Chapter 90: Heroes Rising (Patreon)

Fierce flames licked wildly at the streets.

Countless sparks rode the hot wind across Orario, and from every corner of the city came the clash of weapons and the crash of collapsing buildings.

The magic-stone lamps that once lit the night streets had been destroyed one after another; the dim lanes were now stained blood-red by the roaring fire, and thick smoke pressed low over the rooftops, making it hard to even breathe.

Against Evilus soldiers who sought only mutual destruction, the adventurers fought a desperate, grueling resistance.

"There are too many enemies! We just cleared the west, and now another wave's shown up from the south!"

"We've lost contact with the command squad! Should we escort the civilians, or stay and fight?"

"How should I know?! At this rate, we'll all be trapped here!"

Several hastily assembled adventurer squads had gathered at the crossroads, their arguing almost drowning out the cries for help nearby.

They came from different Familias and barely knew one another. The human archer had only half a quiver of arrows left; the half-elf swordswoman's magic power was nearly spent; and the beastman holding the front line was covered in burns, his shield's edge still scorched black from a Flame Stone blast.

They'd managed to beat back one squad of Evilus soldiers, but had no idea where to go next.

Civilians still remained on the streets, not yet evacuated.

More enemies were closing in from a distance.

Even the fallen Evilus soldiers couldn't be approached carelessly — no one could be sure whether these seemingly unconscious bodies might suddenly trigger the devices hidden against their chests.

"Calm down." A clear voice cut through the chaotic battlefield, and the arguing stopped at once.

"An adventurer's panic spreads to the civilians behind them. The more lost you become, the harder it is for them to believe they'll make it out alive."

Everyone turned toward the voice.

Astrea approached from the far end of a smoke-choked street. The scorching wind streamed her walnut-brown hair back behind her; the hem of her white dress was already gray with ash, yet her expression remained perfectly calm.

"Lady Astrea?"

"Why are you here?"

The human archer hurried toward her, then his eyes widened as he noticed she had no escort.

Astrea didn't answer the question.

She looked around at the disoriented adventurers, then raised a hand and pointed toward Babel.

"Take the civilians to the city center. Finn and the main forces of the various Familias will establish a defensive line there soon, and the Guild will open the nearby shelters."

The half-elf swordswoman braced her injured arm.

"But Evilus has shown up in the north too. We can't be sure which route is safe."

"Take the Third Commercial Street to the east." Another male voice called out from beneath the eaves.

Hermes stepped out of the shadows, one hand holding down his wide-brimmed hat, the other carrying a district map covered in markings. A corner of his cloak had been singed off, and soot smudged his face, but he still managed to hold onto his usual easy composure.

"One of my children just confirmed it — the Loki Familia has cleared the enemies off Third Commercial Street. There are two makeshift checkpoints along the way, and you can pick up antidote potions at the midpoint."

The beastman adventurer eyed the map in his hand.

"Is the information reliable?"

"Give it another ten minutes of standing around, and I couldn't say."

Hermes unfolded the map and tapped two adjacent intersections.

"Archer, take two people ahead to scout. Those with lighter injuries hold the flanks. Your strongest people stay at the rear, in case anyone comes at you from behind. Once you reach the central plaza, follow Finn's orders immediately."

The clear instructions finally gave the adventurers back their sense of direction.

"Understood!"

"I'll go round up the civilians nearby!"

"All the wounded, over here! Anyone who can walk, help each other along!"

The makeshift squad that had been arguing moments earlier snapped into organized action. The human archer climbed a nearby building to confirm the route, the half-elf swordswoman led several novice adventurers to search shops for hiding civilians, and the beastman pried a door off its hinges to use as a makeshift shield.

Astrea watched them spring into motion, the tension at the corner of her mouth easing slightly.

Hermes came up beside her, waving a hand to clear the thick smoke drifting into their faces.

"Couldn't you have stayed somewhere safer? A god charging into a battlefield without an escort — if we run into an Evilus godslayer, we'll both end up sent back to the heavens."

"And yet you followed me anyway," Astrea said, glancing back at him.

"I would have thought you'd rather stay up high, watching how things unfold."

"Of course I'd rather be up on some safe rooftop."

Hermes tugged his hat brim lower, hiding the brief flash of exhaustion in his eyes.

"Trouble is, plenty of people can watch the whole picture from above, but not enough are willing to run through the streets themselves passing on word. Besides — how could I just stand by and watch a beautiful goddess walk into the flames alone?"

"Then would you mind continuing to protect me?"

"Where are you headed?"

"There are still people ahead who need guidance." Astrea started walking toward the sound of screaming.

Hermes watched her back, his shoulders sagging in resignation.

"That's not exactly an invitation that fills a man with joy."

Grumbling as he was, he hurried after her all the same.

Two gods who couldn't wield divine power advanced together down the burning streets. They carried no mighty weapons and couldn't personally beat back the enemy, yet at every battlefield they passed, the lost and scattered found their way back together.

Some followed Astrea's directions to escort civilians.

Others used the maps Hermes handed out to find safe routes.

A group of novice adventurers who had already given up resistance picked their weapons back up upon hearing that a defensive line was forming at the central plaza.

The strength scattered across the city was, little by little, converging toward a single direction.

Atop Babel.

Freya stood before the great window, her silver eyes gazing down over the burning city.

She could see things ordinary people could not.

Countless souls ran through the streets below. Some dimmed with fear, some blazed bright as they shielded others, and some had already gone out in the flames.

"Draw out the main forces with the three strongholds first, then have the infiltrators strike all at once."

Freya rested her fingertips against the cold glass.

"Sow chaos with the suicide devices, force the Familias to scatter, then hit the shelters, the healing stations, and the granaries. Whoever planned this operation understands Orario's weaknesses perfectly."

The enemy had also accounted for the goddess of beauty.

On several vantage points near the central plaza, assassination squads lay in hiding, watching Babel exclusively. Armed with ballistae, magic swords, and Flame Stones, they'd been tracking every movement inside the tower.

The moment Freya left Babel, they would move.

Ordinary people might hesitate at the guilt of killing a god, but Evilus's fanatics had long since discarded such scruples. Even if they couldn't kill the goddess outright, forcing her to use divine power to defend herself would be enough to send her back to the heavens all the same.

If Freya were ever returned to the heavens, the entire Freya Familia would lose the power granted by her blessing.

Evilus was waiting for exactly that moment.

"Trap me here, then use my children's lives to force my hand."

Freya lowered her eyes slightly.

"What a disgusting tactic."

The door behind her suddenly opened.

A Freya Familia member strode in and dropped to one knee, combat garb soaked in blood, one bracer shattered halfway through from an explosion.

"Lady Freya, the destruction in the south is still spreading! Lord Ottar and Lord Allen are each clearing a main street, and Lord Hedin is asking whether to keep holding the north district!"

"Have Hedin take over command of the north."

Freya looked down at the base of Babel.

"Split the reserves into three groups. One stays in the tower to identify enemies hiding among the refugees, one protects the healers, and the rest head for the central plaza and follow Finn's orders."

The kneeling member looked up.

"And the assassination squad outside Babel?"

"Ignore them."

"But they'll be watching your every move."

Freya turned around, her long silver hair sliding gently behind her.

"They want to tie down an entire Familia with a handful of squads too cowardly to show their faces. Now that I've seen through it, there's no reason to keep playing along."

"What about your safety?"

"Tell Ottar he doesn't need to come back."

Freya's tone stayed even.

"Orario needs him. As for here — if the enemy actually manages to breach Babel, there'll be plenty of time to worry about my safety then."

The Familia member bowed his head.

"As you will, my lady."

He rose and left the room.

Freya turned back to the window once more.

Far off at the edge of her sight, Astrea was leading Hermes through the streets. The goddess of justice hadn't taken shelter anywhere safe — instead, she was walking straight into the worst of the chaos, gathering the scattered adventurers back together with nothing but her words.

Freya watched for a moment, a faint smile touching her lips.

"So gentle, usually — and yet more stubborn than anyone when it matters most."

At the heart of the Pleasure Quarter, in the goddess's brothel-hall.

Ishtar sat deep within the hall, the smoke rising from her pipe veiling her grim expression.

Evilus had planted attackers in the Pleasure Quarter as well.

Several courtesans had already been wounded in the perimeter clashes, and unidentified infiltrators had been discovered in nearby buildings.

"Tammuz. Pull the defensive line in."

Ishtar exhaled a breath of smoke.

"Have every fighting courtesan fall back to the main district and seal off the side doors. Search the nearby rooftops and underground passages — anyone carrying a Flame Stone gets dealt with from a distance."

The young attendant standing below the steps looked anxious.

"Lady Ishtar, the central plaza is calling for reinforcements. If we keep pulling back, civilians in the other districts might get cut off by the enemy."

Ishtar shot him a cold glance.

"My children are already protecting the people of the Pleasure Quarter."

"But the rest of Orario is still burning."

"I know."

Ishtar tapped her pipe against the edge of the tray.

"Freya is trapped in Babel, and assassins hunting gods are crawling all over the streets. If I leave here now, all it does is cost my entire Familia its blessing."

Tammuz opened his mouth to say more, but Ishtar cut him off with a raised hand.

"Hold our own ground. As long as the Pleasure Quarter hasn't fallen, we can still take in the people fleeing from the south. Don't mistake recklessness for mercy."

"Understood."

The young man clenched his fists, but in the end bowed his head and withdrew.

Ishtar remained alone in the hall, watching the firelight grow brighter through the window. She had chosen to hold her own territory — yet she also ordered the storerooms beneath the brothel-hall opened, sending food, water, and medicine to anyone taking shelter in the Pleasure Quarter.

In this war, every god was making choices in their own way.

The central plaza had become a hastily built fortress.

Wine barrels, carts, rubble, and shop doors had been stacked into several defensive lines. Adventurers from different Familias held the perimeter, while the wounded and civilians gathered on Babel's ground floor, where the glow of healing magic never dimmed.

Loki stood at the edge of the plaza, listening to reports from her members.

"The southern line's under attack again! The enemy keeps sending Flame Stone carriers to charge our position!"

"Someone on the west side is disguised as a wounded person — they nearly got into the healing zone just now!"

"If we keep holding like this, we'll blow a hole in the line sooner or later!"

Loki pressed a hand to her forehead.

"This is a mess. Living bombs running around everywhere, and now we even have to check every single refugee one by one — how the hell are we supposed to fight a war like this?"

She narrowed her eyes at the perimeter.

Evilus's assault looked reckless, but it was really probing the plaza's weak points the whole time. They didn't hesitate to sacrifice low-ranking members, wearing down the adventurers' stamina and potions bit by bit with explosions.

What worried Loki more was that Evilus's real high-level combat power hadn't shown itself in force yet.

"What the hell are the ones hiding out there waiting for?"

she muttered.

"This mess in front of us is probably just here to hold us down."

"Loki!"

A familiar shout rang out from the other side of the plaza.

Finn arrived with a squad of high-rank adventurers who had just finished regrouping. His armor was streaked with soot, and his spear tip had several nicks, but his stride remained steady.

"Finn, you finally made it!"

Loki went to meet him.

"Where are Riveria and Gareth?"

"They've taken half the main force to the south district. Three Evilus units have converged there — regular adventurers can't hold them back."

Finn's eyes swept across the plaza, quickly taking in the state of the defenses.

"There are more civilians here than expected."

"Astrea and the Ganesha Familia have been guiding the crowds this whole time. Hermes's children have brought in quite a few people too."

Loki pointed toward Babel's entrance.

"The trouble is there might be enemies mixed in among them. I've got my people checking, but there are too many refugees — there's no way to verify everyone one by one."

"Leave that to the Freya Familia."

Finn made the call without hesitation.

"They're far more sensitive to a person's presence and state. Have the Loki Familia focus on outer defense, and hand the search duty over to Freya's reserves."

He walked to the center of the plaza and climbed onto an overturned cart.

"Everyone, listen up!"

His voice carried across the makeshift fortress.

"Form a ring defense around the central plaza! Level 1s reinforce the barricades and carry the wounded. Level 2s, form three-person teams and focus on subduing enemy soldiers carrying Flame Stones!"

The adventurers, who had been fighting each on their own, all looked up.

Finn raised his spear, pointing south across the city.

"Anyone with ranged attacks, gather at the second line! Don't strike the Flame Stones directly — break the enemy's legs first, keep them from reaching the crowd!"

"Mages split into two groups — one suppresses the enemy, the other holds magic power in reserve for high-rank adventurers!"

"Communicate between squads with different-colored signal flares. If you can't see the order, your priority is protecting civilians and holding formation — don't chase off on your own!"

Order after order spread swiftly across the plaza.

The adventurers who had been adrift without direction moments earlier snapped into their places at once. The dwarves manning the front line raised their shields, archers climbed onto hastily built firing platforms, and mages began checking their remaining potions.

"This is our final line!"

Finn slammed his spear into the ground.

"Hold this ground! Hold everyone behind us!"

A battle cry rose in answer, shaking the night sky.

"OHHH!"

The adventurers launched their counterattack.

Veteran members of the Loki Familia surged toward the perimeter first.

A dwarf charged into the enemy ranks with his battleaxe, the blade sweeping not at chests but low, straight at legs.

A human led the archers in sealing off the rooftops; anyone trying to approach the plaza from above met a hail of arrows.

An Amazon warrior held the western intersection.

She caught an enemy soldier bare-handed just as he reached for his trigger, twisted his arm, and slammed him into a sandpit dug in advance.

"Get the device off him!"

Members from the rear swarmed in.

With the high-rank adventurers now in the fight, the crumbling line stabilized quickly.

Finn didn't charge in himself.

He stayed where he could watch the whole picture, constantly receiving reports from every district and sending orders to whichever streets needed help most.

"The northern industrial district goes to Hedin's command!"

"The east district's evacuation is the Ganesha Familia's responsibility — Bete, take a fast squad and clear the way!"

"Send Tsubaki and the magic-sword squad to the southwest district. Don't let them get tangled up with the enemy — their job is to get the trapped civilians out!"

Raul, carrying an armful of magic stones and running messages back and forth, nodded quickly at the last order.

"Understood!"

"One more thing — tell every squad the enemy's high-rank forces haven't shown themselves yet."

Finn pressed his thumb against his spear shaft.

"Tell them to conserve their strength. The truly dangerous enemies are waiting for us to slip up."

The hero's judgment wasn't wrong.

Several streets away from the central plaza, inside a bell tower ringed by flames, a handful of Evilus officers were exchanging intelligence.

A map of Orario lay spread across the table.

The black pieces representing Evilus had already advanced through several districts, but the white pieces representing the major Familias had finished mobilizing far sooner than expected.

"The unit in the Fifth District was crushed by the Freya Familia."

A masked figure pointed to the southern part of the map.

"The central plaza's also built a full defensive line. Finn's taken command there — our low-rank soldiers can barely break through."

"What about the Flame Stones?"

The evil god seated by the window swirled his wine glass.

"The adventurers have figured out how to deal with them. They keep their distance and go for the legs and wrists first. And in the Sixth District, someone can even hear the devices activating before they go off."

The room fell silent for a moment.

"Artorias again?"

"Yes. He's moving with Adi — right now they're escorting civilians toward the central plaza."

The evil god's finger slid slowly around the rim of his glass.

"Zald and Alfia let him walk off with our intelligence on purpose, and now that's exactly what's stalling our operation. I really don't know what those two are playing at."

"Do we need to change the plan?"

"Keep pushing forward."

The evil god set his glass down on the table.

"We still have the advantage. Orario has to protect its civilians, so it can't concentrate its forces. The fires are burning through their potions and their healers' magic power too. Keep the pressure on, and their line will crack sooner or later."

He picked up two pieces of opposite color from beside the map.

One pitch-black, one bone-white.

"As for that rabbit who keeps sniffing out our devices — someone's already been sent to deal with him."

The masked figure's shoulders tensed at the sight of the pieces.

"The Dis Sisters?"

The evil god smiled.

"That boy's wrecked Valletta's plans one after another. She's about ready to storm over there herself out of pure rage. Letting the sisters go collect the prey they want first also keeps Valletta from wasting valuable strength venting her anger."

The black and white pieces landed on the map's southwest corner.

Right in the path Adi's group was taking toward the central plaza.

"The road ahead's blocked!"

Noin fell back from the mouth of the alley, blood staining her longsword.

"Two buildings collapsed at once — the rubble's sealed off the whole street. Evilus is setting fires on the other side too. We can't get the civilians through!"

Adi glanced back at the group behind her.

Nearly a hundred civilians were crammed into the narrow street. The elderly and wounded were already near their limit, and several children coughed nonstop from the smoke.

If they stayed put much longer, pursuers would catch up soon.

"There's a blacksmith's shop on the right." Perched on Adi's shoulder, Artorias raised his ears.

"The back wall's thin. If we break through, we can get to another street."

Kaguya looked at the shop's shut door.

"Anyone inside?"

"No breathing."

"Then we break the wall."

Kaguya kicked the lock open first.

Several vanguard members of the Astraea Familia went in quickly, confirmed there were no traps, and began clearing a path to the back wall.

Adi stayed outside to protect the civilians.

She tucked Artorias back into her bag and asked quietly:

"Can you keep going?"

"Yes."

"You always give the same answer." Adi touched his bandaged forelegs gently.

"Is the curse still spreading?"

"It's stopped for now."

"The moment we reach the central plaza, you're getting treated."

"Okay."

Artorias's ears suddenly swiveled toward the far end of the street.

Adi noticed the shift and immediately rested her hand on her sword hilt.

"Someone's coming?"

"Just one. Heavy footsteps, moving fast."

A series of impacts sounded from behind the rubble.

A stone wall blocking the street mouth suddenly burst outward. Before the debris even hit the ground, a tall figure carrying a great blade stepped through the gap.

Her black hair was tied back, and her exposed right eye swept across the group standing ready for a fight.

"Don't swing at me — it's me."

"Miss Tsubaki!"

Adi recognized her instantly.

Tsubaki, captain of the Hephaestus Familia, shrugged the massive weapon off her shoulder and drove it into the ground beside her; the nearby paving stones trembled as the blade came down.

Her clothes were scorched in several places, but her belt was still hung with unused magic swords.

"Finn's got me leading a squad to clear the southwest district. Heard something going on over here, so I came to check."

Tsubaki looked past Adi, eyeing the group clearing a path inside the smithy.

"You're stuck?"

"We're getting the civilians to the central plaza. The road ahead's been destroyed."

Adi pointed toward the shop's back wall.

"Sir Artorias found another street on the other side."

At the name, Tsubaki glanced down at the bag on Adi's hip.

A pair of long white ears poked out from under the flap.

"You're Artorias?"

Tsubaki bent down, her one eye fixed on him.

"Ah, Miss Tsubaki, there's, um, a very deep story behind this—"

Adi, who'd been about to introduce him out of habit, only then remembered Tsubaki apparently didn't know Artorias's true identity yet.

"Ha ha ha ha, no need to be so nervous."

"At this point, it's not exactly something worth fussing over."

Tsubaki, laughing, waved a careless hand.

"I already figured out what this kid's really made of through the weapon I forged for him with my own hands. Whether he's human or monster doesn't matter one bit to me."

Her eye as a smith would never lie to her —

so said the captain of the Hephaestus Familia.

"Still, Naaza said your wounds were bad enough you couldn't even hold a sword steady. So how'd you end up back on a battlefield?"

The white rabbit poked his head out further.

"I can help find the Flame Stones."

"So you're running around like this in this state?"

"I've already found seven."

The scolding Tsubaki had ready died on her lips.

She knew exactly what seven suicide devices meant. Given the population density on these streets, even a single successful detonation could cause mass casualties.

"Fine, that's a good enough reason."

Tsubaki straightened up and looked back at Adi.

"But you sure had the nerve to agree to this."

Adi steadied the edge of her bag.

"There was no way I could leave Sir Artorias alone at the healing station. He'd just have snuck out on his own anyway."

"Sounds exactly like something this one would do."

Tsubaki grinned, then drew a crimson magic sword.

"Everyone clear out. I'll break through the back wall."

Kaguya stepped out of the shop, her gaze landing on the magic sword.

"The civilians are too close on the other side — the fire will catch the houses."

"I know." Tsubaki switched to a shortsword wreathed in blue-green light.

"This one makes a directed wind pressure blast. You two brace the beams on either side — I'll only punch through the middle."

The high-rank adventurers moved at once.

Kaguya and Noin cut away the excess bracing along the wall, Ryuu wielded a gale of wind to shield the roof, and Adi led the civilians back to the far side of the street.

Tsubaki aimed the magic sword at the back wall.

Blue-green light gathered swiftly along the blade.

"Open!"

A blast of compressed wind slammed into the wall.

Brick and stone burst outward, and a gap several meters wide opened before them. Beyond the wall, just as expected, lay a street the fire hadn't touched — and in the distance, they could even see the guiding signal rising over the central plaza.

A muted cheer rose from the civilians.

"Everyone through, one at a time!"

Adi took her place beside the gap.

"Don't crowd — wounded and children go first! Anyone who can move, stay on the sides and help!"

Tsubaki shouldered her great blade and stood guard at the street mouth.

"I'll see you to the central plaza."

"What about your squad?"

"They're up ahead clearing enemies. They'll be fine without me for a bit."

Tsubaki gave the magic swords at her waist a light pat.

"Besides, Finn told me to keep an eye out for Evilus's high-rank forces. A group with nearly a hundred civilians in tow is exactly the kind of target they'd go for."

Artorias lifted his head from the bag.

"They're already here."

Tsubaki's expression changed at once.

"What?"

"Two of them."

The street fires still raged, and smoke hid the rooftops. An ordinary person could never have picked footsteps out of the noise, but Artorias caught two sets that were far too light.

They crossed over roof tiles.

No clink of metal.

Even their breathing had been deliberately stilled.

Clearer than either was a rotting floral scent riding the wind.

Artorias couldn't mistake it.

It was the scent Vena's curse left behind.

"Adi."

The white rabbit rose up in the bag, golden eyes fixed on the rooftop.

"Get the civilians moving faster. The Dis Sisters are here."

The warmth vanished from Adi's face in an instant.

She drew Sacred Oath and stepped in front of the crowd still waiting to pass through the gap.

Ryuu and Kaguya looked up at the same moment.

Tsubaki's hand closed around her blade's hilt, her one eye narrowing slowly.

"Those two clingy nuisances again."

"Yes."

"Two Level 5s."

Artorias's voice dropped low.

"They're after me."

Tsubaki tossed one magic sword to Kaguya and handed another to Ryuu.

"Then don't let them get their hands on you."

She rolled her shoulder and yanked the great blade up from the ground, tearing loose chunks of stone with it.

"Keep evacuating the civilians. I'll hold off one of them."

"You can't hold off two on your own."

Kaguya caught the magic sword and tucked it back at her waist.

"That's exactly why I'm keeping you two here."

Tsubaki raised her blade, tip pointing skyward.

"Two Level 5s, that's fine. One's mine, the other's yours to stall. Once the signal goes up, high-rank adventurers nearby will get here fast."

Adi pulled out the red signal flare.

Just as she reached for the fuse, a thread-thin strand of black light dropped out of the night.

Artorias shouted a warning at once:

"Drop it!"

Adi let go.

Before the flare hit the ground, it split cleanly in half in midair. Purple-black spots bloomed along the cut edges, and the powder inside turned into a foul-smelling sludge the instant it touched the poison.

Ryuu swung her wooden sword at once.

A green gale swept the broken flare off the ground and hurled it into an empty stretch of rubble.

"Heh heh, quick reflexes."

A seductive laugh drifted down from the rooftop.

A slender figure stood atop a burning signboard, pointed elf ears peeking out from her jet-black hair, her fitted robe outlining a slim silhouette. In her hand she held a pale rapier, purple-black mist coiling along its edge and dripping slowly.

Vena.

She tilted her head slightly, gazing down with amusement at the bag on Adi's hip.

"Found you at last, little one."

A soft landing sound came from the eaves on the other side.

A second elf wore a cloak of nearly bone-white, her face resembling Vena's own. She said nothing, a pitch-black short blade in each hand, the blades so dark they nearly vanished into the night.

Black and white.

Firelight lit their gaudy colors, overlapping into a pattern that turned the stomach.

The two elves stood atop the burning district's rooftops, looking down on the fleeing civilians. They made no effort to hide their presence — the crushing weight of Level 5 rolled down the street, and several novice adventurers keeping order froze in place.

A child stopped crying.

The wounded held their breath without meaning to.

Tsubaki stepped forward, the broad blade dropping heavily onto her shoulder.

"Don't look at them! Keep the evacuation moving!"

A Level 4's presence — only a step behind Level 5 — surged straight up at the rooftop.

The frozen air finally broke. Guided by the Astraea Familia members, the civilians pushed through the gap again, faster than before.

Vena flicked a glance at Tsubaki.

"You did this before too—"

"One-Eyed Smith, shouldn't you be protecting your own industrial district instead of running over here to get in our way?"

"Ran into a couple of mad dogs on the road. Couldn't very well pretend not to see them."

Tsubaki raised her free hand, making a subtle signal toward Adi.

Take everyone and go first.

Adi didn't respond.

She understood exactly how much destruction a battle between first-class adventurers could cause.

With enough firepower and experience, Tsubaki might handle one alone — but the remaining elf would still be more than capable of getting past Ryuu, Kaguya, and the others to strike straight at the fleeing crowd.

Besides, the Dis Sisters had clearly come for Artorias.

As long as they stayed here, the enemy wouldn't shift their target.

"Sir Artorias."

Adi said quietly.

"Please get back deep into the bag."

The white rabbit didn't obey.

Artorias hopped from the bag onto her shoulder, his three working legs gripping steady against her pauldron.

"They have curses. Ordinary armor won't stop it."

"I know."

"Vena's about to start chanting."

On the rooftop, the black-haired elf's lips had already begun to move.

No sound came that an ordinary ear could catch, but the purple-black mist around her thickened rapidly. The curse gathered down along her pale rapier, slowly taking the shape of a twisted flower bud.

"The one on the right will go after Miss Tsubaki first."

Artorias kept reading the situation.

The white-robed elf lowered her stance slightly, both black blades turning toward Tsubaki — the posture of someone about to close the distance.

Tsubaki saw the intent too.

"Interesting."

She grinned, and the three magic swords at her belt flared to light all at once.

"Let's see if you two sisters are as much trouble as the rumors say."

The white-robed elf vanished first.

Roof tiles shattered where she'd been standing.

Black blades closed a distance of over ten meters, driving straight for Tsubaki's throat. Tsubaki snapped her great blade up to meet them; the two weapons collided in midair, the shockwave flinging roof tiles into the air all around them.

Both Level 5s dropped into the street together.

The paving stones split beneath their feet, and nearby walls shuddered.

Vena had finished the first stage of her chant.

She pointed her rapier at the crowd that hadn't yet finished evacuating, a seductive smile curling at her lips.

"You're planning to protect these dead weights, aren't you?"

The purple-black bud bloomed at her sword's tip.

Dozens of curse-spines burst from its center, raining down over Adi, Ryuu, and the area where the civilians stood.

"I'll block it!"

Ryuu sprinted to the front, her wooden sword whipping up layer after layer of gale.

At the same moment, Kaguya drew the magic sword Tsubaki had given her. Blue-green wind pressure spread along the barrier Ryuu had raised, sweeping the first curse-spines to arrive off to the sides.

A few black spines still made it through the gale.

Adi brought Sacred Oath up in a horizontal guard, her blade flashing in quick succession. She never met the black spines head-on — each strike caught them at an angle, deflecting their path.

The last spine grazed her pauldron.

Corrosion marks bloomed instantly across the metal surface.

"Adi, left!"

Artorias's head snapped around.

Vena had left the rooftop at some point, using the curse-spines to cover her approach, and slipped in quietly at Adi's flank.

The pale rapier wasn't aimed at Adi.

Its tip was aimed at the white rabbit on her shoulder.

Adi didn't think — she spun and pulled Artorias into her chest.

She let her own back take the strike, thrusting Sacred Oath back beneath her own arm in an attempt to force Vena to change course.

Vena's smile only widened.

She seemed to have anticipated exactly this — the rapier suddenly shifted course, sweeping toward the girl's unguarded side instead.

Just as the blade was about to touch fabric, fire erupted between them.

The magic sword Tsubaki had given Ryuu came flying through.

A crimson pillar of flame forced Vena to pull her blade back and retreat, her boots skidding several meters across the paving stones, a scorched gap now torn into her black robe.

Kaguya cut through the flame, her blade driving straight for the space between Vena's brows.

"Fighting us and you still let your mind wander?"

Vena raised her sword to block the strike.

Rapier and tachi clashed again and again, every one of Kaguya's cuts aimed at a joint. Vena's higher level gave her the edge in raw power, but the Far East girl's swordwork left no opening to exploit.

Ryuu closed in from the other side.

Her wooden sword, wrapped in wind, joined Kaguya's attack in a pincer.

Adi retreated to the wall with Artorias held close, and only after confirming the curse hadn't touched him did she set him back on her shoulder.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. You?"

"My pauldron got grazed. Nothing touched my body."

Adi looked out at the street, now locked in fierce combat.

Tsubaki and the white-robed elf had already clashed more than ten times. Every collision of great blade against twin blades cracked the ground beneath them; both fighters moved too fast for low-rank adventurers to even follow.

Kaguya and Ryuu fought together to hold Vena back, but they could barely manage even that.

The gap in power between Level 5 and Level 4 wasn't something numbers alone could close.

Worse still, the sound of Evilus footsteps was drawing closer.

The Dis Sisters hadn't come alone.

Dozens of soldiers followed behind them.

"Adi."

Artorias looked toward the gap where the civilians were escaping.

The last of the wounded were passing through, and the Astraea Familia members had begun falling back into the other street one by one.

"We can't hold out here much longer."

"Just a little longer."

Adi pulled out her last signal flare.

The red signal had already been destroyed by Vena; this one was just an ordinary magic stone flare meant for contacting nearby patrols. Its light wouldn't reach very high, and the smoke might well swallow it.

She pulled the fuse anyway.

A blue orb of light rose into the night sky and burst above the rooftops.

Vena glanced up at it.

"Calling for help?"

She knocked Ryuu's wooden sword aside, her rapier sliding along the edge of the gale to leave a shallow cut on the elf's arm.

Kaguya closed the gap at once.

Her tachi cut at Vena's side, forcing her to abandon the pursuit.

"Relax. No one's coming."

Vena broke away from the two-woman assault and landed on a collapsed eave.

"Every high-rank adventurer you've got is pinned down on some other battlefield. Even the central plaza's under siege. Once the soldiers behind us arrive, everyone here dies."

Tsubaki swung her blade to drive the white-robed elf back, and in that moment glanced down both ends of the street.

Evilus's silhouettes had already appeared in the firelight.

At least forty of them.

Among them were several fighters whose presence approached Level 3.

They had to protect the civilians and couldn't move freely, while the enemy could strike from rooftops, alleys, and straight ahead all at once.

The tide was turning in Evilus's favor.

The white-robed elf stopped pressing Tsubaki and flipped back to her sister's side. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder on the eaves, their black and white garments glaring under the firelight.

Vena raised her rapier.

The curse mist gathered once more.

"Hand Artorias over."

She looked at Adi.

"We might consider letting the rest of you go."

"Your promises aren't worth anything."

Adi raised Sacred Oath before her.

Artorias crouched on her shoulder, his golden eyes never leaving the Dis Sisters.

Tsubaki took her place at their left.

Ryuu and Kaguya fell back together to the right. Noin and the others held the gap behind them, making sure the civilians stayed clear of the fight.

No one had discussed it, yet within a few breaths they'd formed a battle line.

"Do you hear it?"

Adi asked softly.

Artorias turned an ear to listen.

Evilus footsteps were closing in from both sides.

A fire snapped some roof beam somewhere.

Further off, another set of footsteps — heavy and perfectly in step — was crossing the street.

They weren't the panicked scramble of fleeing civilians, nor the ragged, scattered rhythm of Evilus soldiers.

They were the footsteps of well-trained adventurers.

A great many of them.

A few of their steps were loud enough to cut through the street's noise entirely.

Artorias lifted his head.

"Reinforcements are here."

Vena's smile faltered slightly.

The next instant, an enormous battleaxe spun through the air over the rooftops and slammed into the intersection where the Evilus soldiers were about to appear.

The ground shattered with a boom.

Gareth burst out from among the flying rubble, and behind him came the main force of the Loki Familia led by Riveria. An emerald magic circle spread beneath the elf princess's feet, lighting up half the street.

On the other side, the Freya Familia under Hedin emerged from behind the fires. Dozens of bolts of lightning danced across the rooftops, driving every Evilus archer preparing an encirclement out of hiding.

The hero's dispositions had finally arrived.

Before the Evilus soldiers could even finish their encirclement, they found themselves caught in a pincer between two squads of high-rank adventurers.

Vena bit her lip.

The white-robed elf raised her twin blades, her face grim for the first time.

Tsubaki slung her great blade back over her shoulder and laughed out loud.

"Now who was it that said no one was coming?"

Adi didn't let her guard down just because reinforcements had arrived.

She tightened her grip on Sacred Oath, standing with Artorias before the civilians who hadn't finished evacuating.

The garish, ugly pair of black and white were already right in front of her.

At the same moment, Orario's true high-rank forces began moving in full across the burning city.