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? - 121

Chapter 121: Mother

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Botan appeared before me, carrying Angel and Shachimaru, right after I started running.

“Too hiiiiigh! I’m so scaaaared!”

“Over there! Botan-neesan, Aniki is over there!”

“Got it. I’m going down.”

“Huh, what’s all that noise, wh—?”

When I looked up at the commotion, there was Botan in midair, jumping while carrying Angel and Shachimaru slung over her shoulders like sacks of potatoes. Anyone would be confused. Botan spotted me and landed a short distance away.

“Landing.” 

Botan announced.

“Uggggh! I-I’m dying…!” 

Angel groaned.

“Impact!” 

Shouted Shachimaru. With Botan’s landing, Angel and Shachimaru were nearly crushed, her arms sinking into their stomachs as they hovered on the verge of death.

“Huh. I used my knees to cushion the impact, but it wasn’t enough?”

“…”

“…”

Botan looked at the two with a troubled expression. They were too dead to respond. I rushed over to the three of them.

“Botan! You two!”

“Taku! —Taku, you’re hurt. Are you okay?!”

Botan dropped the other two unceremoniously and came straight for me. I was a bit shaken by the stark difference in treatment but hurried to explain.

“Uh, yeah. This is from the fight, but it’s nothing serious. More importantly, those two are on the verge of—”

“Taku, I’ll heal you right now. Let me see.”

“No, um, the two of them—”

Botan checked the knife wound on my side and the injury on my head from when I hit the rubble with the alarm clock, then immediately started healing me with her mouth. As she did, the two collapsed on the ground whispered to each other.

“…Shachimaru, look… She just spat on us and rubbed it in with her hand, saying it’d heal, but with Taku, look at her…”

“Botan-neesan was nicer than I thought, but the difference in how she treats Aniki compared to us is night and day…”

“You two… Shut up.”

Botan, a bit embarrassed after finishing my treatment, muttered as she looked away. I hesitated for a second, then asked.

“I was planning to come back to you guys myself…”

“Since it was raining, Shachimaru said he could track you, so Botan just grabbed us and leapt out here. And now, here we are.”

“I… I can’t do anything strenuous for a while…Urgh.”

“I-I see. But more importantly—”

I told everyone.

“Shachimaru, can you tell where Luna is?”

“Yes, I can. Looks like she’s gone back to the top of the radio tower. But it’s worrying. Besides Luna-chan, there seem to be three people there. Inaba, Fashionable Goblin, and one unknown person.”

“I think one of the Ashura guys brainwashed by Luna must’ve tagged along. But that’s not what matters most.”

Botan picked up my point.

“The sky is changing. And that huge earthquake earlier?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what happened, but we’re in a major emergency. We need to get to the top of that tower right now.”

“Leave it to me.”

Botan instantly agreed and picked me up princess-style. She kept holding me like that while hoisting Angel and Shachimaru over her shoulders.

“Wait, Botan?”

“Everyone hold on tight. We’re going to move fast.”

Botan spoke calmly. I blinked several times, dumbfounded. Then Angel called out to me.

“Taku.”

“Y-yeah? Angel?”

“Just brace yourself. Everything else is pointless.”

“Eh—”

The next moment, Botan took a mysterious step forward.

―――――――

There was no other way to describe it: it was an inexplicable way of moving. She looked like she was walking slowly, yet the scenery blurred past us at incredible speed. She stepped up, down, and sideways, yet to my eyes, she only appeared to be taking long, leisurely strides.

“We’re here.”

Botan’s steps stopped abruptly. The scenery snapped back to normal.

“Bleeeeuuurgh!”

I clung to Botan, overwhelmed by intense nausea.

“There, there. That was tough, wasn’t it?”

Botan patted me gently, somehow looking a bit pleased. Meanwhile, she dropped Angel and Shachimaru to the ground haphazardly.

“…”

“…”

The two who were dropped were groaning on the ground, too wrecked to even complain. Botan carefully set me down, and I looked around to see where we’d arrived. She had brought us straight to our destination: the radio tower.

We were just a short distance away from Luna and the others. I couldn’t help but mutter.

“…If you had such a convenient way to travel, we should’ve just done this from the start.”

“Um, sorry. I can’t use it often. It takes a ton of energy.”

“Oh, wow. Botan’s like ten centimeters shorter now…”

It seemed to be a technique so draining it literally shrank her body. No wonder she couldn’t use it if she expected a fight afterward. And it was so brutal I didn’t want her to rely on it, even in emergencies. 

“Luna!”

Anyway, I stood up and called out to Luna.

“Are you okay, Luna?! What happened?!”

“Ah… Onii-sama…”

Far ahead, Luna was standing with Ui, Fashionable Goblin, and an unfamiliar petite woman in a suit, all staring up at the sky. Tears streaked down Luna’s face, but she forced a tired smile.

“Onii-sama, please rejoice… Mother has descended…”

“Huh? Mother?”

Mother. Luna had once told me about her real mother, back when things were peaceful. I’d always sensed something suspicious about it, but… Koufukuji had said the “Mad God” was coming—so that meant…

“Luna, wai—”

I reached out to stop her. But it was already far, far too late. From the grotesquely twisted clouds above, a single drop of red rain fell onto Luna. It scattered along with playing cards marked with hearts.

“HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!”

A woman with a bizarre appearance appeared, laughing arrogantly. She wore a dress adorned with red hearts, a crown crusted with jewels and roses, and rings on every finger. Her face, hair, and dress were all asymmetrical, evoking a sense of unease. Most striking of all was the grotesquely warped staff she proudly gripped: a crooked scepter like a rose’s thorny vine, topped with a red heart-shaped gem.

The Queen of Hearts.

She was a familiar figure from many Alice in Wonderland stories. Yet she was none of them—yet unmistakably the Queen of Hearts.

“Luna~~~~~rias! Oh, my beloved, my precious daughter! One of the few to turn out intact among my many failures, child of the moon and madness!”

The Queen of Hearts stretched out her hand to Luna with a chilling smile.

“You summoned me so perfectly into this world! Truly, dungeons are such petty things. I was too great to rise within them!”

“Yes, Mother…!”

Luna looked at the Queen with a face of pure relief, as if she’d been saved. Angel stood up beside me, whispering.

“Isn’t she saying some seriously dangerous stuff just now…?”

“And so, this is the form I’ve taken, huh? Lunarias, you have such wonderful taste. I love it.”

“Y-yes…!”

The Queen of Hearts looked at herself with apparent satisfaction. What did that mean? Was she not originally in this form? Her appearance was so bizarre, all I could do was watch.

An entity impossible to tell friend from foe—but one I instinctively knew was far more dangerous than the giant ape we fought before. The Queen of Hearts spoke.

“Now, let us claim this land as my domain—”

She looked up—and her eyes met mine. I stared at her in disbelief. Her face paled visibly, and she started trembling.

“S…s…”

“M-Mother? What’s wrong with Onii-sama…?”

Luna asked worriedly, but the Queen of Hearts suddenly screamed.

“There’s already a king in this land, you fool!”

With a roar, she swung her massive staff and struck Luna.

“Gah…!”

“Luna!”

I lunged forward. But for some reason, even though I should’ve been in reach, no matter how far I ran, I couldn’t get any closer to the Queen of Hearts.

“You! Foolish child! Did you summon me into a land already ruled by another king?! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to depose the old king and take over a domain?! Idiot!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Mother! I-I didn’t know, I didn’t understand anything!”

Luna cowered, covering her head and begging for forgiveness.

“I’ve done something terrible! I stole everyone’s free will, brainwashed them, forced them to obey…! But I thought if it was you, Mother, you could fix everything!”

“Hm… What? So you managed to corrupt them? I see…”

The Queen looked around, nodding slightly, then stared at me, curling her lips in a mocking smile.

“Hahaha…! To think there was such a foolish king, standing here without even trying to control anything in his domain!”

“You… What the hell are you saying?! Don’t you dare hit your own child!”

I shouted, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t close the distance between us. What was happening? Why couldn’t I get closer? What kind of trick was this? The Queen stroked Luna’s head.

“There, there. Then I shall forgive your ignorance, Lunarias. A king who doesn’t even know how to rule is nothing to fear.”

“Eh…? Um, Mother…? O-Onii-sama isn’t an enemy, he’s, um…”

“There’s no need for declarations. My mere manifestation has already completed the conquest. What a naive territory this is.”

Ignoring Luna’s tearful plea, the Queen declared.

“Now, let us begin with the first decree.”

With a thud, she struck the ground with her staff.

“First! All who defy me shall be beheaded!”

I felt it intuitively: something in the world had changed. The Queen’s monstrous smile widened.

“Now! Let the preparations for my kingdom begin! Those far away, hear my voice! Those near, come see with your eyes! I shall become the ruler of this land!”

“Stop, please! What are you doing?! Mother, stop!”

Luna clung to the Queen, her eyes wide with terror.

This is bad!

I realized instinctively how grave the situation was. I pushed myself to run faster, but still, the distance between me and the Queen wouldn’t close. She was about to do something terrible. The Queen of Hearts was on the verge of unleashing a catastrophe beyond anything Luna could imagine!

“Stop! Mother! Stop! Stooooop!”

Luna screamed. I clenched my teeth and searched for a solution. Somehow, I had to break the barrier keeping me away. I raised my kitchen knife, believing I could do something. Then, I swung it.

【Deadly Kitchen Knife】

With a loud, shattering crack, something broke. I could finally move closer to the Queen. But paying it no mind, the Queen spoke.

“Applaud! Here is my first command! All except Lunarias shall—”

I charged forward, ignoring my slipping footing, not caring about my ragged breathing. All that mattered was killing her before she could finish her speech. I was almost there. Just a bit more, and I could reach her with my crowbar—

“Beheaded!”

But I wasn’t fast enough. The Queen’s command was carried out.

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