For now, the course of action regarding the defilement-corrupted corpses was clear.
The most significant takeaway was that, even as entities born of defilement, they could be killed.
Strictly speaking, since the corpses had been transformed by defilement into something else entirely, "killing" might not be the most accurate term.
"We've gathered more than enough information on the defilement to send to the Royal Castle. Still... I'll admit it's a troublesome opponent, but that doesn't necessarily mean it warrants talk of the continent's annihilation, does it?"
Daskar muttered, gazing at the spot where the black dust humanoid had been incinerated.
Rei agreed with those words.
They had destroyed the black dust humanoid with Rei's magic, but as Daskar suggested, the talk of the continent's annihilation—words the Chief had spoken—seemed slightly exaggerated.
Of course, the black dust humanoid they had defeated was hardly the strongest piece in defilement's arsenal. It was almost certainly a disposable pawn.
Even so, what the Chief had told them seemed overly dramatic. It was only natural for Daskar to have doubts.
"We can't really say for certain without knowing exactly how much combat power the defilement possesses. Besides... in the end, I never actually took a hit from the black dust humanoid. I confirmed its high defense and low mobility, but its attack power..."
Rei had wanted to confirm the black dust humanoid's attack power as well.
Given that its body was made of black dust, it wouldn't have been surprising if merely touching it caused one's body to crumble into black dust as well.
(Should I have tested it with something I didn't need from the Misty Ring?)
Inside the Misty Ring was a vast assortment of items—not just a few carriages or houses, but enough to fill the mansions of several nobles or wealthy merchants, and even that would be an understatement.
Among those items were plenty of things he wouldn't mind discarding. If he had used one of them, he could have observed the black dust humanoid's attack firsthand.
"Shall I bring out another corpse to test its attack power? It's a bit of a stretch to call ourselves fortunate in this situation, but we still have nine corpses remaining."
"Mm... that's true... no, let's not."
Rei's proposal made Daskar deliberate, but in the end, he shook his head and rejected the idea.
It was true that Daskar wanted to learn more about the black dust humanoid. However, watching it was hardly an enjoyable experience.
With that in mind, he decided it was better to refrain.
Or perhaps he worried that repeating the same experiment might not yield the same result next time.
"Is that so? Understood. I'm not particularly eager to do it either, anyway."
They had learned that magic could kill it, but there was still far too much they didn't understand about defilement.
It was possible that while magic had destroyed it this time, the next black dust humanoid might prove immune to magical attacks.
Given those circumstances, Rei would prefer to avoid fighting another one if possible.
(For that matter, there's even a chance that a defilement-corrupted corpse might not transform into a black dust humanoid at all.)
No matter what they did, they simply lacked enough information.
By extension, that also meant they would need to fight defilement more in order to gather it.
"Well then, now that we've finished our discussion, shall we—"
"Grrl!"
Should we head back?
Just as Rei was about to say those words, Seto suddenly looked in a certain direction and purred.
An enemy? Rei readied Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear once more.
As long as they were in the frontier, it wouldn't be strange for any sort of monster to appear at any moment.
Even a high-rank monster showing up would be nothing out of the ordinary.
(Still... I'm here, Seto is here, and Elena is here. With this much combat power assembled, dealing with a high-rank monster shouldn't be difficult.)
There were also forces Rei didn't count among his own—Ara, Daskar, and Ielo—but they too were more than sufficiently strong by general standards.
"Rei, what's wrong?"
Daskar asked, noticing Rei's posture... and the way Elena had readied her weapons just as Rei had.
To Rei and Elena, Seto's behavior alone was enough to understand the situation—but that was because they were Rei and Elena.
To anyone else, it would be perfectly understandable if they couldn't grasp what Rei and Elena were doing.
That was why Rei stated the situation plainly.
"An enemy."
"What?"
At the word "enemy," Daskar readied his own weapon a beat later.
Ara, positioned some distance away, must have also read from Rei and Elena's stances that something had happened. She focused, preparing to respond to any contingency.
"Based on Seto's reaction, it seems like a fairly troublesome—"
—enemy.
Before Rei could finish his sentence, a monster appeared from beyond the grassland and charged straight toward them at what could only be described as tremendous speed.
Naturally, Rei knew exactly what it was.
And at the same time, he understood. He now understood why, on their way here, a large number of individuals who appeared to be adventurers had been heading toward this area off the main road from Gilm.
Yes, the creature now barreling toward Rei's group with an agility that belied its massive frame was—
"A Gamelion."
The name slipped from Rei's lips.
If one were to describe its appearance without fear of misunderstanding, it was an oversized rabbit.
However, it was safe to assume that no one who saw a Gamelion would find it adorable.
In reality, the world was full of people with all sorts of tastes, so the possibility that someone might find a Gamelion cute couldn't be entirely ruled out.
Its ears were razor-sharp—sharp enough to effortlessly slice through the sturdy clothing adventurers typically wore.
Its fangs possessed enough power to shatter cheap armor, and unlike an ordinary rabbit, its tail was long and could be wielded like a whip.
Furthermore, its fur was tougher than it looked; without a commensurate level of attack power, one couldn't even deal damage to it.
It possessed such high physical capabilities and, simultaneously, the savagery to match.
Yet despite its ferocity, the Gamelion's meat was renowned as exceptionally delicious, and from autumn through winter, the Gamelion Hunt was a major event in Gilm.
That said, considering autumn had only just begun, it was still a bit early for Gamelions to be appearing.
(Well, there were times when wild vegetables could be harvested earlier than usual, and fish could be caught before their proper season, so maybe this isn't all that strange.)
At first, Rei had braced for a powerful monster—in truth, the Gamelion was a powerful monster in its own right—but since the approaching creature was one he recognized, he relaxed slightly.
However, relaxing didn't mean he could simply ignore it.
Besides, the Gamelion had come to them. He figured he might as well enjoy its meat as the first catch of the season.
...In reality, the Misty Ring contained an enormous stockpile of Gamelion meat from the previous year and earlier, and since time didn't flow inside the Misty Ring, he could eat fresh Gamelion meat whenever he pleased.
Still, it was a matter of mood.
A first-of-the-season Gamelion in its prime was something he definitely wanted to eat.
Moreover, given the Gamelion's ferocity, escaping once it had locked onto them would be difficult.
Above all, as a rabbit-type monster, the Gamelion possessed exceptional mobility.
As if to prove that, the Gamelion—which had still been far away when Seto first spotted it—had closed considerable ground in that short span of time.
"Lord Daskar, now that the Gamelion has spotted us, fleeing won't be easy."
If it were just Rei and Seto, they could simply take to the air on Seto's back and escape without issue.
Elena and Ara could also manage by grabbing onto Seto's legs during flight.
But making Daskar do such a thing was out of the question.
And since Daskar's subordinates were civil officials, they were inherently lacking in physical ability.
Hanging onto Seto's legs while airborne would be difficult for them.
That left deploying the Seto Cage, but given the Gamelion's mobility, it would unquestionably reach them before they could take flight.
"Understood. I'll leave it to you."
Daskar nodded at Rei's words.
Seeing the Gamelion closing in at breakneck speed, he understood that Rei's assessment was by no means an exaggeration.
After nodding in acknowledgment to Daskar, Rei turned to address Elena.
"Seto and I are going to attack the Gamelion. If it gets past us and comes this way, can you handle it?"
"Hm. I would have preferred to fight the Gamelion directly myself, but... very well. If that is what you wish, I shall do so. Though I find it hard to imagine that you would let a Gamelion escape, Rei."
"That's the plan, but there's always the off chance."
"Precisely because it's you, I doubt that off chance exists. But very well. Leave this side to me. Look—it's gotten considerably closer. You should go."
At Elena's words, Rei looked back at the Gamelion and saw that it had drawn even closer than before.
"Got it. We're off. ...Seto, while I'm fighting the Gamelion, fly up and ambush it from the side."
"Grr?" ...Grr!
Hearing Rei's instructions, Seto considered for a moment before purring with a confident Leave it to me!
Seeing Seto's response, Rei took Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in hand and broke into a sprint toward the Gamelion.
He sensed Seto beating his wings and rising into the sky behind him, but he didn't look back.
Doing so might draw the approaching Gamelion's attention toward Seto instead.
Of course, the Gamelion charging toward them had likely already spotted Seto taking off from the ground.
It had probably seen him, but from the Gamelion's perspective, upon detecting Rei charging straight at it, it was only natural to focus its attention there.
All the more so since Rei was heading toward the Gamelion with his weapons at the ready, clearly eager for a fight.
(It really is pretty big.)
At nearly three meters tall, the Gamelion could fittingly be described as a mass of muscle.
Colliding head-on with such a massive frame would normally send someone Rei's size flying.
Normally, that is.
Both sides were running, so the distance between them closed in a flash.
In that moment, Rei was the first to act.
"Flying Slash!"
A flying slash of wind erupted from the blade of the swung Death Scythe.
That single strike carried enough power to effortlessly cleave through even the Gamelion's fur if it connected.
However, even Rei, who had unleashed it, didn't expect the Flying Slash to land at this range.
This strike was purely a feint.
A blow to show the opponent that he possessed ranged attack capabilities and to seize the initiative in the fight.
Sure enough, the Gamelion leaped diagonally to evade the incoming slash, then immediately kicked off the ground again to close the distance with Rei.
The Gamelion had no ranged attack options.
...If one were to stretch the definition of a ranged attack, it would be using its powerful legs to launch its massive body like a cannonball in a charging body slam.
The Gamelion had indeed intended to body-slam Rei. Though its speed had dropped slightly from leaping to dodge the Flying Slash, the velocity generated by its leg strength would still have been more than enough to send Rei flying if it connected.
"Haaah!"
But from Rei's perspective, the Gamelion had essentially charged straight at him.
If anything, Rei would have found it more troublesome if it had used its ears for slashing attacks or wielded its tail like a whip.
And from the Gamelion's perspective, it had always been confident in its leg strength, so it favored the body-slam as its preferred method of attack.
In a sense, their attack styles had meshed together perfectly, perhaps better than at any other time...
Slash!
The Death Scythe Rei swung cleanly bisected the charging Gamelion from top to bottom.
The Gamelion, running—no, leaping—past Rei in the process, was already dead the instant it landed on the ground, its body neatly split in two... and Rei suddenly realized.
(Ah, crap.)
The original plan had been for Rei to pin down the Gamelion while Seto attacked from the side.
Instead, in the flow of battle, Rei had gone and killed the Gamelion himself.
I'll need to apologize later, he thought, gazing at the Gamelion's corpse.