*

　A few hours later, Mako and the others were walking along the river.
　They hadn't found a human, or even a trace of one.
　The uncertainty of the future can stir up anxiety, but I don't feel uneasy.
　I have a feeling that we'll be able to handle it.
　This is probably due to my status - I don't feel fatigued, despite walking at a fairly high pace - and I'm not feeling tired.
　My physical comfort is connected to my mental comfort.

　--!

　I heard voices. I stopped because I had that feeling.

'What's wrong with you stopping so suddenly?'
Didn't you hear me?
They can't hear you.
You're not hearing me.

　I thought I was fine, but hearing the auditory hallucinations was a serious injury.
　Thinking about it, it had been a series of battles since I woke up in the dungeon.
　It's no wonder he's having a mental breakdown.

''Maybe I should take an early rest today.
Huh? The camp.

　Makoto and the others began to walk along the river again.
　After a while--.

　---uh!

I heard it again.
I didn't hear you.
Wait a minute.
　Mako closes her eyes and concentrates on her consciousness.

　--shit!　--GH!

It's not the voices. It's like it's going right into your head.
Does it sound like an angel?
Not in words, but it's like I know what I'm feeling and it's hard to explain.

　Mako scratched her head.
　If I were to put it that way, it would be like being violently wound up in a foreign language.
　I can't understand what he's saying, but I can vaguely feel his emotions.

'But I can see you're fighting,'
This isn't an argument, is it?

　Yuka raised her eyebrows in a difficult way.
　Perhaps she doesn't want to get involved in the conflict.

'Do you know which one it is?'
Yeah, it's that way.

　Mako opened her eyes and pointed to the front.

'What are we going to do?'
I'm going to go for a while. I can't find anything else.
What if they're in the middle of killing each other?
We'll hide in the shadows and see what happens. When we think we can handle it and we can tell the good guys from the bad guys, we'll help the good guys.
What if you can't tell the difference?
'Then we'll wait for the killing to end and go after the survivor.

　'Hmmm,' groaned Yuka.

'Pretty haphazard, isn't it?'
I've been haphazard since I woke up in the dungeon, this one.
Well, it's not much of a stretch.

　Yuka lightly cowered her shoulders and Makoto started to run.

*

　This is bad, Makoto thought as he ran through the forest.
　She thought she was riding lightly, but the scenery was moving at a frightening pace.
　I suddenly remembered the time when he gave me a ride on his bike.
　The exhilaration of the wind caressing my cheeks and the speed that I could never achieve in the flesh, fascinated me.
　I was going that fast, but I couldn't catch my breath.
　I could go even faster if I wanted to.
　The senses are coming along with it.
　I can see where things are, and I can easily avoid looming tree branches.

　--!　--!

Are we in time?

　His voice is getting quieter.
　The battle must be coming to an end.
　Well, I don't think we'll be withdrawing soon after the battle is over.

''I'm such a sweetheart, aren't I?''

　If it is a good man - a woman, a child - who is being attacked, I want to help him.
　That's what I'm thinking about.
　It's about time, Mako said, picking up speed.
　The forest breaks off and visibility opens up.
　It was a city road.
　Despite the fact that it runs through a forest, the road is reasonably wide and paved.
　It would feel great to walk on a sunny day.
　It's still sunny today, but it's not possible right now.
　The corpses lie in a heap, and the smell of blood is dense in the air.
　A boxcarriage is parked some distance away.
　As if to protect the boxcarriage, two swordsmen in the same uniform were fighting men dressed in filthy outfits.
　There are about ten men dressed in filthy outfits, but they don't coordinate well with each other.
　Most of the corpses are dressed in filthy clothes, as if their level is not high enough.

''........Oops.

　Mako hides behind a tree and looks at the situation.
　Two swordsmen - one is a blonde woman. Her hair is short like a boy's and her body line is sleek.
　The other is a bearded man.
　His hair and beard are brown, and his eyes are the same.
　He seems to be injured and has a pained, twisted face.
　The men dressed in dirty clothes have no sense of unity in their armament.
　I'm not sure if the common denominator is a smelly place.

"Hey, don't leave me!
Hide.
I know.

　Yuka said miffed and squatted down in place.
　She was breathing a little harder, but seemed to have enough energy left over.

'So what's the situation?'
Some banditish-looking people are attacking the wagon.
You're not going to help me?
I've been waiting for you. Check your status.

　'Yes, yes,' said Yuka, hiding behind a tree to watch the battle.

''The guys dressed in their little outfits are killers. The level is around 5, there is only one level 8. The two in uniform are level 15 and level 12.
Even though we're on different levels, we're no match for the strength in numbers?
The difference in levels is why you're able to deal with so many of them.

　Makoto said with a sigh, and Yuka said in dismay.

'How are you going to help me?'
All we have to do is to unleash our magic and it'll be a piece of cake.
Are you trying to make me a murderer?
You can't be guilty of killing a murderer, can you?
I'm not a killer.

　Yuka gave him a serious look.

'Well, yeah. Ok. I'll go off.
Good luck.
And if you don't mind me saying so, give me your scarf.
What's it for?

　He held out the scarf to me as he said this.
　Makoto folded the scarf into a triangle and covered the lower half of his face.

'I don't want you to retaliate.
Why don't you just kill them all?
You said you don't want to kill people and you recommend killing everyone?
I don't want to get my hands dirty!
Me too!

　I don't care how many bandits I have to kill.

''If I seriously injure you, do you think you'll escape?
After all those people were killed, why wouldn't they run away?
I know,

　Makoto held his head in his hands.
　He had heard that if forty percent of the combatants died, they were considered to be wiped out, but the bandits were sixty percent dead, or seventy percent dead if they were not good enough.

''I knew it, help me out.''
Unless you're a murderer.
You see those rocks over there?

　Mako leaned forward and pointed to a rock bigger than a boxcarriage.

'I'll be smiling high on that rock.
...a big smile.
I think it's going to get quite a bit of attention.
Of course you do. And then what?
While all eyes are on me, Yuka will unleash her magic.
I'm in danger!
We'll kill them all, won't we?
That's why I don't want to kill people!　Now go and get yourself some help!
No choice.

　Scratching his head, Mako stepped out from behind a tree and nearly pushed the female swordsman down.
　He had been killed, and there was no sign of the other one.
　The female swordsman was bound and one of the bandits approached her as she pulled down her pants.
　I think he's trying to rape me.

"Wait!

　When Makoto shouted loudly, the bandits stopped moving and scurried around.

'There they are!'
Who the f*ck are you?

　The bandits turned to me as they lifted their pants.
　I thought they would ignore me, but they are quite a flippant bunch.
　I'd like to say something clever, but unfortunately I can't think of anything.

"You don't have a name to call yourselves!
"d*mn it!　Come on, you guys!
"I'll kill you!

　The man rushes in with a mouthful of boisterous dialogue.
　After all, he doesn't seem to have the idea of cooperating with his friends.

''Die!''

　The man thrusts his sword into the air. He doesn't seem to be faking his words, and he's aiming for his neck.
　But--.
　It's stupidly slow, said Makoto, staring at the cutting edge.
　It's like slow motion.
　He takes a step forward to jump into the bosom, and on second thoughts, he steps forward again on the other side.
　The sword passed in front of him and Makoto grabbed the man's wrist.
　He thought about twisting his arm and slamming his knee into the nose post, but the man's body floated in the air.
　He had no choice but to slam into the trunk of the tree.
　Then the tree shook violently, and leaves and caterpillars came rattling down.
　When he let go of his hand, the man fell out of the tree.
　He jerked and twitched, but he wouldn't be able to save himself because his head was now half as thick as it was.

'Oh?'

　Mako stared at her hands.
　He had killed someone.
　He hadn't meant to kill him, but he did.
　In spite of that, he wasn't upset.

'It's not like this.'

　I was in a desperately cold mood.
　I couldn't move my emotions like I did when I killed a bug.

'Bastards!　How dare you, Ricky!

　Another man swings his sword down.
　The man I just killed is called Ricky, apparently.
　Well, it doesn't matter.
　He avoids it with a hitch and slams his fist into his side.
　Ugh, the man grunts as if he's trying to hold back his nausea and spits out a lot of blood.
　He falls to the ground as it is.
　He vomits blood and writhes in agony.
　I try to get to my feet to make it easier, but I reconsider.
　The man is mortally wounded.
　Death is inevitable without water potion or recovery magic.

"...Huh...

　Makoto lets out a small breath and kicks the nearby man in the thigh.
　The thighs bend inward with a dull sound.

''Well, wait--!

　The man turned his palm toward him, but no fool would wait for him to tell him to wait.
　Mako swung his fist in full swing.
　The man flipped in the air and was slammed into the ground from the back of his head.

'.........Ignition.

　A jet-black flame erupted from his right arm, causing the men to groan.
　It was impossible to determine from their reactions whether the spirit art was unusual or the jet black flames were unusual.

''............Fire Bullet.

　Mako opened her eyes lightly.
　Up until now, the flames wrapped around his right arm were all consumed when forming a flame bullet, but this time the detached flames converged in a whirlwind.

''It's small.''

　It's about the size of a marble, and the appearance is very similar.
　However, the marble doesn't emit black light from inside.
　It shoots flame bullets randomly.
　It flew like an arrow as the level increased and the power assist function was added.
　When the flaming bullets touched the man's chest, they released a flash of light and turned into a pillar of fire.

''Gii, geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

　The man screamed.

'Roll, roll!
It's not going away!　I'm not going away!

　The man rolled on the ground and tried to put out the flames, but his body crumbled to pieces in the meantime.
　He stops moving and his body collapses all at once.
　Silence descends.

'You could run away from here, you know?

　Mako warned, since it would be too much trouble to kill him.