Volume 4 - CH 59

I was running through the wilderness at night, feeling uneasy in my heart.

「H-Hey, s-slow…」

「Kimidori Gorn-san! If you feel like vomiting, do it inside the bag I just gave you!」

I was running while carrying Kimidori Gorn-san on my back.

Ever since I left the Dark Elf village, I had a foreboding sense that I should return as soon as possible.

Thus, I sprinted to Dragonewt City at a tremendous speed, carried both Kimidori Gorn-san and the “Dead or Alive” machine, and rushed back towards the Dark Elf village without taking a break.

(–I made it in time!)

I was looking at the monster in front of me.

The enormous【Fire Magic】I witnessed from a distance was a clear sign of emergency.

I decided to leave Kimidori Gorn-san a distance away. He was screaming in fear, so I told him that if he made too much noise it would attract wild beasts, and dropped him off atop a tree. After that, I ran towards the village at high speed.

I saw the monster approaching somewhere after escaping Asha’s magic, so I knew the fight still wasn’t over.

I barely made it in time. This monster did not collapse even after being hit with Asha’s enormous mana. The monster which is named Forest Eater.

Although its eyesight had already been lost, its nose seemed to still work. When a new individual, I, appeared, it stopped in its tracks.

And opened its mouth wide.

『EEEEOOOOOOOーー』

It tried to roar, but its voice was cut off halfway.

This was because I released【Wind Magic】and dispersed the air around the vocal cords in the back of its throat. The choking Forest Eater scattered saliva all around like rain. I used Wind Magic again to prevent the saliva from falling on us.

「I have no intention of dragging this out.」

Asha was in total exhaustion and tattered. The village was destroyed.

I had no idea how high the casualties were.

It was all I could do to suppress my anger and to not let my magic run wild.

I leapt high into the sky.

「OOOOOOOOH!」

My jump, which combined【Body Enhancement】,【Support Magic】, and【Jumping Technique】, reached up to the giant Forest Eater’s face.

I was constantly thinking about how to defeat gigantic monsters.

The first time I saw this monster was beyond the crack that appeared in the sky in the Lev Magic Empire.

I was frightened at that time.

I learned of the existence of a gigantic monster in an unknown world, and thought “I can never beat that.”

But I have been thinking about it ever since.

Constantly, in a corner of my mind.

If I was forced into a situation where I had no choice but to fight, how would I defeat it?

「The correct answer is…」

If your opponent is huge, then get as close as possible.

And then shoot the maximum firepower magic possible.

What is needed to make that happen is–

「Courage.」

I got the courage from watching Asha who did everything she possibly could.

Otherwise, she would have chosen to escape.

In front of me, Forest Eater was choking, with a confused look of not knowing what had just happened.

It had a huge face.

Asha’s magic had burned most of it.

「BURNNNNNNN!!!」

I fired a spear of fire from both hands.

It was actually as hard as a spear, which was a combination of【Fire Magic】and【Earth Magic】.

Moreover, it was huge enough for a giant man to swing it around like a sword.

The spear burned hot red due to high heat. The spear softened when heated, but it shouldn’t be a problem against the Forest Eater, whose face was already burnt.

『——————————————————』

The spear of fire dug between the Forest Eater’s eyebrows.

It dug deeper into the Forest Eater’s skull without losing any momentum and started melting its brain.

The gigantic body trembled as if it had received electric shock, stomping the ground repeatedly, and even tried to roar. But I was controlling the air in its throat with【Wind Magic】again, so it couldn’t produce a voice. Eventually it stood up with only its hind legs.

I got down to the ground, and went back to Asha’s side to protect her.

The Forest Eater’s posture seemed like it was climbing up the night sky—but the giant never climbed up. It simply fell sideways, mowing down a number of trees and fell silent.

(It is completely silent.)

It didn’t take too long to defeat it, but that was because Asha shaved away 90% of the enemy’s vitality.

Asha had already lost consciousness due to lack of mana.

But she didn’t have a stressed look on her face. She was happy. She believed in me to take care of the rest.

After dawn, the magnitude of the damage became clear.

The surrounding land was dotted with craters. The large trees were knocked down, and the village was trampled.

The damage to the dark elves was also enormous. 5 people died. 10 people escaped death but were seriously injured.

Almost everything from the village was destroyed. The remaining 41 dark elves scraped up the necessary tools and clothes.

「…………」

Kimidori Gorn-san, whose mouth was wide open, was stunned to see the fallen Forest Eater.

The Forest Eater remained as was, unlike Ouroboros, which was previously summoned by the mediator. Since it did not turn into ashes and bones like Ouroboros did, the giant species in this world may be different from those summoned by mediators.

I heard from the dark elf chieftain that there are 8 giants. It seems that the dark elves defeated a giant insect in the past; a giant rhinoceros beetle with colorful wings. It’s horrifying to even imagine that.

The Dwarves had exterminated a giant bird in the past, so there were only 5 giants left.

Giant butterfly, Dazzle Butterfly.

Giant lizard, Human Mimic.

Giant tiger, End Fangs.

Giant turtle, Lost Jewel.

Giant slug, Giant Slime.

If I don’t have to fight any of these, that would be the best case scenario.

「Hey, escort-dono. Breakfast is ready.」

Although Knock-san suffered a devastating blow, he called out to me with a bright voice.

The processing of Forest Eater had already begun. It was moving in the direction of “eat edible meat and preserve storable meat”.

These people were strong-willed.

They saw Asha’s magic and once again felt that they should definitely follow her as their leader.

Asha must have been totally worn out. She was still fast asleep.

「Thank you. It’s my first time eating the meat of such a huge goat.」I said.

「It is the same for us.」

Nicky-san, who was bandaged all over, said with a laugh. She was also among the seriously injured, but it’s amazing that she’s already moving around.

I applied【Healing Magic】to those who were not yet dead and saved their lives last night.

「The dragonewt over there, come join us. Oh, but I can’t cook today, so the men are cooking.」Nicky-san said.

「I see.」

I received grilled meat on a skewer. When I bit into it, the strong smell of spices filled my nostrils.

「Ueeeee! What is this smell?!」

Immediately after, an animal stink filled my nostrils! It was like the stink of a thick-furred wild dog which hasn’t bathed in over a month.

「Just as I thought, huh.」Knock-san mumbled.

「You thought so, Knock-san!?」

「We just endure the smell and eat. Men do not know how to get rid of the smell.」Nicky-san said.

「You could have told that earlier, Nicky-san.」

I was in tears, but Nicky-san, Knock-san and the others started chomping down on their share.

They were eating without complaining.

There was no doubt that it was bad. However, it was the flesh of the enemy that their friends defeated at the risk of their own lives. They gratefully ate and mourned — that was the kind of feeling I got.

I also chewed on the goat meat again.

The unmistakable animal stink followed the scent of spices.

(But this is proof that we are alive…)

So I ate while feeling grateful.

「——Is there anyone there!」

A voice broke the silence.

「Hundredman chief! Where are you?! Hundredman chief!」

An underground man who was here for some reason, sitting privately behind a tree, stood up.

A few worn-out underground people appeared from the direction where he ran to.