“Bwaaagh!?”
His eyes rolled up into his skull and he lost consciousness. But Shea wasn’t done yet. Before the bandit could hit the ground, she followed up with a powerful left hook to the chin. The bandit flew backward like a ragdoll. Shea then turned to the other bandits and dispatched them in short order, using a combination of compact kicks, jabs, hooks, and punches. Before long, a pile of corpses littered the hill. Surprisingly, Shea seemed to have mastered the basics of Muay Thai.
“Y-You monster!” one of the bandits screamed.
“Bwahahahaha!” Shea just laughed in reply.
Two of the remaining bandits tried to pincer Shea. She quickly dropped her Muay Thai stance and cartwheeled out of the way. At the same time, she used her legs to crush the windpipes of the two men surrounding her. Another one of the bandits launched a spear thrust at her landing spot, but she wheeled out of the way and used the force of her spin to shatter his skull with a roundhouse kick. She’d gone from the sharp, choppy movements of a Muay Thai fighter to the rhythmical, graceful strikes of a capoeira fighter. But while this dance-like martial art was more graceful than Muay Thai, it was no less deadly.
“L-Lord of fire hear my—”
“Too late!”
One of the bandits tried chanting a spell, but Shea quickly jumped over to him. She stamped on the ground hard enough to cause a miniature earthquake, then hit the bandit with an elbow to the solar plexus. He flew backward while coughing up blood. Shea didn’t even bother to check whether or not he was dead. She turned to her remaining foes and struck them down with a flurry of elbows, palm strikes, and punches, all while fluidly shuffling between their attacks. She’d swapped styles again, this time to Bajiquan.
“G-Goddamniiiiiit!”
“Take thiiiiiiiiiiiis!”
Desperate, the few surviving bandits rushed Shea all at once. She deftly dodged between them and wrapped her arm around the neck of one of her foes as she passed. A perfect wrestling lariat. The bandit flipped through the air a few times before crumpling to the ground like a ragdoll. Another one of the bandits tried to shoot an arrow at her but she ran forward and kneed him in the face before he could even nock his bow. The archer next to him barely had time to scream before she dispatched him as well, this time with a backward suplex. Three styles hadn’t been enough for her so she’d added pro wrestling techniques into the mix as well. After that, she started using thrusts and Dempsey Rolls and one-armed shoulder throws and all sorts of other techniques from every martial art known to man. She was clearly pumped to get her reward. Within a few minutes, the bandits were all dead or dying.
“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Shea pumped both fists into the air and proclaimed her victory to the world. Shivering, Yue muttered, “Shea’s terrifying...”
“You can say that again. I can’t believe she mastered all those techniques just from the half-assed examples I showed her...” Hajime responded with a stiff expression. After that incident, all of the adventurers started calling Shea “Shea-san” instead of “Shea-chan.” Hajime had no doubt the worthless rabbit of the forest would soon become a CQC god.
The Handsome Rabbit and the Iron Boy
Hajime Nagumo’s heart was filled with panic and confusion. He was currently deep inside a rugged cavern dimly lit by green glowstones. Said cavern was far below what people considered the Great Orcus Labyrinth, and what Hajime had dubbed the depths of the abyss. Hajime had come to the labyrinth with his classmates and had fallen down here when one of them had betrayed him.
Miraculously, he hadn’t died in the fall. Determined to escape, he’d dragged himself out of the river he’d fallen in and started walking. But soon, he ran into a rabbit-shaped monster far more powerful than anything he’d faced so far. Said monster had been capable of taking out four wolf-monsters that were each twice its size, using nothing but its abnormally powerful legs.
All the other monsters Hajime had fought, even the Behemoth, were nothing compared to this. If that rabbit found him, he was dead. With cold sweat pouring down his face, Hajime slowly backed away.
But he was so nervous he made a fatal mistake. As he was backing up, his foot struck a pebble. It rattled across the floor, sounding louder than it had any right to. Hajime slowly turned toward the rabbit. Naturally, it was staring right at him. Its white fur was crisscrossed with grotesque red veins that pulsed every few seconds.
It’s coming. The moment Hajime thought that, the rabbit darted forward with a powerful leap and raised one of its abnormally thick legs high in the air. Hajime closed his eyes, not wanting to see the moment of his death. However—
“Huh...?”
The blow Hajime was expecting never came, so he timidly opened his eyes. The rabbit lowered its raised leg and gave Hajime a puzzled look. It seemed confused as to what exactly Hajime was. Of course, Hajime had no idea what kind of creature this rabbit was, either. He wanted to ask, but he was too terrified to.
“Mkyu? Kyukyukyu?”
“Huh? Wh-What?”
“Mkyukyu. Kyuuumkyu?”
“U-Umm...”
Though he had no idea why this monster was trying to talk to him, Hajime was nevertheless relieved that he wasn’t about to get killed. Still, he had no idea what the monster was saying, and his confusion remained. He tried using hand gestures to try and explain that he fell down here and wanted to get back to the surface.
“Mkyu.”
“Wait, you understood that!?”
To Hajime’s utter surprise, the rabbit nodded. A second later though, the rabbit’s fur stood on end and it whirled around. When it saw what was approaching it let out a whimper and took a few steps back. Still confused, Hajime turned to see what the rabbit was looking at. A massive monster was approaching them from the far end of the corridor. It had white fur and red veins like the rabbit, but its size was on a whole different level. And it looked like a bear. But unlike a normal bear, its arms were unnaturally long.
Hajime realized instantly that he was looking at death in physical form. Terrified, he opened his mouth to scream. But before he could, he felt something soft brush past him.
“Th-The rabbit?”
Indeed, it was the rabbit. It stood protectively in front of Hajime, guarding him from the bear. Even though it was a monster, one of the natural enemies of mankind. This can’t be possible. But it was possible. Hajime was seeing it happen in front of his eyes. The rabbit kept its eyes trained on the Claw Bear, but it bent its ears in the direction of the passage directly behind it.
“A-Are you telling me to run away?”
“Kyu.”
It seemed it was. Why’re you helping me? Hajime’s mind was full of questions, but there wasn’t any time. The rabbit squeaked again, and Hajime returned to his senses. He quickly got to his feet and started running. Loathe to let its prey escape, the Claw Bear roared and charged. It moved with surprising agility for its size. Within seconds, it had reached the rabbit. It roared again and swung down a massive paw. The rabbit had been expecting the blow though, and it lithely dodged to the side. It landed on the wall and rebounded off it. It then landed behind the Claw Bear and launched a low kick at the huge monster’s legs. There was a loud thud as the kick connected. But the Claw Bear was the strongest monster on this floor, and it wouldn’t be brought down so easily. The rabbit’s kick wasn’t even enough to stagger it. In response, the Claw Bear swung one of its lanky arms backward. Sharp claws of wind slammed into the small rabbit.
“Kyuuuuuuuu!”
It screamed in pain as it was flung backward. A second later it hit the wall with a sickening thud. Blood spurted from a huge gash in its shoulder as it slid to the ground. Though it had avoided taking a lethal hit, the rabbit wasn’t in any shape to fight. The Claw Bear slowly approached it. It reached out with a paw, confident its meal could no longer fight back. The rabbit neither trembled in fear nor struggled to escape. It didn’t even avert its gaze from the Claw Bear. If it was going to die, it was going
to die with dignity. Irked by the rabbit’s prideful gaze, the Claw Bear roared and raised its paw to maul the rabbit beyond recognition.
“T-Transmuuuuuuuuute!”
“Kyu!?”
Suddenly, the wall behind the rabbit melted away in a puddle of mud, and a hand stuck out to grab it. Both the rabbit and the Claw Bear were completely taken aback. By the time the bear had returned to its senses, the rabbit was gone, and the wall had returned to its former shape. Its howls of frustration echoed throughout the floor.
“Mkyu? Mkyukyu?”
Inside the tiny cavern, Hajime had transmuted inside the wall, the young boy was desperately trying to treat the rabbit’s wounds.
“Ummm... why did I save you? Is that what you’re asking?”
The rabbit nodded in assent. Hajime smiled awkwardly and replied, “Haha, I’m not sure, honestly. But I could tell that bear monster was really strong and... that you wouldn’t be able to beat it. And when I thought of how you’d be sacrificing yourself to save me, my body just moved on its own.”
The rabbit gave Hajime a puzzled look, its beady crimson eyes open wide. A second later, it realized that the young boy was trembling in fear. He was putting on a brave front, but he was terrified. Considering how afraid Hajime had been of a weaker monster like the rabbit, it made sense that he’d be scared stiff when up against something like the Claw Bear. But despite his fear, Hajime had come back for the rabbit. For a monster he’d just met. The monster had saved Hajime, and that was reason enough for Hajime to save the monster. Judging by how Hajime was still in shock, the rabbit doubted he was aware that was why he’d done it.
“Kyu.”
“Ummm, are you thanking me? Ahaha, are you really a monster?”
In an attempt to reassure Hajime, the rabbit stroked his shoulder with its ears. The gesture helped Hajime calm down, and he smiled weakly.
Afterward, Hajime and the rabbit had a lengthy conversation that involved a lot of wild hand signs and body language. Eventually, Hajime set off looking for a way to return to the surface. Unwilling to part ways with the boy, the rabbit decided to tag along. After many days of fruitless searching, Hajime and the rabbit discovered something. A jewel set deep into the wall that was emitting a pale blue light. Upon examining it, Hajime discovered it stored an unbelievably vast quantity of mana, as well as the ability to instill its mana into other metals and minerals. Not only that, it moved according to the will of whoever touched it.
“With this... we might actually be able to...”
“Mkyu?”
The rabbit cocked its head, but Hajime was too excited to respond. He’d finally found something he could use.
Two weeks later, a strange pair confronted the floor’s strongest monster, the Claw Bear. One was a rabbit monster with strange metal greaves on its legs. The other was a human covered from head to toe in armor—Hajime.
“Alright, rabbit. Let’s kill this monster and get out of here!”
“Mkyuukyu! (Let’s do this, partner!)”
At some point within the last two weeks, Hajime and the rabbit had become able to communicate perfectly. To everyone’s surprise, it was Hajime who moved first. There was a metallic clang as a visor covered his face. A second later, the visor’s eye sockets began to glow. The pale blue rock ensconced in the center of his breastplate began to glow as well, and Hajime stuck out his hands. Waves of highly compressed mana shot out of his palms, blasting the unsuspecting Claw Bear. The bear just barely managed to raise its arms to defend itself in time. But the force of the shockwaves was so great that it broke both of its arms and left them a bloody mess.
Seeing an opening, the rabbit rushed the bear from the side. The bear used one of its broken arms to swipe at the rabbit, but the rabbit blocked with one armored leg. Meanwhile, Hajime used mana shockwaves from both palms and both soles to propel himself into the air and somersault behind the bear. As he landed he threw a punch at the bear’s back. The bear staggered momentarily, and the rabbit took that opportunity to hit it with a roundhouse kick. As its leg neared the bear, sharp blades shot out of its greaves, slicing through the bear’s arm and cutting it off.
Screaming in pain, the bear wildly flailed its remaining arm around in an attempt to get Hajime and the rabbit off of it. However, Hajime’s iron armor protected him from the bear’s attacks, while the rabbit sheltered behind him. Once Hajime saw an opening in the bear’s attacks, he reached forward and grabbed the bear’s arm. From there he used his power suit’s propulsion to rip the bear’s arm off. At the same time, he activated the suit’s core and fired a blast of mana from his chest, blowing a huge hole in the Claw Bear’s stomach. The bear struggled to fight back, but without its arms it was powerless. The rabbit leaped into the air and launched a meteor kick at the bear’s head. The kick crushed the bear’s skull, killing it instantly. The fight came to an abrupt end, and silence filled the corridor. There was a high-pitched whirring noise, as Hajime powered down his suit. He walked toward the rabbit and raised his hand high. The rabbit hopped up and tapped it with a foot, giving him a high-five.
“This proves it. We’re strong enough to fight now. Let’s go, rabbit!”
“Kyukyukuymkyu! (I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, Iron Man!)”
The rabbit hopped onto Hajime’s shoulder, and the two of them clanked their way deeper into the abyss.
“That’s the dream I had last night.”
“And... that’s why you made that armor?”
Hajime stood in Oscar Orcus’ living room, clad from head to toe in iron armor. Yue gave him an exasperated look, and he averted his gaze. While the metal suit did raise Hajime’s defensive capabilities, it made his unique gun-based fighting style impossible. Little wonder Yue was exasperated with his experiment. However, the idea of overcoming immeasurable odds by building a suit of armor in a cave just seemed so cool to Hajime. He was, after all, a guy.
“Take it off...”
“......”
Hajime’s body language made it clear that he’d rather die.
“You have a metal arm, isn’t that enough?” Yue asked doggedly. Hajime closed his visor in response. His eyes glowed menacingly, daring anyone to make him remove the suit. Yue just sighed in response. She felt like an older sister trying to keep her younger brother in check. A second later though, an idea came to her. She grinned seductively and licked her lips. Hajime shivered, and took a few clanking steps backward. Running away suddenly seemed like a very good idea.
“Fine, don’t take it off... I’ll take it off for you.”
Afterward, Hajime had both his armor and his clothes stripped off by Yue.
A Delicious “Something”
There was a nervous tension in the air at a certain roadside spring.
“Hmmmhmmmhmmm! Hack ’em, chop ’em, slash ’em!”
“Gheajoiuhjajoiwawjoiajaaaaaaah!?”
Shea was humming cheerfully to herself as she cooked, though the words she was humming were quite ominous. The scream was coming from the chopping board where a fish... or rather a strange thing was lying. Technically, the creature’s meter-long body was that of a fish. But there was one part of it that made it difficult to think of it as a fish. Specifically, its head. Which looked like a cow’s head. But unlike a cow, it had bloodshot eyes and a chameleon’s tongue. Furthermore, a hundred tiny legs jutted out from the bottom half of the fish, like a centipede.
While the party had been resting near the spring, Shea’s ears had suddenly perked up and she’d muttered “Hmm? Is this the legendary delicacy of the forest I sense?” A second later she’d picked up a pebble and launched it into the spring. There’d been a dull thunk as the pebble hit something, then this strange fish-like creature had floated up to the surface.
“You’re one of the fairies that live in the forest’s springs! One of those very, very delicious fairies! What are you doing here? Oh well, who cares. All that matters is that you’re delicious!”
The terrified “fairy of the forest�
� wiggled its centipede legs, its bloodshot eyes open wide in terror. But Shea showed it no mercy and began cooking. Every time she sliced off one of the fish-thing’s scales with her knife, it screamed in agony. Blood poured out of its open wounds, coating Shea’s hands, but she didn’t seem the least bit concerned.
“H-Hey, Yue...” Hajime whispered. “Is that what all fairies look like in this world? The fairies I’ve read about back on earth look more... you know, cute and mystical and stuff.”
“The fairy tales I read as a child said fairies look like young girls with wings... I think they’re not that different from the fairies in your world. At the very least, I’m sure that disgusting creature isn’t a fairy.”
“Shea claims it’s delicious, but if you ask me it does not look appetizing in the slightest,” Tio added with a shiver.
Surprisingly, even Hajime was put off by Shea’s attitude. Naturally, Yue was even more terrified, as evidenced by her stiff expression. Not even Tio, the resident pervert, could keep a straight face. However, Shea seemed unaware of her companions’ disgust, and she continued humming to herself as she cooked.
“Carve ’em, crush ’em, flay ’em!”
What’s the point of crushing it!? Hajime thought to himself with a shiver. He wanted to say something to Shea, but when he saw how happily she was torturing the poor fish-fairy-thing with her cooking knife, he couldn’t bring himself to call out to her. The smile on her face was completely at odds with the blood and guts flying all over the place.
“Even when you cut its head off, it survives!”
“Nogyhoaijdhhodajhgoaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Even when you scrape its heart out, it moves!”
“Aghaejasoihaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Its screams are like music to your ears! The perfect seasoning!”
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest: Short Stories (Premium) Page 11