The flames were coming from the castle gate. I quickly run down the ladder from the roof. As I did so, screams could be heard in the distance. The night has just begun and yet, there is such a frightening commotion.
“Adventurers, to the castle gate! To the castle gate, quick!”
Even the usually cheerful vendors are shouting at the top of their lungs.
“Adventurers, go to the castle gate!”
“To the castle gate!”
“Hurry, go there quickly!”
I hurried to get ready, but my hands are trembling.
I wore my usual clothes with leather reinforced around my chest and joints. I carried my blue crystal short sword with me.
Looking up, my father’s red scarf is swaying against the wall.
In fact, the short sword is for gathering, and I only chose it because it was as light as possible. I was told that if I wanted to become a truly strong adventurer, long swords are the best.
A longsword that can handle both offense and defense is something that my father also used. But right now, this short sword is the only weapon I can reach.
And right now, I should go with a weapon I am familiar with.
“Rion”
When I turned around from the front door, I saw my mother standing there with a lamp.
“Are you going?”
“Yes. It looks like something happened.”
“I see.” Mom answered briefly.
Lu also came down from the second floor.
“Oniichan, come home safely.”
It was a sense of deja vu. It felt like I had seen this scene before —two years ago.
The scene now was the same as Father’s last departure before his death. The only difference is that I’m the one being seen off.
“Go ahead.”
Mom had a surprisingly calm voice.
“Do what you want. You’ve worked hard and done your best up until now. Go forward without looking back. May God protect you.”
I nod to my mother as she says so, and then I bend down to Lu, who is about to cry.
“I’ll definitely be back.”
I unsealed the gold coin.
| Skill『Alarm』was used. Executing 【Unseal】. |
Only Lu was able to see the figure of the goddess shining like the morning sun.
“I kept it a secret but…… I have a goddess by my side.”
Mom had a puzzled looked on her face, but Lu gasped. As expected, my sister can still see Solana.
“Oniichan, that person….…”
I nodded at Lu.
“I’m going.”
I left the house.
It was the same chilly night as usual. But the air is different. There is the smell of something burning in the air. Solana soars into the sky with her blonde hair fluttering in the wind.
“There’s a big fire in the East.”
“……This is bad!”
It’s winter, the air is dry, and it hasn’t snowed for a while. The densely packed wooden buildings in the royal capital gave the feeling that a catastrophe is imminent.
“I also heard the roar of monsters. And…… I sensed a very strong presence.”
Solana said as she fluttered through the air.
“Rion, don’t hesitate to use your skills, you can use me as a shield.”
“Shield?”
“Do whatever you can.”
I was left speechless.
No, no time to think.
I moved my feet, and I rushed forward. The city that I went to and fro as a wake-up caller, the city I might see for the last time, passed before my eyes.
Maybe it was because my eyes were wandering around like that, I caught something out of the corner of my eye.
“……Raven Warriors?”
There’s an emblem of a pair of ravens on their gray cloak. The person standing in the back alley did not notice me. The other party looked up at the night sky and then they immediately began to climb the wall.
I wonder if they found an enemy on the roof.
“……But why here?”
The house where Lu and Mom are in is also nearby. I couldn’t help but feel anxious. I want to go back and protect my only family.
But I already lost sight of the Raven Warriors, and I won’t be able to catch up with them. Their physical ability is different from mine after all.
“……Shall we chase them?”
“No. Let’s go, Solana.”
All I can do now is stop the advance of the monsters. As my mother said, I’ll run without looking back.
“Solana, save your strength.”
“Okay.”
She returned to the coin. I ran further out onto the main street. It was an unimaginable sight.
“……It’s bad.”
I’m on the main street leading to the castle gate and the Adventurer’s Guild. But now, both the buildings on the left and right side were set on fire. Even the city walls and barracks are burning. The thick smoke has even hidden the moon.
There was a scream.
“H-heeelp!”
Someone is being attacked by a goblin. I dashed forward, then I rammed and stabbed the monster in the neck before it could fight back.
“Thank you!”
The person quickly ran away after thanking me, but it seemed that a considerable number of monsters had already breached the castle walls. Dozens of shadows were coming from ahead, flickering with the heat.
The number of adventurers here is very few. I looked around frantically, but there were less than 10 people gathered here.
“W-where are the others……!?”
I couldn’t help blurting out. Then a familiar voice sounded as a group of monsters were blown away.
“They’re scattered all over the place, maybe some at the castle gate or in the other areas! Or worst, they’ve run away!”
It was Mia-san. Her chain axe flashed as she fought off the monsters.
“But there are a lot of enemies because the gates have been breached. Besides…..”
Shaking her red hair, she stares at the royal castle in the center of the capital.
“No one can command the group. The Adventurer’s Guild is a mess, and the adventurers in the Eastern Dungeon are unreliable to begin with.”
“That’s…… No, this is bad, right?”
“Yeah, very bad.”
I swallowed my saliva. The next hope is for the guards and knights of the royal capital. Nobles have strong combat skills, at least.
But as if pouring cold water on me, Mia-san said another sentence, “Let me tell you, the knights of the Royal Capital won’t be here for a while.”
“No way, right? It’s burning here so much…..”
“Believe or not. Those nobles are having a party today. Somebody will have to stop the banquet first and pull out the captain or the minister. And then those nobles will have to sign the order to mobilize the knights —they won’t come out until then.”
Mia-san’s words were the epitome of despair.
With such a catastrophe, are we really the only ones available?
The streets where I ran around as a “wake-up caller” is burning. The monsters that had escaped from the dungeon are setting fires everywhere, as if they are destroying unwanted toys.
We are supposed to be targeted by the kobolds and goblins but they’re prioritizing setting fire in the city. They are clearly different from the monsters inside the dungeon.
They had become more sinister and more cunning.
“Is it….. is it because of the seal?”
If the dungeon is meant to keep the monsters locked up. The unleashed monster may even remember its former wisdom.
『Rion!』
I was startled when Solana called out to me.
“M-Mia-san, let’s do it. Even if only a little, let’s slow down the monsters.”
“Got it! I’ll watch your back so we don’t get surrounded.”
Spinning the chain axe, Mia-san complied.
Goblins, skeletons, kobolds, wargs. We became a wall against the enemies that came one after another.
Magic was my greatest strength.
“Wan!”
The spirit that dwell in the crystal can be used with zero magical power. I slammed the monsters with air walls one after another.
Surprised voices came from all around.
“Whoa……”
“Is that Rion?!”
“Wasn’t he….. he got a useless skill, right?!”
I can see the adventurers in the area were startled.
“You guys, please fight as well!”
“But we……”
But your weak?
I shouted with a servile smile.
“Do what you can! Call for evacuation and help those who are in the areas that are on fire!”
The adventurers looked at each other. Some rushed out to those who cried for help. Among them was the one who we had saved when he fell into a pitfall.
The monsters continued to surge in one after another, like a big tidal wave swallowing us. I wielded my short sword, and Mia-san’s chainaxe knocked them down. And with the help of the spirit’s wind magic, monsters are blown back little by little.
As I was running out of breath, I finally felt the layer of monsters thinning out.
“If it goes on like this…… we can do it!”
I took a deep breath.
“Mia-san, let’s move forward. We can start pushing them back to the castle gates now.”
—Suddenly, it became dark.
The moon is missing?
“Dodge!”
Zodooong!
If Mia-san hadn’t yelled at me, I would have died.
It was something like a giant lump of iron. Something that can only be described as such slammed into the ground where I had just moved from.
Then there came a loud roar and vibration.
I couldn’t stand still.
“Gua!”
I suppressed my groan and regained my balance. Mia-san and I get into cover. I still didn’t understand the sudden situation. But even so, my body automatically got into a fighting stance.
Gasp.
There was a short, frightened breath. I thought it was mine, but it was from Mia-san, who was right next to me.
Slowly, that “lump” rose to its feet.
“……G-giant?”
A humungous body is now standing with the moon on its back. He has a shining black armor and a large shield like a castle wall. He was so big that for a moment I didn’t even realize it was a human figure.
This guy must be three meters tall. His mouth was parted down to its cheek and he is clearly smiling.
『Wolf Bone, Skoll……』
Solana spoke.
The being in front of us is the monster general in the basement of the Eastern Dungeon. Skoll calls out to the sky. It was like a howl.
Fear crept up in my entire body, and I couldn’t help but speak,
“I-it was clearly inside the ice….”
Solana jumped out of the gold coin.
I had woken her up earlier but there is probably still some time left. Still, this is a burden to her. Even so, Solana still soars into the sky and tells us what is going on.
“The monsters around us are rampaging even more. This guy, Skoll, has caused the monsters to become enraged.”
Skoll parted lips.
“Oh, I just said I felt a familiar presence. So, it was you……!”
The air trembles as he speak.
“If it isn’t the daughter of the sun! Oh right, you are her daughter, aren’t you?”
He readied his large shield.
I felt like I am challenging a fortress.
“Very good…… superb indeed! The power of a goddess is really incredible….…”
He is the one who defeated Solana’s mother and absorbed her powers—in other words, the demon who killed the gods.
Solana stood in front, protecting me as the tip of my short sword became unsteady.
“Solana, there are people around……”
“As far as my eye can see, except for us, the others must have run away after seeing Skoll.”
We have no choice but to fight. This monster killed a god. The one thing we mustn’t do is leave this guy alone and run away.
“Let’s fight, together.”
| Skill, 『Sun’s Divine Protection』was used. Executing 【Golden Flame】 ―――――――――――――――――――― 【Golden Flame】 …… Improves your physical abilities for a limited time. |
“Just like with the werewolf zombie, let me deal the last blow!”
After Solana returned to the gold coin, I stepped forward.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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