Apocalypse Dark Elf Style -Magical Tribes Reincarnated in the Modern World - 35 - Chapter 4.16 And The Forest Began To Breath (16)
- Home
- All
- Apocalypse Dark Elf Style -Magical Tribes Reincarnated in the Modern World
- 35 - Chapter 4.16 And The Forest Began To Breath (16)
†
“──────!”
As the remnants of the unspoken roar faded away, the sound of earth scraping against the ground was heard.
The giant slime was moving in a direction other than this one. It swallowed all the trees, grass, and rocks along the way as it touched them, and then, having digested the energy, it grew larger and moved forward in a single leap.
“F*ck. Where the h*ll is that son of a bitch going?”
“Probably… to the city. It’s going there to eat people. To grow up. To be able to eat you, it’s food…”
Sheena approached Yuika, her face looking down, who blurted out a few words. She grabbed her by the neck and slammed her roughly against the tree behind her without hesitation.
“Sheena!”
“Rensuke, the situation has changed.”
Sheena’s eyes were cold. She stared at Yuika with a piercing gaze as she pressed her against the trunk of a tree. On the other hand, Yuika’s expression was somewhat lifeless, with traces of tears and drool on her face. She was staring at the sky without any sign of resistance.
“Was Aguyanuba’s core hidden inside her? ─Probably not. That guy created a new one, huh.”
“…!?”
“I got it now. You said something about an offspring or an external stomach, which means this girl is a partner and another slime. Probably the same kind. …Tch, so you’re the one who kept the origin magic from the beginning too? No wonder it didn’t come out easily when I burned Aguyanuba earlier. I’ll just pilfer it now.”
“I-It’s useless anymore. Because… they moved it over there just now.”
Yuika uttered a few small words. It confirmed Sheena’s guess.
Sheena grimaced, her ears raised up.
“The way you say it, that sounds like you’re now split in two. But I think the personality and genetic information are shared between you two. In other words… if one of you is defeated, you can create each other again and again.”
Sheena’s grip in her hand increased. Even though she was breathing from a mucous body, Yuika gasped in pain.
“Was it a safety measure? Unlike us, I thought her role was too weak, but I guess that’s how it is.”
“Shee. So that means…”
“It’s like there were two slimes with origin magic, Rensuke. We had to destroy each of their nuclei at the same time before the other one could replicate the other.”
Sheena looked at Aguyanuba, a huge milky-white mass on one side moving away.
It was still eating. The trees, rocks, living and non-living things along its path were absorbed. It was now the size of a small mountain moving forward toward the city.
It’s hard to believe that it is a single organism with a will. It is more like a machine that works only with a unique and dedicated program that works endlessly and inexhaustibly.
In other words─ a calamity.
That is what Aguiyanuba has become.
(We underestimated it.)
By myself, Sheena, or anyone else.
A slime is weak? Small fry? Probably. The difference is between a man and a lion. The difference between a species that can create space rockets and killing herbivores with its claws and fangs.
It’s because of that that makes them strong or weak.
That’s the essence of slime. Now I finally understand it in my soul. Greed. It’s greediness.
The slime race is genuinely…
It was a one-of-a-kind monster that nothing else could compete with.
(What can we do… against that thing?)
Calamities are disasters because they cannot be dealt with by individuals alone. Like the radiant beast, it should be handled by an organization, a system, or society.
… Wait a minute. Like the radiant beast?
It was horrifying given the current state and nature of Aguyanuba and the condition of this mountain.
It was easy to imagine what would happen next.
If this continues…
Aguyanuba’s desire to eat the city’s people would be completely fulfilled.
What would be the worst-case scenario was about to happen.
†
Asakura Rensuke, commander of the 2nd Training Platoon, crashed in the mountains due to an unexplained RV malfunction. Communications were disrupted, and the cavalry’s response was lost. Of the platoon riders working in groups to search for him, the Biwatani’s RV also lost communication. No alert was transmitted regarding this cavalry unit.
Currently, the remaining four platoons are searching the surrounding area. I, Instructor Hachiko Ichigomura, took command of Asakura’s cavalry. I had driven the spare RV on campus to the scene of the emergency.
What a headache. This is no time to worry about my social standing or self-preservation. I just can’t accept the fact that two young students are missing. It was supposed to be the regular off-campus training, but how did it come to this?
And furthermore.
“Oi… Wh-What the hell is that?”
『That color… a radiant beast! So that’s what the reaction earlier is!?』
『B-But it’s one you’ve never seen anything like! I’ve never seen anything like it! Not in the shape of an animal, but it’s just a lump of swollen meat!』
『Sensei! What’s going on, Sensei?』
In response to the voice from the communicator, Ichigomura said decisively while staring at the deformed monster on the monitor.
“As if I know!”
Because she’s an academic advisor, she knows more than her students. Human beings still have limited knowledge about radiant beasts. That is why she answered like that.
The radiant beast that suddenly appeared continued to move in one direction, poking its head out of the forest’s trees and then reaping them up and down. That is, in the direction where their home, Shinjin City, is located.
『Isn’t it… heading towards the city?』『Seriously!』『Isn’t that bad?』
The students seemed to have noticed it too. Ichigomura opened a communication with the headquarters to ask for the arrival of the Shinjin Knights. Their reply was that they would arrive in ten minutes. Enough time? That’ll be too late.
It looks slow because of its size and scale, but its forward speed is fast. In ten minutes, it could really reach the very edge of the city. Mountains, valleys, and rivers don’t matter; it’s just going straight ahead, swallowing everything in its path.
Under the law and the manual, I, of course, gave a full report of the current situation. Then I asked for instructions from the person in charge.
『Sensei, what are the orders from headquarters?』
“…”
『Sensei?』
“Ugh! They said, 『We don’t have enough information, so use your best judgment on the ground and be flexible!』. That baldy, he’s doesn’t want to take any responsibility if something goes wrong!”
Even so. Nevertheless.
It also meant that we could now move freely in the field. What they have given was that reason. Anyway, it could be interpreted as, “Do your best and make it work somehow.”
I have already made my decision. I had already lost sight of two of my students, and though I didn’t want to let them get any closer to danger, it was no longer in a situation where I could think like that.
Whether or not we could buy time here could determine whether or not this event would be in textbooks.
“Damn it, let’s go! …I’ll take responsibility! That thing is headed for the city. It will still be some time before the city knights arrive. We’ll hold them back.”
『Are you serious, Sensei?』
『But, umm, what about the search for Asakura-kun and the Class President…”』
Ichigomura was grinding her teeth as she interrupted the words.
“Let’s prioritize this for now. If we leave that unattended, we can’t even search for them!”
Four responses of “Roger” come back sharply. Ichigomura hoped their disappearance was unrelated to this unknown type of radiant beast.
“The equipment that we’ll be using is an EF lance with a wide range of spacing. Listen, don’t ever overreach. You have to be able to take off after a single blow. You can do it if you follow the training. You hear me?”
She energized herself and took the initiative to pull out her EF lance, her anti-radiant beast melee equipment. She deployed it to the standard position and assumed the stance like a charging cavalryman. Although there was some awkwardness, the rest of the students lined up in a modest, orderly fashion.
And then──the attack began.
Their jets accelerated and utilized gravity in their thrusting attack, taking advantage of their high altitude. The aim was proper, and the flesh of the radiant beast was gouged out. Ichigomura was also an RV operator who used to be in actual combat. In the past, she was a veteran. One student passed the test, two students received a prize for effort, and one was struck out and had to work a little harder. But it was much better than crashing.
They distanced themselves back up in the air and checked the results to see if the enemy had stopped moving…
But they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“What!!!?”
『Sensei! I-I don’t think it’s working!”』
『The attacked split the lump of meat, but it only absorbed it… Plus, doesn’t it seems to have grown one size larger?』
“Wh-What’s up with this…?”
I can feel my hands sweating as I grip the controls.
A radiant beast that we have never seen before. A new type that I have never seen before.
I have never seen anything like it – a calamity.
.
I felt the day this would end up in the textbooks was getting closer by the minute.