Chapter 215: The Demon's Awakening

The Demon’s Awakening

* * *

“GUOOOOOHHHH!!!”

The golden bear shouts.

Wrapped around its body is lightning, crackling as it runs across its fur.

Impatience seeps into Extra-sama’s voice echoing in my mind.

“…”

I silently fire 【Infinite Pebbles】.

But it’s futile.

The pebbles I shot burst on the golden bear’s body with a satisfying “Papapapan!” sound.

No damage.

The golden bear received my pebbles on its forehead, shook its head as if annoyed, and then… opened its mouth wide towards me.

Crackling sounds echo as lightning gathers in its mouth, forming a white ball of lightning…!

“Ooh! Guooooohhhh!!!”

“!!”

And from the golden bear’s mouth… lightning was fired at me!

Thanks to Extra-sama’s warning that barely preceded it for a moment!

I managed to dodge it by jumping to the side at the last second!

Bzzt!!

The lightning released by the golden bear is not a fake for show.

In an instant, it pierced the ground where I had been standing and turned it pitch black.

I think its power is incomparable to the electric current it had wrapped around its body that made me faint earlier.

If it hits directly, I won’t get off easy!

“Guoh! Guoh! GUOOH!!”

“…Yah! Hah! Toh!”

The golden bear fires such high-power lightning consecutively!

I have to keep moving or I’ll get hit.

I avoid by diving forward headfirst.

Then I put my hands down and somersault with the strength of my arms.

There’s no time to rest!

But don’t underestimate me!

I run zigzag around the golden bear to avoid the lightning, then change direction!

Using 【Grasshopper】, I instantly slip into the golden bear’s bosom!

Since punching will numb me, this time I use 【Great Mantis】 instead of 【Magic Strike】!

I form a blade of magic power in my right hand and slash with it!

…But it’s shallow!!

It still takes time to extend the blade of 【Great Mantis】 long.

The magic power blade I can form while fighting is not that long.

My 【Great Mantis】 certainly slashed the bear’s body, but the result was only slightly injuring its thick fur and skin.

“Guooh!”

The irritated golden bear barks shortly and punches me mercilessly!

“Ugh!!?”

This punch is different from the previous attacks.

Lightning power is added to the already high-powered blow!

I lose consciousness again for a moment and get blown away.

“Gaha…”

And when I wake up again, I had been slammed into the base’s defensive wall, sunk into it, and unable to move.

There are spider web-like cracks centered around me in the defensive wall.

This time, I couldn’t kill the momentum with magic power conversion.

Because I was unconscious.

“Gu… ah…”

I somehow move only my neck and glare at the golden bear.

The golden bear opened its mouth wide towards me who can’t move.

A white ball of lightning, incomparably larger than before, is forming.

And it.

The next moment.

Without any mercy.

Without any compassion.

Was fired at me.

* * *

“GUOOOOOHHHH!!!”

The golden bear looked up at the clear autumn sky and roared.

It’s a victory cry.

Tears overflow from its eyes and don’t stop.

Finally, it was able to defeat it.

The black demon.

The enemy of its mother!

Thud.

The demon that had been embedded in the wall of the human nest fell to the ground powerlessly.

Still, it makes only a small sound.

The demon’s body is too small and light.

The golden bear’s sure-kill 【White Lightning】, devised to defeat this demon.

The one that received it head-on is now pitch black.

“Ugh…”

“Guo!?”

But… the demon was alive.

Groaning, it slowly raises its body and stands up.

From its body, in addition to the burnt smell, black haze begins to gush out.

“Guooh…!”

The golden bear once again realizes that this demon is an abnormal creature.

His 【White Lightning】, which he mastered by continuing to stand imposingly on the mountain top in the midst of a storm and being struck by lightning, is no ordinary power.

No matter how much of a demon it is, he thought that if it received this, it would undoubtedly lead to death.

But that was not the case.

The demon was still alive.

Truly a fearsome creature.

But.

But!

Buuut!!

It’s just alive, that’s all!

Look at the tattered state of that demon!

It must have already reached its limit… its body is trembling, and it looks like it can barely stand.

The golden bear slowly approached the demon to crush its small body and finish it off, shaking the ground with thud, thud.

Approaching and confronting it at close range, how small the demon’s body is.

From his perspective, it’s as small as an insect.

And despite being in a state of near death, how feeble it looks, still putting up its fists…

And yet, how ridiculous the murderous intent burning in its eyes is…!

The golden bear, to such a demon.

Raised its right arm.

Tried to slam it down with force…

And stopped.

It quietly lowered its arm.

Why?

Did compassion well up?

Did friendship sprout through the fierce battle?

No way.

This demon is the enemy of its mother.

The enemy of the noble lord of the mountain whom he still reveres.

There’s no way he can forgive it.

This demon must die.

He thought.

This demon must be made to suffer as much as possible before being killed.

It must be shown its precious things being messed up, given despair that makes its heart die, and then killed!

It must be made to feel the same way he did, and then killed!!

The golden bear averted its gaze from the dying demon and turned its eyes to the human nest she had desperately protected.

And towards there… it started running!

* * *

Shaking the earth, the golden bear approaches me.

It probably intends to finish me off.

Wrapped in crackling lightning, it raises its thick foreleg high.

I, on the other hand, am in a state of near death.

Even though I want to smash its head right now.

Even though I want to break its neck right now.

My body won’t move.

I can barely stand.

But in front of me, weakened to such an extent, the golden bear… quietly lowered its raised foreleg to the ground.

…I didn’t understand the meaning.

It won’t kill me here.

I don’t understand the meaning of that.

Unintentionally, I look up at the golden bear’s face and peer into its eyes.

What was there was the color of ridicule.

Until now, the golden bear’s eyes were burning with anger and hatred towards me.

But now it’s different.

The golden bear stared down at me intently…

And sneered.

No doubt, right now, this guy!

Ridiculed and sneered at me!!

After that, the golden bear takes its eyes off me.

I’m no longer a threat or anything.

Eloquently expressing that with its attitude, thud, thud.

It begins to proceed somewhere.

Its destination is the hole in the base’s defensive wall.

Inside… the base…

Towards the inside of the base.

The golden bear… started running!!

…Huh?

Not understanding what’s happening, I unintentionally open my mouth and become dumbfounded.

The one who calmly understood the situation here was not me, but Extra-sama.

Hearing such speculation from Extra-sama echoing in my dazed mind… sweat pours out.

Huh!!?

Attacking the base!?

No, no, no!!

Stop it!

Don’t mess around, stop it!

Stop! Stop! Stop!

Your target is me, right!?

Why are you turning your aim there!?

Stop it!

STOOOOP!!!

I scream in my head.

But my exhausted self can’t even put those words into my mouth!

I can’t even turn my thoughts into voice!!

That’s how weakened I am now.

I move unsteadily, take one step, two steps forward, and reach out my arms in vain while trembling.

That’s all I can do.

I still have magic power.

But my body won’t move…!

Ah, ah, ah…!

Only my feelings are impatient.

The pitch-black magic power gushing out of my body rapidly increases in volume and swirls!

My sense of time flow slows down.

The golden bear’s gait as it runs towards the inside of the base looks terribly slow.

But I can’t do anything.

My body won’t move.

Time is just being extended meaninglessly.

All I’m allowed to do is lament my own powerlessness.

I can’t protect what I want to protect.

The first thing that wells up in my heart, which is like that, is a sense of powerlessness.

A sense of powerlessness is a knife.

Even though it’s born from my heart, it stabs and gouges my heart messily.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!

Decently, alcohol smell, dirty, muscle!

Perverted old geezer!!

Old man!!!

Everyone is in that base!!

Don’t take everyone away from me!!

Don’t hurt my comrades!!

…Don’t mess with me!!

And the next thing that wells up after the sense of powerlessness is anger.

Don’t mess with me…!

No! Stop messing with me!!

Bear, stop!!

Stop, stop!!

…Stoooop!!

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

And… the last thing that remained was murderous intent.

Thoughts accelerate in contrast to the slowing time.

What’s repeated in those thoughts is not the consideration of the enemy’s weaknesses or the formulation of a strategy.

It was the continuous generation of murderous intent.

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

I’LL KILL YOUUU!!

Why can’t I kill that thing!!

Why won’t my body move!!

Aah!

Aaah!

AaaaaAAAaaahhh!!!

I WANT IIIT!!

Even if my body can’t move!!

I want arms to catch that thing!!

I want fists to punch that thing!!

I want power to kill that thing!!

…I WANT IIIT!!!

* * *

Emi’s pitch-black soul, where a rusty red color occasionally surfaces and disappears.

Emi’s soul, which almost any decent being would feel disgusted by.

That soul was trembling.

As if it were an egg about to hatch.

Gan, gan.

What’s swirling inside the soul is rampaging, trying to get out, hitting the shell of the soul.

The maddening murderous intent, generated and accumulated, is rampaging, seeking to be unleashed.

Its pressure rises relentlessly.

And finally.

Crack.

A hole opened.

And from that hole, the murderous intent swirling and flowing out!

The pitch-black magic power!!

Overwhelmingly dense compared to what had been leaking out of the soul until now!

It erupts into the outside world with tremendous force!

The owner of that soul… Emi!

Began to form the shape she desired most!!

* * *

At that moment, what the golden bear felt was, in short, a chill.

An indescribably eerie presence.

It had swelled rapidly behind him.

He unintentionally stops his feet that were running to trample the human nest.

And he tried to turn around.

But he couldn’t.

Because he was suddenly grabbed by his two hind legs with tremendous force by something and lifted into the air!!

And then his huge body was swung around in a trajectory like a semicircle… and slammed into the ground with all its might!!

“GUOOOOOHHHH!!?”

The golden bear screams from the immense impact and pain!

And the delayed question arises!

What just happened!?

What was done to me now!!?

He hurriedly rolls over, raises his face, and glares at the enemy.

Standing there was, as expected, that demon.

The small, weakened, dying demon.

However, upon seeing the demon’s appearance, the golden bear’s eyes widened in surprise!

Near death, barely standing.

That state hasn’t changed.

But there’s a big difference from earlier.

It’s the pitch-black, large “arms.”

From the demon’s shoulders, “arms” different from the ones she originally had were growing.

Those “arms,” while about the thickness of a normal human arm at the connection to the shoulders, become thicker and larger as they go further.

There seem to be parts that look like elbows, and they appear to be roughly modeled after the human body, but they have a rocky, rugged texture and even seem to have thorns growing in places.

At the tips, there are also five fingers like humans, but the tips of those fingers are too sharp and look hard.

And the palms are large enough to easily crush the golden bear’s head.

Such two new pitch-black arms with a murderous shape, seemingly unaffected by gravity, float in front of the demon, occasionally showing a rusty red color on their surface.

Something truly deserving of the description “monstrosity” was standing there.