Only I know that this world will end – 071 | Sousaku – 創作

Where are the corpses?

After the fierce battle, a great deal of blood was left on the floor in dark pools.
In that place, where it had quieted down as if the previous uproar had been a lie, the surviving Self-Defense Forces personnel were solemnly cleaning up the mess.
They carefully wrapped the victims in plastic sheets, placed them on a stretcher they had procured, and carried them off somewhere.

At first, Akira thought they were probably transporting the victims to the morgue or something, but apparently, that was not the case.
There were no undertakers in this world to take care of the dead bodies at the morgue. ……No, even if they were there, there is nothing they could do from then on.
The words "place," "shovel," and even "personally identifiable items" were occasionally mentioned in the whispered conversation, and Akira thought that they must be planning to bury the deceased somewhere.

(……Well, if you leave a corpse alone, it will decompose, but if you are going to burn one, you will need a good amount of power to do so. This would inevitably cause smoke to rise and attract monsters. In addition, there must be a place to ensure safety during the cremation. And cremation takes a long time, and you never know when a monster might attack…… Then, is burial the safest way to go?)

Akira let out a small breath and leaned his back against the wall of the entrance lobby to think.

(……Still, that's pretty bad. In the current battle, there were seven casualties. Three people were seriously injured by the Black Wolves' attacks, and even if they did not die, they would still be unable to move. There must have been about sixteen people there when I arrived, so there are less than half a dozen left who can move normally……)

It was a tough fight.
The next time they are attacked with similar numbers, they will surely be annihilated.

(I've looked at the levels of everyone here in Analysis…… The highest is Karube's at level 20. The other self-defense personnel are generally averaging around level 18. For those people who came to support the team, their level is a little lower than that. In addition……)

Akira moved his gaze to the Black Wolves' corpses gathered in the corner of the main entrance and activated his Analysis skill.

(These guys are at level 25. This time, I'd gotten Auto Regen in the previous life, so I was able to move right away, but…… In the previous life, I wouldn't have been able to move to begin with, because my body hadn't healed enough yet. If so, these people would have been wiped out, for sure.)

As long as the Black Wolves had the place surrounded, it was a given that they would be attacked.
If I could move as soon as I woke up, this event could be avoided without causing any deaths, but at this stage, it is safe to assume that this is not possible.

(The only thing that can be done is…… to reinforce the barricades? I'll think about that later――――)

Akira heaved a sigh as he waved his hand and turned off the Analysis screen.

(After all, it's pretty tough to have only one day of grace time before the strengthening…… I'd like at least two days...... three or four days would be ideal, given the time it takes for everyone to get a decent grip on reality and build up enough levels.)

No matter how much easier it is to defeat a strengthened monster and level up compared to defeating a monster in an unstrengthened state, it is meaningless if there are few survivors after the monsters have attacked.

(If this situation is happening all over the world…… If this lasts a few days― no, less than a week― the human race will be annihilated.)

I am sure this situation is happening all over the place.
After all, the bosses need to be defeated as soon as possible.
Humanity was desperately short on time.

(……The best thing to do on this Return from Hell cycle is to defeat the boss as soon as possible after I wake up.)

In his mind, Akira is once again readied himself.

Then, as he moved his gaze to go to Nao, he suddenly saw a scene.

"Hmm? "

Akira's gaze fell on a woman sitting in front of the carcass of a Black Wolf, amassed in the corner of the entrance lobby.
Considering that she was not visible in the earlier fight, she must have come out after confirming that the battle was over.
She silently slid a small knife across the carcass of the Black Wolf, and then, with a familiar hand, she removed its pelt.

"Excuse me, what are you doing? "

Akira, curious about her behavior, walked closer and called out to her.
The woman who was approached turned around with a startled shudder and a panicked look on her face.

"Oh, my God, you scared me."
"Ahh, my bad…… Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you…… Um, what are you doing with that? "

At these words, the woman moved her gaze slightly and hesitantly opened her mouth.

"No, the thing is…… I thought it would be a shame to leave the monster's corpse here, so I thought I'd strip it down to its usable parts to use as material."
"Materials……? Do you have a production-related skill? "
"No…… Not yet, I don't. But I'm planning to get it as soon as I accumulate enough points. I can only defeat goblins, and I can't go out and fight like you guys, but if I can make weapons and armor, I can at least support you guys."

Akira gave a single nod in response and then used his Analysis skill on the woman in front of him.

(Level 10, huh? Sure, with her current status, she might have her hands full just dealing with goblins.)

Looking at the statuses lined up there, she seemed to have acquired physical strengthening as per usual.
On top of that, from the fact that she had one point left, and from the actions she just performed, it seemed that the two skills she had acquired were 『Physical Strengthening』 and 『Dismantling』.

(Hmmー……Well, certainly. Unless you keep dying and coming back like I did, you'll have to establish your own style early on, whether you go to the rear, fight on the front lines, or do reconnaissance and escape.)

Akira thought about this as he stared at her Analysis screen.
The woman spoke, not really thinking that Akira was looking at her status.

"If I raise four more levels, I can acquire either weapon-making or armor-making. ……Well, that's the tough part."

With that, she gave a short smile and went back to dismantling the Black Wolf.

For a while, Akira continued to watch as the woman dismantled the Black Wolf's corpse in a skilled manner.
And so, as he gazed at the dismantling, a question popped into Akira's mind.

"……Speaking of which, how are you able to skin a Black Wolf? Your Strength is……uhmm…… it should not be on par with the Black Wolf's Endurance, right? "

Analyzing her status, Akira blurted out these words to her, trying not to let her know that he already knew.
She then stopped her dismantling process and looked up at Akira to answer his question.

"It's all about the dismantling skill. This skill, it doesn't say in the details of it, but it seems to compensate so that only when you are dealing with a dead monster, you can ignore its Endurance and obtain the material."
"I see, so that's why."

If it was due to the effect of the skill, that would make sense.
It would be possible to get the materials from the monster's corpse without that skill, but it would require more strength than the monster's Endurance.
It seemed that the dismantling skill could nullify that.

"What happens with the corpse after you strip it of its material? "

Again, Akira asked her.
She then tilted her head with a troubled look on her face.

"Eh? Uhmm…… I wonder. I just get the materials from the monsters, so I have no idea about that………… I never really paid much attention to the bodies after the material was stripped away because before you know it, they're gone."

She replied as she pondered for a moment.

"Next thing you know, it's gone? Does that mean someone is taking them? "
"Uhmm…… I wonder. I don't know much about that either."
"I see…… I understand."

Akira thanked the woman for interrupting her work and quietly left the place.

(If the monster's body is gone, does that mean someone took it away? Or are monsters like Killer Bees carrying the corpses of monsters as well as humans? )

Between cycles, the question had not even crossed his mind.
After all, once he died, everything was reset except himself.
But now, three days have passed since then.
Inevitably, the bodies of the monsters killed during that time should keep piling up unless someone took care of them.

(Could it be, are the people here burying the monsters the same as they do with the corpses of people, in the ground? ―― that can't be, right?)

It was at that moment when Akira was thinking about such a thing.

"Ichijou-san! "

His name was called, and he turned around to face the direction of the voice.
He then saw Karube walking toward him, accompanied by Nao.
Akira paused on the spot and turned to face them.