<purga> shaman 58

The Shaman can't become a Hero
Act 6: Cannibalizer
Chapter 58: Nagae Yukiko
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Nagae Yukiko is a plain girl. Compared to a collection of girls in class 2-7, young ladies positively brimming all with their own individual charms, in such a box of gems, Yukiko could be called very ordinary. Her face being slightly on the prettier side wouldn't turn any eyes.

But that is fine. Yukiko didn't want to be an idol or anything. Standing out isn't fun, being stared at isn't fun either. If she could live out a calm, quiet and peaceful school life, that would suffice. No, as of late, Yukiko's life has already gone through a very exciting change. She has been feeling happiness the likes she's never felt before.

But on the morning of September the 21st, that joyful student life of hers, came to a sudden and abrupt end.

"Uuu... What's, where, am I..."

She opened her eyes in a dim stone-built room. If she were to believe the mysterious announcer, she was likely already inside a dungeon in a parallel world. That would certainly be the case... But one cannot expect Yukiko, normal high school girl, to suddenly have a grasp of the situation. That would also be the case.

Having wept in despair for a time, Yukiko ultimately started moving according to the man's instructions.

"Vocation... <Ice Mage>?"

With her three novice abilities, <Eis Sagitta>, <Eis Shield>, <Eis Mist>(Icy fog), in hand, Yukiko, with nothing better in mind, decided to look for her scattered classmates. Mustering up her courage, the girl began her search into the eerie passages interlacing the dungeon.[Note 1]
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*Note 1:  氷霧 — Hyoumu — Eis Mist
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"*Hii-i*, Wh-what, *what is*, that..."

Attack, defense, and additionally, magic that can release a mist so as to confuse the opponent or allow the caster to escape. Yukiko had all the the components necessary to put up a decent fight, but that never meant that she could actually fight. Even if you have a gun and know how to use it, that doesn't mean you can shoot precisely in mortal combat.

Yukiko would waver even in shooting her ice arrows at monsters the size of a stray dog. So there was no way she could handle a Goma, that vile creature that was exceedingly uglier than a human, but also exceedingly close to one in shape.

Yukiko could only shake in fear, silencing her breath as she progressed through the dungeon. The only magic she could bring herself to use was the one that would hide her from enemies, her <Eis Mist>.

"*Uuu, sniff...* I hate this... why, how much longer do I have to do this..."

She would spend more and more time in the fairy sqare, crouching in wretchedness. But wait as she may, no one came to her rescue. All her classmates must be ahead of her, making good use of the powers granted by their vocations. So she must keep moving. To once again meet her good friends, her reliable classmates, and most of all, that person she holds dear.

With whatever courage she could still muster, Yukiko relied on the cold mist that would hide her as she dove once again into the dungeon. And naturally, her control of <Eis Mist> had progressed. She could let it out freely, and control its thickness. She even learned a new magic.


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|<Eis Mirage>(Phantom Ice Sculpture)||Can project the caster's image while inside <Eis Mist>.[Note 2]|
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*Note 2:  幻影氷像 — Gen'ei Kori Zou — Eis Mirage
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Numerous times did Yukiko pass around packs of monsters using her adept control of the mist, and her ghostly decoys. She had grown a knack for being unseen.

But like all things, there came a limit. The dungeon wasn't so sweet as to let one survive simply by running and hiding.

"*Hah, hah...* No, someone help..."

Shrill beastly grunting follows behind her. It is the cry of Goma. A savage cry symbolizing their exaltation and sadistic ecstasy from hunting down helpless prey.

At a corner of a certain forested dome, Yukiko was soon discovered by a horde of Goma.

"No... NO..."

Seen once, Yukiko's powers of visual deception are halved. And with the numbers boasted by the Goma, one would eventually run into her in the fog no doubt.

Yukiko runs desperately. She isn't a fast runner. She isn't good at sports at all. But she runs. Even if she's out of breath, even if her legs break.

They were Goma. She already knew of the cruel gluttonous nature of these creatures from the magic circle. But even if she didn't, she didn't need to make a big guess on what these hideous demons would do once they captured her. She didn't even need to guess, her instincts were screeching.

That she would die once caught. After seeing the depths of hell, after experiencing excruciating pain, she would die.

"NO... Help me... Somebody—"

She had no choice but hope for rescue. Anyone would do. If they saved her, it simply didn't matter who.

"Somebody, SAVE MEEEEEEEE!!"

And sure enough, someone did indeed come to her rescue.

"HYA'HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

A large black figure suddenly appeared on the scene. It carried in hand a large shiny sword and—

"—<Slash>aaAAAAAAAAA!!"

With but a swing, the horde of Goma that were almost at her neck were all sent flying.

Head, arms, legs, all fly. Human shaped creatures are copped into pieces in cold-blood. But unlike in movies or anime, the scene wasn't toned down in the least. The gory deaths of living creatures were burned into Yukiko's eyes.

Goma are monsters. But it was now the first time that Yukiko saw, how their blood was red same as hers.

"*Bufuh, FUFUFUH*, DIE!"

Reluctant to let go of their prey, the Goma roared as they trampled over their comrades corpses to end their enemy. Seeing which, the man with the great-sword gleefully commenced his massacre.

"Die, DIE! Diiee, ya fucking mobs!"

He swings everywhere like chaotic storm. No Style, no form, nothing that could be called technique. But the great blade swung around with the might of a giant was more that enough for the task at hand.

"Fucking, won't even make EXP these shit ass mobs! Die, DIE, ORA!!"

It was a fight akin to devastation. Seeming as a unilateral slaughtering of the enemy, and at the same time, like the chore-some work of crushing red fruit in a mixer.

"<Buhyahyahya>!! DIEE!! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, ORA-ORA-ORA-ORA-ORAA—"

At this stage, it was a calculation of absolute difference in status. Simply Artless Extreme(bullying of the weak).

"— I'M FUCKINNGGG STROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!"

And then, there were no more Goma left to see in Yukiko's eyes. They may have all been slashed into slabs if meat, or perhaps a few survived to run away.

At any rate, the only thing reflecting in her eyes now was the man that had saved her. The man who was standing in the middle of a lake of blood sprinkled in pieces of meat and garbage... Doused red in blood, stinking of rotten fish, and looking uglier than a Goma, that savior of hers.

"*Bufuuuh, fuu, fuuuh...*"

The man heaved his shoulders up and down in large strokes, wheezing like a pig and slowly calmed down. In fact, his body was obese enough to make his resemblance to a pig almost uncanny. His height was a standard 170 cm(5'7), but his abnormally swelled gut and girth made him look much larger than normal.

For the petite Yukiko, it would be no exaggeration to call him a giant. A dreadfully intimidating pressure.

This man then swayed with a swing of his body and faced himself in Yukiko's direction. From behind the lenses of his thick spectacles, a pair of muddy black pupils stared her.

"*Hii!?*"

She couldn't even bring herself to say a word of thanks.

Young women are generally not good with blood. If there happened to be a man obstinately hitting on such a woman. And let us say another man, who she also didn't know, jumped in, in an attempt to save her. But, say that 2nd man was strong, or rather, say that man went into a frenzied storm with his fists... How pitiful, the picker-up man now had his face smashed in, bleeding profusely from his nostrils, his front teeth broken off, all in all, terrible.

Having been shown such a live performance of gruesome violence, any normal woman would think the same. "I'm scared." She wouldn't feel anything less than fear. Her heart skipping to make her say, "Thank you, I've never met a *strong* and *handsome* man like you", wouldn't even be the last thing on her mind.

Nagae Yukiko was only a normal high school girl. It wouldn't matter that she was on the verge of her life being stolen. In no possible way could she have her heart burst in love and affection surrounded by a scene of senseless slaughter. The colors dying her small chest were not too dissimilar to the ones she had as she was being chased down by ravenous Goma. Blood red fear, and pitch black despair.

"*Gufuh...* A, Ahh, Uhhm, Nagae-san, are you Alright?"[Note 3]
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*Note 3:  I donno... I really feel like capitalizing this guys words lol
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His blood-soaked face, grins crookedly. Yukiko instinctively looked away.

"... Y-yeah... al, right..."

She answered with tear, with words somehow mixed in.

"Ahhhh, I, I See, Great, AAh, that's GREAT! You Loo-looked like you were in Trouble!"

"-!?"

He edged forward. Yukiko shivered as if by recoil. But she somehow managed to hold down the scream that was right at her throat.

"A, Ahrr, Are you still Scared?"

"Ah, uu... It was... r-really scary"

"It was, was it, it Suuure was! <Buhahahah>! But rest Assured Nagae-san! You're Safe as long as I'm here! I can swat away Goma like Flies, and most Other monsters can't do much against my Awesome strength—"

"*Hi-, ii...*"

As if a tap burst, Yukiko had reached the limit of her endurance and devolved into a teary mess. *Gotta stop crying, gotta answer him now*. In spite of her will, the tears once let loose would no longer stop.

"E-Eh? You're Crying!? why, Why the Hell! I saved You, I beat all the Goma SEE!?"

"S-sorr... I'm, sorry... It's s-still scary... I was, so scared... I can't, calm down yet..."

Her head was turning strange from terror and despair. But Yukiko still managed to muster up every inch of her survival instinct, for a final, desparate act of resistance. This act was, to act. A woman's *acting* purposed to decieve a man.

"Ah, AAAhhh, got it, I totally Got It! Yup, that's Right, I'm not the Dense MC type, so I get what you Actually mean, I totally actually got your Message!"

"Y-yea... So, I think, I have to cry... A little, more..."

"*Bufuh, fufuh*, don't Worry, *Fuhii*, don't worry your pretty little Head, Nagae-san. I will, proh-Protect, yuuu"

His repulsive wheezing snared in her ears. Yukiko's crushing dread didn't even allow her to raise her head to look. The man was already at arm's-length.

"Nagae-san, I will, Always, protect You! *Fuhih, Fuhihi...*"

She feels something slimey touching her head.

"-!? *Nn, kuh...*"

Her head was being stroked. By a greasy, blood-smeared palm.

She was psychologically repulsed to the brink of losing consciousness. Mortified to the point where she was considering instant suicide, Yukiko gritted her teeth, and painstakingly answered,

"Y-yea... Thank you... Yokomichi, kun..."

"*Buhih!* Don't sweat it! And you can just call me by my first name, Hajime! And I'll call you Y-yuhi-Yukiko alright!"

Had she falling into some cruel God's sadistic game?

Nagae Yukiko. The savior sent down for her in a moment of crisis was— The single most loathesome boy in Class 2-7. It was Yokomichi Hajime.




"Somebody, save me—"

I heard it. It's Yukiko.

I thought it was destiny.

"*Bufuh, fufuh*, don't Worry, *Fuhii*, don't worry your pretty little Head, Nagae-san. I will, proh-Protect, yuuu"

Our fates were practically entwined.

When I saw her, Yukiko was being chased down by Goblins and driven to a corner. If caught, I'll get to see the plotline of a thin book(porn manga) played out.[Note 4]
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*Note 4:  Umu. This certainly deserves attention for the none-too-wise. A thin book is slang for porn manga you can get at comiket and other places. It's thin cause it has around 20 pages unlike porn magazenes with like 200.
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That's where I come in!

This, is literally happening... This, legit Light Novel tier plot, is seriously gonna be happening!?

Being OP as fuck feels too good already. But now, Yukiko's watching me, my sweet, sweet Yukiko is laying her eyes only on me. And I showed her alright. The coolest most epic thing a man can do. I had her witness how I can protect the woman I love.

She's pretty much in the bag now. Yukiko Route, full steam ahead.

"Nagae-san, I will, Always, protect You! *Fuhih, Fuhihi...*"

Would you look at that. Yukiko looks so damn happy with me patting her head. Her shoulders are trembling and she's sobbing quietly. This has gotta be because, after being almost crushed by fear, she is relieved to the point of tears from being rescued by her ultimate savior. That's me.

It's okay Yukiko. I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you babe. I won't let em touch a hair on your body.