“What, what is that number?!”
“Request support, now!!!”
As soon as I shouted, it seemed that the nearby heroes recognized that the dark things coming toward us were not just mere shadows, and screams erupted from them.
Voices devoid of calmness quickly engulfed the area.
And who could blame them?
How could one maintain composure after witnessing those dark things flooding in, coloring the entire horizon before our eyes?
This sentiment was shared by the other heroes who had rushed here in response to the support request.
Ms. Martina, who had just arrived, observed the overwhelming number of Demonic Beasts charging in and muttered with a serious expression.
“…How many of those are there, damn it?”
[Cal… cannot measure.]
“Damn, I can see that there are too many to count…”
The observation team, who had kept the communication network open, responded that it was impossible to determine how many there were, treating it as a question, and Ms. Martina cursed in a flustered voice.
Who wouldn’t know that the Demonic Beasts converging toward us were undeniably countless?
Anyway, the sheer number, capable of making even Captain Martina flustered, had a power that could overwhelm anyone who witnessed it.
How many could that possibly be?
I didn’t know, but at least it seemed like it would easily exceed a hundred thousand…
While I was pondering this, Ms. Martina muttered as if she couldn’t comprehend it.
“Even so, that number doesn’t make sense… Did the Demonic Beasts nearby suddenly team up to attack the city? Those things that are always busy fighting and eating each other…”
Her reaction was perhaps understandable.
Wild Demonic Beasts usually acted according to their instincts, so such a massive invasion was truly rare.
I had heard that the large-scale invasion that had forced all the heroes to be summoned, when I had lost my arm to a demonic beast while guarding the gym, was unprecedented and hadn’t occurred in over a hundred years.
However, it was only a short while after that incident that another event like this had occurred, so it was only natural for one to find it strange.
But since I knew the cause behind this large-scale invasion, I pointed behind the horde of Demonic Beasts with my finger and spoke to Ms. Martina.
“The reason the Demonic Beasts are rushing in like that is because of a Witch. There’s a Witch behind that horde of beasts.”
“A Witch… so the one bringing in those Demonic Beasts is the Witch?”
Immediately after Ms. Martina said this, her expression hardened as if she had realized something.
She must have come to understand too.
There was only one entity capable of so seamlessly controlling wild Demonic Beasts that follow their instincts.
And just to reinforce that thought, the darkening night sky began to be covered by a black mist, staining the sky further as the sun set.
But we knew.
What was covering the sky was definitely not some ordinary mist.
“Those insect-like Demonic Beasts… that’s definitely…”
That was an ‘Insect.’
A staggering number of tiny flying insects were covering the sky, making it appear as though it were fog.
And a Witch who could manipulate such forms of Demonic Beasts was…
“…Yes. It’s the Witch of Lust. There’s probably no other Witch capable of commanding that many Demonic Beasts at once.”
As far as I knew, it was only the Witch of Lust.
If the aura we were feeling truly belonged to her, it wouldn’t be abnormal for such a large number of Demonic Beasts to be advancing toward the city.
We had already experienced the capabilities of the insect-like Demonic Beasts belonging to the Witch of Lust during several major upheavals in the city.
The Witch of Lust had the ability to control living beings.
Just as many people in the city had been controlled, the reason for the simultaneous advance of that multitude of Demonic Beasts was that they were all being manipulated by the Witch of Lust.
And just as that realization was confirmed, a booming voice echoed from the horde of beasts, which had been advancing toward us, suddenly stopping in unison.
[Ahahaha! Hello, humans? You must be surprised by the sudden army invading, right?]
The playful tone of that voice had an incredibly unpleasant resonance.
Just hearing it sent chills down my spine.
[I’ll give you special praise! I thought all of you would be devoured by the Witch of Gluttony! Anyway, I’m glad you’re still alive! Because you survived, you get the opportunity to become my puppets!]
As I listened on, I realized something.
What I had thought was a single voice was, in fact, created from a mix of high and low voices, thick and thin voices.
The sound, which was perceived as a single voice, was merely an impressive combination of many vocal cords all saying the same thing simultaneously, without a single error.
To become one, a collective must possess harmony and consideration, which naturally would evoke some emotional response, similar to a choir.
But this voice, instead of evoking emotions, only instilled discomfort, surely because it lacked such elements.
What existed there was only pressure that eradicated the individuality of many voices, binding them into one.
And that grotesque voice spoke to us.
[We’re about to invade, so don’t hurt yourselves resisting.]
In an oddly cordial voice, warning us not to get hurt while resisting.
[After all, soon all of you will become my puppets, and I’d prefer my puppets not to have scratches.]
You’d better just comply with your fate, as your efforts would surely be meaningless.
With that final statement, the halted advance resumed.
“Everyone, attack to prevent the Demonic Beasts from getting too close!”
“Hold them off! Do whatever you can! Use wide-range attacks to wipe them out!”
As the swarming black tide of Demonic Beasts surged toward the city, everyone unleashed area attacks against the horde.
It was a simple numbers game, devoid of any real strategy.
The clustered Demonic Beasts died by dozens with each wave of area attack.
Moreover, Ms. Martina and I, standing here, were, in essence, area attack specialists.
“Damn it, eat this!”
Ms. Martina’s magic swept away hundreds of Demonic Beasts with each cast.
“Haap!”
The flames I spewed forward turned all the approaching enemies into roasted beasts in an instant.
I had easily wiped out thousands.
Even so,
“The, the numbers are just too overwhelming!”
In the face of such an overwhelming quantity, strategy was simply unnecessary from the start.
“Those bastards…!”
Would you feel any difference from pouring a bucket of water into the ocean?
Of course, you wouldn’t.
What about a bathtub? A large water tank?
No matter how much you scoop out, you can’t dry up the ocean.
We felt just like that against the Demonic Beasts surging in.
For every one they killed, a hundred followed right behind.
If a hundred were dead, a thousand would soon come to fill their place.
Yet, it felt like it was barely making an impact.
Surely, we thought we had killed quite a few, but the horde filling the horizon showed no signs of dwindling.
But the truly terrifying part was not the grotesque number.
What really frightened me was,
“These guys don’t flinch even when one of their own dies…!”
It was the fact that these Demonic Beasts had no fear.
Even though Demonic Beasts are living creatures, they usually instinctively freeze or flee when they sense death approaching.
But the Demonic Beasts controlled by the Witch had no fear of death.
Even if the one next to them burst apart, even if flames engulfed them.
They continued to push forward without a care for anything.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they reached our defenses.
“Form a frontline!”
“Those who can’t attack from a distance, move forward and hold the line!”
Once the enemy approaches too close to our defenses, even wide-area attacks become difficult to perform, prompting some heroes and me to immediately jump beyond the barrier.
We aimed to create a frontline, trying to prevent the Demonic Beasts from advancing while receiving fire support from behind.
However, as we dashed out, a problem arose at that moment.
“Ge, get these things off me!”
“U, uaaah!”
While trying to fend off the controlled Demonic Beasts, the insect Demonic Beasts that had been watching from above began to assault the heroes.
The moment we took our eyes off them for a second, flying bugs swooped down from above or behind, trying to invade our insides.
The fire support from behind tried to take care of the flying bugs, but each one of them was too agile and small, making it challenging to deal with all the scattered insects.
Even if I could fend off the bugs around me with flame, there were too many of them, and the front lines were too widely spread out.
In the end, several heroes were overwhelmed by the controlled Demonic Beasts that they couldn’t cover.
And the results were, of course, devastating.
“Kuh, this guy is being controlled!”
“Damn it, what do we do about him…!”
Those possessed by insects began attacking the surrounding heroes.
While the heroes in front fell into confusion at being attacked by colleagues coming from the sides or rear.
If there was no way to reclaim their bodies, they might as well tear up and let themselves die, but knowing they could be saved made them even more paralyzed in this situation.
Moreover, the sudden attack from a colleague next to them instilled fear into the remaining folks.
The fear of dying in battle could be overcome, but how terrifying is it to think you might have to kill your own ally next to you?
The fear of possibly committing such an act was palpable, gnawing away at the heroes’ morale, and at that moment,
“Ugh… what have I just done…”
“Hey! Are you back to your senses?!”
A burst of light from somewhere returned the controlled heroes to their original state.
Looking up, I saw glimmering lights flying around in the battle sky, shooting beams of light at the heroes who had been possessed.
It was Sylvia who had arrived.
“You don’t have to worry about being controlled anymore! I’ll make sure nothing like that happens!”
With Sylvia’s mighty declaration, morale began to rise once again.
Now that we didn’t have to worry about being controlled, we were ignited with determination to fight.
But perhaps sensing this shift in mood,
[Hmmm, you guys sure fight well? Then, how about this?]
The movements of the flying insect Demonic Beasts changed.
“Those things are suddenly ignoring us and heading toward the rear…!”
The demonic beasts that had been attacking the heroes suddenly soared high into the sky, heading toward the barrier.
And recognizing their deliberate movements, a few people began to shout in alarm.
“Those, those are targeting the people in the city! We have to stop them!”
“Not on my watch!”
As the Demonic Beasts sought to take advantage of the disappearing barrier and dove straight towards the city, Sylvia panicked and conjured a wall of light around the barrier.
While not on the level of an actual barrier, it was certainly a spell capable of serving as a net to block the invasion of the insect Demonic Beasts.
But I witnessed it.
As Sylvia unleashed her large-scale spell, she slightly wobbled in the air.
Though she tried to act okay, she hadn’t fully recovered from her physical condition.
Naturally, I noticed that it was too much to expect her to keep an eye on the other heroes while casting that spell.
“Retreat! We’re pulling back! We need to fall back behind the barrier!”
And noticing this, Ms. Martina also called the heroes defending the line back inside the barrier.
She had to pull the heroes safely inside to prevent putting the city’s people at risk, so there was no choice but to pull them inside the spell Sylvia had cast in order to fend off the Demonic Beasts.
But I instinctively felt it.
That doing so wouldn’t allow Sylvia, still bearing the aftereffects of the previous battle, the strength to hold off such a horde of Demonic Beasts.
And someone needed to draw the attention of the Demonic Beasts away from her.
So, realizing this, when everyone turned their backs to retreat, I took a step forward instead.
There was no need to deliberate on who should take on that role.
“Scarlet?!”
“Hey, what are you doing…!”
Voices came from behind, but I simply advanced toward the horde of Demonic Beasts, locking my gaze on them.
To divert the Demonic Beasts’ attention toward me.
I could feel the gaze of the Demonic Beasts, which had almost been charging toward the city, shifting partially in my direction.
Receiving that attention gladly, I ignited my flames even bigger.
So that the eyes fixed on me wouldn’t stray elsewhere.
“Hey, look at me!!”
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