Is it Tough Being a Friend? v4 Chapter 4 Part 3

As I was looking for Elmira, I decided to try the riverbank.

Suddenly, a large flame broke out ahead. A giant flaming bird, about three to four meters long, tore through the night sky while making a spiral.

“C, could it be…?!”

(Oh, it seems someone’s been setting off fireworks out of season. What a view~.)

(A spectacle indeed. That must cost a pretty penny, don’t you agree?)

“You guys are idiots! That’s definitely Elmira!”

Scolding the carefree “Evil Spirits”, I immediately dashed towards the scene of the crime.

I ended up finding her first. I was worried this would happen…but I repressed such ill thoughts and sent Ryuuga a message while running.

‘Bought honey at riverbank. Womb come.’ Since I was in a hurry, there were typos in it, but my point would probably still come across. (TLN: He was trying to type ‘Found her at riverbank. Come quickly.’ It sounds kinda the same if you read it out loud in Japanese.)

Sliding down the slope of the bank, I sprinted as fast as I could for around three hundred meters.

…Upon which, I saw Elmira on the ground and a giant, unknown monster.

“Elmira! Are you okay?!”

I ignored the monster for the time being and rushed towards the vampire girl. When I lifted her up into my arms, I found that she wasn’t holding Shizuma, but Kiki for some reason.

“K, Kiki?”

“Kobayashi Ichirou…you came…”

Elmira, barely holding onto her consciousness, spoke with a frail voice.

“You look like you’re out of fuel. I saw the ‘Vermilion Bird’ or something fly just now…was that you?”

“Yeah…I’m in this sorry state because of that, but…I was somehow able to rescue Kiki…”

“And where’s Shizuma?”

“Shizuma is──”

Elmira’s eyes widened while she was in the middle of speaking.

When I turned towards the direction she was looking at, there stood the monster from before. Upon closer inspection, its body was scorched and it seemed worn out in a few spots. Strangely, there was a third arm coming from its chest, but everything from the wrist up was gone.

It slowly walked while ignoring us. It was heading towards a spot with overgrown weeds.

“Kobayashi Ichirou! Shizuma’s in danger!”

Elmira grabbed me, as if her exhaustion from just a while ago was gone. Kiki’s eyes opened upon hearing her scream.

“Shizuma’s in the grass over there! Hurry!”

“B, Baron Ichirou, Shizuma…”

I immediately ran while still carrying Elmira and Kiki.

I passed the monster in a flash, grabbed Shizuma, and kept a distance from it. When we were about ten meters from the monster, I lowered all three of them to the ground.

“Wait here. I’ll deal with him for a bit.”

“Be careful, Kobayashi Ichirou…that monster is strong.”

Of course, I’m aware of that. Seeing the state that the vampire girl and Hokkaido wolf girl are in, that’s obvious. I’m especially concerned about Kiki’s arms, which were just dangling there. Were they broken?

“Kiki. Your arms…”

“…I messed up. But, I did purge Higaia…”

“I was the one who brought him on the verge of death though.”

“You were in a stalemate. I did the finishing blow.”

Judging by the fact that they’re bickering with each other, they’re probably okay.

Still, it takes a lot of willpower not to cry with a broken bone. I was desperately trying to hold back my tears when my arm had a fracture.

(Anyhow, it’s time for some payback with this monster.)

Feelings of resentment and concern battled each other in my mind.

…Needless to say, the resentment came from the people I’ve been living with being injured. I don’t know what this monster is, but this thing will get its just desserts.

…On the other hand, I was concerned about the problematic scenario where I end up killing this thing. I’d like to give that role to Ryuuga by any means. That is a must.

(The only time the enemy gets beaten is when Ryuga arrives. A hero appears at the time they’re most needed. I’ll let this thing toss me around and then hand it off to Ryuga…that’s the only option.)

It’ll reek of a fixed game, but it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done something like this.

Once I hand it over to Ryuuga, I’ll say “Guh, I can’t do it…I’m using up all I can just to curb the two ‘Evil Spirits’ living inside me…” and thus announce my withdrawal from battles thereafter. Once that happens, I’ll likely be removed from the fighting force.

While deciding on such a plan, I stood in the way of the approaching monster.

Now that I’m seeing it up close once again, it really is revolting a monstrosity. What kind of living organism is this thing based on? I still can’t tell from a glance…

“Now then, Boss, let’s do it.”

Beside me stood Taotie, who manifested. He had already changed into his jet black battle mode, cracking both his knuckles and neck. He’s quite motivated, which is odd.

“Hey, you there with the faces. It seems that you’ve dealt a number on the little runt back there. Get ready to die──”

Unleashing a giant ill will, Taotie took a step forward.

Suddenly, a giant arm appeared out of my chest and grabbed Taotie by the head.

“Whoa?!”

(Hold on, Tie. Let me handle this one.)

Soon, that arm dragged Taotie back into me. Before long, Hundun appeared in his place. He took form above me like he was a lamp, a demon lamp.

He had a huge horn on his forehead, giant fangs protruding from his mouth, and a dignified, muscular form that boasted around four meters tall…I’ve already seen this demon before when he was the final boss of part one.

“Sonny, let’s get moving. C’mon, this won’t even take two minutes.”

“Uncle Hundun are you alright? How much of your strength is back?”

“Only thirty percent of it, but that’s enough to kill the thing. Though, I can’t move separately from my host, so you’ll have to stay close.”

When I reluctantly agreed to him, Taotie protested inside me. Could it be that these two can’t appear at the same time?

(Hey, stop messing with me, Hundun! Don’t butt in when you’re only a newcomer!)

“It’s precisely because I’m a newcomer that I have to show my worth, right? You may as well be worthless.”

(‘Evil Spirits’ are like idols, nobody is worthless!)

That’s a lie. I’ve already witnessed Taotie’s worthlessness sixty times over.

Well, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Taotie or Hundun. There’s little difference between an idiot and a lolicon.

“Well then…time to try out my new vessel.”

Hundun’s tone of voice had changed. He turned into the same character he was when he fought Ryuuga and the others. He’s definitely the more threatening “Evil Spirit”. He’s quite a good actor.

Before I knew it, massive dark clouds covered the sky. There was the roar of thunder, the flash of lightning.

“B, Baron Hundun…with Baron Ichirou…”

“How are you alright while hosting two ‘Evil Spirits’ inside you…?”

I heard voices of shock coming from both Kiki and Elmira behind me.

That’s no surprise to me. I couldn’t believe it myself, I didn’t want to believe it.

“──Auuuuuuuuugh!”

We got within three meters of the enemy. Thereupon, the monster raised a sudden roar. The mouths all over its body made a disgusting chorus.

Next, the monster raised its giant arm and violently swung down at the approaching “Evil Spirit”. It placed its entire weight on the fist, coming down like a meteorite with a force that could flatten me.

“T, this isn’t looking too good, Uncle!”

“Stop calling me an uncle.”

Against such a fiendish blow, Hundun──flicked it away with his finger. He repelled it as if it were a joke.

Hit by the recoil of it, the monster stumbled backwards. With multiple thuds, it was barely able to regain its balance.

“Don’t make light of me. Do your worst.”

…I thought the monster was already using its full strength for that attack though.

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TLN: Sorry, I accidentally forgot to add an illustration to the previous part. It’s in there now.

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