Shop 146

 Test

Chapter 146. Three Companion And The Hero Squadron

"Raaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Leading the charge was the bipedal heavy tank, the muscular dwarf, Hagg. The massive iron hammer in his hands was turning the surprised green goblins, who cried out at the sudden intrusion, into minced meat one after another. I could only chuckle at how used to this sight I'd already become.

"Too slow!"

Next to rush in was Yaralai, wrapped in the power of the wind spirit. Like a soft baseball shot out of a pitching machine, he instantly created a hole in a goblin’s belly. Kicking the corpse away, he freed his massive estoc, the Black Needle, and began swiftly obliterating the goblins in a variety of ways—crushing, skewering, and annihilating them.

"I won't lose either… Red, fiery flames, burn brightly! Form a cord and strike down my foes!"

From in front of Lalaila, a bright red arrow of flame appeared and shot forward. It looked just like a fiery arrow. Can’t let myself lose to a girl. She focused on supporting Hagg from behind, bombing areas he couldn’t quite cover. Since Hagg was leading the charge, I figured I should...

"Yaralai! I'll cover your back!"

"Leave it to you!"

I wasn’t confident, but I said it. Yaralai trusted me without hesitation. That gave me both a reason to fight and a reason not to lose. That was enough for now.

Yaralai had already shifted his attention forward. A goblin slipped into his blind spot, letting out a joyful cry as it aimed for his back.

"Like I’d let you!"

I closed in on the goblin with all my energy and pierced its forehead with the heel of my palm. The vibration of its bones breaking traveled up my hand. The goblin spun through the air four times, spewing green blood from its nose and eyes, frothing at the mouth before dying.

Before I could even process that, two more goblins slipped into my blind spot. Isn’t Yaralai trusting me a little too much?!

I spun on my right foot and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick, aiming to take them both out at once. The second one barely survived.

"Heh heh… your imagination’s lacking. Picture a swirling spiral."

"Wah!"

Faf, who had been darting around with almost teleport-like speed, recording everyone’s moves on video, was suddenly standing next to me.

"Don’t sneak up on me!"

"Heh heh… just listen. You’re starting to get it. The rare, swirling energy inside you. And this battle will help it grow. Just imagine—a spiral that stretches endlessly, piercing the sky."

"I don’t need to show off for you, but thanks for the advice."

"Heh heh… humility suits you. Look, more are coming."

"Huh?!"

Once again, two goblins tumbled out, nearly in the same spot as before. A spiral, huh? A spring, a spiral staircase, DNA... What does a spiral mean to me? For some reason, memories of my past life flashed before me, like a movie reel.

A life of going in circles. Rocking in crowded trains every day, praying that nothing would happen…

That’s a circle.

No. It’s different.

The movie reel played again, showing my life in this world. Though I drifted, trying to survive, I still found joy in the everyday.

…I see. It grew.

Hagg, Yaralai, Narnia… Cherina.

My life stopped being a circle and became a spiral.

Suddenly, my body relaxed. The unnecessary tension in my shoulders faded.

Oh, it was never that hard after all.

I spun gracefully, launching a backward roundhouse kick. Two green heads flew off into the distance.

Yeah, it’s okay for me to move forward.

Before I knew it, we’d turned a huge number of goblins into a mountain of corpses.

"Hmm… I had planned to kill the bare minimum to get through, but I ended up getting carried away. How’s Lalaila holding up?"

"I… I’m fine. But I’m almost out of magic."

"Hmm. That’s enough. We’re heading into the tunnel now. We’ll go in this order: me, Akira, the girl, and Yaralai."

"Understood."

"Heh heh… I’ll follow behind Akira."

"Do what you want."

"So Yaralai’s taking the rear, huh?"

"Yeah. Elves aren’t suited for underground battles. But he can at least handle the rear guard. In fact, the girl with her fantasy magic is probably more useful here."

"Don’t push her too hard, she’s tired."

"Of course. That’s why you’ll be picking up the slack. You’ve improved a lot in a short time."

"You’ve been watching?"

"It’s a leader’s job to keep track of his team’s condition. The goblins are no longer a threat to you."

"If you say so."

"Exactly. You’ll be handling the enemies from now on."

"Why me? Hagg’s clearly more reliable."

"Fool! My metal armor will make too much noise. I’ll find the enemies, and you’ll take them out silently."

"What am I, an assassin?"

"Don’t worry. Your tornado martial arts are excellent for silent kills."

"That sounds like something out of a refrigerator commercial."

"…?"

"Never mind. I’ll do what I can."

"Good. Let’s go."

And so, we stepped into the dimly lit underground.

"…It’s muggy."

Strange. Just a while ago, we were battling on scorching, dry land, but the moment we stepped into the tunnel, the air became unnaturally humid.

"That’s common underground. Be glad there’s no gas leaking. Faf, your phone’s light is leaking too much. Cover it with your hand so it doesn’t alert the enemy. Shouldn’t be hard for you."

"Heh heh… relax, there’s no enemy right now."

"…hmm."

Hagg gave Faf instructions to dim the LED on his phone, which Faf surprisingly followed without complaint. The exchange went as you’d expect. We ventured deeper, despite the many branching paths. Hagg led the way without any hesitation.

"Hey, Hagg, are you sure we’re going the right way? There were some pretty wide tunnels back there."

"Hmph. The tracks and air tell me where the enemies are… Ah, here we go again. It’s your turn."

"Yeah, yeah."

Faf naturally covered his phone’s light, plunging us into almost complete darkness. Focusing on the wave technique Hagg taught me for dark vision, I imagined spirals swirling around my eyes. Though still unstable, I could vaguely make out the shapes of enemies, like watching an old videotape copied a thousand times.

…Wait, you don’t know what a videotape is? Really?... Well, never mind then.

I saw the shadow of the enemy approaching. I took a deep breath, checking their position before stopping my dark vision. I gathered energy around my body and sprang into action.

"Graaa—"

Before it could scream, my palm strike ended the goblin’s life. I was getting too used to the feeling of a skull breaking under my hand. The rush of emotion I used to feel wasn’t there anymore.

"Hmm. Your technique’s improving."

"I’m not planning to change careers to an assassin."

"Heh heh… You’re too soft for that."

"Shut up."

That makes me sound like a good guy or something. That’s annoying.

"Enough with the chit-chat… Girl, how’s your strength holding up?"

"Yeah, I think I can manage a little more magic."

"Good. But for now, save your strength."

"Got it."

"…Hmm. Is she really that guy’s daughter?"

"She’s capable."

"…Yaralai, I don’t think they’re just praising Lalaila."

Maintaining a healthy level of tension, we continued through the tunnel, albeit somewhat clumsily.