Chapter 358: (Beetle) BUBUBUBUBUBU!!
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The Second Plaza is currently riddled with holes and littered with scattered stone fragments due to Emi and the others' battle.
Ambitious, after rolling for a while from the impact of colliding with Maqueterra, finally hit his head against one of those stone fragments and stopped moving.
At the same time, with a 'bonk' sound, the 'Ability Sealing Bell' shattered.
It couldn't withstand the strong impact of rolling on the cobblestones and broke down.
"G-Nuu... what... what happened!?"
However, even though the magic tool is broken, Ambitious has already undergone [Battle Beast Transformation] and transformed into a werewolf, so this level of damage is nothing to him.
It won't hinder him in battle.
But pain is pain.
He hit the back of his head hard.
It throbs painfully.
Ambitious, enduring the pain, shook his head and sat up.
"What the... Uwaah, who is this old man!?"
The first thing he saw was a dirty old man, unconscious, clinging to his chest!
"This, this! Get off me... Huh, huh!?"
Even Ambitious, a first-class assassin, would naturally be startled if a dirty old man suddenly fell from the sky and clung to him!
He frantically tried to pull the old man off, but there was one problem.
"I can't get him off!? I can't get this old man off me!?"
This dirty old man... Maqueterra's backside was covered in honey.
That honey... was tangled in the thick fur growing from Ambitious's chest, now a werewolf, fusing the old man and Ambitious together!
Actually, the Hamejika Honeybee honey on Maqueterra's backside, while edible, can be turned into an adhesive by channeling a large amount of mana through it, and is used as a material for making magic tools.
In other words, the honey on Maqueterra's backside, who had been continuously using flight magic, has completely turned into an adhesive!
What a mess!
"Nuuーーー! Nuuuーーー! Ow ow ow owーーー!?"
And Ambitious's fur is now so tough that even a sword can't cut through it, making it impossible to shave it off and separate them!
And if he tries to pull the fur off forcefully, it won't come off, and it hurts like hell!
"D-Damn, o-ohhhーーー! G-Get... o-off... meーーー!!"
Even so, Ambitious desperately tried to pull the dirty old man off, enduring the pain!
But, however, at that moment!
Thud!!
Yes, there was something that fell in front of Ambitious, making a grand sound!
"Huh...?"
The name of the beetle so huge that it made Ambitious dumbfounded is Destroy Bunbun.
Bathed in the streetlights, its jet-black shell glistening, this beetle.
Loves honey... and has five horns!
"Tch! Hup!!"
Now, Ambitious is a top-class assassin.
He wouldn't do something foolish like stand there dumbfounded in front of a monster. He immediately swung his sharp-clawed arms at Destroy Bunbun.
A sharp slash that could easily slice through a large tree!
But!
With a slippery sound.
Destroy Bunbun's shell deflected Ambitious's claw attack.
Its jet-black shell, even after being scratched by his claws, was still glossy and unscathed.
In other words, no damage.
...This Destroy Bunbun's shell has incredibly high defense.
The reason for this is to break beehives and protect itself from bee stings.
In Destroy Bunbun's natural habitat, there are bees as large as him, and those bees build huge nests, comparable in size to human castles.
Destroy Bunbun has evolved to be strong and hard... to fight those bees and obtain honey.
That's why Ambitious's claws didn't work.
It was the moment when the biological characteristics of a creature, honed over a long history, easily repelled the honed skills of an assassin.
How amazing.
Now.
This honey hunter, unfazed by Ambitious's attack, sniffed the air, and then.
With its large, round eyes.
Stared intently at Ambitious.
"!!"
Ambitious, sensing danger through intuition, jumped back.
"BUBUBUBUBUBU!!"
And Destroy Bunbun, exposing its wings and rising into the air, began charging towards Ambitious, almost simultaneously!
"NuwAAAAAAH!?"
Ambitious, dodging the charge with a side jump, but Destroy Bunbun's attack didn't end there!
"BUBUBUBUBUBUーーー!!"
This beetle, despite its large size, is surprisingly agile!
It can move around in the air with sharp turns, like a hummingbird!
Destroy Bunbun immediately changed direction and charged towards Ambitious again!
"What's going on!? What the hell is happeningーーー!?"
Ambitious, not knowing what was going on, with the dirty old man still stuck to his chest, turned his back on the persistently chasing super giant beetle Destroy Bunbun, and started running away with all his might!
He was no longer in a position to think about revenge or anything else!
The werewolf, bursting out of the Second Plaza and into a back alley, sprinting at full speed!
And the super giant beetle, instinctively chasing after him!
Yes, now, at this moment!
A dirty old man covered in honey... a werewolf with a dirty old man tangled in his chest fur, and a super giant beetle... a desperate chase for their lives... has begun!!
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Emi,
Lying on the cobblestones of the Second Plaza.
Was silently watching this whole scene unfold, with a dumbfounded feeling.
...Well, anyway, for now.
The crisis has passed.
Convinced of that, she quietly closed her eyes.
And let go of her consciousness.