"What the hell is happening up there—"
"GRAAAAH!!!"
—Thrash...!
Not paying attention for a moment, the Flayed lunged at me like a feral beast, its jaws easily able to swallow me whole.
"Uwaaaah!!!" I screamed as loud as I could, genuinely startled by its attack.
I quickly formed a thin barrier to stop it from butchering me, the same type I had used during my first encounter with the Rotten.
—THUD!
"No way..." I grimaced when the barrier barely held its ground.
It looked like it was being rammed by five monster trucks at once, combined with thousands of razor-sharp teeth.
—C-Crack!
"The Ichor...!?" I shrank back in horror as I watched the Ichor being torn apart in real-time.
My Ichor was durable enough to withstand every attack… until Scarlett popped out of nowhere.
As much as I wanted to know what kind of monster could go toe-to-toe with Scarlett, I had to focus on fighting the beast that had massacred everyone in this city.
I expected to encounter a Flayed in Trestkania, but I didn't anticipate fighting one right now.
"Grrr…" The Flayed kept mauling the barrier, intent on grinding me into mush.
Exactly as described in the notes Erina had given me, this Flayed maintained its ego and curiosity, demonstrating a level of understanding typically seen in trained beasts.
This detail was crucial information—indicating that this Flayed was newly born.
"The Ichor is going to break…!" I tried to reinforce it, but since putting a bandage on a cup wouldn't patch it up completely, I had to make a decisive move here and now.
—Kachick!
With its gaping jaws fully exposed, I aimed my gun at its mouth from point-blank range.
Fear threatened to overwhelm me, but thanks to the resolve I had been entrusted with, I didn't hesitate.
If this had been my first encounter with Eldians, I would have frozen in fear.
But now—it was different.
—BOOOM!!!
With a loud bang, I fired a bullet, and the creature realized the danger it was in too late, and partially evaded the shot.
"What?!" My eyes widened in surprise.
The Flayed's sudden show of intelligence sent a chill down my spine, revealing that they weren't an opponent I could face without a solid plan.
Screaming in pain, the Flayed was inflicted with heavy damage.
In panic, its scales—or perhaps the breathing holes around its neck—gleamed red, and my instincts warned me that if I didn't act quickly...
It would all be over.
"Oh sh—"
—BZZZZT!!!
In a desperate act of defence, the Flayed fired a laser beam from its throat, thrashing wildly in pain.
It was such a terrifying attack that I had no time to react, holding my head against the floor.
'What… What the hell was that?!'
I opened my eyes to see buildings cut in half, unable to withstand that beam of light.
At the same time, I checked on Ichor's condition, intact after all that.
To prevent the Flayed from using that laser beam again, I aimed at it once more, intending to fire three shots to eliminate it.
"GRAAAH!!!" The Flayed screamed, still recharging and suffering from severe injuries, trying to move away.
But it was too late; my onslaught of rail cannons struck it head-on.
—BOOM BOOM BOOOM!!!
The first shot easily pierced the Flayed, ripping its throat to shreds, though it didn't sever the head.
The accuracy of the second shot decreased significantly due to repeated use, leaving half of its torso destroyed.
For the third shot, it struck the torso again, but the Flayed's tail instinctively absorbed the impact.
With all four shots—counting the initial one I fired before it unleashed its laser beam—more than half of its body was obliterated.
…Yet it still lived, even now.
"This damn mutt survived?!" I flinched, disgusted by its durability.
As long as I couldn't get my hands on the core, the Flayed would continue to regenerate and come back to life.
—C…Crack!
Unable to withstand the strain, Libera shattered into pieces, leaving me with only one gun remaining, designated to hold a
"Grrr… Grraaaghh…!!!" The Flayed's neck finished regenerating, allowing it to use its laser beam again.
But instead of attacking, it unleashed something far more deadly—something I should have anticipated from the beginning.
A Siren's Call.
"KIEEEEK!!!"
"Kggh…!"
I staggered to the floor, deafened by that loud screech.
No matter what I did, the situation only kept getting worse.
Seriously, who thought of creating such monsters?
—It's me.
If I admitted to that, I'd jump off a cliff to erase my memories because of my horrible decisions.
"○■●■●■■!!!" Rottens appeared one after another from that siren call, awakened from their slumber.
It was like a scene straight out of a nightmare.
Coupled with the darkness, it was horrifying.
I faced a dilemma: either finish off the Flayed or create a barrier to fend them off while I formed another Libera.
....But there was one last option I hadn't mentioned.
—Kachick!
I had never been a direct fighter in the first place.
If there's one principle I must always adhere to, it's the little gimmick that has saved me countless times until now.
That's right—it is I, the Aria special.
Running away.
"Smell ya later!!!"
—NYOOOM!!!
I aimed downward and shot the floor with a
My limbs flailed at first due to the overwhelming air pressure, but before I collided with a wall, I surrounded myself in Ichor, transforming into a golden cannonball.
If it weren't for my quick thinking, I would have been crushed by now.
"B-Blergh… I'm never going to get used to this." I covered my mouth, fighting intense nausea while inside the ball.
One downside to this technique is the motion sickness it causes.
Urk… I think I'm going to vomit again...
—Thud!
After some time, the wrecking ball tumbled violently, signalling that I had reached ground level. I quickly absorbed the Ichor back.
"It's quiet…" I looked around, relieved to find no entities nearby.
"■●□○■□■□!!!" The Eldians roared from a distance, waking everyone else.
But I had enough time to do what I needed to survive against this horde.
I didn't know how they had gotten into such a confined, secure bunker, but I had no time for questions.
—Vooom…!
I focused all my senses on this moment, utilizing
Instead of forming only one gun part at a time, I decided to multitask and create two simultaneously.
I focused on the parts I deemed easier to assemble and relied on muscle memory.
It was like a work of art as I used thin threads to create something from the palm of my hand, combining them into a single masterpiece.
Libera.
"—Seven." I counted in my head and created Libera in under ten seconds.
Now I was fully armed and ready, equipped with two weapons designed for the two types of Eldians.
With that, I closed my eyes, relying on my other senses as I listened to my surroundings, waiting for them to come for me.
...
...
...
—THUD THUD THUD...!
'It's fast…!' I turned my head to see where it had gone.
The Flayed caught up to me in mere seconds after I propelled myself away with a
Its nimble legs made it much faster than most, making it even more menacing, as it was classified as a Flayed.
—ZING!!!
The Flayed jumped from one building to another, destroying walls as it pleased, using everything around it with the singular goal of devouring me.
It had learned how I fought with my frail body and witnessed firsthand how my weapon operated.
It was only a matter of time before I was cornered if I didn't end this soon.
"KIEEEEK!" The Flayed howled an ear-piercing scream, completely enraged.
The Rottens heard that and caught up as well, leaving me surrounded again.
All of this screamed panic, creating a completely helpless situation that seemed insurmountable.
But I won't give up—not yet, not now.
Death will take me once it earns me.
—DING!!!
"GRAAAAH!!!" The Flayed lunged at me after stalling for time to lead the Eldians here.
At the last moment, I formed a barrier around myself once more, encasing it in countless layers to stop its advances.
—DING!!!
Scratch. Crunch. Crumple. Explosion.
It did everything it could to penetrate through the Ichor barrier, and it was working.
As a counterattack, the golden, formless material expanded, obscuring the Flayed's vision.
—Crack...!
The Flayed only grew more aggressive in response as it witnessed visible damage to the golden barrier, shoving its jaws to inflict one last form of attack it has.
—Ving...!
With its scales glowing dark red, the creature focused entirely on the barrier, charging up its laser beam...
—BZZZZT!!!
It shot point-blank, not only piercing through the barrier but also destroying everything in its wake.
...
...
...
"Hey, stupid dog! I'm over here~." I smirked, no longer inside the broken barrier, but on top of a building.
The Flayed, confused, tried to locate the voice calling to it, only to find itself confined to what it had just destroyed.
Before this, I planned to divert its attention before the situation turned worse.
I created a barrier big enough to hide me completely, nimble enough not to be noticed.
To make it foolproof, I tried to block its vision as well before I ran away as fast as possible.
Thanks to the other Libera I formed a while ago, I took down the Rottens that stood on my way, creating the most efficient route to gain the high ground.
With all of this meticulous maneuvering, I was no longer in an unfavourable situation.
—Shackle!
The Flayed tried to take them off, but the Ichor kept expanding, connected by a thin strand for me to take control.
I took this as a reference when I first fought Simon at the training grounds.
If I could prevent him from retrieving his weapon, why not do the same to immobilize the Flayed?
—Gloop...
What was once an agile Flayed, capable of bending and manipulating the Ichor, was now captured within my grasp.
"Caught you."
—Tring…!
As intelligent as this heinous monster was, it couldn't break free from the Ichor and remained immobilized.
"G-GRAAAAHH!!!!!!" It attempted to escape, but the Ichor continued to expand until it enveloped its entire body, only to fail miserably.
—Kachick!
With no coherent thoughts left in my mind, I aimed at its head and unleashed all available ammunition at the Flayed.
—BOOOM!!!
I targeted the Flayed's legs first to completely halt its movement.
—BOOOM!!!
Next, I shot the Flayed's head, leaving only its torso behind, unable to resist any longer.
—BOOOOOM!!!
With one final shot, I aimed for its legs—or rather, its crotch, where its core was located—while the Flayed was attempting to fight back.
All of these three shots that weren't in quick succession didn't break my weapon... and the Flayed that had tormented me finally disintegrated into ash.
...
...
...
"Is it dead…?" I took a deep breath and kept my guard up, knowing that numerous Rottens were still climbing up the building after me.
"There is no time to lose," I said, nodding my head.
I turned around, planning to push through the horde of Rottens to reach Scarlett.
I had killed the Flayed, but now I had to find a way to cross the chaotic frenzy of Rottens unleashed after the Flayed had died.
As I prepared myself for a harder battle, I noticed a clash between light and dark flashing in the distance.
It was Scarlett fighting someone; their battle was so intense that if I tried to intervene, I couldn't guarantee I would last even a few minutes.
The vibrant confrontation felt as though it was drawing closer and closer...
...
...
...
Wait, isn't that getting too close—
—BANG!!!
"Cough! Cough...!" I ducked and brushed the smoke away, confused about what had happened.
Like a comet streaking down from a distance, a bright silhouette shot past me and crashed into a wall.
"S-Scarlett?!" I called her name.
I couldn't see much through the smoke, but an inexplicable fear coursed through my veins.
A presence so sinister that it was almost unbearable to breathe.
A Morzen Cultist.
"Impressive, you managed to kill my pet..." he said, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and disgust that mortified me.
As he spoke, his stoic expression morphed into a smile, treating me as if I were his possession.
"Ah... I cannot wait to inspect every nook and cranny of you two..." The man licked his lips in ecstasy.
Feeling shivers run down my body, I pointed at him and hurled as many insults as I could.
"Fix your ugly ass appearance instead, worm!" I spat, not holding back.
His grotesque appearance was disproportionate; his limbs were not in alignment, and his face was deformed, making him look completely hideous.
How does anyone live like this?
"You look so ugly that it's hard to even look at you. Have you ever seen a mirror?" I continued, merely speaking the truth.
I aimed to provoke him and see if it worked...
...Which it did, though he managed to maintain his smile as a cover-up.
—Crack…!
"What an impudent tongue you have," the man said, clicking his tongue with the intent of doing unspeakable things to me.
Before he could lift his arm, Scarlett immediately dashed in front of me, standing with a resolute gaze.
"Lady Aria," Scarlett spoke.
Her expression remained stoic as she looked at me, her eyes reflecting her expectations after witnessing what I had done to the Flayed.
"Yes?" I stepped beside her, nodding in response.
"If I may be selfish, but please... trust me this once." Scarlett pressed her hand to her chest.
She tightened her grip on her sword, and mana surged around her, revealing the overwhelming energy she possessed.
"I will protect you without fail."
If she had the chance, she would want me to run away with the kids.
But we both know that I wouldn't make it out alive, even if we escaped.
Enemy reinforcements were already here, and a Morzen Cultist was involved in this mess.
It was a dire situation, even for someone as strong as Scarlett.
…
…
…
And?
Should I call it quits and pray for help?
This world doesn't work that way.
A world filled with despair.
The protagonist had to use everything, sacrificing allies to achieve victory.
But no one wants that—not even the protagonist.
So I'll fight until the end, until we reach a better tomorrow.
"Then I also have your back, Scarlett." I smiled back at her, my gaze resolute.
After countless risks I took ever since, I'm truly confident about one thing right now:
—That we could win this.
Scarlett remained silent as she looked at my face.
I couldn't see it, but I sensed her lips curl into a smile, and that was all I needed to know.
—Crumble...!
Deep inside this ugly hellhole filled with despair, a light flickered, a flame that refused to go out.
Round two—
Start.