"...Aaa..."
Is that a voice? A hoarse high-pitched sound can be heard. It doesn't seem like words. Even if it could speak, it didn't look like an opponent I could communicate with. From its perspective, I am an intruder in the flower field. Or perhaps, prey successfully lured into a trap.
I think: run or kill? It doesn't look like a strong enemy, but having intelligence alone makes it troublesome. In any case, this distance is too close. If it's a long-range battle, I, with my projectile weapons, would have the advantage. I gradually moved away while stepping back slowly.
The withered tree human did not move from that spot. Perhaps it is skilled at erasing its presence and approaching enemies. Sneaking up from behind prey distracted by flowers and predating on them—was this place made as that kind of hunting ground?
It was good that I noticed just in time. I kept my eyes on it and took distance while backing away. Then, once I was far enough, I would break away at once. If it chases, I can just deal with it using 'Cyst Shot'. Is this the best move?
"Uu, u."
The withered tree human just groans while looking at me. Water was flowing from the hollows that seemed to be its eyes. Is it intending to cry? Out of anger that its flower field was ravaged, or regret that it let its prey escape?
So what? Unfortunately, I don't possess a fragment of sympathy. If you are strong, you take; if you are weak, you are taken from. That is all there is to it. It's about time. I will leave this place quickly. Just as I thought that and put strength into my legs...
"Uaaaaaa... aaaaaaaa... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—"
A sudden wail. The high-pitched sound exceeded the audible range, and halfway through, I could no longer hear it. The air vibrates. And then, Quinn's vision was closed off in an instant.
Both eyeballs have burst. It is obvious I was attacked. Before thinking about the reason, I pointed Quinn's right hand at the enemy. Even if Quinn's eyes are crushed, the Main Body's eyes remain. I fired a bullet from the injection port of the Main Body clinging to her arm.
The 'Cyst Shot' flies toward the enemy at high speed. However, it is avoided. The enemy moved at a speed my eyes could barely follow. It showed an agility that made me wonder what its sluggishness just moments ago was all about.
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Quinn's left leg burst. Before the repair of both eyes could make it, she sustained further wounds. The leg is bad. Mobility is stripped away. That must be why the enemy aimed for it. Vision stolen, movement halted. My response is falling behind. I activated a derivative technique of 'Spirit Synchronization' prepared for emergencies.
'Thought Operation (Multi-Task)!'
By separating the collective consciousness, which basically thinks as one, as much as possible and processing information in parallel, I drastically increase thinking speed. Since it requires extreme concentration, it can only be used for a short time, but in extreme situations where a moment's delay determines victory or defeat, I can judge and act without waste.
First, estimate the enemy's war potential. Attack method unknown, effective range unknown. It is reaching me with attacks from at least 10 meters away. The precision is also high. It accurately destroyed only the two eyeballs at once. It is highly likely the leg was also targeted and attacked.
And it possesses phenomenal movement speed. Leg strength and dynamic vision capable of dodging a high-speed bullet fired in a surprise attack. With Quinn already injured in the leg, escape is difficult. I don't know if I could escape even in perfect condition.
Within the accelerating thoughts, subjective time stretched strangely long. I finish repairing Quinn's eyes. Just as I was about to start recovering the leg, the enemy howled. An ear-splitting scream echoed, and a chill ran through me as if my internal organs were trembling.
The next moment, Quinn's internal organs burst. Below the stomach—the liver? A sensation like a water balloon bursting ran through the abdomen. In the stretched time, intense pain attacked slowly, like being strangled with silk floss.
If not for the thought acceleration, I might have lost consciousness from this pain. A hell where I am made to taste pain that doesn't even allow me to go mad while maintaining calm thought. But it is a suffering I can taste only because I am alive. If I expose an unsightly opening here, I will be killed in a flash.
I deduce. Just before I was injured, the enemy raised a loud voice. I don't sense any sign of it doing anything else. I was observing with 'Gyo' as well, but there was no abnormality. If it were a Nen attack, the moment I received it, I could conversely send the virus in and cause a fulminant reaction. The matter is not that simple.
The key is the "voice". After it emitted the voice, a faint vibration ran through my abdomen. A sensation I could capture because I was accelerating my thoughts. That vibration converged rapidly to a single point and exploded. It targeted and destroyed only one of the organs.
Sound waves? That voice is like a sonic weapon. Moreover, it has impossible, precise directionality. If it were parts exposed to the outside like eyeballs or legs, it would be one thing, but it reached an attack into an isolated place like internal organs, and without damaging the surroundings at all.
Defense by aura has no meaning. A scream of death that instantly destroys any arbitrary location. If it had aimed for the brain in the first strike, Quinn would be dead at that point. When I thought that far, an imagination that made the blood drain from my face crossed my mind.
Today, Quinn has already died once. She died of poisoning when she ate the flower. At that time, I consumed a large amount of egg stock. Due to the pledge/covenant, the number was over 333 out of 1000. However, this is if death is met with a mental state in perfect condition.
Depending on the degree of agitation at that time, the consumption of eggs lost increases. It should have been a relatively "gentle" way to die by poisoning, but I still couldn't minimize the damage. Actually, the remaining number of eggs I currently possess is under 500.
In other words, I can manifest Quinn only one more time. If Quinn dies here, there is no next time. Manifesting itself is possible, but if that Quinn dies, I cannot pay the price of the pledge. Judging from the remaining number, I cannot use 'Cradle of Sacrifice' either.
If I lose the Quinn manifested now, I can no longer use 'Idolatry'. Even if I created a new Quinn, she would be killed instantly. With the remaining mobility of the Main Body, I cannot possibly escape.
Right now, since there is an "easy target" called Quinn, the enemy is aiming there first. But if she is gone, the next target is the Main Body. If I use Zetsu to let it pass, is there a possibility it will overlook me...? No, it's no good. It has seen the Main Body firing bullets.
At any rate, it will come to kill for precaution. No matter how hard the exoskeleton protects me, if the contents are directly ruptured, I will die. On the other hand, I cannot land an attack on the enemy.
Still, if I don't hit, there is no chance of victory. 'Cyst Shot' is the only path to winning. It is not an enemy I can hit by shooting blindly. Now, while Quinn's injuries are few, if I make a suicide attack on the enemy, maybe something can be done. Even for an instant is fine. My attacks aren't slow either. If only there is an opening, there is a chance to hit.
As if mocking such calculations, Quinn's left calf was blown away. I lost balance and fell on all fours. I am currently working on repairing the liver with full power to keep Quinn from dying. It is already a serious injury where it is a wonder she is alive. I have absolutely no leeway to fix the leg.
Before a sonic attack with outstanding destructive power that cannot be defended or avoided, I helplessly crawl on the ground. Bringing it into close combat is impossible. Taking distance put me at a disadvantage.
Life and death are completely in its grip. Right now, I am being toyed with. There should have been plenty of opportunities to kill Quinn. Or perhaps, having touched the enemy's wrath, I am in the middle of receiving punishment.
When it gets serious, everything ends. Is that a story for a minute from now, or a second from now?
Death? Me?
Pressure weighing down rapidly. I even felt as if the air had increased in weight. Not death as an individual, but death as a colony. The death of my entire existence. Falling with the casualness of rain. Overwhelming presence of death.
Like hell I'll die.
I mobilized 'Thought Operation (Multi-Task)' completely. Overusing my consciousness beyond the limit. For the best, most optimal path, method, to break through the situation. Hundreds of me think.
At the end of that, I decided. Fire several 'Cyst Shots' from the Main Body. Naturally, the enemy anticipates that. I saw it entering evasive maneuvers. Just as a high-speed camera records footage with a massive number of frames, the divided collective consciousness stitches together the perceptions observed by each one, forming a slow-motion image.
But that just means I can see it. Even if I grasp the enemy's position accurately and achieve 100% accuracy, it is helpless if the enemy possesses the reflexes and speed to avoid that bullet. That is why I make the next move.
'Spirit Synchronization (You Are Me)'
I released that ability toward the enemy.
This is a brainwashing Nen wave released by putting Nen into radio waves. Its speed is the same as radio waves; if there are no obstacles, it diffuses through the air at a speed close to light, and can manipulate the target hit as if it were my own body.
However, its efficacy is extremely weak. Roughly speaking, it has no effect on living things in general. It is deflected by those with an ego, and doesn't work at all even on a single insect without a will. Exceptionally, it is something used on my eggs; this can be called an ability to manipulate myself.
Therefore, using it on the enemy in front of me has no meaning. The Nen wave will be deflected, and that's it. A sensitive enemy might feel a faint discomfort at the malice the Nen wave brings, but there is no effect beyond that.
But what if those Nen waves overlap and collide by the number? "Whispers" that are insignificant one by one become a "sound" loud enough to be heard when piled up.
I ordered each divided consciousness to exercise the ability. The Nen waves emitted by each and every egg layer repeatedly and assault the enemy.
Even so, it doesn't mean I can manipulate the enemy with this ability. At most, it is something to increase the discomfort. A momentary strangeness that "something is being done." That is exactly what I sought.
Someone who knows the content of the ability need not be agitated. Because this Nen wave has absolutely no offensive power. But to someone who knows nothing, it is an unidentified attack.
A minute opening is born there.
"A!?"
The enemy's movement dulled slightly. Even so, it wasn't enough to stop the evasive maneuver. The enemy had seen through the position to avoid the trajectory at the last second. The small bullets pass by without capturing the target.
'Ren!'
At that moment, the diameter of the bullets swelled up. By making the bullets (eggs) themselves undergo a fulminant reaction, they instantly grow into red spherical cacti. Deceiving the enemy's scheme to avoid the bullets by a hair's breadth.
"Aga!?"
It certainly hit. However, it didn't go as far as the cactus taking root. Although it grazed the enemy, it passed to the enemy's rear with the momentum of the firing speed.
That is fine. The Nen wave from 'Spirit Synchronization' and the slight hit from 'Cyst Shot'. That raging attack bears fruit, creating a decisive opening in the enemy.
And before the Main Body recognized that opening, the divided consciousness I had kept on standby had already fired a bullet. Shooting based on prediction presupposing that an opening would be born. The best shot I can do right now. If this is dodged, there is no future.
Will it hit, or miss?
Life, or death?
"Agi! A... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
It hit. The bullet that directly hit the enemy's torso grows into a cactus. This time I caught it. Involving the life energy covering the enemy's body surface, it succeeds in rooting firmly. I shoot in rapid succession. If I rest my hands here, the one killed will be me.
"Agobu!"
The enemy is hit in the leg. Torso, face, arms—bullets hit one after another, turning it into a seedbed for red cacti.
"...Agh!"
Victory and defeat were decided when I blocked the mouth. It cannot make a voice with this. I shoot through the withered tree that staggers totteringly. I thoroughly pursued the enemy bouncing like a fish out of water. And when a strange cactus ensemble object was completed, I finally lowered the muzzle.
"Haa... Hii...!"
There is no afterglow of victory. No sense of accomplishment from defeating a strong enemy, no sense of fulfillment from demonstrating my strength, no exhilaration from returning a grudge—absolutely none.
Just, I am alive. There was only a delusional sensation of life that lies beyond repelling death. And I learned that it is many times more repulsive than death.
This blunder is entirely a result invited by my negligence.
Having obtained the power of the Almeiza Machine, I became conceited about my strength. I was under the illusion that I reigned at the peak of the ecosystem in this forest.
I can only call it shallow thinking. Even my power is originally just one of the Calamity-class threats. Who decided that no other threats of the same level exist? I merely finally gained the power to fight on equal terms in this forest.
There were plenty of opportunities to avoid the battle just now too. If I hadn't lost to the temptation of flowers and carelessly approached the marsh, that would have been the end of it. Even when harvesting, if I had stayed firmly vigilant, I wouldn't have allowed the enemy's approach.
However, the enemy must have been careless too. If taking the best move, it should have hidden and attacked from a distance while I was engrossed in harvesting. There was no need to purposely show itself. I was saved by that composure of the strong.
I was lucky. It boils down to that one word. There is no guarantee I will encounter such good luck next time. I could be tripped up by an enemy I looked down on as weak and have the tables turned in an instant. Tomorrow it could be me.
Battlefield always. I carve that mindset into my heart.
Quinn finally finished repairing the organs and managed to hold onto life. It's amazing she held out that well in a situation where the egg stock is less than half. I need to think about how to keep Quinn alive from now on. If I don't think more about how to use her, I can't maneuver against strong enemies.
Basically, avoiding combat will be the axis as before. Hide my figure with 'In', and search with 'Resonance'. Probe the situation of the surrounding forest.
"'Resonance'."
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Twelve bodies.
There are reactions of twelve bodies in the surroundings.
"Ba"
Impossible. Since when? Ho-how? Just a moment ago, certainly... no, were they there? The whole time, during the battle? Was I being watched? I didn't have, the leeway, to check.
They are there. Hiding their bodies among the trees, withered trees are lurking.
That number, twelve. Twelve threats, when just one took my desperate effort, taking advantage of the enemy's carelessness, and squeezing out all the power I had to win by a paper-thin margin.
Sweat burst out from Quinn's body. I could only stare at the traces on the soil where drops falling down my cheek were sucked into the ground, soaking in and changing its color.