The Nightmare (8)
With a pained wail that tore from his throat, Rozo hurled his broken bow aside.
The old relic of his adventuring days tumbled across the ground, but there was no choice. Had he not deflected the axe with it, he would have been the one lying there himself.
His face, twisted in desperation as he forced his ruined body to keep moving, was a portrait of urgency.
KREEAAA!!!
Behind him, the pursuing orc warrior roared, swinging his blood-stained axe with wild abandon.
The ground beneath him had long since been carved deep by the desperate rolls Rozo had taken to evade those lethal strikes. He had no strength left to run. His body, long past its prime and now that of a retired adventurer, could barely endure even the simplest of movements.
If he had not sent that orc into the forest, he would have returned as a far greater disaster one day. Yet the arrow he had loosed had buried itself in the brute’s forearm, and the beast’s rage had only grown. His lifespan drained away in real time.
“Damn it all…”
The other adventurers had long since fled the area. Only Rozo remained, and that meant the orc had only one living target left.
His eyes burning with fury, the warrior raised his axe high and bellowed.
KRRRRAAAAA!!
I will tear you apart. Then I will crush the village beyond the mountain. I will bring you the pain I have tasted.
The rage alone was enough to drive him forward.
The massive axe plunged down, burying itself in the earth.
Rozo barely dodged it with his old, aching limbs, but the rebounding stone fragment slammed into his shin with a sickening crack.
“Ugh…!”
He collapsed, gasping, his voice low and broken. Was it a fracture, or merely a deep bruise? He could no longer stand, let alone run. The thought of putting even the slightest weight on that leg was unbearable.
Retirement had been one thing, but this… this was the cruelest joke of all.
If he had been at his prime, he might have thought of attacking instead of simply fleeing. But the ravages of time had left his body broken. Still, he had to leave some wound behind before he died.
Since the adventurers had fled, word of this would reach the village. Whether they ran in panic or gathered to fight, time was the only thing they needed. Since he was already doomed, he might as well buy a little more.
“Come on, you pig bastard!”
Rozo drew his dagger from his waist with a voice thick with resolve. The orc warrior skidded to a halt, muscles coiling as he glared down at the old man, eyes the color of fresh blood.
One human. That was all that remained.
KRRRRAAAAAK!!!!
He leaped, axe raised to split the man’s skull.
[PIERCE]!!!
CHERRRRRRRING!!!
Metal met metal with a ringing clang. The axe was sent flying upward.
At the same instant, a blinding light filled the space between Rozo and the orc.
[DIVINE CHARGE]!
A single voice rang out, and the bright glow streaming from Er’s hand repelled the orc’s weapon.
The woman who held it was blonde, her hair whipping in the breeze, her emerald eyes sparkling with resolve.
“You must be…?”
“Ahin, please take care of the village chief for me!”
Er’s face, stripped of every trace of shadow, spoke with quiet urgency.
“W-wait, hold on! That guy is a brute who loves to fight…!”
“Hey, old man, if you want to live, come this way. Don’t get in the way.”
“What are you saying…!”
Before Rozo could answer the careless words of a man who had no manners at all, a scream of agony shattered the night.
KRAAAAA!!!
The sound echoed across the entire orc settlement.
He had no idea what was happening. Even at his peak as a Silver-rank adventurer, he had never imagined anything like this.
A monster that had split dozens of humans in half without a shred of fatigue. A creature that should have been the end of this place. He had resigned himself to death when—
KRRRRAAAAA!!
With a cry of pain, bright red blood sprayed across the ground.
It had been so simple. She had simply deflected the falling axe with her shield and cut straight through the orc’s chest.
The leather armor had prevented a killing blow, but that alone had been enough to make the brute retreat.
Countless others had died because they could not do that, yet this woman had done it so easily.
“This… what is this…?”
She was undeniably one of the stronger adventurers. A promising rookie who lived by the basics and carried high hopes for the future. She had absolutely no business facing something like that monster alone.
“What’s with the shocked face? There are geniuses everywhere, you know?”
“Even geniuses can’t last for hours! This is like a miracle from the gods…!”
“A miracle of the gods?”
One cheek of Ahin’s face had flushed red from the blow he had tried to land on Er.
{[Bond] skill penalty activated!}
Was your trust that false?
“I have no idea what you’re trying to say…”
Why did he have to be cursed with this kind of restriction? What was the point of bringing him back from the dead if it was going to be like this? If he was truly a god, why would he impose such trials?
“…Forget that for now, old man. Can you still walk?”
“I-I…”
Rozo looked down at his shattered leg with a troubled expression.
The stone fragment that had been kicked up by the orc’s axe had torn through his leg. The wound beneath the ripped fabric was a deep, purple bruise, blood pooling beneath the skin.
The adrenaline that had kept him moving until the last moment had vanished the moment another person appeared.
“…It’s bad.”
He could not even run, and walking was a struggle.
“This is a problem. The orc’s attack range will reach us soon.”
“…Attack range? Are you saying there’s a way to kill that monster?!”
“There is.”
Ahin’s lips curled into a faint smile as he looked into Er’s eyes, filled with trust, and then turned to watch her back.
Light gathered around her, condensing at the tip of her sword. The moment that light reached her blade, she would bring the orc down.
They had to get out of her range. After all, they faced an orc warrior far stronger than the skeletons they had fought in the underground mausoleum. Er’s full power would be required. The area affected by her strike would be far larger than before.
With Er’s growth and Ahin’s improving grasp of [Bond] and his own skills, their synergy had become explosive.
While Ahin was still trying to decide what to do, Rozo’s voice—calm and resolute—cut through the tension.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“…What?”
“I’m already finished the moment my leg gives out. If I try to drag you out and lose the chance, it’s over.”
Ahin stared at the man’s face, then let out a long sigh.
Lately, this kind of thing kept happening. Injured people kept appearing around him, just as if he were trying to hide his power.
Why?
Was escaping the temple wrong? Or had it been his fate all along?
But he had no choice now.
Er was growing more focused on checking on Ahin every few seconds. Even with the Blessing of Ahin and the [Bond] state, the danger was rising with every passing moment. She could not be sure the orc would remain dazed forever.
And the fight was too close.
So he had no choice.
“…If you have a conscience, stop wandering around spouting nonsense.”
“What are you suddenly—”
Before Rozo could finish, his words died.
The man looking down at him with indifferent golden eyes began to emit light from both hands.
The glow was so beautiful it was impossible to look away. Warm, like sunlight, yet strangely calming.
Rozo had barely registered that the light was sinking into his leg when Ahin smiled.
“Now you can run.”
“N-no, wait! What is this, how?! Did you do this?!”
“There’s no time to ask that! Your disappearing here is helping us!”
Ahin pushed Rozo away as the old man stumbled to his feet.
Er alone would handle the retreat.
No longer trembling with fear, her face pale and lips blue, she swung her sword without hesitation. The Rosario around her neck caught the light.
No more nightmares. No more fear. Nothing more to be afraid of.
Ahin approached her back, breathing deeply.
“Er!!!”
“I was waiting for you!”
Er’s shield slammed forward the instant she heard his voice, deflecting the heavy axe that had been aimed at his neck and sending it soaring into the air.
The orc warrior’s expression twisted in confusion, then twisted into a cruel smile.
That damned shield again. Why did this irritating, indestructible shield keep being the problem?
Finally it slipped from her grip and hit the ground.
That was his victory. The annoying human would not be able to block his axe now.
KRRRRAAAAA!!!
Victory tasted sweet. He raised the axe high, ready to bring it down and splash the man’s brains and blood everywhere.
He had been certain the man would fall.
Yet there he stood. Both hands gripping a sword that blazed with blinding light, burning brighter than anything around it.
The human was smiling. Smiling at his own victory without a shred of doubt.
The orc felt terror for the first time in his life. His instinct as a warrior screamed that the man before him could not be defeated so easily.
Kill him. Bring him down.
The orc charged forward with a roar, axe raised—
[JUDGEMENT]!!!
Light exploded.
A strangely anticlimactic ending.
●
“Huff… huff…”
Jane collapsed onto the forest floor after racing along the mountain path.
The clash of weapons and the screams of the humans had long since faded. Only the faint rustle of leaves and the sound of her own ragged breathing remained.
As the sun rose higher, casting golden light through the branches, Jane scanned the area with uneasy eyes. No one was chasing her. No adventurers. No orcs. Not even that woman.
“Heh… heh, you idiot. What guilt do you think you have…?”
To her, Er was nothing more than a fool. If she had survived, she should simply be happy about it. Why was she punishing herself so much?
If Er had not cut off her arm, Jane would have died on the spot. If she had been the one in that situation, she would have been demanding compensation while raging that the other woman had saved her life.
Guilt and a sense of justice were worthless burdens. Looking at herself now, she saw that she had survived while the arrogant woman had probably been crushed into paste by an orc’s axe.
Being one-armed was nothing compared to that.
“Pretending to be kind won’t get you anything. Why can’t you understand that, you idiot?”
Chuckling bitterly, Jane opened the pouch she had been clutching. Inside lay only two magic stones.
Both were large, and one had an unfamiliar color she had never seen before.
“This… I can just throw these away and leave. Where should I go? South coast? Or…?”
“You’ll go straight to hell.”
BOOM!!
Jane’s head snapped back as something heavy struck her. She collapsed, then slammed her head against a tree trunk and screamed in agony.
“Aah!!”
“Hurts, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean to—”
“W-who…?!”
Jerking upright, Jane’s eyes met a woman in white and black hair. Blue eyes like a clear sky regarded her coldly.
“I’m sorry, but I have a question. That pouch— is it yours?”
Jina, gauntlets still strapped to her waist, lightly brushed her wrist as she spoke.
“I remember it. My memory and my instincts tell me this looks like one of my former party members’.”
“W-what are you saying?! T-this is mine! Kidnapping me like this—!”
At that moment.
KWAAAAAANG!!!
“Hiiik!!”
The tree Jane had been leaning against exploded. Shards of wood flew in every direction, and her scream was swallowed by the deafening blast.
“Do not covet what belongs to others. Did you not learn that in childhood? Or is your family upbringing complete trash?”
Among the flying wood shards, Jina spoke with a cold expression, looking down at the trembling Jane.
“By the way, I just heard an interesting story.”
“H-heard it…?”
“Being tormented by guilt makes you an idiot…”
She could think whatever she wanted. Different people thought differently.
The god she believed in respected individuality and believed every thought was right unless it was clearly wrong.
So.
“You’re right. Yeah, you’re right.”
“R-really…?”
“Of course. The god said there is no wrong thought among all people.”
Only demons and black magicians were the exception. Everyone else’s thoughts deserved respect.
“Well, I’ll pretend to believe that. After all, mimicking the god’s kindness…”
“…A proposal?”
“L-let’s split it in half.”
Jane quickly loosened the pouch and continued.
“I only need one orc magic stone. This way I can eat for a few months… so take this sword stone and send me on my way…”
“Aaaah!!!”
The moment Jane’s hand touched the sword stone she was offering, she let out a scream of pure agony.
Her fingers, which had simply brushed the stone, turned black and filled with unbearable pain.
“Aaaah, aaaaah!!!!”
Even that brief contact sent her rolling on the ground. Her legs shot straight up into the air.
“An interesting proposal. You’re trying to dump something you can’t even handle onto me…”
“N-no, it’s not like that…!”
“Whatever. I never planned to listen anyway.”
“…What?”
Jina grabbed Jane by the nape of her neck, forcing her to look up.
“Even though Er is annoying and frustrating, she is not the kind of person who would hit me over the head and leave me behind. So…”
Her lips curved into a smirk.
“My plan to beat you up and take you to Er was never wrong, right?”
“W-wait…!”
“Shut up! Don’t bite your tongue…!”
Immediately after, the sound of someone screaming echoed through the forest.