Instant Death - Volume 5 - Chapter 10

Episode 10 Who deserves a service scene like this, that I don’t?

This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing.

“Oh … maybe I shouldn’t have run away, so I’m afraid … Then, by this time, there might have been something like a hot spring! Or something like that! “

A room at an inn in the port town.

Hanakawa was crouched in the corner of the room, grumbling.

“Pig-kun, aren’t you too loud?”

Akinobu Marufuji came in and said in a dumbfounded tone. I think it’s because Hanakawa never learns no matter how many times I hurt him.

“Yes, I’m sorry, that I am!”

“I’m going to have a strategy meeting, you should come too.”

“What? I’m a pig, may I participate?”

“I’m not sure what it is, but even though I’m humble, I feel like I’m being mocked. …… Oh well. It’s a good idea to take a look at the website and see if you can find anything you like. I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that.”

“Oh, that’s how it is, that it is? Then I’ll take your word for it.”

In the end, Hanakawa had returned to his “go-zaru” tone.

The party members also did not say anything more, as if it had become too much trouble to blame me every time.

Following Akinobu, Hanakawa took his place at the table.

There were five of us at the table: Shigeto, Akinobu, Rei, Laguna, and Hanakawa.

“We’ve finally made it to the eastern country of Ento, what should we do?”

Laguna, the leader, asks. Ragna, the leader of the group, had no particular reason to do anything. He was just being carried along by Akinobu and the others.

Well, you can’t go wrong if you leave it to my oracle.”

The prophet (oracle master) placed a book on the table.

“It’s a strategy book. It’s a strategy book, right? It looks like a strategy book.”

“Well, yes, it’s a strategy book for this world.”

“But what is it about? I don’t know what Marufuji-dono and his friends are up to, that I don’t. ……”

“I’m sure you’re not the only one. I’m sure you know that the evil Sages are doing whatever they want in this world, right, Ragna-kun?”

“Really? I heard that the Sages are protecting this world.”

“That’s right, Ragna, you have to defeat the evil Sages and save the world.”

The girl next to Laguna, Rei Kujima, hugged him and pressed her breast against his chest.

“Okay, I get it. If we defeat the Sages, the world will be at peace, right!

–Yes. It’s so obvious that he’s being manipulated by her!

Rei’s class is Women of Destiny. She had the gift of cajoling men.

“But I don’t think we should leave the Sages alone. Marufuji-dono and the others have extraordinary powers, don’t they? Wouldn’t they be able to do as they please?”

“That’s not how it works.”

Then Shigeto pushed the strategy book to Hanakawa. He wanted him to read it.

“To defeat the Sage, we need the World Sword Omega Blade!　The most important goal in the Ents is to get the World Sword, but there’s a Sage named Yoshifumi here! If you encounter him before you get the sword, you’ll inevitably get wiped out! But Yoshifumi is an emperor, which is unusual for a sage, so his whereabouts are limited. You can avoid him if you’re careful!”

“Aha!　World Sword Omega Blade!”

“That’s not the point.”

“One piece of advice: don’t get too strong or you’ll be identified as a stray sage and the assassins will come for you!. You’ll never be able to beat the Sages, so don’t try to stand out!”

Hanakawa thought back to Aoi the Sage.

“A stray sage is someone who has the power of a sage but does not want to become one, and Aoi was in charge of hunting down such stray sages. But it’s a book with a lot of surprise marks.”

Hanakawa was paying attention to an unimportant part.

“That’s why. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the capital and get the materials for the Omega Blade.”

Akinobu tapped Hanakawa on the shoulder.

“Heh? Why, that I don’t know.”

“You have an important role to play.”

I’m sure you’ll be able to understand.

　　＊＊＊＊＊

“Who would benefit from a service scene like this?”

Hanakawa was naked.

To be precise, He’s only wearing pants, but that doesn’t give me any comfort.

Hanakawa walked reluctantly to the fort at the top of the mountain, raising the white flag as best he could.

“You will go in front, alone and unarmed.”

It was the prophet Shigeto Mitadera who said so.

Apparently, that was the condition for the bloodless siege, and the bloodless siege event was one of the conditions for obtaining Omega Blade materials.

So Hanakawa was alone.

The party members were waiting some distance away from the fort.

“Uh … why do I have to do this … anyone can do it, I guess it makes sense because the brave man who is armed with chow is doing it! Especially when I’m naked! I’m not going to lose any strength if I’m naked.”

Hanakawa continued on his way even though he was complaining.

It seemed that the reason Shigeto had made Hanakawa one of their own was to use him in situations like this. He seemed to be in a somewhat relaxed mood, but it was not as if he was.

The fort Hanakawa was heading for was known to be impregnable.

That was probably true. The fort was located on the top of a mountain, and the whole area around it was in full view.

Naturally, they were already aware of the suspicious-looking guy approaching naked with a white flag fluttering in the air, and they should have been on their guard.

“Well, but you know what? Since we know it’s a bloodless event, we won’t be attacked, right?　If you think about it that way, it could be considered a delicious event. Depending on how you look at it, you can say that you can take down the fort with a single horseman, that you can! So, as a result, don’t you think that I am the hero?”

While Hanakawa was climbing up the mountain with a baseless fantasy, he saw a figure on top of a tower that looked like a watchtower of a fort.

It was a girl dressed in a maid’s uniform, with a large bow in her hand.

The girl drew an arrow from her quiver. The arrow was just as huge as the bow. The target could not have been anyone other than Hanakawa. At any rate, there was no one else here but Hanakawa.

“Well? It’s bloodless ……, isn’t it? Isn’t it intimidating? Well, yes, that it is. When someone who looks like an enemy approaches, you should be alert for the time being. And then they notice that I am not only unarmed but also unclothed, and they are impressed by my boldness, and the gate is opened.”

The tip of the arrow was glowing.

The tip of the arrow was glowing.

Obviously, he wasn’t just going to shoot arrows. Realizing this, Hanakawa flew diagonally forward.

Because stopping and retreating is forbidden, and if you break that prohibition, you will be killed.

“Oof!”

The arrow passed right by him and Hanakawa staggered. Although the arrows didn’t hit the target directly, the wind storm that surrounded him disturbed the surroundings.

“Tomattana?” T/N: 『トマッタナ？』Don’t really know what that means

It was the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing. You can find a lot of people who are interested in this kind of thing.

“And it didn’t stop! It’s just my imagination!”

Then, with a roar from behind, Hanakawa was blown forward. The arrow gouged the earth and exploded.

Hanakawa’s face hit the ground with a loud thud, but he hurriedly got up and moved forward.

“Tsk!”

The mysterious voice sounded frustrated, so apparently the rules had been followed.

“What is this about a bloodless siege? At least my blood will flow!”

Then Hanakawa looked.

And then Hanakawa saw that next to the maid who had shot the arrow, another maid had appeared.

“Let’s see, …….”

Despite his confusion, Hanakawa did not stop walking. He couldn’t stop.

And the maid girls increased in number as they watched.

They appeared everywhere in the fort, and they were so large that they could be called an army of maids.

“I see, I see. I’ve only heard of a fort occupied by bandits, but it seems to be a band of maid bandits?　I don’t know.　I’m not sure if it’s possible to have a bloodless siege against bandits in the first place, that it is?”

Hanakawa was still wondering about the basic premise, but it didn’t matter as a scene began to unfold in front of him.

The maids all shot their arrows at once.

As before, the tips of the arrows were shining. It was a sight worth seeing, but there was no room for carefree enjoyment.

“…… Incidentally, I’ve been told that if I stop or back away, I’ll die, that I will, but what exactly will happen, I don’t know?

“I will explode in your ear.

“You’ll die, too!”

You’ll die too! There’s nothing wrong with that.”

The creators, Akinobu Marufuji, created a creature that seemed to have no fear of death.

Unable to stop in the face of thousands of arrows, Hanakawa walked as slowly as he could.

He wondered if there was anything he could do to help, and appraised the maids.

Battle (battle) maids.

The average level is about 200. In addition to their basic maid skills, they are all-rounders with a variety of martial arts, weaponry and magic.

“I don’t think we can win against one of them! I’ve been collecting items for a long time and they’ve taken something …… that I’ve been collecting for a long time and they’ve taken it all!”

Hanakawa has the Item Box skill, which allows him to store a large number of items. However, the contents of the box have all been stolen by Shigeto.

“No, you must calm down. There may be something you can do. There is no way that you can avoid or withstand all the arrows that are raining down on you ……!”

Hanakawa’s level is 99, but since he does not have a close combat job, his physical abilities are not that great.

The only thing he’s good at is healing, but if I take that arrow seriously, there won’t be a trace of it left. He could recover from any serious wound as long as he was still alive, but there was nothing he could do if he died instantly.

He thought about attacking from here, but Hanakawa did not have any good means of attack.

There was a spell bullet that he could use, but it was only as powerful as a pistol in both power and range.

There was no way he could reach them from here, and they wouldn’t work on a high level warrior.

Hanakawa’s ability is specialized in recovery.

“Huh?　Isn’t it possible that I’m really stuck?”

If he ran away, my head would explode, and if he kept going, arrows of unusual power would rain down on me.

“It’s over.”

“This is not the time for you to be talking! We’re on the same side!”

Something in my ear has no fear of death, I guess. It was as if he was talking to someone else.

“I’ve spent my whole life just wanting to be a playboy but I felt like I couldn’t do it with my mob-like visuals.”

“…… Oh, before… What did you say…”

“I don’t want to be drawn to a mysterious creature!

“I’ve been possessed by a little stranger, that I do not understand.

“If I’m going to have an ego, I’d like it to have a better start.”

“What’s stopping you?

“What does it matter now, that it does! If I’m going to die anyway, either way—”

While I was spending my time on such an unimportant conversation, the arrows were already shot.

They filled the sky and were literally about to rain down on them.

There was nowhere to run now, and the worst fate was just around the corner.

“Look, look, this is it. It’s the famous three choices. I’m a handsome guy, but I don’t get an idea for a counterattack …… at all, so reality is ruthless!”

Hanakawa stopped and closed his eyes.

Will several arrows pierce his entire body and leave holes all over, or will a single blow obliterate his entire body? Or will his head explode before the arrows kill him?

With his eyes closed, Hanakawa waited for the final moment. But…

The moment did not arrive for any length of time.

“I’m not sure if you’re already dead or not, and  you just don’t realize it, …….”

I glanced up at him.

I saw the back of a boy in front of me.

A companion of Shigeto, a boy called Laguna, was standing there defending Hanakawa.

“Ohh!　Is that it!　That’s the one where your friends come and help you, that it is!　I had ruled that out as an option because I thought it was impossible!”

“I can’t leave you any longer.”

Laguna swung his sword lightly.

With just that, the rain of arrows that seemed to cover the heavens disappeared.

The maids were firing arrows one after another, but Laguna’s sword easily blocked them.

Relieved, Hanakawa realized that he hadn’t died even though he had been standing still for a long time now.

“Well, what the hell is this …… I was told if we stop or back away, we’ll die. ……”

“They said it wouldn’t explode near us, right? Laguna said while protecting Hanakawa.

“Oh, you were even expecting me to get desperate and come at you! You are very well prepared”

Hanakawa hadn’t thought of that at all.

“But isn’t it impossible to capture the castle bloodless?”

“Yes. I heard that the probability of success is always less than a decimal point.

“I’m sure it close to a zero chance of success.

I guess the prophecies of Shigeto don’t lie. But it seemed as if they could not be trusted.

“It’s a good thing that Ragna-dono is protecting us, but what’s wrong with that? We can’t go on like this forever.”

“That’s true. But I don’t feel comfortable attacking someone who’s just attacking someone suspicious from here.”

“I’m sure I’m suspicious enough to be attacked.”

“Well, you’re a suspicious person approaching naked”

Even the naive boy was suspicious of Hanakawa.

I’m sure you’re right!

As soon as Hanakawa said that, something strange began to happen to the fort.

The fort began to shake.

The shaking became louder and louder, and the maids could not stand still. Some of them seemed to be shaken off.

This is …… what the heck ……?

Hanakawa was taken aback. The maids are no longer attacking, and Laguna has also put down his sword for the moment.

And then the fort rose up at once.

“Huh?”

It grew legs.

A huge, pulsating mass of flesh sprouted from the bottom of the fort, supporting its weight.

The fort itself looked somewhat biological, with what appeared to be blood vessels lining the surface.

I wonder if this is the power of the Creator. It’s amazing.”

“It’s too absurd to be true. ……

If it has this kind of power, Hanakawa thought, there is no need to follow the strategy and digest the events.