Chapter 8

"Hey, I don't want to be lumped together with scum like you, got it?"

Saying this, a tall woman with striking red hair glared at me, who was hanging in mid-air.

"Estina...!"

Estina, the only Platinum-ranked adventurer among us, is a dangerous individual who explores this perilous demon realm alone.

Her weapon is a whip over a hundred meters long, made from a special material.

The area within a hundred-meter radius around her can be called a death zone without exaggeration.

She has the incredible control to hit distant enemies with the tip of her whip, the destructive power to crush boulders, and the ability to eliminate multiple enemies simultaneously.

Moreover, she can manipulate the whip as if it were a part of her body, as she is doing now, suspending me in the air.

"What are you doing, you!"

Hanna, who was furious, snapped at Estina.

However, before Hanna could get closer, the whip released me and wrapped around her ankles.

"!?"

Hanna fell flat on the spot.

Worse still, she landed in a position that exposed her legs widely, sitting on the floor.

Of course, Estina must have skillfully moved the whip to make this happen.

"Hehe, what's wrong? Spreading your legs like a pervert? Do you want me to put something in there? You're quite wild for a young girl, aren't you?"

"～～～～!"

Estina's taunting words made Hanna's face turn bright red.

For a young and proud girl like her, this must be the ultimate humiliation.

"Cut it out..."

"Showing us this... How can we forgive you for treating your comrades like this, even if you are Platinum-ranked?"

Dill and Guy showed their anger, and the atmosphere became tense.

By the way, I was suddenly released and hit the ground hard, writhing in pain.

"Hah, are you trying to take me on?"

Estina laughed provocatively.

Objectively speaking, even if we challenged her as a party, we probably wouldn't stand a chance against her.

Platinum-ranked adventurers are all monsters, far beyond our Gold-ranked level.

In that sense, it was my fault for lumping her in with the others.

I had noticed she was in the room, but I was too flustered to think it through.

"Stop it!"

A fierce roar echoed.

It was the guild master, Balda, intervening.

"This isn't the time for such things. Estina, forgive them."

Among us, only Balda could stand up to Estina.

Of course, we had no choice but to back down when he scolded us.

"Hanna, stop it."

"Do you even know whose fault this is...!"

"You should understand from the current situation that you can't win a fight."

"..."

Hanna glared at me with tears in her eyes, and Estina, seemingly satisfied with her sadistic pleasure, smirked and returned to her seat.

I let out a sigh of relief.

By the way, Estina's danger isn't just in her strength.

Her attire is also quite outrageous, with armor that barely covers her, almost like undergarments.

"What a sight..."

...Guy, stop staring so much.

According to rumors, it's a legendary piece of equipment, but I can't imagine it protecting her.

Moreover, the fact that she can walk around the city in this outfit suggests that her mind is also a bit off.

And despite looking like she's in her twenties, her actual age is not much different from mine.

Naturally, it's a taboo to mention this—

"...Old hag."

"Who are you calling an old hag, you brat? GOLAAAAAAA!"

Hanna muttered under her breath, and Estina, with a demonic expression, screamed in response.

◇ ◇ ◇

After the four adventurers fled.

I was left alone, pondering what I had done wrong.

Was it because of my tattered appearance?

The armor I had bought for a large sum of money was lost at some point.

Only a part of the tough, monster leather clothing I wore underneath remained, and I could easily be mistaken for a pervert.

"Surely that's not the reason for their reaction..."

They were clearly trying to kill me.

Their strength was at least B-rank, equivalent to my living self.

Back then, I would have died for sure.

"Come to think of it, monsters also run away when they see me. Could I be emitting some kind of dangerous aura...?"

The moment this thought crossed my mind, I realized something.

I am an undead, essentially a monster.

Monsters derive their power from magic, and the stronger the monster, the more magic they possess.

Powerful monsters can even kill weak humans just by the overflow of their magic.

Could I have been emitting magic all along?

When I paid attention, I realized—

"Whoa!? I'm emitting a ton of it!"

A malevolent magic power that distorted the surrounding space was being released from me.

No wonder both monsters and humans were running away.

"Can it be detected so clearly...?"

I couldn't do this in my previous life.

Back then, as a swordsman, I wasn't particularly sensitive to magic.

Still, I had no awareness of it until now.

Perhaps this state had become my default.

Normally, continuously emitting magic would cause breathing difficulties and other physical symptoms.

But I didn't feel tired at all.

"Maybe it's not a significant amount compared to my total magic? Still, I should try to contain it from now on."

With this in mind, I tried to suppress my magic.

To my surprise, the emission stopped perfectly.

"...Perfect."

For my first attempt, it went surprisingly well.

I must be quite skilled for an undead.

After that, I left the ruined city and started walking through the wilderness again.

If I follow the direction the adventurers fled, there must be a town.

With my magic suppressed, I should be able to communicate now.

As I was thinking this,

"ROAR!"

A monster attacked.

It was a Killer Tiger, about three meters long.

"Ah! It's not running away! So it was the magic after all!"

While I was rejoicing, the monster pounced, aiming to bite me with its sharp fangs.

CRACK!

"～～～～!"

The fangs broke.

The massive body, which had collided with me with great force, crumpled as if it had hit a wall.

I've gotten used to this phenomenon by now.

Without much surprise, I swatted the side of the dazed Killer Tiger's head as if swatting a fly.

THUD!

The Killer Tiger flew away at an incredible speed and likely died.

I continued walking, instantly killing any monsters that attacked.

Eventually, I saw something in the distance.

"A town."

Compared to the now-ruined metropolis of Balcaba, this town was much smaller, but the surrounding walls suggested it was still functioning as a town.

"...I've suppressed my magic... I should be fine..."

I reassured myself and slowly approached the town.

Even without the magic issue, I've always been shy and haven't spoken to anyone for a long time.

The anxiety made my steps heavy despite finding the town.

As I walked at a snail's pace, I noticed something in a different direction from the town.

"...What is that?"

At first, I thought it was a hill.

But upon closer inspection, it was moving.

"A turtle...?"