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“WOOOAAHHHHH!!!????”
I was surprised! Super surprised! I couldn’t help but raise my voice in surprise as I activated my [Hermes Dash] and bounced around through the trees to escape from that place.
There’s no way I could have let my guard down while keeping an eye on the Demon Lord. In fact, I was more alert than when I was facing him, trying not to be discovered, but I still couldn’t notice anything. This suggests that the black miasma sphere can only be detected by sight and nothing else
It is amateurish to say, “If you can see, it must be easy”. It was true that there was a vast amount of information that could be obtained from the sense of sight, but the human eye could only see the front of the image no matter what we did. That’s why we cover most of what we can’t see with what we collectively call “signs,” such as slight sounds and shimmers in the air, to not be caught by that is… I absolutely have to report it.
(2, 3, 5…Is it impossible to face from the front?)
I took out a piece of paper and a pen from the [Stranger Box] and wrote down the characteristics and abilities of the Demon King that I had learned so far, while taking a large detour, giving up on the shortest possible escape. I could write letters while running at high speed thanks to the [Lovely Writer] a banishment skill that allowed me to write beautiful letters in any situation.
Fufuf, When I got it, at first I was like “What the hell is this!” but now you are shining at your best!
“.. Now then.”
I put the paper back in the [Stranger Box] with a brief summary of the necessary information in my handwriting, as if I were a different person, and I once again check my surroundings. There were probably 20 or so floating balls of miasma, but that was only what I could see. I tried using both [Auto-Mapping] and [Akashic Compass] to display them, and found that there were so many of them spread out over such a large area that it was ridiculous to even count them.
“As expected of the [Akashic Compass] you can’t deceive it…Woaah!!!?”
As the red dot approached from behind, I twisted my body on the spot and the miasma ball passed by my side, slipping through the tree trunk that was behind me. Wait a minute, does that mean it’s physically immune?!
“You’re kidding! What kind of cheat is that!”
Due to our extremely poor compatibility, I can’t help but lash out in verbal abuse. Even if I back up against a wall, it’s pointless if I can only confirm with our eyes. I can’t prevent it unless there is at least another person standing with me back-to-back, vigilant of our surroundings from all angles. In fact, even that might not be enough if it can be slipped through the ground.
“Oraaaa!”
I tried cutting a nearby floating miasma with my sword to see if it would work, but again, there was no response. It swayed on the spot as if it was mocking me, and I jumped back to avoid it as it came toward me with a jerk and bounce.
Damn it. This really sucks. As a purely physical swordsman, I have no way to deal with this when my sword doesn’t work. No matter what kind of expert I know, it’s impossible to keep dodging an attacker who doesn’t even let you feel his presence, ignoring walls and other obstacles, without even glancing at you.
“Tch, I’ll leave the match for next time!”
I spat a few words at the main body, which had long since disappeared from sight, and this time I activated [Mirage Shift] and ran away as fast as I could. Don’t say I’m pathetic, but bringing back the information alive was the honor of a scout, and pushing hard against an unfit opponent would make me look like a fool.
Besides, I have a promise to keep with Tia. With the red thread extending from my pinky finger, I plunged into a tree trunk that could no longer be an obstacle ……
“AUGGH!?”
Instantly, my body rolled to the ground with a powerful thud. The [Mirage Shift] had already been released, and my whole body ached as I was hit by the lumpy roots of the tree.
“What….!?”
Frantically I looked up and saw the tree I must have slipped through. Then, a black miasma slipped out of its trunk and moved up and down happily in its place. No way, was it hidden in the trunk? Predicting the route I would take to slip through with [Mirage Shift] it was in a place where I would never see it…..!?”
“Ku…I-it’s not over yet!”
My body was sore from the impact of the fall, and as expected, I was unable to use my banishing skills. But I wasn’t fatally injured. I turned my back to the Demon King and ran as fast as I could. I was hit several times by miasma balls, but it didn’t matter because I had already lost the ability to use my banishing skill.
I can do this! It’s enough to escape—-
“Gururururururururu…”
“Ah, that’s right, you guys were there too.”
From beyond the forest, a swarm of demonic beasts appeared. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, then I readied my sword and charged into the midst of them.
“I was going to let you go… but with such a warm welcome, I can’t just ignore it and not respond!”
Right, left, up, down, I ran through the forest, swinging my sword. But while my enemies were an inexhaustible, death-defying horde, I was alone. Now that I couldn’t even use my banishment skill, the number of small wounds on my body was increasing little by little.
“ORA ORA ORA! It’s not over yet!”
I sliced a leaping grey wolf in half, and moved forward, blood and guts pouring from its head. The goblins clinging to me were kicked off their heads, and the orcs standing in my way were crushed to the knees, unable to move, and then I just walked by their sides. Don’t misunderstand the objective. It is impossible to annihilate them all, so just kill the minimum number of enemies that are approaching and run for my life.
Sweat erupted. Blood flowed. The taste of iron rust flooding my mouth, whose could it possibly be? If it were a vampire, they could power up with this blood, but unfortunately, I was a Demon King, so such a thing was impossible for me.
Keep going, keep going. Keep going. Now that I can’t use my banishment skill, how far is it to the town if I run normally?　Calculations were meaningless. One step forward was one step closer. That fact alone was enough.
Don’t stop your feet. Look ahead. I can do it. I can do it! I’m not done yet…?!
“Shit!?”
The sword, which had dug into the belly of the bulging orc, stopped its movement in mid-air. The sword I was wielding now was not the [Dawnbreaker], the rare and famous sword forged by Master Dalton, but an ordinary steel sword, even though it has been well forged. Although it had accomplished the feat of cutting down hundreds of demonic beasts,…… that was the limit of this sword.
“Ugh,…… Raaaaah!”
Still, when I forced myself to swing the sword, the blade, which had already chipped, was distorted into a snarl. The fact that it didn’t break was good enough, but this was no longer a sword, but only a blunt instrument, a distorted steel rod. Still, I keep going. I beat the swarms of demonic beasts that attacked me at once with the steel rod as I advanced single-mindedly.
Bitten on the arm. My legs torn . The distance I easily covered just a few minutes ago was now incredibly far. But I moved forward. As long as I don’t give up, the end will come. Even if I lose my footing and fall to the ground, I struggle with my arms and grab with my fingers, moving forward even by a millimeter.
“Fufuf….is it over?”
With my consciousness fading, I realized that the demonic beast had moved away from my body. Instead, there was a black miasma in front of my eyes. I’m sure that underneath the miasma was a demon king that looked just like me,……, but at any rate, what I heard was a high-pitched voice like a child’s.
“Can’t run anymore? Is it over? If that’s the case….Can I eat?”
“Hah ……hah ………….”
I wanted to say something back, but all I could do was cough up the blood that was stuck in my throat.
Damn it. Is this the end? No, but I’m the Demon King that even God couldn’t destroy, right? Then, can’t I just be dead? I might be resurrected surprisingly easily, ……, No, no, no! What am I giving up for? I should think of a way to do something!
“Can’t move. Boring….Enough. Well then…”
Come on, this is a life or death crisis! I should awaken some incredible power or something! Like using the Demon King’s power to blow away everything in the surrounding area or reviving with a super muscular steel body that can withstand any attack!
“Itadakimasu!”
In the center of the black miasma, a large, red, gaping mouth appears. It swallowed me head first and my … consciousness fell into darkness.