Breaking Off the Engagement… Just as Intended Chapter 18

Having run towards the place I had heard the voices from what I saw there was chaos.

Eh? What is this? [1]
Did my eyes go bad, maybe.
I did discover the children being unharmed. [2]
For now it seems like their injuries are on the level of small scratches.
The problem is ..

The monster that is currently in front of me.
If I had to say whether the wolf-types we had been looking for were here, then well, yeah, they were.
They were being held captive as the inferiors though.

There was a monster that resembled an animal I had seen in a book in the past.
But, if I recall correctly, that book was t.i.tled ‘Animals of the Sea’ wasn’t it?
No matter how you think about it, for that to be here in a forest was weird.
Eehto, if my memory hasn’t gone bad that is called an ‘Octopus’ I think. [3] [4]
The size is completely skewed though.

Right now in front of me the Octopus-type monster was grasping the wolf-type monsters with I don’t know whether arms or legs or what, and whirling them around.
The size of the Octopus-type monster was around 2 metres, and while that was big just how much strenght must it have had in those arms, maybe legs, that it could swing around 8 wolf-type monsters at the same time?
One, one was fatter.
In the book it was written that the part that looked like the head was the torso, and that the mouth and eyes are the place from where around the arm-like appendages begin to spread out from, but how about this guy? [5]
In the end it is but a monster that resembles an octopus after all.
And normally something like that wouldn’t be in a forest to begin with.
As I observed it in that manner, our eyes met.

Eh?
It has eyes on the part that I thought was the torso!
It’s nothing but a mock-octopus, then. (1)

For now now I got to rescue the children first.
I called out to the children who were looking at the mock-octopus with in blank amazement/overcome with suprise.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Because a voice suddenly called out to it the child I talked to made a suprised expression.
But seeing me it clinged to me with teary eyes.

“S-sc-scary~! Save us.” [6]

Because of the fear it’s voice was trembling.
In order to calm it down I was clapping them on the back while holding them.

“It alright. First of all let us get away from here. Right now that monster is busy swinging around those wolf-types, so let’s escape together.”

As long as there were children here I couldn’t very well go and fight.
As one might expect, but facing off against that number while protecting the children would be putting them into danger.
Just as we were trying to escape, the mock-octopos took notice of us and threw a wolf-type monster at us that it was swinging around.
What’s more, with quite some control and speed it flew straight over here.
Since I was holding onto the children tightly I couldn’t draw my sword. 
p>[7]
In order to at least make sure that the children wouldn’t be harmed I covered them with my body and readied for the coming impact.

.. Are?
That impact isn’t coming.
As I was turning around wondering about that I could see the figure of the monster that should have been thrown over here lying on the ground riddled with arrows throughout it’s body. (2)
What is the meaning of this?
Wondering that a person that shouldn’t have been here appeared.

“Ririina, are you alright?”

The one who inquired so of me was .. Chris-sama. (3)
Astonished I asked him.

“Wh-why has Chris-sama come to a place like this?”

“Ririina, let’s leave that matter for letter, okay. Right now we must protect the safety of those children. It seems that the rest have arrived as well.”

Upon those words appeared Thoma and the others.

“Ririina! Are you alright!? To rush off alone .. huh, who’s that?” (4)

Thoma surveyed Chris-sama cautiously.
Oh, right, Thoma doesn’t know of the past Chris-sama, so even now he wouldn’t know.
But this wasn’t the place for that.

“Thoma, I apologize for going first alone. Still, let’s not talk about that right now but later. More importantly, can I leave it to you to get these children safely back to the village?”

I patted the children on their backs to calm them down and entrusted them to our comrades.

Thoma responded with ‘Understood’ and gave orders to one of his comrades to return them to the village.
While that was happening the rest was inspecting the mock-octopus that was swinging around the wolf-types.
It really catches your eye, doesn’t it.

Well then, what do to.
With the situation as it is even those wolf-type monsters that are getting whirled around are turned into weappons.
Would it be fine to just cut off those arms?
But it was written that octopi could regenerate their arms, so how about that monster then?

“Say, Thoma. Shall we try to cut off those arms?”

“Yeah, I suppose. In order to attack it those arms are in the way after all. Alright, I’ll go try my luck with one of them.”

Saying that Thoma attacked one of the mock-octopus’ arms.
Zaku
Dossa
Cutting it off was a success.
The wolf that had been thrown around with such force the whole time didn’t seem to be alive anymore.

Because the mock-octopus got attacked it directed it’s hostility towards us.
As for the cut off arm .. it was only starting but it certainly started to regenerate.

“Hey, Thoma, look! The place that got cut has started to regenerate. It would be better to settle this before it can complete it.”

Hearing my words Thoma called out orders.

“Everyone, listen to me! That guy seems to be able to regenerate. We’ll cut off all it’s arms and finish it off in one go!”

Everyone responded to Thoma’s words with an ‘Ooo-!’.
As I was trying to join the battle as well Chris-sama called out to me.

“Ririina, I will back you up, too. I’ll leave the arms to you and aim for the eyes. I know about your strenght but don’t do anything reckless now, alright.”

“I understand. Thank you very much, Chris-sama.”

Once we exchanged that conversation we also partic.i.p.ated in the battle.
Maybe because Thoma had cut off on of the arms it seemed to be on it’s guard, threatening us while wielding the wolf-type monsters.
Because it had raised it’s arms high it made it troublesome to cut them.
But if you’re gonna be like that then ..

I climbed on a tree close to the mock-octopus.
It was just about the height of the arms of the mock-octopus.
Unhesitatingly I brandished my sword, jumped off and like that slashed it’s arm.
Zaku
Dossa
Yep, I splendidly cut it off.

Everyone else seemed to startled but without delay Thoma gave everyone their instructions.

“Now! While the monster doesn’t know what happened to it. The other arms haven fallen to the ground to so go clear them up with all you got!”

At that everyone leaped at the mocktopus at once. [8]
Chris-sama, too, was wielding his bow aiming for the eyes and contributing damage.
And like that one by one the arms got cut off.
Before long all the arms had been lopped off.

The mocktopus’ body turned completely red as it got enraged.
As I was thinking that with this we just had to deal the finis.h.i.+ng blow now, the mocktopus suddenly flew up into the air.

You’re lying .. it can fly?

But it seemed like it couldn’t actually fly in the sky, instead it jumped up with incredible vigour.
And thus for some reason it aimed for me as it swooped down.
Those are some good guts it got.
I, too, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vigour tried to welcome the mocktopus with it’s defeat.

But, that ended in a false start.
If asked why, it’s because ..

“Ririina! Look out!” “Ririina!”

Thoma’s back appeared before my eyes.
And following him was a storm of arrows that made one doubt their eyes.
Those arrows. .h.i.t the mocktopus that had gone a bit mad.
And finally, Thoma finished it off in a single decisive strike.

Are?
What about my turn?
Indeed, we were able to defeat it safely, so that should be fine. Right ..