13 Chapter 13: Alpha Predator (1/2)
”Don't let even one of them leave alive.”
Kijima Takeshi's voice clearly rang out in the woods. His glowing golden lions growled and leaned back on their haunches, their muscles rippling and their fur standing on end.
”It's another of Evelyn's Chosen!”
Elia Kratz and her subordinates were backing away fearfully, intimidated by the sheer presence of Kijima.
However, my enhanced zombies stepped forward and tore the first lion apart.
”What the hell are those?”
”What do you think?”
I shrugged with a smile. My zombies stepped forward in a protective ring, growling and bellowing as they bore down on Kijima, but he merely summoned another pride of lions. Roaring, the majestic, glowing beasts lunged forward.
My zombies were more than a match. Unleashing their special abilities, they launched elemental attacks, increased in number, and tore the lions apart before Kijima's wide eyes. The delinquent bully backed away as he saw his horde torn apart before his very eyes.
However, his fear was short-lived. He suddenly chuckled.
”?”
”Oh, you really surprised me,” Kijima remarked, shaking his head. ”I didn't think you would have such tricks hidden up your sleeve. I thought you were useless trash, but it seems you somehow managed to get your hands on a necromancer ability.”
I frowned, watching him warily. He was…smiling?
”I guess I should get serious too.”
Raising his hand, Kijima threw his head back and cackled. A massive lion appeared in front of him, swatting my zombies aside. With a snarl, it bounced across the clearing, soaring above my zombies, and pounced straight at me.
Aiming for me, huh?
That was a wise move. The lion would get too tied up with the zombies and unnecessarily waste time. If Kijima could kill me as quickly as possible, he would end the battle immediately. The best way to kill a beast was to cut off its head.
A fine strategy instead. However, he wasn't the only one capable of that.
”Guys!” I hollered as I dodged the lion. My zombies responded immediately, twisting around and lunging at Kijima. The bully's lip curled when he saw that I had the same idea, but he scoffed.
”How naïve.”
”…!”
I blinked in surprise as the lion, which I had been evading, was shrouded in a sudden golden glow. In an instant, the lion vanished, replaced by Kijima, who swung his fist gleefully at me. I managed to dodge, but glancing at my zombies, I saw that they were engaged in a frantic melee with the giant lion. Despite their enhanced power, they weren't able to take him down.
”Hmm, I can't believe Misha still hasn't gotten rid of those things. Were zombies always this strong?”
Kijima's lips twisted into a snarl and he swung his fist at me again. I jumped back, then lashed out with a kick. Kijima blocked it and staggered back, but his eyes widened.
”How do you have so much power behind your kick?”
”Huh? What are you talking about?”
I stared at Kijima, baffled. He didn't look hurt at all. Yet he was swinging his arms about, as if shocked by the slight, stinging pain.
”A hero like me shouldn't be able to feel anything from any attack from a small fry like you! Did you get some sort of hero ability too?”
”Huh?”
”That can't be…you're not a hero…we should have killed you! Your stats should be much lower than us!”
”What stats?” I frowned. Even with Absolute Appraisal, I still couldn't see any parameters that measured or quantified our strength, speed or magic power. There were no levels either.
However, Kijima didn't reply. Howling, he summoned a golden sword and slashed it at me. I jumped back, just barely avoiding getting eviscerated.
”Stop dodging!”
What idiot would listen to such an inane command? I rolled my eyes and continued to evade, keeping a safe distance from Kijima. Backing away to Tsukishima Tomoyo's remains, I kicked up her staff and grabbed it. Twirling it around, I parried Kijima's strike. With a grunt, I dug my heels in deeply and shoved Kijima back.
”You…!”
Kijima's eyes widened and he glared at me, his gaze flicking toward the staff I now held in my hand.
”That's…Tsukishima's staff? How did you get it?”
”Well…she hired new staff?”
”Fuck you!”
With a roar, Kijima slashed at me ferociously, forcing me back. Sparks flew as his blade clattered against the shaft of my newly acquired weapon, but thanks to Dark Weapon Mastery, I could handle the staff as skillfully as any veteran soldier who had trained with it for a few months. Stepping in confidently, I spun my staff around and knocked him back.
Kijima was a hero, however, and he wasn't felled so easily. He determinedly stood his ground and thrusted his sword at me, forcing me to deflect the blade by mere inches. I spun around and slammed the staff into his head, but he parried it with his sword, stopping the blow a few centimeters away from his temple.
”How are you fighting like this? You never trained…never fought with us!”
”How do you know that?” I countered. Even though Kijima was correct, he should have no idea that I had never trained, and that I was relying completely on a cheat special ability that I had devoured from the late Demon Lord.
”You mean…you were hiding somewhere the last six months, training in secret?”
Kijima stared at me in disbelief, but I didn't reply. I had no obligation to answer him. Instead, I increased the power behind my attacks, surprising him with a kick from below before swinging my staff to connect with his skull. Both times, Kijima reacted impressively, blocking my foot with his shin before ducking under my staff and parrying the shaft with his blade.
”Gr…!”
I didn't feel as frustrated. Unlike Kijima, I knew that it would be difficult for me to match him when I didn't have any training at all. In fact, I was amazed that I could pressure him to this extent. It seemed almost unfair, that in just a couple of days I had managed to reached the same level as someone who had accumulated six months of training and combat experience.
I almost felt sorry for Kijima. Almost.
With a determined growl, I pressed down on Kijima, driving him back. He panted and switched with his lion in that usual glow of golden light. I struck the beast in the nose, causing it to yelp, but the humongous familiar swiped at me. Despite parrying its claws with my newly acquired staff, I was hurled across the clearing.
”Ugh!”
I managed to roll to my feet, the gouges on my skin rapidly healing. Staggering, I fired a Doombolt at the lion, glancing off its shoulder. The majestic beast roared in pain and fury, toppling over and clutching at its wound, which began to blacken and spread.
Meanwhile, despite his sword skills, Kijima was beginning to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of zombies. He backed away, realizing that his lion was in trouble, and then switched places with it once more.
”You…!”
I couldn't miss the opportunity. I flung myself at the newly teleported Kijima, but he was on hand to block my blow. He seethed and sent me back reeling from a powerful slash, golden magical energy radiating from his conjured blade.
”I see.”
Kijima kicked me to the side. By now, I realized that I had exhausted myself with the previous exchanges and had inadvertently depleted my stamina. The difference in experience was beginning to show now, and Kijima returned on the offensive, pressuring me.
”Ugh!”
I dropped to a knee as blood gushed out of my shoulder. Chuckling, Kijima sent another thrust that ripped open another wound on my chest before I could knock it out of the way. Panting, I responded with a riposte that he slapped away before hammering the hilt of his sword into my face. Blood sprouted from my nose and I staggered.
”Hey, hey! Your movements are getting predictable!”
I managed to block his next attack, but Kijima kicked me in the abdomen, sending me flying across the clearing.
”Ugh!”
I crashed into a tree, nearly uprooting it. Leaves rained down on me, shaken free from the violent impact. Huffing, I wiped the blood from my mouth and rose shakily to my feet.
My wounds were healing rapidly. Good thing I devoured Tsukishima earlier. I should have enough reserves to last for my Regeneration.
However, Kijima had noticed the strange phenomenon.
”What the hell are you? How are you healing so quickly? Are you using healing magic?”
I shrugged. ”Take a guess.”
”Fuck you!”
With a roar, Kijima lunged forward and slashed at me again. I just barely managed to block his blade, but he cuffed me with a hand before spinning around and delivering a roundhouse kick. I managed to soften the impact with my staff, but the powerful force behind his blow sent me tumbling into the ground several meters away.
He's strong!
Kijima was stronger than Tsukishima, especially in terms of physical combat. That must be his class or specialty. While Tsukishima was a black mage, Kijima must be a summoner-warrior or something akin to that.
Fortunately, his lion was being stalled by my zombies.
”I can't believe Misha is having trouble with such fodder…no, there's something weird about your zombies.”
Kijima glanced up at the thousand and eight gravestones that towered over us, thinking deeply. Stroking his chin, he mused to himself.
”Could it be that those tombstones are enhancing your zombies somehow?”
The guy was surprisingly sharp and astute. I didn't reply, but he inferred from my silence that he was right.
”Aha. I see. So that's how it is.”
I didn't like the grin that spread across his face. Suppressing the urge to wipe off that smirk, I kept my distance and readied a spell.
But there was no point.
Kijima raised his hand and summoned something. A golden sword shone brightly as it levitated above him. With a snap of his fingers, countless other golden swords appeared all over the battlefield, casting their luminous glow to cast out the shadows.