[Part 2/4]
I killed the momentum with the spear handle at the moment of descent, then rotated to disperse the impact and successfully landed. My rear end stung a bit, but I had to keep going!
"Oh right... please tell my companion to stay behind!"
Just before heading into the deep forest, I shouted up towards the checkpoint. I wanted to convey to them that Hisame should stay. Without waiting for a response, I started running...
"Huh...?"
His mind started to clear, and the man was no longer so confused. He began to wonder about his exact location and remembered the events that had brought him to this moment.
Reluctantly obeying the whims of the expedition's leader, the spoiled Princess, there was no room for argument. The problem was who would go. As a result of discussions, it was decided that two of the Hidden Groups, would turn back.
At this point, the man didn't think they had drawn the short straw. After all, it seemed reckless to continue following the princess, who knows what she was thinking, deeper into the forest.
Therefore, if he and his friend could turn back quickly, it would be the best option. Those youkai lurking along the way would probably have turned into scattered remains, and if the Princess ventured further into the hinterlands, the Majority would likely be drawn there as well.
Certainly, he wasn't wrong. The youkai that were still alive had indeed become like that. The problem was that there was an exception...
"Huh, that can't be...?"
The corpses were moving. He encountered a group of reanimated corpses, their bodies grotesquely patched together. Were they parasites? This was completely unexpected.
He was running away in a panic, trying to escape. He had no idea what had happened to his partner, whose job was to stop them. Now, he had a bag wrapped in a Furoshiki. And then...
"How did it go...?"
He tried to remember that far, but the memories were vague, and there was no time to think deeply.
After all, the growling sounds grew louder, and when he turned to look, he saw wolves. More specifically, it was a pack of dead wolf bodies.
Peeking out from the crushed bodies, with crushed eyeballs, bent limbs, and entrails spilling out, they were wolf youkai corpses. They had died from a single strike of a fan. What protruded from their half-destroyed heads was mushrooms.
Mycelium growing through the skull, piercing it, a substance that could be called a living youkai death plant, unlike the cordyceps fungus. Since the host had died, it seemed to reluctantly manipulate the body to secure nutrition.
"...D*mn it."
The man couldn't move to fend them off or escape. Rescue at this point seemed difficult. In other words, it was a "dead end."
In any case, it wasn't long.
The dead wolves, controlled by the fungal entities, howled. They howled in unison and pounced all at once. In anticipation of the situation a few moments ahead, the young member of the Hidden Group wielded his dagger in desperation. He was ready to at least counterattack and cross blades with one of them...
Immediately afterward, a black figure from the side swung its spear, beheading one of the wolves in a single strike...
"You d*mn...!!"
It was a close call. There were three targets. I had just given my all to thrust my spear with full momentum.
'Howll...!!?'
I beheaded one of the wolves with a single strike without giving them a chance to counterattack, and then I swung my spear to knock down the other one that was nearby. Only then did I realize that those creatures were already dead.
"Parasites, huh...!?"
I figured it out from the stupid-looking mushrooms growing out of their heads. Blows seemed pointless against them. To render them powerless, I needed to either completely crush their heads, burn them, or...
"Seems like beheading works...!!"
As the parasite-controlled zombie wolf charged at me with its claws, I countered with the spear's handle. I had just beheaded the wolf moments ago, and its head seemed to shrivel and, after a delay, the mushroom wilted. Was it due to malnutrition? They were low-level anyway, so it was welcome. The problem was...
'Grrrrrr!!'
The flung zombie wolf rushed at me as if to counterattack. It sprayed mushroom spores all over.
"Dealing with them up close doesn't seem like a good idea, right!?"
That's why I had a slingshot. I took it out from my pocket, aimed, and shot a rolling stone. The stone made a swooshing sound through the air. Half of the head of the zombie wolf, along with the mushroom, scattered backward. The zombie wolf that had lost its balance would never get up again.
"Was it the brain, or maybe the mushroom that did the trick...!?"
After pondering that, there was a sense of danger. I pulled back my spear in the same position. There was one remaining...!!
"What... is this!?"
I swung the spear around and spun like a dance. The centrifugal force added momentum to the spear's blade, cleanly severing the head of the zombie wolf that was attempting to rise. It felt like something out of a splatter movie!
"Haha, I've been really on a roll lately. Could it be that my hidden power has finally awakened...!?"
I had let my guard down after taking down the three zombie wolves. If I had thought calmly, no one had guaranteed that there were only three of them. Sensing their presence instinctively, I prepared myself and swung the spear. But I missed. The wolf that evaded the spear thrust its fangs towards me...
'Grawr!!?'
But something had happened. One of the zombie wolves suddenly screamed and moved away from me. It seemed as if it had experienced an electric shock or accidentally pricked its finger while sewing. The zombie wolf looked at me with clouded eyes and in the next moment, an arrow pierced its head from the side.
"...!? Hisame!?"
I was astonished to see my junior comrade with a drawn bow, but I hadn't forgotten the order of things. I looked around cautiously, making sure there were no more threats, and then rushed over.
I ran towards the fallen member of the Hidden Group on the ground.
"Are you conscious?"
"Yeah... you... you left me..."
There was a response to my call. At the same time, the black mask covering everything but the eyes seemed to be even darker. It was due to coughing up blood.
"Did the message... get through?"
"I received word from the checkpoint."
"Good... sorry, they stole... that thing... ah, it's that way..."
In a trembling voice, the young man from the Hidden Group pointed in a direction. Bloodstains were scattered on the ground.
"Got it. Leave the rest to me. And there's one more. You should get medical attention at the checkpoint."
"I... I don't need it. I know... I won't make it."
I responded to the words of the Hidden Group member with silence. I shifted my gaze. He had no legs. His abdomen was torn open, and his insides were visible. Neither the checkpoint facilities nor first aid would be able to help him.
"More importantly... the thing..."
If he's risking his life, at least fulfill that request. Seriously.
"...Do you have any last words?"
"If you can, get my friend who stayed behind to be the decoy. And... give me the medicine from my pocket. It hurts..."
"Understood. Leave it to me."
As I agreed, I retrieved the pill from the man's pocket as instructed. It was an analgesic with anesthetic properties. I removed his hood and helped him swallow it with water.
"Heh, heh... thank goodness..."
Those were his final words, and that was the end. For a while, I remained in that spot.
"Senpai..."
"Weren't you supposed to relay the message at the checkpoint? I told you to stay behind..."
"I'm... I'm sorry. The situation was just... so unexpected..."
Hisame muttered with a bowed head, as if deeply ashamed by my reproach. Disobeying orders unilaterally, but the fact that it had also saved me meant that it would be shameless to pursue it further.
"Well, it's not exactly a happy ending, but..."
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