Chapter 86 (1/2)

・ ・ Chapter 86: Sacrificial Exit

For a while, I had just stopped thinking

I didn't feel a sense of accomplish any weird guilt either… I just didn't knohat to think after doing so like this

I was tired I was just, tired I felt dull and fatigued after having done what I had to do, wanted to do

“… Shouldn't waste ti Not long after he fell into the pitfall, a et me out of this zone, came to life I used my notebook co at this new transfer circle and not at the door leading to the boss roo the bits and pieces of loot As for Masaru's body, it had turned to ash at so hiive you a proper burial… but well, I think I avenged you, so let's call it even

I didn't want to waste ti this transfer circle would remain active, and I seriously didn't want tolike tiredness

I was exhausted to the point of having to al, dark pitfall had gone back to being solid stone floor and this ic circle had appeared with the white otten there too, if not for――

“Do it! En-chan!” cried a sweet, bell-like voice, which was followed by a gruff, beastly bark of compliance, “Orf!”

“What the――” I turned around quickly, only to find its fiery, criht in my face

“――Ahhh!?” I shrieked

I had been suddenly knocked down to the hard, stone floor My whole body ached, but, I was okay I hadn't suffered any neounds, and the wound onbody was ordering et a look at who or what had attacked me out of the blue I forced myself up to see,

“Ah! Reina!!”

A re by irlbeauty to behold was unmistakably Reina Adelhyde Ayase Of course she was She'd been standing outside this roouchi

“Oooorrf!!” cae bark from above me

“Huh!? Wait, no, don't!” I cried

Let's get to the one who attackedThis one was in a class of its own co It looked even more vicious than the Orthus, and actually, it was ot a better look at it It had a voluminous radation, giving an i lion was, at present, staring me doith its red eyes, like I was its worst eneainst a monstrosity like this

“Thanks En-chan! You can co me a final look as if to say ‘You live for now, boy'

It raised its massive body and nimbly ran over to Reina's side

Now I knew that it was absolutely obedient to the sirl So this was the so called Spirit Master Job and its Guardian Beasts… I could understand why Higuchi was treating her like an untouchable princess noouldn't darelike that either

“Dammit… D-don't!” I sta on the transfer circle My transfer circle, the one that I stakedtheirl, Reina, it was as if she wasn't acting onat me as I yelled out to her…

“Don't do it, Reina, Reinaaaaaaaa!!”

That girl, as if she'd done nothing wrong, as if she was just a pure and innocent little girl, was holding her Guardian Beast close, her eyes closed as if she was afraid where the transfer would take her All too quickly, she vanished within the ensuing light of transfer ic

“What…”

What, ith that girl… Now that I thought back, she hadn't spoken one word tothe short while I had joined Higuchi's party, she had acted as if I didn't exist at all, she seeain, we had neither need nor motive to talk to each other in the first place I had no idea what sort of relationshi+p she had with Higuchi, so I couldn't know if she was safe to talk with

Seeing how uninvolved she was about everything, I figured that, even if she had a strong Job like this so-called Spirit Master, she'd be too scared to actually fight, and was siuchi and Masaru while they did all the work That hy I completely excluded Reina A Ayase as a potential threat, and in fact, not once had she coht had started

“Da Reina, she… she was ai…”

I was now sure of one thing: Reina A Ayase was no ally of Higuchi In addition, she had no intention of beco my ally either She had no conscience to help either of us We didn't register as so she needed to be concerned about

That was how she was able to ignore Higuchi even as I pushed hi leftrid of two oal, all without so oal, that is, once she o all ‘Yuu-kun, I was soo scared!!' acting like she always did in the classroom

“I should've killed her too… nah, who aainst thatto die Higuchi hadand ice element That En-chan ithout a doubt her fire ele The fact that she coth basically meant… it was practically a cheat Job the likes of a Hero

“Ugh, haah… shi+t, I need to calm down…”

I felt so hu to change the fact that she had stolen otta be another way, I could look for a different route for exauchi wouldn't need to resort to preparing a sacrifice…”

There were apparently uchi still chose this et rid of me, but because it was the safest and only way left to hi he was, but even then, he wasn't strong enough to beat this Goliath that aiting in the boss roo possibility of getting him injured fatally, and he'd also detererous

Maybe this really was the end of the line for me

My mana was practically nil, I was beaten and battered and the only weapons I had on hand were uchi's butterfly knife which I took as ht one

Could I even make it back to the fairy square like this? This rooht before the boss room, but it was no square Monsters could come in normally, and who knows,the stench of blood leading here already

“It's fine… it'll be fine, I can do this…”

Right, it was still too early to give up But I couldn't find any strength to put in ht so hard to obtain had been stolen so easily, thatto? Wouldn'tme?