Chapter 15
That's when the unexpected happened.
“…El? Could you get up soon?”
“Seriously! Both of you, get up already! What are you doing, embarrassing me like this?!”
“Just a second.”
When I closed my eyes and focused, I could sense the Lua shopping district.
From Ian and Arin chattering beside me to the merchants and customers haggling in nearby shops.
The adventurers at the tavern.
The innkeeper.
And…
“What is this…?”
An ominous energy unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
-KWA-BOOOOM!
I hurriedly pulled away from Ian and rushed out of the clothing store. Monsters had gathered on the outskirts of the shopping district.
They were white all over and looked holy, yet gave off an unbearably ominous aura.
“…What are those?”
“What are those things?!”
Ian and Arin had followed me outside, their expressions just as bewildered as they stared at the scene.
“…I don’t know what they are, but they don’t look good.”
-Aaaaaah! Monsters!
-Everyone, run!
The monsters had to be dangerous; otherwise, the buildings around them wouldn’t all be smashed up.
Judging by the stench of blood in the air, it seemed several people had already been attacked.
-Clop. Clop.
Just then, a man emerged from among the monsters.
[Listen, you ignorant fools.]
The man in a silver robe spoke with a solemn expression.
[You distort the word of God and waste your lives steeped in false peace. What a foolish and shameful thing to do.]
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried throughout the entire Lua shopping district.
A voice-amplification spell… No, it’s similar, but a little different.
Above all, I can’t sense any mana.
Nor is it the miasma that ordinary monsters give off.
If I had to compare it to something… divine power.
[I am ‘Glory.’ I shall grant you, who have distorted the will of God, a glorious death!]
-Boom!
As the man shouted and stamped his foot, ominous divine power spread out.
At the same time, the monsters scattered in every direction.
And naturally, the monsters were heading for…
“…! We have to save the people!”
“Got it!”
“Yes!”
The residential areas!
How he had suddenly brought that many monsters into the middle of the capital was a mystery, but stopping their attacks came first.
-Stop them! Under no circumstances can we let the monsters attack civilians!
-Yes, sir!
Fortunately, the patrol guards responded quickly, but they weren’t enough.
At least an A-rank adventurer was needed. Anyone below that wouldn’t even be able to wound them.
And…
-Damn it! Our attacks aren’t working!
-Marin!
“Tch!”
-Clang!
“Are you okay? Hurry and get out of here!”
“Uh… yeah!”
There are a lot of academy cadets here, too!
The Lua shopping district is right next to the academy.
Lots of cadets came here to have fun on the weekend, just like us.
And most of them are no match for those monsters!
-Aaaah!
-Aaaagh!
“Damn it…!”
Fortunately, I’d brought my sword along as usual, so cutting them down wasn’t difficult. But the monsters were spread too far apart, and there were too many of them.
Even though I was slaughtering an enormous number of monsters, people were still getting hurt.
[Kahahaha! You ignorant fools! No matter how hard you struggle, nothing will change! Accept your glory meekly!]
To make matters worse, every time the man spoke, the monsters rampaged even more violently.
They were utterly mad, determined to take someone down with them even if it meant dying.
I felt like I should kill that man first, but there were too many people I had to protect. I couldn’t even try.
Besides… that man called ‘Glory’ was on a whole different level.
Even I wouldn’t be able to beat him without drawing out a good portion of my full strength.
If even one of the world’s only five Swordmasters had to use their full power to defeat him, then it was fair to say that man was among the strongest.
In other words, I couldn’t take him out while also saving people!
“Damn it…!”
I couldn’t help swearing, but I didn’t have time to rest.
-Grrroar!
-Aah! Help me!
People were still getting hurt even now.
-KWA-GWA-GWANG!
“Are you all right?”
“Ah… yes. Thank you.”
After confirming the man was safe, I immediately dashed toward the next person,
moving like the wind—or, to exaggerate a little, at nearly supersonic speed. I slaughtered monsters, but their numbers didn’t dwindle.
Even though I’d taken down well over a hundred of them.
[No matter how many you defeat, the army of ‘Glory’ will never diminish! Accept ‘Glory’ meekly!]
That ‘Glory,’ ‘Glory’ nonsense. You’re so annoying.
But the man’s words weren’t wrong.
In fact, every time I killed a monster, another one sprang out from his shadow.
Do they revive like that unless you fulfill some specific condition? What a pain.
Normally, in a situation like this, killing the man would solve everything, but I had no idea how much damage would be done while I was fighting him.
I was secretly covering half of the Lua shopping district.
If I withdrew from the rescue effort, the burden on everyone else would be enormous.
If only I were a little stronger…!
I knew in my head that there was no point thinking that now, but I couldn’t help feeling frustrated.
Even if I wondered whether I should just ignore the civilian casualties and deal with that man first…
-Son. Make sure you become someone who makes people smile.
-Flia. Our swords exist to protect people and to cut down evil. Remember that.
The words of my two fathers stopped me.
In my previous life, my father was a police officer.
He’d become a police officer specifically to protect people.
I once asked him
whether it was hard to put himself aside and protect only the citizens.
My father’s answer at the time had been incredibly clichéd.
-Not at all. If my efforts can make people and our family smile, it gives me even more strength.
It was such a clichéd, trite, yet moving line.
I couldn’t ignore that clichéd line.
So I’ll save the citizens for as long as my strength allows.
“Haaaah!”
-Gweeeeeek!
I kill the monsters.
“Guh… Ah?”
“Hurry to a safe place.”
I protect the citizens.
And then…
“Everyone! Save the citizens!”
“Got it!”
Reinforcements are bound to arrive.
“Hey, El! Are you the only one playing hero here?”
“I’ll share the chance to play hero with you, so save the citizens first!”
“Hah! You got it!”
The Dragon Hunters were a party I’d befriended not long after coming to the capital.
They were veteran A-rank adventurers, and they’d come to help.
…
As soon as the Dragon Hunters joined us, the rescue effort became several times easier.
“Mages, fire! Huben, go support them over there!”
The adventurers moved in perfect coordination under the command of Ken, leader of the Dragon Hunters.
As soon as they realized the monsters revived even after being defeated, they focused on ‘incapacitating’ them instead of ‘killing’ them. As a result, the streets were lined with monsters missing limbs.
“Civilians, this way! Are there any wounded?”
After a makeshift shelter of sorts was set up, the civilians who had nowhere to run and had been milling around in confusion began gathering there.
I could feel in my bones why the Dragon Hunters were the most famous adventurers in the capital.
[Y-you… lowly fools!]
The man shouted in an ugly fit, apparently realizing he was at a disadvantage.
But then he started laughing madly again and said,
[Tch… Hahaha! If numbers aren’t enough, then I’ll just send out stronger ones!]
When the man stomped the ground, the monsters vanished in an instant.
Right afterward, I sensed a fairly powerful aura.
At this level… at least as strong as a wandering dragon, huh?
[My servants! Judge these ignorant fools!]
A white giant appeared behind the man.
There were seven monsters, each about five meters tall.
If each one of them was dragon-class, then this situation was nothing short of a disaster.
What should I do? Should I cut them all down with an Aura Blade?
“El. How many can you take?”
Ken asked me just then.
Not how long I could hold out, but how many I could take on…
He must trust my abilities that much.
“Two. Any more than that, and the civilians will get caught up in it.”
Assuming I fought without drawing my Aura Blade, while protecting the nearby civilians and buildings, I could take on two.
“I see. Then leave the rest to us. The Imperial Knights should be here soon, too.”
The Imperial Knights. They were called the strongest in the world, so they should be able to take care of those giants without much trouble.
“Understood. Good luck, then.”
“Yeah. Be careful, too.”
-Nod.
I nodded and ran toward the giants.
“First Form.”
-Shing!
-Kueeeee!
-Ooooooh!
The two giants followed me, roaring angrily after I cut their ankles.
“Fire!”
-KWA-GA-GA-GANG!
-Kiiiiiiiiik!
The remaining giants were distracted by the spells the mages fired at them.
As I lured the two giants to an empty lot, away from people, I made up my mind.
…I’d kill those giants as quickly as possible, then kill the man who called himself ‘Glory.’