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“Please, stand back!”
Priestess reacted immediately; she moved with precision. A brilliant display if there ever was one.
She worked her sounding staff, which jangled with every move; she leaned out from the royal box and thrust it forward.
“O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land grant safety to we who are weak!”
At that instant, the winged monster that had come diving at her was pushed backward by an invisible force field and tumbled through space.
“GAAAARGO?!”
“GARGOO!!?”
One, then two of them. Priestess could feel the shock each time they slammed into Protection’s field, but she held firm.
She didn’t have to feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up to know that the black dots filling the blue sky were monsters, because the experience still lived within her—the experience of the battle that had engulfed her at the fortress.
Bodies like stone. Claws, fangs, and wings. Those are…
“M-monsters…?!” Cow Girl said, terrified. “Are those demons?!”
“No!” Priestess called back. “They’re gargoyles!”
It was the first time she’d seen them outside of the Monster Manual. However, even she, who had barely been on any proper adventures, was able to remain calmer than Cow Girl.
Fortunate were those who had never experienced monsters invading their home!
“GGOOYYYYLEE?!?!”
Another of the creatures smashed against the Protection barrier, and Priestess felt her hands tingle.
It’s all right.
She could take it. She could still hold. There was no problem for her, she figured. But…
Chaos was already spreading among the spectators, the screams of the crowd mingling with the roars of the monsters. She saw how alert her bodyguards were and assumed the security around the audience was hopping to it as well. After all, monsters didn’t just come from the sky. What if they were among you? Behind you? What would you do?
“Wh—?” came Guild Girl’s tight voice. “What do we do?!”
Hers was not the cry of someone in a panic but the emphatic question of someone resolved to do something.
Priestess started calculating in her head, thinking fast. The breath came in through her delicate lips, then went out again.
“A plan—I have a plan!” she shouted so that they could hear behind her; for she had no time to turn around as another gargoyle threw itself against her barrier. “Get to the door! Hold it shut!”
“Y-yeah, okay…!” Cow Girl said, brought back to her right mind by Priestess’s orders.
The royal box was, well, literally a sort of box—and it had a door for getting in and out. Rather than rushing out into the hallway in an attempt to escape, it might be better to stay in here and wait for rescue. Not, of course, that Cow Girl had thought that far ahead. It was simply that Priestess had given her instructions, and Cow Girl wasn’t the kind to dawdle.
“Um, uh… A chair! We need a chair over here!” she said. “Grab that one!”
“I’m on it! Let’s push together!” Guild Girl replied.
“One, two—!”
Cow Girl, like Priestess, had no time to look back, but still she and Guild Girl were able to build a crude line of defense.
King’s Sister had used a miracle to put up some kind of wall, and her ladies-in-waiting were working to set up defenses—that was how it looked from the outside.
The soldiers, who had felt the entire scene growing more unreal by the second since the moment the gargoyles attacked, finally jumped into action.
“Sorry we’re late! Let us help!”
“Thanks, we could use it!” Guild Girl said.
Whether you were trained or not, responding immediately was a difficult thing to do. Even adventurers, whose daily lives involved putting themselves in danger of life and limb, could sometimes be taken by surprise.
“We’ve got this side held down!” one of the soldiers cried.
“Thank you!”
Priestess exhaled as another gargoyle slammed downward.
Cow Girl had been in the middle of a goblin assault before—and prior to that, there had been the attack on the farm. Above all, she knew that Priestess was a strong young woman. So it would be all right. It had to be. She took comfort in that…
I don’t have any plan! Priestess thought, trying to think as fast as she was able. A single bead of sweat traced a line down her forehead, then veered onto her cheek.
“Your Highness, this is dangerous! Please, you must get to safety!” a soldier yelled.
“No—”
No?
Priestess was quick to shake her head at the soldier, but suddenly she stopped. She almost put her finger to her lips, her characteristic habit, but instead she gripped the staff even harder to subdue the impulse.
If he was here, what would he do? At a moment like this? Was there anything in her pocket?
That’s it… I see it.
Her hand was not in her pocket. It couldn’t be. Both of her delicate, unreliable hands were desperately gripping her staff—she had no others.
There was a sharp sound of inhalation as Priestess took in as much air as her petite chest would hold and focused all her spirit and attention on the heavens above.
“O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, grant your sacred light to we who are lost in darkness!” she cried.
“GGAAAAAAARRG?!?!!!!?!?”
A brilliant and holy light, blinding, filled the royal box and spilled over into the coliseum. The closest gargoyle hid its face and screamed, tumbling as it returned to a lump of stone.
It dropped, well, like a rock, slamming into the seats below and shattering—but there was a silver lining to that.
The sudden burst of holy light had pierced the chaos below, drawing every eye in the crowd. The gazes of those in the spectator seating were pulled away from their running and their disorderly flight and toward the royal box.
Who was that? Was that the princess? No one had heard of her being granted any miracles…
The murmuring started quietly; after a beat, it was swallowed up.
“As a priestess of the Earth Mother, I have a request!” Priestess said—loudly, clearly, confidently to the people below. “Any and all adventurers who are here now, lend me your aid!”
That was all she said—but the effect was dramatic. The adventurers, who had each been facing the gargoyles on their own, isolated, looked at one another.
They’d only come here to see the show. If some sparks were going to land on them, they would brush them away—it was no more than that. But this was different. They had been asked personally. By the princess of the entire nation. She had requested them to help deal with the monsters. And in that case, then this…
This is an adventure and nothing but!
“All right! Let’s start with the big one!”
“Front rowers, over here! Protect the spell casters and clerics!”
“I’ve got magic! And miracles—well, just Trade God ones, but still!”
“If you’ve got Reverse, it’d sure come in handy!”
Parties started calling to one another, individual adventurers began teaming up, and people who had never met each other before began working together.
“Yes!” said Priestess, who had seen them all when she was casting Holy Light. She smiled. Then she said, “Everyone else, stay calm and evacuate in an orderly fashion! The guards will help you!”