A few moments prior, Northen Walls.
The situation beyond the walls protecting the Eastern Kasha wasn’t great.
“Don’t let the defensive line fall! Keep everything contained!”
“Let the mages shoot down at the monsters!”
“….Someone go to the defensive third unit and support them. The walls are about to be breached!”
Standing at the helm of the walls was none other than the Head of the House of Myron, Arten Myron. He, alongside several other well-known houses, took it upon themselves to protect the walls from the invading monsters.
The walls protecting the city were split according to the Cardinal Points; North, South, West, East.
The House of Myron was currently in charge of protecting the northern walls.
With the Mirror Cracks currently in a state of turmoil, the situation was rather dire.
Monsters continued to pour out and given the fact that the House of Astrid was missing, they lost a lot of their firepower.
Bang!
“Keep holding!”
Injuries continued to pile up with time, and more and more cracks appeared on the outer layers of the walls.
Arten’s expression grew solemn upon seeing the situation.
With no reinforcements in sight, this looked to be a last-ditch effort from their end to try and preserve the place that they called home, but…
‘At this rate, we might not last more than a week.’
Did they really have a chance?”
Would the horde of monsters stop by the end of the week?
“Ha.”
Arten massaged his face.
He was tired.
So, so tired. With no clear end in sight for the situation, he felt the energy get sapped away from his worn-out and battle-scarred body.
He had been fighting for quite some time, and he didn’t even have the time to properly greet the guests from the Empire.
Thinking about them, Arten closed his eyes.
‘I wasn’t able to greet them properly, but they gave me a rather good impression. If they joined then maybe we’ll be able to relieve a bit of the burden from the soldiers, but would they really be of any help?’
Strength wasn’t the only thing required when dealing with the monsters in the outer walls.
The cadets needed to be well-versed in the orders and needed to be organized. If they weren’t able to properly organize themselves or take in orders then there was a very good chance they could become burdens instead of helpers.
This wasn’t a risk Arten was willing to take and as such he was quick to dismiss the idea.
Opening his eyes again, he raised his head to look at the somber gray sky, a perfect reflection of his inner mood.
Stepping forward, a magic circle appeared in his hand.
It carried a faint purple hue, and a terrifying pressure burst out from it the moment it appeared.
Locking eyes with a certain monster in the distance, a shiver ran down his spine as he instinctively tensed his back, every muscle coiled like a spring ready to snap. His fingers twitched, readying the magic circle in his hand.
The beast-A tall and skinny creature covered in long hair that cascaded down onto the ground to display its sickly pale eyes-took a slow, deliberate step forward, its claws scraping against the ground with a grating screech that sent chills through the air.
Arten’s expression tensed ever further as the two locked eyes, and just as he prepared to act, something happened.
Swoosh!
The world suddenly grew white.
Yes, it grew white.
“Huh?”
…And everything came to a sudden stop.
Nobody understood where it came from and what happened, but it happened fast.
So fast that they didn’t even have the time to blink.
By the time the world recovered, the sky changed.
“…..
Everything came to a sudden standstill then.
All eyes lifted up and stared towards the sky.
“It’s blue.”
Mumbling quietly, Arten’s mind blanked. He couldn’t understand the sudden changes and the
same was true for all the people present.
“How is this possible?”
“Am I seeing things? The sky…! The sky!”
Everyone’s mind fell away from the walls and towards the sky.
How could it not when the same sky that had plagued the Kasha for so long suddenly disappeared? That same sky was the very same reason why they couldn’t grow crops, and why
their land was deemed ‘Forgotten’.
…The change didn’t just signify change, but it also signified freedom.
Their lands, they were now free.
“I…”
However, the joy was merely short-lived.
Snapping out of it, Arten’s head flicked to face the city as he suddenly noticed several figures
sprinting in their direction.
Arten’s eyes squinted and he soon got a better look at the figure.
‘Aren’t they the cadets?’
Indeed, he could recognize them. Although they were all wearing a disguise, he could see
their faces.
Staring at them and seeing them all rush forward, he frowned.
“What are they doing?”
He had directly told them to not come anywhere near the walls. Why were they suddenly
here?
“House Leader, what should we do? Should we stop them?”
Overhearing a few concerned commands from the people next to him, Arten raised his hand
and stopped them.
“No, they’re with us. Let them pass.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, they are my responsibility.”
“Understood.”
“Let them pass! Don’t stoop them!”
Arten’s eyes narrowed while following the cadets. His thoughts juggled over several
possibilities before suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
Could it be because of the sky?
‘Wait, could the sky be related to them?’
Arten’s expression shifted slightly, almost imperceptibly, until he felt something land on his
shoulder. Turning his head, he caught sight of a red leaf drifting down. Catching it with his
hand, he looked at it for a good moment until…
Squelch~
He felt something grip his ankle.
Flicking his head down, his face froze at the sight that greeted him and just as he snatched his
foot away, he heard a large ‘bang’ coming from the direction of the gates.
“What are you doing?”
“Stop-!”
“What is happening!? We’re under attack!”
Turning to look, his face changed dramatically when he noticed the cadets attacking the walls
at the same time.
Bang, Bang-!
The combined power of all the cadets was nothing to scoff at and before Arten could even
react, spells rained down on the walls.
“No, no, no…!”
Arten rushed forward in an attempt to stop them, but by then, it was already too late.
From behind the cadets, a shadow burst into view-a lone figure streaking through the air
with both hands on his sword.
In one swift motion, the figure slashed downward, striking the walls.
BOOM-!
The deafening explosion shook the ground as the walls crumbled down like an avalanche.
“What… what is this…?”
Arten’s breath stopped, his legs trembling beneath him as the chaos unfolded. All of a
sudden, his mind raced, and his own voice echoed within his mind.
“Yes, they are my responsibility.”
“Hieeek-!”
A shrill, bone-chilling screech pierced the air shortly after.
Arten’s gaze snapped downward, his face growing pale at the sight that greeted him.
Boom, boom!
Through the shattered walls, several large monsters surged forward, their grotesque shapes
illuminated by the flames devouring the walls.
As his ears rang relentlessly, Arten tumbled forward.
“What have they done…?”
He whispered, the weight of the situation crushing down on him.
“What.”
Haa…
“Have.”
Наа…
“They.”
Haa…
“Done…”
***
“What is going on?”
The moment the walls crumbled, we all rushed down to see several elders of the House of
Astrid rushing in our direction.
The Northern I has crumbled! Monsters are starting to flood into the city.”
“How many? What’s their general power?”
“We can’t determine, but it appears that there are at least several Terror Ranked creatures. We
cannot exclude the possibility of Destroyer ranks being present.”
“I understand.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, the head elder remained coolheaded and merely nodded
her head upon hearing the short report. She then started issuing orders after a little bit of
thought.
“We’ve been absent for quite some time. Everyone looks to have recovered from the entire
ordeal. It’s about time that we fulfill our job as the foremost house within the Eastern
Kasha.”
Flicking her hand, she turned to look at the Courtyard.
“Prepare everyone for combat. Those who are already ready should proceed to the Northern
walls. Ensure that as few monsters as possible reach the residential districts. Send a few
others to reinforce the other walls.”
“Yes…!”
“Understood!”
With that, the elders scattered around, issuing orders to all that could fight.
I stood by and watched everything from behind as the Head Elder finally turned her attention
in our general direction.
With a wry smile, she lowered her head.
“I apologize, friends from afar. But as you can see, we’ll have to halt our talks for now. There
are pressing matters that we must attend to. If you wish, you can stay within the walls of our
estate while we handle the situation. We can continue the talks shortly after that.”
“No, it’s okay.”
I raised my hand to stop her.
Turning to look in the direction of where the Northern walls, my lips pressed tightly together.
… They’re over there.’
My connection with Owl-Mighty once again returned.
Although I could still not communicate with the owl, I knew they were there. Since that was
the case, there was no need for me to stay here any longer.
I looked at the Head Elder directly in the eye. “We’ll be going too. There’s no need for us to stay any longer.”
“How could this…? We already owe you a great debt of gratitude. We can’t have you imp-“
“It’s not that.”
I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
“…Our classmates are currently there. Since they’re also fighting there, we might as well join them.”
Surprised flashed across the aged woman’s features.
“There’s more of you?”
“A lot more.”
Her expression grew a little strange but she didn’t ask anymore.
“Very well.”
She held her hand out to me.
“Since that’s the case, you three grab onto my hand. I’ll bring you all directly to the northern
walls.”
“Okay.”
I reached forward and grabbed her hand, Caius and Kaelion following right after.
“Get ready.”
Following her words, my vision abruptly shifted, and the surroundings transformed. The air
became noticeably thicker, and a strong smell of smoke assaulted my nostrils.
“Ukh.”
It was really powerful and by the time I recovered, I was met with a sea of flames.
“Ahhh-!”
That wasn’t all.
Screams and monsters appeared everywhere.
The scene was chaotic.
Recovering my vision, my eyes eventually fell in a certain direction and I came to an abrupt
halt.
The same was true for the head elder who paused and looked back at the three of us.
“…Are they with you?”
I didn’t answer but merely looked toward the few familiar figures, rushing alongside the
monsters and attacking the knights positioned by the walls.
Swallowing quietly, I nodded.
“Yes.”
It was them without a doubt. “…It’s them.”