Vol 3 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6: The beginning of the end
“By the way, oniichan, e go back?”
Next
While ere having breakfast at the hotel, that question came from my sister’s lips
“… Well Since it ritten on the tour ticket sent by hts… Maybe around the day after tomorrow?”
“But, you know Come to think of it, does it still matter what the ticket said?”
“Well… That’s true”
“To tell the truth… I’m also worried about that We can’t text to the human world from the Netherworld… I have to contact daddy soon”
“Is that so? Why don’t we ask Lilith-san about bringing forward a bit the date of return?”
“There’s no need for that”
“… Ah! Lilith-san None too soon”
As usual, Lilith-san appeared at an unexpected time from a unexpected place
“So… What do youto worry about it?”
“Since you all will be staying in the Netherworld for some more time”
“So about?”
“… Let’s see If things go well, maybe you will leave the Netherworld in 3 years’ time?”
“T-three years!?”
“Yeah By the way, Ithe worst case, you’ll spend all your lives in the Netherworld”
“… Erm, of course that’s a joke, isn’t it?”
“No I’ serious What need do I have to lie to you?”
“…”
Hearing Lilith-san saying it wasn’t a joke, the cheerful ated abruptly
As if it were a lie, the loomy
“… Good grief, that’s stupid”
Said Zonainst the table
“Even though I’, to reach the world of huet done with some formalities
Chiharu… You don’t need to listen to what she’s saying Coe We’ll leave fro”
“Hey Zonmi, wait!”
I held back Zon without a word
At least… It’s not too late to listen a bit
“I see Even if you really want to leave, it’s still fine”
“… ? What do you mean?”
“It’s going to be the same no matter what you do It will be a proble the hue to even leave this island”
“I see If ye will go even to the extent of confining us, beyond doubt it’s so very deep Isn’t it, Demon?”
Iris looked at Lilith-san sending daggers with her glance,
“… Why dostn’t thou be truthful with us already? The real reason we have come to the Netherworld…”
“… Is that so? Do I not have to keep it secret anymore?”
As if realizing so, Lilith-san slowly started to tell us
“Frankly speaking, Chiharu-saer to us
A chimera between a hue… The illegal organization that is researching the combination of humans and monsters… It’s not like its members will keep quiet
With your power, as you hold the power of athe current humanity with a brand new humanity… It’s possible for that unrealistic event to happen”
“…”
I didn’t know
However, If, as Lilith-san says, that kind of underground organization exists, no doubtwould be a suitable sample for them
… Mm, wait
“Could it be that that organization you say…?”
The mysterious monster tamer I battled the other day crossed my mind
I recalled Noelle, hile being a human, had the power of a monster
“It’s as Chiharu-sa people in researching theof humans with monsters”
“…”
Is that so?
So it was like that…!!?
It looks like I have tied together everything about the doubts that were haunting me until now
The reason the Black Tamers came for us so desperately
And, about the monster tamer I battled before The reason that Noelle held the ability to turn her own body into a monster
If we think that all of that is because of their research, everything that happened up till now coether
“I’ve understood the reason why I can’t return to the human world
However… Why now? If you simply wanted to trap me at the Netherworld… You should have done it earlier”
“That’s right If, like up until now, Chiharu-sa at the hurettably, that cannot be”
“So that means… The secret has been leaked somewhere?”
“Yeah Are we talking about 3 ed by the IMA was confires, we didn’t discover it until recently…”
“…So it was like that”
Speaking about three o, that’s around the same time I received on my cell the mail from the IMA
Co chosen as a e of my information from the IMA database are connected somehow!?
“Erm… Lilith-san…”
So, the moment after I was about to voice my doubt
Suddenly, the sound of a siren resounded inside the room
At first, I thought that a small fire had started, but it seems that it’s not that
The sound of the siren, rather than fro fro
“Head ency!”
The one who appeared before us was a hly, and her countenance surmised that “what happened is no trivial matter”
“What is it!?”
“An enemy attack! The opponent is likely the Black Tae, our defensive lines are on the verge of collapsing Some of them have infiltrated already”
“… Is that a mistake? This island, entirely covered with a su field, should have perfect counter terrorist defenses”
“About that… The enee their own body into afield in the least”
A shadow fell over Lilith-san’s face,
“… How stupid Do they plan on repeating the sao?”
“Er on this island? Besides, just now… Black Tamers…”
“It seems that we don’t have the time to explain it properly Chiharu-sama… Leave from here at once”
Right after Lilith-san commanded me so
There was a creaking noise of broken glass
As we looked at the source of the noise, froiant monster entered the hotel
That e fangs
“Yoh… Long ti forward for the day to coainst you… Kusumi-kun!”
“…”
Wh-who’s this guy…
I’ met any olf
“Haha! You can’t guess with this shape? Don’t worry, will you reht!?”
After spewing that sentence, the wolf ainst me
It’s definitely not a ainst, but… I didn’t dare to evade it
“Excuse me!”
Why?… Since, for starters, I didn’t feel that there was a need to evade
As soon as the olf identified et, Zonmi, ready for combat, fended off the attack with her umbrella
“… Tch You again, bitch? Thanks for taking care of me back then[1] Ghoul womaaan!”
“I remember this face from somewhere… The man e battled before that used a Minotaur… Is that you?”
“On the lad that you remember me!
Haha! This tiht ofSeconds[2]!”
“…”
Is it… A joke…?
This olf’s true identity… Is the black suited Black Tamer I battled before?
The shocking thing is that it’s not part of his body
The Black Taenuinely… Completed their research to turn a human into a monster!?
… Though that was a surprise, it’s not like I’ll show itation to the enemy
I have to show to them a composed smile
“Can you allow yourself to look away? I too have strengthened my battle power”
“… Haah? bastard, what are you… Guah!?”
Receiving a severe blow on his flank, the olf rose a dull moan
“Haru… I’ll protect you!”
Kyouko’s dropkick froe build of the olf
From the start, in battle power alone, Kyouko can suitably be called the strongest of our members
And in addition to that, because of rown and beco fearsome
“If you forget about Manaret it♪”
Saying that, Manae kitchen knives in a boo fashi+on
“… Uugh!?”
That strength surprisingly seeht of, with the knives stuck to his forehead, the olf let out a big round
“… Keh! Isn’t a surprise attack bad manners?!
However, I didn’t expect it… For you bastard of a rookie to so quickly… Contract three monsters…”
“…”
I’
You may not believe me when I say this to you, but… My sister is not a monster
“… I beg you fall back a bit”
“Eh!! But it’s fine Can Manairl power, monster or whatever, won’t he fall in one punch?”
“It bothers me that you think that’s fine!”
As I remarked that to her, Manahter,
“Humf♡ There’s no way
Oniichan can’t help but worryingly worry about Manami♪
Kyaaah♡ Could it be that Mana loved!?”
“… Yup Since it’s a pain in the ass, let’s leave it like that”
So to h
The olf, having heard our conversation froh,
“Haha! How surprisingly easygoing Thanks to your long conversation, bastards, I too could finish my preparations”
“!?”
Looking to where the ht-typehere from outside the
Each and every of those guys was shaped like a bird or an insect, and like this, they were closing the distance with us
This is bad
NoZonmi and the rest are, we can’t stand up to these numbers by normal means
Now all of us have to cooperate…
When I
—I couldn’t see Iris anywhere
“… Don’t tell me!?”
The worst possibility crossed my mind
How careless
That’s right Hearing news about the Black Ta? I dare say that Iris, right now… To exert her revenge, there’s no doubt that sheby herself
… As I was thinking that, the flight-type monsters entered the hotel one after another
The hed loudly,
“Haha! Now things have changed! You’d do better surrendering like this, you bastard”
“…”
It seems that, as expected, the objective of the Black Tamers is me
It looks like they want to use my body to further their research
“… Chiharu-sama”
Lilith-san called my name
Before I knew it, she has brought heavily armed maids, ready for the battle
“Their objective is you This place, how about… You leave this place to us? Chiharu-sae I showed you the other day”
“… Understood”
“We apologize for our difficult to accept request You’re worried about the safety of Zonht? However, be relieved If we stabilize the front lines, they can go after you… Er your pardon Could you please repeat to me what I’ve just said?”
“You said to leave this place to you”
“… Yes?”
“Take care of Zonmi and the rest”
“Eh, errrm… Yes You can surely leave it in our hands”
That I co to her
Lilith-san was confused for a while with a face that said “there’s so I don’t quite understand”
… I better leave before she becomes aware
Of course, this time, I won’t comply in the least hat Lilith-san has said
I have one thing I must do
To retrieve Iris, who has gone to fight alone, and save her from her pinch
After all… I proht
If you ever fall into a pinch, no o to save you!
I’m worried about the safety of Zonmi and the lot, but since the ene the hotel will make them be safer
With a strengthened decision, after sneaking out of the room, in order to search for Iris, I ran to outside the hotel
× × ×
Vigorously rushi+ng out of the hotel, searching for Iris was difficult
If I had at least ic power that co to choose the shortest way, but… Even if I complain now, it’s no use
Instead, I could find along the way charred black monster bodies
Could it be perhaps… That Iris had been battling here?
Though Itogether those tiny clues
As I approached the town’s center, the frequency at which I found charred black monsters went up
Surely… Iris must be near
After walking for a while, SHBROOOM!, fro concrete
“Iris!”
I could easily spot Iris, turned into her red dragon form
Iris, with her body conspicuously buried into the wall at the top of a building, looks to be clearly worn out fro
“GROAAAAAAAAR!”
After taking flight by extending her wings, Iris let out a roar that made the earth tremble
“Kyaha♡ Don’t hide, lizard-chan I’ly tease you a bit”
The person Iris is against is a very familiar face
The o, who could turn her body into a golem
Noelle North Norm
Contrasting with Iris, whose face was easily readable, Noelle’s countenance was frighteningly cold It was as if she enjoyed the death ame… That kind of madness could be felt
Slash
After being provoked, Iris flew up front in Noelle’s direction
However, Noelle easily stopped that attack by transforolem
Looking fro use of a pair of rocky arms five times her size was beyond weird
“No, no♪ Attacks like those won’t work on me”
Noelle grabbed Iris by the tail and turned her around
Making use of that i
“Gyaaaaaaah”
Iris, being thrown again against the concrete of a building with frightening strength, let out a fearsome roar
… I couldn’t look
After that, Iris faced Noelle again and again… It seerasped her battle skills
Iris’s attacks were focused on her inborn speed, but her fangs not reaching her enemy, she was at her wits’ end before the continuous counterattacks
… I understand
It seems that my “somehow or other, I want to save you” only hurt Iris
However
How could I have thought that Iris had abandoned us at the hotel?… She never did so
So to speak, this… Is her personal battle
… Until now, Iris’s objective of attaining revenge, instead of denying or accepting it… I adopted an uncertain attitude
Since, after all, I had one-sidedly decided that there was no way I could understand this girl’s feelings, all alone after losing her family
Thinking about her, I mostly tried not to butt into her way
Perhaps… No, absolutely… Iris won’t be glad that I get roped in her battle
Even so, should I go help her?
Even so, should I get in the way of her way of life?
“Even so… I…”
My decided course of action on a limited situation was that Iris… I don’t want to lose an is
“Iris… You can’t loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose!”
Before I kneas shouting
In honest truth… I don’t know if e
Nevertheless
This , but…
I felt that Iris’s eyes recovered some of its vitality
“Groaaaaaaar!”
Mustering the strength of her whole body, Iris spewed her scorching breath against Noelle
The breath she spewed in large quantities was so powerful that its heat reached even here
“… Good, this is it!”
I was confident of Iris’s victory, but just after that
Noelle let out a coh
“Kyahaha♪ Fire is not effective against rock[3]!”
Making full use of her gole out the breath that came down
Besides the ie palms made of rock, Iris’s breath turned completely ineffective
“What the heck…”
Attacking directly is no good Spitting flaood
In that case… What can Iris do…
And then, so outside expectations happened
When Iris’s breath stopped, Noelle’s eyes were tinged with surprise
“The he… The flames were a co…?”
So
It was not like Iris kept spewing flames just because
In other words… Though she kept spitting fla for the uard
It’s a simple tactic, but not even Noelle would have expected this action frole-minded pattern of attacks up until now
“Wai… No… ! Let me down!”
Picked by her nape by Iris’s talons, Noelle was unavoidably dragged into an aerial fight
From now on, Iris has the control
Having brought the battle to the sky, Iris becaained altitude
Has she reached maybe around 600 meters[4], I wonder?
Just when Iris’s body was s froe of my vision
“Iyah!… Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”
Of course, that girl was Noelle
Noelle kept falling at a terrific speed, and in the end she crashed head on against the concrete surface with great force
Just when a thunderous roar as if a bomb had fallen was heard, a crater with a diameter of 5 meters[5] appeared on the floor
“Uwah…”
That must have been instant death
Even I, who draws the blood of a De dropped froht
It’s no joke
Let’s assume that Noelle has a body resilience that exceeds mine
Even then, the daee ju without rope from the top of the Tokyo Skytree[6]
At the very least, she has to have lost consciousness for a while
Soon after Noelle’s fall, Iris flapped her wings and gradually started decreasing her altitude
Has she coic power?
Fro… A terrible weariness can be perceived, as if she had been fighting for three days and three nights straight without resting
“Iris!”
Once again, I shouted to Iris
I noticed the red dragon transfor to me
That’s good… It seems that this time my voice has reached her
“!?”
It was at that time
Just when I let down my chest with relief
I noticed Iris’s body beco to human form
Having lost her wings, Iris, pulled by the gravity, started to drop at a terrific speed
So as to not let her crash against the ground, I moved at top speed
“…Kuh!”
By a hair’s breadth
I so body
It doesn’t look like just a while ago a life or death battle had been taking place That girl whose little body was snugly resting between irl
“… Oi You alright, Iris!?”
So as to clear away my uneasiness, Iris promptly opened her eyes
“Monster tamer… I owe thee Recently… I’ve often bore human shape This form is more comfortable”
“I see… As long as you’re safe, that’s fine That’s good… You’re alive… That’s really good”
Seeing Iris s my chest
Unable to hold s, tears formed
Iris, with a bewildered look,
“… Incomprehensible Why, what need dost thou have to shed tears?”
“Isn’t that… an obvious thing? I don’t knohat you think, but… I think of you as someone as important as my own family
That’s why… You being alive is what makes me happiest…”
“Family… Is it?”
Iris slowly ru of the word,
“I feel that I had long forgotten the ives thee this kind of warmth…”
So as to say she had reached the liies, Iris, softly buried her face in my chest
“Sorry Monster taht now, still surrounded by thy warm… I want to rest my body”
“… Understood”
When I replied, Iris fell into a deep sleep
Iris… You’ve given your best
Let’s leave the fighting back there to Lilith-san and her lot and return to the hotel asap
At any rate, now… We better leave behind this place even a moment sooner
Judging that, when I turned back