chapter 20
20 – Evolution
– Shriek―― Squawk!!
The battle began as soon as Shez threw his spear.
The dark spear flew straight and pierced through two trolls before hitting the ground.
She summoned new spears one after another and spoke to me.
“Shout if you think you’re going to die. Then I’ll watch you die and run away.”
“Not saving me?”
“There are too many of them. Survive on your own.”
Having finished her words, Shiz threw the newly summoned spear and ran forward.
I looked ahead along the trajectory of the spear.
A hateful monster with a wolf’s head, Nol.
About a hundred of them were roaring and rushing in.
“Wouldn’t it be better to run away now?”
[She might kill me with her own hands if I say that.]
“Sigh. What’s his honor for.”
I took a deep breath and gripped the chainsaw.
The mana in the air filled my lungs and began to infuse a tingling vitality into my whole body.
I decided to do my best and run away if it gets dangerous.
I found a suitable clearing and waited for them.
“Kegang!”
“Kieeeng!!”
Shiz, who glanced at me, was slaughtering the Nols with tremendous force.
Those who met her eyes became ragdolls and flailed in the air, and those who heard her voice became deaf and panicked.
That’s the illusion magic she mentioned earlier.
I quietly admired her mana that shone with a golden light.
“It seems like there’s no need to run away in the first place.”
That’s what I thought as I watched Shiz fight.
She said she would run away a while ago, but that was probably her own joke.
Shiz was swinging her spear wildly among the goblins.
She looked almost like, well, a dragon slayer.
I felt reassured to have such an overwhelming combat power on my side.
I grabbed the starter cord of the chainsaw roughly and got into a fighting stance.
Just then, the goblins were rushing at me.
――――――!!
“Kieeek!!!”
The roar of the chainsaw pierced through and the goblin in front of me screamed.
The saw blade had dug into his chest more than half, so he must be dead by now.
I pulled out the chainsaw stuck in his fur and revved it up roughly.
The blood and fur pieces stuck on the chainsaw flew in all directions by the centrifugal force.
―――!!
“What!?”
The target was the face of the goblin that was running at me from the front.
The guy with blood in his eyes closed his eyes tightly even though he had his enemy right in front of him.
Then he should die.
I ripped off the guy’s claw and then tore his throat out.
– Crack!!
His head was big for a goblin, so his neck bone felt thick too.
After the creepy sound, the head that bit its tongue rolled on the floor.
Seeing that, the guys who were rushing at me stopped and hesitated.
They must have felt fear after seeing their kin’s horrible death. They surrounded me and wavered.
Then I had to take the initiative.
I drank mana and charged at them.
―――!!
“Cough!”
The goblins looked like wolves, but they acted like sheep.
I slaughtered them like a wolf among a flock of sheep.
My sight was dyed with green mana and a thrilling pleasure rose. A hot sensation spread through my veins and a strong vitality circulated.
I felt like I could win anything in this state.
“Clang! Cluck!”
As I fought, I realized one thing.
The reason why so many goblins attacked us who had nothing to eat. The reason why they didn’t run away even after seeing the strength of me and Shizu.
The reason was that their nest was near here.
This place was fairly close to Eldenore, so it would be better to wipe them all out before it was too late.
It would be a big trouble if the elves who were patrolling got attacked.
―――!!
Having made up my mind, I abandoned my defensive attitude and went on to knock down the bastards more aggressively.
Glancing at Shizu, he seemed to have the same idea as me, as he was killing the fleeing ones even as he chased after them.
Cutting, tearing, breaking, piercing.
The scale of the goblins was quite large, so a brutal battle that was hard to explain in words lasted for a long time.
How long did we fight like that?
– Thud. Thud thud….
A fatal incident happened to me.
“Ugh!?”
The engine of the chainsaw stopped as if the fuel had run out.
I immediately pulled the starter cord a couple of times, but the engine that had once fallen asleep showed no sign of waking up.
It was the worst situation to face in the midst of a fierce battle.
I hastily pressed the start button to rotate the motor instead of the engine.
– Clack!
“Kruh!!”
I fended off the goblin’s head, but the saw blade got caught on the thick bone.
The motor was relatively weak in output, but it shouldn’t have been this weak.
It probably meant that the battery level was also low.
I kicked the goblin I was fighting and distanced myself from them.
Then I looked down and checked how much battery was left.
“I’m screwed.”
Not only the fuel, but also the battery had run out.
I had consumed a lot of fuel while fighting the goblins before, but even the half-full battery was gone.
The word ‘discharge’ flashed through my mind. And then the word ‘death’ kept popping up.
It was really the worst situation ever.
I shouted loudly with the stopped chainsaw, threatening the orcs.
“Shiz! It’s an emergency!”
Shiz had said he would run away if I asked for help, but I had no other choice.
I looked around desperately, calling out to Shiz.
They had decreased a lot from the beginning, but there were still many orcs left.
“I’m busy right now! Deal with it yourself!”
A small answer came from far away, with a glimpse of golden hair.
Unfortunately, Shiz was too far away.
It seemed impossible to get help from him.
I adjusted my breastplate and gritted my teeth.
“Krrr! Krr!”
At my appearance, the orcs who had been hesitating and keeping their distance started to attack.
The noise of the chainsaw was gone, and I had shouted desperately, so they must have noticed something was wrong with me.
The situation that had been in my favor quickly turned to the worst.
If this continued, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee Pii’s safety. But it didn’t look easy to run away either.
I was desperate to grab onto anything, even a straw.
I wished someone would help me if they were watching.
I spat out a curse-laden prayer, grinding my teeth.
“f*ck. God, please.”
It was a prayer that I didn’t even know who I was addressing.
It was a prayer that was no different from a lament without any hope.
It was a prayer that I uttered as a resolution before engaging in a fight.
But this was a world where gods existed.
– Kugugung!!!!
There was someone who answered that prayer.
――――――!!!!
A flash of light and a chainsaw spewed out a roar.
I looked down in panic and saw the chainsaw covered in blue mana, spinning like crazy.
It wasn’t that there was any oil or battery left.
The fuel that was moving the chainsaw now was not something ordinary.
“Kruk!”
It was mana.
The fuel that the chainsaw was greedily consuming was the green mana that I had.
The more I breathed deeply, the more mana accumulated in my body, the more powerful the chainsaw became.
Perhaps it was not Trias, but another god who gave me a miracle.
Instinctively feeling that way, I overcame the terrible exhaustion and gripped the chainsaw.
[Gaul! What the hell is going on?!]
“Ugh! I don’t know! Just hide for now!”
There were countless incomprehensible points, but it was still a salvation for me.
I looked around at the goblins and checked the amount of mana left in me.
The mana energy that I felt with my heartbeat.
The chainsaw was eating up the mana accumulated in my body at a fast speed, but the mana recovery rate was barely catching up with the chainsaw’s consumption.
Still, I didn’t know when it would turn off, so securing safety was the top priority.
I pulled the trigger and rushed at the goblins.
――――――!!!!
“Kyaah!!”
“Kuhuk!”
In a hurry, one guy. Then, like water flowing, two guys.
They were cut in half with a feeling like cutting tofu.
The cutting power of the chainsaw felt like it had increased ridiculously.
I felt something was strange and glanced at the blade of the chainsaw.
‘The blade has changed?’
The changed point of the chainsaw was not only its appetite.
The blade that was optimized for cutting wood had turned into sharp teeth like a shark.
It no longer got caught in fur. It tore bones and flesh more easily.
Lately, I had been cutting down a lot of creatures, which was a blessing for me.
I didn’t care what it was, as long as it was good.
I got drunk on mana again and jumped into the midst of the gnolls.
――――――!!!!
“Kraaah!!”
I erased my humanity and ran wild with cruelty. I accepted my savagery and roared like a beast.
I unleashed my instinctive hatred without hesitation, and tore apart every monster I saw in front of me.
It was truly a state of no-self (無我之境).
In the battlefield, I was a beast with claws called a chainsaw.
“Huk. Huek.”
How long did I fight like that?
Just before I collapsed from exhaustion, after splitting a gnoll in half and gasping for air to replenish my mana.
The situation around me seemed to be settled, and Shiz asked me as she finished off the remnants.
“Whew… What was the emergency situation earlier?”
We were both out of breath from the long fight.
I struggled to open my dry mouth.
“I almost died….”
I miscalculated the fuel of the chainsaw and nearly got killed.
But thanks to a miracle from a nameless god, I barely survived.
I showed her the chainsaw that had changed grotesquely and said.
“I barely survived….”
Shizu looked at the chainsaw with a disgusted expression and answered.
“Blue mana… The Wild God has blessed us.”