20.Erosion

Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy

Reiji
Abnormal traces of destruction littered the forest.
We encountered that while following the trail that led toward the
village, where the trees were blackened and rotting away, and there
was a slight crystallization of some kind around the area.
The place was already a part of the town, and we rushed in where
several houses were crumbling to nothing. We were confronted by a
strange monster when we intervened between a group of townspeople
who appeared to be evacuating the area.
The shadowy black body of a phantom-type monster… was covered
with a crystal-like substance. Its upper and lower body were separated
at the belly area, and it moved as it pleased around a crystal-like object
at the center, making it very difficult to read the movements of its
body. Its entire left arm had been gouged off and replaced with a sword
made of crystal, and something was leaking out from the wound. Not
just the sword, we had to deal with a bunch of shadowy, band-like
tentacles that sprang up from all parts of its body and from the ground
nearby.
My sword felt heavy. My armor less so, but it gave me a burden that
made me feel as if I was about to fall to my knees. And my attacks were
virtually ineffective. The crystals were hard and almost impossible to
scratch, and the rest of its body didn’t seem to be cut at all. Saul
seemed to able to damage it with his light attribute attacks, but they
were never quite decisive, and combined with the little flying mouths
that occasionally chomped at him from the sky, he had a really tough
time as well.
Iris/Yanagi
“Reiji! Saul!”
When I arrived at the outskirts of town, what caught my eye was a sight
that I could not, or did not want to, believe. Those two were on their
knees, covered in scars.
“I-I’ll heal you-”
“Idiot! Why do you come here?!”
“Iris, just leave us and run, quick!”
“…Absolutely no! Please… let me fight with you! That’s what I’ve
decided!”
I wouldn’t run away. It’s too last-minute to try to convince them, but I
told them what I wanted to do. A light shone at the end of my staff.
Their condition was not normal, so first of all, I had to make sure
they’re in perfect condition.
“Setup complete! ‘Rest Field’!!”
A formation of light deployed around them dissolved the bad things
that had entangled them. Then their wounds cleanly disappeared.
“I’ll re-cast the formation to match your positions, so go ahead! ‘Wide
Protection’! ‘Weiss Edge’!”
The bodies of the three of us, including mine, were covered by a thin
barrier of light, and the weapons of those two glowed white with a
purifying power that countered undead and spiritual life forms.
“…Understood. If that’s your will, I’ll say no more.”
So easily that Saul gave me the green light.
“You’re not being honest at all, are you? The truth is, we were going to
take you with us after today.”
My eyes blinked at his words.
…Those two, they did listen to me and think about it after all.
“… I’m sorry about yesterday.”
“I… I didn’t think about your feelings either. Please forgive me.”
“Me too… And honestly, your arrival is a huge help. Lend us your hand,
Iris!”
“Yes!”
I renewed my grip on my staff, readying it. I was trembling no more. It’s
okay, I could do it!
“I’m going to destroy the ‘mouth’ in the air! Cover me, you both!”
“Saul, do it! I’ll buy you 10 seconds!”
“Anytime you’re ready!”
Tentacles of shadow loomed around us. They, which had been
impenetrable until a few moments ago, were easily cut down by Reiji’s
sword, which was now clad in white light. Several other tentacles that
had broken through were stopped by Saul’s “Chain Bind”. After
confirming that my back was gently supported, I chanted tightly and
released the magic that contained the maximum output.
“’Divine Spear’… Fire!”
Revealing my wings of light, I summoned seven spears of light and
aimed at the “mouths” circling on the sky, shooting them down. As I
noticed during the previous battle with the bandits, it was verified that
when I had these wings out, the performance of some magic was
enhanced, and it was possible to exceed the limits of what it was when
it was a game. Although the recoil was correspondingly large, it was
softly received by Saul’s defensive magic, along with the person
himself, who was assisting behind me, so that the burden on my body
was minimized.
“…In ten seconds, I’ll deploy ‘Rest Field’ around Reiji-san again.”
“The ‘tentacles’ on both sides have been dealt with. Reiji, push forward,
and Iris, remain vigilant.”
“Yes, Saul-niisama.”
We exchanged glances and smiled at each other, then immediately
moved to our positions. It’s been a long time since we’ve stood
shoulder to shoulder like this.
…Only about 50 meters to the target.
Its attacks seemed to have a cursing effect, and if we got wounded, our
ability would be crippled. But that was not a problem as long as I was
here, and we stayed within the “Rest Field” I set up on the ground. If I
dealt with the situation calmly, I could maintain the upper hand.
I took a deep breath and took another look at my surroundings… then I
noticed that all the “mouths” that were wandering around me opened
at once.
“Watch out, you two! Something’s coming!”
I tried to warn them.
“GYAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!”
“FFFFFFOUNDYOUBITCHAAAAHAHAHAHA!”
“SSSSSSURRENDERTODESPAIRRRRR!”
“AHAHAHAHACRYCRYCRYCRYAHAHAHA!”
All at once, a cacophony of unpleasant voices was unleashed.
“Guh?! The… hell is this… my power is…”
“Dam, mit… is the sound itself cursed…?”
Those two kneeled in front of me, having been hit by the sound.
My heart almost stopped.
Why here, why at a time like this, why these scums?
My eyes met the red light of the “thing” in its main body at the back,
the one and only face on that creature. Yes, eyes. Its eyes were familiar.
The little things around it were familiar, too, with their stained rows of
teeth.
“No… no way…”
My knees instantly lost strength and sat flat. My heart palpitated. My
vision was distorted.
“Run, you idiot!”
“Iris, behind you!”
“…?!”
Around me, three “mouths” were floating around as if they had been
waiting for this opportunity.
“HEYHEYPRINCESSLETSPLAYPLETSPLAYLETSPLAYYYY”
“FEELSGOODFEELSGOODFEELSGOODDDDD!”
“PPPPRINCESSSODELICIOUSSSSSSSS”
“No, nooooooo!”
The voice that hit me directly in the earlobe shook and wrecked my
brain through my ears. When I unintentionally covered my ears and
closed my eyes, a shadow that had somehow crept up on my leg, on
the barrier protecting its surface, sizzled and entangled me. My vision
suddenly drifted away.
“Kyaaaaaah?!”
Something pulled me, and after a brief moment of levitation, I rolled
over and over on the ground, hitting my entire body hard. Most of the
impact was blocked by the protection, but the sudden movement made
my semicircular canals scream and I staggered back up, unable to
move.
“UUUUOOOOOHHHHIIIIRRRRIIIISCHHHAAAAN?”
“Eeep!”
Its face was close to me. A crescent-shaped red line broke out on its
smooth, black face, and a sticky voice that sounded as if it were making
a gurgling sound and seemed to be extremely ecstatic made me cower.
“Iris! Curses, get out of my way!”
Reiji’s scream felt distant. We had been completely separated in front
of the enemy.
“LETSFEELGOODLETSPLAYYYYYPRINCESSSSSSSSSSS!!”
As I slithered away, trying to get as far away from it as possible, I felt
countless shadows extending from its body, restricting my limbs. The
light of the thin paper-like protection barely prevented direct contact,
but even beyond that, I felt a tremendous chill, fear, and danger. I
mustn’t touch it directly.
Then, the sound of the barrier creaking and the protection cracking as it
nears the limit of its durability rang in my ears.
“P-‘Protection’!”
Immediately after the new barrier enveloped my body, the original
barrier disappeared into thin air, leaving behind faint shards of light.
It was no use. The barrier, which was supposed to be reattached,
creaked and cracked again.
“W-‘Wide Protection’!”
One more. The protection from earlier shattered in less than 20
seconds, and the shadows attacked the new barrier.
“No, I can’t hold on like this…!”
“Protection” had a cooldown of approximately one minute, that meant
I couldn’t use it again for 40 seconds. “Wide Protection” had one
minute and a half of cooldown. In this situation, with shadows crawling
all over my body, “Solid Ray” would be no help.
“Protection! Protection! Why, why can’t I cast it?!”
I couldn’t make it in time!
The last barrier was now full of cracks, while Reiji and Saul were far
away!
The sound of the last resistance struck my ear like a countdown.
I could no longer do anything but watch in despair as the last barrier
vanished into thin air.
“Wah?! N-No, stooooop!|
The shadows started wrapping my arms and legs.
“Yaaaaaaah!”
Instantly, my brain sparked with a shock far beyond my tolerance. A
tremendous chill ran through my entire body. Cold, heavy, horrifying
thoughts flowed in from where they touched, colliding with the
purifying power of this body that was desperately resisting inside, and
the impact hurt myself from the inside, causing me to bounce violently
and disorderly.
My consciousness went blank.
But the next moment, I awoke with a jolt. Again and again.
The tentacles entangled in my limbs easily lifted my small body into the
air and invaded my center without hesitation. It laid waste without time
to resist, and in the blink of an eye, the thing that restrained my arms
sneaked into the hem of my clothes and licked the torso underneath.
The legs, too, knees, thighs, and above them. It crawled all over my
white skin, and every time it did, something horrifying permeated my
skin, as if it is trying to coat my entire body. The something that was
eroding through my skin was engulfing my entire body and quickly
taking away my resistance.
My body was making a desperate resistance, but there were just too
many shadows incessantly crawling all over it. Any fleeting resistance
was easily swallowed, and my body, which had been violently jerking
and bouncing, was slowly slowing down. The body, which had lost its
strength, was tightening up, and it was screaming. The dangerous
sound of something cracking was echoing from all over my body. And
yet, I already felt no pain at all.
My body surrendered to the invading shadows. It was as if every blood
vessel in my body had been replaced with ice water, something so cold
and horrifying that I could no longer move a finger except for the
occasional twitch.
“…Aaah… aaah…Eek!”
The chilling sensation of something touching a place not supposed to
be touched. Just the slightest contact, something horrifying flowed into
my body with an incomparably greater force than before, and it stained
my body even more deeply and profoundly.
My fleetingly flickering light wings disappeared with a few scattered
feathers, and the staff that I held until the end fell to the ground with a
clatter from my arm that hung slackly and powerlessly. I wondered if it
sensed that my power to resist had completely disappeared, and for
some reason I felt that it had finally set its sights on “that spot”.
I’m screwed, aren’t I?
“Stay the hell away from Iris!”
Before I knew it, Reiji, who had switched to a sword covered in some
enormous force, sliced through the ground with the tentacles that held
me. The shadow covering me vanished in the blink of an eye… and Saul
held me before my unsupported body fell to the ground.
“Saul! Take Iris and escape from here!”
“…I’ll be back soon enough! Just… don’t die!!”
Wait, was Reiji going to die?!
The back of Reiji, who remained alone facing the enemy, was further
and further. No, those two had been put in a tight spot.
Please stop, I didn’t want them to do this, but it’s too late.
“…Rei… ji…!”
My hand that tried to reach out fell, unable to support itself even
slightly, and gravity took over.
Reiji
“…So they’re gone.”
I readjusted the sword in my hand.
Normally, it was a pitch-black long sword with no decoration, but by
using the function called Dragon Eye Release, it transformed into this
powerful weapon… “Sword of Destruction Arsley”, from the Dragon
Orb series.
Back in the game, it was crafted using the extremely rare dragon orbs
from the Dragon-type raid bosses, along with plenty of other raid-tier
rare materials. Only a handful of people would be able to own such a
thing. It’s my trump card that even Saul envied.
It was confirmed that it was possible to hurt that thing with Dragon Eye
Release.
As for whether this would improve the situation… hell if I know.
The downside of this weapon… was that instead of increasing its
power, it devoured the owner’s physical strength. The hilt in my right
arm was now flickering red, and something was flowing from my body
into the sword.
What would have been HP in the game was actually a dangerous feeling
of having my vitality itself drained when used in this way. With a body
that has been weakened so much so far, how far could I go against an
opponent I struggled to beat even when I was in perfect condition?
“…Alright, let’s do this.”
I could still hear the weak and mournful voice that called out my name
only a few moments ago as Saul took him away. I can’t leave that guy
alone in this world.
No matter how hopeless it might be… I would persist until the end.