by Ao Jyumonji
Akira-san went to the right of the hydra, while Branken went to the left. Kayo was approaching it straight-on and closing in.
The hydra swung its tentacles. It seemed to have two type of attacks it could do with them. Swings and downward stabs.
The stabs seemed dodgeable, but the swings would be tougher. They were over two meters in diameter. If something like that, which was way too thick, and way too long, came at them at those intense speeds, wasn’t there kind of nowhere to run? Why were Akira-san and the others able to avoid them? Haruhiro couldn’t even imagine.
Maybe they can predict them, he thought. They must know where the tentacles can’t reach them. Probably. But how did they figure it out? That’s a mystery. Way too much of a mystery. Without spending a long time observing it closely and studying it, isn’t that impossible?
“Not unless you’re the kind of genius this world has rarely seen,” Gogh said, seeming to have seen through Haruhiro’s current thought process. “In the end, experience does all the talking. When we’re up against an enemy we’ve never seen before, of course we won’t know those things either. However, there will always be some similarities, points of commonality, with enemies we’ve faced before. What’s similar? What’s the same? You can’t deal with them if you’re agonizing over those things. What do I do here? What gives me the best odds? Your body needs to move on its own before you start arguing with yourself about what to do.”
“Th-That thing...” Ranta groaned. “They’ve fought lots of things like it? That’s why they’re able to fight it like it’s no big deal?”
“I get the impression that it’s pretty tough.” Gogh shrugged his shoulders. “They’ll have a hard time with it. Without access to light magic, they’ll be less willing to press their luck.”
“You say that like this doesn’t concern you.” Miho furrowed her brow, but Haruhiro couldn’t help but think she seemed completely at ease with the situation, too.
“There’s nowhere to target.” Taro lowered his bow, a frown distorting his beautiful face. “I hate big enemies. I wish I could help Mom...”
Taro looked younger than Haruhiro and his party, but he must also have had considerable experience. Given he was traveling with Akira-san and his party, that was only natural.
“Mind if I ask a question?” Kuzaku asked hesitantly.
Gogh glanced over to Kuzaku, indicating with his expression that he should go on.
“You said ‘unless they were geniuses,’ but...” Kuzaku asked just what Haruhiro had wanted to. “It’s a little much to try and claim Akira-san and the others aren’t geniuses, isn’t it?”
Though this was true for Branken and Kayo, too, it was incredibly hard to believe the things Akira-san was pulling off. He had been focused on evading the attacking tentacles at first, but now he was doing more than just that. After dodging, he would slash at it with his sword. On top of that, wasn’t he slowly closing in on the hydra? He probably was. No, not just probably, he was definitely getting up closer to it.
“Akira’s no genius,” Gogh said definitively, then let out a malicious chuckle.
He’s gotta be lying, Haruhiro thought incredulously. Is their relationship coloring his perspective?
“You’re right,” Miho said instantly.
Haruhiro started to think that maybe that wasn’t the case.
She said, “When we first met, that guy was a hopeless coward.”
“The guy’s still pretty timid, you know?” Gogh agreed.
“You could be right.”
“Even in our generation, there were plenty of guys stronger than him.”
“I’d say Kayo was far braver.”
“Not that that’s changed.”
“My mom’s the bravest in the world, and my dad’s wisest,” Taro declared with a look in his eyes so serious that it was scary. “And me, I’m the most fortunate.”
“You sure do love them, huh,” Yume said earnestly.
“Of course I do!” Taro shouted, his eyes wide. “My love for Mom and Dad won’t lose to anything! Never! Ever!”
“I’m not sure it’s a matter of winning or losing, though.” Gogh patted Taro on the head with a wry laugh. “That aside, the one thing I can tell you for sure is that Akira’s no genius. But he survived. That’s thanks to me, Kayo, Branken, Taro, and the many friends and comrades we’ve lost along the way. Many talented warriors and paladins who were blessed with talent fell, while he remained. He didn’t survive because he was strong. What was it that worked in his favor? If you were to sum it up in a word, it’d be luck, I guess. Because he was lucky, he survived, and he was able to become strong.”
It wasn’t just one or two instances—it was more than two decades’ worth of good luck accumulated. That was what had created Akira-san.
Just how lucky was he? Even just one instance of bad luck might have been enough to get him killed like Manato or Moguzo.
Turning that around, if Manato or Moguzo had not died when they had, they would have had the chance to become like Akira-san. In fact, Manato and Moguzo had both had more aptitude than Haruhiro did. Which meant there was no guarantee of success. If a volunteer soldier’s luck was bad, even a little bad, they would drop out. They’d die.
Either way, Akira-san was one of a chosen few.
“...I’m not like that,” Haruhiro murmured.
Akira-san, Branken, and Kayo were almost touching the hydra. The five tentacles couldn’t seem to catch them at all.
Then, suddenly, the four tentacles it used for moving attacked Akira-san and the others. While Haruhiro was caught by surprise, Akira-san and the others seemed to have anticipated it. Dodging and weaving between the tentacles, Branken and Kayo fell back, but... Akira-san stabbed his sword into the root of the tentacles.
With that as a handhold, he climbed. It was that same climbing style, like he was walking up a hill. He ran along the top of the tentacle.
“Ohh.” Gogh snapped his fingers. “There was one strength Akira did always have. His sense of balance. That’s the one thing he was above average in.”
“He liked high places, too,” Miho giggled.
“He must be an idiot.” The corners of Gogh’s lips turned upwards. “It’s almost time, huh.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Almost time for what?
The tentacle tried to shake Akira-san off. Akira-san jumped. He kicked off another tentacle, then yet another tentacle. Akira-san vanished behind the tentacles.
“I-I-I-I-Is he gonna be okay?!” Kikkawa shouted.
The hydra’s entire body shuddered.
“Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” It let out a tremendous cry.
If a woman who was over ten meters tall let out a scream, it just might have been that loud. That sound was released from the lower portion of the hydra along with a blast of air, stirring up the tentacles and making them flap around.
Akira-san rolled out from a gap between the tentacles.
Gogh and Miho drew elemental sigils with their staves and chanted their spells.
“Ea, zu, fa, nwe, meu, hoa, rahi, kweh, ba, ju, sai, le, cthu.”
“Ni, fau, shin, dza, wao, iki, le, vu, duma, gis, qua, zu.”
“It’s hot?!” Haruhiro covered his face without meaning to and bent his knees. The blast of hot wind blew into him. Or it might have been more accurate to say that it swept violently over him.
The hydra was at the center of it. The hydra was burning—no, that wasn’t it. There were no flames rising from it. But it was hot. There was an incredible vortex of hot air tormenting the hydra’s tentacles. That vortex seemed to be heading towards the core of the hydra. Haruhiro and the others were only being caught in the trail of it. Even so, it was hot and frightening.
What was going on? What was going to happen here? The trail suddenly changed direction. It wasn’t blowing into them anymore. It was sucking.
They were being pulled in.
“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!” Ranta yelled.
“Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?!” Kikkawa screamed.
Ranta, Kikkawa, shut up.
I know how you feel, though.
“Eeeeeeeeeeek?!” Shihoru shrieked.
“Funyooooooooooooooo?!” cried Yume.
“Yahhhhhhh?!” shouted Merry.
Shihoru, Yume, and Merry were hugging one another.
“The hell?!” Kuzaku got down on the ground.
“What the heeeeeeeeeell?!” Anna-san screamed.
Mimorin held onto the panicking Anna-san, and for some reason, she had a firm grip on Haruhiro, too.
“No, I’ll be fine, okay?” he told her.
“Just in case!”
I really will be fine, and actually, it’s harder on me when you hold me tight like that. Come to think of it, are Tokimune and Tada all right? Also, where’s Inui?
“Oh!”
The wind changed direction again. This time, it neither pushed nor pulled them. It was blowing downwards from above. The mass of hot air was pressing down and crushing them.
Haruhiro and his party were only being hit with enough pressure to force them down on all fours, but the hydra in the center of the storm had it far worse.
Seriously?
The hydra was being crushed.
The nine tentacles were pressed flat to the ground, revealing the center part—its main body, maybe? Or the torso? Whatever it was, that part which looked like a massive white succulent plant had been exposed, and the top of it was creaking and caving in farther with every second.
What is this magic? Arve Magic? It can’t be Kanon Magic, right? It doesn’t seem like it would be Falz Magic or Darsh Magic, either. Well, what was it then? I remember Gogh said something about releasing elementals, then activating an alternate power. Is that the true nature of this super-hot, crushing whirlwind spell?
Eventually the hot wind subsided.
The massive white succulent plant thingy looked like it had shrunk to half its original size. It wasn’t possible to confirm it from here, but the middle of it was probably caved in pretty heavily.
The hydra didn’t move at all.
“Is it... dead?” Ranta fell on his backside, his mind only half there.
“I’m exhausted...” Gogh staggered.
“Dad! Here!” Taro moved his bow and quiver of arrows under his arm, then crouched down in front of Gogh and offered him his back.
“Now, listen... I’m your father, got it?” Even while uttering what sounded like a complaint, Gogh rested on Taro’s back. He might have been having a pretty hard time.
“Hee hee.” The smiling Miho seemed to be having no such trouble. Was she tough, on top of being an incredible beauty? Or was Gogh just too weak?
“Is it... over...?” Shihoru clung to Yume, trembling.
“Maybe?” Yume rubbed Shihoru’s back reassuringly.
“I hope so.” Merry joined Yume in petting Shihoru.
“Whew...” Kuzaku looked up timidly.
“Is it safe now?” Mimorin asked.
Anna-san, who was playing with Mimorin’s all-too-ample chest for some reason, tilted her head to the side questioningly.
Is it okay when girls do that to each other? Haruhiro wondered. Not that he was jealous or anything. “Wh-Who knows...”
But was it, really?
Haruhiro couldn’t say for sure, but he might have appreciated it if Mimorin would let him go, you know? Feeling Mimorin’s breasts pressed up against him, he was just about to tell her as much when, not far away, Tada started shouting.
“No, this isn’t funny! I refuse to let it end this easily! I haven’t even done anything yet! Don’t just stay dead, come back to life already!”
Gyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” Mimorin let out an uncharacteristic shriek and squeezed Haruhiro and Anna-san tightly. Or rather, she was strangling him. He couldn’t breathe.
Save me, Haruhiro silently begged. But, well, he couldn’t blame her for being surprised. He had been surprised himself.
The hydra he had assumed was dead suddenly let out another burst of sound from the bottom of that large, white part that was like a succulent plant. What was more, the sound was louder and more violent than the first time. Then the tentacles began swinging around wildly.
Akira-san, Branken, and Kayo were falling back. Well, no surprise there. It looked pretty dangerous, you know? The other volunteer soldiers were panicking now, just like Haruhiro and his group.
“Hahahahahahahahaha!” Tada seemed thrilled, though. “Good! That’s the way I wanted it! Amuse me more!”
“Nice! This is where the second round starts, huh!” Tokimune seemed to be enjoying himself.
Are they stupid...?
“Kwa, do, roh, wo, su, eck, lue, rah, va, le.” Meanwhile, Miho cast a spell.
If he were to describe it with a color, it was purple. This purple thing that was neither a flame nor bolt of lightning exploded into the gigantic, white succulent plant-like portion of the hydra with a tearing sound. It was cut and torn, splattering some sort of mucus-like substance around, and the hydra started convulsing, but you could say that was all it did. Still, Miho remained confident. Not only did she not back away, she moved forward.
“Ah, lua, de, muo, su, vi, gwa, pa, le, tu, kia.”
This time it was a blackish green. The dark-green light flashed repeatedly and struck the massive, white, succulent plant-like part. It pierced through it. It scratched it up. The tentacles writhed. The hydra writhed, mucus splattering everywhere, and then...
“Ta, tu, rua, fa, yek, nie, she, la, stoa, ryu, kweh, wana.”
Huh? More still? You’re going for more?
A pink dot formed above the massive, white, succulent plant-like portion of the hydra. Then it fell.
Shishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishishi...
Wait, what kind of sound was that? What was it? That wasn’t clear, but it was apparently coming from where the pink-colored dot made contact with the massive, white, succulent plant-like bit. What was that pink-colored dot anyway? It was getting bigger.
The dot wasn’t a dot anymore. It was a ball now. Getting bigger and bigger.
The tentacles flailed wildly. Their tips were slapping the ground. Like it was saying, Hold on, hold on, seriously, hold on, and trying to call for a time-out.
Naturally, the volunteer soldiers weren’t going to hold on. Giving it a break was unthinkable.
The pink-colored sphere was erasing the massive, white, succulent plant-like bit. Like it was melting it away. The pink-colored sphere finally sunk inside the massive white succulent plant-like bit.
The nine tentacles went limp. The massive, white, succulent plant-like bit looked like it had gone limp, too.
Miho stopped and let out a sigh. Then she giggled. “It was stubborn and cheeky, so I punished it a little.”
Haruhiro was shocked and clung to Mimorin without meaning to. Is she a total sadist?
“Come oooooon!” Tada shouted in Miho’s face. “Just when it was finally about to get good, you had to ruin it!”
“Oh, dear. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry’s not gonna cut it! Now, you listen here—Murgh?!”
...Whoa. Haruhiro knew he couldn’t afford to be shocked by every little thing, but this was really astonishing.
The hydra’s tentacles were suddenly filled with strength. The nine tentacles pushed off the ground, and the hydra sprang into the air.
It jumped.
Huh, it can jump?!
“Oh, crap! Get back!” Akira-san shouted.
This was the first time he’d heard an urgency in Akira-san’s voice. Akira-san, Branken, Kayo, Miho, and Taro, who was carrying Gogh—none of them hesitated when it came time to run. It was almost dumbfo
unding how incredibly they ran away.
The hydra leapt. It flew into the air, swinging its tentacles around.
Tokimune and Tada backed away, too.
“Mimorin, let go!” Haruhiro broke free from Mimorin’s confining grasp. “W-W-W-W-We need to hurry and get out of here!”
“We do, yeah!” Anna-san shouted.
“Yep!” Mimorin plodded off carrying just Anna-san.
The rest of their comrades fled, too. It was like a competition to see who could run first. They needed to get away from the hydra.
Oh, man. No. Just no. Haruhiro kept moving his legs as he vented all of the feelings he couldn’t convert into words inside his head. Ranta, Merry, Kuzaku, Yume, Shihoru. They’re all okay. Kikkawa, Tokimune, and Tada, too. Inui’s still missing, but who gives a damn about him? What about Iron Knuckle, the Berserkers, and Orion? It looks like they’ve scattered, maybe?
Haruhiro, for his part, was still following after Akira-san and the others. Was this okay? Was it not? He had no clue. He couldn’t decide.
Suddenly, the hydra stopped jumping around.
It’s coming.
It slammed all nine of its tentacles into the ground hard, charging forth in a wild rampage.
“Wawawawawawawawaaaaa?!” Haruhiro flipped out and babbled incomprehensibly in panic.
Is this bad? It’s bad, right? Huh? Did I screw up? Did I do the wrong thing? I mean, it looks like the hydra’s coming this way. Is it targeting Akira-san and his group? If it is, should we separate from them? Maybe?
“De, he, lu, en, ba, zea, ruv, ah, tu, la!” Gogh turned back while still being carried by Taro and began chanting as he drew what seemed like elemental sigils with his staff.
Kaboooooooooom!
There was an explosion directly underneath the hydra, blasting a vast amount of grass and dirt into the air.
The hydra lost its balance. That was because its footing had been wrecked with magic. They needed to gain as much distance on it as they could now. But what good would that distance do them? What was going to happen? Wouldn’t it eventually catch up? What would they do if it did?
For now, all we can do is run as fast as we can, thought Haruhiro. If the hydra’s actually targeting Akira-san and his group, that’s not good. I dunno how to say it, but you know, there are better ways for us to handle this. Like, if I’m looking out for our safety, you could say there’s only one option.
