CH 31

Chapter 31 – Severed Fate

“….H-Hah?” (Ohsaka)

I stood protectively in front of Mahina and directly faced Ohsaka.

“T-The hell are you saying, geezer?” (Ohsaka)

“….Geezer, huh…? Well, I guess you wouldn’t know with this appearance, Ohsaka.” (Bouchi)

“Y-You… how do you know my name…!?” (Ohsaka)

“I know from high school that you were always a piece of trash.” (Bouchi)

“High school…?” (Ohsaka)

“You cling to the authority given by your parents, and you’re literally the embodiment of conceitedness and vanity. Also, you’re an incompetent scumbag who can only bully the weak.” (Bouchi)

“W-What are you saying…?” (Ohsaka)

“Don’t you get it? Then… now do you understand?” (Bouchi)

I released my transformation and showed my true appearance to Ohsaka.

“―!!? Y-Y-You…… Bouchi…?” (Ohsaka)

“That’s right.” (Bouchi)

“Y-You were alive…?” (Ohsaka)

“That should be my line, scum of the universe.” (Bouchi)

“Kkut!? Fucker, don’t get carried away when you aren’t worth shit!” (Ohsaka)

Ohsaka was shocked to see me, but then he tightened his grip on his gun.

“You better know your place, Bouchi! You’re just my fucking toy! You should listen to what your master tells you to do!” (Ohsaka)

Aah… that saves me the trouble.

“…Thanks, Ohsaka.”

“H-Hah?” (Ohsaka)

“I don’t have a single shred of sympathy for you, so… I won’t even need to hesitate.”

“W-What are you…” (Ohsaka)

“―Sol!” (Bouchi)

Immediately after I called her name, Ohsaka’s right arm, which was holding the gun, was suddenly sent flying through the air.

“……M-My arm!? My aaaarrrrmmm!!” (Ohsaka)

Blood gushed out vigorously from the severed portion of his body. As I watched him writhe in extreme agony, I felt that it was no different from looking at a crawling insect wriggling on the ground. This guy had already become such an insignificant existence to me.

Immediately after sending Ohsaka’s arm flying, Sol went back to dealing with the Red Armor.

“Aaaagghhhhh! It hurtsss, it huuuurrtts!” (Ohsaka)

Raising a pitiful cry, Ohsaka rolled around on the floor in anguish, tears streaming down from his face.

I had already lost interest in this guy. I was certain that if I left him here, he would end up being killed by the monsters.

I turned back around and looked at Mahina. Upon seeing my face, the girl muttered, “O-Onii-chan…? Birdie onii-chan?” (Mahina)

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve come to get you, Mahina-chan.” (Bouchi)

When I knelt down and patted her head to reassure her, Mahina ran up to me and hugged me. Then, she began to cry out loud.

“You did well hanging in there. I’m proud of you.” (Bouchi)

I pulled the crying Mahina into my arms and patted her repeatedly on the back to soothe her. Then, I slowly got to my feet, carrying her in my arms.

“I’m going to take you to your sister right away.” (Bouchi)

“Really?” (Mahina)

“Yeah, for real. So just hang in there a little while longer.” (Bouchi)

“Okay!” (Mahina)

To be honest, I hadn’t been planning to show my true face, but this was my fault for getting emotional.

Now then, all I have to do is get out of here…

“Master! The Red Armor is heading your way!” (Sol)

At that instant, Sol’s words echoed in my mind. I looked over and saw that the Red Armor was targeting me again, and it was rapidly approaching my location. If it had just let us go, this matter could have ended peacefully.

“…Oh well.” (Bouchi)

Holding Mahina in my left arm, I opened the <Box> and took out something with my right. It was a red and black gun.

“Time for the debut of the [Explosive Rifle]. Take this!” (Bouchi)

The moment the trigger clicked, a spherical bullet shot out of the muzzle at a tremendous speed.

And then, when the bullet hit the Red Armor’s abdomen, an explosion rang out.

Baaaang!

A small explosion occurred, sending the Red Armor flying. Bullets fired from this gun exploded upon contact, just like so.

However, if the gun was used incorrectly, it was possible for the explosion to hit me as well. Also, although the bullets were automatically generated upon firing, it required a 5 second reload time. Basically, it couldn’t be fired in rapid succession, so I had to be careful when using it.

Ohsaka stared at me in utter disbelief when he saw what I had done. He even seemed to momentarily forget his pain. Ohsaka was probably shocked that the person he had bullied this whole time had blown away an overwhelmingly powerful existence that was far stronger than even himself.

The Red Armor slowly picked itself up back off the ground.

“That’s not enough to defeat it, huh? As expected of a C-Rank monster.”

Its armor had fissures and cracks all over it, and every time it moved, it was starting to crumble and flake off. Just as the chest plate happened to fall off, something surprising came into view.

“Is that―the Core?”

It looked like the ones I had seen so far, but it was embedded in its chest. Up until now, I thought that Cores had to be hidden somewhere in the dungeon. This was the first time I had even considered the possibility of it being attached to a monster.

“Well then, that makes it all the better. With this―it’s over.”

The damage that it had taken seemed to be too much, and the Red Armor was still trying to sluggishly move its body. I once again pointed the gun at it and pulled the trigger. The bullet smashed directly into the Core at the center of the Red Armor’s chest, and a breath later―

An ear-splitting explosion rang out, and the Red Armor’s body vanished, turning into motes of light that dispersed into the sky. With this, the dungeon was cleared. The monsters inside of the building had probably all disappeared as well.

All that remained was to get the kids out of here.

“―Wait a damn minuteeee!” (Ohsaka)

Just as I was about to head for the exit, Ohsaka cried out once more. I glanced over and saw him clutching his right leg while attempting to stand up, pointing the gun at me with his left hand.

This guy… still has something up his sleeve, huh?

“What do you want, scumbag?” (Bouchi)

“Bouchiiii! Hand that weapon…over to me! (Ohsaka)

“Are you an idiot? No way.” (Bouchi)

A vein noticeably bulged out Ohsaka’s forehead. His anger meter had probably crossed the 100% threshold. Well, it was understandable. He had always looked down on me as someone weak to push around and bully, after all.

“Always, always, always, those eyes… Why won’t you ever fucking bend to me?!!” (Ohsaka)

All this guy had was a desire for control. He just wanted to step on people that opposed him and feel the sensation of dominating others. He was nothing more than a pitiful being that had a misconstrued concept of power.

“Only you! It was only ever you! Teachers, students, no one could go against me! It was all as I had wanted it! Anyone who resisted me either gave in or left the school! Yeah, there were even some that died pathetically! Fucking weak-minded bastards! Hahahaha! That’s right! At school, I was the king!” (Ohsaka)

I was actually impressed that he could think so highly of himself.

“And yet… Why won’t you let me do as I please?!” (Ohsaka)

“……..” (Bouchi)

“Stop with those fucking eyeeees!” (Ohsaka)

He didn’t seem to understand. The gaze that I was directing at him was no different from the look he’d had in his eyes when he looked down at others.

""

I brought Mahina’s face to my chest to prevent her from seeing what was about to happen.

“You should just shut up and do what I tell yoooouu!!” (Ohsaka)

Ohsaka suddenly fired at me, but I dodged it by judging from the timing and the direction of the muzzle. The [Perfect Ring] sharpened my five senses, so if I concentrated, I could easily dodge a bullet from the current Ohsaka.

Ohsaka looked startled for a moment, but his face soon spread into a grin.

“J-Just now, I missed that one on purpose. Now, if you don’t want to get killed, drop that kid and bring me downstairs.” (Ohsaka)

Don’t lie. You were totally trying to hit me… But that makes it clear. I can’t leave this guy here. I have to finish it here, huh?

“Ohsaka… Just remember this one thing.” (Bouchi)

“Hah?” (Ohsaka)

“You’re nothing but a wild mutt who can do nothing but bite and hurt people.” (Bouchi)

A moment later, Ohsaka’s remaining left arm was blown off by Sol.

“Gyaaaaah!?!” (Ohsaka)

“Just shut the hell up, Ohsaka.” (Bouchi)

I pointed the muzzle of the [Explosive Rifle] at him.

“W-Wait, wait, wait, wait! I u-understand! I get it! I’ll apologize! So please don’t kill meeeee!” (Ohsaka)

“You’re not even qualified to beg for your own life.” (Bouchi)

I silently pulled the trigger.

“Y-You―” (Ohsaka)

That was the last thing to ever come out of Ohsaka’s mouth. The explosive bullet smashed into him, and his body burst into a million scattered pieces.

“There are people who committed suicide because of you. I hope you go to the other side and get killed over and over again, you piece of shit.” (Bouchi)

I put the gun back into the <Box> and hurried to the exit, where the children were waiting for me.

When the children saw me again, they asked me who I was, so I used another [Shapeshifting Potion] and constructed the same appearance as earlier.

The children were naturally amazed at this sight, but when I told them, ‘this is to hide my appearance as a hero’, they seemed moved and agreed with me. When I left the community center, I was able to meet up with the other people who had escaped.

""

They thanked me profusely, but I hastily left the place with Mahina, saying that I had other urgent business to attend to.
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