The Small Heroes of the Rooftop
The girl held up a marble, and just as it began to glow, a massive figure appeared before the school gate, letting out a deafening roar.
“Uh... ugh... uh?” The female student next to me let out a strange, incoherent sound. My own heart felt exactly the same. I drew in a sharp breath, fixing my eyes on the monster. A pair of horns atop its head. Skin that glistened with a slick, black sheen. Muscles bulging beneath that hide. At a glance, it looked like a water buffalo, but the problem was its height—it easily towered over two meters. The roar of the beast, which had suddenly popped out of thin air where nothing had been a moment ago, was as heavy and massive as its body.
My skin prickled. I could feel my body stiffening involuntarily at the roar of a predator so vastly superior in size. “What is that...” “There was nothing there just a second ago...” Hearing the roar, the others who had been looking elsewhere came running toward us. The class representative, Mei, and the spear-wielder, Daniel, muttered in panicked voices. The shield-bearer, Andre, remained silent, but all of them wore expressions of pure shock.
It was a monster that didn't look like a mere Lower-rank; it was at least Intermediate-rank or higher. The beast exuded such overwhelming pressure that my flesh trembled, and it didn't seem to have been weakened by passing through the barrier. I could see a dark purple energy shimmering over its body. I felt that the ominous hue resembled the hair color of the girl who was now hidden behind the monster's bulk. I didn't know how, but under the circumstances, it seemed certain that she had summoned it.
The monster. The girl. The word 'Witch' flashed through my mind, but I gritted my teeth and denied it, telling myself that couldn't be true. In 'Academy’s Holy Swordsman', the Witch had appeared as an enemy only once, in the final chapter. Yoon Siwoo and Sylvia were fleeing with the few survivors after all the barriers across the world had vanished for unknown reasons, losing their last stronghold. Blocking their path was the 'Witch of Gluttony', who had been sealed in a state of remains after being subdued because of her monstrous regenerative abilities, only to be resurrected.
They thought that if they defeated the resurrected Witch, they might be able to reclaim world peace. Yet, even Yoon Siwoo and Sylvia, who had fought that final battle with such resolve, were forced to their knees by the existence of the Witch—the final boss of this world. History textbooks stated that all witches had been subdued long ago. Therefore, the girl who summoned that monster could not be a witch. She must not be a witch. If she truly were a witch and intended to kill us, the chances of anyone here surviving were practically zero.
While I was lost in such terrifying thoughts, the monster moved. I could see the school gate that had been obscured by its body. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Only a single black marble lay abandoned on the ground where she had stood. I turned my head to look around, but there wasn't even a shadow of a person near the gate. Where did she go?
As my gaze wandered, a building in the direction the monster was heading caught my eye. The gymnasium. I could see several teachers and students who had poked their heads out upon hearing the roar, now frozen in place at the sight of the beast. The door hadn't closed yet.
I couldn't afford to worry about the mysterious girl. Realizing there was a feast of prey inside, the monster began to move slowly, staring at the gymnasium. I looked urgently toward the entrance. Some of my classmates, knowing we had gone up to the roof, were pointing toward us. Were they keeping the door open because of us outside? How could they worry about others' lives when they were about to die themselves? The monster moved leisurely, as if it knew they were rats in a trap, but we didn't have time to jump down and reach the gym. It was true that we might be in danger if we couldn't get inside, but that wasn't the concern right now. We had to tell them to close it, regardless of us.
But there was no way a shout from here would reach the gym. At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind. I grabbed the shoulders of the frozen girl next to me and shook her. “Tell them to close the gym door! Right now!”
The girl seemed to snap out of it at my words, her eyes finally focusing. She cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed toward the gym, veins bulging in her neck. A moment later, the massive gym doors began to descend and close. At the sudden movement of the doors, the monster’s leisurely pace quickened.
“Close it faster!” “Please...!”
The monster accelerated with every stride, its massive body gaining momentum. The children screamed, watching the doors. Even if they shouted, the doors wouldn't close any faster, but it was all they could do. Everyone was screaming with voices that burned with desperation. They clearly imagined the horrific things that would happen if the doors didn't close. I, too, clasped my trembling hands together next to the screaming children and prayed for them to close.
You were built to protect people, weren't you? You have to close to do your job!
Perhaps that desperate wish reached them; the doors slammed shut with a heavy thud just before the monster arrived. “It’s closed!” “Oh, thank goodness!” The children, who had been holding their breath, cheered. Thank god... Just as I was letting out a sigh of relief, I saw the monster. It hadn't stopped its momentum even though the doors were shut. It was charging straight at the closed doors. It didn't slow down or brace itself; it only picked up speed.
With the thought of 'No way,' came a deafening roar.
A massive sound of solid colliding with solid. The girl next to me collapsed to the floor, her legs giving out. The other three clutched their ears, their faces twisted in pain. I felt a tremor. The vibration that started at the gym traveled through the ground all the way to the roof of the main building. It felt as if the terrifying power of the monster was spreading through my own body. I couldn't move easily, but I had to check, so I looked down. The impact had kicked up a cloud of dust, blurring my vision. Through that haze, I saw the monster, snorting and puffing steam from its nostrils.
The dust began to settle. Thankfully, the gym door the monster had rammed into was still intact. As the bone-chilling tension that made me forget to breathe subsided, I found myself sitting on the floor, burying my face between my knees. I felt like giving a round of applause to the work supervisor who had boasted that the door couldn't even be scratched by an average monster. The children who had been clutching their ears in pain seemed to recover, glancing over the rooftop railing and letting out sighs of relief before helping the girl who was still on the ground to her feet. It seemed the people inside the gym were safe for now.
Could we just stay hidden on the roof and avoid being noticed by that monster? Just as I was carefully harboring that thought, the girl who had been helped up looked down. Her expression was no longer one of relief, but of confusion and anxiety. I stood up and looked down as well. The monster was slowly turning around and walking toward the school gate. Just as I thought it might be leaving, it stopped halfway between the gym and the gate, then turned back toward the gym. And then, it kicked off the ground.
Another massive sound echoed. The monster rammed the gym door again and slowly turned around. The door was still intact. “Wh-what is this? That monster is an idiot. There’s no way a sturdy door like that would break just by ramming it, right?” “Ahaha, right? It couldn't possibly break... it’ll be fine, right?” The girl and Daniel raised their voices, staring at the intact door. They were laughing so awkwardly that anyone could tell they were just trying to shake off their anxiety.
The sounds continued in succession. At the first one, I thought it would be fine. At the second, I became a little anxious. By the third, my heart began to pound. The children who had been speaking with laughter now had faces that were stiff and pale. I wished it were just my imagination, but it looked like a crack had appeared in the door that had seemed so sturdy.
They said an average monster couldn't even leave a scratch. But, but... no matter how I looked at it, that monster didn't look like an average one. A loud sound echoed once more. This time, following that sound, a very faint but ominous noise was clearly audible. It was the sound of hope cracking.
The children’s faces turned white. If the door were breached, it was obvious that countless citizens inside would die. Everyone was trembling. Countless thoughts must have been racing through their minds. The silence that settled between us seemed to represent the fear and despair we were all feeling. And the one who broke it was the class representative, Mei.
“...If we keep letting it hit like that, it’s going to break.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Mei. She had voiced the thought we were all having. Her voice trembled, but her eyes did not. In that piercing gaze, everyone seemed to realize what she wanted to say. That we, who were outside, should become the bait.
Mei’s gaze turned to Daniel. “We have no choice. Damn it.” Daniel clenched his teeth and gripped the spear he was carrying. Mei’s head turned toward Andre. Andre nodded silently and drew the shield from his back. Mei’s eyes looked at the girl, Jessie. Jessie looked at Mei with trembling eyes and said, “...That’s at least an Intermediate-rank monster. If it attacks us, we might die—no, we will die. This isn't training; if we die this time, we really die!”
Jessie shouted at Mei as if she were angry. Mei listened to her shouting without a word. Jessie trembled, then began to tear up as she spoke to Mei. “*Sob*, I don't want to see anyone else die. Even in my dreams last night, what happened in the training came back... *hic*, I’m scared...” Jessie sniffled a few times, then forced herself to stop crying with a sharp intake of breath. “I get it... but it’s something we have to do... I’ll go, too.”
Jessie wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. Then, Mei turned and met my eyes. My hands were shaking. Honestly, I was afraid. I was scared to fight, and I even had a small part of me that wanted to just run away. But I thought of the people who might die if the gym door was breached. Inside that building might be the grandmother whose bags I had carried. The researchers and supervisors I had laughed and chatted with might be there. I put my hand in my school uniform pocket and pulled out the teddy bear bandage that was now crumpled. The boy who had given me this might be in there, too.
I looked at the bandage for a moment, then put it back in my pocket. I took a deep breath. I’m not going to die. I’m just going to draw its attention. I nodded at Mei. Mei then drew her sword and said, “Let’s go.”
She turned and took the lead, and we followed behind her. I could see the legs of those walking ahead trembling slightly with fear. Even while trembling, no one said let’s run away. Although they were students and not strong, they were heroes nonetheless. The small heroes left the rooftop.