Chapter 257 - Chapter 256: Attack on the Capital 1
The third day of the week, the third month of Fire.
"Haaah..."
On a hill slightly off the road near the capital, "Fire [Ignis]" crouched and let out a sigh.
Seeing "Fire's" state, "Wind [Ventus]" shrugged his shoulders.
"How long are you going to be depressed? It's work."
"Uu... Te-chan..."
Even when addressed by "Wind," "Fire" kept his head down.
"Wind" tapped "Fire's" head with a pat.
"It's because you didn't see it through to the end, right? Did it actually change?"
"It did~. Te-chan was in a half-baked state to begin with~. So~, she changed in the blink of an eye~."
Once the essence of existence changes, it cannot return to its original state.
If one wields "Power [Potestas]" while being driven by intense impulses, they will bind with "Will [Voluntas]" and gradually, the replacement will happen all at once, completing the transformation.
And if "Darkness [Tenebrae]" truly became a "Son of God [Filius Dei]," mountains of corpses should be built in various places within the kingdom.
It takes some time for the transformation to complete and the impulses to settle.
If they destroy whatever catches their eye during that time, the news should spread as a major incident.
Throughout the country.
It is natural for one or two towns to disappear.
If thousands or tens of thousands of corpses are created here and there, there is no way rumors won't spread.
But, if the transformation into "Son of God" did not progress, does that mean that intense impulse was suppressed?
Stopping at only a partial transformation is something I have never heard of before.
"Wind" took out a water bag from the magic storage bag and drank deeply to moisten his throat.
After roughly wiping his mouth, he kicked "Fire."
"Hey, get moving quickly. Shall we start?"
"Kusun..."
"Fire" grumbled but still stood up, turning his gaze toward the distant capital.
"A surprise party~ is all about timing~."
"That's right. Rumors from the imperial capital have finally reached us. We can deliver a fierce slap to the face of those who were casually watching the fire on the other side of the river."
Saying that, the two laughed lightly.
"Light [Lumen]" had thought of using "Wind's" toy to say, "Go play for a bit."
Indeed, a surprise at this timing seems to be able to squeeze out plenty of "Will [Voluntas]."
To hold this surprise party at the best possible timing, the two had been hiding within the kingdom.
Hiding in an inn in a town not too far from the capital, but not too large.
"Fire's" face might be known, but there are countless ways to bypass roadblocks on the streets.
Every day, if "Wind" wanders around the town and visits taverns, it is easy to check what rumors are spreading.
And thus, finally yesterday, while walking through the town, they could hear the rumors from the imperial capital.
"There are probably those thinking something arrogant like 'Let's take advantage of the chaos in the imperial capital and launch a counter-invasion.' If they plan to watch from a high tower and get their feet chewed apart, they'll be laughing their heads off."
While listening to "Wind" speak laughingly, "Fire" stretched his back significantly.
"Then~, U-chan, start casually~. I'll wait~."
"Okay. Don't snack on the appetizers, okay?"
"Ahaha~. I won't~."
Saying that, "Fire" ran toward the road.
If "Wind" went a little slowly, by the time he reached District 3, "Fire" would be done waiting.
"............ They think the front line is far, don't they?"
Walking slowly, "Wind" muttered.
Gazing at the distant capital, "Wind" raised the corner of his mouth.
"I'll show them something."
"Fire" blended into the crowd and slowly approached the checkpoint at the Second Wall.
Then, he hid himself between the buildings.
"There are about thirty people at the gate, I guess."
About twenty soldiers.
There were also about ten knights.
It had increased significantly compared to before.
Still, with a number like this, forcing a breakthrough is easy.
But that wouldn't be fun.
What is the fun in doing what is naturally expected?
The fun is in infiltrating without being noticed.
Waiting like that, a sound like a scream was heard in the distance.
It was still far away.
But the soldiers at the gate seemed to realize something was happening.
Several soldiers headed toward the commotion.
Zuzun!
At that moment, a giant body fell onto the square in front of the gate.
"Kyaahhhhhhh!"
"Hey, what is that!?"
"A monster!?"
"A magical beast!"
In an instant, the surroundings became chaotic.
A magical beast suddenly appeared right in the middle of District 3, directly in front of the gate of the Second Wall.
People lined up at the checkpoint ran around in panic, some dropping to their knees.
The soldiers were also stunned by the sudden arrival of the magical beast.
Probably, the event was so outrageous that they couldn't grasp what was happening in an instant.
"Damn it!? Why is a Chimera here!?"
Amidst the fleeing crowd, there was one person holding a sword and facing the Chimera.
An adventurer.
Judging by appearance, the middle-aged adventurer who seemed to have some experience made quick decisions.
Being suddenly attacked by a magical beast must be a daily occurrence for him.
He immediately took a combat stance, urging the knights and soldiers at the gate.
"You idiots, knights! Guide the evacuation! Call for reinforcements!"
Startled by that voice, the knights began to move in a panic.
However, dealing with a two-meter class Chimera is too much for knights and soldiers.
They are strong against humans, but they cannot move effectively against magical beasts or monsters.
In other words, the only threat here is this single adventurer.
"Fire" showed a cold smile, hiding between the buildings while watching that adventurer.
"Maybe C-rank? ...But~, have you ever seen a Chimera this size before~?"
With a Chimera of this size, a solo C-rank adventurer would struggle.
There were no other adventurers around the adventurer who seemed like companions.
Gururururu...!
The Chimera with a lion's head roared in its throat.
The adventurer faced it with a sword held, his expression severe.
Gugaaaaaaaooooooo!!!
The Chimera opened its mouth wide and let out a roar.
At that moment,
"[Burst]."
A small explosion occurred near the elbow of the right arm holding the sword.
"Gaa!?"
The adventurer, surprised by the sudden event, let out a cry.
Bakun!
Not missing that opening, the Chimera took a single bite of the adventurer's entire upper body.
"Uwaah, I got hit!"
"Move quickly! You're in the way!"
"Get out, old hag!"
"Damn old man! I'll kill you!"
Watching that, the people finally panicked, pushing each other aside, shoving, and trying to escape first.
Doshin!
Another Chimera fell from the sky, crushing the crowd.
Gyaaaaaaaooooooo!!!
Gugaaaaaooooooo---!
Two Chimeras let out roars.
Crushed, eaten to pieces, flesh and blood flew everywhere.
Hell of screaming agony suddenly descended upon the peaceful capital.
Already, the checkpoint and guard at the Second Wall had lost their meaning.
"Oh, excuse me~."
"Fire" slipped past the Second Wall with light steps, passing the soldiers busy with the response.
■■■■■■
Fifth Knights Order, Duty Station, Conference Room.
Dann!
Ozendorwa slammed his trembling fist onto the conference table.
"This... what is happening...!"
Groaning in pain, he glared at the map of the capital pinned to the wall.
On that map, a knight was currently writing in the contents just reported.
The first report came about twenty minutes ago.
Suddenly, a magical beast appeared at the Northeast Second Wall.
Just as he arranged for reinforcements and was about to head to the site himself, a report came that a similar magical beast appeared at the North Second Wall.
Simultaneous attacks by magical beasts in two places.
Furthermore, judging by the description, they were quite dangerous magical beasts called Chimeras.
He immediately requested reinforcements from the Kingdom Army headquarters and established a countermeasure headquarters in the conference room.
Then, more reports of magical beast attacks flew in.
This time, it was the Northwest Second Wall.
"Runner! Two of you!"
"Hai!"
Ozendorwa stood up, making the chair creak, and called for two knights.
"Request reinforcements from the Adventurer's Guild. Request the dispatch of adventurers capable of defeating multiple Chimeras, C-rank and above."
The knight who received Ozendorwa's orders immediately ran out of the conference room.
Contact would be made from the Adventurer's Guild Headquarters to the First and Second Branches in the capital, and it would probably take over an hour before actual adventurers were dispatched.
If they were lucky, they might have defeated the magical beasts by then.
But expecting such luck would be futile.
Already, today is the worst luck.
Ozendorwa turned his gaze to the remaining knight.
"Request cooperation from the innkeeper Yaroibarov in District 3 of the Second Ward."
"An inn...?"
The runner knight made a blank face.
"Probably, regarding this matter, relying on the guild is less certain and slower than asking him."
It is said that the adventurers staying at Yaroibarov's inn are mostly masters of first-class skills.
Above all, the innkeeper himself is an adventurer who can be called a legend.
However, the sticking point is how many adventurers will remain at the inn during the day.
"............ And, request cooperation from Mika-kun."
"Mika-kun...!? He's a civilian! Besides, he's still a student! If you do that without permission, the Knight Commander's position..."
"Never mind that. Go!"
When Ozendorwa ordered, the knight hesitated but saluted and ran out of the conference room.
From the exit where the knight left, he shifted his gaze to the map of the capital.
Starting from the Northeast Second Wall gate, the magical beasts are appearing in a counter-clockwise direction.
Probably, there is someone releasing the magical beasts.
And, if this prediction is correct, how is he carrying such ferocious magical beasts?
(............ It's obvious...!)
An illegal magic storage bag that can be entered by anyone or anything.
Mika demonstrated that magical beasts can enter it, didn't he?
Ozendorwa desperately suppressed the impulse to jump out right now.
To save as many people as possible, Ozendorwa could not move directly himself right now.
If the magical beasts just happened to come, it would be meaningful for Ozendorwa to lead the way to eliminate them quickly.
But, if this is a setup, he needs to respond immediately to any situation.
If Ozendorwa jumps out on his own whim, it is easily predictable that the number of victims will increase due to delays in instructions and judgment.
"Tell all the Battalion Commanders. There is no need to ask for instructions one by one. Do what you think is best at that time. We have already requested reinforcements from the Adventurer's Guild. Reinforcements are coming."
A new runner ran out to convey Ozendorwa's orders.
There is a high possibility that magical beasts will appear at the gates of the Second Wall where they have not yet appeared.
Facing magical beasts that are too ferocious for the first time, even commanders might break.
How can you protect the lives of the people against such magical beasts?
But if there is hope, one can stand against it.
Even if it means sacrificing one's own life, if one can think it is not in vain, one can step forward without hesitation.
I thought I had trained them to have such spirit.
Most importantly, the main hope is not the guild.
No matter how much they are adventurers, there are not many who have the power to fight and subdue magical beasts that are too dangerous.
(I'm counting on you, Mika-kun. Yaroibarov...)
At that moment, two knights rushed into the conference room one after another.
Both looked quite desperate.
"Emergency reinforcement request! Two magical beasts appeared at the West Gate of the Second Wall! Please send reinforcements immediately!"
"Magical beasts appeared in District 2, Second Ward! Requesting immediate reinforcements!"
Dann!
Upon the report from the runners, Ozendorwa involuntarily slammed his fist onto the table.
■■■■■■
Magic Academy, Senior Year One, Class One Classroom.
Mika was thinking about the defense plan for Rish Village while holding a pen during class.
Enclose the village with huge stones; for beasts and magical beasts, they cannot enter with this first.
Exceptions are huge monsters like Cyclops.
Actually, even the city walls in the capital or Sarbengeal might not be able to defend against something like that.
To be honest, rather than trying to prevent something like that from entering, I think it would be easier to hunt down all the large monsters and magical beasts in the forest.
And, Hibujiza.
He moved to a place about five hundred kilometers from the capital in less than a day.
Just that shows he possesses superhuman physical abilities.
If, hypothetically, Mika were to attack Rish Village, how could he be stopped?
Probably, if he uses any means necessary and forces a breakthrough with brute force, he could conquer it no matter what.
I am confident.
Thinking like that, if Hibujiza attacks seriously, it is impossible to eliminate him.
No matter how solid the defense is, it is useless.
Except for Yaroibarov and Mika being stationed there, no effective measures came to mind.
(...Maybe it's better to let them escape to the Commercial Union.)
However, the Commercial Union also has branches of organizations or groups that targeted Mika.
The office previously used as a hiding place was raided and investigated, but the person himself seems to have gone into hiding.
In this case, it seems there is no way other than escaping to another continent.
(But...)
The safety of the escape destination is unknown, which is a bit worrying.
Not being able to rush there immediately, not being able to know the situation, is also concerning.
Well, that part might be manageable if the Information Broker Guild is used well.
(Perhaps relying too much on the Information Broker Guild is bad. I'm already relying too much on Lebrantes...)
It is a quite troubling problem.
The quickest way is to find out the true identity of those targeting Mika and destroy them quickly.
Mika felt the turmoil in his heart and unconsciously touched the Tranquilizer.
He put down the pen and leaned back against the chair.
Then, he stretched his back straight.
His hunched back cracked and popped.
Suddenly looking out the window, he saw a bird flying in the distance.
Well, it looked more like a simple black dot than a bird.
And a streak of smoke-like substance was rising from the ground.
(............? A fire?)
Fires occasionally happen in the capital, and organized firefighting activities are carried out to some extent.
Since the fire water sources are poor, firefighting seems quite difficult, but it is said that the Kingdom Army's duty mages control [Blizzard] well to help with firefighting.
Even if Mika doesn't go to help, there are mages who have properly received firefighting training.
Mika once returned his gaze to the classroom.
But, feeling somewhat curious, he looked outside again.
Then, the number of birds had increased to two.
One remained in the previous position, while the other rose from the ground and descended again.
And, one more streak of smoke was rising.
Mika felt a bad unease in his chest and stroked the Tranquilizer.
Then, he muttered "Telescope" and decided to look closely at the fire area.
(I can see flames... But, smoke is coming out from quite a few places.)
The color of the smoke was faint and unclear, but with the Telescope, he confirmed that there was more smoke than expected.
A fire might be occurring over a wide area.
At that moment, a large object momentarily crossed Mika's field of view.
(....What was that?)
Mika lowered the magnification of the Telescope to see a slightly wider area.
"Nn...!?"
Making a clattering sound, Mika involuntarily stood up.
"Mika?"
"Mika-kun?"
Rimliche and Cleiria called out to Mika, who had suddenly stood up, with surprised expressions.
The inside of the classroom became slightly noisy.
Mika hurriedly ran to the window and looked outside.
Two magical beasts were attacking District 3 a few kilometers away.
(That location is the South Gate of the Second Wall...?)
As Mika was about to jump out of the window,
"Mika! What is wrong!?"
Cleiria grabbed Mika's arm.
Mika quickly whispered so only Cleiria could hear.
"Magical beasts. They are attacking the town."
"Eh!?"
Cleiria looked outside.
She must have noticed the smoke rising from the ground.
She swallowed hard.
"I'm going."
When Mika said that, Cleiria's expression became startled.
Then, despite a pained expression for a moment, she looked straight at Mika and made a smile.
"Be safe, Mika..."
Mika nodded once, placed his hand on the window, and threw his body out.
"Wait, Mika!?"
"Mika-kun! What are you doing!?"
Cecilia's surprised voice and Homeroom Teacher Colina's voice could be heard, but Mika activated [Blast] and flew off as is.
But, immediately after Mika jumped out of the school building,
"Mika-kuuuun!!!"
He was stopped by a knight who had entered the grounds from the academy's main gate.
Usually, knights of the Kingdom Army do not come to the academy.
The fact that they are coming at this timing means it is nine times out of ten related to magical beasts.
Mika hurriedly turned around and landed in front of the knight who was calling him, waving both hands.
A familiar knight.
Probably a knight of the Fifth Knights Order.
"You are from the Fifth Knights Order, right?"
"Y-yes, it's good that you understand quickly. I came to convey a request for cooperation from the Knight Commander."
"Request for cooperation? Is it about defeating magical beasts?"
When Mika asked that, the knight nodded.
"Magical beasts believed to be Chimeras have appeared at the North, Northeast, and Northwest gates of the Second Wall in the capital. Confirmed are two at each gate."
"North...!? Not the South Gate!?"
Mika had noticed the South Gate area.
As expected, the North Gate was too far to notice.
When the knight heard that Mika noticed the South Gate, he made a surprised face.
"I don't know about the South Gate either, but they might be attacking in order. First the Northeast, then the North, and magical beasts attacked."
Attacking with magical beasts one after another...?
There seems to be some intentional design.
However...
"Anyway, we should eliminate the magical beasts as quickly as possible now."
"Yes. I have also requested support from the innkeeper named Yaroibarov."
"From Yaroibarov-san too? If so, the magical beasts are a matter of time. Now, it is just about how quickly we can defeat the magical beasts and how much damage we can reduce."
When Mika said that, the knight also nodded.
"I met him for the first time, but he seems to be an amazing adventurer. I had forgotten the rumors until I actually met him. I have also requested support from the Adventurer's Guild. I want you to lend your strength too, Mika-kun."
"Of course. It might be better to leave the magical beasts to the adventurers and have the knights and soldiers prioritize the evacuation and rescue of the townspeople."
"That is indeed pitiful... However, it is true that dealing with magical beasts is largely unknown to us. I will honestly ask for help. The lives of the townspeople are at stake. There is no time to be stubborn."
Mika and the knight nodded at each other.
"I'm counting on you, Mika-kun. Or rather, now it's "Dispeller"."
"Yes. Leave it to me."
Ozendorwa had asked for support from Mika and Yaroibarov.
It must be a very serious situation.
Mika jumped up high and headed straight for the South Gate.
"Absorb Wing!"
Wings of light appeared on Mika's back, and the collected mana surged up.
He increased the allocation of mana to [Blast] and increased his flight speed.
"I'm going now. Everyone, hang in a little longer."
A battle to protect the people living in the capital.
Along with anxiety, a sense of excitement also welled up inside Mika.
But, Mika took a deep breath and calmed his own heart.
"Calm down. Do not let your heart waver. Do not rely on the Tranquilizer."
He told himself.
Mika took out a short sword made of Orichalcum from the magic storage bag and brought the South Gate into his field of view.