I’m an M, So I Took the Hits for My Party and Somehow Everyone Ended Up Becoming Yandere - 59

Chapter 59: A Deadly First Encounter

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“Starry Sky is ready. How about your side?”

“No problems. We can depart at any time.”

“I see. Then, let’s go.”

Leaving Carla and Astrea behind, the five of them stepped into the <Abyssal Forest>. Their formation placed Vasily at the front, with Finn one step behind her. Behind Finn was Marianne, while Alicia and Aria secured the sides.

Vasily, who was trampling down grass as tall as her own height to make a path, moved with practiced ease. Even the exposed skin on her body wasn’t scratched by the grass, and she advanced at a steady pace.

“Master, you’re pretty used to this.”

“There used to be a Dark Elf village in this forest. I lived here for about five hundred years, so it’s practically like my hometown.”

For Vasily, this path was both nostalgic and familiar. No one had maintained it for a long time, and it had changed drastically, but the terrain itself remained the same. Whenever she occasionally intruded into the forest, she would follow routes she vaguely remembered and sometimes visit the ruins of the village. On top of that, among the elves, she had the most experience in pioneering unexplored lands.

The number of paths she had carved out over three thousand years was countless. It was no exaggeration that there were bridges and roads across the world bearing her name.

“If we could use magic, this would be a lot more efficient…”

“That’s no good. The chance of getting ambushed would shoot up.”

“Yeah. I figured.”

At the obvious answer, Vasily let out a wry smile. Unlike Finn and Marianne, whose expressions had gone blank as they maintained their tension, Vasily had been here several times before. Of course she had seen monsters too, but she had never felt they were particularly threatening.

While she avoided direct combat, if she were alone she could easily perform a quick day-trip infiltration. Being a local, being a Dark Elf close to the demonic side, and possessing world-class skill—various factors combined to make Vasily a rare individual who could display her abilities even in this forest. That was why she had room to spare. No, she did have room to spare.

Precisely because she had that composure, she did not neglect her vigilance and volunteered to take the lead.

“I’d like to avoid spending a night in this forest even if it’s me. I could endure about a week without sleep, but that would only wear me down and increase the risk. If stealth becomes impossible, we’d have no choice but to retreat quietly. I understand that much.”

“If Master can handle things to some extent, that’s all the better. The problem is when you can’t.”

Even Dawn could not fully deal with this unknown land. That was what kept Vasily cautious. She held Dawn in very high regard, having defeated the <Numbered Ones>—enemies she herself could never defeat even standing on her head—three years ago.

Furthermore, after interacting with them since her return, she realized they were even more capable than she had imagined, and judged them worthy of entrusting her beloved disciple to them. Regardless of prophecy or knowledge, the fact that they were tackling the conquest of high-difficulty Tainted Zones as Gold-rank adventurers also left a good impression on her.

Thanks to the information they provided, the fact that they had conquered nearly a quarter of the shallow layers in just about a year was worthy of praise.

“I understand. Until now, Finn has been blocking them, right?”

“Yeah. But that’s not perfect either. Besides, the enemies here are just ridiculously strong. I think you’ll be fine, Master, but if you can react in time, please defend with everything you’ve got.”

“Of course. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll have Finn protect me.”

By now, Finn had already left Vasily’s hand and was active as an adventurer in his own right.

From the documents she had extracted after confronting Marcus—the Guild Headquarters Chief—with “What exactly have you been making my cute disciple do?”, she had concluded that he was the finest shield in the world. Although his fame lagged behind other Gold-rank adventurers, his achievements far exceeded what a mere Gold-rank adventurer should possess.

The guild had been operating Finn as a “trump card.” Even with the landmine of being the beloved disciple of the strongest Platinum-rank adventurer and the first Guildmaster, he had essentially been left alone and not treated particularly well. If not for the personal kindness shown by a certain guild receptionist during his struggling early days, who knows what might have happened.

He grew, became a Silver-rank adventurer, survived an assault by the vanguard of the Demon Lord’s army, and was promoted to Gold rank. After that, requests began coming from the receptionist through Marcus—“We’ll give you special pay, so go handle this.” Finn accepted them all without a single complaint and continued completing them silently.

Unlike other Gold-rank adventurers, he had no backing. Even if the guild piled achievements on him through orders, there was no problem. From the guild’s perspective—which didn’t want any other faction gaining strong influence—a Gold-rank adventurer who delivered maximum results at minimal cost was an incredibly convenient piece.

Thus Finn was continuously thrown into various locations and situations. While accumulating achievements, he steadily improved his abilities on his own, and now he was quietly evaluated as the world’s greatest shield. Incidentally, those words never reached the man himself.

“Yeah, leave it to me. I won’t let even a single scratch reach you.”

“I’m counting on you.”

(…He really is reliable.)

Watching her disciple, Vasily’s cheeks softened. She had seen Aria’s growth with her own eyes, but she had never been able to witness Finn’s. No. Finn had already reached a realm even Vasily herself had never anticipated. Surpassing her expectations and even her <Knowledge>, her beloved disciple had become a first-rate adventurer. There was no way she wouldn’t find that adorable.

(Though I think he could accumulate a bit more fame, the current balance isn’t bad either… No, he also has achievements that can’t be made public. Slaying a Demon Lord Army executive who had infiltrated the country isn’t something you can announce openly. If possible, I’d like to raise him up to the same place as us.)

If she did that, it would be together with Dawn. Finn would probably say that. While she thought he had grown into a good man devoted to his companions, it also felt as though an important family member had been taken from her. She was a little lonely, yet also proud…

(Oops, that won’t do. This is no place to lower one’s guard. If I keep looking away—)

Something flashed at the edge of her vision. She noticed it by chance. Before she could even question what it was, she kneaded her mana and deployed a spell.

A sense of discomfort washed over her. It felt as though something was mixed into the mana itself. But it wasn’t unusable. By the time she had forcibly gathered the mana—keeping it from going wild—and converted it into magic, the shining object had already flown close before her eyes.

(A reflection of light? Metal! A blade tip? A monster using metal? No, wait—more importantly, what is this speed—)

The magic Vasily deployed was wind. A defensive wall formed from high-density compressed wind was shattered in a single blow by the incoming object and the thrown spear flew straight toward Vasily’s face.

(Ah—this is bad, I’m dea—)

SPLAT!!

“—GUGYAAHH!!”

Impact. A scream. A spray of blood. Aria had no idea what had just happened before her eyes. Finn had knocked Vasily down. Immediately afterward, a massive spear pierced through Finn’s abdomen. It was as thick as a log, rendering both armor and shield completely meaningless.

It blasted apart his internal organs, scattering blood and flesh, and dyed the clothes of Marianne—who stood behind him—bright red.

Finn’s abdomen had been pierced… No. At that point, “pierced” wasn’t the right word. It was more accurate to say that his abdomen had completely disappeared. And yet, even in that state, he remained standing while letting out faint breaths.

“Hyu… kahyu…”

“─ALICIAAA!!”

“—!!”

A roar. At the sound of her name, Alicia instantly drew her bow. A sure-kill arrow wrapped in wind. Judging that she couldn’t handle wind properly in this place, she instead chose to imbue the arrow itself with wind to reduce the interference as much as possible. And then she released it.

PISH!! —PAAN!!

An arrow faster than the speed of sound shot forward. Even while taking that arrow head-on, the massive body of the monster that had thrown the spear kept on advancing. Its massive body knocked down trees in its path. Its speed was unbelievable for something running through a forest.

At that rate, it would reach them in just a few seconds.

“Haah!?”

Surprised that the monster showed no concern despite taking the arrow, Alicia prepared to fire a second, but beside her, Marianne had already finished preparing.

“【Holy Smite】.”

An extreme radiance filled the area. That was her signature technique that banished evil and swallowed everything in sight. The entire process took barely a second. That spell was released with the speed of a flash of light and by the time their vision cleared, the monster had vanished.

Nothing remained behind.

“Finn-san!”

“Ugh… goe—GUEHH!!”

SPLATTER!!

Blood burst from Finn’s mouth as the spear that had pierced his body remained lodged in him. Some of it splattered onto the cheek of Vasily, who had fallen to the ground beside him.

“V-Vasily-san! Please lend me a hand!”

“Ah… y-yeah… wh-what should I do?”

“We have to pull this out. If we don’t, I can’t heal him.”

At Marianne’s words, Vasily was struck speechless. The massive spear piercing—no, growing out of—Finn’s body. She looked at Finn, who was writhing in agony.

“Ma… Mas… ter…”

“…………”

“Ple… ase…”

Perhaps because of the blood clogging his throat, Finn’s voice came out dull as he murmured. Still pale as a ghost, Vasily slowly stood up and weakly grasped the giant spear piercing Finn’s body.

“Vasily-san. Just like that. Please pull it out without hesitation.”

“Ah… o-okay…”

“Alicia-san, please keep watch of the surroundings.”

“R-Right…”

Alicia’s eyes were shaking as well. All of their gazes were fixed on Finn.

“Then… we’re starting, Finn-san.”

“…Yeah.”

“Guh,” Marianne put strength into her arms. Following her lead, Vasily also tightened her grip and began pulling the spear out.

Rip… squelch… rip… squelch—GUSH RIP!!

“Ugh! GAAAAH! GYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

“【High Heal】!!”

As Finn screamed, Marianne unleashed healing light. The unpleasant sounds of flesh tearing and blood spraying echoed. Clenching her teeth desperately, she worked frantically to close the wound. There was no way to reduce the pain. Even now, shocks like direct blows to his brain were assaulting Finn.

The crudely made spear continued to tear through his body with precision. As the flesh split and ruptured, Marianne healed it. The lost organs, the spilled blood, she forcibly restored everything with mana. She had no choice. If she didn’t…

Finn would die.

Even though only a brief moment had passed, the time that felt eternal to everyone finally ended.

“…………Phew. You really saved me. Thanks, Marianne.”

“…No, this much is nothing. Does the pain remain?”

“Well, a little. Phantom pain, so it’s fine.”

“I see. I’m glad you’re safe.”

The two exchanged words. Finn spoke as if it were nothing. Marianne’s expression remained stiff. Seeing that, Vasily realized something.

(…Is this normal for them…?)

Her thoughts refused to settle. But even so, she managed to force out a few words.

“…Should we return once?”

Marianne immediately understood that Vasily was shaken. She didn’t think it foolish in the slightest. Because when they had first stepped into this land, they had felt exactly the same way.

“…Yes. Let’s do that.”

And so, the reconnaissance of the Abyssal Forest ended in failure…. And leaving deep wounds in each of them.

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