Hero of the North
“Graaaah!”
A massive roar shook the heavens and earth.
“It's coming!”
The first to move was a smaller advanced monster. Boom, boom. The thunderous pounding of its footsteps was tremendous. Bracing for the impending impact, I shouted,
“Everyone, be careful!”
Rumble rumble crash.
The walls shook violently. If soldiers had been stationed at the edge like last time, the casualties would have been severe. I tensed my body and fixed my gaze ahead.
The advanced monster that had slammed into the wall showed no movement. It simply clung there without so much as a twitch. Was it really going to act just as Xavier had predicted?
I glared at the enormous advanced monster standing far in the distance.
Come on, you oversized brute!
As if it understood my words, it snorted a puff of white steam.
“It's coming again!”
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
A far greater reverberation rocked the walls than before. I gritted my teeth and held firm.
Thud, bang!
A quake-like shock engulfed the walls, and then a gigantic hand suddenly rose above them. It was just like that scene from before. As the monster's face gradually emerged, I yelled,
“Send the signal to the gate!”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Tooooooot—
A low but majestic sound flowed from the massive horn made of beast bone. That should carry all the way to the gate.
The gate at Volta Base was cleverly concealed beneath the walls. Of course, the official gate for people was properly placed on the opposite side. This one was close to the monster habitat, so they'd made a small door instead of a full gate—a back entrance, essentially.
And waiting there were the crown prince with the Imperial 2nd Knight Order, Agni and the Northern 3rd Knight Order, and finally Illein's 1st Holy Knight Order.
We'd brainstormed all sorts of tactics, but in the end, we realized a pincer attack was the surest method. While I and the knights on the walls drew the advanced monsters' attention, the main force would open the gate and strike from behind.
Xavier had a tactic for when there were three or more advanced monsters, but it didn't look like we'd need it today.
“Grrr...”
The advanced monster's head appeared, its gleaming eyes scanning the top of the walls. It didn't look much different from the previous one. But under the bright sunlight, it seemed even more grotesque.
The moment I laid eyes on it, I gritted my teeth and shouted,
“Spearmen, forward!”
“Forward!”
The knights trained specifically as spearmen for capturing monsters stepped up, long spears in hand. Their spears were embedded with mana-nullifying magic stones to shatter the shields on advanced monsters.
But the spears weren't the only key.
“Shields, up!”
“Up!”
The spearmen raised shields as tall as themselves. Priests had blessed them, boosting their defense exponentially.
The moment the spearmen blocked with their shields, the advanced monster swung its massive arm.
Clang clang clang!
The monster's claw struck the shields with the sound of steel clashing. The moment the grating noise faded, I opened my mouth and bellowed,
“Attack!”
The spearmen lowered their shields and thrust their spears in unison. The monster was huge but surprisingly agile. Still, it would take time to raise that massive arm again. In that window, the mana-nullifying spears struck its shield.
Bang! Boom!
“Groooar!”
“Fall back!”
The monster's roar was ominous. Was it planning to unleash its breath the moment its shield broke? My instincts proved right.
Crimson flames began roiling in the monster's gaping maw. I whipped my head toward Ren.
“Ren!”
He nodded and focused his mind. The magic circle flared brilliantly. Soon, a dazzling light enveloped the walls.
“Graaaah!”
Thoom!
The beast could unleash its breath once, maybe twice at most. Ren, who'd just cast a large-scale lightning spell, looked exhausted even at a glance. We should conserve our shields too.
And now it was time for the forces below the walls to strike the advanced monster.
I hope the timing lines up perfectly.
I glared at the advanced monster spewing fire furiously. Ren's shield held firm over the walls. I drew my sword and stepped forward. My vision was dyed scarlet.
“Hoo.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I opened them again, I was brimming with a power I'd never felt before.
Shing.
“Knights, forward!”
At my command, every knight on the walls surged ahead. Their swords gleamed with their individual mana. Unleashing aura in unison required long-shared training—something novices couldn't manage.
But we'd trained together, eaten together, and slain monsters side by side for years. Six years weren't wasted.
As my brief recollection ended, my reddened vision gradually cleared. The monster's breath attack was finally over.
“Attack!”
Hummm.
Swords cloaked in dark red aura vibrated. We swung them upward, and the aura exploded toward the monster.
Boom!
“Graaaargh!”
With its protective shield gone, the monster let out a prolonged scream. Calmly, I ordered the aura-wielding knights to fall back.
A raid demanded time and effort. This advanced monster was larger and fiercer than the one that hit the base last time.
“Shields, forward!”
Soldiers with massive shields rushed to the front. At the same time, priests emerged from behind the walls and began chanting in chorus.
“O Lumine, god of light and mercy...”
A blessing of light enveloped the shield bearers. Developed with the Magic Tower, the new material we'd named adamantium—as light as mithril, as tough as orichalcum. Combined with the priests' blessings, the adamantium shields boasted incredible strength.
“Graaah! Graaaargh!”
No matter how it swatted with its arms, the shield bearers didn't budge, and the monster roared in rage.
We kept up hit-and-run tactics like this, wearing it down. Finally, the moment to end it arrived. The monster's body tilted as if it'd lost its footing.
I seized the chance and raised my sword.
“All-out assault!”
“Attack!”
Seems the ground forces had struck successfully too. I'd thought it'd take longer with all the lesser monsters, but they were capable.
“Ian, Pel! Let's go!”
“Yes.”
[Got it.]
I mounted Pel. While the knights held the monster's gaze from the front, we circled to the right and charged. The sword from my father thrummed wildly. Dragon mana cloaked the blade in dark red light, with an aura blade surging far longer than the sword itself.
“This ends now!”
I raised my sword high and shouted. For a split second, my vision went scarlet again. The aura armor I'd instinctively mastered seemed to activate automatically whenever it drew up mana.
“Haaah!”
BOOM!
The aura blasts from Ian and me struck true.
“Graaaaaah!”
The monster screamed long and hard as it toppled backward. The ground knights had already taken out the other advanced monsters propping it up, so it was doomed to fall anyway. I'd just hastened it.
“Hah, hah.”
I approached the wall's edge to confirm its end. Below, the knights who'd cleared most of the ground monsters looked up at me.
In that moment, without thinking, I raised my sword high. Convinced of victory, the knights erupted in thunderous cheers.
“Hooray! Long live Lady Abigail Carpoem!”
“Hero of the North!”
“Long live the Knight of Flames!”
As the few remaining terrified monsters fled, the cheers grew even louder. Today, I had become the hero of the North.
* * *
“Damn it all!”
An enraged voice echoed through the dark forest. Even the mindless monsters cowered under the razor-sharp aura.
The man—no, the leader of the shadowy group called the Demonic—went by the name Knox.
Knox. The name of the dark god vanished from the earth. Few knew it.
“Damn it, you bastards!”
Frustrated by repeated failures, Knox lashed out at her surroundings, but none could stop her. Even the savage monsters bowed their heads, accepting her fury.
“Oh dear.”
A soft, melodic voice ill-suited to the grim atmosphere wrapped around them. Vincent approached Knox slowly, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“Taking it out on the poor beasts again?”
“...Vincent.”
Like a beast growling, Vincent thought. She'd always had an intimidating presence since they met, but now it felt like handling a wild animal ready to break free. Yet she retained her reason. Meeting her unyieldingly steady gaze amid the rage, Vincent was certain.
“Showing that brazen face again, are we?”
“Haha.”
Despite the mocking jab, Vincent laughed like a good-natured fool. He knew she wouldn't touch him, no matter what she said.
Knox could freely manipulate the gates linking to the monster realm using ancient artifacts. Continentals believed monsters had always lived alongside them, but that was false. Monsters were dregs of 'evil' from another dimension—denizens of the underworld's deepest layers.
Long ago, some event tore open a gate to the underworld at the northern edge. Monsters poured out, threatening the continent. But the gates dwindled, and monsters stopped roaming freely.
Then Knox used the artifacts to expand them. Her motives were unclear, but she harbored special hatred for the Carpoem Ducal House and sought to lay the North to waste.
Vincent's role was lending divine power to stabilize the artifacts and linking strong monsters from the gates. It was demanding work, yet she never showed gratitude.
Tsk tsk, Vincent shook his head inwardly.
“At this rate, winning will be truly difficult.”
They'd summoned two advanced monsters this time. Failure meant massive losses. Replicating today's forces for the next summon would be tough.
“Damn.”
Knox, well aware, ground her teeth. Her eyes, hidden by the mask, burned red.
Vincent, watching with interest, spoke up.
“If outside won't work, how about stirring things up from within?”