The Predator of the Old Age

The Alberoelva of the present age was a large, sluggish monster.

Ordinarily it slowed its own metabolism to an extreme, surviving on the barest trace of nutrients. With a camouflage that made its own body look like a forest, it almost never revealed itself, tucking its limbs and head away and living in quiet stillness.

But when it fought, it was not so slow. It could move the miniature garden growing on its back at will, lashing out with vines — a more cunning creature than one might expect.

In ancient times, however, the Alberoelva had been nothing like that sluggish beast.

Back then it had no miniature garden wrapping its shell, nowhere to hide inside it, and so it had to fight every monster it met. There was no need to slow its metabolism. On the contrary, it had been a vicious, swift predator.

Its powerful jaws crushed stone as if it were nothing. Inside its mouth, hundreds of sharp protrusions jutted out to completely pulverize whatever it bit. The shell, split like a net of plates, rose one by one into blades the moment hostility showed. And when it moved in response to motion, those raised blade-plates tore enemies apart outright.

The tail, bristling with blades, was especially lethal.

This was not the lazy turtle the hunters knew. It was a monster that recreated the age when beasts ran wild — a predator of the old world.

From atop the wall, the branch chief clenched his fist and looked down on the battlefield.

"It won't even flinch."

They had fired the cannons the moment battle began. But the creature, armored in shell, merely shook off the ash and did not move. If anything, the barrage only enraged it further. It slammed a foreleg into the ground, lifted its head, and wrenched its jaws open, howling at the sky like a wolf.

———KYAAaaaa!!!

Its head turned slowly as the long, drawn-out roar rolled on. The shell plates covering its upper body moved as if each one were alive, rattling open and shut again and again. Trees and undergrowth around it heaved and swayed under the force of that cry.

The hunters nearest the roar let out strangled sounds.

"Ghh…"

"Ugh, what is that noise…"

Alice, too, hastily clapped her hands over her ears against a roar no ordinary monster could match.

"Nnh…"

With both hands sealing her ears, a tinnitus still rang inside her skull, making her brain ache. No monster she had ever faced had produced a roar like this.

So this is an upper-tier monster.

With a single roar, it had seized the initiative. The terror of being eaten by that thing bloomed in Alice's chest.

Prey and predator. In an instant, she had been reduced to prey in this fight. It was a feeling she had never known before.

But the emotion settled just as quickly.

Stay calm.

While the other hunters were still reeling from the roar, Alice was the first to start walking.

The appearance of an ancient variant would have been an unthinkable variable for everyone. The five days of preparation had all been for a single original-species Alberoelva. They had poured everything into one monster — and if that monster had been a fake, of course the strategy would fall apart.

What they had to face now was not the original species lying collapsed far off, but the ancient one.

In Alice's judgment, in a situation like this, the only person who knew the creature had to step forward.

She gripped the Bloodhorn Greatsword and let it trail behind her. A razor-edged aura settled over the blade — a sword meant to kill a natural enemy. Then she charged straight at the Alberoelva.

What will it try first? How should I respond? What kind of attack should I open with here?

Countless thoughts crossed through her mind. From among them, one clear answer rose.

Just hit it and see.

It might be an upper-tier monster incomparably more dangerous than mid-tier, but in the end it was still a monster.

I won't give up. If I go all the way, I win. I've killed you plenty of times already.

Alice tightened her grip on the Bloodhorn Greatsword's hilt.

They had to hold Antico against that nameless, unknown monster.

People who lived on the outer fringe, pressed up against unexplored land, always carried that readiness in their hearts. To protect their home, they could even call up superhuman strength.

"Push!"

People gathered and shoved the cannons that the recoil of firing had driven backward. The massive guns used against monsters weighed well over several tons — a weight no one could move alone. Together they shifted every cannon into place.

They had to drive it back. They had to bring the thing down, no matter what.

Shells were loaded into the barrels and the guns set into the embrasures of the wall. Hands were ready on the levers at the rear of the barrels.

"Branch Chief! We're ready!"

A hunter shouted up from below the wall. The Association branch chief nodded and looked out beyond the rampart, at the hunters fighting the Alberoelva.

That hunter…

What caught the branch chief's eye was the greatsword-wielder standing at the very front. He knew her. As head of the Antico Association branch, there was no way he wouldn't. Among all the hunters gathered there, she had the least experience — and yet she displayed abilities bordering on the miraculous. Alice, whose name had been rising through the industry of late, even receiving a royal princess's named commission.

Alice slipped the Alberoelva's attacks with practiced ease while staying as close as she could. The Alberoelva, for its part, focused only on the girl who clung so maddeningly to its face. Because of that, its attention rarely strayed to the other hunters. It fixed on Alice with obsessive persistence — and thanks to that, the others could steadily chip away at the blade-shell and pile damage onto its flesh.

"Ghh…"

"Hey, you all right?"

Hunters caught in its attacks were hauled clear by their comrades and given emergency treatment. In an ordinary hunt, stopping to help someone like that would have been suicide — a monster would never wait. But Alice was keeping the Alberoelva's gaze locked, pressing in tight and taking every threat on herself.

So that's what she was aiming for.

It was the kind of move that only came from absolute confidence in her own skill.

Watching, the branch chief clenched his fist and shouted.

"Everyone fall back! We're firing!"

At his cry the hunters withdrew and reset their formation. But Alice still did not pull away. She did not believe the Alberoelva would simply sit still and take it. If it closed in while they retreated, they risked being caught in the bombardment — a bad situation.

…The distance is enough.

Alice calmly calculated the pattern in her mind. There had not been a single mistake so far. There could be none going forward either.

The corner of her mouth lifted. A fight with her life on the line set her chest burning. Fighting monsters always made her head feel a little wrong. The excitement welling up from somewhere deep wanted nothing but struggle.

The creature drew its long neck back. Shell and flesh folded inward until it looked like a turtle that had pulled its head into its shell. Then it shot its head forward at Alice, who was still close, jaws yawning wide. The mouth studded with hundreds of protrusions lunged savagely to crush ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her.

Alice slid low in a flash, ducking under its jaw, and cut upward. Blood soaked into the Bloodhorn Greatsword, and its edge grew sharper still.

The left foreleg swept across the ground. Claws and blade-shell gouged the earth, flinging shards. Alice planted her right hand and twisted clear, then scraped her right foot along the greatsword. The honed edge of the Bloodhorn Greatsword smashed through the Alberoelva's blade-shell and bit in.

The creature swung its tail. The sweep that scoured the ground bowled over the hunters around it in a single stroke.

"Gyaaah—!"

"Ghh!"

Short screams rose from the hunters. Caught by the blades on the tail, even those in armor were left in tatters. Every one of its attacks was lethal. A single careless hit would create a situation that could not be undone. The more she knew its patterns, the harder Alice herself had to push.

Then the Alberoelva raised its right foreleg high. To crush the insect that was weaker than itself and yet clung like a mayfly, it raised its shell-blades and brought the leg down.

Now.

She had been waiting for the instant it stamped toward her head. This time she did not dodge. Alice gave the hilt a slight turn. From the Luga-lac Essence set in the socket, a dark crimson aura spread.

The power of the Essence wrapped her whole body. Veins stood out blue along her arms, and a soaring sense that she could do anything flooded through her. Eyes gone blood-red with a monster's frenzy watched the attack all the way through.

Alice drove the greatsword straight up.

This time — with the flat, not the edge—

Greatsword and Alberoelva's sole rushed toward each other.

Clang—!

A clear, ringing note spread as blade-shell met steel. Perfect timing. Arm muscles pushed past their limit screamed as if they would tear, but even that felt good to Alice. She had never used it this way in the game — and it had worked. Even an attack from that enormous body could be turned aside like this.

The blow rebounded, and the shock passed straight into the Alberoelva. It flinched and had to gather itself. Alice stepped back and looked up at the wall. Her eyes met the branch chief's, and she nodded.

"Fire!"

The Alberoelva's body was exposed to the guns. Shells flew again and struck it head-on.

———KRRAAAaa!!

Unlike the first volley, the Alberoelva hit by the barrage staggered backward with a howl of pain. Struck where the shell had already broken, it reeled. A few loosened blades clattered to the ground.

Catching that, the branch chief shouted to the hunters.

"It's vulnerable where the shell is gone!"

Where the armor that protected the Alberoelva's body had shattered, the flesh beneath was softer than expected. Alice watched the creature emerge through the acrid smoke. It still could not kill its aggressive nature, still radiated hostility.

"Anyone who can't fight, fall back and regroup!"

For Alice, retreat was not an option. She steadied her breath, shook out her hands, and went forward again.

Two successive barrages had been fairly devastating to the Alberoelva. Where the blade-shell had been stripped away, blades sank in easily, leaving it defenseless against the hunters' attacks. Occasional arrows needled at its nerves. The ancient Alberoelva shut its eyes against the incoming shafts and snorted.

It had opened its eyes in a strange place that was not its original home. It had only been hungry, and so it had gone for the monster in front of it. But far from eating anything, it was suffering this humiliation at the hands of these tiny things. In short, the entire situation was extreme stress for the creature.

A sharp killing intent spread outward from the Alberoelva. It breathed hard and rough.

———Rrrrr….

Its body trembled. The hide beneath the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shell began to writhe in a grotesque ripple, as if something were about to burst free.

No — it was about to burst free.

I'd forgotten because of its sudden appearance. This pattern is…

Alice caught the change and drew a deep breath.

"Everyone block—! Get clear!"

She shouted louder than was like her, then drove the greatsword into the ground in front of her and hid behind the flat of the blade. No one questioned what she was doing. Trusting her, they raised shields or ducked behind trees at once.

The Alberoelva snapped its whole body open as if flinging itself wide.

———AAAaa!!

At the same time, new shell plates erupted from beneath the hide. The blade-shells that had been fixed to its body were shoved out by the new growth and flung away — becoming bullets that shredded everything in every direction.

Ting—!

The sound of metal striking metal rang again and again off the greatsword. Shell fragments peppered the wall in a dense rain. One hunter on the rampart who failed to duck toppled limply downward, a plate driven through his skull, already dead.

That was not all. Hunters who had not covered themselves in time were left completely ruined — blade-shells punched through their bodies so thickly they could not even close their eyes as they died.

Seeing it, Alice breathed hard and rough.

This place really is a cruel world. Humans die so easily, so meaninglessly.

A vision flickered before her eyes — the form of Miteraos, the one that had hurled her into this place. An unaccountable rage surged up from her chest.

People died. There, and here. I — I have to kill that thing.

The Essence power that filled her moved of its own accord. Dark crimson wrapped her body, and bloodshot veins rose thicker in her eyes. The liberation that followed lifted Alice to her feet. Light kindled in both eyes.

"Ghh, kid… you okay?"

"Hah, Grandpa!"

Matillo gritted his teeth as he looked at Pina beneath him. Two shell plates were buried in his back. The moment he saw the fragments flying in through the embrasure, he had thrown himself over her. An instinctive decision. If he hadn't, Pina would have died on the spot.

"Hah, Grandpa, your back…"

"This kind of wound is nothing. And what's with 'Grandpa,' huh? I may be a bit old, but…"

Matillo clenched his teeth and shifted aside so Pina could get up. Then he gestured at the man standing nearby.

"You there — don't just stare. Pull them out."

"Y-yes, sir!"

The ancient Alberoelva's shell scatter. An attack it used under extreme stress — forcibly ejecting the shell plates slowly regenerating beneath the skin and spraying the old ones in every direction to shred its enemies. Forming new shell took time, so it could not use the technique often, but that only made it all the more lethal and dangerous.

"…What in the world."

The branch chief refused to despair and kept his head. The sudden scatter had left the surroundings in chaos. Shell that had punched through the embrasures was lodged in people inside the wall. Inside the fortifications it had at least stopped there — outside was complete devastation. If he had not ducked, the branch chief himself would have died where he stood.

A surviving hunter beside him spoke.

"Branch Chief, what do we do now…!"

"…Everyone, stay calm! Wounded to the rear. Bodies… recover what you can."

The branch chief looked at the ancient Alberoelva. Forcing the shell out seemed to have left even it tingling; it was not moving. Blood was actually seeping from the gaps of the newly grown plates. But the hunters' losses were worse than the creature's wounds.

"A monster of the Anomalies… is it."

He took the abomination for one of the Anomalies themselves. No such monster existed in the hunting grounds. No — no such creature existed in the world as it was now.

Are we supposed to just hand Antico over to that thing?

The branch chief clenched his fist. He could not give up here. He checked the state of the hunters beyond the wall. Most of those who had been swept up in the attack were in no condition to fight. There were dead among them as well. Some had barely made it behind trees or used their own bodies as shields, but all of them looked as if their will to fight had been broken.

It was fear of the unknown. No one could bring themselves to approach that still, waiting creature.

No. In the middle of it all, one hunter was walking forward, step by deliberate step.

Skrrrk—.

The greatsword dragged along the ground with a harsh scrape. Watching through the embrasure, Pina murmured under her breath.

"Hah, Grandpa, A-Alice-nim is…"

"…Is that brat in danger?"

"N-no, it's not that…"

How was she supposed to put it? That figure was something familiar to Pina — and something terrifying.

"…Haa."

Alice let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a hot breath, the greatsword trailing, white hair streaming. Several shell plates were stuck in the blade, but she paid them no mind. They would not hinder a swing in the slightest.

She lifted her head. The light rising in her eyes spoke her rage. Killing intent was not something only monsters could radiate.

Kill it. Don't think about anything. Just kill it. Then everything ends.

Alice ground her teeth. Then the corner of her mouth lifted. A grotesque smile formed.

But her awareness was clearer than it had ever been. Or had it already vanished into the distance from that moment on? Alice did not think about who she was right now. To kill the monster in front of her, she had no need to know who she was.

She raised the greatsword. Every sense in her body was vivid. Each muscle felt alive and moving. Her heart hammered madly. The sound that filled her ears until they rang poured strength through her. She crushed the ground underfoot and kicked off.

———KRRRAAAAaaaaa!!!

The Alberoelva answered in kind, shrieking as it drove its body forward. The earth-shaking roar should have deafened her, but Alice paid it no mind. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Her greatsword would not stop.

The Alberoelva thrust its mouth out again, meaning to swallow the girl who charged without fear.

Crunch—!

Alice smashed the oncoming head with her greatsword. The newly grown, soft shell was weak to impact. The greatsword, sweeping a wide arc, shattered the plates outright. The Alberoelva's head snapped sideways.

Everyone watched that sight. A small spark slowly caught flame. There was still hope in Antico.

The branch chief shouted at the top of his lungs.

"It's not over yet! Not yet! Load the cannons and provide cover! The rest of you, get the critically wounded outside back to the rear!"

Finished speaking, the branch chief went down the stairs himself. In a situation where every person counted, he joined in supporting and moving people below. They would not let go until the end. They had to protect their home. From here on, they would leave the fight to Antico's hunters — to Alice.

Everyone steeled their will again. Hunters reloaded shells into the barrels and set them into the embrasures. Technicians stepped in and wiped powder residue from the guns with cloth. Those on the wall loosed arrows to cover the hunter standing out in front. And they opened the gate to bring the fallen hunters inside.

Through all of it, Alice was slowly, very slowly, pushing the Alberoelva back. But it would not go down easily. It neither fainted nor faltered; it stood firm. Being a power of the ecosystem was not a matter of physical strength alone. Arrows sank into places where the shell had broken; it was cut and struck from every side until its mind threatened to blur — and still it would not yield.

Who is stronger. Who survives. It has always been me.

The Alberoelva sharpened the blade-shell and claws of its right arm.

Tear Blade.

It swung the sword that tore enemies apart. An all-out attack — of course there was no way to block it. But the light in Alice's eyes would not stop there. She read the arc of the swinging arm at once, and in the opening that formed along its torso while the arm swept wide, she saw her chance.

Alice sprinted with everything she had.

Before the attack lands — stretch your legs.

But the Alberoelva's arm was faster. Anyone watching would have thought Alice was about to be caught in the blow. Watching the scene, Pina finally let out a cry.

"Ah—!"

A few strands of white hair floated up into the air. The attack skimmed past Alice's hair. In the instant before it connected, she had flattened herself to the ground and slipped clear.

The sensation of nearly dying only heightened Alice's emotions further. She planted a hand on the earth and launched herself forward as if springing up. Then she stamped a true step. Enhancement followed.

For an instant, her gaze crossed with the ancient variant's. Two pairs of blood-red eyes looked at each other for a brief moment.

Alice poured every ounce of weight and energy into a single upward swing of the greatsword.

Slash—!

The blade drew a great circle and smashed into the jaw. The creature's jaw snapped upward; teeth ground together with a cracking sound of breaking. Under the massive impact to its jaw, the Alberoelva toppled sideways. Dust billowed as the huge body hit the ground.

But it was not dead. Right now, the Alberoelva was completely exposed.

Alice stepped back, reached a hand behind her, and clenched her fist. It was a signal. At the same moment, powder charges detonated in unison. Incoming shells struck the Alberoelva again. The shell on its face shattered, fragments flying; its whole body was left in ruins.

Lying on the ground, the Alberoelva drooled heat-hazed saliva and cast a hazy look. Its skin had been cooked by the bombardment. An eye ruined by embedded shell fragments was half-lidded and stained bright red.

Alice stood before it. With the Berserk faded now, she looked at the Alberoelva with calm eyes.

It's not that I don't understand. You were dropped into this world without warning and put under extreme stress. So you lashed out at everything around you. You're trembling with anxiety.

But that was true of Alice herself as well. If the creature's aggression had been indiscriminate, hers was aimed only at monsters.

Alice raised the Bloodhorn Greatsword.

Leave your flesh here when you die, and let your soul return to the world you came from.

The Bloodhorn Greatsword, steeped in blood, caught the light and glittered. The ancient Alberoelva closed its eyes. The blade that fell without mercy drove into the head of the beast of the old age.