Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 5 Chapter 31   –Thank you

With determination in that moment, I triggered an explosion, involving myself, and soared away from the children.

Although I used a magical device for protection, the impact of the explosion at such close range still brought some pain.

But so what?

Yes, it hurts. But that’s all there is to it. I didn’t break any bones, tear any flesh, or get poisoned.

I can move despite the pain. So, there’s no problem at all.

Suppressing the pain, I landed and immediately started running towards my intended destination.

Perhaps because all the children were targeting me, there was no one a little away from where I was.

Upon reaching my destination, I dipped my fingers in the blood from the wounds that covered my body and used it to draw a simple pattern on the ground.

After completing the pattern, I attached an intricately crafted magic stone to it with adhesive to secure it in place.

While engrossed in such actions, the children had drawn closer, so I promptly left that spot and moved towards the next destination.

…Only six more to go!

Using a smoke screen to obstruct their vision, I forcefully pushed through the children and headed to the next location, repeating the same process as before.

That’s the second one. Five more to go!

However, when I tried to escape using the smoke screen once more, to my surprise, they seemed to have learned from the first time and a long, large arm extended toward me, breaking through the smokescreen.

“Gah!”

I had anticipated they would find a way to counter it, but I didn’t expect them to do it so quickly.

Though I created the smokescreen myself, it was challenging to evade the approaching arm with my vision obstructed. I narrowly dodged it and continued on my path, cutting off the limbs of the children who were in my way, shooting at their heads, and advancing forward.

In this manner, I completed the third task, then continued through the fourth and fifth.

However, that’s when a problem arose.

It’s not that more enemies appeared or that the children started using entirely new techniques. The issue was simple: my stamina was running low.

While on my way to the sixth task after finishing the fifth, my knees buckled, and my strength drained away.

Well, it’s only natural. Even though I mentioned sparring with Miyano and the others, those sessions usually last no longer than thirty minutes, and that’s with strategic breaks. Moreover, going all out from start to finish like this, in a relentless sprint for my life, is something I’ve never done before.

And yet, now I’ve been moving around for at least thirty minutes. Not to mention, I’ve already depleted some of my stamina before even arriving here. It’s inevitable that exhaustion would catch up to me.

But even so, I can’t give up here.

“Ugh, aaargh!”

My knees felt weak, and I nearly collapsed, but I forced myself to prop up with my gun still in hand and pushed forward despite the strain.

This makes it the sixth one. Just one more… just one more, and the preparations will be complete.

However, yet another problem arose.

Forcing my way to this location and working on these tasks have compromised my posture, leaving me off-balance.

“Urgh!”

A soccer ball-sized rock flew towards me, crushing my left foot.

The pain, combined with the fatigue, almost caused me to lose consciousness, but I gritted my teeth and endured it with sheer determination.

Yet, even though I managed to maintain consciousness, my movements came to a halt, and that remained unchanged.

“AAAAAARGH!”

As I came to a halt, tentacles reached out and grabbed my crushed left foot.

An indescribable pain spread not just through my leg but throughout my entire body, and my head throbbed as my vision blurred into a reddish hue.

Yet, the attacks didn’t stop.

“Ugh! Grrr!”

The tentacles repeatedly slammed me into the floor while still holding me captive.

After enduring several of those strikes, the tentacles ceased their relentless pounding but instead suspended me upside down in mid-air.

In my now hazy and blurred vision, I could sense magic being prepared by multiple entities aiming at me. There were at least ten of them, if not more.

Taking those attacks head-on in my current state would mean certain death. I couldn’t afford to take such a hit.

However, in this restrained position, I couldn’t evade the incoming magic attacks. I had no choice but to do something about the tentacles. Yet, despite repeatedly slashing at them, they showed no signs of giving in, quickly regenerating after each cut.

In the meantime, the children seemed to have finished preparing their magic, and they were now poised to unleash it all upon me.

…I had no time to hesitate!

With a decisive resolve, I made my choice, and just as I did, the children released their magic, and all of it came crashing down upon me.

Explosions, fierce gusts of wind, lightning bolts, and massive rocks—all the magic unleashed by the children reached the tips of the tentacles, causing an impact that surpassed anything my bombs could ever achieve.

Yet, I was still alive.

Of course, it’s not as if I survived by taking those attacks head-on. If I had, I’d be long gone by now.

No, it was a simple matter of being trapped by the tentacles and not being able to escape. But if I couldn’t run away, then all I had to do was cut off the trapped leg—problem solved.

Fortunately, losing my left leg didn’t render my right leg, my dominant leg, useless, so I could still move.

Well, my mobility was severely hindered, and my range of movement was limited. Additionally, I couldn’t fully escape, resulting in my left arm being burned and shattered, rendering it unusable.

So, right now, I could only rely on my right hand and right leg—only half of my body was functional.

But still, I was alive.

However, the situation remained dire, surrounded by superhumans who could heal any injuries I inflicted on them. I, on the other hand, was half-dead with my severe wounds. It was undoubtedly a desperate situation.

…Hah. The difference in abilities is laughable.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t afford to give up.

Just one more. If I can get through that, I can end it all.

Besides, I could easily grow back a limb or two using healing magic. So, there’s no need to worry about that.

However, with the situation still surrounded and having only one hand and one foot to rely on, I’d be caught if I tried to advance like this.

The children must have realized that they couldn’t finish me off yet, as they are now running towards me to capture me.

“Gaaahhh!”

So, just like at the beginning, I detonated a bomb to blow away the surrounding children and propelled myself towards the final destination.

I used a fast-acting painkiller, but the pain was still excruciating.

But what does pain matter!

I made up my mind. I can’t collapse here! Just a little more. I can handle this with sheer determination. I’ll find a way!

“Dammit, just a bit more…!”

Without the use of my left hand and left leg, I can’t move as fast as usual.

I’ve discarded everything unnecessary, including most weapons and supplies, keeping only the essentials for my upcoming battle.

In this state, I ran and finally arrived.

The children were closing in fast from behind, and in a matter of seconds, they could catch me.

But now, I’m ready!

In the end, what matters most is not talent or skill, but sheer determination.

“…Seven-Day Sealing Formation, activate!”

With my declaration, the seven tools I arranged started to shine, displaying their effects.

The movements of the children reaching out towards me halted, and the magic aimed at me also froze in place.

However, it didn’t end there.

Inside the hexagon formed by the seven arranged tools, everything, whether objects or living beings, even the air itself, froze instantly.

From a bird’s-eye view, it might look like a hexagonal pillar or iceberg had formed. Unfortunately, being inside the room, I couldn’t see it from above.

The somewhat chuuni-like incantation when activating it was to ensure that there wouldn’t be any accidental activation. I wouldn’t say such words under normal circumstances.

So, what did I do? I merely used magic. By linking the tools at the vertices of the hexagon, I cast a high-level magic of tremendous power and scale, capable of freezing everything inside.

Normally, I wouldn’t be able to use such a massive spell due to my lack of magical power. But if I draw the insufficient magic from somewhere else, I can make it happen.

As I taught Asada, the magic stones extracted from monsters are packed with magical energy. I used them to make up for the shortage.

However, this tool was mostly meant as insurance and, to some extent, to harass Carter and his crew. I used expensive materials in large quantities to create it, never expecting to actually use it.

After all, what I used were magic stones from special-class monsters. Each one could cost several million, and I used seven of them. It’s the kind of thing I would never use in my normal circumstances.

Having completed the preparations for the tools in advance, the rest was merely about arranging them, which turned out to be more challenging than I expected. Nonetheless, I managed to get it done.

“Sorry, I couldn’t save you.”

But this magic doesn’t end with freezing everything inside the hexagon. Freezing them alone wouldn’t be enough; that’s why I need one more step.

As the finishing touch of the spell, I picked up a gun that had fallen nearby, aimed it at the massive ice in front of me, and fired.

Though the gun’s recoil threw off my posture, the bullet itself hit the ice spot on.

Accompanied by an almost crystalline sound, the ice, along with the children inside, shattered into powder in an unimaginable explosion.

…Cliché as it may sound, if it were possible, I’d wish for a happier life for them.

Amidst the glimmering ice particles reflecting the light, I collapsed to the ground, gazing at the sky with closed eyes.