Chapter 81

Chapter 1: "Determined to Protect the Beloved Town!" has been corrected for a major error (a proper noun mistake).

I am grateful to those who pointed it out.

"――Kuuhoshi-san!!"

In the midst of the emergency, Hiren called out, forgetting herself.

Seihiko, who had tried to let her escape, was struck by the monster's attack.

And it was a direct hit.

Seihiko's body bent into a C-shape.

Kuuhoshi, san...

Hiren's entire body froze.

If this continued, Kuuhoshi Seihiko would die.

Intense despair overwhelmed Hiren.

The moment she imagined his death, the color drained from her vision.

Again.

Again, she could do nothing.

She only got in the way and caused him trouble.

She really wanted to be of help to him,

She had worked hard to be of help.

But her efforts bore no fruit,

In the end, she had put him in a dire situation.

Despair dragged up memories she didn't want to recall.

The image of her parents, who had died protecting her, and the current Seihiko.

She had never been able to repay them. She had continued to regret it.

The scenes overlapped, merging and overlapping.

Again, she could do nothing...

Despair caused her tears to overflow.

―Is this okay?

A voice suddenly echoed in her head.

Or perhaps it was a question to herself.

'Even when you are about to take a life,

'Even when you are trying to save someone's life,

'You are still not willing to risk anything.

'You are still a fake.

'It's just a game.

'Is this the extent of your resolve?'

―No!

Hiren strongly denied it.

'If that's the case, show your resolve.

'Put your body on the line.

'Put your life on the line.

'Put your soul on the line.

'Offer everything.

'And then wish for power.

'Wish for the power to protect everything.

'Even if you become a monster,

'Make the resolve to gain the power to protect what is important.

'I am darker than anything, stronger than anything.

'I affirm human egoism.

'Being selfish and stubborn,

'Being naive and a nuisance.

'Such is your—selfish love!

'I affirm it with all my might.

'So, come on,

'Throw away the fake.

'Face the real.

'And rebel against the despair in front of you!'

The strong voice gradually faded and disappeared.

But its presence still firmly supported Hiren.

Hiren, who had despaired at the future of losing something important, vanished.

What remained was resolve.

Hiren stood up, wiping away her tears and biting her lip.

'Are you ready?'

'Then, grab this hand.'

Hiren raised her staff high.

Color returned to Hiren's world,

In an instant.

Countless lightning bolts fell from the sky onto the deer.

――BOOM!!

Again and again.

Thick lightning, thicker than tree trunks, struck the deer's antlers.

The muscles of the deer, hit directly, twisted and convulsed.

(I will definitely save him)

(I will save him!)

Even if her life burns out, even if she is ridiculed,

Even if she is called a monster, even if her life is targeted.

(I don't want to lose anything important in front of me again...)

She infused her staff with magic, converging it.

(―So! I will change the future with this power!!)

――ZZZZZZ!!

An unprecedented amount of magic poured into the staff, under Hiren's control.

Hiren denied it.

She denied her weakness,

She denied the worst outcome.

――BAM!!

With a brilliant light, the lightning bolt from the tip of the staff struck the deer.

That attack was the final blow, and the deer collapsed completely.

"Haa... haa..."

Despite receiving such a powerful lightning strike, the deer was still breathing.

It was only immobilized by the lightning strike for now.

If it recovers, I'll take your life right away!

Such a strong killing intent pierced Hiren's body.

However, Hiren, filled with resolve, was no longer afraid of the deer's killing intent.

After confirming that the deer was temporarily unable to move, Hiren looked at Seihiko.

"Kuuhoshi sa―――huh?"

Seihiko, who should have collapsed on the ground, had disappeared from where he should have been.

―Could it be.

An unpleasant thought crossed Hiren's mind.

Hiren had heard from Seihiko about the deer attacking the werewolf.

When a black-purple mass hit, the werewolf was swallowed into the ground.

A black-purple mass had hit Seihiko just now.

So perhaps he had been swallowed into the ground?

The sound of her blood draining echoed in Hiren's ears.

"That was quite a powerful magic. I was surprised."

"Wha!?"

A sudden voice from the side made Hiren jump.

That voice—no need to confirm.

"Kuuhoshi-san!!"

Hiren was filled with joy.

***

Where did that voice come from?

Hearing Hiren's high-pitched voice, Seihiko wondered, forgetting the situation.

"You're alive!"

"Don't just assume I'm dead."

Even if he didn't think Seihiko was dead, he must have thought he was seriously injured.

Seihiko, with a sullen face, answered, and Hiren collapsed.

"How did you survive? The attack hit you directly, didn't it?"

"I thought so too."

Seihiko was distracted by something that entangled his legs when the deer attacked him.

He thought he had taken a major hit.

But reality was different.

Estar, who was in his abdomen when the attack hit, had a shell that deflected the boss's attack.

Estar's shell, which had taken the attack, was unscathed.

He had increased his damage reduction skill, but he didn't expect it to be this effective.

The high reduction rate greatly surprised Seihiko.

Estar, the one who had taken the hit, was waving his antennae, saying, "Praise me, praise me!"

Ha ha, stop it, it tickles.

Seihiko patted Estar's shell.

However, what surprised Seihiko more was Hiren.

Right after he was hit, she had unleashed terrifying lightning bolts from the sky, hitting the deer multiple times.

If it were a normal monster, it would have been reduced to ashes.

Such was the power.

The shockwave even pushed up Seihiko's diaphragm.

"Hiren, you cast magic right after I was hit, didn't you?"

"…Huh? I didn't cast it immediately."

"No, you did."

"Huh?"

They tilted their heads in confusion.

To Seihiko, it felt like a short time.

It was a matter of milliseconds.

Due to the concentration during battle, one of their time perceptions must have been off.

Seihiko concluded this and brought up the skill board.

The attack just now was beyond Hiren's previous skill level.

So, he thought, one of her skills must have increased.

Looking at Hiren's skill tree, Seihiko couldn't help but exclaim.

"―Wow!"

Hiren, hearing Seihiko's words, peeked at the skill board.

She didn't expect her blessing to max out either.

However, Okikurumi...

Seihiko felt a slight admiration for the name.

Okikurumi is a god in Ainu mythology who grew up with humans.

A god with the thunder god Kamui as his father.

He is also known as a cultural hero for giving culture to humans.

His divine body is thunder, and the Ainu people believed they could sense Okikurumi's arrival by the sound of thunder.

Living with humans and fighting monsters for their sake.

Defeating monsters and bringing peace to the human world.

It was a perfect blessing for an adventurer from Hokkaido.

While looking at the skill tree, Seihiko sensed the deer was about to get up.

Can we do it?

He quickly calculated in his head.

Even with the intense lightning attack, the deer wasn't mortally wounded.

But the intense pressure he had felt from the deer was now completely gone.

Looking at the deer, its muscle fibers were still not fully functional.

Hiren's lightning had become a powerful debuff.

The tide had turned.

Seihiko sensitively detected the change.

It was an unusually tough monster, but with the right skills, it might be manageable...

"Hiren"

"Yes"

"If we increase the power of your magic, we might be able to defeat it. Are you ready?"

"…Yes!"

It was different from before.

Seihiko nodded, impressed by the determination in Hiren's eyes, which had accepted the power of the skill board.

He had only taken his eyes off her for a few seconds.

But in that short time, the color of her eyes had clearly changed.

―She has changed.

Hiren had finally embraced the resolve of an adventurer.

The resolve to kill monsters, to become a monster.

When taking a life, one cannot be squeamish.

If one is squeamish, they will surely fail in the midst of a life-and-death struggle.

That was Hiren until now.

Of course, Seihiko had also made the same mistake.

Seihiko had managed to break free a step earlier than Hiren...

While deeply reflecting on Hiren's change, Seihiko quickly tapped the skill tree.

Kurosaki Hiren (18) Gender: Female

Skill Points: 9 → 0

Evaluation: Spirit Hammerer → Spirit King Hammerer

Blessing: Thunder God Person <Okikurumi>

- Vitality

Stamina 2

Natural Recovery 1

- Strength

Strength 1

- Magic

Magic 3 → 5

Magic Aptitude 3 → 5

Magic Control 3 → 5

Transformation <Thunder> 2 → 4

- Agility

Burst 1

Dexterity 2

- Technique

Weapon Proficiency

Blunt 1

Light Armor 1

- Intuition

Detection 1

- Special

Luck 1 → 2

Blessing MAX

Increased magic-related skills to 5.

Allocated 1 point to luck to attract good situations.

Seihiko stored the skill board.

"The power of your magic has changed significantly. Be careful when using it."

"Understood."

"Then... let's go!"

"Understood!"

Seihiko's battle cry coincided with the deer getting up.

Seihiko readied his dagger.

Just as the deer started to run,

―BAM!!

Hiren's lightning bolt hit the deer.

The charge time was minimal.

Hiren, aware of the skill increase, was carefully controlling her magic to release the lightning.

But the power was incomparable to before.

The lightning, with almost no charge time, made the deer's muscles twitch slightly.

Seihiko didn't miss this opportunity.

He lunged forward with all his might.

"―!!"

Intense acceleration.

He leaped in one step, where it used to take two.

Seihiko quickly closed the distance and attacked.

His dagger shallowly cut the deer's skin.

"―So hard!"

The deer's skin was quite tough.

Still, the current Seihiko was a mess of mind, technique, and body.

There was no refinement.

He hadn't even adjusted after increasing his skills.

In other words, he wasn't handling his power well.

If mind, technique, and body were in sync, he might be able to deal damage...

He confirmed his body's movement and the deer's hardness, then retreated.

At the same time, Rara threw her projectile.

The recoil hit Seihiko's shoulder.

―BOOM!!

The potato bombs hit the deer's body.

Rara's attack was quite powerful, but the deer's defense was not weak enough to be injured by a few hits.

Still, it was a force to be reckoned with.

The deer's hatred, which had been directed at Hiren, shifted to Seihiko.

Then,

―BAM!!

The lightning bolt hit again.

The deer dropped to its knees.

Chance!

Seihiko was about to launch a full attack when,

"―!"

He reacted to the pressure from the deer.

His body immediately retreated from the spot.

"Gegegegege"

The deer looked up at the sky and emitted a groaning sound from deep in its throat.

The sound was the same as a Japanese deer's.

It was a warning sound to intimidate the enemy.

But Seihiko was tense.

Why did it deliberately show a weakness and make that sound?

He couldn't read the enemy's intentions.

He cautiously moved his feet to observe.

―What will happen?

"H-Hiren!"

Hiren's scream echoed from behind.

Instinctively, Seihiko almost turned around, but he restrained himself with all his rationality.

If he turned around now, the deer would attack him.

Instead of turning around, Seihiko increased the output of his detection.

And he realized.

"――You've got to be kidding me!"

The deer's "gegege" sound was a warning.

During the rutting season, male deer challenge other deer with "miihooon."

To females, they approach with "mimimi" or "mii."

Finally, the last answer to the "God Guessing Quiz" is complete.

(I'm sorry for the impossible questions...)

[Hidden Setting]

○ Additional notes on Hiren's lightning magic

In the myth, 'a great deer (trial) sent by the gods appeared to Okikurumi after he passed his youth, and he defeated it.'

Following this myth, Hiren's lightning has 'Deer Special Effect (Large)' and others. Without this, Seihiko and the others would have... (ry

Not only Hiren, but Seihiko, Rara, and Estar also have 'Special Effects and Adjustments.'

The one with the most foreshadowing is Rara.

Estar's is somewhat predictable.

Seihiko has almost no foreshadowing, but it's somewhat imaginable.