Volume 4 Chapter 20 Terror
"...Well, we've been spotted by the monster again."
The woman with gray hair and sunburnt skin frowned in annoyance as she looked over here.
In contrast, a slender man carrying a spear sighed while adjusting his glasses.
"I told you so. If we carelessly enter the invasion zone, we'll get caught up in unnecessary trouble."
"But Hagen, you were all enthusiastic at first, weren't you? You wanted to see how those arrogant low-ranking adventurers died. Even Mimosa was super excited."
The one who brought this up was a girl with red-purple hair, adorned with flashy accessories.
She was one of the members of their group, and she pouted while fiddling with her nails.
"But they were really infuriating! Just because they were nameless, they acted all tough. So I thought I'd at least watch how they die!"
"However, in the end, they weren't just all talk; they were fairly strong. The destruction of the cursed tree is progressing smoothly... Meanwhile, we lost sight of them when Erinja was having fun tormenting the monster."
"I said I was sorry for that a million times over!"
Just from this conversation, Gálu couldn't quite grasp the situation.
However, whatever their intentions may be, they were definitely intruders in his territory.
As Gálu turned his head and stretched his shoulders, one of the hulking figures among them spoke in a low voice to the gray-haired woman.
"Torturing prey, Erinja's bad habit. Reflect on that"
"Yes, yes, I get it, I get it! So I just need to take care of this werewolf and quickly find the kids, right?"
The sunburnt-skinned woman prepared her greatsword on her back.
Then the others began to raise their weapons in response to her fighting spirit.
"No, let's all attack together. It will be much faster that way"
"I'm also getting irritated and want to have a go, so of course I'm joining in!"
"Monster, be exterminated"
"..."
The 4 adventurers simultaneously pointed their weapons and hostility towards the enemy.
Perhaps because they were overwhelmingly superior, the woman adventurer called Erinja wore a confident smile.
"So, Mr. Wolf, sorry, but you're going to die here"
With that voice, the flamboyantly dressed woman sprang into action.
"Larpand, let's go for it!"
"Got it"
Receiving the signal, the giant, holding a large shield in both hands, slammed it into the ground and chanted in a low voice.
"[Rock Shell]!"
*Boom!*
A shockwave surged at their feet.
Immediately after, walls of rock protruded from the ground around Gálu.
They twisted and changed shape like eggshells, trying to cover Gálu completely.
Just before the ceiling closed, he saw a girl adventurer covered in decorations above.
"[Flame Seed]"
A number of red glowing orbs were released from the girl's hand and thrown into the shell of the rock.
At that moment, when the shell closed, a massive explosion occurred in the sealed space.
Gálu, having taken the impact without reserve, was launched into the air while breaking through the rocky wall due to its immense power.
Before he could even catch his breath, Erinja and Hagen were in hot pursuit.
"Uraah!"
The greatsword and spear came crashing down simultaneously, striking Gálu's body with tremendous force.
Blown away, Gálu slammed into a large tree at high speed and disappeared into a cloud of dust.
The 4 who were watching this exchanged faint smiles and looked at each other.
"Guess this forest's monsters aren't that impressive, huh? If they leave it to us, we'll wipe out the Forest King's Army in no time."
"They're being stingy with the reward money because they don't want us to steal their glory. If the kingdom gets saved by adventurers, the royal army's reputation would be ruined."
"If they hadn't been so stubborn and had entrusted us with the extermination request, the Ratisse Kingdom could have been saved."
Next, Erinja, stretching her back while yawning, continued.
"Ahh, this is getting bothersome. Maybe it would be more fun to just kill that 'Forest King Gálu' before those brats do and steal the credit."
In response to Erinja's confident remark...
The Forest King Gálu whispered lowly right behind her.
"Oh, really? Then why don't you show me?"
"──!?"
The 4 immediately jumped back, instinctively creating distance from Gálu.
Were they shocked by the sudden turn of events?
While sweating profusely, they opened their eyes and stared at Gálu.
"W-Without a scratch...?"
"Surely, I must have made contact..."
"Hey, hey, did you really think you could take me down with just that? That's a bit insulting."
If it were an ordinary monster, they would have definitely been finished off by that teamwork.
Yet, the beastman monster before them stood up unharmed, even wearing a creepy grin on his cheek.
Unable to accept that reality, Erinja and the others were left speechless and frozen in place.
Eventually, Erinja gasped as if she noticed something.
"Y-You're not... Forest King Gálu!? "
"Haha! You took way too long to realize it! Don't I exude a bit more intimidation?"
Only after some time did the 4 of them realize that the monster in front of them was none other than the Forest King Gálu, and they nervously prepared themselves.
In response to their reaction, Gálu secretly let out a sigh.
Since Gálu doesn't often show himself, there are many humans who don't know his appearance.
Therefore, it's not surprising that he wouldn't be recognized at a glance, but that was something that frustrated Gálu more than anything else.
If it were Dragon King Dorane, he could instill fear just through his presence and intimidating aura, even without being recognized.
An out-of-the-norm being, who doesn't need to announce himself to be acknowledged, merely through exerting the emotion of fear.
Gálu, who aims to be that kind of monster, once again became aware of his own immaturity.
"Well, in that case..."
Gálu poured strength into the legs of the beast and firmly stomped the ground.
In an instant, he vanished from that spot and suddenly appeared among the 4 who were left standing.
"I'll carve it directly into your body."
"──!?"
In that moment, Gálu's right leg plunged into Erinja's abdomen.
Blown away at a speed that the eye could barely follow, Erinja vanished into the forest, knocking over the trees behind her.
"Erinja!"
A voice similar to Mimosa's scream echoed through the forest.
Her eyes widened with anger as she directed both hands towards Gálu.
"You...! [Flame Seed]!"
From Mimosa's hands, the red orbs of light that had been seen earlier flew toward him.
There were more of them than before.
A single strike with greatly enhanced lethality.
However, Gálu seemed unaffected and charged straight into the searing orbs of light.
"Wha──!?"
*Boom!*
The sound of the orbs exploding echoed repeatedly, scattering shockwaves and blasts around the area.
Of course, Gálu's body had not a single scratch and he swiftly closed in on Mimosa.
"[Rock Cliff]!"
At that moment, 2 men approaching from the side moved to protect Mimosa.
The spear-wielding glasses-wearer Hagen jumped back, cradling Mimosa to keep her away from danger, while the shield-bearing giant Larpand set up a rock wall in the open area.
Gálu, positioned opposite Mimosa, Hagen, and Larpand across the rock wall, quietly smiled in the shadows.
"It's pointless."
Gálu clenched his right fist and moved closer to the rock wall.
Then, instead of just punching it, he hooked his middle finger with his thumb and flicked it like a snap.
*Boom!!!*
With just the shock from his finger, the rock wall shattered as if it had exploded.
Moreover, the 3 adventurers behind it were blown away just from the shockwave.
The power from such a simple flick.
Caught off guard by the unexpected strength, the 3 collapsed on the ground felt a wave of fear.
At that moment──
"L... Aaaah!!! "
Erinja, who had somehow gotten back up, charged at Gálu while blood streamed down her forehead.
Letting out a battle cry, she swung her greatsword back and aimed for Gálu's "neck" with a swift strike.
That attack, filled only with murderous intent, rushed at Gálu's throat with a roaring sound of slicing wind.
Gun!!!
"...Huh?"
Gálu did not block or evade that blow.
Rather, he leaned forward as if to offer up his neck, and astonishingly... he took the greatsword "with his throat."
Not a single scratch was left.
Not even a thin layer was cut.
On the contrary, Erinja's hand, which had struck, was intensely numbed from the shock.
"W... What the hell... is this..."
"I told you, didn't I? It's pointless."
With a speed that was almost like a flash, he grabbed Erinja's neck, who was standing there in despair.
With incredible strength, he easily lifted her sturdy body, and she let out a groan as her neck was tightened.
"But... ahh...!"
Although their friend is suffering right in front of them, the other 3 are rooted in despair on the ground.
The 3 were too shocked by the earlier scene.
"That blow from Erinja..."
"What the heck... what is this...!"
"So strong...!"
"..."
Strong.
Hearing those words, Gálu muttered softly while imagining the figure of a certain monster in his mind.
"...That's not it. The 'strength' I'm seeking isn't this kind of thing."
Even now, Gálu can't forget the terror of the Dragon King Dorane he saw that day.
The aura and dignity that made him shrink just by standing in front of him.
A fear and sense of despair so overwhelming that just facing it makes him hesitate.
Not an ambiguous power that he only understand after fighting, but an immense power that instills fear in the opponent even before he begins to fight.
That, in fact, was the "true strength" that Gálu was seeking.
Gálu, realizing once again that he doesn't possess such power yet, laughs anew to instill fear in the humans in front of him.
"You know what? Monsters have a 'special power' that is only granted to us higher beings."
"Special power...?"
While being choked, Erinja harbors doubts about Gálu's words.
Even Erinja, who had been fighting monsters for a long time, had never heard such a story.
As if to prove that those words were not a lie, Gálu unleashed his power.
"[Instinct Liberation]!"
In that moment, Gálu's half-human, half-beast body abruptly began to transform.
The figure that was almost human gradually takes on a more beastly appearance.
The beastly hair on its limbs gradually covers the parts that were once close to human, transforming it significantly into a beastly form.
This is the power granted only to higher-order monsters - [Instinct Liberation].
By releasing the instincts hidden within, they can transform their bodies and greatly enhance their physical abilities.
Gálu, with his face and abdomen the only parts remaining human, can't suppress a smile as the power overflows like a spring.
He tightens his grip on Erinja.
"Ah...! Guh...!"
"Erinja!"
At this moment, the 3 fallen comrades finally move.
They bravely try to help the suffering Erinja, brandishing their weapons...
"Don't move!"
As Gálu glares intensely, their bodies freeze like stone.
"I...!"
"I... can't... move...!"
This is one of Gálu's monster characteristics.
Monsters can cause supernatural phenomena by consuming the magic power within them.
It's similar to the "magic" that humans, blessed with job classes by the gods, use as a matter of course.
Breathing fire from their mouths, temporarily enhancing their physical abilities, producing poisonous fluids from their bodies...
And Gálu's monster characteristic is the ability to forcibly render those within its sight "incapacitated."
"Y-You weren't serious until now...!"
"Haha! Don't make me laugh! You guys might be better than average for humans, but to me, you're just a dull toy to pass the time."
If he wanted to, he could kill everyone here in an instant.
But the only reason he didn't is to alleviate his boredom.
To keep playing for a little longer, he didn't use his full power or his monster abilities.
Because if he did, the game would have ended right then and there.
And so Gálu raised Erinja with his right hand, preparing his left claws.
The sharp claws were aimed at Erinja's eyes, and she trembled as she spoke.
"T-this monster...!"
"Monster? Ah, that's the best compliment ever!"
Gálu swung his left hand back, aiming to pierce Erinja's eye with his claws.
In that instant──
"......Um"
"──!?"
Suddenly, an icy, suffocating air dominated the surroundings.
Feeling an intense pressure akin to a chill, Gálu involuntarily bristled all over.
It was a stabbing sense of intimidation.
The heavy air weighed down on his back.
A long-forgotten, intense "fear" resurfaced.
Sensing the presence of something, Gálu repeated shallow breaths as if remembering how to breathe, recalling a scene from the past in his mind.
(This feeling...!)
Just like that time...
Just like the first time he felt fear...
It's the same as when he faced that ancient and terrifying Demon Lord, the very embodiment of violence...
Just the fact that it's there fills me with a hopeless fear, just like back then...
There's no way they can be here.
That extraordinary being.
That monster reigning at the pinnacle of all monsters.
(Dragon King... Dorane!)
Overwhelmed by a sense of absolute despair, Gálu turned his pale face toward the source of the presence.
In his eyes, the true nature of the fear and intimidation reflected back.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"..."
It was a human girl, her red hair flowing.
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