Chapter 258 - Chapter 257: Attack on the Capital 2
When Mika arrived at the South Gate, a hellish scene spread out before his eyes.
Two Chimeras were attacking people, spewing Fire Breath and causing fires to break out all around.
People fled in panic amidst the flames and smoke.
The town had been reduced to rubble.
In an instant, flames of anger ignited within Mika.
"Ugh... grrr... kkh...!"
Mika clutched his chest and groaned.
His anger was so intense that he was on the verge of losing himself.
A powerful impulse surged up from within.
Destroy it!
Kill it!
Destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it destroy it!!!
Kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it!!!
"Ugghhaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......!!!"
His vision turned red with rage that even the Tranquilizer could not suppress.
But then, the figures of Kistil and Nerisfeene floated in his mind.
The two who had stayed by his side as he suffered through impulses that surged like seizures.
Kistil's sorrowful expression.
Nerisfeene's worried expression.
They calmed the flames of Mika's anger.
"Haa...! Haa...! Haa............"
With the help of the Tranquilizer, he rapidly regained his composure.
Mika took a deep breath and once again looked down at the rubble-strewn town below.
He felt as if he suddenly heard a voice lingering in his ears.
'Stay safe, Mika.'
Cleiria, who had swallowed all her desires to speak, all her feelings of wanting to hold him back, and had sent him off with a smile.
If he were to be consumed by impulse in a place like this, he would be betraying them.
"...Kistil... Nerisfeene... Cleiria."
Mika murmured the names of the three girls, then descended into the town of rubble.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
A woman trembled as she desperately clutched her baby, risking her life to protect it from the terrifying monster.
But against the monster's claws and fangs, a woman's body was no more substantial than paper.
With just a light scratch, both mother and child would be easily torn apart.
"Someone! Please, save only this child!"
The woman cried out desperately, searching for people around her.
She could no longer even run away.
Debris, smashed and blown about by the monster, had struck her legs, breaking her bones.
Tears streaming down her face, she raised her voice with all her might, praying that at least her child would be saved.
Gugaaaaaaoonnn!!!
But, ironically.
The woman's desperate plea to save only her child was exactly what drew the monster's attention.
Thud... thud... shaking the ground, its massive body, easily exceeding two meters in height, approached from behind the woman.
The woman noticed the vibrations traveling through the ground.
Her face froze, and she could no longer even breathe.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Clutching her crying child with all her strength, she slowly turned her stiffened body, paralyzed by fear.
When the woman looked up at the monster before her, the monster had just raised its arm.
Shashat!
Mika slashed off the raised arm of the Chimera, and immediately severed its head as well.
He kicked away the head of the Chimera as it fell with a thud, and stood before the woman holding the baby.
The Chimera's massive body collapsed sideways with a heavy boom that shook the ground.
"It's okay now."
"Waaah! Waaah!"
Mika spoke to the woman, who stood frozen with her eyes wide open.
But the only response was the baby's cries; the woman was in a state of shock.
Noticing that the woman's leg was bent in an unnatural direction, Mika cast [Heal] on her.
He also cast [Battle Fervor] while he was at it.
As a small token of encouragement.
It was pitiful to leave her as she was, but for now, he had to prioritize defeating the other Chimera.
Mika gave a slight bow and headed toward the other Chimera.
The other Chimera was flying in the sky, spraying Fire Breath onto the South Gate.
Like the one he had just defeated, its appearance was different from the ones he had seen before.
The one he had seen previously had the head of a lion, a body that seemed to be that of a goat, and the tail of a snake.
However, this Chimera had, in addition to that, wings like those of a hawk or an eagle.
Although the wings were disproportionate to its bulk, it was somehow floating in the air thanks to them.
It seemed to possess principles of lift and buoyancy that did not depend on wings, much like Mika.
"This position is good. 'Laser Cannon'!"
A beam of light severed the Chimera's body, and its massive form fell onto the square with a heavy thud.
When used from the sky toward the ground, there was concern for the surrounding area, but if fired into the sky, such worries were unnecessary.
The only concern was whether there were people at the Chimera's landing point.
"...There's no one else, right?"
Mika rose into the air once to check his surroundings.
The knight had told him that there were two monsters per gate.
But that only meant they had confirmed two each; it was not certain that there were no others.
However, even after scanning the vicinity, he could find no sign of other monsters.
After confirming that, Mika directed his gaze into the distance.
When he looked through his 'Telescope', to his dismay, he could see monsters at both the Southeast Gate and the Southwest Gate.
(...Almost in the exact opposite directions.)
Mika frowned, but nevertheless headed unhesitatingly toward the Southeast Gate.
The Southeast Gate was the place Mika usually used.
More importantly, the Magic Academy was nearby.
He could not save both places at the same time.
In such a case, there was no correct answer as to which one to choose.
He would simply save the one he wanted to save more.
That was all.
Mika thought as he headed toward the Southeast Gate.
(They weren't there until just now... were they?)
When Mika had rushed out of the Academy, he surely would have noticed if there had been a Chimera at the Southeast Gate, which was less than a kilometer away.
Unless both of them had been on the ground, lying quietly.
But now, he had noticed from a distance that the Southeast Gate was also under attack.
In other words, had the attack begun after Mika had headed toward the South Gate?
(The messenger knight also said that the attacks were proceeding counterclockwise from the Northeast.)
Which meant there was a high possibility that the East Gate would be attacked next after the Southeast Gate?
And the Northeast Gate was the first place to be attacked.
If they attacked the last remaining East Gate, the one who orchestrated this might escape as is...?
"The East Gate is surely the last chance. I'll deal with the Southeast Gate quickly and head to the East Gate!"
Just as Mika roughly established his policy, he arrived at the Southeast Gate.
In front of the Southeast Gate, several adventurers were already fighting the Chimera.
The Chimera's appearance was different from the one at the South Gate.
A lizard-like head, and bat wings?
He did not know if this Chimera was the basic recipe, but the one who made these creatures seemed to be an eccentric full of originality.
About three people were dealing with each one.
Among those adventurers, Mika spotted a familiar figure.
"Haaaaaaaah! Taa!!!"
Trys quickly moved to the side of the monster and slashed at its hind legs.
However, it seemed to be slightly shallow, and the snake's tail attacked Trys.
"Kh!?"
Somehow deflecting the snake's attack with her Mithril Longsword, she took distance with a backstep.
Trys readied her longsword and regained her stance.
Dosun!
At that moment, Mika, who had descended from the sky, plunged his Orichalcum Shortsword into the Chimera's crown.
The momentum of his fall slammed the Chimera's body into the ground.
The Chimera's terrifying face twitched violently, and its eyeballs rolled back.
"Mika-chan!?"
"Trys! Are you hurt?"
Saying this, Mika sliced off the snake's tail from the root with an 'Air Cutter'.
"I-I'm fine."
Confirming at a glance that she did not seem to be injured, Mika jumped down from the Chimera's head and moved toward the second one.
"Oryaaaaaaah!"
"Take thiiiiiiis!!!"
Surrounding the Chimera, the adventurers attempted to attack.
But the Chimera skillfully used its snake tail to keep them at bay, not allowing the adventurers to get close.
Pishun!
Taking advantage of the fact that the Chimera's consciousness was directed toward the surrounding adventurers, Mika dashed under its neck.
Slashing its throat with his Shortsword as he passed.
Gogaaaaah, boshushububujubu...!
The Chimera tried to roar, but blood sprayed from its slashed throat midway, leaking air and preventing it from making a sound.
"""Dispeller!?"""
When Mika swung his shortsword to wipe off the blood, the adventurers who had been fighting the Chimera raised voices of surprise.
"'Air Cutter'!"
He sliced off the snake that was still writhing around, and quickly checked his surroundings.
There seemed to be no other Chimeras.
"Mika-chan, why are you here!?"
Trys ran over to Mika and asked.
"It's a request from the Knights. What about you, Trys? A request from the Guild?"
"No, we were at the Guild, but we didn't receive a request. According to Yaroibarov's message, adventurers who were at the Guild were called upon to cooperate."
It seemed that a knight had gone to Yaroibarov's inn to make a request, and Yaroibarov had sent a messenger to the Second Branch of the Adventurer's Guild.
Although the Knights had also requested support from the Guild, it seemed Yaroibarov's messenger had delivered the news first.
"Kaerya and the others went to the Northeast Gate, and there are other adventurers who moved in response to Yaroibarov's call. They headed to the North Gate and the Northwest Gate."
It seemed there were quite a few adventurers who moved on their own judgment, rather than in response to requests from the Knights or the Guild.
If that was the case, someone might have already headed to the Southwest Gate as well.
"Understood. Then, I'll leave this to you."
"Aah, leave it to me. Mika-chan, how do you intend to move?"
Asked by Trys, Mika glared in the direction of the East Gate.
"I'm heading to the East Gate. If I make it in time, I might be able to identify the culprit."
Trys looked surprised, then nodded with a serious expression.
"I see. Be careful."
"Yes!"
With his reply, Mika took a few steps of running start and took off toward the East Gate.
Trys watched him go with a face tinged with frustration.
She knew that with her own abilities, she would only be a burden to Mika.
"I'm sorry, Mika-chan... I'm counting on you."
Murmuring thus, Trys began rescue activities.
When Mika arrived at the East Gate, it had not yet been attacked by a Chimera.
However, it seemed that news of the attacks on the other gates had already spread, as many knights and soldiers, along with a few adventurers, were standing by.
"...Did I make it in time?"
Mika checked the area from the sky.
The townspeople seemed to have evacuated to their homes.
Near the gate, there were hardly any people walking outside.
"............Where...? ...Where are you?"
The area around the East Gate, the square in front of it.
The street extending from the square.
Mika calmed his impatient feelings as he searched for the Chimera.
At that moment, a Chimera appeared from between the buildings in District 3.
This one, too, was a different Chimera.
A pigeon-like head, bat wings, and a tail that looked like that of a scorpion.
The place where the Chimera appeared was at least three hundred meters away from the East Gate.
"There!"
Mika charged with 'Blast' at full power.
He crushed the Chimera as if tackling it, and plunged his Orichalcum Shortsword into its head.
Dozshaaaaah!!!
The Chimera's massive body took Mika's tackle from diagonally above and collapsed sideways.
In an alleyway that had been hidden by the buildings, there was another Chimera that seemed to have just been taken out of a Magic Bag.
And there was a young man, around twenty years old, holding that Magic Bag in his hand.
Mika instantly targeted the young man and slashed at him with the shortsword he had pulled from the Chimera.
Even for adventurers, a Chimera was a formidable opponent.
But the young man's inscrutability was abnormal.
The moment he saw Mika, a brief expression of surprise.
But when his eyes met Mika's, the young man smiled.
Seeing Mika crush the Chimera into the ground and plunge his shortsword into it.
"Shu!"
Mika stepped on the Chimera and charged at the young man with all his might.
But at that instant, he felt a chill run down his spine, and instinctively held his shortsword in front of his body, shrinking his neck to protect his head.
Zashizashizashizashizashizashizashizashizashi!!!
Severe pain ran from his chest upward.
It was like a swarm of blades, similar to Mika's 'Thousand Edge'.
A swarm of invisible kamaitachi.
"The abundant source of life, Great God of Water. Your great――――!"
Mika chanted the spell for [Heal] as he charged forward without hesitation.
He boosted his durability explosively with his bracers, and momentarily raised [Physical Enhancement] to fifty times its normal level.
If he kicked the ground with all his might, his legs would break, but what he needed now was to raise his durability above all else.
Since [Heal] would manifest, lacerations and fractures would heal immediately anyway.
Even if he suffered a fatal wound in an instant, as long as he did not interrupt the chant, he could be completely healed.
If that was the case, he would ignore the swarm of kamaitachi and tackle the young man with his shortsword.
The young man moved quickly to distance himself from Mika, but Mika closed in with even greater charging power.
Mika's tackle, powerful enough to crush rocks.
Bokibokibokii!!!
The moment he made contact with the young man, the sound of Mika's shoulder and the young man's ribs breaking traveled through their bodies.
Along with a wave that felt as if it would blow them away.
"――――the warmth of life, the powerful breath that rises again!"
And at the same time, the chant for [Heal] finished, and Mika healed the many lacerations caused by the kamaitachi, as well as the fractures in his leg and shoulder.
Dandandzzadzadzaaaaaaaaaah!!!
Carried by their momentum, Mika and the young man somersaulted, bouncing and rolling across the ground.
While rolling, Mika further increased [Physical Enhancement] to sixty times, preventing fractures from the impact of rolling on the ground.
Thus, he slowly began to chant again in preparation for manifesting [Heal] once more.
By the time they stopped rolling, his whole body would likely be covered in abrasions.
When Mika felt the momentum of his rolling weaken, he put strength into his limbs and jumped up.
As he got up, he manifested [Heal] again.
The young man seemed to have regained his posture faster than Mika.
Even so, perhaps due to the damage, he managed to get up while swaying unsteadily.
(...This guy, isn't human...?)
If one used [Heal], particles of yellow light would dance in the air.
Therefore, he probably had not used [Heal].
Alternatively, if it was Mika's healing magic, it might be possible to heal injuries without such visual effects.
While such possibilities certainly existed, it was certain that he was at least not an ordinary human.
Ordinarily, it would be impossible to get up immediately after receiving Mika's tackle, which was enough to scatter one's whole body, and then rolling on the ground.
And besides...
(That wave from when we made contact...!)
It was certain that he harbored a powerful curse.
"Damn it! Damn! Damn! What the hell are you!!!"
The young man cursed at Mika and turned his hand toward him.
"[Blow Away]eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!"
With an impact as if he had collided with a wall, Mika was blown high into the sky.
"Kh!?"
Looking around, he saw that several surrounding buildings were also collapsing and dancing into the sky, as if blown away by a typhoon.
The sound of splintering wood echoed from all around.
"""Uwaaaaaaah!?"""
"""Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
And the people living in the houses were blown away together with them.
Suddenly thrown into the sky, about ten people, men and women, adults, children, and the elderly, all screamed.
"You bastardttt!!!"
He could not let such a dangerous person run free.
He knew that.
Even so, he could not abandon the people who were about to be smashed into the ground and scatter their lives.
Mika put his shortsword away in his Magic Bag and took out a rappelling rope instead.
Making full use of 'Blast', he somehow managed to catch them one by one in mid-air.
"Hold on for your lives!!!"
Mika, of course, only had two arms.
If Mika grabbed them, he could only catch two people.
Therefore, Mika had the people he grabbed cling to the rappelling rope.
It was quite dangerous, but it could not be helped.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to collect ten people in mid-air.
While being careful not to direct the 'Blast' used for propulsion toward the direction of the people holding the rope, he desperately gathered them up.
He had never tried lifting this much weight with 'Blast', but he had no luxury to think about unnecessary things.
It was not a question of whether he could or could not.
He had to do it.
A few people let go midway, but he somehow managed to pick them up again and collected everyone.
He landed carefully on the ground and let go of the rappelling rope.
Then, he rose into the sky again to search for the young man.
But, as expected, the young man had gone somewhere.
"Tch!"
He inadvertently clicked his tongue.
He desperately scanned his surroundings, but it was difficult to find the young man once he had lost sight of him.
"...What should I do!? What should I...!?"
At that moment, there was a place in the corner of his vision that emitted an intense light.
That light was moving toward the edge of District 3.
"Fee!? Good job!"
Apparently, Fee had come to Mika's location without him noticing.
Since Mika could not pursue the young man, Fee had chased him instead.
Mika descended in a straight line toward the light (Fee).