Chapter 35

"Why..."

As the Hydra approached, the voice I let out was hoarse.

"Wh-What, are you kidding me?"

"Why is a Hydra here! Monsters can't use transfer arrays, right?!"

"No, that's not it. That Hydra is a mutant. It came here on its own from the depths of the grasslands."

"Hah, you've got to be joking... That Hydra traveled a distance that would take a human a week at that speed?!"

"...It's no use."

A moment later, the adventurers, a beat behind me, noticed the Hydra and cried out in shock.

"Why, a mutated Hydra..."

Amidst this, I muttered in a daze.

The six heads, the clearly hostile attitude.

It indicated that this Hydra was the same one I had decapitated before.

However, if that were the case, the time it took to mutate was far too short.

Indeed, the speed at which a Hydra absorbs surrounding magic power increases when injured, shortening the mutation period.

But even so, it usually takes three to four months.

Moreover, it was strange that this Hydra was still alive.

Mutated high-difficulty monsters possess strength far beyond their pre-mutation state.

That's why they are usually hunted before they can mutate.

I began to think about what had happened and why the Hydra had come to this place...

"Run! Run quickly!"

"...It's no use. Look at that speed, there's no way we can outrun it..."

"Damn it! Why is this happening?!"

...But the adventurers' cries around me brought me back to my senses.

"!"

Yes, now was not the time to think about such things.

What mattered now was that the mutated Hydra was heading this way and would eventually reach us, not why it had mutated.

...And it was clear that the time until the Hydra reached us would not be long.

"Damn..."

Staring at the impending disaster before me, I was driven by despair and fear to the point of wanting to kneel and beg for my life.

...I was confident that even if all the humans here attacked the Hydra together, we wouldn't stand a chance.

In that moment, I made a decision. A decision to protect the one I absolutely had to protect in the face of the impending disaster of the mutated Hydra.

"Narseena, run away from here on your own."

"!"

When I said this with a smile, Narseena's face, when she turned around, was distorted with fear.

It was understandable.

After all, even I was so terrified by the Hydra that I felt like crouching down.

"But, big brother..."

Even in that state, Narseena was worried about me first.

I was sure Narseena must have wanted to run away from here desperately.

Yet, even in that state, she was worried about me.

...And that was enough for me.

"Please, go."

"No! I can't go without you!"

Narseena refused to leave, even after I said this.

I felt both joy and guilt at her refusal.

"The Hydra's speed is abnormal. I can't escape from it. But Narseena can. Please, the only one who can protect the people in the town is you."

"...!"

When I mentioned the people in the town, Narseena bit her lip and looked down with tears in her eyes.

I felt guilty seeing her like that.

I knew this was a cowardly way to speak, but if it could save Narseena, I was willing to accept any dishonor.

"That's impossible!"

...However, the words that came from Narseena's tearful eyes were not a rebuke to me.

The next moment, Narseena bit her lip and turned to the adventurer standing nearby.

The adventurer, having given up, was crouched down and trembling.

Ignoring the adventurer's state, Narseena grabbed his collar and shook him violently, shouting.

"Pull yourself together! Go to the Adventurer's Guild and inform them immediately!"

"Ah! Shut up! It's too late anyway! We're going to die..."

"Do you want to die right now? Just go!"

"H-Huh..."

Narseena's scolding instilled fear in the broken adventurer.

It seemed he had been knocked down by Narseena before, as his face turned pale at her threat, and he ran to the Adventurer's Guild at a speed that didn't seem possible for someone who was injured.

"I will fight with you, big brother."

After confirming that the adventurer had run off, Narseena turned to me, who was still in a daze from the events, and said this.

"...Why, why go to such lengths?"

...I couldn't help but say this, seeing Narseena's attitude.

I thought that if I gave her a reason, the trembling, terrified Narseena would leave this place.

Narseena, who declared she would fight with me, was crying large tears.

...But even in this emotional state, her body continued to tremble.

Narseena was that terrified of the Hydra.

Because of her strength, she could accurately gauge the power of the mutated Hydra, and her body wouldn't stop trembling.

Even in this state, Narseena declared she would fight with me.

"Please, just leave this place..."

Because I understood Narseena's fear, I thought her words were just a show of bravado.

So, I tried to persuade her, looking into her eyes.

"!"

It was then that I noticed the light in Narseena's eyes.

Narseena was trembling with fear, unable to bear the terror of the Hydra.

I thought I could persuade her, but that was a huge misunderstanding.

Despite trembling with fear and knowing she couldn't defeat the Hydra, Narseena hadn't given up.

Even in this state, she still held onto hope.

"With you and me, we can't lose!"

And as she said this, a memory resurfaced in my mind...

To address the comments that the protagonist's personality has changed, I want to clarify that the protagonist's personality hasn't changed.

He just overreacts to people who try to harm Narseena.

If violence is directed at him, he will endure it as he always has.