Chapter 139
What the hell is this...?
I couldn't make sense of it.
Unable to accept the reality before me, I could only mutter those words.
Just when I thought we'd defeated Titan, five new Golems appeared.
What on earth was going on?
"RuuuuuuuuuuOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!"
Their overlapping roars echoed through the area as they demolished buildings one after another.
It was as if they were mocking us, saying all our efforts had been for nothing.
"Ah... Ah..."
Ichinose-san stood beside me, stunned and unable to accept what she was seeing, either.
I tried to speak to her, but I couldn't think of anything to say.
I mean, come on...
We'd only just managed to handle a single one after preparing as thoroughly as we could.
And now there were five.
This was completely beyond anything we could handle.
What were we supposed to do about this...?
"Ruo..."
Their eyes turned toward us.
The Golems slowly approached, one step at a time.
The ceaseless rumbling was quite literally a countdown to despair.
With every step they took, the sound grew louder and louder, until it suddenly stopped.
A massive shadow engulfed us.
The moment one of them raised its arm to crush us—Momo barked.
"Woof!"
"Ow...!"
Pain shot through my ankle.
When I looked down, Momo had her teeth clamped around it.
"Woof!"
Momo barked at me urgently.
Her voice and the pain finally brought me back to my senses.
"...Sorry, Momo!"
A stone fist was bearing down on us.
In an instant, I scooped up Ichinose-san and leaped to the side.
With a deafening boom, the spot where we'd been standing caved in.
"RuuuuuuuuOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!"
But the assault didn't stop.
Like they were crushing insects, all five Golems swarmed us, trying to pound us into the ground.
There wasn't an ounce of mercy in them.
The relentless assault, repeated as mechanically as a simple task, wore us down physically and mentally.
"Hah... Hah..."
My side hurt.
My lungs were screaming.
"...Ichinose-san, this might hurt a little, but please bear with it. Kiki, don't get thrown off, either."
"..."
"Ky-kyuu!"
I tightened my hold on Ichinose-san.
Kiki clung desperately to my neck, fighting to keep from being shaken loose.
Momo's Shadow Travel was strictly a skill for getting around.
Ichinose-san couldn't hide inside my Shadow the way Momo could.
So I had to carry her.
"RuoOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Oh, crap...!
One of the Golems scooped up rubble as if gathering it in its hand.
It drew its arm back and—threw it.
"~~~~ (shaking)!!"
In an instant, Aka, who'd been disguised as my clothes, expanded its body.
It blocked the countless stones hurtling toward us like a barrage, but its body was being whittled away in no time.
"RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
"~~~~ (shaking...!)"
Another Golem launched a follow-up attack.
Dust billowed as a thunderous roar rang out.
If Aka hadn't been there, we'd have been minced meat by now.
But—
"Aka! That's enough! Stop!"
At this rate, you'll die!
But Aka shook its body as if to say, "No!"
"Aka...!"
Damn it! Damn it! This is bullshit! This is absolute bullshit!
I deployed wave-dissipating blocks and heavy machinery all around us, right up to the very edge of my range, and built a massive wall.
Before coming here, I'd upgraded every Item Box expansion: "Increased Storage Capacity," "Increased Storage Size Limit," "Number of Items Stored Simultaneously," "Increased Number of Items Retrieved Simultaneously," and "Expanded Effect Range."
Even so, the barrier only held for an instant.
But an instant was enough.
All I needed was an instant to activate my Ninjutsu.
"—Earth Style: Earth Release!"
Still holding Ichinose-san, I sank into the ground.
Before, I could only use Earth Release on myself.
That, too, had improved as I leveled up my Ninja Job.
I could move underground while carrying an ally, and the distance I could travel had increased, too.
(First, I have to get away from here...!)
Momo's Shadow Travel couldn't transport two people at once.
A small creature like Kiki was fine, but someone human-sized was her limit.
First, I had to get somewhere they couldn't see us.
(...Hm?)
What was that? I sensed something strange for an instant.
It came from the Golems. Their feet...?
No, I had to get away from here first.
"Pwah!"
I slipped between the Golems and surfaced.
We hid inside a nearby empty building.
This should buy us a little time, at least.
The five Golems were now indiscriminately destroying the buildings around them.
There was no longer any avoiding the destruction of the city center.
No, it wouldn't stop there.
If this continued, they'd destroy the entire town and everything around it, reducing it all to a mountain of rubble.
So we had to get out of here before that happened.
First, we needed to get to the Aka clone I'd planted on Rikka-chan beforehand.
We'd join up with them and somehow get away from here.
"Hah... Hah... Momo, use Shadow Travel."
"...Whimper."
"...What's wrong, Momo?"
Why wasn't she spreading her Shadow?
"...Woof."
Momo let out a sorrowful whine.
"...!"
That alone was enough to tell me.
Something had happened to Rikka-chan.
Startled, I looked toward the shopping district.
I finally noticed the ominous presence growing stronger.
Something abnormal had happened over there, too.
An email... Damn it, what was I thinking? If things were really this bad, there was no way they'd have time to email me.
The situation was getting worse by the second.
"Ah, damn... Damn it..."
What should I do?
What could I do?
What was I supposed to do?
How could I get through this?
I slammed my fist against the wall in frustration.
Somebody tell me.
How could I get through this?
This was a world like a game.
Someone, please tell me the answer—how to get through this, like a strategy guide or a walkthrough!
"...Kudo-san..."
Ichinose-san's voice came softly.
At last, she opened her mouth, her expression one of firm resolve.
...Had she thought of a way to turn this situation around?
I waited for her words, clinging to that faint hope.
But what came from her mouth was something entirely different.
"...Please leave me behind and run."
"...Huh?"
For an instant, I couldn't understand what she'd said.
What was Ichinose-san talking about?
"There aren't any points available, so Momo-chan can't use Shadow Travel, right? Then you can run ahead, Kudo-san. You're fast, so you can put some distance between us. After that, Momo-chan can use Shadow Travel to come back and get me."
See? Isn't that a brilliant idea? Ichinose-san gave me a faint smile.
"What... What are you saying...?"
Leave Ichinose-san here and run away in a situation like this?
Put some distance between us?
Ridiculous.
If I did that,
she'd be caught in the Golems' attacks and die in no time.
There was no way Ichinose-san didn't understand that.
"...My body's already at its limit. The recoil from the gun means I can barely run."
Hugging herself tightly, Ichinose-san confessed.
...I know.
I knew that when I came up with this plan.
I thought we could somehow make it work anyway.
"That's why... Now that things have come to this, I'm just holding you back. You can definitely escape on your own, Kudo-san. So—"
"There's no way I can do that!"
I shouted.
"Don't you dare say something like that! Do you even understand what you're saying?! How can you say something so ridiculous in a situation like this?!"
I abandoned my usual manner of speaking and yelled at her.
I was genuinely angry at what she'd said.
Leaving Ichinose-san behind and running away had never been an option.
If it came to that, it would be better for me to act as a decoy and buy her some time.
That was how important Ichinose-san had become to me.
"You'll die, no question! Aren't you scared?!"
I glared at Ichinose-san.
But even then, she remained calm.
She lowered her eyes, looking a little sad, then immediately smiled and looked at me.
What was she so happy about?
"...Of course I'm scared."
Ichinose-san placed her hand gently against my chest.
"It's not as if I'm not afraid of dying..."
"Then—!"
"But—even so, I don't want you to die more than I want to avoid dying myself, Kudo-san."
"...!"
"I'm selfish, a shut-in, barely able to talk to anyone, throwing up on people I meet for the first time, and always complaining... But even so, you called me your ally. You got genuinely angry at what I just said. That's why... I hate the thought of you dying more than I hate the thought of dying myself."
"..."
"I'm surprised, too. I can't believe those words came out of my mouth... That's how important you've become to me."
That's... That's how I felt, too.
I felt the same way about Ichinose-san—
"So please, Kudo-san. Leave me here. It's all right. I'm lucky, you know? I've won all kinds of things from the Gacha. So I'm sure my luck will be on my side."
"That can't be true..."
It was true that Ichinose-san had amazing luck with the Gacha.
At first, I'd thought she was just lucky.
But that wasn't it.
Ichinose-san wasn't particularly lucky with the Gacha.
"It's because you've spent nearly all the points from your level-ups on the Gacha, isn't it?"
"..."
She wasn't lucky.
She'd just kept rolling until she got a hit—dozens of times, or even over a hundred, if need be.
She'd sacrificed everything else and poured all her points into it. That's how she'd gotten so many Jobs and Skills.
She could have made other choices.
But simply assigning her points normally and becoming a little stronger would never let her catch up to me, with my Early Bloomer Skill.
That's why she'd bet on the greatest potential she could achieve.
So she could stay with me and Momo and the others. So she could fight alongside us as an equal.
"...Ichinose-san, I'm truly proud to have you as my ally. So I'll never let you die."
Anyone who heard that might laugh.
We barely knew each other.
Our conversations never really got going, either.
Even when we ate together, we'd just eat in silence and finish in a few minutes.
We'd known each other for only four days. Our relationship was shallow and flimsy.
But so what?
No matter what anyone said, the time Ichinose-san and I had spent together was real.
I wouldn't let anyone mock it.
I wouldn't let them.
"So..."
Think, Kazuto Kudo.
What are all those Skills of yours for?
The answer's obvious.
To survive.
Not just by myself.
To survive alongside Ichinose-san and my friends.
Think. Find a way to survive, stake everything you have, just like when we fought that High Orc.
Think. Save your allies, stake everything you have, just like when we fought that Dark Wolf.
Don't give up.
Keep searching for a possibility.
Think as hard as you can about what you can do right now.
"Kah... Hah, hah...!"
Immersed in a sea of thought, my brain began spinning faster and faster.
An overwhelming heat coursed through my entire body, so intense I thought my nerves might burn out.
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Focus" has increased from Lv. 4 to 5≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Focus" has increased from Lv. 5 to 6≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Focus" has increased from Lv. 6 to 7≫
≪You have met certain conditions≫
≪You acquired the Skill "Calculation Acceleration"≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Calculation Acceleration" has increased from Lv. 1 to 2≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Calculation Acceleration" has increased from Lv. 2 to 3≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Prediction" has increased from Lv. 3 to 4≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Prediction" has increased from Lv. 4 to 5≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill "Prediction" has increased from Lv. 5 to 6≫
My heart thudded as it pumped blood throughout my body.
I felt strength surge through me again.
I'd decided on a plan.
But, to be honest, it was a gamble.
I had to bet again on an uncertain plan with little to back it up.
I was scared. My body was trembling.
I was about to involve the girl I wanted to protect more than anyone in a gamble with our lives on the line.
Thinking that made my hands start shaking again.
But—
"Ah..."
Suddenly, I felt warmth in my hand.
When I looked beside me, Ichinose-san was holding my hand.
She didn't say anything.
But she stared straight into my eyes.
Looking into those unwavering eyes, I made up my mind.
"...Ichinose-san, I have a favor to ask."
I squeezed her hand tightly in return.
"Will you entrust your life to me?"
"—"
At that moment, Ichinose-san's eyes widened. Then she smiled like a flower in bloom.
"Gladly."
She answered immediately.
There wasn't even a moment's hesitation.
That was why I was able to make up my mind, too.
"Kudo-san."
"What is it?"
"Um... you look really cool right now, Kudo-san... I think."
"You have to say that with confidence. But... thank you."
"Woof, woof!"
"Kyuu."
Momo and Kiki made teasing sounds.
Yeah, that's right.
Not a single one of us is going to die.
We'll all make it out of this alive. I swear.
Come on, Titan—let's settle this.
No matter how much you try to break our spirits, we won't give up again.
"All right, I'll explain the plan. Everyone, listen carefully."
"Yes!"
"Woof!"
"Kyuu!"
"... (shaking)!"
With our resolve renewed, we set off once more.
The final battle to defy this cruel reality and seize our future had begun.