“What’re you standing around for, miss?!” A middle-aged fisherman outran the human stampede and grabbed Aki by the shoulder. He seemed worried that she wasn’t running with the rest of the crowd.
Glad someone finally stopped, Aki was about to ask him when he yelled at her.
“Don’t you know what’s going on?! You’ll be devoured by monsters if you hang around here!”
Monsters?
“What monsters? I was on the other side of the city until now so I don’t know what’s happening!” Aki raised her voice as loud as she could to prevent it from being drowned out.
“Now’s not the time to talk about it, but fine!” The fisherman nodded when he realized she wasn’t going to move otherwise. He spoke loudly next to her ear. “A section of the Goddess Barrier just failed and monsters are pouring in through it! It was the section protecting the gate!
“A horde of monsters are charging right into the city! The city guard and Guild Adventurers are holding them off for now, but who knows how much time we have before monsters breakthrough! So get running, lady!” He pushed her back in the direction she had come from. “Stay far away from the gate!”
The Goddess Barrier failed? Shock rooted her to the ground.
The Goddess Barriers existed to separate the spaces where humans and monsters lived. She had created the barriers to keep human cities and towns safe from being overrun by the monsters living in the Field.
Was this barrier’s failure a sign that the Goddess’s powers were falling out of balance? In other words, it was just the beginning of the catastrophe brought about by the depleting Creation Energy.
The Hero and Dark Lord are born out of a need to replenish the world’s Creation Energy… Aki thought back to the harrowing secrets Johann had told her at the start of their journey.
Basically, the fact that Elias and the Dark Lord were even around meant the world was running low on Creation Energy. If one of them didn’t die soon, these kinds of disasters were going to increase. Or at least that was the theory.
“C’mon, lady! Get moving! Normal citizens like us will only get in the way if we’re still here when the monsters get through!”
“I-It’s okay!” Aki shook her head and tugged back as the fisherman tried to drag her away from the gate. Annoyed that she was refusing to budge, the man whipped back toward her. She leaned forward and spoke before he could yell again. “I’m an Adventurer too!”
“Huh? You?!” He gaped at her.
“I can’t go with you. I have to fight with the others to protect the city!” she explained, wrenching her hand loose.
“H-Hey!” Dumbfounded, he reached for her, but Aki was already running through the crowd.
She weaved through the fleeing cityfolk, careful not to bump into anyone, which made it take longer to get anywhere.
I have to hurry! I need to reach the gate before more people get hurt!
Heart pounding in her ears, Aki raced at full speed toward the gate.
By the time she arrived at the main square leading out of town, she was met by a catastrophic sight.
A flock of demi-vultures swarmed overhead, blotting out the blue sky. Their shadows fell on the green plains of the Field like sharks circling underwater. The demi-vultures flapped their bat-like wings as they let out ear-piercing screeches.
Aki swallowed hard and fearfully shifted her gaze from the sky to the ground where demi-monsters that looked like magically enhanced wolves and leopards rushed on the open gate with their maws wide open.
The gatekeepers, city guards, and Guild Adventurers bravely fended off the monsters, trying to keep them from pouring into the city. One of the Warriors swung his glinting sword around, knocking back the monsters lunging at him, while the mage behind him unleashed a fireball that burst like fireworks on impact.
High-level Adventurers accustomed to fighting monsters appeared to be doing well but injured and moaning novices were falling left and right. Priests kneeled by the injured and frantically cast heal.
The corpses of fallen monsters were scattered around the dusty ground, and other monsters feasted on their flesh.
Standing amid the din of monster roars, Adventurers shouting spells and orders, and the emergency bells ringing to alert the citizens of danger, Aki realized she was in the middle of a battlefield the likes of which she had only read about in books.
“This is horrible…” Aki’s legs refused to budge before the horrors unfolding in front of her.
She gritted her teeth to stop them from chattering and breathed slowly to calm her panic. This was the disaster that awaited when a Goddess Barrier failed even partially.
Monsters feasted on humans. It made sense they would charge in once the doors to their favorite buffet opened.
I have to fight. I can’t let fear stop me. I’m the Hero’s Right-hand. I’m charged with protecting this world. I’ve received power from the Goddess to do just that.
Aki watched as the peaceful town square transformed into a bloody battlefield. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose.
I won’t let Elias bear every burden alone. It’s because I always rely on him for everything even after becoming a couple that he was driven to lose his mind.
Aki reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver pen.
All right, Lunar Goddess. I don’t know if you’re my friend or foe yet, but lend me the power I need to help Elias, to no longer be dead weight, and to shoulder the same fate as him.