Surviving in a World Teeming with Monsters with the Useless Skill 【Everyday Items Master】! I Was Just Hunting Wild Animals with a Crowbar, So Why Is Everyone Screaming It's an S-Rank Monster? - 111

Chapter 111: The Hero Arrives Late

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We had been speeding down the road in the car for several minutes now.

The number of brainwashed zombies chasing us had grown into something truly outrageous.

“They’re everywhere we go!”

Shachimaru turned the steering wheel sharply, and we were tossed left and right by the momentum as we frantically fled from the brainwashed zombies.

“Ugh! Why are there enemies everywhere we try to go!?”

Angel clutched her head in despair, tears brimming in her eyes. Botan patted her head gently, trying to comfort her.

“There, there.”

That was exactly it. While each brainwashed zombie on their own wasn’t much of a threat, there were simply too many of them, and we were forced to circle around the tower over and over again.

What made it so bad? Why were there this many? Wasn’t the quarantine zone supposed to be sparsely populated? The answer became clear.

“Don’t tell me… The brainwashing even works on monsters…”

At Botan’s words, I let out a breath. Strictly speaking, they weren’t monsters, but wild animals—but that was a minor detail. The main point was that the brainwashing effect spread beyond humans, and now everything was chasing us. That made the situation incredibly dangerous.

I noticed something and spoke immediately.

“Angel, Shachimaru has been hit.”

“T-Tru-…. Truuuu-…”

“Ohhh nooo! Shachimaru-san, you locked eyes with the zombies again! I can’t keep bailing you out forever, you know!”

【Taunt】

“Say what!? I don’t care if you’re Ane-san—”

“Shachimaru, calm down. That was a 『Taunt』 skill.”

“Ah! …Much obliged, as always.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Shachimaru, who had to keep his eyes on the road while driving, was particularly vulnerable to this kind of thing. Just meeting their gaze was enough to get brainwashed and there were countless eyes fixated on us.

What is this? Is this hell?

I ran simulations in my head, trying to figure out if we could break through with this team. But between me, Botan, and Shachimaru—the ones capable of fighting—I wanted to hold back for the final battle. And while Angel had her 『Taunt』 skill, it wasn’t really effective against irrational mobs like this. The early stage of brainwashing had already passed; we couldn’t go around curing them anymore with 『Taunt』.

“……”

Things were looking grim. The car alone wasn’t going to cut it. There were just too many pursuers to plow through by car. No matter where we turned, more brainwashed zombies roamed the streets.

Worse still, their numbers kept increasing. We were barely escaping for now, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before we were overwhelmed.

“Hm?”

Then I spotted something.

“Hey… That one. Doesn’t he look familiar?”

It was a reunion that I really, really didn’t want.

“Sorry, who are you talking abou-… huh?”

“Ah. Taku, this is bad.”

“Uwaaaaaah! This is the WORST! Seriously, why now!? Why does this have to happen now of all times!?”

Angel, seeing the figure I had just spotted, wailed with tears in her eyes.

“That’s the S-class monster, the divine beast Vyagrantara, and it’s brainwashed and charging at us!!”

A tiger covered in glowing Sanskrit. The same powerful tiger that had been summoned during our car chase through the shopping district. Now, its eyes glowed pink as it barreled toward us from the front.

“This is bad. This is really, really bad!”

Shachimaru quickly turned the wheel, veering the car to the side. But the brainwashed zombies were still chasing us. Among them, the especially fast tiger steadily closed the distance.

“Shachimaru! Can you go any faster!?”

“I can’t, dammit! I’ve got the pedal floored, but with all these damn things clinging to us, we’re bogged down! Damn these brainwashed freaks!”

Shachimaru gritted his teeth as he roughly steered the car. Despite that, the brainwashed zombies kept increasing in number, latching onto the car, trying to swarm us.

Humanoid brainwashed zombies—humans, goblins, kobolds, orcs. And four-legged ones—deer, boars, tigers. They clung to the car, and with each new straggler, the speed dropped. We tried to shake them off, but their swarm was endless.

“Damn it…”

Inside the car that was slowly grinding to a halt, I clenched my teeth.

“If only Rick were here—!”

“Did someone call for me, BROTHEEEEEER!?”

Suddenly, a motorcycle flew in front of the car and slammed through the zombies ahead.

“RIIIIIIIIICK!!”

“I figured this was happening when I saw how nuts things were while ridin’ through town! I thought, ‘My brothers must be in trouble,’ so I came back!”

Our flashy American comrade Rick flashed a grin in front of us.

“Rick! You’re the best! Seriously, the absolute BEST!”

“Hahahaha! Keep the praise coming, brother! That’s the fuel that gets me goin’! LET’S GOOOO!”

Rick revved his motorcycle, doing a full circle around our car and flattening several brainwashed zombies.

“Thank you, Rick-aniki!”

Shachimaru stepped on the gas, and the car began to move again.

Then Rick pulled up alongside my window, keeping pace. I rolled it down and called his name.

“Rick! Weren’t you unable to help us because of international politics or whatever?”

“That’s only if I go against the Japanese government! These things ain’t the government, right? Then of course I can help!”

Rick laughed boldly at that. 

“Hahahaha!”

What the hell, this guy is TOO awesome.

“Come on, you zombie freaks! You wanna go a round with me? Then bring it on!”

Rick launched off a small bump in the road, launching his bike into the air, spinning it to knock off all the zombies clinging to the rear of our car.

【Jump Spin】

With that massive, high-speed strike, Shachimaru’s car was finally free from the swarming undead.

“Now we just gotta clear the road ahead. Don’t worry, Brother. This is as easy as eating a slice of pie.”

Grinning, Rick spun his bike and plowed forward. I was in awe of how this man lived his life, but still gave him a warning.

“Rick! Don’t look them in the eyes! Just making eye contact will brainwash you!”

“Huh? You mean this?”

Rick, still riding, lowered his sunglasses. His eyes glowed pink.

“…Rick.”

“Don’t worry, Brother. I’m fine. I’ve got a master-level skill. It freaked me out at first, but I managed to resist it. However…”

Still staring straight ahead, Rick continued.

“Don’t look into my eyes too much. You might be fine, Brother, but it could affect the others.”

“…Got it. Thanks, Rick.”

We all cheered at Rick’s return, but even he had been touched by Luna’s brainwashing. A chill ran down my spine as we headed for the base of the radio tower.

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