Chapter 91: Kamasse's Valiant Struggle

Kamasse’s Valiant Struggle

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“O wind, become my blade and shred my foes! 【Wind Cutter】!”

As the silver-haired young adventurer Kamasse chanted, transparent blades shot forth from his fingertips, soaring towards one of the circling massive Togūdo birds overhead.

However.

“Hogaaaaah!!”

With a single cry from the Togūdo, a semi-transparent membrane of air manifested, shielding it from Kamasse’s wind blades.

A defensive magic humans called 【Air Protect】.

Togūdo were tremendous avian beasts easily surpassing the size of ordinary vehicles.

Housed within their feathers were sturdy muscles granting them considerable weight.

The reason these massive creatures could freely soar through the skies was an innate understanding of wind magic – the very ability allowing such low-intelligence Togūdo to wield wind-attribute defensive spells.

“Hogaah! Hogaaaaah!!”

Though undamaged by the blades, the Togūdo they struck became enraged by the unexpected retaliation from such a puny grounded creature, rushing down from above at tremendous speed while flinging drool wildly!

To be body-slammed by that gigantic mass at full force would pulverize Kamasse, even with his 【Body Strengthening】 magic active.

But Kamasse didn’t panic.

Inhaling, then exhaling deeply.

Shifting his weight forward onto the balls of his feet, ready to move.

Never taking his intense glare off the charging Togūdo.

It was all part of the plan.

The 【Wind Cutter】 was merely a provocation.

He never expected it to be effective from the outset.

This was the very moment Kamasse had been waiting for – when the Togūdo closed in on the ground.

“O earth, become myriad pebbles and pierce my enemy! 【Mini Soil Bullets】!”

What Kamasse unleashed towards the incoming Togūdo was an elementary earth magic modified to widespread scatter-shot.

Countless dirt clumps generated from the ground at Kamasse’s feet lifted and flew straight at the massive bird.

Unlike Emi’s 【Infinite Pebbles】, these dirt clumps weren’t enhanced in any way – just fragile clumps of earth.

Hardly potent enough to damage a Togūdo, but of course Kamasse was well aware of that.

“Hogaah!?”

Kamasse’s dirt clumps flew squarely towards the Togūdo’s face.

Though protected by its wind-attribute defenses, the Togūdo reflexively closed its eyes, leaving an opening.

…And that was the very opportunity Kamasse had intended to create.

“Blaze, activate enchantment.”

Bobobot!

As Kamasse uttered the activation code, scorching flames ignited along the blade he held horizontally to the ground.

Yes, Kamasse’s beloved sword Blaze was an enchanted magical weapon!

“Sword Saint Style… 【Radiant Severing Strike】”

Then, charging forward, Kamasse delivered a horizontal slash that struck the Togūdo as they crossed paths.

“Hogaaaaah!?”

Flinching from the searing pain, the Togūdo crashed to the ground in a tumbling impact.

Zugagagah!!

Its massive body bulldozed through the low shrubbery, shattering boulders that burst forth from the grassy patches as it rolled violently.

However, the Togūdo’s sturdy frame, further reinforced by 【Body Strengthening】, did not sustain fatal damage from that alone.

It immediately tried to rise and retaliate against Kamasse, yet…

“Hogaah!? Hogaah!?”

Its efforts were in vain.

The cut Kamasse inflicted suddenly erupted with furious flames!

The power of Kamasse’s magic sword Blaze… it held the simple yet terrifying ability to “incinerate any foe it struck.”

Those flames would ignite, fueled by the struck victim’s own magic power, spreading across their entire body.

They would not be extinguished until the target’s magic was fully drained.

“Ho…ga…”

And so the charred Togūdo fell motionless.

Six such scorched Togūdo corpses now littered the surrounding area.

Ordinarily, Kamasse would have already returned to town to call for help transporting the meat by now.

“…Tch.”

But there was no joy on Kamasse’s face.

He clicked his tongue in vexation while glaring up at the overcast skies, where dozens of unscathed Togūdo continued soaring leisurely.

(This has become quite the predicament.)

Kamasse inwardly cursed.

The request he had accepted that day was a “Togūdo Hunting” quest.

Ever since his defeat by Emi, Kamasse had been focusing on extermination quests, diligently pushing himself through intense training.

All for the sake of becoming stronger.

Kamasse was once hailed as a genius, an exceptionally talented combatant after all.

Though he had only faced Emi once, that single encounter allowed him to grasp the overwhelming gap in their abilities.

…And that ignited his obstinate competitive spirit.

Hence his daily routine since then had been constant training from morning till night.

Cultivating his fundamental physical and magic prowess, honing his techniques, sharpening his battle instincts.

Naturally, accepting the “Togūdo Hunting” quest was part of that training regimen too.

The monetary reward was also an incentive, of course.

Togūdo meat was a main dish essential to Yoshanka’s cuisine, and with the recent influx of outside visitors to town, the quest rewards had been increasing commensurately – a tempting endeavor from both the training and financial perspectives.

It was in pursuit of that quest objective that Kamasse had ventured to the northern cliffs where the Togūdo nested.

There he encountered the pair being assaulted by Togūdo and came to their rescue, but…

(Still, I never expected to face such an enormous flock.)

Ordinarily, Togūdo were not creatures that flocked together.

Even if others of their kind were fighting nearby, individuals would remain indifferent by default.

That’s why Kamasse had planned to simply hunt one or two before returning to Yoshanka town.

But that plan was derailed by the presence of that red Togūdo lurking at the back of the flock.

(To think, a special specimen would show up…)

The red Togūdo.

With a few past sighting reports, it was catalogued in the guild’s monster encyclopedia as the “Togūdo Commander” – a special variant.

Its body was several times larger than a normal Togūdo.

And it possessed the ability to rally and direct the otherwise uncoordinated members of its kind, maneuvering them like extensions of its own limbs.

Wherever a Togūdo Commander appeared, the Togūdo would aggressively expand their territory, resulting in the destruction of numerous villages and towns throughout history.

“Hohohoggaaaaaah!!”

The Togūdo Commander let out an unpleasant screech.

In response, the Togūdo that had been circling aimlessly formed up into disciplined aerial formations and began performing coordinated flight maneuvers.

It seemed their period of observation was over.

Kamasse wished he could have thinned their numbers further beforehand, but the mere six he had defeated were just a drop in the bucket.

And the enemy was an organized force of airborne monsters.

Escape seemed unlikely.

(…Tch! Don’t get disheartened now, Kamasse! I’m the future special-rank adventurer! I’m not meant to die in some place like this!!)

Kamasse readied his sword again, mustering his resolve.

All he could do was buy time and take down as many Togūdo as possible in the meantime.

Before long, that pair he rescued should report the situation to the Adventurer’s Guild, and reinforcements would arrive.

“Come at me, you damned birds!!”

“Hohohohoggaaaaaah!!”

Kamasse and the Togūdo Commander’s cries rang out almost simultaneously.

Under the Commander’s direction, numerous Togūdo began diving attacks against Kamasse!

“Hyah! Hah!”

Weaving through their assaults with the 【Mini Soil Bullets】 obfuscation technique, Kamasse fluidly evaded blow after blow.

Every single Togūdo boasted an immense physique.

Hence to avoid colliding with one another, their dives had to be spaced out individually – making their attacks easily avoidable for a skilled combatant like Kamasse.

But their sheer numbers were overwhelming!

Dozens of Togūdo relentlessly rushed him from every direction without pause!

Unlike before, he was granted no opportunity to counterattack!

Gradually, Kamasse’s stamina, mental focus, and concentration waned as fatigue set in, his movements growing sluggish.

“Gh!!”

And before he knew it, he stumbled over a stray rock, falling onto his backside.

“Hogaaah!!”

Naturally, the Togūdo wouldn’t wait for him to get back up.

Screeching triumphantly, they charged in for the kill.

For Kamasse, the flow of time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Faces of those he had encountered throughout his life flashed through his mind – his boisterous father and gentle mother back in his port hometown, his crybaby little sister, all the people he had met on his travels, and that cursed child Emi.

(Don’t screw with me! Don’t screw with me don’t screw with me DON’T SCREW WITH ME!!)

But Kamasse forcefully brushed aside such recollections, gritting his teeth as he struggled back up, sword in hand!

The enchantment mechanism of the Blaze ignited, wreathing the blade in scorching flames!!

“Daryaaaaaaaah!!”

With an anguished roar, Kamasse leapt skyward!

Spinning vertically while holding his blazing magic sword overhead, he simultaneously avoided the incoming dives while lashing out to sever a Togūdo’s wing in one fluid motion!

“Hogaah!? Hogaah!?”

Struck by the blade, the Togūdo was immobilized as Blaze’s flames consumed it, fueled by the victim’s own magic power.

But it was just one.

He had only taken down a single Togūdo.

Their attacks continued unabated.

“Hogaaaaah!!”

“Gahh!!”

A blind spot Togūdo seized the opening as he landed, slamming into Kamasse and sending him crashing to the ground, coughing up blood.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Ugh…ah…”

Though struggling to stand again, Kamasse’s body refused to muster any strength.

Managing only to prop up his upper body while trembling, his gaze fell upon the massive avian form diving straight towards him.

“Sh…Shit…!”

That immense body shrouded in ebon feathers.

The razor-sharp beak.

Those murky green eyes.

This was the avatar of death that would soon claim Kamasse’s soul.

“Shiiiiiiit!!”

He couldn’t help but scream out.

(Damn it! Am I really going to die in some place like this!?)

Tears streamed down his face.

(It can’t be! Damn it, such a pathetic end…I absolutely won’t accept it!!)

And yet despite that conviction, his body would not move.

(……I don’t want to die!!)

The despair of his own powerlessness.

The thirst to cling to life.

Such commonplace, dying regrets.

…Those were the final thoughts that consumed the silver-haired young adventurer Kamasse Kaisetsu.

And so the once-genius Kamasse was fated to breathe his last in vain anguish.

…………Or so it should have been.

Dopan!!!

However, Kamasse’s life was spared.

Something fist-sized came hurtling in from his right side, deflecting the diving Togūdo’s head away!

“!?”

As Kamasse lay on his back pressed against the ground, the Togūdo’s decapitated body sailed overhead.

“What in the world…”

Dopan! Dopan! Dopan!

That same impact sound rang out in rapid succession, drowning out Kamasse’s murmur.

Looking up, he saw several more Togūdo losing their heads as they began plummeting earthward.

“Hohohogah! Hogaah!!”

With a panicked screech from the Togūdo Commander, the flock temporarily broke off their offensive and resumed circling above once more.

Kasah, kasakasah.

Rustling through the knee-high withered autumn grass, someone approached Kamasse’s position.

Instinctively turning that way, Kamasse’s eyes flew wide.

It was a person he recognized well.

Younger and smaller than Kamasse himself, yet overwhelmingly stronger – the black-haired, black-eyed cursed child, Emi.

Casually toying with a fist-sized rock in her palm, Emi slowly made her way over to Kamasse.

After confirming he was unharmed with a glance, she turned her back protectively towards him while facing the Togūdo flock, taking a battle stance and releasing an 【Intimidation】 aura so potent that even Kamasse, to whom it wasn’t directed, felt a suffocating bloodlust.

The Togūdo instinctively fell silent, holding their breaths as the area was enveloped in an eerie stillness, the crashing sea winds sounding unnaturally amplified.

Yet Emi shouted in a voice that drowned out even those gale forces.

“You damned birds!!”

Intensifying her killing intent even further.

Allowing the deeply buried will within her heart to manifest.

Ferocious, sinister, formidable.

Laying bare the murderous depths of her soul, she gave voice to that darkness in simple words.

She issued her declaration!

“…I’ll kill every last one of you!!”