I was chasing Keraino when lightning suddenly struck nearby.
While everyone was out searching for the enemy, I decided to examine the arrow that flew in. The long arrow was deeply embedded in a tree. I wondered if the shaft was made of iron. It was as if lightning had struck here, like a lightning rod. When I was being chased by Keraino, black clouds had constantly followed me.
But now, I couldn’t see anything like that. Could lightning be used without those clouds?
“Hey, can Veronica make those black clouds that Keraino has? I feel like she did something similar before.”
“Well, it’s not impossible, but it uses a lot of magic power, so she can’t do it for long. I think it would be difficult to do what you saw.”
“Then…”
As I was about to ask my next question, an arrow pierced the ground near me. Huh, is this…?
“Get out of the way!!”
The same intense light as when I was hit by an arrow from behind. Veronica’s flustered face was seared into my eyes.
“…Ah, ouch, damn it.”
I must have hit my head against a tree. My eyes are still flashing. Was I attacked again? Where was it coming from? Overhead, so perhaps from a tree? Right, what happened to Sharin? She was right next to me a moment ago.
As I got up and looked around, she was lying face down behind me.
“Sharin, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but what about Veronica? She was…”
Veronica, who vanished with the light. When I slowly turned around, she was lying beside the arrow.
“Veronica!”
“Don’t come here, tsk… search.”
Veronica pointed upwards. Had she shielded me during the explosion? Smoke was rising from her wings. Where were Pauline and Lauren? They were supposed to be together too.
“Lauren-san, hang in there!”
The two were found a short distance from the arrow’s impact point. Pauline was safe, but Lauren was listless. I forgot about the enemy’s presence and ran towards Lauren.
“Hey, Lauren, are you okay?!”
I grabbed her shoulder and shook her. She was breathing, so she was probably just unconscious. She must have fainted from the strong shock.
“Ah, all because you protected me.”
“Pauline, can you stay with Lauren?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Arisugawa, over there!”
I looked up at the trees at Sharin’s call. On a thin branch, a small figure was looking down at us. Even though our companions were on guard, they had managed to get this close.
The figure moved agilely from branch to branch.
“Nya-haha, too slow. That’s my weakness, you know.”
A voice like a young boy’s. I couldn’t see clearly due to the backlight from the sun filtering through the trees, but they held a large bow that didn’t seem to fit their physique. It wasn’t the simple wooden one I’d seen before, but a machine-like bow with pulleys on the top and bottom. I didn’t know its name, but it was similar to those used in modern archery competitions.
The figure continued to descend along the branches. Their body was so light that the branches barely swayed and there was no sound.
“But I knocked down two people, I’m so great.”
They grinned, showing pointed teeth. They were about the same height as Piyo, or a little taller. But they weren’t a Dark Elf. Their upper body was human, and their lower body was that of an animal – a half-beastman, so to speak. Their long tail and lithe legs might be closer to a cat’s.
So, are they the same species as Sharin? Hmm, not quite. Sharin is human-based with cat-like hands and feet. But this one has a cat-like lower body, perhaps more like Karubene.
“What do you want with us?”
“Huh? What do you mean? You don’t realize? Hmmm, I know you.”
The cat-boy pointed at me.
“What was your name again, hmm, ah, Aris! I remember it because it’s a girl’s name for a boy. Seeing you in person, you’re not that impressive.”
“I get that a lot. So, are you one of Auroa’s subordinates?”
“That’s right! Ugh, they left me behind. But they said it’s okay to finish things if I kill Aris, so I’ll do my best.”
Is Auroa involving other races? Well, it’s not like this is the first time. The target is me. They’re finally narrowing their focus.
“Then, die!”
The bow was drawn silently. Its tip pointed directly at my heart.
“Arisugawa, lift me up!”
Sharin was running towards me. We clasped hands, and I pushed her legs up. Sharin then leaped onto the tree and began to climb. The enemy’s gaze momentarily shifted towards her. I immediately moved away from the spot and hid behind a tree.
I had to somehow call everyone here. Peeking out from the shadows, I saw Sharin approaching the enemy.
“A game of tag? Can you keep up with me?”
Before Sharin could reach them, they swiftly jumped to another branch. Sharin pursued, but struggled with the unstable footing.
“Heh-heh, this way.”
This time, they slid down the tree trunk like a snake. From tree to tree, this way, I wouldn’t even be able to fight properly.
