After seeing the demonic beast flying towards the orphanage, I ran frantically, kicking the ground beneath me.
The faces of those I had formed bonds with during my time at the orphanage flashed through my mind.
The smiles of the other kids I had befriended while volunteering at the orphanage and the kind, gentle smile of Director Maria, who always watched over those kids.
Ah, and Leon.
That child, who always clung to me and smiled brightly when he saw me.
The last time I saw him, he had asked me once more to take him to the zoo together.
Visions of him cold and lifeless kept haunting my mind.
I clenched my teeth and shook my head vigorously, trying to deny the terrible thoughts floating in my head.
No, it can’t be true.
They must have already evacuated to a safe place.
But still, the anxiety wouldn’t dissipate.
“Next time, if you want to go to the zoo or anything else, I’ll grant your wish… just please stay alive…”
I ran with all my might, praying desperately.
It was the only thing I could do right now.
However, mocking my plea, a dark, spherical barrier enveloped the place where the orphanage once stood.
The greedy beast had erected its barrier for only one reason.
“No…”
To prevent its prey inside from escaping.
“NO!!!!!”
With a desperate shout, I leaped into the barrier.
Please, I hope it’s not too late.
*
As I jumped inside the barrier, the sight of the orphanage made me gulp.
The once cozy and charming orphanage was now shattered and desolate, as if it had never been welcoming.
But more than anything, what left me in a daze was the horrifying amount of blood splattered around the orphanage.
I didn’t even want to imagine whose blood it might be, yet facing the terrible scene before me, my mind wouldn’t stop churning with ghastly thoughts, and I could feel my stomach turning.
Just as I was trapped in that horrific sensation,
“Ugh…!”
A sound like a scream rang from somewhere, and I snapped back to reality. I quickly ran toward the source of the sound.
And there, I found…
“…!!! Director Maria!!”
Director Maria was on the ground, bleeding.
“Director! Are you okay?!!”
“…Ugh.”
I rushed over, calling out to the collapsed director, but she only made a pained groan, seeming to have lost consciousness.
Seeing her state close up, I could not help but feel shocked.
“Director… your eye…”
Where her left eye should have been was a hollow socket, as if something had been gouged out, and blood was gushing from the large wounds scattered all over her body.
I noticed that, unlike her upper body, her legs were unharmed, and I realized why there was blood splattered throughout the orphanage.
“That bastard…”
One of the traits of the greedy beasts I learned at the academy was that they enjoyed toying with their prey without killing them.
Knowing that their prey trapped in the barrier couldn’t escape, they left only the legs intact for the sake of an endless game of chase, only to catch and let go repeatedly until the prey no longer had the strength to run away.
What lay before me was the dire consequence of that cruel game; Director Maria’s tragic state.
In that horrible situation, deep fury welled up inside me.
Director Maria was the kindest person, dedicating her life to helpless children without homes.
It was infuriating that someone like her was being treated like a toy by the beasts.
I was ready to rush out and kill the beast that had done this to the director.
“Ugh, cough…”
“!! Director, are you with us?!”
Seeing the director struggle to regain her consciousness, I was startled and quickly checked her condition.
The director, panting heavily, called out to me in a desperate voice.
“Hurry… behind you, be careful-!”
[■■■■■■■■!!!!]
With her shout, the cry of a beast echoed behind me.
A sharp pain shot along my spine, like I had been clawed.
The beast, knowing I had come inside the barrier, had used the director as bait to launch a surprise attack from behind.
But,
“I’m not falling for that, you bastard!!!”
Thanks to the director’s warning and the sight of the beast reflected in her eyes, I was able to evade the fatal blow.
As I turned around and reached out my hand, the beast startled and tried to fly away, but I had already caught hold of its leg.
[■■■■■■?!!]
In an instant, flames erupted from my hand, engulfing the entire beast.
With its dying scream, I watched as the barrier covering the orphanage dissipated, confirming the beast’s defeat.
I turned back to check on the director’s condition.
The director, having shouted to warn me about the beast, let out a painful groan in the aftermath.
“Ugh…”
“Just hold on! I’ll get you to the hospital right away!”
I hurriedly lifted the director onto my back.
She had already lost too much blood, and time was of the essence.
If I didn’t get her to someone who could treat her soon, I couldn’t guarantee her life.
I started running toward the hospital, but even in such a critical situation, the director, shaking with trembling arms, pointed deeper into the orphanage.
“Ugh… Inside… inside, Leon is still there…”
I wondered why he had not evacuated yet, and it dawned on me: perhaps Leon hadn’t made it out yet.
It was a critical situation where every second counted, yet she seemed to prioritize Leon, urging me to go after him even at the risk of her own safety.
Even though he wasn’t her child, she acted like a parent wanting to protect her own.
Her foolishly dedicated demeanor made my severely bitten lip bleed.
But I knew all too well what it was like for a parent to sacrifice themselves, leaving the remaining child to live on; I couldn’t turn back even with her urging.
So I gritted my teeth and ran forward.
She could save herself, and then we could come back for Leon later.
Just then, in that moment,
[■■■■■■■■!!!!]
I saw another beast flying toward the orphanage I had just left.
Wishing for that beast to not harm Leon was utterly ridiculous.
Faced with the unavoidable choice, despair began to engulf me.
Amidst this, Director Maria, lying on my back, gently tapped my shoulder.
As if asking me what choice I should naturally make.
It was clear from her resolute will, and just as I was about to put her down, tears glimmered in my eyes.
“Ah…?”
The beast flying toward the orphanage was struck down by a beam of starlight coming from high above.
And following that celestial light was a girl riding a glowing constellation, who soared above my head before landing gracefully before me, her brilliant silver hair billowing.
“Sylvia…? How did you…?”
“I was intercepting the demons coming this way, and while doing that, I was flying around with Alice to find injured evacuees who couldn’t escape.”
Hearing Sylvia’s reply, and recognizing who had descended from the constellation, I couldn’t help but burst into tears.
Alice was a first-year student in my class, 1st Year Class A, skilled in healing magic.
In that moment, she looked like a savior.
*
“Scarlet, the injured person you’re carrying… Oh my God, Director Maria?! Alice! Quickly, give first aid!”
“Ah… okay!!”
As Alice desperately cast healing spells to stop the director’s bleeding, I sighed in relief as the director’s complexion improved. I turned to rush back to find Leon.
Just then, Alice, who was treating the director behind me, shouted out to me.
“Scarlet! Are you hurt?!”
“…It’s just some blood, so don’t worry! Please take care of the director! I need to hurry back because there’s still a kid in the orphanage!”
Just moments ago, the wounds I had suffered from the beast had already healed, so I brushed off my own injuries by claiming the blood was from the director.
It was a close call where I almost revealed my condition, but whatever.
For now, I could think positively because I could push through this rough situation.
I dashed back toward the orphanage.
As I surveyed the interior of the orphanage, I found Leon huddled in a corner.
I understood why he had not evacuated—he was too absorbed in drawing despite the chaos outside.
There were so many children for Director Maria to look after that she must have left him behind to help the others evacuate.
She probably returned to find Leon but faced the beast instead.
In a way, Leon was the reason the director had been severely injured, but I couldn’t blame him for that.
His ability seemed to activate without warning, and until he finished his drawing, he would be completely entranced.
I was just grateful that Leon was safe.
*
Fortunately or unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Leon completed his drawing and, like always, fell into a deep sleep.
In his finished drawing, there was a scene resembling a dark cave.
I pondered what kind of picture this was but couldn’t make sense of it, so I decided to take the sleeping Leon to a safe place.
After bringing Leon to a nearby shelter, as I let him down, he mumbled in his sleep.
“Cave, dangerous.”
*
As I was leaving after getting Leon safely to the shelter, I heard the voices of the children who were resting for a moment.
“…How is everyone? Are they alright?”
“…When I checked in, it seems no one among the kids has died yet. There were some injuries from fighting the beasts, but nothing too serious. Hah, if it weren’t for Eve-sensei’s training, we would’ve probably lost some kids.”
“Exactly… I thought Dwight would never let a beast break into the city, but who would have thought something like this could happen?”
“Thankfully, there aren’t many beasts coming this way. The outer area is in total chaos. However, the witch who released the beasts seems to have disappeared, leaving just the beasts, so they’re somehow being managed.”
“It’s a relief that the witch isn’t causing mayhem… but what on earth was her goal in breaking in?”
After that discussion, I stepped outside the shelter and ran through the streets while reflecting on the children’s words.
There were certainly questions swirling in my mind.
What could that witch’s objective be in invading the city?
But when I tried to think it through, nothing came to mind.
Let’s consider the worst-case scenario.
If the witch’s goal was to destroy the city,
The most assured way to do that would be to eliminate the barrier surrounding it.
In the original story, once that barrier suddenly vanished, the city had met its end.
However, as Dwight had mentioned before, as long as the magic circle in the city center remained intact, the barrier had a self-repair mechanism even if it was damaged.
In simpler terms, to eliminate the barrier, one must reach the center of the city no matter what…
If the witch were to hide, despite the heroes being spread across the city to deal with the beasts, there should have been some chaos generated by her somewhere by now.
Unless she had completely concealed her presence.
Dwelling on those thoughts, I still could not grasp what the witch was aiming for, and I continued to evacuate citizens.
Yet, even as I helped evacuate, the earlier thoughts looped around my head and wouldn’t leave.
What if the witch had a way to reach the center of the city without being detected by anyone?
And if that were true, why hadn’t there been any news of someone encountering her?
But there’s no way something like that could exist.
Just as I sighed, looking down below,
“Cave, dangerous.”
The phrase Leon had just mumbled in his sleep flickered through my mind, and something below on the road caught my attention intensely.
In that moment, I suddenly realized.
There was a way.
A way to approach the city center without being detected by anyone.
And opening the “manhole cover” that lay on the road, I descended below, shivering at the sight of the dark underground that met my eyes.
Someone might think that the insides of the sewer resembled a dark cave.
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