130. Counterattack (2)
130. Counterattack (2)
The Demonized Humans, who had scattered upon the Magic Emperor's appearance, gathered again in the undergrowth with bewildered faces.
"......Vice-captain! The Magic Emperor, no way! Wh-what do we do! Aren't we all fucked?"
The woman called the vice-captain—the one who resembled a weasel—was Ling Wei.
"Shut up. Lemme think a second."
She gnawed on her fingernails.
From start to finish, it had been one unforeseen thing after another.
Starting with how the academy Midterm Evaluation suddenly kicked off right here where they'd already dug in—
despite the Demonized Human Society claiming they'd eliminated Magic Emperor Rina, the woman had shown up.
Which meant the cadet ambush had to be carried out by the rest of them, without their commander Rebecca.
What a shitshow.......
At this point, it felt downright unfair.
Almost as if someone who loathed Demonized Humans had set out deliberately to screw them over.
"Shut up? Shut up about what! Goddammit, what's the point of messing with the kids now! No commander either! Soon as that Magic Emperor bitch shows up, we're all dead anyway!"
The subordinate ranted in an aggrieved voice.
Abruptly, Ling Wei's eyes flew open at a thought that flickered through her mind.
"Wait. What'd you just say?"
"......Messing with the kids—wh-what's the point?"
"No, not that."
"No commander either?"
"No, not that either."
"Soon as the Magic Emperor shows up, we're all dead anyway......?"
"Right? The Magic Emperor is here...... so why are we still alive?"
After mulling it over for a moment, she smiled brightly.
"Yeah—if that bitch had really been trying, there's no way we'd have made it here...... The second we fled, we'd all be dead."
"......Huh? Y-yeah, that's true?"
"The Magic Emperor clearly isn't here right now. The timing just got a little off—the Demonized Human Society did their job properly."
"Th-then what about our commander Rebecca?"
"The Magic Emperor must have killed Commander Rebecca at least. No matter how rushed she was, she wouldn't have let the human right in front of her slip away."
At that, a strange silence circled among the Demonized Humans.
"Hehe, hehe...... Heh-ha!"
"So, right now—no Magic Emperor, no commander...... just the academy's first-year cadets, is that it?"
"Always 'don't do this, don't do that'—I was sick of them strutting around giving orders. This is a golden opportunity, huh?"
"And if we pull this off, we'll get treated pretty damn well back in the Demonized Human Society, right?"
"Heh-heh, been a while—might as well treat ourselves to a little pick-me-up. Let's keep some of the pretty ones alive and drag them back."
The Demonized Humans' delusion circuits started whirring at full speed.
Rebecca's sacrifice to buy them time to flee the Magic Emperor was already forgotten.
The plan had changed, but the cadets in front of them were just first-years.
They'd just hit them when they were off-guard.
They were just getting into position when it happened.
CLANG—!
A sharp metallic sound rang out.
Flinch.
"......Uh, Vice-captain. My b-body feels weird."
"Wh-why is this happening?"
"......!?"
At the sound of that shield, the Demonized Humans were drawn helplessly out of the forest.
Rustle. Rustle.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The eyes of the Demonized Humans who'd burst from the trees rolled around frantically.
"......Fuck."
The filthy, ragged state of them stood out now—they were the only ones.
Their plan to hide among the cadets and pick them off one by one had been ruined from the jump. And on top of that, the cadets were waiting for them as if they'd seen this fight coming!
The Demonized Humans stared daggers at the one who'd gone scouting first.
"All units...... attack!"
Starting with the shield-bearing girl's order, attacks rained in from every direction.
Waaaaaaah—
Fwoosh—
Thwack—
Whump—
"Agh! I-it hurts!? What is this—are these rocks!?"
"Aaaaaah......!?"
"V-Vice-captain! What is all this!?"
"I-I don't know either! You crazy bitches!!!!"
The attacks were baffling.
They'd been sure that spears or swords or magic would come flying at them—but instead it started with flaming wood scraps, then a concentrated barrage of Mana-charged stones, crudely sharpened bamboo spears, and the like.
A piece or two would've been nothing,
but when every single cadet, regardless of role, started hurling anything they could grab, the sheer volume made their vision swim.
"Looks like they really were hidden enemies! They were planning to hide among us, huh?"
"Die!!! You half-human-wannabe bastards! Ah, I've always wanted to say that line."
"You goddamn beasts!!"
"You almost-human scum! Don't you dare look down on the power of civilization!!"
It was absurd.
No—did these kids have no sense of fear?
They obviously knew we were coming, which means they also knew we're Demonized Humans.
And what the hell was this bizarre coordination!
"V-Vice-captain! Orders!!!"
Deflecting the flying odds and ends, one Demonized Human shouted desperately at Ling Wei.
"All of you, sc-scatter! Take them out one by one! One at a time!"
Even flustered, Ling Wei issued her command.
But.
"Ha—where d'you lot think you're going?"
CLANG—!
The moment Lee Yu-ri struck her shield again,
the Demonized Humans' bodies froze in place.
"Ghk!"
"D-Dammit! That fucking skill!!!"
But Lee Yu-ri had already poured her all into those two uses.
Her Mana was drastically depleted.
Because of that, Ling Wei was able to shake it off immediately.
"......First, at least I need to get myself out of here."
Whoosh!
"H-hey! V-Vice-captain!"
"That bitch ran off on her own!"
"You fucking animal!!"
The Demonized Humans left behind shouted after her,
but she didn't look back—just slipped away to the side, alone.
Hah—
Hah—
"Fuck, what the hell is even going on."
Having fled with everything she had, Ling Wei panted raggedly.
"Hm, looks like Yellow Dog was right. ......Didn't he say there's no such thing as loyalty among demonized-human scum."
"......!?"
At the voice that came abruptly from behind her, Ling Wei whipped her head around.
Her narrow eyes went wide.
"......Fighting Dog?"
At that, Kang Do-hee spat on the ground as if disgusted—ptooey.
"Don't call me by that name. I gave that Yellow Dog title to someone else ages ago."
Crack—crack—
"And I'm already in a shit mood because it feels like I got stuck with leftover cleanup duty......."
Kang Do-hee kneaded her fists and tilted her head side to side.
"Today, you're gonna get your ass beat by big sis."
* * *
What the f.......
Sofia's pupils shook mercilessly.
Th-this isn't what I had in mind......!?
The difference between the heroics she'd pictured and the current situation was the difference between heaven and earth—between America and South Korea.
Should she call this heaven, or should she call this hell.
*
When demonic energy had begun rippling around Rebecca's body,
Sofia realized that it was her turn to step up and immediately fired a golden arrow at Jin Yu-ha.
But what came back wasn't praise—it was a scolding.
"No! I said conserve Mana! Why are you shooting arrows at me!?"
Well...... because I'm a Healer?
And your arm was dangling......
Doesn't it hurt?
Sofia protested with wavering eyes, but Jin Yu-ha, with a dead-serious expression, had already sunk deep into his own world.
In the meantime, the Demonized Human's body had begun to transform, bit by bit.
Aaaaaah....... Wh-what is that.......
Crackle—snap—
It wasn't human.
"SKREEEE......."
Having absorbed demonic energy, Rebecca no longer possessed a human form.
On her bulging back, hideous tentacle-like things squirmed and sprouted,
and at the tip of each tentacle, hundreds of eyes opened like fruit.
And scythe-like legs supported that massive bulk as it rose upright.
A gruesome, terrifying form you'd only see in nightmares.
Gulp—
"Um, M-Jin Yu-ha?"
Sofia called out to him as she swallowed hard, but Jin Yu-ha was still muttering something endlessly.
"Tsk, ah....... That makes the cooldown timing a little tight. Could get a bit dangerous—no. I think we can manage it somehow. I just need to move a little more aggressively......."
At last, as if he'd finished his calculations, Jin Yu-ha turned his head toward Sofia.
"Alright, Sofia."
"Yes?"
"Get on."
"......Excuse me?"
"I said get on."
Jin Yu-ha spread his arms wide as he said it.
What.
All of a sudden.
Was this a test?
Or a fan meeting?
Sofia slowly approached Jin Yu-ha, whose arms were still open.
And hugged him tight.
"Ehehe......."
A goofy laugh completely out of place with the situation leaked from her lips.
At that, Jin Yu-ha's eyebrow twitched, and he whispered into her ear.
"What are you doing......?"
"Didn't you say get on?"
"No—if you get on like that, how are you supposed to shoot? You have to wrap your legs around my waist. That way your arms are free, right?"
Huh?
So, in other words.
He's telling me to cling to Jin Yu-ha like a cicada and fire arrows at that monster?
While she was spacing out for a second,
Jin Yu-ha, as if fed up, scooped up Sofia's bottom.
"Aah!?"
"There—wrap your legs tight around me! Keep your back straight! Get your head in the game!"
"Y-yes!"
"Remember training. This isn't any different from then."
Training. Right—training.......
......Uh, training.
A chill raced down Sofia's spine.
She'd nearly died.
It had been brutal.
Every single day had been a trial of her fangirl devotion.
Hitting the target behind her as a sword swung back and forth right in front of her nose.
Hitting the target while plummeting off a cliff.
Jin Yu-ha diving into a pack of monsters, and her firing her heart out at that constantly-moving Jin Yu-ha.
And all of that...... was for this moment?
But no more time was granted to ponder his true intentions.
Whoosh—!
The instant Sofia was firmly latched on, Jin Yu-ha kicked off the ground.
KABOOM!
A tentacle slammed down onto the spot where the two of them had stood; the trees and plants there dissolved as though splashed with acid.
"Eek!?"
Sofia shrieked at the sight, but Jin Yu-ha spoke in a composed voice.
"Alright, Sofia. Only shoot exactly where I tell you. From now on, every arrow is a healing arrow."
"......Y-yes!"
"First, in seven seconds—one shot over the crown of the head."
"Yes!"
She was panicking, but Sofia's body moved automatically at Jin Yu-ha's command.
Precisely seven seconds later,
she fired a single arrow upward.
Fwish—!
Flash!
SKREEEE!?
The arrow left first; the tentacle arrived afterward and collided with it.
"Th-that hit!?"
Sofia's eyes went wide as saucers in shock.
"And now, duck your head."
"Ah, yes—Eeeek!?"
A tentacle swept past overhead.
Sizzle.
The ends of her blonde hair melted the moment they brushed against the tentacle.
"Don't reply."
"Mph! Mm!"
Crash—crack—crunch!
Tentacles flailed, slicing through the surrounding trees.
Whoosh!
Jin Yu-ha dodged the lunging tentacles, kicked off again, and pulled his lips into a grin.
"Just as I thought."
Sofia's kit was way too good for a new character with no prior Hunter experience.
A character who could both attack and heal from long range—
even right after her release, people had complained that she was totally busted.
So to counterbalance that, there was one major flaw,
and that was: stationary DPS.
Whether healing or dealing damage, whenever she fired her bow, she always had to be rooted in place.
But, what if—
now that the game had become reality—
what if he could become the feet for that turret?
It means strategies that were impossible in the game become viable!
It meant that a boss originally requiring a party of five or more could potentially be cleared by just a Healer and a Damage Dealer, together.
"Operation name: Mobile Turret. Ah—Sofia, three seconds—two arrows to the right."
"Aaaaaaaah!?"
Sofia's blissful scream echoed far through the forest.