Chapter 43: The devils welcome
Zodac arrived at the very edge of disaster.
The beast's claw was already descending, its shadow swallowing the mage girl whole, when a massive shield slammed into its path with a thunderous crash.
*BOOM.*
The impact echoed through the street like a cannon firing. Stone walls rattled, loose tiles shattered, and a shockwave rippled outward, knocking over barrels and sending dust spiraling into the night air.
"Run. Go. **Now.**" Zodac's voice cut through the chaos—cold, commanding, absolute.
He stood between the monster and the fallen mage like an immovable wall, his boots digging into the cracked earth as he absorbed the full force of the blow. The war hog shield—massive, rectangular, engraved with the snarling visage of a black war hog—scraped the ground at his feet and rose to his shoulders, a fortress of iron and ancient power.
The monster snarled in fury.
Its arm was monstrous up close—cords of black muscle wrapped in leathery hide, veins bulging as it clenched its hand into a fist. With a roar filled with rage and humiliation, it drove that fist straight into the shield again.
*BOOOOM.*
Zodac grunted, the impact shuddering through his bones. The ground beneath him cracked, spiderweb fractures racing outward, but he did not move an inch. His stance was perfect. Calculated. Anchored.
"Tch…" He exhaled sharply. "You hit hard."
The creature leaned in, pressing its weight forward, trying to crush him through brute force alone. Its skull-like face loomed inches from the shield, white armored plating etched with old scars, saliva dripping from between rows of jagged fangs.
Zodac's crimson eyes narrowed.
"Let's see if you can take it too."
He bent his knees and inhaled once.
"**Shield Rush.**"
The world lurched.
Mana exploded from the war hog shield, crimson lines blazing across its engraved surface. Zodac launched forward like a living projectile, his speed multiplying in an instant. The shield struck the monster dead-center with the same devastating force the legendary war hog once used to tear through forests and flatten battle lines.
*BOOOOOOM.*
The beast was ripped from the ground and hurled backward, its massive body tearing through a market stall before crashing into a stone wall. The wall collapsed inward, burying the creature in rubble.
Silence followed—thick, stunned silence.
Zodac straightened and glanced down at the shield, a faint hint of surprise flickering across his otherwise unreadable face.
"…Wow," he muttered.
The rubble exploded outward.
*ROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!*
The monster burst free, eyes blazing with feral hatred. Dust and broken stone cascaded from its shoulders as it lowered its body and charged—faster than before, claws tearing trenches into the street as it sprinted.
Zodac reacted instantly.
He leapt backward just as the creature vaulted into the air, its entire body curling into a brutal downward smash. The ground where Zodac had stood vanished beneath a crater as the monster's fist slammed down.
Before it could recover—
"**War Thrust.**"
Zodac thrust his arm forward.
The shield detached from his grip in a flash of red light, launching like a siege weapon. It crossed the distance in a heartbeat, spinning slightly as it screamed through the air.
The monster looked up just in time.
Instead of dodging, it roared and slammed its armored skull forward, meeting the shield head-on.
The collision was cataclysmic.
*BOOOOOOOOM.*
A violent shockwave ripped outward, flattening nearby fences and shattering windows across the street. The force blasted dust and debris skyward like a storm. For a moment, even time itself seemed to hesitate.
The shield rebounded and snapped back toward Zodac, locking onto his arm as if it had never left.
He was already moving.
Zodac surged forward through the settling dust, his sword—**Kogetsu**—flashing free in one smooth motion.
Slash.
The monster's arm split open, black blood spraying across the stones.
Slash.
Its shoulder buckled, bone cracking beneath the blade's arc.
Slash.
Its chest was carved open, the force of the strike sending it stumbling backward.
Slash.
The blade kissed its neck, drawing a deep, burning line just beneath the armored plating.
"*GRAAAAAAAAGHHHH!*"
The creature screamed, staggering, its massive body swaying as pain finally overwhelmed rage. It swung blindly, desperate, its fist whistling through the air toward Zodac's head.
Zodac raised the shield again.
*BOOM.*
The impact drove him back a step, boots skidding across blood-slick stone.
"…Annoying," he muttered.
"Kogetsu—**Whirlwind.**"
He spun, blade howling as compressed air erupted from the slash, a crescent of force tearing through the night. The monster twisted at the last second, the attack grazing its chest instead of cleaving it in two.
Blood sprayed.
The beast roared again, fury now tinged with something new.
Fear.
Zodac didn't give it time to think.
"**Shield Rush.**"
He charged once more, the shield blazing as he slammed into the creature with overwhelming pressure. The impact sent it skidding backward, claws gouging furrows into the street as it crashed to the ground.
The monster lay there, chest heaving, tongue lolling grotesquely from its mouth. Its eyes flicked up to Zodac as he approached—slow, deliberate, utterly calm.
Zodac smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
It was sharp. Predatory.
He could feel it now—clear as day.
The beast was afraid.
Its body shifted backward inch by inch, muscles trembling, instincts screaming at it to flee. It growled low, torn between survival and wounded pride.
Zodac took another step.
Then another.
"Running already?" he asked softly.
The creature snapped, lunging forward in a last, desperate charge.
"**War Thrust.**"
The shield launched again, slamming into its skull and knocking it flat. As it struggled to rise—
"Kogetsu—**Whirlwind.**"
The slash wave tore across its face, ripping through flesh and armor alike. The monster screamed, blood pouring freely now, and finally—finally—it turned and ran.
It fled the town without looking back, crashing through the outer gate and vanishing into the darkness beyond.
Zodac stood at the edge of the street, watching until the sounds faded completely.
"…Bastard," he muttered.
His gaze hardened.
"It'll be back."
"It will," a voice agreed.
Zodac turned slightly.
The mage girl stood behind him now, clutching her staff, her breathing uneven but steady. Moonlight caught in her violet hair and pale eyes as she studied him with open astonishment.
Zodac said nothing.
The silence stretched—heavy, uncomfortable.
"Uh…" She cleared her throat, forcing a smile. "Always nice to meet a fellow adventurer. I'm Roxy."
She extended her hand.
"Zodac."
The war hog shield dissolved into red light as he reached out and shook her hand briefly.
Before anything else could be said, an elderly man hurried forward, trembling with relief. "Thank you, brave adventurers! You saved our—"
"Hold it."
Both Roxy and the old man froze.
"I'm tired," Zodac said flatly. "We can pause the appreciation gimmick and continue tomorrow."
He walked past them without another glance and headed straight for the inn.
Roxy stared after him, stunned.
"…You're welcome, sir," she said weakly to the old man before jogging after Zodac.
Inside the inn, she caught up to him just as he reached the third door down the hall—right next to hers.
"That was a bit rude," she said.
"I'm exhausted," Zodac replied. "I want to catch some zzzs."
"…What?"
"I want to sleep."
"Oh. Okay…"
She hesitated. "But you really shouldn't cut people off like th—"
"Is this your room?" Zodac interrupted, nodding toward the door beside his.
"Yes. Any problem?"
"None."
He opened his door, paused, then glanced back at her.
"One thing," he said calmly. "Keep your moans down. You'll disturb me."
The door closed.
Roxy stood frozen in the hallway, face burning crimson, hands flying up to cover it as her mind short-circuited.