Only I know that this world will end – 114 | Sousaku – 創作

The end of a long day

As it began to get dark, the group decided on a place to camp and stopped traveling.
Staring at the asphalt pavement, which was wet as if it had just rained heavily, Nao let out a deep sigh.

"I've decided not to use this magic lightly."

It seemed that being at the mercy of the ever-flowing water, regardless of her own will, had been too much for her to bear.
Akira chuckled softly at those words, which were muttered in a tired voice.

"You should have just let go of the gun, don't you think?”
"……I said this before, but. This gun is just a tool I use to decide the direction of my magic. Just because I let go of the gun doesn't mean the magic will stop."

Nao pouted, sticking out her lips.
It seemed that once activated, the magic would continue to work regardless of the caster's intentions until its effects wore off.
Watching Nao, Akira suddenly remembered something about the words “continue to activate”.

"Come to think of it, what would have happened if you had used another spell while Create Water was active? Torchlight, was it? When you used Create Water, that spell you cast right before disappeared."
"――――ah! ? Hey, why are you telling me that now?!”

It seemed that Nao hadn't seen that moment.
Akira pulled away from Nao, who was leaning forward as if to grab his chest, and replied,

"I just remembered."

He exhaled softly as he gave his answer.

Nao glared at Akira with resentment, but eventually gave up, realizing that there was nothing she could do about it now.
With a deep sigh, Nao muttered, “I'll try it next time I have some free time,” and ended the conversation.

Then, an hour after the commotion.

Akira's group, who had been waiting for Nao to rest and for her wounds to heal with 『Auto Regen』, set out once again for the city.
It was around midnight when they arrived.
After discussing it, the two decided to head to the hospital where Karube and the others were.

Along the way, Akira and company were attacked by monsters countless times.
Even though he had only been away for a short while, Akira felt a sense of nostalgia as he faced the Black Wolf, and he activated his advanced analysis to confirm the information once again.

(――――…… I see, so these guys are monsters that lived in a dungeon called “Laila Forest.” The skills are……nonexistant apparently.)

After slashing the Black Wolf with his hatchet, he activates Analysis when he encountered another monster.
In this way, Akira used analysis on every monster he encountered and checked all the analysis screens to make sure he had understood them correctly.
As a result, it was discovered that all of the monsters that appeared in Akira's city were monsters that inhabited a dungeon called “Laila Forest”.
None of the monsters had any skills.
Considering that the Big Spiders and Giant Bats did not possess any skills, it was likely that only the bosses had skills.

(……Well, that too. However, it is unclear what will happen in the future as the reversal rate progresses and monsters become stronger.)

Muttering to himself, Akira waved his hand and closed the analysis window displayed on a goblin.
After walking for several tens of minutes while fighting off monsters, Akira's party arrived at the hospital.
Then, they noticed several Black Wolves prowling around, growling. Seeing this, Akira remembered something.

(Ahー…… That's right, in just a few hours, this hospital will be attacked by those guys.)

Nao must have remembered that too.
Glancing at Akira, she whispered to him.

"Ichijou."
"Yes, I understand. Let's take care of these guys first."

With that, Akira readied his hatchet.

The Black Wolves also noticed Akira's party.
Baring their teeth and letting out deep growls that clearly showed their hostility, they gathered around them one after another.
There were twenty-three of them.
Apparently, all of the Black Wolves who participated in the attack had gathered here.
Akira handed the iron sword to Nao, who was standing next to him with a stern expression, and muttered.

"Please don't push yourself too hard."
"I'm fine."

Nao held the iron sword Akira had given her and smiled smugly.

"I'm not the same person I was back then."

Akira laughed at those words.
Then, changing his expression, he glared at Black Wolves and took a slow, deep breath.

"Well then, I'll be counting on you!”

Almost simultaneously, Akira rushed forward and Nao pointed her sword at Black Wolves.

"Shock Arrow!”

An arrow of light with a power unlike anything before pierced one of the Black Wolves, and its body was blown apart by the impact.
After a few minutes of fighting against the pack of Black Wolves,
Akira and company had finished the battle without a scratch.

When they entered the hospital, the first people to greet Akira's party was the self-defense officer on night duty.
As soon as the self-defense officer saw Akira's party, he broke into a smile and called out to them.

"Ichijou-san, Nanase-san!! I'm glad you're safe…… You defeated the boss, right?!!”

Having defeated the werewolf, a screen showing a decrease in the reversal rate must have appeared in front of them as well.
Seeing that he had no doubt that Akira had defeated the boss, Akira smiled wryly and asked if they could borrow a room to rest.

"Of course. I'm sure the hospital administration won't turn the two of you down. Could you please wait a moment? I will double-check."

Saying that, the self-defense officer bowed slightly and disappeared somewhere.

While waiting, the two of them killed time in the entrance hall.

As they were talking, they suddenly heard running footsteps coming from the end of the hallway, and Karube came up to where Akira's party was standing.
He probably rushed over when he heard that Akira's party had returned. Karube, slightly out of breath, smiled broadly when he saw Akira and Nao.

"Ah, Ichijou-san! And Nanase-san too!! Thank god…… After the screen appeared announcing that the boss had been defeated, I was worried because you two didn't come back."
"Yeah, well…… We were traveling a bit."

Akira said that, and briefly explained to Karube what had happened in the neighboring town.
He didn't mention Arthur and the others in particular. That was because he thought it had nothing to do with Karube and the others.
However, he also informed them that the Killer Bees they had seen in the city had a hive, and that as the world continued to reverse, the cities in this world where monsters were appearing might begin to be replaced by places that seemed to be dungeons in another world.
Karube's eyes widened at Akira's words, and he let out a thoughtful sigh.

"I see…… The Killer Bees' hive, huh……? Certainly, that is quite possible. These guys have taken the people they killed somewhere. But still, I never imagined that a city in this world would turn into a dungeon. ――――By the way, though. By dungeon you mean like those right? The ones that appear in games and anime."
"Well, I couldn't say for sure…… However, when I see the monster's corpse disappear on its own and another monster appear, I feel like it must be definitely a dungeon."

Akira muttered in response to Karube's words.
Despite repeated speculation, it ultimately remained a matter of possibility.
Since dungeons were only imaginary places in fantastical stories, even if it were possible for them to exist in reality, no one knew at this point whether they would be the same as the dungeons depicted in fictional works.
Karube muttered, “You're right,” in response to Akira's words, and smiled awkwardly.

"……By the way, may I ask you something?”
"Yeah?”
"What's in that sack and bag you're carrying, Ichijou-san? You didn't have them when you left."

Karube said, looking at what Akira was carrying.
Akira replied with a nod.

"Well, it's just a souvenir."

Saying that, he handed Karube the drinks he had obtained by breaking the vending machine.
Karube opened his eyes wide at the sight of the stuffed bag and bowed deeply.

"I apologize for the inconvenience. This is very helpful. Even if we wanted to go out to find food and water, we can't just leave here…… To be honest, water and food are limited, so we are very grateful that you are providing us with these supplies."
"Then, let's use those drinks as a payment for a bed…… Or is that too much to ask?”

Akira smiled slyly, while Karube grinned and shook his head.

"No way. Everyone will be delighted. And I already have permission from the administrator here. You can use the same room as before. I was told that it wold be okay for Nanase-san to use the same room she used too."
"Thank you."

Nao, who had been watching to see how things would turn out after leaving it up to Akira, bowed her head slightly at Karube's words.

"Well, that's all from me. Let's talk again tomorrow about what to do next."

Karube laughed as he said this, then turned on his heel and left.
Akira and Nao, who were watching his back, looked at each other as if they had agreed beforehand and smiled softly.

"For now, let's get some rest. After a night's sleep, the wounds we received from the werewolf should be completely healed."
"……I guess so. Well then, Ichijou. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Akira and Nao waved goodbye to each other.
And so, another long day came to an end for Ichijou Akira.
As the day finally came to an end, Akira's footsteps toward his room were a little lighter.