Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

[LN] Volume 3: Chapter 4.7

Volume 3 Chapter 4.7

Ripples of Impending Danger Part 7

Translator : PolterGlast

"Nozomu ......?"

Her voice sounded like she was dumbfounded. It had been a long time since he had heard her voice that wasn't tinged with hatred.

(...... I made it in time.)

For some reason, such words came to his mind.

Her voice was the same nostalgic voice as when they were still together.

However, the nostalgia that came to him was quickly overshadowed by the intense heat that welled up from deep within his chest.

Nozomu could not describe the feeling in a single word. Was it anger at being betrayed or sadness at being hated?

A smoldering mass of heat, mingling in a jumbled mess. Along with the pain that rushed up his nose, he bit his lip involuntarily due to the nausea.

Nozomu reached for the invisible chains that bound him, trying to suppress his shaking emotions.

The most certain and necessary means to eliminate the [Cracked-Crown].

However, the release of these chains may cause a tragedy that even Nozomu himself cannot imagine.

In fact, he once wielded this power in a fit of rage and literally created a bloodbath.

Perhaps the worst scene he had dreamed of might become a reality. Such uncertainty makes him hesitate to break this chain.

But while Nozomu was hesitating, a sudden but powerful wind rose up on the flank of the giant centipede he was facing.

"W-What!?"

The swirling vortex of the wind was so strong that it stirred and scattered the [Cracked-Crown]'s purple lightning.

Nozomu and the others looked at the source of the wind and saw that Mars was pouring all his Qi and magic power into his greatsword.

"If I use this, even this monster will be- ......!"

"Mars-kun, no!"

Tima's cries did not reach him as he stared at the giant centipede with bloodshot eyes.

The pain from the injury he sustained due to [Thunder Rain] had turned into anger, and combined with the frustration of being suddenly confronted with a substandard being, it had completely erased any sense of calm from his mind.

However, the technique was originally incomplete and only imperfectly controllable. He was rushed by anger and impatience, as well as the fatigue and damage that had built up over the course of the past several battles. With all these bad conditions, there was no way he could control it.

Unaware of this fact, Mars used the magic combination technique, rushed by his impatience.

As a result, the situation that Tima and Nozomu had feared before occurred.

"Guu~u~u~!"

The greatsword screeches amidst the swirling torrent of Qi and magic power. The storm-like vortex of power kept raging without harmony, and even Mars himself began to run amok beyond control.

"W-hy ......Gaaaah!"

"Kyaaa!"

Unleashed along with his cry, the raging wind finally left Mars's control and began to turn its fangs on its surroundings.

The blast expanded and blew away Mars, the user, along with Shina and Tima, who were nearby.

Shina was fortunately protected by Rasward, but Tima was knocked straight into a tree and fainted.

*Gigigi ......*

To make matters worse, the [Cracked Crown] once again began to cover its entire body in purple lightning.

It is the same torrential rain of lightning that devastated Nozomu and the others earlier.

Shina and others who were capable of launching long-range attacks kept firing magic and arrows, but they were dispersed by the purple lightning that the giant centipede was clad in, and did not even reach its carapace.

Then, for the third time, [Thunder Rain] was invoked, and a swarm of lightning so dense that there was no room to evade it, attacked Nozomu.

"Nozomu!"

However, Irisdina intervened in front of the downpour of lightning and deployed a magic barrier. She deployed it in the nick of time.

"Iris......~!"

"Ugh, hurry, ...... while you still can!"

The magic barrier that was instantly deployed began to be eaten away by the snake-like thunderstorms in the blink of an eye.

And then, this time, Shina with Razward jumped in.

"Raz, protect them!"

[Dammit! What a rough spirit user!]

Shina stood in front of Nozomu, and together with Irisdina, she raised her hands to put up a barrier.

But even so, the torrential rain of lightning could not be stopped.

Both barriers were pierced, and a snake-like thunderbolt slipped through the hole and struck them on the cheek, leaving a laceration on their white skin.

There is no time to hesitate. Nozomu put all his strength into his hand on the invisible chain and tried to tear it apart with all his might.

"Wha ......"

But for some reason, the invisible chains did not break.

Over and over again, he pulled on the chains with all his might, but no matter how much force he put into it, the invisible chain would not budge.

"W-why?......"

While Nozomu was stupefied, the [Thunder Rain] finally broke through their barriers.

"Uaaaaa!"

""Kyaaaa!"

Their screams were heard. The violent purple lightning engulfed them, and the pain was so intense that their consciousness was bleached to a pure white.

In their flickering vision, the giant centipede was raising its huge scythe arm.

Is it over for us? ...... At that moment, on the verge of fainting, a man clad in silver and white armor and carrying a huge black sword sprang out from behind the bushes like a gust of wind.

◆

The darkness slowly cleared up.

The first thing Nozomu saw in his blurry vision was a white tent ceiling.

"Where am I......."

"Oh, you're awake."

A voice was heard, and looking toward his side, Norn, the infirmary doctor, was coming from behind the tent.

Reflected in the corner of his vision was a simple bed covered with a cloth. Nozomu finally realized that he was in a temporary clinic at the headquarters.

Norn let out a sigh of relief after measuring his pulse, checking his pupils, and completing his diagnosis.

"Un. Looks like everything's fine. I was worried when I heard that you encountered such an extraordinary demonic beast, but I'm glad to know that you're all right."

According to the story, Jihad and the teachers who received the report from Karanti and the others arrived just in time.

Although the situation was dire, they managed to fend off the [Cracked-Crown]. Currently, they are conducting a patrol of the surrounding area and keeping a watchful eye on the situation. Naturally, the Special Comprehensive Exercise has been suspended. Even this headquarters is going to be withdrawn soon.

"Umm...... what about the others?"

"If it is Irisdina and the others, they have already been treated and are outside. Although their injuries could not be called minor, but they are not life-threatening. The only one left here is her."

Saying so, Norn turned her gaze to the edge of the tent. There was Shina with a bandage wrapped around her head.

She had woken up one step ahead of Nozomu and was sitting on a bed with only the upper half of her body propped up. She was looking at Nozomu, who had just woken up. Underneath her untucked coat, blood-soaked gauze and bandages peeked out.

".......~."

Red spots could be seen on her white skin. This painful sight caused Nozomu's face to contort.

"......I'm going to call Irisdina and the others. You both stay here and rest well."

Silence filled the tent as Norn left. Shina was staring at Nozomu, but Nozomu couldn't make eye contact with her.

(This happened because I couldn't release my power back then ......)

Swirling in his mind was a regret that made him want to scratch his throat. If only he could release his ability suppression, his friends would not be injured like this.

"Hey ......."

Of course, that's just a possibility. It's meaningless since it's already over.

However, the fact that he couldn't do what he needed to do when it was crucial, pierced Nozomu's heart deeply.

"Hey!"

"......Huh?"

Nozomu reflexively raised his gaze in response to the loud voice that echoed through the tent.

"Are you listening to me? I've been trying to talk to you for a while, you know?......."

"S-sorry ......."

Nozomu hastily apologized to the disgruntled Shina, but he quickly averted his gaze after that.

Shina let out a sigh upon seeing him like this.

"Well, it's fine. Everyone is safe after all."

Perhaps she was being mindful. Shina said so as cheerfully as she can. However, Nozomu's expression was still not good. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as if trying to endure something.

Shina showed a little hesitation toward such Nozomu, but nonetheless, she tried to open her mouth again .......

"Hey, you- ......."

"Nozomu, you have woken up!?"

However, her words were interrupted by Irisdina, who jumped into the tent.

She was breathing roughly as if she was in a great hurry.

Following Irisdina, who had rushed in, Tima, Tom, Feo, and the others entered the tent of the simple clinic.

"Y-yeah. Looks like everyone's alright as well."

"Thank goodness ...... we were worried you know."

With her jet-black eyes moistened with tears of relief, she reached out to check on Nozomu's condition.

"Yeah, Sorry, for making you ...... worried......"

However, Nozomu's expression turned even cloudier upon seeing Irisdina's appearance as she came closer to him.

She too, like Shina, has bandages all over her body.

The red stains left on her tattered uniform. This appearance reminded him of the previous nightmare, and he involuntarily backed away from her outstretched hand as if to escape.

"Nozomu......?"

Nozomu's avoidance left a bewildered look on Irisdina's face.

An awkward atmosphere spread through the tent.

"Well, everyone's injured, but thank goodness everyone's okay. And more importantly-......"

"Oi ......."

Feo tried to soften the atmosphere, but was interrupted by Mars' low voice echoing from behind him.

He walked over to Nozomu's bed with a large stride, ignoring everyone else.

"Mars......"

In that instant, Mars' fist filled Nozomu's field of vision, and a powerful shock struck him on the cheek.

The sound of the impact echoed through the tent. Nozomu's body was thrown out of bed with such force that it knocked over a nearby table and threw the medical instruments to the ground.

As everyone present widened their eyes, Mars' face turned bright red and his shoulders trembled in anger as he glared at Nozomu, who had fallen to the ground.

"Why!? ...... You bastard, why didn't you show your seriousness!?"

While raising his voice so loud and heavy, Mars grabbed Nozomu by the chest.

"If you'd really give it your all, you could have easily defeated such a centipede!"

"............"

Nozomu had no answer to Mars' words. He just turned his head down and gritted his teeth to endure.

He thought he deserved to be beaten up.

"You-! ...... Oi, say something!"

Seeing Nozomu's silent reaction, Mars became even more agitated and again raised his fist.

Irisdina and the others, who were stunned by the sudden situation, came to their senses and rushed to stop him.

"Mars-kun, don't!"

"Stop it!"

"Wait, calm down!"

Tima and Irisdina clung to Mars' arms, and Feo jumped on his waist.

Despite the three of them trying to stop him, Mars does not lower his raised fist. He just lets his anger take over and shakes Tima off, who is still clinging to him.

"Kyaa!"

"Tima!"

Tima, who was not physically strong to begin with, was easily knocked away. She fell down and was holding her own ankle with her face contorted in pain. Perhaps she twisted her ankle.

However, Mars, whose blood was rushing to his head, did not see Tima and he punched Nozomu again with his freed arm.

Nozomu collapsed on top of the scattered medical instruments, and as Mars was about to close in further, Norn's angry voice rang out from the entrance to the tent.

"What are you doing!? This is no place to make a scene!"

Upon hearing Norn's angry voice, everyone quieted down as if water had been poured over them. While everyone has an awkward expression on their faces, only Mars keeps glaring at Nozomu. His eyes are tinged with anger, yet somehow sad and sullen.

However, seeing Nozomu not saying anything, his eyes turned to disappointment.

"...... I thought you were different from that bastard."

"Ma-, Mars-kun!"

After squeezing these words out of his heart, Mars turned on his heel and walked out of the tent. Tima called to him to stop him, but he walked away without looking back.

"...... Nozomu, are you alright?"

"............"

Nozomu did not answer Irisdina's call, but stood up sluggishly and quickly walked past her toward the exit of the tent. Irisdina turned around and tried to reach out her hand to his back as he left, but her hand was not able to reach him, and it cut through empty air.

After they left, only a heavy silence drifted through the tent.

End of Chapter 4.

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