Chapter 89: VS Dead Adventurer (Three)

Original: Chapter 89: VS Dead Adventurer 3

“Sayukiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

I could hear Miss Himeka’s voice, a scream so anguished it sounded like a shriek.

My body was moving almost entirely on survival instinct alone. I somehow regained my balance and quickly retreated. But because I stepped down from the raised ground, my balance was thrown off a little again.

As if chasing me, the Dead Adventurer took a large step forward. It crossed over the raised ground and swiftly swung its second sword sideways.

Whoa—it sliced clean through the area just below my chest.

So this is how helpless a human body is against a blade, how easily it gets carved up… I felt that realization with a strange sense of detachment, as if it were happening to someone else. And once I truly grasped that I was the one being carved up, an intense sadness welled up inside me.

The Dead Adventurer’s next attack came. I somehow managed to block the sword by holding my hammer sideways.

But I was completely overpowered in terms of strength.

“Oof!”

I couldn’t hold my ground and landed hard on my rear.

The Dead Adventurer took another large step forward, looming over me. Its face wore a triumphant, obnoxious expression.

The Dead Adventurer raised its sword. The finishing blow was about to descend.

An ordinary person might give up here. But I was the opposite.

I flared my fighting spirit, bared my teeth like fangs, and swung my hammer back in a wide arc. Then, using only the power from my hips and the twist of my upper body, I slammed the hammer down with tremendous force.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A heavy, dull sound echoed. The sound of my hammer landing a clean hit on the Dead Adventurer’s wide-open waist.

“No good! I still couldn’t put enough power into it!”

Frustrating. But I did succeed in staggering the Dead Adventurer sideways. That’s when Miss Himeka came running in. She had completely taken its back. We might be able to turn this around in one go.

However, it wasn’t that easy. The Dead Adventurer fled like a startled hare, putting distance between itself and both me and Miss Himeka.

A normal monster would have tried to finish me off. That might be the scariest thing about the Dead Adventurer. Its situational judgment is just too good.

“Little Sayuki, are you okay? Sorry I couldn’t come help right away.”

“No, you were plenty fast! You saved me!”

Miss Himeka took my hand and pulled me up.

“Eeek! Owwwwwwwwwwww!”

“Ah, sorry. You okay?”

My body was pretty cleanly sliced in various places, so there was sharp pain everywhere and blood was gushing out.

“I-I’m okay.”

It hurts so much I feel like I’m dying, but I think I’m still far from dead. But—

“Whoa, even my bra got sliced clean in two. Ugh… this is so unsettling…”

My blazer, blouse, and bra were all cut.

It feels really drafty. Plus, my bra has come off my breasts and is just hooked on my shoulders. This makes it hard to move. I kinda want to just take my clothes off, but as a girl in the bloom of youth, I don’t think I want to be that bold. If my opponent weren’t humanoid, I probably would have stripped already…

“Little Sayuki, how much HP do you have left?”

“Surprisingly, I still have 25.”

“Ah, so you’re still totally fine then.”

“Yes, I’m totally fine. But I was kinda hoping Miss Himeka would worry about me in a more motherly way…”

“Ahahaha, you shouldn’t expect motherliness from me~”

I was told something rather shocking. She has that appearance like the very embodiment of motherliness and those big breasts, yet she has no motherliness…

“You… have no motherliness…?”

Unable to give up, I asked.

“It’s not that I don’t have any, but~”

Ah, good. I’m relieved.

“This is the Red Zone, right? I know that a girl who’d complain with 25 HP left would absolutely never come to the Red Zone.”

“I’m completely convinced. HP 25 feels like your body’s just finally warming up, right?”

“Right~?”

“This would definitely sound crazy to other people, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, but. Little Sayuki, saying such crazy things makes you so incredibly cute, it gives me the shivers.”

Miss Himeka might have slightly different tastes from most people…

Well, but honestly, I’m still full of energy. My body hurts and blood is dripping, but my fighting spirit is, on the contrary, blazing fiercely. I’m filled with the determination to absolutely defeat that Dead Adventurer.

“Well, if you feel even a little bit in danger, absolutely drink a potion, okay? I’ll always be your wall.”

“Yes, thank you.”

…It seems the Skill 〈Adversity Enhancement〉 hasn’t activated yet. I think my HP is still too high to count as ‘adversity.’

Ah, my HP just decreased by 1. Probably because I’m bleeding a lot. I’m slowly heading towards death, huh.

Ugh… I’m getting the shivers. I’m trembling like a warrior before battle.

I’m happy… I’m so happy… I’ve been longing for this kind of life-or-death battle where I can go all out with my survival instincts.

Dead Adventurer, I’m absolutely going to defeat you.

But how should I defeat you? If I can’t rely on 〈Adversity Enhancement〉, I can’t use a brute force strategy.

Other effective moves I can take are— Huh? I thought I heard an auditory hallucination of Miss Rilril’s voice. Maybe it’s my life flashing before my eyes?

…No, that’s not it. Right, right. That’s the move.

“Miss Himeka, lend me your ear.”

“Hm? Sure. Be gentle with it, okay?”

Miss Himeka scooped up her hair with her fingers and hooked it behind her ear.

Whoa—that was incredibly sexy. Miss Himeka is definitely not just one year older. In terms of sex appeal alone, she’s absolutely in her twenties.

“I-I’m just going to whisper.”

I moved closer to Miss Himeka’s ear.

Eek~, the skin of her ear is innocent like a baby’s, so cute. The inside of the hole is super clean. Wait, what am I thinking about at a time like this?

Feeling a little nervous, I proposed the strategy I’d thought of into the opening of Miss Himeka’s ear.

“Ah, that’s good.”

“But whether our opponent will conveniently move like that…”

“It’s fine. Little Sayuki, hide in the back and get ready. I’ll figure something out.”

Miss Himeka sheathed her sword and readied her bow and arrow. Then she drew the string and took careful aim at the Dead Adventurer.