The area around the Sanctuary was filled with monsters.
Mummies shuffled along on withered bodies; monster fossils, their hollow shells of flesh moved by polluted energy; and beside them, countless tentacles rolled across the ground and groped at the sky.
“Waaah! Come at us!”
The squad members who burst out of the tower shouted, drawing the monsters’ attention.
But only a portion of them reacted.
At times like this, we needed one big blow.
Having left the tower with the others, I raised my spear toward the sky.
There was no need to ask Soph separately.
[Strike down. As spectacularly as possible.]
Soph, who had long since learned to move in sync with me, cast the spell on his own.
Flash!
Electricity sprang from the spear, and with a white burst of light, a thunderous roar of exploding air shook the entire Sanctuary.
The monsters’ gazes turned toward us all at once.
Kraaaaak!
The swarm of monsters around the Sanctuary writhed.
From tens to dozens, then hundreds.
Soon, the entire horde began to move.
Once the monsters started moving, Catherine and Sterling stepped to the front and fired off magic in rapid succession.
Brilliant flames and blades of wind scattered in every direction.
They were not spells that would work on Aksar monsters, but they were enough to hold their attention.
The monster horde that had moved because of my magic began chasing Catherine, Sterling, and the dispatched squad members firing spells at them.
More than two-thirds of all the monsters went after the squad.
It was far more effective than expected.
With the monster horde on their heels, the squad members ran along the outskirts of the dried-up lake.
The stench of rotten mud rose from the cracked lakebed.
I let them go and stopped walking.
I grew farther and farther from the squad.
No monsters were heading toward me.
It was thanks to the stealth magic I had cast in advance.
If I had been alone, I might have been discovered, but right now there were people drawing attention with all their might.
From among the running monsters, magic monsters soared upward.
When the dispatched squad tried to lure the monsters away, the biggest problem was the flying magic monsters.
If we could not stop the monsters that ignored terrain and flew in at tremendous speed, luring them away would be impossible.
That was why we had prepared.
“Open fire!”
At Catherine’s command, the energy guns brought from Venus spat fire.
The guns had been distributed to everyone before the operation began.
Because they were firing while running, their accuracy was low, but surprisingly many energy rounds lodged in the bodies of the monsters flying toward them.
As expected, the guns’ energy could not so much as scratch the monsters’ bodies.
Even so, it was not without effect.
The flight of the monsters that were hit wavered.
Their flight magic momentarily tangled, and they lost altitude.
It was because the “nullification magic” Soph and I had placed on the energy guns interfered with the monsters’ flight magic.
Its power was not great, and the effect was brief, but it was enough to buy time.
Meanwhile, I arrived at the tower.
I cast stealth magic on the expedition members who had remained inside the tower, then headed for the Sanctuary.
Thanks to the commotion on the other side, we were able to approach the Sanctuary without being discovered.
However, the moment we drew near the Sanctuary, the ground split open as if an alarm had gone off.
“Magi! Beneath your feet!”
Mummies and fossil monsters that had been hiding underground surged up.
Chwaaaak!
Magreta swung her whip, shredding the group of mummies that leaped up.
Tom held energy guns in both hands and fired wildly, while Sergeant Woo finished off the ones they missed with his sniper rifle.
While the squad members dealt with the mummies that had burst out, Hannah hurried toward the Sanctuary.
This time, we could not see her archery skills. Hannah had to concentrate in order to undo the seal.
The expedition members protected Hannah with all their strength, but they could not stop enemies stronger than mummies.
The fossil monsters drew closer.
Magic monsters, scout monsters, even control objects that had turned white.
There were far more fossils this time than before, and they were much stronger.
They had clearly known we would return and prepared for it.
[The monsters are not fools.]
I knew full well that the monsters were not fools.
“Soph!”
We could not waste time here.
As planned, I asked Soph for magic.
[Understood. But you know that if I use this, I won’t be able to help you for a while, don’t you?]
Of course I knew.
If I had not gained confidence in my own skill, I would never have made such a request.
I raised my spear upward.
Energy flowed out of the black stone and filled the spear.
Rumble.
A magic circle unfolded above the spear, and black clouds rose in the sky.
The change was far faster than before.
The preparations were complete before the fossil monsters could reach us.
Soph chanted the spell.
—Strike down. Lightning of ruin.
Flash.
Lightning fell from the sky.
Crack!
Kwaaaaang!
Bolts of lightning continued to fall around us.
The fossil monsters gathering toward us burst apart.
Scouts, magic monsters, even the control object fossils were all smashed to pieces.
The fossil monsters did not have defenses as strong as the living monsters.
It was an early version of the Light of Judgment, so its power was weak, but it was more than enough to deal with fossil monsters.
And because it had been weakened, I and my companions, wrapped in shields, took no damage.
However, because Soph had used magic several times this time, his fatigue was severe.
[I won’t be able to use magic for a while.]
That was regrettable, but thanks to him, the path to the Sanctuary had opened.
“Hurry!”
At my words, Hannah and the squad members ran toward the Sanctuary.
Kraaaaang!
At the same time, the sound of monsters roaring came from far away.
Some of the monsters that had been chasing the dispatched squad had seen my magic and changed direction.
As I looked at the monsters returning, I saw red dots speckled around them.
They were the squad members who had been luring the monsters.
In that short time, many of them had fallen.
Gritting my teeth, I ran after the others.
We soon arrived before the shield surrounding the Sanctuary.
Hannah placed her hand on the invisible shield.
Wooooong.
Ripples spread through the air, centered on her hand.
The seal was being undone.
“Everyone, hold out until the seal opens!”
Outside the magic Soph had dropped, monsters were swarming in.
Countless mummies and monsters.
They were mummies, nothing special, but while dealing with the monsters, there was no way to pay attention to them as well.
To protect Hannah, I needed the squad members’ help.
Magreta, Tom, Sergeant Woo.
The squad members guarded the space in front of Hannah.
I also stood before them and gripped my spear.
Now, without Soph’s help, I had to stop the monsters rushing in.
The monsters surged forward like a wall. Beneath them, mummies spread like waves.
Their numbers were not to be taken lightly, but I erased the mummies from my mind.
The mummies were the squad members’ responsibility. I had to trust them.
Ignoring the mummies passing by, I charged at the monsters.
A scout appeared before my eyes.
I brought my spear down and blew it apart with magic.
Kwaang!
Drenched in white blood, I cut off the human head of the magic monster beside it.
The monster floundered. I drove my arm into its body and pulled out the black stone.
The monster collapsed, and I launched myself toward another.
My comrades’ shouts came from behind me.
“Magi! Watch your right!”
“Thank you! But your side is bleeding!”
At Sergeant Woo’s shout, Magreta answered again in a worried voice.
“I can endure it! It’s not bad enough to need healing magic!”
“That means you’re just not on the verge of death, doesn’t it?”
At Sergeant Woo’s joke, Tom grumbled.
They were trying to speak as brightly as possible, but I, who was sensing my surroundings, knew how fierce a battle they were in.
Sergeant Woo’s injury was not minor. Magreta was being pushed so hard she nearly lost her whip.
I gritted my teeth and continued killing monsters.
Faster, so they could not get close to my comrades.
I swung my weapon frantically, thrust out my fists, and detonated magic.
The ground overturned, and lightning raced across the sky.
Flames burned the monsters, and blades of ice flew out, severing their necks.
They were spells I clearly had not been able to use before.
“Don’t tell me… ranged magic?”
I heard murmuring behind me, but I had no time to think about it.
Then my comrades’ shouts rang out again.
“Tom! Take Sergeant Woo and fall back!”
“Damn it! You were this badly hurt and didn’t say anything?”
“Stop the bleeding! I’ll buy time!”
“No, Magi, you’re hurt too!”
The sound of Magreta being injured snapped my mind awake.
When I checked with my senses, the area around my companions was filled with mummies.
My squad members could no longer fight.
Not only Sergeant Woo, but Magreta too was covered in her own blood.
Tom was not in good shape either.
There were still monsters piled up around me, but I unleashed a restraining spell and immediately fell back.
Once I reached the squad members’ side, I swung my spear with all my strength.
Chwaaaak!
Energy extending from the spear swept the mummies away.
“I really thought I was going to die.”
When the mummies were swept aside, Tom said, gasping for breath.
Magreta and Sergeant Woo were in no state to speak.
This was bad.
The squad members’ injuries were too severe. I could not leave the mummies to them like this.
But that did not mean I could take on the mummies myself.
As soon as I fell back, the monsters began approaching this way.
It was then.
“It’s done!”
Hannah’s shout rang out from behind the group.
Before her pale face, the air was rippling in a circular shape.
It looked strange, but that was the passage that had formed in the shield surrounding the Sanctuary.
“Get in right now!”
I shouted at the squad members and blocked the front.
At the same time, I took an object out of the box and dropped it to the ground.
Thud.
The object landed with a heavy sound.
What I had dropped onto the ground was a hydrogen bomb.
One of the six bombs dismantled from the nuclear missiles.
I activated the bomb’s timer and spread earth magic across the ground.
Gloop. Gloop.
The bomb sank into the earth.
I guarded the front until the bomb was completely buried.
Behind me, Hannah and Tom were carrying Sergeant Woo and Magreta up the mountain.
The mummies and monsters had reached right under our noses.
Wooooong.
The passage Hannah had created was narrowing. Fortunately, it looked like it would close soon.
If that happened, we could worry a little less about the bomb.
I guarded the passage until the very end, then at the last moment, threw myself inside.
The passage closed immediately.
Thud. Thud.
The monsters struck the empty air in fury.
At any other time, I might have taunted them, but now was not the time to pay attention to the monsters.
There was no time.
I launched myself toward the squad members.
They had not gotten far.
Arriving in a single step, I grabbed the squad members with both hands and cast flight magic, heading toward the Sanctuary entrance halfway up the mountain.
As I leaped into the Sanctuary entrance, I checked the Magic Tower.
Just as we had planned at first, the dispatched squad members were running into the tower.
The plan was for them to return to the tower if the monsters changed direction while they were luring them away.
That was so whoever remained could teleport before the hydrogen bomb exploded.
Unfortunately, there were not many people entering the tower.
It was something I had prepared myself for, but it did not sit well in my heart.
I forced myself to turn my head.
And then, we charged into the Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary was receiving people for the first time in ten thousand years.
We raced inward.
At that moment, the roar of the guardian monster sounded from below the mountain.
Entering the Sanctuary (2)