Chapter 64
"Grrrrrr..."
The Dark Wolf lets out a growl.
In response, 'darkness' begins spreading around it.
It looks like a black swamp or pool of mud.
"I'm getting a really bad feeling about this."
It seems best to avoid touching that stuff directly.
"Gwoooar!"
With the Dark Wolf's roar, the 'darkness' spreading around it surges toward me like a muddy torrent.
It's fast. But at this speed, I can dodge it.
I move backward while 'observing' its attack.
"What!?"
What the hell is that? The abandoned cars touched by its 'darkness' are swallowed one after another.
And that's not all. Every object in the vicinity is sinking into the 'darkness.'
It looks like a bottomless swamp.
...Oops, this isn't the time to watch idly.
Sorry, but I'm taking that back.
I try to retrieve the abandoned cars as they're swallowed.
But...
"Tch... I can't retrieve them!?"
I can't retrieve them with my Item Box.
No matter how many times I will it, the result is the same. I can't retrieve them.
So once something is taken into that stuff, it's over?
How does this thing work?
"Tch."
In any case, I can't afford to waste attacks.
But any weak long-range attack will be swallowed by the 'darkness' and blocked before it reaches the monster.
On the other hand, to engage it in close combat, I first need to do something about the 'darkness' spreading around it.
"Momo!"
I signal to Momo.
A fraction of a second later.
Momo 'roars' again.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"
A roar of destruction.
But the Dark Wolf must have anticipated it as well.
It immediately covered itself in 'darkness.'
That 'darkness' probably absorbs impacts too.
Its surface is vibrating.
So even Momo's 'roar' doesn't work on it?
But that's fine.
Momo's roar isn't meant to damage it.
Its purpose is to rob it of its 'vision' and buy me time.
In this opening, I activate my 'Skill.'
Momo's roar ends.
The Dark Wolf dispels the 'darkness.'
At that moment, its expression changes.
Of course it does.
After all, I was standing right in front of it.
"Gau!?"
How did he get here?
It must be wondering that.
It's simple.
I just made 'footholds' to get here.
There were a few seconds before the abandoned cars were swallowed by its 'darkness,' after all.
I just threw abandoned cars and rocks toward the pool of darkness, moved across them, and got closer before they sank completely.
I raise the Orc cleaver in my hand.
If I can finish this thing off before my current foothold sinks completely—
"Gau!"
But it isn't that easy.
Just before the blade connects, it twists its body and dodges the attack.
Its movements are incredible.
"Gaa!"
The Dark Wolf immediately counterattacks.
The 'darkness' spreading around it changes into a gigantic arm and grabs me.
It squeezes me, and my body cries out with a crunching sound.
Then, at the instant my body reaches its limit—pop!—I vanish in a puff of white smoke.
"What!?"
The Dark Wolf's expression is once again filled with astonishment.
It's probably wondering what happened.
"What's wrong? Why are you so surprised?"
From a distance, I call out to it.
"Ga... gaa?"
The Dark Wolf tilts its head as if to ask what happened.
Well, anyone seeing this for the first time wouldn't understand.
To explain the trick, what I just used was my new Skill, 'Ninjutsu.'
One of its techniques, 'Clone Technique.'
As the name suggests, this technique creates a clone of myself.
I can create up to five.
Their physical abilities are almost on par with mine.
Each clone consumes 3 MP every ten seconds.
Unlike the original body, they can't use Skills, but this is such a powerful Skill that it more than makes up for that drawback.
After all, it lets me send them charging at the enemy with no risk to myself.
"Are you sure? Look behind you."
"What!?"
It must have been too distracted by me.
The Dark Wolf failed to notice another version of me approaching from behind.
There was another clone, you see.
This time, it couldn't dodge the attack.
The clone's cleaver cuts a shallow gash into its body.
"Gaaau!"
But the next moment, the clone is crushed by its 'darkness' and vanishes.
I don't let up.
I use 'Throwing' to hurl cleavers and knives at it.
It tries to defend itself with 'darkness.'
But at that moment—
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"
Momo's roar explodes again.
'Throwing' isn't meant to land a direct hit.
The point is to focus its attention on me like this.
It tries to guard with 'darkness' again, but it's too late.
"Tch!"
Unable to withstand it, the Dark Wolf is blown away.
Furthermore, a bullet pierces its body as it rolls across the ground.
It was covering fire from Ichinose-san.
Ichinose-san, your ruthlessness is magnificent.
"Gaa..."
The Dark Wolf rises unsteadily.
It looks like I managed to deal it considerable damage with that.
As expected of an upper species of Shadow Wolf, it has similar weaknesses.
Its physical defense is low.
Its 'darkness' ability is a threat, but as long as I land an attack, the damage still gets through.
It's strong, but unlike the High Orc, it's not quite as unreasonable an opponent.
But I won't let my guard down.
I've learned that lesson more times than I care to count.
The moment you gain the upper hand and try to deliver the finishing blow is when you're most vulnerable.
"Gau, gau!"
"Gaoon!"
The other Shadow Wolves gather around it.
We keep our distance and watch the Dark Wolf and the others.
I'll finish it next time.
It was at that moment.
"―――Uuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"
Suddenly, the Dark Wolf howls.
As it does, 'darkness' erupts from its body and spreads in every direction.
Is this a desperate attack?
No, that's not it.
That 'ominous presence' coming from the spreading 'darkness'...
This is—!?
"Momo! Dodge!!"
At the same time I shout, various objects burst violently out of its 'darkness.'
They include the abandoned cars and rocks swallowed earlier, as well as buildings, trees, and even corpses.
Projectiles of various sizes and weights are launched in every direction.
So that 'darkness' can also retrieve anything it has absorbed at will!
"Tch! Aka!"
"...(shakes)!"
Momo is hiding in the 'Shadow,' so there's no problem.
Aka immediately expands its body and shields me from the projectiles.
Ichinose-san should be fine too, since Aka's clone is accompanying Ichinose-san.
Protected by Aka, I bounce around in the storm.
My body spins round and round.
I feel like laundry being tossed around in a washing machine.
Even though this is the second time, it's still brutal.
Is it planning to attack in the middle of this storm?
But there is no follow-up attack.
The attack stops.
My vision clears.
The Dark Wolf is nowhere to be seen.
"Huh?"
Did it hide?
Did it conceal itself in that 'darkness,' like the first time?
But the other Shadow Wolves are gone too.
Where did they all go?
Even though I doubt it'll help, I activate 'Enemy Search.'
Then I sense the presence of the Dark Wolf and the others growing more and more distant.
The 'ominous presence' is growing more distant too.
"Don't tell me... it 'ran away'?"
A sudden silence descends.
I stay alert, thinking it might be some kind of trap, but nothing happens.
"Woof!"
Momo emerges from the 'Shadow' and comes over to me.
It was an abrupt end, to say the least.
A monster had chosen to 'run away.'
It was a first for me.
"..."
As I thought, that Dark Wolf is different from the other monsters.
It studies our capabilities and runs if the situation turns against it.
I can't believe there's a monster like that...
"It's a real blow that it got away..."
The fact that it ran means, in other words, that we might have been able to defeat it at that point.
Even if we pursued it, if it entered that 'darkness' somewhere far away, we'd have no way to find it.
"What a nuisance..."
That Dark Wolf will surely appear before us again.
It'll grow stronger and choose a situation that favors it.
We won the battle, but I couldn't exactly celebrate wholeheartedly.