Episode 59: Straightforward Battle

"Guru, Gururura!"

For example.

The feeling of standing right in front of a collapsing building, I suppose.

First and foremost, I had to confront the instinctive desire to run away.

I think...

People feel that, as long as they're not going to die, they can pretty much get away with anything.

Like, for instance, abandoning a young girl you just became close to, just moments ago.

No one's watching anyway.

Turning my back on the "monster" like this, I’m sure no one will ever blame me.

Of course, whether I can escape the guilt I’d feel toward myself by doing so is another matter entirely.

"——'Steel Armor'"

I activate the skill while raising my enchanted blade.

The "monster" charged forward with unstoppable force, sending everything in its path flying.

"Grrrooooooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

With a speed too fast to see, the "monster" lunged forward with its right foreleg.

I precisely judged the motion and blocked it with my blade.

A harsh, grating sound echoed as claw and blade clashed and rebounded.

『Gurraa...?』

The situation was abnormal. It was a scene that blatantly defied the laws of physics.

The difference in our sizes wasn't just double or triple—it was incomparable.

I should have been a tiny mouse facing a cat.

The tiny mouse's fangs had just deflected the cat's claws—claws that should have been fatal.

There was no doubt about it: the power of Defense IV was at work.

Looking closely, it was the tiger's claws that appeared to have taken damage.

A portion of the claw had melted into a gooey mess.

Possible...? A chance... existing at the subatomic level...?

Holding onto a slender thread of hope, I raised my sword once more.

The monster, too, no longer seems to look down on me, and instead keeps a calm distance.

Aina! Wake up! Do you want to die or something!?

I call out to Saya while I still have the chance,

"U, uuu, mmm..."

She seemed unlikely to get up for a while.

...

Perhaps showing even the slightest weakness was the mistake.

The monster shattered part of a building beside it with its sharp claws and immense strength, then hurled the resulting pile of rubble toward us.

――Cat's a prankster!

That's anything but easy.

It's like a shotgun pellet.

The falling rain and scattered soil far exceed the level of being deflected by a blade.

Minimize contact area for ripple defense!

I would have gladly done something like that if I could, but...

All I could do right now was to face it head-on.

"——g,...gugugug……"

Bowed under the relentless onslaught of debris, I knelt down.

I let my sword fall to the ground beside me.

Of course, the "monster tiger" wouldn't miss such an opening.

『Gruaaarrrr!』

The monster tiger roars as it charges forward, shaking the ground with each step.

It’s aiming to drive its finishing claw straight into my skull.

Exhausted and helpless, I could do nothing but brace for the blow—…

Not really.

“———!”

I spring upward like a spring-loaded trap, grabbing my sword once more.

Amazing, this《Defense IV》.

Rock on,《Iron Armor》.

That attack should have been enough to kill me five times over, yet it barely posed a threat to my life right now.

It seems the monsters, overall, possess a fairly high level of intelligence.

But in front of my acting skills, they were easily fooled.

No surprise there.

After all, I once seriously considered becoming an actor—back in middle school, after watching 'Tiger & Bunny' (anime) for about three months.

振りかざした炎の刀が、虎の“怪獣”の左前脚をぶった斬ります。

『グ、ガォオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオオ！』

ものすごい絶叫が世界を揺らしました。

半ばほど刃が入った“怪獣”の脚から、今まで見たことがない量の血液があたりにぶちまけられ、街が紅く染まります。

Of course, I can't just let it go while it's injured. I can't show mercy either.

I don't know what caused such a creature to exist.

Any monster that attacks humans must be eradicated.

Circling around the injured beast's hind leg, I slash the spot corresponding to the Achilles tendon in humans—though I'm not sure if felines even have such a place.

A terrible animal stench and the smell of blood filled my nose.

My tracksuit was now so soaked in red that I couldn’t tell whether it was originally red or stained by the monster’s blood.

I gripped the monster’s stiff, spiky fur, one strand at a time, and leapt onto its back.

The creature, which had seemed so massive and mountain-like just moments ago,

now had its life completely in the palm of my hand.

"Gurururururu! Gurururururuu!"

Climbing onto its back, the monster writhes one last time in defiance.

Perfect.

It's far easier to kill than to beg for mercy.

Yet this final resistance seemed likely to buy me some time.

Clutching desperately to the undulating back of the "monster," I struggled to stay upright.

After all, one hand was occupied by my sword.

It was somewhat difficult to deliver the final blow in this situation.

At that moment.

"——'Explosive Hundred-Fold Fist'!"

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

From near the "monster's" head, Sayo-chan's voice rang out.

At the same time, the "monster's" frantic movements slowed.

"Got it! Sis!"

Got it.

I dashed with all my might along the "monster's" back and reached its head.

aiming for the back of the head, I thrust my enchanted blade forward—

"Die! You monster, die!"

I unleashed every ounce of violent impulse within me.

A sharp, piercing sensation as my blade pierced through the skull and reached the brain.

In the palm of my hand, I felt the immense life fading away.

Farewell, the "monster" of the tiger.

I pray—

may your final moments be filled with peace.