章節 39: The Cow Demon

Boom!

A monster was destroying buildings. While its body resembled a giant spider with countless sprawling legs, its head bore an uncanny likeness to a different creature - a cow.

Oka immediately understood the motif. The Cow Demon - he vaguely recalled such a yokai from legends. As self-defense troops were crushed underfoot around him, he pondered their next move.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't hesitate to attack. One of the clear rewards included immensely powerful combat units - essentially robots. But he hadn't been able to acquire those. Would these substitute rewards prove useful instead? Shirona's face flashed in his mind.

Not that their current equipment left them defenseless. But victory felt less assured. In battles like these, he couldn't afford gambles. To die now would be for naught.

For the moment, he would observe the situation further. His mind was made up. So when a shadowy figure landed on the same rooftop, he ignored it completely. Maintaining invisibility.

Nevertheless, Garchomp unerringly approached him. "Gah!" She tapped Oka's broad shoulder in a casual manner, as if greeting a coworker.

"You can see me?"

Crackling with electricity, he revealed his armored suit form. The Pokemon seemed fully aware of his identity despite his concealed face, even poking at his mask portion with an outstretched claw.

Brushing it aside, Oka advanced and aimed an enlarged palm towards the Cow Demon.

This might actually work to his advantage. He recognized that among the woman's creatures, this one could potentially prove the most useful. More so than any planned reward.

"You understand, right?"

Garchomp nodded.

"We're doing this together. You'll act as a decoy below - doesn't matter how, just draw its attention. Anything goes."

"Gggrrrr!"

"Me? I'll take the high ground, obviously. I've got means to fly too. That thing's weak point is its head. Gotta smash it quickly."

"Gaaahhh?"

"What's with that attitude? You can have the kill if you want. I tagged it first. But I want to defeat that massive freak myself. Romantic, ain't it? You get that, being a guy?"

After blinking, Garchomp slapped his back. Not seriously, of course - with his powerful reward suit, Oka barely even registered the contact. But he saw the gesture clearly enough.

"Hey, what's that about all of a sudden?"

"Gaaawwwrr..."

"...Wait, you're a girl?!"

"GROOOAAARRR!"

"Ah...my bad, I'm sorry."

With a look that said 'whatever', Garchomp took flight, diving straight towards the foe's feet. She deftly evaded its sweeping arm strikes along the way.

Well, at least she had accepted his directions for now. Oka too mounted a nearby hovering motorcycle.

Unlike the ones Kyo often used, this bike had a circular portion attached horizontally to its outer frame, layered with armor plating inside - likely generating the lift force. Not that Oka cared about such technical details.

Activating the screen display through eye tracking, he let the bike's handlebars hang at his sides.

The Cow Demon roared, lowering its bovine face to growl threateningly at Garchomp pummeling its legs. Even from this distance, her blows seemed to match his punching power. Giving Oka further motivation to claim her for himself eventually.

Accelerating forward, he took aim with his Z-Gun. The foe had already noticed his approach, raising its arm to swat away the incoming fire.

Its shoulder flesh tore open, muscles exposed. But the limb didn't rupture completely. Remarkably durable indeed. Blindly attacking anywhere but its head would just be a waste of time.

Rising slightly, he evaded its sluggish fist swing.

Then the Cow Demon opened its mouth - preparing some ranged attack. Normal suits would be easily pierced by those spider-shot projectiles, but Oka's gear could withstand them. Still, wasting time parrying was unacceptable when he had larger prey in mind.

Leaping off the bike, he let the deflected spider-shots blow it away instead. A prized Tokyo asset, true, but he felt no regret over its loss. Once he secured this hundred-pointer, far greater rewards would be his.

The Cow Demon tried something else, only to lurch forward abruptly mid-motion.

Garchomp had nearly destroyed one of the Cow Demon's massive legs, achieving damage Oka's Z-Gun couldn't. She nonchalantly moved on to the next limb.

Taking that as his cue, Oka landed on its head. Channeling force into both arms, he rained alternating blows upon the weak point his scans had detected. Planting one foot against its thick neck for leverage, he maintained his assault rhythm despite any bucking.

The Cow Demon bellowed its death throes. Its feet crushed below, its head pummeled from above - a truly pitiful sight. It tried shaking Oka off, but his armored fists had already punctured deep into its skull.

The devastation only spread further. Relentless, each hammering impact carried tremendous force. The Cow Demon's right eye burst from its socket, yet it could do nothing. Its cheek caved in, bony teeth shattering amid the ceaseless barrage. Shock waves crashing into its brain.

"Hey, wait up!"

Garchomp leapt overhead, taking aim at the Cow Demon's shattered skull with a charged punch of crushing power.

Simultaneous with her strike, Oka's final blow also connected. Pulverized from both sides, the wretched yokai was utterly slain.

Sliding down the massive corpse, Oka shook his head at the descending Garchomp. "What was that about? Who just scored the kill here?"

"Grrrrr!"

"It was me, obviously. I landed the finisher. Why'd you have to jump in like that? Makes tallying points such a hassle."

As if she didn't care, Garchomp sauntered closer, scrutinizing Oka's suit intently. Their shared interest had clearly shifted from the large dead body beneath their feet to studying each other.

"Don't get too full of yourself. Just follow my lead, got it?"

Garchomp opened her jaws wide in what seemed like a deliberately exaggerated yawn.

Apparently she still didn't fully grasp her subordinate position. Though Oka felt awkward lecturing a non-human ally too forcefully. He disliked wasted effort.

The thought of another who constantly wasted effort flickered in his mind - that woman, Shirona. Such a pity, in his view. If she could be a bit more pragmatic, her dangerous companions' power could be utilized efficiently. But Oka didn't comprehend her reasoning for treating non-humans as family.

He harbored some uncertainty over their next steps. Appeasing Shirona could allow access to her arsenal's might. Yet he hesitated - why involve her at all, really?

"Oka."

"Hachiro."

The disjointed voices overlapped, a rare auditory delusion for him. His mind should have been settled after clearing twice before. The mispronunciations resembled Shirona's foreign accent.

Analyzing himself objectively meant admitting his rationality was slipping. Revealing too much to Shirona after she saw through him slightly had been a mistake. Perhaps the imminent hundred-pointer had rattled him temporarily.

Checking the displayed radar confirmed he should refocus now. The alien reactions were gradually dwindling. Just then, a major signature stirred oddly, not disappearing but rather fading slightly - unprecedented behavior he opted to investigate.

Yet Oka had another priority in mind. His self-imposed rule from the outset: He would defeat the boss himself, claiming the highest score. Even after those anomalous beings arrived, he had adhered to this, calmly racking up points without disruption.

This time would be no exception. He felt utterly certain this represented the hundred-pointer. Though its appearance deviated from Gantz's display, the name "Nurarihyon" rang familiar.

Legends spoke of it as the supreme yokai leader, but conflicting depictions meant it likely possessed shape-shifting abilities. Assuming an alternate yokai guise wouldn't be strange. Not that Oka placed much stock in these folktales concerning an alien being.

It had seemingly seen through his stealth too, yet refrained from attack. Once they crossed paths, it merely glanced at him meaningfully before moving on, projecting an almost arrogant superiority befitting a boss.

Tracking the signature confirmed it converged with a clustered group - best to let them clash while he secured his true target.

Locking onto that aim, Oka set off, with Garchomp dutifully tailing behind.

"You're in the way."

"Grrr..."

"Clear out if you won't be my asset."

She responded with another exaggerated yawn.