For now, think only of your own safety."

I grabbed the arm of the slumped man and forcibly pulled him to his feet.

After making him lean against the wall, I brought my face close enough for my horns to nearly hit him and blocked his view.

"Try not to look at the bodies. Don't stop moving—just run, no matter what."

"Wh-what...!?"

"Save your grief and fear until you're somewhere safe. Until then, keep running. Please, don't die."

I said it without waiting for a reply, then jumped out the window. Ignoring his startled, almost-screaming cry, I activated 'Float' just before touching the ground. I slowed for an instant, then started running down the road.

The number of corpses in my field of vision continued to grow.

A truck had crashed into a building, a passenger car had overturned, and corpses missing parts of their bodies lay scattered nearby.

The scattered red mixed with rainwater and flowed into the storm drains.

"Ngh...!"

Then I began to see the monsters as well. The horns grew intensely hot once more.

The moment I saw six lycanthropes devouring corpses, I fired a spell. Perhaps their ability to sense things had been reduced by the rain; one of them had its head blown away without even defending itself.

My Spirit Rank had risen through the battles along the way. The power of my magic had increased in proportion to it.

'Gaaaaah!'

The lycanthropes noticed my approach and roared. Of the four creatures charging toward me at once, I fired magic at one. It gouged out its flank, but the wound was shallow.

'Vvoh!'

"Oh!"

I drew my sword and knocked away the claw coming at me. With the return stroke, I cut diagonally through the creature, then used a spinning slash to blow away the fangs approaching from the side along with the upper jaw.

Three left...!

I turned and swung my sword at the next opponent, but it crossed both arms to guard. The blade tore through fur and flesh before biting into the bone and stopping.

'Gyaaah!?'

"Ngh!"

I couldn't pull it free. I had a vision of another creature biting me and instinctively let go of the hilt as I leaped backward. Immediately afterward, another lycanthrope passed in front of me.

I put some distance between us with a backstep, then ran toward a nearby road sign.

Naturally, the two lycanthropes pursued me. One had an injured flank, which made it slightly slower.

As the claws approached from behind, I reached out with my right hand to the sign. I seized the rain-slick pole and spun around it as an axis. The claws grazed my jinbaori and sliced through the sign.

I attacked the creature as its momentum carried it past me from the side, then blew its head away with magic.

I then threw the road sign remaining in my hand at the other one. The monster continued forward without hesitation, despite the object not being imbued with magic.

'Gah!'

As the lycanthrope charged with its mouth wide open, the sign passed across its face. The instant its vision was blocked, I charged into it and drove the tip of my staff into its solar plexus.

'Goh!?'

"Go flying...!"

As the beak-like tip of my staff gouged into its flesh, I cocked the weapon. I pulled the trigger and blasted a hole through its massive body.

I moved the lever to send the next scroll into the chamber and aimed at the last one. The creature with my sword embedded in its crossed arms had turned its back to me and was trying to flee.

"..."

There was no hesitation. I fired the magic driven by my own fury, not for the sake of the strangers' bodies lying at my feet.

After blowing away the lycanthrope's head, I retrieved my sword.

"...It should be about time."

My breathing was not labored.

I tucked my sword beneath my arm, changed the magazine, and replenished the scrolls in my sword belt. With my right hand gripping the hilt and my left hand holding the staff, I started running again.

I had not researched the area as thoroughly as Takanashi-san, but by following the flow of magic, I soon found the evacuation shelter's exact location.

It was probably the civic gymnasium. A pale-blue, translucent wall surrounded the building's simple exterior.

It was an extremely fragile barrier. Whether because of budget constraints or a lack of technical expertise, several lycanthropes could probably destroy it easily by body-slamming it.

Even so, it was still being maintained because...

'Yahiro-san...?'

Because she was holding her ground.

Magic stones lay scattered everywhere. Kenning was kneeling in front of the gymnasium, with half the right forearm missing.

Its steel armor was covered in numerous scratches, and, on closer inspection, there was also a deep cut in the joint of its left knee.

Another giant stood before that gray colossus.

'Grrrrr...'

It was a calm growl, but several levels deeper and heavier than that of the lycanthropes.

The giant stood roughly two and a half meters tall. Its thick, powerful limbs were like logs and closely resembled those of the werewolves I had seen so far.

However, lightning-like patterns ran through its gray fur in various places. Its muscular chest and abdomen were hairless, and its skin was black, like the night.

Its head was still that of a wolf, but its eyes were calmer than those of the others.

But that was not because of intelligence. It was due to a pure, almost primal ferocity that craved blood and battle.

'Ulfhedinn.'

The leader of the lycanthropes. A 'berserker' who could never get enough of battle.

'Why are you here...?'

Kenning tried to rise with a grinding of gears. I glanced at her through the machine and readied my sword in my right hand.

"I did something foolish. That's all."

'Wha...?'

Our conversation was irrelevant to the monster. Ulfhedinn readied the greatsword in its right hand and charged.

It happened in an instant. Its approach was so swift that the lycanthropes seemed sluggish by comparison. It closed the distance in the blink of an eye, and its deadly blade came for my neck.

───At the last moment, I thrust my bastard sword into its path.

The impact was so tremendous that I could not even cry out. I turned my body halfway to bleed off the momentum and pointed my staff at the monster.

I fired immediately, and the giant was blown away.

'You mustn't! Run...!'

"Sorry. I probably can't."

But these eyes were seeing it clearly. Ulfhedinn caught the magic approaching its flank with its left palm.

The unharmed monster slowly settled back into its stance.

The corners of its mouth lifted in a way that was unmistakable at a glance.

"If you can, please..."

I understood from that exchange.

"Please help me...!"

It was stronger than me.

Seriously, why had I come all the way here? Carrying yet another regret in my heart, I pointed my staff at Ulfhedinn.

There was no other way to describe it now than reckless. Relying on the narcotics flooding my brain from my horns, I took up a battle stance.

At my pathetic plea, Kenning caught her breath, while the monster stamped the ground as though it did not care.

I pulled the trigger as well.

The strange sound made by the Wind Hammer as it cut through the rain...

...became the opening cannon shot of the battle.