Jujutsushi Wa Yuusha Ni Narenai

The only silver lining was that there were no casualties.

The silver lining was that there were no casualties ―― Was something that I regretted immediately.

「THE SEAL HAS BEEN BROKEN!」

The breath of the three heads could be seen from the western sky.

Seriously man… How can they break the seal…. Class Rep was guilty.

「Is Class Rep and Co going to be all right?」

「Man, ain't that like a piece of bad news!?」

「If all the eight heads are present, we're toast!」

「Ueda, Nakai, calm down! Don't let your guard down before your enemy.」

The moment I thought so, everyone started to make a ruckus. Well, the same went for me. The core part of our plan had collapsed.

This meant all Yamata no Orochi's eight heads were present, and they finally entered their final form.

「What shall we do now, Souma? The breaking of the seal means that guy's plan has failed you know.」

I know that this was a desperate situation.

Asuna said something to Souma-kun, but I guess it was something along the lines of "Look, Momokawa's shitty plan has failed.".

「Yuuto, we should withdraw.」

「Like hell we can do that. What's gonna happen to Sakura and Co over there?」

「We can retreat with everyone as long as we assist them.」

Souma-kun and Asuna had an argument.

She must be thinking that the shitty shaman Momokawa and the crazy bitch Futaba must have used this chance to escape, this was the best chance to get rid of them.

「No, we have to hold our ground here.」

「It'll be too late if there's a victim! We can still make it in time, Yuuto!」

「No need to do as Momokawa said in this situation. We can still do this again. As expected, Souma, you should have led everyone.」

「I-I――」

Nevertheless, you could say that the moment the three heads broke from the seal was the best moment to withdraw.

Obviously, everyone was barely hanging in there.

Currently, the 『Rotten Bog』 had reached 4 meters depth.

「I, can't protect everyone…」

「That's right Souma. Please protect me, and everyone.」

「I-I…」

Should we retreat? So far no one had died, and we could do this again.

As long as we prepare for another challenge.

「EVERYONE RE――」

「――Continue with the plan.」

But not now.

We cannot cancel the plan yet.

「I repeat, continue with the plan. The seal of the three heads is destroyed, but we're just one step away from breaking the shell.」

I shouted a lie from the trench.

Even though I still had no idea how far I had to dig. I mean, I couldn't even feel it, it's just melting.

I said those lies to everyone who fought with their life on the line.

I was fully aware that this was the worst kind of lie… But we had to persist as long as there was the chance of victory.

It was true that we might be able to retreat and refine our subjugation plan.

But I had no idea if the class would be as cohesive as it was now.

Or whether I could recover from the slump after realizing that the plan that I put my heart and soul in had failed. At least, I knew that Sakura would blame me for sure.

And some people might support her.

Losing everyone's trust meant that I wouldn't be able to make a subjugation plan again. I might even lose the right to command.

Even if by chance everyone forgave me… I doubt Yamata no Orochi would allow the same tactic.

The only thing that was constant about this fella's pattern was everything from Phase 1 of the plan, right from the appearance of the 1st head.

We only used those patterns to get this far.

The problem being how long this fella would maintain such a pattern.

I had climbed the rocky mountain so many times in suicide attack with my offshoot to find the best location, but never once did I try to dig. Meaning that this was the first time I dug so deep into the rocky mountain.

We couldn't do this in field training for safety reasons.

On the other hand, not being able to do that had also become the reason for my anxiety.

Meaning that we had no idea how Yamata No Orochi would react if we truly aimed for its true body.

Yamata no Orochi might suddenly change its patterns and thwart all of our tear-jerking efforts. In the worst case, the eight heads might ignore everything and only focus on defending the mountain.

In that situation, all of our training would be for naught.

The reason we could climb the mountain was simply because the eight heads had been restrained.

Naturally, there was also the possibility that Orochi wouldn't change its patterns.

This fella might be just like an AI that follows a simple program and wouldn't do anything else.

However, I doubt that was the case.

Yamata no Orochi might focus on defense.

There was a possibility that I might have to take the command again.

And just like that, we might be able to strive a while longer for victory.

Every single possibility appeared in my head.

But the possibility was only a possibility. There was no such thing as 100% possibilities.

In that situation, I had to choose the option with the highest possibility.

And that option might need me, rather than everyone, to bet their life on the line.

「Please hold on for a while longer!」

「Momokawa, you.」

Hold on a while longer.

My 『Rotten Bog』 about to reach 5 meters deep.

Let's cross that threshold.

Once I broke through this goddamn shell, victory was ours.

However, if there was still no indication of breaking through even after it crossed the 5-meter threshold, we would need to prepare to withdraw then.

No reason to risk everyone's life beyond this point. Rather, some might try to escape first.

Moreover, this was just a gamble.

I couldn't do anything but bet my life on the line to Ruinhilde-sama.

「Please, Souma-kun.」

I canceled 『Twin Shadow』 after I said those words. This should enable me to be more focused.

「Do your best for a bit more, Mei-chan.」

I couldn't see anyone when I was looking up, but the loud sound of the defensive battle could be heard all the way to my place.

There was a thunderous sound along with a tremor, one of the three sealed heads could have broken free and headed toward our direction.

Mei-chan should be able to do something if it's just one head.

But she would be in a pinch if she had to fight the numerous gargoyles at the same time. A single mistake might cost her life.

By now, Sakura must be on the edge and shouting non-stop to the top of her lungs.

But please hold on for a while longer.

This was my last bet.

「Please, pierce through――」

No matter how much I prayed, the encroachment speed of the 『Rotten Bog』 stayed constant.

There was no change at all. It just slowly but surely dissolved the super tough shell.

This might be what the gambler feels when he goes all or nothing.

After coming this far, I entered a state akin to enlightenment.

I couldn't think of anything and was constantly worrying.

And then it happened in the moment that felt like an eternity to me.

「~~~~~!??」

No doubt about it, there was a change.

Suddenly, I felt that the bottom of the 『Rotten Bog』 expanded.

It felt as if the obstacle that blocked the deadly poison had finally gone. And replaced by the feeling of dissolving the enemy's flesh.

「D-Did I… Managed to break through the shell?」

That was the only possibility.

This felt like I had broken through the shell and entered Yamata no Orochi's flesh.

I won the bet.

「HELL YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I DID IT, I FU*KING DID IT! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM!」

The moment I raised the victorious roar, the rope came down immediately.

I grabbed the rope and pulled out from the hole immediately and had Sakura attack the core to finish them off.

We won, we won. We won against Yamata no Orochi――

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