CH 191

Chapter 191. Peony Subjugation Battle Part 9



I’m bombarded by a wave of announcements that notice me that I’ve leveled up.



A huge amount of SP and JP have been allotted to my status plate, once again reminding me that our opponent was not a standard monster. 



“…But we’ve won….We won…”



The reality finally sinks in, and I smile with my hands clenched tight. 



It’s a bit early to be happy though.



After all, Nishino-kun and his friends are still fighting, and the “Safety Zone” has yet to be reset. 



Victory will truly be ours when the “Safety Zone” is reset.



“Momo, take out a watch please.”



“Wan!”



A watch is taken out from Momo’s “Shadow”.



Since the flow of time is stopped inside my Item Box, I can’t accurately measure the time with a clock.



This is usually a good thing as it indicates that the Item Box has become better. However, it does have its disadvantages.



(It’s…11:45 right now.)



We abandoned the City Hall at 11 o’clock.



This means we still have 15 minutes until the “Safety Zone” can be reset…



Next, I check my Mail and browse through all the names on the contact list.



…Everyone’s name is listed.



(Good. Everyone’s alive. No one has died yet.)



Kiki’s support magic hasn’t worn off yet.



Without it, I wouldn’t even be able to tell when someone’s name disappears.



I should properly thank her later on.



“…Must head over…”



I’m wobbling pretty hard, but I force myself to stand up.



I’ve acquired a new unique skill, gained a ton of points, had the limit to “The Right to Question” released, and obtained a seed left behind by Peony.



Though I have a lot of questions to ask, setting up the new “Safety Zone” comes first.



But then—



“H….Huh…?”



This is bad. 



My field of vision blurs, and my body is hit by pain, fatigue, blood loss, and the skill’s backlash all at once.



Crap…



Just by standing here, my body’s about to hit its limit.



“Wan! Wan! Wan!”



Momo looks at me worriedly.



Don’t push yourself! 



“Haha…Sorry for worrying you, Momo…but we must go…can you open up your ‘Shadow’?”



“…Kuun?”



Are you sure that you’re fine?



Momo’s still staring at me anxiously, so I give her my best smile.



I gently her head, telling her that I’m okay.



Now, time to get myself pumped up again.



I’ll have to exert myself for a little longer.



Thinking so, I straighten my back and look ahead—only to find someone there.



“—Quite a sorry sight you’re in.”



“It” casually walks up to me from the other side of the road.



“You’re…” 



I remember its face. Of course I do. 



After all, we’ve met four days ago.



Despite having the appearance of a human, its presence screams otherwise.



Although its presence is similar to that of the zombified Ono-kun, unlike the latter, it wasn’t born a human.



According to what it has told me in our previous encounter, it gained its intelligence by being the first to kill a human in this world.



“Yo, long time no see, owner of ‘Precocious’.” 



The worst monster has appeared before us at the worst moment.



*****



Going back in time…



While Kazuto was busy having his death match against the wooden puppet, Nishino and the others were also busy fighting against the “Fertility Eating Ryes”.



Only one enemy unit remained, but that one unit was proving to be a problem.



“LET ME EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!”



The “Fertility Eating Rye” opened up its numerous mouths and attacked Nishino’s group with its tongues.



“What the hell is up with this one!?”



“Suddenly becoming this big is foul play!”



Shibata and Rikka were dodging the attacks while cussing out loud.



They were up against the giant version of the “Fertility Eating Rye”.



It was only one unit, but its power far surpassed that of the regular “Fertility Eating Ryes”.



The endless attacks from its tongues were pushing them to a corner and exhausting their stamina. 



“Haa…Haa… is there anyone else except onii-san that can defeat this guy?”



Rikka’s hunch was spot on.



With but one hand, Kazuto had slain a huge “Fertility Eating Rye”. 



He had said that it was a bad idea for the “Fertility Eating Ryes” to congregate into one, but the huge “Fertility Eating Rye” was a big threat to Nishino and his friends. 



“Stop complaining, Rikka. Don’t you know that Kudou-san is having a much harder fight than us? We should be able to deal with something of this caliber by ourselves!”



“I know, I know~…”



Although he scolded Rikka, Nishino was also starting to feel impatient.



Things were looking bad for them at the moment.



The “Fertility Eating Rye” kept spurting out corrosive poison whenever they tried to attack, preventing them from striking aggressively.



(We lack a decisive card…)

Unlike Kazuto, they didn’t have any means to land a powerful hit from afar.



Against a regular sized “Fertility Eating Rye”, Goshogawara’s log attacks and Rikka’s throwing attacks would have sufficed, but against a huge one, their attacks did not prove to be fatal.



(If only we had Ichinose-san here…)



He couldn’t stop himself from thinking so.



If she could use her monstrous rifle, they would be able to defeat the giant “Fertility Eating Rye”.



However, she had already left the battlefield. 



By repeatedly shooting with the monstrous rifle, she had pushed herself to her limits trying to plant the bombs inside Peony’s body.



Unfortunately, no one aside from her could handle the monstrous rifle.



Why did she have to leave the battlefield now of all times?



Such thoughts crossed his mind, but he shook his head the very next moment.



What am I saying?



She had done her job flawlessly.



Who were they to blame her when they couldn’t even fulfill their responsibilities?



(Think…we no longer have the helicopter… We’ve left all the weapons that we couldn’t store in the Item Box at the City Hall…)



Those that had Item Boxes were not high enough in levels to store things like helicopters and tanks. 



To be fair, Kazuto was the strange one for being able to store a vast amount of objects regardless of their size.



They didn’t have any firearms either. 



They had used most of them on Peony and brought along the minimum supplies when they retreated.



(Think…What other options are there? What kind of terrain advantage do we hold? Something…anything…~~!)



By working his brain to full capacity, Nishino suddenly recalled something.



“…That’s right. With that, we might be able to…”



It was something which could potentially turn the tables on their enemy. 



He immediately took action,



“Rikka! Cooperate with the others and buy me 2 minutes of time!”



“Okay!”



After handing out instructions, he went to the building’s entrance. 



“It should be here somewhere…!”



He searched for the thing that he came for and was lucky enough to find it in due time.



“There it is!”



Nishino picked it up and ran back as quickly as he could.



“Rikka!”



He threw the thing in his hands and shouted.



“Throw this into its mouth!”



“Nn!”



Rikka threw away her hatchets and caught the object which was thrown at her direction.



It was a piece of stone big enough to be considered a weight-stone.



“This—Oh, I see!”



The moment she caught the stone in her hands, she understood Nishino’s intention.



By swinging it back and forth, she then threw it at one of the “Fertility Eating Rye’s” mouths.



“NUORIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”



“GIGI?”



Chomp.



The “Fertility Eating Rye” swallowed it without a second thought. 



“Alright, move away from there, everyone! Keep a distance between yourself and the monster!”



Following Nishino’s order to withdraw, Shibata and the others retreated.



“GIGI!”



Not willing to let them escape, the “Fertility Eating Rye” tried to chase after them. 



However, its body swelled up the next moment.



“GI…GAaa…?”



Things didn’t end there.



BOFUU~!



From its innumerable mouths, smoke and “heat” were released. 



“Gii…GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”



Due to the extreme pain, the “Fertility Eating Rye” let out a screech and proceeded to roll around the ground like a rubber ball.



“W-what…? Nishino-san, what on earth did you feed it? Wasn’t it just a piece of rock?”



“Yeah, it’s a piece of stone…but it’s a piece of stone that Aka has mimicked into so that it could act as a ‘coordinate’.”



“Ahhh—”



Shibata finally understood what had transpired.



Yes, Nishino had thrown a petrified clone of Aka into the “Fertility Eating Rye” and had it mimic into a “bomb” once it was inside.



It was meant to act as a “coordinate” for transportation, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Nishino decided to sacrifice it.



“We were able to damage Peony the same way…I’m glad that it worked.”



“As expected of Nishino-san…to think of all that in the spur of a moment…”



“It’s not a big deal. Anyway, we must finish that thing as soon as possible. Everyone, throw your weapons at it, but make sure you don’t get too close!”



“Ussu!”



“Okay!”



“““UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”””



The situation had reversed thanks to Nishino’s quick witted plan.



Fatally wounded by Aka’s explosion, the “Fertility Eating Rye” was at the doorstep of death.



As such, it didn’t take long for the “Fertility Eating Rye” to perish when they started throwing all their weapons.



“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WE WON! WE WOOOOOOOOOON!!”



“WE DID IT! WE DID IT!”



Having defeated their last enemy, they cheered out loud.



Granted, they still had to remain in position and defend the place for some time, but their operation was pretty much guaranteed to be a success.



Everyone was smiling and chatting joyfully.



Nishino also clenched his hands.



(Good…only 30 minutes left. Everyone’s exhausted, but we should be fine.)



Things would’ve looked grim for them if another one of those giant “Fertility Eating Ryes” had appeared.



They were lucky that there weren’t any monsters around, and none seemed to be hiding either.



They had won. 



Against all odds, they had won the bet.



(Right. I should contact Kudou-san…)



If the operation had gone well, Peony should’ve been defeated by now.



He was curious about the situation on the other side.



Just as he was about to access the Mail function through his status plate—



“—RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo…”



“Eh..?”



Bkkk…Bkkkk….



The ground before them swelled up.



“W-what the…?”



“I-isn’t this…”



Everyone at the scene was shocked and dismayed.



An unforgettable sight. An existence that brought back traumatic memories.



“Why…why is it here…?”



The ground which had swollen up hardened and transformed into a huge humanoid figure.



It was a Golem—an existence that almost compromised the absolute protection of the “Safety Zone” through brute force alone.



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”



Everyone was terrified by the sudden appearance of the anomaly that had once threatened the City Hall. 



“—‘Spread out! Don’t just stand there doing nothing! Distance yourselves before surrounding it!’”



It was Nishino that came to his senses first.



By issuing orders which contained the effects of his skills, he forced his friends to spread out.



It wasn’t good to remain paralyzed.



(There’s no doubt about it. That must be the Golem that Rikka and the others were talking about…)



Four days ago, not only did Rikka and her friends find the zombified Ono during their exploration, they also had an encounter with a Golem which resembled Titan and a mysterious Zombie that was sentient.



As such, they had been worried over whether they would be interrupted in the midst of their battle. 



(But why now of all times—!?)



The timing couldn’t have been any worse.



Nishino ground his teeth.



This was bad. Very bad.



In terms of pure combat, he was pretty certain that the Golem was stronger than the “Fertility Eating Rye”.



What made things worse was that the Golem was an opponent that could bypass the effects of the “Safety Zone” with its brute force.



In other words, they had to kill it and not allow it to escape.



(That said…what can we even do?)



Everyone was exhausted, and their weapons were in tatters. 



Aka had already been used as a bomb, and with the “Coordinate” gone, they couldn’t request Kazuto to rush in as reinforcement. 



(How about Fujita-san and President Igarashi? —Nevermind. That would only increase the number of victims.)



The Golem wasn’t an opponent that they could beat with numbers alone.



Unless they could produce an attack at the same level as the pile bunker or the monstrous rifle, defeating it wasn’t feasible.



Unfortunately, they didn’t have such a powerful weapon lying around.



(Is there anything…? Anything that can turn the situation around?)



Despite Nishino’s desperate attempt to come up with a plan, nothing came to his mind.



30 minutes remained until the “Safety Zone” could be reset. 



We can certainly try to drag things out and buy time for ourselves, but how many of us would be sacrificed by then?



To begin with, even if the “Safety Zone” was reconstructed, there was no guarantee that they would be safe against this opponent.



Something…anything…



“Nisshi! Why are you zoning out!?”



“…S-shit—!”



“RUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!”



Nishino had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had failed to notice that the Golem was approaching him.



This proved to be a fatal mistake.



Before he could react, the Golem’s fist was swung down.



“Not good—!”



“Nishino-san!”



Rikka and Shibata were sprinting towards him, but they were too far away to reach him in time.



Dodging wasn’t an option either. 



Even if he managed to dodge the blow by a hair’s breadth, Nishino’s status wasn’t high enough to survive the aftermath of the attack.



(I could kill its momentum with a “Command”—No, it’s too late for that. I won’t be able to make it in time…)



Nishino realized that his end was drawing near.



Am I about to die? At a place like this?



(Kudou-san, Ichinose, Shibata, Ono, Goshogawara-san—Rikka.)



No. I don’t want to die yet.



I still want to live with everyone else—



“…Sorry everyone…”



The Golem’s fist was about to crush Nishino.



Just then—



“—Don’t give up yet, Nishino-kun.”



“…Eh?”



—he heard someone’s voice.



The shadow beneath his feet spread out.



Before he knew it, someone was standing in front of him with his arms stretched out, blocking the blow from the Golem.



“Ono…?”



“…Sorry, I’ve made you guys wait a long time.”



The figure before him was Ono, his best friend that had become a Zombie.



*****



I continue to glare at it.



“Do you have to be so wary of me? I didn’t come to fight you, you know?”



“…As if I could trust your words.”



I’m somehow maintaining a calm expression, but I’m panicking inside.



Both my instincts and my skills are ringing alarms bells at maximum volume.



Dangerous…this guy’s ridiculously dangerous. 



(…It’s nothing like how it was four days ago…)



Its presence has undergone a complete metamorphosis.



There’s no doubt that it has become much stronger in these four days…



The sword on its waist seems much more terrifying than before as well.



Seeing my reaction, it shakes its head.



“What a pity. Well, whatever. I won’t beat around the bush then.”



Having said so, it takes a step forward.



“Peony’s magic stone and the God Tree’s seed. Can I have those?”



“…Huh?”



“I know you have them. I’ve been observing you all this time. I’m honestly impressed, you know? It’s true that you’re the owner of ‘Precocious’, but I never thought you’d be able to beat ‘Gluttony’.”



“Gluttony…?”



“Yup. You didn’t notice? Peony possessed the unique skill known as ‘Gluttony’.”



“Gluttony”, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.



I see… so it was thanks to that skill that Peony was so insanely powerful.



“If you give me the two items, I promise not to touch you.”



“And you expect me to take your word for it?”



“You don’t trust me? Then let’s use a skill. With ‘Contract’, you can be rest assured that the content of the agreement is fulfilled.”



It takes out a piece of paper from its pocket and tosses it at me.



Some skill may be at work as the paper flutters through the air and lands right in front of me.



“It clearly states that I won’t harm you in any way, right? The skill will be activated as soon as you agree with the conditions. How is it? Quite neat, huh?”



The paper does indeed state that I won’t be harmed in any way as long as I conceded the items.



The mysterious force emanating from the paper tells me that I’ve not been lied to.



Still—



“—As if I could trust this.”



“…Why?”



“All that’s mentioned here is that ‘you won’t attack me’. Then what if you ‘commanded someone else to attack me’?”



“…”



“If you really didn’t mean us any harm, you should’ve written that ‘you and your companions, whoever that may be, will be henceforth forbidden from harming Kudou Kazuto and any of his companions around him, direct malicious intent towards them, or try to harm them in an indirect way.’ If you can change the terms and conditions to be like that, I would gladly agree to your suggestion.”



“…”



For a moment, its expression turns blank.



“Haha…HAHAHAHAHA. GOOD! VERY GOOD! I KNEW THAT YOU AND I WERE ONE AND THE SAME!”



It starts laughing hysterically while holding its stomach.



After having its laugh, it swipes off the smile on its face.



“…Sadly, I don’t think I can make that much of a concession.”



Boom!



It unleashes an extremely oppressive force to its surroundings. 



It doesn’t seem to be joking around anymore.



“I’ll say this again. If you don’t want to die, hand over Peony’s magic stone and the God Tree’s seed.”



Instead of asking for them, it’s now demanding me to hand them over.



Hey, your true colors are leaking out.



As I thought, it’s planning on getting rid of me in a roundabout manner.



(I’d have to find an opening and escape with Momo’s “Shadow Migration”…)



The problem is how I should go about creating that opening…



It pulls out the sword on its waist. 



One glance of it is all it takes for me to understand that it’s not a normal sword.



“Wan!”



Momo appears from the “Shadow”.



“…Furu furu.”



Aka, still disguised as my clothes, wiggles.



“Kyu!”



Kiki “kyuus” on my shoulder.



It seems like they haven’t given up yet.



It’s funny, really.



Despite being in tatters, they’re still as reliable as ever.



“Sorry, but I’ll need you guys to accompany me for another while.”



But of course!



The trio nods in unison.



I might be able to make meets end if I could at least allocate the large number of points that I’ve earned or use the new skills that I’ve acquired, but I doubt that the figure in front of us would give me such a chance.



In fact, I’ve been trying to see if I could perhaps allocate the points during our short exchange, but I’m fairly certain that I’d be killed the moment it notices that I’m trying to do something to my status.



(What should I do…? What can I do?)



I’m stuck in a hopeless situation.



It takes yet another step forward.



However, something unexpected happens.



It suddenly turns its gaze away from me and looks up, swinging its sword as if to deflect something.



“…!?”



I can just barely tell that it has deflected a black projectile.



(…It’s not an attack from Ichinose-san. This looks more like—)



I’ve seen this attack somewhere.



The figure before me appears somewhat disgruntled.



“…I see. I knew that someone else was also watching the battle, but I didn’t know it was you.”



While I remain dumbstruck, “Darkness” envelops the space between us.



A monster appears from within.



It’s a jet-black beast covered in darkness that is deeper in color than even the abyss.



Its eyes are glowing red.



“‘Wolf King’ Schwartz, are you saying that this one’s your prey?”



“Gururururu…”



While we were still at the school, I had engaged in a deathly struggle against this monster.



Indeed, the Dark Wolf has descended onto the battlefield.