Singularity (Rimuru x Arifureta)

Chapter 4 | Verbergen and Rejection

Hajime, Yue, and the Haulia continued walking in the woods. They didn't want to deal with the trouble that comes from some other people finding them, so they were kindly advised to tone down their presence, which they did.

The forest really was a sea of trees.

Some trees are small, some reach far above, as the dense greenery became darker and lighter on different times and places.

After a few hours, Hajime stopped, along with Cam.

Cam looked nervous and anxious while Hajime looked composed as he analyzed his surroundings.

"It can't be...! We were actually discovered?!" (Cam)

"No. Looks like it was pure bad luck on our part that they found us." (Yue)

Yue didn't get bothered whatsoever. As long as Hajime was here, nothing else mattered to her.

Sigh, an annoyed sigh escaped his lips as multiple tiger-like beastmen emerged from the bushes.

"Not to mention, this presence is...! Of all people, why them...!?" (Cam)

"DON'T MOVE!"

A loud, deep voice, like a roar, is heard behind them. The rabbitmen all tensed up, while Hajime and Yue are still calm.

"Why is there a human here!?" (Overgrown Cat)

It was definitely not normal to see beastmen and humans together in the sea of trees. The tiger beastman was looking incredulously at Cam, as if he were some kind of race traitor.

Cold sweat poured down Cam's forehead as he tried to think up some kind of excuse. However, the tigerman caught sight of Shea before he could get very far.

"A white haired... rabbit girl? You must be the Haulia tribe in the reports. You're a disgrace to all beastmen. You tricked your fellow beastmen for years, hiding that despicable demon girl, and now you're even bringing humans into our midst!? Traitors! I won't listen to any of your excuses! You're all going to be executed here! Everyone, cha—" (Overgrown Cat)

Bang!

Just before he could finish giving the order to charge, Hajime's gun went off. A red streak scraped past the tigerman's cheek, carving a hole right through the tree behind him, vanishing deep into the sea of trees.

A trail of blood ran down the tigerman's cheek as he stood frozen in place. Everyone stiffened suddenly at this new attack that had come so fast that no one even had time to react.

Despite his casual tone, Hajime's words carried a surprising amount of weight. That was due to the Intimidation skill that he was using, which made his opponents feel a physical pressure from his words.

"I can fire off attacks like that multiple times a second. I know exactly where each and every one of you are. And hell, if I wanted to, I could kill you all in under a minute." (Hajime)

"Wh-Wha— There wasn't even a chant." (Overgrown Cat)

The tigerman faltered. Not only was this human capable of firing off an unknown attack of immense power, he could apparently fire it off multiple times a second without even chanting. Plus, to top it off, he even supposedly knew where they all were. As if to prove his point, Hajime unsheathed Schlag and pointed it into the distance. Right where the tigerman's right-hand man was waiting in ambush. Hajime could tell he was trembling behind the fog.

"If you order your men to attack, I won't show any mercy. Until our contract is complete, these guys' lives are under my protection... Don't think even a single one of your men will go home alive if you try and hurt them." (Hajime)