二十七話
「だぁぁぁあ!!! 翼が鬱陶し過ぎるっっ!!!」
時に、ひしゃげた建物に身を潜めながらも、あの投擲が効かなかった事を踏まえてどう対処したものかと悩みながら俺は駆け走り続けていた。
とどのつまり、斬ればいいだけの話なのだが、あの化け物が翼を使って自由に飛び回っている以上、心血を注いだ一撃を撃ち放っても敵に届かない可能性が高過ぎる。
リスクリターンを踏まえた上で物事を判断してしまうと、とてもではないが身体へ極端に負担を強いられる『星斬り』の技は使えない。
どれだけ優れた一撃だろうと、当たらなければそもそも意味がない。
「......火ぃ吐くわ、飛び回るわ、好き勝手建物ぶっ壊しまくるわ、厄介にも程あるでしょ......っ!」
〝ミナウラ〟の入り口から離れんと走り続ける中で俺に狙いを定める魔物の手札は徐々に明らかとなっていた。
まず、翼が生えている。
機動力の良さは勿論、上空を飛べる為、天井が吹っ飛んだ廃墟ばかり立ち並ぶ〝ミナウラ〟において、隠れる場所は殆ど皆無。
そして何と言っても、火を吐く。
口から火炎を放ちやがるのだ。
極め付けに痛みに鈍いのか、建物にぶつかろうと進むと決めたならばひたすら直進をしてくる。
その為、廃墟が立ち並ぶ入り込んだ場所に途中、逃げ込んでみた俺であったけれど、その建物ごと突撃し、破壊してまで俺を追いかけてきた。
「......手っ取り早く倒すのなら、やっぱり何か策を講じてあの機動力を削ぐしか無いんだけど......」
自由にびゅんびゅん飛び回るあの
けれど、一向に解決策は浮かばない。
シヴァのような魔法が使えていたならば。
そんな事を一瞬ばかり思ってしまうが、今ここで無い物ねだりをしても仕方がないのは言わずもがな。故に、小さくかぶりを振り、肺に溜め込んでいた息をはぁ、と吐き出す。
「生憎、頭の出来は良い方じゃあなくてね」
ざり、と音を立てて地面を踏み締め足を止める。走る事十数分。もう十分だろうと判断し、俺は背後から迫る魔物へと再び向き直った。
食らうか。食らわれるか。
俺に用意された選択肢は二つに一つ。
へ攻撃をまともに直撃させられるとすれば、恐らく無防備に突撃してくる一度目のタイミングのみ。
腰に下げていた無骨な剣を右の手で引き抜きながら、俺は喜悦に口角をつり上げる。
次いで、切っ先を一度地面に向けてから、タイミングを計る。
「———————!!!」
言葉にならない雄叫びが上がっていた。
鼓膜が破れてしまうのではと思わず懸念を抱いてしまう程の大声量。
馬鹿正直に立ち向かおうとする俺に対し、舐め腐りやがってと怒ったが故の威嚇だったのかもしれない。
だけど、それで頭に血をのぼらせてくれるのであれば、僥倖。願ってもない展開である。
思い浮かべるは、『星斬り』の御技。
使うたび、撃ち放った側の人間である俺の腕が威力に耐え切れずに折れてしまうという結果に幾度と無く見舞われてきた一撃。
「は、ぁ————っ」
オーガの時は無我夢中過ぎて気付けなかったが、この一撃の威力は込めた魔力に依存する。
しかも、俺の魔法である——〝
故に、その威力は推して知るべし。
程なく俺は大地に向けていた切っ先を移動し、上段に、空へと向け直す。威力は落ちるがそれでも、腕が折れないようにと気に掛けながら魔力を流し込み、
へ「馬鹿が」と言わんばかりの嘲弄を顔に貼り付けて————次の瞬間、手にする無骨な剣で孤月を描いた。
輝きの伴うそれはまるで、夜空に煌く、
振り下ろすと同時、宙に描かれる三日月の軌跡から斬撃のような一撃が眼前目掛けて撃ち放たれ————それは獰猛に
これ、は、間違いなく致命傷......っ!!
逃げるだけしかないと思っていたが故に生まれた侮り。それをものの見事に突いた一撃。
本物とは隔絶した劣化ではあるが、それでも致命傷は避けられない。
そう勝ちを確信する俺のすぐ側から、颶風を伴ってもう一方の鉤爪がやって来る。
最早、目視出来たことが奇跡とさえ言えた。
「嘘だ、ろごッ————!?」
反射的に振り下ろしていた剣を盾に、防御を試みるが、コンマ数秒間に合わない。
直後、左の腕がみしり、と悲鳴があがった。
痛みに声をあげる暇すら、そこには存在していなかった。
常識は捨てておけ。
......シヴァのその言葉をちゃんと理解したと思っていたが、どうやら認識が甘過ぎたらしい。
放り投げられたボールのように大地に幾度として弾む身体。足を地面に擦り付けてるのにそれは一向に止まる様子はなく、そんな中、辛うじて目視出来た————先の〝流れ星〟を真正面から食らった
......常識外れにも程がある。
「ぁ、ぐ」
胸中で毒づきながら歪に生える木の幹に身体を打ち付けられ、漸くの静止。
「かんっ、ぜんに下手、うっ、た......」
連撃猛攻で仕留めるべきであった。
腕に多少の負担がかかろうとも、〝流れ星〟を立て続けに、それこそ、一瞬の暇すら与えずに。
シヴァのいう魔物共の頭と戦うならと考え、出し惜しみをしてしまった。そんな余裕なぞ、今の俺にはあるはずもないのに。
流血し、赤く染まり始めていた左腕から、ずきん、と鋭い痛みが伝う。
恐らくは、折れてしまっているのだろう。
けれど、痛いからといって立ち止まっているわけにはいかない。ひとまず体勢を立て直し——
再び、覚えのある影が俺を覆う。
鉄錆と肉塊の異臭を伴い、それは俺へと向かって来ていた。
本能に従うようにがむしゃらに身を横へ投げ出す。やがてやってくる肌を焦がす熱気。
が火を吹きやがったのだと理解するより早く、鉤爪で吹き飛ばされた際に手放してしまっていた剣を再度、創造。
これ以上怪我を負うのはあまりに拙過ぎる。
数十秒前の自分を責め立てながらそう判断。
もう一度、〝流れ星〟を。
そう判断する俺を見てか。
「ピィィィィィィイイイッッ!!」
「......おいおいおいおい」
......厳密にいうならば、それに似た行動という事になるのだが、俺はそれを知っていた。
それは、助けてくれ。という救援の合図。
Chapter 27
"UGH!!! Those wings are getting on my nerves!!!"
I continued to run, sometimes hiding in already crumbling buildings, wondering how I could deal with the fact that projectiles were ineffective against my enemy.
And in the end, the only choice I could think of was to directly slash it, but as long as that monster was flying around freely using its wings, in all probability even if I fired a strike with all my heart and soul, it wouldn't reach the enemy.
If only judging things based on risk-reward, I couldn't use the "Star Slaying" technique, as it was extremely taxing on the body.
No matter how good my attack was, if it didn't hit, it was meaningless.
"...It breathes fire, flies around, and destroys everything as they please... If this monster isn't troublesome, I don't know anymore...!!!"
As I continued running to lure the monster away from the entrance of the town, the things that I needed to consider about the enemy who had set its eyes on me were gradually becoming more clear.
First, it has wings.
Not only was the monster highly mobile, but since it could fly above the ground, there were almost no places to hide inside Minaura-- a place lined with abandoned buildings with wrecked ceilings.
And above all, it breathes fire.
Unleashing flames from its mouth.
Once it decided to go forward, it would just keep going straight ahead, not caring about all the buildings it could potentially slam against.
Therefore, I tried to escape to a place surrounded by ruins, but the monster destroyed all the buildings it encountered just to chase after me.
"...If I want to defeat it quickly, I have to do something to reduce its mobility..."
I muttered to myself as I looked at the monster, that monster, flying around freely.
But no solution came to mind.
If only I could use magic like Siva could...
I thought about such a thing for a moment, but it went without saying that begging for something I didn't have was not an option right here and now.
"I'm not the smartest guy in the world, unfortunately."
After a few minutes of running, I stomped my feet and decided that I had had enough.
To eat or to be eaten.
I only had two choices, and so, I picked mine.
Reconsidering the monster without its wings, the only chance I would have of hitting it directly would probably be the first time it charged at me, vulnerable.
The corner of my mouth turned up in delight as I pulled out the rugged sword at my waist with my right hand.
And next, I aimed the tip of the sword at the ground once, and then timed it right.
"----!!!"
A wordless scream.
A scream so loud that I feared my eardrums might be ruptured.
Perhaps I could say the monster was intimidated, as he got angry with my foolish and honest manner of confrontation.
But if it made its blood boil, it was fortuitous.
I thought of the "Star Slaying" technique.
And remembered that every time I used it, my whole arm would break as it couldn't withstand the force of the strike.
"Haaah----"
Although I was too absorbed during the ogre's incident to notice it, the power of this technique depended on the magic power that was put into it.
Moreover, my magic, "Sword: Creation," was so effective at conducting magic power that one might think it was only for the purpose of performing the Star Slaying technique.
Therefore, one could only imagine how powerful it was.
Soon after, I shifted the tip that was pointed at the earth and re-pointed it towards the sky.
At the same time it extended its claws towards me, I drew a lone moon with the sword in my hand.
With its accompanying brilliance, it shimmered in the night sky, as if it were a...
As I swung, a slash-like blow was unleashed from the crescent moon trajectory I drew in the air in front of my very eyes, which ferociously bared its fangs at the monster, piercing it hard to the ground.
Now that monster had surely suffered a fatal wound...!!
A splendid strike that was born from the insult of the thought of only helplessly running away.
Although the attack was a step-down from the real technique, I was confident that a fatal wound was still unavoidable upon taking it directly.
But just as I was convinced that I had won, the other claw came at me with a tornado blast, with its speed being several times faster than the previous one.
It was a miracle that I could even see it.
"You've got to be kidding me--!!!"
I reflexively tried to defend myself with my sword by swinging it down as a shield, but I couldn't make it in time for a few tenths of a second.
And immediately after, my left arm writhed miserably.
There was no time to even scream out in pain.
Throw away your common sense.
...I thought I understood Siva's words properly, but it seemed I was too naive to recognize them.
My body bounced repeatedly on the ground like a thrown ball, not seeming to stop even though my feet were already scraping against the ground.
...It was so far out of the ordinary, let alone common sense.
"Ah-- Ggh!"
Struck in the chest, my body slammed into the distorted trunk of a tree, and I finally came to an abrupt stillness.
"Th...at monster... really got me bad...!"
It should have been finished off with a series of blows and onslaughts.
Even if it took some strain on my arms, I could've just kept on making the monster eat consecutive "Shooting Star" attacks, without even giving it a moment's pause.
I thought that if I was going to fight against the leader of the monsters that Siva mentioned, I would have to be careful, but the present me couldn't afford to do just that.
I felt a sharp pain coming from my left arm, which was beginning to bleed and turn red.
It was probably shattered.
But I couldn't just remain standing still because of the pain.
Just after I thought so, a familiar shadow covered me once again.
It was coming toward me, accompanied by the stench of iron rust and lumps of meat.
Following my instinct, I threw myself to the side.
Before I realized that the monster blew fire, I recreated my sword, which I had let go of when I was blown away by its claw.
I couldn't afford to be injured any further.
I decided so, blaming myself for what happened a few dozen seconds ago.
Once again, I needed to perform another "Shooting Star."
Or so the monster saw me intending to do so, as it got up from the bloody, red puddle on the ground and opened its beak-like mouth with a snap, and headed to the sky.
"PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII...!"
"...Come on now..."
...Strictly speaking, I was aware of that action just now, similar to the other monsters I had fought in the past.
And it was the common habit of monsters... to seek help from other monsters when in a bind.
Star-Slaying Swordsman
星斬りの剣士
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/star-slaying-swordsman/
Action Fantasy Martial Arts Mature Psychological Shounen
Adapted to Manga Dark Fantasy World Male Protagonist Mature Protagonist Medieval Philosophical Romantic Subplot Sudden Strength Gain Sword And Magic Sword Wielder Transplanted Memories
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336gg/
アルト／遥月