We run.

Not me, but the spirit.

We are moving while riding on the back of the spirit.

As befits a wind-type spirit, it is running not on the ground but in the distant sky. And at a terrifying speed, like a storm.

The destination is Honeygrove.

The place where the magical beast that has already destroyed several villages is heading.

Boris predicted that the beast would reach the walls of Honeygrove within a day or two.

It was the result of calculating the location of the villages the beast had passed through and its speed.

Of course, it could be breaking down the city walls right now.

Because magical beasts are creatures that often run outside the expected range.

Today, my prey is an A-rank magical beast.

Also known as 'Hydra'.

From A-rank magical beasts, they are given names.

Because they are classified as special individuals.

For reference, the giant female mantis that Schmitt killed before I could even lift a finger was named 'Mantis'.

I heard that Miho also had a name at one point.

The leader and my sister went to the guild and made it as if it never happened.

'What was it... I can't remember.'

Anyway, it's probably not important right now.

"Ugh!"

A strange, suppressed scream came from Boris's tightly closed mouth.

Currently, the guy is holding onto Hud's waist for dear life with his eyes tightly shut.

Hud, who was sitting in front, frowned at once and turned to Boris.

"Hey, Boris. Do you want to die? I told you to hold on tight. Who told you to pinch?"

"Ugh!"

But our Boris didn't seem to be in the mood to answer properly.

He was just groaning and repeating a sound that was unpleasant to hear.

The groaning man in the sky. That would be Boris.

I understand.

Because we were currently running through the distant sky like a storm.

And on top of a transparent tiger that he couldn't see.

Hud introduced this dark blue tiger with a horn on its forehead as the spirit of the storm.

No wonder. I remember the path of the wind that I suddenly felt when I first rode on its back. And the graceful movement of naturally placing my body on it and running.

The spirit of the storm. It suits it.

If Boris were to fall off here because of the strong wind, it wouldn't end with a simple injury, so I'm sitting behind him to prevent any accidents that might happen.

So Boris is sandwiched between me and Hud like a sandwich, groaning.

I chuckled and encouraged the suffering Boris.

"Boris. Open your eyes. See what the wind's point of view is like."

As if he was curious anyway, Boris seemed to open his trembling eyes.

And then he immediately started cursing at me.

"You son of a bitch! You damn devil-like bastard! I'll raise your request fee!"

I chuckled and patted his back.

Our Boris had a surprisingly fearful side to high places.

I hit the back of Boris's head, who was clinging to Hud even more in fear.

"You pervert. I knew you had a secret crush on Hud. To think you'd take care of your personal feelings even in such an urgent situation. As expected of the strategist Boris."

A torrent of curses flew at me at once.

"What nonsense, you crazy bastard!"

Ah, it's good to hear.

The Heavenly Demon, who was laughing lowly along with me, muttered.

[I'm looking forward to it. Am I finally meeting a beast worth watching?]

"This time it's certain. It's a proper A-rank. It'll be stronger than that mantis last time."

The storm spirit ran through the sky like a storm, carrying its master, a perverted coward, and a cool swordsman.

And soon, it reached its destination.

The city wall was visible below.

To see the city wall so small. It was a very unfamiliar experience.

I focused my internal energy on my eyes and looked at the top of the city wall.

The soldiers were staring at the front with tense expressions, armed with various weapons such as spears and arrows.

It was the face of a warrior before a war.

Large equipment that would be used for sieges was also visible.

Thanks to coming in a hurry in case of an emergency, we arrived faster than expected.

I patted the back of the shrunken Boris.

"Boris. We've arrived."

"...Already?"

"Perhaps because it's the spirit of the storm, it's blindingly fast."

I could hear the tiger's growling sound through its body.

Is it happy?

Boris opened his eyes slightly and then took out some documents and said.

"It should be coming down from the north."

His voice was suddenly calm.

Does looking at the documents give him courage? Or does his fear go away?

Anyway, he's a strange guy.

"I don't know where it's coming from. It's almost certain that it's coming down this way. This is the only city in this area. The other villages have been destroyed by it."

"Then should we go north and hunt it?"

"This is a test, so you have to judge for yourself. It will come here anyway, so you can meet it here. Or you can go and find it. If you miss each other, the city will be destroyed."

"Hmm."

"Don't forget. The goal of this request is the extermination of 'Hydra' and the protection of the city. Judge well. We'll just watch."

At that moment, the examiner, Hudmilla, shouted at me.

"Examinee!"

I answered like a model examinee.

"Yes, examiner!"

The examiner, Hudmilla, was looking at the forest on the other side of the city wall.

"The beast has come!"

I followed her gaze.

I could see a forest that looked strangely different.

A sense of war was hanging over the forest.

The calm before the storm.

It was then.

Thump!

A loud noise from a distance broke the silence.

Thump!

The sound grew louder. Because the source of the sound was getting closer.

Thump! Thump!

The whole forest was shaking.

Birds flew up.

From a distance, the green bushes made of trees began to shake.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The forest was screaming.

The smell of fear spread.

I could smell that stench from here.

Crash! Thump!

Tall trees fall one after another.

Their retreat announced the advance of some huge being.

Bang! Crash!

Soon, the outermost tree fell, and the beast appeared in the wide open space between the city wall and the forest.

—KUWAAAAAAAAAAK!!

The beast's roar echoed throughout the area.

The city wall seemed to shake just from the roar.

The beast's roar was mixed with mana.

It was fear.

I quickly covered Boris's ears with my hands, which were covered in internal energy.

This weakling could lose consciousness just from this.

"Keuk!"

Even I felt my ears ringing slightly.

I frowned slightly and looked at the beast properly.

"Oh."

The mantis wife I saw last time? She was cute enough.

Mantis was the youngest of the A-rank brothers. A rather cute youngest.

Or maybe she was weakened from laying eggs in the nest.

Anyway, the important thing is that this one is a proper A-rank magical beast.

[Oh. It's quite disgusting.]

It was literally the size of a house.

Isn't it about 20 meters high?

There was a big difference between seeing it in a picture and seeing it in person.

At a glance, it looked like a huge reptile, but it had several long heads on its huge body.

'How many are there?'

One, two, three...

'Ah, stay still for a moment.'

It was difficult to count because it kept moving its head in a distracting way.

[There are nine.]

There were nine in total.

A total of nine heads were moving freely, each in its own way, following the scattering petals.

'Petals?'

Why petals all of a sudden?

Now that I looked, the wide field between the end of the forest and the city wall was full of flowers.

I hadn't noticed because I'm not a man who suits flowers.

Seeing the beautiful petals of various colors scattering with the appearance of the beast was strangely good.

It was like watching a very twisted and distorted fairy tale.

Like an angel found in a fiery pit. Like a devil met in heaven.

A magical beast wrapped in petals.

Why?

Wrapped in fresh petals, its ferocity was doubled.

Look at that majesty. It was definitely no ordinary beast.

It was a beast that could easily trample a city, breaking through the scattering petals and the sturdy city wall.

In the picture, each head looked like a snake, but now that I see it, it was as terrifying as a dragon.

To the point where I thought, 'Isn't it going to breathe fire from there?'.

The nine dragon-like heads let out their own roars at the city wall instead of fire.

—KUAAAAAAK!

—KIEEEEEEEK!

—KYAAAAAAAK!

It was a declaration of war against the city wall.

The sound was truly terrible, as the already noisy beasts were crying out at the same time.

On the city wall, there were some who collapsed just from the roar.

It seemed to be about to charge at the city wall.

To arrive just before it hits the city wall.

It couldn't be a more perfect time.

To the point where I thought the heavens were helping.

"Are you watching, Ketel?"

The examiner, Hud, shouted at me again.

"Examinee! The beast is trying to break the city wall. What are you going to do?"

I recited the model answer.

"I will break the beast's head before the city wall is broken!"

The examiner, Hudmilla, nodded with a satisfied look.

"There's no time to prepare."

"I don't need it."

I immediately grabbed the hilt of my sword.

"Hehe."

My hands trembled slightly.

It wasn't because of fear.

It was because of the excitement and ecstasy that were pouring out uncontrollably.

"Don't overdo it! I'll take care of it if something happens!"

She, who had instantly transformed from a strict examiner to a comrade, Hudmilla, shouted.

"That won't happen."

"Wait. I'll let you down."

Screech—

I muttered as I drew my sword.

"No, there's no need for that."

"What?"

Before she could say anything, I jumped off the storm spirit.

"Hehe!"

The dizzying feeling of falling greets me.

"You crazy bastard!"

I heard Hud's voice from above. Or was it Boris?

I don't know. It seemed to be both.

[Hehe.]

"Hehe."

I couldn't control my laughter and it kept flowing out.

The wind of the Floating Step instantly wrapped around me.

The petals that were scattering in all directions were caught in the vortex.

Hwoooong!

The swirling wind spurred the fall.

There are no wings on something that is falling.

I fell on top of the magical beast that was advancing towards the city wall, wrapped in petals.

Woong—

When I injected my internal energy into the half-sword, a red aura shot up.

'For now, just a light greeting.'

I became a beautiful and red shooting star and fell on top of the beast.

***

Soldier Dave.

He was a guard who protected the walls of Honeygrove.

Except for the fact that his day and night were switched and his sleep schedule was irregular because he stood guard in 5 shifts, it was a very satisfying job.

The pay was quite good, and the pride of protecting the city where his precious family and friends lived made him proud.

Dave was especially confident in his bow.

Among the guards, he was called Dave the marksman.

Just the other day, he had a record of cleanly finishing off a D-rank magical beast that was running towards the city wall with a single arrow.

He took pride in his work.

Until just a moment ago.

—KUWAAAAAAAAAAK!!

"...You crazy bastard."

He lost his will to fight with a single roar.

What is that monster that seems to have come out of a myth?

Tremble, tremble.

His hands trembled.

McKin, who was standing next to him, had already collapsed.

The commander was shouting something, pointing at the beast, but he couldn't hear it.

His ears were ringing.

—KYAAAAAAAK!!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The nine-headed monster came running with a terrifying appearance that was scary to even see in a dream.

The image of the monster charging towards the city wall grew at a terrifying speed.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

The commander ran on the city wall and shouted, but not many arrows were flying.

It was because most of them had lost their will to fight like Dave, thanks to the monster's roar.

Dave couldn't lift his bow.

Even if he shot an arrow at that thing with his usual skill, what good would it do?

What good would it do to resist?

It seemed that it wouldn't be able to inflict any damage.

"Ah... ah..."

In front of the overwhelming violence that could not be resisted, humans were infinitely weak.

A sense of helplessness ate away at his body.

Despair clouded his vision.

It was then.

A red shooting star fell vertically.

"Huh?"

Rustle—

A pink petal brushed against his cheek.

Then, a strong wind that was so strong that he couldn't open his eyes blew.

Hwoooong!

"Ugh!"

Why is the wind blowing all of a sudden?

When Dave opened his eyes again, one of the heads that had been roaring was on the ground.

"...Huh?"

It was a scene like a lie.

—KUOOOOOOO!

In front of the monster that was writhing in pain, scattering blood, a man was standing with his back to him.

(End of Chapter)