Chapter 156: It’s All My Fault
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: It’s All My Fault
“You cowardly bastard!”
I feel the Samurai swinging his blade at my back, but I ignore him and lunge at Akito.
Feeling my mana barrier grinding behind me, I raise the Etiquette Infuser to match Akito as he prepares to swing his sword.
“Gah—!”
I block his horizontal slash, but the force is so overwhelming that it breaks through my guard.
The power driving through my defense twists my waist to the side, sending me into a mid-air flip, but I plant my hand on the ground after one rotation and lunge at Akito again.
Listen here, kid. Do you have any idea how much Frey beat me?! I’ve thoroughly mastered this filthy style of combat—clinging to the enemy no matter how hard I’m hit!
Seeing me reach out with a messy posture even after failing to defend, Akito retreats in surprise.
Simultaneously, I put strength into my outstretched hand, clenching it into a fist and swinging it toward the Fierce Beast Girl along with a counter magic.
Clang—!
Damn, he’s ridiculously strong.
I definitely swung my fist seeing him retreat, but Akito somehow interjected himself between me and the Fierce Beast Girl to block the punch.
“Run!”
At Akito’s shout, the Fierce Beast Girl scrambles to her feet and starts to bolt.
Fine. I just need to keep Akito pinned here.
Yukina is handling Chika, and Bukgeuk-jwa is blocking the Samurai.
I feel a bit sorry for the Thug, but I told him to take on Kaira and Shunya at the same time.
Aside from Yukina, you’re the only one tough enough to hold out. I’ll shave a bit off your karmic debt for this, so just hang in there.
…Wait, what are you doing?
As I fight frantically with Akito, I see Akane holding both hands up in front of Shiori.
“I’m weak. I surrender.”
Don’t lie! You’re strong enough that it takes a whole party to raid you!
However, I can’t help but be wary of Akane, who approached so closely without even being caught by detection magic.
Justina and Shiori, the backline of Akito’s party, along with Ailee who protects them, take their stances to attack at any moment.
“Then, get lost.”
As Justina waves her hand, the mana spheres that beat me up during the last exchange meet pour toward Akane.
Whoosh— whoosh, whoosh—
Akane, still holding her hands up awkwardly, dodges them with ease. Seeing the three of them react in shock, she shifts her eyes around and speaks.
“Phew— I. almost. died.”
Did that Organization teach Akane nothing but combat?
But thanks to that, Justina gets pissed off and starts attacking, and Akane does a great job of drawing the aggro of all three.
“We don’t need to fight!”
“Gah—! Is that something you say after hitting someone?!”
This bastard Akito is seriously strong.
Every single attack is so heavy that even I find it hard to endure.
My mana barrier gets shaved down significantly with every hit, yet he’s dodging all my pathetic attacks with ease while saying, “Let’s not fight~” which makes me incredibly pissed.
Krrr-grind—!
While I’m getting pummeled by Akito, Rio’s magic explodes. Giant stone thorns erupt in all directions, dividing everyone and blocking the Fierce Beast Girl’s escape route.
Grasping the situation instantly, Akito tries to smash through the stone walls made of thorns, but I throw my body in the way to block his attack.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
“Why are you so intent on killing her? She’s someone we can talk to!”
“You can talk to a serial killer, too. If you ever meet one, make sure to let them go so they can kill someone else.”
Thud— Clang—! Crunch— Bam—! Skreeee—!
It’s sad that all these hitting sounds are the sounds of me getting hit.
Even while being beaten by Akito, I grab onto him and don’t let go.
I think I’m enduring more easily because he’s more desperate about being separated and is trying to regroup quickly rather than trying to take me down.
If he were actually trying to kill me, it would have been rough.
Just then, a streak of light passing through the sky suddenly hooks downward and crashes near us.
“Kaaaaah—!”
Looks like she took a direct hit from Angelica’s ultra-long-range sniping.
Do you think I taught Rio earth-attribute detection magic for nothing?
Did you think you could easily pass through a barrier of intersecting stone thorns with that body of yours?
If you try to slither through, Rio catches your location, and since you’re caught between thorns, there’s no room to dodge.
As the Fierce Beast Girl screams, the look in Akito’s eyes changes.
“Huh? Whoa? Argh?”
I watched it from right in front of me, but I don’t even know what he did.
Was it some kind of self-defense technique used by special forces in action movies? Moving his hands this way and that, he twisted my arms and body, pushed me away, and in an instant, I was lying on the ground. The Etiquette Infuser I dropped fell beside me a moment later.
After pinning me down, Akito quickly turns around, smashes through the stone barrier, and heads toward the Fierce Beast Girl.
Damn it, don’t use cool techniques all by yourself.
I scramble up, grab the Etiquette Infuser, and chase after him.
Another spell from Angelica falls, but Akito deflects it all and checks on the agonizing Fierce Beast Girl.
“She’s not… healing?”
“Because it’s magic mixed with strong acid.”
With my game knowledge, I know exactly how to deal with her type.
Whether she intends to maintain her human form until the end, the Fierce Beast Girl doesn’t change her shape even though there’s a hole in her thigh.
You don’t walk anyway, do you? You glide with your feet on the ground, so why are you pretending you can’t walk just because of a little hole in your leg?
Akito stands in front of the Fierce Beast Girl as if to protect her and raises his sword.
Ugh, look at how flashy that sword is. Aren’t you embarrassed carrying that around?
“Are you going to keep going even after all this chaos?”
“I promised to protect her.”
“Are you going to keep a promise made to a serial killer, too? No, you wouldn’t have made a promise in the first place. So why did you make one with her? Because she looks like a girl?”
“… …”
Yeah, that disease where you’re usually smart but turn into an idiot when it comes to women isn’t going anywhere, is it?
I guess you don’t want to miss out on non-human sex either. Fine, as a gentleman, I understand.
“Please step back. Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to get serious…”
Ooh, I’m so scared. So you were taking it easy on me while you were pummeling me earlier?
Well, I suppose you’re incredibly strong since your stats have been inherited through several playthroughs.
I know he hasn’t shown his true power yet.
But it’s already over.
Cr-crack—
The stone thorns that filled the area begin to crumble, and the surrounding view starts to become visible.
“…What on earth is going on here?”
Berengel frowns as if he can’t understand the scene of us fighting.
Since I reported it the moment we found the Fierce Beast Girl, it’s only natural that the mages would come.
The Frees… yeah, the Frees are a bit lacking, but the agents who came here aren’t pushovers.
They arrived right on time while we were working hard to stall.
Seeing the mages surrounding them, Shiori and the Samurai quickly stand by Akito’s side.
“… …”
Chika, you too?
Chika, who arrived with Ailee, looks at me with a complicated expression.
I can see everyone’s resolve to take Akito’s side if push comes to shove.
The moment Akito argues about whether to save the Fierce Beast Girl or not, he becomes a criminal.
“I asked what happened.”
When there’s no answer, Berengel asks again, and I only look at Akito.
Is this guy really going to do this?
There’s no sign of discouragement in his eyes. Rather, they are eyes filled with burning will and determination.
This is why guys who have never failed are a problem.
No, maybe even if he chooses to oppose them here, he’ll eventually be recognized in the end and everyone will have a happy ending.
Because he’s the protagonist loved by this world.
“Ahahahaha!!!”
When I suddenly start laughing like a madman, everyone stares at me blankly.
After letting out a laugh loud enough to echo through the forest, I stop abruptly and look at Berengel.
“Ah— I’m sorry. We had a disagreement over what to do with that monster, so we fought.”
“A disagreement? And so you attacked each other?”
“No, no. I was the one who attacked. I was just a bit pissed off. They did nothing wrong. My teammates were just trying to protect me because I suddenly started fighting.”
“… …”
Berengel looks back and forth between me and Akito, then grips his stick and asks.
“…You said there was a disagreement? What do you mean?”
At his words, Shiori and the followers tighten their grip on their weapons, preparing for a fight.
The agents aren’t idiots either; they read the atmosphere, grip their sticks tightly, and a sense of tension fills the air.
“Because it’s an intelligent monster, they wanted to capture it.”
“It has intelligence?”
At the mention of intelligence, Berengel looks at the Fierce Beast Girl in surprise.
I know it’s rare, but it’s a bit annoying that he doesn’t even care that we were fighting.
And Akito and his followers look at me with startled eyes.
“Yes, capture. It seems that team over there had some kind of conversation with it…”
“Wait, you said there was a disagreement. What were you trying to do?”
“I was trying to kill it. It killed the villagers. If it gets captured and turns out to be cooperative, it’ll probably live a good life, and how could I stand to watch that? It pissed me off.”
“…Bringing emotions into a mission is a dangerous thing to do.”
“That’s why I said I was sorry. I’m well~ aware.”
I answer with a deliberately sarcastic tone and a face that doesn’t look sorry at all.
Normally, capturing a monster is the priority if possible.
Because a monster is more valuable alive for gathering information.
Especially a rare one like this Fierce Beast Girl.
Akito, you idiot who turns into a moron whenever a woman is involved. Read the room.
Capture is the maximum I can concede.
If she’s cooperative with humans, she’ll hardly suffer as an experimental subject, and if she follows Akito, she might even be guaranteed some level of comfort.
Honestly, I just want to kill her, but it’s better for her to get hit by Akito’s brainwashing beam and turn over a new leaf than for her to escape and wreak havoc in another town.
Giving up on the idiot who still doesn’t understand the situation and is just blinking blankly, I lock eyes with Shiori.
You’re quick-witted and smart.
This is the only way to save your brother.
“…Yes, that’s right. When we tried to persuade it with words and capture it, that man said he couldn’t accept it and attacked us.”
Though it’s an opportunity to pin the blame on me, Shiori grimaces as if she doesn’t like it, but she forces herself to go along with my words.
I guess even though she hates me and wants to beat me to death, she doesn’t want to do something cowardly.
“You realize this is a fairly serious matter, don’t you?”
“No…”
“I know. That’s why I’m giving up and staying quiet before things get any bigger. Oh, and since this was my own independent action, my teammates are innocent.”
Cutting off Akito as he tries to protest, I raise both hands above my shoulders.
Shiori also quickly sticks to Akito’s side, whispering something to persuade him.
“We’ll find out after an investigation.”
At Berengel’s command, agents approach to arrest me and surround the Fierce Beast Girl.
I don’t know what she said, but at Shiori’s persuasion, Akito approaches the wary Fierce Beast Girl and reassures her.
Leaving behind the Fierce Beast Girl, who clings to Akito like a puppy that loves its owner, I follow the agents away.
Angelica, who arrived late because she was sniping, looks at me with worry, so I give her a smile.
With the merits I’ve built up so far, and since Akito’s side won’t want me punished, I probably won’t get kicked out of Yggdrasil or end up in prison.
Sigh— taking care of Akito’s messes is getting harder and harder.
Or maybe I’m just overstepping my bounds trying to save people when I’m a nobody.
Whatever it is, I’m tired.
Since the merits I’ve built up so far have probably gone down the drain with this, I should just live quietly without drawing attention for a while.