Here is the English translation of Chapter 209:
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Inside the city that had lost its barrier and was now defenseless, the howling of demonic beasts could be heard.
Is this really reality?
I closed my eyes, hoping that when I opened them again the scene would change, but it remained the same before me.
Even if I don’t want to believe it’s real, I have no choice but to accept it.
Mr. Telos has been defeated, and the operation to stop the demonic beasts has failed.
Ah, a sigh escaped my lips.
This was an operation that hadn’t considered the possibility of failure, something that simply could not afford to fail.
Losing the barrier meant losing the only land where humanity could live safely.
Moreover, if the barrier that seals the Witch of Gluttony no longer functions and she were to resurrect, then I knew all too well that the moment would spell the end for this world.
Seeing the barrier that held such an important role vanish so uselessly filled me with a despair so overwhelming I wanted to collapse.
Even the history teacher appeared to be disheartened by the fact that Mr. Telos had lost.
It was then that I heard a voice from among the people who were paralyzed with fear.
“…Mom, are we… going to be okay?”
“…Huff.”
A child’s voice asked if everything would be alright, and she was crying in her mother’s arms, who seemed to be trembling.
The woman holding the child could give no response to the question.
The child, however, looked towards a specific direction while whimpering.
It was the place where the history teacher and I stood.
Perhaps the child thought that since we were the ones helping them evacuate, we would be able to answer that question.
In the child’s anxious eyes, our figures reflected back at her.
How must the child have felt upon seeing us lost in despair?
“…It’s okay.”
When I came to my senses, I found myself saying that with a smile.
Those who saw me like that might have thought I was insane.
It was a situation that no one would consider okay, yet there I was, babbling that it was.
Of course, I didn’t sincerely believe it was okay.
Even so, I smiled and said it was alright because I had learned that was the thing we must do.
“It’s okay. We will figure out a way to solve the demonic beasts and the barrier, so you all just think about evacuating to a safe place without worrying.”
If one believes there is hope, they can find the strength to rise above despair.
And whether it’s an exaggeration or a lie,
I had learned that it is a hero’s role to make people believe there is hope.
Isn’t that what you all taught me?
As I thought about this and glanced at the history teacher,
“…That’s right. For now, please evacuate to a safe place. Those of you sitting there, please get up.”
The teacher regained her composure, as if to say she had never been lost in despair, and began to direct the people.
And perhaps they felt something from our actions.
Those who were shaking began to follow our instructions little by little.
They probably knew to some extent.
That we were lying to them.
But they were likely willing to be deceived like this.
Everyone wants to believe in hope rather than despair.
Now, our role was to make the hope they believed in into reality by any means necessary.
*
Looking over the situation again,
Mr. Telos had been defeated, allowing high-level demonic beasts to invade the city, and the barrier had overloaded and disappeared.
It was hardly a situation that one could view optimistically, but I felt that it wasn’t so despairing that I would give up entirely.
The worst conceivable situation would be the barrier completely disappearing, thus releasing the seal and allowing the Witch of Gluttony to revive.
However, I recalled that Dwight had mentioned preparing backup power in case of a malfunction due to an overload of the barrier.
He said that if the backup power was activated, we could restore the barrier to normal.
Simply put, this meant we could avoid the worst-case scenario as depicted in the original story.
So, wouldn’t it be best to activate this backup power as quickly as possible and re-establish the barrier?
However, I wondered if there were some problems as there seemed no signs of that.
Who would know about the barrier the best, I wondered, and contacted Dwight, who was aiding evacuations from another team through emergency communication magical tools.
When asking if there was any reason not to activate the backup power, Dwight replied in a firm voice.
[…It’s probably because of the demonic beasts. After all, the backup power is just that—a backup.]
“What do you mean?”
[If we activate the barrier with the backup power now, and the demonic beasts crash into it again and cause problems, then it would truly be the end. Haven’t I mentioned that the goal of the demonic beasts is to release the Witch of Gluttony? In that case, not only the demonic beasts we are dealing with on this side, but the one over there is the biggest problem. If the barrier reopens, they won’t just sit idly by.]
The demonic beasts had already entered the city.
If the barrier were to be restored, it was clear that they would rush out to try to break it down again.
In simple terms, as long as that creature was still around, it meant there was no way to reactivate the barrier with backup power.
This precarious situation was more complicated than I had anticipated, and a sigh slipped out.
“…Is it safe to just leave the barrier like this?”
[…No, if we wait too long, the seal will be compromised. But with the demonic beasts in that state, there’s no solution.]
“…Then should we lend a hand and quickly take that thing down?”
When I suggested that, having heard it was dangerous to delay, the history teacher, who was communicating with others beside me, thumped my head in response.
“What do you mean, lend a hand? Does that thing look like it’s weakened?”
At the direction the teacher pointed, I saw the demonic beast battling fiercely against other heroes in the distance.
It appeared well-preserved, and I shook my head at the sight of the demonic beast, likely because the barrier had vanished before it had a chance to weaken it.
Then the teacher asked with a serious expression,
“Well? Do you understand how strong that thing is compared to you?”
I knew.
Even from a distance, I could feel the oppressive aura prickling my skin; it was clear that this opponent was far above my level.
Even if I went, I couldn’t be sure if I could be of any help.
But even so, I spoke up about it,
“…I know. But still…”
I knew what was happening over there.
The demonic beast was heading towards the center of the city where the magical circle of the barrier existed.
And the heroes were desperately trying to hold it back to protect the citizens who hadn’t evacuated yet and prevent the beast from reaching the barrier.
It was a high-level demonic beast that one could only confront if they were ranked as a captain or higher.
But there were no such heroes there.
So how could anyone manage to hold back the beast?
The answer was simple.
Even at this moment, numerous heroes were sacrificing their lives in that place to hold back the demonic beast.
They were holding on until another captain could defeat the beast and provide support.
I felt frustrated even knowing this and being unable to fight the beast.
Our role as students was to evacuate the citizens in the demonic beast’s path while the heroes risked their lives to keep it at bay.
As I made a frustrated expression, the history teacher gave a wry smile and lightly patted my shoulder.
“I understand your frustration. But the ones who are fighting for their lives now are stepping forward because they don’t want to push kids like you into a corner. So fighting that thing isn’t your role. What you should do is ensure those they are trying to protect are safely evacuated. And remember not to forget their sacrifices. That is an important role in itself.”
“…Yes.”
I clenched my fist at the teacher’s words not to forget their sacrifices and glanced towards where the demonic beasts were.
From the way the demonic beast waved its tails and tentacles as if swatting away annoying insects, flashes of light erupted from all over its body.
That was likely the sparkle of life created by those who had come out to protect the people at this moment.
I vowed not to let that noble spirit of sacrificing oneself for others go to waste, and I was about to lead the citizens who had not yet evacuated.
The demonic beast, which had appeared to be pondering something briefly, seemed to pause its movements, looking around.
[■■■■■■!!!!]
Letting out a low, elongated cry as if realizing something, it raised its head towards the sky and emitted a sound I had never heard before.
For some reason, that sound felt as if the demonic beast was mocking us.
And as the beast cried out, a dark aura flowed from its mouth into the sky, slowly spreading.
The clear sky, which had no clouds, began to turn darker, eventually becoming a pitch-black sky filled with dark clouds.
Before long, raindrops began to fall suddenly from that black cloud.
As I confirmed a raindrop on the back of my hand, I could immediately tell it wasn’t ordinary rain.
The color of the raindrop on my hand was as dark as the sky.
A very ominous and unsettling color.
“…I don’t know what it is, but everyone, be careful not to let it touch you.”
Thinking that it may be a drop of rain tainted with magic that could have negative effects, I warned the people and took refuge in a nearby building.
Although I warned them, most citizens were already drenched due to the sudden downpour.
After waiting a moment to observe the situation, the people merely looked cold and didn’t seem to have any particular issues arising.
Would it be okay even if it touched them?
If it was rain infused with magic, it would have caused issues upon contact, so perhaps it wouldn’t be a problem after all.
“…What do we do? It seems like there’s no particular problem even if it touches us.”
“…We can’t just sit here. We need to evacuate the citizens in the movement path.”
After thinking for a moment, I consulted with the teacher and decided to proceed with the evacuation.
The falling rain soaked my body.
I had always hated the rain, but this black rain felt even more repulsive.
My mood, which was already not great, worsened as I stared at the sky, filled with resentment.
What in the world was that demonic beast thinking by making it rain like this?
Surely, it had some scheme in mind.
As I pondered while looking up at the sky,
A faint sound reached my ears.
There was a noise that didn’t belong to falling raindrops.
It sounded like something large slicing through the air.
And that noise created a sense of unease, prompting me to look up at the sky.
The object creating that noise revealed itself in my line of sight.
It was falling.
“…Ah.”
Amidst the rain.
“Everyone─”
A large, sharp object.
“Get down─!!!”
At the same time as my shout,
With a thud, blood splattered into the air.
“…Teacher?”
The man standing beneath the falling object didn’t react.
Only the teacher responded to my shout.
And as a result,
“…Ugh?! Aaaaah?!”
The teacher desperately pushed the man aside, only to become impaled by the falling object.
With a cough, the teacher, pierced from back to stomach by a large, black stake-like thing, fell to the ground, spitting up blood.
“Teacher?!! Teacher, are you okay?!”
The question of whether she was okay seemed meaningless given her severe condition, but I thought that perhaps she could still be saved, so I tried to pull out the stake that had pierced her.
But perhaps sensing her own condition,
The teacher shook her head gently, stopping me as she held my hand and looked up to the sky as if warning me.
“…Be careful.”
Those were her last words.
With that single phrase, the teacher and the stake that had pierced her melted away in my hands into a dark liquid like raindrops.
The teacher slipped away from my grasp.
The teacher, who had fallen to the ground, quickly became indistinguishable from the rain as she mingled with the black liquid.
In the blink of an eye, I was left staring in shock at the horrifying scene.
I recalled the teacher’s final words and instinctively looked up at the sky.
A sound reached me.
The sound that sliced through the air.
Countless of them.
In reaction to that sound, I shouted with all my might to the people around me.
“Run! To a place with a ceiling—!”
With the mocking roar of the demonic beast accompanying my warning.
Death began to rain down from above.
—
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