...The first thing to use is.
[Super Regeneration]
Regenerate my body as much as possible and bring it as close to peak condition as I can.
If I take no damage for five seconds, almost all of that damage will be regenerated.
That was the kind of ability it was.
Feeling my broken bones and damaged organs repair themselves,
Thud.
I planted a fist on the ground and stood up.
There was no time to rest.
Where is it?
[Super Instinct]
...
......
.........Right.
Far off, toward the collapsing building.
I sprinted straight toward it.
With every point invested into speed, my pace was clearly different from before.
But it still wasn't enough.
There was no doubt that, to that thing, even this would be child’s play.
If it noticed me approaching, I’d die without being able to do anything.
Evade? Impossible.
Resist? No chance.
Defend? As if that were possible.
Speed, strength, stamina, and everything else.
In every respect, I couldn’t beat that monster.
So.
[Stealth]
[Quiet Steps]
Silently.
Don’t carry even a shred of killing intent.
You are an overwhelming weakling.
That doesn’t mean you can show fear, either.
If you lose your focus, you die.
If you slip up, you die.
Every step had to be perfect, with not even the slightest mistake.
...I can see it.
I can see the thing.
Its hand was reaching toward the girl, and the sight came into view.
But.
It was leisurely.
Confidence born from the certainty that no one could stop it.
The thing was full of openings.
That was enough.
Snatch.
“Kyah?!”
Sorry.
This’ll be a little uncomfortable, so bear with it.
The moment [Stealth] and [Quiet Steps] were released, I swallowed the girl whole and turned around at once.
In that split second, it had already noticed me.
The hand that had been spread wide was now a fist, coming at me.
As if the world had turned into slow motion, it came at me slowly.
So I accelerated my thoughts even more.
What was the way for me to survive without the girl, who was only just going down my throat, taking the hit head-on?
...Probably none.
Even if I survived that strike, the follow-up would definitely come right after.
...In my case, anyway.
Then.
What was the way to save only the girl?
...There was one.
[Super Instinct]
It was aiming for my head right now.
Dodging was, of course, impossible.
The girl was still stuck in my throat.
...The ideal time was one second.
If I wanted to survive too, I only needed to buy one second.
Then I would pour everything I had into that one second.
[Sharp Claws]
[Strong Teeth]
Bending low, I prepared to dig into the ground.
Of course, that fist would reach me before my head or hands could.
So.
I bought a single fleeting instant.
[Tail Severing]
[Hardened Body]
If I had to pick the fastest part of my body, it would be my tail.
I placed it along the predicted path and cut it off.
Along with [Hardened Body].
I could just barely see the fist smash into the severed tail and turn it to powder.
At that moment.
The fist stopped, just for an instant.
About half a second.
I couldn’t survive.
But.
That was enough to save the girl.
Half a second before the fist reached me, I poured all my strength into it and rapidly dug a deep hole, then forcefully spat the girl into it.
“............!!!”
A face that looked like it couldn’t quite process what was happening came into view.
It’s okay.
I can’t process it properly either.
So.
That was enough.
I saved her—
My consciousness vanished and came back.
First, my body....
I couldn’t get up.
All my limbs were gone.
No, one right arm was still hanging there limply.
But the bones had been reduced to powder, so the flesh was only barely keeping it attached.
I couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t properly feel anything, either.
Had the pain been so severe that my sense of touch had shut down?
Or was it because my body was already dying?
My lower body had vanished cleanly.
Not only that, but my stomach, lungs, liver, gallbladder, and everything else...
Except for my heart, a bit of my upper body, and my head, almost everything had been blown away.
A dry laugh escaped me.
I was lucky.
Incredibly, absurdly lucky.
So lucky that I ended up like this.
At the very last moment, I saw a fragment of the tail he had crushed fly up and enter his eye.
Because of that, he had “missed.”
And I ended up like this.
That was power beyond anything I had accounted for.
If it had landed squarely, I might have vanished completely, leaving behind only a few drops of blood and a bit of flesh.
“...You bastard....”
Right.
I had survived, but I hadn’t done any damage to him.
Maybe his eye stung a little.
That was probably all.
“My vision was blocked for a moment, so I couldn’t land a proper hit....”
Damn it.
It didn’t even sting?
...How unfair.
“........”
“And... calling you trash was definitely a mistake.”
...What?
“You suddenly became more than four times faster. You are clearly a weakling. But you became stronger in an instant to protect a single human and survived my fist... I’ll admit it. I was somewhat surprised.”
Well, the girl probably got blown apart along with your stomach when I burst it open.
But from the way he was muttering, it seemed the girl was safe after all.
...That was enough.
“So I’ll acknowledge you. By the will of the Earth, you are worth killing.”
“........”
If I had been able to speak.
I would have mocked him and said, “How very gracious of you.”
To die after being acknowledged by a Dragon-level monster, huh.
Should I be happy?
I’d rather not.
...The fist was coming closer.
It was over.
There was nothing left now.
I was tired.
I had done everything I could.
I had bet everything, poured everything out.
And I succeeded.
So.
I didn’t feel fear anymore.
It had only been a week.
But at least I was glad it was ending like this.
...The guilt over the hero I had killed.
Maybe this was how I repaid it.
Ah....
KWA-BOOM!!!
“What do you think you’re giving up on by yourself?”
“........?”
...Huh?
“...Who are you?”
“Me? I’m someone who does hero work as a hobby.”
...Huh?
Huh, huh?
...I’m... alive?
Alive?
I’m alive.
But.
How?
That fist had definitely been swung from point-blank range.
It was a blow that seemed like it would crush me just from the wind pressure alone.
And yet.
Clutched against this human’s side, I was alive.
...How?
How on earth?
This was definitely what cognitive dissonance was called.
I was confused.
My head wasn’t working properly.
“...What’s with that half-assed setup? I’m Vaccine Man, born from humanity’s endless pollution!”
Rumble...
The thing’s momentum began to surge.
Several times stronger than before.
So this was what I had tried to resist.
Power so overwhelming its end could not be seen.
And once again, I felt it.
Dragon-level monsters were monsters.
No, disasters.
“The Earth is a living being!”
Natural disaster.
“You humans are no different from pathogens devouring the Earth’s life!!”
Calamity.
“I was born by the will of the Earth to erase those humans and the harmful civilization that gave birth to them!! And you—”
“You talk too much.”
Thud.
...
......
.........
...What just splashed onto the corner of my mouth?
Blood?
Probably.
But then.
So.
Where did that monster, who had seemed like a natural disaster a moment ago, go?
...Ah, this is monster blood.
Then does that mean the monster died?
Why?
Who by.........
...Has my cognitive dissonance gotten a little too severe?
Still, this is a little.
Just a little.
Way too unreasonable.
“Another one-punch! What the hellllllllll!!!”
Seriously.
What the hell kind of monster is this?
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