Chapter 48: - Trampled
The battle against the higher ranking Orc, Orc General, had already become a one-sided battle. And different from the previous one, Rei's party was the one being overwhelmed right now.
Kazami had fired his unique skill [Raigeki] at the Orc General over and over again. However, the Orc General's charge never stopped even when it received Kazami's attack.
"Damn! Damn! Damn! What's going on! Why didn't it receive any damage even after taking my Raigeki directly?!"
Kazami was confused by this situation where the enemy didn't receive any damage after taking his own attack as it was the first time this kind of thing happened to him.
However, to be precise, the damage itself was actually taken by the Orc General, but Kazami who was in the midst of confusion couldn’t even recognize that fact.
It wasn't just Kazami who was in the midst of confusion. Sakura and the others were also beginning to lose the will to fight due to the fact that their unique skill doesn’t work against the enemy. Because of that, they began to think that they couldn't win no matter what they did.
Rei too could only look at such a situation from behind. Because she knew that even if she went and fought the Orc General right now, she would only be a hindrance no matter how hard she tried.
‘I can't believe this party was this fragile.'
Rei muttered like that in her heart.
Kazami and his colleagues have defeated many enemies superior to them by using their unique skill to the utmost–Yes, this was what they believed.
But, it wasn't exactly accurate.
They only fought higher-leveled enemies than them but in reality, there was nothing superior to them at all. They were just inferior enemies that could be defeated by utilizing their unique skills.
That's why, for Kazami and his colleagues, the Orc General was the first enemy that was actually superior to them. Furthermore, they didn't know how to handle the current situation as they’ve never experienced having their life at risk when fighting an enemy.
Then finally, the moment where the balance of the one-sided fight that had been barely endured by Kazami and the others tipped, came. Much like the Knights earlier, the Orc General changed its aim to Kazami.
"Wha–"
Kazami couldn't move even one step in front of the powerful enemy that was approaching him.
"It's dangerous!"
Rei, who saw the stunned Kazami, rushed to him like a bolt of lightning.
She knows she couldn't do anything to an enemy with such a huge body even with using her unique skill [Magic Sword]. That's why, just before the Orc General swung his ax down to Kazami, Rei pushed Kazami's body out of the way of the Orc General ax.
And immediately after that, the iron ax slammed into the ground right beside Rei.
"Agh.."
As the iron ax slammed into the ground, Rei felt a strong impact on her body as the ground crushed by the iron ax became debris, and the ones that scattered away hit her.
Rei's body was blown by the impact and finally stopped due to crashing at the wall of the boss room after bouncing on the ground several times.
‘Eh…? I can't move my body.'
For some reason, Rei's body didn't listen to what she wanted to do. She could only move her fingertips at most and could do nothing more than that.
She only knew the color of red was mixing in her field of vision as if blood was flowing from somewhere on her body. The 10% HP remaining, that decreased little by little every second due to bleeding, was also displayed before her eyes like a danger signal.
But with a hazy view, Rei still continued to observe the battle with her own eyes. However, at that moment, the first thing that she saw was Kazami who had lost his sanity.
He screamed when he realized he was just about to die after he saw Rei, who was covered in blood.
"U-Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Then without anyone comprehending what he thought, Kazami rushed toward the gate of the boss room and hit it many times with his fist.
"Oi! What are you doing! Someone was there, right?! Quickly help us! Isn't that your role!"
Kazami desperately demanded help to the point that he even forgot that the door won't open until the boss battle was over and that he was the one who left the B-rank party behind.
But in a battle, that kind of action only created a chance for the enemy to attack. Like that, the Orc General, who was already standing behind Kazami, swung down its Iron Ax.
"I'm not someone who should die in this kind-"
–And then, Kazami's body was easily cut in half.
"Shin? It's a lie, right?"
"Is he dead…?"
"No way…"
Sakura and the others displayed a despaired expression as they witnessed Kazami's death. Of course in that state, there is no way they could be able to properly fight against the Orc General.
"No!"
"Please stop!"
"Argh!"
After that, the trampling of Kazami’s party by the Orc General continued.
Approximately two minutes after Kazami's death, everyone except Rei was easily killed by the Orc General.
Then after killing its fourth victim, Sakura, for some reason the Orc General turns his back to take some distance after glancing at Rei who was lying on the ground.
Although it was unclear whether it thought Rei was already dead or Rei would be dead even without it doing anything, Rei's life was prolonged because of that. Just until Rei's HP that decreased every second ran out, though.
However, there was an existence that didn't even allow such a slight grace period. The knight that had been waiting in the corner of the room since the awakening of the Orc General slowly approached Rei with a longsword in his hand.
‘This is the end, huh…'
Rei turned her gaze toward the door of the boss room. The door was still tightly closed with no sign of opening. And there wouldn’t be anyone who could come to help.
I wonder where I made a mistake.
Is it by entering King of Unique?
Is it when I couldn’t stop Kazami and the others who tried to challenge the boss?
Is it when I also stepped into the boss room to follow them?
Even if she thought about it, she couldn't think of an answer. But of course, it's also useless to think about it because with this, everything is over.
But that's why Rei thinks.
At least, the one who got sacrificed was us who had made such a foolish decision.
When I die, the gate would be opened. Then, the B-rank parties surely will be able to defeat the Orc General.
That's the only thing I wished for.
Thinking like that, Rei quietly closed her eyes in front of the knight who wields a longsword in its hand–
–Clang.
Suddenly, the sound of something hard falling to the ground reverberated in the room.
‘Eh..? It doesn't hurt?'
Her hearing only caught the sound of something hard falling to the ground while the pain that should have come never assaulted her.
Then, Rei fearfully opened her eyes–
"I'm late, sorry."
–Rei stared at his back, as she heard his voice.
"__–Why?"
Rei couldn't believe the scene in front of her. Because the person who stood there was someone who shouldn’t be here.
With the knight's helmet rolling on the ground and the loud sound that happened because of the collapsed body of the knight.
The man before her was undoubtedly the one who cut off the knight's head with the silver longsword in his hand. He was someone that Rei knew–Amane Rin.