Chapter 63

(What is this, what is this... What the hell is this!)

In the far rear of the vast army of tens of thousands of monsters that had attacked Uru Town, a young man, Sei Shigetoshi, was crouched in a hastily dug trench, trying to maintain a barrier as he trembled at the sight before him. His mouth was agape, and he was at a loss for words. The impossible scene, the reality he refused to believe, repeated in his mind as unspoken curses.

Yes, the one undoubtedly controlling the vast army of monsters was Sei Shigetoshi, a student of the missing Aiko. He had exchanged a contract with a certain man by chance, intending to destroy Uru Town and Aiko and her companions. However, the city and its people, which he thought would be easy to crush, launched an unexpectedly fierce and brutal counterattack, painting a hellish picture for Sei in real-time.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

This unique sound echoed across the battlefield, with countless flashes of light carrying murderous intent streaking across the sky, striking their targets in an instant. The advancing monsters roared, shaking the earth, but regardless of their race or strength, they were not allowed even a moment of resistance, turning into chunks of flesh in an instant. The wall of death, firing 12,000 rounds per minute, mercilessly approached, each shot piercing through its target like a cloud, and the dozens behind it were also penetrated.

The monsters that were pierced ignored the laws of inertia, their bodies exploding and falling to the ground. The monsters that immediately scattered to the left and right to avoid the deadly beams had no reason to be let go by Aichi, the shooter. The two Meserai cannons spread out in a fan shape, and the barrage of bullets, like an impregnable wall, prevented the monsters from getting close, quickly piling up a mountain of corpses and a river of blood.

On Aichi's left, Sia was shouldering the Orge, saying, "If you like flying, go ahead," as she continuously pulled the trigger, accompanied by the sound of "pang, pang, pang," launching a continuous stream of rockets.

Contrary to the foolish sound, the rocket heads, trailing flames, pierced the center of a large group of monsters, causing a massive explosion that sent dozens of meters of monsters flying. The monsters closest to the explosion center turned into dust, while those further away were shattered by the shockwave, their bones and internal organs destroyed. The monsters that could not stand up were trampled to death by the subsequent monsters.

After the rockets were exhausted, Sia picked up the ammunition piled next to Aichi, reloaded, and continued firing. The rockets launched over the heads of the monsters and exploded after a delay, spreading a large amount of burning flames below. Like "incendiary grenades," the tar-like liquid, extracted from burning stones and burning at 3,000 degrees Celsius, rained down on the monsters, burning any flesh it touched. The screams grew louder, and the surrounding monsters were swept into the flames of destruction. All the monsters in Sia's area exploded and turned to ashes, without exception.

Tio, stationed on Sia's left, extended her hands, and a pitch-black aurora, burning the surrounding air, emerged from their tips. This was the breath she released in her dragon form, which she could also release in human form. The annihilation black flames, which even Aichi needed to defend against with full force, instantly destroyed everything in their path, piercing through to the back of the large group of monsters. Tio swept her wrists horizontally, and the black cannon fire that moved horizontally destroyed everything it touched.

After the cannon fire stopped, nothing remained on the swept earth, but the cost of this attack was considerable. Tio's shoulders heaved as she panted, but after kissing the ring on her hand, she immediately straightened up. She drew the stored magic from the magic crystal ring Aichi had given her. The breath attack had eliminated most of the monsters in Tio's area that were serving as the vanguard. Tio became more composed and used less magic-consuming spells.

"Mad Gale of the Burning Red Lotus [Flame Gale Dust]"

To slightly reduce the consumption of magic, Tio used incantation to increase her concentration. The released magic was a tornado of flames. On a scale of Earth's tornadoes, it was an F4, with a diameter of several dozen meters. The flame tornado advanced into the group of monsters, sweeping them into the sky. The monsters that were swept up had no chance to resist, as if they had jumped into the flames themselves. Only ash, with no trace of their former appearance, fell like gray snow. The tornado reduced everything to ashes, thoroughly ravaging the battlefield.

On Aichi's right, Tsuki was stationed, and her destructive power was even more insane. From the moment Aichi and the others began their attack, Tsuki had quietly closed her eyes. Realizing the weakness on the right side, the monsters that had been driven away by the destructive storm gathered and attacked from the right flank. The monsters were so densely packed that their advance was hindered. Finally, when the distance between them and Aichi and the others was less than 500 meters, Tsuki simply opened her eyes and slowly raised her right hand. Then, in a whisper-like voice, but as if declaring it to the world, she uttered the powerful magic name.

"Ruin"

This was the trigger for the ancient magic, granted by Milly Lysen, one of the magic that could interfere with the laws of the world, "Gravity Manipulation." Even a vampire with innate magical talent needed a long time to "charge" to refine and fix the magic, making it a difficult spell to cast instantly.

At the same time as Tsuki's incantation, a black vortex ball, seen during the battle with the black dragon, appeared above the approaching monsters. However, this time, the shape of the ball changed, stretching thin to form a square with sides 500 meters long, blocking the sunlight. It then fell all at once onto the monsters below.

In the next instant, the direct description of what happened was "the monsters on the ground were destroyed." In fact, the people of Uru Town, who were watching Aichi and the others' rampage from behind the wall, only saw this result.

What they saw was actually very simple: the black sky fell onto the group of monsters, causing the monsters and the ground to sink, forming a square pit 500 meters on each side and 10 meters deep. The densely packed monsters, without time to understand what was happening, were all flattened, becoming spots on the ground. The scene was like a graveyard for the monsters. Tsuki's single attack instantly crushed nearly 2,000 monsters. The unlucky monsters, caught on the edge of the magic, were cut in half, their internal organs spilling out.

The monsters behind did not notice the sudden disappearance of the ground in front and continued to fall into the large pit. Unable to immediately stop their momentum, more monsters continued to rush forward, and in a blink, thousands of monsters fell into the pit. Tsuki retrieved a magic crystal to restore her magic and continued to manipulate gravity, causing more monster corpses to pile up on the already dead ones.

A breeze blew across the battlefield, carrying the scent of the monsters' blood to the town. Unable to bear the strong smell, people began to vomit, but despite this, they cheered for the "overwhelming power" and "rampage" that seemed unreal. Cheers of "Wow, wow, wow" echoed throughout the town.

The important figures and guard knights of the town were stunned by the power of Aichi and the others, as if they had been swallowed by it. The students, in the face of that power, felt the "gap" and wore complex expressions. They were supposed to protect the people from the monsters that threatened them, at least at first. But now, they could only be protected, watching the backs of their classmates, who were considered "useless" and looked down upon, from the same place as the townspeople. It was a complex and helpless situation.

Aiko, on the other hand, was simply praying for Aichi and the others' safety. At the same time, she finally realized the horror of what she had done, and her expression twisted (probably referring to the act of sending Aichi and the others to the battlefield). The extremely brutal scene before her felt like something was beating her innocent and contradictory heart.

Soon, the number of monsters visibly decreased, and the northern horizon, previously obscured by the large group of monsters, became visible. Finally, Tio collapsed, the magic from the magic crystal given to her exhausted, leaving her unable to move.

"Ugh, I seem to be done... I can't even cast a fireball... I'm sorry."

Tio, as she fell, turned her face toward Aichi to apologize. Her face had turned from blue to pale, having exhausted her magic to the limit.

"That's enough. I didn't expect much from a pervert. Go to sleep, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Master is so kind... I thought you'd scold me... No, there's also the idea of candy before the whip... Can I expect that?"

"Go to hell."

Tio's face, already drained of color, looked like a corpse, but she reacted to Aichi's words, her body trembling, and she wore a satisfied expression. Aichi, on the other hand, clicked his tongue and looked at something he found distasteful, then turned his gaze back to the group of monsters.

The number of monsters had decreased from tens of thousands to between 8,000 and 9,000. Despite the initial massive group of monsters having suffered near-annihilation, they still rushed forward recklessly. More accurately, it was because of the commands issued by some of the monsters. Most of the monsters no longer had the intention to charge, but they had to follow the orders given by the leaders of their respective races, advancing aimlessly. Aichi noticed this as the number of monsters decreased.

If Sei Shigetoshi was the culprit, even with a trick, it would be impossible to brainwash and control such a large group of monsters and Tio. This was Aichi's question. However, if he brainwashed the leaders of the various races and made their subordinates follow the leaders, it would be much more efficient. Still, how he gathered such a large number of monsters in such a short time remained a mystery...

Putting the question aside for now, the group of monsters was composed of slow and monotonous leaders and agile followers who only obeyed orders and charged forward. It would be more appropriate to eliminate the leaders first. That way, the monsters, driven by instinct, would realize the gap in strength and retreat to the northern mountains.

Aichi looked at the annihilation weapon, Meserai, in his hands. Both cannons were already smoking, and the cooling function was no longer working. They had reached their endurance limit. If he continued to fire, something would likely break. Of course, even if it broke, it could be repaired, but because the parts were delicate, immediate on-site repair was impossible. It would require time for precise work. If that happened, it would be troublesome, so it was better to change the attack method.

"Tsuki, how much magic is left?"

"...Hmm, about two magic crystals... The consumption of gravity magic was higher than expected, so I need to practice."

"No, no, you've already killed over 20,000. That's enough. I'll take care of the rest, and I'll need your support."

"Okay."

Aichi, who spoke little, immediately nodded, understanding the situation. Satisfied, Aichi turned to Sia.

"Sia, do you understand the difference in the monsters?"

"Yes, one type is like Tio when she was controlled, and the other type seems hesitant."

"Hesitant... Yeah, that's right. The monsters similar to Tio are