The companions fell one after another before Gulf’s fierce assault.
Gulf pounced on Lauren and latched onto her.
“Lauren!!”
“I-I won’t die easily. Kya!”
Before the strong jaws could crush her, Lauren dug her claws into her wounds. Gulf instinctively threw Lauren away. Then, perhaps losing interest, he turned back to this way.
His whole body covered in blood, he then fixed his eyes on Sen no Tsurugi. Even though she must have been poisoned, it didn’t seem to be working at all.
“Damn it, I won’t let you!”
I ran to her before Gulf could move. With my companions falling one after another, Sen no Tsurugi was the only one I could rely on. Her attacks were long-range, allowing her to attack without letting the opponent get close. It was effective as a countermeasure against Gulf.
“I’ll stand in front, you attack from there.”
“Eh, Uh, no.”
She trembled and backed away step by step.
“Why, you did it earlier, didn’t you!”
“Gahahaha, are you an idiot? You think you can defy me?! That’s impossible, that thing is a doll whose soul has been ripped out.”
Gulf’s fake voice echoed. Did he still have a brain left to say such a thing?
“You know what happens if you defy me. I’ll forgive you for what happened earlier, I’m not a demon.”
“Shut up! Don’t listen to him.”
Even so, this child had seen his wicked deeds up close. She must have deeply understood how terrifying it was.
While all this was happening, Philiana had picked up her sword and regained her stance. Veronica and Sharin were also approaching Gulf from behind.
“Hey, horse-woman, you can do this, right?”
“Oh, how rude. Your face is in a terrible state, though.”
Veronica chuckled and leaped at Gulf along with Philiana. Even while being hit by purple flames, Gulf swung both his arms, trying to catch anyone who approached.
“You’re still alive?!”
Despite being attacked by the three, Gulf fought back with enough strength to push them away.
“GAAAH, Get lost!”
A powerful kick attacked Veronica, but Nina wrapped her snake tail around Gulf’s body to stop it. The mass of muscles that could pulverize bone even immobilized the body of a strong werewolf. The sound of ribs creaking could be heard.
Gulf’s arms were also bound, rendering him immobile. So, it was a surprise attack by the three, distracting the enemy. At that moment, Philiana thrust her long sword into his back.
“GOAAAH, Guh, GUGIYIYIYI.”
Unable to bear it, he foamed blood from between his teeth. However, opening his jaw wide, he bit onto Nina’s tail with his only movable head.
“Kuh, it hurts!”
This is bad. His jaws can crush armor. If this continues, Nina’s tail will be bitten off.
“Nina-san, let go!”
At Philiana’s voice, Nina clicked her tongue and released her restraint. At that instant, with a roar from Gulf, a shockwave struck the companions around them.
“VUAAAAAAAHH!!!”
Nina was blown away, and Sharin rolled on the ground. Naturally, Veronica and Philiana were also sent flying.
To think that he still had such power. In the first place, it was strange that he was alive at all. A normal creature would have been dead by now.
He shivered, his fur dyed crimson and black with blood, and turned to face us. This time, he was really coming.
“I need your power. I absolutely won’t let you pass from here. Believe me.”
Sharin’s sharp eyes met mine. It was as if she was saying, “You’re the only one who can do it.” That’s right, only Sen no Tsurugi and I could fight him properly.
“I know you’re scared, I am too. But if we don’t do this, we’ll always live in fear under him.”
“If you help him, I’ll kill your family!!”
Fear approached, its mouth agape. The long fangs lined up neatly were like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, as if to say, “I will reap your life.”
I won’t give it. I absolutely won’t hand it over. I know I’m weak, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight.
I turned and met her fearful gaze.
“Even if you don’t, I will. I will absolutely… absolutely kill him.”
The idea of trying to avoid it somehow was naive. He’s here to kill us. If that’s the case, we can’t win unless we confront him with even greater killing intent. Dispose of the weak thought of not wanting to get your hands dirty.
Kill him, this wolf approaching me, I must kill him. Cecilia said it was bad. Still, I will do it if I don’t do it, I will be killed. Think about killing him, with this dagger, with these short fangs, how to stop his heart.
I ran towards the Grim Reaper. The target was his heart. No matter how strong his body, his heart cannot be trained. If I flow electricity through it, his muscles will malfunction.
Suddenly, something passed by my side. Then another, a sword flew from behind and hit Gulf. The sharp blade stripped his fur and gouged his flesh. Still, Gulf’s momentum did not stop. It seems she finally got serious.
“GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, YOU DARE DEFY ME?!”
A bizarre cry like a roar that could blow away an emperor. I could feel Sen no Tsurugi flinch behind my back.
“Ughhhhhhh, Lauren!!”
I, in turn, called out her name loudly. Gulf’s body collapsed with a sudden twitch. As expected, when they made contact, a thread had been attached. With Lauren’s skill, his movement was stolen for a moment. Since he’s not a corpse, it won’t last long, but a small opening appeared, which is enough for me right now.
I dived into his embrace and thrust the dagger into his solar plexus. The muscles twitched violently at the running electric current. Please, just for a little while, please faint.
But the next thing I felt was a searing pain in my shoulder. The Grim Reaper’s mouth was embedded in my left shoulder. My bones were being crushed with a crunching sound.
“–!! IGGHH.”
I desperately gritted my teeth, trying to suppress the scream that was about to escape my lips. The dagger was blocked by his hard pectoral muscles and couldn’t be inserted properly. This is no good, it’s coming out. A large hand grabbed my right arm.
Heavy breathing, a suffocating smell of blood. My stomach felt like it was about to come out of my mouth. My clenched molars might be cracked. My bitten left arm lost its strength, and the dagger in front of my eyes was pulled out of Gulf’s body.
The Grim Reaper’s mouth, which had bitten my shoulder, seemed to smirk.
