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Authors: Hideyuki Kikuchi
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roots went for D, hoping
to catch him in their iron grip.
Silvery light flashed out. Though the Hunter’s blade only seemed to paint a single
arc, the colossal bird’s wings were both cut down the middle, and fresh blood gushed
from the creature’s throat. The water spouting from the fountain was instantly dyed
red. As D leapt away from the massive beast’s falling corpse, other talons reached
for him. Leaving only the crunch of severed bone in his wake, he slashed a gigantic
leg off at the root.
A shrill scream filled the air. D turned around. Under a slowly rising pair of wings
some fifteen feet away he saw a desperately struggling figure. It was a little girl
in a long skirt. D ran directly under her and her captor. His left hand went into
action. Leaving a white trail in its wake, the needle he hurled pierced the colossal
bird at the base of its throat. Giving a shriek, the creature stopped flapping its
wings and began losing altitude at an alarming rate.
A second later, D’s expression changed. In an instant everything around him was black,
as a hitherto unseen bird of prey with an enormous sixty-five-foot wingspan swooped
down on the bird that had the girl, sank its claws into the base of the other bird’s
back, and started to rise again. The monstrous bird flapped its wings, and a tremendous
shock wave hit the ground. Trees snapped, and the fountain’s geyser blew horizontally.
One after another, the window-panes of every house around the park shattered.
The hem of D’s coat shielded his face. Was that all it took to negate the gale-force
winds coming off the monstrous bird? Though the winds buffeted him, D’s posture didn’t
change in the least as he stood his ground. When the avian monstrosity lifted its
wings a second time, D kicked off the ground with incredible force. Flying almost
straight up, he rose over fifteen feet. His extended left hand latched onto the ankle
of the massive bird the other was carrying. Having taken a deadly blow to a vital
spot, the lower bird was already dead. And the girl it had captured had fainted. Using
his left hand as a fulcrum, D swung his body like a pendulum. In midair his coat opened
and, adjusting for wind resistance, D sailed skillfully onto the back of the larger
bird. The avian monstrosity roared. The harsh cry was not that of a bird, but of a
vicious carnivore.
Holding his sword-point down, D raised the weapon high above his head. All at once,
the wings of the monstrous bird swept back. Quivering, they gave off intense vibrational
waves. The bird-like monstrosity’s back became semitransparent. The agony of having
a needle driven through each and every cell in his body assailed the Hunter. D’s brow
knit ever so slightly. That was his only reaction. The longsword he swiftly brought
down pierced the monstrous bird right through the medulla oblongata.
A howl of pain shook the sky, and, when it ended, the breakup began. The creature’s
death throes must’ve turned the vibrations against its own anatomy, because every
last feather came out of its wings, and its skin and flesh cracked like drying clay.
In the blink of an eye, the monstrous bird of prey was reduced to numerous chunks
of meat spread across the sky.
All this took place at an altitude of six hundred and fifty feet. Together, D and
the little girl fell from the sky.
-
All told, it took the town two hours to fight off the birds of prey. Afterward, traces
of the battle remained. Bright blood ran down the streets, several buildings had their
roofs blown away by the wind pressure, and a boy who’d picked up a still-hot antiaircraft
shell cried out in pain. The faces of the people were unexpectedly bright. There had
been no fatalities. Hardly anyone had been wounded, either. A few people had received
minor cuts from glass blown out of the windows, but that was the extent of the injuries.
What’s more, the food
to catch him in their iron grip.
Silvery light flashed out. Though the Hunter’s blade only seemed to paint a single
arc, the colossal bird’s wings were both cut down the middle, and fresh blood gushed
from the creature’s throat. The water spouting from the fountain was instantly dyed
red. As D leapt away from the massive beast’s falling corpse, other talons reached
for him. Leaving only the crunch of severed bone in his wake, he slashed a gigantic
leg off at the root.
A shrill scream filled the air. D turned around. Under a slowly rising pair of wings
some fifteen feet away he saw a desperately struggling figure. It was a little girl
in a long skirt. D ran directly under her and her captor. His left hand went into
action. Leaving a white trail in its wake, the needle he hurled pierced the colossal
bird at the base of its throat. Giving a shriek, the creature stopped flapping its
wings and began losing altitude at an alarming rate.
A second later, D’s expression changed. In an instant everything around him was black,
as a hitherto unseen bird of prey with an enormous sixty-five-foot wingspan swooped
down on the bird that had the girl, sank its claws into the base of the other bird’s
back, and started to rise again. The monstrous bird flapped its wings, and a tremendous
shock wave hit the ground. Trees snapped, and the fountain’s geyser blew horizontally.
One after another, the window-panes of every house around the park shattered.
The hem of D’s coat shielded his face. Was that all it took to negate the gale-force
winds coming off the monstrous bird? Though the winds buffeted him, D’s posture didn’t
change in the least as he stood his ground. When the avian monstrosity lifted its
wings a second time, D kicked off the ground with incredible force. Flying almost
straight up, he rose over fifteen feet. His extended left hand latched onto the ankle
of the massive bird the other was carrying. Having taken a deadly blow to a vital
spot, the lower bird was already dead. And the girl it had captured had fainted. Using
his left hand as a fulcrum, D swung his body like a pendulum. In midair his coat opened
and, adjusting for wind resistance, D sailed skillfully onto the back of the larger
bird. The avian monstrosity roared. The harsh cry was not that of a bird, but of a
vicious carnivore.
Holding his sword-point down, D raised the weapon high above his head. All at once,
the wings of the monstrous bird swept back. Quivering, they gave off intense vibrational
waves. The bird-like monstrosity’s back became semitransparent. The agony of having
a needle driven through each and every cell in his body assailed the Hunter. D’s brow
knit ever so slightly. That was his only reaction. The longsword he swiftly brought
down pierced the monstrous bird right through the medulla oblongata.
A howl of pain shook the sky, and, when it ended, the breakup began. The creature’s
death throes must’ve turned the vibrations against its own anatomy, because every
last feather came out of its wings, and its skin and flesh cracked like drying clay.
In the blink of an eye, the monstrous bird of prey was reduced to numerous chunks
of meat spread across the sky.
All this took place at an altitude of six hundred and fifty feet. Together, D and
the little girl fell from the sky.
-
All told, it took the town two hours to fight off the birds of prey. Afterward, traces
of the battle remained. Bright blood ran down the streets, several buildings had their
roofs blown away by the wind pressure, and a boy who’d picked up a still-hot antiaircraft
shell cried out in pain. The faces of the people were unexpectedly bright. There had
been no fatalities. Hardly anyone had been wounded, either. A few people had received
minor cuts from glass blown out of the windows, but that was the extent of the injuries.
What’s more, the food
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