Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

Chapter139，Part4: 4 - Déjà Vu

Chapter 139 Déjà Vu?

Part 4

“This is ridiculous. But sometimes that ridiculous intuition can save a Party.” (Arnold)

While paying attention to his surroundings, he moved quickly as if he was urged to go forward.

Arnold decided to believe in Ruda. It was because her words were filled with a sense of reality. In addition, since it was possible for Phantoms to come from the outside, there was no guarantee that there was no danger in retreating.

Ruda is a Solo Hunter. The fact that she is a Solo Hunter shows that she is good at detecting danger.

What’s important is being balanced. A Hunter can’t shy away from danger, nor can he charge headlong into a danger that he knows he will die from.

In the end, Arnold found her words worthy of risking the life of the entire party.

“Yatta! No one’s coming! This was the right way!” (Gilbert)

There was no sign of anything pursuing us. Gilbert, who had been frequently looking behind him, breathed a sigh of relief.

He said his reasoning was because the same thing happened last time, but I wonder how traumatic it has been for him.

We followed the road straight ahead. As the huge jet-black castle came closer, I could feel its *biribiri* electrifying nature being transmitted to me.

What could be living in the castle? Arnold, who had little experience in diving into high-level Treasure Shrines, didn’t have any idea.

We continued on our way for more than ten minutes. Just as the entrance of the castle came into view, the trees that had grown on either side of the road disappeared and the scenery changed.

Ruda opened her eyes widely and let out a small scream. Gilbert turned pale and as expected even Arnold gasped.

What was there was a circular plaza.

It was a circular space with cobblestones on the ground. The place was clear and there was almost nothing obstructing the place. The castle was just straight ahead, just past the plaza.

However, more than anything, the reason why Ruda and the others were aghast was because of the piled-up black mountains along the circumference of the plaza.

Gilbert approached the mountain, examined it and greatly trembled.

“What the hell ―― Is that……?” (Gilbert)

It was… A pile of corpses that had been killed with all kinds of means that was possible.

The reason it looked like a black mountain was because most of it was composed of black armors, helmets and swords.

Even with a brief look, it would reveal that they were killed in more than one way. Burned to death. Crushed to death. Some were frozen, others were torn apart, armor and all. I could barely tell from the shape of the armor that the contents were humanoid.

No, wrong. It was… The same 『Phantoms』 that Arnold and his companions had engaged in battle earlier.

“It’s… It’s awful……” (Hay)

Hay was horrified and looked through the pile of corpses. With his sword, he pierced through the mountain and took out a head which was shaped like an octopus. It’s color was black and wet with mucus, but the pairs of green eyes were dark and muddy, devoid of any spark of life. We haven’t been able to confirm what was inside the one Arnold had fought against, but apparently it wasn’t human.

Ruda also terrifyingly examined the pile of corpses, but all of them had faces and shapes that were slightly different from those of humans. Taking into account the abandoned armor, it was appropriate to call them deformed soldiers.

Gilbert looked around at the mountain-high pile and muttered in dismay.

“Was all of this… Done by 《Infinite Variety》…?” (Gilbert)

The plaza was large. The number piled up around the circumference wasn’t just a hundred or two.

Phantoms melt into the air as soon as their life ends. The stronger the Mana Material they have, the longer it takes for them to disappear, but if all of this had been defeated recently, then it wouldn’t be strange for Ruda and the others to see this even after they had fought one battle.

To be able to slaughter all those Phantoms while it took everything for Arnold to kill one, this can’t be humanly possible.

Unbelievable. However, I was forced to believe it. Who else could have made such a scene?

Looking at the corpses which had died in various ways, it was easy to understand why his Alias is 《Infinite Variety》.

“………… Arnold-san… Lo-Look at this. There are remains of a campfire in the center of the plaza ―― W-What a crazy thing to do in such a place ――” (Hay)

His heart thumped hard. Something cold went down his spine. When Arnold realized what it was, without showing it to the others, he was stunned.

Something he didn’t remember feeling for a long time ―― It was fear. Fear against something incomprehensible, fear of an absolute powerful being.

I am now ―― Afraid of even trying to challenge him.

I knew it was possible for me to lose. But that was because of his Party member.

Arnold had always been convinced that he was the strongest. At all times, even when he was beaten by 《Absolute Shadow》 by a surprise attack in the tavern.

I felt my heart palpitating. I let out a rough expiration and stared at the pile of corpses again.

This is ―― Level 8. He was far too far. I can’t see a way to win against this. I tightly gripped my sword and clenched my teeth.

“………… Fuck… Fuck… Fuck.” (Arnold)

Not good. Not enough. It is too much for the me right now. Too much so that I don’t even know what I am too short on.

Hay noticed Arnold’s condition and looked at him with concern.

As a Leader, he must stand in the front. He must show his strong figure to his companions.

With only willpower, he pushed through his intense internal conflict and looked ahead. Even if it was only on the surface, he played the role of an unwavering figure.

Hay’s expression returned to normal. He wasn’t fooled by his act. He probably knew about Arnold’s inner thoughts and understood all his intentions.

It hasn’t solved the problem at its root, but he was able to regain some composure in front of Hay.

Right. I don’t have the time to be in conflict right now. What I need to think about right now is how to get everyone out of this hellish Treasure Shrine safely.

No matter what the circumstances are, no matter how his own will was on the verge of breaking, Arnold has the obligation to lead the Party. And this will be true until Arnold dies.

Do I wait for 《Infinite Variety》 and bow my head or take the long way around and find a way out……

That’s when Hay opened his eyes.

He jerked his body, but quickly took a deep breath and said to Arnold in a quiet voice so that the other wouldn’t notice.

“…… Arnold-san, it’s terrible. ………… It’s coming. It’s an army…… It’s crazy! There is nothing we can do!” (Hay)

“………… What?” (Arnold)

At Hay’s line of sight ―― I looked at the direction from which we had just come in.

A few hundred meters away, just beyond the horizon, something black was wriggling.

No… It wasn’t something. It was knights. An army of oddly shaped knights wearing black armor. The distance was still far, but they were gradually advancing towards us like a rushing wave.

I don’t know how many there were, but it was definitely an army that we couldn’t fight against. The horde of Orcs we fought the other day was of a similar size, but the quality of the opponent this time was far too different.

Even if Arnold squeezed every ounce of his life force, he wouldn’t be able to cut half of it.

Ruda, who had also noticed the army, was astonished.

She muttered quietly with an exquisite expression as if she was about to start crying, but at the same time start laughing.

“Infinite…… Trials……” (Ruda)

Are you saying this is a trial……!?

“He is crazy…… Fuck……” (Arnold)

I looked around the plaza. There was no way to escape if we run from now on.

However, even if we engaged in a battle against them, there was not even a slight chance of winning. In this large space, we would end up surrounded, crushed and it will be the end. Can you really call it a trial, if we have no room to overcome the trial.

Perhaps the other members of the group had also noticed the army of Phantom, they were completely frozen.

However, I couldn’t give up until the very end. I calm my breathing and look for a way to save ourselves.

Suddenly, I caught sight of the jet-black castle further away from the plaza.

The main part of this Treasure Shrine. The level of threat is probably not the same compared to what we have seen so far.

However ―― Would that be better than being overwhelmed here?

The army of odd knights was getting closer and closer to us. There was no time left.

My companions, who were frozen for a while, had now regained their composure and were patiently waiting for Arnold’s words.

And then, Arnold made his decision.

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Pfiouuuu finally this chapter is over!

Sorry for all this split, I couldn’t do it if I didn’t split it into multiple parts.

Next chapter is back to Cry, but sadly there won’t be a chapter this Thursday, lots of IRL stuff to do. Next chapter will be released on Sunday.

Tchao à plus!