- It’s fascinating, I tell you. Monsters invading all mixed together without any distinction between species. Is such a thing even possible?
Pureunel seemed to find the Monster Wave itself fascinating.
- Even the ones that are normally desperate to devour one another come charging in when spring arrives, as if possessed by something... Hm. This is worth researching.
In other words, unlike Hio, who had often experienced it in the game, this was something impossible in Pureunel’s era.
“Whatever the reason, the fact that we have to hunt them all down doesn’t change.”
- For once, you’re saying something sensible.
As he stood atop the highest watchtower of the fortress wall and looked down below, Pureunel spoke to him in an amused tone.
- In my day, dealing with waves of monsters was commonplace. When I went after receiving a request for aid, they’d welcome me with, “Oh, Lord Mage!” and treat me with the utmost courtesy, but the moment I said I was a necromancer, their faces would turn sour.
Once this talkative ghost began telling stories of the old days, there was no end to them, so Hio let the words pass in one ear and enjoyed the scenery spread out beneath his feet.
Soldiers busily moving here and there with the castle gate flung wide open.
Commanders directing them.
Thanks to their efforts, a new defensive line was being established far in front of the fortress wall.
Once the battle began, monster corpses would pile up like mountains around that place.
- Now, enough sightseeing. You should finish what you were doing, shouldn’t you?
At Pureunel’s words, Hio turned around.
The inside of the watchtower was filled with stones about the size of a fist.
- To think you can pile up such expensive things like this and use them so freely. I suppose there were some good points to magic being lost.
All of them were magic crystals.
Stones that could never be separated from mages.
- How is it? You should be able to extract mana from magic crystals easily now, yes?
“Well, that’s within the scope of handling mana, so it’s easy enough...”
Using magic crystals like auxiliary batteries was something he could easily do even without Pureunel’s teaching.
“It’s this that’s ridiculously complicated.”
The problem was the pattern he was currently drawing into the watchtower.
No, a single massive formation made by connecting those patterns together.
A magic circle.
- Heh heh heh. Even if it’s complicated, think of it all as study and come to understand it perfectly. If you want to cast Darkness over such a wide area, it’s only natural to receive the aid of a magic circle.
At a glance, it resembled the way Berga had cast magic, but when he examined it in detail, there was a difference in both precision and scale.
Not only the placement of the patterns, but every single line had its own reason.
“Ugh, my head.”
It was giving him a headache.
- Stop whining and hurry up. Bring a magic crystal and place it on that pattern you just drew. That one is familiar, isn’t it? It’s a necromancer’s sigil. It serves to draw in death energy.
The reason the magic circle was so complicated was that there were also patterns Hio was seeing for the first time in his life.
Several high-circle patterns he could not engrave on his own for now.
- Isn’t this a fine opportunity? This magic circle is only possible because we have this many magic crystals. Let’s set aside a few of the more efficient ones over there. For emergencies, you see.
Even without Pureunel saying so, several high-quality ones had already gone into Hio’s subspace pouch.
Shouldn’t there be at least this much side income if he was to put even more effort into hunting monsters?
In any case, even if these fell into someone else’s hands, there probably wouldn’t be anyone capable of using them properly.
Rather than that, it would be better for the world if they became Hio’s emergency mana chargers.
“What pattern is this one?”
- That is the concept of spreading. It’s a bit complicated, and explaining it would take ages, so for now, just memorize it as such. Once your circle rises, you’ll have more chances to encounter it.
He drew the magic circle across the entire floor of the large watchtower, placed the magic crystals, and studied their meanings and principles.
And after he had spent several hours groaning over it—
“M-Mage!”
A soldier called Hio from below the watchtower.
“The message is that the monsters are coming, and you should prepare!”
The war was about to begin.
* * *
“Goblins, orcs, gremlins.”
A soldier holding a spear muttered.
“Gnolls... Is that big one behind them an ogre?”
Countless monsters advanced, kicking up thick clouds of dust.
Tension lingered around the eyes of everyone watching them.
The tiresome war that broke out every spring.
How many of their comrades had died each year?
Only, this year was somehow different.
No, it had to be different.
Boom—
The sound of drums heightened the tension.
Boom— Boom—
As the drumming gradually quickened, hearts beat faster, and excitement seized their bodies.
- Kieeeek!
A sound that was not human rang out from afar.
An endless cloud of dust stretched before them.
Sweat ran down the forehead of a soldier holding a bow, and the man gripping his spear tightened his hands even more.
The tremors pounding through the earth were so fierce that their bodies shook with them.
Boom— Boom—Boom— Boom—
The drumming grew even faster.
Battle was not far off.
“Load!”
The sound of horns filled the battlefield.
Tremors shook the earth.
Amid the excited commander’s voice and the centurions’ shouts relaying it—
“Fire—!”
Arrows were loosed.
Tens of thousands of arrows covered the sky as they flew, then poured down like rain over the monsters’ heads.
- Kieeeek!
Monsters died instantly, their throats pierced and arrows lodged in the crowns of their heads.
Their bodies collapsed, and the monsters in the rows behind tripped over them and fell in heaps.
But that was only a tiny portion.
Before long, they leapt over and trampled the corpses as they rushed forward again.
“Load!”
Even in the face of that brutal sight, the soldiers calmly drew their bowstrings.
They, too, were veterans in their own right, and though they were afraid, they did what had to be done.
“Fire!”
Once again, arrows surged up all at once.
The rain of arrows became a calamity as it poured down upon mere goblins.
The monsters at the front toppled over in droves once more.
Even though the arrows were fired in several volleys, the speed at which the monsters pressed in was far faster than the speed at which they fell.
And then—
“It’s a bugbear!”
A large monster began to reveal itself.
A bear-shaped monster advanced, mercilessly flinging aside kobolds and the like that got in its way.
“Pay it no mind! Load again!”
Even at that vicious sight, the soldiers did not waver as they drew their bows.
Because they knew that thing was not their opponent.
- Kuoooh!
The bugbear, which had been approaching without obstruction, suddenly came to a halt.
“Now!”
The knights, who had originally specialized in intercepting only large monsters, stepped forward.
They stopped its movement with a skill and quickly dealt with it.
It did not take very long for the bugbear’s head to fall to the ground.
“Fire!”
Arrows poured down.
Knights protected the soldiers while slaughtering monsters.
Judging only by the immediate situation, it looked as if monsters alone were dying without a single human casualty, but that would not last long.
The number of monsters breaking through the arrow rain and rushing deeper inside was steadily increasing, and with it, the number the knights had to handle was increasing as well.
Right now, it appeared as though the humans were overwhelming them, but after only a short while, they would be unable to withstand the surging monsters and would collapse in an instant.
“Count. Are you sure this is truly all right?”
That was why those looking down over the battlefield from the fortress wall asked Yon Torno with anxious eyes.
“It’s a plan we all agreed to, yes, but... why is there still no signal?”
“Shouldn’t we at least check whether something has gone wrong with the plan?”
“If we miss the timing like this, it’ll become difficult even to retreat.”
At those worried words, Yon Torno looked up at the watchtower.
From the watchtower where the mage was, an unusual energy could be felt.
However, because it was later than expected, such anxious words were being spoken.
“I will go.”
At that, Sylvia stepped forward.
“No, even so, Your Highness, how could you...”
Despite the surrounding nobles’ attempts to dissuade her, Sylvia was firm.
“He is my man, and it is a plan I agreed to. If something goes wrong, the responsibility lies with me, so I must go and confirm it myself.”
She was saying she would take responsibility if things went wrong.
Which also meant that if things went well, Sylvia’s influence would grow stronger.
The water had already been spilled.
Sylvia had once again imprinted upon the nobles that Hio was her person.
Watching Sylvia, Yon Torno nodded.
“That would be best.”
He, too, had recognized Sylvia’s intentions.
“Understood.”
Sylvia headed toward the stairs of the tall watchtower.
Though she had spoken calmly, she was uneasy inside as well.
After all, this was a plan that had been brought to fruition because she had trusted Hio and pushed it forward.
Because of it, countless soldiers and knights were outside fighting.
But...
What if something had gone wrong?
If Hio failed here, Sylvia’s own future would vanish along with him, so she moved quickly.
If something had gone wrong, she would confirm it with her own eyes and make a swift decision.
She climbed the stairs like that and reached the top of the watchtower.
And what entered her eyes was—
“At last! It has gathered!”
The back of a mage bursting into wild laughter as he looked outside.
The back of Hio Pavlenko, looking up at the sky and laughing as though something delighted him beyond measure.
A blinding light, as if on the verge of exploding, pouring from the magic circle drawn on the floor.
“Go on, then. Try stopping me again by saying it cannot be done, Goddess.”
A staff raised high into the sky.
At that, the magic circle blazed even brighter.
Power surged.
The ground trembled faintly.
And with a single word, spoken indifferently—
“Darkness.”
The world sank into darkness.
* * *
Black smoke that began at the watchtower covered the sky.
It hid the clouds and concealed the sun.
The black smoke that blanketed the battlefield in an instant hid everyone within it, and naturally, the battlefield was thrown into confusion.
A space where not even the slightest light entered.
Black smoke that had completely blocked out the sky.
Just as everyone was floundering in confusion—
A brilliant golden light suddenly surged upward.
Golden light illuminated the darkened space.
The golden light rising from the direction of the fortress pierced through the darkness and took shape.
Hio’s Shout magic had manifested as a skill.
- Fall back.
Golden light and a voice spread wide, making the air tremble.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward it.
The highest watchtower atop the fortress wall.
A golden giant floating against the backdrop of its spire.
Though only its upper body could be seen behind the spire, it was so enormous that its full size could not be measured.
- The plan has succeeded.
The golden giant looked down over the battlefield with its arms crossed.
Though its voice was low and deep, it rang out so loudly that the air shook.
Bodies trembled beneath those enormous eyes gazing steadily down.
- Then have the eyes of god been covered?
Before that dignity, no one dared even think of moving.
The darkened sky.
The giant that had appeared beneath it, and the incomprehensible words he spoke.
And then—
- Blue Flame.
The world suddenly brightened.
Those who instinctively looked up could only doubt their eyes.
For beneath the same black mist, a blue sky made of flame had spread open.
- Burn the enemy.
The sky split apart.
No, the blue flames floating in the sky were dividing into countless fragments.
The flames became a meteor shower the moment they split and began to fall.
At that wondrous sight, everyone standing on the ground stared blankly up at the sky.
A rain of fire fell upon the monsters, avoiding people as though it possessed a will of its own.
And when it reached its destination, surprisingly, it did not make a loud noise.
There was only a hollow sound—
Crumble—
As they turned to ash without the slightest resistance.
A rain of blue flame fell upon the monster horde, and the quiet sound of death rang out.
Crumble—crumble—crumble—crumble—crumble—crumble—crumble—crumble—
The wave of monsters that had seemed like an endless tide withered away in vain.
This was overwhelming violence that should never have been permitted.
Merciless violence that should have been restrained by rights because the power was far too great.
Because he knew that, the giant burst into laughter.
The ringing laughter tore through the air and shook the black mist.
- Hahahahaha!
At that laughter, which sounded truly delighted, as though something were so very enjoyable, the people sank to their knees.
They pressed their heads to the ground.
Because the voice, already immense, grew even larger and rang in their ears.
Because this was something that could not possibly occur within the bounds of common sense.
It was terrifying.
Things beyond common sense always made people afraid.
And so they prayed desperately.
They did not know what they were praying for.
Whether it was a prayer for the blue flames that seemed like heavenly punishment.
A prayer to the giant who seemed like a messenger of god.
Or a prayer simply wishing for this overwhelming violence to end as soon as possible.
They did not know, but—
- In the end!
One thing was certain.
- The eyes of god have been covered!
God, right now, could not look into this place.
- Hahahaha!
That laughter, which made their bodies tremble, continued until the black mist began to clear.
The black mist gradually disappeared.
The form of the golden giant gradually faded.
The laughter grew fainter along with it.
And when all of it vanished, sunlight once again shone down upon the battlefield.
The eyes of god reached it.
What those eyes reflected was probably...
The ashen traces of violence.
[Hidden Trait - Violence Is Not Allowed! (Patience: 391 / 1000)]