Episode 262: Black [Enhanced Species]
“Damn!”
Rui deflected the flames with his Katana, taking a step back to regain his stance. The Black Monster turned towards him languidly.
“It uses both Wind and Fire magic… What exactly is this monster…?”
Normally, it’s impossible for monsters to use magic of an element different from their own.
If there’s an exception… could it be an “Enhanced Species”!? Rui readied his Katana, moving to the opponent’s right side.
The monster kicked off the ground with a thud, charging with incredible speed.
Rui also kicked off the ground, moving forward. When the flaming Katana and the monster’s arm clashed, a high-pitched sound rang out, and they were repelled from each other.
Rui readjusted Scorching Blade Type-0 to a lower stance, channeling even more intense flames.
With the increase in Fire Magical Power, even more powerful flames ran along the Katana. The Black Monster also imbued its sword-like arms with Wind and Fire Magical Power.
Wind swirled around its right arm, and flames flickered on its left.
Rui lowered his stance without panicking. A moment of silence. Neither moved, waiting for the moment to strike with a single, all-out attack.
In the tense atmosphere, the Black Monster moved first.
It headed straight for Rui, thrusting out its wind-covered arm. Rui responded, and a fiery slash drew an arc.
A crushing impact resounded.
Their movements stopped, and after a short pause, something fell.
A thin, blade-like object. It was the Black Monster’s arm. Both arms had been severed by Rui’s attack, and they were flying through the air.
The monster looked at its own arm in bewilderment. Rui raised the Scorching Blade.
“It’s over.”
The descending flame sword cleaved the monster’s head, splitting its body in two.
The Katana that struck the ground caused the earth to explode, and the geyser of flames that erupted vaporized the monster without a trace.
Rui swung the Katana once before sheathing it.
“Phew… I managed to defeat it somehow.”
As Rui took a breath, he heard a voice from a short distance away, “Hey!” Yuma seemed to be safe as well.
“Man, I got blown away pretty far. What was that thing?”
Yuma looked at the remains of the monster that had turned to sand.
“I think it was probably an ‘Enhanced Species’.”
“Enhanced Species? Is that the kind of monster that gets stronger by eating Magic Gems from other monsters?”
“Yeah, usually they eat Magic Gems from the same Dungeon, but now that monsters are appearing on the surface, it might have preyed on monsters from other Dungeons.”
The sand at their feet was carried away by the wind, gradually disappearing.
“Don’t tell me there are swarms of these things running around.”
Yuma said anxiously.
“I’ve heard that Enhanced Species are only born rarely, but the whole world is like this now. It wouldn’t be surprising if unusual monsters started appearing.”
“Seriously? If that’s the case, then the reason Germany is in a state of devastation is…”
“Yeah, it might be related to the monsters’ ‘Enhanced Species.’ To find out, we need to find someone and talk to them as soon as possible.”
“That’s right.”
Yuma and Rui got back into the truck and left the area.
◇◇◇
“Haa… Haa…”
Small feet ran through the back alleys. He descended the dilapidated stairs that looked like they would collapse at any moment and entered the sunless Underground City.
After running for a while, a familiar face called out to him.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Luis? Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Sorry, Paul-san. I have something I need to report urgently!”
The boy ran through the premises and stood in front of an old door.
After catching his breath, he turned the doorknob, and inside the dimly lit room was a man. He was sitting on the sofa with a bottle of liquor in his arms, sleeping with his eyes closed.
“Felix! Wake up, something terrible has happened!”
“…Hmm, ah? What is it, Luis?”
Felix opened his eyelids listlessly, scratching his unshaven chin.
“It’s not ‘what is it’! I was chased by a man I’ve never seen before! I got scared and shot him, but…”
“A man? One of Tzore’s guys?”
“I don’t know… but it looked like he had companions, so they might come for revenge.”
Felix curled the corner of his mouth.
“Hah, bring it on! Our comrades have been killed too. We were planning to settle things with them sooner or later, so this is perfect.”
Felix got up unsteadily from the sofa, walked to the door with faltering steps, turned the knob, and went outside.
Many vagrant-like people were loitering on the premises, and everyone turned their gaze to Felix.
“Tzore’s guys are coming to attack! Prepare to fight them off!!”
At Felix’s words, those who were there flushed with excitement and shouted bravely, “Is it finally happening!” “Let’s do it!!”
◇◇◇
The truck carrying Yuma and Rui had entered the Berlin city center.
They had reached a slightly larger street, so the two of them looked around, carefully searching for people.
“Still no one around. Does that mean they’re hiding somewhere?”
“Probably. It seems certain that monsters are roaming around, and if they’re thinking about safety, they can’t just go outside openly.”
“Hmm… that’s true.”
As Rui glanced at Yuma, who had a troubled look on his face, he turned the steering wheel to the right. At that moment—a dry sound rang out repeatedly, and cracks appeared in the windshield.
“Eh!? What’s this?”
“Yuma, get down! It’s gunfire!!”
“Ehh!?”
Rui tried to stop the truck suddenly, but before he could, a tremendous impact ran through it.
Looking out through the cracked windshield, he saw that the road in front of them had been blown up, and smoke was rising.
Rui stopped the truck, and he and Yuma quickly got out of the vehicle.
Looking around, they saw about ten men standing with firearms.
“We finally found people… but the atmosphere is kind of bad.”
Yuma looked at the men with a bewildered expression. Rui put an earphone-type translator in his ear and spoke to the man in front of him.
“Please listen! We are not enemies. We are Seekers who have come to defeat the monsters. Can you let us speak to the person in charge?”
At Rui’s words, the man in front of him laughed lightly, “Hun.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. Are you a foreigner? Well, whatever, as long as we get what we can get.”
The man approached while holding a pistol. The other men held rifles in their hands, looking at them with stagnant eyes.
Rui shifted his gaze. The men’s ages ranged from their twenties to their forties. Their clothes were dirty, and their skin was darkened. Were they a local vigilante group? Or—
As Rui was trying to decide, he heard a voice from behind.
“Hey, look! There’s food piled up!!”
Turning around, he saw a man opening the container doors without permission.
The other men also became excited, saying, “Seriously!” “Is it really food!?” Rui turned back to the man in front of him and said in a calm tone, “You can take the food. In return, can you tell us about the current situation in Germany? We just arrived in this country and don’t know anything.”
However, the other party was not wearing earphones. It seemed that they couldn’t understand his words.
Rui considered using the translation function on his smartphone to communicate, but before he could, he heard the other party’s words.
“What should we do with these guys? They don’t seem to be related to the Underground City guys, but…”
“Well, there’s no particular problem with killing them, right? Let’s do it.”
Hearing the dangerous conversation, Rui looked at Yuma. Yuma nodded and readied the Pickel he was holding.
—Looks like we have no choice but to fight… I wish we could hold back.
Rui placed his hand on the hilt of the Scorching Blade.