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Chapter 59 Part 4 – An Unforeseen Ending

「…… Don’t worry. Even in this white smoke, there are allies above our heads who can accurately capture the enemy. I’ve been waiting for the wind to calm down so we can put up a smoke screen. We’re going to conclude the battle here ……!!」

Seraphy whispered to me to dispel my fears.
I knew what he was aiming for.

…… Arnold who is covering us from afar.
His partner, the white owl that shares his vision with Arnold, has a magical eye of sight.
Even in a fog, the owl can accurately grasp the position of the opponents.
He must be watching Addis’ movements closely.

I felt like I could see Arnold tightly drawing his iron bow.
I never thought that the guy who drove me into a corner numerous times in the previous 「108 times」 would be the deciding factor in the match against Addis!!

This white smoke also prevented Phantasma, the pesky shield guy, from barging in.
That guy is far from here.
And he can’t even see the flying arrows or where Addis is.
No matter how good he is at reflecting physical attacks, there was nothing he could do.

「Phantasma won’t make it in time to act as a shield. Right now, you’re isolated and helpless!! This is how the weak fight! Fall down!! Addis!!」

The sound of wind being cut rained down from the sky.
Here it comes!! It was Arnold’s aerial view archery!!

No matter how monstrous the six-armed Addis may be, he would be unable to prevent this near-vertical drop attack from above his head when his vision was obstructed!! There was no way for him to defend against it!!

I was certain of our victory.

And yet, the god of fate was cruel to no end.

「…… That’s a shame. You guys did great. Neither I nor Addis could see the last arrows. But I have the ancestral spirits with me. They told me where the arrows would come from.」

A voice resounded.
The wind cleared the smokescreen.

In front of me was a huge body that reminded me of a small mountain, it was Phantasma.
On his back, the arrows shattered like ice work.

Why ……!! Seraphy had put up a good fight!!　
Even the distance was that wide ……!!

「…… Nuahahaha!! Another whisper from the ancestral spirits to Phantasma. I don’t believe such a thing exists. But it was a big help. Look at their faces, they look like pigeons that have been hit by a peashooter!! …… It’s a bit annoying though that Phantasma is always the one that can show off. I want to go solo too ……!!」

After getting shielded by the giant, Addis was unharmed and his tone was tinged with murderous intent.
Seraphy, who had run out of all options, shouted when he saw him slowly moving toward us.

「…… Bradd!! Take Scarlet-san and run!! Arnold and the others can still cover you!! You guys will somehow manage one way or another as long as you can gain some distance from them!! I’ll hold them off here ……!!」

「Got it!! Stay alive!! …… Scarlet!! Be careful not to bite your tongue!!」

After Bradd and Seraphy nodded to each other, he carried me under his arm, turned around, and started running without any hesitation.

Hey, hey!! I’m facing backwards!! Besides ……!!

「Wait!! Are you going to leave them behind!? Hiyaann!?」

When I was about to flare up at him, Bradd smacked me on the buttocks and shut me up.

「That’s not like you. Stay calm. At least Addis is aiming for you. If we run away, he will surely come after us. If we let Addis and Phantasma team up, all of us will die together. In order for everyone to survive, let’s run away first.」

I was taken aback. So that’s what they meant when they nodded at each other.
Okay, I got it. I’ve calmed down. I’ll cooperate as well.

「…… Bradd. Then I’ve got another way. I don’t want to just run away. Addis is underestimating us. So let’s use that to our advantage and …… defeat him.」

After knowing what I was thinking with the blood flow cheat, Bradd was stunned.

「You …… are you seriously going to do that? You’re as reckless as ever. But …… I’m in!!」

I knew you would say that!!
I grasped the ruby pendant hanging on my chest.
Let’s immediately get to work. First, I’ll …… draw him to me!
Pay close attention!! I’m going to give him an academy-level performance!!

「…… Eeennn, enn, I’m scared of being chased~. Please help me~. Hiks hiks …… Bogyaaaa!?」

Bradd smacked me on the buttocks again after I enthusiastically played the role of a frightened little girl in order to stir up Addis’s sadistic heart.

「That seemed too deliberate. Addis would probably realize that it’s all fake. You’re extremely bad at this.」

You jerk. How can you smack a maiden’s dainty, peach-like buttocks over and over again as if it’s a drum ……!!

I got teary-eyed and was about to express my complaints while rubbing my buttocks.

「…… Nuahahaha!! That pitiful scream!! It’s so exhilarating!? Ohh, you pitiful kid. I’m coming to get you now! It’s okay!! Once your neck and torso are separated, you won’t have to worry about anything else, you know?」

How could I possibly be okay with that!!
But, that guy, he splendidly got incited.
I’m so great. Ehehe.

「…… How is that possible?」

Bradd seemed to be greatly perplexed.

「…… Archery technique『Meandering Bellows』!! Bradd!! I entrust my daughter to you.」

「…… Addis!! In the name of the priest of the〈People of the Forest〉, I will not let you pass through here!!」

E-Eh? My mother and Mr. Queer Witch are standing in the way in order to hold Addis back.
I guess both of them don’t know Seraphy’s true intentions.

But Seraphy is feigning ignorance.

Ah, it must be that again, in order to deceive your enemies, you should start with deceiving your allies.
Besides, leaving Mr. Queer Witch aside, mother doesn’t seem to be good at reading slight gestures.

「…… If I get hold back here, I’ll have to play tag with those arrows from the sky following me around again. I’m sick and tired of it!! Boring, boring, boring!! I’m tired of dealing with these fools!! I’m going to use my hidden card to get the hell out of here and get this over with!!」

I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It looked like Addis was standing on his hands while running.
His body spun around.
He had an irregular trajectory, as if he had entered a life-size transparent ball.
It was a dizzying array of movements. His bizarre movements were completely unpredictable.

「Nuahahahaha!!」

There was no way they could stop something that bounces around so erratically.
He ran not only on the ground, but even ran horizontally on the trunk of the trees, passing the stunned mother and Mr. Queer Witch in the blink of an eye.

「W – what is …… that ……」

After hearing my words, Bradd twisted his neck to look back and his eyes immediately widened.

「That bastard probably used his six arms as legs. To him, the ground and the trees are the same. He’s like a monkey. That’s definitely more troublesome to handle than running on his feet.」

In other words, with his extraordinary arm strength, he can move at high speed by grabbing instead of kicking.
Uwahh!! He’s jumping from branch to branch!!

「Bradd!! He disappeared into the treetops!!」

He jumped into the thick foliage and moved around in all directions.
How can he move faster in such an unstable and obstacle-ridden environment than on the ground?
He’s getting more and more monkey-like!!
Even Arnold’s aerial view archery would not be able to get a decent shot at him!!

「…… I know!! It’s not good!! That bastard is catching up to us!! He’s coming!!」

「Jajaannn, hahahaha!! Excuse me for coming from above!!」

With a thud, Adis fell down head first with quite a lot of twigs and leaves falling down along with him.

「…… Hieeee ……!!」

I felt my heart nearly leap out of my chest at the mask that had suddenly shown up right in front of me and I let out an unladylike scream.

「And suddenly your brain goes ‘Paann’!!」

「…… You bastard!!」

Addis tried to crush Bradd’s head from both sides.
Barely moving back, Bradd evaded it.
In place of Bradd’s head, the ribbon on the top of his head scattered with a burning smell.
Making use of the momentum, Bradd spun vertically in mid-air and then unleashed a kick.

Hey!? I’m still being held under your arm!?
Please refrain from doing extreme acrobatic movements!!

「M-My eyes are spinning!!」

The centrifugal force is making my brain spin around!!

「Nuahahaha!! You’ve got a good intuition. Looks like it’ll be fun to make you a toy.」

Addis’s arms were crossed as he laughed. Then I heard a dull sound.
Bradd and I were blown away with great force.
Addis struck Bradd with the four arms that he hid with ‘Dark Illusion’.

「…… Tch!! Those invisible arms are really troublesome ……!! Sorry, Scarlet. I’m going to spin around for real. Hold on tight. If you don’t, you might end up dying.」

After somehow managing to land on a large branch, Bradd declared so.

…… Hieeee!! Are you serious!?