Chapter 82 – Chaos
With the screams of the bloodied man, shadows wriggled in the darkness.
The size of the shadows varied. Some have a physique no different from ours, while others are obviously several times larger.
And in some places, the shapes of the shadows were different from humans. One of these entities, who gives off a strange ambiance, stepped into the gambling hall, raised its huge arm, and tried to swing it down at the crawling man, and at the same time revealed its full figure…. Before that!
“Hey there!!”
“Gah!?”
Normally, if such an unexpected event happens, you can’t move immediately.
What’s more, what was about to come out of the back room was something that was obviously not human.
At the very least, I observed it, thinking about what to do.
But he was different.
He slipped in-between them.
“Bro!?”
A sense. A wild feeling. As if instinct had detected it, he moved faster than anyone else, hitting a huge arm that was swung down with a kick.
“Huh~, wh-what… this guy… so cool…”
And, everyone was amazed at the sight.
“Free…kill…you…I’ll kill you!”
The girth was about two times bigger than that of a normal person.
Its whole body was covered in green skin, the hands were sharp sickle-like arms.
The expression, completely different from that of a human being, was that of an insect.
“A… Praying Mantis?”
“This thing… a giant human-shaped mantis. Mantis race!?”
It’s a monster that I’ve only seen in picture books.
A race that is extremely ferocious and has been designated as a dangerous species.
“Hey, what’s going on? Why is that bug loose, darn it?”
Chitsue was panicking at the unexpected. Then, upon closer inspection, Mantis’s ankle was dragging along broken chains and shackles.
“H, hey, what that monster… n-no way…”
“Run away, Hi, Hi…”
Apparently, Chitsue escaped from what he brought.
The moment the guests understood that, everyone turned pale and…
“Cursed humans. I’ll have you clear away my grudges!”
“Oh, nu!? Oh crap!!”
Then, at some point, someone jumped into Bro’s bosom as he held back Mantis’s arm, and stabbed at him with the broken liquor bottle in their hand.
“Geez… what now… whoa?”
Bro, who jumped away in the nick of time, took a distance with the crawling man being held in his arm.
Then, the person who tried to stab Bro raised their face, and we were once again shocked by their appearance.
“Oh, woman?”
That’s right, she was a woman. But she’s not just a woman.
Brown skin. The voluptuous body which could easily charm men was covered with a tattered long skirt and a short shirt which stopped at her navel.
Her long purple hair was damaged from being restrained for so long, but it doesn’t detract from the woman’s beauty.
However, the ears protruding from under the long hair proved that the woman was not human.
“Dark Elf… hey, come on, are you serious?”
Yes, it’s a dark elf. I’m seeing one for the first time, too.
In addition……
“Uga, kill… Uga, eat… raid”
Although not as much as the Mantis, it is the first demon that appeared with a massive, muscular body. A Cyclops.
“Gigigigigi, Gi, Gii!”
A small demon appeared from underneath the cyclops’ feet.
“Goblin…”
Four demons who appeared were released from their restraints.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! What’s up with these guys? Why are they suddenly showing up?”
『Hmm….. Ho~』
It seems that Chitsue brought them in, but apparently they saw an opening and broke out of the restraints.
But before we could figure out who they were and what circumstances they were under….
“Hey, you guys! Hurry up and get all the guests outta here! I’ll hold these guys off, but if they’re about to go outside, fight your guts out! When our hometown is threatened, we hoodlums start moving first! Now is the time to show what we’re all about, yeh!”
“”””Ah……””””
“Rather than thinking, run, risk it all, fight and protect!! That’s it!!”
“””Eh, o, ohh!!!”””
In the midst of the four demons who appeared, Bro spoke up first and issued instructions to the hoodlums.
Too simple an instruction. “Run”, “Risk it all”, “Fight”, “Protect”, that’s all.
“Don’t panic, run away, guests!”
“I, I’ll get caught!”
“Have you lost your legs? Shut up and get on my back!”
They’re on the move? The delinquents who should have turned pale together with the guests started moving at Bro’s simple instructions, screaming out.
“Ah, aaah… they guys… even though they’re scared…”
『Hmm… tis why they are hoodlums…… because they are emotional, quick handed, and simple-minded folk…. actually there are times when such is indispensable…』
Even though I was shocked by the four demons who showed up, I couldn’t help but fall behind the other hoodlums, let alone Bro.
At the same time, I felt a little miserable, but I was amazed at the hoodlums and laughed.
“Oh, I won’t let you get away! Everyone here dies!”
“Let me do it!”
“Uh… Devil-kin…. No, half-breed…”
“Wrong. I’m just a hoodlum.”
The Dark Elf started running to attack the fleeing guests.
Bro intercepted her front so as to block the way.
The dark elf is a woman, but she glared at Bro with sharp eyes and clicked her tongue.
“Heh…….. don’t let the half-breed get in our way. Humans… and I’ll kill that coward pig most horribly.”
Saying that, Dark Elf looked at Chitsue with a murderous eye.
“Hey, what are you on about, you are all criminals… a-and what’s the attitude when I kept you alive instead of the death penalty, see!”
Chitsue drew back, and shouted in a trembling voice.
“Hunting in a forbidden area on human territory… ‘The female Dark elf poacher, Skevern’…. the same is true for others! ‘The Assailant Cyclops, Bowei’……’The Goblin Potato Thief, Yasashi‘……’The Escaped Pet Mantis, Toulowe’! No, I’ve kept you all alive and you’ve forgotten what I’ve done for you, what’s the meaning of this?”
Chitsue shouted out the names and charges of the four who aren’t even of the same tribe, much less human.
I was a little concerned about the charges, but rather than a debt of gratitude, at the very least the other party seemed to harbor a grudge.
“There’s no balance between the crime and the punishment I’ve tasted. Do you know what I suffered in the women’s prison because I’m a demon? Generally, poaching? Such foolishness. That mountain was originally home to our village …. and it was overrun by the filthy Imperial Army!”
In response to such a crime, the dark elf shouted, “It’s not worth it” and turned her murderous intent on him.
But the way….
“Even so, if you walk that road, you’ll end up in ruin…. even if you don’t get your money’s worth, even if you have feelings that you can’t give up… it’s just a grudge, sister.”
“Wh, at?”
“But it must be fate that we met like this. It’s been a long time, in that case as much as you want …. I’ll take everything you’re feeling. That should make you feel better.”
Bro forced his way through, and received them, such a situation was really bothersome.
“Kill… kill…. kill!”
However, against Bro, who deals with a beautiful woman even if she is a criminal, I…
“Ugh… as for me…… it’s a miss, isn’t it? The most troublesome one is here, isn’t it?”
『No, child… In a sense, tis a win.』
The Mantis, who started running, swung its sickle-like arms.
“Tte, not good, you! Get out of here, I’ll take them all together….”
“So why should I listen to you!”
That thing would instantly split a living person in two if they received them.
The blade was turned to me.
Apparently, they are trying to kill humans indiscriminately.
But……
“Geez, calm down…”
“What!?”
“【Great Demon Smash!! 】”
Because it made too big a swing, I easily plunged into the inside of its bosom, and hit the body with a blow.
Mantis’s big body trembled due to my fist and it retreated.
“What… Toulowe!? What’s with that human brat!?”
“Hey hey, you…”
The dark elf and Bro show a look of surprise at my side spear.
“Keh… after all, I don’t get it…. hoodlums…… what’s more, Bro… you’re going to put your body up and save the people who were talking shit about you…. I really don’t understand…. really…… what the hell is wrong with you…….”
While muttering that, I…
“But don’t get me wrong. I don’t care what happens to this place. Be it hoodlums, ministers, distinctions, you can do whatever you want.”
“Wha… What?”
“It’s just… this mantis attacked me, an unrelated person. In other words, it’s my enemy. The enemy of the enemy is an ally…. is there a problem with that logic?”
I couldn’t change Bro’s mind, and I can’t say anything more about the responsibility he is trying to carry, or this gambling house or the delinquency.
But this is the least I can do…
“Kakkaka, no… I don’t have any objections with this, yeh.”
“Then I’ll take care of this one.”
“Oh… In that case… I’ll leave it to you…”
Bro smiled at my words, and turned to face the dark elf.
“You’re a dependable guy, man. It’s reassuring to have you fighting with me.”
“Hmm. I see. Well, I’ve had enough of that… Even if I don’t understand them, I want to get to know them as well… and in order to know them, we’ll either fight each other or fight together. that’s the most obvious thing, isn’t it?”
“You’re so weird, brother.”
As we turned our backs to each other, and facing each other’s enemies, we laughed at each other.
“Now… Mantis…. if you have a lot of resentment for that minister and other humans, I’ll play with you. I’m not gentle, but I’m the kind of guy who can play with demons.”
And I’ve got a restless, savage Mantis…What?
“Brat… prepare…. get, serious, kill.”
Mantis, who had been attacked by me, became meek and calm as he poised me with its eyes like a hunter coolly targeting his prey.
『Caution, child. This Mantis… tis no mere Mantis. It seems to have mastered a Martial Art unique to the mantis race.』
“What?”
『As such, tis a win. Tis quite rare to get a chance to challenge this Fighting Style.』
Mantis’ unique fighting style? It’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing.
“Praying Mantis(Tower Climbing)Demon Fist(Cursed sword)…… show you”
Saying that, the Mantis bent a little and spread its legs wide, showing a unique stance with both sickles hands.
Certainly, it’s the first time I’m seeing it.
Then I’ll…
“Then I’ll play using the fists of the Demon King who once ruled your world.”
I also made a fighting pose to fully enjoy it.
Author’s Note
The English phrase for Praying Mantis Style is Mantis Boxing. If you hear the word ‘Mantis’ and associate it with unpleasant words, I won’t be offended and you can come back later to report it.