Chapter 5: The Day They Survived
“For now, let’s run Finia-chan!”
“Eh? We’re running?”
Sandwiched between two monsters, with Finia being the only one able to fight, Kitsune wasn’t foolish enough to fail to see their chances of victory, and it’s not like he was a natural born fighter or anything. The conclusion he came to was that the most favorable measure to take in the situation was ‘Flight.’ Both ‘Fight’ and ‘Flight’ differ by but a letter, and both are strategies to take pride in.
“So, if you equate the positives of…!”
“Kitsune-san, your legs are slow!”
“Is that something you should say while flying?”
Kitsune and Finia fled. Of course, the laws of the jungle weren’t so kind as to let the prey the predators found in the barren forest escape. Both monsters scrambled to rush after the two. The pressure coming from behind was fearsome, and while Kitsune always had the awareness that his legs were on the slower side, he felt slower than ever before.
As such, he was forced to ponder as he ran. How to defeat those two monsters… or to get them out of the way.
“Hah… hah…! At a time like this, in stories, would this be the moment when a really strong adventurer or hero shows up…!?”
“The probability of that is abysmal! You’re acting like an effeminate man whose about to be dumped!”
“What sort of ‘Gold○n Bomb○r’ do you think I am?”
(TL: Golden Bomber is a visual kei ‘air’ rock group that acts out relatively dramatic performances to music done by professionals. They cannot play instruments. They admit so themselves. It’s usually parody. As members of the Visual Kei Era, they are quite effeminate in appearance at least.)
Despite their conversation, the situation was urgent. To Kitsune, Finia’s cheerfulness was actually quite appreciated.
He glanced behind him and snuck a peek at the two beasts. Based on what he had seen, since the two were aiming for a human like him, they were carnivorous. And as a bug and a wolf, their races should be quite different.
“… Then… perhaps I can?”
Kitsune thought about the monsters, their surroundings, what his team had on hand, and what he could do with all the information.
“… Finia-chan.”
“What is it, Kitsune-san!?”
“… There’s something I’d like to ask.”
A faint smile floated on Kitsune’s face as he said that.
… The two monsters lost sight of the prey they were chasing.
Just as Kitsune antic.i.p.ated, they were both carnivorous beasts, and in this world, they were both lifeforms cla.s.sified as 『Magic Beasts』. If a normal human were to run into them, then that person would be forced to resign himself to death, and even the weakest of Magic Beasts were able to devour dozens of humans individually. Among such monsters, the Wolf and Spider were around mid-tier.
The wolf was known as a 『Vargr Wolf』, and from a special organ within its body, it could give birth to high-heated flames. Its defining trait was its fire attack. From said trait, its skin and innards developed fearsome resistance to heat, and it could swim leisurely even through bubbling magma.
The spider was an 『Arachne』, and based on the specimens that had been discovered thus far, it’s max body-span was 5 meters. As a spider, it could use the adhesive threads produced within its body to capture targets or could personally run after them itself. Its bite held a paralyzing poison, so after being caught once, it would be difficult to escape.
This goes without saying, but the two were not allies. They were mutual enemies gunning for the same food. Why is it that when in such close proximity the two have yet to start fighting, you ask? That is because both of them had securing food on their minds as their first priority.
After killing the prey that was Kitsune to prevent him from running away, they would fight and kill one another over him.
But now they had lost said food stock. It was inevitable that they would take out the irritation from that on the enemy before their eyes.
“Grrrrrrr…!!”
“Krrrrr…!!”
The two monsters, each with frames surpa.s.sing two meters, glared at one another. They kicked the ground and collided… and it was at that moment.
“An opening.”
They heard a voice. Before they could turn to the direction of its source, the Magic Beasts were sent flying horizontally. They looked at the location where they once were, and saw a cut tree swinging like a pendulum. They understood that was what had impacted them from the side.
Body bodies corrected their postures in midair and landed.
But…
“You’re full of openings!”
A small fairy was waiting for them: The Ideological Fairy, Finia. She held up her small hands and activated the magic she had been saving up. This time, it wasn’t a low grade shockwave magic, but a high cla.s.s fire one. It didn’t need a chant, but it needed a bit of charging to use. That magic’s name was…
“… Fairy Torch.”
The magic’s name was called out, as if in song. Its effect birthed an insignificant small white flame. Its appearance was neither flashy nor scary in the slightest, but that small white light that looked as if it would go out in the wind at any moment possessed a considerable power.
And of all things, Finia sent the flame towards the Vargr Wolf. Even though this monster boasted the greatest of flame resistances.
“GAAAAAAAAAH!!”
And that’s exactly why the Vargr chose not to dodge. This magic’s scary aspect wasn’t its output, but its fleeting appearance that contradicted that power.
As evidence, having tried swallowing that small, white light, the wolf…
“You fell for it, stupid dog!!”
As Finia voiced her opinion, the Vargr burst from the inside, along with a white light. It continued to burn white, as blood and cuts of flesh splattered around and stained the ground.
“Well, then… so organisms from this world bleed red as well.”
While his body was bathed in the scattering blood, Kitsune muttered to himself. Red blood drips down the Kitsune Mask on his head, and a faint smile emerges on his face. His eyes were directed at the Spider.
“Ka…rrrroo…..!?”
That was the first moment the Spider sensed any danger from the boy. It didn’t feel pressure, and it didn’t smell that it was standing before someone stronger than itself. With Kitsune remaining the weak presence he always was, the spider continued to feel nothing but fear. Of course, it’s not like Kitsune had any trump card. It’s not like he was doing anything menacing. He was merely standing there, getting his body bathed in the blood spurted.
But since before coming to this world, Kitsune had always possessed a certain nature.
That was his 『Repulsing Nature』.
Even by humans of the same race, he was always excluded for some reason. But it’s not like there was any particular reason. Without any reason, it just kinda turned out like that. In this world, that apparently applied to Magic Beasts as well.
The Arachne was creeped out by the boy standing before its eyes. It felt a strange from this unfamiliar presence.
“Now then, looks like it’s your turn next.”
Kitsune’s body swayed as he pointed his finger at the spider. And with just that action, the spider retreated a step. It thought, if it only got closer and bit him, it would win. It was confident in that. Even so, it couldn’t approach. No, it didn’t want to approach him.
It hadn’t been like this until now. Up until now, Kitsune was registered as nothing but weak prey. But the Wolf that could put up a close fight with the spider had been killed all to easily, had he not? That made him more than enough of a threat. It couldn’t deny the possibility that it would die if it handled the situation poorly.
As such, the spider made a decision by instinct. It was, by nature, a cautious animal that would hide itself as long as it wasn’t certain it would win. It valued itself. As long as it couldn’t understand Kitsune’s existence, it chose not to approach him so easily.
“Krrrrrrrrrr…!”
Retreat. The spider expelled adhesive strings out of its rear as it crossed trees to retreat. Kitsune didn’t give chase. He didn’t really understand why, but if the spider was going to retreat, he had no need to chase it.
“… Whew, thanks, Finia-chan.”
“It’s fine! Even so, I’m surprised you were able to survive with that hole-ridden mess of a plan! It’s a miracle!”
The red-dyed Kitsune raised a bitter smile at the fairy’s words.
Kitsune’s plan was as follows. Attach a log cut down with Finia’s magic to one of the vines hanging over the place to send at the following monsters and halt their advance. Then leave the rest to Finia. Honestly, he didn’t even know what magic she would use.
For now, all’s well that ends well, but if the log didn’t hit, if Finia’s magic failed to kill, if the Spider didn’t step back, the slightest of mistakes would have made the situation take a turn for the worse.
“Hey, I’m no Zhuge Liang. I don’t have that sort of wisdom in my head, and it’s something I came up with on the spot to overcome the situation, so of course it would be full of holes.”
“Uwah, just how useless of a human are you, Kitsune-san!”
“I’m starting to wonder just where you picked up that personality to spew venom with a smile.”
“I’m me! This is my originality!”
Kitsune smiled. It seems he’d begun to understand this fairy’s personality.
And looking at himself, he let out a sigh. He was covered in blood. At this rate, his prided uniform would be unusable.
“For now, let’s aim for that river you were talking about earlier.”
“Yeah! Umm… that way!”
Finia floated high into the air again and pointed. Kitsune began walking in that direction, and Finia descended to his level to float by his side. Her bright smile sorta brightened up the atmosphere.
“Yeah… This b.l.o.o.d.y smell is…”
Kitsune said that as a faint smile arose on his face.
After walking a while and arriving at the river, they took a small break. Unexpectedly, while the city was still far, the river wasn’t, so it didn’t take long to reach. Kitsune had washed his blazer and pants in the river and was in the middle of drying them. He sat cross-legged in the trunks and T-shirt he wore under them. Perhaps she was tired, but Finia went back inside of Kitsune’s mask and wouldn’t come out.
“… And wait, so she can go back into that… in human terms, it’s like reentering a mother’s stomach… if you think along those lines… I guess it’s a Fantasy?”
The fact that the Mask he received for his birthday had turned into the greatest of fantasy goods left him with some deep thoughts as he felt the day slowly coming to an end. He gazed up at the sky that had begun to turn dark.
The events that had transpired played back to him.
He died in his previous world and made his best friend cry.
When he thought he was dead, he ended up in another world.
He was attacked by a large wolf and met Finia.
He was simultaneously attacked by a wolf and a spider, but somehow survived it.
Having reached the river, he was still alive, one way or another.
Today, he seemed to have been treading close to death the whole way. Even though he had already died, he was still so close to it. Even if he survived today, he had no idea what would become of the next day. And the more he thought about it, the more his motivation left him.
“… This may not be the best time to be thinking about how to get back to my previous world.”
Kistune murmured as such. He slipped on his slightly damp uniform. After hanging the mask on his head again, he began looking for a place to hide. The waterside is the rest stop of life, and if he stayed there, there was a higher possibility of him being killed off by that spider, or some other Demon Beast. If he didn’t find somewhere to conceal his body, then he’d likely die in his sleep.
“Hah… It’s getting dark… I’m more of a night person, so it’s fine, but this is the first time I’m spending it in the middle of a forest.”
He let out one sigh after another.