Chapter 61
Chapter 61
9. Wandering and Settling -3
The monster, its body and tree roots tangled together as if it had become some kind of cordyceps, was rampaging with a regenerative ability that was nearly immortal even by hunter standards. That ability alone would have been troublesome enough—
"Aaaahhh!"
"Damage won't stick! It heals right back up!"
On top of that, the monster had once been a superhuman ranked in the upper tier of D-grade.
We had the numbers, so our formation hadn't collapsed yet, but if things went wrong, it was only a matter of time before the death cries of Alliance members echoed from every direction.
Even so, the reason I hadn't stepped in yet was⋯⋯ obviously not because I was scared of that bastard Joero.
My tanking ability went without saying. Even fighting alone, I could drag things out dozens of times longer than those Alliance members flailing their arms at the front.
But if I did that, there'd be no one left to target Joero's weakness.
So in this setup, jumping in directly to fight Joero myself was a loss. It was better for the Alliance members to serve as shields while my side became the sharp spear⋯⋯ that was my judgment.
Obviously, the Alliance members weren't going to follow orders from me, a complete stranger. And this was a chaotic battle situation, wasn't it.
So I decided to persuade the traditional faction leader, Muyeon, first. I planned to relay what I'd figured out from my earlier deductions and request his support. About the bamboo. About the rhizome.
"Um—."
"No need to speak. I will do my part here."
"Huh?"
"Everyone, listen up!"
But he raised a hand to stop me as if no explanation was needed, then immediately issued orders to the Alliance members that were similar to what I'd been envisioning.
"The first line currently engaged, maintain formation! Ronen, Jowilton, Songdu, fall back and regulate your output! You are the second line! If a hole opens in the front, rotate in and buy time!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Same for the rear! The four of you I'm messaging now are Group 2—slow your attack tempo and don't waste magic power! Group 1, those who didn't receive a message, maintain current firepower!"
"Didn't the System just go down⋯⋯ ah, the Gate closed! Understood, boss!"
Rotating battle.
He seemed intent on steadily wearing Joero down and dragging the fight into a long haul. And this setup suited my role as sniper too. It gave me enough time to identify the weakness and synthesize skills.
For a moment I wondered if he'd read my mind, but that didn't seem to be the case. If he had that kind of ability, he'd have stabbed the black-hearted Joero long ago.
Other people might not have seen, but someone like Muyeon would have seen who just pierced Joero's chest. So the more accurate take was that his strategic judgment happened to align with mine.
Good.
With this, I could first observe Joero from the rear—
BANG—!!
"⋯⋯?!"
With a thunderous sound, something shot out from Joero's body. The projectile, launched in a surprise attack, traced a straight trajectory and aimed precisely at me. It was fast.
"Huuuuh—"
But not so fast I couldn't counter it. In a world that felt like it was flowing sluggishly, I calmly 『watched』. That thing⋯⋯
It was bamboo. What he'd fired was bamboo with its tip twisted into a spiral, worked into a spear!
CLANG—!
I angled my shield and deflected it. The bamboo, its trajectory warped, flew on and punched through the outer wall of the abandoned airport. It was only a moment, but the unexpected attack sent a chill through me.
"Blocked⋯⋯ you blocked it⋯⋯?"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
"If you blocked it⋯⋯ then I must grow more⋯⋯."
CRACK—! SNAP—!!
Soon, bamboo shoots began sprouting from Joero's entire body in sequence. First the shoulders, then the thighs, then the tops of the feet⋯⋯ The shoots appearing all over his body totaled twenty.
The shoots that grew out then expanded literally explosively. Enough to be launched at high speed with a thunderous sound.
"Rear line, watch out! Something's flying!"
"Block it!"
BANG—! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!!
The bamboo grown from Joero's body fired in all directions. Like a claymore mine.
"Duck, Elijah!"
CLANG—!
I urgently dashed along the trajectory heading toward Elijah and knocked the fired bamboo away, then dragged a sense of déjà vu out of my head and immediately shouted.
"This is like that 『Rose』 bastard's attack—the one that scatters thorns everywhere! That one!"
"W-we're trying to block it⋯⋯ Aaaahh!"
"Gah!"
But about two people got hit. One mage took a bamboo to the abdomen, and one unlucky archer was pierced through the forehead and died instantly. Damn it.
So he used to be an archer, and even after becoming an elf he still fires projectiles. At this rate, we'd need a vanguard to cover the rear unit providing ranged fire support.
But pulling people from the second line, though.
"Move aside. I have a path I must take⋯⋯"
"Joero, you bastard—gah?!"
THUD—!!
Every time Joero swung a fist loaded with that monstrous strength, a tanker on the front line went flying into the air and crashed to the ground. If we pulled the reserves, the front line would break even faster.
Was there any change to the plan? No. Muyeon didn't alter his orders and silently commanded the battle to continue. But this guy—why wasn't he stepping forward himself?
He was a man who'd given up promotion to C-grade and remained in D-grade, so I'd figured he was at least a powerhouse on Sergios's level. Was he conserving strength even in this state? Or was he waiting for an opening?
If so, then maybe I should move to the front line now—
"Noah Won! Don't turn your eyes to the dead weaklings!"
"⋯⋯Hori?"
"You—cough. Just do your damn job! Anyone who couldn't dodge a measly bamboo is pathetic, that's all!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
And who was it that blocked the bamboo flying at you? Though, since Hori happened to be next to Elijah, I'd helped her as a bonus.
Right. I was the sniper right now. My job was to blow that bastard's head off as fast as possible. I steadied my breathing and refocused. Joero's weakness—I had to find the rhizome that had to be somewhere. The rootstalk that made the bamboo shoots grow—
Wait.
Made the bamboo shoots grow?
Right. Joero hadn't grown bamboo all over his body simultaneously—he'd grown them one by one, sequentially, then fired them. What if that meant he was moving the rhizome inside his body from place to place?
Then I knew where to aim. The spot where the shoot sprouted, at that moment. I just had to pierce exactly there.
⋯⋯Which meant I had to counter that projectile-firing attack—where dozens sprouted in mere seconds and the wait time before launch was disgustingly short—with precise timing. And from long range, at that.
I'd been agonizing over how to pull off a synthesis—one that sent recoil through my body even when I stood still and focused on nothing else—while trading attacks at close range with that elf Joero.
Muyeon unbuttoned the cuffs of his dress shirt and spoke.
"We'll need to bind his feet. I will stop Joero's movements."
"How many seconds can you manage?"
"Enough for you to target the weakness."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
This man really didn't do detailed communication, did he. Did he not know that a discrepancy of mere seconds could conjure casualties out of thin air like magic? Or was he just that confident?
"Open the way⋯⋯ if you don't want to die⋯⋯"
Crunch. Crrrunck.
Joero, muttering nonsense, prepared to fire projectiles from his whole body once again. His skin bulged here and there as bamboo shoots pushed up.
Then.
"『Master Binder (主縛)』, grant that even the last wick, with little remaining, may burn its flame."
Muyeon recited it like an incantation and pulled a pouch from inside his coat. From within came rustling movement and a buzzing sound. That thing—it looked like he'd stuffed it full of small insects.
Crush—.
Muyeon crushed it. I imagined the texture and grimaced. It looked like some kind of offering or sacrifice. Was it because he was the Hungry Ghost Path of mass slaughter that he used things like that?
He steadied his breathing, stretched both arms out, and activated his skill.
"『Puppet Whip (傀儡鞭)』."
Swish——
A single black whip extended silently from the crushed insect pouch. It was the skill Hori had used on me—the one that controlled the target like a puppet and suppressed their movements⋯⋯ except.
The two characters for "degraded" before the activation phrase were gone.
I couldn't tell what that meant, but Hori did. She hauled her injured body upright just to voice her shock.
"Muyeon!! In that body, if you use the original—one rank higher—⋯⋯!!"
If it was one rank higher than what I'd been hit with, did that mean he'd used a C-grade skill? Muyeon's complexion was definitely not normal. He was keeping a blank expression, but his face was nearly gray.
Yet he didn't let it show and shouted.
"Don't make a fuss. His movements are bound. Go!"
"⋯⋯Yes. I will."
The effect was certain. Joero, who'd been rampaging until just now, froze as if nailed in place, unable to move a muscle. Only those hazy eyes wandered aimlessly, jerking about.
I could see exactly where to aim. The top of the foot⋯⋯ that was where the last bamboo shoot had sprouted.
The distance made it uncertain, but I could glimpse what looked like white blood vessels—apparently the rhizome. I refocused my mind and pulled the 『Skill』 into a single point.
"Hoo⋯⋯"
This was my second synthesis.
WOOOOOM——
It felt like a severe flu was rampaging through my body at high speed. 『Quick-Flash Inner Core』, 『Azure Wind Wanderer』, and 『Glass Sword』 crashed against one another, transferring the shock to my body.
But having used it a few times, I'd picked up the knack.
You cut away the parts that wouldn't merge, the parts that collided especially violently, in advance. With 『Azure Wind Wanderer』 that was impossible because it wasn't entirely mine, but with 『Quick-Flash Inner Core』 and 『Glass Sword』, it was possible.
Saying I was "humoring Azure Wind Wanderer's temperament" was probably the more intuitive analogy. And it was noticeably easier. If last time's firing had drained about 50% of my strength, this time I'd reduced the consumption to 30%.
It seemed my experience trying various things through Download -2 was paying off. If there was a next time, could I push the efficiency even higher?
GRRRRRRIND——
Here we go. Round two, Joero. With veins bulging in my neck, I squeezed out a shout.
"Synthesis, 『Glass Clear-Wind Flash (琉璃淸風閃)』⋯⋯!!"
FWOOSH——!!
THWACK!
The spear of wind split the air once more. Fired in a straight line, it cleanly tore off Joero's ankle as it passed. From the cross-section, the rhizome was visible.
"Ah, aaaah⋯⋯!!"
At the same time, Muyeon withdrew the Puppet Whip. The black whip was reeled back in.
Joero staggered, having lost one foot. Before, he would have regenerated it immediately and planted his foot firmly, but now he was supporting his body on the severed ankle.
His regeneration was gone.
Without the rhizome, that bamboo-spear firing was no longer possible either.
"Attacks are landing! They're landing now!"
"He seems to have lost a lot of strength too⋯⋯! Push him!"
The Alliance members rejoiced and attacked even harder. When fire or arrows struck Joero directly, the wounds no longer closed and remained. If that was the case, we just had to whittle him down and kill him.
I let out a shallow sigh, relaxed my shoulders, and glanced around to see if there was somewhere to lean. Elijah chuckled and said,
"Noah, your legs are shaking. Shall I be a telephone pole for a newborn fawn?"
"⋯⋯No."
"You seem really exhausted?"
"I'm fine."
Thinking about it again, I figured I could just keep standing.
"Cough, hmm⋯⋯"
While I was somehow keeping my balance, Muyeon covered his mouth with a fist and let out a faint cough. A trickle of blood ran down his chin.
For having used a single skill, he looked half dead. If you asked whether that skill's power was really that strong⋯⋯ by feel, it wasn't. It was like a high-performance water gun that couldn't produce its full power because it wasn't filled with enough water.
I see. I'd thought he was a powerhouse because he could have become C-grade but remained in D-grade, but it seemed the opposite was true.
A hypothesis naturally surfaced in my mind.
To forcibly remain at D-grade when you're at C-grade level requires a commensurate price. Right.
Then it wasn't that he hadn't stepped into the fight against Joero—he hadn't been able to. This one strike seemed to have cost him dearly, too.
But the battle had ended successfully, so that was a relief⋯⋯
"Get him! His right arm's almost completely severed!"
"Don't push in too deep! Pull back a bit while fighting!"
"Ah, aah⋯⋯"
⋯⋯⋯⋯?
Something was off.
We'd wrecked both his heart and his rhizome. That meant we'd destroyed both organs that supplied the energy a living creature needed to move. He was now a car without an engine.
But that bastard Joero.
⋯⋯Why was he still moving?
Joero, leader of the Hunter Alliance's radical faction, was already dead.
The part that was "human"—which should have dwelled in his heart and maintained his ego—had been carved away and erased by Noah Won's strike, which had flown at him the moment he transformed.
If he had bloomed properly—a powerful lifeform with the physicality of a plant monster and the clear reason of a human⋯⋯ he could have become a complete elf. But no amount of longing for something already failed would bring the opportunity back.
The 『Elf Joero』, who would have been an unquestionable calamity for D-grade hunters, was thus aborted.
What remained now was only a single Moso bamboo elf that had begun to grow, using the shell called Joero as nourishment. That plant had begun to grow mechanically, according to the blueprint embedded in its cells.
=There are many animals here. Animals must be killed.
=Must absorb all the nutrients of this soil and thrive.
=Must live long, passing down to generation after generation, until covering all the land.
=Must return home.
Crack. Crrrack-crack.
And so memory rapidly decomposed and scattered, and the affection Joero had held for his own planet became nothing more than nourishment for the greenly spreading bamboo leaves.
But one fragment of fragrance that brushed the tip of his nose remained.
That fragrance caused a slight malfunction. It brought to mind the most intense, clearest, and most immutable of the solemn commands engraved in the plant cells' blueprint. The first command of the tree-monster, engraved by the 『King of Plants』.
=To 『『□□』』.
To the dear old land.
"To my homeland⋯⋯"
Without fail.
◆
Snap, crrrack—
Thus the single Moso bamboo elf decided to expend all its nutrients and grow. It chose a brevity that a plant would never have chosen.
Like an animal, it burned all its stored energy to gain a single instant.
CRRRRACK——!!
"I'm going back to my homeland⋯⋯!!"
"I-it's swelling up! Fall back—!!"
The Moso bamboo elf cut off nutrients to its lower body. It also cut off nutrients to its head, which was no longer needed. The legs rotted and collapsed, and the head withered as well.
Instead, it concentrated all nutrients into its right arm.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—!! THUD, THU-THUD, THUD!
Dozens, hundreds of green bamboo strands surged upward and tangled together, forming the shape of a massive arm. With it, the Moso bamboo elf picked up a wrecked passenger plane parked at the abandoned airport.
Small twigs emerged from the bamboo bundle and clung to the plane like suction cups, spreading like blood vessels. Soon the massive passenger plane was lifted effortlessly, as if grabbed by a crane. A shadow fell.
"Not fall back—fucking run—!!"
"AAAAAAAHH—!!"
Whoosh—
And then it threw it.
CRRRRRASH——!! SCRRRRAPE!
The massive fuselage flew at the hunters. The twenty-ton hunk of metal scraped violently against the ground, spraying sparks in all directions, and plowed through three vanguard members and seven rear-line members.
They were superhuman hunters, so whether they lived or died was unknown, but it was clear they couldn't return to the fight.
Whooosh—
It swung the arm repeatedly. Hunters struck by the bamboo bundle were either crushed outright, or, if they had defensive skills and survived, were sent flying, unable to withstand the momentum.
People flew like baseballs, punching through the abandoned airport's outer wall and tumbling outside.
With those two attacks, roughly 70% of the Alliance members were rendered combat-incapable. But it had burned that much energy in return. The overgrown massive right arm began rotting from its tips.
Still, it could move a little more.
The Moso bamboo elf's eyes and ears had rotted away to nothing, but now it saw the world through fragrance. It could sense clearly. The person standing ahead. A person with a very peculiar smell.
A special person.
From Joero's rotting brain, it extracted that animal individual's name.
"Won⋯⋯ Noah⋯⋯"
That beast carrying that fragrance had to be killed, even if it meant abandoning the forest. And it had to be made into nourishment. For that thing was, truly, the path to reach home.
That bastard Joero, his head now like a withered flower bud, muttered my name. I felt a chill, however slight. Enough to wonder if we'd really built up that much of a grudge.
Let me take stock.
Hunter Alliance allies: effectively annihilated.
Hori: effectively combat-incapable from a brutal beating.
Elijah: reduced combat power due to the absence of the 『Coffin』.
Muyeon: in truly bad shape.
Me: roughly 80% of my energy gone after firing a three-skill synthesis twice.
'Fuck⋯⋯'
If the Gate hadn't closed, this would've been my grave.
Thinking it over, there were some positives.
The elf Joero had lost its regeneration, and it didn't even have a head or legs anymore. All that remained was that giant right arm made of bamboo bundles. So then, well⋯⋯
Wasn't this doable?
I gripped my sword and shield tightly.