Forest of Demonic Beasts (4)
"Just one more forest left now."
"...So if we take care of the beasts there, we'll never have to see these fucking things again?"
The soldiers chatted idly as they stood watch.
"Yeah, probably."
"A life without demonic beasts..."
Their faces lit up with hope. Dawn was breaking, brightening the lands beyond the walls.
"...Hold up. Something's moving out there."
One soldier squinted into the distance beyond the wall.
"What?"
Far off, in the direction of the northern forest, tiny specks were swarming across the white plains, closing in. It was a demonic beast assault.
"How was the Forest of Demonic Beasts?"
Her master asked Mars over breakfast. She pondered for a moment before replying.
"It was tough casting spells while making sure the demonic energy didn't corrupt me..."
"You did great, though. And hasn't your mana control gotten smoother?"
Her master replied encouragingly.
"Yeah... definitely..."
clang clang clang clang clang!
A deafening bell tolled across the camp.
"What the hell?"
"Shit, let's move!"
Everyone eating nearby jumped up and rushed outside.
"Master?"
Mars looked around, then at her master, but he was already gearing up to leave. Outside the building, soldiers were donning equipment and sprinting off somewhere.
"Fuck, what's going on?"
"Demonic beast assault! From the north!"
"Damn it, out of nowhere..."
"Mars!"
"Yes!"
Mars and her master grabbed their gear and joined the rush to the northern wall. People who had arrived first were already climbing up.
"Keep 'em from climbing!"
"Where's the ammo? Arrows at least..."
"Ammo crate here!"
"Those beasts... shit."
"Prepare for defense! Don't let them scale the walls..."
Pushing through the crowd to the top, they quickly grasped the situation beyond.
Demonic beasts were clawing their way up with razor-sharp talons. These weren't like the ones they'd seen before—their claws and fangs were even sharper, their forms more ferocious.
"Thrust with spears, throw shit, shoot whatever—hold them back! If they get over the wall, we're done!"
"Fuck... why won't they die?"
"Wait... ugh...!"
"Hans! Damn it..."
"Derek! Grab Hans!"
One soldier trying to fend off a beast scaling the wall got bitten in the jaw. His comrades grabbed him to keep him from being dragged over, but they were losing ground.
-PING!
A strange gunshot rang out. A bullet from Mars's magitech device struck the beast's jaws.
-KIEEK!
The beast's jaws snapped open, and it plummeted back down the wall.
"..."
The soldiers nodded gratefully to her before refocusing on the beasts climbing up. Her master eyed her magitech device.
"Hm. Not bad at all. Magic first, though."
"Yes!"
Mars began chanting.
"...Fireball!"
As she finished, a fireball formed at her staff's tip and flew out, engulfing the beasts.
-KIEEK! -GRRR...
The beasts collapsed, charred crisp. The gap they left was soon filled by more.
But when her master's spell hit, a much wider swath of beasts vaporized.
"...!"
Mars marveled at the afterimage of her master's magic, but there was no time to gawk on the battlefield. She hurriedly chanted her next spell.
"Ngh... Fireball!"
Spear-wielders and archers handled the climbers. Mages targeted the hordes below.
"...Fire... ball...!"
"Mars. Take a break in the back."
"I can still... do more..."
"Mars!"
At her master's stern rebuke, Mars finally checked herself. Her hands trembled, lips parched—precursors to mana exhaustion.
"Sorry..."
"You did plenty. Drink this and rest."
"...Okay."
-Boom! Boom! -KABOOM!
Explosions from spells, gunshots from archers, the beasts' screams. The siege raged fiercely. But in her state, Mars could do nothing. She leaned against the wall, legs shaking, and drank the potion her master gave her. Mana began refilling her body.
At the same time, her mind grew calm.
"...?"
Puzzled, Mars stared at the potion vial. It was just a standard mana potion.
A new sensation. Unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. Her mana surged faster. The tremors from exhaustion faded.
Mars stood again. Mana around her felt sharper, more vivid.
Gripping her staff, she chanted once more.
As words left her lips, mana swirled at the staff's tip. With the next phrase, the flow twisted. Each word made the mana pulse more vividly.
For the first time, a layer of mana enveloped the core mass. The inner mana compressed, churning violently.
'Have I ever sensed flows like this before?'
The thought flickered, but she stayed focused. The magic's flow felt more alive than ever.
The outer mana wrapped the raging inner core tightly—but any lapse in concentration could make it burst. Maintaining it this long was luck.
'Can I keep this up?'
Fear gripped her. Failure meant explosion, dooming not just her but everyone nearby. As she considered abandoning the compression, her master's hand rested on her shoulder encouragingly.
"You can do it."
His mana flowed in through her shoulder. The inner mana still roiled, but the outer shell solidified.
"..."
Mars finished chanting and unleashed the spell at the beasts. In mid-air, it swelled massively.
-KABOOM!
It detonated, shredding a wide swath of beasts.
'Hm... She's awakened to the sensation. At this rate, she'll master it soon...'
Her master watched, then encouraged her.
"Congratulations. You've grown. Keep going with that feeling."
"Yes!"
Mars cast repeatedly. The unstable spells stabilized, hitting harder. Gradually, the beasts blanketing the outer fields thinned.
"The beasts' numbers are dropping, and we have some breathing room on defense."
"Good. Any idea where they came from?"
The Northern Grand Duke asked while slicing beasts off the wall.
"Confirmed from the northern Forest of Demonic Beasts."
As suspected—beasts from the north.
"Then it's empty now."
"Yes."
The sudden assault had been brutal at first. Beasts swarmed endlessly, casualties mounted. But mage support turned the tide, thinning their ranks until now they had leeway.
"Call the mid-rank and high-rank knights. We're striking the forest now."
"...!"
With beasts pulled away, assaulting the forest was feasible. The duke planned a swift strike with minimal forces.
Once the knights assembled, the duke led them into the forest. The remaining beasts were stronger but far fewer, posing little threat. Clearing path-blockers, they delved deep and found the queen beast.
-----!
A colossal body larger than previous queens. Grotesquely mutated mid-rank beasts guarded it too.
Glowing red eyes, gleaming fangs, demonic energy cloaking them.
"Charge."
The duke and knights unleashed their auras and attacked. Soon...
------...
They felled the fiercely resisting queen.
"Tend to the wounded. We're heading back."
The reckless assault left the knights battered. But their blood wouldn't be in vain. Not all northern beasts were eradicated, but they wouldn't multiply further.
"Guess we'll head back soon. In three days or whatever."
"Tch. We'll just be window dressing anyway. Go on ahead..."
"Oh yeah, there are some ingredients only available up north..."
The support troops chatted—actually, the mages did.
"Their attitude toward mages has improved, hasn't it?"
"Agreed. At first, they'd scowl just making eye contact."
"Hmph. After all we've done, if they don't change, they're shameless."
Compared to before, the northerners' view of mages had visibly softened.
"Anyway..."
"Excuse me. Everyone here?"
The Northern Grand Duke suddenly visited their lodging.
"...?"
The mages stared blankly, gauging the mood.
"On behalf of the North, thank you. You minimized our losses. Oh, and if you need anything, ask this man anytime."
The duke cleared his throat awkwardly and left.
"Whoa... Master, did he just..."
"Never thought he'd come thank us in person."
"This is... unexpected. Quite flustered."
As they recovered from shock, more visitors arrived.
"Ahem. Uh. Well."
Northern knights and soldiers. Northerners. More versed in fists than words. The type to punch mages before talking.
Instead of fists, they offered booze.
"Northern specialty. Interested?"
Another northern way of conversing: alcohol.
"...!"
Over drinks, long-standing tensions between mages and northerners began to thaw.
Demonic beasts weren't just surging in the Boern Empire's north—they multiplied in other kingdoms too.
"Our strength has limits..."
"Pass 'em to Pique Kingdom?"
"...Oh."
Some nations struggled to hold them back, while others sought easier ways—like shoving them onto neighbors. Naturally, those neighbors weren't pleased, and conflicts brewed.