Chapter 67 – The Early Bird (4)
“Keeeee
Once again, his lightning strikes and the gnome writhes in pain, bending him at the waist. In the meantime, Rebecca exhaled steam and blue smoke at the same time and shouted harshly.
“Put the wire attached to the weapon into your thigh and fix the back end to the ground! The recoil will be severe!”
“Yes! Erica, Mr. Lopez! Back up!”
“Lo… Lope…?”
“I’ll help you too…Ug…!”
While Erica raised her excitement and questions at the same time, Mr. Lopez gasped and clung to the cannon. Then, I inserted the two wires that were hanging from it into my thigh and myself.
“Ugh…!”
A subtle electric current flowed into his body along with pain as if he was being injected. Just when I was struggling with an unfamiliar sensation, I heard Rebecca’s cry once again.
“There must be a trigger at the bottom of the barrel! The output is roughly adjusted, so pull as hard as you can according to the signal!”
“This is more than I thought…”
“Same goes for the rest! If we can’t defeat them here anyway, we’ll all die! Put your finger on the trigger right now! One, two…!”
When Rebecca gave the order familiarly, the frightened guards raised their weapons one by one. As dozens of blue lights were simultaneously directed at Hetzling, a sharp voice cut through the air.
“Three! Fire!”
“Aaaaagh!”
As a large amount of mana was drained from his body in an instant, pain beyond exhaustion surged. The magical power absorbed in that way was replaced by magic bullets that sizzled inside the gun barrel and became a blue light that filled the ground.
In this way, countless starlights formed on the land, not the sky. If the sky had eyes, it would have felt like looking into a mirror for the first time. Even Hetzling paused for a moment, perhaps overwhelmed by the sight.
And in the next moment, tens of thousands of electric shocks tore through the air and blazed through Hetzling’s body.
“Kwaeeeee!!!”
“Ugh…!”
As Rebecca said, the recoil was tremendous and I knelt on the floor helplessly in a state of exhaustion. And Hetzling, too, let out a scream he had never heard before, dispersing intense pain.
However, the lightning strike did not end once and continued to burn Hetzling’s body. As each of the magical powers fired penetrated his skin and gnawed at his flesh, the creature writhed furiously, spreading the scales all over his body. Seeing such a gigantic creature in pain gave me goosebumps.
In the meantime, I somehow managed to drag my legs away from him. I only fired the weapon once, but my whole body was shaking and my shoulders were losing strength. When he looked up, Haru, who was on the side of the hill, was lying flat on his back, gasping for breath.
Is it because of the limitations of an untrained human being, or is it because of my low magic power? Either way, it occurred to me that I couldn’t do this more than once. The condition of the rest of the guards was roughly the same.
But Hetzling was still on the move.
“Ah ah ah ah…”
“What the fuck…Why…Why aren’t you collapsing…”
“He’s not even running away…”
Seeing you say that, it seems that in the past, you would have run away with just one shot. Then, after some time, I called again. Others would have thought it was a stick and a carrot. Like taming a wild beast.
What we have in front of us right now is not just a beast of prey.
As if to disprove that fact, Hetzling slowly raised his body. As if to follow him, I had no choice but to get up. And the moment I put my finger on the trigger again, I heard Rebecca’s shout.
“Ready again! One! Two!”
“…Ugh.”
“Three! Fire!”
“Aww!”
Again, all the mana in her body was sucked straight into the line embedded in her thigh. This time, because Mr. Lopez had left, I had to take care of the load. The cannon didn’t care about the user’s circumstances and filled that greedy mouth with mana.
Then, it vibrated more violently than before and fired magic bullets.
“Kwaeeeee!!!”
Numerous raindrops hit the back of his neck, causing another storm of magical power. Now I could feel the air around me sizzle with the heat. Still, this time no one laid down their weapons. Because he knew he wouldn’t fall apart like this.
“Again! Everyone aim for the neck!”
“Ugh…!”
“All at once! One! Two! Three! Fire!”
“Aaaaagh!”
Screams erupted from everywhere. The weapons made to deal with monsters ate away not only the enemies but also the lives of the users at the same time. As if to reflect the desperation, dark red fog rose from the magic bullet that hit him directly.
“Eh eh eh eh!”
“Ouch…”
In an instant, dark blue smoke escaped from my mouth. Oh my God, I could never have thought that a reverse flow of mana would occur in my body. You’re squeezing out a lot of mana that you don’t have.
And that seemed to be the case even for Rebecca. She barely managed to let out a sound as she vomited beyond her strength.
“One time… Cool… More! One! Two…!”
“Eww…”
“Kuhh…Three…! Launch…!”
“Shut up a bit!!!”
“Keeek…!
Someone’s desperate shout echoed. And, as if that wish had reached the sky, Hetzling began to stumble and let out a agony for the first time.
And that was a beacon of hope for us that will never happen again.
“Cool…Now…Now! Turn up the power to maximum!”
“Oooh…”
The lack of oxygen squeezed out the wet tears. I groped for the output device even though I couldn’t see it. Soon, I touched a clunky lever in the middle of the gun barrel and I pulled it with all my might.
“Huh…!”
Then, along with the futile breath, the blood drained from the whole body in an instant. My body couldn’t stand it any longer and was about to collapse. I lost consciousness for a moment, and my eyes were blurry.
“Lo… Lope!”
“…!”
But at that moment, someone pulled out the wire that was stuck in me. Looking behind her, Erica had both wires inserted into her own thigh.
“I… I’m going to have more magic power. That’s why…”
“Ha…”
“You just pull, okay?”
“…Yes. I understand.”
“Ready! One! Two!”
Erica’s hand grabbed my shoulder at the same time I answered helplessly. For the first time in my life, I leaned on my back, relying on the helpless student president. Rebecca’s desperate cry shook my consciousness before I could even feel the emotion of that fact.
“Three! Fire!”
“Please, let’s finish with this…!”
This time, a desperate wish flowed from my mouth. Perhaps not only me, but everyone in the field made the same wish. The hope gathered in this way became a blue beam of light and soared with an unprecedentedly intense light.
All the rays of light have only one goal. It was a hetzling, staggering with its mouth open. A shell that would temporarily silence any living beings on the ground, even dragons, headed for him at the speed of light. And countless fragments poured down on that heavy piece of flesh.
But at that moment, he flew into the sky with all his might.
“Ah…!”
I don’t know who made the moan. Everyone must have felt the same way this time. Watching the mana bullet explode at the feet of the man who managed to fly up, he opened his mouth in a daze.
…
Dodged
All-out bombardment.
Did he say that after a sunny day, it always rained? Human hopes were scattered as quickly as the moment they gathered. The sound of Erica collapsing and collapsing came from behind.
It wasn’t just Erica. Believing this attack to be the last, most of the personnel knelt. I didn’t even have the strength to scream, so I just hit my head on the floor.
“Geuuuuu” “
Hetzling stayed in the air with his back to the sun, barely breathing. Then he took a long breath. Flames sizzled from his throat, preparing to unleash his wrath. At that moment, all humans despaired and let go of their weapons.
And it was also at that moment that the only elf who did not despair jumped towards the sky.
“Sigh…!”
Silently running, Saya held her breath for a moment, then spurred him into the air and flew up to Hetzling’s head. As a human being, I couldn’t understand the principle, so that was the only way I could explain it. He noticed her presence and turned her head, but she was too late.
Saya, who flew like a meteor, scattered her pure white sword in the air, and she pierced it sharply into the ear hole of the bastard.
“Kwaeeeee!!!”
At that moment, the creature twisted his whole body and let out a scream of pain. Blood spurted out like mad from the ear hole, as if Saya was poking around with her sword. It might be an insignificant amount for his size, but he twisted his back and scratched his own ears.
Ear. Come to think of it, even Hetzling at that time replaced almost all of his senses with his hearing. If there is a weak spot, it must mean there. The moment I understood, Saya slipped out of his ear, and at the same time, his strong claws pierced her own ear hole.
“Keeeee of
Hetzling let out a continuous scream before collapsing to the ground. In the near-fall landing, a huge cloud of dust puffed up. The boy took a deep breath as if he was about to take a break.
But then Miss Rebecca rushed at her speed through her gray haze.
“Huh…!!!”
“Kkiek…!”
The boy couldn’t catch his breath and closed his mouth. The nape of his neck, taut from the vast amount of oxygen, stretched. In an instant, Rebecca ran in front of him and pulled her clenched fist as hard as she could.
There was the gauntlet she had been talking about. The metal prosthetic arm and gauntlet vibrated with each other and creaked as if they were going to burst at any moment. Rebecca glared at Hetzling with her bloodshot eyes as she exhaled her blood, steam, and mana at the same time.
Then, with all his might, he slammed his head down.
“Kkeuk…!”
The gigantic head crashed into the ground with a sound as if the sky was collapsing. It was such a ground-breaking shock that Hetzling couldn’t even scream. Even so, it seemed insufficient to be a decisive blow.
So I got up Then I put the wire that had been stuck in Erica through my legs and started running toward it.
“…!”
He looked at me and raised his wings, desperately covering his ears. Although he did not have the strength to wield it, his will to show his weakness was evident.
But it wasn’t the weakness I was heading towards. I ran towards a more proven part. The place where I stepped on his head and ran with all my might along his neck was none other than Wing Jukji.
“Whoa…”
I caught my breath and recalled the scenery I saw that day. Pieces of Hetzling’s wings strewn across the field like garbage. It was the only dragon corpse I had ever seen.
There was no time to hesitate. I pulled the lever all the way out once more, and rammed the gun barrel into the middle of the wing. Then, it felt like prickling soft downy hair.
It felt like my last chance.
“Please die. This fuck.”
“Keeeee!!!
I didn’t even have the strength to scream, so I spat out swear words. And I pulled the trigger with all my might. The next moment, dark red blood gushed out like a flash, and the tough flesh was ripped off like paper.
“Lope!”
“…”
I had no strength in my whole body. Pain of falling. Aftermath of the bombardment. Accumulated fatigue. I thought I was dead until the gentle scent of forget-me-nots flowed in. But Saya desperately shook my paralyzed body.
“Lope! Wake up! Come on!”
“Ugh…”
“Oh my God. Help me Haru. I don’t think I can lift it by myself.”
“Please lend me a knife earlier. This time, please help me. After all, it can’t be done without me, right?”
“Don’t joke!”
“Okay…One…Two…!”
“Ugh!!!”
When the two forced me to stand up, I felt pain as if my whole body was being ripped apart. I almost fainted, but I managed to come back to my senses and lifted my head.
Then, the wings of Hetzling, which were horribly impaled, caught my eye.
Like the scenery I saw that day, huge wings were stuck on the ground like garbage. The nerves were still twitching little by little, as if they were still alive, but they were undoubtedly detached from the torso. Dark red blood gushed out from where the wings were torn, and the guy lay limp with his eyes closed. I’m not sure if he’s dead, but it’s clear that he’s incapacitated.
I didn’t have time to check. Even Rebecca struggled to get up and grabbed one of her cannons.
“Let’s go to the train. Come on.”
“…You can ride it.”
“Probably. If you can use it, the operating principle isn’t that difficult. Besides, Mr. Lopez would have thought of leaving as soon as the situation was settled…”
Our gaze naturally turned to Mr. Lopez. But before that, a crazy woman fell on her face in Hetzling’s eyes.
And she was none other than Mrs. Lopez. She was stretching her hand toward her bastard, trembling all over her body.
“Oh, no…”
“Mom…”
“No…No…No…!”
Screaming, she finally lost her control and put her hand to her mouth on her hatchling. Then Mr. Lopez, who had fallen behind her, came over and grabbed her by the shoulder.
“Honey, stop it. I have to go. Come on…!”
“Do we have somewhere to go? We’re all going to die anyway. This is our only hope. Yes, if we can save this dying man…!”
“Come to your senses honey! Even if you do this, nothing will change!”
“Leave this! You are the one who knows nothing!”
“Please stop!!!”
Mr. Lopez eventually screamed and grabbed her wife by the shoulder. Then, he slammed her backwards. Light dust rose and flowed into the boy’s mouth.
At that moment, Hetzling opened his eyes.
“…”
“Why haven’t you realized yet! That this is meaningless! Can’t we live rationally until the end? Can’t we just accept it and cherish the remaining time!”
“You’re the one who didn’t realize! Why why! Why! Why! This is our only chance to save Erica! All right, then you go alone. I will never let Erica die!”
“Honey!”
But the Lopez couple were so focused on each other that they didn’t realize it. Hetzling looked at the humans fighting in front of him with blurry eyes.
Then, he bit the body of Mr. Lopez in front of him.
“Oops…!”
“No! Dad!!!”
Mr. Lopez died without even giving out that common death sentence. Only Erica’s desperate scream resounded high into the sky.
At the scene of that little tragedy, Hetzling slowly opened his eyes. And started to cry in a low voice.
“Uuuuu…”
“Shit…”
“That’s right…”
It didn’t look like I would get up again. It’s just a last resort. But even that was too lethal for us humans. The moment we realized that fact, we started running.
“Ah really, that damn bastard!”
“Don’t talk, just run! Haru…!”
“Run quickly, starting with you, Lope!”
“Ugh…”
A roar of boiling flames could be heard between the hurried voices. There was already fire under my feet.
“Damn it, no way…!”
“There’s no time, hurry up!”
“First of all, you guys get on! Come on!”
Fortunately, we threw ourselves onto the train in time. Rebecca confirmed that we were on board and headed for the station office outside.
“Buy! There will be a lever on the driver’s seat. Pull it when I signal!”
“Ah yes!”
“Damn…Quick…Quickly…!”
She glanced around, busily manipulating something in her. In the meantime, people outside hid themselves in nearby buildings to avoid the dragon. Most of them didn’t even think of getting on a train that wasn’t moving yet.
But Erica was an exception. She stood still in the middle of a burning world, sobbing endlessly. Even though she had been on bad terms, she couldn’t let her burn like this.
“Uhhhhh”
“Erika!”
“Ughhhhhm…”
Erica heard my voice and she came over with tears in her eyes. And just in time, Rebecca’s voice rang out.
“Buy! Now!”
“Yes!”
Saya pulled the lever precisely at her signal. Then the train spewed smoke and began moving slowly. Erica saw that and her barely speeded up.
“Ah…Huh…Wait…Wait…”
“…”
“Hehe…Wait…!”
“Lope! Is everyone okay?”
At that time, Rebecca hurriedly ran into the train, hiding Erica. In the meantime, the train was speeding rapidly toward the horizon. I had to run to catch up. I had to run with all my might.
“Ha…Ha…Ha…!”
“…”
“Haa… Black… Wait… Please…!”
“…Damn it.”
Unknowingly, I gritted it. Erica’s tear-stained face passed between the swaying window panes. Looking at her desperate eyes, she couldn’t help but be moved.
“Damn it…Erika.”
“Ha…Ha…Ha…”
“Shit…!”
“Ha…Ha…Ha…!”
The breath that I ran into with all my might finally reached the threshold. Erica held out her hand eagerly, soaked in her tears and sweat. And I raised her arm to hold her hand even for this moment.
White tears streamed down Erica’s face. The salt crystals within it glistened in the sunlight. Only then did Erica’s face light up with a little bit of hope.
But then Rebecca got in my way. With her head down, she slammed door upon door as if it was a mistake.
Then, he ruthlessly pushed away Erica’s hand that had reached out.
“Miss Rebecca…?”
Erica uttered her last words with a sad expression. However, before the sound could reach inside, Rebecca mercilessly closed the train door.
