On a distant rooftop stood a lone young man, arm raised, fingertip glowing with lethal intent. The magic condensed instantly, crimson light flaring at his fingertip.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A volley of bullets tore through the air, ten in rapid succession.
An evilus soldier peered over the city wall, laughter still on his lips. He didn't even finish his mocking grin before a bullet drilled straight through his forehead.
Splatter!
Scarlet mist painted the stone as the corpse toppled limply.
The laughter on the wall died immediately. Soldiers who had moments ago jeered and taunted scrambled back behind cover, ducking low and vanishing from sight.
And just like that, the oppressive noise faded.
Akira lowered his hand, the glow dissipating from his fingertip. He did not fire again. It was not his job to guard the entire wall, nor could he cover every angle. His intervention had been enough to send a warning.
In truth, Akira had only slept for less than two hours before stepping out for a casual walk. But when he saw the angry crowd gathered at the gate, his instincts told him something was bound to happen.
As stone tiles shattered and flew outward, and black smoke enveloped the area, the group turned their eyes upward.
"Even the city walls have been taken…"
As far as the eye could see, nearly twenty evilus soldiers in long robes and white turbans stood on the battlements.
"If we let the people know that leaving the city means walking into evilus' attacks, they'll quiet down for a while." Akira said, approaching the dependable Shakti.
"Quick, protect the mage." Shakti ordered, directing the mages to erect a barrier. "Yes, but I don't know how long it can hold."
Glancing at the panicked guild staff gathered behind Shakti, Akira reminded them, "Asfi-san, make sure the guild spreads the word immediately."
"O–okay!" Asfi stammered, startled that Akira had addressed her directly.
She already admired Akira deeply, every adventurer on the frontlines now carried a magic item crafted by him, she was no exception. Were it not for this crisis, she would have already sought him out to discuss magic toolcraft in detail.
"That's it then. I'll go find Alise and the others. Be careful." With a casual wave, Akira turned and headed toward the central square.
...
At the Guild Headquarters, the meeting chamber had been converted into an emergency war room. Only two senior officers and their god remained, the rest had gone to the field.
"Loki, give this to Royman." Finn handed her a parchment filled with notes.
Loki accepted it with a grin, rose immediately, and left.
Finn's gaze lingered on the map of Orario spread across the table.
He muttered to himself, his mind racing, "It's become a siege war. Clearing rubble, tending the wounded, securing food supplies… There's so much to do. But with the walls compromised and supply routes severed, our stores dwindle by the hour. We can't sustain the adventurers' strength like this and the people's morale will sour."
He bit his thumb, weighing strategies.
In another part of the city, Ottar of Freya's familia was already preparing for another duel against Zald, while Akira continued to provide both restorative magic tools and powerful weapons.
Finn murmured, "The odds of victory are still in our favor but before that moment comes, we must fortify strongholds and calm the people."
His thoughts stretched beyond the present, toward the battles to come.
"Captain!" Raul burst into the room, breathless. "The enemy is attacking the northeast industrial district! The people who couldn't squeeze into the central square are under siege in the streets!"
Gareth immediately grabbed his helmet. "Finn, I'll go."
"No." Finn replied calmly. "I've already sent Riveria to the industrial sector. She'll handle it."
"What!?" Gareth snapped. "Her injuries haven't healed yet. You're sending that fragile elf into a battlefield!?"
Finn shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"It's fine. In a way, what I've tasked her with is more difficult than combat."
Moments later, Loki returned, striding back into the war room with a sly grin.
"Indeed. No matter what, it's always hard for a mother to rein in her children."
After all, this would be her first battle against humans.
...
A flash of silver light—
"Guaaaghh!?"
A sharp slash cut down a man before he could resist.
As soldiers fell among the rubble, a lone swordswoman moved like a storm, golden hair streaming behind her.
"Wait, don't rush too far ahead! Stop, Ais!!"
The shout rang out not only from the enemy, but from her own allies as well.
Blonde hair. Golden eyes. Though her features were still soft, almost doll-like, blood from her foes stained her beautiful face. Only nine years old, she wielded a silver sword too large for her small frame, and yet, the young Ais charged headlong into battle.
"It's fine." Ais answered Riveria's cries. "I can do this."
Ahead lay a cluster of evilus troops, merciless tormentors of Orario's citizens.
"That golden-haired girl and that insane speed... She's the war princess!?"
Their voices trembled in terror, but Ais spoke only a single line. "Cut them all down."
Then she dashed forward, her sword flashing. A diagonal slash cleaved through a towering werewolf. With a swift turn, her next strike intercepted an Amazoness mid-charge, slicing through both weapon and wielder in one motion.
Enemies collapsed one after another. Their formation crumbled instantly.
Ais' swordsmanship was impossibly refined for such a young body. Her golden hair trailed behind her like a storm, leaving only screams in its wake.
Clad in the pale-blue Wardust Alice Dress, armor crafted for lightness and magical resistance, she was a vision of grace and death on the battlefield.
In the ruined streets, Ais struck down villain after villain, her expression calm and almost innocent, as though merely passing judgment on their crimes.
"My men… taken down in an instant. And yet not a single one killed!?"
An evilus captain's eyes widened in disbelief. Ais' strikes disabled her foes, robbing them of strength, but spared their lives. That feat, subduing resisting enemies without killing, was far harder than slaughter. And yet her blade remained unstained, her movements flawless.
"I told you to stop, Ais! Do you have any idea how worried I am!?" Riveria's voice cracked with fear.
She had opposed sending Ais to the battlefield at all and now, watching Ais fight, her heart twisted with both awe and dread.
After all, unlike the dungeon where monsters are hunted, this was a fight between humans.
"Why can't Ais do this, but other young members can?"
But Finn cut in sharply, pointing out the problem and leaving Riveria speechless.
As Finn had emphasized, Riveria, being the deputy captain, understood it well.
After that bitter night of defeat, now was no longer the time to keep her hidden. Yet reason and emotion are not the same thing.
"I'm gonna hate you."
Riveria, who had always taken better care of Ais than anyone else, dragged her injured body after her while grumbling about Finn.
"The three troops assigned to me by the cadres… all wiped out?"
In the chaos where Ais revealed her might, the captain of an evilus team, cornered with no retreat, let out a despairing wail. Then, narrowing his eyes, he made his choice.
He reached into his chest where Kaenseki were hidden, intent on triggering the self-destruct device.
"My Lord! I dedicate my life—!"
The "suicide attack," meant to turn his body into a bomb and take them both down, ended up futile. The sound of a blade, then a stronger gust of wind, stopped his movements.
Huh?
The instant the golden figure passed, silver light gleamed.
The evilus captain realized that the hands reaching for the self-destruct stone or rather, his limbs themselves could no longer move. He hadn't even seen her strike.
"I heard from Finn." Ais said calmly from behind him.
"I won't let you explode."
The moment her words landed, the man's hands and feet burst into blood as reality snapped back to him.
Terror ran through him, this girl had threaded cuts with such precision, as if sewing with a needle, all without visible movement.
Impossible! How is this possible?
With a thud, the last enemy collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again. The sounds of fierce battle stopped in an instant. Only calm silence remained over the sea of rubble.