Despicable Otherworlders, Ambushing People With Rocks Again

Elsewhere, the battle in which it was hard to tell who the demon was continued.

Hughes, in the grip of an episode, looked at the Forest Vulcan's halted fist and the way it was gasping for breath, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Just a hundred or so punches, and you're already spent?"

He raised his knee and kicked, sending the Forest Vulcan flying into the air. Before it could fall, Hughes appeared above its back, flames blazing around his body, and stomped down hard.

"You didn't even last two minutes! What did you come here for?"

"Boom!"

Hughes landed safely after his ride on an otherworldly airplane. In the deep crater in the ground, the demonized Forest Vulcan slowly dissolved.

Mira slowly awoke, feeling pain all over her body.

"Oh, there's another one?"

"Fire Fist!!"

A fist formed from flames, slightly smaller than before, quickly appeared in front of Mira.

Startled, Mira's blue eyes contracted. She braced both hands in front of her and desperately blocked it.

Her demon arm, at the very front, faced the raging flames head-on, crackling as it burned, heat rising from it.

Mira narrowed her eyes in pain as the flames pushed her body backward.

"Huh? So I'm spent too?"

Hughes, the flames on his body gradually dying out, tilted his head at the fist that had fizzled out and grumbled.

In the grip of his episode, he hadn't even noticed that his face had long since turned deathly pale.

After repeatedly unleashing his power and staying in elemental form the whole time, his body was already exhausted from overexertion.

"If I can't use flames, my fists will do!"

A grin spread across Hughes's face as he leaped into the crater where Mira lay. Beaming down at her as she twitched from her burns, he brought his fist down hard.

[Ding! The quest "Defeat the king of Mount Colubo" has been completed. Quest reward: ultimate technique, Tekkai (beginner), has been issued.]

The system notification and the inexplicable warmth flowing through his body cleared Hughes's head. He looked at Mira, who was only a few millimeters from his fist, and fell into thought.

Hughes had always known what he did during his episodes, but once he entered that state, he couldn't control his body, and his actions and methods were entirely instinctive.

So... do I throw this punch or not?

It was such a good opportunity. He could always blame it on his condition afterward. If Mira really was what he suspected, the demon Oars recognized by the system, then he only had to knock her unconscious to complete the remaining quest as well.

Jokes aside, he really wanted that perfected Tekkai.

What Hughes didn't know was that two people had already crept up behind him...

Lisanna quietly picked up two rocks from the ground.

She placed the bigger, heavier rock in Elfman's palm. "Elfman, whether we can save Mira or not is up to you!"

"But, Lisanna, what if Hughes is just trying to scare Mira?"

"Hughes has gone crazy! He'll hurt Mira!!"

Lisanna gripped the rock in her hand and threw it with all her strength. It struck Hughes squarely in the back.

Still trying to decide, Hughes was struck hard in the back by the rock. He hadn't been able to turn elemental yet, and he sucked in a breath from the pain.

Without meaning to, he let his fist, which had already been only millimeters from Mira, come to rest against her cheek.

"Now that you've come to your senses, get off me," Mira said coldly, looking at him impassively.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" Hughes took his fist off her face and put a little distance between them, feeling rather awkward himself.

Still, Mira's cheek was quite soft and smooth.

Neither of them noticed that a larger rock was already flying toward them from behind.

"Thud!"

The big rock struck the back of Hughes's head, instantly making his eyes bulge and roll white as he pitched forward.

Why do people in another world love hitting people on the head with rocks so much?!

That was Hughes's last thought before his vision went black...

Mira, who was in front of Hughes, suddenly widened her eyes. His figure grew larger and larger in her light-blue eyes...

"Bang!"

Their foreheads collided hard, and Hughes fell on top of Mira, pinning her to the ground. Below him, Mira's head stuck out, and her eyes began to spin.

[Ding! The quest "Defeat the demon Oars" has been completed. Quest reward: ultimate technique, Tekkai (perfected), has been issued.]

This time, neither the system notification nor the warm current that accompanied the reward could bring Hughes back to consciousness.

"Elfman, how could you hit Hughes on the head? That could kill him!" A short distance away, Lisanna clapped her hands over her mouth in fright and looked at Elfman in shock.

Elfman scratched his head, utterly confused. "Weren't we supposed to knock Hughes out and then save Mira?"

"Weren't we supposed to throw rocks at Hughes to get his attention, then I'd lure him away while you rescued Mira?"

"Huh? You didn't tell me that, Lisanna!"

"Things were so urgent. How could I have told you? We're brother and sister. You should have understood even without me saying it."

"How could I understand if you didn't say anything... No, Lisanna, if we keep talking like this, we'll go in circles forever. We should be checking on Mira and Hughes now."

Elfman cut the conversation short. He didn't want to argue with Lisanna about something that would get them nowhere. He set his legs moving and ran toward the crater where Hughes and Mira lay.

Lisanna stamped her foot and hurried after him. The worry on her face did nothing to stop her from muttering things like "Elfman's an idiot."

Inside the crater, Mira slowly woke again. She raised her small, burned hand and rubbed her forehead with considerable effort. She tried to lift her demon arm to push Hughes off her, only to find that she couldn't even move it.

"Ow..."

The pain in her arms and body left her able to do nothing but suck in breaths to ease it.

Only when Lisanna and Elfman came over did the three of them manage to gently push Hughes off her together.

"Elfman, you and Lisanna help get Hughes onto my back. Then bring all the packs. We have to leave right away!"

"But Mira, what about your injuries?"

Elfman gestured with his thick, dark fingers at the injuries on Mira's body. Her skin was red from the flames, and some places had already begun to bleed.

"The Vulcans in the forest are magical beasts that live in groups. If they're all drawn here, we'll die. Don't dawdle!"

Mira looked at the two of them with a serious expression. Elfman said nothing more and helped Lisanna drape Hughes over Mira's back.

He turned and hoisted Mira's and Hughes's packs onto his back. The three people's packs stood a little taller than he did.

Lisanna, carrying a slightly lighter load, led the way as the three made their way through the forest with utmost caution...

The sun overhead had shifted slightly. Hughes opened his eyes amid a series of jolts. The pain in the back of his head and the stabbing headache following his episode made his eyes twitch, and he bared his teeth and hissed.

"Elfman and Lisanna didn't mean to. They were just worried you'd hurt me!" Mira, carrying Hughes on her back, heard him and pursed her lips as she spoke.