Dragged Into Another World Because of My Otaku Friend-Chapter 40: To The Inn

"Are we going to fight?" Kiwi asked.

If it were just him, he would’ve already bolted straight for the inn. He believed his escape and evasion skills enough for that. But now, he was part of a group. Bob and Alan were reliable, sure. But Liam? Liam was the problem. He had no combat capabilities, yet he was essential to the plan. They had to keep him safe, at least until they reached the ancient weapon site.

The gorilla pounded the ground with both fists and began digging up another massive chunk of earth, preparing to hurl it at them again.

The centipede was now crawling along the street toward them, its segmented, red-and-black body writhing with every slither. Behind them, monsters began scaling the rooftops, dozens of them.

They were surrounded.

I looked at Bob and Kiwi, searching their faces for a decision. Liam was lying beneath me, I was still shielding him.

Bob scanned the area. The situation was dire. His grip tightened on my gunblade.

"Bob!" I shouted, demanding an answer. That stupid centipede was getting too close for comfort, and I had zero intention of letting it touch me.

"We run!" Bob shouted suddenly, voice sharp like a commander. "Kiwi, protect Liam and head straight for the inn. Alan and I will cover you."

He looked a little too cool trying to act serious. Honestly.

Kiwi rushed over to me, grabbed Liam by the armpits, and took off toward the side of the plaza that was free of monsters. They jumped down to the street and sprinted toward the road leading to the inn.

Bob was already dashing across the rooftops, keeping pace with them from above. I followed, hesitantly.

Wait... is he seriously running toward the centipede? That nightmare of an insect is right there!

I hesitated, feet frozen on the tiles.

"Alan! What are you doing, dude? Come on!" Bob shouted.

Snapped out of it, I pushed myself forward, boots thudding against the rooftop tiles as I caught up. Bob and I raced across the roofs, while Kiwi and Liam sprinted below on the street.

Behind us, the gorilla monster finished lifting a massive chunk of ground. Cobblestones tumbled from its grip as it raised it overhead. Its red mask glinted in the light, and its eyes locked on us.

A hundred meters between us and it. About the length of a football field.

The centipede came rushing across the rooftop, its countless legs clicking.

"Bob, how are we supposed to deal with that thing?" I shouted. The red-and-black centipede looked ravenous, its fangs dripping with saliva, antennae twitching as it lunged on us.

Bob glanced at it, then shifted his eyes toward the gorilla still holding its slab of stone.

He suddenly picked up speed.

"Faster, Alan. Run faster!" he yelled.

"What!?" I nearly tripped. "Did I hear you wrong?!"

"Just trust me, man! Why are you such a coward? Have I ever led you wrong?" Bob snapped, glancing back for just a moment.

Yeah, of course. Since getting thrown into this insane world, I’ve basically been his lab’s rat for anything dangerous.

He bolted ahead, his round body somehow jiggling and accelerating at the same time. That gunblade of mine must be giving him a speed boost.

I groaned. I really didn’t have a choice.

I ran after him.

I glanced to our left as the gorilla was bending its massive body backward, muscles bulging, preparing to hurl the huge chunk of ground it had ripped out earlier.

In front of us, the centipede was closing in fast. Ten meters. Eight. Five. Its disgusting fangs gleamed, and its antennae quivered with hunger. I could already feel the nightmares crawling into my brain. I wasn’t going to sleep for a week after this.

At just a meter away, its jaws wide open-

"CROUCH!" Bob shouted.

Without hesitation, he dropped low and launched himself into a slide, legs forward, skidding along the rooftop. I mirrored him, my heart palpitate like it nearly out from my chest. As I ducked down, I could see the centipede’s segmented body passing just above us, each segment twitching with muscle and malice.

The centipede screeched, shocked its prey had suddenly vanished. It began to twist mid-air to turn back when...

Boom!

Something massive slammed into its side with a thunderous crack.

The flying chunk of stone hurled by the gorilla hit it dead-on.

The impact launched the centipede off the roof and into the buildings beside us. Walls crumbled. Tiles shattered. The monster smashed through two homes before it finally came to a stop, its body twitching slightly... then falling still.

I looked back in disbelief. The monster that had nearly eaten us was now a broken heap of legs and chitin. The gorilla’s attack had saved us, accidentally.

"Nice one, Bob. I didn’t know you were a genius," I said, giving him a thumbs up. My heart was still pounding like a drum.

Bob, as arrogant as ever when praised, smirked. "Now you believe me? Next time, just follow me unconditionally." He suddenly sounded like a dictator.

"Turn right at this corner!" Liam called out from ahead. He and Kiwi veered sharply to the right. Me and Bob immediately jumped down from the roof onto the street.

ROAR.

A thunderous cry echoed behind us.

We turned our heads for just a second, monsters were stampeding through the streets, claws tearing at the ground, eyes crazed with fury. Some even leapt from rooftops to join the chaotic horde behind us.

I summoned Indra. It vanished from Bob’s hand in a flicker of light, reappearing in mine, glowing with my signature blue aura.

"Go first, Bob," I said, tightening my grip on the blade.

He saw me standing there, Indra glowing in my hand. A wide grin spread across his face as he shouted, "Burn them to hell!"

I smiled back, aimed my gunblade at the charging horde, and focused. Crimson red array spun rapidly at the blade’s tip, igniting the air around it.

"Taste this, suckers! Hellfire Burst!"

A massive wave of flame erupted from the gunblade, amplified by passive ability of Indra. The inferno engulfed the oncoming monsters in a blazing wall of fire. Screams echoed through the street, and the acrid stench of burning flesh filled the air.

At least half of them were reduced to ash.

I didn’t wait. I sprinted toward the team, yanked an MP potion from my bag, and downed it in one swift gulp.

---

The gorilla monster roared in rage, furious that its target had escaped. It stomped forward, ready to chase the fleeing group, but then a figure stood before it, the bull-headed monster, eyes glowing faintly in the dark, with his left hand raised , palm out.

Stop.

The gorilla halted, breathing heavily, its muscles tensed and fists clenched. It let out a low growl, but didn’t move.

The bull-headed monster stepped forward, his gaze fixed in the direction of the fleeing group. His crimson eyes narrowed, burning with cold, killing intent.

---

After ten minutes of relentless running, we finally arrived at the inn. The sight was grim, holes riddled the walls as if the place had been shelled by warplanes. Portions of the structure had already collapsed, debris scattered across the ground.

Huff... huff...

Bob and I leaned over, trying to catch our breath. Meanwhile, Kiwi and Liam still looked completely fine. The difference between city boys and rural guys was painfully obvious.

"Where’s your room?" Kiwi asked, scanning the damaged inn.

"There," I pointed. The wall to our room had already caved in, leaving it exposed. From down here, I could even see Bob’s anime shirt still hanging from a broken beam.

"Liam, stay here with Bob," Kiwi said firmly after glancing at Bob, who was still gasping like a fish out of water. "Alan, let’s go."

I gave a quick nod and followed Kiwi inside without another word.

The inn was nothing like how we had left it. Tables and chairs were scattered everywhere, some smashed to pieces. A huge hole gaped in the ceiling big enough to fit a car. The counter was completely destroyed. A pang of sadness and nostalgia hit me. Even though we had only stayed here a few nights, this place had felt like a home in this strange new world. Usually, Tania would be there to greet us, and Bob would try to look cool in front of her. People laughing, dancing, and drunk. I knew I’d miss this.

I shook myself out of the feeling and headed toward the stairs. Some steps were missing. I leapt to the last intact step and hurried up to our room, Kiwi following close behind.

When we reached my room, the door was locked. Normally, in a situation like this, we would just kick it down without hesitation. But I hesitated, feeling a strange reluctance to damage what was left of this place. Instead, I reached for the key.

Just as I was unlocking the door, Kiwi’s hand gripped my shoulder. I glanced at him, his eyes were sharp, fixed on the end of the dark hallway. I squinted, trying to make out what he saw.

A low growl echoed, a breathing sound, heavy and menacing. Then, piercing yellow eyes appeared from the darkness. My heart jumped. I fumbled to unlock the door faster.

Suddenly, the growl swelled into a roar. From the shadows, a monstrous figure lunged at us, a bear-like beast, but with a terrifying twist: it had two mouths, layered one inside the other, baring rows of jagged teeth.

Kiwi swung his staff overhead and slammed it into the creature’s face. It stumbled backward, snarling, before leaping again. Kiwi raised his staff just in time to block its savage claws.

"Come on, Alan!" Kiwi shouted, his voice strained as he struggled to block the swipes of a near-500-kilogram beast.

Damn it. I kicked the door open. Sorry, Tania, I’ll pay for this later.

Inside the room, three flying humanoid monsters hovered, creatures with bird-like faces but leathery bat wings, about 1.5 meters tall. They were clawing at my bag, the one holding the powerstone, fighting viciously over it.

"Hey!" I immediately summoned Indra and swung at the winged fiends. They took to the air, trying to scratch me with razor-sharp talons. I blocked the attack with my gunblade, but one of the monsters suddenly snatched the weapon from my grasp and soared away with it.

"Damn flying pests!" I cursed. I summoned Indra back. Instantly, it vanished from the creature’s claws, leaving it confused. I fired a precise shot at that bird-monster, hitting its chest. It crashed onto the floor and slipped over the edge of the collapsed wall, tumbling down below.

The other two monsters stared, momentarily stunned. Seizing the chance, one grabbed the bag and tried to escape.

"Not so fast, birdie."

Bang! Bang!

I fired two quick shots, one hit a wing, tearing it open, while the other landed clean on a bird-thing’s head. Instant kill. The bag slipped from its claws and tumbled to the ground outside the ruined inn.

Without hesitation, I jumped down from the broken second floor and landed hard, snatching the bag up from the rubble.

Bob was sitting on a rock nearby, chugging water like he just crossed a desert. Liam stood alert at the inn’s front entrance.

"You got it?" Bob asked between gulps.

I lifted the bag in response. "Got it."

"Where’s Mr. Kiwi?" Liam asked, looking around.

Oh god.I completely forgot about Kiwi.

Just as panic started to kick in, Kiwi emerged from the busted front door and landed lightly on the street. He dusted off his coat like he’d just stepped out of a dusty cupboard.

"Where’s the bear?" I asked, remembering he was wrestling with that freakish two-mouthed beast last I saw.

"Dead," he replied casually.

Wow. This guy... he’s on another level. Before I asked more how he did it...

"Let’s move," he ordered, immediately taking off at a sprint.

Liam followed. Then me.

As I passed Bob, I gave his shoulder a tap. He let out a long, exhausted sigh, tilting his head to the sky.

"Urghh... do we have to run again?" he groaned, slowly getting to his feet.

He jogged after us with the grace of a man dying inside. At this rate, if he keeps this up for a month, he surely became slimmer.