“Arako! What happened there!?” Momo runs next to me, her voice trembling in fear.

“Ah, human hearing. I forgot. To put it into simple words, Wood-kun said to Katarine-san 'Get him!' and she started doing it.”

“What to do, what to do?”

“I suggest that you stop panicking first.”

“But Rine-chan!”

“I'm rather worried about Kenta-kun and whether he makes it out of it alive. His best chance would be to hide, so my assumption is that he's running to a place with more vegetation. During my absence, have you secured one such place?”

“We have and it's not in the direction he ran into!”

“I see. Then let's assume that he has another plan. We are running to this vegetational spot?”

“No!”

“Then lead me there.”

“It's in the opposite direction!”

“You haven't planned anything of it out, Momo. That's the whole reason why this is a mess, nobody plans anything anymore, not Masahiko-kun, not Wood-kun, not even you. I'm disappointed.”

“Excuse me!?”

“Correo-kun has a relic that is able to find the closest hero. As I have touched it before, I won't be considered. Your friends also touched it, so unless we have a random hero here, the relic will either lead to you, Katarine-san, or Kenta-kun.”

“So what do we do?”

“This is a very good question and I might return to it later. For now, I can only hope that Wood-kun is acting human and won't look for Correo-kun to get his hands on the relic while Kenta-kun and Katarine-san will deal with each other.”

“How could it end like that?”

“That's a question for another time.” I have some answers to that, yet they won't prove useful here. “We should concentrate on stuff that matters.”

“What would that be?”

“What kind of skill may Wood-kun have used on Katarine-san? It was the same voice he used against Kenta-kun, so why-”

“What's important about that!?”

“It's very important for my research.”

“How is it important right now!?”

“Despite being captured, I wasn't able to obtain any information that will help me with it, so I need to work it off, after all.”

“Can't you see- wait, do you know where my friend's camp is?”

“I do.”

“Lead me there! I need to talk to them!”

Well, Kenta-kun's plan didn't work at all, so it might finally be the time to try Momo's. Though it seems that having no plan at all is the most popular strategy today.

―○●○―

We almost got it. Yet one single incident can turn everything around. Like having a princess of mass-murder and mutilation turn on me. With every step I make, I remember a memory of Rine cutting off body-parts of monsters and humans alike.

I... I'm afraid of Rine. Not in the sense that I couldn't handle her when she was that overbearing girl that thought to be in love with me. No, I mean that I fear her as the girl whose capabilities of inflicting pain and death onto others exceeds anything that I have ever considered possible before.

Now this lurking feeling of fear is bursting out, racing through my heart and veins, rushing through my head and feet, rumbling in my stomach, and tingling my bladder. For how long have I suppressed all of this!? ...basically from the moment we met, when she was slaughtering kobolds.

Man, how pathetic. Rine may have not been honest with herself and weaved everything into a huge delusion of a world revolving around her, while a large piece of why I pushed her away is because I wasn't honest with her and never admitted how much I fear her.

In a sense, this scene right now, me running away from her in fear of my life while she mindlessly chases me, is the perfect symbol of our relationship so far.

It would be poetic, if I weren't running tears and afraid to even look back, as I believe that the moment I turn my head around may cost me a hundredth of a second of running-time.

Something hits my back with blunt force, toppling me over. I lift my arms to protect my face from the rocky ground. I feel arms wrapping around my hip, one of them holding something long and metallic. “Rine, snap out of it!” I try to push her blonde head away, but she catches my hand and twists it. After some more struggle, she ends up mounting me, her sword still in her hand, my arms fixated by her knees.

...that's it. Guess, that's as far as it goes. I kinda feel bad, as I can't help but imagine her face when she regains her consciousness.

I turn my head to the side while closing my eyes, the least I can do is to not stare at her as a corpse. I remember the incident when Kyou-san was kidnapped by fourbirds and an etna, the mountain-creature woke up, throwing us off. Back then, I tried my best to make sure that I shield Rine from the fall as much as possible to give her feelings of guilt... Now I want to spare her from that as much as possible...

Maybe I should have been more open around her. It's not like I regret how I treated her false feelings for me, but I guess I treated her only as a nuisance that happened to be way too good in combat.

…

Also, I should have given her more proper guidance in her personal dilemma that I caused in the first place. It's just that I'm not an expert of stuff like that and didn't want to screw it up.

…

… … …

OK, why am I not dead and what's that rustling sound and that strange feeling on my chest? I slowly open an eye and see how Rine is opening up the belts of my armor while she's rubbing herself at my stomach... The sensual expression on her face could be pictured under 'lust' in a dictionary.

...wait, is she-?

Yoshimura said 'Get him!' I mean, it's vague, but who could thought that it would amount to her raping me!?

I pick up my resistance again as I may have surrendered my life, but not my chastity! I struggle, trying to free my arms from beneath her knees, yet she shifts her weight accordingly to counter all of my attempts.

Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit! She drops her weapon and her now free hand creeps towards another sword. It's not ready yet, mirroring the feeling of not knowing what to do.

Wait, I’m still holding my spear! I switch to [Pikeman]. “[Rising Point]!” The wind-current is the strongest I have mustered to this day, throwing Rine off who lands nimbly on her feet, while the skill catapults me into the air. Two.

Even before touching the ground, I change to [Ranger] and activate my stealth-mode. ...Rine, why are you looking at me? Shit, [Spouse-Location]! I knew it would backfire! She steps towards me, but then turns her head to the sword lying next to her...

Rine would never abandon this sword, it's a weapon from her revered forefather. She may treat it roughly, use it to cut things like wood for our campfire and the like, but it's still important to her. Even mind-control won't change it.

Which gives me the perfect opportunity to run again. Rine doesn't follow me immediately. However, I start hearing a distant sound, someone is fighting. These growls, are there rocky-bears? Is it the boss? Please no...

Yet this may be my best bet to distract Rine long enough for the mind-control to wear off. Yes, she has picked up the sword and turns roughly in my direction, it may be the only chance to get her off my tail!

The fighting is coming from inside that crevice. ...urgh, it's Hoshibashi, cleaving through a rocky-bear with his clublike sword. Next to him is the shrimp, while on the other end is Inoue.

“...there!” Even the dark one is here and aims at me with his bow.

Rine is directly behind me... Dammit, I’ll just run through! Ignoring monsters and people alike, I pass all of them.

Fake looks at the direction I'm coming from: “Katarine-hime? The- Is that... Teruko, Katsuo, you'll take care of the monsters, Hoshibashi-kun, take the princess, I'll run after him!”

“I have no time for you, Fake!” I yell at him, but I guess it's a lost cause. Just like his whole existence.

I leave the crevice to another grassy field, there are some scrubs here as well—even some trees—and blue hares and trunked deers are running away from the two Japanese people who play a game of cat and mouse.

Dammit, Fake accelerates! Is that like Rine's [Swishstride]!? He draws both of his swords...

I turn around and lift my spear while deactivating my skills. “You know what, Fake? I'll fight you. This will give me at least some solace.” Today everything went wrong. So I can have at least some fun by beating him up, right? Also, if Hoshibashi fights Rine, things could become awry, so I can't go off too far. Maybe he might have even the edge with Rine in her current condition. Or maybe he will cause her to snap out of it? I mean, I can hope, right?

“Katsuragi-kun, give up. Then nobody gets further hurt.”

Again with this -kuning. “Still playing the goody-two-shoes? Why don't you give up?”

“You have hurt my friends.”

“You can be glad they're still alive.”

“Grr...!” Yes, this is finally an honest face. “[Dual Thrust]!” He rushes at me with two blades at once, I brace my spear to make him stab himself. For a moment it seems like he actually did it, but there is no weight at my weapon. Has he created an afterimage?

Yet I'm still in [Ranger] and I can hear him coming from the side and block his attack again. He starts to attack with both his weapons, but I effortlessly block all of his attacks while going back one step at a time. “Is that all?”

“[Double Flurry]!” Too bad that I keep track of his movements with [Focus]. Before he can start his skill, I leap back and let him hit the air instead of me.

“Not impressed.” How can I put it... it's not like he sucks at fighting but... well, he kinda does. I guess I'm still above him level-wise, but that's not all.

“[Wolf Fang]!” He uses another skill, this time a low-high combo. Still, he telegraphed it as well so I can easily evade it.

Still, it doesn't seem like he will falter. I guess he still has some tricks up his sleeve. Well, me too.

Now it's my time to attack. I use the length of my weapon to unleash a series of thrusts while stepping back, Fake parries them while approaching. I'm sure he wants to get into close-quarter, thinking that the spear will suck there, but unless he grabs me, I'll be able to handle it.

Then he starts spinning: “[Whirldrill]!” This isn't good, I jump to the side as he picks up speed while deflecting my last attack with enough force to almost make me lose balance. Using this small time-frame, he switches his skill: “[Dual Thrust]!”

“[Whirlwind]!” I unleash my own skill, yet instead of him, I'm the one who is pushed back by my sweep. So despite the level-difference, he may even have stronger base-stats... so he had a [Class-up] at least. A base-class wouldn't be able to stand against [Ranger].

“Katsuragi. Give up.” He's like a broken record. I sneer at him. “So be it,” he almost sighs, most likely relieved that he can finally end me with all the people that might watch him saying that he was forced to do it. Both of his blades begin to vibrate: “[Thundertusk]!” This is bad!

He unleashes his attack while stepping forward, it's as much about stabbing someone as about ripping someone apart with a shockwave. The only problem is that I'm not where he aimed it. The only thing Fake can see is how his attack is causing some leaves to fall off the tree.

Yes, the tree. I slowly lured Fake towards one, then I used [Distraction] to throw his aim off and vanished from his eyes in my stealth-mode which is coupled with [Mask of Wildlife]. After training with the alfar, I became pretty good at climbing trees and now I'm sitting on a branch with a tree-[Camouflage].

Fake looks around, but he can't see me. He even looks directly at me, but with my colors changed and my spirit untraceable for him, he just thinks of me as an extension of the tree. He seems in thought for a moment. Time to end it!

I grab my spear with both hands. He has turned away, most likely searching the plain, I will knock him off with a smack on the back of his head. With this intention, I jump off the tree.

*Clank* I hit something, but it's just his stupid red cape. For some reason, that cape is hard! Also, it just rose up right before my attack!

Inoue turns his head to me: “Found you.”

―○●○―

Katsuragi-kun is every bit as strong as Daichi said. This is what Braxas and shishou warned Masahiko about, how fighting people is much different than fighting monsters.

How many people has Katsuragi-kun fought? How many did he kill? There is a vast gap in fighting experience here. Yet Masahiko has stayed away from his magic sword, reminded of shishou's warning.

The moment Katsuragi-kun disappeared, Masahiko was reminded of what Daichi warned him about. Using stealth in the midst of combat is something Masahiko didn't believe was possible, yet Katsuragi-kun has skills that can actually do it.

However, Masahiko has his own [Ability] that Katsuragi-kun hasn't accounted for: [Metalmancy]. The magic to manipulate metal. It's used by the dari and one of their secrets. Masahiko used the basic spell [Find Metal] to find the only metal item Katsuragi-kun carries on his person: A single knife.

The cape Masahiko is wearing is a present from the dari, it's made out of metal-cloth, which can also be manipulated via [Metalmancy]. Without it and [Metalsheet] he would have been defeated.

Seeing Katsuragi-kun dumbfounded, Masahiko states: “Found you.” Then he changes from [Vanguard] to [Champion]. “[Drillkick]!”

He hits Katsuragi-kun in the side. The kick packs enough force and spin to cause Katsuragi-kun's face to distort in pain before he's smacked against the tree. Without any hesitation, Masahiko begins to pummel his former classmate with knee-kicks, hits with the hilt of his blades and elbows.

Katsuragi-kun's muscle grows and he pushes Masahiko away before he falls into a violent onslaught of attacks, yet looking at Katsuragi-kun's face makes clear that he might be angry, but not out of his mind. There is still reason in his attacks.

“[Steelslicer]!” The first sword. “[Steelslicer]!” The second one. With two weapons, it's possible to unleash single-weapon skills in faster succession by alternating, yet Katsuragi-kun evades the first and hits Masahiko during the second with the spear-pole, throwing his aim off another time.

For a moment, Masahiko had the upper hand, but now it shifts back to Katsuragi-kun again.

Katsuragi-kun becomes a [Ranger] again and vanishes for another time. Masahiko switches to [Vanguard] and uses [Detect Metal]. It's like an incorporeal sheet-like arm he can move to touch metal and therefore sense it. He doesn't even need to see where he's using the spell.

Masahiko feels the metal, so Katsuragi-kun is looking for a better attack angle. Masahiko keeps his cape under control, ready to use it to shield himself if the need arises, while staying still, because he notices something. It's Katsuragi-kun's movements! He sticks to the tree. Masahiko remembers Ara'ainn's words, that the more vegetation is around him, the more powerful Katsuragi-kun will be. This is one of the elves' secrets he stole.

Feeling righteous justice, Masahiko decides it's time to attack. Katsuragi-kun has most likely aborted several offensives because he's wary, but now Masahiko feels the metal his fellow student is carrying on the other side of the tree.

Quick and decisive, Masahiko circumvents the tree, only to see a knife. Then he's violently punched in the face, almost losing consciousness, then another time, and a third. His arm is grabbed, pressed against the tree and another heavy blow is struck onto his hand, causing him to lose the sword.

Completely disoriented with blood running down his face, he looks at Katsuragi-kun who elbows him again...

Then Masahiko is released. He falls onto the ground while trying to shake the pain off. He can see an arrow stuck in the tree above him. He follows its course, seeing Teruko and Katsuo rushing towards him. Katsuragi-kun is nowhere to be seen...

Masahiko lost.

He was confident about how he would get Kyou back, about how he would defeat Katsuragi-kun, only to be mercilessly beat up the moment he thought he had the upper hand. Katsuragi-kun was smart, he had the second-best grades in class. Masahiko should have known that Katsuragi-kun would see through [Detect Metal] right away... Did he come to the conclusion after hitting the cape? In that one moment?

“Masa-kun! Are you alright!?” Teruko arrives on the scene.

“I'm hurt... especially on my pride.”

“Don't be a baby. Can you stand?”

“A moment, please.” He slowly gets up and looks at his friends. “I'm sorry. I got careless.”

“Come on, maybe Katsu-kun shot the arrow too fast. You would have turned things around after some more punches.”

“You think?”

“...well, I also got almost beaten, so...”

“Thanks for your honesty.”

“If we hurry, we may get to the princess and Hoshibashi-kun in time.”