๐๐ถ๐บ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ล
I woke up from a very peaceful sleep. There was no one in my room so assumed they left already.
The jacket that I placed on Alice was folded neatly on the table and the blanket was in the small cabinet. The state of my room was pretty much the same before they invaded it.
Wearing my jacket, I didn't close it this time and let my black polo shirt show.
'I really need better clothes other than this.'
I thought remembering the time when Astoria explained to me why I was being looked at weirdly. The summary of it was that I was weird because I didn't wear any sort of armor, light or heavy.
'I've been neglecting it since I haven't thought about it plus I learned to bear their gazes...but it does get annoying when these are the only clothes that I actually like wearing.'
The clothes I have when waiting for these clothes to dry feels weird and uncomfortable and the clothes that somewhat make me look like a ninja are mostly for night exploration.
As I left the room, the color on my eyes became less blank and I headed downstairs, I then saw Astoria eagerly waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. "Yo, let's go to the adventurers guild, we got new instructions!"
'We?' Nodding to her, I respond.
"Later, food first" I responded dryly as I head to an empty table next to Freya and Alice. As I wait for my food, I turn to Freya.
"What does she mean by new instructions?"
"Oh, uhh when we went to the adventurer guild....she may have registered our party to join that quest," Freya said putting both palms together as if apologizing.
"It's fine," I responded betraying no emotion.
'I don't really care that much as long as I can be of use.' I thought to myself, as long as I can be of help in this party, I could at least earn my place here and not get kicked out for leeching off them.
We left for the adventurers guild. The inside was packed with adventurers waiting for the guild receptionist. Not even a minute, A human woman goes in front of the crowd and speaks.
She speaks about the abyss and what we were going to do. The plan was that abyss was constantly going to assault us so we were split into groups who will do small skirmishes throughout the day to slow them down while Kliyer's military will kill them with their new weapons.
Upon hearing about this new weapon, one of the adventurers ask whether our weapons will actually do damage to them.
The receptionist immediately said yes to his question before continuing her explanation.
When the abyss is weak enough, the adventurers and soldiers will go on an all-out assault in hopes of finishing them off.
That was the summary of what I heard.
At a moment's notice, we all headed to the site after splitting into groups.
*****
As we were going in site I look at the group where my party was. There were about 60 or so adventurers around me.
Many had armor in poor condition or just in lower quality with a few adventurers with great ones which I assume are higher ranking adventurers.
We soon arrive at the site. It was far away from the base where most soldiers and artificials were.
"Alright, everyone's attention here please!" A rough-looking man with 3 people behind him speaks loudly. "I am a gold rank adventurer so I will be taking the role of leader in this quest, will that be alright?" He questioned everyone. No one speaks their objection and he continues to speak again.
It seems he's very well known, Of course, I had no idea who he was or his party.
"Alright then, as miss receptionist said, our job will be doing small skirmishes with the artificials to protect the soldiers and their weapons to repel them. I already asked them how long this will take and they said it will take a week at most." The adventurers sound surprised by this information.
I dreaded the fact that I have to spend that long fighting which of course I didn't show. After that man explain that our group should buy food in Kliyer when we're not fighting, he started explaining a lot of things.
He started by positioning half the healers in this temporary camp and the other half into each group of adventurers. I stopped listening when he starts to explain why this was a good tactic.
The man stops talking and at that moment a soldier comes to our camp informing us of the start of the battle. Since I was in the group going first, we headed to the site.
*****
Our group didn't speak to each other only telling us to watch each other back before we arrive. A tired-looking commander positioned us behind the artificials which had swords and spears. The soldiers which had those new weapons just for these were far behind us and the healers between us.
My heart starts to rise as I wait for it the start of the battle. Looking around everyone but me was calm almost confident.
As the abyss slowly approaches us, I look back and see Likru going next to the tired-looking commander. He looked miserable yet his eyes did not waver. Likru breathes out and breathes in and then he screams at the top of his lungs.
"HINUUUUU!!!!!!!" He screams loudly. At a moment's notice, something responds.
"LIiKKkKkRuUu!!!" From a far distance ahead, I saw a figure with its body covered by the abyss but not completely. Just like with the phoenix, it hasn't completely dominated its body, half of his face which hadn't been covered by the abyss yet was covered in dried-up blood with bloodshot eyes.
It points a finger in his direction and the abyss stops absorbing the land around it instead they move in an arrow-like shape which was approaching slowly. Then creatures native to this area appear like birds, boars, and even a demonic creature known as a Pertmul. It has an appearance of a snake with small retractable spikes in its arms which it can use to sting an opponent. Every time it is retracted inside its body, the tips of the spikes become imbued with a strong paralysis substance.
Its colors vary based on their environment which makes them more dangerous since they are very great at camouflaging. The only common thing about them is their hexagonal scales.
I took a glance at the man known as Hinu.
'Could his feelings about Likru be so strong that be was enough to summon all of these demonic creatures?' Summoning one of them didn't really take much negative energy but at this quantity, it would take at least a small populated area in Tokyo to summon.
I was impressed but I didn't have enough time for such thing as the Pertmul dashes at us leaving behind the slow glob of black substance. I counted about 50 of them, each with a good chance of killing me. An image came to my head about how I will die to them, as I was slowly getting absorbed on the inside as they slowly go out of my mouth and eyes before becoming one with the abyss.
'Okay, avoid whatever that was.' I said to myself as I draw my sword.
As they rush us, the bulky ones with big shields take the front with the artificials, of course, Astoria was also in the front. Freya and Alice were in front of me and as always I was in the rear next to the archers.
The bulky men charges at them meeting them head to head.
"W-what the?!" The abyss moves around the shield without consuming it probably due to that barrier from that voice. It starts to consume his skin, slowly eating his hand before starting to consume the forearm and then his shoulder.
He screams loudly in pain. "Argh AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The other bulky men soon fall victim to them. The faces of the others including my party become faces of despair or disturbed.
Soon bodies of artificials also join the dead adventurers and as that was happening, from a great distance I can see artificials that are controlled by Hinu, charging at us.
"If you want to survive that thing, cut off where the abyss landed on you or it will continue to consume you!!"
The commander from the distance shouted as he orders the archers to shoot at the corrupted artificials and the slow-moving abyss.
'Could have told us earlier! And how is this a small skirmish?!' I retorted in my head but I remained calm and silent while drawing my katana. Since there were no enemies in the rear I dashed at one of the Pertmul trying to flank Astoria. Alice also advances so that Freya can fight.
The pertmul slithers to me, another image flashed into me, this time I was stabbed by one of the spikes and as I lay there paralyzed, I see my party members get slowly eaten by the abyss and after that, I will be eaten piece by piece and each piece will slowly be absorbed by the abyss.
"Himura?" I turned back and saw Alice looking at me. It seems that I stopped for a moment.
"I'm fine," I said as I looked at the pertmul before dashing at it.
The giant snake called a pertmul slithers to me hellbent on killing me.
'I can't die now, I don't want them to die after failing to protect their blind spots.' I said to myself as I become resolved not to let my feelings of uncertainty waver. This was the first time that I ever said something with such emotion even before I got reincarnated.
The pertmul gets in range of my blade, letting it attack me, I quickly and easily dodge its bite as I dodge to the left in a distance long enough to not get hit by its spikes and short enough so that I could slash it.
Holding my katana with two hands, I slash diagonally in a downward motion from my right, slashing near the back of its eyes where its brain was, instantly killing it.
As they see my party fight, the ones who were heavily shaken regained themselves and also joined the fight.