Chapter 63: Kid(3)
Chapter 63: Kid(3)
Seeing the black spots appear on Lina's party, Nassen was certain of his victory.
The old shaman over there was formidable, but she was no match for him, who had grown his power through countless sacrifices.
"Looks like I've really won this time. Hehehe."
Nassen held the hostage in front of him like a shield.
This way, that sucker of a blonde bitch wouldn't dare unleash her sword aura recklessly.
Even that annoying man he'd been worried about was staying put inside the barrier. What could he possibly do in this situation?
Now that he had the upper hand, it was time to have some fun.
"Furuku. Stop for a moment."
"Buhiik?"
Furuku and the monsters stopped pounding on Victoria's barrier. Victoria was not in good shape.
The situation had already been difficult, but with the black spots from Nassen's curse now appearing on her body, she was at her limit.
"You, man."
"Me?"
"Yes, you son of a bitch. Do you have any idea what we've been through because of you?"
Do I really need to know that?
"Well, I suppose you don't need to know. But just killing you would be too merciful. You're going to feel double the pain we suffered."
"..."
"The red-haired woman next to you. She seems to care for you a great deal, doesn't she? You must be lovers, right?"
What's he deluding himself about? Still, if he wants to waste time, I'm grateful.
Kerry decided to play along with Nassen.
"And what if we are?"
"Hehehe. The answer is simple. As things stand, you're all going to die anyway. But if you kill that red-haired woman with your own hands... I'll at least spare the hostage. How about it?"
What is this idiot talking about? Why would I do something like that for a woman I don't even know?
It seemed Nassen was misjudging his character because of Lina. Kerry was no sucker.
"It's not such a bad offer, is it? I'm giving meaning to your otherwise meaningless deaths. It's what you hypocrites love most, isn't it? Things like noble sacrifices. Pfft."
Kerry felt a sigh about to escape.
Above all, that bastard had no intention of letting the hostage live. And he had no intention of sacrificing Natasha for a stranger.
Kerry just smiled.
Nassen felt a flicker of anxiety at that smile.
"...What's with that smile?"
"I wonder. What could it be?"
'Is he bluffing? Yes. It must be a bluff. There's absolutely no way to turn this situation around.'
To any observer, Lina's party was in a desperate crisis.
Lina, Kerry, Victoria, Natasha, and the grandmother—all of them looked like they were barely holding on inside the protective barrier.
The moment that barrier broke, Furuku and his horde of monsters would charge in.
It was far too much for Lina's party to handle, their bodies weakened by Nassen's curse.
'No matter how strong that blonde bitch is... she's in no position to fight while protecting her companions.'
When the barrier broke, that annoying man would be the first to die. So why was he smiling?
It happened in that instant. Just as Nassen felt an unidentifiable unease from Kerry's smile.
Suddenly, the space below his left arm felt empty.
He had been holding the hostage, but in an instant, his arm felt light. No, it wasn't just light—his arm was gone.
Blood spurted from Nassen's severed left arm like a fountain.
"Gyaaaargh! My... arm!!"
Natasha had ambushed him from behind.
"How did that red-haired bitch get behind me? Ugh!"
Nassen stared in disbelief at the party inside the barrier.
Natasha was clearly inside it!
But there was also a Natasha outside the barrier, running with the hostage in her arms.
"Two of the same person? What... is this..."
Just then, Kerry answered with a smirk.
"Ever heard of Illusion? It's an intermediate-level illusion spell."
At that moment, the image of Natasha inside the barrier flickered and vanished.
This is the kind of magic only the rich and talented get to learn, you bastard.
"Was that man a mage?"
Nassen hadn't yet received intel that Kerry was a mage. But Illusion was an intermediate-level spell.
Considering mages were highly skilled personnel, it was a very rare ability.
'If that man is an intermediate-level mage, why has he been pretending to be weak all this time?'
The more Nassen thought, the more confused he became. But this was no time for thinking.
Lina, who had been inside the barrier, shouted.
"Time for a counterattack! Engage!"
The moment Lina shouted, the barrier dropped. The party burst out and began to mow down the monsters.
Natasha, having taken the hostage to safety, was on her way back.
In an instant, the tide of battle began to turn.
Nassen could only watch as Furuku and the monsters were torn to shreds in a flash.
*
A single slash from Lina cut through the air. Simultaneously, a thin red line appeared on Furuku's neck.
Just as beads of blood began to form along the line, Furuku's head rolled onto the ground.
The monsters flinched and trembled at the sight.
Despite having a clear numerical advantage, they felt pressured by Lina and began to back away.
Just then, Furuku's head, lying on the ground, screamed.
"Buhiik! It hurts! My neck hurts so much! That blonde bitch! That bitch took my neck! Buhiik!"
Kerry grimaced at the sight.
"He can still talk even with his head cut off."
"Yes. They only die if you burn them to a crisp."
"What grotesque bastards."
This side was more or less finished. All that was left was Natasha and Nassen.
Natasha was relentlessly driving Nassen back with her scimitar.
"Ugh! This red-haired psycho!"
"Die! Die! The murderer of my tribe and my parents! Die!"
Natasha's scimitar struck down furiously. Nassen could only barely block with his one remaining arm.
Because of Natasha, the curse had been broken.
Once the black spots vanished, Lina's party easily won the battle.
"It wasn't enough to kill my parents and my tribe! How dare you! How dare you say something so horrible as to tell my husband to kill me! Die!"
Clang, clang, clang! The scimitar and Nassen's spear clashed. Nassen bit his lip.
'I lost again... because of that annoying man!'
If it weren't for that annoying man, he wouldn't have been cornered so pathetically.
But now, there was nothing he could do.
Barikmeteo had threatened to eat him alive if he didn't at least take them down with him, but there was no way.
'Forget taking them down with me, I'm about to die a dog's death.'
He'd already seen Furuku's head fall. The pig was an idiot, but they had still spent a long time together.
Nassen kicked Natasha away with all his might and whistled.
Fweeeet—!
At the same time, the monsters growled as their eyes began to change.
It wasn't the look of fear they'd had from Lina's presence.
To put it crudely, the monsters were starting to lose their minds.
"Something's wrong. Everyone, be careful!"
Lina warned the party.
At that same moment, one of the wolf monsters snatched Furuku's head in its mouth and started to run.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Lina tried to stop it, but she was blocked by the other monsters, which threw themselves at her as if begging to be killed.
The wolf monster carrying Furuku's head ran toward Nassen.
Nassen immediately jumped onto the approaching wolf.
Seeing this, Natasha shouted.
"Stop! Don't you dare run away, you coward!"
"Hmph. You should be protecting that lover of yours behind you."
At those words, Natasha glanced back.
The horde of monsters was surrounding the party, throwing themselves at them. They didn't stop even when they were slashed by swords or had their heads cut off.
Victoria was protecting Kerry, but the monsters' ferocity looked overwhelming.
Grind.
Revenge for her tribe, or Kerry's safety.
Natasha ground her teeth. But her choice was already made.
"Husband. I'll protect you!"
It was a choice unimaginable for the Natasha of the previous life, the one known as the Red Madwoman.
*
Lina and the others killed all the charging monsters.
The creatures had completely lost their minds, often attacking each other.
Countless monster corpses were piled up around Lina's party.
"Is everyone alright?"
The party members replied that they were fine. Only then did Lina nod in relief.
"I'm glad we finished without anyone getting hurt."
The party had fought a battle so fierce they were soaked in monster blood, but thankfully, no one was injured.
The horde of monsters losing their minds and charging had been quite dangerous.
Especially since they had to fight while protecting their rear. The monsters had recklessly tried to attack Kerry and the grandmother.
"Natasha. Thank you for protecting me."
"Of course. You're my husband, after all. Hehe."
"Tsk. Am I invisible to you?"
"Ah... I'm sorry, Grandmother. I'm glad you're safe, too."
"Granddaughters... raising them is all for nothing... Tsk, tsk."
The party was sitting on some rocks, taking a short rest, when a woman approached them.
It was the woman who had been Nassen's hostage.
"Thank you for saving me. You're all... truly incredible. To defeat so many monsters in an instant..."
The woman looked a little frightened, but she offered her thanks politely.
Lina waved her hands, saying it was nothing and that they had only done what was necessary.
As they were talking, the woman spoke as if she had just remembered something.
"Actually... there were many other people captured besides me. They're all from the same village..."
"Do you remember where that is?"
The woman nodded.
Lina stood up, full of motivation. Doesn't she ever get tired?
"Fortunately, she says the place where the missing people are being held isn't far from here. I'll go bring them back. The rest of you, please rest here."
Everyone was quite exhausted, so they nodded.
Lina and the woman began to disappear into the distance.
Victoria had really gone through a lot this time.
She'd had to maintain the barrier from the very beginning, holding off the monsters' assault.
Indeed, Victoria wore an exhausted expression.
Kerry and Victoria's eyes met.
'Victoria worked hard this time. Maybe I should praise her a little.'
Just as Kerry was about to open his mouth, Victoria, their eyes still locked, raised her hand.
Then, with that same tired look on her face, she made a sign by sticking her finger into a circle made with her other hand.
This lewd woman! Even when she's that exhausted, her libido is still raring to go!
Before long, Lina returned with the hostages. The party then escorted them back to the village.
The villagers cried out, moved by the sight.
*
Nassen was fleeing on the back of the wolf monster.
“Run. Run as fast as you can! Run like your life depends on it, you damn wolf!”
Nassen kept urging on the panting wolf, even though no one was chasing them.
Furuku, who was now just a head held in Nassen's hand, spoke with tears streaming down his face.
“Buhiik... It's all over... The mission failed... We're going to die... Barikmeteo is going to eat us! Buhiik!”
“Stop your damn whining, you pig!”
“Buhiik... We can't escape, Nassen. Buhiik. There's an unbreakable tracking spell on our hearts.”
“So we should just give up and let him eat us? You said being eaten is scarier than dying!”
“Th-that's right! Being eaten by Barikmeteo is worse than death. Buhiik! Just kill me now! Kill me right now! Buhiik!”
“Shut your mouth. Why die? We're going to live and run. For the rest of our lives if we have to.”
“Nassen... Buhiik... Sob... sob...”
Just then, a massive shadow began to fall from the sky. Nassen knew instinctively. The inevitable had arrived.
Just as Nassen was about to turn around, something sliced through the air, flashing past him.
Too late, Nassen realized his remaining right arm was gone.
“Ugh, damn it! My arm again!”
A giant, monstrous man blocked the wolf monster's path. It was the lion-headed fiend, Barikmeteo.
“Tsk. You idiots. To fail again.”
“Buhiik! Save me! Save me! Nassen! I don't want to be eaten!”
“Still a noisy pig, I see.”
“N-noooooo! Buhiiiiiik!!”
Barikmeteo popped the head of Furuku he was holding into his mouth.
Then he crushed it with his molars as if it were a piece of hard candy.
Crunch— Crunch—
As soon as Barikmeteo ate Furuku, veins bulged all over his body and his muscles swelled.
“Mmm. Quite nutritious. Looks like he's been eating well.”
“....”
Nassen stared blankly at the scene. He couldn't run.
His body was frozen in terror, unable to move. The wolf monster he was riding seemed to be in the same state.
“Nassen. Before I eat you, should I let you say hello to your friend?”
Barikmeteo's stomach squirmed and changed shape. It began to form a familiar face.
It was Furuku's face.
“Buhiik! Nassen! Please kill me! Buhiiiiiik!”
The tear-streaked face of Furuku screamed from Barikmeteo's stomach.