Ikana Village – Entrance
A light explosion echoed from the outskirts of the village, followed by a plume of smoke that quickly enveloped us, stealing our vision in an instant. This smoke didn’t contain any poison, so that wasn’t the problem. However, the enemy wasn’t just the Makiba Squad standing right in front of us.
“Nahhahaha… I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show. Are you going to kill me? My subordinates are already prepared for that, so it’s no problem at all.”
Makiba squatted down, displaying a relaxed demeanor. Even if we were to take him out in one strike, it wouldn’t solve anything. On the contrary, he was making it clear that doing so would only put us in a difficult position.
“If you kill me, the traps I’ve set throughout the forest will scatter all the flora and fauna, you know? If you want to disarm them, you’ll have to keep me alive.”
“When did you set those up…?”
“I’ve got more experience in hunting in the jungle than you do.”
From within the smoke, something heavy was unleashed, piercing through houses and fields with a resounding thud. It sounded like something thick and hard, and it wasn’t just one or two of them. It felt like there were ballistae, the weapons we encountered when we infiltrated Avangarde Castle, set up all around.
“This is bad…! The village!”
“Exactly! And now, the second act!”
“Uwaaaah!”
They targeted the women and children we had sheltered inside the houses. From the smoke, Makiba’s subordinates lunged at them, and I could hear their screams.
“How despicable!”
“There’s no such thing as fair play in a fight or a hunt! The one who prepares thoroughly and exploits weaknesses wins! It’s simple, isn’t it? Now, are you just going to stand there like a fool?!”
“Sure.”
I replied in a tone that matched Makiba’s, fueled by my anger. Perhaps thinking I was just frustrated, Makiba continued his unique laughter. But that laughter wouldn’t last for long.
“Nahhahaha!”
“Doom!”
“Guh!”
“Gyaah!”
“Nahhahaha… Huh?”
What came crashing down near Makiba wasn’t a villager. It was one of his subordinates, who had lost their weapon mid-flight and fell unarmed. They were undoubtedly a former adventurer, but I didn’t recognize their face.
“Haah! Oh! What do we have here!”
Makiba looked down at his subordinate, who had likely been taken out in one blow. He then realized that the screams echoing from various places weren’t from the villagers.
“Gaaahh!”
“Zaguh…”
“Ka, Kadow! Tsuuchi! These guys must be over level 1000! The Flash Strike Girl is here, so I see! Ambush, huh? Well played!”
Those were the names of the two who had just flown in. He was clapping his thighs in delight, but I wondered what he found so amusing. He called us women and children, but did he even know what kind of people lived in this village?
“Makiba, Captain… they’re strong…”
“We don’t even have time to chant…”
“With sickles and hoes…”
“Then it’s time for the second round of the natural artillery!”
Another bombardment was coming. There were artillery pieces in the forest, and someone was operating them, so we needed to stop that. Regardless, this smoke and those artillery pieces wouldn’t mean anything in front of that girl.
“Thermograph activated. Enemy positions identified. Fire!”
“Zudaaa!”
“Zugoooh… kuuh!”
“Ugh…”
Platiu’s Seraphim didn’t care that her vision was obscured. No matter what was in the forest, she pinpointed the enemy’s location and took them out with a dispersive laser. The sight of the beautiful arcs of light striking only the enemies was like a pale blue rain falling. She aimed for limbs and other incapacitating spots without hitting any vital areas, as expected of her.
“Is this Metallica’s military gear? The trickster beast is quite something!”
“Captain Makiba, it seems we can’t handle them with a scout team below level 1000. Should we move?”
“Alright! First, let’s burn the forest!”
“…! Are we really going to set it ablaze…? Understood.”
One of Makiba’s nearby subordinates was holding something that looked like a string. I figured it was for activating traps, so I quickly brought my fist down on their hand, crushing it to the bone. Before they could scream, I snatched the string away.
“Ughhh! It hurts! Ahhh! My arm, my arm!”
“You’re A-Rank or B-Rank, right? That’s a bit overdramatic. Or have you forgotten what pain feels like after not getting hurt for a while?”
“Shut up! Ge… Ough…”
This time, I delivered a blow to their solar plexus. If they only leveled up, I could hit them without holding back. They vomited something weird and collapsed; I might have gone too far.
“My vice-captain took them out in one hit!”
“What’s going on here? You know what happens if you burn the forest, right?!”
“What? Are you pretending to be an environmentalist after causing all this chaos? We humans are part of nature too! If our actions lead to destruction, that’s just the way of nature! No problem at all!”
“Beast Hunter Makiba. Ranked 11th in A-Rank. He has a top-three record in beast extermination, but his aggressive methods have drawn criticism from various organizations.”
Platiu chimed in, providing explanations as she floated nearby. According to the data, he had driven several rare animals to extinction, and there was no good information about him. At this point, I wondered if being part of a Special Operations Unit would cause less damage than being an adventurer.
“By the way, you seem quite relaxed, Flash Strike Girl!”
“I was just lost in thought. Well, it’s fine. I’ll take you down now.”
“Take me down? Do you know who I am? I’m the vice-captain of the Makiba Squad, A-Rank ‘Painter’! Oeugh…”
I was curious about the Painter class, but I could just ask Platiu about it later. I hoped they would just sink into oblivion. However, they were holding something that looked like a large brush, which only piqued my interest further.
“Rein took them out in one hit! You know the plan, right? Operation Three――――”
“There’s no need for a plan.”
The remaining squad members also had to endure a bit of pain. I made them feel the agony of having every bone in their bodies shattered before they fainted. The Painter was lucky; they didn’t have to roll around screaming like the others.
“Ah, ahhh, Aaaah, Iiiiii…!”
“Uu, Iii, Huu, Huu…!”
“Everyone’s in pain, right? Makiba, you’re next.”
If everyone had been around level 2000, it might not have been this easy. No, according to Platiu, even then, they wouldn’t be able to match my physical abilities. There had been research in the Kingdom of Metallica about how far humans could reach if there were no level caps. They simulated data from various individuals, from ordinary people to those exceptional enough to reach A-Rank, and all the data was below mine.
Growth rates and everything else vary by individual, so the same level doesn’t guarantee the same strength. I thought I had become this strong through hard work, but now it seemed I might have been mistaken. Was it because of this hybrid thing? A mutation from mixed blood; it felt like that was what made me a monster.
“Now, only Captain Makiba is left.”
“Nahhahaha… You can’t kill me unless you disarm the traps in the forest.”
“Don’t worry; Elmera and Meria will handle that just fine.”
“Hey, big sister. You always leave it to others like that.”
“It’s not that they’ll handle it; they already did. They’ve accomplished it, so it’s something to be proud of.”
The strange sisters strolled over, engaging in their odd conversation. Behind them, Nemea followed slowly, dragging along a few members of the Makiba Squad. She tossed three of them in front of Makiba, and he should have realized that no matter what traps Nemea set, he wouldn’t win against someone who had hunted so many magical beasts.
“What the… how pathetic…”
He gritted his white teeth, his jaw trembling as he couldn’t accept his defeat. This time, I hadn’t done much at all. All the Makiba Squad members who had attacked from the forest were taken down by the villagers and Nemea. Since there were even children among them, he couldn’t say anything arrogant anymore.
“It’s like a den of monsters! I couldn’t do it alone! No, I should have prepared for a longer time!”
“You’ve been acting all high and mighty, but aren’t you going to fight yourself?”
“Beast Hunter Makiba. He possesses great skill but rarely engages in direct confrontation. His cautiousness, which some might call cowardice, is the secret to his strength.”
Platiu was reading something again. It was an introduction that I couldn’t quite tell if it was a compliment or an insult. But since Makiba didn’t seem angry, I figured it must be true.
“That’s right. Going head-to-head is something only a fool would do. The reason I showed myself this time is that I thought it was only right to convey the restraints on Juke and Bongo through my own mouth as the captain,” he said.
“Why are you so serious about that part?”
“Rua-chan, you’re quite good at making comebacks, just like us!”
“That’s impressive!”
I wished these sisters would keep quiet. And the fact that they thought we were similar sent a chill down my spine. I could end up like those two? What’s so impressive about that? It’s not cute at all when adult women clap their hands and act all giddy.
“Now then… Makiba, we’re safe like this, but…”
“Some things just can’t be done. I’m at my wit’s end. Do whatever you want with me, boil me or roast me.”
“How straightforward.”
“That’s what hunting is all about.”
“Just like this.”
“Ugh… huff…”
A blade protruded from Makiba’s chest. It was quickly pulled out, and as Makiba swayed unsteadily, her eyes lost focus, and she collapsed.
“…What just happened?”
Makiba had already lost consciousness; it was clear she was dead on the spot. Despite her level exceeding a thousand, she had been struck precisely at her vital point. There were no hidden ambushers lurking as Makiba had claimed. One of the soldiers I had knocked out was moving, undeterred by his broken body.
“We’ve been hunted.”
“Like this.”
“Against each other.”
“Hunting each other.”
The fallen soldier rose groggily, picked up a weapon, and swayed unsteadily as he faced off against Makiba.
“Killing each other.”
“Everyone! Run! Get as far away as you can!”
That was all I could say. There should still be soldiers lying unconscious throughout the village. They might suddenly rise and attack, despite my belief that I had taken them down. I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to respond to such a situation on the fly. Thanks to Meria’s efforts to ensure the villagers wouldn’t be manipulated, we had avoided the worst-case scenario.
“Rua-chan! It’s better to gather everyone in one place! If there’s no worry about being controlled, it’ll be easier to protect them!”
“You’re right… I’ll leave that to you!”
I couldn’t let the soldiers become Nentro’s puppets any longer. Just as I feared, they began to turn on each other. Nentro was anticipating my movements to protect everyone. While they fought amongst themselves, they would also attack the villagers. He was trying to spread the targets as much as possible to complicate things for me. He must have been watching me all along. It was truly despicable.
“Meria! Do you have any idea where Nentro is?!”
“Yes, indeed. The… Marionette Chain that Rua mentioned actually has a fatal flaw.”
“That’s good to hear!”
“In the end, if you trace the threads, you’ll reach the source… and beyond that…”
Meria pointed outside the village.
“The Royal Capital, huh?”
It seemed Nentro really wanted to stir up trouble. The fact that he was extending the Marionette Chain all the way from the Royal Capital to Ikana Village meant he had grown stronger than before.
Thinking back, I had been connected to the Neo Demon Lord Army all along. The Demon Lord and my father, my father and my mother, and then me. We were all connected like threads, and even if the Demon Lord Army was annihilated, those ties wouldn’t break. To truly sever them, I might have to defeat Nentro. But I understood from Shin’s resolve that it wouldn’t be enough.
“The one being controlled is Nentro… and you too, surely…”
Suppressing the surge of pity that welled up inside me, we set our sights on the Royal Capital without hesitation.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Shin can do nothing.
All I can do is pray.
Even among the same demon kin, Shin’s words did not reach them.
Because they could not acknowledge it.