The Meat Shield

The golden aura of Adelia's holy sword collided head-on with the massive tentacle. A storm erupted as the brilliant golden energy tangled with the pitch-black abyssal power. The shockwave was so intense it twisted the air pressure inside the cave in an instant.

"Ugh...!"

Adelia grit her teeth. She had succeeded in slicing through dozens of tentacles at once with her holy sword, but the overwhelming mass of an S-class monster was the real problem. The recoil sent her small body flying backward like a cannonball.

"Kieeeeek!"

The tentacle, enraged by the pain, was about to slam down with its remaining appendages when—

"Don't you dare touch my student!!!"

BOOM!

Professor Kane burst in between them, wielding a massive greatsword. In that split second, his hunter instincts screamed of impending death. There was no way he could block it with his bare body.

"Skill Release! Steel Body! Pain Block! Berserker's Strength!"

Crack. Snap. His muscle fibers swelled abnormally, threatening to burst through his armor. The blood vessels in his eyes ruptured, turning his vision crimson. It was a forbidden doping technique that forcibly blocked pain signals to the brain while pushing his physical abilities to the absolute human limit.

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!

The professor took the barrage of tentacles head-on. The impacts felt like massive iron stakes being driven into him. The floor beneath Kane cracked like a spiderweb. Without Pain Block, the damage would have killed him from shock. Dark red blood burst from his mouth.

"Guh...! You fucking... monster...!"

Even as an A-class adventurer, he felt his bones not just ringing but actually shattering. Yet he didn't retreat a single step. He held his ground with nothing but a mad sense of responsibility to protect the students behind him.

But the creature's regenerative power was beyond imagination. The severed tentacles writhed and regenerated in seconds, then bypassed the professor's defense as if mocking him and changed direction.

Its glossy single eye locked onto the weakest link in the party—the 'porter.' Me. The weakest, easiest prey to kill.

Shushushuk!

Three sharp, barbed tentacles sprouted from its main body and shot toward me in the rear. They flew straight at my upper body with insane speed. A spine-chilling sense of déjà vu crawled down my back.

"Roy!!!"

Adelia screamed in horror. But she was too far away.

In the shadows of a corner, Priscilla's eyes gleamed. She calculated coldly. Distance: ten meters. The tentacles' speed was near the speed of sound. There was no way an F-class could dodge it with their reaction speed.

'Ah, he's dead, huh?'

No matter how well he commanded, an F-class was still an F-class. She smirked faintly, imagining the man who had dared command her turning into a gruesome pile of meat.

But then—

"Mirage!"

I activated the skill. Blue mana exploded from the Boots of Illusory Dance on my feet. It burned through my body's mana in an instant, a evasion skill that made my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠very existence grow faint.

Shuk! Thud!

The tentacles pierced straight through my chest and abdomen. Priscilla's eyes lit up with certainty. 'As expected.'

Ssssk.

But no blood sprayed. My pierced body scattered like blue smoke, dissolving into the air. An absolute evasion technique that distorted reality like a mirage.

"......Huh?"

Priscilla stood there with her mouth agape. By then, I had already landed behind her in the safe zone. My lungs felt like they were tearing apart from mana exhaustion, but I grinned without showing it.

"Hey!! What are you spacing out for? Next pattern's coming! Get your head in the game!"

The battle was spiraling into the worst possible state. The regenerating tentacles were endless, and Professor Kane's buff duration was reaching its limit. Sweat and blood poured from his body like rain.

"Kuaaaaagh!"

It was the end. Professor Kane was slammed into a corner by a pitch-black tentacle strike. The main tank had fallen. The moment the frontline collapsed, the monster's massive eye swept over us. The killing intent of an overwhelming predator.

'Now.'

I was struggling from mana depletion, but I executed the original work's only strategy exactly as planned.

"Iris!! Flip it according to the plan, now!"

Iris moved as if she'd been waiting for it.

"Human, got it! Spirit King, please, just this once!"

Iris slammed her staff into the ground. Behind her, a colossal earth giant—the avatar of the Earth Spirit King—revealed its majestic form.

"Come forth! Authority of the Earth Spirit King! Ground Overturn!"

Rumble rumble rumble!

The entire cave screamed. The bedrock where the tentacles were rooted shot upward all at once. The ground began rising vertically as if an earthquake had struck.

But an S-class monster wasn't that easy to deal with.

BANG! BANG! CRACK!

It drove dozens of tentacles deep into the floor, forcibly crushing the flipping ground. It had neutralized the physical force of the spirit magic with overwhelming physique.

"W-what?! It's not flipping!"

Iris shrieked in panic. Her face turned pale from mana backlash. This was completely outside calculations. The monster's ferocious eyes turned toward the defenseless Iris.

'Damn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, brute force really doesn't work.'

I clenched my teeth. The thing was anchoring itself to the floor. If the downward pull was that strong, then we just had to pull it upward.

"Scarlet! Now! Reverse Gravity!"

"But Oppa! It's still stuck to the floor?!"

Scarlet cried out with a distressed face.

"Doesn't matter! Aim for the space above its head at full power! We'll rip it apart from top and bottom!"

"Ugh, I don't know anymore! It's do or die!"

Scarlet raised her staff. The genius mage girl's talent exploded.

"Sixth Circle Magic! Reverse Gravity! Maximum output!"

Oooong—!

A bizarre noise as space distorted. The purple gravity field pressed down not on the monster's torso, but on the empty space above its head. The instant it exerted force downward to hold onto the floor, a powerful anti-gravity slammed down from above.

Crack. Snap. Riiiip!

The clash of opposing forces. Like pulling a rubber band from both ends, the monster's body stretched taut. The tentacles anchoring it to the floor couldn't withstand the terrible pressure and began bursting one by one.

BANG!

Having lost its anchor, the creature was flung upward by the recoil and slammed into the ceiling.

"Kieek?!"

Success. As it flipped in midair, its pale underbelly—which it had desperately tried to hide—was exposed. And right in the center, the pulsating red core of its life force, the 'nucleus,' was visible.

But even in the air, the monster struggled desperately. Dozens of defensive tentacles wrapped tightly around the nucleus like a steel nest. A solid barrier. If we couldn't pierce that, everything would be for nothing.

"Hey, hurry up Priscilla! Rip those tentacles apart!"

I shouted, but Priscilla didn't move. She was hiding in the shadows of a blind spot, watching the situation.

'Why should I? Jump into that forest of tentacles? If I fail, I'll die.'

Hesitation flickered in her eyes. An assassin doesn't move unless it's certain. That was how she survived. But that 0.1 second of hesitation proved fatal. One of the monster's tentacles detected her hiding spot and flew toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her.

"Are you crazy? Move or we all die!!! Now!!"

My roar struck her brain. She had no choice. Staying still meant death; moving gave her a chance to live. She kicked off the ground, spitting curses.

"You damn F-class bastard! Always ordering me around. Just you wait!"

Swish!

Her body spun like a top at high speed. A desperate strike for survival.

"Secret Technique! Drill Sting!"

Crunch! Crackle! Thud!

An A-class dagger technique filled with the desperation to survive. The spinning blade storm turned the monster's defensive tentacles into rags. Severed pieces rained down like a bloody shower. Finally, the red nucleus was completely exposed.

I didn't even bother wiping the nosebleed pouring down my face as I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Adelia!!! Now!!!"

"Yes...!"

Adelia leaped into the air. Golden aura burst from her entire body as if her veins were about to explode. A strike carrying the weight of every life she remembered.

"Holy Sword Secret Art, Second Form! Star That Splits the Galaxy!!!"

The world turned white. It was as if a golden meteor was falling from the sky. A massive pillar of light pierced vertically from the cave ceiling to the floor, straight through the tentacle's nucleus.

KWAAAAAAAAANG!!!

When the flash disappeared, the tentacle whose nucleus had been destroyed crashed to the floor.

THUD!

A cloud of dust rose. The toxic stench that had filled the air slowly began to dissipate.

"W-we... did it..."

Professor Kane collapsed, using his greatsword as a cane. Adelia staggered the moment she landed.

"Haa... Haa..."

The light of the holy sword faded. The recoil from using her secret art left her so exhausted she couldn't even lift a finger. Scarlet and Iris were also sprawled out on the floor from mana depletion.

While everyone was basking in the relief of victory, I alone didn't let my guard down. No—in fact, the real fight was only just beginning.

'It's coming.'

Thump. Thump.

My heart was pounding wildly.

The fallen tentacle's single eye gleamed. Even as it died, its murderous intent didn't fade. Its gaze was frantically searching for me. The field commander who had driven it to this state. The one it wanted to kill most.

Shuuuuuk.

Its thickest and sharpest tentacle aimed at me silently. A faint vibration cut through the air.

"......!"

Our eyes met. I couldn't dodge. Mirage was on cooldown, and Adelia was exhausted. Using Absolute Protection here would let me survive, but I'd lose the chance to remove the time bomb called Priscilla.

Then there was only one way. To set up a 'meat shield' to take the hit for me.

Tap tap.

At that moment, Priscilla landed beside me. After attacking the nucleus, she had instinctively judged that staying by my side was safest and had willingly walked into the tiger's den.

"Haa... Haa... Is it over now?"

Priscilla wiped her sweat, looking relieved. A strange sense of superiority that said 'I did it' lingered on her face.

I smiled brightly.

"No. There's still one left."

"Huh?"

Instead of answering, right before the monster's tentacle shot forward, I grabbed her shoulder tightly and yanked her in front of me. It looked like I was trying to protect her. But in reality...

"Shit, it's dangerous, Priscilla!"

"Huh? Kyaa?! What are you—!"

The moment she was pulled into my arms and stood blocking my front—

KWAAAAAAAAANG!!!

The heavy tentacle shot from the darkness and slammed straight into Priscilla's torso, who stood before me.

"Kuh... Hek...?"

Thuuud!

A horrifying impact like being hit by a massive blunt weapon. Priscilla instinctively raised her dagger to block, but it wasn't enough to withstand the S-class monster's final strike.

Crack! Crunch!

The dagger bounced away, and the sound of her arm bones shattering rang out clearly. Her body was sent flying like a rag doll.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"

Crash! Bang!

She slammed into the wall, rolled several times, and only then came to a stop. It was exactly the same miserable sight Adelia had suffered protecting me in the previous regression.

Only after delivering its final blow did the tentacle completely turn to ash and crumble. Silence fell over the cave.

"Cough... Ugh..."

Priscilla lay sprawled on the floor, coughing up blood. Her ribs must have all been broken—her chest heaved strangely with every breath. Full-body bruises and internal ruptures. If she hadn't been A-class, it would have been instant death.

"N-no!! Priscilla!!!"

I screamed and ran toward her. To Professor Kane and the others, it must have looked like the heroic back of a man rushing to worry over a comrade who had sacrificed herself to save him.

I crouched down in front of her. She looked up at me with eyes stained by pain, rage, and betrayal, gasping for breath.

"You... you... did it on purpose..."

"It must hurt a lot... Are you okay?"

I put on the most worried expression in the world and checked her condition. Then, making sure no one else could hear, I whispered very softly.

"Oh dear, miscalculation? I thought an A-class would make a sturdier 'shield'..."

"......!"

Her pupils shook. This man had never intended to protect her from the start. He had planned to use her thoroughly as a disposable tool. Like discarding a broken dagger he'd been using.

I leaned in closer, bringing my mouth to her ear. An angle invisible to the professor and the other kids.

Sssk.

The corners of my mouth slowly, ever so slowly, tore upward to my ears. A bizarre ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and eerie expression—eyes not smiling, only the mouth. I perfectly imitated the 'murderer's smile' she had shown me in the bathroom.

Priscilla's pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck. Fear. Primal terror at facing a monster identical to herself—or even worse. The belated regret of realizing the prey she'd thought she was hunting had actually been a devil wearing prey's skin.

I couldn't hold back my giggling laughter and murmured in a low voice.

"Hehe... This is fucking hilarious, isn't it?"

Her face turned deathly pale.