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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Counterattack (1)
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Squish—
Squish—
"...Disgusting."
Ichika murmured, watching Suzuki Satoru enter his second phase.
Indeed, his appearance was grotesqueness itself.
His entire body's fur had melted away, replaced by smooth, swollen flesh.
Dozens of mouths ripped open with a squelching sound, tongues dripping viscous saliva.
A pungent stench stung her nostrils.
And from his back, eight red scythes, their veins grotesquely writhing, sprouted like spider legs.
No trace of his human form remained.
"...Ichikaaaaa..."
"...I-I-Ichikaaa..."
"I...chi...ka..."
Only his disturbingly clear eyes, rolling around before fixing on Ichika, and the name 'Ichika' oozing from dozens of mouths, hinted that this was once Suzuki Satoru.
His terrifying appearance wasn't the only horror.
Even I, whose mental fortitude was stronger than most other characters, found myself momentarily thinking his form 'attractive'.
'This is the Incubus's apostle, possessing the power of charm...'
In the game, during boss battles against him, party members would sometimes turn to his side and attack their own team.
It seemed this very sensation was the cause.
'...If I don't keep my wits about me, I'll be in danger too.'
Raising my guard, I looked at Ichika with renewed eyes.
Because it wasn't easy to instantly dismiss that form as 'disgusting'.
'...Not bad.'
Even if she was dead weight, still weight that didn't actively interfere was preferable to weight that did.
My worry that Ichika might fall under his spell and do something useless was lessened.
"I-I-Ichikaaa... Ichikaaa—!!!!"
Finally, Suzuki Satoru, his metamorphosis complete, shrieked Ichika's name and swung his writhing great scythes.
The great scythes seemed to stretch, then vanished in an instant.
Swoosh—!!!
With a sharp sound that tore through the air, sword energy shot forth.
And that sword energy split, densely filling the air.
It was clearly the same attack method as the one I'd faced just moments ago, but its caliber was entirely different.
Because every incoming sword energy held a distinct presence, as if it were real.
In response, I sharpened my blade of consciousness and glared at the bundles of sword energy.
"Right. Vertical attack."
'Right... what?'
Whoosh!
Even as I threw my body sideways, I couldn't help but look surprised.
Because Ichika had spoken from behind me, faster than I could even sense the anomaly.
CRASH!!!!
A tremendous roar erupted from where I had just been, and a frighteningly deep crater appeared.
"Above your head. Horizontal attack."
Whoosh!
Following Ichika's calm voice, which had once again spoken, I ducked my body down.
'...Huh, she's actually pretty useful, isn't she?'
Ichika, whom I had thought would be nothing but dead weight due to her depleted stamina, was showing unexpected performance.
I raised my evaluation of her by a notch.
'This changes things.'
If she could distinguish the real attacks, I wouldn't need to divide my focus and could concentrate solely on offense.
Slick—
I crouched low, stepping heavily and imbuing my movements with mana.
Shadow Step.
Thud!
My body shot forth fearlessly into the storm of sword energy, which was raging relentlessly.
"Left. Diagonal attack."
"Down. Horizontal attack."
"Left. Vert."
"Right. Diag."
"Up. Horiz."
As if playing a rhythm game, I successfully dodged the real sword energies mixed among the illusions, closing in on him.
And then.
Shing—
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish—!
The sword swung, wielded with a flexible flick of the wrist.
Skill: Sword Dance.
The fluid sword, like a fast-paced dance, cut across his body.
SPLURT—!!
A beat later, a fountain of blood erupted from his body.
"GRAAAAHHHHH—!!!! ICHIKAAAAAAA!!!!"
"Dodge backward."
The enraged creature twisted its massive body, coiling it up.
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH!
It used the recoil to sweep away its surroundings, but by then, I had already withdrawn.
Thwack!
Thwack!
SPLURT—!
And I inflicted damage on him a few more times using the same method.
"ICHIKAAAAAAA—AAAAAA!!!!!"
However, as expected, things didn't go easily.
If it could be resolved this easily, I wouldn't have needed to wait for my party members.
Crack—
Crack—
The creature, which had been unilaterally attacked by me.
The scythes that had sprouted from its back began to divide and merge into two masses.
Then, a bat-like membrane connected between the scythes.
Broad wings enveloped his body.
That's right.
The true value of Suzuki Satoru, the boss of Jukai Forest, lay in aerial combat.
Flap—
Flap—
As he slowly flapped his massive wings, the heavy mass, still sagging under gravity, soared into the sky.
And his two clear eyes, halted in mid-air, glared at me.
Then, he folded and unfurled his wings once.
"KIEEEEHHH!"
"KIEEEEEHHH!!"
"KIIIIAAAAAHHH!!!"
Dozens of mouths, sprouted on his body, gaped open and flew at me with spine-chilling screams.
This time, they weren't illusions.
Every single one was a real attack.
Ichika must have noticed this too, as she said nothing.
I hardened my expression, predicting the attack paths of the incoming mouths.
'...Dodging all of these seems impossible.'
Finally, I made a decision, gathering mana throughout my body, and just as I was about to endure the attack with minimal damage—
Pause.
One of the mouths, flying towards me, momentarily stopped in mid-air before twisting its path and flying forward.
And my intensely heightened concentration didn't miss that fleeting moment.
Dash!
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!!!!
Even as I squeezed my body through that opening, I thought:
'...What was that? Why did it stop just now? Why did it twist its path? It was a perfect chance to exploit my opening.'
Moreover, the twisted attack was on a path I had judged impossible to dodge.
Specifically, an attack aimed at my back.
Because Ichika was there, I had considered turning my body and sacrificing my left arm.
But because he completely altered the attack, I was able to escape without sacrificing anything.
'...Ichika? Satoru, that bastard... Could it be...?'
A glint flashed in my eyes.
'He's a man, isn't he?'
With a smirk playing on my lips, I spoke towards my back.
"Ichika."
"Yes?"
When I called her name, her blank face tilted, as if asking 'What is it?'
"You can't separate from me right now. Does it just require contact with me?"
"Yes, probably. And it's just a feeling... but it seems my stamina recovers when I'm attached like this."
'So that's how it is...'
I don't know why I've become her charger, but...
If that's the case, then all the better.
"Then, I apologize, but could you please get off my back and hold my hand?"
"...Huh? My hand?"
"Yes."
"My hand... I think it's too soon for that."
Ichika turned her head away, as if embarrassed.
...What is this person saying? She was diligently fondling my chest even while we were in the middle of a fight just now.
I gave her a flat, unimpressed look.
'Ugh, too much hassle to explain. I'll just apologize later. Even if it's not what I think, I can get her out of harm's way without a scratch anyway.'
Grab.
I set her down and immediately grabbed her arm firmly.
And then—whoosh—
"Ah!"
Still holding Ichika's arm, I swung her.
Towards the enemy's incoming attack.
And then.
Just as expected.
Hesitate—
The mouth stopped in mid-air, not flying all the way.
"Just as I thought."
I twisted my lips into a smirk and nodded.
"..."
Ichika, who had somehow changed her position and was now clinging to my arm, wrapping her legs around it like a cat, looked up at me.
Stare—
What.
What.
Because that guy awakened because of you.
So you're going to take responsibility.
Is there a problem?
***
Though I resumed the fight with the Ichika shield, it still wasn't easy.
The creature from the original story wasn't an easy opponent, which contributed.
The biggest problem, however, was that reality was different from the game.
In the game, the enemy and my character fundamentally had to appear on the same screen.
Even if an enemy could fly, it wouldn't fly *that* high.
However, as I actively used Ichika and approached him...
He completely widened the distance, soaring to a height where my sword couldn't reach, and unilaterally launched attacks.
Of course, thanks to the Ichika shield, I didn't suffer any fatal damage, but...
If this continued, I would inevitably be at a disadvantage.
'...Alone, it's impossible.'
At the very least, if I received Im Ga-eul's acceleration and Kang Do-hee lifted me up, it might be different.
Fighting him without them was like
a soldier fighting a fighter jet with just a single sword.
'Should I just hold out and wait for the party members now?'
It was then.
"Step on the ghost."
Ichika's mouth, which had been silently watching me, opened.
"What... huh?"
"My ghost can become your footing."
"!"
My eyes widened at her words.
'Now that I think about it. This woman's ability was to temporarily materialize shadows to attack, wasn't it?'
Recalling it, the ghosts Ichika controlled moved very quickly and freely.
Meaning, there were no restrictions on their movement, whether on the ground or in the air.
What if such a ghost could be temporarily materialized in mid-air?
'...Could I use it as a foothold?'
Ha.
A usage that spontaneously elicited a wry laugh.
If this method was possible, it would tremendously expand the Utopia Party's attack range.
However, it was also clear that it wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.
Because it meant Ichika would have to predict where I would move, considering my speed, and create footholds in advance.
Entrusting my body to her in a situation where we'd never coordinated before?
"This... sounds absolutely insane, but..."
However, my voice, as I said that, was a little excited.
"Let's do it right now."