Phi-Fic Chapter 182 Neighborhood Arc: The Nameless One Forced into Battle
Chapter 182 Neighborhood Arc: The Nameless One Forced into Battle
—Let's rewind to 5 minutes ago~
As Kurumi stepped out of the classroom, she felt someone pressing tightly against her back.
What are you trying to do?
"No...no, speaking of which, has the war already started?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you worried about someone suddenly launching a surprise attack?"
"Of course I'm worried. But... I know someone will definitely attack us here."
"That is!"
Before she could even ask a question, Kurumi grabbed her by the back, shattered the glass in the corridor, and quickly fled the scene.
"What?"
Immediately, the spot where the two had been standing was rapidly dissolved by a sticky substance.
After it dissolves, it seems that you can still hear the voices of other people who haven't left the school building yet.
—Uh, Rion, what should we do?
—What should we do? Run! How can you be even dumber than me? You're just empty!
—I am not nothingness!!
However, Kurumi didn't care, after all, "she" knew better than anyone how harmless Rion was, even with the addition of Sora.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"
"I advise you to close your eyes and stop breathing quickly~"
A plume of smoke, like melting chimney, billowed from the corridor, indicating that two people had just escaped. Meanwhile, the ethereal figure who had immediately closed their eyes and stopped breathing was lifted into the air by Kurumi.
To be honest, because Kongwu kept tumbling and flipping in the air, I felt that she was not far from doing something that was not in line with what a girl should do.
"I feel so...nauseous..."
Upon hearing this, Kurumi's face darkened, and she then retorted with all her might:
"If you throw up here, I'll throw you down right now!"
The feeling of floating suddenly stopped, and Emptiness slowly opened its eyes.
A colorful sky, Kurumi gripping her back with one hand, and right in front of her—a blonde delinquent girl!
"Sigh... Ai Ai classmate?"
"I've told you before! Call me Nogi!"
Because the girl in love held a spear that kept oozing purple venom, and then, facing Kurumi, shouted like a warrior facing a wild beast:
"I don't think you're an elf no matter what... Anyway, everyone else is just taking a wait-and-see approach to you."
Although a participant claiming to be an elf has appeared, their strength is certainly unknown. Therefore, the others will probably adopt a wait-and-see approach.
Nogi, however, was different. Even though he might think the same way, he always felt that such a cowardly choice was spineless.
So she chose to be the first person to eat the mushroom, even though it might be poisonous. If she ate it, she would indeed be the first person to test for poison.
As the ancients said, "Only those who believe that they have overcome the fears that come from within themselves are qualified to be called the ones who stand at the pinnacle."
"So here I am to deal with you! You self-proclaimed elf!"
The outer layer of the uniform gradually transformed into a shimmering, soft school uniform spirit garment by spiritual energy.
"Ara, ara, ara~"
"Please...please wait a minute. You're not going to fight on...on this pointed roof, are you? At least get me to a safe place!"
But no one paid any attention to the empty shouts. Only Nogi Ai's heroic figure rushed towards Kurumi.
"Sound! [Joyful Fangs]!"
The spear emitted a low hiss like a snake, and the accompanying venom pierced towards Kurumi with all its might.
—As for Rion and Wuming, who are still on the run~
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
The two, who had run an unknown distance, stopped and panted beneath countless tall buildings.
"Ahhh... I wasn't this tired even when I was an idol singing... Ahem."
"Come on, it's obvious I'm the one who's more tired. If you were 1.8 meters tall and wearing a skirt, would you have to run around for this long?"
"I'm the one who's more tired... Look at my skinny arms! It's already a lot of effort for me to run around with your partner for so long!"
Rionmu raised her slender arm and showed it to Wuming.
Wu Ming merely glanced at it and shook his head helplessly.
"Okay, you're shorter than me, that's true."
"Well, why do I always feel like you're mocking me?"
"Oh, is that so? Please be more confident and drop the 'I feel' part, after all, we're both useless."
"...All right."
Just as the two were catching their breath and complaining to each other, Rine's incredibly sharp ears suddenly twitched slightly as if they had sensed something.
"Uh! Wuming, did you just make a sound?"
"No...wait a minute!"
'call out!'
An arrow flew from afar, heading straight for Rion. By the time the two reacted, the arrow was already less than a few body lengths away from them.
"Aaaaaah... Help!"
Rion's eyes widened, her body froze instantly, and she could only shout helplessly.
"No! I take that back. You're even more useless! You haven't even realized what I meant yet!"
As Wuming spoke, he reacted quickly, shoving Liyinmeng a step away from him. The arrow grazed Wuming's wrist and landed heavily on the ground.
"Ouch, don't hit me like that! It hurts..."
Due to inertia, Rion was pushed to the ground, saying that it hurt, and then she stood up while clutching her buttocks.
Just as I was about to continue criticizing Wuming for overdoing it—
The arrow that had fallen to the ground suddenly cracked and then exploded.
"Damn it, stop talking nonsense!"
Before that, Wuming kicked Rinmeng, who had just stood up, away, and the two of them were blown away by the shockwave of the explosion.
Li Yinmeng flipped in mid-air and landed steadily, glaring angrily at Wu Ming:
Why did you kick me! That hurts! Hey... are you okay?
But looking at Wuming, who was scrambling to his feet in a disheveled state after being bombed, Liyin Meng's conscience suddenly ached.
Just as he was about to approach to check the injuries, Wuming immediately called out to stop him:
"No... What are you standing there for! Run!"
Just then, a barrage of arrows from different directions rained down on them simultaneously. Rion's eyes widened, and she cried out in alarm:
"How can there be so many!"
"Now is not the time for you to be my吐槽员 (complaint officer)!"
Wuming, whose simple spiritual armor had been shattered, gritted his teeth, endured the burning sensation in his hand, rushed forward, picked up Rinemeng, and ran into the building behind him.
Meanwhile, leaning against a tall building in the distance, a battle-hardened hunter named Takeshita Ayame pushed up his glasses and observed everything.
The nameless angel in his hand—the Primal Longbow—was being drawn, ready to be unleashed at any moment.
"Finally, I've gotten away from Hijikata and found a chance to detour back to find that ruler..."
Upon witnessing the scene just now, Ayaka's expression became subtle, even though her original goal was to shoot Rion in the foot and render her unable to fight.
But is this really the ruler in my heart? Instead, she seems like a girl who doesn't understand anything. If it weren't for the restraint during the explosion and the protection of the quasi-elf who was following her, she probably would have been blown to bits long ago.
Meanwhile, two people slipped into the building and stood on the third floor.
"Phew...it should be safe now. With the level of that explosion, it couldn't have destroyed the building in one go. We should be able to hide for a while longer..."
Putting down Rion Dream from his shoulder, Wuming was deep in thought.
"Strange? There was no killing intent in that attack... That's not right. Even though I've lost my memory, I shouldn't have lost my instinctive sense of killing intent."
"Ha... I'm saved, thank you Wuming..."
Coming to his senses, Wuming looked at Liyinmeng in front of him. Although he had a lot to say, he could only ask a few simple questions at the moment.
"Rhine Dream".
"exist!"
Can I ask you a question?
"Huh? What's the problem?"
"Where is this...? Who is this 'puppet master' they were just talking about? You seem to know something about this competition. Please answer me all at once. Otherwise..."
For some reason, Wuming's eyes suddenly turned cold. This was the first time Liyinmeng had felt an inexplicable pressure from this man.
She vaguely thought she saw Wuming's left eye emitting a faint red glow, but she wasn't sure; it might just be her imagination.
"Ah, wait a minute..."
Seeing Wuming suddenly come to his senses and approach her, Rine Meng's expression became flustered, but she was still trying to think.
"Uh... let me think... This is the tenth realm, which is near the ninth realm. Unlike us at the end of the idol era, here it's all about fighting... As for why we're here..."
Rineme squinted at Wuming in front of her. Although she felt a little reluctant, she felt that lying would be meaningless for either of them.
"That's your problem! Although I don't know how you opened the closed [Path to Heaven], it's because you touched it like you were possessed that we ended up here!"
When Rion shouted it all out in one breath, there was no hint of blame in her tone. Rather, she was simply challenging herself to say everything in one breath.
Is it my fault?
Wuming frowned, trying hard to recall, but his mind was still blank.
But thinking about it carefully, it's probably better not to treat one's benefactor with such an aggressive attitude.
"Then may I ask who the puppeteer is? And what exactly is going on with this competition? Also, I apologize for being a bit rude just now because of the pain from being blown up."
"Oh, you're quite polite now, your attitude is much better than before. By the way, could you repeat what you just said...?"
Wuming felt that after she realized she was in the right, Rinemeng started talking more, or rather, a little too much.
"Ouch! That hurts! Don't pinch my ear!"
Wuming, who really didn't have the patience to repeat what he had just said to her, helplessly pinched Liyinmeng's ear, but not with much force.
"Let's get down to business."
"Oh, just kidding. The 'Puppet Master' is the ruler of this field. Although the rulers are not loved by the people here, most of them are probably afraid and hate them... Uh, she probably wasn't eavesdropping."
Subconsciously glancing around the building as if checking for something like surveillance, Rinemu breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there was nothing there, and continued:
"Honestly, this guy's hobbies are absolutely disgusting! Let me tell you, when she was in power, she was very unpopular with other rulers because of her bad reputation and negative news..."
"Get to the point."
"Sorry, sorry, I always tend to say things that are unimportant to ease my current tension."
Rion explained.
"This competition is similar to a rather troublesome event... like a survival game, where only one person is allowed to leave with the prize, while the rest die in the battle."
Listening to Rion's explanation, Wuming stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"That means we're in a dangerous situation right now, and only one of us can survive and leave... I don't think even you can believe that."
Wuming looked at Liyinmeng's harmless appearance and breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the strange memories he gained from touching that pillar confirmed that he had killed many people and used any means necessary in his previous life, at least now he...
I cannot betray my benefactor…
Just as Wuming was still troubled, as if amidst the much louder grinding of his teeth, he heard something, and Liyin, dreaming of this, immediately spoke up:
"Ah! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid! If you can, when you dig out my soul crystal, just be gentle. Although I really don't want to die... but if I die at the hands of a friend, I'll be satisfied."
Wuming felt a mix of emotions after hearing Liyinmeng's words.
Looking at Rion's innocent smile, he realized that there must have been a reason why she was once a top idol. He simply couldn't imagine digging out the essence of her soul with his own hands.
Suddenly, Wuming slapped himself and shouted:
"How could I even think that? I'm such an idiot!"
"Hey! What are you doing..."
"fine."
Just then, the building's walls were suddenly blasted open, and countless dense arrows shot into each floor, causing the entire building to tremble.
"Oh dear! Why did it suddenly start shaking!"
"Is the person who did this trying to force us out like this...?"
Wuming pondered, recalling the only person who had used a bow and arrow to aim at Rinemu when he first landed. It seemed that she was the only opponent he had.
"Although I don't know why, I feel a bit uncomfortable about killing people now, but in this situation, if I don't fight back, I'll die immediately!"
Wuming gritted his teeth and decided to take the initiative. He said to Liyinmeng:
"Find a safe place to hide, I'll go see if I can stop this guy from attacking."
"Ah! You really aren't planning to run away? We can't beat them..."
"It's no use. Judging from her attack techniques just now, you are probably her primary target. Moreover, her archery skills are quite powerful. If you just try to dodge, you will be caught up soon."
"But you..."
"Consider it retribution for having such evil thoughts. Also, I was probably an assassin or something in my previous life... If I had to say, I had some combat skills, so don't worry."
Rion hesitated for a moment. Although she still wanted to offer some advice, Wuming's firm gaze as he turned around told her that "there's absolutely no problem," and she finally nodded.
"Then you must be careful."
Wuming patted her on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, idol. If I manage to come back, I'll come to your concert."
"Ugh?"
Wuming said this to her before leaving, but Rinemeng always felt something was off about it.
"You know I can't sing! Hey! What do you mean?!...Fine, let me tell you! Her location is roughly on the tallest building four buildings behind ours! The sound of her arrow piercing the air just now came from there!"
Thank you.
After saying that offhand, Wu Ming jumped off the third floor.
Although I felt that Rion's appearance just now resembled a certain idol I had seen in my past life, even though I couldn't remember her face or specific features, I could probably still apply what she said back then.
...Okay, I think I've stepped on a landmine.
Wuming was thinking like this before he landed, then landed on the ground, kicking up a shower of gravel.
Looking down at the top of the tallest building, there was indeed a small, faintly visible figure.
"Hey! You're all you do, hiding in the distance and launching sneak attacks! Come on, let's have a go!"
Wuming shouted at the top of his lungs, seemingly risking attracting more enemies, but he could indeed change the target of their attacks from the building to himself.
—Then, let the battle begin!