Curious What They Feed On

Each step I took forward, countless gazes converged on this one body — and not only the stares of the magic beasts stretching out beyond sight, either. There were the flustered looks of the holy knight reaching out a hand toward me, and the would-be allies watching with their arms crossed.

"Wait, please!"

Wait for what, exactly? Those things are drawing closer still, and do they not realize this city will not remain unscathed? Harm, after all, is not limited to wounds taken directly. What of the fluids that bulk secretes? What of the remains?

The swarms of maggots that rot would breed, the stench and miasma of decay — even if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they burned it all, the smoke would blanket this city for days at the least, weeks at the worst. And yet they mean to face those things and fight here, in this very city. That takes a certain resolve, to be sure.

But it seems all these people can hear right now is that holy knight's voice.

"Worry yourselves not."

I am not the sort of irresponsible person who would rile them up and get them killed for nothing.

"Still — there really are a great many of them, aren't there."

Every last one of them massive, heavy-looking things. To maintain a body like that, they must surely eat enormous amounts, so where would one even find that much food?

"Ah — I could simply cut one open and find out."

With the spider, there hadn't been the opportunity to split its belly open, but here and now, why not? Besides, creatures of that size are bound to burst as they rot — one really ought to carve them open in advance.

"Are you people truly not the least bit curious?"

"And besides — that thing will burst if it isn't cut open."

Well, that's really the more important of the two reasons, but you are curious, aren't you.

The one who's good at explaining has shown up again, I see. You've spared my mouth a great deal of work.

"And who knows how much blood will pour out of that colossal frame."

Even at its very least, I won't escape looking like a drowned rat. Well — soaked in blood, in this case, rather than water.

Someone's going to have rough dreams tonight.

"I'll start with the eyes."

Taut, drawn muscle rises from my feet and races through my whole body. The compacted fibers explode outward and hurl me into motion — one stride launches the body, the second drives off the earth.

Kicking off empty air, leaping as though springing into the sky, I close the distance in an instant, and the Behemoth's enormous frame comes into sharper focus. The afterimage of driving snow sweeps past, veiling my form.

Even its eyes are this enormous — and for all that, they look rather sharp, wouldn't you say?

The Behemoth's colossal pupils strain to follow the movement of my body. A light flick of the sword — it parts without the slightest resistance, and along the line it carves, fluid bursts forth.

I would sooner die than take a shower in that.

Planting the blade beside its eye, I spin my body and ride the momentum skyward, over the Behemoth's head. The moment I'm flung up, I retrieve the embedded sword—

Landed safely.

The Behemoth roars like something gone mad as the pain finally catches up to it.

"What a spectacular voice."

At this point, it's less a living creature and more a war horn, isn't it?

Hm... aren't weak spots like the eyes 'common sense' that even a small child would know? Why on earth are they all so astonished?

So very many of them are astonished. And there was nothing special about it at all.

"Do any of you know why creatures that enormous are dangerous?"

"I truly cannot get through to you people..."

Still, it's a relief that not everyone here is beyond words. Not that this is a situation I haven't been through several times already.

"That may well be one reason. But these things do not know pain."

Born as they are with thick hide and a massive frame, most wounds would register as little more than a scratch, and there would be precious few things capable of piercing that hide in the first place.

"But what happens when an eye is carved out like this, hmm?"

KU-GUGUGUK! The colossal body thrashes its legs about at random, and the earth-shaking tremors stagger the magic beasts across the ground — some of them crushed flat and burst open outright.

"It goes mad, doesn't it."

Standing atop the Behemoth's head, it heaves and lurches without pause beneath me — but it makes for a fine vantage point to survey the battle.

"They fight rather well, don't they."

The holy knight and the Aura Knight... around the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠late Peak stage, I'd say.

Judging by the sword qi clinging to their blades — flowing calm and steady, not easily worn away — they've reached a seasoned, well-settled realm of mastery.

Now then — what am I to do with this one?

A beast robbed of its sight entirely, flailing about without reason, would be a problem, so I'll leave the remaining eye be. And yet...

KEEE-EEEEK!!

"Quite the flock of winged beasts, this."

The nameless birds that had been wheeling overhead, beating their wings roughly, fold those wings in an instant and shoot downward. Their targets are the knights. A blade cannot reach them mid-flight, so those I shall leave to the others — for guiding a sword remotely, I have only the one.

Besides, I can't be certain such a technique would even work in this place.

It's rather like watching a flock of pigeons wheeling over a park — except each one looks to be a hundred times the size of a pigeon, which is rather the difference, isn't it.

What manner of bird in the world grows that large?

No one has been torn apart yet, mind you.

"I shall leave those to the folks back there."

Of course, whatever dives at me I'll have to deal with myself — but will they even dare?

'Trash clearing,' they say. If I took on those things as well, I'd have far too much on my plate, wouldn't I?

"I myself will handle this enormous fellow and... hm. And that's the end of the list."

But when this one falls, I suspect a great many things will be crushed dead beneath it. I consider that assistance enough.

"Calmed down a little now, have we?"

The Behemoth glares up at me with its one remaining sound eye, its colossal pupil brimming with fury. From the eye I carved, black blood wells up in heaves, splashing out and staining everything around.

"It's still gushing blood, I see."

Something that enormous must have the blood pressure to match. A giant incapable of regeneration is nothing more than a sandbag that happens to have size, is it not?

"From this point on, I shall teach you how to deal with things that fail to live up to their own size — so carve every word into your bones."

"With thick-skinned creatures, your blade may go no deeper than the skin and fat—"

"—so use a good sword."

"But then again, I can hardly tell the likes of you to channel qi into your blades, can I."

"Of course I'm fine. Once you've gotten your hands on a good sword — and once you've managed to climb aboard the thing like this—"

sever the vessels and bleed it dry.

I drive the blade into the thick scalp and twist my body, and I can feel the edge punch through hide and fat alike, raking across the vessels beneath. One, two — the more vessels are cut away, the more the black, sticky blood swarms over the surface of the scalp and turns my footing slick, and the vessels spouting high into the sky come back down like rain.

"Hard to dodge, isn't it."

"There — just slice the vessels like so."

If you can manage it, cut near the heart or toward the head. Far more blood will come pouring out that way.

"From what I'm told, having blood drawn from you is said to feel quite refreshing."

"What was it they used to say... ah, yes. Once so much blood has left you that you can no longer feel the pain, it feels refreshing — was that it."

"Ah ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— I find myself regretting not bringing an umbrella."

Still, the sprayed blood is soaking the winged beasts' feathers, sending them plummeting one after another to the ground. All's well, either way.