One-way traffic

"Then let me show you what the evil party does."

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Calamity Belonging to the Monsters

It's night, nine o'clock.

The forest was enveloped in the night wind, and footsteps echoed through it all.

Two figures arrived in Alam village at night.

"Hey Ram... slow down!"

Following behind Ram was Subaru Natsuki.

Although his physique was much stronger than that of most people in modern society, it still couldn't compare to the level of non-humans.

The pink-haired demon maid practically sprinted past Subaru Natsuki.

“You’re too slow, Barus.”

"What kind of name is that?! I have a name, Natsuki Subaru! Not some Barus, and besides, that name sounds like it belongs to some random background character! I'm supposed to be the main character, right?!"

“I don’t understand what you’re saying at all, Barus.”

"Uh...it seems like saying anything won't make a difference."

He sighed helplessly and quickly followed Ram in front of him.

The two arrived together in Alam village.

If what Accelerator said earlier is true, then the monster user who cast the spell on Rem should be in this village.

However, what happened after the two entered the village was unimaginable.

"What, what is this...?"

Subaru Natsuki and Ram were both stunned and stood there in shock.

Everywhere was a mess.

Many villagers lay on the ground, torches were scattered in piles, and some houses looked like they had been affected and destroyed, as if there had been an invasion by a foreign race.

There was probably only one villager lying on the ground, still seemingly conscious.

"Hey! Cheer up, hey!"

Natsuki Subaru quickly ran over and helped the young man up.

"What happened? What's going on? Why has the village become like this?!"

"Gurgle—ah...!"

The young man was covered in injuries, but he gritted his teeth and opened his eyes.

"It's monsters... Someone broke through the village's barrier, allowing the monsters to break in. They kidnapped a group of children..."

"Please... it doesn't matter who you are, at least please take care of those children...!"

"Hey, pull yourself together! Hey! Don't die!!"

Subaru Natsuki shouted excitedly, while Ram walked over with a frown.

She raised her hand, and a faint white light enveloped the young man in front of her.

"...He is still alive, but he has fainted due to his injuries."

"damn it!"

Natsuki Subaru slammed his fist into the ground.

Ram looked in one direction.

In this village, many trees are surrounded by emerald green crystals, which are magical items used to protect the village.

The crystal on one of the trees, however, paled in comparison.

"Just as he said, the barrier used to protect the villagers has been destroyed."

"So that's why the monsters rushed in? And then, miraculously, they kidnapped the children too..."

Natsuki Subaru frowned.

Thinking back to the children he had played with that morning, he simply couldn't accept this fact.

If, if those children die because of the monsters.

"Hey, Ram."

“Even if you don’t say it, Ram knows what you’re going to do, Barus.”

She glanced around and noticed a fairly sharp iron sword on the ground.

It appears to be the weapon this young man used to fight against the monsters, but the area around the sword is covered in blood, and it's unclear whether it's the young man's blood or the monster's blood.

"But you need to think this through. One magical beast is manageable, but that's a forest, the habitat of magical beasts."

"Really? Well, thank you for explaining this to me."

Subaru Natsuki walked calmly to the front of the sword.

He easily picked up the iron sword and fastened it to his waist.

"So, now that you understand what I'm going to do, you must also understand that I will absolutely not back down on this kind of thing, right?"

"...Is it really necessary?"

Ram looked at Subaru Natsuki with a puzzled expression.

"Ram came here to avenge Rem, which gives Ram a reason to go to the forest where the monsters are."

"But what about you, Barus? Even if you're saying it's to avenge Rem, that's a far-fetched argument. If it's for the sake of these village children, you two should have only met a few times."

"Is it necessary to put ourselves in such danger for someone we've only met a few times?"

"It's not like we've only met a few times."

what?

Ram paused slightly, while Natsuki Subaru took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“Petra, Ryuga, Mild, Mena, Dain, and the Gain brothers… it’s not like they’ve only met a few times.”

"Although we have only met a few times, my bond with these kids is far more complex than just a few meetings... I know exactly what they want to do and what they want to do in the future."

"And it's not just me, your favorite little sister Rem also knows everything about these brats."

Under Ram's almost stunned gaze, Natsuki Subaru grinned.

The young man, who had once experienced death, issued this declaration.

“I won’t turn back. This isn’t just about meeting a few times. I have reasons to save them no matter what.”

"Besides, if Rem were standing here, she would definitely risk getting herself into this forest for them, right? You know what I'm saying, don't you, Ram?"

The red-haired maid from the Oni clan blinked, finally understanding everything completely.

“You’re a really strange person, Barus.”

"Ah, you're right."

Therefore, this young man declared.

"—That's why I am Natsuki Subaru!"

——————————————————————————————————————

—In conclusion.

Although he made such a cool statement, Natsuki Subaru's actual situation when he stepped into this matter—

"...That's too dangerous."

Although he had a steel sword, Subaru Natsuki was unable to do anything.

The surrounding area was littered with the corpses of monsters.

Ram single-handedly slaughtered the surrounding monster horde with her wind magic. Although her physical strength wasn't great, she was still much better than someone like Subaru Natsuki.

That's why Subaru Natsuki felt helpless.

"I uttered such a cool protagonist's declaration, so why can't I do anything about it?!"

"If you want to deal with the monsters yourself, that's fine too, Barus."

"Let's forget it, big sister. The saying 'the capable should do more' is definitely true..."

The two of them chatted back and forth like this until they finally arrived deep in the forest.

The deeper part of the area is actually a hill.

On that hill, all the familiar figures were there.

"Petra! Ryuka!"

One by one, Subaru Natsuki's familiar figures fell on the hill.

The two rushed up to the top and looked at the children lying on the ground in front of them.

—Their bodies were covered in strange claw marks.

"This, this is the same as Rem's back then—!"

"It's a curse...and a very dangerous one at that!"

Ram frowned urgently and squatted down.

"Barus, cover me."

"Eh? You, what did you say?"

"Next, Ram will be responsible for lifting the curse on these children as much as possible. During this period, Ram will not be able to protect the safety of these children."

"You're the only person I can rely on."

Hey—you're kidding, right?

Before Natsuki Subaru could even offer his opinion, a white light flashed behind him.

Ram has begun to break the spells on the children.

During this period, she could not be attacked and she was unable to put up any resistance.

She can only be protected by Natsuki Subaru alone.

"Damn it...does that mean we have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it?"

As the wind blew, Natsuki Subaru heard the sounds coming from his surroundings.

Several shadows appeared before him.

It's Warcraft.

There wasn't just one; there were two more.

Natsuki Subaru swallowed hard.

He had no choice but to draw the iron sword from his waist, take a deep breath, and steady himself.

The monsters gradually approached as he moved.

In any case, he only has one path.

"—Come on, you bunch of little stray dogs!!"

His job was to draw the monsters' attention, so that Ram behind him could land safely.

Even though he had hardly ever done any real combat before, he had to do it.

Besides, they've already died once already, so it's all the same situation.

Boom! A monster charged straight at him, while two others circled around from the left and right.

Before that, Natsuki Subaru had already rolled his clothes into a ball and wrapped it around one of his arms.

He swung his iron sword at the monster's head first.

*Snap!* The monster opened its mouth wide and bit down on his sword blade.

Damn it, they're definitely not that easy to deal with!