NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Not Even a Platinum Rank Could Injure It
「A… turtle?」
The silhouette was that of a giant turtle.
Its overall length was clearly over hundreds of meters, and it seemed to be extremely heavy too.
The tremor that it made with each step could even be felt here, a long ways off.
「No no no, this isn't the time for daydreaming. Looking at the size of that thing, is that a… Tarrasque?」
Tarrasque were turtle-like monsters.
It was actually subspecies of dragon. The shell on its back was rumored to be made of densely packed scales.
Nevertheless, this was the first time I had seen a tarrasque of this size.
With its size and weight, human made structures stood no chance against it.
And worst of all, that tarrasque seemed to be heading to this place.
Yes, straight toward this city.
This city could be destroyed at this rate.
「… Should I tell them? They should've already known, that guy is literally a giant, after all…」
Nevertheless, there was still a one in million chance that the people in the city had yet to notice the tarrasque.
Therefore, I ran toward the city.
I had no choice but to warn them to evacuate, in the slight chance that they were still unaware of that GIANT tarrasque.
Fortunately, the tarrasque was moving really slowly. I should have more than enough time to warn the citizens.
「… Uhm?」
A while later, I saw the shadows of several people close to the city.
It seemed they had seen me too.
「Great. Now I just need to tell them.」
I ran toward them while considering that matter.
Then, suddenly—
There was a flash from the corner of my eye. The tip of something that resembled a rope tangled around my feet at breakneck speed.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
Following that was an extremely loud sound that shook the ground like an explosion.
That shock made me fall face first on the ground.
「O-Ou- Oh, wait, it doesn't hurt.」
I lifted my head..
C-Could it be that I was under attack just now?
And the culprit seemed to be that red-haired woman.
In her hand, she gripped a rope-like weapon… Did she attack me form so far away with a whip?
That woman was a badass.
No, no, no, this wasn't the time to be admiring her skill.
I mean, they thought I was their enemy, after all..
「How… Can it be? I should've sealed my magic…」
◇ ◇ ◇
===A Certain Middle Aged Gold Rank Adventurer===
The famous adventurers of this city were gathered at the north gate.
Naturally, my party and I were there too, since the guild had asked for our aid.
「That's the Tarrasque Lord, huh…」
「It's so damn hugeeeeeee」
I saw the giant Tarrasque Lord in the distance.
Even from so far away, its immense size was evident. It resembled a large hill, and yet each step sent a tremor that could be felt from here. Yes, it was a moving hill heading straight for us.
「Hm, it's far bigger than I heard. This is quite a troublesome fellow.」
Even Estina felt somewhat threatened by the great disaster-class monster.
「…」
Off to the side, someone was glaring daggers at Estina… That certain someone was our party's tomboy, Hanna.
It seemed she was still angry with Estina.
… After Hanna said the taboo words to Estina, the situation was quite hectic. It finally settled down after we somehow managed to pacify the latter.
I thanked the guild master for putting himself in danger to protect Hanna.
In any case, we were about to depart now that we had finally formed the countermeasure force to repel the Tarrasque Lord.
The composition of our force was as follows: one platinum rank, twelve gold ranks, one former gold rank, and six silver ranks, all of whom were equally strong in their rights..
To be honest, the matter of that Undead still weighed on my mind, but I needed to concentrate on the Tarrasque Lord for the time being.
And then, just when I found my resolve…
「Hey, what the hell is wrong with that guy?」
The first one who noticed "that" was Estina.
She frowned as she looked toward the northwest.
When I followed her line of sight, what I saw made me gasp.
「I… IT'S THAT GUY!」
It was the white-haired, red-eyed undead I met in the Demon Den's Ruined Metropolis.
It was the MONSTER that we went all out against, using our most powerful attacks, and yet walked away unscathed. He was heading in our direction.
「Is that the undead you guys were talking about? Hmm…」
Guild Master Barud groaned suspiciously.
「He doesn't seems to be that strong…」
「Don't let his appearance fool you! That guy is a genuine MONSTER. None of our attacks could hurt him!」
Estina shouted spitefully.
「You can't even put a scratch on a monster of that level… It seems that gold rank of yours is just for show.」
「What did you say?」
Even I was starting to get irritated by the way she belittled us. Her snide remarks seemed to come from her very heart. There was no doubt; she was looking down on us.
Why couldn't this old hag face reality?
Although he was still far away, we should be able to feel his terrifying miasma, right?
「Anyone with some skill to feel miasma would know immediately that that guy isn't a big deal. If you judge by appearance alone, you better start considering retirement, trash.」
T-That was strange…
He wasn't like this when we met him back in the Demon's Den.
His powerful miasma that almost knocked me out just by standing near him, almost all of that had disappeared like magic.
Even Dale, Guy, and Hanna looked as if they couldn't process that undead's sudden transformation.
「This is the first time I've seen this kind of undead. It's a waste to destroy it immediately. Let's capture him alive. Or so I want to say… He's already dead though.」
Estina swung her whip as she spoke.
The whip that she stored in her magic bag was deployed in a second. It cracked in the air and swept through the air toward the white-haired undead, who was still more than a hundred meters away from us.
Regardless of the distance, the tip of Estina's whip hit the undead's right leg with terrifying accuracy.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
That moment, a deafening sound exploded, ringing in my ears.
That sound alone told me just how much destructive power was carried by the tip of her whip.
「What the…?」
Estina murmured in a surprised voice.
Because that first attack should have been enough to tear a normal human's leg apart.
However, although that white-haired undead toppled over and fell face first on the ground, he stood back up as if nothing had happened to him.
Naturally, the same went for his leg, completely unscratched.
「That attack just now should've hit him, right? It had… No effect at all? Tch, once again then.」
Although Estina looked like she couldn't believe what she saw, she recovered within a moment and began attacking the white-haired undead again.
「Now I'm going to make his head explode.」
Just as she said that, the tip of her whip struck the undead's head, right on his face―
And yet, the result was the same as before.
Rather than leaving a scratch, that much power was only enough to make the undead's head tilt backward a little bit.
On the other hand, the undead was running in our direction with a smile on his face.
「KUH…」
As expected, even someone like Estina flinched away, as if she was overwhelmed by that smile.
But fortitude was expected of a platinum rank adventurer.
She recovered quickly, preparing to release her deadliest move.
「Take… THIS! ― HUNDRED WHIPS WILD DANCE!」
Her ultra-long whip started to dance wildly.
It struck the undead again and again at a speed that couldn't be followed with the naked eye.
The whip moved so fast that its afterimage seemed like a blooming flower.
So this was what it looked like when a platinum rank adventurer went all out with their attack.
I expected it to, at the very least, leave a scratch on that undead.
I couldn't see the figure of the undead due to the cloud of dust from Estina's death blow, but…
「Are you… Kidding me?!」
Estina looked at the cloud of dust, eyes wide with shock.
After all the dust had settled, none of us could fathom what we saw.
How could any of us believe our own eyes when faced with the sight of the undead's right hand gripping the whip?
Did he just… Catch the tip of the whip with his bare hand?
「Let go, let it go, you fucking bastard!」
Estina tried to pull her whip; she was clearly flustered by this situation.
Thus, the undead suddenly released the whip.
「How dare you… MESS WITH ME!」
It seemed the undead action was getting on Estina's nerves, since her fighting spirit suddenly exploded after the undead released her whip. She channeled that tremendous amount of fighting spirit into her weapon, focusing it in the tip of her whip.
Just when I realized what she was going to do, she jumped high in the sky and then swung down her whip, aiming straight for that undead.
「――DESCEND DRAGON EXPLODING THUNDER STRIKEEEEE!」
The tip of the whip that descended like a thunderbolt struck the undead, right on the head.
ZUDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!
Thunderous noise following right after the attack struck its target.
Once again, I lost sight of the undead due to the cloud of dust.
A sudden gust of wind cleared my vision.
「「「NA…」」」
―Only for us to see that undead survive the attack, unscathed once again.
Seeing the undead flash his eerie smile as he stood in the middle of a crater reminded everyone in this place of two words: ABSOLUTE DESPAIR.