Thus, the four-armed gogma lost both of its sword and hammer-wielding hands, reducing its combat prowess by half. The table has turned against the four-armed gogma.
「NUGUGUGU… GOBURU・ZEN・JIBURAFUGA――」
「WA-WATCH OUT, SOUMA-KUN! THE BOSS IS ABOUT TO DO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK!」
Yuuto’s leg stopped as soon as he heard Takanashi Kotori’s warning.
The boss might have realized that the winner was already decided. Their side had lost this battle. Since that was the case, it might as well drag some of its formidable opponents along to hell. Despite being a monster, it had the pride of a king who led his people and the pride of a warrior who fought till the bitter end.
That pride was something that Yuuto, its enemy, recognized but Yuuto had no intention to die along with it. Therefore, he stepped back.
「UWOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
But the word “Retreat” never existed in a berserker’s wisdom.
As the lightning cane, shining even brighter as if it was ready to explode at any given moment, the boss brandished its axe, the only remaining weapon to stall for enough time to complete its suicide bombing casting time.
「FUTABA-SAN! DAMMIT――」
The boss had yet to die. Even the current Meiko wouldn’t be able to kill the boss within the several seconds before the suicide bombing magic activated. On the other hand, if Yuuto tried to stop Meiko now, both of them wouldn’t be able to escape from the explosion.
「NII-SAN, RUN!」
At that moment, Yuuto felt really ashamed of himself for almost escaping due to Sakura’s voice.
— Should I escape? In this situation, he could only escape by himself.
Should he escape despite the vow he made to protect Futaba Meiko? Should he escape when this was exactly the time when he had to fulfill his vow?
When he decided to protect Meiko, he felt some sort of power bursting forth from inside. The shine of his sword increased even further.
「――『Nero Lightning』!」
Brilliant white light surging forth along with Yuuto’s slash. The giant shining sword blasted the hand of the boss that clasped the thunder magic cane.
One would wonder if that pinpoint super-killing move was only a coincidence or a newly awakened power born inside the hero to protect his comrade.
「GUGA, BUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Yuuto and Co. could only guess whether the four-armed gogma’s scream was that of the agony upon losing its third arm, or a wail of the loser who failed to activate its suicide bomb magic in the last second.
But such a scream wouldn’t stop the berserker from finishing off the four-armed gogma for good.
At this moment, not a single voice entered Meiko’s ears.
Not a single one, whether it was Kotori’s warning for Yuuto, Sakura’s warning to Yuuto, Yuuto’s war cry when he decided to protect Meiko or the death throes of the enemy before her.
She didn’t consider that as herself running out of control because of the drug because inside Meiko’s head was as serene as the surface of the water in the well. The same went for her mind.
The reason was that she heard a voice.
「KILL」
It was someone’s voice, filled to the brim with killing intent.
「SLASH」
It wasn’t her voice nor her comrade’s.
「CUT, SLASH, KILL」
It was an enigmatic, seemingly genderless voice. But that voice definitely resounded in Meiko’s ears.
No, it resounded in her mind, just like God’s voice.
「SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!」
That killing intent-filled voice was received by Meiko with a calm heart, not even causing a ripple in her mind.
「Uhm, fine.」
She replied calmly to that voice like a mother trying to pacify her child’s selfishness.
「SLASH. KILL. I, THIS HAND――」
Sparing no compassion or whim, Meiko understood that. That they’re taking the best advantage of each other.
「――Yeah, let me help you, 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』.」
And then, Meiko who received the power from her cursed weapon, the 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』, reached out and pulled it out.
『One Who Hears The Voice』： The ability to hear the unreachable voice. Neither refusing nor going mad because of that voice, just accepting it with a calm mind.
It was the third skill she gained upon changing her vocation to 『Berserker』. Just as its flavor text had said, Meiko who heard the curse’s voice got a new power without rejecting it or went mad because of it.
Therefore, she felt some sort of power surging forth from the hand gripping on the 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』.
Black aura surging forth from the knife’s blade, smoke rose from it as if it was burned.
Her dark crimson aura that had already been released, and the jet-black aura which personified curse were mixing together, giving even more sinister darkness to the crimson color, which then surged forth from the knife’s blade.
That power was ready to be fired at any moment.
Or rather, there was no need to hold it back anymore. The reason being there was a perfect target for that power standing right in front of her.
「――『Black Calm』」[TL: Kuro Nagi; Black Calm]
That strike decapitated the four-armed gogma’s head.
Sending the one-eyed-twin-horned head flying high in the air. That one-killing strike beautifully ripped the life of her opponent, cementing Meiko’s victory.
But that was far from enough to calm the power that exploded at once.
「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」
She pierced the headless body with a returning blade. The blade sank without any resistance at all. The four-armed gogma’s hard skin, bulky muscle, and armor, all of that were cut apart from above to below. The 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』 easily sliced all of those parts as if opening a zipper of tunic from the top.
The four gogma’s entrails and blood were gushing out from the part that was cut open by Meiko.
Seeing that, Meiko slashed her knife again.
「UUUUUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
CUT, CUT, KILL. CUT AND TEAR IT FROM LIMB TO LIMB.
No one… could stop Meiko’s madness.
As if dancing she kept on cutting and slicing the four-armed gogma’s flesh apart in the midst of a rain of blood, not even Yuuto’s voice could reach her ears.
「――Fuu, haa… haa… I’m… hungry.」
Just when everyone was wondering for how long that gruesome dismantling show would go on, it suddenly ended with Meiko’s muttering.
At the same time, her body suddenly crumbled down like a doll whose strings got cut off.
「Futaba-san!」
When that happened, Yuuto was the first one to rush toward Meiko.
Following her was Ryouko who just snapped out of that gory show.
「HANG IN THERE, FUTABA-SAN!」
「Calm down Yuuto-kun, she’s fine. I saw similar symptoms like this one before. Maybe she just exhausted her stamina after she used Momokawa-kun’s drug. She’s just sleeping right now.」
Ryouko recalled that the same thing had happened when she first came upon Kotaro-Meiko’s combi in the dungeon after the former abandoned the heavily injured Meiko a few days prior since there was no way to treat Meiko’s injury. That time, she heard from Kotaro that Meiko was only sleeping from exhaustion due to the after-effects of goma’s narcotic.
Thus, she guessed the reason for Meiko’s current condition in accordance with that experience.
「Dr-Drug you say, that’s a dangerous thing right! No matter how you look at it, that drug caused more than Futaba-san’s madness.」
「Momokawa-kun is a 『Shaman』. There’s a risk in using it but, it’s not strange even if he can make a similar, but an enhanced version of that drug.」
「I’ve said about it before, right? She was okay the last time I saw her using that drug, but let’s just observe her for now.」
「It seems there’s no problem with her breathing and pulse. Most of all, all her injuries healed right away thanks to her 『Berserker』’s toughness. That matter aside, let’s take out the core to escape from this place as soon as possible.」
Yuuto couldn’t help but agree with Ryoko’s calm judgment.
They had no time to worry about the hidden danger of Momokawa Kotaro’s drug that was given to Meiko. Though they managed to beat the boss, Meiko ended up fainting from exhaustion, everyone was exhausted too.
Maybe because they didn’t wish to interrupt the battle of the four-armed gogma and Co. against Yuuto and Co., the gomas had yet to step inside the hall. But it might be just a matter of time before they’re rushing into the hall.
Minami was moving in accordance with Ryoko’s instruction, she retrieved the core from the four-armed gogma and the other four heavenly king’s gogma. They also picked up the weapon, but since the size was simply oversized, they planned to give up.
「Well then, let’s go! the room with teleportation device should be right beyond that stairs!」
Yuuto and Co. followed Minami’s lead, leaving behind the spacious hall in which a deadly battle had ensued just a while ago.
「Dammit… in the end, I’m relying on her power again.」
Yuuto, who was carrying unconscious Meiko on his back, didn’t feel a shred of happiness from overcoming this deadly battle at all. For the current him, Meiko’s body which he carried on his back felt as light as a feather, yes, nothing more than the body of a normal everyday girl.
That fact made him lament his powerlessness even more than before.
He failed to notice that he was falling into a depression. Moreover, the weapon that Meiko used to kill the four-armed gogma, 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』 started to show a change.
Its blade which wrapped in black aura had evolved, it became longer, bulkier, and more sinister than before.
『Dismemberment Demonic Butcher’s Knife』：Whether it’s human or monster, all shall be butchered equally.
Thus, the four-armed gogma lost both of its sword and hammer-wielding hands, reducing its combat prowess by half. The table has turned against the four-armed gogma.
「NUGUGUGU… GOBURU・ZEN・JIBURAFUGA――」
「WA-WATCH OUT, SOUMA-KUN! THE BOSS IS ABOUT TO DO SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK!」
Yuuto’s leg stopped as soon as he heard Takanashi Kotori’s warning.
The boss might have realized that the winner was already decided. Their side had lost this battle. Since that was the case, it might as well drag some of its formidable opponents along to hell. Despite being a monster, it had the pride of a king who led his people and the pride of a warrior who fought till the bitter end.
That pride was something that Yuuto, its enemy, recognized but Yuuto had no intention to die along with it. Therefore, he stepped back.
「UWOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
But the word “Retreat” never existed in a berserker’s wisdom.
As the lightning cane, shining even brighter as if it was ready to explode at any given moment, the boss brandished its axe, the only remaining weapon to stall for enough time to complete its suicide bombing casting time.
「FUTABA-SAN! DAMMIT――」
The boss had yet to die. Even the current Meiko wouldn’t be able to kill the boss within the several seconds before the suicide bombing magic activated. On the other hand, if Yuuto tried to stop Meiko now, both of them wouldn’t be able to escape from the explosion.
「NII-SAN, RUN!」
At that moment, Yuuto felt really ashamed of himself for almost escaping due to Sakura’s voice.
— Should I escape? In this situation, he could only escape by himself.
Should he escape despite the vow he made to protect Futaba Meiko? Should he escape when this was exactly the time when he had to fulfill his vow?
When he decided to protect Meiko, he felt some sort of power bursting forth from inside. The shine of his sword increased even further.
「――『Nero Lightning』!」
Brilliant white light surging forth along with Yuuto’s slash. The giant shining sword blasted the hand of the boss that clasped the thunder magic cane.
One would wonder if that pinpoint super-killing move was only a coincidence or a newly awakened power born inside the hero to protect his comrade.
「GUGA, BUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Yuuto and Co. could only guess whether the four-armed gogma’s scream was that of the agony upon losing its third arm, or a wail of the loser who failed to activate its suicide bomb magic in the last second.
But such a scream wouldn’t stop the berserker from finishing off the four-armed gogma for good.
At this moment, not a single voice entered Meiko’s ears.
Not a single one, whether it was Kotori’s warning for Yuuto, Sakura’s warning to Yuuto, Yuuto’s war cry when he decided to protect Meiko or the death throes of the enemy before her.
She didn’t consider that as herself running out of control because of the drug because inside Meiko’s head was as serene as the surface of the water in the well. The same went for her mind.
The reason was that she heard a voice.
「KILL」
It was someone’s voice, filled to the brim with killing intent.
「SLASH」
It wasn’t her voice nor her comrade’s.
「CUT, SLASH, KILL」
It was an enigmatic, seemingly genderless voice. But that voice definitely resounded in Meiko’s ears.
No, it resounded in her mind, just like God’s voice.
「SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!」
That killing intent-filled voice was received by Meiko with a calm heart, not even causing a ripple in her mind.
「Uhm, fine.」
She replied calmly to that voice like a mother trying to pacify her child’s selfishness.
「SLASH. KILL. I, THIS HAND――」
Sparing no compassion or whim, Meiko understood that. That they’re taking the best advantage of each other.
「――Yeah, let me help you, 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』.」
And then, Meiko who received the power from her cursed weapon, the 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』, reached out and pulled it out.
『One Who Hears The Voice』： The ability to hear the unreachable voice. Neither refusing nor going mad because of that voice, just accepting it with a calm mind.
It was the third skill she gained upon changing her vocation to 『Berserker』. Just as its flavor text had said, Meiko who heard the curse’s voice got a new power without rejecting it or went mad because of it.
Therefore, she felt some sort of power surging forth from the hand gripping on the 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』.
Black aura surging forth from the knife’s blade, smoke rose from it as if it was burned.
Her dark crimson aura that had already been released, and the jet-black aura which personified curse were mixing together, giving even more sinister darkness to the crimson color, which then surged forth from the knife’s blade.
That power was ready to be fired at any moment.
Or rather, there was no need to hold it back anymore. The reason being there was a perfect target for that power standing right in front of her.
「――『Black Calm』」[TL: Kuro Nagi; Black Calm]
That strike decapitated the four-armed gogma’s head.
Sending the one-eyed-twin-horned head flying high in the air. That one-killing strike beautifully ripped the life of her opponent, cementing Meiko’s victory.
But that was far from enough to calm the power that exploded at once.
「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」
She pierced the headless body with a returning blade. The blade sank without any resistance at all. The four-armed gogma’s hard skin, bulky muscle, and armor, all of that were cut apart from above to below. The 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』 easily sliced all of those parts as if opening a zipper of tunic from the top.
The four gogma’s entrails and blood were gushing out from the part that was cut open by Meiko.
Seeing that, Meiko slashed her knife again.
「UUUUUUUUUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
CUT, CUT, KILL. CUT AND TEAR IT FROM LIMB TO LIMB.
No one… could stop Meiko’s madness.
As if dancing she kept on cutting and slicing the four-armed gogma’s flesh apart in the midst of a rain of blood, not even Yuuto’s voice could reach her ears.
「――Fuu, haa… haa… I’m… hungry.」
Just when everyone was wondering for how long that gruesome dismantling show would go on, it suddenly ended with Meiko’s muttering.
At the same time, her body suddenly crumbled down like a doll whose strings got cut off.
「Futaba-san!」
When that happened, Yuuto was the first one to rush toward Meiko.
Following her was Ryouko who just snapped out of that gory show.
「HANG IN THERE, FUTABA-SAN!」
「Calm down Yuuto-kun, she’s fine. I saw similar symptoms like this one before. Maybe she just exhausted her stamina after she used Momokawa-kun’s drug. She’s just sleeping right now.」
Ryouko recalled that the same thing had happened when she first came upon Kotaro-Meiko’s combi in the dungeon after the former abandoned the heavily injured Meiko a few days prior since there was no way to treat Meiko’s injury. That time, she heard from Kotaro that Meiko was only sleeping from exhaustion due to the after-effects of goma’s narcotic.
Thus, she guessed the reason for Meiko’s current condition in accordance with that experience.
「Dr-Drug you say, that’s a dangerous thing right! No matter how you look at it, that drug caused more than Futaba-san’s madness.」
「Momokawa-kun is a 『Shaman』. There’s a risk in using it but, it’s not strange even if he can make a similar, but an enhanced version of that drug.」
「I’ve said about it before, right? She was okay the last time I saw her using that drug, but let’s just observe her for now.」
「It seems there’s no problem with her breathing and pulse. Most of all, all her injuries healed right away thanks to her 『Berserker』’s toughness. That matter aside, let’s take out the core to escape from this place as soon as possible.」
Yuuto couldn’t help but agree with Ryoko’s calm judgment.
They had no time to worry about the hidden danger of Momokawa Kotaro’s drug that was given to Meiko. Though they managed to beat the boss, Meiko ended up fainting from exhaustion, everyone was exhausted too.
Maybe because they didn’t wish to interrupt the battle of the four-armed gogma and Co. against Yuuto and Co., the gomas had yet to step inside the hall. But it might be just a matter of time before they’re rushing into the hall.
Minami was moving in accordance with Ryoko’s instruction, she retrieved the core from the four-armed gogma and the other four heavenly king’s gogma. They also picked up the weapon, but since the size was simply oversized, they planned to give up.
「Well then, let’s go! the room with teleportation device should be right beyond that stairs!」
Yuuto and Co. followed Minami’s lead, leaving behind the spacious hall in which a deadly battle had ensued just a while ago.
「Dammit… in the end, I’m relying on her power again.」
Yuuto, who was carrying unconscious Meiko on his back, didn’t feel a shred of happiness from overcoming this deadly battle at all. For the current him, Meiko’s body which he carried on his back felt as light as a feather, yes, nothing more than the body of a normal everyday girl.
That fact made him lament his powerlessness even more than before.
He failed to notice that he was falling into a depression. Moreover, the weapon that Meiko used to kill the four-armed gogma, 『Assassination Kitchen Knife』 started to show a change.
Its blade which wrapped in black aura had evolved, it became longer, bulkier, and more sinister than before.
『Dismemberment Demonic Butcher’s Knife』：Whether it’s human or monster, all shall be butchered equally.
