Episode 129: To the Surface
As the Hell Garm faltered and retreated, Tanaka and Minazuki emerged from the dissipating mist from the sides.
Tanaka shouted, “I’ll do it!” and threw a dagger. It pierced the dog’s flank, and the enraged Hell Garm turned its face, but this time Minazuki slashed at it.
The Hell Garm couldn’t breathe fire properly because of the wound on its jaw.
A vertical flash of the longsword—Minazuki’s blade tore across the dog’s face. The Hell Garm groaned and staggered, and a further attack came.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Kanzaki swept his Hexagonal Rod. The Hell Garm was swept off its feet and sent flying by the blow from his powerful arm.
It was slammed to the ground, spitting blood.
The mist cleared. As the Hell Garm shakily stood up, it was already surrounded.
Yuma, Kanzaki, Tanaka, and Minazuki. And Sakura Port Seekers who had rushed to the scene.
“Even if it’s an Abyssal Monster, with this many Seekers…”
Kanzaki smiled optimistically, but he noticed that a place a little further away was becoming noisy.
“What’s that?”
When he turned his gaze, the worst possible sight spread before him. Multiple Hell Garms had broken through the defenses of the higher-ranking Seekers and were running towards them.
“Oh, come on! Give me a break!”
Kanzaki grimaced, and the other Seekers gasped in fear. It was an opponent they weren’t sure they could beat even one-on-one, and five of them were coming.
Everyone imagined the worst-case scenario when the wounded Hell Garm suddenly moved and attacked. Its target was Minazuki.
They were slow to react because they were distracted by the five Hell Garms.
—He can’t dodge it.
Just as Minazuki thought that, a streak of flame arced and slipped into the Hell Garm’s throat. It happened in the blink of an eye.
The Hell Garm’s head flew into the air. The wound ignited, and the flames spread.
Those present didn’t understand what had happened for a moment, but they spotted a figure crouching with a longsword swung through.
“Rui!”
Yuma involuntarily shouted, then hurriedly covered his mouth. Even though he was wearing a hood, he was currently in his Metallization state. His face and hands were completely black.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter, but if Rui saw him, it would be troublesome later. Yuma thought so and hid behind Kanzaki.
He peeked out from there. Rui held a weapon like a Katana, and his whole body was clad in a white battle suit.
The torso of the Hell Garm he had cut down fell without regenerating and returned to sand along with its burning head.
—He defeated a “fire monster” with a flame longsword!?
As Yuma was surprised, Kanzaki whispered in a low voice while looking ahead.
“Amazing, he’s completely unleashed the Magical Power of his weapon.”
“Magical Power of the weapon?”
Yuma frowned.
“Magic Enchanted Armaments sometimes use powerful Magic Gems. It’s said that the more talented you are, the more you can draw out the Magical Power of the Magic Gem.”
“Is that why he was able to defeat that dog?”
“There’s no way you could burn a Hell Garm to death with Magical Power of only around 2000. Your childhood friend seems to have incredible talent.”
Yuma fell silent. The dog monster that he had only been able to defeat after becoming Metal Armor and landing multiple attacks.
Rui had defeated that monster with a single blow.
He knew it. He knew that Rui had real talent that was different from his own. Yuma was reminded of that reality once again.
Rui stood up, lightly swung his Katana, and sheathed it.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Yeah! We’re fine here.”
Kanzaki answered Rui’s question. Looking around, many Seekers were screaming and running away in a panic.
They were being chased by several Hell Garms.
The formation laid by the higher-ranking Seekers had collapsed, and the area had turned into a scene of carnage. Even so, some people stood in front of the Hell Garms and fought bravely.
They were probably Seekers from major corporations.
One of them, a woman fighting with a longsword wreathed in flames, was there. While keeping the Hell Garm in check, she shouted loudly towards them.
“Rui! This place is done for. Take them and go up!”
“Understood!”
Rui immediately turned around and approached Kanzaki and Minazuki.
“Everyone, please run towards the exit! I’ll cover the rear.”
“O-okay. Got it.”
Kanzaki responded to Rui’s words, and everyone started running towards the exit. Kanzaki and Rui brought up the rear of the group, watching out for pursuers as they ran.
“Still, you’re amazing! To defeat that Hell Garm with one blow.”
As Kanzaki said that while running, Rui humbly shook his head slightly, saying, “N-no.”
“That Hell Garm had a wound in its mouth, so it couldn’t breathe fire. If it hadn’t, it would have been difficult to even get close.”
“You’re so modest, Hope-kun.”
Kanzaki looked back. Looking at the Seekers fighting the Hell Garms, they certainly seemed to be struggling with the flames the dogs were breathing.
—So Yuma’s attack was effective.
As Kanzaki was thinking about that, one of the people running in front slowed down and approached them.
“Thanks for the help, Rui.”
“Yuma! So you were here after all.”
Rui remembered Kanzaki, whom he had greeted the other day. However, he had been worried about the fact that Yuma, who was from the same company, was not there, but he was relieved to know that he was safe.
“I’m glad, Yuma. Are you hurt?”
“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine!”
The two rejoiced in each other’s safety as they ran. But that was only for a moment, as Yuma immediately became serious and opened his mouth.
“Those Monsters… Tennoji-san and Roar of the Raijuu will defeat them, right?”
“…Yeah, of course. But the truth is, they’re struggling.”
Rui’s expression clouded over for a moment, but he shook it off and looked forward powerfully.
“It’s okay! We’ve switched to a strategy of luring the Monsters to the surface to fight. Magic might become harder for us to use, but there’s a high possibility that the Monsters will weaken even more. We’ll strike there all at once!”
Rui smiled confidently, but Yuma doubted whether that was really the case.
—That Hell Garm was quite strong even on the surface. If that’s the case, then Monsters with strong Mana might not lose much power even on the surface, right?
Yuma had a certain conviction. More than anything, he himself could use Magical Power without any problems on the surface.
He felt a twinge of anxiety, but he couldn’t tell Rui that.
Yuma suddenly looked back. Far in the distance, he caught sight of a Red Monster surrounded by Seekers. The exploding flames erupting from its body scattered around, preventing anyone from approaching.
Turning forward again, Yuma quickened his pace along with Rui.
The group escaped the pursuit of the Hell Garms and somehow made it to the surface.