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? - 74

Chapter 74: Running Away from Ashura!

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T/N: Using Koufukuji-ani from now on because Big Brother Koufukuji is a bit mouthful.

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The thought that I could just take down Koufukuji-ani right then and there disappeared in the next moment.

“Owwww! No way, I let my guard down!? What’s going on!?”

“Our opponent has a Master Skill, and yet I dropped my guard… No, I was thrown off, I guess…?”

“Huh…?”

I had activated a skill and stabbed the kitchen knife into them, so I was sure I’d killed the twins. But the twins stood up. They pulled the knife out themselves. Blood poured from their necks, but then it reversed course, flowing back into the wound. Right before my eyes, the injury sealed up, and the twins returned to perfect health.

Seeing that, I shouted.

“—Botan! Take Angel and run! We’re not prepared enough to kill these guys here!”

“-!? Got it!”

Saying the same thing I’d said with the giant ape, I scooped Luna up under my arm.

“Kyaa, Onii-sama!?”

“Keep your mouth closed so you don’t bite your tongue.”

“Y-Yes!”

Luna quickly shut her mouth, and even covered it with both hands like a good girl. I grabbed only the crowbar and prepared to flee. The rest of the gear could be sorted out after we escaped.

“You’re not getting away, Master Skill.”

But Koufukuji-ani blocked my escape path. He held his sword in one hand, while with the other he supported a revolver underneath. A unique stance. If I moved forward, I’d be cut. If I backed away, I’d be shot. That was the future I saw. But retreating might be an even worse move.

“I won’t mess up twice, you know~!”

“We won’t let you escape…!”

The twins flanked me, cutting off any retreat. Even Koufukuji-ani alone would be a problem with Luna in my arms—now it was three against one? Stalemate. With my back to the wall in the apartment’s second-floor hallway, I had no choice but to accept being surrounded.

Because I’d killed one of them in the first strike, all three were now excessively cautious of me. The one upside of being overly feared is moments like this. If they overestimate me, even a dire situation can buy me time. And right now, time was exactly what I needed most.

『Three government agents ganging up on one civilian—! Don’t you feel ashamed as professionals—!?』

Right at that moment, 【Taunt】 hit all three at once.

“Huh?”

““Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?””

All three turned to the voice. Outside the apartment, on the first floor. Their gazes were forcibly drawn downward. There it was—Angel’s streaming drone.

“I knew you’d come through for me, Angel!”

Saying that, I pulled something from my pocket that I’d forgotten was even there. A tape measure. One with an automatic retraction feature.

“-! A diversion! Stop the Master Skill—huh?”

Koufukuji-ani shook off the taunt with sheer willpower and turned back to me—but it was too late. I threw the round housing of the tape measure and hooked it onto the antenna of the neighboring house, then climbed onto the second-floor apartment fence.

【Infinite Tape Measure】 【Powerful Retraction】

“Goodbye, everyone~!”

With the powerful retraction, I soared through the air, Luna in my arms, like a wire stunt from an action movie.

“Kyaaaaaaa! Amazing! Onii-sama, you’re amazing!”

“Hahahaha! Like hell I’m handing our precious Luna over to shady agents like you!”

“P-Precious…♡”

I landed on the neighboring house, reeled in the tape measure, and continued running at full speed. Then I threw the tape again toward the next antenna, and the moment it caught, I flew off again using the retraction wire.

I felt like a certain web-slinging superhero—or maybe a soldier fighting titans with omni-directional gear.

“Eeeeeeeh!? What the heck is that!? So unfair! Everyday Items Master is cheating~!”

“Your resurrection ability is way more of a cheat!”

If not for that, you all would’ve been dead and done with right here!

Snapping back at Red Twin’s complaint, I bolted away from the scene. My stamina was already iffy, but with the tape measure’s help, I could just barely manage. Or so I thought. That assumption… was a mistake.

“Everyday Items Master. You’re that slow even with your skill?”

“Huh?”

As I turned toward the voice, Koufukuji-ani was already right in front of me, sword raised.

“―――!”

【Crowbar Warhammer】 【Sweeping Slash】

Sparks flew as the crowbar and sword clashed violently. Glaring at Koufukuji-ani in disbelief, I shouted:

“Wha—You—how the hell did you cover that distance in a split second—!?”

“Jobs like Sword Saint don’t just enhance weapon mastery—they also boost baseline physical abilities far beyond normal.”

Sword Saint? I’d heard of that somewhere. Supposedly a super strong skill or something.

“Master Skills aren’t supposed to work that way. But even so, we’re actually evenly matched head-on? In that case—”

Koufukuji-ani reversed his grip on the sword and used it to steady his gun.

“Two to the torso, one to the skull.”

He muttered it like a routine. A declaration—in other words, he was telling me his next move. Even so, a chill of raw terror shot down my spine.

“That’s not an attack you can block with just a crowbar, Master Skill!”

【Double Quick Shot】

I instinctively brought the crowbar up to shield my torso. But the impact was overwhelming. Even though I blocked both shots, the sheer force embedded the crowbar into me, lifting me and Luna off the ground.

“Under the influence of the Legendary Gunner skill, a revolver shot hits like a cannon blast.”

The muzzle shifted—aiming for my head.

“This is the end, Master Skill.”

【Headshot】

Koufukuji-ani pulled the trigger. The bullet flew straight for my skull. With Luna in my left arm, that hand was unusable. I had only one weapon—a crowbar—and I was stunned mid-air.

There was nothing I could do. Yes—nothing I could do.

“Taku won’t be killed.”

Botan appeared from the sky, catching the bullet in front of me.

“Kh-!”

She twisted her body, deflecting the bullet away. The single round crashed into part of the neighboring house, obliterating it. Seeing that, I realized it wasn’t an exaggeration—those shots really had the power of a cannon.

Botan landed. I barely kept myself from falling, groaning in pain as I planted my feet on the rooftop. Koufukuji-ani clicked his tongue.

“Tch. I thought you ran, monster.”

“I’d never abandon Taku. I never want to go through those painful days again.”

Botan faced off against Koufukuji-ani. My arm still numb, I looked at her with gratitude.

“Botan, you saved me! What about Angel!?”

“I got her to a safe distance and came back. As long as I’m not defeated, Angel’s safe.”

Botan calmly clenched her fists.

“From what I can tell, my physical prowess is stronger than them. I can run whenever I want.”

“Got it. Then help me. If we can just get a little more distance, we’ve got a chance to escape.”

“Yeah. I’ll help.”

『Don’t forget about me too!』

A drone with Angel’s face on the screen buzzed around, joining Botan’s support. She must’ve finished her preparations too. The one looking the least pleased… was Koufukuji-ani.

“This is a hassle… The trio that killed the Mountain King’s here. If the Vehicle Master shows up too, even an SSS-ranked monster wouldn’t stand a chance.”

『That’s right…! If you’re scared, maybe you should tuck your tail between your legs and run home!』

Angel taunted us through the drone. But in response, Koufukuji-ani just laughed.

“You’re kidding, right? You guys are the ones who should give up and surrender.”

The twins caught up to Koufukuji-ani. They stood silently at his sides, casting wary glances our way. The red twin gripped a large sword in both hands. The blue twin held guns in both hands. And Koufukuji-ani himself had a sword in his right hand and a gun in his left.

To my eyes, they looked just like an Ashura statue.

“Special Mobile Unit A-4 for the Quarantine Zone—Team Ashura. We’ve taken down SSS-class monsters just like you have.”

We stared in shock. Koufukuji-ani lifted the corners of his mouth in a triumphant smirk.

“And we’ve got our full team. You don’t stand a chance.”

No sooner had he said it, the three of them charged us at once.

“Taku! Run! Don’t worry about me!”

“Yeah!”

I turned on my heel and bolted.

In the past, I never would’ve let Botan do something like this. But now it was different. I trusted that Botan would get through this crisis on her own!

“Oraaa!”

I used my measuring tape to launch a wire action and picked up speed to widen the gap. Gunshots rang out behind me. I heard the clash of blades. But I gritted my teeth and kept running!

“Ah, Onii-sama! Botan-oneesama is—!”

But when Luna cried out in my arms, I couldn’t help but glance back.

“Two shots to the torso, one to the head.”

Botan was being taken down by the three of them. Her left arm was severed by the red twin. Her right arm and leg were shot through by the blue twin. Then Koufukuji-ani’s bullets tore through her torso and head.

I was speechless. My eyes went wide at the sight. But even then, as she collapsed, Botan looked at me and said.

“Go.”

“—!”

I forced my gaze forward again. I ran at full speed. I swore I wouldn’t look back. I widened the distance even more than before. I figured it was about time and reached into my pocket.

That was when an unexplainable chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively dove to the side.

Giin! 

A metallic sound rang out nearby. A gunshot. Was it them? I glanced behind me, but the only one pursuing me was Koufukuji-ani. The twins were still being held up by Botan, and Koufukuji-ani wasn’t aiming his gun at me.

Which meant… They had backup. A sniper, or something like that.

“So that’s the secret to their immortality, huh? Goddammit!”

Full team of three? Yeah, right. I figured as much. There had to be a support team behind those three. Unless we took them out too, we’d never beat them.

Another chill. I ducked mid-run, and a gust of air swept past overhead.

Just as I thought, these guys are a real pain in the ass—

A ricochet struck my leg.

“Ah—!”

The pain was so intense it outpaced my understanding. My leg buckled under it. I barely stopped myself from falling using my crowbar. My leg wouldn’t move. It didn’t just hurt—it burned. Like fire was eating through it.

No way. A ricochet? I had to worry about something like that too? These guys were absurd. With enough prep, they could probably take down even that Giant Ape.

Koufukuji-ani closed in. His sword raised high, eyes fixed on slicing through me and Luna both. So I said it.

“This wasn’t how I planned to use this stupid desperate escape move, you know.”

With the distance I’d gained and the little time that gave me, I pulled a bell from my pocket.

“I was saving this for when we had time off—so we could all go to Hawaii together. Hawaii, man.”

I rang the bell with a sharp motion. 

Vunnn

A distorted bass note echoed out. Then, a dimensional distortion appeared—and a bunny girl jumped out of it.

“Kyaha! You rang and here I am—Ui-chan’s on the scene! Whoa~☆ Things look kinda bad here~!”

Apparently, the Bunny Girl from the Ferocious Shark Gang, Inaba, had a nose for danger. She immediately leapt into our arms. Koufukuji-ani’s eyes widened—but only for a second. If anything, he sped up as he charged toward us.

“—You’re not getting away.”

But he was too late. I grinned in victory and said:

“Sorry, Koufukuji. This teleportation spell? Only fits three.”

“Eh!? That’s already a lot, though?!~ Oh well! Two passengers—coming right up!”

Koufukuji-ani was almost on top of us. His blade was about to strike. But the dimensional distortion closed faster.

Vunnn!

That heavy bass rang again, and the distortion swallowed us. In the pitch-black instant that followed, I thought I heard a whoosh—like a missed slash—and a frustrated click of the tongue, echoing in my ears like tinnitus.

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