"Don't let us get surrounded. We take the initiative and defeat them one by one."
"Report positions."
Ouka Kashima whispered softly, tightening his grip on the long axe in his hands.
"Using me as the reference point ten o'clock direction, directly ahead. Fifteen steps."
"Understood!"
Chigusa and Asuka drew their bows at once, while Ouka and Shaka surged forward together. Mikoto stayed behind, guarding the rear and maintaining her skill.
As they advanced, Shaka gradually pushed through the thick fog, and the information recorded in his memory surfaced naturally.
BugBear.
A monster resembling a cross between a bear and a behemoth. Brown fur covering its entire body, standing close to two meters tall, with a square, bulky build. Its head was embedded directly in its chest, with no visible neck.
Unlike normal bears, it had pointed, feline-like ears atop its head, making it difficult to classify at first glance.
It usually appeared around the nineteenth floor of the Dungeon.
Estimated potential: Level 2, E-rank.
Of course that was in the Dungeon.
"Just a common monster."
Having confirmed its identity, Shaka raised his short battle axe and brought it down with force.
The Bug Bears noticed them at the same time despite the fog, they moved as if their vision were unaffected. They leapt aside with surprising agility, narrowly avoiding Chigusa's arrows, and then roared loudly.
"They're calling for reinforcements!"
At that moment, Shaka's axe came down.
The blade severed one Bug Bear's foreleg in a single strike. Using his waist as leverage, he twisted and followed up with a wide sweep, blinding the monster in one eye.
"Switch!"
In SAO-style combat, this was the most efficient method stagger the enemy, then let the next attacker chain the kill before it could recover.
Ouka reacted instantly.
He surged forward as Shaka's momentum faded, raising his long axe overhead and bringing it down with brutal force.
Crack.
The Bug Bear's skull split open. The axe lodged deep, stuck fast.
"Switch!"
Shaka moved again, delivering a powerful kick that knocked the corpse aside.
The blow struck the magic stone.
The monster disintegrated instantly into black ash.
But the remaining four charged forward at once.
"Reform!"
Mikoto activated Yata no Shiratori, locking onto allies' positions as the group attempted to regroup.
Too late.
The Bug Bears abandoned formation and crashed directly into the team's line, relying on sheer mass and brute strength.
Four massive bodies surged forward like runaway wagons.
Shaka felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Spread out!"
With no choice left, the team broke formation, shifting into individual combat.
The Takemikazuchi Familia reacted instantly, disengaging cleanly and drawing the monsters apart.
Shaka faced his own opponent.
He gripped his axe tightly and leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the Bug Bear's sweeping slap. As his feet hit the ground, he pushed off hard, charging straight into the monster's chest.
The axe blade plunged deep.
He ripped it sideways.
Flesh tore open. Organs spilled out.
Shaka released the handle immediately and retreated. The Bug Bear thrashed wildly for several seconds before collapsing, motionless.
"I'm still not used to weapons…"
He exhaled, retrieving his axe.
Nearby, victory calls rang out.
"Clear!"
"No injuries!"
"Regroup!"
Confidence rose.
Too fast.
Suddenly—
"Ah!"
Chigusa screamed.
Everyone turned.
A gaunt, purplish-black figure dropped from above, landing squarely on Chigusa's back. Furry paws pinned her shoulders as the creature's weight crushed her down.
Its maw opened, revealing decayed fangs.
"Chigusa!"
Ouka shouted, abandoning his position.
"Mikoto, rear guard!"
The fog thickened again, visibility dropping to barely two meters.
Mikoto's skill flared as she reactivated Yata Noaragasu, instantly detecting the anomaly.
A short katana shot through the air.
The monster twisted midair, claws extending as it leapt away. Blood burst from Chigusa's back, splattering purple-black across the ground.
"Chigusa!"
Ouka reached her at once.
"It's poison!" he shouted. "On Her back look!"
The wound was shallow but the skin had already turned black. Veins spread like a spiderweb beneath the flesh, oozing rotten blood.
Shaka's expression darkened.
"Antidote?"
"…We don't have one."
Silence.
The monster vanished again, melting into the fog.
Thirty meters out.
Waiting.
"It's hunting us," Mikoto whispered. "Like a predator."
Shaka clenched his teeth.
"We retreat."
"No," Ouka snapped. "I'll cover the rear."
"You're second strongest," Shaka said calmly. "You lead the retreat. I'll draw its attention."
The group lifted Chigusa and began moving.
Then
"Mr. Shaka! Behind you!"
Too late.
Cold ran down Shaka's spine.
He turned on instinct.
The axe swung like a tennis racket.
Clang.
Metal met claw.
In that instant, Shaka saw it clearly.
Thin. Slender. Purple-black fur. Narrow limbs. Triangular ears.
A twisted feline face.
"…A cat demon?"
No.
This wasn't the one from the city.
It was an altered Bug Bear, its mass sacrificed for agility, venom enhanced to lethal levels.
The leader.
"Venomous Cat Demon."
"We can't leave until it's dead," Shaka said grimly. "One hit is a death sentence."
Mikoto steadied her breathing.
"Luring it…"
Shaka tore a strip of cloth from his sleeve and blindfolded himself.
"…What are you doing?" Mikoto gasped.
"Seeing is useless right now."
He stepped forward, senses flaring.
Airflow. Sound. Smell.
"Four o'clock. Five meters."
Shaka swung.
Sparks flew.
The demon recoiled.
"Switch!"
Ouka struck from behind, the fog dispersing briefly.
The cat demon screeched and fled.
Then
It lunged again.
Straight for Mikoto.
"Now!"
Mikoto slammed her hands together.
"Descend,
Futsu-no-Mitama!"
A massive spectral blade dropped from the heavens.
Gravity crushed everything.
The demon froze mid-lunge.
"Finish it!"
A portal tore open behind Shaka.
Two homemade bombs vanished into it.
The portal snapped shut.
Shaka downed a psychotropic potion, gasping.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM.
The Venomous Cat Demon exploded from the inside.
Fire burst from its eyes, mouth, and ears.
Its body disintegrated into ash.
Silence returned to the forest.