9. I’m back.
A bright red full moon.
It must have been a method I was able to try thanks to that thing floating high in the night sky.
Because Kenichi and Sento weren’t the only ones who became stronger than usual.
A world where time has stopped for everything.
I, the only living being among them, stepped forward with a sword slung over my shoulder.
“Now, let’s go.”
An upgraded body and abilities.
Even so, we didn’t have much time.
***
Quang!
Quaaang!
Innumerable falling steel thunderbolts.
The mace heated the floor and cracked the entire classroom as if it were about to collapse.
It wasn’t just the ground that creaked.
Kenichi’s body, which rolled on the floor to avoid the demon’s blow, was also a mess, with dust all over and throbbing limbs.
However, I managed to do it.
Quang! Quaang! Quaang! Even though the red goblin with an iron club turned from one to four, I managed to avoid it.
I threw my body, rolled on the floor, stepped on desks throughout the classroom with my feet, or supported them with my hands and flew.
After all the desks were destroyed, I used the goblin’s body as a jumping frame to evade the iron club.
‘What is it?’
A skill that even Kenichi himself is puzzled by, a skill he would never have been able to accomplish normally.
For some reason, even though my whole body was throbbing, it was light, and I could clearly see everything that came into my field of vision.
Is it because of the fear that he might die, or is it because he worked too hard?
My heart beat faster than ever.
Blood rushed all over his body as if it would burst at any moment. Kenichi finally realized all the phenomena in his body. Now he is half human.
‘…… Now, I can survive!’
Feeling happy, Kenichi ran even harder.
With a more relaxed gaze and calm judgment than before, he guided the path of the blow of the red goblin.
I was dazed as if trying to catch myself, but the moment he raised his mace, I hid behind the body of another goblin running towards me.
‘It’s done.’
Kwajik!
─Kwoaaa!!!
Successfully disrupted.
The red goblin, hit by his comrade’s mace, grabbed his shattered leg.
His eyes trembled violently as if the guy who had just swung was embarrassed.
‘I can do it.’
Kenichi thought that if he continued to evade like this, he would be able to defeat them all somehow.
They’s intelligence was lower than I thought, and my body was in much better condition than usual.
‘I can win.’
Finding hope, he moved his steps with a wide smile.
─Kwoaaa!!
I can see all the movements of the goblins’ mace. The body moves according to thoughts.
Fast, flexible, powerful, and can run around freely.
As the tension eased and everything worked out, it was like playing a game.
Yes, this is a game.
A game where a hero defeats a monster as if he were the main character of the world.
“Come on, you guys!”
The main character, Kitagawa Kenichi, played with the goblins with a lighter heart.
He was sure.
The idiots who bludgeon their comrades’ bodies before their own bodies will be destroyed first.
From noble mtl dot com
As expected, that judgment was partially correct.
The goblins’ blows hadn’t hit him since the moment he got his senses, so if the situation continued as it was, it would have been that way.
—Kwoaaa!
As Kenichi continued to dodge the mace, the angry goblin slammed the floor to vent his anger.
Quang!
This has been repeated countless times before.
The club, which was struck into the air, broke only the poor floor.
Kenichi looked at the stupid scene at his leisure, and soon realized something was wrong.
Wood Deuk! The floor is broken.
“…… Uh?”
The entire classroom floor collapsed. Humans and goblins who lost their balance fell straight down.
Kenichi tried to step on the debris floating in the air. He tried to float up the road.
However, that level of skill was impossible for him, who had just been an ordinary person.
I can only struggle with his hands.
It just crashed.
Quang!
Quad Deuk Deuk!
“…… Whoops!”
My body hit the desk in the classroom below, and small debris fell on it.
I somehow survived because my body was stronger than usual, but I can no longer move.
Kenichi warmed his trembling body with a distorted expression.
‘…… What, move Move.’
But he doesn’t listen at all. As if the nerves in his brain and body, which were smooth just a moment ago, had been cut off, he only twitched and couldn’t move.
…… Freely? Like a game?
Kenichi finally realized that what he was facing was a cruel reality.
Late at night, in a classroom where no one should be, I could feel the presence of people here and there.
Amidst the rising dust, I heard a cooing, dull footsteps and the sound of something dragging a blunt instrument.
I could see the ghostly eyes.
─Uh?
Kenichi smiled.
It seems that the concept of arithmetic has been destroyed as a punishment for not doing math homework.
One, two… Three… four…… Kenichi, who was absentmindedly counting the number of goblins, reached the tens digit before he knew it.
─Uh uh huh?
The group of goblins, whose numbers increased even more, looked at the delicacies on the table.
In the same way, Kenichi also stared at them.
He just couldn’t move.
The goblin, who could no longer hold back his appetite, reached out to him.
He had a daze foreboding the end.
‘…… Am I going to die like this?’
There are many things I want to do.
Just today, I promised to see the total lunar eclipse with Hotaru.
I didn’t know what to do in the future, but I wanted to live more.
Not only that, but also the comics I want to read more, the gym class with my friends, and the moments I feel especially desperate for.
Kitagawa Kenichi realized.
I don’t want to die either.
‘…… I want to live.’
The pupil, who had lost his will for a while, regained his strength. Gritted it I tried to push through to the end.
At least, let’s not be eaten like side dishes, let’s fight and die. So quickly.
‘Damn it, move.’
As the goblin’s hand approached, his heart beat wildly.
Hunger for life, or fear of death.
All those desperate emotions spread from the heart to the blood and blood vessels throughout the body.
‘Please.’
Move.
‧
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Thump, thump, thump thump, the cross around his neck swayed with his wind.
The full moon that has magical powers, and the lineage that has been handed down for a long time invigorates.
The necklace engraved with the wishes of its owner emitted light and went off.
‘Move.’
Kenichi screamed inwardly as he saw the goblin’s grip approaching.
He struggled and tried to move somehow.
He longed for the power and opportunity to defeat the monsters in front of him.
I hoped.
‘Move!’
His sword soon answered the call.
“───Move!!!”
It gave strength according to the owner’s wish.
A little vitality, the shape of a sharp sword, and the ability to nullify any ability.
According to his instinctive attraction, Kenichi grabbed the necklace—the demonic sword and made the sword bloom.
Awakened at the same time.
At this moment, he is completely beyond human limits and is ready to fight against the goblins.
With a blazing expression on his face, Kenichi was about to punish the goblin that tried to eat him.
Slashed with the sword in hand…
“Huh?”
There was a goblin there.
Innumerable goblins stretched out around them, frozen in the same posture as when they stretched out their hands.
Things that were alive and breathing just a moment ago didn’t move at all.
Dozens of goblins in the classroom all stood still as if they were frostbitten.
─As if time stopped.
“… ….”
Sensing a sense of incongruity, Kenichi looked out the window.
There is still a bright red moon there. However, the cloud next to it does not even move.
Tick tock, tock, the second hand of the wall-mounted clock, which was supposed to be passed, was as hard as a stone.
It seemed that the time of everything in the world had stopped.
‘Is this my ability?’
I only knew that.
“Hey, a red oni party from day one.”
Surprised, Kenichi turned his head to where the voice came from.
Standing there was a man with white hair, but somehow familiar, with a black-and-white look.
He walked in with a very relaxed expression and gesture, even though the monster was right next to him.
“If you are not a deceased person like me, you will not be able to break it, but should I say that you are unlucky? No, on the contrary, seeing that he endured for a long time even without his sword blooming, am I lucky because Kenichi this time is outstanding?”
“…… Shiki?”
Kenichi muttered blankly to his friend who was spitting out incomprehensible sounds.
But the narrow-eyed man stood in front and muttered while touching his chin.
“Hmm. My swordsmanship isn’t perfect, but I’ll be in trouble if I lose my sword. Today is a series of really difficult things. Ah, is it a series of choices?”
“…… What is that?”
A current suddenly circulated through Kenichi’s body as he wondered if it was Shiki.
“Kenichi Kitagawa.”
Ichimaru Shiki, who called his name, asked with a smile as usual.
“Are you sure you won’t be killed by anyone? I think it would be really difficult if you dedicated the sword. No, I’m already in a bit of trouble.”
“…… You.”
“I think they may be expecting too much from you, who are so weak. After all, I think writing is the right choice for him.”
The narrow-eyed man shrugged his shoulders as he glanced at the elegant jet-black sword.
“Be careful not to touch the belongings of the deceased. Well, I have no choice but to give you a chance! I didn’t know I was going to say this right away. You will have to answer very well.”
Ichi Marushiki held out his hand and spoke.
“Kenichi, don’t you want to become stronger than now?”
The half-opened eyes and the fluctuating gaze met.
***
“This.”
Sawamura Sento continued to mutter.
At the same time, she untied her brows as she strained her senses to see if her opponent would run away.
I relaxed a little bit.
Because the promised partner was still there.
“3.”
As soon as she said the last number, she raised her eyelids.
And she was horrified.
As per my senses, Ishimaru Shiki was there.
Just for a moment, blood dripped from his mouth.
It’s a subtle difference, but her face also became haggard.
Something must have happened.
But, as expected of her kind, Ichimarushiki, as usual, relaxed and leaned over her hand while talking.
He said.
“I’m back.”
That was also an unknown word.