Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Sacrifice
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A clear sky and bright sun greeted us as we stepped outside.
-Huff! Huff!
The group, who had rushed up to the surface, was breathing raggedly.
"Haa... haa... D-Did we escape successfully?"
-KABOOM!!
No sooner had Carrie spoken than a massive tentacle erupted upward, smashing through the building. The eyes embedded in its fleshy mass darted around, searching for something.
And then those eyes locked onto us.
The giant tentacle barreled toward us, demolishing buildings in its path.
"Damn it!! Give us a break!! What the hell did we do to deserve this chase?!"
Carrie vented her frustration nonstop.
Tell me about it.
Was it because of Edward?
No matter how I thought about it, this mess seemed to start when that guy insisted on entering the building and burned the membrane with fire.
I should've stopped him then. Blaming it now was pointless.
The group fled straight to the parked pickup truck without a moment's rest, just as planned.
The marathon of pursuit by the tentacle began anew.
I scooped up Jessica and Carrie, the two with the weakest stamina, one under each arm.
Carrie familiarly wrapped her arms around my neck and settled in.
Jessica flinched a bit when I pulled her close but soon leaned into me steadily.
Running while carrying two women like this brought a new problem: Edward was starting to lag behind.
"Philip, give Edward a piggyback. You planning to ditch your boyfriend?"
"Huh? That sheriff Philip is Edward's lover?!"
Jessica gasped in surprise at the mention of Edward's boyfriend.
"Fuck! I'm not his boyfriend!"
Philip scowled in denial.
But he couldn't refuse to carry Edward.
Should I do it, carrying two people already? If he had any conscience, he wouldn't ask me to piggyback Edward too.
Grace and Richard were options, but passing it off to them would be unmanly and embarrassing.
Philip reluctantly offered his back to Edward in the end.
"Fuck! Edward, hop on quick!"
"Hek! Hek! Th-Thank you, Philip."
With Philip carrying Edward, no one else fell behind.
Still, the crisis wasn't over.
-KWABOOM!!
The massive tentacle packed with eyes tore through the road clogged with vehicles without hesitation, closing in on us.
The distance to the tentacle shrank rapidly.
At this rate, it'd catch us soon.
We sent a message to Crow flying above us.
Crow flinched at my increasingly harsh tone.
And began a steep dive from the sky.
"Th-That thing!!"
Carrie seemed to spot the massive crow plummeting from the sky.
Crow shot in like lightning, talons extended, slamming into the giant fleshy tentacle with the force of his descent.
-KABOOM!
The tentacle recoiled from the impact. The loud crash made the group glance back in alarm.
"Crazy! One mountain after another! What the hell is that?!"
Philip shouted in shock at Crow's unmistakably monstrous appearance.
Crow clutched the giant tentacle with his talons and flapped his wings furiously, blocking its path toward us.
He was faithfully carrying out my orders.
"L-Looks like it's fighting?"
Edward stared blankly at the two monsters.
"No time for that. If even one turns on us, we're done. Run while we have the chance."
Grace urged them on with a grave expression.
While the two behemoths grappled...
We resumed our escape toward the pickup trucks as originally planned.
Small tentacles sprouted from the writhing skin of the giant tentacle, wrapping around Crow's legs.
Such a drama queen.
Crow flapped wildly, pecking the tentacles off his legs with his beak before soaring back into the sky.
'Crazy... Crow... Calling that an injury after just getting grabbed briefly...'
It made no sense for Crow's rank to struggle against a mere tentacle, not even the main body.
'This guy... needs to cut the coward act.'
I'd have to give him a proper attitude adjustment sometime.
Regardless, thanks to Crow, we'd put considerable distance between us and the giant tentacle.
As Crow fled into the sky, its target switched back to us. But the giant tentacle suddenly halted its pursuit shortly after.
"Huh? What's it doing?"
"Did it give up?"
"No... Maybe the tentacle's not long enough?"
Jessica seemed right.
We were already on the city outskirts.
The tentacle was far from its main body.
It couldn't extend infinitely.
A plausible guess.
Relief washed over the group's faces—
—when the tip of the giant tentacle detached.
The massive hunk of flesh sprouted several legs on either side.
A thick body made of meat, flanked by four pairs of legs.
Holy shit...
"Eek!! Toad!!"
Carrie screamed in horror.
A 10-meter giant flesh toad was born.
No, uglier than a toad.
Its mouth was a round hole writhing with small tentacles inside, and huge eyes bulged across its body.
Truly a uniquely repulsive sight.
The giant flesh toad detached from the tentacle hustled after us on its eight legs.
Fortunately, we reached the parked pickup trucks before it caught up.
Richard and Edward split up into the two trucks and took the wheels.
The group quickly piled into the vehicles, and I climbed into the bed of the pickup Edward was driving.
"H-Hurry and go!!"
Carrie urgently prodded Richard at the wheel.
She really hated that toad.
-VROOOM!
No movie-style engine failure drama happened.
-SCREECH!!
The pickup accelerated sharply, speeding down the road in an instant.
The massive flesh toad chased ferociously after us fleeing by truck.
"Huh?"
Edward, driving, stared in disbelief at the rearview mirror.
"Th-This is max speed... B-But it's catching up."
The giant flesh toad closed the gap steadily.
For its size, it was disgustingly fast.
"A-At this rate..."
We're done for.
Cold sweat beaded on the faces of the group in the trucks.
Call Crow back?
No...
This was perfect timing.
"Everyone, keep driving straight. I'll catch up later."
"What...?"
The group stared blankly, uncomprehending.
Ignoring them, I leaped from the speeding pickup.
"Un-ho!!"
Leaving the shocked group behind, I charged straight at the flesh toad.
Its grotesque mouth tentacles lunged to swallow me.
I dodged and vaulted onto its head.
A nearby eye swiveled toward me.
I plunged my spear deep into it.
-SQUELCH!!
-SKREEE!!
Pained by the eye stab, the flesh toad thrashed wildly to shake me off.
I gripped the embedded spear like a rodeo rider, holding on tight.
I decided to stick to its back and draw its attention for a bit.
The wounded eye sank into its flesh.
And regenerated quickly.
Tentacles slithered up from the skin where I stood, grabbing at me.
I glanced at the group.
Philip was desperately holding Carrie back as she tried to fling open the door and jump out, even taking hits.
Grace poked her head out the window, gazing at me pitifully in a daze.
The two pickups sped away, shrinking to dots before vanishing completely.
"They gone?"
Perfect timing, I thought.
No better plan came to mind...
And the group's safety was secured for now.
I'd separate from them briefly, take down this toad, and excise Seattle's massive malignant tumor.
Then head back to camp.
Americans go nuts for heroes.
The return of a hero presumed dead.
A self-sacrificing champion miraculously survives and returns?
What better event to skyrocket favorability? I could max out Grace's and Jessica's affection.
Might even score a kiss from Grace.
Or something... deeper...
Win-win, literally.
The flesh toad wrapped tentacles around me, unyielding, and dragged me toward its maw.
My body was already half-swallowed. My lower half felt intense pressure, but it meant nothing to me.
Playtime was over.
Time to exterminate the toad.
Mana surged from me, enveloping my body firmly.
And began to expand.
The expanding mana tore away the tentacles and flesh clinging to me.
I sensed the flesh toad's panic and confusion.
I'd once thought gigantification inefficient.
But my mana was perfectly suited for materialization like this. Matching the size of big foes was highly effective.
In an instant, the expanding mana crushed the toad's head.
I'd formed a 10-meter black giant roughly matching its size. I eyed the sluggish, rapidly-regenerating flesh toad.
Before heading to remove the massive malignant tumor.
I'd warm up by pummeling this thing as an appetizer.