I Became the Strongest With The Failure Frame 【Abnormal State Skill】As I Devastated Everything
chapter-211

“Light Ball”

It’s a magic tool that, as its name suggests, emits light when it’s filled with magic energy.

It’s as big as a pebble you can easily grip.

Fwooshh!

The light ball is thrown through a gap in the noise wall.

The direction where they were thrown was towards the four cardinal directions.

The throwing distances were also divided from near to far.

The area where these balls of light fall increases in brightness.

There’s no problem even if the monsters in the vicinity would become attracted to the light source.

After all, there’s no way that any monster in this area can beat me.

Rather than those monsters——- It’s to detect the movements of that unidentified “being”.

This was our first priority.

I, Ruin, had already made my vow.

That I would completely abandon any half-heartedness towards this adversary.

Everyone was currently filled with anxiousness.

“Let’s have fun.”

Yes, I wanted to say that.

However, now isn’t the time to say such things.

We’re facing our first ever critical situation that our group, Heroic Sword, had faced……

I looked at Satsuki’s corpse which was still stuck in the middle of the opening of the noise wall.

Constantly looking at it, I quickly turned my gaze away and returned my awareness back to the enemy.

In the short amount of time, we’ve already lost two people.

Strife.

Satsuki.

There’s also four people who I don’t know whether they’re dead or alive.

Toad.

Bardwitcher.

Caro.

Nana Tout.

Before I knew it, I’m only certain about the safety of 4 people.

That’s already less than half of the number of my group.

[Isn’t it dangerous to launch ourselves here, Ruin?]

Yuugungu asked while he was leaning his body against the wall and peeking through a gap.

[My intuition tells me that it’s a bad idea to let the enemy perceive our “whole body”.]

In fact, it seems like the enemy couldn’t make their attack.

I can’t imagine the reason why though.

However, it’s probably necessary for us to go on the offensive.

My guess is that it has something to do with perceiving our “whole body”——- or something close to it in the enemy’s field of vision.

(Is the enemy one of those people said in legends? The users of mystic eyes?)

There’s no way that’s the case.

I’ve never even heard of the mystic eyes in my adventures.

After all, legends would just be legends.

Everyone was feeling a bit suffocated.

Our nerves are always strained, trying to detect even the slightest movement.

[……I guess being unable to attack would also go for our group as well huh.]

We would need a long-range weapon that can be fired from the inside.

Fortunately, we have bows and arrows.

Right now, Yuugungu and Arene have switched their weapons to bows and arrows.

The other way that we could use to attack from the inside was with a magic tool for attack magic.

Myana is exactly holding such a magic tool that has a form of a staff.

As for me—— I have Satsuki’s katana in hand.

I could use it as a throwing weapon.

I tightly gripped the hilt of the katana.

Grip!

(I’ll be using this, Satsuki…… Also, I’ll definitely scrape Nyaki’s ears off with this katana…… I promise you!)

Turning my gaze towards the outside, I saw insects swarming around the light ball.

[It seems like the enemy can’t go on the offensive unless they can perceive our entire body.]

[Does that mean…… that Satsuki attacked us like that because he doesn’t have the strength to fight it himself?]

[That’s what I think but…… ———!]

I placed a hand over my stomach.

Desperately stifling out a nausea that was about to burst out of my mouth.

[Hey!? Are you okay, Ruin?]

[……I don’t feel good.]

[I- Is something the matter?]

[The presence I felt was strange.]

All the time, I’ve always been feeling this.

The sensation of my temples being tightly gripped.

It was as if my brain was being racked up and stirred.

[It was mismatched.]

[Mismatched……?]

It’s probably my intuition at work.

[The being we’re facing isn’t strong…… Yes, the being we’re facing isn’t strong at all. However, it’s so sinister…… By the strength of this being I’m feeling, we should be able to win against him. If I were to fight “this being”, I would definitely win——– And yet, I’m feeling “terribly afraid”……!]

It’s too mismatching.

It’s as if I’m being confronted by a problem that doesn’t hold any solution.

However……

[The true identity of this mismatching aspect——- I feel like this is the key to our victory. If we were able to grasp this mysterious mismatch…… If we were able to know our enemy’s true nature, I feel like it would bring us to victory……!]

As if to cheer himself up, Yuugungu raises his voice.

[That means——- The one telling this!? That instinct of yours that has always saved us!?]

[Yeah, then it can’t be mistaken! Unraveling the identity of this feeling is our “solution” to victory……! Ahh! It’s telling me…… My intuition!]

I felt my breathing get rougher.

[It’s telling me to live!]

“Know the true identity of the enemy”

(That’s the first step for our survival……)

Human?

Human-Faced?

Demi-human?

An assassin sent from the Faraway Country?

Or perhaps, a second group of assassins sent by Mira?

Neither of those answers felt right.

It doesn’t feel like those answers fit right into the missing puzzle.

[Haahhh——– Haahhh…… Haahhh——-]

Our bodies are drenched in sweat.

The temperature isn’t so high.

However, everyone was sweating.

At that moment……

[……Footsteps.]

I can certainly hear footsteps.

I tried listening to it even more carefully.

What I was hearing was……

[A horse……? Isn’t that the sound of a horse’s footsteps……?]

Normally, horses are afraid to step into the Demon Zone.

They can’t mentally endure being inside the vicinity.

And yet, I can hear the sound of horses.

(Moreover, there are two of them……)

Two horses were running in a row.

Running round and round.

They are galloping around our group, though they are also trying to keep a safe distance away from us.

That means……

[There are at least two enemies……]

The first thing I needed to grasp was the number of people.

I focus my hearing on the sound of footsteps.

Although my awareness is somewhat taken up by detecting these footsteps, I don’t stop being alert with my surroundings.

[Nngghh———]

I graps on my chest again, feeling an increasing amount of pain on it.

[Ruin!?]

[……They’re different.]

[Different?]

[Our enemies aren’t riding on these horses.]

The being with mismatched aspects.

They were……

[There is someone other than them here……]

However, the horses seem to be unusual too.

Whether it’s their speed……

Or the strength of their steps as they tread through the ground.

It feels like their tenaciousness is unusual.

That means that they aren’t just normal horses.

There’s a high probability that they’re monsters.

“Are you having fun now?”

(That voice…… I can’t hear it anymore…… Have I just been hallucinating when I heard it? However……)

[—————–!]

The pressure I felt in my body rapidly grew stronger.

And then——– It suddenly appeared.

[! Arene, light balls!]

[Y- Yeah!]

As if I was snatching it off her hand, I took the ball of light from her hand.

[Show me the solution!]

With an underhand throw, I threw it as hard as I could towards the “pressure” I felt.

Thereupon…

Beyond the dense sea of trees———

There was that gigantic “being”.

Seeing that being, my eyes opened wide.

[A slime……?]

A gigantic monster——– that should be a slime.

Yes.

The light shone on a gigantic slime.

It was only for a moment that I could see it.

The figure of that slime immediately disappeared from the range of the light ball.

How could I describe this……

It was as if it had shrunk in the blink of an eye.

However, I certainly saw it with my own eyes.

A majestic appearance, just like a king standing at the pinnacle of all slimes.

I’ve certainly never seen a slime of that size in my whole life.

[Fufufu…… I see…… So that’s why——–!]

With his eyes shining, Yuugungu, who also saw that giant slime, looked over his shoulder.

[Ruin! That’s…… That’s the real identity of that “mismatching aspects” you’re talking about!?]

[——-Yeah, I guess so.]

Slimes are recognized as insubstantial monsters.

They’re just monsters that are usually crushed and played around by humans.

Probably because they were crushed and killed for fun, you don’t see them much these days……

[It’s just a weak slime, but for it to have this much pressure…… That’s why you feel that something’s “mismatching”. They’re originally just weak monsters, but because of some mutation or something like that…… The true identity of the enemy is a mutant slime with a special ability to drive people crazy! Arene, give me more light balls!]

I began lighting up that area with a ball of light at once.

[…………………..]

I focused my attention on the area where that slime had been.

It’s faint——– but I can certainly detect its presence.

The target is surprisingly small.

It also had lots of things shielding its body.

(However———-)

[I won’t let it escape.]

I can do this.

I can definitely bring it down.

With just one swift strike.

(Lend me your strength, Satsuki.)

Tightly gripping the hilt of Satsuki’s katana, I held it over my shoulders.

All my nerves……

All my senses……

Gathering all of it, I set my aim towards the presence of that slime.

Line of fire, secured.

——–Creakkk———

Bending my arm, all the muscles in it bellowed.

Then……

[PIIGGGGGGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII——————-!!!!!!]

An unusually loud squeal echoed around the area.

[What the heck is that!? Shut up, will you!?]

[What the heck is with that slime!?]

[Kyaaahhh!?]

I heard the voices of my three companions as they covered their ears from that uproar.

Their voices were drowned by the volume of the squeal though.

It’s as if its loud cries were amplified to be even louder.

[Is this an attempt to intimidate us…… Or perhaps, is it frightened? Either way——–]

I’m ready to throw.

I’m completely prepared.

[It’s too late…… After what you’ve done to us, it’s already too late to regret it now———–]

—————— Shudder ——————–

Thereupon, I noticed.

A presence. Yes—— It was just in a moment.

However, it was a very strange feeling.

I suppose you could call it a sudden acceleration of thoughts.

I can’t think of a better way to describe it.

[You———-]

As I was in my throwing stance, I looked behind me, over my shoulder.

Since when was that being there?

It was as if he appeared from beyond my recognition.

That being was peeking through the gap of the noise wall behind me.

Before I knew it——–

I could see “that being”, as if he came right out of legends.

Bearing the face of the Fly King……

A skin dyed in red and black——–

(When the heck did he——–)

[Since when have you been theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee—————————!?]

In a position where he can see everyone’s “whole body”.

That being in red and black who was peering into the room, pointed his finger towards my direction.

Speaking of which……

When I was just turning around——— I felt like I heard something.

If I remember correctly, yes——-

I think I heard something like……

” < Paralyze > “

————————- Crickle, crackle ————————

Thinking about it now……

For some reason————- My body can’t move.