Moly Herb ⑥
I instinctively held my breath.
“It’s like a pulverizer.”
“Nn… Boy. Dangerous… Get back more…”
“Y-Yes. I’m sorry!”
I moved further back as told.
Blades of wind howled from the Hobgoblin’s saber’s mini-tornado.
It was raging all around, extremely dangerous.
In fact, a dislodged stone flew towards me.
I erased it with [ Vanish ].
With that thing, you can’t approach carelessly.
Half-hearted attacks probably won’t work either.
What does Liv-san intend to do?
“…Sky Form… Subaru… Keraino Blade!”
The Blade glowed yellow, and Liv-san casually threw the Blade.
Eh? If she does that, the Blade will… Just as I expected, it was easily deflected by the mini-tornado.
The Hobgoblin sneered.
Why would she do that— The Blade soared high into the air and stopped dead.
Stopped? And then it traced an arc in the air and fell vertically.
It thrust from above at the Hobgoblin, who hadn’t noticed that directly above the tornado was undefended— but it was deflected by the wind.
“…Nn…?”
The sword flew wide and embedded itself in the wall.
“…Nn.”
When Liv-san flicked her finger, the Blade pulled itself out and danced through the air.
It settled into her hand.
The Hobgoblin sneered.
It wreathed its saber in wind and unleashed three small tornadoes at Liv-san.
“…Sky Form… Subaru… Maia Blade.”
Liv-san’s Blade glowed red, and she slashed at all three small tornadoes— but they burst just before impact.
“Nn… Guh…!”
Liv-san was thrown back hard, but she somehow endured it. However, the Blade fell from her hand.
The Hobgoblin didn’t miss that opening.
With wind-like speed, it aimed its wind-wreathed saber at Liv-san’s torso.
“Nn… Gaha…!”
Hit by the intense wind strike, Liv-san crashed into the sharp rock wall and collapsed.
“Liv-san!?”
I rushed towards Liv-san frantically.
“…Good. She’s just unconscious.”
She was unharmed precisely because her equipment was on a different level.
Piercing from above. Liv-san’s aim was good.
But the Hobgoblin had read even that.
The Hobgoblin wore a somehow triumphant, evil smile.
It had completely mastered the [ Wind ] Relic and the OOPArts.
I honestly thought: It’s strong.
Can even a monster become this strong if it possesses an OOPArts that’s compatible with its Relic?
Liv-san isn’t weak. She’s Tier III.
If this thing only had its Relic, she could have won easily.
Just by adding the OOPArts— can it make such a difference?
“…What’s so funny?”
I asked. Quietly angry.
The Hobgoblin sneered mockingly and pointed its saber at me.
Several small tornadoes formed around the wind-wreathed saber.
I understood it was showing off its power.
It acted like a victor, no, a king, still possessing this much power.
Power?
Is it the Relic? Or the OOPArts?
I see. Finding a compatible OOPArts might indeed be luck, or perhaps skill.
It also possessed the Relic from birth.
Viewing that as power is one way to look at it.
So it wants to consider both the Relic and the OOPArts as its own power, the power of the strong.
Believing that having obtained them makes it a king.
I see. If you want to flaunt your power so much, then I’ll show you.
What power truly is— I used the Fourth Relic, [ ■■■■■ ].
Instantly, my hair and eyes turned purple.
“!?”
The Hobgoblin was astonished.
And it sent all the small tornadoes it had generated towards me.
But it was all useless.
“It’s over.”
I held out my hand and activated the Fifth Relic, [ Phantasmagoria ].
Countless [ Vanish ] appeared, erasing the small tornadoes and the Hobgoblin.
It was erased dispassionately, without even a scream.
The saber fell with a lonely clang. Only silence remained afterward.
I sighed.
“Is this what you call power? How absurd.”
I deactivated the Fourth Relic. My eyes and hair returned to normal.
I went to Liv-san’s side. I noticed the Blade had returned.
Auto-mode, maybe?
I waited until Liv-san woke up.
“…Boy…”
“Yes. Are you alright?”
“…Safe…”
“I’m fine.”
“…Good…”
She gave a faint smile and stood up.
“Liv-san. Are you okay to be up?”
“Nn… Why is Liv…”
“You were blown away by the tornado.”
That much was true. Liv-san slowly looked around.
“Nn… The Hob… Goblin…”
“After your attack, Liv-san, it got torn apart by the tornado.”
“………”
Liv-san silently picked up the saber.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Nn… It’s an OOPArts… Take it back. Boy… Your errand… is…”
“Ah, um…”
I had asked Liv-san to help me search the Cave thoroughly.
This is the only place left.
I desperately looked around, searching, and— Moly Herb… There it was!
The Moly Herb was growing in a corner behind where the Hobgoblin had been.
“…Boy…”
“I found it. This is it!”
I checked it against the illustration just to be sure.
No doubt about it. But I thought this when I saw the illustration too.
That the real thing would resemble that plant from my previous life so closely.
“Nn… That’s what you were looking for…”
“Y-Yes. It’s a morning glory. No, wait. It’s Moly Herb.”
I almost slipped up.
The Moly Herb looked exactly like a morning glory.
It resembled it so much you could say it was one.
Though its properties are probably completely different.
Still… it really looks like a morning glory.
It’s not a vine, but the shape of the flower is pure morning glory.
It makes me feel somewhat nostalgic.
Memories from my past life. When I was in elementary school.
Before summer vacation, we had to bring home a potted morning glory.
But I forgot to bring it home, and by the time I realized, I’d let it wither.
It’s a bitter memory.
Since then, I haven’t really looked at morning glories much.
I’m surprised to encounter something like a morning glory in my reincarnated life.
“Nn… Boy. Good… for you…”
“Y-Yes.”
I gathered five Moly Herbs.
“Nn… Boy. Beside you…”
“Eh? Whoaah!?”
Next to the Moly Herb, the corpse of someone in tattered armor was sitting slumped over.
It was completely skeletal.
“…This sheath…”
Liv-san boldly took the leather sheath the corpse was wearing.
The saber fit perfectly inside.
“Is this the saber’s owner?”
“Nn… Probably…”
Perhaps because it was disturbed, the corpse suddenly crumbled and weathered away as it fell sideways.
Only the tattered armor and clothes remained.
I clasped my hands together instinctively.
Namu Amida Butsu. May you rest in peace.
“…What are you doing…”
“Just offering a little prayer.”
“Nn… Prayer… Ah.”
Liv-san pulled something out from amidst the bone dust.
It’s amazing how she can stick her fingers into bone dust without hesitation.
“What’s that?”
“Nn… Tag… Seeker Emblem… Saw it… shining…”
“This person. They were a Seeker, huh.”
“…Nn… Tier IV…”
“The Emblem. What will you do with it?”
“Nn… Deliver to the Guild… There’s a thing for that… It’s a memento… so…”
“Huh…”
Suddenly, I wondered, if I became a Seeker and dropped dead somewhere out there…
Would someone bring my Emblem to the Guild as a memento?
Of course, I could die before even becoming a Seeker.
It wouldn’t be strange if something happened tomorrow and I died.
This corpse could be me tomorrow.
“Nn… Boy. Let’s go home…”
“Yes.”
We left the Cave.