The Bullet

The Bullet

The blade and claws collided in a shower of sparks. The deadlock lasted only an instant.

"Haaaaaah!"

I forcibly swung the sword through. The Zmeu was knocked backward by the impact, but landed on both feet, scraping across the asphalt.

Then it opened its mouth with a grating sound and growled as if it were laughing.

'GAGAGA…!'

───While stepping on the small foot of the corpse it had thrown aside earlier.

I pointed my staff at the Zmeu, which had once again taken its distinctive stance.

"Get your foot off it…"

'Scroll: Telekinesis'

An invisible arm stretched toward the enemy and seized its scaled foot.

Before it could react, I jumped while pulling with all my strength.

'GOA!?'

"You damn lizard!"

Pulling our bodies toward each other, we spun sideways in midair and brought down a slash carrying centrifugal force.

The blow aimed at its neck was blocked by its left forearm. Its scales shattered with a hard crack, spraying fresh blood. But the blade had not reached the bone.

As we passed each other, I spin-cocked the next scroll into the staff. Before falling, I twisted around and seized its wounded left arm with telekinesis.

Using the momentum of my landing, I pulled the Zmeu's huge body with all my might. The monster's massive body rose into the air.

Before the telekinesis faded, I pulled myself toward it again and jumped. The enemy had already taken a counterattacking stance, its right arm drawn back.

'GAAAAA!'

But I could see it.

The Zmeu twisted its body in midair and thrust out a perfect spear-hand at me as I flew in from almost directly below.

I dodged the attack aimed at my face with a forward roll. From a position where we appeared upside down to each other, I spun sideways and swung my sword.

The blade slipped into its open jaws and tore through the flesh, passing between the bones.

The dragonkin's upper jaw flew away amid dark-red blood.

First the scaled body fell, then I landed. Finally, the upper half of the monster's head that had been falling turned into black mist before touching the ground.

I held my stance. As I swept my gaze around to check for other enemies… I met the eyes of that corpse.

"……"

There was no sign of a large mana reaction. I approached the body, put my staff back in its holster, and closed its staring eyes.

There was nothing more I could do for it. I stood and drew my staff.

When I looked around again, I sensed a mana reaction in the distance. Was that… a magic stone?

Rosso-san must have passed a little away from this road. Had she forced her way through and headed for her mother?

Even with her family in danger, I couldn't imagine her being able to simply ignore another family being attacked right in front of her. Had the corpses here encountered monsters by bad luck after Rosso-san passed through?

At any rate, we were heading in the right direction… probably.

Just as I reached that conclusion, I heard the sound of a motor turning.

'Kenning' forced its way through the narrow alley, with Riko-senpai riding on its palm.

"Hey! Otaku-kun, over here…"

Her words died as she saw the hellish scene around us.

In place of Riko-senpai, who stood frozen with her eyes wide, Takanashi-san spoke through the speaker.

'Yahiro-san. Were we right to come this way?'

"Yes. There's another magic stone over there, separate from the one left by the one I fought. It was probably Rosso-san."

'Understood. And you said the enemy was a Zmeu?'

"Probably. Its fighting style matched the Agency for Supernatural Affairs' information too."

'…This is troublesome.'

"Yeah… very."

According to the Agency for Supernatural Affairs' information, there were two types of Zmeu that had appeared in the modern world.

One was the pure close-combat type I had just fought. With its powerful limbs, it used techniques that could be called martial arts.

The other was a mage type with a build not much different from that of a somewhat large human. This type was said to be comparatively more intelligent.

It was fortunate there had only been one this time, but apparently Zmeu sometimes acted in groups. In the worst case, we might find ourselves facing a formation with both front- and back-line fighters.

An unpleasant sweat trickled down my back. Honestly, I wanted to go home already.

But after coming this far, running away seemed impossible. At least, not for me.

I turned my gaze toward Riko-senpai, who was praying over the corpse from atop Kenning's palm.

"Riko-senpai. You…"

"Let's go. We should hurry, right?"

She released her prayerful pose and turned back toward us.

"…Yes."

With her looking at me so resolutely, would continuing to argue be gauche?

More importantly, it was true that we should hurry. Precisely because these were formidable enemies, we needed to minimize the time we spent standing still.

And, pathetic as it was, I wanted to rely on her combat strength. I didn't want to die, either. My own life mattered more to me than righteous indignation or friendship. I wasn't a hero, after all.

"I'll go on ahead like this. You two…"

'We'll follow Rosso-san and Yahiro-san while rescuing as many people as we can.'

"What about the small bottles of 'Rejuvenating Blood' I gave you before?"

'We have six of them. And ten "Healing" scrolls.'

"Got it. Then that's what we'll do."

'Yes. May fortune be with you.'

"Your own life matters too, okay! Don't forget it, seriously! That's a promise to me!"

"Of course."

'Understood. Let's all make it home alive.'

After nodding, I once again extended a telekinetic arm toward a nearby utility pole and pulled myself toward it. Then I reached for the metal fence on a building's rooftop.

I landed on the concrete roof and sprinted. Carrying my momentum, I vaulted over the fence on the opposite side and began falling toward the ground.

On the way down, I extended a telekinetic arm toward a streetlight and pulled myself toward it, accelerating diagonally downward. Twisting my body with a spin-cock, I leaped toward the next building.

Below me, vehicles were smoking after crashing headfirst into utility poles and buildings. Several corpses lay scattered around them.

The sight alone made me nauseous. My stomach churned.

Just then, I caught sight of something moving. Was that… a person?!

People were sneaking from one hiding place to another. Were they fleeing from monsters?

But unfortunately, several Zmeu appeared from around a corner. At this rate…!

"Damn it!"

As I cursed, I dove straight down. I grabbed the sign of a nearby convenience store with a telekinetic arm and hurled my body forward like a pendulum.

I leaped over the fleeing people and slashed at the Zmeu.

"Shii…!"

'GA!?'

Startled by my sudden appearance, the leading dragonkin immediately crossed both arms to protect its neck. The blade was caught amid a shower of sparks.

I endured the sharp pain shooting through my elbow from the impact, curled my body, and spun vertically. I slammed a double-footed kick into the arm I had just cut.

I felt the wound tear wider with a squelch. I used the recoil to create distance and landed on the asphalt.

"W-what was that!?"

"Eeeek!?"

Behind me, I heard the voices of the people I had just leapt over.

"Run! A spiritual disas—"

"It's a terrorist! A terrorist has appeared!"

"Run!"

"The vic…tims?"

At the unexpected words, I almost turned around. But I couldn't take my eyes off an enemy during battle.

For now, I would settle for the sound of their hurried footsteps carrying them away. I had a feeling they had horribly misunderstood me, but that would have to wait.

'GAAA…!'

After all, there were five Zmeu right in front of me.

I had felt my spiritual rank grow slightly stronger after killing just one earlier. In other words, these monsters were at least my equal.

Two were close-combat types. Behind them stood three wearing robes.

They were around two meters tall. Large by human standards, but small for Zmeu. Were those the rumored mage types…?

"Huh?"

When I saw what the apparent mage-type Zmeu were holding, a dumbfounded voice slipped from my throat.

Steel barrels were pointed at me. They were unmistakably…

"!"

When my demon eye showed me what was about to happen, I hid behind a nearby car before I could think.

────RATATATATATATAT!!

The next moment, an earth-shaking roar rang out.

I instinctively looked toward the spot where I had been standing, but the people who had been evacuating were already gone. They had escaped properly.

The problem was the enemy's weapons.

"Why the hell…!? Why are they carrying guns!?"

I shouted without thinking, but naturally, no one answered.

I had only ever seen them in movies and anime, but they were unmistakably assault rifles. Keeping low, I shuffled toward the part of the car where the tires were. The protagonist had done something like this in an action movie, if I remembered correctly.

Had they stolen weapons from the Self-Defense Force? But these seemed like a different type. Then where had they gotten them? No, that didn't matter. The problem now was────!

Following what my demon eye showed me, I sprinted from behind the car toward a nearby convenience store. Immediately afterward, the vehicle I had been hiding behind was thrown by a Zmeu.

I followed by swinging my sword backward as I turned. The blade clashed with the claws of another close-combat type, and I leaped, letting the impact carry me.

Then countless bullets came flying, passing right through the body of that close-combat Zmeu.

"Ngh!"

All I could do was shield my head with my left forearm. Feeling something strike my body, I smashed through the glass with my back and leaped into the convenience store.

I heard a display shelf topple, but I couldn't worry about that. The pain was so intense that my vision seemed to turn red.

"Gah… aaah…!"

Blood dripped down in heavy drops. I couldn't tell exactly where I'd been shot. Probably my abdomen and… my arm?

A warped lead slug rolled across the floor with a clatter, coated in red. Apparently regeneration had pushed it out from the inside.

Even with the pain dulled by brain chemicals, it was this bad. If I'd been clearheaded, the pain surely would have left me unable to move.

At any rate, I immediately stood up. If I stayed down in accordance with the standard rules of a gunfight, I would only die.

The gunfire had stopped. They had probably run out of ammunition. But perhaps they had barely considered coordination, because the two close-combat types were charging straight at me.

'GAAAAAA!'

'GOOOOOO!'

"You…!"

I immediately pointed my staff at the Zmeu on the left and seized the arm it had raised to strike. Was this the one I had wounded earlier?

I pulled it so that it crashed into the other one beside it. Fresh blood sprayed from the wound on its forearm, and the two lost their balance and collided.

'GA!?'

Immediately afterward, I pulled myself toward them as well. Just as the telekinetic arm snapped, I swung my sword at the Zmeu on the left.

The huge body just outside the store. I slammed my sword into its neck with all my strength; its scales, apparently less hard than those on the forearm, shattered, and the blade bit into the bone.

But the blade stopped there. I instantly released the hilt and rolled across the ground without stopping.

Behind me, I heard the asphalt burst apart. At the same time came the sound of an explosion.

I couldn't move faster than bullets. But I could move faster than the Zmeu…!

I sprang up from the forward roll and ran. Leaving the gunfire behind, I changed magazines while moving. From 'Telekinesis' to 'Wind Bullet.'

I sprinted full speed to the guardrail, planted a foot on it, and jumped. I kicked off the wall rushing toward me as well, then leaped at the gun-wielding Zmeu in an erratic triangle jump.

The enemy immediately tried to align its barrel with me, but it was a fraction too slow. I fired in midair, blew away one monster's face, then supported the staff with my right hand and cocked it. With the second shot, I finished off another.

The last one fired. I twisted my body to evade the muzzle, but felt several rounds hit me.

"Ugh…!"

Gritting my teeth beneath my visor, I jumped the instant my feet touched the ground.

I tackled the waist of the Zmeu holding the gun and knocked it down.

'GYY!?'

"Haaaah!"

After punching it hard in the face with my right hand, I grabbed its horn and arched backward using my back muscles.

It was far too clumsy to call a tomoe-nage, but I threw its body behind me. Exactly where my demon eye had predicted, another close-combat type stood waiting.

As if it had no comradeship whatsoever, the unarmed Zmeu knocked the gun-wielder aside with its powerful arm. It immediately drew back its other arm to swing at me.

But I was inside its reach first.

'GO…!?'

Using the momentum of its charge, I drove the beak-like tip of my staff into its abdomen. The scales split, and I drove it into the abdominal muscles.

"Burst…!"

I fired the spell. I cocked the staff and fired a second and third shot.

At the same moment the monster's arm grabbed my head, a hole opened in its torso. I knocked away its limp arm and turned my gaze toward the gun-wielder that had been blown away.

'GU… GY…!'

Lying on the ground, it was stretching an arm toward its rifle. I slammed magic into its head.

A red flower bloomed, then turned into black mist. Just as the Agency's information had said, they were considerably more fragile than the close-combat types.

But…

"I thought goblins were supposed to be the first monsters to use human weapons and tactics…"

I rubbed my flank, which had regenerated but still ached.

I could vaguely understand why the people who had been fleeing had mistaken me for a terrorist.

A monster was using a gun.

Until now, that should have been impossible. And worst of all, ordinary lead bullets did not cause friendly fire among monsters. As earlier, the enemies would charge straight in.

In that last fight, if the Zmeu had not seemed unfamiliar with guns, by now…

I shook my head as if to dispel my fear, then retrieved the magazine containing the 'Telekinesis' scroll that I had dropped on the ground and reloaded it.

Right now, I had to hurry to where Rosso-san and her mother were.

My legs trembled with fear. My breathing grew ragged, and unpleasant sweat ran past the corner of my eye. I didn't want to spend another second in a place like this. I had to find them and get the hell out of here.

I hesitated over whether I should warn the people following us about the guns, but Takanashi-san would surely handle it well. She would find the guns and spent casings lying around and figure it out.

After reconstructing the sword in its sheath and repairing the damaged 'Demon Armor' with mana,

I set off running through the city at night once more.

…Please, let the police or the Self-Defense Force arrive to help us soon, I prayed.