ch21-ch40 · 035-ch35

Chapter 35: Savior

Narashima, the S-Rank Hunter, swung his sword with his broken left arm dangling limply.

Maha, facing him, kept its dull metallic body and laughed, fire blazing in its hand.

"(Kido...)"

The worst possible thought crossed his mind.

He was certain that the enemy's trait was "stealing the skills of those it defeats." In fact, two A-Rank Hunters who had been fighting elsewhere had been killed by the enemy, and both of their skills had been stolen too.

It was a double bind — the number of enemies wasn't decreasing, it was increasing, and with every casualty, the opponent only grew stronger.

"(I can feel a massive magic power from Akisame's direction too. With Kido dead and no reinforcements to expect, that means the enemies there are reinforcements too—)"

Narashima looked around him in despair.

Strangely, the scenery around him seemed to move in slow motion.

Kasugai, the A-Rank Hunter who had been shooting arrows from a high position, failed to dodge a magic attack from behind and was thrown to the ground, with Arakimu tribe members raising their weapons around her.

The other A-Rank Hunters were surviving by the skin of their teeth, but they were already battered and fighting on willpower alone.

Everyone had long run out of restorative potions. There was nothing left to do but pray to a god.

"I am a member of the National Public Order Maintenance... Special Tactical Unit... the Hunting Dogs... Narashima Ryo..."

From the horizontal tunnel where Kido had escaped, a giant-like individual he'd never seen before appeared and descended onto the battlefield. The A-Rank Hunters' eyes were empty, simply resigned to their hopeless situation.

Amid the massive army of Langoth, the massive army of Arakimu, and Maha's magic pressing in as it laughed ominously, Narashima shouted.

"I swore I'd fight for this country... for the people! There's no way I'm dying in a cave like this where nobody's watching!! 『Shadow Hunting Hound.』"

Shadow bands wrapped around Narashima's body in layers, his silhouette transforming into the form of a large dog. A black hound with red eyes let out a roar and charged headlong into the enemy army.

"Then... Nara... shima-san..."

Kasugai muttered through tears.

An Arakimu raised its weapon at her.

She braced herself for death — and closed her eyes.

"Pierce through."

A clear voice rang across the battlefield.

Countless lights rained down from the sky.

When Kasugai, who had been bracing for an impact that never came, cautiously opened her eyes, what she saw was every single enemy pierced through by swords of light, their bodies pinned to the ground.

"...Huh?"

The enemies lying prostrate looked as if they were kneeling before some supreme being.

The A-Rank Hunters there all instinctively looked up, as if drawn by an invisible force.

There, fluttering silver wings, was an angel.

"Wh... a..."

Maha was no exception.

The steel body it had stolen from the foolish humans was easily pierced by the swords of light. Now it couldn't use its skills — couldn't even move its gaze.

Maha's body was still there. But its soul had already begun to burn in the light. It felt its senses fading gradually from its toes upward, as if it were being made to understand the concept of death slowly, over time.

"(I... lost.)"

An overwhelming defeat, something it had never experienced since being born into this world. Maha was not permitted to scream or cry out in its regret — it vanished like dust.

"Hah, hahaha..."

The shadow bands peeled off his body with a slithering sound, and Narashima knelt, exhausted. As he looked up at Lumiel slowly descending, he couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"We were supposed to be the 'deterrent for Descent Arts'? What a joke... even the world's number one couldn't stop that..."

He leaned against a rock and breathed deeply, as if savoring being alive.

It was beyond admiration — it was sheer astonishment. Faced with such overwhelming strength, Narashima could only be dumbfounded. And at his own insignificance too...

"Is everyone okay!?"

Narashima snapped to attention at the voice. There stood Maeda Hagane, carrying restorative potions in both arms.

The moment his eyes met Narashima's, Hagane looked startled and rushed over.

"Narashima-san! Y-you're alive!?"

"Yeah... barely, I guess."

"H-hold on a second!"

As Hagane tried to open the lid of a potion, Narashima stopped him with his hand.

He didn't even have the energy to lift his head anymore, but he managed to move just his fingertips.

"I'm fine for last. Please help the others..."

"Now's not the time to play tough! Here!"

"Gbh!"

The potion splashed across his face, and as the pain and wounds in his body began to fade, Narashima's consciousness faded there.

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Just as Hagane finished splashing restorative potions on all the Hunters, a Langoth came crashing through the wall, sent flying.

It tumbled and rolled, already dead — beyond the wall, Kunimori could be seen lowering his sword.

"Lumiel-san, you done over there too?"

Kunimori asked, carrying the greatsword over his shoulder.

Hagane looked over the Hunters whose lives had been saved and gave a big thumbs up.

"Everyone's safe...!"

"Quick, healing skills!"

"N-Narashima-san!!"

Non-combatant Hunters rushed over to Narashima and the others. Still, since restorative potions (depending on quality) have a more immediate effect than healing skills, there were no serious injuries left, and everyone had recovered enough to talk.

"You really saved us."

Narashima bowed his head deeply, right off the bat. The other Hunters similarly bowed to Hagane and the others.

Kunimori said sadly.

"We couldn't save Kido-san."

"!?"

Shock ran through the Hunters.

Kido, the S-Rank Hunter... was dead?

"...I know."

Narashima muttered, looking exhausted. Kido's guild members rushed toward Kunimori, visibly shaken.

"Wha-! What are you saying!?"

"The master's dead!? No way, right...?"

None of them — Hagane, Kunimori, or Narashima — could answer that agonizing question. But everyone here was a professional Hunter. After hearing Narashima's explanation about the Arakimu tribe, the guild members calmly accepted the truth and quietly wept.

Learning why the enemy had suddenly started using fire magic, Akisame also nodded in complicated understanding.

The fallen Hunters were: one B-Rank, three A-Ranks, and one S-Rank — five in total.

This was the highest number of high-rank Hunter casualties since the incident two years ago.

"Monsters that learn the abilities of those they kill... if they got out of the Clock, the world really might have been destroyed..."

Hagane muttered, his voice trembling.

Everyone shuddered at the thought — it was too terrifying to even imagine.

Kasugai hesitantly looked around at everyone.

"We suffered great losses, but all the monsters are gone now, and the World Clock should close. The deaths of the five—"

Cutting her off, Lumiel muttered quietly.

"There's still more left."

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