Only I Know That This World Will Eventually Perish

The Return of the Nightmare

　Akira walked down the residential street at night with a downcast look on his face.

　A few dozen minutes had passed after leaving the office. Everything he had experienced so far was exactly the same as what had happened in that dream.

　For example, people he passed on his way out of the office.

　One was the young man laughing drunkenly in the entertainment district he passed on his way home.

　Another one, the couple having a loud lovers’ quarrel that echoed through the residential area at night.

　Everything, everything was the same. It was as if nothing had changed from that scene in his memory.

“Damn, what the hell is going on? “

　It felt as if he was being bewitched by a fox from folklore.

　With this in mind, Akira turned the corner of the alley and was about to scratch his hair in anger when he stopped dead in his tracks.

“――――Eh? “

　Beyond his line of sight. Under the electric light that illuminated the alley. There was an existence there who should not be in this reality.

“Why? What are you doing here…………”

　Muttering, Akira stood still. Hoping that there must be some mistake, Akira simply stared at the deformed figure.

　But no matter how much he stared, nothing changed. The strange creature there was the same as in that dream. The sinuous horns that towered over its head, the brownish-black body hair that covered its swollen musculature, the log-thick arms, and the battle-axe as big as Akira’s height in its hand!

　Everything was the same as in that dream.

　No doubt about it. That was, that creature was―――― The Minotaur, a monster with an ox-head and human body.

“Hiii――――”

　A high-pitch yelp escaped from his mouth as his body cowered.

　That pain, that suffering, that fear that he experienced in that dream came back to him in an instant.

“Please no.”

　Words leaked out.

“PLEASE NO! “

　Moving his shaky legs almost dragging them, Akira looked back behind him.

“I don’t want to di――――”

　Sadly, he couldn’t completely finish his sentence.

　The sudden impact of a horizontal cleave struck from behind. Followed by the intense pain that came with the sensation of your body being blown out.

　Akira was blasted off the ground, bouncing repeatedly, and let out a scream as he slammed his body against the brick wall.

“AH――――GHH, AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! “

　His body felt hot. Hot, hothothothothothothot!!

　The brain perceived the pain as heat and tried to devour and burn the entire body.

　The pain, the heat, and the agony began to spill out in the form of screams as they raged inside his body.

　Akira repeatedly fainted and awoke from the pain in a matter of seconds, and then, gurgling, spat out a glob of blood from his mouth, soaking the ground.

“Got to………run way.”

　As tears flowed out of his eyes, he put all his strength into his trembling body, trying to get himself up first. At that point, Akira finally realized.

“Legs……my legs……are gone.”

　Everything from the waist down was gone. Both of my legs are gone!

“Why……”

　Why is this happening? Why is everything happening the same as in that dream? Wasn’t it just a dream when I got killed by this monster!?

“Urgh, cough!! “

　His vision was distorted. The pain and loss of blood nearly knocked him unconscious. ――――It was at that moment.

　Ding. A sound similar to the tinkling of a bell echoed around him.

　――――――――――――――――――

　This is the monster that previously defeated you.

　Quest will be generated.

　――――――――――――――――――

　C-class Quest: Minotaur   will start.

　The condition for clearing the quest is to defeat the Minotaur.

　――――――――――――――――――

　Number of minotaurs defeated　０/１

　――――――――――――――――――

　A blue-white screen was displayed in front of Akira’s eyes.

　Reminiscent of an RPG window screen, it repeatedly flickered slightly to indicate its presence.

“――――Eh? “

　A sound leaked out of Akira’s mouth.

　In his hazy, blurred vision, Akira simply stared at the screen displayed in front of him.

(…… what the hell is this?)

　In his dream, he didn’t remember a screen like this coming out. No, more than that. What exactly was the meaning of what was written there?

(Defeat the minotaur?　You mean to kill that thing?　……That’s absolutely impossible.)

　He understood what was written there. However, there was no way he could accomplish it.

　That thing was a monster. A true and real monster.

　Even though they were at a distance of over ten meters, that distance was closed in an instant. The next thing he knew, his body was blown away and torn to shreds with a single blow from the waist down.

　The fact that he was still barely conscious right now was only due to the chance of him being hit in the right place.

　If that blow had been to the head, he would already been …… No, even if it had not been the head, if it had been a direct hit from the chest up, his life would have turned into a lump of meat in an instant.

　There was no way he could win against such a monster that could kill a man with just one blow.

“――――――――”

　Akira, who continued to stare blankly at the screen that suddenly appeared, did not notice it.

　The minotaur, which had been eating both of Akira’s legs, showed interest in Akira, who had not moved a muscle.

“――――Ah.”

　And so, by the time he realized it, it was already too late for anything.

　Akira suddenly looked up and saw a bright red mouth reflected in his eyes.

　And then――――Munch.

　Akira’s consciousness was instantly enveloped by darkness.