NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
Chapter 3. The Collapse of the Usual Routine
Saturday, for a change of pace, I came to a slightly larger shopping mall at the next station over.
There’s one thing I always do when I come here.
“Ahh~ This is so soothing~”
I go to the pet shop and watch the adorable animals.
At the moment, I’m easing my daily fatigue by watching a Pomeranian bouncing around energetically.
“Why are you so pretty?”
“Woof!”
It seems she is pleased with my words as well.
Her cute little tail wags back and forth happily.
Damn it! I want to cross this glass and pet her (♀) right now!
But…
I turn my gaze to the price tag.
Thirty grand, displayed clearly.
(That’s way too expensive! No way I can pay for that!)
“Oh, Sally! Someday… someday, I’ll come back to see you again!”
I say farewell to the Sally (temporary name) in front of me.
I feel like she looks a bit sad too, with her drooping tail.
A sadness that seems to tear me apart strikes, but I clench my fists and endure it, leaving the pet shop behind.
Having no other plans after the pet shop, I walk around the shopping mall.
Just walking around, it’s surprisingly interesting to see different people’s faces.
A young girl, beaming, eating ice cream her mother bought for her.
And… a lovebird couple holding hands, clearly dating.
I cast a curse and flip the middle finger at them.
“Tch! Showing off your lovey-dovey nonsense out here, damn normies!”
N-not that I’m not single by choice!
It’s just… I haven’t met a girl who suits me yet!
I let out a big sigh.
After wandering for a while and deciding it was time to head home, the ground suddenly shook violently.
“It’s a big one!”
“Aaah!?”
“Are you okay!?”
The mall’s tiles crack, and store items fly.
I spot several people injured, bleeding.
Amidst the chaos, I search for an escape route to get away quickly.
I realized this wasn’t just any earthquake.
As if to confirm my suspicions, a deafening roar fills the air.
“GRRAAAAAH!!”
The roar fills those who hear it with terror, causing everyone in the mall to tremble.
An announcement follows shortly.
‘Attention, a D-rank monster has appeared near the shopping mall. Please evacuate as quickly as possible!’
The panicked voice makes it clear how dangerous the situation is.
Incidentally, the muscular “Mino-kun” I met yesterday also qualifies as a D-rank monster.
To briefly explain, monsters are ranked from F to SSS.
An F-rank can typically be defeated by any offensive ability user, while an SSS-rank poses a world-scale crisis.
D-rank means city-scale disaster; only those with a fair amount of experience can handle them.
As soon as the announcement ends, the customers begin to panic and flee, turning the place into a chaotic hell.
People push each other, desperate to escape.
A child cries, separated from their parents.
A boy stands protectively by his family, determined to keep them safe.
In times of mortal danger, people’s true nature surfaces.
I head in the opposite direction, deeper into the mall, away from the crowd.
“Well, people can’t always stay rational.”
It’s simple logic—splitting up would reduce congestion—but panic narrows vision in emergencies.
Loud sounds of battle come from afar.
It seems the town’s defense force has already arrived.
I’m genuinely impressed by their speed.
At this rate, things might end quickly.
In the center of the mall, I spot the little girl from earlier, now crying.
Nearby, a woman who seems to be her mother lies unconscious.
I rush over and check the woman’s condition.
“…Good. It’s just a mild concussion. Little lady, your mom will wake up soon, so don’t worry.”
I try to speak reassuringly in a gentlemanly manner, though it doesn’t suit me.
If Ao were here, he’d be rolling with laughter.
The girl sniffles, tears still in her eyes, and speaks.
“…B-big brother… thank you…”
What a strong kid.
She must be dying to cry more.
I gently pat her head.
—That’s when it happened.
A crack appeared in the space behind the girl.
“Are you kidding me…?”
The size stunned me.
The crack was easily over 10 meters.
I stood frozen for a moment as something shot out from the crack at high speed.
I immediately moved in front of the girl and stared down the object.
It was an arm. Enormous, easily the size of a house.
The claws were sharp enough to slice anything; touching them would mean being severed.
Then that monstrous arm swung horizontally at Hayato.
“Tch!”
“…Big brother!”
Unable to withstand the unexpectedly powerful blow, he was sent flying.
The monster slowly emerged from the crack after knocking Hayato aside.
Its full form was revealed.
Those who saw it once described it like this:
—A massive, four-legged beast.
With claws that slice all, a jaw that crushes everything.
A harbinger of slaughter that obliterates all in its path.
The individual known as Lavarna.
A B-rank—city-destroying level—monster that commands numerous floating cannons around its massive body.
Lavarna sneers as it spots the trembling child.
It moves one of its cannons in front of her and starts gathering energy.
“Ah, no…”
The girl clutches her unconscious mother tightly.
Before her eyes, a cannon aimed to kill her charges an overwhelming amount of energy.
Her body trembles instinctively, but she tries desperately to move her mother with her fragile arms.
Yet there is no time; the cannon fires its energy blast.
Just as she stares in shock, someone steps in front of her.
The one who had been knocked away by the monster—a boy.
“Don’t get cocky, you damn monster.”
He mutters and swings his right hand at the energy blast.
What should have been a fatal attack is obliterated by his strike.
The boy doesn’t stop there; he charges at blinding speed, landing a punch to the monster’s body.
“GRRAAAAAHH!!”
The monster crashes into a pillar, destroying part of the building.
Hayato turns back to the girl, smiling.
“I’ll take care of that small fry. Just wait here until it’s over, okay?”
The girl hears him and, reassured, faints next to her mother.
Her face is peaceful.