22: 4 people together

「Uoraaah!!」

Gashi rushed out first

Although I told him to wait

He attacks with a wooden pole found somewhere nearby, but the pole was broken into pieces the moment it touched the demon beast

「Whaaat!?」

That's because the hair covered the big-faced cat hardened like thorn to counter the shock

Then, it leaps to Gashi while maintaining that hardness

「Uooooh!?」

If he was pushed down like that, Gashi will be pierced by countless thorn-like hair

But before that happened, another person jumped out and pushed Gashi away

That person also tried to maintain that force to escape from the demon beast's rush attack, but...!

「Guaa!?」

He couldn't completely avoid it

Fresh blood gushes out as a thorn grazed his leg

It was Rei who pushed Gashi away to save him

But, as a cost, his own leg was cut by the thorn-like hair and was injured

「...That is the origin of the name Spiked Big Face. It can harden its whole body hair like Spike, and chop up everyone that touches it」

「And now you just explain!?...Sorry, I rushed out without thinking...!?」

Gashi escapes while holding Rei's shoulder

The cut on his leg was so deep that he couldn't walk?

「The hardened hair is both a brutal, deadly weapon and the strongest armor that cover its whole body without a gap. That's why it's considered a very strong beast...!」

「For real...!? And yet, its movement is fast too...!?」

Despite its strange body figure, it's still a cat after all

Animals with the same full armored type includes Rhinos, Armadillos, Turtles, Hedgehogs, Sea Urchin, etc…

Because all of them are slow, so this is much more threatening compared to the others

「I though of its figure and decided that it was fine to rush in, but I didn't consider this situation」

「Me too, I was naïve to think I can hold it back even with my life. This demon beast is such a nasty variant」

Gashi and Rei's hearts are broken

It doesn't matter if you are a capable person with abundant talents and combat experience, you cannot handle demon beast with intermediate or higher level without mastering Evil Beast Art or Holy Wisdom Art

Therefore, I....

「Ei」

Throw a hit

With that one hit, the grotesque big faced cat was smashed into pieces and vanished

「「Eeeeeeeeh?」」

Gashi and Rei are surprised

Perhaps, they was thinking total annihilation was unavoidable

Holy Wisdom Art <Penetration Wave>.

One of the skills I learned under 『Tanu-sage』's teaching, it causes the impact to penetrate the target's body like a wave and destroy it from inside without caring about the outside's defensive power

Since Holy Wisdom Art is considered in the skill frame, it's also considered a direct attack technique

In the game, the techniques that deal large damage while ignoring enemies' defense are mostly appeared near the end of the story

Therefore, it has the power to kill the Spiked Big Face, which is still a mob enemy in the middle stage despite being a strong monster,  with just 1 hit

「Jira..., really, you...!? I thought you was strong, but just how strong are you...!?」

「Our resolutions to do-or-die are meaningless, huh...!?」

No, it's not

It should be like, everyone did your best and those feelings were transmitted and became my power, right?

「But Jira, is your hand ok? The enemy is a lump of thorn, the damage should be unavoidable when you hit it, right?」

Rei pointed out, but that's not a problem

The enemy was covered with hard, thorn-like hair

Then it was fine to hit where hair didn't grow

「I hit its nose」

「「Nose!?」」

The parts on mammals where hair didn't grow includes nose, eyes, inside of the mouth, and more if you search hard enough

Anyway, body hair armor was not perfect

I just hit that gap and it was a victory with no damage

「No, no way...!? The invincible monster was...!? Our family's strongest demon beast was...!?」

Then, the bocchama in question was stunned as his trump card was destroyed

「Uwaa...!? Guhyaaa!? Fuwaaaaaa!?」

Just like that, he ran somewhere

To escape

「Ah! Oi, hold it right there!」

「It's fine Gashi, leave it alone」

「But that guy is the worst, right!? Shouldn't we eliminate him as a precaution!?」

It's not like I didn't understand Gashi's anger, but....

「We already did. That bocchama is running around on a mountain at night without torch. He will surely be lost」

「Ah...!?」

「He will surely fail the final examination, and will live a life without seeing the sunlight again. That is enough, right?」

If we chased that guy poorly, we would be lost too and wouldn't be able to reach the summit

We must clear the final examination without fail

「Then, let's head to the summit...Come out, Seki」

「Yeah, yeah! Just as boss's wish!」

A small guy jumped out *pyon* from somewhere

It was wise of him to stay hidden

「Can you really guide us to the summit? I missed the road during the fight with the dogs」

「Leave it to me! After all, I want to pass, too! I will try my best to find the original road!」

Well, I have no choice but to trust you

「Oi Jira, help us!」

Gashi called out

「Rei's leg injury is worse than expected. I already did first-aid, but it seems like it's impossible for him to walk normally for now. You and me should shoulder him」

「It's not necessary, please leave me here」

Rei said as if giving up

「I don't have the qualification to pass. Despite having the role of Gilly-sama's watcher, I couldn't prevent him from rampaging. I caused trouble for you guys. If Gilly-sama is lost and failed, I should share the same fate」

「Don't say such lonesome thing」

I hold Rei's left arm.

Gashi is holding his right arm

We support him from both sides and can easily lift him

「Seki! Lead the way! Our fates depend on whether you can find the original road or not!」

「Leave it to me!!」

That Seki, although it's still night time, he is running nimbly as if he's walking on a plain during daytime

He is so nimble that it is hard for us to keep up with

「Hey!? It's fine to be hurry, but keep your pace!? We are carrying a wounded person here!!」

Rei is being carried between me and Gashi

There man running alongside on a hill

It's such a funny scene

「One, two, one, two...」

「Hey, why are we going uphill? Shouldn't we pick a more comfortable route?」

「We need to go uphill to reach the top after all」

「One, two, one, two...」

「I see...!　...rather, Jira, what is the sound you are making since a while ago!?」

「I can hear it too!?」

「It's the call for everyone to match our breath to go forward. Everyone, say with me. One, two, one, two」

「O? One, two, one, two...!?」

「One, two...!?」

Our movements matched as we yelled together, and us three were able to run through the harsh mountain road smoothly

Also, we have sufficient stamina after all

「One, two! Aren't we advancing faster than expected! We can reach the summit in a blink of an eye, one, two」

「If only Seki doesn't make a mistake, one, two!」

「You guys stop whispering! It will disrupt your pace, one, two!」

Then, when everyone finally reached the summit, we met with the other trainees

We have really reached the summit

「Ohh, we did it...!?」

「We really did it, Seki has done it...!?」

At the summit, the trainees who has arrived beforehand are cheering grandly

Look like they are also looking forward to our arrival

We finally reached the goal, as a response to their feelings

「...Ah, right! Rei-kun, hold your injured leg out」

「Yes?」

I shoot a recovery spell to his leg

「<Mehorazan>....Good, it's completely cured」

「Eeeeeeeh!?」

「You, hold it right there! You can use such a high level recovery magic!? Why didn't you do it sooner!?」

Because I don't want to

Everyone marching together on the mountain was fun

And so, I think it won't be bad if we do this again sometime