Chapter 152
“Th-then who saved us?”
Savoring their narrow escape and keeping watch for the one remaining Cannibal, who had vanished from sight during the commotion, one of the front-line fighters voiced the question on everyone's mind: why were they still alive?
But no one answered. The only sound was the wind sweeping through the area, and the tense silence continued, with no way of knowing when a Cannibal might appear right before them. Then, if they listened closely, they could hear someone breathing abnormally hard over the wind: “Haa... haa... hoo... hee...”
“Ah... I... I... did... Khah! Cough, cough!”
Everyone nearby had assumed the ragged breathing was caused by fear and tension. But when they heard the faint, hoarse mutter, they realized otherwise and turned their eyes toward the person gasping for breath.
There stood Tina, her face so pale she looked as if she might die at any moment.
“H-hey, Tina, are you okay?”
Parna's eyes flew wide as she saw Tina on the verge of death, and she hurried to her side. Before Parna could even ask what had happened, Tina looked at her and, coughing in pain, managed a sardonic smile and a thumbs-up. “This is... my... Ski—khah!”
Skill: Lady's Offering
Effect: Consumes stamina and magic to grant a chosen target an aura that reduces impact to one-hundredth.
“S-sorry... I can't keep this up for long if I'm using it on everyone here... Hurry... and defeat them... But this only works on people nearby, so... do something while staying close... Khah!”
“A-are you sure you're okay?! You look like you're about to die!”
“Just... think of it as... sprinting at full speed... nonstop...”
As Tina gasped for breath as if she might pass out at any moment, Balmung seemed to realize his allies were being protected. “Nice!” he shouted, then suddenly darted out of the circle alone.
“Don't move! Let Tina protect you! I'll handle the rest by myself!”
“W-wait... That's too dangerous! Sorry, Tina, but we should lure it out and wait for it to attack us!”
“It's the other way around! The Cannibals have probably learned there's no point in getting close and attacking us anymore! The fact that the one we know is still out there hasn't attacked is proof enough! If we stay like this, Tina's stamina will run out for nothing, and we'll be in a truly desperate situation! I'll take it down before that happens!”
Takako hurried to stop him, but Balmung broke past her attempt to hold him back and boldly shouted, “Come on! I came out so you could have an easy meal!”
Takako looked worried at his reckless action, but a voice behind her said, “It's okay,” as someone patted her shoulder.
When she turned around, she saw Yuki and Merry smiling with complete confidence. Takako couldn't understand what made them so sure, though, and ignored them as she turned her gaze back to Balmung.
“...Behind you!”
At that critical moment, Takako saw a black shadow rushing toward Balmung from behind. The Cannibal must have thought that the lone, unguarded man who'd stepped out was an easy target. It clung to his back and immediately gaped its enormous mouth.
The attack had gone exactly as planned, but given Balmung's build, his heavy armor, and his weapon, Takako couldn't imagine him dodging quickly—especially since he'd been surprised that she could even see the Cannibal's movements. She couldn't help averting her eyes.
“There... Got you.”
A dull thud, like a blow landing on flesh, rang out around them. But Balmung spoke as calmly as ever.
“See? I told you I was fine. There's a reason I've survived this long, fighting on the front lines as your leader.”
Merry gave a proud little snort, as if the praise were meant for her.
When Takako saw what had happened, her face filled with astonishment. Balmung must have twisted his neck to keep the Cannibal from biting his head, taking the bite on his right shoulder instead. The Cannibal's hideous fangs, backed by jaws strong enough to tear through flesh with ease—as they'd done to the three fighters before—had only sunk into Balmung's shoulder before stopping dead.
“Too bad you couldn't get a taste. If you want to kill me, you'd better aim for a vital spot!”
Then he wrenched the Cannibal free with his tree-trunk-thick left arm and hurled it into the air. Moving far faster than its weight should have allowed, he swung his greatsword down as if it were a knife, cleaving the Cannibal in two and smashing it into the ground with a heavy metallic clang.
“...Maybe their jaws just aren't that strong?”
“No, the leader's just exceptionally tough. His muscles are far more durable than the armor I made him. Apparently, he's a Level 273 Warrior.”
Yuki twirled a small wrench in one hand and praised Balmung. “Impressive as always.”
“L-Level 273...?”
The number was far higher than they'd imagined, and everyone in Takako's group except Tina stared in shock. None of them had ever seen a Warrior at such a high level. With a Warrior's strength and toughness, it seemed that even at Level 273, a bite would only make him bleed a little without slowing him down at all.
His Skill was probably helping, too, but even so, his dependable, spectacular fighting made them understand why Balmung was their leader.
“Hey, don't let your guard down! We've found as many as we saw earlier, but there may still be more hiding! Stay together, get out of this area, and head for our destination!”
After that, there was no time to stand around chatting. Following Balmung's orders, everyone ran from the area around the lift shaft that served as the entrance to Noah. Along the way, they met up with a dozen or so surviving Resistance members who had been heading for the surface and fleeing from the Cannibals. Together, they managed to escape the ruins and reach an open plain with a clear view of the surrounding area.