When the beasts' movements changed, and they began to flee,
The quickest to act was Aster. He dashed somewhere, then appeared riding a white horse. He then pursued the fleeing beasts.
Aster was riding 'Cassian', a famous horse he had handled in the 'Equestrian' club.
Of course, Cassian belonged to Constel, so Aster's actions were a clear violation of the rules, but no one cared about that at the moment.
People were purely wondering why Aster was chasing the beasts.
Then, a thunderous voice struck down.
"──They're heading for the village!!"
It was none other than Aster's voice. It boomed so loudly that the vibration of the sound lightly tapped the ground. It was the manifestation of aura.
Hearing Aster's voice, the students snapped to attention. Those armed followed behind Aster, and the magicians began their chants again.
"Haah-!!"
Instantly reaching close quarters, Aster mercilessly slashed at the back of a beast. Lightning and fireballs unfolded in front of him by magic.
Cassian, true to being a famous horse, dodged without needing detailed control and continued moving forward without even making the common horse noises.
Aster swung his sword frantically. The fatigue from defending against the attack and his depleted stamina were secondary.
His arm moved before the screams of his muscles. From the beasts' perspective, he was nothing but a ghost, so they sped up their escape even more. Not a single one tried to counterattack.
But even if Aster's stamina were infinite, and even if he slaughtered the beasts like a madman.
The number of monsters was simply too large. Right now, while the horde was bunched together, Aster’s sword could reach them and the magic bullets and fireballs shot from a distance were effective.
But they would soon scatter. If that happened, it would be impossible to strike them all down. No matter how strong Aster was, he couldn’t fight against two or three times the number of enemies.
“Ugh, ugh…!”
Every time he swung, a monster’s torso would fly off, and its neck would be severed. But with this swing, Aster’s sword cut through empty air.
Aster looked ahead. The monsters were starting to spread out. The moment he noticed that, the exhaustion he had forgotten about came flooding back.
If some of the scattered monsters charged toward the village like this, or not only that, if they dispersed and then regrouped to charge toward the village…
Monsters were fundamentally hostile to humans. That’s why they were called monsters. There was no way they would just ignore the smell of blood in the village.
‘I need to head toward the village at full speed. In a straight line.’
Aster steeled his resolve. It was a truly painful decision, one that made him want to gnaw on his own heart.
…The decision to face the deaths of ordinary civilians.
The despair Aster felt gradually spread to the warriors chasing after him and the mages in the rear.
The mages who could see the situation from a distance realized it first.
This was a tragedy that hadn’t happened yet, but it was clearly approaching…
Elodie lowered her hand, which had been raised on the rooftop. Next to her, Lunia, who had been chanting magic spells, looked at her in surprise.
“Hey, don’t give up yet! We have to kill even one more!”
Elodie didn’t answer her. But her expression was odd. She didn’t seem to be despairing or giving up.
Elodie simply had her gaze fixed on the sky, looking as if she had seen something very strange.
“What are you even looking at right n—”
Lunia naturally followed her gaze. And then her words cut off. Her expression changed to something similar to Elodie’s.
And one by one, the gazes that had seen it increased.
Starting with Elodie and Lunia, the gaze of the magicians, including Aten, turned skyward.
The teachers, who were checking on the students' conditions and safety, also had their gaze stolen by it. And the archers who had stepped a little further forward also stopped their bowstrings.
So incongruously, a sudden silence came over Constel.
─At first, it looked like a comet.
A long, endlessly connecting streak of light split the sky. But upon closer inspection, it was drawing a very faint parabola.
And when it reached above the head of the monsters, it burst like a firework.
And the burst of light became rain, no, spears piercing through the ground.
It poured down on the monsters.
"……!"
It was then that Aster realized. He quickly pulled the reins and stopped Cassian.
The monsters around him fell with a ghastly sound, pierced through.
Head, nape, chest, there wasn't a single place that wasn't a vital spot.
It seemed to have been poured indiscriminately, but all of it was precisely targeting the monsters.
As a meticulous proof.
‘……It's not reaching me.’
Not even grazing Aster.
Aster, who had been at the forefront, cutting down monsters more than anyone, was in the midst of the pack.
Aster glanced at the fallen monsters all at once. The identity of the streak of light was arrows.
The monsters that weren't hit by arrows continued to flee. There were no missed arrows, just a simple lack of quantity.
Then once again, Fireworks burst.
As many arrows poured down, the number of monsters precisely decreased.
And once again, and once again, and yet again.
Targeting no humans at all, not a single monster was missed by those streaks of light.
──Numerous arrows formed a net of fire, enveloping, with each arrow unfailingly targeting the vital spots.
The fact conveyed by this single line of text is absurdly chilling.
All sound was withdrawn at once.
The intense breathing and screams of the monsters, the sound of metal weapons clashing, and the thudding of running on the ground all seemed like a dream now.
Creak, screech─
Grrr.
Every monster had fallen, but amidst that, there were a few survivors.
Even a hit to a vital spot could leave one alive for a few seconds if lucky.
Of course, escape was impossible, so it was up to Aster and the other students to deal with them from then on.
As if to say there was no need for that, once again.
The sound of bursting echoed through the ground. The streak of light from moments ago poured out in front of Aster's eyes once more.
This time, it was a complete 'cleanup.'
It felt like forcing the reality back into the students' eyes, so they couldn't dismiss it as just a dream.
“Huff… Huff…”
Aster breathed slowly, though still raggedly.
He sheathed his sword and slowly accepted the overwhelming sense of fatigue.
It seemed like it was okay to do so now.
Aster inadvertently looked behind him. All the students following him wore similar expressions.
It wasn't just them.
The magicians in Constel, the teachers.
It was a clean and clear victory, yet no one made a sound.
There were no cheers, no shouts.
“What the, exactly…?”
Someone voiced their feelings as they were.
Everyone deeply related.
Thud.
Malia sat down.
She knew, or rather, guessed who was responsible for this scene.
The reason for her uncertain expression was because she found it hard to believe herself.
‘Did Frondier do this…?’
Frondier is her son.
Moreover, with her trait of sharing senses.
She thought she knew everything she saw and heard.
Yet, regarding Frondier, who should be the closest to her, she realized she knew nothing.
* * *
“Damn it…”
I clenched my teeth and endured.
My legs gave way, and my waist buckled. Still, I didn't fall. My hands, placed on my knees, trembled uncontrollably.
I shouldn't have fired that last arrow!
My head spun from mana depletion.
Here, since arrows arrive later, it's hard to tell how many monsters are left.
So, I overdid it a bit.
Forcing myself up, I staggered down the tower's stairs.
I refuse to faint this time, out of sheer stubbornness.
Fainting after every fight and ending up in the hospital, that's just pathetic and troublesome.
When I reached the first floor, the door creaked open.
Philly was standing at the entrance, looking at me as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Did you forget what I just said? Why come down here instead of resting?"
"This is, like, a matter of male pride."
At my words, Philly sighed dramatically and strode towards me, lifting my arm to drape it over her shoulder.
"Being supported by the Empress is a once-in-a-lifetime honor, you know."
"Truly, an experience no one else will have."
"Let's just say you've earned it."
Philly praised me with a sentimental tone.
Relaxed, I found myself smiling a bit.
The sun was already high in the sky, though we had left in the morning. The sky was too clear for a battle to have taken place.
"…Philly."
"What. You can skip the thanks. Regardless of rank, when you think about it, you're much more,"
"Being this close, you seem even smaller."
"Do you want me to teach you what crime it is to insult the Empress?"
Philly said this with a smile.
It was her usual smile.
Very, very frightening.
