Though they'd managed to rescue the villagers near the entrance, the entire village was still under attack.
Monsters from the Waves kept falling from the sky like airborne troops.
"Lute, take Raphtalia and Gabriel to evacuate the villagers!"
"But Master, what about you…"
"I'll be fine; mere monsters aren't a problem. Go!"
"Yes!"
Naofumi likewise sent his companions to coordinate with Lute and the others.
Indeed, Kiriko could easily sweep away all the monsters using her Gate of Babylon skill.
But villagers were scattered all around the village, and using Gate of Babylon now risked hitting them as well.
Back at the noble's castle, where Raphtalia had been tortured, everyone had conveniently gathered in the courtyard—far easier conditions than now.
Unless…
Kiriko glanced at Naofumi standing beside her.
Right, how could she forget about him?
Isn't a tank precisely for situations like these?
I choose you, Naofumi!
"Kiriko-san, do you have a plan?"
"I just came up with one. We'll pull all of them in one wave."
When Kiriko explained her plan, the Shield Hero's face instantly turned pale green.
"You… You're joking, right?"
But after seeing Kiriko's serious nod, Naofumi's face remained bitter, yet he resolved himself to try.
"Kiriko-san, I'll leave support to you!"
With those words, he charged forward.
Naofumi was the Shield Hero. In this world, the shield counted as a weapon, but compared to the other Heroes, his attack was negligible.
All he had was the power to protect others.
Yet, faced with a disaster of this scale, the number of people he could actually protect was limited.
"Take this—!"
Naofumi charged into a group of over a dozen zombies. They swung their blades at him as he shielded his head, jumping straight into their midst.
The clang of rusty swords striking shield and armor rang continuously, and the zombies were thrown off balance by his charge.
Shaking his head to regain his senses, Naofumi quickly rose to his feet. A blade landed against his back, but it failed to cause any harm.
He didn't even glance behind him as he rushed toward another group of monsters.
Aside from the zombies, the Wave also released giant insectoid creatures resembling enormous locusts.
These flying insects were even more irritating than the zombies. They buzzed around him relentlessly, like mosquitoes on a summer night.
Though their bites couldn't pierce his defenses, they were unbearably annoying.
Still, Naofumi pressed onward, enduring their attacks while charging another pack of zombies.
He punched the closest zombie in the head, causing it only to stagger slightly before swinging its sword at him.
As expected, my attack is still too weak.
Naofumi raised his shield, blocking the blow head-on, then shouted at the villagers he'd glimpsed from the corner of his eye.
"Hurry and evacuate while I have their attention!"
And so Naofumi continued, using tackles and punches to lure away most of the invading monsters. Perhaps due to some built-in aggro mechanic, none of the monsters he attracted broke off pursuit.
Naofumi was like a runaway train, followed closely by a massive horde.
An ordinary person would've long since broken mentally, even if physically unharmed.
Yet not only was Naofumi still alive, he seemed to be thriving under the pressure.
He even had the spare energy to climb the village watchtower and loudly ring its bell, attracting all the remaining monsters toward himself.
But his monster-pulling spree had now reached its limit.
He'd personally lured hundreds of monsters—his efforts had saved most villagers from immediate harm.
But the price was that Naofumi himself was now completely surrounded, and new monsters from the Wave continued to descend from above, closing in.
Shit, I overdid it…
Naofumi had played enough online games to know exactly what happened to players who pulled too many mobs.
With this many monsters, even the combined strength of all Four Cardinal Heroes and their companions would barely manage to fight free.
If he had to rely on Kiriko alone, escaping was impossible—
"You look like you need a bit of help, Naofumi."
Naofumi turned around in shock, only to find Kiriko standing casually at his side, as if she'd always been there.
"Kiriko-san! How'd you get up here—no, how are you even—"
"You've done well. Leave the rest to me."
As Kiriko spoke, golden flames ignited across the crimson sky, glittering like countless stars.
Golden Noble Phantasms rained down from above.
One, two—countless Noble Phantasms plunged from the sky in an awe-inspiring spectacle.
The monsters showed no fear, charging madly toward the falling treasures, only to be pierced or shattered instantly.
Kiriko hadn't forgotten the monsters still descending from the sky. With a snap of her fingers, half of the weapons shifted direction, firing upward like anti-air artillery.
Naofumi stood dumbfounded.
What is this? Magic?
But was there really magic this powerful?
High damage, wide range, and most importantly—
Absolutely no cooldown!
The moment one wave finished, another instantly appeared, densely packed and endless.
And a spell this strong had to consume massive SP, right?
Even Naofumi's own skill, Air Strike Shield, could only be used about a dozen times before his SP ran out.
So why did Kiriko look so relaxed?
Back in the throne room, when Kiriko had singlehandedly defeated the other three Heroes, Naofumi had realized how strong she was. But now, her growth speed seemed unimaginably beyond himself and the others.
At this rate, Kiriko might even be able to stop the Waves by herself.
"What's wrong, Naofumi? Do I have something on my face?"
Noticing Naofumi staring, Kiriko glanced over with confusion.
"N-No, nothing," Naofumi hurriedly lowered his head.
Crap. I think my heart skipped a beat.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, Naofumi saw a sudden bright flash.
That's—
"Kiriko-san, get down!"
Naofumi dashed to Kiriko's side, his shield glowing green as it transformed into a massive tower shield, blocking in front of her.
Yet still feeling unsafe, he quickly activated two more skills:
"[AIR STRIKE SHIELD]!"
"[SHIELD PRISON]!"
Shield Prison created a spherical shield around them, trapping enemies—or in this case, providing protection. Air Strike Shield reinforced the barrier further.
Just as Naofumi finished casting his defensive skills, fire suddenly rained down from the sky!
---
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