ARPG: City of the Dead Mage (7)
It was after a fairly satisfying dinner, spent playing with the kids before finally lying down to rest.
A faint vibration rumbled through the ground, soon followed by a massive explosion that slammed into the air like a thunderclap.
That was the beginning of the nightmare.
Screams erupted from every direction.
Mary hurriedly grabbed two pistols and rushed to prepare the children for evacuation.
"What the hell is going on!?"
Experience wasn't an illusion.
Court mage and commander of the 2nd Magic Legion, Kasian Valerius, pierced right through the heart of the situation.
In the experimental facility discovered beneath the central factory in Sector B of the Haganelle Industrial Complex, there had been a shattered massive test tube.
They'd taken the time for a thorough additional search, but the homunculus in question hadn't turned up.
He'd written it off as possibly wandering some corner of the city.
It's that thing.
Kasian instinctively knew it had come for them.
He couldn't fathom the timing—had it come to reclaim the complex? Or had it trailed the scavengers from the outskirts all the way to the Sanctuary?
One thing was certain: they had to move now.
If this was truly the homunculus sealed in that test tube, even Kasian Valerius couldn't guarantee victory while protecting everyone.
The facility had been thick with condensed mana—comparable to what an 8th Circle mage held in their body.
A lifeform born from that much mana would likely possess powerful resistance to magic.
"Mary! Any escape routes or back ways you know of?"
"...Yeah! There's an isolation passage at the east gate and one at the west. You can take the lift down or climb up to the ramparts. It should be safe from the fog there!"
"Lead the way!"
Kasian helped Mary gather the children.
The streets were already a madhouse.
A rusty mechanical siren wailed across the entire city, warning of the assault, while thick fog poured over the walls like a waterfall onto the ground below.
"We-Wendigos!!"
"Kyaaack!!"
"Kwaaak! Mommy! Mommy!!"
"Save me!!!"
No one knew the origin of the monsters.
But everyone knew they emerged from the cursed fog.
Now that the fog had begun seeping into Sanctuary—the last safe haven for humanity—it was only a matter of time before the whole city became a wasteland.
"This way!"
Mary herded all the children while darting swiftly through the alleys.
"Ah! Venom Spider Hounds...!"
"Out of the way!!"
They encountered monsters here and there along the way, but thanks to Kasian's covering fire, they slipped past without engaging.
When they reached the passage in question, a massive crowd had already gathered.
Mary wasn't the only one who'd had the same idea.
Most of the city's residents were scavengers to begin with.
With the explosions coming from the east, everyone naturally flocked to the west gate.
"Why aren't we moving forward?!"
"The entrance is blocked! The hoist mechanism's busted—can't even raise the lift!"
Forgetting the crowd was secondary; why was the entrance sealed in the first place?
At that moment, a familiar face flashed in Mary's view: Marcus, the ex-mercenary.
"Marcus! Marcus!! It's me, Mary! Hold on, coming through!"
Leaving the kids with Kasian, Mary grunted and shoved her way forward through the throng.
"Mary, you lucky bitch, you survived. The kids?"
"Over there. Luckily, old man Kasian helped..."
"What? That mage?! Thank god! If he's with us, we've got a real shot."
"So what the hell happened?"
"Dunno. The guys I relieved at the east gate watch said legion deserters from headquarters were skulking around the walls all night—they exchanged fire a few times..."
"The legion attacked us?"
"Nah, doesn't seem like it. Even they couldn't blow the entire east gate."
"Where's the boss in all this mess?"
"Kids say he bailed first. No way he ditched us already..."
Right then, Phaeton appeared atop the ramparts.
"Look! It's the boss!"
"Boss! Open the damn gate already!"
The crowd's relief at their leader's arrival was short-lived.
They soon sensed something off in Phaeton's gaze—a dull, lifeless stare fixed on his comrades, his subordinates, the Sanctuary's residents, as if he'd already given up.
"Boss Phaeton...!?"
"No way..."
"Fuck this! The other officers are up there too! Those bastards abandoned us!!"
Phaeton wasn't alone on the wall.
The core officers of the scavengers were there too.
Despair washed over the people's faces.
Phaeton let out a weary sigh, then turned and vanished beyond the wall, leaving them behind.
"Kyaaack!!"
"Monsters! The monsters are here!!"
As if on cue, a horde of beasts closed in on the west gate.
Terror-stricken, the crowd scattered like rats in every direction.
"Marcus! Over here! We're screwed—gotta find another way!"
"Mary, you survive this."
"...Marcus, you too—don't die on me!"
Even Marcus and Mary, who'd synced up as scavengers for years, split off in their own directions.
"Betrayal, eh."
"That fucker Phaeton... Ah, sorry."
"No matter. Bastard deserves worse."
He'd seemed sharp during yesterday's expedition too—always one step ahead with the dirty tricks.
Stashing key supplies on the side... Guess he planned for this.
Saving judgment on Phaeton for later, breaking out of the immediate crisis took priority.
Then a place flashed through Kasian's mind: the underground sewers.
The spot where Malleks, colluding with unknown forces, had tried to sell off Lucy.
If it was a rendezvous with outsiders, there had to be an exit leading beyond the walls.
Mary remembered it too, a beat late, and nodded.
"Hang in there just a bit longer, kids!"
"Stick close to Grandpa and me!"
The two hustled the children through the city filled with screams and flames.
...Hoo.
Kasian exhaled deeply.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Truth be told, the situation was wearing even on him.
For starters, there was no ambient mana in the air, so he had to draw solely from his reserves.
Mana wasn't an infinite resource.
After unleashing a barrage of spells, rest was essential to replenish it and regain output capacity.
In emergencies, one could down mana potions brewed by alchemists or mix mana stone dust into water.
But he'd been firing off high-output spells for days, all from his body.
No proper rest for recovery, no potions or stones to begin with.
Even as a 7th Circle mage and legion commander, Kasian Valerius was starting to flag.
"Old man... you okay?"
"Still got plenty left!"
"Kyaaack!"
Boom! Whoosh!
Still, their desperate struggle got them to the underground sewers.
At this rate, everyone could escape unscathed.
But if things went that smoothly, Sanctuary wouldn't have fallen in the first place.
"Mary?"
"Phaeton...!!!"
At the sewer's end—the site of their prior clash with Malleks—stood Phaeton and the scavenger officers, heavily armed.
It had all been part of the plan.
With residents predictably rushing the west gate, block the entrance to lure the monsters.
Meanwhile, he and his loyal men would circle the walls and slip out safely via the sewers.
With plenty of monsters outside the west gate from the commotion, it was the safest, most cautious play.
Mary gnashed her teeth at the ultimate act of self-preservation and bellowed.
"What the fuck are you doing?! Ditching everyone to save your own skins? Even in this community it was impossible? Doesn't betraying all those comrades who trusted you make you sick?!"
"Ha! Still spouting childish crap, Mary! Sanctuary was doomed anyway—leave it be, and it'd crumble! Ammo and food dwindle by the day. Even if we fend off this raid, we'd just scrape by a little longer, right?"
"You traitorous fuck...!!"
"Mary, you wanted out of this shithole city too! Think I didn't?!"
"Shut up!"
Mary needed no more words; she opened fire with the pistol Kasian had gifted her.
With things this far gone, Phaeton's side returned fire immediately.
Bang! Bang!!
A sudden shootout erupted.
One of Phaeton's shots grazed Mary's arm.
No matter her marksmanship, one against many was hopelessly disadvantaged.
"Ugh!"
"Sis!"
"Big sis, big siiis—!"
"Stay back...!! Hot Wind!!"
Kasian quickly sheltered the children, then jumped into the fray.
"—Kill that old geezer first! Don't let him cast!!"
"If you're so confident, come try it, you snot-nosed punks!!"
Mary alone might've been different.
But with Kasian joining, they fell into clear disadvantage despite their numbers.
Her precise shots linked with his pinpoint fire magic, dropping even the officers wrapped in anti-magic gear one by one.
To Kasian Valerius, Wendigos or these clowns were all the same.
With his men all dead, Phaeton wailed in fury.
"Council mage!! What the hell is this?!"
"...???"
"You promised if we handed over kids once a week, you'd get us out of here!!! You were the one who tipped us that the city falls today!!"
Kasian and Mary's eyes met.
What?
"So when it suited you, now we're expendable, time to scrap us?! Or did you catch feelings for that airhead bitch!!"
Feelings? This mad dog was delirious.
"Shut your trap, worm. Unless you want your eye socket burned out with the eyeball still in it...!!"
But Phaeton pressed on despite the grim threat.
"That transcendent magic to swap dimensions, rewind time—what happened?! Is it true the world outside is fine?! ...Fuck, just tell me, please!!!"
"No idea. I'm not a council mage to begin with!!"
"What?!"
As Phaeton froze in shock—
Bang!!
Mary's bullet pierced his shoulder clean through.
"Guhk...!!"
Phaeton dropped his gun and rolled on the ground.
The fight was over.
Mary kicked his weapon far away, aimed at the fallen man, and spoke.
Kasian fixed him with blazing eyes and warned.
"Don't try anything stupid. I'll incinerate your brain and heart in one go. Slowly stand, and ditch the pistol in your back pocket."
"..."
Phaeton had no choice but to comply.
"So? What was that about? A council mage warned the city would fall?"
"...You're really not with the council? That explains the weirdness."
"Spit it out straight. There was another mage in this city besides me?"
"...Yeah, Sanctuary's ammo and food ran dry ages ago. The council was supplying us."
"Where's that mage—."
Shwaaak!!
"!!!!"
Sensing his nerves flare across his body, Kasian instinctively triggered a defensive spell.
Clang!!
"Mary!!!"
"Kyak!?"
He barely shielded the nearby Mary in time.
"Guh, guh..."
Phaeton, his throat deeply slashed, spewed blood and collapsed with a thud.
Instant death.
A slashing spell. Wind? Or space?
Kasian looked up toward the newcomer on the opposite side of the sewer.
The intruder shed their robe.
There stood—a woman identical to Mary and Lucy, but far more mature.
"Finally found you. The perfect piece."
In Sanctuary's underground sewers, the moment arrived when the three homunculi gathered in one place.