The adventurers of Flocia had joined the fight as well.
Some set out by ship toward the dungeon. Others crossed the bridge to investigate the tower. Others remained near the harbor, reinforcing the city’s defenses. All of them possessed skill worthy of the name adventurer, and none lacked courage. Even so, the anomaly unfolding within the city was something that left everyone utterly shaken.
“W-what the hell is that!?”
On the bridge, the adventurer known as Lloyd of the Stone Hammer felt the same shock.
Thick clouds blanketed the sky, racing overhead at an alarming speed. With no walls to shield it, the bridge took the full brunt of the gale.
Then came the thunderous roar riding in on the wind. The roughly thirty men guarding the harbor with him all turned at once, staring back in disbelief.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with his comrades, Lloyd held his breath.
“T-the temple….”
The tower of the Odis Temple burst apart. The uppermost floor was blown away, and the ensuing explosion thundered across the lake. From where they are, the city’s towers were no bigger than a finger, yet the disturbance was unmistakable.
At the top of the tower, pure white frost and blazing red heat collided, each struggling to overwhelm the other.
The mythic clash of fire and ice held Lloyd spellbound.
Then, without warning, the light vanished.
Though it was strange that such a faint noise could carry across so much distance. Lloyd cleary heard the sound of something shattering.
“.…What was that?”
A bad feeling crept over him. Every instinct he had honed as an adventurer screamed that something was terribly wrong.
Another person, carrying a greatsword spoke up. She was known as “Melissa of the Azure Greatsword”.
“Should we head back to the city?”
Both she and Lloyd were among those who, together with Rion and the others, had ventured into the dungeon’s hidden area. Because of their proven record of fighting side by side, they had been entrusted with guarding the bridge.
Lloyd stroked his chin, thinking for a moment.
Their group stood about ten meters from the bridge’s starting point. Their role was to serve as a living wall should monsters attempt to cross the bridge. But if something abnormal was happening within the city itself, then perhaps returning really was the right call.
Command had been entrusted to Lloyd.
He had to decide—stay here, or send someone ahead to scout.
“Hmm….”
Suddenly, a human figure shot past them at terrifying speed.
Lloyd cried out and recoiled.
“Whoa!”
It was over in the blink of an eye, a single instant of crossing paths. A retreating figure with flowing blond hair vanished beyond the far end of the bridge.
“N-Nils….?”
That was what it looked like but he couldn’t be so sure. It was like the wind itself. The sight tugged at his attention, but he couldn’t afford to focus on it alone.
One of their companions pressed an ear to the ground.
“.…I can hear it. It’s coming from beyond the bridge.”
Barry, who possessed the Thief skill, had questionable behavior, but he was highly capable when it came to reconnaissance.
“A horde—a whole horde! They’re coming across the bridge!”
The white tower at the center of the bridge stood easily fifty meters tall. Its massive base completely blocked the view of the far side.
Lloyd fired back a question.
“Monsters?”
“M-most likely….!”
Lloyd, too, could sense a presence from beyond the bridge.
The adventurers began speaking over one another.
“The warrior order was supposed to be scouting the dungeon ahead of us, right?”
“What about the sailors? They should be checking around the base of the bridge….”
Lloyd crossed his arms.
“.….We’re the ones meant to stand here in case they get through. Don’t panic.”
Before long, the floating ships raised red flags one after another—a signal proclaiming an emergency.
Monsters emerged from behind the tower.
Sahagin, kelpies, small water dragons. Creatures of the dungeon surged forth across the water and onto the bridge. By then, their cries and pounding footsteps echoed everywhere. Their numbers kept growing. Some clawed their way up from the surface of the lake onto the bridge, until it seemed as though the entire span were being swallowed by a black tide.
The adventurers grew unsteady.
“No way…. why all of a sudden?!”
A shadow passed overhead. Lloyd looked up, narrowing his eyes.
“A raven?”
The bird flew away.
Almost as if dropping by, two human silhouettes descended from the sky.
The adventurers stared, mouths agape.
Monsters?
Lloyd and the other elites instinctively braced themselves. But their astonishment was the same. The two figures came to a halt in midair. One was a man wrapped in a black robe. The other was a woman, armed with a spear and clad in blue armor.
The floating man smiled with drooping eyes and raised a single finger— as if to say, I have something important to tell you.
Even with monsters closing in, his presence was impossible to ignore.
A voice slipped from Lloyd’s lips.
“…What is that?”
Flame flickered to life at the man’s fingertip. As he toyed with the red heat between both hands, the fire swelled in power. With a sweep of his arm, the blaze scythed across the bridge and the water’s surface, cutting a hundred meters in one stroke.
The woman followed, hurling her spear and skewering five small dragons at once.
“Wha—?!”
Even Lloyd was left awestruck.
Then the woman’s voice rained down from above.
“Everyone! What you saw bursting from the temple tower was the light of a seal breaking!”
Light streamed down through a break in the clouds, illuminating the woman’s blue armor. Hair the same color danced wildly in the fierce wind.
“The power that sealed the monsters within the dungeon has weakened! It will take some time before they can be sealed again!”
She paused then continued,
“And, another powerful monster has appeared within the city itself! We ask that you hold the line here and stop the monsters coming from the lake!”
Though the adventurers were noisy by nature, strangely, no one spoke up with a question.
Lloyd was the same. The cadence of her voice was almost identical to the all-encompassing messages of the god, Odis-sama.
Struck by its solemnity, everyone stood dazed, as if entranced. Yet the armored goddess—there was no other way to describe her—set the adventurers’ hearts ablaze.
Lloyd recalled being called a hero from the sky. It felt as though he had wandered into the world of myth.
At last, the man in the black robe, who had remained silent until now, gave a casual shrug.
“By the way, please leave whatever’s happening in the city to my friend. Don’t worry, he’s outside the norm too.”
He closed one eye and struck a playful pose. Given the power they had just witnessed. With the two of them wiping out the monsters, such words carried undeniable weight.
“W-who are you people?”
Lloyd asked, his voice trembling.
The armored goddess smiled.
“For now, you may call me the Valkyrie. It’s been a long time since I’ve fought alongside so many people…”
Her blue eyes lowered slightly, as if gazing back on a distant past.
“It’s time, warriors!”
From the sky, the Valkyrie leveled her spear at the horde of monsters.
The adventurers were stirred to action. They met the oncoming waves of monsters head-on atop the bridge. Even the creatures crossing the lake focused their ferocity on Lloyd and the others as they raised their battle cries.
Perhaps it was also due to Lloyd’s skills, as the vanguard, he meant to draw the enemy’s attention.
Laughter echoed across the sky.
“Hahahaha!”
Up in the air, the black-robed figure had turned upside down, laughing uproariously.
“As expected of a Valkyrie. You really are good at leading humans.”
The unfettered god of mischief, spread both hands toward the lake.
“Then allow me to show you what the god of magic can really do!”
◆◆◆
I descended from the tower of the Odis Temple.
Kicking off the stone pavement, I rushed toward the harbor. My battered body had regained its lightness.
We had already split into three groups.
First: Thor, Uru, and Mia-san and the others were engaging Ymir directly.
Second: Loki and Sigris had flown to the bridge and should be aiding the adventurers in holding the line.
From the harbor came the groans of monsters, while from behind the temple thunderous booms echoed, like lightning striking the ground.
I had fallen behind the others because I waited for my shoulder and leg wounds to fully heal under the effects of the White Flame.
I have to hurry.
Just moments ago, we had been in a hopeless situation. Ymir had arrived at the tower, and it wouldn’t have been surprising if we’d all been wiped out there.
But Lu had saved us. She hadn’t just pushed the enemy back by creating a magical orb—she had driven ice into Ymir herself. If Freyja-sama were to awaken here and grant us her immense power, we could deal an even harsher blow to the slave traders.
Of course, that was only if we could overcome Freyr, the goddess’s younger brother.
That made the final group—the third—me and Solana. Our destination is the tower on the lake. The fate of Flocia rested on the shoulders of the two of us, the goddess and me.
『Does it hurt?』
Solana asked from atop the gold coin, checking the wounds on my shoulder along with my short sword and equipment.
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
The raven warrior’s robe fluttered wildly in the strong wind. Along with it came the presence of countless others.
My hunter blessing skill detected an anomaly.
“—!”
I twisted my body, narrowly avoiding the volley of arrows.
From the shadows along the street, a tall, imposing monster emerged.
Rata.
“Where are you headed?”
From the surrounding buildings, bandits raised their bows, aiming straight at me.
I didn’t respond. I took a single step forward. Frost began to creep over Rata’s body.
“Oniichan, are you really leaving me behind?”
The voice that rang out was Lu’s.
He had transformed again.
Perhaps it was a deliberate tactic to unsettle me. If this had been me just moments ago, if it had been the me who had been utterly overwhelmed by Freyr, I would have lost my focus again.
Rata had come to drive a wedge of despair into my heart before the decisive battle.
―Your little sister won’t survive!
Such a wedge of despair.
But I already knew Lu’s strength. That’s why I would grow stronger too.
I couldn’t afford to lose here, not to my own weakness.
“Hoh~”
Rata’s eyes widened in surprise.
I didn’t look away from “Lu”.
If your heart is strong, if your conviction is true, there’s no need to look away.
“Wake up!”
From the gauntlet on my right hand, I awakened the water spirit, Undine.
Water gathered from the nearby channels, and then I switched to the fire spirit, Salamander, in my left hand.
“Pii!”
The spirit’s flames caused the water to explode into steam. Thick clouds of vapor swallowed my vision. With this, even the enemy archers wouldn’t be able to aim.
I kicked off the ground and charged straight through the blinding mist. As I closed in, Rata—still wearing Lu’s face, gaped in shock.
“…To think you could use such underhanded tactics—!”
Rata dispelled his transformation. He tried to retreat. In Lu’s body, quick movements weren’t possible.
“They say a man can change in three days apart. Just what on earth have you gained in just this instant?!”
Rata extended their claws and caught my thrusting short sword. But he was rattled, while my resolve was set like steel.
Using Lu like that—
I would never forgive that!
“Lu… I won’t let you fall into their hands!”
“…Kekeke. But soon, you will face the rest of your family as enemies as well.”
I shrugged off their counterattack and slipped in close, plunging my short sword into his chest.
“Gyaaa…!”
Frost enveloped Rata’s body. For a brief, dazzling moment, he shone—and then vanished. The alley was empty, no trace of him remained.
The bandits who had raised their bows noticed Rata’s absence and scattered in a panic. I scanned the area with my hunter blessing, but it seemed the danger had passed.
“…Is it over?”
A narrow escape. Perhaps he transformed. He abandoned his damaged body and assumed a smaller form.
But the coin trembled in my hand.
『 I think we definitely dealt a serious blow. Though, I suppose there was no need for me to step in this time.』
“Ah!”
I couldn’t help the thought crossing my mind. If I’d fought alongside the goddess, perhaps the outcome might have been different.
“Don’t worry. It was precisely because you moved so swiftly that you were able to catch them off guard.”
Hearing her words, I broke into a run. The closer I got to the harbor, the louder the sounds of battle became. The tower on the lake now shimmered with rainbow-colored light.
The rainbow seemed to spiral around the building, like a stairway ascending into the sky.
“Let’s hurry, goddess!”
I raced toward the lake.
—Soon, you will face the rest of your family as enemies.
Rata’s words were ominous, far too foreboding. But for now, there was only one way forward.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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