Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

[LN] Volume 2: Chapter 4.4

This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.

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Volume 2 Chapter 4.4

Those Who Once Fled, Those Who Still Struggling Part 4

Translator : PolterGlast

After confirming the location of the demonic beast's footprints from near the east gate of Arcazam, Irisdina and the others went straight into the forest, following the footprints.

Garm's footprints, the leader, were much larger than those of the others. On top of that, there were also the footprints of other demonic beasts surrounding it. It was rather easy to follow the trail.

"To the East, huh? ....... If we keep going this way, we'll end up in a tributary of the Vein River."

The Vein River is a primary river that supports the distribution of goods in Arcazam. This river is supplied with water from the Spasim Forest and serves as the border between the Cremazzone Empire and the Kingdom of Forsina.

The Vein River has a wide width and contains a considerable volume of water, regardless of the fact that it is a tributary.

As they approached the tributary, they encountered more and more mud and soil.

"H~m, I can see the footprints quite clearly now, but it's hard to walk in all this mud......"

Mimuru's face grimaced at the sticky mud clinging to the soles of her shoes.

"And this blatant way of making footprints. It's likely they're luring us~~."

Although the footprints of not only the leader, Garm, but also those of Direwolves kept on going, the number of those accompanying Direwolves' footprints has been gradually decreasing.

It was conceivable that they were dispersing to search for prey, but the way they dispersed was strange nonetheless. They tend to group together in twos and threes and separate themselves from the pack. Perhaps, the reason was to anticipate the possibility of being attacked and to provide bait so that they would be able to detect the movements of their pursuers.

The tension within the party heightened as they faced a situation in which they were clearly being lured.

"Better keep your weapons drawn. They could attack us at any time."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Irisdina's words, and each of them pulled out their weapons and began following the footprints of the demonic beasts once again.

Eventually, they could hear the sound of rushing water gradually approaching. And the light coming from behind the overgrown trees gradually became stronger. The tributary was getting closer.

"There it is......"

Then, they spotted the demonic beast they were after.

A huge gray-colored beast was sitting on a boulder beside the tributary.

"There it is. Garm. And it's a pretty big one."'

"Yeah, certainly, this one's a big one."

Compared to a normal Direwolf, its stature is two or three times that of a normal Direwolf. On its chest, distinctive red fur unique to Garm could be seen. Among demonic beasts, except for a few that belong to the S rank, such as dragons, Garm is considered to be a special class existence.

At that moment, [Gray] eyes with deep intelligence turned toward Irisdina and the others.

"We got you."

"The wind has stopped ...... here they come."

Immediately afterward, three shadows jumped out from behind Irisdina and the others who were hiding in the bushes.

Three Direwolves pounced on them. The three Direwolves leaped at Shina and Tima, who were in the back of the group, trying to pierce them with their fangs.

"Fuh~!" "Zeei!" "Teiryaa~!"

However, the fangs of the three wolves did not reach them, and their lives were reaped in an instant.

Irisdina, Mars, and Mimuru responded immediately, and with a flash of their weapons, they cut down the attacking Direwolves.

*Uoooooon!*

The [Gray]'s howl echoed. Even though their first pack has been annihilated, the Direwolves' fighting spirit remains undiminished.

New Direwolves sprang out of the bushes and surrounded Irisdina and the others.

Perhaps they were trying to distract them by surrounding them, and then pouncing on them when they saw an opening.

However, no matter how many Direwolves surrounded them, it was still pointless.

*Ssh!*

*Gyan!*

Tima's magic bullets and Shina's arrows flew.

The magic bullets and arrows, boasting an unparalleled combination of magic and bow and overwhelmingly precise timing and accuracy, strike the Direwolves surrounding them, distorting and piercing their walls of encirclement.

"Oraaaa!"

Mars charged into the hole and swung his greatsword, which was wrapped in a blade of wind.

The swinging blades, billowing roar, magic bullets and arrows being shot. The slow-moving Direwolves were slaughtered one after another.

However, when a part of them rushed out, it naturally created a gap in the formation of Irisdina and the others.

*U~on!*

At the opposite side of the rushing out Mars. Another Direwolf pounced on Shina and the others from behind.

"Now, now, this way is off-limits~!"

However, Mimuru would not allow it. With her Qi-jutsu, she further enhanced her originally superior beastman physical abilities, and with the agility of a cat, she outperformed the Direwolves. Wielding daggers in both hands, she slaughtered the beasts that approached one after another.

*Grrrr......*

The [Gray] stood up on top of the boulder with anger in its eyes and raised its tail high in the air.

Immediately afterward, magical power shot up from the [Gray]'s huge frame and swirled around its raised tail.

The air began emitting a shrieking sound.

"~,  Get down!"

Upon hearing Irisdina's voice, all of them quickly got down on the ground.

Immediately after, five blades were shot out from the [Gray]'s tail.

The blades, woven together by magic power, flew at high speed and passed over the heads of Irisdina and the others who were lying on the ground. The blades cut down the trees in the direction they were traveling and gouged out the ground.

"Tch, that's quite a powerful one there!"

"As expected of Garm. Even compared to the magic stone-bearer Direwolves, this magic blade is overwhelmingly more powerful."

Garm's magic blade would easily slice through a soft human body if hit directly.

Moreover, the other Direwolves tried to pounce on Irisdina and the others as they evaded the [Gray]'s magic blade.

"On top of that, he has a lot of cronies!"

While cutting down the Direwolves that pounced on her, Irisdina stood up and used her ability [Immediate Deployment] to produce magic bullets, scattering them in all directions, as if to keep them away from approaching.

The Direwolves were blocked from pursuing by the swarm of Irisdina's magic bullets, but their numbers did not seem to have decreased at all.

On top of that, [Gray] began to ramp up its magic power again. With a roar, the blade of magic power once again enveloped its raised tail.

"Wait, wait! Isn't this kind of bad!?"

Mimuru yelled out in impatience.

Shina, who was readying her bow next to her, took out an arrow from the quiver on her back and nocked it.

It was an engraved arrow made specifically by Tom. When Shina began to pour magic power into the arrow, the engraved formula was activated. The arrowhead began to heat up red hot, drawing in the surrounding magic power.

*Shh!*

While focusing her mind, she fired the arrow right between the [Gray]'s eyebrows.

The red-hot arrow flew in a straight line toward the [Grey]'s skull while slicing through the air.......

"No way......"

However, it was easily crushed by [Gray]'s gigantic fangs.

[Gray], whose entire body was raging with magic power, spat out the shattered remains of the arrow from its mouth and glared at Shina with its piercing eyes.

*U~ooon!*

At that moment, one of the Direwolves surrounding Irisdina and the others howled.

Upon hearing that howl, the [Gray]'s eyes lit up with a strong color of anger. Upon closer look, the Direwolf that howled was the survivor of the magical stone bearer that was subjugated on the highway.

"I see. So you are avenging your companions......"

[Gray] released the magic blades that had filled its tail.

Facing the five oncoming blades along with the sound of explosions, Irisdina kneaded her magical power without hesitation.

"Certainly, they're powerful. But that doesn't mean they can't be blocked."

As Irisdina swung her arm, five magic bullets, the same as the approaching magic blades, were produced and released.

The magic bullets look obviously weaker than the [Gray]'s magic blades. However, Irisdina's magic bullets flew through the air gracefully and landed precisely on the midsection of the approaching magic blades.

Immediately after, with a sound like breaking glasses, the [Gray]'s magic blades were shattered and dispersed.

"Compared to its powerful firepower, its durability is rather poor."

Certainly, [Gray]'s magic is powerful. Both its power and range capabilities are impeccable.

However, because they are demonic beasts, the density of their magic blades had obvious flaws.

In the first place, there is no such thing as a proper technique in the magic of these demonic beasts. To use an analogy, they are like mudworks that have been forcibly hardened by force. Irisdina simply exploited that fragile point.

However, if one were to ask if anyone else could do the same thing, it would never be the case. There is a difference between what one understands and what one can do.

"And if it's firepower we're talking about, we have someone better."

Shortly after that, a magic power that not even [Gray] could compare to rage over the area.

The magic erupted from the girl in the middle of the party, the one in the safest place.

Tima Lime. If it were only based on one's magic power, she would be the best mage in the entire continent, let alone in Arcazam.

The magic power converged on the staff she held up. Two magic circles were being formed. The blue and brown magic circle floating in the air began to rotate at high speed, and a deafening *kiiiiin!* sound began to echo in response.

"......~!"

The [Gray]'s gaze turned to Tima, whose magic power was raging.

Its instincts, having survived in this Spasim forest for so many years, released an intense sense of impending danger in response to Tima's magic, as if all the hairs on its body stood on end.

The next moment, [Gray] sprinted as fast as it could, driven by the alarming sound that rang in its brain. Its target was, of course, Tima.

"I won't let you!"

However, Mars, raising his greatsword, stood in the [Gray]'s way.

With his abundant Qi, he strengthened his body with all his might to intercept the [Gray]'s rush.

The two were firmly engaged in a fierce confrontation. Mars blocked the fangs of the [Gray] that were trying to bite him as it pressed down on him, by letting it bite his greatsword.

Both Mars and [Gray] did not move a muscle, as if they were completely on par with each other in terms of their physical strength.

"~!"

There was no way out of this. Judging so, Mars poured his Qi into his greatsword and created a blade of wind.

[Qi-jutsu・Wind Blade]. Suddenly, countless razor blades appeared and tried to slice through the [Gray]'s mouth.

However, [Gray] also concentrated his magic power in its mouth and tried to push back while preventing Mars' wind blades from cutting him.

"G~uuu~uu~u……!"

*Gu, ooooo……!*

Opposing forces and powers, magic and Qi compete against each other.

The opposing magic power and Qi eventually exploded with a tremendous roar, blasting Mars and [Gray] away.

"Gahah ......!"

*Grrrrrrrr ......!*

Mars and [Gray] were hit by the shockwave at close range, but it was [Gray] who regained its posture first.

[Gray] made use of its superior physical strength as a demonic beast and its four-legged physique, which made it easy to keep its balance, and was only slightly pushed backward.

"Ugh ...... Tima, blow it away!"

"Haaaaa!"

But it was enough. The next moment, the magic that Tima had been casting was activated.

Advanced Magic [Crucifixion Burial].

The ground undulated around Tima, and countless earth spears protruded and bared their fangs at the Drewolves.

The spears spread out in concentric circles like a tsunami, swallowing up [Gray] and all of its subordinates in the blink of an eye.

After the tsunami of spears subsided, the body of the Direwolves, whose bodies had been pierced countless times, was lying on the ground.

"Phew......"

Having finished casting her magic, Tima exhaled heavily from exhaustion. No matter how enormous one's magic power may be, the use of magic always imposes a considerable burden on one's body and mind.

Tima, in particular, possessed an enormous amount of magic power, so the scale of magic she cast would be huge, and the burden tended to be correspondingly high.

"Wow~, what an amazing magic......"

"Yes, it really is......"

Mimuru and Sina, seemingly at a loss for words, let out a sigh of admiration.

They too were familiar with Tima Lime's name, but when they actually saw her up close like this, the overwhelming difference in their abilities was undeniable.

Tima Lime is not the only one. Irisdina Francilt, too, has a remarkable talent.

She was able to accurately identify the flaw in the magic blades that flew at high speed, and then precisely shatter the blades with multiple magic bullets that were cast in the blink of an eye. Who else but her could do such a feat?

An indescribable jealousy welled up in Shina's heart. Because she understood the magnitude of what she had lost more than anyone else, and also because she wanted it more than anyone else.

(What the hell am I thinking? It's not even their fault... I can't believe I'm jealous of them......)

Shaking off her own ugly jealousy, Shina let out a sigh and looked around.

Countless dead Direwolves lie on the muddy ground. The sheer number of them would make the task of dismantling them a vexing problem.

The corpses of demonic beasts tend to attract other demonic beasts. Especially with this many, there was no telling how many demonic beasts they would attract.

If they were not handled properly, there might be a possibility that the demonic beasts that devoured these corpses would wander around the vicinity of Arcazam. It would be best to dispose of them as soon as possible.

*Grrrrrrrr......*

However, among the corpses lying on the ground, there was one individual who stood up despite being injured. It was [Gray], the leader of this pack.

As expected of an exceptional individual, his vitality was unmatched compared to the other Direwolves.

Even though its body was pierced by multiple earth spears and bleeding, it stood firmly on the ground with its limbs and glared at Irisdina and the others with eyes filled with the flames of fury.

"As expected, a tenacious one."

However, judging from the amount of blood that was flowing out, one could already tell that this demonic beast's life was not going to last much longer.

However, it was a wounded beast. It could still easily slaughter a person with a single bite. They could not let their guard down until the last moment.

"Good grief, looks like they beat us to it."

In that tension-filled place, a voice that did not belong to Irisdina's party echoed.

Emerging from the depths of the forest was a silver-haired beastman. It was Kevin Ardinal. Behind him were about 20 party members, whom he seemed to be leading.

"Kevin......"

"Hey there, Irisdina. Looks like it wasn't over yet."

If one were to look closely, one would see that Kevin and his party members had been fighting demonic beasts somewhere, and their clothes were stained with dirt and blood in several places. The smell of blood soaked into their clothes made [Gray] change the color of its eyes.

*Grrrrrrrr......*

"Yeah, I killed all of your comrades."

Apparently, Kevin's party was also fighting against part of the pack led by [Gray].

[Grey], whose men had been slaughtered, pounced on Kevin in a rage of fury.

*Guooooo!*

He poured out all his remaining magic power and fired his magic blade while howling as if he was trying to drag at least one person along with him.

"Oopsie......."

Kevin did not look particularly nervous in the face of the looming [Gray] and its magic blade.

He dropped to the ground and gripped the ground firmly with both hands and feet, focusing his Qi on his fists.

Kevin's weapons were black gauntlets on his hands. The color contrasted with his school uniform, which was based on white, further highlighting the uniqueness of his hands.

"Phew!"

With a short exhale, he flashed a knife-hand strike.

The knife-hand strike smashed [Gray]'s magic blade with a single strike.

"Zei!"

Following that, he activated his [Flash Step] while clenching his fist. Diving into the looming [Gray]'s chest in an instant, Kevin pulled back his left hand that he had swung down, and in sync, he unleashed his right fist.

Legs, hips, and torso. Everything was in perfect synchronization as he unleashed his fist.

The next moment, *bang!*, there was an explosion sound and a flash of light, and the blow, delivered in the manner of a hook, struck [Gray] in the left side.

The impact shattered its ribs, and at the same time, a thunderbolt struck it, destroying its left lung and heart.

"With this, it's over ...... My bad, Irisdina, I've just finished it off."

While glancing at the collapsing [Gray], Kevin waved his hand toward Irisdina.

However wounded it might be, Kevin managed to shatter that magic blade with his hand and inflict a fatal wound with a single blow. Everyone except Irisdina and Tima looked at him with wide eyes.

"He's fast....... Moreover, that blow just now, it was like a lightning strike......."

"Ah, that's [Qi-Lightning Transformation]. It's Kevin's ability that allows him to transform his condensed Qi into lightning."

[Qi-Lightning Transformation]

As the name describes, this ability allows the user to convert Qi into lightning.

The converted lightning moves as the user desires, and although it is fixed in the form of lightning, unlike magic, it does not require time for chanting, making it possible to attack quickly, which is the nature of Qi-jutsu.

This rapid attack nature meshed surprisingly well with Kevin, who excelled in physical ability and was good at combative techniques.

In fact, he managed to inflict a fatal wound on Garm with a single blow.

*Gafu, gehyu……*

However, despite having one lung and heart crushed, [Gray] was still alive.

"What a tenacious bastard......"

Kevin threw cursing words at [Gray], who did not die instantly, and squeezed his fist to finish it off this time.

However, in the next instant, [Gray] gathered its last strength, put on magic power all over its body, and leaped from its spot in a single bound.

"Wha!......"

Then, *Splash!*. With a splashing sound, [Gray] fell into the tributary of the Vein River.

The body of the big wolf was swallowed up by the violent current of the river, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared downstream, out of sight.

"Tch, he escaped by sheer willpower, huh? What a life force, even though its heart and one lung were both crushed......"

"Now, now, leader. It sustained a fatal wound anyway, so it will be dead soon enough."

"I guess it will take some time to confirm since we missed getting the proof that we defeated it."

While Kevin's mouth contorted in frustration, his party members looked downstream and muttered so optimistically.

Even if they had inflicted fatal wounds, if they did not actually confirm the bodies and take proof of subjugation, they would only receive a meager reward and evaluation.

In the midst of all this, Karanti of Kevin's party opened her mouth to Shina.

"Dead-Leaf Ears, were you hiding behind someone? You seem to be as good as ever at using people as shields."

"Shut up......"

"Ara~, are you offended because I hit the nail on your head?"

Karanti rushed toward Shina, creating an antagonistic atmosphere between the two of them. By nature, she was someone who never hid her dislike for Shina, and when confronted with Shina's sharp glare, instead of feeling bad about it, she deepened her condescending expression even further.

"Oi, you- ......."

Irisdina opened her mouth, frowning with displeasure at Karanti, who was in confrontation with Shina.

However, before Irisdina could utter a word, a dignified voice other than hers rang out.

"Karanti, and the rest of you, shut your mouths. They are the ones who defeated this pack of demonic beasts. We only killed the small fry among them at best, and we even failed to finish off the boss. If these guys were mediocre, we'd be less than mediocre."

"Eh, that's......"

Kevin's words made Karanti mumble as if flustered. In fact, what Kevin and his party members were fighting until they got here was only a part of the pack that[Gray] had scattered.

"The sun is already setting......"

The sun was already setting and the forest was beginning to be tinted with the colors of twilight.

When night descended, the threat of demonic beasts would increase drastically. They should not stay too long.

"It's no use. That's enough for today."

With a single command from Kevin, his party started to head back to Arcazam.

Irisdina and the others buried the remains of the Direwolves they had killed with Tima's magic, and immediately after, they made their way back to their homes.

As they depart, silence once again returned to the forest.

Only the sounds of rustling leaves and wind could be heard, and as the darkness of night began to cover the forest, the grass growing along the tributary of Vein River swayed.

From behind the bushes peeked a pair of crimson eyes. The eyes, as red as blood, were staring downstream as if searching for something.

◆

A tributary of the Vein River. The wounded Garm has washed ashore in the shallows of a riverbank near a bend in the river.

*Gehyu......*

With a weak exhale, he spat out what little blood remained from his mouth, which had gaped open weakly.

The inside of his body was already torn to pieces. The blood overflowing from his crushed heart and lungs had accumulated in his body, completely disrupting his normal breathing and blood circulation.

Considering that his heart had already been crushed, it was a miracle that he was still breathing. It was a coincidence that he was instinctively using his excess magic power to sustain his life.

But that was the limit.

His flickering vision finally faded into darkness. As his consciousness faded, [Gray] lamented the fact that he could not avenge his family, but he still kept his hatred burning.

*Gafu......*

Suddenly, there was something at the edge of his fading vision.

It was a black, mud-like lump of sludge rising out of the gravel on the riverbank.

The lump of sludge, which eventually became a spherical mass in mid-air, approached [Gray]. It floated in mid-air, motionless as if it had a will of its own, and then touched [Gray]'s body and dug into it as if it were being absorbed into it.

*Gu~u, gi~u! ......*

An inarticulate scream escaped from [Gray]'s mouth.

The vision that was about to fade away suddenly turned red and flickered repeatedly as the sensation of the inside of the body was transforming.

[Gray]'s limbs, which had been lying on the ground, began to regain his strength, and along with it, his gray fur gradually began to turn black.

*Guuuu…… ooooooo!*

[Gray] roared out into the dark night as he raised his body.

His body was painted jet black, and his eyes had somehow turned blood red.

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