Vol 2: Chapter 43

(Oh shit..)

Something huge and unbelievably long shot out of the black flames and passed by my side with tremendous wind pressure, as if a bullet train passed through right next to me. I was blown off my feet by the wind and landed a few metres back.

..Long, long, long, long!!! And it’s still going on!

That seemingly infinite body belonged to a snake. The head was already far away, and the body surface was tightly packed with dark brown scales with blue shine. The size of the body was just as big as a train. And surrounded by an indescribable burnt odor.

(Ouroboros!)

The snake which swallows its own tail. A legend found in many cultures on Earth since ancient times.

The circular symbol depicts “death” and “rebirth”.

However, this snake’s body was still appearing rapidly. And it showed no signs of stopping.

I got back up and dashed for the black fiery flames which seemed to work like a gate. I thrusted the old knife in my hand into the flame. Blue light bursts from the blade, and I felt cracks appear in the blade as it vibrated in my hand.

El-san said that this knife could be used to defeat the mediator. There is still much I don’t know yet, but this Ouroboros, and the mediator, are probably not of this world. I had to use the stone brought by Earl Sillys to break the dark dome. There seems to be a mechanism which prevents ordinary weapons from interfering.

My hand holding the knife became hot. It almost felt like it was on fire. ..My right hand is really overworked today.

But that didn’t last long. At a certain moment, when the black flame suddenly contracted, it tightened Ouroboros’ body.

『—GIIIEEEEEEEE』

I heard a scream from really far away.

No way.. Did it stretch so far already!? That’s near Block 4, maybe even Block 5!

The black flame tightened the snake’s body slowly. When it reached the size of a basketball goal, it instantly shrank and cut off the snake’s body. Black body fluid sprayed all over. And although I jumped back, the black fluid sprayed on my body. It smelled like some foul fish.

As the snake’s body flailed about, it thrashed and caved the garden, sending tremors across the ground.

「What the hell is that!」Arthur rushed over, pale as a sheet.

「Um..–how do I explain this?」

「A monster is this place!?」

「Yes, that’s a monster! Please keep everyone away for the time being!」

「No one can get close to this thing in the first place!」

「That’s true, too.」I said, and started running.

「Where are you going!?」

「To defeat the head!」

The snake’s body was still alive. Looking into the distance, the body was climbing over walls of the noble mansions, coiling around buildings, and continued far beyond that. It would be a catastrophe if this thing went wild.

It must be subjugated as soon as possible.

That shitty mediator left behind such a shitty parting gift!

「My lady, do you really want me to protect every single person!?」

..If it’s this big, I wouldn’t be able to do anything even if more victims arise. But still, I’m sure the young lady would expect me to do my best to protect everyone.

「Rather than overworking, this is more like a curse already!」

The knife in my hand was burnt, on the verge of breaking apart. I pocketed it in my breast pocket and ran at full speed. I added【Support Magic】this time together with a number of muscle strengthening skills. And if I don’t continuously apply【Healing Magic】, my body will fall apart.

The shortcut to the snake’s head was, of course, to follow the snake’s body. I ran on top of its torso. I ran, and ran, and ran, until I crossed the “3rd Wall”, and over the “4th Wall”, and over the “5th Wall”. Some houses were half-destroyed, but I can’t afford to help the people inside right now.

「Kuh.. As I expected..」

Block 5 is the common people’s town. The buildings were much less durable than the noble district, and it was densely packed. Ouroboros fell in the middle of a busy boulevard, and its body was trampling dozens of houses.

Cries echoed from everywhere. People were running away screaming. It was total chaos.

And I saw Ouroboros’s head clearly for the first time. Its head was raised much higher than the houses in the area. It had 6 red eyes, and four jagged horns. Covered with skin of the same color as its scales. The mouth was large, with numerous sharp teeth, and stuck out its long tongue, with a hiss.

Ouroboros was looking at a woman, who was frozen in fear, holding her child tight. It was clearly targeting them.

「—I won’t let you!」

I sprinted across Ouroboros’ body, and leapt. Together with that momentum and my【Kicking Technique】, which I trained to the extent of having it ingrained into my body, I landed a Rolling Savate Kick on the back of Ouroboros’ head. The head was incredibly hard. I felt the bones in my legs crack, but I immediately healed it with【Healing Magic】.

Due to the impact, Ouroboros head fell forward. It crushed two fruit stalls on the street.

「Can you stand up? Escape from here.」

「Eek!」

When I approached the woman and child, they became frightened. Ah.. well, my clothes are pretty tattered, I’m bleeding, and above all, Ouroboros’ black body fluids covered half of my body.

(Ah.. When Lark tried to help me, I also became frightened.)

I remembered the bittersweet memory from 4 years ago. Although it had been 4 years, I still had regrets, but also felt nostalgic.

The woman then ran away with her child.

「Everyone, please run away as far as you can! This monster has a long body from the 2nd Holy District to this place! You need to go much, much, farther away!」

I warned the people nearby, causing them to start screaming and run away.

Ouroboros slowly lifted its head and looked down at me. I am completely recognized as an enemy it seems.

「Oh.. now you’re locked on to me, I see.」

(..Now, what shall I do?)

Is there any effective means of attack against such a large enemy? I want a weapon, but I can’t afford to go get it.

「Eh?」

A short sword flew across the air towards me, and I caught it. Looking in the direction it came from, Zerry-san was waving at me from the shadow of a building.

Way to go, Zerry-san! It would be great if you also stopped gambling after this! Also clean your room properly! And please take a bath too! And don’t drink too much alcohol! Oh, no, only bad thoughts are coming out!

(Good thing I asked Zerry-san to be vigilant.)

Anything could’ve happened at today’s skill orb award ceremony, so I requested her to be on guard so we can respond to whatever happens. So, I guess she brought my weapon because of all this turmoil.

I have used this sword in training and in actual battles so far, so it fits perfectly in my hand.

(The rest is.. how far I can go with this!)

Immediately after I got my sword, Ouroboros charged its head at me.

..Fast!

Even with that enormous body, it was already right before me by the time I realised!

I rolled to the side and avoided the attack. And slashed at it with my short sword.

..Too shallow. Still as hard.

「Wha!?」

The head had passed by me, so I got careless. It rolled its body and crashed into me. I was sent flying through the air, and crashed onto the ground.

「Ouuuchh..」

I was able to reduce the shock because I jumped back at the last minute, but I still took damage.

..This is troublesome. I’ve never fought a snake of this size, so I can’t predict how it’s gonna move.

However, if I take too much time, the snake will destroy the surrounding buildings. It is large enough to easily destroy a house or two just by rolling over.

I gotta aim for a short-term decisive battle.

(But what should I do? Can I bring it down by myself? If I attack with all my might, my weapon would probably break first. But if I hold back, I can’t inflict fatal wounds.)

In that case, I have no choice but to sacrifice my weapon by staking it all in one attack.

(I have only one chance. Two at most)

Tension ran through my body.

(I have to create an opening somehow, but I’m unsure about my remaining mana. And it’s difficult to create a feint all by myself.. Is there anything else I can do?)

At that moment, I heard footsteps.

My ears can pick up considerably small sounds by【Hearing Enhancement】. Furthermore, because of【World Ruler】, I can’t forget something once it’s stored in my memory.

Three people were approaching me. Footsteps of three people whom I knew—no, to be exact, they were a little different from my memory. Because the sound changes if you walk in different places and with different shoes. Nevertheless, I recognised them.

..And above all, it has been four years.

「..I heard that a huge monster had appeared, and came here, but I didn’t think we would be reunited in a place like this.」

The adventurer carrying a heavy mace and a greatshield as big as his body, was Dante-san, who is nicknamed “Silver GreatShield”.

「I had a feeling we would meet in this city. It is thanks to God’s guidance.」

The person who had completely grown into an adult woman – also whose breasts have grown even bigger as well – was the nun, Non-san.

「..Is that you, Reiji-kun?」

And the third person.

「Yes, it’s me.」

She hadn’t changed at all even after 4 years. Since she was the same height as she was before, I had completely outgrown her. Her face was looking like she wanted to burst out crying, but was desperately controlling herself not to.

「I have a lot of things I want to say to you!」

「I know.」

「But we should take care of this guy first, huh?」

「Yes. I would appreciate your support.」

「If you say so, it can’t be helped then, Reiji-kun!」

Mimino-san was still the same old Mimino-san even after 4 years.

..Right now, I don’t feel like losing to Ouroboros anymore.