Day 551-560/Day 554

Still needs editing/proofreading. ~Miraclegrass
Day 554 / 84th day
After finishing breakfast, we proceeded towards <<Sin City>>. The outer walls were lightly leapt by the silver-gray wolf, and they infiltrated the interior without difficulty. We proceeded through the narrow back alleys and peeked at the streets from the shadows of the buildings.
There were no golems to be seen on the street. However, I could hear their distinctive driving sounds, so it seemed that they were patrolling not too far away. In order to avoid the golem patrols and move on, I thought of the map I had made last night using the drone golem to scout the area.
The surrounding area is densely populated with buildings, so we should be able to get a little further without any problems. The silver-gray wolf seemed to understand my intentions and quickly made its way through the back alleys without making a sound and with as little sign of us as possible.
After a while, the familiar scent of blood and the fresh smell of death tickled my nostrils, coming from the depths of the shaded alleyway. If I listened carefully, I could also hear the sound of something being eaten. There was the sound of squishy meat being chewed and bones being crushed.
Apparently, there was the ubiquitous struggle of the weak against the strong. Was someone who had infiltrated the place like me attacked and eaten by the monsters? Or did the monsters fight each other? Regardless, as I proceeded to hold my vermillion spear above the silver-gray wolf, I found a dimly lit alleyway that had become a horrific murder scene. There was a lot of blood splattered on the surrounding walls, scalps with hair still attached to them, and wrists that had been shredded while holding swords.
In the center of the room, where the smell of blood was strongest, a middle-aged adventurer in agony sank into a pool of blood, and a monster crouched over his corpse, devouring his intestines.
The monster eating the middle-aged adventurer was a human who at first glance appeared to be an ordinary citizen of the city. You can only see the crouched side from here, but the monster was wearing normal clothes, not any kind of armor. From the profile, it was probably a man. He was not muscular, but rather of medium height, neither thick nor thin.
If he was just standing there, you would probably think he was a resident of this place. However, the sight of him eating the entrails of a middle-aged adventurer while being bathed in a large amount of blood and having his whole body dyed red makes it clear that he is not normal.
If it is a monster, it is a must-kill. You can think about it after you kill it. Judging that, I quickly took out the【Blood-draining Spear】from the saddle of the silver-gray wolf with my left hand, which was not holding the red spear, and used【Throwing】and it flew with great speed.
It leaped without looking at me and evaded the【Blood-Draining Spear】. It sticked to the wall with limbs that have changed like a beast, the monster's form was definitely humanoid. But there was one crucial difference. The face of the monster, which looked like an adult human male, was devoid of reason, and its eyes were filled with a sense of extreme hunger.
I'm hungry. I have prey. I'll eat it. That's what it seemed to be saying. The monster's mouth, red and wet with blood and flesh, was twisted fearlessly, and it jumped at us at high speed, emitting a voice similar to the roar of a beast. It moved like a starving predator, foolishly stretching out its arms and grabbing at me. It's a momentum that's unlikely to stop at anything halfway. Even if it is pierced by the vermillion spear, it has the power to try to eat me while dying.
In response, I used my ability【Giant Head】to make my head huge for a moment and put the whole body of the monster that was jumping at me in my mouth. If they're coming to eat me, it's quicker for me to eat them. I crushed the head and limbs in the first bite to prevent it from fighting back, then carefully chewed the rest of the monster from head to toe and swallowed it.
It tasted like shit. It was the first time I've ever tasted anything this bad. It tasted like a chaotic, conflicting mixture of gooey, soggy sludge, egginess, acidity, and other things. It was a terrible taste that made me want to throw up, but I persevered and ate until the end.
【Ability learned: Divine Punishment - Sin of Hunger】
As a result, I was able to learn the ability, but I couldn't help but mutter, "What is this?" The word【Divine Punishment】is not a gentle word. However, from the part that says【Sin of Hunger】, it makes sense that the monster that I ate looked so hungry. Literally, it must have been starving. It must have been starving for a long time. I was horrified just thinking about it. It must be hard to eat and eat and not be satisfied. I would never be able to stand it. It's an ability that I don't want to use, so I'll seal it.
The reason why <<Sin City>> that once existed was destroyed is because it did something that offended the【Gods】. Is it the result of receiving【Divine Punishment】? 
I don't know about that right now, but for now, I'm mourning the loss of a middle-aged adventurer who was eaten by a monster. For now, I borrowed a bracelet, a dagger, and anything else that I could still use. There were a lot of good quality magic items, and I was especially happy to get a small bag of storage magic items.
I checked out all of the items and found that there were a lot of things that could be used for exploration. While gratefully accepting the useful items, I gathered the corpses that had been eaten and were lacking in various ways into one, and spread alchemy oil that could produce high temperatures that would burn to the bone, and set them on fire.
I quickly left the blazing place and went into a suitable building to take a break. I had just infiltrated and was still full of energy and stamina, but I needed to rest now. While watering myself with a canteen-type magic item that produced clean water, I took out a notebook from the small bag-type storage magic item of a middle-aged adventurer I had mourned.
Of all the items I borrowed, I was most intrigued by this notebook. I couldn't overlook the fact that such a notebook could contain important information, and it was a hit. I opened it up and read that the dead middle-aged adventurer belonged to a research group called the ≪Code of Wisdom≫.
In places where ancient cities have been recreated, destroyed by a【Great God】, it is sometimes possible to unearth relics that have now been lost. This can lead to the unraveling of unknown history and the rediscovery of superior technology.
This has given rise to the existence of survey teams, which are different from the crude, middle-aged adventurers who are out to find treasure. The survey team is quite important because it often leads to the capture of dangerous areas. I knew a little bit about the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ since it was included in the various information I had gathered.
It is a very large group, and the members are of a high level and are very skilled at working together. They have a large patronage and are well-equipped and well-staffed. They have a wide network of contacts and many allies who cooperate with them. In the event that the member is in the dangerous <<Sin City>>, something must have happened to him if he was eaten not in the depths of the city but near the outer edge.
As I read through my notebook, I found out the purpose of the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ this time. It seems that the ≪Code of Wisdom≫, to which the middle-aged adventurer belongs, went to investigate the collapsed Holy Tower Zigrad in the center of the city just a few days ago. t seems that the middle-aged adventurer was a combatant there, and as far as I can tell from his notebook, he had a high level and a lot of experience.
The story is quite detailed, but I'll skip over the details. It seems that the group was able to get past the golems on the way and arrived at their destination while making good progress in their investigation.
According to the research originally conducted by ≪Code of Wisdom≫, there once existed an【Emperor】with a strong sense of【Faith】. The【Emperor】, who ruled the ancient city, began to build a sacred tower, Zigrad, which reached to the sky, in order to offer【Faith】to the【Gods】. It took many years to build, and even after the death of the 1st【Emperor】, the tower was passed on to the next generation.
After a few generations, the thoughts of the 1st【Emperor】faded, and the activity of the earth seen from a high place clouded the minds of the succeeding【Emperors】. The holy tower, which was supposed to be a symbol of his deep faith, turned into power itself, and it was no wonder that the【Emperor】began to see himself as a【God】. In fact, the【Emperor】seems to have been strong.
It is said that he was full of talent, and that his inherited abilities, which grew stronger and stronger, kept others at bay and destroyed many countries. It is said that he attacked and destroyed many countries. His growing mind may have thought that he would take over the world for himself.
He may have thought that he himself would become a【Great God】. He may have even talked about it. However, if he had only said that, the【Great God】would not have interfered. The existence of a【Great God】, who is the foundation of this world, is too big and too heavy to interfere in such a trivial matter.
But as a result, the ancient city suffered【Divine Punishment】. The ancient city, which had reached the peak of its prosperity, was destroyed and is now being recreated as <<Sin City>>. As a result of connecting the stone monuments left in the ancient city and information obtained from other places, as well as speculation, the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ seems to have predicted that this might be the case.
This time, in order to find out whether the answer was true or not, he stepped into the most dangerous and most important holy tower. The ≪Code of Wisdom≫ seems to have been witnessed.
On the ground inside the Holy Tower, there were remnants of the former【Divine Punishment】. It was said that it was a deep, deep darkness that swallowed up even the light, a shimmering mud. If you have a weak heart, you might go crazy just by looking at it, the【Sacred】mud that makes you want to hang your head in shame even to look at it.
They decided to investigate the inside of the holy tower first because they felt like they would die if they got too close to it, but they were attacked by a monster that they had never seen before.
Since the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ had a lot of experience, they were able to deal with it without any problems at first. However, the monster that attacked them looked like a human, but it was fundamentally different. They had outstanding physical abilities and attacked the members of the research team with all their might. The mere act of confronting a creature that only saw them as food would be enough to damage their spirit.
But more than anything, even if you cut off the arm of a human-like monster, the arm will regrow if you pick up the cut off flesh and eat it. Even if you tear its stomach open and pull out its internal organs, it will not die, but will instead regenerate and attack you by eating its own internal organs.
So cut off their heads, gouge out their hearts, and pin their bodies to the ground or walls so that they cannot move. You can also cut off their arms and legs. It's important to make them immobile. Then he was able to kill it over time. It was a troublesome immortality, but one of them could be killed without any problem. However, the middle-aged adventurers were attacked by hordes of monsters, and even if they managed to kill one, the corpse would be eaten by other monsters.
It is said that monsters that eat monsters gain tremendous healing and physical abilities for a short period of time, and will continue to try to kill you. They're hard to kill, and even when you do, their corpses are consumed to strengthen the enemy. The ≪Code of Wisdom≫ managed to escape from the Holy Tower while sacrificing a few people, though I thought it was like a bad zombie movie while reading my notebook.
However, that was the beginning of the hell. They headed out of the city to escape, but the monsters seemed to be relentlessly chasing and attacking them.
The middle-aged adventurer and his colleague, who had more than a fair amount of knowledge about the monster that attacked them, didn't know about it, but the professor who represented the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ guessed that the monster that attacked them was Marsat Pekuto, the hunger criminal. Apparently, there was a similar being in the old records, but the detailed information seems to have been lost.
Anyway, the fleeing group found that satisfying their hunger was their top priority, and they proceeded from the center of <<Sin City>> to the outer edges by using portable food and the monster meat they had killed as decoys. But finally, last night, they couldn't escape.
It seems that we were caught by a pack of dozens of them led by a large species of Marsat Pekuto, the Hunger Sinner and fled in pieces in the middle of a crowded battle. Many of them were less capable of fighting than the middle-aged adventurers, so most of them probably couldn't escape. He knew this, and at the end of his notebook, he wrote, "I must take this information back with me, for the sake of those who will come after me, so that the sacrifices of those who have gone before me will not be in vain." 
In the end, he was eaten, but as a recipient of valuable information, I prayed for his soul. Now, that said, there is a possibility that there is a herd of hunger criminals, Marsat Pekutos, nearby. There are dozens of them if you include the ones that were led. There may be some members of the ≪Code of Wisdom≫ who were able to escape. To be honest, the hunger criminals themselves are so bad that I can't work up an appetite for them, but I was very curious about the abilities they carry on their bodies.
The members of the group could be expected to have useful knowledge, so it would be a good idea to help them if we could find them.
After taking a break, I was about to leave when I felt a presence approaching. As I sharpened my senses and looked around, I could hear the sound of multiple footsteps running frantically, and the urgent sound of voices encouraging my friends. A wave of magic power being released, or in other words, the use of magic, the sound of a roaring explosion, and the thick smell of blood.
The roar that resembled a beast's snarl, the familiar smell of death, these were probably those of the "starving criminals". A few of them had fallen, as if they had been attacked, but there was still the characteristic sound of their limbs moving, as if they were still alive.
The heavy footsteps of the golems were followed by the distinctive sound of metal scraping. It seems that the enemy includes not only the hunger sinners but also the golem. It was getting closer and closer, indicating that they were chasing someone in a group. I wondered if this was convenient or not. Did it still have the thoughts of a middle-aged adventurer in it? Anyway, with the vermillion spear in my hand, my consciousness naturally prepared for battle.
----
RAWS
“八十四日目　／　五■五■四■目”
朝食を済ませた後、≪不徳の罪都≫に向かって進んだ。
外壁は灰銀狼が軽やかに跳躍し、難なく内部に潜入する。
細く入り組んだ裏路地を進み、建物の影から街路を覗く。
街路にはゴーレム達の姿は見られなかった。
しかし独特の駆動音は聞こえるので、それほど遠くない場所を巡回しているらしい。
ゴーレムの巡回を回避してて先に進むべく、昨夜ドローンゴーレムで偵察して簡易的に作った地図を脳内で思い浮かべる。
周囲には建物が密集しているので、少し先までは問題なく行けるだろう。
灰銀狼はコチラの意図をくみ取ってくれるらしく、音を立てず、気配を極力小さくした状態で素早く裏路地を進んでくれた。
しばらくすると、日陰になった裏路地の奥から流れてくる、嗅ぎ慣れた血の匂いと新鮮な死臭が鼻腔をくすぐった。
それに耳をすませば何かを食べる音もする。グチャグチャと肉を咀嚼し、骨を噛み砕く音がする。
どうやらどこにでもある弱肉強食の闘争があったようだ。
俺のように潜入した誰かがモンスターに襲われ、喰われたのだろうか。
あるいはモンスター同士で戦闘したのか。
それはともかく、朱槍を灰銀狼の上で構えつつ進むと、薄暗い裏路地は凄惨な殺害現場となっていた。
周囲の壁には大量の血が飛び散り、頭髪がついたままの頭皮や剣を握ったまま千切られた手首が転がっている。
そして最も血の匂いが濃い中心点では苦悶の表情を浮かべた中年の冒険者が事切れて血の池に沈み、その死体の上で蹲って腸はらわたを貪り喰らっているモンスターがいた。
中年冒険者を喰らうモンスターは、一見すると普通の都民に見えるヒトだった。
コチラからは蹲った側面しか見えないが、モンスターは防具の類ではない普通の服を着ていた。
横顔から男性だろう。筋骨隆々といった感じではなく、中肉中背の太くもなく細くも無い一般的な感じだ。
恐らく、普通に立っていればここの住人かと思うだろう。
しかし大量の返り血を浴び、全身を赤く染めながら中年冒険者の内臓を喰らう姿から普通ではない事は一目瞭然だ。
モンスターなら見敵必殺。殺してから考えればいい。
そう判断し、朱槍を持たない左手で灰銀狼の鞍から【血抜き槍】を素早く取り出し、豪速で【投擲】する。
発見してから三秒も経っていない。しかしモンスターはコチラを察知し、待ち構えていたのだろう。
コチラを見ぬまま跳躍して【血抜き槍】を回避すると、まるで獣のように変化した四肢を使って壁に張り付き、その虚空を映す双眸が俺達を見据えた。
モンスターの造形は確かにヒトだった。
しかし決定的に違う部分がある。人間の成人男性らしきモンスターの顔に理性は存在せず、その双眸はただ極限の飢餓感で満ちていた。
腹が減った。獲物がいる。喰ってやる。
そう言っているように感じた。
モンスターは血と肉で赤く濡れる口を悍ましく歪め、獣の唸り声に似た声を発しながら、高速で俺達に飛び掛かって来た。
まさに飢えた肉食獣のような動きであり、愚直に両腕を伸ばして掴みかかって来る。
中途半端な事では止まりそうにない勢いだ。例え朱槍に貫かれても、死にながらこちらを喰いに来ようとするような迫力がある。
それに対し、俺はアビリティ【巨頭化】を行使して一瞬だけ頭部を巨大化させ、飛び掛かって来るモンスターの全身を口に入れた。
あちらが喰いに来るのなら、こちらも喰った方が手っ取り早い。
反撃されないように一噛み目で頭部や手足を潰し、残りもガリガリボリボリと頭から足先まで丁寧に噛み砕いて嚥下したが、味の感想は一つ。
クソ不味い。ここまで不味いのは初めてだと言えるほどにネチョネチョのグチャグチャのヘドロにエグミと酸味とその他諸々が混沌と相反しながら混ざり合っている味だった。
思わず吐き出したくなるほど酷い味だったが、我慢して最後まで喰った。
【能力名【飢餓罪：神罰】のラーニング完了】
その結果アビリティをラーニング出来たのだが、思わず何だこれと呟いた。
【神罰】とはまた穏やかではない単語である。
ただ【飢餓罪】と言う部分から、喰ったモンスターの様子があれ程飢えた感じだったのには納得がいく部分もある。
文字通り、飢えていたのだろう。飢え続けていたのだろう。想像するだけでゾッとした。
喰っても喰っても満たされないのは辛いだろう。俺なら絶対に耐えられないに違いない。
使いたくないアビリティなので封印するとして。
≪不徳の罪都≫と言われているだけに、かつて在った古代都市が滅びた理由は【神々】の逆鱗に触れる何かをして、【神罰】を受けた結果なのだろうか。
それは今は分からないが、とりあえずモンスターに喰われていた中年冒険者の弔いをする。
とりあえず腕輪や短剣など、まだ使えそうな物は拝借する。質のよいマジックアイテムが多く、特に小袋型収納系マジックアイテムが得られたのは個人的に嬉しい。
一通り確認したが、探索に使い道が多そうなモノが充実している。
有用なアイテムをありがたく頂戴しつつ、喰われて色々と足りない死体を一つに纏め、骨まで燃える高温を出せる錬金油を撒いて火をつける。
たちまち炎上するそこからさっさと離れ、適当な建物の中に入って一旦休憩した。
潜入したばかりで体力も気力もまだまだ充実していたが、今すぐ休む必要があった。
綺麗な水が出る水筒型マジックアイテムを使って給水しつつ、俺は弔った中年冒険者の小袋型収納系マジックアイテムから一冊の手帳を取り出した。
拝借した品の中で、最も興味を惹かれたのはこの手帳である。
こういう手帳には重要な情報が書き込まれている可能性があるので見逃がせないし、そしてそれは当たりだった。
パラっと開いて読んでみると、死んだ中年冒険者は≪叡智の法典≫という調査団に所属していたそうだ。
≪不徳の罪都≫のような古代都市が再現された場所では、現在では失われた遺物を発掘できる事がある。
判明していない歴史を紐解く切っ掛けにもなるし、優れた技術の再発見がある事も多い。
その為、財宝目的の粗雑な中年冒険者とはまた違い、細部まで調査して成果を上げる調査団という存在が生まれた。
調査団は危険地帯攻略の切っ掛けになる事も多いので、結構重要な存在でもある。
そして調査団≪叡智の法典≫に関しては色々と情報収集した中にも含まれていたので少しは知っていた。
かなり規模の大きな集団で、構成員のレベルも高いし連携もよくとれる腕利きという事だった。
太いパトロンも居り、装備も人材も充実している。人脈も幅広く、協力関係にある盟友も多いようだ。
その構成員が危険な≪不徳の罪都≫だろうとも、深部ではなく外縁に近い場所で喰われているとなると、何かあったに違いない。
速読しながら手帳を読み進めていくと、今回の≪叡知の法典≫の目的が分かった。
どうやら中年冒険者が所属している≪叡智の法典≫はほんの数日前に、都市中央に存在する崩壊した聖塔ジグラッドの調査をする為に向かったようだ。
そこに中年冒険者は戦闘員として参加していたらしく、手帳から読み取れる範囲ではレベルも高いし経験も豊富だったようだ。
筆まめなのか結構詳細が書かれているが、ザックリと過程を省略すると、一行は道中でもゴーレム達を上手くやり過ごし、順調に調査を進めながら目的地に到着したらしい。
元々≪叡智の法典≫が進めていた調査によると、かつて【信仰】心の厚い【帝王】が存在した。
古代都市を統べる【帝王】は【神々】に【信仰】を捧げるべく、天にまで届く聖塔ジグラッドの建築を始める。
建築には長い年月が必要になり、初代【帝王】が死した後も次代へと受け継がれていく。
数代も過ぎると初代【帝王】の思いは薄れ、高い場所から見下ろす大地の営みは受け継ぐ【帝王】の心を濁らせていった。
厚い【信仰】の象徴になるはずだった聖塔は権力そのものに変わり、【帝王】は自らを【神】と同一視し始めたのも仕方ないのだろう。
実際、【帝王】は強かったようだ。
才能にも溢れ、受け継がれて強力になっていった能力が他者を寄せ付けず、多数の国を攻め滅ぼしたという。
増長した心は世界を自らの物にしよう、そう思ったかもしれない。
自分自身が【大神】になる。そう嘯く事もあったかもしれない。
ただ、そう嘯くだけでは【大神】も干渉はしなかっただろう。
この世界の根幹でもある【大神】という存在はあまりに大きすぎて、重すぎて、そのような些事に干渉する事はほぼないのだから。
しかし結果として古代都市には【神罰】が下された。
そして栄華を極めた古代都市は滅びる事になり、現在は≪不徳の罪都≫となって再現されている。
古代都市に残された石碑や他の場所から得た情報を繋ぎ合わせ、憶測も交えた結果≪叡智の法典≫ではそうなのではないかと予想していたらしい。
今回はその答えが本当かどうかを知る為の、最も危険で、最も重要な聖塔に足を踏み入れた。
そして≪叡智の法典≫は目撃したようだ。
聖塔内部の地面には、かつての【神罰】の名残があった。
それは光すら飲み込む、深い深い闇が揺蕩う泥だったそうだ。
心が弱いモノなら見ただけで発狂してしまいかねない、見る事すら烏滸がましく頭を垂れたくなる【神聖】な泥。
調査しようにも近づくだけで死にそうな為、聖塔の内部をまず調査する事にしたそうだが、そこでこれまでに見られなかったモンスターに襲われたようだ。
≪叡智の法典≫は経験豊富なので、最初は問題なく対処できたらしい。
しかし襲い掛かって来るモンスターはヒトに似ているが、根本から違う存在だった。
卓越した身体能力を持ち、死力を尽くして調査団員を喰おうと襲い掛かってくる。自分達を餌としてしか見ていない相手と対峙するだけで精神は損耗するだろう。
しかし何より、ヒトに似たモンスターは腕を切り落としても、切り落とされた肉を拾って喰えば腕が再生する。
腹を引き裂いて内臓を引きずり出しても死なず、どころか出た自分の内臓を喰う事で再生しながら襲ってくる。
だから首を切り落とし、心臓を抉り、動けないように身体を地面や壁に固定する。手足を切り落としてもいい。
とにかく動けなくするのが重要らしい。
すると時間経過で仕留める事ができたようだ。
面倒な不死性だが、それでも一体なら問題なく仕留められるだろう。
しかし、中年冒険者達はモンスターの群れに襲われ、何とか仕留めても、死体は他のモンスターが喰ってしまう。
そしてモンスターを喰ったモンスターは短時間だが凄まじい修復能力と身体能力を獲得し、変わらずひたすらに喰い殺そうと向かってくるそうだ。
仕留め難く、仕留めても死体は敵の強化に消費される。
質の悪いゾンビ映画のようだと手帳を読みつつ思うが、数名の犠牲を出しつつも≪叡智の法典≫は何とか聖塔の外に逃げる事ができたようだ。
しかしそこからが地獄の始まりだった。
逃げるように都市外に向かうが、モンスターは執拗に追いかけて襲い掛かって来たらしい。
ちなみに襲撃してきたモンスターについて職業柄それなり以上に広い知識を持つ中年冒険者やその同僚は知らなかったが、≪叡智の法典≫の代表を務める教授曰く、襲撃してくるモンスターは“飢餓罪人マルサート・ペクート”ではないかと推察したようだ。
どうやら古い記録に似たような存在がいたらしいが、詳細な情報は失われているようだ。
ともあれ、逃げる一団は飢えを満たす事が最優先である事を見出し、携帯食料や仕留めたモンスター肉を囮にする事で≪不徳の罪都≫の中心から外縁に進んで行った。
だがついに昨夜、逃げ切れなかった。
“飢餓罪人マルサート・ペクート”の大型種に率いられた数十体の群れに捕捉され、混戦の中でバラバラに逃げたようだ。
中年冒険者よりも戦闘能力などが低い者も多かったので、大半は逃げきれなかっただろう。
それは分かっていたらしく、手帳の最後に『絶対にこの情報は持ち帰らなければならない。後に続く者達の為に、先に逝った皆の犠牲を無駄にしない為に』と綴られていた事から、中年冒険者の強い意志が伺えた。
結局最後は喰われてしまったが、貴重な情報を受け取った者として、彼の冥福は祈っておいた。
さて、つまり近くには“飢餓罪人マルサート・ペクート”の群れが存在する可能性がある。
率いられた個体も含めれば数十体もだ。
それに逃げ切れた≪叡智の法典≫メンバーもいるかもしれない。
正直、“飢餓罪人”自体はマズ過ぎて食欲は湧かないのだが、その身に宿すアビリティはとても気になった。
メンバーには有用な知識が期待できるので、見つければ助けるのもいいだろう。
休憩を終え、さあ出るかと思うところで近づいてくる気配がする。
五感を研ぎ澄ませて様子を探れば、必死に走る複数の足音、切迫しながらも仲間を励ます声。魔力の放出波、つまり魔術の行使、轟く爆発音と濃厚な血の匂い。
そして獣の唸り声に似た咆哮、嗅ぎ慣れた死臭、これ等は“飢餓罪人”のものだろう。数体は攻撃を受けたのか倒れる音もしたが、まだ残っているのか四肢で動く特徴的な動作音がまだ残っている。
それに遅れるように聞こえる重厚なゴーレムの足音に、金属がこすれるような特徴的な響き。“飢餓罪人”だけでなく、ゴーレムまで敵には含まれるようだ。
徐々に徐々に近づいてくるそれは、集団で誰か達を追っている事を示していた。
都合が良いのか何なのか。中年冒険者の思いが残っていたのだろうか？
ともあれ、朱槍を手に、意識は自然と切り替わった。
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Category:Novel
Category:Re:Monster ~ The Dark Continent ~ Vol. 3