Laila Helner, huh? Having been trapped in that Easy Dungeon for a hundred thousand years, I'd forgotten almost everything, yet there were still a few things whose existence I vaguely remembered. One of them was Laila. Her presence must have meant just that much to the old me.
Perhaps because we were betrothed by our parents, Laila and I had been inseparable since early childhood.
We'd wolf down our lunches together, take naps side by side in the warm grass, and sweat through sword practice together. To me, I think she felt like an older sister close in age.
That's probably why. For some reason, I couldn't shake this fierce, burning agitation over the danger she was in.
Halting my steps at the utterly amateurish bloodlust directed my way,
"Come on out."
I called out, struggling with all my might to suppress Murasame as it thrashed in my right hand, desperate to run wild even now.
"So you noticed."
A bald man covered in scars stepped out from the trees, resting a curved sword over his shoulder.
"More or less."
You didn't even try to hide your murderous intent. Of course I noticed.
"Look at that stance. You're strong, aren't you? Nothing like those pampered little swordsmen. Guess Skull's words weren't entirely full of it—"
"Save the monologue. Just answer what I ask, truthfully and without deceit."
Time was running out. I didn't have a second to waste on someone like him. So, cutting him off mid-sentence, I stated my demand bluntly.
"Impudent brat!"
The smug grin vanished from the bald man's face, replaced by a scowl of pure rage as he raised his curved sword high overhead.
"Hopeless. Utterly hopeless. Just completely useless."
Truly an amateurish move. Even Riku had far more skill as a swordsman than this. Honestly, this guy was no better than those hunter thugs who ambushed me back then.
"Huh?! What the hell do you mean 'useless'?!"
"Everything about you."
"Screw you!"
Charging forward like a wild boar without a trace of finesse, he brought his curved sword crashing down. I twisted my torso to slip past the blade.
An overhead downward chop, a horizontal slash fueled by brute force, a diagonal cleave aimed from the right side of my neck—I evaded every single one with the absolute bare minimum of movement.
"Damn it! Why can't I hit you?!"
"Because you're far too green."
"Shut the hell up! Hey, what are you spacing out for?!"
Backing away from me, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Idiot. You might as well just announce that you've got an ambush waiting. Well, not that it matters; the onlooker was so clumsy I'd already pinpointed his location from his presence alone.
Right on cue, three spears of flame shot toward me from diagonally behind to my left. Ensnaring them with Murasame, I hurled every last one right back.
The flame spears flew in reverse at dozens of times their original speed, detonating in a small-scale explosion. A shrill scream rang out, followed by the dull thud of something crashing to the ground.
"I-Impossible!"
Ignoring the bald man as he staggered backward in disbelief,
"Every single thing about you lot is just far too pathetic."
With Death Line, I ground the surrounding trees into fine, pulverized rubble.
"Huh?"
Letting out a stupid gasp, the bald man stared around at the area, which had been cleanly leveled into a circular wasteland. The color drained from his face at terrifying speed.
"M-Monster...!!"
He spat out the exact line I was already so sick of hearing.
"If you've got time to panic, put it toward taking action—either run or attack!"
Spitting out those words, I closed the distance in a single bound, caught the right wrist gripping the curved sword with my left hand, and wrenched it until it snapped.
"Gah?"
The bald man's right arm bent in an entirely unnatural direction. And then—
"Gaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
Grabbing the screaming man by the collar with my left hand,
"You're too loud. Shut up."
I commanded in a voice that brooked no defiance.
"Eek!"
His face drained of everything but sheer terror, the bald man let out a pathetic shriek.
"Now then, I need a guide. That was your job anyway, wasn't it?"
Still clutching him by the collar, I dragged the bald man over to where the sniper who had thrown the flame spears had fallen, showing him the green-robed corpse that had been blown into mangled chunks of meat.
"Hiiieeeek!"
He let out a miserable yelp at the sight of the remains.
"Listen closely. Defy me, and you end up like that instantly. Quietly lead me to Laila Helner."
As I whispered that into his ear in a low growl, the bald man nodded his head frantically, tears welling in his eyes.
I shoved him to the ground, and he stumbled to his feet, tottering forward.
"Run! At full speed!"
When I barked at him,
"Y-Yessir!"
With tears and snot streaming down his face, the bald man broke into a dead sprint.
—Hang on, Laila! I'm coming to save you.
Making that silent, ironclad vow, I took off running right behind him.