Chapter 102
"Hah... haha..."
Before I knew it, I was laughing.
Humans have a strange tendency to laugh when confronted with something they cannot understand.
It was the fifth day since the world became overrun with monsters.
I had thought there was nothing left that could surprise me, but apparently I had still been underestimating things.
"―――Ruuuu... uuuu..."
Was that actually a cry?
The gigantic rock giant―――the golem―――swayed its massive body as it stepped forward.
Thud!!!
That alone was enough to shake the earth.
For an instant, my body floated.
I almost lost my balance.
"Tch..."
No, don't let it overwhelm you.
Run. Move, legs!
I sprinted at full speed.
The entire surrounding area was now a mountain of rubble from that earlier 'Scream.'
I used 'Search' to look for Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan.
There must have been monsters and people who had been holed up nearby, too.
I could sense several presences beneath the rubble.
My enhanced hearing picked up words like "It hurts," "Someone help me," and "Giiii."
"...Not my problem."
I didn't have the luxury of worrying about them.
I just had to run.
I ran relentlessly toward the direction where I sensed the two of them.
―――There.
About twenty meters ahead.
I spotted Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan amid the rubble.
Thank goodness. They were safe.
Beside them, I could see a small fragment of Aka about the size of a baseball.
Even in its weakened state, it seemed to have protected them.
Good job, Aka.
I would have to praise it like crazy later.
"... (tremble, tremble)"
Perhaps it sensed how I felt, because Aka, disguised as a hood, trembled happily.
Rubbing the hood, I made my way over to the two of them.
"Are you both all right?"
"Ow... I-I think I'm more or less okay..."
"I-I'm all right..."
I used 'Item Box' to clear away the rubble around them.
It looked like both of them had gotten off with minor injuries.
Their weapons seemed to be fine, too.
"What is that monster...? Why did something like that suddenly appear...?"
"I don't know. But now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to run."
"Yeah. There doesn't seem to be anything we can do against that thing."
The mass attacks from 'Item Box,' the tricks involving 'Shadow,' and attacks using ninjutsu would probably have little effect against a body that enormous.
The same went for Ichinose-san's sniping and Rikka-chan's slashes.
The odds were far too unfavorable for a fight.
Or rather, the difference in scale was simply too great.
"Yes, so I'm afraid I'll have to do something rude for a moment..."
"Huh?"
"What?"
I tucked Rikka-chan under my left arm and hoisted Ichinose-san over my right shoulder.
"W-wait, big bro!?"
"K-K-K-K-Kazuto-sa... Kudo-san!?"
"Sorry, but please hold still."
Sorry, but I couldn't take complaints right now.
I didn't have any leeway at the moment.
With my current stats, carrying two people wasn't a problem.
Their Agility was far below mine, and I was also much faster than Rikka-chan, so moving like this would actually be quicker.
Actually, you two are pretty light.
Why are girls so light and soft?
No, I didn't have time to think about that.
I immediately dashed off.
I was using my Agility of over 300 and 'Escape' to their fullest.
My speed steadily increased, and I rapidly widened the distance.
"Tch... No good."
But it didn't go away.
The 'unpleasant presence' and the chills showed no sign of fading.
"...What is that...?"
It was Ichinose-san who murmured that.
Since I was carrying her with her head facing backward, she must have had a good view of the golem behind us.
Then I heard an eerie sound from behind, as though something were being broken or peeled away.
"W-wait, n-no way it can throw something like that―――"
"Tch..."
Her words gave me a vague idea of what was coming.
My instincts and Skills sounded the alarm at full force.
I slammed on the brakes.
Enduring the excruciating pain of my bones creaking from the sudden recoil, I leaped to the right.
The next moment, with a roar―――
A 'building' shot past the spot where we had been at terrifying speed.
"―――Huh?"
A thunderous BOOOOM!! rang out.
Several buildings collapsed as though they were scraps of paper.
Gray dust billowed through the air, completely obscuring my vision.
Amid the thick cloud of dust, I couldn't understand what had happened.
"What... happened...?"
I turned my neck with a rusty, mechanical creak.
My vision gradually cleared.
There stood the gigantic golem, posed like a pitcher who had just finished throwing a ball.
"Ruuuu..."
Only then did I finally understand.
Oh. So that's it.
It had thrown it.
With that ridiculously huge hand, it had smashed a ridiculously huge building and thrown it at us.
That was all.
It was that simple.
"You monster...!"
What the hell was this?
The scale was different.
The scale was far too great.
This was beyond ridiculous.
"Ruuu..."
This time, the golem scooped up a mountain of rubble at its feet.
Could it be...? Was it planning to throw that next?
This was bad.
The sheer mass was troublesome enough, but if it started throwing a whole 'number' of them, I wasn't confident I could dodge them all.
One hit from something like that would mean instant death.
The expressions on the faces of Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan, whom I was carrying, turned desperate.
But the golem did something else entirely.
"Huh...?"
This time.
My mind refused to comprehend what I was seeing.
It was eating.
The rubble.
As though it were pouring handfuls of peanuts into its mouth.
"Ruu... ugh... chomp... chomp... uuuu."
An eerie crunching sound echoed through the air.
It swallowed with a gulp, then scooped up and ate more rubble from its feet.
It wasn't attacking us...?
Why?
"Ah..."
I should have run away right then.
But I saw 'that sight.'
My enhanced vision clearly caught sight of people trapped beneath the rubble.
My enhanced hearing clearly picked up 'their' screams and pleas for their lives.
No, stop, somebody help me, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die.
Ignoring them, the golem continued its 'meal.'
Mixed in with the sound of crushing rubble was the sickening sound of something being ground into mince.
Crunch, squish.
Crunch, squish.
Crunch, squish. Crunch, squish.
Crunch, squish. Crunch, squish.
Crunch, squish. Crunch, squish, and then...
"Urp..."
I almost threw up.
This was disgusting.
It was grotesque.
I had still been able to endure watching monsters attack and kill people.
But I had never imagined that watching someone be 'eaten' could be this horrifying.
I must have reached the limit of what my mind could withstand.
A voice echoed inside my head.
≪Your Proficiency has reached a certain threshold≫
≪Your 'Stress Resistance' has increased from Lv. 9 to Lv. 10≫
≪Your 'Stress Resistance' has reached its level cap≫
≪Conditions have been met≫
≪You acquired the Skill 'Mental Pain Resistance'≫
≪The Skill 'Stress Resistance' will be integrated into 'Mental Pain Resistance'≫
≪Your 'Mental Pain Resistance' has increased from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2≫
≪The Skill 'Fear Resistance' will be integrated into 'Mental Pain Resistance'≫
≪Your 'Mental Pain Resistance' has increased from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3≫
≪The Skill 'Taunt Resistance' will be integrated into 'Mental Pain Resistance'≫
≪Your 'Mental Pain Resistance' has increased from Lv. 3 to Lv. 4≫
At that moment, I felt my heart lighten.
My thoughts returned to normal so completely that I wondered what I had been agonizing over until then.
Oh, nice. 'Stress Resistance' has reached its cap.
So 'Mental Pain Resistance' is its higher-level Skill.
What's more, the other two Skills were integrated as well, causing its Level to rise all at once.
Thank goodness. That was a lifesaver.
Now I can act calmly.
"Haha..."
A smile escaped me despite myself.
"What happened, Kudo-san?"
Ichinose-san asked, looking concerned.
"It's nothing. I was just a little shaken. Come on, let's get out of here."
Tightening my grip on the two of them, I once again attempted to use 'Escape.'
I could still hear someone's screams behind us.
I could also hear the sound of something being crushed.
But it no longer bothered me.
While that thing continued its 'meal,' we managed to escape safely to a secure area.