Chapter 37 : The Art + Failure = G.o.dly

The big ball that was shining with golden splendour kept letting out roaring sounds as it tried to flatten us to the ground . I’m seeing this guy for the second time now, but it’s still extremely unpleasant . I think it’ll stay this way no matter how many times I see it .

Midori-san, Shinji and I (who was piggybacking the poor runner Aoi-san) were currently running as fast as we could . But putting Shinji aside, I was truly surprised by Midori-san . Her running speed doesn’t even lose to Shinji! It’s not like Shinji’s running speed was any special, but still, it’s also amazing that he has yet to lost to a woman . Though I heard that his motor nerves were good, this is truly more than I had expected .

「W-What should we do, Sou-kun!?」

Well, we have to choose between the choice of splitting into two groups to shake off that giant ball, or head towards the dead end from before .

The choice between saving our own a.s.ses or becoming rice crackers . At this rate, should I choose to become a rice cracker along with everyone or aim for that dead end pa.s.sage? U~hm, what a difficult choice .

「Let’s just bet on a possibility and go for that dead end pa.s.sage! How should I say, I get this feeling that we’re going to experience the same pattern as last time! 」

「Right! I feel the same way!」

Despite saying so, there’s no guarantee that we’ll arrive at the same pa.s.sage as the last time . Or rather, the possibilities for that is rapidly become smaller . But then, I know that this is also our best chance . In short, my intuition says I can do nothing but to support that idea .

「I don’t know the way to whatever you are talking about but I’m with you guys!」

「M-Mee too!」

That only leaves the problem of having the two girls understand the situation . But there’s no time to ex- Yup it’s okay huh .

「Understood, then keep running for now!」

Next is in what way we will enter the pa.s.sage . I’m at loss at that part though . I guess I’ll apologize to everyone later if it turns out that we are going to become rice crackers together .

The giant ball kept following us -who had decided to run with our everything- from behind as if it had its own will . Thereupon, the long awaited wall finally appeared in front of us . Though it could also be our wall of despair .

「Sou! It’s the wall!」

「Yeah, it is indeed the wall . 」

If we’re going by the previous pattern, then there should be a trap that was also a mechanism to pierce through that wall . After deciding so, I who was piggybacking Aoi-san then emptied every single one of the bullets in my gun toward one point on the wall .

「――SHINJI, YOUR SWORD!」

I then rammed the same point on the wall with Shinji’s sword . Ramming the sword into the wall, I turned it into some sort of makeshift screw . Then, holding the very end of the hilt, I pierced into the wall .

「PIERCEEEEEEEEEEE!」

The thin wall that was forcefully destroyed by me revealed an empty air s.p.a.ce behind it . Towards that underground lake, just like last time .

「EVERYONE, JUUUUMP!」

「WE’RE GOING TO JUMP, BLUE!」

「EH?」

Aoi-san showed hest.i.tation in front of the crumbled wall at the height of the jump, but she eventually jumped in response to my words and Midori-san’s push .

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

A high-pitched voice resounded above the underground lake . It might be Aoi-san’s voice . Turning to look at her, I saw a pale-faced Aoi-san screaming at the top of her lungs and Midori-san who was laughing while embracing her . How envious . If I’d known that it’ll turn out this way, I should have positioned myself beside Aoi-san . Wait a minute, come to think of it, Shinji is…

I looked for Shinji’s figure as soon as I remembered him, but I regretted my decision the next moment . Of all things, this guy had decided to dive into the underground lake with his M-shaped pose again .

――A legendary fool .

I don’t even know what the heck this guy is thinking about . Rather, I should say that he doesn’t have any plan, does he now? But, that’s not the pose he will take if he’s not thinking about anything . Actually, that might be the most natural pose that is ingrained deep in his psyche . That could also be the final destination, the enlightenment state of guys who looked too much at gravure photographs . If that is true, then it’s too much of a tragic end .

Shinji, who obviously did not wait for me to sort my chaotic train of thoughts, dived first into the underground lake, right from his a.s.s, while I’m pretty sure I got perfect marks on my landing pose .

After landing, I made a round trip on the banks to bring everyone ash.o.r.e . Meanwhile, despite landing first, Shinji had already sunk to the bottom of the lake by the time I got the other two out .

I fished Shinji out the last .

「We’re back . 」

Shinji muttered calmly as if that disgrace pose a while ago had never happened . Even if you give me that earnest look, it won’t work on me you know, Shinji . That spectacle just won’t disappear from my head .

「That’s the huge door isn’t it? It really gives off the feeling of a boss room . 」

「Yeah . What pressure . 」

Yup, it’s splendid indeed . Thanks to their dripping wet clothes, the girls’ splendid body lines are showing . Is there a way to take a screenshot without being discovered by them? Even if I can’t save this spectacle, I’ll make sure to etch this wonderful sight into my eyes――

The moment I thought so, their clothes returned to the state before they were wet .

DAAAAAAAMMMMNNNNN IIIIIT!!! The clothes in this game are set to be dried after a fixed set of time! For me to forget about such basic knowledge… I really am an idiot!

「What’s the matter Sou? Why are you making such a despairing face?」

It’s because I’m actually in despair you know . Please guess the reason yourself if you’re a man .

「Is it because we’re going to fight the boss? Don’t worry, I’ll leave that guy to you then, Ace!」

While saying those words to me, Shinji tapped on my shoulder and then whispered something to me .

「I’ll send a photograph of them in their swimsuit later, so just endure it for now . 」

Are you… a G.o.d? As I thought, you’re the Takaha G.o.d aren’t you .

「Don’t make such a face, we’re comrades after all . 」

Takahkamisama…

「What are you guys talking about between yourself, let’s get going!」

「Yeah, let’s go Sou!」

「OU!」

After sending my infinite grat.i.tude to Shinji, we once again headed toward the gigantic door .

After opening the door, we found the boss waiting for us . I wonder how many souls have been felled by this beast .

The mane that stood upright like a blazing flame . Its toned yet muscular body along with those solid limbs . This guy, who stands at the summit of all beasts, was once again standing before us .

「This is…The Jiisha!?」

「H-Huge…」

「You girls, aren’t you going closer than necessary? Our priority is to back Sou to the best we can do . On the contrary, going too much ahead will only make us a hindrance to him . 」

Though you don’t need to go that far, this Jiisha won’t let me have such leeway to say those words .

「GAAOOOOO!」

His roaring reverberated inside the cave, filling it to the brim with his will to bring us down .

「I’ve wanted to meet you again, Jiisha!」

I had never thought that one of the seven lines that I wanted to tell to girls would be told to a beast . But, this is also my most honest feeling . Now, I’ll pay back the shame of losing to you!

According to our prearranged tactic, Shinji and I will be the ones to charge toward the Jiisha . I also have a grasp of the Jiisha’s attack patterns . Somewhere in the middle, he will attack with a paw attack and tail attack, changing to using his forefoots and fangs to attack when someone gets closer . His attack aren’t that powerful, but it’s at the level where we’ll be in quite the predicament if we receive a clean hit from one of his attacks . Though, I won’t let him hit me that easily . I’m…………… . . ALL FIRED UP!

As if matching with our rush, the Jiisha’s tail came down from our side . But I kept charging forward without even batting an eye to the oncoming attack . Because my trusted partner is there to protect me .

「――【Defense Shield】! 」

Even with the thundering sound of the tail crashing onto his shield, Shinji perfectly stopped the tail attack .

「Guuuh, so heavy…」

「Guuuh, so heavy…」

But, that one attack still shaved off a good chunk of Shinji’s HP bar . As it is, he won’t be able to keep stopping that attack . But, that’s only if it’s just the two of us .

「――Song of healing! 」

The lullaby-like sound of flute is echoing inside of the cave . Thereupon, Shiji whose HP bar got shaved off just now gradually recovered .

「Thank you, Blue」

Though the song of healing of Aoi-san can recover 30% HP bar of the target, it can’t be used continuously since the cooldown will took 90 seconds . Though it seems the cooldown will be decreased along the increase of level and proficiency, this is the best one we have right now .

From the speed that was matching up to Shinji, I’m accelerating to my top speed and arriving right in front of Jiisha in one go . Should I say “as expected of Jiisha”, though he’s raising his forefoot overhead as he is trying to crush me like crushing a huge tree, I’ve seen that pattern too many times . I’ve no problem in dealing with the attack pattern where he is using his forefoot and fangs . But then, it’s just barely within the limit of my reaction .

Even if I can dodge the forefoot attack, the wind created due to that attack blown me back . But stopping here will cause me to receive the next attack . I’m getting closer toward Jiisha while circling him without going against the flow of the wind .

「Now here I come!」

The knife that I received from Hanzou-san, Shidarezakura[Weeping Sakura] stabbed on his flank and opened a straight wound on it . Though this knife power should be stronger than the previous one, it barely scratched the Jiisha HP bar .

As espected, it’s hard . But, Now I’m sure of one thing .

「GAAAAA！ 」

That was what I’m waiting for . Aiming the silver hawk, my new partner, toward the gaping maw of this idiotic beast, I emptied it’s cartridge in one go .

「GYAOOOO！ 」

What, second helping . I feed another hails of bullets toward the pharynx of this beast . Though I expected that this guy will open his jaws again, his paw attack has come after me again . As if I’m going to obediently receive that attack .

Though I’m trying to shot his nose while dodging his paw attack, it doesn’t cause as much damage as when I fired my bullets into his mouth . But, thanks to this new equipment of mine, Jiisha HP bar is clearly shaved more than when I’m fighting him with my old equipment . It’s time to go all out then .

「Well let’s dance for real this time, Jiisha」

In the midst of the imminent storm, I, am dancing with Jiisha for the second time .

Chapter 37 : The Art + Failure = G.o.dly.

The big ball that was shining with golden splendour kept letting out roaring sounds as it tried to flatten us to the ground . I’m seeing this guy for the second time now, but it’s still extremely unpleasant . I think it’ll stay this way no matter how many times I see it

 .

Midori-san, Shinji and I (who was piggybacking the poor runner Aoi-san) were currently running as fast as we could . But putting Shinji aside, I was truly surprised by Midori-san . Her running speed doesn’t even lose to Shinji! It’s not like Shinji’s running speed was any special, but still, it’s also amazing that he has yet to lost to a woman . Though I heard that his motor nerves were good, this is truly more than I had expected

 .

「W-What should we do, Sou-kun!?」.

 .

Well, we have to choose between the choice of splitting into two groups to shake off that giant ball, or head towards the dead end from before

.  .

 .

The choice between saving our own a.s.ses or becoming rice crackers . At this rate, should I choose to become a rice cracker along with everyone or aim for that dead end pa.s.sage? U~hm, what a difficult choice

 .

 .

「Let’s just bet on a possibility and go for that dead end pa.s.sage! How should I say, I get this feeling that we’re going to experience the same pattern as last time! 」.

 .

「Right! I feel the same way!」.

 .

Despite saying so, there’s no guarantee that we’ll arrive at the same pa.s.sage as the last time . Or rather, the possibilities for that is rapidly become smaller . But then, I know that this is also our best chance . In short, my intuition says I can do nothing but to support that idea

 .

「I don’t know the way to whatever you are talking about but I’m with you guys!」.

 .

「M-Mee too!」.

 .

That only leaves the problem of having the two girls understand the situation . But there’s no time to ex- Yup it’s okay huh

 .

「Understood, then keep running for now!」.

 .

Next is in what way we will enter the pa.s.sage . I’m at loss at that part though . I guess I’ll apologize to everyone later if it turns out that we are going to become rice crackers together

 .

The giant ball kept following us -who had decided to run with our everything- from behind as if it had its own will . Thereupon, the long awaited wall finally appeared in front of us . Though it could also be our wall of despair

 .

「Sou! It’s the wall!」.

 .

「Yeah, it is indeed the wall . 」.

 .

If we’re going by the previous pattern, then there should be a trap that was also a mechanism to pierce through that wall . After deciding so, I who was piggybacking Aoi-san then emptied every single one of the bullets in my gun toward one point on the wall

 .

「――SHINJI, YOUR SWORD!」.

 .

I then rammed the same point on the wall with Shinji’s sword . Ramming the sword into the wall, I turned it into some sort of makeshift screw . Then, holding the very end of the hilt, I pierced into the wall

 .

「PIERCEEEEEEEEEEE!」.

 .

The thin wall that was forcefully destroyed by me revealed an empty air s.p.a.ce behind it . Towards that underground lake, just like last time

 .

「EVERYONE, JUUUUMP!」.

 .

「WE’RE GOING TO JUMP, BLUE!」.

 .

「EH?」.

 .

Aoi-san showed hest.i.tation in front of the crumbled wall at the height of the jump, but she eventually jumped in response to my words and Midori-san’s push

 .

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」.

 .

A high-pitched voice resounded above the underground lake . It might be Aoi-san’s voice . Turning to look at her, I saw a pale-faced Aoi-san screaming at the top of her lungs and Midori-san who was laughing while embracing her . How envious . If I’d known that it’ll turn out this way, I should have positioned myself beside Aoi-san . Wait a minute, come to think of it, Shinji is….

 .

I looked for Shinji’s figure as soon as I remembered him, but I regretted my decision the next moment . Of all things, this guy had decided to dive into the underground lake with his M-shaped pose again

 .

――A legendary fool

 .

I don’t even know what the heck this guy is thinking about . Rather, I should say that he doesn’t have any plan, does he now? But, that’s not the pose he will take if he’s not thinking about anything . Actually, that might be the most natural pose that is ingrained deep in his psyche . That could also be the final destination, the enlightenment state of guys who looked too much at gravure photographs . If that is true, then it’s too much of a tragic end

 .

Shinji, who obviously did not wait for me to sort my chaotic train of thoughts, dived first into the underground lake, right from his a.s.s, while I’m pretty sure I got perfect marks on my landing pose

 .

After landing, I made a round trip on the banks to bring everyone ash.o.r.e . Meanwhile, despite landing first, Shinji had already sunk to the bottom of the lake by the time I got the other two out

I fished Shinji out the last

 .

 .

 .

■　□　■　□　■.

 .

 .

 .

 .

「We’re back . 」.

 .

Shinji muttered calmly as if that disgrace pose a while ago had never happened . Even if you give me that earnest look, it won’t work on me you know, Shinji . That spectacle just won’t disappear from my head

 .

「That’s the huge door isn’t it? It really gives off the feeling of a boss room . 」.

 .

「Yeah . What pressure . 」.

 .

Yup, it’s splendid indeed . Thanks to their dripping wet clothes, the girls’ splendid body lines are showing . Is there a way to take a screenshot without being discovered by them? Even if I can’t save this spectacle, I’ll make sure to etch this wonderful sight into my eyes――.

 .

The moment I thought so, their clothes returned to the state before they were wet

 .

DAAAAAAAMMMMNNNNN IIIIIT!!! The clothes in this game are set to be dried after a fixed set of time! For me to forget about such basic knowledge… I really am an idiot!.

 .

「What’s the matter Sou? Why are you making such a despairing face?」.

 .

It’s because I’m actually in despair you know . Please guess the reason yourself if you’re a man

 .

「Is it because we’re going to fight the boss? Don’t worry, I’ll leave that guy to you then, Ace!」.

 .

While saying those words to me, Shinji tapped on my shoulder and then whispered something to me

 .

「I’ll send a photograph of them in their swimsuit later, so just endure it for now . 」.

 .

Are you… a G.o.d? As I thought, you’re the Takaha G.o.d aren’t you

 .

「Don’t make such a face, we’re comrades after all . 」.

 .

Takahkamisama….

 .

「What are you guys talking about between yourself, let’s get going!」.

 .

「Yeah, let’s go Sou!」.

 .

「OU!」.

 .

After sending my infinite grat.i.tude to Shinji, we once again headed toward the gigantic door

 .

 .

 .

 .

■　□　■　□　■.

 .

 .

 .

 .

After opening the door, we found the boss waiting for us . I wonder how many souls have been felled by this beast

 .

The mane that stood upright like a blazing flame . Its toned yet muscular body along with those solid limbs . This guy, who stands at the summit of all beasts, was once again standing before us

 .

「This is…The Jiisha!?」.

 .

「H-Huge…」.

 .

「You girls, aren’t you going closer than necessary? Our priority is to back Sou to the best we can do . On the contrary, going too much ahead will only make us a hindrance to him . 」.

 .

Though you don’t need to go that far, this Jiisha won’t let me have such leeway to say those words

 .

「GAAOOOOO!」.

 .

His roaring reverberated inside the cave, filling it to the brim with his will to bring us down

 .

「I’ve wanted to meet you again, Jiisha!」.

 .

I had never thought that one of the seven lines that I wanted to tell to girls would be told to a beast . But, this is also my most honest feeling . Now, I’ll pay back the shame of losing to you!.

 .

According to our prearranged tactic, Shinji and I will be the ones to charge toward the Jiisha . I also have a grasp of the Jiisha’s attack patterns . Somewhere in the middle, he will attack with a paw attack and tail attack, changing to using his forefoots and fangs to attack when someone gets closer . His attack aren’t that powerful, but it’s at the level where we’ll be in quite the predicament if we receive a clean hit from one of his attacks . Though, I won’t let him hit me that easily . I’m…………… ALL FIRED UP!.

 .

As if matching with our rush, the Jiisha’s tail came down from our side . But I kept charging forward without even batting an eye to the oncoming attack . Because my trusted partner is there to protect me

 .

「――【Defense Shield】! 」.

 .

Even with the thundering sound of the tail crashing onto his shield, Shinji perfectly stopped the tail attack

 .

「Guuuh, so heavy…」.

 .

But, that one attack still shaved off a good chunk of Shinji’s HP bar . As it is, he won’t be able to keep stopping that attack . But, that’s only if it’s just the two of us

 .

「――Song of healing! 」.

 .

The lullaby-like sound of flute is echoing inside of the cave . Thereupon, Shiji whose HP bar got shaved off just now gradually recovered

 .

「Thank you, Blue」.

 .

Though the song of healing of Aoi-san can recover 30% HP bar of the target, it can’t be used continuously since the cooldown will took 90 seconds . Though it seems the cooldown will be decreased along the increase of level and proficiency, this is the best one we have right now

 .

From the speed that was matching up to Shinji, I’m accelerating to my top speed and arriving right in front of Jiisha in one go . Should I say “as expected of Jiisha”, though he’s raising his forefoot overhead as he is trying to crush me like crushing a huge tree, I’ve seen that pattern too many times . I’ve no problem in dealing with the attack pattern where he is using his forefoot and fangs . But then, it’s just barely within the limit of my reaction

 .

「――!」.

 .

Even if I can dodge the forefoot attack, the wind created due to that attack blown me back . But stopping here will cause me to receive the next attack . I’m getting closer toward Jiisha while circling him without going against the flow of the wind

 .

「Now here I come!」.

 .

The knife that I received from Hanzou-san, Shidarezakura[Weeping Sakura] stabbed on his flank and opened a straight wound on it . Though this knife power should be stronger than the previous one, it barely scratched the Jiisha HP bar

 .

As espected, it’s hard . But, Now I’m sure of one thing

 .

「GAAAAA！ 」.

 .

That was what I’m waiting for . Aiming the silver hawk, my new partner, toward the gaping maw of this idiotic beast, I emptied it’s cartridge in one go

 .

「GYAOOOO！ 」.

 .

What, second helping . I feed another hails of bullets toward the pharynx of this beast . Though I expected that this guy will open his jaws again, his paw attack has come after me again . As if I’m going to obediently receive that attack

.  .

 .

Though I’m trying to shot his nose while dodging his paw attack, it doesn’t cause as much damage as when I fired my bullets into his mouth . But, thanks to this new equipment of mine, Jiisha HP bar is clearly shaved more than when I’m fighting him with my old equipment . It’s time to go all out then

 .

「Well let’s dance for real this time, Jiisha」.

 .

In the midst of the imminent storm, I, am dancing with Jiisha for the second time