The Mid-Boss's Roar

THUD. THUD.

The sound was far too heavy and ominous to be called mere footsteps.

Like a massive pile driver striking the ground in a steady rhythm.

The school's concrete walls trembled faintly, and the window panes rattled in resonance.

"Wh-what is that… an earthquake?"

"No… something's walking…"

Inside the classroom, students hiding behind the desk barricade huddled together, trembling.

The goblins' shrieks had stopped.

The green imps that had filled the schoolyard moments ago now fell silent and parted to either side, clearing a path.

Like slaves welcoming a king's procession.

I moved to the window and carefully peered down at the schoolyard through a gap in the curtains.

The massive "hole" that had opened in the center of the schoolyard.

A new despair was crawling out from it.

What slowly emerged was a mass of flesh like a boulder.

Its height easily exceeded two meters.

A grotesquely fat pig-like head, with a neck and arms thicker than a professional wrestler's.

Its skin was a murky gray, and thick layers of fat caked with mud and filth served as natural armor covering its entire body.

Every time that enormous frame moved, an intense bestial stench drifted on the wind.

"… A pig demon, huh."

I murmured quietly.

If goblins were F-rank small fry, this thing was a mid-tier D-rank monster.

Its combat ability alone equaled ten goblins, and its charge could easily flip a light truck.

Gripped in its thick fingers was a bent road sign pole, wielded like a toy club.

BUMOOOOOOOOO!!

The orc looked up at the sky and let out a thunderous roar.

The air physically trembled.

This wasn't just a loud voice. It was intimidation laced with mana.

The shockwave caused new cracks to spider across the school's remaining windows, and several shattered completely.

"Hiiih…!"

"My ears, my ears hurt…!"

The students in the classroom clutched their ears and crouched down.

The shock of being punched directly in the eardrums, and the primal fear of having the gap between them and this creature laid bare.

The goblins nearby, upon hearing that voice, scattered like baby spiders and prostrated themselves on the ground, pressing their foreheads to the dirt.

An absolute hierarchy.

It was obvious at a glance who the boss of this group was.

BABABABABABA!!

Just then, a dry rotor sound cut through the lingering echoes of the roar, coming from the sky above.

Looking up, I could see a Self-Defense Force multipurpose helicopter painted in olive drab rapidly approaching the school.

"The SDF! We're saved!"

"But isn't it too fast for them to be here!?"

Cheers and confused questions erupted simultaneously from the classroom.

It was true. In peacetime Japan, getting a heavily armed helicopter on scene within minutes of a distress call was unheard of.

"… So that's what the news meant by 'ground subsidence survey.'"

At my murmur, realization dawned on Sakaki's face.

The mysterious ground subsidences and foul odors that had been occurring frequently in the area over the past few days. Under the pretext of investigating those, a Ground Self-Defense Force unit had already been deployed nearby.

They must have heard the explosions and disturbances and scrambled here.

'This is a warning! Drop your weapons and surrender immediately—no, wait, monsters!? All units, permission to fire! This is an emergency measure, shoot!'

The pilot's panicked voice leaked through the external speaker.

Seeing the carnage below, the devoured teacher's corpse and the green imps wandering about, they must have immediately decided on either "dangerous animal elimination" or "terrorist suppression."

GAGAGAGAGA!!

The heavy machine gun jutting from the helicopter's side spat fire.

Large-caliber rounds rained down on the orc at three thousand rounds per minute.

Asphalt was gouged, dust clouds rose.

Several rounds hit the orc's massive body, causing its gray flesh to ripple.

"Did they get it!?"

The students leaned forward.

Trust in modern weaponry. Gazes expecting a Hollywood-style elimination.

But my eyes remained cold.

(Too naive.)

The dust cleared.

There stood the orc, barely bleeding and perfectly fine.

The bullets had been stopped by its thick layer of fat, failing to reach muscle or organs. There was probably pain, but nowhere near enough to deplete that massive body's vitality.

To kill an orc with conventional weapons, you'd need an anti-materiel rifle or rocket launcher. Peashooters would only make it angry.

BUMOOO!!

The orc snorted in rage.

It glared at the sky like there was an annoying fly buzzing around.

Then it casually picked up a piece of debris at its feet—a concrete block from the collapsed school gate—with one hand.

A chunk weighing at least a hundred kilograms, lifted like a softball.

"… This is bad."

The moment I muttered.

The orc's powerful arm roared.

BUUUN!!

A throw. The concrete block was launched into the sky at shell-like speed.

Acceleration that defied physics.

'Evade! EVAAADE!!'

The pilot's scream.

The helicopter tried to bank sharply, but it wasn't fast enough.

DOGAAAAAAN!!

The debris struck near the tail rotor.

With the sickening sound of crumpling metal, the helicopter lost its balance.

Spinning like a top, it tumbled out of control and crashed beyond the school building.

ZUDOOOOON…!

An explosion and black smoke rose in the distance.

"Ah… ahhh…"

The cheers in the classroom instantly transformed into despairing silence.

The Self-Defense Force had lost.

Even an aerial attack was useless.

That monster was about to enter this very building.

That fact was more than enough to break the students' spirits.

"No way… what are we supposed to do…"

"It's over… we're all going to die…"

Female students collapsed in tears. Male students stared blankly at the ceiling.

The fall from hope to despair bred a resignation worse than panic.

But.

I alone watched that scene with a twisted smile.

(He's probably got a nice magic stone.)

The orc's chest. The magic stone buried deep within that thick torso should be incomparably larger and purer than a goblin's.

Plus, that tough hide and those tusks would make excellent armor materials once processed.

High risk, high return.

That was the adventurer's iron rule.

I felt bad for the SDF, but that thing wasn't an opponent for firearms.

You shouldn't suppress it with area fire from a machine gun. You should pierce it with a single concentrated strike, like a stake.

I adjusted my grip on the Malformed Rebar I'd pulled from my fishing rod case and clapped my stunned friend on the shoulder.

"Sakaki."

"Huh, y-yeah… Kurose, what do we do? We'll be wiped out if we stay here."

"Yeah, it's only a matter of time before the whole building gets demolished at this rate. So I'll draw its attention."

"Huh?"

Sakaki's eyes went wide.

A look questioning my sanity.

"Did you see what just happened!? That thing shot down a helicopter! There's no way you can win with just an iron pipe!"

"Not if I fight it head-on."

I shouldered the rebar again and gave a fearless smile.

"But this is our 'backyard.' We have the terrain advantage."

In my mind, the school's floor plans were already overlaying with the orc's behavioral patterns, constructing the perfect assassination plan.

Lure that massive body into the narrow school building, trap it, and finish it off for certain.

"Sakaki, I need a favor."

I fixed Sakaki with a serious gaze.

"While I keep that thing busy, take everyone in class and escape to a higher floor. Third or fourth floor, as high as you can get."

"Wha… you want me to just run away!?"

"That's not it. We need a commander. A panicking fool like Matsunaga would get everyone killed. You need to lead everyone and build a barricade somewhere safe."

I deliberately used strong words.

To give him a "role to protect" rather than the guilt of "running away."

"… Kurose."

Sakaki bit his lip, and after a few seconds of inner conflict, gave a firm nod.

"Alright. Don't you dare die."

"Obviously. Who do you think you're talking to?"

I answered briefly and headed for the classroom door.

Behind me, I could hear Sakaki starting to shout, "Everyone, we're moving! To the upper floors!"

Good judgment.

I stepped out into the hallway.

From the first floor, I could already hear crashing destruction sounds and the orc's rough snorting.

It had entered.

"Well then."

I struck the tip of the rebar against the floor, producing a sharp clang.

Time to beat some S-rank tactics into that muscle-brained pig.

It's hunting time.