[Part 4/4]
"Oh? Well, well, if it isn't these familiar faces," Iruka greeted with a touch of sarcasm. "What's the deal? You all want to get violent together? Is that it? Huh?" Her words dripped with both amusement and challenge.
"Don't do that. No bloodshed here," I intervened to calm Iruka, who was baring her fangs and provoking them.
I myself lower my dagger. Then, I was about to ask them again when I immediately leaned forward.
"...!? Behind you!"
"Huh!? Ahh!!?"
In the darkness, I noticed it and shouted. Right after shouting, I pushed the man in front of me away and thrust my dagger toward 'it'—the face of the creature.
'Screeech!!?'
Silently descending from the ceiling, the human-faced leech with a thickness resembling a horse's neck approached, catching them off guard. It thrashed around, screaming in agony, crushing the surrounding objects and pillars. And that was the trigger. Simultaneously, the hidden beings revealed themselves.
"These...these creatures!?"
Countless cricket-like creatures poked their heads out from the ceiling. A centipede, as large as a snake, leaned out from the window. Then, with a creaking sound, the door in the back opened slightly. Scuttling out were over ten mantises, baring their fangs and screeching.
"E-Eekkk!"
"W-What the hell is going on!?"
For a moment, both our group and the soldiers were taken aback, but it didn't last long.
"Take thisss!"
With a roar-like cry, Iruka swung her weapon. The cricket-like creatures that dived from the ceiling were torn apart by her axe and slammed into the wall in a single blow. Two or three more came after her, but their fate was no different.
"...!!!"
I kicked the half-open door, along with the mantis under my foot, and leaped towards the giant mantis that had intruded. Immediately, I cut off its long antennae with my dagger.
'...!?'
Taken off guard, the mantis trembled, and I seized the opportunity to throw two kunais from my sleeve. They pierced into its large eyeballs, embedded in its bean-like body. The mantis screamed in pain and writhed on the spot.
"Iruka!"
"Got it!"
Iruka immediately realizes my intention when I call out to her. With soldiers panicking and confused by the sudden attack, Iruka jumped out of the window and charged towards the giant centipede. With a powerful strike, she drove her axe into the side of the creature. Infused with yokai power and spiritual energy, her blow easily crushed the exoskeleton and severed the centipede's abdomen. Blue bodily fluids and organs splattered from the monster.
'Giiiishhh!!'
Despite its pain, the centipede's head locked onto Iruka. Twisting its front half, it forcefully opened its jaws, attempting to bite off her head. I approached from behind and swung my Teguruma. The spider's thread sliced the upper half of the centipede's body in two, causing it to meet its demise.
"Huh!?"
"You think...you can...!!"
Without a moment's pause, I was throwing more kunais toward the threat that was closing in on Shiro. The flying locusts, about the size of a cat, which had been on guard and intimidated by the feeble foxfire released by Shiro, had their heads crushed by the kunais struck at high speed.
"What's wrong with you all!? Are your weapons just for show? Can't you lend a hand!?"
"Huh!? You...you b*stard!!"
"I know! Come on, you pests...!!"
"Sh*t! What the...what the hell is happening...!?"
The bewildered soldiers snapped out of their daze upon my angry voice and joined the battle in a half-mad state. One swungs their swords at the approaching crickets and locusts one after another. Another one holds up their shields against the centipedes entering through the window and thrust their spears at them. And another one swings their axe at a threatening millipede and smash its head in.
Everyone, including me, was wielding weapons. We fought back the monsters appearing from all directions. And after personally killing fifteen of them and accounting for nearly forty kills including the others, it appeared.
The building trembled. It broke through the wooden wall and revealed itself. A giant arm insect with crab-like pincers and clicking mandibles appeared. Its massive size made it clear that this was their boss.
"Daraa!!!!"
Iruka was the first to move. Ignoring its intimidation, she swungs her axe and severed one of its pincers.
'...!!!??'
Despite being surprised by the fearless preemptive strike, the grotesque creature counterattacked. It swung a pair of elongated hind legs like whips.
"Move...get down...!!"
As soon as I said that, Iruka crawled on the floor. I pressed Shiro's head and pressed my body against the floor as well.
"Eh!? Gyaaa..."
The members of the army couldn't react in time. The whip-like legs, tearing through the air, cut one of the soldiers in half. The armor was useless as his upper body spun in the air, crashing into the ceiling and scattering guts as he fell to the floor.
"D*mn it!? Gensuke's been killed!!"
"You've got some nerve!! Die, you monster!!"
At the death of their comrade, however, a few soldiers went into a rage and hurled their spears. Although the spears themselves were of poor quality and didn't cause significant damage, it served as a distraction against the creature.
And Iruka and I didn't miss the chance.
"Come on, take this!"
Iruka stood up and charged forward, delivering a full swing kick to a nearby cricket youkai, sending it flying towards the face of the arm insect. The cricket youkai collided with the arm insect's face, turning into a splatter of flesh and scattering in all directions, much like a soccer ball hitting the goal. The arm insect, caught off guard by the unexpected blow, staggered.
"Okay, one more!!"
Seizing the opportunity, Iruka rushed into the creature's reach and struck its joint with the axe. The second segment leg, without its pincers, was severed, and Iruka mercilessly swung the axe at the creature's body with the returning blade. The fact that the left side, where the pincers had already been cut off, and being too intruded upon, left the creature unable to counterattack. It hastily jumped sideways, trying to create distance between Iruka and itself. That's when I closed in from behind.
'Giish!!'
One of the randomly grown eyeballs on its head caught my attention. The two whips were swung at me, but I quickly cut them off one after another with my dagger.
(So, this one is probably just a medium youkai.)
It doesn't seem to be a highly skilled one. In that case, I jumped onto the creature's head without hesitation. It violently shook its body in an attempt to throw me off... but it's too late!
"Hey, can you see this thread?"
'Kikii!?'
As soon as I said those words, the arm insect seemed to notice the thin, dangling thread around its neck. It was the sharp spider thread of Tsuchigumo.
This was achieved by sending a bird shikigami with a teguruma attached through its beak, circling around the neck of the arm insect with the thread... and now the shikigami returns. I picked up the teguruma it carried in its beak. The arm insect, with its black eyeballs simultaneously fixed on me, seemed to understand what was about to happen.
With a smirk on my face, I pulled the thread swiftly. At the same time, the spider thread pulled up from the neck effortlessly severed the head of the arm insect, as if cutting through tofu.
'...!?!!!??'
Losing its head, the arm insect convulsed, spewing green bodily fluid from the wound and flailing countless legs. As it moved, I leaped and calmly distanced myself upon landing on the floor.
Then, to finish off, I kick the first human-faced earthworm, which has collapsed on the floor, trembling, with a kick to the face and then finish it off with a dagger (tantō). I looked around. It seems that we have taken care of most of the people who were lurking around here.
Suddenly, I glanced at the ground, picking up an item scattered during the battle, belonging to the station. I checked its contents. Then, breathing heavily and kneeling, I turned towards the exhausted soldiers and spoke.
"Well then, it seems like we both need some information exchange. ...Hey, can someone boil some water? It's freezing with this blizzard. Let's have a chat while warming up."
I showcased a box of tea leaves, presumably part of the station's supplies, and made the suggestion.
...Imagining the discovery of a troublesome situation.
Fanart:
- Chapter 91 credit flavor tea party: here
- Children's Day Onitsuki sisters: here
- Another person on PIXIV created an illustration of Darth Tamaki's route: here
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