Chapter 117.3


    [Part 3/4]


    Still, she didn''t drop the dagger (tantō). She red at ''Mayoiga'' with determination, gazing at them desperation.


    ''You''ve avoided it, huh? Do you still intend to resist? You''re a foolish girl, even when I''m holding back!!''


    On the other hand, ''Mayoiga'' looked at Tamaki with exasperation. Even though there was no chance of winning, she still wouldn''t give up. Did she understand that they were holding back? If they intended to kill her, they would have spewed mes instead of steam earlier... Despite hearing those words, Tamaki''s hostility didn''t waver. On the contrary, she was offended by the insult.


    "Don''t mess with me!! Holding back, you say!? Don''t underestimate me...!!"


    ''...Hmph, you leave me no choice. I suppose I''ll have to teach you the pain of understanding your position.''


    They shrugged as if they had no choice and intensified the mes around them. They erged their appearance by about two sizes, and the heat emitted from them became even more intense, as if boiling.


    "Ugh...!!?"


    Intense heat hit her body, and beads of sweat gushed from Tamaki''s forehead. While suppressing her fear of the emerging pain, she directed the de of the dagger (tantō) towards the enemy with a determined expression. ''Mayoiga'' sneered at her. It was truly a valiant effort, but also a meaningless one. This girl still hasn''t realized the mistake of her actions. Just facing each other like this is already a blunder in itself...


    ''Ngh!?''


    The foolishness of the girl made ''Mayoiga'' smirk with contempt, but immediately afterwards, they sensed something amiss and their fiery form distorted in surprise. Something fell at high speed, blocking the space between Tamaki and ''Mayoiga''. No, it wasn''t just falling; it was more like a collision, an impact, a crashnding. With a deafening roar, the ground was torn open, copsing and sending dust swirling around. The dismembered and bloodied corpse of the weasel youkai that had been crushed and pulverizedy before them.


    ''Gghh... this is troublesome. Even with partial transformation, you seem stronger than before.''


    While spitting blood, the weasel youkai asked a question, only to receive a punch in response. The servant rushed in from above at a speed even greater than before, colliding with a force that left sound trailing in its wake. The impact created a deafening explosion, and it wasn''t just building materials and dust that were blown away. The shattered, or rather, dispersed remains of the weasel''s flesh were spectacrly scattered around the surroundings.


    In the center of the collision site, the servant, who had partially deviated from their human form, gasped for breath, blood dripping from the numerous cuts.


    ''Ggh... huff, huff, not aplete kill! But finally got you... Gah!!?"


    "Tomobe-kun...!!?"


    Struggling to suppress his youkai instincts, the servant tried to berate the crushed monster, but he was immediately struck in the abdomen and sent flying. There was no need to ask who the attacker was. It was a blow from the fiery, scorching arm of a youkai, condensed into a powerful force. The servant spunically and was repeatedly mmed into the floor, bouncing back up each time. The sound of the air being sliced was so intense that he crashed into the earthen wall with a horrifying bone-breaking sound, prompting Tamaki to scream in terror.


    “No way...!!? Kuh...!!"


    The girl exorcist tries to run to her benefactor, but is unable to ignore the approaching ''Mayoiga,'' who had cleared the obstruction and was slowly advancing. The girl wielded her dagger (tantō) despite the burnt arm, showing her determination to resist. Summoning her courage, she took a step forward, preparing to charge into the inferno.


    ''Hmph!!''


    But in an instant, Tamaki''s body was ensnared by numerous vines that had shot up from the ground. She heard growls and, when she looked around, she saw several other medium youkai and great youkai approaching her, closing in step by step.


    "What!?"


    ''Don''t you get it? You foolish girl! Do you think I, the great ''Mayoiga,'' would risk danger for the likes of you?''


    Mayoiga arrogantly proimed, staring down the human girl. Yes, indeed, this confrontation was Tamaki''s mistake from the beginning.


    From ''Mayoiga''s'' perspective, they didn''t intend to be exposed to danger by directly appearing after having their escape route destroyed. They had called in additional subordinates from the surroundings, and with their arrival, there was no need for them to stay any longer in this perilous situation.


    ''Kakkakkak! There''s no point in resisting. If you had known me would escape like this, you should have finished me off!"


    ''Mayoiga''ughed heartily, confident that the additional youkai would handle Tamaki. They then began to retreat to a safer room, paying no attention to Tamaki''s curses. The fiery entity, wrapped in a fierce ze, ignored Tamaki''s almost-cursed scream and distanced themselves from the scene. Their mind was preupied with the task of dealing with the dead weasel, who had been a valuable bargaining chip. It was a shame that the contact person had died. Well, they would have to figure out what to do next... but how?


    ''Nunun!? What is this...!!?''


    "Haa... haa... haa, I''ve got the coordinates now. Come, ''Houzan Jakuryuu (Mud Dragon)''!"


    ''Mayoiga,'' lost in their thoughts, suddenly reacted to an anomaly within their body. Just then, a man''s murmurs echoed, and at the same time, the ''Mayoiga''-controlled subordinates trying to capture Tamaki screamed as the floor beneath them copsed.


    ''Roarrrr!!!''


    An imperfect dragon made of building materials, soil, and youkai flesh emerged from the ground. The simple curse-tool servant had been stalling earlier, and now it had evolved into a dragon-like entity, incorporating everything that made up the "outer shell" of ''Mayoiga,'' breaking through the spatial boundary to infiltrate their hiding ce.


    ''Ggghhh...!? You...!?''


    "Cough, cough. Haha, the ending is still a little premature. Aren''t you a filthy fire demon?"


    Covered in blood, the servant with burning rage in their eyes spoke while coughing up a mixture of blood and phlegm. * * *


    Once upon a time, a famous speedrunner attempted to clear the notoriously difficult "Firefly of the Dark Night (Yamiyo no Hotaru)" Happy Ending route as a New Year''s event. They had studied the runs of other speedrunners beforehand, practiced extensively to perfect their gamey, and meticulously nned out their strategies. Their attempt garnered significant attention even before it began due to their fame as a speedrunner and the tremendous determination they showed in the announcement. And so, the ythrough began on New Year''s Eve... and it ended in failure.


    Towards the end of the ythrough, the speedrunner made a critical mistake. Having yed for twenty-six hours straight without even eating, they made an equipment change error in the final moments. Exhausted and distracted by the flow ofments, they failed to notice their error, resulting in a disastrous oue. Their attack power was supposed to be boosted by an advanced curse-tool, but instead, they equipped somethingpletely unrted.


    At the start of the boss battle, the speedrunner let out a scream. After all the time and effort they had put in, the pressure toplete the game quickly, and the pride of not saving once foredic effect, it was an expected reaction. They fought desperately, but the meticulously crafted n backfired. The HP was depleting rapidly due to unforeseen circumstances, and allies were falling one by one. The protagonist was on the brink of death, and it seemed impossible to turn the situation around after defeating the enemy.


    The path to destruction seemed inevitable. In the story, if the protagonist were to be defeated, they would be feminized and impregnated, whichbined with the speedrunner''s desperate expression, created a flood ofments filled with despair, excitement, and teasing.


    Then, the protagonist took a critical hit. Their HP gauge plummeted. It seemed to be the end. Everyone thought so.


    But a miracle happened.


    The mistakenly equipped item had a "Defense +5" attribute. It was honestly considered trash equipment. However, this item saved the protagonist''s life by leaving them with literally just one unit of HP. The moment the speedrunner realized the situation, their reaction, and the excitement in thements, turned it into a legend on the video tform.


    Since then, the equipment that created the miracle has been revered in themunity, and it was named the ''Wooden Chick.''


    "I never thought I''d experience the same thing myself!!?"


    As I pulled it out from my burnt and charred clothing, the ''Wooden Chick'' was there, almost carbonized and shattered. Seriously, without this, I''d be dead.


    Honestly, I was in serious danger. I had finally killed the weasel and let my guard down. Just as I released my youkai transformation to ease the strain on my body, the me uppercut came. Thankfully, the ''Wooden Chick'' was in the perfect spot; otherwise, my organs would have ruptured. Well, in that moment, my youkai transformation might have saved me, or it could have triggered a rampage. Maybe I would have run out of time.


    "Huff, huff... Anyway, I won''t let you escape!!"


    ''Roar!!?''


    As I issued themand, the dragon made of debris and the majority of the surrounding youkai rushed towards ''Mayoiga''s'' inferno. While they were entangled, I quickly unleashed one of the talismans I received from Gori-sama. It was a spare pill. I swallowed the foul-tasting pill and, at the same time, stimted the Youbo (youkai mother) blood within me to slightly heal my wounds and burns.


    ...It was forced regeneration, so the potential strain on my body, especially my heart, was probably immense. But at this point, I couldn''t afford to be picky. I had to focus on the present.


    "Go!! ''Houzan Jakuryuu''!! You too, stupid spider, do it...!!"


    ''(*′,_ゝ｀)I''m on it!!''


    The temporary dragon that had ughtered most of the youkai swarming around Tamaki now turned its target towards ''Mayoiga''s'' inferno, following mymand. I warned the spider-like creature clinging to my neck about the final sprint. Even with the pill from earlier and the partial youkai transformation, I only had thirty seconds at most. In thest moments, I would have to give it my all. There was no other choice...!!


    "And so, you all better bear with this!!"


    Before charging towards ''Mayoiga,'' I swiftly delivered a roundhouse kick to the small youkai beast that was ambushing from behind. An ambush from behind was a basic youkai tactic, and it was amon sense written in ancient texts. I reinforced my joints partially with spiritual energy, using centrifugal force to break its neck.


    "You''re a punchline!!"


    ''ψ(｀?′)ψ Exciting!!''


    I would return the favor by giving the second one, which emerged from the first''s shadow, a direct hit to the face. Its jaws were open, exposing its fangs, so I delivered an uppercut-like strike from the chin. And then, I kicked the small youkai towards ''Mayoiga,'' who was spewing mes.


    ''Gya...''


    "Whoa!!"


    ''(????)? Ouch!?''


    In an instant, the beastly youkai creature turned into ashes. Seizing that brief moment, I sessfully evaded the mes'' trajectory. I even managed to use the mes as cover and swiftly approach ''Mayoiga'' from directly below.


    ''Nnnu!? Tch, tricky little...!''


    "Go!! Knock it away!!"


    ''Roarrrrr!!''


    ''Vwoh!!?''


    ''Mayoiga,'' who waste to notice my approach from the blind spot of their survival, attempted to sweep me away with the continuous mes they spewed. However, in doing so, they created an opening. ''Houzan Jakuryuu,'' charging in from the side, toppled and crushed it. Although ordinary mes would have slipped through, this dragon, constructed withpressed and condensed youkai energy, possessed mass. It was as if it had be its foe.


    ''You... you insolent...!!?''