10 – The Best Leader (5)
The worst situations often start in unexpected ways.
And now.
Nico was convinced that the current situation was indeed the worst of the problems.
“Uh…uh….uh…”
The scene in front of her eyes.
The small-sized shark demons that had gathered around the shark demon that Gabrielle had just sliced.
At least 10 of them, appearing to be close by, Nico’s face began to be filled with contemplation.
-Kaddddeuk!!!
-Quadddeuk!!
The sight of the creatures tearing into the dead shark demon’s body, making terrible sounds.
Feeling fear at the blatant act of cannibalism, Nico could only watch this horrifying scene in terror.
At that moment…
“Snap!”
“Hiiieeek!!!”
As if suddenly sensing their presence, the shark demons that were tearing and biting let go of the shark demon’s body and turned their gaze towards this direction.
Gabrielle swiftly grabbed her sword, while Nico, trembling with fear, exerted strength into the axe in her hand.
The shark demons remained hidden beneath the surface, just like before.
As Gabrielle looked at that sight, she swallowed her dry saliva, while Nico began to tremble with intense tension.
“Where is it? Where is it trying to spring from?”
“Ugh…”
A demon launching attacks in a way never seen or heard before.
It eludes detection and conceals itself beneath the ground, making it impossible to verify with the naked eye.
For now, the only strategy available is to wait for the moment they leap out to commence their assault.
Anxiously anticipating an attack that could start at any time,
The two stood back-to-back, both mentally prepared to counterstrike as soon as the onslaught began.
Then—
-ROOOaaaRRR!!!
“Gah!”
“Gasp!”
Two shark demons burst out from the side of the women.
Fortunately, they were glancing in that direction and could react immediately.
-CRACK!!!!
Gabriel’s sword, wreathed in blue flames, cleaved straight through the head of a leaping shark.
And then—
“aaaHaaa!!!!!”
Niko, nearly screaming, her face smeared with tears, swung her axe wildly.
The axe, emitting black smoke, was enveloped with an ominous aura.
A deep despair began to settle in the heart of Nico.
Then, suddenly…
-Thwack!!
“…Huh?”
“Hee…huh?…”
In the following moment, the devil’s movement ceased abruptly accompanied by a sharp sound.
Right after that, the head of the shark demon, about to launch an attack, was cleanly split into two, falling apart to either side.
“Hic!… Uh…”
“Are you okay?”
A man revealed himself from behind the bisected demon.
Gellerd.
In one hand, he held a blood-stained sword, and in the other, a torch. He then casually flung the shark demon’s severed corpse aside.
“That was a close call.”
“Is everyone unharmed?”
Gellerd spoke in a calm voice, while Jeanne burst into the scene, her demeanor still vibrant despite the circumstances.
At the sight of their faces, Gabriel felt a profound sense of relief and urgently got to his feet.
“Th…thank you, Leader, Jeanne. That was almost a disaster.”
“Sorry for the delay. Is anyone hurt?”
“Nico has a slight knee scrape but nothing serious.”
“That’s a relief. I thought something might have happened in the meantime…”
“Sob…sniff… Hwaaahhhhh!!!!!”
“!…”
In that moment,
Nico lunges into Jeanne’s embrace, as if crumbling apart.
She had evidently been shocked by the situation just moments before, as she clung to Jeanne like a child, tears streaming down her face.
“Hiiiing… Jeanne seniiiooor…”
“There, there… It’s alright now, don’t cry.”
Jeanne soothes Nico earnestly, calming her down.
Then, still holding Nico, she looked up at Gellard standing in front and asked.
“Master. What are you planning to do?”
“For now, stand back. As I explained on the way here, we need to securely bandage Nico’s knee wound.”
“Understood, Master.”
“Leader, I want to help too. I’m not injured, so I can still fight…”
“Shh.”
Gellard raised a finger to shush Gabriel, who was about to step forward.
Then he spoke in a quiet voice while looking at Gabriel.
“While I appreciate the offer, when facing those foes, having more numbers is actually a hindrance. Stand back.”
The translation of the novel excerpt:
His words conveyed a resolute conviction, devoid of ostentation or etiquette.
For some reason, it felt like a declaration from a leader, something that could be relied upon.
Gabriel, unable to speak any further, slowly nodded his head, just as the sun sets.
“…I understand, Leader.”
With that, Gabriel decided to entrust the situation to Gellert and stepped back.
Immediately after that.
Being left alone, separated from the other demon hunters,
He threw the torch he held in his hand towards the old wooden house nearby.
In an instant, the wooden house caught fire and began to blaze.
Next, Gellert.
Quietly, as if nothing had happened,
He brought his sword to his fingertips.
“Well then…”
-Crack!
Gellert’s fingers were wounded by the sword.
There, drops of red blood began to fall, one by one.
Blood dripping onto the floor.
Then, gripping the sword with his uninjured hand.
A gentle smile started to form at the corner of Gellert’s mouth.
And.
-Kuaaahhhhh!!!!
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Shark demons burst out from Geralt’s front, their razor-sharp teeth bared as they swarmed out, presenting a menacing sight.
However.
-Pakkk!!!!
Geralt effortlessly evaded the attacks of those creatures, as if he had predicted them. At the same time, he started swinging his sword with terrifying speed towards the demons passing by his side.
-Pakakakakak!!!
-Kreeek!!!
Demons were mercilessly dismembered at an unimaginable speed, their bodies torn apart and blood splattered in all directions. Witnessing the sight of those dying creatures, Gabrielle couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of awe.
‘How… how could those powerful demons be so helpless?’
It was as if he could perfectly predict where the demons would emerge from. Even she, who prided herself in being a seasoned Devil Hunter, couldn’t help but marvel at the exquisite yet utterly ruthless movements.
Following the intense duel from before, Geralt’s current appearance clearly showcased what it meant to be the strongest, evoking sincere admiration.
Captivated by the profound joy that she couldn’t even comprehend, Gabrielle unknowingly became engrossed in her thoughts.
‘Just like Ellie said… perhaps… perhaps if it’s him, he might be able to… completely erase La Place!’
*
Hell Jaws.
A mid-level demon in the form of a black shark that moves as if swimming through the ground, able to evade magical detection due to its unique skin composition.
Usually one or two,
Unlike the demons who do not travel together with more than three or four at most, this demon named Hell Joes had the danger of encountering dozens of them in the worst case scenario.
The reason is the unique characteristic that Hell Joes possesses.
They do not have eyes, but instead, they react extremely sensitively to the smell of fresh blood.
Creatures that can detect even a drop of blood smell within a radius of 10km.
Not only humans, but even creatures of the same species who perceive the smell of their own kind as prey have the tendency to gather in droves as if they had discovered a beehive, even with minor injuries or the act of killing their own kind.
However, the blood spilled must have come directly from a wound and they cannot detect it after a certain amount of time.
Therefore, when facing them in the game, it was customary to deliberately injure oneself or create a bleeding state to lure them out and hunt them.
At the same time, another characteristic of these creatures.
By utilizing the characteristic that they cannot approach where there is fire, it was possible to clearly limit their attack route in a situation like this.
And the result…
To me, who already had all the patterns of these creatures in my head through my experience in the game.
It was allowing me to create a one-sided yet perfect battlefield like this.
“The problem is… that Hell Joes is appearing now in the latter part at this point. In other words… If we look at it based on the previous work, it means that that guy… Laplace will soon appear…”