Tanya Degurechaff didn't believe in god, or rather, she refused to believe in a god who wasn't infinitely graceful and forgiving.
For her, the right type of god should be an omnibenevolent divine being, the one that accepts you for who you are and what you do, the one that forgives and accepts your character, and lastly, the one that should embrace you for what you stood for.
Being X, a moniker born of insult and defiance, was not the kind of god Tanya imagined. Being X was a manipulative divine tyrant who lashed out that when humans are given the freedom of choice, they choose not to worship or revere Being X.
Tanya cursed the presence of this god and the 'divine mission' granted to her to spread the word and belief. Like an angel, but this time, there were no wings and heralds, instead just pure abhorrent seething defiance.
However, just this once, she considered actually praying and being sincere it. She was exhausted, frustrated, and slowly losing her mental well-being. She thought that if this was one of Being X's challenges again, then they were doing quite an amazing job.
"We'll make a stop here," Tanya said, unslinging the rifle from her body and propping it up against a huge tree.
"Yes, Tanya-chan," Motoyasu Kitamura answered with an exhausted tone as he struck his back against a tree and slowly dragged his figure downwards.
"Enough with the fucking creepy honorifics."
Tanya said, adjusting the collar of her uniform due to the heat radiating from beneath her. She was heavily sweating, her clothing and undergarments already soaked. She focused her gaze from where they had come, scanning the tree line.
"Yes, Tanya-tan." Motoyasu hummed.
Tanya ignored the remarks of her only useful but idiotic ally. Motoyasu had proven himself once again when the undead caught up with them earlier. He used one powerful skill after the other, making short work of the undead hunters.
"He's the type that should be in a war, not me."
Tanya didn't even have to shoot; she let him do all the hard work, and he did it with explosive gusto that surprised her. She already found him creepy when they first met over a week ago; however, Naofumi Iwatani kept Motoyasu in check.
She glared at the misty sky, but the weather and visibility didn't change. It was as if the time in this eternal forest had stopped; the two of them had been running for almost a day now, yet there were no changes whatsoever in the sky.
"I made you a nice chair, Tanya-tan."
Motoyasu said, gesturing a thumbs up. He, too, was exhausted, and he was, in his own way, trying to put up a brave front so that Tanya wouldn't worry. For him, he needed to act like a true man to please his Father-in-law and ease any worries Tanya had developed.
He was genuinely caring for her, but in a mentally questionable way.
Tanya didn't say anything and just took a seat, fanning herself with a huge, dried leaf she had found. She controlled her breathing, inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth — an efficient respiratory technique.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The loud but distant approaching footsteps filled her with exhausted horror. Her adrenaline spiked with each crushed mulch. The undead hunters found them again, and this time, fewer than twenty minutes.
"Fucking fucking fucking fucking nig-"
Tanya cursed, frustrated, firing off an expletive one by one before cutting her words. Motoyasu, taking a powernap, immediately woke up from Tanya's cursing and readied his spear. He, too, cursed, but unlike his companion, just did it under his breath.
The nightcrawlers have returned; that was what the group decided to call them. Their dark skeletons were rugged and spiked, and their skeletal forms jittered like animatronics.
"We have to go now!"
Tanya blurted out, already using mana to strengthen and reinforce her body, and then primed herself in a tracker's crouch start with her rifle slung over her shoulder.
"Where!?" Motoyasu asked, slowly stepping back.
"Anywhere but here, just keep fucking running."
As Tanya sped ahead, the crunch of dried leaves underfoot marked her rapid retreat, echoing with a soft, rhythmic: thack thack thack thack thack. She had already left Motoyasu behind. The two of them ran as fast as they could again. They could run for another day more, but their undead predators were persistent and didn't need to rest.
"This has to fucking end." Tanya cursed.
"If we fight, they just keep coming, and if we stop, they keep coming too."
"You think I don't fucking know that!?"
"Tanya-tan, please calm down! We can get out of this situation! I know it!"
"Don't tell me to calm down!"
Tanya increased her speed; the rapid crunching of the ground sounded like rapid gunfire now. She was busy racking her head, thinking of a solution. That shadowy young man, Cid, had said something about hidden entrances scattered all around.
Cid, shadowy young man, with his back turned on the group: "Your eyes and ears will lie. Do not depend on it like your lives are at stake, run far enough and eventually you willleave."
Naofumi, no-nonsense, shouting and raising a brow: "Why do you talk like that? Speak plainly, are you a kid?"
The ground in front of them exploded, sending debris into the air, and something massive crashed-landed before them. Tanya lost her footing and then crashed into a tree. Bonk!
"Tanya-tan!" Motoyasu cried out, but something lunged at him. Fortunately, he reacted in a split second and blocked it. He then swung his spear, sending the attacker backward.
The attacker was a woman, wearing an armored maid uniform. Her face was beautiful but plain, showing a disdainful expression. She sported a ponytail and a long staff.
Behind her was something massive.
A large, massive insectoid creature covered in an armored light-blue exoskeleton. The insectoid had four arms and a large face with a pair of large mandibles. The insectoid then exhaled, producing a soft, chilling mist from its facial orifices.
"Before you say anything. No, we do not accept your surrender." The armored maid woman muttered as she looked down at the two.
"Buhi?" Motoyasu said, raising a brow, wondering why there was a huge humanoid pig in front of him.
(The next chapter is a divine intervention.)