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Chapter 191. Peony Subjugation Battle Part 9
Chapter 191. Peony Subjugation Battle Part 9
Im bombarded by a wave of announcements that notice me that Ive 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 weve won.We won
The reality finally sinks in, and I smile with my hands clenched tight.
Its 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 Momos Shadow.
Since the flow of time is stopped inside my Item Box, I cant 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.
(Its11:45 right now.)
We abandoned the City Hall at 11 oclock.
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.
Everyones name is listed.
(Good. Everyones alive. No one has died yet.)
Kikis support magic hasnt worn off yet.
Without it, I wouldnt even be able to tell when someones name disappears.
I should properly thank her later on.
Must head over
Im wobbling pretty hard, but I force myself to stand up.
Ive 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 skills backlash all at once.
Crap
Just by standing here, my bodys about to hit its limit.
Wan! Wan! Wan!
Momo looks at me worriedly.
Dont push yourself!
HahaSorry for worrying you, Momobut we must gocan you open up your Shadow?
Kuun?
Are you sure that youre fine?
Momos still staring at me anxiously, so I give her my best smile.
I gently her head, telling her that Im okay.
Now, time to get myself pumped up again.
Ill have to exert myself for a little longer.
Thinking so, I straighten my back and look aheadonly to find someone there.
Quite a sorry sight youre in.
It casually walks up to me from the other side of the road.
Youre
I remember its face. Of course I do.
After all, weve 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 wasnt 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 Nishinos 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.
HaaHaa is there anyone else except onii-san that can defeat this guy?
Rikkas 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. Dont 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 didnt have any means to land a powerful hit from afar.
Against a regular sized Fertility Eating Rye, Goshogawaras log attacks and Rikkas 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 couldnt 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 Peonys 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 couldnt even fulfill their responsibilities?
(Thinkwe no longer have the helicopter Weve left all the weapons that we couldnt 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 didnt have any firearms either.
They had used most of them on Peony and brought along the minimum supplies when they retreated.
(ThinkWhat other options are there? What kind of terrain advantage do we hold? Somethinganything~~!)
By working his brain to full capacity, Nishino suddenly recalled something.
Thats 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 buildings 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.
ThisOh, I see!
The moment she caught the stone in her hands, she understood Nishinos intention.
By swinging it back and forth, she then threw it at one of the Fertility Eating Ryes 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 Nishinos 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.
GIGAaa?
Things didnt end there.
BOFUU~!
From its innumerable mouths, smoke and heat were released.
GiiGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
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? Wasnt it just a piece of rock?
Yeah, its a piece of stonebut its 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 wayIm glad that it worked.
As expected of Nishino-santo think of all that in the spur of a moment
Its not a big deal. Anyway, we must finish that thing as soon as possible. Everyone, throw your weapons at it, but make sure you dont get too close!
Ussu!
Okay!
UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
The situation had reversed thanks to Nishinos quick witted plan.
Fatally wounded by Akas explosion, the Fertility Eating Rye was at the doorstep of death.
As such, it didnt 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.
(Goodonly 30 minutes left. Everyones exhausted, but we should be fine.)
Things wouldve looked grim for them if another one of those giant Fertility Eating Ryes had appeared.
They were lucky that there werent 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 shouldve 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..?
BkkkBkkkk.
The ground before them swelled up.
W-what the?
I-isnt this
Everyone at the scene was shocked and dismayed.
An unforgettable sight. An existence that brought back traumatic memories.
Whywhy is it here?
The ground which had swollen up hardened and transformed into a huge humanoid figure.
It was a Goleman 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! Dont 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 wasnt good to remain paralyzed.
(Theres 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 couldnt 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 saidwhat 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 couldnt 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 wasnt 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 wasnt feasible.
Unfortunately, they didnt have such a powerful weapon lying around.
(Is there anything? Anything that can turn the situation around?)
Despite Nishinos 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.
Somethinganything
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 Golems 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 wasnt an option either.
Even if he managed to dodge the blow by a hairs breadth, Nishinos status wasnt high enough to survive the aftermath of the attack.
(I could kill its momentum with a CommandNo, its too late for that. I wont 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-sanRikka.)
No. I dont want to die yet.
I still want to live with everyone else
Sorry everyone
The Golems fist was about to crush Nishino.
Just then
Dont give up yet, Nishino-kun.
Eh?
he heard someones 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, Ive 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 didnt come to fight you, you know?
As if I could trust your words.
Im somehow maintaining a calm expression, but Im panicking inside.
Both my instincts and my skills are ringing alarms bells at maximum volume.
Dangerousthis guys ridiculously dangerous.
(Its nothing like how it was four days ago)
Its presence has undergone a complete metamorphosis.
Theres 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 wont beat around the bush then.
Having said so, it takes a step forward.
Peonys magic stone and the God Trees seed. Can I have those?
Huh?
I know you have them. Ive been observing you all this time. Im honestly impressed, you know? Its true that youre the owner of Precocious, but I never thought youd be able to beat Gluttony.
Gluttony?
Yup. You didnt 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 dont trust me? Then lets 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 wont 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 wont be harmed in any way as long as I conceded the items.
The mysterious force emanating from the paper tells me that Ive not been lied to.
Still
As if I could trust this.
Why?
All thats mentioned here is that you wont attack me. Then what if you commanded someone else to attack me?
If you really didnt mean us any harm, you shouldve 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.
HahaHAHAHAHAHA. 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 dont think I can make that much of a concession.
Boom!
It unleashes an extremely oppressive force to its surroundings.
It doesnt seem to be joking around anymore.
Ill say this again. If you dont want to die, hand over Peonys magic stone and the God Trees seed.
Instead of asking for them, its now demanding me to hand them over.
Hey, your true colors are leaking out.
As I thought, its planning on getting rid of me in a roundabout manner.
(Id have to find an opening and escape with Momos 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 its 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 havent given up yet.
Its funny, really.
Despite being in tatters, theyre still as reliable as ever.
Sorry, but Ill 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 Ive earned or use the new skills that Ive acquired, but I doubt that the figure in front of us would give me such a chance.
In fact, Ive been trying to see if I could perhaps allocate the points during our short exchange, but Im fairly certain that Id be killed the moment it notices that Im trying to do something to my status.
(What should I do? What can I do?)
Im 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.
(Its not an attack from Ichinose-san. This looks more like)
Ive 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 didnt know it was you.
While I remain dumbstruck, Darkness envelops the space between us.
A monster appears from within.
Its 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 ones 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.