NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43: (4)
Kaku-san, on the other hand, was flying up into the sky. His target was the scattered soldiers. Kaku-san, who had grown to the point where he no longer needed to undo his personification in order to use magic, unleashed his magic while still in human form. He took his signature side-chest pose and shouted.
「Muscle Rainbow!」
Enormous flame, lump of ice, chunk of rock, and violent kamaitachi. More than a hundred of magic were sweeping through the sky at the same time. Kaku-san’s basic magic, aided by Tanaka’s magical energy. They were as powerful as high-order magic, and were capable of taking down the scattered soldiers with certainty.
「Hieee!」
The baron screamed, faced with the nightmare in front of him. He then promptly moved back to escape, leaving behind the soldiers who were still holding up a wall in front of him.
However, when he turned around, he found a lone man, who had unknowingly moved there, standing in his way.
A safe timing with diminishing enemies. And then the most conspicuous scene. Speaking of the man who would take such a delicious role, there was none other than Tanaka himself.
「There are some sins in this world that can never be forgiven. And yet, you have committed them.」
In front of Tanaka, the Baron’s heart was overcome with despair.
「The first one, a handsome man who deceives women—」
Tanaka took a step forward.
「The second one, a handsome man who steals from the unpopular man–」
Tanaka took another step forward.
「And finally…, a handsome man who takes away my meager enjoyment of hiding and watching the girls frolicking by the river every morning—」
「No, that’s not my fault—」
Tanaka instantly reacted to the Baron’s unintentional retort with a loud voice.
「Shut the hell up!」
It was anger at the Baron who had committed countless sins. It was just your imagination that his voice seemed a little pitched due to him being flustered. He definitely wasn’t shouting due to him flusteredly trying to cover up the words of his true feelings that had unintentionally escaped from his mouth. For sure Tanaka-san, a powerful and cool man overflowing with a sense of justice, wouldn’t even entertain such a pathetic reason.
「Damn-You-Handsome-Man… O souls lost in the abyss of no salvation. Lead the fools who stand in our way to despair…」
Tanaka held up his hand as he recited a chant. ‘So enviable… So enviable… Damn you handsome man’ speaking of these words he was grumbling and murmuring to himself, they weren’t explained due to a particular reason.
「The darkness leading to the abyss – Dea Lorelei…」
It was a combination magic with the attributes of darkness and earth that temporarily manifested the gate to hell and dragged even the soul itself into the abyss.
During the battle against the Gods in the distant past. Tanaka was specialized at invoking this magic in a wide area and on a large scale. Countless soldiers of heaven were annihilated by this magic. Of course, this was nothing more than its delusional setting.
In reality, it was merely the tenth-order live-support magic, ‘Embankment’. Originally, this magic enabled you only to control the ground to an extent, thus it was normally used for construction and agriculture. However, when Tanaka invoked it, it turned into another beast altogether. The ground around him was manipulated on particle level over a wide area, and turned into a monster.
「Hii! Hiiiiiiii! He, help me–」
The baron was easily swallowed by the ground. The ground, which had turned into a monster, dragged the Baron into the far beyond the deep horizon. And then, the only thing that remained there was a vacant ground that had returned to its original state.
「Phew, as expected, I’m no evil either. I guess I’ll set the destination to the underground empire. Reform yourself into a handsome man with a handsome heart! Then crawl up to my feet!」
Tanaka clenched his fists tightly and stared at the ground. He was a passionate man who never forgot the heart of benevolence. It was unknown if there really was an underground empire deep in the ground, though.
After a few moments of intoxication with his cool self, he returned to Murgai with Suke-san and Kaku-san, who had already wiped out the soldiers.
◇ ◇ ◇
They were all dumbfounded. Shijimi and the other horned tribe members were all dumbfounded. And so was even Murgai, who already knew about the power of Team Tanaka.
The situation that had just transpired was, without a doubt, the first crisis of their village since its existence. However, that crisis had vanished in an instant.
What made it happen was an overwhelming power. A pure power that even various legends were overshadowed. They couldn’t help but get fascinated as it was displayed right in front of their eyes.
On the other hand, Tanaka felt somewhat uncomfortable for being stared at by so many people. The fact that the lower half of his body went swoon must be the reason why he was referred to as an authority in the world of small men.
「Just how long are you going to keep that dumb look on your face, geez….」
Receiving the chiding of such a Tanaka, Murgai came to his senses.
「–No, well, how should I put it….」
Not knowing how to put it into words, he was at a loss for words.
「Haa. By the time we meet again in the future, I hope you’ll look a little better.」
Tanaka, who was feeling uncomfortable, departed as if to run away. He was a genius when it came to running away. While they were still in confusion about what was going on, he forcefully altered the flow into bidding farewell here was only a matter of course. Without a doubt, he was a genius at running away.
As he gazed at the backs of the three departing figures, Murgai thought.
These were the men who held out a helping hand without seeking any kind of reward. Their figures as they walked away without even accepting a word of gratitude. They were truly the ones worthy of being called the man among men.
Before he knew it, Shijimi was standing next to him. They naturally held each other’s hands. Then, the two of them saw off the backs of the men once again.
He had noticed it. That figure was an ideal he could never reach. However, he was not discouraged by it. Because in the end, they had given him the greatest gift of all.
Someone to love. Comrades to protect. And then, Tanaka’s last words. The best man in the world showed no doubt that they would meet again.
「Tanaka. I’m going to live my life to the fullest in my own way. And we will all reach there together for sure. To the Promised Land….」
The figures of the group of men had already become small. He swore firmly on their backs.
◇ ◇ ◇
And then, just as Murgai was about to leave Tanaka behind and began to tread on the normie path. Speaking of said Tanaka–
「Hmm? What’s wrong? Suddenly started walking slowly like that.」
To Tanaka who suddenly started to slow down, Kaku voiced his doubts.
「Phew, you just don’t get it, do you? The girls who were charmed by my coolness are currently running up to me right now.」
At Tanaka’s words, Suke-san and Kaku-san turned around at the same time.
「Fool! Don’t look back! You’ll make it hard for the shy girls to come closer!」
「No one’s there, though-degozaru.」
Tanaka’s protests were met with a merciless reality check from Suke-san. However, Tanaka, who possessed exceptional force of will, had yet to give up.
「It’s alright! It’s still alright! I can do it! The girls will be here in a little while!」
「No, they won’t.」
Kaku-san shoved another harsh reality on Tanaka, who was trying to slow down his pace further.
Thus, without the expected event occurring, Team Tanaka departed the horned tribe village.
Finally, Tanaka rose again. However, the answer to knocking down the hero remained elusive to him.
Would Tanaka be able to find light in the deep darkness of despair?
Hang in there, Tanaka. Don’t lose, Tanaka.