novelraw Chapter 228 : Kitsune-sama Arrives
Chapter 228 : Kitsune-sama Arrives
They were the insect-armor monsters. Rhinoceros beetle, stag beetle, scarab… even what looked to be a mantis.
Eri, cold sweat running down her back, stared warily at the humanoid monsters swarming toward them.
“There are too many… I can’t protect us alone…!”
No matter how sturdy a tank Eri was, there was always a limit against sheer numbers. Eru could fight as well, of course, but even so—her thoughts stopped short when she noticed something flying overhead. That distinctive shape… it had to be Tsukiko’s.
“Vvvhh!?”
“Vvvh!?”
The bits unleashed their lasers, cutting down the insect-armors in a single strike, then spread out to form a defensive line before Eri and Eru.
“The Professor, huh.”
“Yes, that’s right. Honestly, what a lovely arrangement of monsters you’ve set here… It cost me quite a bit of time.”
“You say that as if it were my fault.”
“It is your fault. My eyes you may deceive, but not my instruments. You’re the center of this anomaly, aren’t you? One of those so-called Apostles?”
“You even know of the Apostles…?”
Muttering, Ryoichi brushed his hair back with a troubled smile.
“Yes, that’s right. I am the Apostle of That Which Cannot Be Proven nor Known, Echigo Ryoichi. All of this, to seize Japan under our dominion through Echigo Trading Company! To rule the foolish masses—”
“Yeah, yeah, enough of that. Actually, Inari said something earlier that got me thinking… And, well, this is bad manners, but…”
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean what? Appraisal.”
“What!?”
Name: Echigo Ryoichi (Robert Miller)
Level: 43
Job: ■■■■ (Appraisal failed)
Stats
Strength: D
Magic: B
Phys. Defense: C
Magic Defense: C
Agility: C
Luck: B
Skills
Wicked Changeling, ■■■■ (Appraisal failed), ■■■■ (Appraisal failed), Disguise Lv38, Concealment Lv32
Skill Appraisal Result: Wicked Changeling — Erases a target into the void and usurps its existence. The user can transform into the stolen target at will.
“…Ooh wow. So that’s it? You really are a villain, Robert.”
“You pierced through my anti-Appraisal defenses…!?”
“My line of work, my job… I’m good at this sort of thing.”
“Even so, there were things I couldn’t appraise… This one’s a serious threat.”
Exposed, Ryoichi—no, Robert—let out a long, heavy sigh. He had never intended to let them leave alive. But now that his identity had been revealed, killing them wasn’t just intent—it was absolute necessity.
“…Hah. Very well. I underestimated you. I thought you nothing more than a troublesome tinkerer. I apologize. You are someone who must be killed.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“Like this, for a start.”
With a snap of Robert’s fingers, the sound of countless wings filled the air, insect-armors swarming in. The mingling of buzzing wings and guttural cries was enough to inspire fear.
But Tsukiko only observed coolly.
“Now, what to do… Inari hasn’t arrived yet. But with this much noise, she’ll find us, whether she likes it or not.”
It would be troublesome to use her trump card before Inari’s arrival. Still, she weighed her options.
“Our plan was already complete the moment Kogami Inari was isolated and destroyed! You have no hope—”
“Oh, so this is where ye all were.”
Robert’s words were cut short as Inari casually stepped through the trees as though nothing were amiss.
“What!?”
“Wha—!?”
“You—you! What happened to the special creation, the weapon made to kill you!?”
“You mean that giant bug-thing? I was in a hurry, so I just cursed it to death real quick.”
The Cursed Blade, Muramasa. It conjured a black miasma that eroded its victims, launching crescent-shaped slashes even at long range. Something merely “big, tough, and strong” was nothing against it.
“Seems ever since I came here, I keep running into oversized foes… I doubt even Abe no Seimei fought such big ones. Not that I’ve met him, mind.”
“Enough of your drivel…!”
“The drivel is thine. Whatever thou art doing masquerading as another, ’tis foul and loathsome.”
Inari too had seen through him. Robert’s instincts screamed—Kogami Inari was the most dangerous one here. She had to be killed, no matter what it cost.
“All units, attack! Kill them all!”
Even the previously downed men rose at his command. But Tsukiko only spoke:
“Twenty-five minutes.”
“…What?”
“It’s been exactly twenty-five minutes since I entered this dungeon and entered combat.”
“And what of it? Trying to buy time?”
“Ever watch Japanese anime? Or tokusatsu?”
Robert, sensing it was a stall, gave the kill order.
“Activate… [G.O.D—Last Five Minutes Destruction God].”
Behind Tsukiko and the others, a colossal figure materialized, its two eyes blazing.
And in the next moment, everything except Tsukiko’s side was engulfed in a cataclysmic explosion.