The gruesome death cries of monsters carried through the walls, accompanied by the endless clashing of steel. Within the Casino, all the lights had been switched off, and civilians huddled close together in the darkness.
“It…it’s begun!” one of them said.
“The fighting’s so close…!”
From time to time, a tremor would cause the building to rock as if it were a ship sailing the turbulent oceans, while the sounds of rampant violence filtered in from outside. The waves of Evils were the stormy seas, the monsters the tumultuous skies, and the adventurers the brave sailors at the helm. Belowdecks, all the citizens of Orario could do was stifle their screams and hope that the planks of Orario’s hull would hold.
“Waaah! I’m scared!!”
Many of the young ones were crying, and it was all the grown-ups could do not to join them. The incessant tears of children mirrored their own desires.
It was then that one woman placed a reassuring hand on a crying girl’s head.
“It’ll be okay. The adventurers will protect us.”
It was a woman who had lost her own daughter—a girl called Leah—to the horrors of war. Once, she had turned her anger and despair upon the girls of Astrea Familia and thrown stones at them.
“W-will they really?” the child asked.
“Yes. Because no matter how many times they fall down…they always stand back up.”
The woman’s faith in justice was so dazzling that the girl froze. She could see it in the woman’s eyes; hear it in the strength of her voice. After a short while, she managed to suppress the rising feeling in her throat. She looked up at the bereaved mother, with tears in her eyes, and nodded. Seeing that, Leah’s mother smiled.
A man was watching the two of them from a short distance away. The same man Adi had once forgiven. A man who had cast aside his wickedness and stood in harm’s way to protect Lyu.
“Stay strong…stay strong out there!” he yelled, raising his eyes to the ceiling. “We’ll stay strong in here, too! We believe in you!!”
The man’s words echoed in the hearts of everyone present. Across the hall, people clasped their hands in prayer and thought of their saviors.
And outside, adventurers let out a wild yell as if they were answering those prayers.
“““Roaaaaaaaahhh!!”””
They fought bravely to defend the civilians’ refuges: the Casino, the Amphitheatrum, Guild HQ, and the Ganesha Familia home. They stood on the rooftops of buildings, pelting the monsters with projectiles both magical and physical, while simultaneously fending off the Evils with blade and shield. Anyone who was wounded and fell, whether friend or foe, met a grisly end at the jaws of the mindless beasts below.
Blood and war. Fiends and chaos. Surely, this would be the state of the world today had Babel not been built to seal the monsters below the earth.
Meanwhile, before the gates of Twilight Manor, the home of Loki Familia, Noir’s blade cut through five of the monsters at once as they attempted to pounce.
“Now we have to deal with these fiends as well as our fellow man?” grumbled the old dwarf, Dyne. “Plus, they’ve no concern for the damage they cause this city with their magic!”
“The monsters are only from the surrounding fields!” yelled the Amazon, Bahra. “They’re not that strong, so don’t worry!”
With ax and fist, they cleared the enemy ranks, raising the morale of everyone nearby. The other members of Loki Familia were inspired by their brave actions to do whatever they could in the city’s defense.
Among them all was a single elf girl who had only recently become a Level 2.
“Alicia! Where’s that support?” Bahra yelled back at her. “Are your teeth chattering so hard you can’t recite the spell?!”
“Why don’t you go back to the watchtower like Raul and Aki?” suggested Dyne.
“N-no! I’m the one who volunteered to be here! I-if I can’t at least fulfill my duties, then I can’t possibly show my face to the other elves…not to mention Lady Riveria!”
Alicia tried her best to ignore the teasing of her elders. Although this was far from the worst of the fighting, as she was stationed on the battlements of the manor, the terror of being in a real war for the first time was almost too much to bear. She tried to stop shivering and reminded herself of her mission and her pride. Then she raised her bow and unleashed a scattershot of icicle-shaped projectiles into the enemy lines. Her aim was lacking compared to a more seasoned mage, but it was still very effective at suppressing fire.
Noir smiled and wove among the arrows, delivering a fatal slice to the enemy forces as they faltered in terror.
“Still,” he said. “They have us vastly outnumbered, and there are still suicide bombers to deal with…”
Noir paused to swig a healing potion before more enemies could arrive. He looked back at the manor he was defending, where hastily constructed fortifications ringed it on all sides. Even now, monsters swarmed the base of those outer walls. He and the other veterans had all leaped down into the fray, but the less-experienced familia members could only hole up inside the building and attack at range from the battlements. That was how fierce the fighting had become.
Plus, there were the bombers to consider. Right now the ranged unit was focusing their attacks on them, ensuring their bombs detonated behind the enemy front line, before they could get close to the fortifications. This strategy was working for now, but if the enemy advanced in earnest, there would be little the manor’s protectors could do to stop it.
Meanwhile, all it would take was one cultist to get close enough to blow a hole in the defenses, and the civilians inside were as good as dead.
An army of death. That was what people were starting to call it. Noir muttered curses under his breath. The enemy marched with no regard for their own lives or safety. Even the veterans had never seen anything like it.