Only I know that this world will end – 042 | Sousaku – 創作

Escape

　――The sixth time.

　Akira, who was safely brought back to life, was alone in the deserted company, his voice raised in anger.

“――――Don’t fuck with me!!　What the heck was that status?! “

　Because he was delighted by the benefits of physical strengthening right up to the moment of his death, his anger at the unreasonableness that came so abruptly was intense.

　Akira said, gritting his back teeth in a burning rage and snarling, his body shaking with the fury of his rage.

“Level 80……the fuck?　I’d say even at level 45 they’re monstrous enough, but what the heck, that level.……!! “

　Akira slammed his fist into the desk with such force that it dented its surface, and then he let out a loud exhale, ruffled his hair, and covered his face as he grunted and muttered.

“………………Really, what the hell?”

　Those were words that leaked from the bottom of his heart.

　He has struggled to stay alive, not wanting to die.

　No matter how many times he was killed, he lived and struggled as best he could.

　The monsters that appeared in this world were all monsters that could easily kill people, but he leveled up his skills desperately so that he could survive in such a world.

　But in the next half day, the monsters will become even more powerful. The gap between people and monsters, the gap that was about to be filled, will reopen with time. A future in which that will happen has already been confirmed!!

(The global inversion rate or whatever it is exceeds 1% at noon. At that time, the minotaur will be strengthened. If that happens, everything is over. Even without the free reinforcement, the Minotaur has a ridiculously high level and status…… There’s no way I can beat that guy.)

　Of course, there was also the option of leveling up until he could win, and then taking advantage of Return from Hell to challenge the minotaur with attacks with no care for his own well-being.

　But what happens after that?

　Even if he were to defeat the Minotaur, what about the world that lies beyond it?

(At that time, the global inversion rate displayed was still only “1%……)

　That meant that there was still plenty of room for the monster to be strengthened.

　It was nothing more than a monster of its own class, which even now was impossible to beat, gaining even more power over time.

(…………I can’t do this anymore.)

　No matter how many times he came back to life, there was no future for him in this world where monsters appeared.

　This world will face its destruction by monsters.

　The future was set for all human beings to be killed and eaten.

　Yes, it was a fact that one could only think of.

“……Let’s run away.”

　It would be futile to fight in this world any longer.

　Even though the world was flooded with monsters, surely there must be someplace, somewhere, that was still unaffected by them.

　If he was going to come back to life anyway, then he should do his best to find that place, not to fight.

　Slowly, Akira looked ahead.

　There was a different kind of gleam in his eyes, a kind of subtle darkness.

“First of all, I’ll travel to the next town―― or even to the next prefecture. As you’d expect, if you get that far away, there won’t be any minotaurs.”

　Muttering, Akira quickly sprang into action.

　As usual, he bought a backpack, food, water, and knives, and finished packing.

　Akira then withdrew all of his savings at a convenience store, caught a cab on the street, and climbed into it.

“For now, to the 〇〇 prefecture.”

“Right now? “

“Yes, please.”

　At Akira’s words, the driver, although puzzled, set the destination into the car’s navigation system, and the car quietly began to drive away.

“Whew……”

　Sitting deeply in his seat, Akira let out his breath. Then, as he turned his attention to the flowing scenery outside the window, he suddenly caught sight of a figure.

　――――Boars.

　The boar-shaped monsters were scavenging for some kind of food and were sticking their snouts into garbage bags placed in the garbage dumpster outside an apartment building.

“…………That thing right now was a wild boar…… right?　I never thought they’d be out in the streets like that.”

　The cab driver probably saw the same scene as Akira.

　Akira matched his words with the appropriate response and then closed his eyes as if rejecting the conversation.

　The cab driver, too, did not say anything more, as though he knew that Akira had closed his eyes.

　Instead, the radio was switched on in the car, as if the driver wanted to gather information.

　Akira too was listening to the radio playing in the car as if to fill in the silence.

“…!? “

　The brakes were applied with such force that he thought the car would tip over.

　Akira’s inertia causes him to slam his body against the front seat and open his closed eyes.

“What the hell is――――”

　As he was about to utter a word of complaint, Akira saw the reason why the driver braked so suddenly.

　Before Akira knew it, while his eyes were closed, the cab had entered the next town.

　The cab braked in the middle of the national highway that ran through the center of that neighboring town.

　There, a lone monster was standing still, illuminated by the headlights of the car.

“――――”

　It was a large monster, perhaps twice the size of a man. Its appearance was that of a cross between a man and a pig, and it was standing upright in the middle of the road, using its hoofed feet skillfully.

“――Orc.”

　Akira muttered.

　It was the first time he had seen this monster. However, they were nothing more than monsters, creatures from the same fantasy world as goblins and minotaurs―― as such, with that appearance, they could only be described as Orcs.

“W-What the hell were those things??”

　The cab driver was violently distraught at the sight of the monsters he was seeing for the first time.

　Did it hear the words, or could it sense the driver’s panicked reaction? One Orc grinned and brandished the iron sword in its hand, showing it off.

　――――This is bad!

　In an instant, the skin of Akira’s entire body broke into goosebumps.

　Akira leaned forward, reaching between the seats, and quickly shifted the car into reverse gear, shouting as loud as he could at the stunned driver.

“Accelerate!!　Quickly!! “

　At these words, the cab driver stepped on the gas pedal as if he had snapped back.

　The cab sped backward, and in the nick of time, it avoided a swinging iron sword.

　Akira then handed the transmission back to the driver.

“Please get away as soon as possible!! “

　He raised his voice.

　The driver immediately handled the steering wheel to turn the car in the opposite direction.

　Fortunately, the time of day was late at night, and no following cars were approaching during this series of actions, so Akira and the driver made a U-turn without any accidents.

　The driver then put the car back into first gear and immediately stepped on the accelerator to speed up the car.

“That was a, that was a monster! What’s going on?! “

　The cab driver muttered.

　At these words, Akira was about to open his mouth, but quickly stopped and turned his attention to the Orc in the distance and activated his skills to check its strength.

“Analysis.”

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Orc　Lv３７

　Stamina：９３

　Strength：１０５

　Endurance：１２３

　Speed：１０４

　Magical power：３０

　Luck：３０

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Individual information: Cannot be displayed due to insufficient level

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Possessed skills: Cannot be displayed due to insufficient level

　 ――――――――――――――――――

“――――――”

　The numbers listed there gave Akira all the answers he needed.

　While not quite a minotaur, the numbers listed there were all very high.

　That is to say, it showed that even if they tried desperately to escape in this way, they would not be able to.

“BUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! “

　The Orc shouted at the fleeing cab.

　In one swift movement, the Orc rushed from a sword-swinging stance with both feet.

　The Orc ran off and caught up to the cab, which was speeding by in a flash, and again brandished the sword in its hand.

　A flash.

　It was only after Akira lost his life that he finally realized that this was the path of the sword that Orc had drawn.

　――Seventh time.

　Akira woke up and decided to flee, this time to a different city.

　The last time he died, he encountered an Orc nestled in a neighboring town. If so, Akira concluded, he should not head to that town this time, but instead go through a different city to get to another prefecture.

　In conjunction with this, he decided to take the train this time instead of a cab.

　He didn’t even buy the supplies he needed so that he could catch the last train, and as soon as he woke up, he ran out of the office and got on the train. And so, he headed further and further past the station where he would normally get off.

　The destination could be anywhere.

　Anyway, as far as possible. Akira just wanted to go to such a place where he would never die again.

　But that escape also failed.

　It was some time after the train entered the next city.

　Suddenly, Akira’s body shook, and a rapid sensation of floating enveloped him. Many of the passengers noticed the anomaly and screams and cries filled the interior of the car.

　In the midst of all this, someone suddenly said:

　――Look, the train is floating.

　However, that perception was mistaken.

　The train was not floating. It was being held.

　By a single monster that dominated the city.

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Giant　Lv７０

　Stamina：５５５

　Strength：４００

　Endurance：４５０

　Speed：１２０

　Magical power：５０

　Luck：５０

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Individual information: Cannot be displayed due to insufficient level

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　Possessed skills: Cannot be displayed due to insufficient level

　 ――――――――――――――――――

　What Akira saw from the train window was a bipedal monster that looked like a cross between a monkey and a man, so huge that it rivaled the skyscrapers that stood in front of the station.

　The figure was truly worthy of being called a giant, and the train on which Akira was riding was swung around and knocked to the ground by its overwhelming power.

ToC