LV999 Villager Vol 1 Chapter 4.03

“It was a good strategy Kagami-chan. Thanks to you, the battle became easier.”

The barehanded Takako gave Kagami a thumbs up while dishing out roundhouse kicks at the group of Monsters standing on the frontline. The attacks that had been pouring down from the sky had decreased and, as Krul and Tina’s Defense Magic spread out, the time spent evading attacks also dropped, allowing them to focus on the enemy’s vanguard.

“Rex-chan! I’ll leave the subdued enemies to you! I’ll take care of the tougher ones!”

“Did you say…Rex-chan? Don’t fuck with me! This Hero’s attacks will cut down any opponent! What kind of Role do you have that lets you use a Martial Artist’s skill…?!?

The moment Rex tried to complain, Takako grabbed the Cyclops that stood in front of her and fired off a punch towards the Monsters wearing stone armor.

The stone armor was pulverized like a piece of Styrofoam, and the large stone Monsters were blown back as Takako instantly struck the holes in their armor. Incidentally, she also blew away Rex’s confidence.

“Takako-chan has a perverse Skill that ignores the opponent’s defense, so be at ease, since it doesn’t really mean that you’re weak. If anything, Takako-chan is the weird one.”

Kagami patted Rex’s shoulders with a ‘pon’ as if trying to calm him down.

“I don’t want you to say that she’s weirder than you! Shit…What happens if I get past Level 100? Will it make a difference? If I become Level 100, then surely…!”

“It would become more troublesome for Demon King-sama if you’re able to get stronger…! Right now, you must fight, but being that eager…how troublesome!”

Rex, Takako and Menou continued to exert themselves without breaking their formation as they maintained their distance from the enemy, standing at fixed intervals from each other. Palna and Krul fired off their Magic, which flew past the trio towards the Monsters, and Kagami defeated the Monsters that weren’t instantly slain.

Tina was on standby behind them, healing them with Healing Magic when they were injured by the never-ending Monsters. Even though Takako, Rex, and Menou had been taking evasive actions and even breaking formation to avoid damage, they become resolute and began to face the enemy without fear of injury in order to protect Tina, who was holding up the rear.

Kagami’s group fought while forming a circle behind the stone wall, but this didn’t last long. The intervals between Monster waves became chaotic, and soon the Monsters were unable to cooperate with each other as allies.

Kagami’s group was exhausted. They were also mentally fatigued because they hadn’t felt any indication that the Monster horde would end.

“Hey…When exactly will we get rid of these Monsters?”

Rex muttered as sweat formed on his cheeks, since he had not personally experienced a battle to the death before.

“To have tried to fight them by himself…Kagami is a really big idiot!”

Takako’s composure vanished and she put on a serious expression as she yelled that out. She left Kagami and Menou behind, jumping onto the Cyclops’ chest while sweat oozed out of her whole body.

“There are still some remaining. Though, it’s fortunate that none of the Monsters seem to be heading towards Salumeria.”

Kagami had seen her jump into the sky to survey the situation, so he relayed her information to everyone before immediately kicking around several of the Monsters that had landed.

Hearing that, everyone’s expressions became clouded, seemingly becoming bitter. When Kagami saw this he smiled and muttered, “A chance, huh?” He moved to stand beside the stone wall that had been behind him and suddenly struck it with all of his power.

An explosion resounded as the stone wall was bashed in, leaving a cavity, as if it had been pierced through. When the debris cleared, Salumeria’s gate and a deserted plain without Monsters appeared.

“Yosh, I’m already at my limit! Let’s run away!”

While everyone there admired Kagami in their hearts, for having done his best until now, they ignored him and yelled instead. Nobody bothered to react to Kagami’s voice as they tried to continue fighting.

“What the hell are you all doing! Isn’t your life important? Quickly, run away!”

Although he yelled out repeatedly, nobody even tried to respond to Kagami. On the contrary, Takako, Rex, and Menou were trying to combat the Monsters without minding him.

“We can…still fight! If we ran away from here…it would be the end for Salumeria, wouldn’t it?

Tina muttered with a shrug while showing a pained look, since her magic power was at its limit.

“No, no…there isn’t any meaning if you guys die here!”

“Saying that you want to run away…you can’t run if everyone else doesn’t, right?”

As Palna showed an expression of really wanting to run away, she cast a Wide Area Annihilation Magic on the Monsters that were in the front.

“Takako-chan! What the hell are you doing! This is an opportunity! Run away!”

After he called out, a serious-looking Takako quickly turned around, then looked forward again to attack the Monsters.

“Hey, Takako-chan! Are you listening to me!?”

“Kagami-chan…are you playing a trick on me?”

Takako looked back again and muttered as she completed one of her attacks before resuming her stance to fight against the Monsters.

“You’re also playing a trick…on me.”

Krul muttered as if she was acting in concert with Takako, and cold sweat flowed down Kagami’s cheeks.

“Kagami-san…it seems like you probably have some stamina left in you, right? Aren’t you preserving your energy?”

To that, Kagami replied, “I give up on this,” and realized that, even though he’d acknowledged the truth of what they were trying to do, he had been preserving his energy, just as Krul had said. Rather than saying that he was been preserving it, if he joined Rex’s group and fought, he wouldn’t have to use up all of his power.

Therefore, Kagami was confident that he could deal with the Monsters at the halfway point. Besides, he had been fighting to ensure the safety of Rex’s group. When Rex’s group had reached their limits, only part of him had tried to fight and as he preserved his strength in order to run.

Of course, he had planned to run away properly, since their lives were important. Even though he had tried to trick them, they hadn’t even tried to listen to him. In spite of him saying that he would stay behind, he had just planned to fight by himself before saying “Uwah~ the stone wall collapsed~” and then heading past the stone wall.

“No, no! Run away properly? If we just fight without thinking, would we really be given a chance to run away?”

“If that’s the case, then please fight now, while we are here!”

Although Krul yelled that out, Kagami didn’t want that to happen since he couldn’t guarantee the lives of Krul’s group if he fought in a separate area. However, even if the effects of the Skills that let him fight allowed him to protect them, it would be too much for him, no matter what he did.

If he had fled at the beginning, Kagami wouldn’t have had to make that choice, even though Rex’s group had resolved themselves to agree with him. Yet, somehow, he couldn’t throw away the possibility of saving Salumeria.

He didn’t want to give in to the present situation where he preserved his power, even though he was certain to flee like he had promised. Kagami couldn’t help but throw away such selfish thoughts.

“It looks like you’re suffering quite a bit, Kagami-san.”

“Isn’t that natural? I have to protect these guys’ lives, it’s very troublesome. I feel that we should somehow decide to throw away Salumeria, I…nn!?”

Although Kagami had replied, without thinking, to the words that were asked far too naturally from behind him, he soon realized that something was wrong with the voice. When he turned around, he made eye-contact with someone who definitely shouldn’t be there.

“It’s fine already, Kagami-san.”

Alice, who had seemingly passed through the hole Kagami had opened, faced him with a shy smile. Alice had been standing there, without fear of the troop of Monsters, as if it were natural.

At this moment, before the surprised Kagami could ask Alice why she was there, a ferocious roar, which hadn’t come from the Monsters, rang out. This sound wasn’t something that could be produced by a single person; it had clearly come from a group of people. It was loud enough to make one imagine that their numbers were not inferior to that of the Monsters.

“It’s my turn to be your strength this time, Kagami-san.”

The moment Alice said this, a large explosion engulfed their surroundings. Although he was confused for a moment, when a large group of Adventurers burst out from beside the stone wall, Kagami understood the situation.

Kagami trembled, as if they were all praising him, and joy swelled up within every part of his body, making him unintentionally hug Alice. She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“““““WE WILL PROTECT SALUMERIAAAAAAA!”””””

The moment these words rang in his ears, the restless Rex became livelier and, with all of his might, released all of his power towards the Monsters before him in one attack.

Chapter end