Ossan Saikyō Chapter 9 Part 06
We quickly found the trail markers Kaim's party had left behind.
Fresh scratches still remained on several rocky outcrops.
Following them, we made our way deeper into the rocky region.
There were scorch marks here and there where Rock Worms had been burned, proving that they had been carrying out their extermination mission properly.
As Sphenia examined the traces, she called out from behind.
“Whoever did the cleanup was very thorough. There are no unnecessary signs of battle. Is〈Silver Ring〉a veteran party?”
“Yeah. They're all young, but I'd say they're a party with plenty of experience.”
“If that's the case, then it's possible some sort of trouble occurred and they're waiting for a rescue party. An experienced group would carry plenty of potions, so it's unlikely that someone is simply too injured to move. If that's true, then...”
“Soushi, I smell something strange. I've never smelled anything like it before. It's not undead, not an ordinary monster, and not an animal... it's a really horrible smell.”
“I sense it as well. A truly unpleasant... wicked presence.”
Rani and Freynil suddenly spoke up at the same time.
It felt like we were about to encounter something completely unprecedented.
“Can you tell which direction it's coming from?”
“Over there.”
We headed in the direction Freynil pointed, with my【Presence Detection】operating at full capacity.
After advancing for a while, I faintly sensed something ahead.
The reaction was incredibly weak.
Is it capable of concealing its presence?
“Soushi, I can hear something. It sounds huge. It's beyond that rock.”
Rani lowered her voice.
She must have found it odd that something with such a massive body gave off so little presence.
Carefully, I crept forward and peeked around the rock.
“What... is that?”
The words escaped my lips before I could stop them.
Standing there was the strangest monster I'd ever seen.
Its overall silhouette resembled a gigantic long-legged spider.
Its body floated about 5 meters above the ground.
Each of its 8 legs stretched roughly ten meters in length.
The real problem, however, was that its body wasn't insect like at all.
Its texture was unmistakably human.
To put it plainly, its torso was that of a human.
From that human body extended 8 human arms, each functioning as one of the spider's legs.
Even more disturbing was its head.
3 long necks protruded from its torso, each ending in the bald head of a human.
All three faces were expressionless, like carved stone statues.
Rather than a monster, it looked like some grotesque creature straight out of a horror film.
It was clearly unlike any monster we'd fought before.
One of its three heads slowly turned toward me.
I hurriedly ducked back behind the rock, but its vacant eyes had unmistakably seen me.
Gii... Gii...
A grating metallic sound echoed through the air.
That was probably its voice.
It had definitely noticed us.
“Hey! Over here! Hurry!”
At that moment, a familiar voice called out from behind.
Turning around, I saw the well built, handsome warrior Kaim, leader of the E-Rank party〈Silver Ring〉.
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“This way.”
Kaim briskly led us toward a large rocky hill and entered a cave opening in its side.
When we followed him inside, the rest of〈Silver Ring〉was waiting within.
The young mage, Meribe.
The beautiful spearwoman, skirmisher, Ranan.
The young mace-wielder monk , Raberto.
At a glance, none of them appeared to be injured.
“Huh!? Soushi!?”
Raberto's eyes went wide the moment he saw me.
Meribe and Ranan looked equally shocked.
“I was surprised too. Never thought the old man would be the one taking the search request.”
Kaim sat down, and the rest of us took seats on the rocky floor as well.
“I came back to Tolson after reaching D-Rank. I never expected things would turn out like this.”
“Huh? You only left Tolson about two months ago, didn't you? You're already D-Rank?”
“Well... a lot happened. And these are my party members. Fray, Rani, and Sphenia.”
As I introduced them, each gave a brief greeting.
“Man... your party's gotten pretty... unbalanced...”
Kaim began to say, only for Meribe to tug on his sleeve to stop him.
Apparently, she'd decided to spare me from an awkward situation.
“We can talk about that later. The important thing is why you were hiding here. I'm guessing that monster out there is the reason?”
The four of them immediately turned serious.
“Yeah. That thing's bad news. We fought it a little, but none of our attacks worked. It kept firing magic from its mouths nonstop, and it's so fast that even running away is hard.
…
Luckily, it doesn't attack us while we're inside this cave. But the moment we come out and try to escape, it starts chasing us.”
“That's troublesome. So the only option is to kill it.”
“Pretty much... but honestly, I've never seen anything like it. You got a look at it, right? Do you think it's something a D-Rank party can beat?”
Before I could answer, Rani spoke first.
“Hey, Soushi. We didn't actually get to see the monster. What did it look like?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.”
I described the monster's appearance exactly as I'd seen it.
The members of〈Silver Ring〉all nodded in agreement, confirming I hadn't imagined it.
“What is that? That's disgusting.”
“It's terrifying. I've never even heard of such a monster.”
Rani and Sphenia frowned.
Beside them, Freynil quietly murmured,
“A Devil...”
“Fray, do you know something?”
“...Yes. There's a passage in the scriptures of the Church of Aashram that describes a battle between the Gods and Devils. That creature reminded me of the Devils depicted there.
…
They're described as 'forms that blaspheme the humans created by the gods'. Most are based on the human body, but with multiple heads or many extra limbs.”
“A Devil... Yeah. That really does seem like the right word for it.”
“Come on, old man. That's just mythology, isn't it? You're saying one actually showed up?”
Kaim had a point.
Or rather, even if myths existed in this world, they were still treated as fiction.
Come to think of it, I'd simply assumed this was the sort of fantasy world where Gods and Devils literally existed.
“Fray, do you think Devils are real?”
When I asked, Freynil slowly shook her head.
“I personally don't believe those stories truly happened. But the high ranking priests always spoke as though Devils really existed. They insisted it wasn't mythology, but actual history.”
“Hm...”
Another mystery had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
But now wasn't the time to investigate whether it was true.
“Either way, that monster definitely exists. Whether it's really a Devil or not, perhaps people once called creatures like that Devils. Whatever the case, dealing with it comes first.”
“Exactly. If we don't deal with that thing, we're finished. So, old man... do you think you can handle it?”
As Kaim and the others looked toward me, I couldn't help realizing how much our positions had changed in just a few months.
“Judging by its appearance, I think it's probably beatable. At the very least, I can buy enough time for you all to escape.”
“That doesn't mean much if you guys can't get away too. So you still don't think you can win?”
“Well...”
To be honest, if this was the work of my【Bad Luck】skill, I felt strangely reassured.
Of course, I couldn't exactly say that aloud.
It could simply be wishful thinking on my part.
Even so, the moment I saw it, I instinctively felt I could win.
I simply couldn't imagine those heads or arms surviving a direct hit from my mace.
“I think we can win. All I have to do is smash its heads with this mace.”
I lifted my monstrous mace for them to see.
Fellow mace user Raberto's eyes immediately sparkled.
“I've been wondering ever since I saw it... isn't that mace completely insane? There's no way a D-Rank adventurer should be able to use something like that.”
“Yeah. According to the blacksmith, even among B-Rank adventurers, very few people could swing it properly.”
“So... that makes it A-Rank level? You've already gotten that strong, Soushi.”
“So Meribe really was right about you specializing completely in physical strength.”
Ranan added that to Raberto's astonishment.
“Well then, let's just beat it and go home already. I'm getting hungry.”
Rani spoke so casually that the tense atmosphere inside the cave relaxed a little.
Overthinking things would only make us stiff.
It was best to stay relaxed, while never letting our guard down.
“Alright. Let's go. Sorry, but once we head out, Kaim, I want your party to run as fast as you can. I'm sorry, but...”
“You're saying we'd just get in your way, right? I know that much. We'll run with everything we've got, so you guys better catch up afterward.”
Knowing when not to let pride get in the way was an important quality for a leader.
Kaim really didn't seem like someone destined to remain E-Rank forever.
Once we'd dealt with that monster, perhaps I'd give him a push from behind myself.
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E/N:
What in the biblically grotesque monstrosity is this Devil, bruh! Get its ahh, Ossan! Flex those muscles!
Stay tuned!
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