Yeah, that damnable pig.
I thought as I jumped to the side, avoiding three assault dogs as I moved from one place to another. I had to move faster if I didn’t want to fight the damn boar alongside them.
Funny story: I entered a river zone thinking that more animals would show up and saw this fat pig putting its head into the water. Normally, I didn’t want to die, so I didn’t let myself get ganged up on by predators, so I only took about a chunk of meat from everything I killed and ran, leaving the rest for the hyenas—metaphorically speaking.
Anyway, the thing is, the boar blocks the bullet with its arm. And then it stood on its hind legs. And then it blows a whistle. Yup, the boar stood up, and it whistled. My brain malfunctioned as I stared at the pig pointing its fat index finger at me. And then twenty dogs suddenly barked and chased after me.
Turns out that thing was the bipedal, four-armed porcine monster that was a Terminator boar. Well, I only saw the bastard from afar, so I thought he was fat; it turns out the pig had four arms. Good gracious.
I tried to shake them off, but it was no good. The dogs had a keen sense of smell. So I hid in one of my earthly coffins. The dogs destroyed the door, but in exchange, I managed to kill two of them by earth spears. On the other side, I managed to tunnel a hole, and from there I used telekinesis to drag myself away at a further distance.
Floating on the air and being dragged around with telekinesis, I watch those annoying dogs roam and bark at me. But it was getting on my nerves. The dogs were being more cautious, dodging everything I threw at them.
Then again, maybe I should’ve fought within the water instead. Whatever the case, fighting them in itself wasn’t impossible. I was a Saint-rank mage—well, at least I was sure casting Cumulonimbus for a whole hour wouldn’t be an issue with my reserves. The problem was that I didn’t want to get caught.
While I could shoot them down one by one, it would turn this battle into attrition warfare since they were dodging from left to right. While I’m not afraid of running out of reserves, stamina is an issue. And that pig was making sure I couldn’t rest, chopping down every tree I stood on.
Would killing that pig first settle the fight? I pondered as I pointed a finger at the pig.
[Ice Flower]
It was a spell I made. It was simple molding water into shape and freezing it into something. Honestly, it wasn’t much in terms of value or damage, but then I was thinking of getting the pig wet and freezing the thing to see if it works or not. If it does, then I might have an idea on what to do next.
I shot at the pig a blob of water. As usual, the pig swatted it away. However, the moment the pig touched the water, it suddenly became ice and blossomed… Oof, that looks painful.
The pig howled in pain as the flower blossomed on its hand, spilling blood as if it were forcefully shoved inside the poor bastard… Sorry, buddy, I didn’t mean to.
I thought as I shot another rock bullet at it. But seeing how it casually swatted it away again and tossed a rock towards me, it seemed like the cruel way was a necessity. I frowned, slightly not wanting to see my own violence; I started to cast in numbers.
[Ice Flower] x 30
…
Paul’s POV
…
Two months have passed since Laurel left. Paul regretted it. He seriously did. Every day, every time, he kept looking back at that one day, regretting the words he had said. At night, he would dream of Laurel being killed by some monster.
Laurel was, no matter how capable, only four years old. Anything could kill him. If Paul could turn back time, he would have done it already. And as if Milis forgave him, the opportunity came knocking at his door.
“Paul.”
“Laws?”
“Yeah. Uh. You said your kids are good with magic, right?”
Paul frowned. What was this guy up to?
“You might want to see this. I think I might have found him.”
And that was all it took for Paul to move. A few squabbles came, and eventually both Roxy and Rudeus went with them, forming a party of four as they entered the forest. And what beheld them was something that could only be described as the artwork of a madman.
“…”
Blue flowers, the color of aquamarine gems, blossomed violently from the twenty-one corpses on the floor, digging themselves deep in flesh and blood as if their roots were planted into the ground. Some had blossomed deep within, tearing the stomach of the beasts apart and soaring upwards like an actual flower.
It looked horrible, yet the flowers brightly bloomed, covering up the pain-filled expressions of its victims, and its cold aura froze the rotten scent of corpses.
It was as beautiful as it was vicious, cold as it was drenched in blood. To the people present, it was probably the most terrifying thing to see.
“There are no cores.”
Laws said, pointing at the Terminator boar. It gathered everyone’s attention, as a Terminator boar with a pack of twenty Assault Dogs means it’s close to a B-ranked disaster. Ignoring how it managed to exist here, it should have a core.
So, judging from the ice flowers, this madness could only be done by one person. Laurel was alive. And he was doing well, at least enough to hunt down a B-rank disaster on his own.
And that gave him relief. At least, Laurel could protect himself. And it also meant that Laurel could be found. And so, the search for Laurel began once more, following the traces of battle, and that led them towards a small pond.
No one knew where he was, and so they had to call for him as they searched; however, no one had answered back. At least, that was until Rudeus said something strange.
“I’ll search over here a little longer. You guys go and search the other side.”
Rudeus said that, but his index was on his lips. He was telling them to be quiet for some reason. But knowing Rudeus, he probably had something in mind.
“… Alright. Stay safe.”
Paul said, a bit unsure what to do. After Paul said that, Rudeus pushed a bush away from a tree. Underneath the tall tree was an unnatural earthen-shaped door covering the burrow, leaving a small hole to not suffocate. And Rudeus knocked.
Knocked. Knocked. Knocked. Silence filled the area, and Rudeus knocked again. Knocked. Knocked. Knocked.
“… How did you know I was here?”
A voice from underneath the burrow came. It was Laurel’s.