novelraw Chapter 33 : Stampede (5)
Chapter 33 : Stampede (5)
Stampede (5)
Mist began to settle around Paruzan Fortress as well.
It was still dangerous, but at least it was relatively safe from the abnormal phenomena of the demon realm.
That's why such a fortress could be built there—as a kind of sanctuary.
Naturally occurring mist like that around such land would be impossible.
"In the end, it has come."
Kelian, the fortress commander, spoke as he looked at the mist. Klein, standing beside him, was also impressed by the sight.
"It feels like the longer I stand here, the more my sense of direction fades. I'm still holding up for now, but soon even my mind feels as if it'll be swallowed by the fog."
The more skilfully a knight manipulated magic power, the more they could maximize their physical abilities.
Senses were no exception—meaning they wouldn't get lost or be ambushed easily in the dark.
But now, even those heightened senses were useless before this mist.
Such a dangerous phenomenon was caused by a single monster.
"It's a Gigant Vulture, isn't it?"
Kadim, approaching from behind, joined their conversation.
As the leader of the unit responsible for Paruzan Fortress's greatest fighting strength, he could speak freely with the commander.
"So this is the disaster caused by one of those higher-rank monsters we hear only about in stories?"
Information regarding the Gigant Vulture had already been passed along.
A giant monster bird that could flatten a forest to a plain with a single beat of its wings.
It also possessed other terrifying abilities.
"When that thing appears, thick fog is generated over a radius of several kilometers. Since we're standing right at the edge of that area, we're relatively safe for now, but step even a little inside and you'll face hell."
Only monsters under its command could walk through the mist freely. Any other creature that entered would lose all its senses.
No matter how you left marks to avoid losing your way, you wouldn't be able to see them.
In the end, all that would be visible were the sinister gleaming eyes of monsters lurking in the pale, vision-blocking fog.
"Soon, monsters under its control will appear, won't they?"
"Looks like we did well to follow Kadim officer's advice to charge up the magitech device's magic power."
The moment you enter, you lose all your senses and become completely unable to find your way.
Without a pathfinding magitech device, there's no way out. The Gigant Vulture created such a place simply by standing still.
"I've heard there's just one spot unaffected by the mist."
"Yes, there is one."
But you couldn't call that place a safe zone. It was the monsters' dining table.
"That place is the center of the mist. Inside waits the very culprit who created it."
It was the place nearest the Gigant Vulture—and where the most monsters under its control gathered.
"If you were dropped there, it'd be as good as a death sentence, right?"
"You seriously have to ask?"
Once you dive into that silvery sea, you'll never come back.
Watching Kadim bring up such an obvious fact, Kelian frowned.
He sensed that Kadim was hiding something with his words.
"Commander."
Then Klein spoke to Kelian.
"May I have a moment of your time?"
Klein was a presence that rivalled even Kadim. As a main fighting force, his opinion couldn't be ignored.
Seeing the seriousness in Klein's eyes, Kelian readily gave him a moment alone.
****
Everywhere was covered in dense mist. With no escape route, Silia felt a surge of emotions.
At her feet were the corpses of more than a dozen monsters.
Having felled them alone, she felt not accomplishment but powerlessness.
The squad members with her, too, were terrified in this hopeless situation.
"Over here!"
After beheading the last monster, Silia led the squad members to a cliff.
Stabbing her sword into the cliff, she focused her aura to the tip.
Kwaang!-
A blast of aura from her sword pierced the cliff, opening up a large hole.
With a single strike, she had created a tunnel big enough for a person to easily enter.
"Hurry inside!"
The squad quickly took shelter inside the hole Silia made. As soon as everyone was in, Silia took out a vial.
She smashed it at the entrance; it was one of her emergency magitech devices.
Suddenly, the monsters gathering outside changed directions.
What she'd just broken was incense that repelled monsters. Its magic power rendered an area undetectable to monsters.
Next, Silia slashed her sword at the ceiling near the entrance. The ceiling collapsed, blocking the entrance with rocks.
"We should be safe for a while."
Inside the dark tunnel, Silia said this as she turned on a fluorescent orb, one of their emergency supplies.
Thanks to that magitech device, the squad could see Silia clearly.
"Deputy-commander... I mean, squad leader, are you okay?"
Pram asked with a trembling voice at the sight of blood-soaked Silia.
Half the blood was from monsters she had slain, the other half her own from wounds inflicted by monsters.
Her left leg was pierced by a monster's spike attack, and her right abdomen bore a gash from a blade-like strike.
Even with armor, these blows had left Silia with critical wounds.
"I'm fin... kuhk!"
Silia coughed up blood mid-sentence. At her very unwell condition, the squad trembled in greater fear.
They had hidden themselves temporarily, but the magic incense's effects would run out.
It was only a matter of time before they were found.
Even though they'd run until their feet bled, there was still no path of escape.
All they saw in the fog were monsters relentlessly attacking.
"We're all going to die..."
Simon muttered alone. The others, too, trembled with despair.
There was nowhere left to run. Their survival rate was zero. Surrendering seemed easier.
"......."
Silia wanted to say something comforting, but closed her mouth.
Already, they had fired every emergency flare signal they had into the sky.
Though it was unlikely anyone would come to save them, they could only cling to this grim hope.
But no matter how many they fired, the gray fog obscured even the signal flares.
There wasn't even the familiar boom overhead.
This made it obvious that the mist wasn't normal—it completely cut off sound as well.
'Damn it.'
Anyone could tell they were inside the Gigant Vulture's mist. The terrifying bird she'd glimpsed earlier had to be it.
To escape its territory, a pathfinding magitech device was required.
The R-Type Guide. And of all times, they didn't have it.
"I'm sorry."
Realizing her mistake, Silia opened her mouth.
"I'm really sorry."
The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Some officers had insisted at the meeting that everyone check their gear.
There wasn't much opposition to that. But if their intention was to make them take out their warp stones...?
'We walked right into it.'
The squad had taken out their warp stones for inspection and maintenance.
It was the first time they'd operated them—so there should've been no coordinates set.
But...
'I can't move anymore.'
Silia's vision blurred.
She couldn't even remember how long she'd fought without time to stop the bleeding.
A small mercy among misfortunes was that Louis wasn't here.
At the moment of warping, it seemed Louis had been lucky enough to drop the warp stone.
Silia didn't even have the strength to move anymore.
Rather than be eaten alive by monsters, she thought she should end it herself—and raised her sword to her neck.
"No need to apologize."
Dimo grabbed Silia's arm, stopping her. Blood was likewise streaming from a wound on his head.
"We're the ones who should be sorry."
Dimo took out a warp stone.
It looked just like their emergency one, but it was a warp stone embedded here.
"It's obvious who set the coordinates on this and forced us here."
The original owner of the emergency supplies was Kadim's squad. If it was them, chances were high they had the same type of warp stone.
Otherwise, it made no sense for this place to become the coordinate.
They must have arrived before the mist rolled in to set the coordinate here.
"I think it all started then. If only we hadn't beaten those soldiers from Kadim's squad in the sparring match..."
It had been during a bet with Kadim's squad's soldiers for the emergency supplies.
From that day, it was likely they'd held a grudge.
"There was nothing you could have done..."
Silia barely spoke.
"If you'd lost that day... you'd have lived as their slaves for the rest of your lives. Not much better than our situation right now."
Kadim's squad was infamous as the strongest—and cruelest—unit.
Their achievements were so great, even the officers rarely intervened.
They used that as leverage to act like lords of power.
"I doubt they did this just to target you personally."
They were just the type Silia despised.
Whenever they did something unreasonable, Silia was always the one to stop them.
To tyrants who lived that way, Silia would have been a thorn in their side.
"You're at least different from other soldiers here. Anyone else would have just tried to shift the blame."
Dimo's current attitude didn't fit the soldiers of this place.
A true protagonist, you might say. Silia realized more deeply what Louis had meant that day.
― Kuoooo!!
At the monster's roar outside, Silia's bleary eyes snapped open.
Was the incense's effect running out? Hiding, after all, was only a temporary measure.
Realizing they would have to fight, Silia's hand instinctively went to her sword.
"......?"
Then Dimo grasped her hand. Reading his wistful expression, Silia understood.
"I'll try to hold them off alone. All of you—use that chance to stay alive."
Kwagijik!-
The tunnel ceiling tore open, revealing the outside.
Beyond it, monsters prowled, including a predatory beast that had ripped apart the cliff.
Even facing this horde, Dimo stepped forward. He was joined by a companion.
Then four more, of similar mind, raised their weapons and stood with Dimo.
"Thank you."
With everyone by his side, Dimo didn't feel alone. That let him smile even in such torment.
"And young master..."
Beheading an insectoid monster rushing in, Dimo murmured,
"Thank you for everything up until now."
Dimo and the squad charged the monsters.
But whatever confidence they had, the monsters of the demon realm were overwhelming.
The very moment they clashed with the horde, one of them was killed instantly.
"We have to help!"
"We're doomed anyway...!"
Unable to watch any longer, Rio and Rozen also charged the mass of monsters.
"Shit!!"
"Those idiots!"
"This is driving me crazy!"
Victor, Pram, and Simon grumbled, yet followed after them.
Could they just stay here while the soldiers fought like dogs?
Silia forced her body, which shouldn't even be able to stand anymore, upright.
Chwaaak!-
Even in a body that could collapse at any moment, Silia kept slashing the monsters.
Barely moments after considering suicide, she now struggled desperately to survive.
And wielded her sword to protect her squad.
As the madness of battle intensified, Silia saw it.
Even as Dimo was injured, his sword, cutting through monsters, began to glow gold.
Standing at death's door, Dimo had awakened golden aura without even realizing it.
****
It had been a perfect trap. Louis dashed through the mist-filled forest, deep in thought.
Throwing away Louis's warp stone first had been a mistake—that caused Louis to be separated from the squad.
Even as Louis ran, hordes of monsters attacked. Louis had no choice but to fight through—and slew more than a hundred monsters.
Though the space cut off sound and scent, Louis drew every drop of sense to the limit.
All Louis's nerves were on edge.
In this world, Louis had met the most loving parents. He couldn't help but become attached.
Louis's squad members were all residents of their domain. Louis didn't want to lose the last legacy his parents had left him.
Finally, Louis caught sight of his squad.
Had too much time passed? Silia and the others were lying fallen, surrounded by monsters.
Five of them didn't even have heartbeats.
Among them, Dimo lay with a smile, eyes closed.