"Da-a, damn!" [Hajime]
"…everyone, Fight…" [Yue]
"You're too carefree!" [Kaori]
Currently, they were traversing through savage grass with Yue on Kaori's shoulder. These grass grew up to 160 cm and went up to their shoulders. If Yue were to walk in this, her figure would disappear. Then came the reason for their escaping through this grass.
""""""""""""Shaa!""""""""""""
There were nearly 200 demons chasing them.
After Hajime and Tanaka had finished resupplying, they had advanced 10 levels. Their equipment and skills were useful in their journey, and Yue's magic was also a big factor in their progress.
Yue could use any magic, Kaori is an all round healer and shielder, and the two boys supported them with their skills. Granted, Yue's barrier and recovery magic were not that great. Since she had "Auto Regen", she probably thought it was unnecessary. Hajime, Tanaka, and Kaori had no problem because they had their "potion" and Kaori's healing magic.
That is how they advanced to their current level. The floor had an appearance of an extensive forest. Lush and dense trees over 10 m tall lined the forest, and the atmosphere was damp. They waere glad it wasn't hot, like the tropical forest level they encountered previously.
While the four were searching for the stairs to the lower floor, they felt a rumbling below the ground occur. A demon that reminded Hajime, Tanaka, and Kaori of a huge reptile appeared in front of them. It look like a Tyrannosaurus rex, but there was a flower on its head. Sharp tusks thirsting for blood surged from the powerful beast, and the sunflower-like flower fluttered on top.
What an odd creature.
Tyrannosaurus rex gave out a roar and rushed at them.
Hajime started to take out Donner and Tanaka unsheated Honoikazuchi… but before that, Yue raised her hand.
"Scarlet Spear!" [Yue]
A flame appeared at Yue's hand that spiralled into a spear form. The spear shot pierced through the T-Rex's mouth, and penetrated out the back. Its life ended as the surroundings melted. A rumble sounded as the T-Rex fell sideways onto the ground, and the flower on its head plopped onto the ground.
"""…""" [Hajime, Tanaka, and Kaori]
The three stayed silent for a bit. Yue seemed to be incomparably intense these days. In the beginning, she would devote herself to covering them. On their journey she started to instantly kill any monsters that opposed them. They started to feel depressed about being useless. Is it because they dragged their feet and it was over before they could do anything? Their mind was seized with anxiety. If such a thing was true, they were going to have a blow to their confidence.
Hajime address Yue with a forced smile as he kept Donner in his hands.
"Ah, Yue? It's good to be enthusiastic but… Recently, we feel like we haven't done much…" [Hajime]
Yue turned to look at Hajime, and Hajime could see a slight proud look in her expressionless face.
"….I just wanted to be useful… because I'm your companion…." [Yue]
Seems like she wasn't content with just covering for them. They did think that since they were going to travel together from now on as companions, they should rely on each other. Immediately after, Yue collapsed due to using up all her magic. Hajime had said it to comfort her after she was released… it seems to have remained deep in her mind. She had wanted to show her worth as their companion.
"Haha, no. You've already helped us so much. Yue's magic is very powerful, so please take the rear; close combat isn't your strong suit. The frontlines are for us." [Tanaka]
"That's right, no need to worry too much Yue. We can suppport them from the rear with our magic." [Kaori]
"…Tanaka, Kaori… okay…" [Yue]
Yue fell silent at their advice. They smiled at Yue, who was trying too hard to be helpful to them. To show they didn't dislike her, Hajime stroked her soft hair. Yue's expression returned to her usual mood. They couldn't say anything.
Because they didn't want to become dependent, they had to be cautious.
In a sense, they were messing around, but they caught a demon signature on their "Perception". Approximately 10 enemies were coming towards them. From the movements of the leader, it seemed to be a two-tailed wolf. They wanted to check it out, and urged themselves to move. Hajime wanted to move into an advantageous place because of their numbers.
When the beasts were trying to encircle them, Tanaka rushed at one of them. Before he could finish, a 2 m reptile dropped from the overgrowth in the trees. The reptile's appearance was similar to a raptor. There was a tulip blooming on its head.
"…Cute…" [Yue]
"Definitely cute." [Kaori]
"…Is it fashion?" [Hajime]
"If so, it's in bad taste." [Tanaka]
Yue muttered unintentionally as she felt unwinded to which Kaori agreed.
The raptor and T-rex both had these unknown flowers! It seemed to scatter its bloodlust as it growls. War preparation. The flower sways and flutters…
"Shaaa!"
Looking at Hajime, who was occupied with the flower, the Raptor pounced. There were 20 cm talons attached to its tough legs. A heinous light glinted off of those talons. Hajime, Kaori, and Yue stepped back, but parted left and right. Tanaka stepped above the raptor with his 'Air Walk', then slashed at the tulip to test it.
All parts of the flower scattered with the swift of the blade. The raptor seemed to twitch for a moment, then rolled as it failed its landing. It somersaulted into a tree and stopped moving. Silence filled the scene. Yue came up behind Hajime and Kaori and looked at the raptor and the scattered tulip.
"…Dead?" [Yue]
"No, it seems like it's still alive…" [Tanaka]
Just as Tanaka said that, the body started to twitch. The raptor got up and looked around. It saw its fallen tulip on the ground and continued to stomp it, not giving a glance at its enemies.
"Eh? What's up with that reaction?" [Kaori]
"…Prank." [Yue]
"….No, it's not a schoolchild that put a paper on its back." [Hajime]
When it was satisfied, it looked to the heavens like it was saying: "Phew, Good job!" and raised a cry. The raptor faced them and got startled.
"Did you notice it? It was in a trance." [Kaori]
"…Bullying afterall." [Yue]
Kaori tsukkomi'd, and Yue looked at it with sympathy. The raptor stiffened for a while. Eventually it took a low posture, exposed its fangs and leapt. Tanaka slashed Honoikazuchi at the raptor's open mouth.
The blade slashed through the mouth of the raptor, exited out of the back of its head, and then dissected the upper head of the raptor.
With the momentum of its jump, the raptor slid on the ground. Hajime,Kaori, and Yue looked at the corpse of the raptor without saying anything.
"Really, what on earth?" [Hajime]
"…It was bullied. To be beaten… pity." [Yue]
"No, it wasn't bullying, it definitely wasn't." [Kaori]
They stopped trying to figure it out since they didn't understand how demons think. They continued to move to an advantageous position because the encircling monsters were getting closer.
Countless thick trees, over 5m in diameter, stretched on and on in the new area they were in. Neighboring trees' branches were intertwined with each other. The three used their "Air Walk" and Yue used wind magic to jump above the branches. Due to the area there, Hajime was going to exterminate the demons by sniping at them from overhead, Tanaka slashing while using "Air Claw" at the enemies, while Kaori using light magic to bind monsters that were coming closer.
Less than 5 minutes later, raptors began to appear under them. While Hajime had intended to throw an incendiary grenade, he froze. Yue and Kaori had also hardened with their hand ready to unleash their magic. Hajime spoke first.
"Why do all these guys have flowers?" [Hajime]
"Flower garden…" [Kaori]
There were more than 10 raptors and all of them had flowers on their heads. A variety of flowers too.
Hajime's unintentional Tsukkomi had attracted the attention of all the raptors. The raptors then took stances to leap into attack. Their strategy was to stay out of their range, then snipe them with Donner or "Air Claw" and drop an incendiary grenade to start off. Shots were fired in succession, and a white flash precedes each death. One by one the raptors died with their heads blown off. Yue was busy using her "Scarlet Spear" and Kaori using "Thunderburst" to kill the surrounding raptors.
Three seconds later, the incendiary grenade detonated in the middle of the raptor group. Tar blazing at 3000 degree centigrade splattered onto the raptors. Hajime heaved a sigh of relief after he saw that his weapons worked on the monsters of this level. Seems like that scorpion was special.
Less than 10 seconds later, all the enemies had been cleared. However, Hajime had a dull look. Yue and Kaori noticed this and tilted their head as they walked towards him.
"Hajime-kun(...Hajime)?" [Yue and Kaori]
"…Yue. Kaori, isn't it weird?" [Hajime]
""?"" [Yue and Kaori]
"They were too weak." [Hajime]
"Now that you mentioned it...you're right!" [Tanaka]
They took notice after his words. That was true, the T-rex and raptors were easily exterminated because they made such easy movements and normal attacks. Their unnatural movement was almost mechanical and even their blood lust. After watching the scene where the raptor trampled the flower in anger, Hajime felt that the flowers were not supposed to be on them.
The moment when Hajime was going to tell them to advance carefully, their "Perception" caught more approaching demons. A vast amount of demons were gathering from all directions. Their "Perception" range was at a 20 m radius, and all the demons they sensed was coming straight for them.
"All of you, this is bad. I'm picking up 30, no, 40 or more monsters coming our way. Someone seems to be ordering them to surround us in all directions." [Hajime]
"...What should we do, Hajime-kun?" [Kaori]
"…Do we run?" [Yue]
"…No, we can't with this many. Better to exterminate them from on top of the tallest tree." [Hajime]
"Unn… we should get high up." [Yue]
"Oh, I'll bite." [Tanaka]
Moving at high speed, they quickly went to find the highest tree in the area. They destroyed the branches that could help the demons, and climbed upwards.
Hajime waited calmly while holding Donner, Tanaka took a reassembling rifle he named "Rev". Yue and Kaori understood and gently grabbed the hem of Hajime's clothes. Hajime's hand was occupied so he used his body as a substitute. Their grip became a little stronger.
Then the first batch arrived. Not just raptors, but also T-rexes. The T-rexes were ramming the tree, while the raptors were using their talons to climb it.
Hajime pulled the trigger on Donner and Tanake with his Rev. They shot towards the earth to hit the climbing raptors. When Rev and Donner's chambers were exhausted, Tanaka changes the mag with ease and Hajime exposed the cylinder, and with a rotation, he used the ejector rod to clear the chambers, then loaded the gun positioned within his left armpit. During those 5 seconds, the incendiary grenade Hajime dropped before shooting blew up and covered the monsters with shrapnel. Flames scattered around the area. Donner and Rev was blazing again after it was reloaded. 27 of the monsters already fell, but that was not enough.
Soon, an additional 30 raptors and 4 T-rexes had gathered under their eyes. They were attempting to smash the tree they were on, or climb up to attack them.
"Hajime(Hajime-kun)?" [Yue and Kaori]
"Not yet… A little more." [Hajime]
"There are too many of them." [Tanaka]
Hajime answered Yue and Kaori, while he was shooting down at the raptors. The two girls continued to concentrate on their magic barrage, as they believed in Hajime and Tanaka.
Finally, more than 50 monsters gathered below them. This was just a guess since it was hard to distinguish now. Hajime sent a signal to Yue to say that the monsters he sensed with "Perception" were accounted for.
"Yue!" [Hajime]
"Okay! "Freezing Hell"!" [Yue]
When Yue triggered her magic, underneath them an area was frozen and it was spreading. The area was being covered in blue ice. When the ice touched the demons, the ice covered them like a coffin. There wasn't even a moment to resist. Monsters lost the light in their eyes after they were encased in ice. A radius of 50m was frozen from the spell. It was worthy of being called "Extermination Magic".
"Haa… Haa…" [Yue]
"Good job. Indeed a "Vampire Princess"." [Hajime]
"Very well done, Yue." [Kaori]
"Nice work." [Tanaka]
"…Kuhuhu…" [Yue]
They gave Yue praise at the spectacle before them. Just like the spell's name, it truly looked like a frozen hell in the surrounding area. Yue ran out of magic after using that superlative magic. She gasped for breath. She was probably having a case of magic fatigue.
Kaori sat down beside her and placed a hand on her hips to support her, and presented her nape for her to recover from her blood. Although she does recover from the "potion" and Kaori's healing magic, it takes a long time for a vampire to recover with it than it does for them. Blood seemed the best.
Yue was embarrassed, in spite of her deadpan look, at their praise and just laughed. She blushed as she placed her mouth against Kaori's neck.
While she was feeding, Hajime and Tanaka stood up with a grim expression. They were sensing more than 100 demons.
"Yue. Kaori, there are several times more." [Hajime]
""!?"" [Yue and Kaori]
"Yeah...this is bad." [Tanaka]
"If it is this many, there is definitely something going on. We just eliminated them all right now. Yet, another suicide attack… like they were compelled to that flower… maybe." [Hajime]
"…Parasite." [Yue]
"That's likely." [Kaori]
"You guys thinks so too?" [Tanaka]
They nodded to affirm their guess.
"…There should be a main body." [Kaori]
"Seems that as long as those flowers are on them, they are puppets. We are up against all the monsters on this floor." [Hajime]
Before they are crushed by the amount, they should look for the main body. Looking for the lower floor would be hard if they didn't take care of them. Though they could find it along the way.
There wasn't time to let Yue suck Kaori's blood, so they tried to pass her the sacred water, but Yue refused it. She stretched both her hands out towards the confused Kaori and says…
"Kaori… Carry…" [Yue]
"How old are you? Are you trying to suck my blood while we move?" [Kaori]
Kaori was correct. Yue nodded her head to answer her question. Magic power recovery was slow for Yue with the sacred water, and they should keep a contingency plan for recovery. While they were desperately busying themselves, Kaori eventually felt a little resistance, but necessity knows no laws.
Although it would get in the way, Kaori consented to carry her. She hopped on her back, and they began the search for the main body.
And this is how we end up with the current situation.
They were being chased by close to 200 demons. The thicket was troublesome. Yue had already finished her meal but she didn't want to get off Kaori's back.
The monsters were closing in.
Dododododododo
The monsters were approaching them while making that noise. Raptors traveled side by side while hiding in the tall grass, and pouncing from all directions. They ran towards the place they considered most suspicious while they counterattacked. Yue didn't allow the siege to overwhelm them by using her magic.
Kapu, Chu
The four glared at the exit of the forest ahead. On the other side was the wall of the labyrinth. It looked like a cave with crack spreading from the center. What, was this place the objective? The attacking demons were consistent in their movements. Hajime and Tanaka countered while they advanced. Their movements became violent when they attempted to escape in a certain direction. It was as if they were trying to lead them away from there. They decided to rush in that direction because the demons were increasing in number and they couldn't stay in this situation.
Apparently, hiding in the grass had already made it fail. They jumped ahead with "Air Walk" and "Flicker".
Kapu, Chu
"Yue-san!? Can you stop sucking my blood at this point?" [Kaori]
"…Inevitable." [Yue]
"Lies! You aren't exhausted anymore." [Kaori]
"…Those guys' flower…I'm also…Ku." [Yue]
"Why are you groaning unnaturally? Don't try to shift the blame, idiot! I can't afford it, hey!" [Kaori]
In spite of the situation, Yue was obsessed with sucking Kaori's blood. It wasn't odd that a former royalty couldn't control their guts. Although she was playing, Kaori properly evaded and gives support. They jumped into the cracks, and the 200 monsters followed.
The cave's cracks were narrow enough for two average adults to be standing side by side. Of course, the T-rex couldn't fit through it, and the raptors could only enter one by one. One of the raptors that entered tried to slash at Tanaka with its extended claws. Before it could attack, Tanaka shot it with Rev, and Hajime and Tanaka used their transmutation to block the crack.
"Phew, We'll be okay for a bit with this." [Tanaka]
"…Good job." [Yue]
"If you feel like that then get down please." [Kaori]
"…Mu…no choice." [Yue]
Yue reluctantly descends with Kaori's words. Her back seemed to be very comfortable.
"Those guys were acting pretty desperate, so this has gotta be the place right? Don't relax your guard." [Hajime]
"""Okay.""" [Tanaka, Kaori, and Yue]
Since the entrance was closed with transmutation, the four continued deeper into the cave.
They arrived at a big hall after traveling for a while. Cracks were still continuing into the depths of the halls. Perhaps it was the stairs to the lower level. They observed the area. They didn't sense anything, but they kept their guard up because of an unpleasant feeling. After all, there were a lot of demons in this dungeon that could hide from their senses.
It was when they arrived in the center of the room that it happened. From all directions, an innumerable amount of green spheres flew in. They were instantly back to back, and intercepting the flying objects. Hajime was forced to create a stone wall because the number of spheres exceeded 100. The wall was strong enough to prevent the balls from piercing it. Seems like the balls didn't have that much power. Yue was able to intercept the balls with her wind magic and excellent speed, without a problem.
"It's probably an attack from the main body. Do any of you know where it is?" [Hajime]
"…" [Yue]
"Yue?" [Kaori]
Hajime asked them if they knew of its location. Yue didn't have a searching skill like "perception", but as a vampire she had sharper senses than them. However, she still hadn't answered his question. Suspicious, Kaori called out to her, but her answer…
"…Run everyone!" [Yue]
Before anyone knew it, her hand faced them. Wind converged onto her hand. Instinct warned violently, and they jumped aside with full power. A blade of strong wind passes the place where they used to be and bisects the cliff in the back.
"Yue!?" [Hajime]
"What are you doing!?" [Kaori]
"...!" [Tanaka]
They wanted to raise their voice at the surprise attack, but they understood when they saw what was on her head. There was a flower blooming there. Did it match Yue? It was a crimson rose that matched her well.
"Shit! Was it those green balls!?" [Tanaka]
They wanted to beat themselves for their carelessness. They continued to avoid the wind attacks from Yue.
"Everyone…Uhh…" [Yue]
Yue broke her deadpan expression for a sorrowful one. When they shot the raptor's flower, it stomped on the flower. That would mean that the victim's consciousness is still there while being manipulated. Only deprived the body of its freedom.
But then they already knew of how to free her. Hajime tried to draw the trigger as he aimed at the flower. However, the controller knew of Hajime's firearm that shot down the previous flower. Yue's body moved to cover the flower. She was moving around a lot, and there was a chance the shot would blow her face away. Tanaka closed in to cut it, but Yue hit her own head.
"…You got some nerves…" [Tanaka]
It was warning Tanaka to stay away, Yue would be the target of the magic if they didn't. Yue surely was almost immortal. However, they couldn't deny that she might have a spell that could disintegrate her and prevent her regen. Yue would be able to fire it at an instant too. They wanted to avoid the gamble of a suicide attack.
The monster appeared from the dark cracks as it understood their hesitation.
A demon that was the mix of a woman and a plant came out. It was similar to a dryad or alraune in RPGs. The demon appeared before them. There is a legend that dryads bring good luck, if not hostile, and that they were beautiful women. The one in front of them did not give that impression at all. Indeed, it looked like a human woman, but it had an ugly face like its inner ugliness was overflowing. It also had countless vines waving around, and it felt creepy. "Her" mouth was laughing and grinning at something.
Hajime and Tanaka pointed their gun at it at once. However, Yue entered their line of fire.
"Hajime…Tanaka...Sorry…" [Yue]
Yue grit her teeth with a mortified expression. Being unable to control herself was probably intolerable. She should still be resisting it desperately. Blood dripped from her lips as she moved her mouth to apologize. Her sharp fangs were probably the cause. Was she frustrated with herself, or the curse, or both?
The alraune fired a green ball into the three while using Yue as a shield. They knocked it aside. It was destroyed, though not visible, and probably scattered spores around. There was no sign of a flower blooming on them. Laughter stopped coming from the demon and it looked confused. Spores did not seem to work on them.
(Most likely, it is because of all our resistance.) [Hajime]
Just as Hajime guessed, the spores were a kind of neurotoxin. Their "Poison Resist" allowed them to resist it. It was sheer luck for them, Yue can't be blamed for anything. She shouldn't feel heartbreak.
Realizing that the spores were useless against the three, the demon grumply ordered Yue to cast her spell. Again, a blade of wind was formed. They thought it wasn't able to demonstrate the full capability of the victims. The raptors movements were evidence of this.
That's a blessing in disguise
If they tried to avoid the blade of wind, the alraune would just threaten to hurt Yue. Hajime used "Vajra", which he obtained from a cyclops, to endure the blades. This skill solidifies and expands magic to cover the whole body. It was a very reliable skill that demonstrates defensive power equivalent to its name. Because he was still inexperienced with it, Hajime could only display 1/10 of its original strength. The blades had no power even if they were sharp, so he was able to endure it.
There is a method to settle this immediately once… though the aftereffects would be scary… or should I throw an incendiary grenade?
As Hajime was pondering the situation, Yue raised a sorrowful cry.
"Hajime!…I'll be fine…just shoot!" [Yue]
Yue had prepared herself for this. If she couldn't control herself then she would rather have Hajime shoot her. She put that kind of will into her eyes as she watched Hajime.
There was no way he could do that. For sure he would save her. Such a hot line would usually jump out at this scene, to bond with the heroine. The previous Hajime would do it. But the current Hajime would disappoint such expectations.
"Eh? You're okay with that? That'll save me some trouble." [Hajime]
Bang!
"No hesitation at all!?" [Tanaka]
Hajime-kun!?" [Kaori]
Gunfire echoes in the hall. When Hajime heard Yue's words, he pulled the trigger without hesitation. The hall was filled with a cold air and silence. Rose petals were dancing in the air and fell onto the ground.
Yue, Kaori, and Tanaka was blinking their eyes with surprise. Alraune was linking its eyes with surprise. To confirm it was gone, Yue placed both her hands on her head. There was blond hair that had frizzled or were torn off. Alraune also understood the situation. It stared at Hajime with accusing eyes.
"No, don't make such eyes." [Hajime]
Bang!
He discharged his gun with his Tsukkomi. The alraune's head exploded into green liquids. It fell down to the ground while convulsing.
"So, Yue, are you fine? No discomfort?" [Hajime]
Hajime confirms Yue's safety with a laid-back feeling. However, Yue was glaring at Hajime while stroking her head.
"…You shot." [Yue]
"Ah? Well you did say shoot." [Hajime]
"…You didn't hesitate…" [Yue]
"That was just terrible, Hajime-kun!" [Kaori]
"That, I finally decided to shoot. I had confidence in my aim. As expected, Yue was to stomach it without any question. From now on I'll put that into consideration." [Hajime]
"…My scalp was shaved a little…maybe…" [Yue]
"Are you alright, Yue?" [Kaori]
"Well, if it's that much you'll regen it right? No problem." [Hajime]
"Uhh~…" [Yue]
"That's just terrible, isn't it!?" [Kaori]
Yue started to hit Hajime's stomach and Kaori pinches him from his side repeatedly with a face that said "That is certainly true, but…" Indeed, Yue told him to shoot, and she had prepared herself. But Yue is a woman. She had seen some dreams. He should have at least hesitated a little. At such a light response, she wanted to complain.
Hajime didn't worry for Yue after he found out that a manipulated Yue wouldn't be able to use high-level magic. There were few spells that could overcome her immortality, and it was unpleasant to shoot without hesitation. Even if it was the biggest taboo to hesitate in combat. He tilted his head in wonder at what they were dissatisfied with. They were losing to Hajime, and Yue just turned away from him with a pout while Kaori kept pinching him with an annoyed look.
Hajime sighed inwardly, wondering how he was going to fix the mood. This would be harder than beating the Alraune.
(You reap what you sow.) [Tanaka]