26 - The Bus Driver Wants Praise
Crunch. The stark sound of bones and muscles twisting echoed through the air. Her once frail body was filling out in real time with taut, beast-like muscles. Her height had shot up by at least 5 cm. A sleek, beautiful silhouette like a master dancer or a leopard eyeing its prey. But contrasting that beauty, an instinctive terror swallowed us whole.
Tremble, tremble. My body shook without my say-so. Even as an ally, the overwhelming pressure from some primal biological hierarchy.
Status Abnormality (Fear)
Ugh... my body won't listen. I gritted my teeth and whipped my head around. Leo, our frontline tank, had a deathly pale look as he inched backward. The massive tower shield in his hands was rattling like mad.
Vwooom—!
Blood-red mana began rippling from Piarot's body like heat haze. At her feet, a thick shadow writhed like a living thing and rose up.
Swish, swish. Two thin, sharp arrowhead-shaped shadow spears rose on either side of her. Like cobras guarding their master, their tips stood rigid, aimed straight ahead.
Her crimson eyes locked onto the horde of black rabbits pouring down from above.
Whoosh—!!
The air tore apart. She kicked off the ground and launched forward. It wasn't human speed. No afterimage, just pure cannonball charge.
The lead Black Rabbit didn't even have time to react.
Splat—!!
The shadow spear floating behind her left shoulder stretched out like a tentacle. A black flash pierced the rabbit's forehead dead-center, skewering the ones behind it like kebabs.
At the same time, the right spear whipped around like a lash.
Slice—. A chillingly clean cut. Three charging Black Rabbits split perfectly in half mid-air.
Leaving a fountain of blood spraying from the severed sections in her wake, she plunged straight into the heart of the pack.
Hundreds of monsters swarmed her.
But they weren't the predators here.
"Raaargh—!!"
A beastly roar exploded from her mouth.
Whoosh—! Vrooom!
The two shadow spears orbiting her began spinning at insane speeds. Like the blades of a massive blender.
She didn't stop, dancing through them. Spinning, slicing, piercing, shredding.
Crack! Splat! Rip!
The grinding of flesh and bone drowned out even their screams. Crimson blood mist rose wherever she passed. A blender of death pulverizing anything that approached.
Before that overwhelming violence, the ferocious Black Rabbits were just chunks of meat getting mulched.
"F-Fucking... insane..."
A dazed mutter slipped from Kai beside me.
That's... the same sweet, airheaded Piarot I knew?
It was a calamity. A beautiful, brutal silver calamity.
"Snap out of it!! This isn't the time to gawk! They're coming our way too!!"
My shout jolted the party back to reality.
"Keeek!!"
Their eyes were bloodshot red. The surviving remnants surged toward us.
I glanced at Piarot. She was mulching half the Black Rabbit legion in an overwhelming display. But against thousands, it wasn't enough.
No more breathing room. The leftovers are ours.
Pew—!
Lina reacted first. Her arrow flew straight, nailing the lead Black Rabbit between the eyes.
Thud—! It smashed into the ground without a scream.
"Nice shot, Lina!!"
Her face lit up at my praise, but no time to relax. The main wave was almost on us.
"Raaagh!!"
Leo slammed his shield and roared.
Taunt
Vmmm—! A blue wave spread from the shield, forcibly yanking the gazes of rabbits trying to blow past us straight to Leo.
"Kik! Kieek!"
They veered toward him, swarming.
Clang! Clang! Crunch!
Leo blocked fangs and claws with his hefty tower shield, then gutted them with his longsword on openings. Solid tanking.
But their numbers were overwhelming—a blind spot in the shield was about to get pierced.
Swish.
A shadowy figure slipped in.
"Opening."
Kai. He slid in behind Leo, slitting the throats of rabbits sneaking past the shield with his daggers.
Slice, stab! Clean assassin's work.
Our frontliners were holding perfect.
"Nice! Mobs are clumped!!"
I yelled. Leo's Taunt had bunched them up tight.
"Hans hyung!!"
"Got it, cast complete!!"
A massive fireball blazed at the tip of Hans's staff.
Fire Ball
Kaboom—!!
The huge fireball detonated over the rabbits' heads.
"Keeeaak!!"
Blast wave scattered dirt and corpses everywhere. Flames spread, igniting the rest amid the stench of burning fur and roasting meat.
Sizzle... As smoke cleared, only charred monster husks littered the ground.
"Hah... hah..."
"We... we did it."
Total victory. The party slumped, panting.
That's when it happened.
From the blood mist ahead, someone emerged.
Step, step.
Piarot. Hundreds of corpses carpeted the path under her feet.
Swish... As she approached, her dazzling silver hair darkened from the roots to jet black. The eerie red glow in her eyes and sharply defined muscles vanished like a lie.
From living calamity god back to fragile girl.
She came right up to me and beamed.
"Hehe... Evan, did I do good?"
Blood splatters on her face clashed weirdly with that innocent smile.
"......"
"......"
The area went dead silent, like someone dumped ice water.
Leo, Hans, even bubbly Lina—all stood gaping, jaws dropped.
Fear, awe, and cognitive dissonance mixed on their faces.
Oh boy...
I gave a wry internal smile.
She's not even trying to hide it anymore.
Fine by me. I wasn't planning to announce we were dating, but come next year, no more hiding anyway.
I ignored the party's freaked stares and reached out.
Pat, pat.
"Yeah, senpai. You did amazing."
"Heehee..."
She nuzzled my palm happily, like a pup thrilled by praise. No trace of the slaughter machine from moments ago—just an excited doggo.
"Can't help you."
I pulled a handkerchief and water from my bag, meticulously wiping the blood from her face.
"Hehe... Thanks, Evan."
The party's eyes shook even harder watching.
I scanned the stunned group and spoke calmly.
"Hans hyung, detection magic please. Everyone else, kill on sight."
Hans snapped to and gripped his staff.
"Black Rabbits' engagement rule is 'total extermination,' after all."
"Huh? Oh, got it. Leave the rest to me."
I stomped the neck of a twitching survivor on the ground for emphasis.
"Their breeding rate is abnormal... Spare even one pair, and in a year, this mountain's overrun again. Gotta wipe the seed completely."
"Ugh... gross bastards. On it!"
Kai and Leo grimaced but got to cleanup. Hans deployed wide-area detection.
"Detect Life...! Three reactions in the bushes at 2 o'clock!"
"Lina!"
"On it!"
Pew, pew! Her arrows vanished into the brush, followed by dying squeals and silence.
Watching the party move like clockwork, I furrowed my brow.
Thousands of corpses strewn around. Even with crazy breeding, this was over the top.
What the hell... was the beast management team doing while they multiplied like this?
We swept the area, mopping up stragglers for a while.
"Hya!"
"Die!!"
The party was syncing up nicely now. With Piarot handling the bulk, the remnants were easy pickings.
Soon, silence returned to the forest.
"Phew... think that's all?"
Leo shook black blood from his shield, breathing ragged.
"Hans hyung, status?"
"Hold on."
Hans raised his staff for another scan.
Vmmm... Transparent waves pulsed through the woods.
"Hmm, no reactions nearby. Life signs: zero."
"Phew... what a mess..."
"Nearly bit the dust."
Kai and Lina finally relaxed, flopping down.
"Good work, everyone. We made it thanks to you."
I pulled out the magic engineering camera from my bag.
Click, click.
Meticulously photographed the corpse mountains and battle scars.
"Mm... this should cover the quota and then some. Probably an A-rank evaluation."
"Whoa, really?"
"Haha, worth the grind."
Their faces brightened. After brushing death, fat rewards were due.
For final checks, we headed to the forest's depths, where a blue shimmer flickered.
Vmmm—.
An eerie hum vibrating the air. A massive oval portal floated there.
D-rank Dimensional Gate
A one-way portal linked to the demon realm. The swirling blue membrane only let things through from that side to this—a one-way door.
We couldn't enter even if we tried; invisible walls blocked it.
Decades since a demon last crossed.
But it wasn't closed. Thick, sticky demonic energy still leaked from beyond, nonstop.
This was the culprit corrupting the land, twisting normal beasts like rabbits into vicious monsters.
"Ugh... creepy. Can't we seal it quick?"
Lina shuddered, rubbing her arms.
"Money's the issue."
I replied flatly.
"Gates in capitals or farmlands get mana stones dumped to seal 'em... but this is backwater wasteland."
"Ah..."
"Cheaper to periodically send students for sweeps. Win-win trash disposal for the academy."
"......Too real, kinda depressing."
Leo gave a bitter smile.
"Alright, let's head out?"
That's when.
"Wha... what?"
Hans's bewildered groan came as the gate's blue shimmer instantly turned blood-red.