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? - 114

Chapter 114: The Tiger Cub Thief

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When I approached, Luna, though scared, spat out a curse.

“N-No, I don’t want this! D-Don’t come any closer! You’ll infect me with your playboy virus, Onii-sama!”

“Luna! You’re still saying that crap even after we’ve come this far?!”

I grabbed Luna firmly and pinched her cheek hard, pulling it.

“Iffyai! Iffyai refu! Oni-hyama! Shtop iff, pfleashe!”

“Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused everyone with your selfishness?! This entire area turned into a zombie panic, and the Ferocious Shark Gang got completely flooded!”

“I’m shorry! I’m shorry!”

Luna flailed tearfully, and I finally let out a breath and released her.

“Luna.”

“Ugh… What is it, Onii-sama…”

Luna looked down, pouting, eyes cast down. I knelt down to meet her gaze and spoke as evenly as I could.

“What you did was wrong. There’s no doubt about that.”

“…”

“But I don’t think your special ability is entirely bad anymore.”

“Eh…?”

Luna lifted her face, surprised.

“That’s your talent, but talents can be used well or badly. Talents, if misused, can hurt people. You have to think about how you use them.”

“Onii-sama…”

“I yelled at you earlier because I was shocked, but I want to talk properly with you again—“

Right then, I suddenly remembered something I had almost said earlier but forgot to tell everyone.

If it were me, I’d strike when their guard is down. The moment people are most vulnerable is—

“The moment of victory.”

“Onii-sama?”

“Botan! Angel! Wake everyone up right now! If they were to strike, it’d be-“

I never got to say the word now. Down below. Between Botan and Angel. There stood Koufukuji-ani. He pointed a revolver at Botan’s head, and impaled Angel’s torso with a katana.

“Yo, Everyday Items Master.”

Botan’s head exploded with a gunshot. The sword was pulled from Angel. Their bodies collapsed lifelessly.

“I came to retrieve the requested item.”

“Y-You… You…”

I gritted my teeth and screamed.

“Koufukuji!!!”

“This is Shuuya. Surprise attack successful. SS-rank Dangerous Adventurer ‘Monster’ and dungeon streamer ‘Zakomiya’ have been silenced. Multiple other high-risk targets were also confirmed neutralized via infighting. Over.”

As Koufukuji finished his radio report, a chill ran down my spine. I pulled a vinyl umbrella from my pocket.

【Open Umbrella】

I blocked the bullets. Reading the ricochet, I deflected the rounds into the ground with my crowbar. Before I knew it, the twins had appeared near Koufukuji and delivered the finishing blows to Shachimaru, Ui, and the Fashionable Goblin.

“And that’s checkmate on playing dead~! Surprise attack, totally successful!”

“Sango-chan, stay alert. Everyday Items Master is still standing.”

“Ehh~? But look at the situation now~?”

Koufukuji spoke in response to Sango.

“We’re Team Asura at full strength. They’ve only got one left, plus the retrieval target. In other words…”

Koufukuji readied his weapon.

“This fight is basically just a formality. Let’s wrap this up quickly and finish the mission.”

“Yees!”

“Roger, Captain!”

The twins followed suit.

I pulled Luna behind me and glared at them.

“You bastards… How could you do this to them…”

“What’s wrong, Everyday Items Master? First time watching your comrades die? In this era where resurrection magic is global and life has become so cheap, it’s rare to see someone like you.”

As he spoke, Koufukuji lowered the hammer and shot Botan’s body two or three more times. Her body, which had started to regenerate, was further torn apart.

“Stop it!”

I couldn’t take it and shouted. I wanted to rush him, to punch him, but I couldn’t. If I left Luna, one of the three Asura members would definitely try to snatch her. Carrying her while fighting? Impossible. I’d already experienced the consequences of trying.

“Still somewhat composed, huh.”

Koufukuji, watching me closely, crouched down. He grabbed Angel by the neck and lifted her. Angel groaned in pain, blood spilling from her mouth.

“Angel?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Everyday Items Master, your comrade, ‘Zakomiya’, is still alive.”

My eyes widened. I didn’t understand why. Angel should’ve died easily unless he held back. Which meant he spared her on purpose.

But why?

“Let’s negotiate, shall we, Everyday Items Master.”

Koufukuji proposed.

“I’ll return this ‘Zakomiya’ to you. In exchange, hand over the ‘Offspring of the Mad God’ there.”

“…”

I faltered. That was not a choice I could make. Angel, Luna, everyone else—they were all important to me. I couldn’t possibly weigh them against each other.

My mind couldn’t keep up with the tragedy. Was Botan dead? Could she be revived? Which do I save, Angel or Luna? While I hesitated, Koufukuji said.

“Just as I expected.”

“Huh…?”

“I never thought you’d accept that demand. This is about your nature, Everyday Items Master. You have a survival-focused skill. Humanity thrives through cooperation.”

“What are you rambling about?!”

“In survival, cooperation is essential. You never abandon a single ally, and you eliminate enemies quickly. That’s your logic.”

“So what?! Why now of all times?!”

“You’re nearly invincible, Everyday Items Master. Your only weakness is…”

Koufukuji said.

“Your comrades.”

A sharp crack echoed behind me, followed by a soft thud.

“Eh…”

I turned around. Luna was lying there, her head shot through.

“Ah-“

“The first objective was to overload your processing power. You perfectly react to attacks and protect your allies. But…”

Koufukuji dropped Angel.

He looked toward the distant sniper, likely the one who fired.

“You were unprepared for ricochets. You adapted once, but only once. So…”

“They killed Luna with a ricochet while you were confused over your friends! Not directly at you or her—but bouncing it in!”

“Perfect success. I’m glad it worked.”

My whole body trembled. Anger turned my vision black. Hatred clouded my sight.

“You… You bastards… I’ll never-“

“Angry, Everyday Items Master?”

“Koufukuji, you…”

Just as I shouted, I heard that familiar ‘vhn’ sound behind me. I turned. Luna’s body had disappeared.

“Wha-“

I looked toward Koufukuji. Sango was handing Luna’s body to him. Why? Why was Luna’s body there? How could they use Ui’s teleportation magic?

“The second objective was to buy time in front of you and lower your guard on the retrieval target.”

Carrying Luna, Koufukuji explained.

“We figured trying to grab her directly would force a bloodbath. You’d block projectiles too. So we killed her first.”

They bet I, a Everyday Items Master unaccustomed to death, wouldn’t think to protect a corpse and they were right.

“Sorry, Taku-san~. That taunt earlier? It was to help with all this! You threw Mountain King Junior at me, so we’re even, okay~?”

Sango spoke lightly. I was confused.

How could Sango, a skilled swordfighter, also use teleportation magic? Then I noticed the blue highlights in the twins’ hair.

In the first fight, that blue-haired twin had used close-range gunfire. In the Mountain King Junior fight, her role was sniping. I took that fact for granted, but… But what if they didn’t have multiple skills?

“I see. Twins. You’re not Sword Saints or Gunners.”

The twins grinned together.

“Correct~!”

“Our real skill is-“

“‘『Copy』’!”

The reason they needed to stall for time was to let Sango copy Ui’s ‘Teleportation Magic’ from her corpse. Koufukuji calmly radioed in.

“This is Shuuya. Target secured. Returning immediately. Over.”

“So yeah, bye-bye, Taku-san! You were seriously a tough opponent to fight~!”

“Among humans, you are the strongest. It’s the first time Nii-san ever chose to avoid a direct confrontation.”

The three began their retreat. I realized—I had lost. In the struggle over Luna, I was completely defeated. But that didn’t mean….

I had any reason to let them leave alive.

“I’ll kill you.”

I threw a kitchen knife and swung my crowbar.

【Nail Drive】

The knife stabbed into the ceiling above them.

“Haha! Taku-san, where are you aiming? Eh?”

Cracks spread rapidly from the point of impact.

“Hya! S-Sango-chan! Hurry-“

“W-Wait! This is my most recent copied skill! Don’t rush me!”

The ceiling collapsed. I hurled my tape measure at the rubble, hooked it, and swung it down.

【Measuring Hammer】

“”KyaaAAAAAH!””

The twins screamed. But Koufukuji didn’t flinch.

“What a sloppy attack.”

【Thousand Blades】

In an instant, countless slashes split the falling rubble like paper.

“Wha-“

“Sango.”

“Ugh, this one is way worse than the original! Fine, then… There! Got it! Everyone, jump~!”

That ‘vhn’ noise again, followed by a dimensional distortion surrounding them. I could only chase.

“Wait! WAIT! Don’t run! DON’T YOU DARE RUN!!”

I ran like mad. I leaped from the collapsed floor, chasing with ragged breath.

“I’ll never forgive you! NEVER! No matter where you go, I’ll kill you! I’ll get Luna back! I’ll make you regret being immortal!!”

“Eep-!”

Blue-hair gasped. As the portal began to close, I charged, closing the distance faster than I thought possible. But I couldn’t reach them. No matter what, I couldn’t reach them. I couldn’t reach Luna.

“Luna! I’ll definitely! I’ll definitely take you back! So please, wait for me—“

The rift closed. I screamed at the already dead Luna.

Then, her eyes moved. Luna’s eyes looked at me. Only I noticed. But I was certain that she was looking at me.

“Luna!!”

I swung the crowbar. Betting everything on that final hope. But the rift closed completely. The crowbar swung through empty air. I stumbled forward, collapsing to the devastated floor.

“Luna… Luna…!”

I clawed at the air where the rift had been, as if I could retrieve something. But my desperate struggle was in vain. My struggle meant nothing.

“Aaah… AAAAAAHHHHH!!”

A scream of grief tore from me. My whole body felt like it would break apart. Rage, hatred, loneliness raged within me. I thought they’d kill me from the inside.

Outside, rain poured violently, loud enough to drown my scream. Then, I felt two hands on my body.

“…Huh?”

I looked up. There stood the battered figures of Botan and Shachimaru.

“…Why are you two…”

In a daze, I asked. Botan replied.

“We took a beating, but we’re alive. Everyone else, Angel too. They’ll be fine. Like when you fought Mountain King. We can heal them.”

Then Shachimaru spoke.

“Aniki. Give me some praise, please. I manipulated my blood with water magic to shift my organs and survived.”

I looked at Shachimaru, who gazed outside.

“We’re lucky. Thanks to this rain, we can track them. They think I’m dead, so they’re out in the open. Tracing them will be easy.”

Tears fell from my eyes. I grabbed Botan and Shachimaru’s hands, pressing them to my face.

“Thank goodness… Really, thank goodness…!”

I wiped my tears. Took a deep breath.

“…You two, wait here. Shachimaru, just give me their location.”

“Aniki, you’re going alone?”

“Yeah. Everyone is too wounded to move.”

“But, Taku…”

Botan looked at me, worried.

I said to her.

“I’ll defeat them and bring Luna back. So please, heal everyone while you wait.”

“…Okay…!”

A single tear rolled down Botan’s cheek. She wiped it away and answered me.

“We’ll wait. So come back safe…!”

“Yeah.”

I stood, got the info from Shachimaru, and began to walk. I would show them hell.

A hell worthy of their crimes.

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