True Vorpal Bunny (Danmachi SI) Ch.11 (Patreon)

Chapter 11:

The corpses kept piling up. Evilus were playing for keeps now and stopped hiding their full force. Where before they only sent small ambush squads, now almost every corner had a cultist ready to blow up in your face.

The city was surrounded, forcing the Familia to beg civilians to not flee even though they were losing trust in the protection of the Guild and the gods.

And while Evilus had few first class adventurers, the few they had forced Finn to keep their own first class close and only deploy them a few at a time in order to not be too spread out.

Iru heard about an attack on the industrial district and headed for it. Tired from multiple fights already happening in the same day, he didn’t even think about the fact that someone else could have been dispatched already.

He jumped from roof to roof, his high agility and dexterity abilities allowing him to easily maneuver on the tiled surface.

When he saw the cultists, he didn’t hesitate.

“Collapse.”

His magic roared to life, and he accelerated downward. He crashed on the ground like a meteor, cracking the paved street and knocking away the nearest Evilus members with a swing of his axe.

He didn’t bother to shit talk. He ran, fragments of the pavement following in his orbit. Coated in gravitational energy, the rubble suddenly accelerated and shot through the air like shuriken.

Once they left his sphere of influence, he couldn’t control them anymore, but he had aimed well. The approvised projectiles slammed into the terrorists before they could reach for their jury-rigged bomb trigger.

Iru followed by flinging himself in the way of those that were still standing, his running speed amplified by shifting the pull of gravity in the same direction.

“Where are the reinforcements?! They should be here!” One cultist shouted, panic taking away his confidence as he saw Iru shoulder check a man twice his size through a wall.

Some thought they could take advantage of Iru’s oversized weapon and flank him while he was slashing down at one of their comrades.

He desabused them of the notion when he spinned around the shaft of his labrys, kicked one Evilus member in the kneecap and knocked him out with an elbow while he was falling down.

The second got a flying knee to the face.

Each blow was amplified by Star Crown increasing the weight of Iru’s limbs at the moment of impact.

Then, Iru picked his labrys and wrenched it out of the ground, rock and cement clinging to the blade with gravitational force.

“Oh gods.” A cultist whimpered as the edges of Iru’s axe had become twice their size with the craggly rocks now added to it.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed fellow Evilus members running in that direction. He had hope for an instant, happy that the reinforcements had come to deal with this crazy kid.

But, they were not running like confident reinforcements. They were looking behind them as if they were fleeing.

“BATTLE PRINCESS!” One of the running men had the time to warn before a blur caught up to him and slashed at his limbs, leaving him unable to blow himself up.

The two groups of Evilus members were now caught between Iru and Ais, the scariest nine year olds of Orario.

Riveria, who was accompanying Ais, arrived just in time to see Iru bring down his rock-covered axe in an explosion of shrapnel and graviton-powered shockwave while Ais, clad in the wind of Aerial, blitzed forward, looking like a horizontal tornado.

The robed terrorists screamed.

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Riveria Ljos Alf, the stern Level 5, princess of the High Elves of the Alf Forest, was holding back from snickering. Iru knew it.

“Fluffy. Silky.”

The white rabbit’s glare was on the elf, daring her to laugh.

“Please don’t pull my ears, Ais.” He told the kid currently in pure bliss from messing with his hair.

“Sorry.” The half-Spirit apologized while her hands transitioned into scratching the base of his ears. “So fluffy.”

He wasn’t able to tell her no when she gazed at the top of his head like it held the secret of the universe.

Unlike her older self who stopped showing her emotions, the nine year old Ais was still a kid, a traumatized kid who had seen her father get eaten and her mother kidnapped by a dragon, got frozen in ice for a thousand years, and only got out two years ago where she joined the Loki Familia and threw herself in the Dungeon, almost dying multiple times if not for Riveria, Finn and Gareth being behind her and trying to educate her. But still a kid who showed excitement when faced with something that interested her.

So, yes, Iru allowed the child to play with his ears and hair.

Meanwhile, he was thinking about the differing development of orphan children in Orario. Lili and Ais were his prime subjects on the matter.

Lili was put in an environment that pushed her down and made her believe in her own inherent weakness as a Pallum and a supporter. So, she compensated by learning to hide her anger, being cunning and showing a maturity that was scary from an eight year old.

Ais, on the other hand, had the Loki’s Familia’s support, leaving her basic needs fulfilled and allowing her to focus on her goal to avenge her parents, creating a single-minded murder machine that had a hard time showing her emotions and who had little social experience beyond her Familia.

“Cough.” Riveria’s fake cough caught Ais’s attention. “Ais, leave M. Kraz alone. We still have a patrol to finish.”

“Awww.” The little girl sounded disappointed but let go.

“Don’t call me M. Kratz. I’m nine, Auntie Riveria.” 

The elf’s eyes narrowed.

Ais pulled on Iru’s sleeve and whispered in his ear.

“Don’t mention Riveria’s age. She become scary when you say she’s old.”

Riveria heard that if the way her pointy ears twitched was anything to go by.

“And I just dislike needless formality."

The green-haired elf caught his meaning and sighed.

“Very well. Iru, we need to go. Have a nice day.”

Ais did start to walk toward Riveria, but glanced back to give Iru a wave and puppy dog eyes.

“Urgh.” He started to walk with them. “I was patrolling too, anyway.”

Ais beamed and Riveria decided to let it go.

“Plus, I would feel bad to let two ladies walk alone.”

Riveria raised an eyebrow in his direction.

“What a smooth talker. I don’t know if I should let you near our Ais.”

“But, Riveria. Iru is nice.” Ais interfered, defending Iru’s honor with a pout directed at the older elf.

“Yeah, I am. And you’re injured, so let yourself be escorted by the two nice kids.”

The elf was not impressed with Iru’s talk.

“I remember that the Silence got you too.” She said, remembering Finn talking about the crazy kid who threw an axe at Erebus.

“And I’m already back to one hundred percent. Guess even that monster has a soft spot for children.” Iru shrugged.

“That witch wouldn’t know mercy if it slapped her in the face.” Riveria replied with a shudder.

She remembered all the stuff Hera Familia did to her when she was younger, under the disguise of training. Those women all had a screw loose, except Meteria who had been a saint guarded by a dragon, peace to her soul, wherever she was.

“Damn. That sounded personal.” Iru said, knowing very well that it was.

“It is. Alfia is as strong as she is unforgiving.”

As they talked, the unlikely trio found themselves deeper into the industrial district, near the Evilus base Iru and Astraea had hit.

And just as they saw the building itself, they also caught sight of two people going in the same direction.

“Hey!” Ardee waved with both hands, a smile growing on her face while Ryuu followed behind her.

“Ardee Varma. Ryuu Lyon.” Riveria nodded her head, returning the greeting.

“Hello.” Ais did a little bow.

“What’s up?” Iru called back.

“What are you three doing here?” Ardee asked.

“Patrolling. I joined them on the way.” The Hume Bunny answered. “What about you two?”

It was Ryu who replied to Iru’s question by taking a step in the direction of the base’s door.

“We wanted to come back to see if there was any clue to Evilus’s whereabout. We had to leave in a hurry, but so did they.”

“Good thinking.” Riveria praised. “Let us help.”

Iru was sure that Ryuu was blushing behind her face mask. All the elves simped for Riveria like most people did to Freya.

Unfortunately, they found nothing. Valletta had made sure to clean it all up before the Astraea Familia’s attack.

“Well, too bad. But we’ll get them. Justice always triumphs in the end.” Ardee pumped her chest out while trying to keep the morale up.

“Yes. Evilus will fall.” Riveria agreed.

“It was nice seeing you. Goodbye my little hero.”

Ardee accentuated her goodbyes by lifting Iru from the ground and hugging him to her chest.

“Iru. Battle Princess. Lady Riveria.” Ryuu gave her goodbyes more respectfully with a bow.

When the members of the Ganesha and Astraea Familia left, it was the turn of the Loki’s representatives.

“Iru. It was nice meeting you. Stay prudent.” Riveria told the Hume Bunny.

Ais hesitated for a moment before she hugged Iru.

“Ais?” Riveria was shocked.

“That’s how the other girl told him goodbye, and she was friendly with Iru. I want to be friends too.”

Riveria and Iru both held back from cooing at the girl.

Iru patted her head.

“Ok, ok. We’re friends. Now go before Loki sends a hunting party.”

“She would.” Riveria said without a hint of a joke in her voice.

Ais pulled away.

“Goodbye.”

The elf and the spirit child walked away.

A thought striked Iru and he chuckled.

Here he was, the city in the middle of a terrorist occupation, and he was still able to have a rom-com scene. Harem Shounen worlds were scary.