**Episode 047: Crisis of the Master (Sanada Shuji’s Perspective)**

■ Takahashi Shuji’s side

Rewinding time a bit, it was when Kotaro was heading to rescue the Yukki sisters.

In a zone near Rokudo’s house, where we were leveling up, we encountered Shadows unlike any we had seen before.

“Haa!!”
—Spann!

I swiftly thickened the approaching humanoid torso, which moved towards us on all fours, using an Iaido slash to cut it in half.

“Tch!! Suddenly showing up!!”

Without any warning, a larger vortex than the one from which humanoid Shadows usually emerge appeared, and they crawled out from it.

While regular humanoid Shadows weren’t much of a challenge, these new types were significantly stronger, and we found ourselves in a bit of a struggle.

“Provoke!”

Immediately, I used a skill to gather hate, directing their attention towards me and inducing them to attack me intensively.

“Vwah!”
“Vwah!”
“Vwah!”
—Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Kuh!”

Since many Shadows were focused on me, as soon as I sliced through one, others extended their arms like whips or stretched their tongues like chameleons.

Even at our level, their attacks carried a power that required defense. I quickly defended against the attacks with my Mithril Blade, but the strength of the assaults made me flinch involuntarily.

“Backstab.”

In a quiet voice, Sato muttered the skill name. Sato, acting as an assassin, fully utilized his abilities to deal with enemies one by one with hit-and-run tactics. It was as efficient as a machine.

He focused on reducing the number of entities likely to attack next, easing my burden.

“Are you okay?”
“No problem!”

Seeing that I had taken an attack, Sato used a skill to sneak up behind me, offering reassurance. As I responded after receiving the Shadow’s attack to assure him, Sato once again disappeared, sneaking up on  another Shadow for a surprise attack.

“Vwoah!”
“Sei!”

I, too, timed my attacks, slashing through the monsters.

“Nii!”

And we weren’t the only ones here.

Enjyu, despite her small and cute appearance, had become a monster by contracting with Rokudo, gaining stats and strength simultaneously. Now, she was at a level not much different from ours. Enhanced by the  Craftsman skill, she was strengthened by over fifty percent, effortlessly tearing through the new type Shadows with its claws.

We relentlessly cut down the Shadows.

“If it weren’t for our current equipment and levels, it might have been quite a tough battle.”
“Yeah.”

“Ni!”
The number coming out of the vortex decreased slightly, and we gathered back to back, taking a moment to catch our breath.

As Sato mentioned, thanks to the high-rank equipment obtained through Fortune and Luck skills, and the leveling up using that equipment, we somehow managed to reduce the number of Shadows.

“We were lucky to become friends with Rokudo from childhood, weren’t we?”
“Indeed.”

The Shadows this time were also causing destruction to buildings, so those who were holed up or others might have been in trouble or even taken down.

However, we didn’t have the luxury to help them. Communication methods had already been cut off. We couldn’t reach Rokudo either. The same went for our families. So, once this battle was over, we would depart for rescue immediately.

In that case, even if we helped, we wouldn’t be able to take responsibility afterward. Rokudo, if he’s being attacked right in front of us or if the person we saved isn’t someone he knows, wouldn’t go to help.

However, if it’s a request from the person we saved, he would rush to their aid anywhere.

—Zusshiiin!

While fending off enemy attacks and exterminating the Shadows in the area, we felt the ground shake accompanied by a rumble.

Following the sound’s origin, we found a giant Shadow standing tall in the distance.

“Nii!!”
“Hey hey, what’s that…?”
“That looks dangerous…”

The moment we saw that Shadow, we realized we couldn’t win against it. The giant exuded such an overwhelming presence.

After a while, it seemed like the giant was engaged in some kind of battle.

Who could be fighting such a monster?

Such a question arose in my mind.

“Nii!! Nii!!”
Enjyu ran towards us, trying to convey something. At times like this, Rokudo being nearby would probably make sense.

…Rokudo, huh?

I suddenly understood. The only one who could fight against such a monster was Rokudo. And I also grasped what Enjyu was trying to convey to us.

“Rokudo’s in danger, right?”
“Seems like it.”

Sato and I exchanged glances.

“Well, then, let’s go help him.”
“Yeah. But before that, it’s better to collect the contents of these treasure chests. The chests from non-humanoid Shadows might contain items that haven’t appeared before, and they might be useful for something.”
“True. Let’s collect the contents and then head to help Rokudo immediately.”

“Nii!!”
We hurriedly collected the contents of the treasure chests.

“What’s this…”
“Don’t know the name, but it looks like it’s for attacking. It might be useful as a diversion.”
“Let’s take it with us for immediate use.”
I found an item that seemed useful among them and decided to take it along. Wearing other accessories that seemed to enhance our strength, we quickly headed towards Rokudo.

There, an unbelievable scene unfolded.

Rokudo, boasting an overwhelming level, lay sprawled out, and the giant Shadow seemed about to deal a fatal blow to him.

“What’s that!?”
“Tch. It got really close!! I’ll distract it with what I just got!!”

Sato and I, shocked but determined to help Rokudo, moved.

“Niiiiiiii!!”

However, unable to watch the situation, Enjyu flew ahead.

“Ah, Enjyu, wait!! Damn it!! Let’s go!!”

“Okay.”

We also immediately followed, and I threw the item I had been carrying towards the giant, which seemed about to swing down arms thicker than a big tree.

—Dooooooon!

The moment the item collided, a tremendous explosion enveloped the surroundings. My ears rang with a piercing noise.

“No way!?”
“Is it dangerous!?”

Dumbfounded by the excessively loud explosion, we widened our eyes. What we threw was a round bomb-like item that looked like something from a game. It turned out to be more powerful than expected.

However, thanks to that, the giant was affected, if not damaged, and it had stopped moving.

We quickly rushed to Rokudo’s side. There, we saw Rokudo with limbs twisted in odd directions, his face covered in blood, looking battered and torn.

The sight almost made me want to cry involuntarily.

“Don’t give up, Rokudo.”
“Yeah, don’t forget that we’re here.”
But, while saying that, we grinned confidently at Rokudo.

“Hahaha. Why the hell did you guys come…? I’m gonna die, you know?”
“Idiot. Can’t let our best friend go down without a fight.”
“That’s right.”

So, we fought. Even if we ended together here, I wouldn’t regret it. There might be lingering attachments, but even now, we continue to be together.

“Nggh!?”
“Drink this and regain your strength.”
Sato shoved some kind of potion into Rokudo’s mouth, contained in a beautiful glass container. Rokudo choked suddenly at the unexpected action, but managed to gulp it down somehow.

『Voooooo』

Meanwhile, the smoke from the explosion suddenly disappeared, revealing the giant creature that had lost about a quarter of its body.

I was momentarily stunned by the tremendous power of that bomb.

“So, what did you make him drink?”
“Dunno.”
“Huh!?”

When I asked Sato what he made Rokudo drink, he replied that he didn’t know. I shouted in shock.

“But with Enjyu here, it should be fine. It’ll definitely turn out in a positive direction.”
“You, seriously…”

I was left speechless by Sato’s words, delivered with a sly smile.

“Well, now let’s buy some time.”
“No other choice. Understood!”

We didn’t know what effects the potion might have, but as Sato said, dealing with the giant creature in front of us was the priority.

We faced the challenge of despair.