Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: The Fall of District 7
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Grrrrng-.
A growl echoed from the darkness.
It sharpened my senses as I calmly assessed the situation.
*The passage has been breached.*
I didn’t know the cause, but the passage was definitely open.
The seven demon minions baring their fangs and glowing red eyes up ahead were proof enough.
“This is bad, right? Number one.”
Thompson had caught on too and turned to me.
“Looks like it...”
But my words weren’t about the demon minions in front of us.
Demon minions were the lowest rank among demons.
Even with the numbers against us, they weren’t a problem given our current combat strength.
No, the issue was...
“We might not even need to go outside the border.”
“Huh, how could this happen...”
The very fact that these things were here was the problem.
If they’d gotten in here, that meant they were in District 7 too.
And District 7 had likely been reduced to ruins.
“We need to hurry. Let’s clean this up fast.”
Right. Nothing was certain until we saw it ourselves.
Our top priority was getting out of here.
“The ones up front are mine.”
Paat!
Barundel, at the lead, kicked off the ground with swift precision.
In his right hand gleamed the vicious new axe he’d just forged.
The moment his gear finally proved its worth.
At the same time.
Puuung-!
Thompson, hefting his massive wooden shield, wrapped his body in stone magic and leaped high into the air.
An intimidating jump, as always.
No need to look to know the fate of the minion under that bulk.
“Hah!”
Kayla’s barrage of flames followed.
Thanks to her new gear, she unleashed larger, fiercer fireballs without pause.
And then it was my turn.
Pajijik! Woooung!
Electricity crackled around me in an instant as a sphere of light formed in my hand.
With that.
Pababat-!
I plunged straight into the pack of minions.
My targets: the three in the rear.
Kyakyakya!
They noticed the attack and charged from all sides, sharp fangs flashing... but maybe because I’d faced countless demons in Aldeon?
Honestly, these didn’t scare me one bit anymore.
The others probably felt the same.
Pababang! Thud! Splack! Roar-!
Kyaaeng! Kyaeng! Kyaaeng!
Our simultaneous assaults tore through the minions with ruthless efficiency.
Kyaaaaang!
Hearing their howls almost made them seem pitiful, but they were demons.
We showed no mercy, and the fight ended in the blink of an eye.
“Damn these mutts. How the hell did they get in here?”
Thompson, splattered in minion blood, shook himself off in disgust.
“...Who knows.”
No one there could answer that.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Rather than dwell on useless questions, we pressed on.
And soon, we found the source of the stench.
“Ugh!”
“...This is a mess.”
The glow of our luminous stones revealed dozens of corpses strewn throughout the passage.
Many were mangled, bitten by minions, with flies swarming the rotting patches—the source of the smell.
“This is worse than we thought.”
“Even just the ones I see are dozens. No reason for that many people to use the passage...”
“They were fleeing. If District 7 fell, this was their only way out. Probably crowds at the main gate too.”
“...Yeah, figures. Worst case scenario, huh, number one?”
“...”
Step, step, step...
We pushed forward, choking back the foul odor.
Before long, we reached the end of the passage.
A lone ladder led upward.
“District 7 now.”
Kayla took point from here.
She knew the area best among us.
“...Follow me.”
She signaled with a hand gesture, climbed the ladder first, and we followed.
How long had we gone?
“Surface.”
We’d finally reached the surface we’d been waiting for.
And it was just as we’d feared.
“...This place too.”
Far worse than the underground passage.
Dozens, hundreds of corpses were just the start. Signs of resistance and brutal fights littered the streets.
“...”
No one could speak easily at the sight.
Silence hung over the group when...
“Hey.”
We spotted a passerby and grabbed him.
He jolted at the touch, face panicked.
“W-What do you want?”
“What happened here?”
“W-What do you mean?”
“How did this place end up like this?”
The man stared blankly, then his eyes widened in realization.
“You guys... from inside?”
I nodded silently. He scanned me and the group, then spoke urgently.
“Reinforcements! You’re reinforcements, right? Mages!”
“...”
His voice carried desperate hope.
What should I say?
“...No?”
I chose honesty over false hope.
“We just happened to pass through. Reinforcements... who knows. Didn’t look like anyone else came up from the underground.”
“Oh...”
His face darkened instantly.
“You’re not here to help us...?”
“Yeah, that’s right, but...”
I glanced back at the group.
Instead of words, they nodded quietly.
They felt the same.
“If you want demon extermination, we’ll help.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. So tell us what happened.”
That sparked hope in him.
His hollow eyes lit up.
“F-First, this way. It’s dangerous here.”
He glanced around, then headed somewhere.
A three-story abandoned building nearby.
Barricades at the entrance and signs of living suggested it was his temporary shelter.
“This is all I have to offer...”
He held out crumbled biscuit pieces, apologetic.
In this situation, even scraps like these were precious rations.
Offering them showed his desperation.
“We’re fine. Talk.”
“...A-Alright.”
Crunch, crunch.
He chewed the biscuits and continued.
“Three days ago. A demon with a single horn and bull-like form burst in out of nowhere.”
“...Single horn, bull?”
“Yeah, I saw it from afar myself. Definitely a bull.”
He spoke with conviction.
*Single horn, bull form...*
I had a suspect in mind...
But I focused on his words.
“Anyway, it came alone and started wrecking the district.”
“...What about the guards? District 7 has guards, right?”
“They tried to stop it. But... it wasn’t a fight. Just a one-sided massacre.”
Thump! Thump!
Choking on biscuit—or memories—he pounded his chest.
“Cough! Cough! S-Sorry.”
“No problem. Go on.”
“It smashed the guards and vanished. We thought that was it, whatever it wanted. But...”
“It wasn’t the end.”
“...Yeah, that was just the start. Next day, hundreds of demons swarmed in.”
“...”
“And after that, well, you see...”
I followed his gaze around.
District 7 in ruins.
The thick stench of blood hung heavy.
No surprise.
Without walls or guards, they couldn’t hold off hundreds of demons.
And above all...
*Valefor.*
The moment that bull-horned demon—the Greed Legion Commander—showed up, District 7’s fall in three days was inevitable.
One thing bothered me, though.
*Why?*
I couldn’t guess why they’d done this.
Was there something in District 7 they wanted?
*...Doubt it.*
Unlikely.
What could be left in this forsaken fringe, abandoned even by Asteron?
I considered other possibilities.
*Is the invasion itself the goal?*
Not impossible.
But unlikely.
If invasion was the aim, they’d have hit District 6 right after 7.
But the underground passage we came through...
*They wouldn’t have left minions there.*
No sign of that.
No clear answer yet when...
“So... you’ll help?”
The impatient man formally asked for aid.
No reason not to.
Our goal was hunting anyway, and helping him achieved that.
But...
*The others...*
I looked at the group, gathered in a circle.
They nodded—same mind.
Barundel nodded, Thompson clenched his fist casually.
Eyes met Kayla’s then.
“Wait.”
She frowned, pointing at the man.
“Hey, mister. What exactly do you want help with? Kill all the demons lurking around? That it?”
He answered calmly, unfazed.
“Yes, that’s enough. We can handle the rest.”
“Why go that far? Just flee somewhere else. What’s so special about this dump?”
“...You’re right, mage. But... this dump is my home and hometown. I want to protect it.”
“Oh, really?”
I watched Kayla’s face as she stopped.
Still displeased, but no outright refusal.
Our eyes met, and she nodded reluctantly.
Decision made.
“Alright. We’ll help.”
“Th-Thank you so much!”
He bowed repeatedly in genuine gratitude.
I waved it off and asked.
“So, what first?”
“Too late now. Rest today. Should be safe enough here.”
“Hm, got it.”
Conversation over, he directed us to the second floor. I led the group up.
Step, step up the stairs.
Thud!
Someone grabbed my wrist from behind.
Kayla.
“What? Something wrong?”
She looked deeply uneasy and spoke.
“Something off. You know I’m from here, right?”
“Yeah.”
Obviously.
We’d met here first.
But why bring it up now?
She hesitated, then said.
“But... I’ve never seen that guy before.”
“...What?”
That one line said it all.
Something was wrong.