Arifureta Shokugyou De Sekai Saikyou: Irregularity

Yuuki [How is it Tsuki-chan? can you see where are they right now?]

At the top of the highest tower of the Lake town of Ul, I talk to a small ball of light floating over my hand just like how Izana-chan does.

Unlike Izana-chan, a body of a steel like grey color and softly closed eyes that make you wonder if it's awake or sleeping.

The grey colored peacefull spirit, "Tsukuyomi(月読)", floats softly in the air while I use him as a medium to strengthen my "Detect magic".

Tsukuyomi [...]

On top of that, adding "Spirit magic" and "Space magic", he can search all arround the city of Ul without moving from this place and I can see crystal clear what he sees with my own eyes.

Tsukuyomi [-!!!]

Yuuki [...There...]

Tsuki-chan's eyes open wide just before a group of six people enter his (and my) sight.

Five of them are well build young a.d.u.l.ts, not only in physical age, they have an air of maturity around them...

Yuuki [That would be Gale's party... and-]

Standing out in the group... though not precisely in a good way, a young and somewhat delicate looking man a little younger than the others-

Yuuki [Will Kudeta... They are already here...]

Now the problem is what to do from now on.

#####

Let's make this clear... It's not like I wasted almost four days of time since I came to the town of Ul... Nope, not at all.

In fact, Every day since I arrived, (exept for the first one) I, with the help of Tsuki-chan, used "search magic" over the whole town since early morning to almost midday... Why is that? Because that is the time of the day in wich they will move from this town to investigate the Northern mountains... And why am I so sure about that? Because that is the best time to go out and come back from a one-day trip.

That would be the safest choice for a trip... They are experienced adventurers, so they know the risk of camping at night in an almost totally unexplored area. Some times, this much is a risk that needs to be taken... But this time, they have Will with them, they won't take a risk they can't control. An unknown forest at night for a traveler is what a monster is for a villager, and right now the northern mountains are a dreadful monster, be it at night or at noon actually.

...Let's make clear (again) that I'm conscious that my reasoning may be completely wrong... I don't use the normal way that others use in those situations, so there is no way for me to understand it well... Just to be sure, I was ready to search till hight noon if necesary. They were a key factor In Nagumo Hajime's actions so that much was a must.

I was planning to explore the mountains by myself at least once too, as I have half of the day free, (and compered to a labyrinth the northern mountains are not too diferent so I could just spend the night there if I need to) but the matter with Sonobe-san and Atsushi-kun came out of nowhere... And as if out of luck, be it good or bad, I found that the next day, the ninth day since Shimizu's disappearance is when they finally set foot in this town.

Now the problem was the course of action to follow... After thinking about it, I had three choices to take.

'To make contact before they enter the forest'

'To make contact after they enter the forest'

'To not make contact at all'

The last one is rejected. That's right... If I know they will be in danger, I'll try to save them... I'm very sorry for being stupid-

Yuuki [*Cough**cough*]

Oh, right... What was I doing just now?

The painful feeling in my c.h.e.s.t as I take a breath brings me back to reality...

The world is moving slowly, I'm knealing on the ground using my right hand as support to stop myself from falling, I can't feel my left arm. On my fingers that grip with as much strength as I can muster the handle of my sword, the sticky and lukewarm feeling of the blood that I just puked-

??? (-Move)

When that illusion like voice sound in my head, I ignore the pain in my whole body and trow myself away from there...

Ground crushed, trees ripped, rocks smashed.

In the place I was just now, arms and legs as tick as logs, with claws as sharp as blades piercing the ground, a long tail as sharp as a sword that moves like a wip, numerous teeth like a saw showing out of a half open mouth and a pair of wings that make clear that this is a creature that reign both the land and the sky, all of it in a body more than three times my own height protected by a pitch black armor harder than any metal that can be naturally found in this world...

Dragonmen Princess Tio Klarus.

Tio [____-----------__]

I'm very sorry for doing something stupid-

Tio [------____----------___!!!!!!!]

But I don't regret it...

#####

After this and that I joined Gale's party temporarily...

While we explored the mountains, Will's lack of experience was as clear as the blue sky at noon, but even if sometimes harshly, everyone took their time to teach him how to do this and that. I think they are good people.

After some time, monsters came one after another, to the point that we became outnumbered quite fast. They told me to focus on protecting Will, I didn't know how I could affect their valance as a party so I did as I was told. We kept fighting off the monsters untill we were cornered against a river, I could already see the acc.u.mulated wounds and tiredness in everyones faces when suddenly-

Will [W-what is that?!!]

A black colored, winged creature (Tio-san) flew over our heads clearly looking at us before opening her jaws slowly-

Yuuki [Gale-san!! To the river!!]

I pulled the collar of the two that were wounded in front of me and used my own body to push an astonished Will to the river... I could see for a moment how Gale-san pulled one of his companions while the other followed him before Tio's breath painted everything black...

#####

Yuuki [*Cough**cough*]

Will [Y-Yuuki-kun, are you all right?]

Yuuki [Yeah, I'm-*cough* Totes Fine-nano]

Will ["T-totes"?]

Gale ["N-nano"?]

Yuuki [I'm not wounded... It's just that-*cough* I'm not too good at swiming]

Gale [And you throwed yourself to the river?]

Yuuki [It was a do or die situation, the comfort comes later...]

Gale [I guess you are right- ghu-!!]

Will [Gale-san!!]

Gale [I think my leg broke in the river, it may be quite bad in fact...]

Seeing the other four, its obvious they are out of combat, even Navarre-san that was still fine untill Tio's attack, was a second too late to dodge all of it, the dervis caused by Tio's breath hit him hard...

Gale [This cave really saved us, but with that thing outside we can't really move like this...

Even if we could still fight...]

'Too risky', 'No contest', 'Suicide', 'Plain stupid' I guess any of those fit well...

Will [That... It was a "Dragon", right? One like the legends, but- well, a real, living one...]

Gale [It looked real enough to me... To find one in this place, even bad luck should know its own limits...]

Yuuki [At least, now you know what was wrong in the mountains, so your quest is half way completed...]

Gale [...That may be a good way to put it... But we... Still have too...]

Will [Gale-san, you are bleeding-!]

Did he hit his head too?

Gale [It's okay... I'm just... Tired...]

He softly closed his eyes as he talked...

Yuuki [...He lost consciousness...]

Will [What-... Just what will happen to us?...]

Will's voice sounded like he was about to cry... To that Will I...

Yuuki [...Will-kun, would you leave it to me and do as I tell you?...]

#####

Yuuki [("Transmutation")]

I close the entrance to the cave from outside after I told Will what was I going to do...

only the two of us could move, the other five could not move as their wounds were too deep and they were too tired...

'I'll go and get help, you stay here and take care of them untill I return...'

I could stay and take care of them myself... But that won't be of much help as I'm bad at healing magic. Of course, I have an "At the worst case" for times like this... But that may not be good enough for five people so heavily wounded, even less if Tio is looking for us...

She was not supposed to find this place, but there was supposed to be only a half dead kid in this cave, not seven alive enough people hiding from her...

'If we just stay here and hope for the best, the dragon may find us... If that happens, I won't be able to protect anyone... We'll all die...'

That is the truth... I'm not like Hajime, at all...

If I can't even defeat Shimizu-kun, there is no way I can defeat Tio... Even so there is something I could try...

'Here... In this bag, I brought enough food for ten days, just in case... Even if the help takes to long, by the time it runs out, it may be safe to come out...'

Yeah... "Just in case" everything went well and everyone survived, to say, just like it's going right now. But the most important is-

'This vials have a potion that I make miself, "Ochimizu(変若水/Waters of youthfulness)", its good for broken bones and stop bleeding, the problem is the time it takes to work...'

A copy of the "Ambrosia" that secretes from the "Divinity Stone". To take the one that was in Orcus was Like stealing from Hajime, and pretty much killing him, so I tried to make my own...

...It was hard... I really did my best...

Unlike the real thing, it's not infallible against any wound, but is in fact, bery effective against abnormal status, this includes not only poison or paralysis, but bleeding, fractures and even petrification. This much, of course is not as good as the miraculous "Ambrosia", but it helps the body to heal itself many times faster than I can heal it with my magic alone...

By itself, the wounds that would take a month, are better in a week, and after ten days, your body forget it was wounded... If you use it to reattach a cut off limb, you won't notice you ever lost it... I'm the living proof of that...

After that I came outside, sealed the entrance-

Yuuki [And now I'm about to do something that many would concider plain stupid...]

I can't defeat Shimizu, I can't defeat Tio...

But that's not why I came here. Hajime will defeat Shimizu and Tio... That is certain...

But even if there are things that I can't do, I can't just give up on everything...

Yuuki [(I'll move around untill she finds me...)]

When I tried to help Hajime, not only my body, it was like even my heart rejected the mere idea of interfering, to the point it was painful... But When I talked with Sonobe-san and Atsushi-kun, nothing happened, I could converse with them like normal-

Yuuki [(Just how much can I interfer now...)]

Just how much of an unavoidable future can I change by myself? What will be the price to pay for it? An arm? A leg? If I give thay much, can I stop Tio from killing them?

Yuuki [(Where are you...?)]

If I can stop Tio from killing Gale-san an his party, does that mean that I can stop Shimizu from being killed?...

Yuuki [...There you are...]

If like that, I save to the very last one of them, can I change the future?...

Tio [_____---------]

The dragon princess deprived of her freedom lands violently in front of me... To that kind hearted, strong willed and a little weird princes... I will hurt her...

Yuuki [...They are dead...]

That's a lie... I hate to lie, but I have to. Even if she can't move by herself, she is still conscious, I can not grasp how deep rooted is Shimizu's magic, but if her own perception can affect her actions, I'll make her think they are dead...

Yuuki [-You killed them...]

That's another lie. Even if they had died it's not her fault. Her body moves and kills on its own ignoring her will. To make her take the blame for that is unfair...

Yuuki [You damned monster...]

Another lie... I don't think she is a monster...

Though the hate and anger that stain those words is "real", it's not directed at her...

Hate at this world, and hate at Ehit that uses it to play around...

Anger for Shimizu Yukitoshi, anger for Amanogawa Kouki, anger for Nakamura Eri, anger for Yaegashi Shizuku, and finally... Anger for Nagumo Hajime...

Yuuki [(Even if those feelings are not mine...)]

I unsheathe my sword, what I'm facing is not the dragon princess Tio, is something else... Something without a real form or feelings, something that can't be hurt... Even so I'll cut it down-

Yuuki [I'll cut you (the future) down...!!!]

A claw pierce through the space I was just a moment ago. She didn't move that fast and looks like she is not worried about being full of openings in front of the enemy. Is that because of Shimizu's magic? Or maybe her mind doesn't consider me a treath as much as a nuisance? She ripped part of my cape even if I dodged though, so she may be right...

Yuuki [(If she puts her heart in that I'm dead)]

I put more strength in the grip of my sword... This is not the same steel sword I have been using untill now.

A beautifully curved one-edged blade, like the "Black Blade", the sword that Hajime refered to as a "Katana", but unlike the dark color of metal, a crystal clear blade as if made of the purest water, a blade of "Magic Crystal"... Originally the color of the crystal was clear blue like the sky and the translucency was lower, but after finishing the blade and assemble the whole sword, it changed... Actually, the same happened with kirin and the others, they are made of "Azanthium" but their color changed too.

Yuuki ["Maigo-Nyotei"...]

After I declare the name of the sword like casting a spell, "she" absorbs my magic power that then fills the transparent blade by a bright, sky blue color...

Yuuki[("Strengthening", "Acceleration", "Shinnen(信念/conviction)")]

Tio [_____--___----__________---------------!!!!]

A roar and a second attack comes at me, this time faster than the last one... But now I can se it clearly... I move my body slightly and deflect her claw using Teiko (short for Maigo Nyoutei)... It was heavy even not taking the whole blow, but looks like I can take it...

I make distance and hide in the forest, she can just run it over with her body but to stop her is not my goal, I want to hinder the visual contact betwen us... For some reason she is not flying, she's not even trying to use her breath... I won't get careless with that but-

Yuuki [-I'll make use of it...!!]

She crush the trees in her way as she chase after me like a cat would a bird that can't fly. I make sure she doesn't loss sight of me for too long, I want her to chase me after all, and keep leading her farther from the waterfall when Will and the others are hiding...

Yuuki [-!!!]

I feel magic power gathering in overwhelming quantity and extremely fast, of course the source is Tio's own body. Her long neck is bending backwards but her head is looking my way.

Tio [...]

Right now, thanks to "Strengthening", "Acceleration" and Teiko's suport, my AGI is three to four times the original value, with that rise in stats, It's not going too far comparing it to "Limit Break". Right now, my body feels so light I can run through kilometres of forest in minutes or even seconds using tree branches like footing as naturally as a normal walk...

But Tio is still way faster than that by far...

If instead of a nuisance, she recognize me as a (small) threat then Shimizu's magic probably will make her work harder, something like 'Follow the pattern in wich he moves and take him down the moment when he can't dodge or defend'-

Yuuki [("Manami(魔波/Magic wave)")]

Tio's breath attack blocked my sight completely. In the middle of the forest right at the place I was at most a second ago, a brand new road formed like out of magic...

Yuuki [(Almost died there...)]

From my back through my clothes, a blue colored whip of magic power held a tree that I had passed by just before she released her breath and pulled me back in the last second. The power is low but the durability and flexibility are high so it's usefull for times like this...

I pull myself to the air with "Manami" before the second shot, and another road formed in the forest... Now, quite high in the air, I extend my hand to the graund trowing the blue whip of magic power to a tree when I again feel Tio's attack coming an pull myself back to the ground just to see a black pillar rising just above my head...

I can clearly see and feel the magic power inside her whenever she uses it, even if she herself doesn't notice... It's way easier to dodge if you know when something is coming... But, compared to her breath or magic, her actual body feels more dangerous as her STR can rip through my DEF like paper and her AGI is way higher than mine...

I slide through the branches to break the fall and safely return to the ground... She is looking straight at me, not exactly with a happy face...

She still won't fly but, I didn't though she would lose her cool that fast... Am I that intimidating, or maybe , am I really annoying... It's that one isn't it?...

Tio [------++______++++++_______!!!!!!]

She trows herself at me with a roar, she keeps ripping apart an crushing the forest while chasing me, but still won't fly for some reason, but if she were to as suddenly as she used her breath, I'll die...

Yuuki [(-But before that...!!)]

This time I close the distance, when she sees me approaching, she receives me with her claw and I dodge sliding on the ground, she then swing her tail to crush me, I release the strength in my body and slightly jump, when the tail reach me I slash her with Teiko to receive the blow and bounce in the air as I didn't try to resist the strength in her tail.

Tio [---+++++----!!!!]

While I was in midair, her breath chased me like a hungry beast... This time, te used magic power was less than before so the gap betwen preparing, aiming and shooting was shorter... The shot became faster in exchange of strength, but as I was close to the ground, I dodged with "Manami"...

Yuuki [(Did she noticed that even with half the power I would die an saved it for last? Is she really being controled? I feel she is getting too personal about this... Did I make her angry?)]

When I reach the ground she brings her head close to me and tries to eat me (That's a first), I hold both her arms with "Manami" and pull myself under her body, still her jaws keeps chasing me even when I pass all the way up between her legs (Sorry) and end in a really bad position that make her lose her balance and roll in the ground-

Yuuki [(-Now!!)]

I tense "Manami" that still held her arms and pull myself to her while in mid air at high speed, I hold Teiko over my head with both hands and swing her to Tio's body that haven't recovered yet-

*-------------------------------*

A high pitched sound ran through the forest, together with the sound of my bones screaming... Well, I knew from the start but-

Yuuki [(-So fraking hard!!!- eh?...)]

The feeling of the hardness that stoped Teiko without twitching disappeared-

Yuuki [(-"Manami"!)]

I use "Manami" to make my body spin in midair and tried to receive the attack from Tio's tail with Teiko like I did before-

*Crack*

-But I fail to shave the strength of the blow and the sound of my right forearn fracturing reach my ears...

Yuuki [-Eh?...]

Right in front of me, a tightly closed, black colored metal-like fist was about smash my body like a fly...