I sought refuge inside a nearby building, escaping the onslaught of rain-slicked wooden stakes bombarding along with the downpour of rain, alongside the citizens.
The people who had hurried in were collapsing to the floor, panting and gasping for breath.
Everyone was trembling like aspen trees.
Perhaps it was hypothermia, so I lit a fire to dry those soaked by the rain, and the terrifying sound of the relentless attack suddenly hushed, as if it had never happened.
A brief moment of calm overcame us, but I couldn’t hide my despair.
Thirty seconds.
That was the time it took for the citizens and me to flee here after seeing our teacher impaled by the black stake that fell from the sky.
Just a mere thirty seconds.
But during that time, how much devastation had occurred?
“……”
I scanned the room, checking the number of people around me.
It was undeniably fewer than before our escape.
To confirm, I counted.
Thirty-one, thirty-two… that was all.
Surely, just thirty seconds ago, there had been forty-five of us.
Thirteen had died in just those thirty seconds.
I slammed my fist on the floor, biting my lip.
The stakes falling amidst the black rain were hard to see with the rain’s similar dark hue, making them nearly impossible to identify.
Moreover, their speed was tremendous, requiring a trained hero to even react.
For an average person, the only option was to keep running without stopping.
However, if one remained vigilant, they could at least fend off the stakes falling within arm’s reach.
I knew the attack was coming.
Because the teacher warned me.
That knowledge tormented me.
Knowing it yet being unable to protect anyone more than this.
I couldn’t save those who were out of reach because I lacked the capability.
That realization filled me with rage, causing the lip I bit to bleed.
The wound on my lip healed in an instant, the metallic taste disappearing quickly, yet the pain lingered long.
I stared blankly at the empty spaces, recalling the faces of those I couldn’t protect.
The eight individuals who had frozen upon witnessing our teacher melting away, unable to respond to my shout to run towards the ceiling.
Those four who turned back to rescue their loved ones, only to meet the same fate as them.
And the woman who, slipping in the rain just before reaching the building, threw her baby toward me with all her might before being impaled.
If I had been stronger, I could have saved them.
As I gnawed on my lip in frustration and self-reproach, I heard the soft whimpering of the baby I held.
The infant seemed to instinctively sense that the one cradling them was not their mother, squirming and soon erupting in cries.
The sound of an infant, who would never again feel their mother’s embrace, struck me with such sorrow that I felt tears pooling in my own eyes.
“……I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But I promise, I will protect the others with all my might.”
So, I definitely shouldn’t be sitting here doing nothing.
Whispering to the baby, I took a deep breath, wiped away the impending tears, and lifted my head to take in the people around me.
The survivors couldn’t fully rejoice despite having made it; I saw them gather around the fire, tearfully grieving.
Since everyone was crying, I felt I shouldn’t cry.
The echoes of pleas in my mind reiterated my role.
Conserve the energy for tears and use it to save these people.
Think of ways to protect the lives for which you are responsible.
Clenching my fists tightly, I forced myself to gather strength and cool my head.
What I needed to overcome the current situation was, first and foremost, information.
I took out a communication magical tool from my arms and contacted the teams that were helping with the evacuation.
“……Aah, this is Scarlet. Is everyone safe?”
[……This is Mei. I just barely escaped the falling attack and made it inside a building.]
[Jessie, it’s Jessie… I’m fine, but many of the people I was evacuating with have suffered severe injuries… Ugh……]
Everyone seemed to have taken shelter inside buildings similar to mine, as the voices of the connected teams began to come through one by one.
Except for a few children, most sounded teary and struggling.
It seemed that the trained kids had suffered little harm, whereas the ordinary citizens, much like us, had faced significant losses.
Having seen people melting away before my eyes, it was hard for them to maintain their composure.
But now was not the time to mourn what had just happened; it was time to think about what was to come.
I steeled my resolve and asked the children.
“……Does anyone know anything about the attack that just rained down? We only know from experience that it melts upon impact.”
As the responses indicated everyone was as clueless as I was, someone with knowledge about the attack finally spoke up.
[This is Dwight. I was helping evacuate some people not far from the demonic beast, and I just saw it; that attack was launched directly by the beast itself, shooting from the hardened tentacles on its back.]
So those black stakes weren’t stakes but tentacles.
It seemed that, similar to the Hydralisk from StarCraft, the beast shot its projectiles from those appendages.
The moment I realized that, anger surged within me.
That demonic beast definitely figured out what the heroes were trying to protect.
It was mocking us, having a clear understanding of its intentions.
By the by, the fact that such a wide-range attack was fired directly made me wonder.
No matter how developed its hearing or smell might be, how could a sightless demonic beast accurately detect this many people in the rain and launch such a precise attack?
What method rendered them capable of that? I worried whether there was a way to evacuate people with such an astonishingly keen sense.
[This is Marin. I just returned from evacuating people, so I’m a little behind. What were you discussing?]
While I pondered over that, Marin’s voice came through the communication.
Her composed tone puzzled me, and upon relaying the recent attack from the demonic beast, she replied that this was the first she’d heard of it.
[……We didn’t receive any such attacks here.]
“Did you say there were no attacks?”
[Then could it possibly be due to that…? Suddenly, rain of ominous color started falling from the sky, and I used my abilities to ensure it didn’t reach anyone.]
That’s it, I thought.
Upon hearing Marin, I asked for forgiveness from the crowd, opened the door, and extended my hand outside.
As soon as my hand touched the ominous black raindrops, a hideous noise echoed, and a tentacle suddenly shot down to where my hand had been moments before.
With my hand thrust in, the attack that had been aiming at the rooftop halted when I ignited flames to evaporate the raindrops.
Having completed my little experiment, the puzzle pieces fell into place.
It seemed the demonic beast was sending its attacks toward wherever it sensed living beings touched by the falling rain.
I had wondered why the beast suddenly made it rain, realizing that it needed to summon rain to detect people for its wide-range attack.
As I explained this newfound knowledge, several voices murmured in agony.
If only we’d known sooner, we might have saved lives.
Understanding that sentiment, those who had maintained their silence began discussing how to safely evacuate the people.
They started investigating the number of heroes that possessed the ability to shield people from the rain.
Ultimately, however, the conclusion drawn was:
[……Damn, this is going to be difficult.]
[……The number of required abilities and the time to move everyone to safety are all insufficient.]
Evacuating all the citizens in the current perilous situation proved challenging.
While the heroes fought desperately to hold them off, the demonic beast was steadily advancing toward the city’s center.
People hiding in buildings located on its danger route could not be evacuated; the deadly rain outside would claim their lives upon contact.
However, not all heroes wielded the ability to ward off the rain, so it didn’t take long to realize the difficulty of the situation with simple calculations.
Even this place lay within the danger zone, and I had no means to safely evacuate everyone.
If I were alone, I could just engulf myself in flames, evaporating the rain, but I couldn’t ignite people’s bodies just to keep them dry.
In this dire situation, I glared at the hatred-laden rain pouring in torrents outside.
It was rain darkening the city in hues of despair.
The chaotic mix of humanity, flowing away somewhere amongst others who suffered.
“……?”
Then, an unusual sight caught my eye, prompting me to rub my eyes and look outside once more.
No matter where I looked, the direction in which the rainwater flowed remained consistent.
It was an odd phenomenon.
That the rainwater flowed in one direction, disregarding any elevation.
Puddles should have formed midway, yet the flowing rain carefully avoided those spots.
Could this rain truly be anything but ordinary?
[■■■■■■■!!]
A cry resounded from the direction the rain was flowing, seeming to affirm that notion.
Yet, such details were unimportant.
What mattered was that the rain flowed only along the surface.
Holding my communication magical tool, I opened my mouth.
I had thought of a way to evacuate more people.
*
There were those with abilities to shield individuals from the rain.
Sylvia was one such individual.
The elemental powers of the starlight spirits could be applied in various ways, so it was only natural that she could create a barrier against the rain.
At this moment, she was also in the process of using that ability to evacuate those people.
“……Are you sure this place is really safe?”
Nonetheless, the people questioned Sylvia’s choice of refuge with trembling voices, sensing anxiety.
With a gentle smile, Sylvia reassured them.
“Yes, there’s no need to worry. Others have escaped here too.”
“But……”
Though it was safe, they still hesitated.
However, one brave girl near these trembling adults offered them courage to overcome their fears.
“Here, take this. It’ll be less scary if you have it.”
“Ah… thank you.”
What frightens people is the darkness.
But even amidst such darkness, having a light can instill the courage to move forward.
Those who received the roaring torches from her, even in this humid weather, gathered their courage and took their first steps into the obsidian dark.
Seeing that scene, Sylvia smiled slightly and said:
“Really, to think of evacuating people through the sewer. If it weren’t for Scarlet-chan, we might have been in big trouble.”
“……It’s nothing much. I only thought of it by chance after noticing the rain didn’t flow toward the sewer.”
“But if you hadn’t thought of it, we wouldn’t have been able to evacuate this many people.”
Sylvia uttered this towards Scarlet, who shook her head, claiming her action wasn’t significant.
Whether she denied it or not, there were already many people who had safely evacuated thanks to her idea.
The sewer was for sure the best refuge in this situation.
No rain would touch them.
Since it was underground, they wouldn’t be exposed to attacks either.
Moreover, and most importantly, the manholes connected to the sewers were just a short walk away from any building.
It significantly alleviated the burden faced by those with evacuation abilities.
At any rate, she had gathered almost everyone from the nearby buildings.
Just a few more sites to check, and they could take a moment to rest.
As Sylvia thought that, Scarlet beside her asked.
“Sylvia… are you overdoing it a bit?”
“……Is it that obvious?”
In response to Scarlet’s question, Sylvia smiled bitterly.
Of course, she was overexerting herself.
She had thrived on dispensing calming spells to pacify the people in panic for a while now, not to mention creating defensive barriers against the rain, pushing her physical and mental limits to new extremes.
If Scarlet hadn’t come up with such a brilliant plan, she would likely have already collapsed from exhaustion.
Yet who wouldn’t overstrain themselves in such a dire situation?
Even the one standing beside her was tirelessly using her abilities to create torches for the people entering the sewer while warming the shivering individuals.
In the distance, heroes were risking their lives, fighting to buy time to evacuate the citizens.
With those thoughts, Sylvia managed a slight smile and responded to Scarlet.
“I’m feeling burnt out, but there’s not much left. I intend to evacuate every last citizen and then rest. Let’s endure a bit longer together.”
Nodding in agreement, Scarlet and Sylvia resumed their march to evacuate the others.
How long had they been evacuating afterward?
Soon, they passed through all the nearby buildings, ushering the last remaining individuals into the sewer.
Three people remained.
Two people.
And then, the last one.
“……Wahhh, I’m scared.”
“It’s okay. Look, Mom and Dad are waiting down there, right? The sister next to you gave you a torch so you don’t have to be afraid of the dark.”
Sylvia, holding the trembling child who clung to her apprehensively, smiled while gently patting the boy on the head.
At last, it was the final one.
Once I got this child to safety, it would be time for a quick rest before regaining strength.
As Sylvia reached out to hand the child to their waiting parents below in the sewer, perhaps feeling as if it was the last turn, her tension eased.
She felt her vision blur as exhaustion hit from overusing her powers.
The protective barrier she had maintained collapsed.
With a plop, black droplets fell onto the child’s face.
In an unsettling parallel, there came a chilling sound of something launching towards them as if it had been waiting for this moment.
As realization dawned, the thoughts of the impending attack flooded Sylvia’s mind, and in that moment, all she wanted was to save the child.
With the last of her strength, she wrapped her body around the young one, tightly closing her eyes.
Then, with a dull thud.
The sensation of something sharp digging into her body didn’t come.
“……Huh?”
The peculiar sensation she felt was not the pain she’d prepared for but something else entirely.
She exhaled weakly as wetness spread over her back.
What was this soaking her back?
Rain?
No, the heat radiating from it was too warm to be rain.
With a shiver down her spine, Sylvia opened her eyes.
With another drop, she witnessed yet another object fall onto the face of the child in her arms.
But this time, the liquid that dripped down was not black.
The substance leaving a mark on the child’s cheek resembled a color she recognized—a shade that reminded her of a girl she knew.
That crimson hue revealed the reality of the situation.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
The child trembled, as if they bore witness to something terrifying.
As the child’s tears mixed with the dark red liquid on their face, creating a sinister hue, a hand reached out to wipe it away from their cheeks.
The scene reflected in the child’s eyes was one they wished they hadn’t seen.
In that reflection, there was a red-haired girl, bleeding profusely from her lips.
Ah, just like the child, Sylvia instinctively began to cry.
At that moment, the girl depicted in the child’s eyes spoke.
“……It’s okay. I’m okay.”
With a smile that seemed to reassure both the child and herself, the girl repeatedly assured them that she was alright.
Alright? Really?
Those words tangled with the images of people melting away under the beast’s attack clouded her mind.
Sylvia wished to ask if she truly was okay, but instead, only stammered sounds escaped her lips.
As she turned her head to check on the girl’s condition, her fear held her back from looking.
To steady herself amidst the tremors of frightening uncertainty, the girl softly spoke, clutching the child close.
“The weather is bad… It’s raining here…”
“Ah… Huh…”
“Let’s go inside… okay?”
With that, the girl gently pushed herself and the child forward into the sewer.
The child’s parents squealed with fright, tightly enclosing their offspring.
“……Thank goodness.”
That voice beckoned from above.
Sylvia wanted to reply to that voice.
Scarlet-chan, please come in too.
However, when Sylvia looked up after entering the sewer, what she saw was:
With a clink, the already-closed manhole cover.
“Scarlet…-chan…?”
The voice just barely escaped her lips, echoing hollowly through the sewer.
But her words would never reach.
When Sylvia reopened the cover to peer out, she found the place empty, as if everything had melted away within the rain.
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