Chapter 88: Evil Opening (Patreon)

Beneath the floor, a dense whir of gears turning merged into one continuous sound.

The words had barely left Artorias's mouth when the entire abandoned trading house shuddered violently.

Dust sifted down between the crates as several dark-red lines hidden in the floor's cracks flared to life at once. The light raced along the warehouse's perimeter, and in an instant it formed a detonation formula covering the entire building.

Standing atop a tilted stack of crates, Valletta's fury melted swiftly into satisfaction.

"Quick to notice — a pity it's already too late!"

She drove her crimson longsword into the iron plate beside her, and with her freed left hand ripped a black cord loose.

From deep within the warehouse came the dull clack of a mechanism triggering.

Whatever was buried underground was far more than a few Flame Stones. Artorias heard countless metal firing pins snap back at once, gears driving latches open, and magic devices hidden within the support pillars and foundation activating one after another. Ten breaths.

He braced himself up against a crate with one hand, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

"All the Flame Stones underground will detonate in ten breaths!"

Hearing his assessment, the corner of Valletta's eye twitched violently.

This boy could pinpoint the exact timing of the explosion just from the sound of the mechanisms turning.

Shakti had no time to question how. She raised her spear high overhead, her booming command cutting through the battlefield's roar.

"Everyone, evacuate the facility! Abandon the supplies — take the wounded and the prisoners, and break out through the nearest exit!"

"Neze, break down the east wall!"

Alise turned at the same moment, her blade pointing toward the right side of the warehouse.

"Noin, take charge of the wounded! Maryuu, lead the rearguard out! Everyone else, don't bunch together — spread out and go!"

The Astraea Familia's members moved at once.

Neze led two Ganesha Familia adventurers charging at the east wall, three weapons striking down together. The wall, reinforced by Evilus, proved sturdier than expected — the first strike only left a wide web of cracks on the surface.

Kaguya stepped onto a fallen crate and used the momentum to leap toward the wall. "Stand back." She drew her longsword back to her hip, dug her toes into the ground, and in the next instant her waist snapped around in a sudden turn.

A flash of silver-white blade light cut clean across the wall.

The cracks in the wall joined into a single line under that stroke, and the whole section toppled outward. Dusk light and fresh air poured into the warehouse together, and the reinforcements already waiting outside the trading house rushed in to receive the retreating group.

"Seven breaths!" Artorias called out the warning again.

Adi had already returned to his side.

She sheathed her weapon first, then bent down and lifted one of Artorias's arms over her shoulder.

"Can you walk, Mr. Artorias?"

"My right leg's fine."

"Leave the left side to me."

The moment Artorias tried to step forward, his body tilted to one side. Having forced the Devourer twice in quick succession, the curse lurking inside him had spread again. Purple-black markings had already crept up the side of his neck, and his left leg was steadily losing feeling.

Realizing he couldn't walk on his own at all, Adi simply turned and hoisted him onto her back.

"Hold on."

"What about the girl?"

"She's already been carried outside."

Adi hooked her arms under his legs and ran with the retreating group toward the breach in the wall. Slumped against her back, Artorias forced himself to keep tracking the sounds rising from below. The blast mechanism was disarming its safeties stage by stage, and at least three firing pins were ticking at a different rhythm than the rest.

That meant the different batches of Flame Stones wouldn't detonate all at once.

Evilus had rigged a chain-reaction mechanism behind the first devices to go off.

"Four breaths! The first blast hits the center — the second will bring down the support pillars!"

"Everyone, move faster!"

Shakti stayed at the rear of the group, sweeping her spear to knock back the pursuing enemy soldiers.

A few fanatical Evilus members were still trying to hold the adventurers back. Having already lost the devices strapped to their chests, they scooped up loose Flame Stones from the floor and tried to charge into the retreating crowd.

Ryuu blocked the breach.

"[Wind of Light]!"

Three green orbs of light sailed over the group and struck the ground at the pursuers' feet from different angles. The gust of pressure flung them backward, and the Flame Stones dropped from their arms, rolling away into the depths of the warehouse.

Lyra stepped up onto an overturned crate and loosed a volley of throwing blades in succession, severing several chains hanging from the ceiling. A heavy iron frame crashed down, forming a makeshift barrier between the pursuers and the exit.

"Everyone's out! Lion, move!"

Ryuu confirmed the last of the wounded had passed through the breach before sheathing her wooden sword and rushing outside together with Lyra.

"One breath!"

Adi leapt over the shattered wall with Artorias on her back.

The instant the two of them landed, the first blast erupted behind them. The floor at the warehouse's center was hurled skyward in a pillar of fire.

A scorching blast wave tore through the gap in the wall, knocking down everyone who hadn't yet gotten clear. Adi wrapped her arms around Artorias just before losing her balance, rolling sideways behind an overturned cart and using her own back to shield him from the flying debris.

Artorias raised his right arm to guard her head.

A piece of red-hot metal slammed into the cart, splitting the planking instantly. Fortunately, a Ganesha Familia member raised a shield in time to block the outside, keeping further debris from striking the two of them.

The warehouse hadn't yet finished collapsing when the second wave of blasts arrived right on its heels. The Flame Stones buried inside the support pillars detonated together.

The towering trading house bulged outward from within for an instant before its roof caved in. The walls collapsed one after another like flimsy building blocks, crates and beams twisting in the flames, black smoke pouring into the darkening sky.

Valletta was already gone.

Before the first blast even went off, she had cut open a hidden passage at the rear of the warehouse and slipped away amid the chaos. Both Alise and Shakti saw her go but sent no one after her.

With the wounded and captives scattered across the street, chasing rashly into the hidden tunnel would only hand Valletta more victims.

"Count heads!"

Shakti rose from beside the rubble, shaking the dust off her spear.

"Healers, tend the seriously wounded first! Check every prisoner's chest — make sure none of them are carrying a second detonation device!"

The Ganesha Familia immediately formed a defensive line.

Alise led the others in moving the wounded to a plaza well clear of the trading house. Ryuu came over to the overturned cart to help Adi push aside the plank pinning down her cloak. "Adi, Artorias, are you both all right?"

"I'm not hurt."

Adi knelt down and drew Artorias into her arms.

The bandage on the boy's right shoulder was already soaked completely through with blood, and the curse marks along his neck stood out more sharply than before. Adi pulled out the suppressant potion, but the moment she went to pull the stopper, Artorias caught her wrist.

"Wait a second."

"There's no more time to wait."

"There are still explosions going off around us."

Adi's hand froze.

The rumble of the collapsing trading house was fading, but the distant booming hadn't stopped. One. Two. Explosions rippled on, one after another, crossing buildings and blocks, coming from every direction of Orario.

There was no way three Evilus strongholds alone could account for all of it.

Ryuu looked up toward the south.

The evening glow had already been swallowed by black smoke, flames rising between the buildings one after another. The streets that had held order only moments ago plunged into chaos, fleeing crowds pouring in from several intersections.

Adi finally understood why Artorias had stopped her.

He was using his hearing to map out where the explosions were happening.

"Three to the west, at least five to the south."

Artorias kept his eyes shut, his ears catching the interval between each rumbling blast.

"The explosions are moving toward the densely populated districts. They're attacking ordinary people."

Ryuu's expression turned cold in an instant.

Shakti heard it too. She raised a hand to summon a messenger, ready to issue new orders to every patrol unit.

They had thought the three strongholds were the heart of what Evilus was preparing. Now it was clear those sites were nothing more than a signal fire announcing the operation's start.

Northern Orario, Twilight Manor.

Loki shoved open the door to the elevated walkway and hurried to the railing. She leaned her upper body out, narrowing her eyes as she gazed toward the distant south of the city.

The corridor linking the towers stood at a great height, and on ordinary days it offered a view of most of Orario. It was now early evening, the fading sun low against the city walls, dim night beginning to settle over the streets.

But the black smoke over the city stood out starkly.

The thickest column of smoke rose from the southwest, with several smaller plumes nearby. Flames leapt up between the buildings, staining the low-hanging clouds a dull red.

"What's going on? Where's all that smoke coming from!"

Loki slapped a hand down on the stone railing and leaned out even farther.

The attendant behind her hurried to grab the hem of her clothes.

"Lady Loki, please don't lean out any further!"

"Who cares about that right now!"

Loki shook the hand off and shouted back toward the manor.

"Has anyone gotten word from Finn? How far have they gotten!"

Hurried footsteps came pounding along the corridor.

Raul came running from the neighboring tower. The fourteen-year-old boy hadn't even had time to fasten his gear properly — his shoulder guard was buckled crooked on one side, and part of his belt hung loose against his leg.

"Loki! There's been an explosion in the city!"

"I can see that!"

Loki grabbed Raul by the shoulder.

"Is it the stronghold Finn's team is attacking? How's the fighting going there!"

Raul opened his mouth but didn't answer right away.

All the color had drained from his face, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his chest heaving from the run. Loki noticed his reaction and slowly loosened her grip. "Raul?"

"It's not just the strongholds being hit."

The boy swallowed hard.

"Evilus members have shown up in both the south and west districts. They've slipped in among the crowds, carrying devices that explode. The patrol just sent word back — civilians are already getting caught in it."

Loki's expression sank completely.

She turned her gaze back to the burning city.

The scattered plumes of black smoke were no longer just traces left by battle. Beneath every column of smoke, someone might be hurt, a building might be collapsing, or an Evilus member might be about to trigger the next device.

"Muster the members who stayed behind."

Loki turned and strode back into the manor, moving fast enough that the coat draped over her shoulders billowed out behind her. "Everyone Level 2 and above, move out. The rest hold Twilight Manor and the nearby shelters. Save people first, capture enemies second. If you run into anyone in a cream-colored robe, don't strike the chest — go for the wrist first!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Raul acknowledged and ran off toward the main hall at once.

Loki didn't stop, reaching out to take the communication magic stone handed to her by an attendant.

"Get me the Guild, and Freya, Ganesha, and Hephaestus too. Tell them Evilus's real operation has begun."

Fifth District, Orario.

A thick wall was split open from the inside by a pitch-black greatsword.

Amid the flying debris, Ottar was the first to step out of the stronghold.

The towering beastman carried his greatsword one-handed over his shoulder, his armor scorched all over from flame. The blast's heat had left no visible mark on him, but the Freya Familia members following behind him bore wounds of every kind.

Healers outside had already begun casting.

Silver-white and pale-blue light flared one after another. Several of the badly wounded lay on makeshift stretchers, their broken armor and blood nearly covering their bodies. Those less seriously hurt sat against the wall, receiving potions and bandages.

Ottar stopped outside the stronghold and turned to look at Allen.

"Casualties."

Allen leapt down from the broken wall, his blood-stained spear resting behind his shoulder. His cat ears were flattened against his head, and the agitation in his eyes hadn't eased despite the enemy officer being cut down.

"Five dead, twelve badly wounded. The rest can still fight."

He finished speaking and drove the butt of his spear hard into the ground.

"Those bastards hid the devices under their robes. Some of them were already down, and they still set off the Flame Stones the moment a healer got close."

The Freya Familia's assault had left no enemy officers standing. The Evilus members inside the stronghold were nearly all wiped out as well.

But that outcome brought Allen no satisfaction. Five of their warriors had died to the enemy's self-detonations — two of them caught in the blast while shielding the wounded.

"I should've caught it sooner." Allen ground his teeth, his knuckles creaking around the spear shaft.

Ottar offered no comfort.

A battlefield mistake was something a man had to carry himself. No careless words of comfort could bring the dead back.

He lifted his head, his boar-like ears catching a stir carried on the wind.

Another explosion sounded. Then two more after it.

Farther away this time, and from an entirely different direction.

Allen's cat ears swiveled at the same instant. He looked around and saw smoke rising above the eastern block as well.

"How long is this going to keep up?"

Ottar's earthy-red eyes narrowed slightly.

A member on watch nearby came rushing over.

"Lord Ottar! Evilus forces have appeared on the central avenue — they're attacking shops and civilians!"

Ottar lowered the greatsword from his shoulder.

Its tip struck the ground, crushing a paving stone. "Anyone who can still move, follow me."

"What about the wounded?"

"Leave enough people to guard them. Notify Hedin and Hogni — send them to the east and south districts."

Ottar strode toward the street where flames were rising.

"The enemy stronghold's outlived its use. The battlefield's moved into the city."

Several streets from another stronghold, the Loki Familia was regrouping in a plaza.

"All wounded, into Riveria's magic circle! Don't block the edges — clear the space the moment your treatment's done!"

Finn stood at the center of the plaza, his spear pointing to one formation after another as he issued a stream of orders.

His members moved swiftly at his direction.

Riveria stood with her eyes closed at the center of an emerald magic circle, her staff planted upright before her. The circle, six meters in radius, covered most of the plaza, elvish script flowing endlessly along its outer ring.

A soft green light rose over every wounded person who entered it.

Torn flesh knit shut quickly, and fractures and burns mended under the high-tier healing magic. Several of the less badly hurt were soon back on their feet, taking up their weapons and returning to the ranks.

Riveria opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping over face after face pale from blood loss.

"I didn't expect them to use self-detonation. If Finn hadn't spotted those devices in time, the casualties would have been several times worse."

Gareth handed his battered shield off to a logistics member.

The shield's face was badly warped, a hollow melted into its center by flame. Had he not stepped in front of the group in time, the first blast would have swallowed the rearguard whole.

"Luring people close before setting it off — I've lived this long and rarely seen a filthier trick."

He took up a spare battleaxe, his gaze settling on Finn's grim expression.

"No one's died on our end — small mercy in all this. So what's still eating at you?"

Finn didn't answer right away.

He pressed his thumb against the root of his tongue. The stinging sensation hadn't faded at all.

Three major strongholds had been struck simultaneously, an operation drawing on elite forces from the Loki, Freya, Ganesha, and Astraea Familias. Acting on intelligence from Astrea, they had launched the assault before Evilus could finish deploying, with timing and routes calculated to the last detail.

The leads Artorias had brought back matched almost exactly with what Finn's own investigation had turned up.

Evilus was transporting Flame Stones. Multiple strongholds were massing personnel. And there was still a mole inside the Guild leaking patrol schedules.

Finn had originally planned to take all three facilities at once, seize the supplies, capture the officers, and cut off Evilus's so-called "Opening" at the root.

The assault had gone too smoothly.

The strongholds had plenty of enemies, but abnormally few high-level fighters. The Evilus members carrying Flame Stone devices had seemed intent mainly on inflicting casualties and buying time.

Whatever forces the enemy actually valued weren't inside the strongholds at all.

Another round of explosions rolled in from the city center.

Finn turned to look.

A column of smoke rose from a residential district.

That location had no Evilus facility, and no adventurer squad assigned to the assault.

A messenger came running, clutching a magic stone.

"A large enemy force has appeared to the south! They're scattered, hitting the streets, and setting off Flame Stones the moment a patrol surrounds them! Two other shelters have been attacked as well!"

Finn finally grasped the whole intent.

"The devices in the strongholds were a signal fire."

Gareth frowned. "A signal fire?"

"Valletta never intended to hold those sites. Supplies, soldiers, even officers — all of it was expendable. The explosions at the three strongholds were the signal for every Evilus member hidden across the city to launch the full assault."

Riveria kept her healing magic flowing, but her eyes had turned startlingly cold.

"They used our own attack to draw the city's elite forces away from the residential districts."

"Exactly."

Finn raised his spear and turned to the members who had already reformed their ranks.

"First squad, stay here and guard the wounded. Second squad, head to the nearest shelter. Bete, take the speed unit and clear the main streets. Everyone else, with me to the central district!"

Gareth hefted his battleaxe onto his shoulder.

"Evilus wants to wipe out the assault force?"

The distant flames reflected in Finn's blue eyes. "We were never their target." He leveled his spear at the burning city of Orario.

"What they want to destroy is the entire city!"

Atop the roof of the Grand Casino on the bustling street, Asfi stood at the highest point, surveying her surroundings.

She had originally been assigned to watch the perimeters around the three assault forces, guarding against Evilus reinforcements. Now the entire view was carved up by fire, and her original task had lost all meaning.

On the broad street below, figures in cream-colored robes suddenly emerged from the crowd.

They attacked shops, set houses ablaze, and hurled clay jars packed with magic stones at fleeing crowds. The instant a patrol of adventurers surrounded them, their hands went straight to the device on their chest.

An explosion bloomed in the middle of the street.

Shattered shop windows spewed glass and flame outward, pedestrians screaming and scattering in every direction. Parents scooped up their children and fled into alleys; shopkeepers abandoned goods they'd spent years building up, desperate only to get away.

Asfi's fingers dug into the edge of the roof. Beside her, the tiger-man Falgar's face had gone ashen, his tail rigid behind him. "How many of them are there?"

"There's no way to tell."

Asfi straightened her glasses, forcing herself to scan each street in turn.

"They must have infiltrated the city beforehand, scattered — probably posing as residents, merchants, adventurers in their daily lives. Once the three strongholds went up, they all received the signal to move at once."

"Those bastards are killing ordinary people too!"

Falgar slammed a fist into the parapet.

Asfi pulled out several flight tools, channeling magic power into each.

"Notify Lord Hermes — ask him to open the Familia's information network immediately. And send people to every plaza to tell the residents not to go near any fallen attackers, and never to touch whatever's under those cream robes."

"And you?"

Asfi finished fastening her flight boots and stepped forward.

Blue light unfurled beneath her feet. "I'm going to reinforce the nearest rescue team."

Outside the Sixth District, Adi finally got the suppressant potion into Artorias.

The bitter liquid slid down his throat, and the spreading curse marks gradually halted. Artorias still couldn't move on his own, but his hearing remained unaffected.

Leaning against Adi's shoulder, he looked out over the chaotic street.

"Seven people, coming up the alley on the left."

Adi drew her weapon, blocking the path in front of the wounded being moved.

"Ganesha Familia, with me!"

Several members quickly formed up beside her.

Seven attackers in cream-colored robes burst out of the alley. Two carried shortswords, three held clay jars full of oil, and the remaining two pressed their hands over their chests.

"Don't let them near the wounded!"

Adi charged to meet them.

She rammed her shield into the first attacker, then swept her sword at the second man's wrist. The flat of the blade struck the joint, forcing him to let go of the trigger cord on his chest.

The Ganesha Familia members split into two groups, using chains to bind the enemies carrying the devices.

One Evilus member broke through the line and hurled a clay jar at a nearby building.

Artorias raised his right hand.

Before the black mist could even appear, Ryuu's green wind blades had already crossed the street, pushing the jar into an open space. The oil burned itself out on the ground without reaching any nearby residents.

Ryuu landed beside Artorias and, expression darkening, hauled him up off the ground.

"You are not using that strange skill of yours again."

"...I hadn't used it yet."

"You were about to."

Artorias looked away.

Ryuu draped his right arm over her shoulder, and together with Adi, held him upright.

"We're heading back to the temporary treatment area now."

"I can keep tracking the mechanism sounds."

Adi finished off the last attacker and immediately returned to his other side. "Then listen from right here beside us. You're not leaving the protected perimeter again."

The two women supported Artorias, one on each side, and moved forward with the group.

Flames rose again at the far end of the street.

The bell tower rang out an emergency alarm, one peal after another. Adventurers from every Familia converged on the battlefield from all directions — rescuing residents, putting out fires, and intercepting the Evilus members carrying self-detonation devices.

The intelligence Artorias had brought back let the heroes strike first.

That head start had broken all three strongholds, foiled Valletta's plan to cripple the elite forces, and let many adventurers learn of the Flame Stone devices in advance.

But the scale of what Evilus had prepared still exceeded everyone's expectations.

They had turned the entirety of Orario into a battlefield.

Flames climbed up the sides of buildings, black smoke swallowing the last traces of the evening glow. Panicked crowds surged toward the shelters, the clash of weapons and the roar of explosions echoing across the city.

Artorias watched Adi tighten her grip on the blood-stained Sacred Oath.

Her hand was still trembling slightly.

But the trembling didn't stop her. Every time someone cried out for help, she turned toward the sound at once.

Artorias sorted through every footstep and mechanism-click around them, then raised a hand to point ahead.

"The next group's on the east side of the plaza. Twelve people. Three Flame Stone devices."

Adi set off in the direction he'd pointed. Ryuu tightened her grip on her wooden sword again.

Not far away, Alise and Shakti were gathering the remaining members. A speed unit from the Loki Familia had already appeared at the other end of the main street, and warriors from the Freya Familia were arriving from the south.

The heroes did not shrink from the sea of fire.

They strode across the cracked streets, forming a new line of defense amid the wailing and the explosions.

Night had fallen over Orario.

And in this burning city, the wicked feast heralding the full eruption of the [Dark Period] had officially begun.