A Multiverse Journey Beginning in DanMachi, Chapter 41

Huh?

If she hadn't been teasing me with Alise and the others, why was she acting guilty? Hadn't she been so righteous just a moment ago?

Could it be—

An elf's intuition made Ryu sense a certain possibility, and instinct instantly overpowered reason.

In other words, she'd confessed while she was being toyed with?

...Unforgivable!

When Ryu's eyes turned into the same unfocused, fathomless black as last time, Noah's heart gave a sudden jolt.

"...Hey, Mr. Sifir, you weren't teasing me again just now, were you?"

"W-why would you think that?"

"If you weren't, why did you stand up? You weren't thinking of running away, were you?"

"Huh? Th-that's—!"

"...Running away isn't allowed!"

The next instant, the elf became a gale and pounced on Noah!

Though elves were known for their grace and nobility, Ryu now gave off a ferocious, beastlike aura as she lunged for her prey!

Holy crap! That speed! Isn't she only level three?!

Noah's pupils contracted. In his panic, he barely managed to dodge Ryu's pounce.

He didn't even have the chance to look back after dodging. Noah immediately took off running straight ahead!

"Hey! Aren't you an elf? Don't you hate physical contact?"

Noah was fast enough to dodge Ryu easily, and he did manage to shake her off several times.

But whether elves got some kind of boost in forested areas or not, just seconds after Noah left her behind, she suddenly appeared right in front of him again!

"You've already hugged me! You've seen every inch of me! What's the point of bringing that up now? Stop running!"

"If you stop chasing me, I'll stop running!"

"Fine, then don't blame me!"

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Wind of Light!"

"Hey! Aren't you supposed to chant first? That's totally unfair!"

Feeling a surge of magic behind him, Noah's expression changed.

It wasn't because he feared her magical attack. He was just surprised by the elf's immense potential.

Had she actually reached the point where she could cast magic without chanting while she was blackened like this?!

Hey! Could you take this seriously? This isn't some comedy sketch!

Though his mind was full of nonsense, Noah gave up on running. He dodged to Ryu's back and pinned her to the ground.

When a mage was interrupted while casting, their magic could often go berserk, and in severe cases, put their life in danger.

But perhaps because Ryu had only just begun casting and hadn't gathered much magic yet, nothing exploded.

Still, an angry girl really was harder to hold down than a wild boar!

Just as Noah wondered whether he should knock Ryu out and carry her away, the elf suddenly stopped struggling.

"Hm?"

"Let go of me!"

Ryu turned to look at him, her gaze full of anger, but she had indeed returned to normal, so Noah released her.

Ryu got up, breathing heavily and still panting as she silently straightened her rumpled battle clothes.

Then she glared at Noah, her eyes glistening with tears.

"...Mr. Sifir, you really are dangerous. You toy with girls' feelings as naturally as you breathe! I can't leave you alone after all!"

She hadn't said she couldn't forgive him, but that she couldn't leave him alone. There seemed to be a subtle difference between the two.

Noah was curious, but he knew there was something more important to do now.

He gripped his sword hilt and looked into the depths of the forest, his eyes turning icy.

"Valetta, come out!"

"Valetta? The Killing Emperor?!"

Hearing that infamous name, enough to make children in Orario cry, Ryu immediately forgot her other concerns. She put on her mask and stood beside Noah with her sword ready.

For a moment, it seemed the monsters had sensed the danger and fled, and the forest fell eerily silent.

Then, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, a flash of crimson emerged from between the trees, unsettling to look at even from a distance.

She was a short-haired woman wearing a fur-trimmed coat riddled with holes, a blood-red greatsword in her hand.

Strictly speaking, she was a beauty. Yet the spiteful malice radiating from her was as chilling as black flames.

"No—ah!"

The instant she appeared, she called out in an abnormally loud voice, utterly unlike a woman's, her tone warped with chaotic, savage fervor.

"I've missed you so much! You pretentious little brat! Today I'm absolutely going to rip out your guts and strangle you!"

Faced with Valetta, who was grinning viciously and spraying spittle as she spoke, Noah merely glanced at the black greatsword in her hand, uninterested, then looked around.

The meaning behind his gaze was clear: I'm not interested in you. If you have something to say, hurry up and say it.

Valetta's smile twisted at once when she caught the meaning in his eyes.

Last time, we fought so fiercely! You even pierced my body and gave me pain I'll never forget! And now that we've met again, you're treating me like a stranger?!

You're not only more despicable than Finn, you're even more heartless and cold-blooded!

Oh, it's because of that little elf, isn't it?

Today, I'm going to give you a memory you'll never forget!

But no matter how much she grumbled and cursed to herself, none of it could become a real attack. Noah's attention remained on the surrounding forest.

Dozens, even hundreds, of figures emerged from the dense woods, taking the place of the monsters.

Their matching white robes, like those worn by priests and their followers, made it clear that they belonged to the Dark Faction.

Noah couldn't help thinking: why were the villains dressed so formally? It made the heroes look like a ragtag group thrown together at the last minute!

The other thing that caught Noah's attention was the weapons in their hands.

Some were swords of various colors, all radiating a powerful sense of danger. Others were black as congealed blood, silent and still as deadwood.

Drawing on what he had learned in Riveria's lessons, along with his own intuition, Noah quickly identified the weapons.

Magic swords, and cursed weapons.

The magic swords were one thing. The real problem was the cursed weapons.

When adventurers leveled up, they had a chance to gain a development ability.

These abilities enhanced a specialty more extremely than the five basic abilities.

There were many development abilities, but the best known and rarest was the astonishingly useful Mystery. It could imbue tools, potions, and weapons with all kinds of strange powers.

For example, staves that mages used specifically to increase their magic's power, or the various cursed items before them.

Curses didn't have the immense power of magic, but they were even more dangerous and sinister.

The Berserk Curse could make a warrior suddenly turn their blade against their comrades.

The Magic Seal Curse could reduce a powerful mage to an ordinary person.

The Incurable Curse could prevent wounds from healing, making the victim bleed to death.

There were also other curses, such as Berserk, Weakness, and Lethargy.

An adventurer's Abnormal Resistance was useless against them.

Unless they defeated the one who cast the curse or used a special method to dispel it, they would be tormented by the curse until they died.

Cursed items made by curse specialists were a little inferior, just as most magic swords were inferior to proper magic, but they were still quite dangerous and rarely seen among special weapons.

One or two would be understandable, but dozens of similarly crafted cursed items couldn't exist without a dedicated means of mass production.

That meant the Dark Faction had an adventurer with the development ability Mystery.

Unlike Noah, who had noticed the other details, Ryu's eyes were blazing with fury.

"You fiends! How dare you go after children!"

Following Ryu's gaze, Noah saw several unconscious children lying behind the Dark Faction members, near Valetta.

Several members of the Dark Faction held blades over the children.

They said nothing, but it was as if they were silently issuing an invitation and a threat to Noah and Ryu.

They weren't targeting me. They were targeting Ryu. Noah reached that conclusion in an instant.

Valetta probably didn't expect him to surrender over a few children, but for Ryu, this was a fatal weakness.

The same went for the cursed items and magic swords.

They couldn't hurt him, Noah, but they could hurt Ryu.

If Noah were alone, he'd just cut down the enemies first. After all, no one could touch him.

But with Ryu there, they probably couldn't even run.

Fine. If they couldn't escape, they'd just have to kill them all!

Tch, that's just like you, Valetta. I've decided to turn you into little Valetta!

Casting aside his earlier disinterest, Noah shot Valetta a look full of killing intent and approval.

When she felt that cold gaze of attention fall on her again, Valetta felt a strange satisfaction, as if she'd done her chores and received her father's praise. Even her lower abdomen grew hot...

No!

What the hell?!

"Noah! And you, little elf! You don't want these brats to die right in front of you, do you? Get down here at once!"

Having rescued hostages many times before, Ryu knew she couldn't put down her weapon and place her hopes in the enemy.

If she let them do as they pleased, she wouldn't just lose her life; she would lose any chance of saving the people as well.

Normally, in a situation like this, Ryu would use her incredible speed to take down the enemy before they could react, then rescue the people without a hitch.

But she had never faced a group of over a hundred Dark Faction members alone.

And the enemy had the Killing Emperor, a genuine level-five, first-tier adventurer!

Normally, when Ryu faced enemies like these, she would retreat at once.

After all, with such an overwhelming difference in strength, strategy was useless.

But she couldn't abandon those children!

What should she do?

Just as Ryu grew frantic with worry, sweat beading on her forehead, someone suddenly took her hand.

Up until now, only three people had ever touched Ryu's hand. This sensation was utterly unfamiliar to her.