kscans

Chapter 49 - The Lone Charge

The ice wall crumbled before my eyes. On the other side, Leucorse was still sprinting towards us.

"This—!"

Mia-san, who had been momentarily stunned, quickly pointed her staff at the enemy. Instantly, the roadside trees on both sides began to move in unison.

As hundreds of branches and roots extended from all directions like a swarm of snakes, Leucorse leaped into the only opening.

Directly above its own head.

The monster, with a body the size of a light truck, launched itself dozens of meters into the air with a single bound and descended in a fiery dive. It added concentrated heat to the destruction brought by gravity.

That ‘landing’ was reminiscent of a meteor strike.

A deafening explosion and a cloud of dust erupted, filling my vision with dirt and fragments of asphalt. I managed to shield Mia-san, taking a fist-sized piece of debris on my back.

Shielding my eyes with an arm, I looked up. The dust cloud cleared, revealing the devastation Leucorse had wrought.

The pavement on the road beyond the wall had been stripped away, and a crater had formed in the exposed earth. The surrounding roadside trees were all snapped, and the rows of rose barriers and ice lances had been completely eliminated by its flames.

There were no obstacles left, save for some head-sized chunks of ice scattered about. And even those were already beginning to melt.

"Brrrr..."

Leucorse snorted, shaking its head slightly. Its eyes fixed on Mia-san. From that single exchange, it seemed to have figured out who had blocked its path.

With a sharp movement, the golden spearhead took aim at her.

"—!"

Instantly, Leucorse charged, scattering flames from its mane. From a complete standstill, it hit top speed in a single step.

Its powerful legs moved at a speed the normal eye couldn't possibly follow. Using my [Spirit Eye] to predict its trajectory, I scooped Mia-san into my arms and leaped sideways.

Even though it passed several meters away, the wind pressure nearly blew me off my feet.

"Kuh...!"

"Wh-What was..."

"Stay back! That thing is bad news!"

I can’t deal with a monster like that! I have to buy some time, make an opening to teleport...!

Without giving me a moment to think, Leucorse, having run past, tore up the ground as it changed direction. This time, it fixed its gaze on me and readied its spear, tucking it under its arm.

And then, it charged. As the massive beast bore down on me at incredible speed, I readied my sword.

Gripping the blade with my left hand, I assumed a half-sword stance. Realizing I couldn’t dodge in time, I went to block the golden spearhead with the flat of my blade.

My eyes could track it, my thoughts could barely keep up, but my body couldn’t follow.

Still, my defense was up at the last possible second. The moment of impact was accompanied by a deafening roar, and my body floated into the air.

After a few seconds of weightlessness, I landed. A numbing pain shot through both my arms, but I ignored it. It would heal anyway, and more importantly...

The next charge had already begun.

"BRUHIHIHIHIHIHIIIIIIN!!"

It neighed as if it were enjoying itself. With a massive cloud of dust and flame behind it, Leucorse charged.

"Kuh...!"

As the white giant approached, I jumped to its left to evade it, positioning myself on the opposite side of its spear.

It's fast. But if it only charges in a straight line...!

I aimed for its left hind leg, targeting the joint as we passed each other.

But.

"Wha—"

A tremendous shattering sound echoed right beside me, and my sword sliced through empty air.

In the corner of my vision, Leucorse had plunged its spear into the ground. It had deliberately stumbled forward to lift its hind leg and dodge my slash.

No, that wasn’t all. Without losing the momentum from its sudden stop, it pivoted on its spear and spun sideways. It was a body slam, delivered simultaneously with the evasion.

The prediction from my [Spirit Eye] allowed me to get my left arm up to block just in time, receiving the blow with my gauntlet. But I couldn’t even brace myself and was sent flying.

"U-Aaaaaaah!?"

Just how many meters did that body slam send me? I couldn't even break my fall, and I slammed into the dirt ground it had created.

It hurts... I can’t breathe...!

As feeling returned to my left arm, a searing pain made my vision swim.

But even as I was sent flying, my ‘eyes’ had kept track of my opponent. Therefore, I knew I had to move immediately.

Because its attack wasn't over yet.

"Ukon! Sakon!"

Mia-san issued a command, and her two golems thrust their hooked poles at Leucorse, but they couldn’t reach the beast as it charged towards me. Byakuren hadn’t even gotten close.

Almost simultaneously, stone stakes shot up from the ground in its path. But the monster scattered them with a single sweep of its spear.

I have to move, somehow...!

As I staggered to my feet, Leucorse was already right on top of me—.

Something red flew into my vision. I unconsciously read the words written on the small bottle.

...Carolina Reaper?

"BRUHIIIIII!?"

The small bottle shattered against Leucorse’s snout, scattering a red powder.

The monster shrieked and swung its spear wildly, its trajectory veering off course and allowing me to dodge in time.

"Thanks, Erina-san!"

"No problem!"

I shouted my thanks to her, my apparent rescuer. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of turning my head to look.

That monster only flinched for three seconds.

"Brrrururu...!!"

The flames of its mane waving violently, Leucorse ran in a gentle arc, its eyes on me, on Mia-san, on the golems.

It seemed Erina-san was hidden by her invisibility. But would the same trick work a second time?

A cold, unpleasant sweat ran down my spine.

"Run, both of you! You can’t win against this opponent, you’ll be killed!"

"Run, you say..."

If I turn my back, I’ll be killed in an instant.

I—we—had underestimated this stampede. I must have gotten arrogant as my level increased.

This monster...

"BRURURURUUUAAAAAAAH!!"

It was stronger than the Champion!

Ice pillars formed one after another in mid-air and were launched at Leucorse. The monster didn’t even bother to defend, simply vaporizing them with the flames that cloaked its body.

However, the ice lances were a diversion. As if this was the real attack, the ground beneath it ‘caved in.’

Leucorse remained unfazed by the sudden pitfall. It easily leaped over it and once again charged straight for me.

"Tch...!"

My shoulders jumped in fear at the approaching monster. I swallowed a hard lump in my throat and somehow forced myself to step forward.

Immediately after, Leucorse roared. In response to its mana-infused cry, lances of fire formed around it and were launched.

"You—!"

I slashed through the incoming flames with [Concept Interference] and deflected the last one back at it, imbuing it with my own sword's power.

But the counterattack, which I had definitely slammed into its torso, was simply absorbed into its body.

"It’s no use, flames don’t work on it!"

"You could have told me sooner!"

As I instinctively shouted back, the javelin it had been readying while I dealt with the fire lances was thrown.

Launched from extremely close range, I used my sword as a shield and dodged to the side. The blade just grazed the javelin, but the impact almost tore the hilt from my hands.

"Guh!"

As I lost my balance, it swung its spear in a wide arc, aiming for my head. Catching the attack in my vision, I threw myself backward onto the ground to evade it.

Its white horse-body thundered past me as I rolled on the ground.

Leucorse put some distance between us. It planted its spear in the ground and pivoted instantly, preparing to charge at me again.

In that brief moment when its speed slackened.

An object about 1.5 meters long came flying towards Leucorse.

Perhaps wary of something similar to the small bottle from before, it pulled its head back and thrust its spear at the object.

But this was completely different from a Carolina Reaper. It was a 50-kilogram gas canister.

I didn't know what was inside. Faster than I could read the writing on the canister, a dome of earth enveloped Leucorse.

To prevent the contents from escaping. And to contain the coming impact.

"Even if flames don’t work,"

"The blast wave will!"

—-DOOOOM...!

An explosion echoed from within the dome. It seemed the contents of the canister had ignited from its flames.

It was a spur-of-the-moment combination from Mia-san and Erina-san, as expected of relatives. Any normal creature would have died from that.

But they are called ‘monsters’ precisely because they are not normal.

"BRUOOOOOOOOH!!"

The cracked earthen dome shattered, and Leucorse burst forth. As always, its gaze was fixed on me and me alone.

The golems wouldn’t reach it before it reached me. I couldn’t keep dodging forever. Deciding on my course of action, I held my sword at my hip.

It must have taken some damage from the explosion. If that’s the case, I’ll take out its legs before it realizes it!

Our raw speed was about even. It had the longer reach, but if I could just get inside its guard—.

In that instant, my [Spirit Eye] foresaw it.

There was no way for me to close the distance and get within my sword’s range. A vision of my skull being pierced by its spear.

If this continues, I will die.

"Ah—"

My forward step faltered, but I instinctively released a burst of wind, forcing my body to move.

I abandoned the attack and tried to evade. But my decision came too late.

Squish. All too easily, the golden spearhead gouged into my right shoulder. Then, Leucorse thrust the spear upwards with all its might.

In an instant, my body was flung high into the air, hung there for a moment, and then fell.

I landed on a car that had been left parked by the roadside, inside the walls. The roof crumpled, and the windows shattered. The car’s alarm began to blare.

Amidst the piercing electronic noise, I thought I heard two voices calling my name.

I couldn’t tell whose voices they were.

"Gah, AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?"

They were drowned out by my own scream.