Reincarnated As An Extra With The 10x Link System-Chapter 43: Is That A Demon?

Chapter 43

’Crap!’

He gasped as he struggled to recover his footing while he staggered forward, as the roots of the surrounding trees suddenly shot up from the ground, springing toward him. The sight of the roots was ghastly, dried up, and devoid of life.

If this attack was the work of the demon they had come here to deal with, then it was best that he not let the roots touch him. He didn’t know what other abilities the vile creature could possess and what attributes it could be hiding.

Remaining calm under the pressure of his possible impending doom, he allowed himself to fall to the ground and caught himself in time with his right hand. And with a great twist, he swung his hips, pushing himself up from the ground with as much force as he could muster.

With a spin, he went flying up, and the roots swiftly followed, deathly springing up with questionable speed. Before they could reach him, though, a luminous crimson flash passed them, and then each of the ravaging roots, neatly severed, fell to the ground.

Megumi landed on his feet, gasping softly in relief as he quickly circled back to his team just before the roots could attack him once again.

He glanced at Rei, who was now wielding a long, curved sword with the hilt of the blade a luminous crimson. The blade of the sword was a subtle and gentle arc, with the edge glowing brighter than the rest of the blade.

The boy had used his ability just in time to sever the roots and subsequently save him from their impending grip.

Megumi held his hand forward, and immediately, sparks of golden light began to appear around his palm, quickly taking the shape of a sword. The hilt of the blade gently fell into his hand, and he gripped it tightly.

Raising the blade, he gestured at Rei.

"Thanks for having my back."

The boy turned to him, a firm smile on his face.

"We’re a team, aren’t we?"

’Yeah, we’re a team.’

Turning his gaze back to the slowly retreating roots, he tried to think to ascertain what could possibly be the cause of the assault just now. There wasn’t much to go by from simply staring at the ghastly roots, but just standing a few meters away from them, he knew one thing.

The middle of the grove, where the harrowing rot that had infected it was yet to reach, was perhaps the only safe haven in its entirety. He could simply turn around and walk out of the vicinity of what lushness remained of the grove, but that wasn’t a risk he was planning to take.

With everything in mind, he could only guess that their target was probably hiding somewhere among the rotting trees spread around them. And knowing that, there was only one way to find out.

Slowly, he spread his legs slightly apart and raised his sword, the tip facing back and the blade facing up. It was a sword stance he had learned during his months of training.

He frowned, adjusting his grip on the blade.

’I really don’t enjoy doing this...’

Slowly, his fingertips lit up with crimson that began burning wildly, going up the hilt of the sword to the tip of its blade. It was not long before the entire sword was engulfed in ravaging crimson flames that danced around his hands as well.

He slightly shifted, adjusting his footing, and then brought the blade down in a swift, vertical motion, allowing his hand to stop just by his waist. In the motion of his swing, the dancing flames flew outward from the blade of his sword with a soft crackle, going past the vicinity of their haven and into the harrowing part of the grove.

The flames hungrily latched onto them, slowly devouring the dried wood from all sides, leaving in the wake of their attack nothing but a picturesque view of wildly dancing crimson flames.

However, he knew that it would only be slow for a moment. It was only a matter of minutes before every tree touched by his flames would be reduced to ash.

’... but I’m willing to wait and see just how much you can endure.’

Without turning his back to the burning grove, he released his left hand from the hilt of the blade, clenched his fist, and raised it firmly, gesturing for them to get ready.

It was the best he could do at the moment, really. And right at that moment, he couldn’t help but remember his many moments with his best friend. Not only would working with Yuki have been much easier, but things would definitely go much better.

But if the fellow children standing behind him were just as smart as they should be, then they most likely knew what they needed to do.

And he was right...

Without needing anything more than his hand gesture, the other three immediately got to work.

Rei readied his blade, the crimson luminescence of his katana coming back to life. He took a stance and then swung his blade horizontally, the crimson light immediately extending from his blade. In the next second, every tree four meters away from where he stood was cut down.

Mei began trying to sense the presence of the demon once again, and Hime quickly got down on one knee and placed her palms on the ground.

All around them, golden chains sprouted from the ground, polished to a blinding sheen. They spread far into the distance, wrapping around the dead trees in a tight embrace.

The ground shook once again, more violently than it had last time, almost shaking them off their feet. And it was then that Mei’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"I’m detecting a strange presence west of us!"

’Barely a minute...?’

Megumi swiftly turned, facing west, and performed the same sword stance he had done earlier. Without even the tiniest bit of hesitation, he swung the somber sword, a sea of flames extending from the blade and quickly latching onto the dry trees in the distance.

The ground, still quaking, turned far more violent, forcing the children to sink their feet deeper into the ground.

Hime changed the trajectory of her attacks, commanding the chains to quickly latch onto most of the trees that were west of them, and it was only then that the rumble subsided.

’Ahh... so you can take more, huh?’

Megumi could almost feel a vein popping out of his head as he was quickly running out of patience—the patience to wait for the vile demon they had come to slay to reveal itself. He was itching to raise his blade and turn another part of the grove to ashes.

But he wouldn’t need to do that anytime soon; the ground slowly began to sink in the distance to the west, a suction desperately pulling in anything that came close... the trees and even Hime’s chains... like the earth itself was slowly being devoured from the inside.

He felt tense staring at the incongruous sight, but more than that, he was strangely enthusiastic about it. His heart beat louder, his fingertips slightly trembling; the demon they had come for was only a moment away from emerging.

Megumi did his best to compose himself, steadying the grip of his fingers around his sword’s hilt, and watched keenly as something slowly began to peek out from the ground in the distance.

It was a skull, an alabaster skull with a single eye socket on its forehead emitting a faint, eerie green glow, like a lantern illuminating a witch’s hut.

He leaned in slightly, trying to get a better look as the strange skull continued to slowly emerge from underground, causing two more eye sockets to come into view, each emitting the same green glow. And as the skull finally came into proper view, he realized...

It was only a mask. A fixed, contemptuous grin, pale and ghastly, that would have made most quaver at the mere sight of it.

And for every one of the children, it was a first seeing anything like it... in person, that is... including Megumi. And they all had the same thoughts.

’Is that... a demon?’