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CHAPTER 5 – CONNECTING THE DIFFERENT THREADS
PART 03
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Bahamut had his snout pointed at us as a pillar of fire suddenly rained down from the sky. Lea grabbed the Dark Matter, swallowed it down and immediately summoned a water spout.
The fire and water met head-on, creating a heavy blanket of steam.
“GUUUUURRRRGH!”
“Haha, so that is your source of energy? Looks quite delicious. Why don’t you share a bite with me too?”
Bahamut’s teasing voice sounded out from behind the curtain of steam.
Had the high-energy Dark Matter somehow lured Bahamut over?
No, the fiery magical attack had been directly towards us. But he shouldn’t be able to spot us under the invisibility spell…
“S-Sorry Rekka-sama! Their magical power is too overwhelming, so my spell was broken~!”
“Really!? Quick, cast another one-”
“I can’t until the magical field has settled down again, because this spell is quite delicate~”
Harissa explained tearfully.
This was bad. Even if Lea could continue to ward off Bahamut’s attacks, it would be almost impossible for us to escape.
Wait, Lea!
“Urgh! Damn you!”
In contrast to the relaxed Bahamut, Lea was gritting her teeth in effort. Though she had just regained some energy, it didn’t seem like it was enough to stand off against Bahamut.
We would need a lot more Dark Matter to restore her original strength as the “most powerful creature”.
“Now, time for a stronger attack.”
As soon as I heard these words, a pillar of fire much larger than the previous one pierced through the steam, bashing through Lea’s magic.
“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWARRRGH!!”
For a moment, Lea’s water spout held against the attack…but was slowly overpowered.
But that moment was enough for Lea.
“AARRRGH!!”
Just before the pillar of fire descended upon us, Lea twisted her water spout, deflecting the fire’s direction away.
Thanks to her, we managed to escape being burned alive, but…
“Fufu, how careless.”
“!?”
…All her energy depleted, Lea was unable to react as Bahamut charged up and sent her flying with a kick from his thick leg.
“Gyaaah!?”
Lea fell to the ground rolling, before colliding against a large rock.
“Urgh!”
Bahamut then shifted his gaze…to me.
Shit! The invisibility spell was gone.
“Rekka!”
“Rekka-sama!”
Satsuki and Harissa made to rush over, but,
“What a nuisance.”
The two girls suddenly flew backwards through the air, as if they had been hit by a large invisible object.
“No, Bahamut!”
“Oh dear, didn’t I tell you it’s alright to call me Baa-kun?”
“Don’t take me for a fool!”
Just how far was he going to play with us like that?
Bahamut clicked his talons together as the corner of his lips lifted in a smile.
“Namidare Rekka, I wonder what those girls would do if you died here?” He wondered out loud, as if enjoying himself.
“…Then answer my questions before you kill me.”
“Hmm?”
“Was the story you told us entirely made of lies?”
“Of course.”
“Did you really ravage the Earth?”
“That was so much fun.”
“…What about that magical girl costume?”
“That was just to have some fun at your expense.”
My annoyance rose at Bahamut’s chortling…but there was still more.
“When we were descending underground…it wasn’t a coincidence that your magical light went out and that rock almost landed on Satsuki?”
“That’s because she is a wielder of the Great Magic of Creation. I managed to manipulate her in the beginning so she wouldn’t discover my true past, but it would be trouble if she dug out the information later on.”
“Then why didn’t you target me before Satsuki came along?”
“Well, that was what I’d planned, Namidare Rekka. Unfortunately, you managed to find Tetra and hear her story before I could reach you. If not, you would be completely under my control now.”
Yes, he had suddenly appeared and offered a helping hand, and I had jumped right in.
The story just seemed more ridiculous the more I thought about it, and I berated myself for not realizing it sooner. I had been so desperate for help that I had trusted him without thought.
To think that my idiocy had put Satsuki in danger…!
“I’ll never forgive you!”
“It doesn’t matter to me. Alright, ready to die?”
“Huh!?”
My rage clouded my brain, as I saw Bahamut charge towards me, talons raised.
It was too late to escape…!
I guess subjucating a “monster” was really a hero or god’s job, not meant for an ordinary human like me…
Yes.
I was just too ordinary.
In the face of death, my limbs were frozen as my field of vision narrowed, making me unable to react in the slightest manner.
And because of that,
“Rekka-san!”
…I could only watch as Tetra pounced and pushed me out of the way, putting herself right in the line of Bahamut’s attack.
The “monster”‘s talons pierced through Tetra’s shoulder.
“Ah! Aaaah…!”
“Tetra!”
Tetra’s pained cries pulled me back to reality.
“Oh dear, now look at what you’ve done. I’d only meant to slash you.”
Bahamut laughed as he pulled his talons out from Tetra’s flesh.
Blood immediately gushed from the wound as Tetra swayed and collapsed backwards.
“Tetra? Oi, hang on!”
Catching her, I continued to shout her name.
“……”
There was no reply.
Her pale skin was slowly turning white as her eyes remained shut.
No…! No…! This couldn’t be happening!!
The elephant demon, body stained scarlet with Tetra’s blood, laughed scornfully at my panic.
“What’s wrong? Go on, run away, or her sacrifice would go to was…te… W-Wh-Wh-Wha…! What’s this!?”
Bahamut’s disdainful voice suddenly morphed into cries of pain.
“Gyaahh! Guuueeeeehh! What is this!? My body, too hot…! I’m melting…!?”
Bahamut’s body was smoking and melting, as if it had been splashed with sulfuric acid…
“…That’s right!”
The guardian’s blood was Bahamut’s weakness.
Tetra had said that her blood could burn and inflame his body.
Was that the reason why she jumped in the way!?
“Tetra! You idiot! Why did you do that!?”
“Ahh… R-Rekka-san?”
Tetra slowly opened her eyes, as if hearing my angry cries. So she was still alive…but her body was getting colder by the minute! The wound hadn’t hit her heart, but it was small comfort to the amount of blood gushing from the wound.
“Tetra is so glad…Rekka-san is alright.”
She whispered in a tiny voice.
How could she?
How could she say that with a smile?
As if nothing else mattered to her.
“Idiot! Why would you save someone like me…!?”
“Please don’t…say that. Tetra is…so happy, that Rekka-san wants to save her village with her.”
Tetra’s breathing turned shallow. I’d kept one hand pressed tight against her wound, but the blood continued to flow through my fingers. It was truly a hopeless situation.
Ignoring Bahamut, who was jumping around frantically wiping the blood from his body, I lifted Tetra in my arms and dashed towards the fallen Satsuki.
“Satsuki! Satsuki, get up!”
“Mmn… Rekka…!? Tetra-san! What happened!?”
“Just hurry and heal her! Harissa! Can you wake Harissa too!?”
“Uuh! Aah…y-yes! My head is still spinning.”
“Sorry to force this upon you, but Tetra’s in danger! Get Harissa and work together to heal her!”
“N-No problem!”
“Thanks!”
Without any knowledge of first-aid, there was nothing I could do to help. Tetra’s life was now in their hands…