40
Chapter 40
The Luna Rabbit, which had been floating in the sky, slowly descended.
The center of the Humans' camp.
The Luna Rabbit revealed itself, stepping lightly onto the ground.
At its appearance, the Humans who had been enjoying the festival stopped what they were doing and even ceased their conversations to stare at the Luna Rabbit.
Revealing their wariness, the Humans reached for their weapons.
"What's up with that big-headed rabbit?"
"...Did it come down from the sky?"
"Wow, its proportions are atrocious. And why is it so huge? It's gross how it's only two heads tall but still roughly our size."
"That's a monster I've never seen before."
"There really are all sorts of monsters on this continent."
They were surprised, but not scared.
After all, there was only one opponent.
Not to mention, it was a rabbit-type monster.
Monsters with the appearance of rabbits are weak.
This was a widespread perception among Humans.
No, it was practically historically recorded common sense.
Because every single rabbit monster Humans had discovered so far fell on the weak side without exception.
So the Humans concluded.
That this rabbit wouldn't be that strong either.
Even if this was the Unknown Continent, there was no way a mere rabbit could be anything amazing.
Among the Humans who were having such thoughts.
Only one person evaluated the Luna Rabbit differently.
'That's a monster....'
Special Grade rank, Ebony Slayer.
This man realized it at once.
The fact that the rabbit appearing before his eyes was stronger than him.
It wasn't that he could see the opponent's information.
Only Appraisers with the Appraisal skill could see information like levels or ranks.
The existence of an Appraiser is extremely rare.
Those who can even use Appraisal on skills, or those who can perform Appraisals without touching the target, are exceptionally few. A small number of ordinary Appraisers joined the Expedition Team, but not a single one who could perform long-distance Appraisals came to this continent. Their deaths would be too great a loss for humanity.
Returning to the main point,
Naturally, the Ebony Slayer did not have the Appraisal skill.
Then how was he able to tell that the Luna Rabbit was stronger than him? By sensing the aura of Mana? No. A Human cannot determine an opponent's strength from that alone.
The reason the Ebony Slayer recognized the Luna Rabbit's strength was none other than because he was an Azure Human.
A Human with blue skin, an Azure Human.
They are inherently born with good intuition.
Most Azure Humans could instinctively recognize opponents stronger than themselves.
The Ebony Slayer was the same.
The moment he saw the Luna Rabbit, he saw through the fact that it was an existence far superior to himself.
"I can't even fathom how strong it is. Hehehe...."
However, he wasn't scared.
Rather, he wore a smile full of ecstasy.
Yeah, this is it! This is how the Unknown Continent should be!
A madness-tinged smile soon spread across the overjoyed Azure Human's face.
A bloody battle with a monster possessing overwhelming power, unfolding on the borderline of death. The thrill that can only be felt while walking a tightrope between life and death. This situation was exactly the moment he truly craved, and his reason for living.
"Pant, pant...."
The Azure Human gripped his weapon, letting out moans of joy.
He was so incredibly excited that even his crotch bulged out.
"■■□□■ □□■■?"
The Luna Rabbit opened its mouth while looking at the Azure Human.
Not a single Human understood what it said.
The Luna Rabbit continued to say something as it slowly walked toward the Humans.
The Humans in the camp, including the Azure Human, all grabbed their weapons.
The moment the weapons filled with Killing Intent were aimed at the Luna Rabbit.
"W-Wait a minute! Don't attack it! That rabbit monster hasn't attacked us yet!"
A woman stood in front of the other Humans to stop them.
She ran in front of the Luna Rabbit and spread her arms wide.
Shortly before the Luna Rabbit arrived.
She was a woman who had come from another camp to request supply support.
And she was a Human belonging to the Monster Protection Agency.
"That crazy bitch is at it again."
"Is everyone in the Protection Agency missing a screw in their head?"
"It might be friendly toward us, so I'll try communicating with gestures first!"
The woman stood facing the rabbit and continued speaking.
Speaking in a trembling voice, she attempted body language at the same time.
"H-Hello? I belong to the Monster Protection Agency─"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
Because her body was torn apart by a blue slash that flew in from behind.
The one who unleashed the slash was the Azure Human.
Holding his Soul Weapon, a Greatsword, in both hands, he was smirking at the Luna Rabbit with a madness-filled expression.
[Human lv.49]
┗Pw.98 (+95)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Soul Weapon]
┗Pw.95 (+98)
┗Rnk.Rare
"It's perfectly fine even after taking that? Hehehe...!"
When he became extremely excited, he could no longer distinguish his allies.
In this world, only his enemies and himself existed.
Even if there were allies nearby, he perceived them as nothing more than pebbles.
The woman wasn't the only one caught up in the slash.
The woman was still breathing, but nearly ten Humans in the path of the slash had died instantly from the attack just now.
The Luna Rabbit was perfectly fine.
It didn't have a single small scratch.
"□□■■?"
Blink, blink.
The Luna Rabbit looked down at the fallen woman.
What was that? Why did that Human attack his own kind?
Aren't kin supposed to protect each other?
It was a situation it absolutely could not understand.
While the Luna Rabbit was feeling puzzled.
The Azure Human immediately adjusted his grip on the Greatsword.
Swoosh- A blue light flowed out from the blade.
Soon after, the entire Greatsword expanded massively.
It was large enough to easily reach the Luna Rabbit, which was far away.
It wasn't just the size that had increased.
The power of the Greatsword Soul Weapon also increased.
[Human lv.49]
┗Pw.98 (+115)
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Soul Weapon]
┗Pw.115 (+98)
┗Rnk.Rare
"Let's see you block this too!"
The Azure Human raised the Greatsword, which had grown more than ten times in size, above his head.
And then he swung it down with all his might.
Crash-!
The Luna Rabbit lightly lifted one of its long ears and effortlessly blocked the Greatsword.
The eyes of the other Humans who saw the scene widened.
"Wh-What? It blocked that so easily?"
"Don't tell me the slash from earlier didn't miss, but just didn't work...?"
"No, that makes no sense! Why is a rabbit monster so strong?"
"...Could it be that it's not a rabbit?"
"More importantly, shouldn't we run away right now? That Ebony Slayer is launching wide-range attacks without even caring about us!"
Purple Mana flowed out from the Luna Rabbit's ear.
The purple Mana instantly wrapped around the Greatsword.
Shatter!
The Greatsword shattered into pieces like glass.
Iron fragments scattered in all directions and fell to the ground, leaving only the sword hilt in the Azure Human's hands.
The Luna Rabbit scratched its head with its long ear.
Was it because it had expected too much?
It doubted whether the Human in front of it was really the Special Grade rank that Ailee had mentioned.
"□□■."
The Luna Rabbit checked the Azure Human's Badge once again.
No matter how it looked, it wasn't a different color.
It was definitely the Black Badge, the token of the Ebony Slayer, one of the Special Grade ranks.
Sigh....
Letting out a sigh, the Luna Rabbit soon created a sphere above its head.
A purple sphere floated up.
It was a small moon shimmering mysteriously.
"□□■ □■ □■."
Hopefully, he lives up to expectations this time.
I'll hold back on my attack, so please don't disappoint me and block it.
With that thought, the Luna Rabbit began its counterattack.
Whir-
The moon vibrated, and a streak of purple light shot out from its surface in a straight line.
The purple streak pierced through the Azure Human's chest in an instant.
"Urgh!"
The Azure Human's body slumped powerlessly.
He died a futile death.
The camp fell silent at the death of the Ebony Slayer.
Unable to even think about running away, the Humans stood frozen in place, blankly staring at the Azure Human's corpse. They couldn't believe this reality.
"......."
As if finding it absurd.
The Luna Rabbit stared intently at the dead Azure Human.
The moon that had risen above her head slowly blurred and disappeared into thin air.
At the same time,
Wooong, wooong, woooooong!!!
The Luna Rabbit threw a temper tantrum, stomping her feet on the ground with a thump.
Why did he die in one hit!
I thought the Special Grade rank was supposed to be super strong!
Snorting aggressively, the Luna Rabbit quickly turned her head and glared at the other Humans.
"Eek!"
"R-Run away!"
"Crazy! What kind of monster is that!?"
The Humans, coming to their senses belatedly, grew terrified and started running away.
The Luna Rabbit didn't chase after them.
Her purpose for coming here was simply to compete with the one called a Special Grade rank. She wasn't even hungry, so there was no reason to go out of her way to kill weak Humans.
"Ugh, huuugh......."
Suddenly, the groans of a Human could be heard.
The Luna Rabbit turned her head in the direction of the sound.
She saw the woman whose body was torn apart earlier writhing in pain.
"□■ □■■?"
She's still not dead?
The Luna Rabbit ripped off the Azure Human's head to take it, collected the Black Badge, and then approached the fallen woman and stopped.
Wooong.
The Luna Rabbit held out her hand.
A small Full Moon rose above her palm.
It flowed into the Human woman's mouth.
Sizzle-
White smoke rose from the woman's entire body.
Her torn skin stitched itself back together one by one, and all her wounds began to heal cleanly.
The reason for saving her was nothing special.
This Human had taken an Action to protect her earlier.
It was simply a small reward for that goodwill.
"■□■■."
The Luna Rabbit turned around and suddenly left the area.
***
Ailee paused the story for a moment.
It was because one Luna Rabbit had left its seat.
She decided to resume the story once the Luna Rabbit returned.
While waiting for the Luna Rabbit's return.
Tosuni and I faced each other, holding hands, and were dancing with light steps.
It wasn't that we were suddenly doing a strange Action.
Because right now was the festival's dance time, I was dancing with my partner, Tosuni.
"Wooong, woooong~"
Just as we were enjoying the dance like that.
A loud voice rang out from far away.
"Wooooong! Aileeeee!!!"
A Luna Rabbit was flying toward the village at high Speed.
A Human head was wrapped in one of her long ears.
"I killed the Human called a Special Grade rank and only brought his head, but this guy seems to be an impersonator! I brought the Badge too, so check if this is fake or real! Woooong!!!"