Chapter 46

Chapter 46

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“Mei-chan, don’t tell me… you used Reagent X!?”

It was very same that Goma’s narcotic that Mei-chan had once inhaled raw, causing her to rampage. It’s not currently on the level of a drug, but it’s a plainly hazardous substance nonetheless. Currently, she had an aura very similar to back then, when she absolutely slaughtered all those Goma and kind of tried to devour me as well.

She makes one powerless step forward like a wandering Zombie. A second, and third step. As she walks, she drips blood from her arms that had suffered severe cuts.

A fourth. As she makes that step, she raises her face.

And there, the usual gentle features were nowhere to be found. Eyebrows pushed together, the middle of her forehead was creased with absolute rage. Her pupils glazed in brilliant crimson, they looked like they belonged to a demon.oni

Taking in one large breath, the Berserker roars.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

“GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

For a third time, she and the Armor Bear clash.

Her gushing crimson aura leaves behind afterimages as Mei-chan accelerates. With speeds I didn’t think possible for human beings, she instantly closes the distance with enough force to leave the ground in her wake caved in in the shape of her shoes.

“UAAH!?”

Realizing that I was sitting in her path, I quickly rolled to the side and made way. But by the time I finished making those idiotic evasive maneuvers, she’d gotten to a much higher altitude than me. Jumping high, she made it all the way up to the biped-standing Armor Bear’s face (so an upward jump of 4 meters?). Making that inhuman jump, she landed her heavy soles right on the bear’s nose.

“FUGAHH!”

Must be the first time someone less than half its height kicked it smack dab in the face. The Armor Bear’s massive frame actually tilted.

But only a bit. Quickly swinging its head back around, the Armor Bear used one of its legs to brace its stance. It then swung an arm in a fierce counter.

“Hmph, HAAAA!! ”

After a sharp breath, her cry reverberates. Dodging the large swing with a swoop under, Mei-chan again lets her body fly, and with fists made in both hands, she pummels the Armor Bear’s gut in rapid fire. I seriously wondered whether I was seeing things, but the moment of impact, that stomach covered in incredibly tough skin, seemed to undulate.

“Goa!? GUAAAAAA!!”\nUnbelievably, human fists were dealing damage to an Armor Bear. There was the fact that she was targeting the area wounded by Pain Return, but still, what level of sheer force do you need in those fists to push back a beast 4 meters in size.

As fresh blood spewed from its recently made wound, the Armor Bear cries out in pain.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Continues Mei-chan’s barrage. As if the previous one-sided beating was completely turned on its head, the storming fists made a punching bag out of the Armor Bear, battering it mercilessly.

All that blood spattering everywhere, is it Mei-chan’s or from the Armor Bear? Even with her arms bloodied red, her aura only gained in intensity, venting like fire. Hit repeatedly, the solid steel armor warped, cracked, and widened even more at its opening.

“Gah, oaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

However, the tough bodied Armor Bear won’t go down just yet. Being in mortal combat this such of a fearsome human, as if to display its creed as a monster, the Armor Bear unleashes a powerful counter with its claws.

Versus that, Mei-chan swings back a fist, poising to unleash her most supreme straight. Like an arrow launching from its bow, a great, a powerful punch is let loose.

For a second, it looked as if, her scorching aura all gathered around that very tightly gripped fist, twisting sharply into a point like a raging tornado.

“— Pile BunkerArmor Splitter[1]”

That fist spiraling crimson broke past the Armor Bear’s chest. Bare human hands had penetrated a bosom of solid steel. Should be damn impossible, but right now I’m genuinely looking at Mei-chan’s right arm pierced into the center of the Armor Bear.

“Gho, HaAAaa…”

She pulls out her arm. A gaping hole, as if made with a large drill, appeared in the shell covering its chest. From there, clumps of blood began exiting like a waterspout, and finally, the great Armor Bear fell.

Its mouth still open after the cry of anguish, the Armor Bear ceased movement. Now letting out an unending slew of blood from its chest, the beast kept soaking in a sea of that same blood.

“Haa… Haah… Did it, I… Beat it, Kotarou-kun”

Arms drenched in red, Mei-chan who was dirtied in her enemy’s blood, looked to me and smiled. It was that very same, her usual, utterly gentle, beautiful smile. And held in that right hand, glistening bright crimson even while covered in blood, was a large crystal— the Armor Bear’s core.

Then, as if her strings were cut, she collapsed.

“Mei-chan!!”\nDamn, her stamina, mana, both of those must be at their limits. She defeated the Armor Bear without receiving any fatal wounds, but since she had to use that drug, there’s a chance she’ll incur deadly levels of exhaustion. And though I had attempted to alleviate the drug’s effects somewhat by mixing in the blueflower antidote in Reagent X, but we had no idea how effective it’d be.

“Shit, I’ll get more antidote and… No, I gotta do patch up her arms first”

Beside Mei-chan who’s fainted and lying on the ground, I turned over my bag and hurriedly prepared to treat her. Though I say treat, I’m only washing her wounds and applying meds on it. It’s just like the time when I found her in that fateful fairy square.

First I’ll use the remaining water in the plastic bottle to wash, to the best degree I can, her arms that look like they’ve been dipped in a barrel of blood. Just as I guessed, Mei-chan forewent using Ointment A to heal them and went straight for the Reagent X. It’s all thanks to that choice she made that I got out of receiving the Armor Bear’s deadly finisher. A so called point of divergence in my fate if you will.

Thank you. I can’t thank you enough. Just look at these arms, these horrible wounds. Luckily it didn’t get to her tendons, or cut deep enough to show bone, but the amount of bleeding was insane. To kill the Armor Bear bear-fisted in this state… Perhaps Mei-chan has already left the domain of humanity.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she needs immediate treatment. I’m thinking that with her Berserker skill #2, Blood Boost, she won’t die from blood loss even after losing a fair portion. She’s supposed to have shed a ton of blood, but her complexion still looks alright.

Her life isn’t in danger, is what I’d like to think.

I prayed to God. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to pray to Ruinhilde-sama, the God of curse, but even so, I prayed devoutly, while treating Mei-chan’s wounds.

“Haah… W-with this she’ll be…”

Alright, I wan’t to hope. At this time, I saw that Mei-chan was breathing gently in her sleep. Breathing, pulse, both look good. And her arms, with all that Ointment A I laid on, I’m sure I can leave the rest to her Blessed Body.

But I’ll be fully relieved when we’ve relocated to a fairy square. If we’re attacked by monsters as we are now, we’re done for. With me alone, I can take on one Zombie at most. If they come by the hordes, or if there’s even one Goar, that’s an instant game over.

 

“GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

 

That roar hitting my ears caused all my thoughts to freeze.

No, just NO, impossible. This, isn’t damn fair. As thoughts that attempted to escape reality appeared inside me, so did dreaded beast.

A second Armor Bear. Like the one over there with the gaping hole had, this one also entered slowly from a passage.

“A, u, aa…”

\n“UAAAAAAAAA!! Hot, TOO HOT!?”

I’m alive, I realized when I felt the afterburn hot enough to roast, and started rolling around yelling like a dumbass.

“Are you guys alright? Don’t die yet!”

“So this is that Armor Bear. Looks strong”

“Waah, this bear-san, looks kinda super tough”

“G-good luck, girls!”

Upbeat voices of girls go around. I’m not deluded enough to this these are from a bunch of playful angels from heaven. I’m alive. And I’m still in this hell we call the dungeon.

“Help! We can’t fight anymore!”

There isn’t one speck left of the me wishing for a nice peaceful death. Joy. The utter happy emotion I’m feeling to be alive is driving my soul towards survival. I legit don’t want to die, and almost can’t believe I was planning a means of suicide just now.

Whatever pain, whatever disgrace I face, I really, I just want to keep staying alive.

“Gauh! GOAAAH!!”

The Armor Bear made a ferocious roar at the new humans that appeared… but seeming to realize that it’s disadvantaged, it turned around and headed back into the passage it came from.

“Haah… Haah… Yes, YES… we’re saved”

In so much relief that I’d faint, I saw a real angel smiling.

“It’s a relief you’re alright, Momokawa-kun”

That smile from Souma Sakura, was simply, beautiful. Ah, if you smile at me like that, I’ll darn be heartstruck.

But right now, my heart’s so full of happy that I’m alive, that I can’t add in any love or any of that jazz. Look, I’m a simple dude: I see big tits, I’m all in.

Starting off with those rather rude first thoughts, I thus met Souma Sakura, and her merry bunch.