The people looked at the horde of Magical Beasts in despair. At this time when they needed their leaders, they were left behind instead. None of them were surprised though. They thought it was merely right as they had said the same thing earlier.
"Those pricks! Where is the camaraderie they talked about earlier?!"
However, they still couldn't accept it. They wished to be helped and rescued in this situation.
"In the end... Aren't you afraid too, just like us?"
Tears spilled down Bradley's eyes. He had known Jester the longest among the surviving party members. He couldn't quite believe his judgement had been wrong. He laughed humorlessly.
"Huuh..." He sighed and looked at the approaching horde. "Move your butts, I will bait these guys to chase for me instead," said Bradley without turning his back.
"Bradley! You.. you can't possibly..."
"W-why don't we think of another... way?"
"Are you.. going to die... in vain?"
The remaining party members who were previously led by Jester tried to protest Bradley. However, they were secretly elated at his decision to sacrifice himself. They were conflicted, therefore they were crying.
"Curse you all. I freaking hate you! Screw off!"
At the end of his sentence, his voice quivered. Without waiting for their response, he took a leap forward, facing the horde of the Magical Beasts.
"Bradley, you will not die in vain."
They clenched their hands tightly, and turned their backs. The party Allan had led was merely standing there dumbly. They didn't know what to do anymore. As they met the eyes of Bradley's party members, only then they were pulled out of their daze.
Bradley's party members didn't bat an eyelash at them, they merely took off and ran as fast as they could. Finally, the remaining people also followed suit. Bradley who sensed the disappearance of his comrades, smirked proudly.
"Now, you are finally honest with yourself."
With his twin axes in hands, he channeled all the Qi he had to them. The axes glowed in bright orange light as they were swung at the Beasts coming his way.
Slash!
Splash!
Each slash splashed blood. He didn't stop his charge toward them. He only needed to kill as many to distract them even for a moment. He kept breaking through the horde. Luckily, the horde was split because of that.
Stab!
"Ugh!"
A Razorblade Lizard stabbed his side and it left him bleeding. Wounds were littered around his body, however he didn't stop moving forward. He charged through the horde like scissors cutting paper.
Although he said he would hold the horde back, he actually wanted to live. His will to remain alive was strong to the point he forgot the fear and pain his body had endured. A crazy thought filled his mind.
'They are running from the mist. Maybe, it can be my way to live!'
With that conviction in mind, he charged forward. His Qi was quickly depleting. He didn't pour the last bit of his Qi to his attacks anymore. He was focusing on running. If there was an attack, he would just parry it.
After what felt like eternity, he finally arrived before the red mist — the safe zone. His mind was still in a disarray. He didn't even think twice to step his foot inside the mist.
Whoosh!
The mist parted as his body crashed onto it. Bradley merely used his instinct to move forward. He couldn't think of anything else. He wanted to live!
Looking back at his action, he was lucky he could break through the horde. If the horde was filled with Third Class Magical Beasts and above, he would be dead. There were still some Third Classes mixed in, however they weren't many.
He stopped his feet when he finally retained his sanity. He wasn't mad about the thoughts of surviving anymore. He was gasping for breath. He took a deep breath and immediately threw up on the spot.
"Ueeek... Kuhuk! What the..? The air tastes horrible!"
He quickly closed his mouth and nose while trying his best to calm his raging stomach. Just by breathing the air was nauseating, coupled with his exhaustion he was close to lose his consciousness.
His eyes teared up due to the sudden expulsion of his stomach liquid. He looked at his surrounding, and only then he noticed what he had done. He had survived, however he had run into the lion's den.
Gulp.
He forcefully gulped the vomit he was about to let out. As his clarity returned little by little, his fear also grew time by time. He started to quiver. Every parts of his body was shaking out of exhaustion and fear.
At that moment, he heard a sound.
Rustle.
!!!
Without thinking much, he swung his axes with as much strength he could gather.
Clank!
Crack!
Boom!
Two things happened. First, his axes were fended off and got destroyed in return. Second, he was kicked right in the stomach, throwing him backward.
"Kuhuk! Who... Who are you!"
That was definitely human, he could understand it. There was no way Magical Beast could have that kind of foot.
"There are still some survivors it seems."
"Grrr..."
Two sounds were heard. The first one belonged to the voice of a young man. The second one belonged to a Magical Beast. Bradley tried his beast to stand, but he only ended up sitting. It was the best his tattered body could do.
"You.. you are...!"
Imagine his shock when he looked at the face of the person who had kicked him. He knew the young man in front of him. He had left quite an impression on his mind. There was no way he could be wrong, even the Companion was the same.
The young man was no other than Basil with Deacon beside him. He had just recovered and was looking for the big snake at the peak. He was colored surprise when he found nothing at the peak. He had expected to have a great battle at the peak, however he didn't even meet it!
He was slightly irritated. He couldn't even use Deacon's superb smelling ability in the situation he had personally created. Therefore, he was climbing down the mountain. There was a possibility that Yamata no Orochi had run away.
He merely glanced at Bradley and walked pass through him.
"W-what?"
Bradley was gaping. He couldn't believe that Basil merely glanced at him and ignored him completely. As a fellow human, wouldn't it be right of helping each other?!
"The only one who could help yourself is none other than yourself."
Bradley couldn't even retort. Basil beat him to it. He sighed in defeat and just laid down. He had thrown all of his desire to live. He was no more than a deadman.
"To think I would end at this kind of place... Pathetic."
"Then live!"
Basil said it softly, however it was echoed through the air. Bradley could hear it clearly. The powerful voice was forever etched in is mind. He just laid there motionlessly until he couldn't hear Basil's footstep anymore.
As if on cue, the wind blew the crimson mist away. The surrounding was slowly but surely could be seen. He could finally see the scene in front of his eyes clearer. The sky now colored in blue once again.
He looked to his left and right and could see the grasses and trees alike. Finally, he forced his body to sit and looked at the scene in front of his eyes.
"..."
He was so stunned that he turned into a mute at that very moment.
"...Monster. He is a freaking monster!"
The ground in front of him was littered with countless of Magical Beasts' corpse. Some were mutilated and some were burned. The crimson mist was gone, bringing the nature's color back. However, the ground remained painted in red.
...
Gasp.
"Darn! Just what the hell was that thing?!!"
Gasp.
"Do you think.. I would know?"
The irresponsible party leaders were having their rest after the marathon called running away from their duty. They were breathing heavily to the point of their face becoming blue. They looked at the surrounding and finally noticed how quiet it was.
"Hey... Isn't it too quiet for you?"
"Hm? Now that you talk about it..."
None of them spoke about the shameless thing they had done. They thought it was only right for them to do that.
"Considering how rowdy up there, there was no way it should be this quiet?"
"Have you passed this way when you were climbing up?"
Jester shook his head negatively. Both of them merely ran away without thinking. No one knew where they had ended up.
Rustle.
!!!
Boom!
Jester and Allan quickly activated their aura and threw their attacks at the source of the sound. They didn't want to risk anything, therefore they attacked thoughtlessly.
"What was that?!"
"I have no freaking idea!"
They looked at the place where the sound had originated from attentively. When the dust of the ground finally cleared up, they sighed in relief. It was only a dead body of a slightly big rabbit with a horn on its head, a Unihorn Rabbit.
"Huuh... To think that I was frightened by it."
"It can't be helped, we are exhausted."
Allan nodded his head at Jester's response. It was true, they were so exhausted that they couldn't think calmly. They were extremely paranoid currently. They took a seat to recuperate and took out each of their food from their Spatial Ring.
"Now that I think about it. Tha Basil kid, didn't he wear a Spatial Bracelet?"
"Basil? That boy you had an argument with?"
"Hm."
"Does that mean he is a Mage?"
"That's what bothered me. He has a Beast Companion."
"Hmm... Are you sure he wears a Spatial Bracelet?"
"He took out his food from it. I saw it flashed briefly."
"He is a rare case then."
Jester shook his head to clear his thoughts about Basil. It was just a fleeting thought, however he was curious of his fate.
"No matter what, I'm sure he must be dead at this point."
"..."
"Allan?"
Jester looked weirdly at Allan. He was staring forward without blinking. His body froze as if he had seen an abomination far worse than he had seen in his life. Jester became tense, he was about to turn his head when he heard Allan's voice.
"We are sitting on a mound of dirt right?"
"Yes..."
"Then... Does dirt normally have eyes?"
Very slowly, Jester turned his head toward the direction Allan was looking. He was met with a pair of yellow slitted eyes. There was a horizontal cut on them signifying the inability to see.
Hiss!
However, they still couldn't move. It was the biggest snake they had seen in their lives. However, the reality was even crueller. There wasn't only one head, but eight of them. The heads rose through the sky and peered at them.
Their hands twitched. Qi was cycled inside their body. Aura was built and ready to burst at any moment. Their weapon shone in yellow light. Each of them were ready to send out their attack.
However!
The Eight-Headed Snake was faster.
Swish!
A gentle sound of a wind passing through was heard. Both Allan and Jester felt light-headed instantly. In the next moment they started to lose their vision. Right after that, they felt they had lost their control over their heads.
Their heads tilted and their vision turned upside down. They felt their heads touched the ground and what they saw was the last thing they would ever see. It was no other than their headless body.
Hiss.
The one who had attacked Allan and Jester hissed in response. It dropped down its previously lifted tail. The end of it resembled a sword about 102 cm long. Its form resembled a calamus leaf. The middle of it was 22 cm wide, and the appearance resembled a fish spine.
It was no other than Kusanagi no Tsurugi that was attached on the tail belonged to the fourth-head of Yamata no Orochi.