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

Chapter236，Part2: 2 - Oracle

Chapter 236 Oracle

Part 2

Rosemary Puropos is not a Magi.

She is――A weapon. She has burned people, burned Monsters, burned Phantoms, and burned Treasure Shrine. There are many who are considered to be Ikkitousen, but none is more deserving of the name than she is.

I didn’t even have time to prepare. But the same should be said for the other side.

The number of guards packed in the lobby was few. If they knew that 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》 would be coming, they wouldn’t have been so few.

Rosemary looked unhappy, maybe because she was unsatisfied with the fact that she had defeated them without even receiving a counterattack.

It appears that there will be no opportunity for Gark to rampage.

We carefully climbed up the stairs. If 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》 has one weakness, it would be her range.

Magi are basically not suited to be in the front line. Even the fastest chanting is no match for a powerful warrior in close quarters. But apparently, Rosemary has no intention of letting Gark go first.

Rosemary frowned.

“………… So quiet. There are too few of them.” (Rosemary)

“…… Are they having a secret meeting with a big organization?” (Gark)

The number of guards at a secret meeting indicates the power hierarchy of the organizations.

Upon closer inspection, it seems that the building is owned by Hellgate, but the fact that there is no escort so far suggests that the partner of their secret meeting may be of a higher rank.

There are only a limited number of organizations that are higher in rank than an A-Class organization. Gark lowered his voice.

“Did we get a jackpot?” (Gark)

“…………” (Rosemary)

A building surrounded by silence. This is the perfect environment for a secret meeting with those secretive 《Fox (Kitsune)》.

I should have worn an armor. Now, I have a halberd, but I wasn’t wearing an armor because I would have stood out. It would have been fine if I was facing ordinary Hunters, but if I have to deal with a member of the “Fox (Kitsune)”――.

But then, footsteps echoed from the top of the stairs.

It is not the sound of footsteps of someone walking. It’s running footsteps――And you can tell from the sound that they are in quite a hurry. The building’s construction materials are soundproof, but you can still hear them, so they must be in a considerable hurry.

Rosemary stopped. I readied my halberd and positioned myself to jump out at any moment.

And almost simultaneously, the door on the upper floor opened vigorously.

“Haaah, haaah, haaah――” (Men)

Several men in black came out of the door all panicking.

A small screaming voice came from the opened door. The men went down the stairs as if they were rolling down from it, saw Rosemarie, stepped off the stairs, and tumbled down.

Rosemary stepped back and Gark stepped forward instead. He kicked the man who slipped and was rolling upward on the stairs.

They were on the strong side of the scale. From the presence of thick Mana Material felt from their body――There is no doubt that they are Hellgate members. But the men were clearly running away.

Men with strength equal to or greater than that of veteran Hunters. Those men were stuck on the staircase sandwiched by Gark and Rosemary from below and someone from above.

And at that moment, a familiar voice came from above. It was a high-pitched male voice.

“Hm? Are we done playing tag? Run away more, run away as if your life depends on it. Or it’ll be boring.” (?)

“!?” (Gark)

Descending from above was a man dressed in an easy-to-move kimono and a fox mask on his face. At his waist was a huge scabbard. In his hand was a wooden sword.

Even though the distance was still far, and even though his voice contained no anger, I felt a strong pressure. He jumped lightly from the door and landed near the men, breaking his jump.

At that moment, Gark’s dynamic vision barely caught his sword strikes.

Natural and soft sword strikes, like a gentle breeze or like a mountain stream. After a few seconds, the men fell to the ground without a sound when they tried to stand up.

Become one with nature and cut like the flow of the wind. This is an unprecedented self-taught swordsmanship. Furyuken.

The fox-masked man did not let out a single breath and looked at Gark and Rosemary. The mask only covered the front of his face, so his tied red hair was clearly visible.

After a moment of silence, the fox-masked man said.

“…… Oooh, lucky! Just at the right time when I wanted to try something!” (Luke)

“Wait, Luke! It’s me!” (Gark)

Luke did not hesitate to jump on Gark, who shouted in a panic.

“Gark? I don’t know any Gark! I’m here because I was told I could slay all the people that are here!” (Luke)

Kicking against the wall and the stair railing, Luke pounces on Gark with his shapeshifting movements.

Since he engaged in mock battle with 《Absolute Shadow (Zetsu Ei)》 on a daily basis, his movement was so agile that you wouldn’t think that he is a swordsman. His terrifyingly fast sword slash was also probably a measure against Liz.

Not good, this distance is inside 《Thousand Swords (Senken)》 range. I will lose with my halberd.

But, I gained some time. Flames rush into the space from behind me like a wave. I heard Rosemary’s grumpy voice.

“Hmpf…… Let’s roast you a little bit.” (Rosemary)

“Baa-chan, let me tell you something good. A cool swordsman――Doesn’t burn! He can cut flames too!” (Luke)

Luke, on the other hand, plunged straight into the flames. It would have been one thing if it was just flames, but to do that against a Level 8 offensive magic would need tremendous guts.

As expected, even 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》 is dumbfounded.

“This guy…… He didn’t even hesitate!” (Rosemary)

“Aaaaah――My wooden sword.” (Luke)

Come to think of it, Luke seems to have also built up Magic resistance thanks to Lucia’s Magic. It is an ideal relationship where one member enhances the other.

Luke himself did not burn up, but his wooden sword instantly turned from charcoal to ashes.

And then Luke collapsed in the flames.

“Damnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! The sword of the strongest swordsman doesn’t break! Destroying my sword once again means that I am still inexperienced! Cry, give me strength!” (Luke)

“………… Tsk. Looks like they beat us to it. There is no doubt about his insights, but he really is a shrewd man――” (Rosemary)

Amidst Luke’s wailing, 《Abyssal Fire of Destruction (Shin En Kametsu)》 clicked her tongue with a loathsome expression on her face.

§　§　§

TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

As expected of Luke the battle junky, rushing straight into the fire of a Rosemary!

What do you think Cry’s “advice” will be when Luke asks him how to make a wooden sword resist fire?

It would be so funny if Cry tell him to learn something like the Haki XD

Tchao à plus!

Footnotes

Ikkitousen : it means a warrior that is worth a thousand Furyuken: Furyuken (風流剣) can mean elegant sword or wind sword style.