Chapter 5
Eh? Were running?
Sandwiched between two monsters, with Finia being the only one able to fight, Kitsune wasnt foolish enough to fail to see their chances of victory, and its not like he was a natural born fighter or anything. The conclusion he came to was that the most favorable measure to take in the situation was Flight. Both Fight and Flight differ by but a letter, and both are strategies to take pride in.
So, if you equate the positives of!
Kitsune-san, your legs are slow!
Is that something you should say while flying?
Kitsune and Finia fled. Of course, the laws of the jungle werent so kind as to let the prey the predators found in the barren forest escape. Both monsters scrambled to rush after the two. The pressure coming from behind was fearsome, and while Kitsune always had the awareness that his legs were on the slower side, he felt slower than ever before.
As such, he was forced to ponder as he ran. How to defeat those two monsters or to get them out of the way.
Hah hah! At a time like this, in stories, would this be the moment when a really strong adventurer or hero shows up!?
The probability of that is abysmal! Youre acting like an effeminate man whose about to be dumped!
What sort of Goldn Bombr do you think I am?
(TL: Golden Bomber is a visual kei air rock group that acts out relatively dramatic performances to music done by professionals. They cannot play instruments. They admit so themselves. Its usually parody. As members of the Visual Kei Era, they are quite effeminate in appearance at least.)
Despite their conversation, the situation was urgent. To Kitsune, Finias cheerfulness was actually quite appreciated.
He glanced behind him and snuck a peek at the two beasts. Based on what he had seen, since the two were aiming for a human like him, they were carnivorous. And as a bug and a wolf, their races should be quite different.
Then perhaps I can?
Kitsune thought about the monsters, their surroundings, what his team had on hand, and what he could do with all the information.
Finia-chan.
What is it, Kitsune-san!?
Theres something Id like to ask.
A faint smile floated on Kitsunes face as he said that.
The two monsters lost sight of the prey they were chasing.
Just as Kitsune anticipated, they were both carnivorous beasts, and in this world, they were both lifeforms classified as Magic Beasts. If a normal human were to run into them, then that person would be forced to resignhimself to death, and even the weakest of Magic Beasts were able to devour dozens of humans individually. Among such monsters, the Wolf and Spider were around mid-tier.
The wolf was known as a Vargr Wolf, and from a special organ within its body, it could give birth to high-heated flames. Its defining trait was its fire attack. From said trait, its skin and innards developed fearsome resistance to heat, and it could swim leisurely even through bubbling magma.
The spider was an Arachne, and based on the specimens that had been discovered thus far, its max body-span was 5 meters. As a spider, it could use the adhesive threads produced within its body to capture targets or could personally run after them itself. Its bite held a paralyzing poison, so after being caught once, it would be difficult to escape.
This goes without saying, but the two were not allies. They were mutual enemies gunning for the same food. Why is it that when in such close proximity the two have yet to start fighting, you ask? That is because both of them had securing food on their minds as their first priority.
After killing the prey that was Kitsune to prevent him from running away, they would fight and kill one another over him.
But now they had lost said food stock. It was inevitable that they would take out the irritation from that on the enemy before their eyes.
Grrrrrrr!!
Krrrrr!!
The two monsters, each with frames surpassing two meters, glared at one another. They kicked the ground and collided and it was at that moment.
An opening.
They heard a voice. Before they could turn to the direction of its source, the Magic Beasts were sent flying horizontally. They looked at the location where they once were, and saw a cut tree swinging like a pendulum. They understood that was what had impacted them from the side.
Body bodies corrected their postures in midair and landed.
But
Youre full of openings!
A small fairy was waiting for them: The Ideological Fairy, Finia. She held up her small hands and activated the magic she had been saving up. This time, it wasnt a low grade shockwave magic, but a high class fire one. It didnt need a chant, but it needed a bit of charging to use. That magics name was
Fairy Torch.
The magics name was called out, as if in song. Its effect birthed an insignificant small white flame. Its appearance was neither flashy nor scary in the slightest, but that small white light that looked as if it would go out in the wind at any moment possessed a considerable power.
Andof all things, Finia sent the flame towards the Vargr Wolf. Even though this monster boasted the greatest of flame resistances.
GAAAAAAAAAH!!
And thats exactly why the Vargr chose not to dodge. This magics scary aspect wasnt its output, but its fleeting appearance that contradicted that power.
As evidence, having tried swallowing that small, white light, the wolf
You fell for it, stupid dog!!
As Finia voiced her opinion, the Vargr burst from the inside, along with a white light. It continued to burn white, as blood and cuts of flesh splattered around and stained the ground.
Well, then so organisms from this world bleed red as well.
While his body was bathed in the scattering blood, Kitsune muttered to himself. Red blood drips down the Kitsune Mask on his head, and a faint smile emerges on his face. His eyes were directed at the Spider.
Karrrroo..!?
That was the first moment the Spider sensed any danger from the boy. It didnt feel pressure, and it didnt smell that it was standing before someone stronger than itself. With Kitsune remaining the weak presence he always was, the spider continued to feel nothing but fear. Of course, its not like Kitsune had any trump card. Its not like he was doing anything menacing. He was merely standing there, getting his body bathed in the blood spurted.
But since before coming to this world, Kitsune had always possessed a certain nature.
That was his Repulsing Nature.
Even by humans of the same race, he was always excluded for some reason. But its not like there was any particular reason. Without any reason, it just kinda turned out like that. In this world, that apparently applied to Magic Beasts as well.
The Arachne was creeped out by the boy standing before its eyes. It felt a strange from this unfamiliar presence.
Now then, looks like its your turn next.
Kitsunes body swayed as he pointed his finger at the spider. And with just that action, the spider retreated a step. It thought, if it only got closer and bit him, it would win. It was confident in that. Even so, it couldnt approach. No, it didnt want to approach him.
It hadnt been like this until now. Up until now, Kitsune was registered as nothing but weak prey. But the Wolf that could put up a close fight with the spider had been killed all to easily, had he not? That made him more than enough of a threat. It couldnt deny the possibility that it would die if ithandledthe situation poorly.
As such, the spider made a decision by instinct. It was, by nature, a cautious animal that would hide itself as long as it wasnt certain it would win. It valued itself. As long as it couldnt understand Kitsunes existence, it chose not to approach him so easily.
Krrrrrrrrrr!
Retreat. The spider expelled adhesive strings out of its rear as it crossed trees to retreat. Kitsune didnt give chase. He didnt really understand why, but if the spider was going to retreat, he had no need to chase it.
Whew, thanks, Finia-chan.
Its fine! Even so, Im surprised you were able to survive with that hole-ridden mess of a plan! Its a miracle!
The red-dyed Kitsune raised a bitter smile at the fairys words.
Kitsunes plan was as follows. Attach a log cut down with Finias magic to one of the vines hanging over the place to send at the following monsters and halt their advance. Then leave the rest to Finia. Honestly, he didnt even know what magic she would use.
For now, alls well that ends well, but if the log didnt hit, if Finias magic failed to kill, if the Spider didnt step back, the slightest of mistakes would have made the situation take a turn for the worse.
Hey, Im no Zhuge Liang. I dont have that sort of wisdom in my head, and its something I came up with on the spot to overcome the situation, so of course it would be full of holes.
Uwah, just how useless of a human are you, Kitsune-san!
Im starting to wonder just where you picked up that personality to spew venom with a smile.
Im me! This is my originality!
Kitsune smiled. It seems hed begun to understand this fairys personality.
And looking at himself, he let out a sigh. He was covered in blood. At this rate, his prided uniform would be unusable.
For now, lets aim for that river you were talking about earlier.
Yeah! Umm that way!
Finia floated high into the air again and pointed. Kitsune began walking in that direction, and Finia descended to his level to float by his side. Her bright smile sorta brightened up the atmosphere.
Yeah This bloody smell is
Kitsune said that as a faint smile arose on his face.
After walking a while and arriving at the river, they took a small break. Unexpectedly, while the city was still far, the river wasnt, so it didnt take long to reach. Kitsune had washed his blazer and pants in the river and was in the middle of drying them. He sat cross-legged in the trunks and T-shirt he wore under them. Perhaps she was tired, but Finia went back inside of Kitsunes mask and wouldnt come out.
And wait, so she can go back into that in human terms, its like reentering a mothers stomach if you think along those lines I guess its a Fantasy?
The fact that the Mask he received for his birthday had turned into the greatest of fantasy goods left him with some deep thoughts as he felt the day slowly coming to an end. He gazed up at the sky that had begun to turn dark.
The events that had transpiredplayed back to him.
He died in his previous world and made his best friend cry.
When he thought he was dead, he ended up in another world.
He was attacked by a large wolf and met Finia.
He was simultaneously attacked by a wolf and a spider, but somehow survived it.
Having reached the river, he was still alive, one way or another.
Today, he seemed to have been treading close to death the whole way. Even though he had already died, he was still so close to it. Even if he survived today, he had no idea what would become of the next day. And the more he thought about it, the more his motivation lefthim.
This may not be the best time to be thinking about how to get back to my previous world.
Kistune murmured as such. He slipped on his slightly damp uniform. After hanging the mask on his head again, he began looking for a place to hide. The waterside is the rest stop of life, and if he stayed there, there was a higher possibility of him being killed off by that spider, or some other Demon Beast. If he didnt find somewhere to conceal his body, then hed likely die in his sleep.
Hah Its getting dark Im more of a night person, so its fine, but this is the first time Im spending it in the middle of a forest.
He let out one sigh after another.