Translator: Nox

Erika: My Friend Is Obsessed with Me

Chapter 29

“Erica, with me—”

Boom—!

The ground caved in once more. The two leaped high into the air to dodge.

The massive mass of scales rose again in an instant.

Crash! Crash!!

They barely evaded the relentless, hammering strikes.

Slither, rustle—

Sweeping across the ground, the colossal mass slithered in a long glide.

The sound of snake skin brushing against the earth in the rain was intensely sinister.

Most horrifying of all was its abnormal size, completely filling their vision.

Raindrops scattered densely off it.

“…Switch swords.”

Chaud tossed his own masterwork blade to her.

Catching it reflexively, Erica stared at him.

It was the first time she had ever held Chaud’s sword.

“Switch swords? You wanted my cost-effective, store-bought iron sword?”

“No, I’m saying I’m lending you mine.”

“Why this…?”

Erica felt a dull ache spread through the grip of the hand holding his sword.

In an instant, the sensation surged up her arm to her shoulder.

It was cold.

Stinging cold, down to the marrow of her bones.

“It’s made of mithril.”

“Mith-what?”

“It rarely breaks. Without Aura, it’d be tough to pierce that snake’s hide. Anyway, I’m lending it to you. Erica, toss me your sword!”

Clack!

The moment they exchanged blades, Chaud infused the store-bought iron sword with Aura.

Erica gripped the masterwork sword—with its incredible feel in the hand—and gave it a swift twirl.

“This feels a bit weird. My palm is burning.”

“Not cold?”

“Cold, too…”

“Save the review for later.”

Before they knew it, the humor faded from their faces.

It couldn’t be helped; their opponent’s oppressive presence was just that overwhelming.

The terrifying aura of the Black Species blocking their vision with pitch-black darkness was unlike anything they had ever experienced in their lives.

How could such a monster even exist?

Her breath hitched. Erica deliberately let out a heavy sigh.

“…I just hope it’s only big and nothing else.”

Grrrrr.

Screeech—

An ear-splitting sonic boom tore through the air.

There was no telling what this Black Species was trying to do.

In that case—

“Let’s go.”

Erica gripped the sword tightly and kicked off the ground.

“A preemptive strike always wins!”

A whirlwind whipped up in the pouring rain.

---

Clank, clank.

Fully armed with weapons and armor, the Holy Knights traversed the Lekankan Great Jungle.

“Vice Commander. Does it usually rain this heavily in the Lekankan Forest?”

“The downpour is rather extreme. It must be the rainy season.”

Heavy rain continued to pound the forest, accompanied by intermittent flashes of thunder and lightning.

The Illusionary Forest was still quite a distance away. Since this part was just an ordinary forest, they advanced while lightly dispatching the occasional wild beast.

“What if that thing has awakened?”

“What else? Our mission is strictly reconnaissance. We just need to bring back evidence.”

The Vice Commander replied nonchalantly, making an effort not to show any tension.

The Holy Knights 8th Squad.

A gathering of those demoted and sidelined because they had no connections among the Great Temple’s higher-ups.

The role of the 8th Squad had always been fixed like a brand.

Missions shunned by other squads, yet ones where the Temple had to send someone regardless.

“Verify whether its hibernation has ended, and bring back proof. Does that sound so difficult?”

The sovereign of the Illusionary Forest had been slumbering for ages.

A divine beast that had once been the great guardian of the Illusionary Forest in ancient times, only to become corrupted at some point.

Now, few people even knew of its existence.

Only the Great Temple, preserving records from primordial antiquity, calculated its hibernation cycle and prepared for it.

The Saintess had ordered at least three knight orders to be deployed.

Yet as the matter passed through the meetings of the Great Temple’s leadership, the details had changed.

“There will be no additional personnel support.”

“Th-That’s absurd! It is far too dangerous with just us. If we happen to encounter it—”

“You’re truly as dense as your Commander. Tsk… This is why one shouldn’t take in lowborns.”

Was this really what God’s divine mission amounted to?

Sometimes, doubts crossed their minds.

Just like their Commander, who had been locked in the disciplinary cell after protesting, everyone in the 8th Squad came from the slums.

Commoners who might have been casually farming right now had their Divine Power not manifested.

Dragged to the Temple from a young age, they took up swords without knowing why, growing up with no family, reading the Temple’s ancient records.

In truth, everyone knew.

There was not a single person among them who hadn’t holed up in a back room to read the records about the sovereign of the Illusionary Forest.

They also knew that under the guise of a reconnaissance unit, they were putting their lives on the line.

‘If only we could return safely.’

Only the sound of tense heartbeats pulsed in their ears.

They continued marching through the rain.

The Illusionary Forest grew closer. Now, they had to be careful not to fall into Space Distortion.

“…By the way, which forest did those mercenaries head to?”

“Mercenaries?”

“You know, the two mercenaries we saw at the entrance of Lekankan Forest, the ones who got off the boat on the opposite side.”

The voices of the youngest recruits chatting from the rear reached him.

Walking at the very front of the formation, the Vice Commander of the 8th Squad listened halfheartedly.

‘Those mercenaries… There were only two of them.’

The two mercenaries were probably busy exploring the rainy outskirts of the forest.

He didn’t even consider the possibility that they might have headed for the infamous Illusionary Forest.

He believed that unless they had a death wish, there was no way they would have gone there.

---

Erica wanted to die.

“No, seriously, what the hell is that thing?!”

If she couldn’t take that thing down right now, she would rather bite her tongue and die.

A Black Species serpent as colossal as a mountain.

Aside from its enormous bulk, it was absurdly tough and astonishingly fast.

Boom!

Crack—!

The surrounding forest was being devastated.

The thunder, lightning, and torrential rain deafened their ears.

Trees were shattered to splinters, and the ground gouged deeply, swiftly pooling with rainwater.

“Aaaargh! I made eye contact again! Fuck, I’m gonna piss myself!”

“Erica, could you be a little quieter? You keep drawing its attention.”

“Do something about those eyeballs! You useless Swordmaster!”

“The Aura isn’t piercing properly.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“It’s my first time experiencing this too. For now, I need to find if there’s a weak spot on its body scales…”

Hiss, ssshh—

The overwhelming pressure pouring from its vivid yellow eyeballs was impossible to ignore, no matter how hard she tried.

Her skin prickled with goosebumps on its own.

Erica’s grip tightened around the Mithril Sword.

Even though she kept up as closely as possible, she had landed hardly any effective hits.

It was like attacking a cliff that couldn’t feel pain.

She had targeted only the wounds Chaud had pierced with his Aura, yet the monster didn’t budge in the slightest.

“Ack! Eye contact again! Hey, you have so many eyeballs, why are they all looking at me?!”

When all six eyeballs locked onto her, Erica felt thoroughly aggrieved.

She quickly drew her bow and nocked an arrow.

Whoosh!

Twang—

The arrow shot toward the eyeballs was batted away before it could even get near the head.

Clang—!

Seeing the trees shatter into dust with a crunching roar, a chill ran down her spine.

She hesitated for a brief second upon realizing that a single smack from that tail would send her straight to heaven.

“Fuck…”

Spite flared up inside her.

Leaving aside the Swordmaster who was repeatedly punching holes through its snake hide, it kept staring only at her.

“Those damn eyeballs, seriously…”

Could it be that I look like an easy target?

If its scheme was to finish off the weaker opponent first, her pride was severely wounded.

“…Chaud, cover me.”

“What?”

“Hold down that foul, dancing mass of a tail.”

Erica gripped her sword tightly and hurled herself forward without hesitation.

She sprinted up the giant serpent’s back.

Rainwater sprayed in a splash as she dashed at lightning speed.

Piercing through the harsh torrent of rain that beat painfully against her whole body, she ran toward its head.

The massive serpent’s body heaved slickly, but she leaped up, keeping her footing by a hair’s breadth.

Boom! A thunderous blast erupted below. Chaud was driving his Aura in with all his might.

Crash! The forest shattered to pieces multiple times over.

Whoosh, tap!

“Phew.”

At last, she mounted the very crown of its head.

Her long hair whipped in the rain.

Erica swiftly raised her sword high.