Chapter 376 (Self Edited) – Encountering the Disturbing Situation
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It was sudden, to say the least. However, this situation had been abrupt from the start. So, perhaps it wasn’t surprising no matter what happened—
“Nevertheless, isn’t it too sudden… or rather, isn’t the genre changing too much?” (Soma)
However, as expected, there was no response to that muttering. Well, of course. The being before Soma was clearly not one that could communicate in human language. What lay before my gaze was something akin to a shadow materialized, entirely black in color. Soma let out a sigh as he gazed upon the thing standing in the middle of the city at night. Normally, he would have concluded at a glance that it was a Devil… but well, perhaps he simply hadn’t known, were Devils just a normal thing in this world?
“…Well, voicing complaints won’t change the current situation. It would be more constructive to think about what to do from here.” (Soma)
Keeping his mind focused on the road ahead, he looked around, but there was an unnatural amount of people there. Though he hadn’t intended it from the start, seeking help seemed futile.
“Hmm… now that I think about it, Aina did warn to be careful tonight. Could it be this…?” (Soma)
Muttering to himself, he glanced momentarily at his own hand. The cellphone there wasn’t his. It belonged to Felicia. As for why he had it, he was about to deliver it to her. Although it was called a party, it ultimately was more like a dinner gathering, lively but ending in about an hour. While it would have been fine to laze around if it were her own home, Felicia and Soma lived separately.
With the night already deepening, it was only natural to head home. Of course, he offered to escort her, but if she declined saying it was fine as always, he couldn’t insist too strongly especially when she said having Sheila around made her feel safe. However, he had no choice but to see them off at the front door, and then he started helping them clean up. He noticed that Felicia had forgotten her cellphone. He was certain it was hers since he’d seen her using it. At that moment, it felt quite strange. Anyway, he left the house to deliver the forgotten item, confirming the location of Felicia’s residence with a sense of familiarity—
“Just when you think it’s almost there, suddenly this happens. Hmm, I certainly didn’t expect Aina to have foreseen this situation itself though…”
Saying so, this was all but coincidental. If Felicia hadn’t forgotten something, Soma would have been at home continuing his cleanup by now. He wouldn’t have had any reason to go outside.
“Well, considering how unnatural this situation is, it wouldn’t be surprising if it was set up that way… but there’s no use dwelling on that.” (Soma)
More importantly, the problem was the situation itself. Honestly, it was quite challenging.
“Hmm… my body isn’t moving as I thought it would. Well, for an ordinary high schooler, this might be about right…” (Soma)
Being attacked by ‘that thing’ was quite literal. As soon as he felt a presence behind him, it lunged at him. Although he managed to dodge at the last moment, more than half of it was luck. If it attacked again, he wasn’t too confident he could succeed again.
“First of all, it’s impossible for an ordinary high schooler to handle a monster they’ve never seen before…” (Soma)
It didn’t seem like it would immediately attack again, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If they avoided the surprise attack and didn’t immediately take action, it meant they were wary of and observing him… that was how intelligent they were. Considering that it would likely not give him any openings the next time they attacked, this was certainly not a welcome situation.
“Well, even if it had immediately taken the next action, I’m not sure how it would have turned out.” (Soma)
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Again, Soma currently only possessed physical abilities equivalent to an ordinary high schooler. There was no way he could win a physical contest with a monster in such a state. However, ultimately, it was the same thing. If it had intelligence, it wouldn’t be difficult for it to estimate its physical capabilities.
‘Was it just my imagination, or did it seem like it smirked as it stared at me?’
In an instant, its figure vanished. And then…
“—Honestly. I did warn you to be careful, didn’t I?” (A???)
The voice and the roar echoed almost simultaneously. The roar came from behind, but Soma’s gaze was directed toward where the voice came from, above and to the right. There stood a familiar red-haired girl on the roof of a two-story ordinary house.
“Well… I didn’t really expect to get dragged into this. I mean, why are you really getting dragged into this?” (Aina)
“It’s not like it’s my fault, but I’m troubled too. But that was quite a showy entrance, wasn’t it?” (Soma)
“And you’re oddly calm about it. Well, whatever. For now—” (Aina)
With her words, Aina leaped back. Immediately after, a crashing sound echoed as the black monster leaped into the spot where Aina had been standing just moments ago. Its head turned towards Aina in mid-air, but she didn’t seem panicked. Remaining calm, she aimed her right hand at it.
“—Let’s deal with that first.” (Aina)
The black monster slightly lowered its center of gravity and leaped off the roof. Still, Aina remained composed. While there was indeed no escape for Aina in mid-air, if it were to attack, there was only one trajectory to follow. There was no reason to panic.
“—Burn out.” (Aina)
In an instant, another roar erupted. Flames erupted before Aina’s eyes and were launched into the sky, exploding. As the fragments of fire scattered around, the black figure fell into the depths of darkness. Soma’s ears caught the sound of the landing as he somewhat followed its trajectory. When he looked, Aina stood on the ground, seemingly nonchalant, yet there was a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes.
“Hmm… Is something the matter?” (Soma)
“Well… nothing’s wrong exactly, but there’s something I don’t like. So why are you so calm?” (Aina)
“Well, even if you ask…” (Soma)
There was neither astonishment nor anxiety. Soma somehow had a feeling that Aina could use magic, so defeating that monster effortlessly was only to be expected. Soma had initially thought he couldn’t win a physical contest because he only possessed the physical abilities of an ordinary person. If magic was involved, there was no way Aina would lose to such a being.
“Anyway, more importantly, can you talk now that it’s defeated?” (Soma)
“What do you mean?” (Aina)
“I mean exactly what I said? I thought you’d say you can’t talk again.” (Soma)
“If that’s possible, it’d be best, but you’ve already seen that thing… and more than anything, are you just going to accept it if I say I won’t talk?” (Aina)
“Hmm… If you’re asking whether I’ll accept it or not, I probably won’t.” (Soma)
“Probably not. That’s what I thought, so I figured it’d be quicker to just talk.” (Aina)
“Is that so… well, if you’re going to talk, I have no complaints.” (Soma)
With a shrug, he turned his gaze towards the sky. Of course, there was no trace of the flames anymore, but their remnants lingered in his mind.
“Looks like the genre has changed after all…” (Soma)
‘Well, considering the original context, perhaps the reason might be closer to me.’
As Soma pondered these things, he exhaled a breath while wondering what kind of conversation would unfold next.
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