Mob Yandere

 [Part 4/4]

 "Of course. Shall I guide you to where it's hiding?"

 'Yay!!'

 The calamity youkai enthusiastically responded to my proposal, practically jumping for joy. Her willingness to accept an offer from something she considered food, including my support, highlighted her abnormal mentality.

 "So, may I ask you to support me instead? With my current body, I can't even walk."

 I beg humbly, begged and pleaded. Seeing my desperation, the calamity youkai was about to command their Servants, but I stopped them.

 "Please wait. That wouldn't be... in your best interest."

 'Why? What's wrong?'

 "Because, you wouldn't want to reveal the prey's location so easily, right?"

 The youkai quickly understood my point. It was a typical youkai-like thought process, focusing on the prey's capture rather than immediately trusting their Servant.

 As for the other Servants in the vicinity, their vague and indifferent responses to the calamity youkai's harsh words confirmed my suspicion that only this youkai understood human language.

 'Then, shall we do this?'

 "Ugh!?"

 Suddenly, tendrils extended from the youkai's back, lifting me roughly without any care or consideration.

 'Which way?'

 "That way."

 Responding to my request, the group began to move. It seemed that the foliage playing mermaid games were actually their minions. The carnivorous plant queen, with trap-like leaves that resembled wings, sat on her throne and was carried along. Behind her, more bosses followed.

 "That's it. Keep going straight"

 I pointed, and without questioning, the youkai moved forward, oblivious to any traps. They hadn't planned for traps, after all.

 "!!?"

 On the other hand, Princess was appalled as she saw me approaching with this dangerous entourage. She glared at me, emanating blame, hostility, and even fear. I remained unresponsive to her accusations and cowered before her, unable to escape.

 But then I ordered to stop just a short distance from me.

 "Please wait."

 'Hmm? What is it?'

 "I urgently need to speak to you alone..."

 My request was surprisingly granted. The tendrils pulled me closer to the calamity youkai's face.

 'What is it? Is it good news?'

 "In a sense."

 For me, at least...

 "It's a token of gratitude. Please keep it. It was challenging for me to move alone."

 I pressed the cylindrical object against the youkai's chest. It seemed like a natural gesture. Inattentiveness allowed my action to succeed, even though the youkai tilted her head in curiosity.

 'What's this?'

 "A Seed Machine Gun."

 I then pulled the cord as if it were a firecracker. There was a click, and then it popped.

 Immediately, a strong recoil hit my arm, and a barrage of lead pellets and nails was unleashed into the youkai's chest.

* * *

 Sarujirou had provided this cylindrical object, which I had used, as one of my few trump cards. While it appeared to be a handle-equipped grenade from World War I movies, its actual purpose was that of a suicide device rather than an explosive.

 At the bottom of the cylinder, I had twisted in gunpowder. On top of that, I had placed irregular lead pellets made from smelted spiritual iron and a cursed nail, covering them all with straw, paper, and thin sheets of iron.

 It couldn't deliver the quality or quantity of explosives that a hand grenade or Claymore mine could. Instead, it was a kind of self-destruct weapon, meant to be pressed against the enemy and detonated at close range. Sarujirou had even labeled it as a worthless piece of crap while explaining the finished product.

 But I didn't care. It served as insurance for situations like this, where I couldn't escape from great youkai or calamity youkai. There were two of them, and I had just used one.

 Sarujirou's evaluation aside, this item proved highly effective in this situation.

 'Gyaaahh!?! It hurts!? It hurts!!? It hurts so muchhhh!!?'

 I had literally created an ugly, gaping hole in the youkai's chest, and numerous small and large wounds with lead pellets and nails had scattered around it. The plant-based queen of flesh-eating plants screamed in agony.

 "Kuhhh!? ...Guhhh!!?"

 As for me, I was still numb from the recoil when I was flung away by tendrils. I slammed into a tree trunk, retching and coughing as I fell to the ground.

 But the ordeal was far from over.

 'Arrrggghhh!!!'

 "The boss is coming...!!"

* * *

 The injured queen sent the Flower Bosses into a frenzy as they roared at us. They opened their carnivorous leaves, ready to rip me to shreds.

 "For you all, take this...!!"

 Without delay, I reached into my pocket and threw another Scent Ball. It burst with a satisfying pop, releasing a distinct odor into the air.

 The ground shook, as expected in this forest of monsters. New customers arrived immediately.

 'Roaar!'

 'Shaar!'

 'Kikikiki!!'

 Low-level youkai with limited intelligence crashed through the vegetation, charging headlong toward the bosses without understanding the power disparity or succumbing to their instincts. They were crushed, and more youkai followed suit without hesitation. The melee had begun.

 "Now's our chance...!?"

 'Wait! I won't let you get away, monkey!'

 As I tried to crawl away, tendrils wrapped around my legs, preventing my escape. When I looked up, I saw a humanoid creature. The jaw of the beautiful girl split open, baring her fangs, and her glassy, spherical eyes stared intensely at me.

 "You little...!!"

 I drew a kunai and stabbed it into the tendril, cutting it away. The creature crawled closer, face down, and I threw a Flash Ball. My surroundings were engulfed in light, and screams from the youkai and calamity youkai filled the air. Tendrils flailed wildly, slashing through the area. One grazed my face.

 "Ugh!? That stings!!"

 My mask was nearly shattered, and I felt a sharp impact on my face as if I'd been hit by a fastball. I endured it. There was no time to cry out in pain.

 'Argghh!!! I won't forgive you! I won't forgive youuuuu!!!'

 Ignoring the curses from behind me, I whipped my body forward to escape. I dragged myself, sweating profusely, determined not to let a drop of blood touch the ground. I focused on moving forward, gasping for breath.

 "Haah, haah...!!"

 The presence drew nearer. Death was closing in from behind. I pushed forward with all my strength. I couldn't rely much on my vision, blurred by the Flash Ball's light, but I continued to stagger forward. Toward the direction of the talisman. Toward the rocky area.

 "Grab my hand...!!"

 Someone seized my arm. I looked ahead and, within my dim and hazy field of vision, saw a girl who had crawled out of the range of the talismans. She had reached out to me.

 "...!!"

 Our grasped arms strained against each other, pulling in opposite directions. Death was just a few steps behind me. I exerted all my might.

 Tendrils were torn away. And...

 ...

 ...

 ...

 'B*stard! Do you know how many times I've been in the same place?

 Outside the fleeing group and just beyond their hiding place, the calamity youkai, in a furious rage, continued to massacre the surrounding youkai as if to take out her anger.

I have a new project about a returning hero who is forced to combat once again. It features good character growth and decent battle writing. Here's the link => [Link]

And this is the latest chapter of the nameless combatant...

Fan art:

Title: Aoi enjoying a river-side view.

URL: [Link]

Author note:

I've already explained the reason for the delay in updates in a previous activity report, but I'm still recovering from an illness, and my health is not the best. Updates will continue to be delayed for a while longer, likely at a frequency of about once every ten days. Please bear with me in this regard.

By the way, the source material is the "Insect Demon (蟲惑魔)" series. If you explore deep within the forest, you can easily find members of the same kind. Honestly, among the calamity youkai, they are on the weaker side. (I'm not saying regular people can beat them.)

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