Opening Editor Note: h.e.l.lo, here"s this Sat.u.r.day"s update, as scheduled. Please note that while I did say I"ll update on midnight GMT+8, there will be error margins of 2 hours earlier or later. Anyway, enjoy! (This one’s posted 19 minutes before my set time, give or take)
Suriya is crying.
Crying. Scared. Calling out to Gray. But, she didn"t ask for help.
Instead, she told him to run away. To leave her.
She"s being pulled by a monster; a mutated werewolf.
The bloodthirst felt from its eyes a.s.sured her of what her fate is. The werewolf even seems to be happy about catching prey.
According to the data obtained by the Ouija Board, the black werewolf"s magic power surpa.s.ses its measurable range. The tool might have even broke.
Gray frantically thought, what could I do? How strong is that monster?
His conclusion; he didn"t know.
No matter how he thought about it, there is only one logical action he could take.
He must run away.
He became an adventurer, not out of hobby, but to survive in this world. If he recklessly challenged the monster, even If he ambushed it, only despair and death awaits him.
Losing companions is common in this world. That"s how things work now.
But then, Gray thought otherwise.
And he braced himself.
"Kuhh—!"
He turned back and ran with all his might towards the black werewolf.
On his first step, he kicked off with all his strength.
On his second step, he leaned forward to cut through the air.
He needed to achieve his full speed as fast as possible.
Immediately, the black tentacles attacks Gray the moment he came in range. But he dodged them without slowing down. The tentacles that were avoided trashed everything around it, sounding like a giant whip gouging out the earth.
Gray is getting closer—
"—Owwwu?!"
Even the black werewolf is surprised at Gray"s speed.
—There is one way to gain victory. He must kill the monster before the werewolf decides to use enough strength to overpower him.
His movements were quick.
The moment he raised his hand, he was already holding his sword.
"Uwuu!"
At that same instant, the black werewolf"s howl is heard. But Gray is a step faster. He swings his sword at it, aiming at the neck. But the black werewolf shies away from the a.s.sault, managing to dodge the sword with a narrow margin.
However, dodging the attack put the werewolf in a terrible position. To dodge the attack aimed at its neck, it had to snap his head back and twist its body. It was open.
Not missing the opportunity, Gray instantly attacks the exposed section of the wolf"s body.
—But instead of a cut, it felt like he hit something hard.
Werewolves are powerful creatures boasting firm bodies and big muscles. Although using a sword could cut a regular werewolf, this one was special. Nevertheless, taking advantage of that moment when the sword hit the werewolf and the corresponding delay between its reaction, he applies his full strength to his sword, and finally, he gets through.
First blood was spilled.
Gray didn"t have time to celebrate his successful attack. He knows from rumors that defeating mutated monsters with just this kind of attack isn"t enough. So, he follows up by pulling his sword back, changing his stance, and stabs the werewolf"s chest through its back.
He pushes with all his might, until the black werewolf fell on the ground.
Shockingly, despite being stabbed by a sword on its vitals, the black werewolf is still alive.
"Om oowwwwuuuuuuuuuu!"
(ED: The onomatopoeias are killing me)
The werewolf stood back up, taking Gray with it. From a distance, it looks like Gray is riding it. Realizing what"s happening, Gray immediately pulls back his sword and stabs it into the black werewolf"s neck.
Then he stabs it again. And again. And again. And again.
The tentacles growing out of the werewolf"s body desperately attacks Gray. But, ignoring the relentless a.s.sault on him, Gray keeps stabbing.
More, and more, and more.
Despite his sword becoming bent, Gray simply adjusts his angle of attack and keeps stabbing.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!"
Overcome with emotions, Gray keeps stabbing.
Finally, the destroyed flesh started giving off wet sounds. His opponent has stopped moving.
But Gray keeps on stabbing.
"Hu, hahh…!"
The black werewolf no longer screams. Finally, Gray manages to grasp the situation. He has won. How long it took him to kill it, he has no idea. But now the fatigue is catching up to him. It must have taken him quite some time to kill it.
"Haa… haa…"
Gray descends from the black werewolf"s back. He breathes heavily, despite the stinging sensation of the strong smell of blood.
Gray knows he only won because he managed to seize the chance when the black werewolf had its guard down from his surprise, and reckless, attack. Otherwise it would have been extremely difficult, impossible even, for him to win against it.
He looked at his sword and noticed that it had already bent to such a state that it couldn"t be recognized as a sword anymore. He even humorously thought that he"s strong enough to bend a sword.
"Gra—y?"
A voice calls out to him.
He immediately turns his head around to the source of the voice. And there he finds Suriya, her face covered in tears.
"Stu, stupid!! Why are you so stubborn!!"
Suriya stands up despite her trembling legs and walks towards Gray.
"I… I told you to run away!!"
Suriya is still in shock, and it made her voice tremble. She"s trembling so much that just after reaching Gray, Suriya"s legs gave out and she fell. But Gray managed to catch her.
"What were you thinking, stupid?!"
Suriya, in the middle of her sobs, managed to squeeze out her protests. Gray smiles wryly upon hearing her.
"I didn"t have a choice."
He looked into her eyes, showing his sincerity.
"I couldn"t just leave you, right? Well, fortunately for the both of us, I won."
"Stupid! Idiot! Moron! You think you"re cool? You"re not! You"re just an idiot! Gray the idiot!"
Despite Suriya hurling insults at Gray rapid-fire, her eyes keep wandering at Gray"s wounds. Regardless, they"ve managed to overcome this ordeal. And now they could finally take comfort in each other"s warmth.
Although he chose not to escape, the reckless act of challenging the black werewolf is still logical. At least that"s what Gray has convinced himself to be. He didn"t want to use his sword at all, yet he did.
Thinking that, Gray clenched his hand tightly.
"…? What"s with your hand?"
"No, nothing. I just thought of something"
"Hmm…?"
Suriya takes Gray"s right hand with both of hers. Then, slowly, gently, she releases Gray"s tight grip on his sword, one finger at a time.
This time, Gray went against his principle of not relying on the sword.
But…
Suriya"s hands. They"re warm.
——————–
Editor Note: And we"re done with chapter 1 of Arcadia! Next week will be 2 chapters for Aim for the Deepest Part of the Labyrinth.