Chapter 170
If Soma had been there, he would have called it the devil. Of course, that wasn't the original meaning of the word, but it was something Soma knew about… Either way, there was no difference since Steina didn't know it.
However, it was still enough to see how dangerous it was. When she thought about leaving that spot, the sound of smacking lips was heard because she caught a small figure at the edge of the field of vision.
While the little girl was always in the corner of Steina's head, the reason why she hadn't confirmed about the girl so far was that she couldn't afford it. It might have seemed overwhelming, but there was no difference.
Steina was able to fight because the distance between her and the opponent. But, if the distance became larger, the outcome would have been the opposite. Although she could use magic, she was only good at buffing herself. If it was a long-distance attack, there would have been no change of winning.
Apparently, if the state of the girl was asked again, she seemed to have fainted. The girl didn't seem to be moving. Steina actually had expected that, but that was only one of the reasons why she smacked her lips.
The distance to her was a bit away from Steina, probably because the man threw her away. But from her point of view, that would be the only error. If that was the case, the girl should be eaten and killed instantly just like that man.
And that was also no exception for Steina. Still, if Steina ran away from this place right now, she might be able to run away, but… it would be hopeless for the girl. If the girl was awake, she might have had the chance to escape and hide, but in this situation, there was no chance at all.
Therefore, if Steina wanted to rescue the girl, she could only do one thing. However, that was…
"Ugh…!?" (Steina)
After looking around the room, the monster turned its eyes toward the small figure rolling at the end of the place.
The monster should have noticed Steina midway, but it didn't. It was as if it thought that it could deal with Steina later.
Nevertheless, that consideration was right on the spot, and it was obvious what the monster what was the monster was focusing now. It was also easy to imagine what kind of spectacle would be in a few seconds.
Thus…
"You… I'm going to bother you a bit…!" (Steina)
There was a moment of hesitation. When Steina noticed, she had already kicked the ground and headed toward the girl semi-reflexively.
She tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the body with left hand, and headed toward the pa.s.sageway to the inner area…
— Divine Protection of Demon King (Fake) – Presence Detection Intermediate Rank: Seeing Through Surprise Attack
"…!" (Monster)
— Advanced Rank Spearmans.h.i.+p – Advanced Rank Body Techniques – Advanced Rank Magic – Divine Protection of the Demon King (Fake) – Pain Blocking: Lightning Flash.
At the moment when she rolled over, she swung the spear on the right hand. Half of the reason was the intuition, and the other half was the instinct. In order to counter the impending death, she swung the arm toward a certain direction where she felt an incoming of a certain shape.
What appeared in the sight of that that time was something that had a jet black color similar to that monster. An impact run through her body before she could even recognize what was it. It was almost happen at the same time that Steina's body was blown away and the understanding that it was meaningless to resist the monster.
She was knocked straight to the wall.
"Guhaa…!" (Steina)
She tried to protect the little girl she held with her left hand, but because of that, she didn't have time to take a defensive posture. The impact of being struck was received, and a reddish liquid was vomited from the mouth.
Immediately after, there was severe pain throughout the body, but it wasn't so much that she lost consciousness. Steina didn't know whether the opponent's blow wasn't that much, or was it because she was able to mitigate it somehow by a single blow. However, it was far from a fatal wound. Although the monster and Steina was separated by the pa.s.sageway to the interior, it was also convenient in a sense.
She was in a situation where she didn't need to turn around to run away from there. Rather, it would only get worse if the monster followed her. She thought that she could get outside from there, but she didn't know the way. She would more likely to be killed while looking from it.
But
If she was going to be chased by that thing, she would get out of this place, and that certainly would happen sooner or later. In that case, there was no big difference.
Of course, bringing the monster outside would bring considerable confusion to the town. There was no way chaos wouldn't happen if a monster appeared in a town with a wall to prevent monsters.
That said, she shouldn't worry too much about it. Since Steina couldn't defeat this monster, there were only two people in the town who could do that. Whoever the person was, the quickest way to let them know them know was to cause a stir in the town.
Or rather, she didn't know what was the present situation of the town was.
"…I can't close my eyes if damages occur along the way, right?" (Steina)
Although she knew from the start, she could understand the difference between her and the monster's capabilities in a moment. Rather than suppress it, Steina couldn't hold it for even ten seconds. It would be better to run away and raised the attention of the surroundings.
Speaking of the damages that occurred along the way was just something that she thought. Indeed, what that man said earlier was correct. After all, the man and Steina was similar in a way. Rather than becoming benevolence, everything was already too late.
But, still…
"…I can't give up one or two matters here." (Steina)
She didn't care where the girl was a living weapon or something. Even though it was a coincidence, Steina helped her once. Then, she had a reason to help the girl until the end.
It would be a lie if she said that she wasn't benevolent.
"If it's only you, I can save you…!" (Steina)
It was just self-satisfaction. It wasn't atonement. The act of doing something was just an excuse for her.
However, since she knew it, she never hesitated. While ignoring the aching body, she loaded strength into the left arm. She looked at the figure at the end of the eyesight, and the outside…
"…Pa…pa." (Little Girl)
"…!?" (Steina)
She heard a small whisper from the arm the moment she tried to move out.
It was probably sleep talking. Even when Steina looked at the girl's eyes for a moment, there was no sign of regaining consciousness.
However, Steina surely heard it. At the same time, she noticed something.
Or perhaps, she was averting her eyes from the matter. Yes, she hadn't seen the inn's owner.
Why the owner hadn't showed up in this situation? There was no way he went out or slept.
In the first place, the kidnapper was about to get out of the inn. In that case, it was normal to think that the same situation happened when the kidnapper entered the inn, and… who was the one who entertained at that time.
If the owner was killed, it would be better in order to decide the next course of action. It was because if that was true, Steina couldn't help with it. Therefore, it wouldn't be a problem if she left this place.
But, if the owner was still alive, that monster might beat him, or… more directly, killed him. At that time… could it be said that she really rescued his daughter.
In any case, there was no way to confirm whether the owner was still alive or not. Steina had no choice but to decide and act.
…If that was true, she wouldn't have time to worry about it. If there was an attack, there would have been no choice but to run away.
That said, the monster was only looking at her, so she didn't run away. It was as if the monster was trying to grasp the situation, and it seemed to be waiting for which action to choose.
Or perhaps, the monster was just wary of the surroundings. When Steina thought about it, it seemed to be the case.
"Goodness… what a bad monster." (Steina)
If that was the case, it would be a total lost if she ran away as it was. At that moment, Steina decided what to do.
It was probably just an excuse…
"Aah… I don't care anymore!" (Steina)
— Advanced Rank Magic – Advanced Rank Spearmans.h.i.+p – Advanced Rank Body Techniques – Divine Protection of the Demon King (Fake) – Pain Blocking: Raging Lighting Flash
At the same time as she shouted, she whipped her aching body and swung her right arm down.
Obviously, it wasn't a distance that could be reached by the spear, but lightning was generated along the trajectory as if to fill between them. Steina wasn't good at long-distance attack, but she could at least do this much.
She swung her left arm further without seeing the lightning slammed onto the monster. Yes, the arm that held the girl.
— Advanced Rank Magic – Diving Protection of the Demon King (Fake): Body Strengthening Magic.
She swung her arm down, and threw the girl away.
She turned her gaze for a moment, and after she confirmed the destination of the little girl was definitely outside the inn, she immediately run back to the interior. She threw it without hesitation, but since she had casted as much reinforcement magic as possible, the girl shouldn't die.
It was a pretty brute-forced way, but unfortunately, Steina didn't have the ability to do everything in a gentle way. Nevertheless, if she wanted to do something in this situation, she had to do it forcibly.
However… Whether it worked or not was another matter.
"…" (Monster)
This time, she didn't have time to react. When Steina noticed it, her body floated in the air and she was blown away with tremendous momentum.
She noticed that she was attacked as the pain came late. It was almost at the same time that she crashed into the wall.
"Ugh, aargh…!" (Steina)
This time, even though a wall was a wall, it was the pa.s.sageway wall, but…somehow, this situation had become some kind of consolation.
…Well. There was only a single consolation there. That was because a familiar person collapsed there.
It was the owner of the inn.
"…I see… somehow… you… are… still… alive…" (Steina)
The chest was heaving up and down. That was for sure. It was just that… there was blood flow endlessly from the chest, so it might be the correct saying that the owner was still alive.
Still, there was no difference in being alive. It was absurd, but it was worth feeling painful by being reckless.
If they could escape from here after this, everything would be solved, but…
"…Well, I am… fine… I… can do it… right?" (Steina)
There was a clear sign from the back which was shouting of pain from the whole aching body. A cold thing ran along the spine, and mixed with what was flowing out.
Steina knew it well. She never given it directly to someone before, but she was certain that she had given it to someone indirectly.
It was… death.
"…It's… karma… retribution… isn't it?" (Steina)
She felt it a few days ago, but in the end, it didn't come at all.
However, in the future, the death wasn't running away and catching up with her, probably. That didn't make sense.
If possible, the little girl… or the person… or even the bugs… it would be fine. If either of them could grant her wish, it would be good enough. Even if didn't come true… there was a reason for that in this world. Steina was sure that was wrong.
Yes, even so…
"…As I expected… at least… I think… this is… some kind… of salvation…" (Steina)
"…Hmm, I don't think so?" (S???)
"…Eh?" (Steina)
The end of her path should have already been confirmed. She should give up turning her gaze, but still… she turned toward the voice.
What she should reply was the jet black monster was still there. But at the next moment, a straight line ran in the center of its body.
Immediately after that, the monster was divided to the left and right around the center. A boy with a jet-black hair and eyes was on the other side, and he let out a breath of relief.