Chapter 88

As the leader of the God of War's great sword, this is my final perspective.

"Oraaaaaa!"

I broke through the circle of adventurers and cut down an orc that had come my way with my backup dagger.

I immediately checked my surroundings, but no other beasts had broken through the circle besides that orc.

After confirming this, I let out a sigh.

"Haa, how many is this now?"

A few minutes had passed since Alex began his incantation.

During that time, the adventurers who had realized Alex was trying to break the barrier had also moved to protect him.

Some of them glared at me with anger, and it was clear that most of the adventurers were dissatisfied with my decision to be the first to flee.

However, the adventurers did not openly rebel against me in this situation, which was a fortunate miscalculation.

But the frustration on my face remained unchanged.

"...Damn! It never ends."

I spat out irritably at the sight of more hobgoblins and orcs coming from the other side.

Even with the cooperation of the adventurers, the number of beasts was increasing to the point where it was difficult to handle.

Fortunately, the adventurers were still able to deal with them, but the beasts were gradually making their way toward us.

Even if I am a top-tier adventurer, I did not want to face multiple orcs with only my backup dagger.

In this less than ideal situation, I muttered to Alex, who was concentrating on his incantation.

"...Hurry up, Alex!"

While the super-difficult beasts might be approaching, I realized that I was starting to feel frustrated with Alex's slow incantation.

However, what frustrated me even more was the sight of Marsval, who stood in front of the barrier covering the city, even as the beasts approached.

"...Is he only thinking about running away first?"

Knowing that Marsval's abilities as a martial artist are reliable, I felt angry that he was not using his skills.

However, knowing that Marsval's skills would be a source of support in a crisis, I suppressed my anger and focused on the beasts.

It was then that the adventurers near me stopped and looked into the distance.

"The swarm of beasts...!"

"...!"

Reacting to the adventurers' voices, I looked into the distance.

What I saw was a group of adventurers fleeing in a panic and a large swarm of beasts chasing them.

The swarm was larger than the one we had been fighting earlier.

"...Did the adventurers we used as bait all die?"

At this scene, the blood drained from my face.

It was only a matter of time before ogres or Fenrir showed up.

No, they might already be nearby, hidden by the swarm of beasts.

Not only me, but the faces of the adventurers also turned pale.

"I beseech the spirit of fire!"

"Alex!"

At that moment, Alex's incantation reached its climax.

Despite the fatigue on his face, which was likely due to the cost of using a powerful spell today, Alex shouted.

"Great Flame! Burn it all!"

The next moment, a great flame roared from Alex and was launched toward the city wall protected by the barrier.

The great flame collided with the barrier and spread in all directions.

"...This is..."

The scene was completely different from when the spell was cast on the beasts, and I was momentarily captivated.

I was once again reminded of the power of magic.

"What!?"

Therefore, when the great flame dissipated and the scene before me remained unchanged, I could not hide my shock.

...After the flame dissipated, the barrier still emitted a blue light, undamaged.

"No way..."

At this scene, Alex, who had been chanting, let out a dazed voice and fainted.

His state did not suggest that he had held back.

Despite this, the barrier showed no signs of damage.

"Damn it! What's going on, Azure!"

Marsval, who had done nothing until now, shouted at the unchanged barrier.

However, I did not respond to him.

I could only stare at the barrier, which was completely undamaged, in a daze.

"Damn it!"

Ignoring me, Marsval ran to the wall and began pounding it with his fists.

Even as a martial artist, he must have known that it was futile to do anything against this barrier.

...At that moment, despair began to spread within me.

Even after using Alex's magic, the barrier remained unshaken.

What could be done about this?

"Fi─────i!"

...It was a roar from far away that forcibly brought me back to my senses.

Like a broken doll, I turned my eyes toward the roar.

There, I saw Fenrir, the despair wrapped in lightning.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Fenrir, Marsval, who had probably decided that it was impossible to escape to the neighboring city, turned and tried to run away, shouting.

...But this action only provoked Fenrir.

"Fi──i"

"A"

Among the frozen adventurers, Marsval was the only one who tried to escape.

Fenrir turned his eyes toward Marsval, and Marsval, realizing that he had drawn Fenrir's attention, froze with a look of despair or shock on his face.

That was the last expression I saw on Marsval's face.

"Fi─────i!"

The next moment, Fenrir, enveloped in lightning, charged at Marsval with a speed that could be called lightning-fast.

"Ugh!"

A strong shock, like an earthquake, and a cloud of dust enveloped me, and I instinctively covered my face.

I quickly raised my head to check, but I could not see Marsval in the dust.

...Still, I understood that Marsval was dead.

Despite our differences, the death of a powerful ally made my legs tremble.

However, this fear gave me the will to live.

"Damn it! I won't die here...!"

Shouting, I turned my eyes to the wall where Fenrir had charged.

Despite my fear, I remained calm and saw a glimmer of hope.

Marsval had been near the barrier.

I had felt a shock immediately after Fenrir charged.

From these two points, I was certain that Fenrir had collided with the barrier.

If that was the case, the wall must have collapsed.

That was my only chance to survive.

"If I can escape to the neighboring city..."

To escape to the neighboring city meant that I had to pass by Fenrir.

But if I could escape to the neighboring city, there would be a large number of people there.

The neighboring city might be destroyed, but I could escape by sacrificing them.

With this thought in mind, I focused on the dust.

I was ready to escape as soon as I found the collapsed part of the wall.

So, as the dust cleared, I was able to clearly confirm it.

"......Huh?"

– The barrier, which emitted a blue phosphorescence, was unchanged before Fenrir's charge.

"Fi───i!"

Perhaps confused by the barrier's indestructibility, Fenrir repeatedly charged in frustration.

Despite this, the barrier remained unscathed.

"...What's going on?"

At this scene, I could only stand there in a daze.

Even before the mutation, I knew how powerful super-difficult beasts were.

To create a barrier that could stop their attacks would require a hundred mages.

And the Fenrir in front of me was far more powerful than the super-difficult beasts I remembered.

The fact that the brave Marsval, who had fearlessly attacked the super-difficult beasts, was killed without a chance to react was the best evidence of this.

...And the barrier had easily deflected Fenrir's attacks.

As I approached the barrier in a daze, I muttered.

"Why is this here? This can't be built in just a day or two..."

The closer I got, the more I realized the enormity of the barrier.

A barrier that protected the entire city, the scale of which was evident.

Moreover, the time required to create such a strong barrier was immense.

And at least a month ago, when I first came to this city, there was no such barrier.

Looking up at the abnormally strong barrier, which emitted the same blue phosphorescence as when I first saw it, I spoke my thoughts aloud.

"...How could such a strong barrier be built at a time that seems to know when the dungeon outbreak would occur?"

Yes, it was as if...

– It knew when the dungeon outbreak would occur.

This thought sent a chill down my spine.

At that moment, I heard a heavy flapping sound from above.

Reacting to the sound, I looked up and let out a half-smile.

"No way... – It's a griffin?"

In the sky was a super-difficult beast with the upper body of an eagle and the body of a lion.

Its presence was as overwhelming as Fenrir's, and I realized that the griffin had also mutated.

The next moment, the griffin began a steep dive toward me.

"A"

I realized that I should have stayed in the dungeon city, only when death was imminent.

This was a situation where my actions made no difference.

Even if there was no barrier in the neighboring city, I would have died along with it.

I should not have even considered escaping.

With this thought as my last, my vision turned black...

I apologize for the lengthy perspective from another character.

From next time, I will return to Rau's perspective and continue the story of the dungeon city being threatened by the swarm of beasts.