Spread across the surrounding area were countless Dragonias corpses.
Blood and the setting sun stained those countless dead a deep red.
More precisely, there were no High-ranking Species among them that possessed intelligence—just ordinary Dragonias, driven by hunger.
At a slight distance from the corpses, the Centaurs had gathered to administer treatment.
Fortunately, no one had died, but the number of severe injuries—those who had flesh torn away by the Dragonias—was considerable.
At present, they were focused on treating those Centaurs.
"Graaaah! Damn it, it hurts! That Dragonias bastard, the flesh on my arm..."
"Please keep quiet. Making a fuss like that is bad for your body too, you know!"
A Centaur woman administering treatment applied medicine to the wound. Perhaps it stung, because another scream tore from the injured Centaur's throat.
Such scenes could be seen everywhere.
...Though, considering that a woman was the one treating him, this Centaur was still relatively lucky. In other places, men with comparatively shallow wounds were attempting to treat those with deeper injuries. As men, it was only natural they would prefer a woman's touch rather than another man's.
"Still... I never expected Rei's concerns to be proven right so definitively."
The speaker was Vihera, who had fought the Dragonias more fiercely than anyone, yet did not appear to have a single drop of blood spattered on her.
When Rei had told her to ride Set out from underground, she had emerged to find a battle between the Dragonias and the Centaurs just about to begin.
No matter when the Queen had called for reinforcements, they had arrived with remarkable speed for being in this Underground Space. Whether the Queen had used Earth Spirit Magic to prepare some means of transportation, or whether a group had simply been near this Underground Space by coincidence—Vihera had no way of knowing. But the fact remained that she and Set had arrived in time.
...Though until just recently, she had been fighting the Queen and other intelligent Dragonias. Considering that, it was only natural she could find no satisfaction in battling ordinary Dragonias driven by hunger.
Vihera had fought through wave after wave, but the Dragonias the Queen had summoned were not a single group—there were multiple. Given that, it was only natural that reinforcements kept arriving even as she and the others fought.
And so the battle had raged on, until it finally ended.
Though "raged on" was simply how those who fought had felt; in reality, it had not been all that long.
Moreover, the fact that reinforcements had appeared one after another meant the enemy had effectively committed their forces piecemeal. If all the Dragonias had gathered at once from the start, while Vihera and Set might have held, the Centaurs would never have been able to withstand such overwhelming numbers.
"Vihera, so what do we do now? Set went back into the Underground Space."
Zai posed the question.
He was not as completely unscathed as Vihera, but the wounds he had sustained in this battle were merely scratches. As the strongest Centaur in the Reconnaissance Unit—excluding Rei and his group—he possessed enough skill to fight multiple Dragonias at once, and by now could hold his own more than adequately.
"Knowing Set, he probably sensed something from Rei."
Vihera was also aware of Rei's circumstances, so naturally she knew about Beast Magic as well. Since Set had been created by Rei's mana, the two were connected through it—and in that regard, Set must have sensed some kind of crisis from Rei.
Feeling just a little envious of the bond between Rei and Set, Vihera surveyed her surroundings.
For the time being, all the Dragonias that had attacked were defeated—but that was only those that had come so far. How far the Queen might have contacted other bases was something Vihera did not know. Even now, as they stood there, more Dragonias could attack.
...That was precisely why Vihera had not gone to retrieve Rei alongside Set, choosing instead to remain on the ground.
"...It seems your judgment was correct, Vihera."
"Huh?"
At Zai's words, Vihera turned her gaze toward the slope leading into the Underground Space.
There, Set emerged into view with an unconscious Rei on his back.
"Rei!?"
At the unexpected sight, Vihera broke into a run with a cry of surprise.
To Vihera, Rei was the strongest person alive. Seeing someone like that unconscious on Set's back—it would have been more unreasonable to tell her not to be surprised.
"...A woman, huh."
Watching Vihera run off, completely ignoring her surroundings, Zai muttered to himself.
When she was training the Centaurs, including himself, she did not seem like a woman at all. Well, in truth, for Centaurs, they could not really perceive a two-legged being like Vihera as a woman. Even so, from her physique, they naturally understood that among two-legged beings, Vihera was female.
However... seeing her run toward Rei just now, disregarding everything around her, one could truly and deeply feel that Vihera was a woman.
"For now, should we leave those two alone? ...No, sorry, but we can't afford that luxury."
Under normal circumstances, he would have liked to give Vihera and Rei some time to themselves. But as long as there was no telling when new Dragonias might attack, they needed to be prepared to respond. And with Rei unavailable as combat power, if something happened, they themselves would need to shoulder that role immediately.
In the current situation, their greatest combat asset was not Rei but Vihera.
...Well, Set was also present, but Set appeared to have his attention focused entirely on Rei, as if deeply worried.
Feeling apologetic toward Rei and the others despite this, Zai made his way toward them.
Zai was subjected to reproachful glares from the Centaur women, silently telling him not to interrupt what looked like lovers—though technically that was not accurate—but given the current situation, someone had to play the villain.
"Vihera, how is Rei?"
"...It doesn't look like he has any fatal injuries or anything like that. He's just extremely exhausted and passed out... or rather, is he sleeping?"
At Zai's words, Vihera reported with a relieved expression.
Hearing the word "sleeping," Zai looked at Rei's condition... and indeed, "sleeping soundly" was the most fitting description.
It was not that he had no reservations about Rei being asleep in the current situation, but... considering what Vihera had told him about the Queen, Rei had ultimately fought and defeated her alone. There was a certain inevitability to it.
"In that case, if new Dragonias come, we can't count on Rei as combat power."
"...Rei is sleeping? I wanted to ask him all sorts of things about the Queen."
The one who muttered with dissatisfaction at Zai's words was Anastasia, with Fana at her side.
Until moments ago, she had been treating injured Centaurs, but having heard that Rei had returned, she must have come to check on him.
Given Anastasia's curious nature, she probably wanted to hear what kind of end the Dragonias Queen had met... but unfortunately, Rei was asleep and could not be asked.
Anastasia wore a slightly disappointed expression, but she immediately turned to address Zai.
"For now, Rei has returned from the Underground Space... and if Rei is back, that means he defeated the Queen, right? Then there's no need to stay here any longer, is there? If we move somewhere far from the Dragonias that come here, we should be safe for the time being."
Zai found himself nodding in agreement.
Right—the only reason they had been holding this position was to support Rei and his group, who had entered the Underground Space. But if Rei had defeated the Queen inside, there was no need to keep waiting here.
"You're right. If Rei defeated the Queen, there's no need to defend this place either. In that case, let's get out of here while we can. ...I'd like to find a suitable place to make camp before nightfall, if possible."
At Vihera's words, many of those who heard her turned their gazes toward the sun sinking below the horizon.
At this rate, it was clear that evening would give way to night before long. Before that happened, they needed to prepare a proper campsite.
"But without Rei... the campsite is going to be quite dangerous."
Zai muttered as he looked at Rei, who was still unconscious—no, still sleeping.
Given that the Queen had called for reinforcements, beyond the countless corpses already produced nearby, there was a high probability that other Dragonias would come. If so, it went without saying that Rei and the others resting at the campsite would be easy targets.
Until now, they could have relied on Rei's Terrain Manipulation to build defensive walls and trenches. But with Rei still asleep, that was utterly impossible.
If Rei woke up, they could have him use Terrain Manipulation... but thinking that, Zai shook his head. Right now, Rei was sleeping from sheer exhaustion. If they roused him and made him use Terrain Manipulation, Vihera would certainly not stay silent about it.
(In that case, should we get as far from here as possible?)
The Queen having called for reinforcements meant those reinforcements were heading here. If they moved away, they could avoid encountering the reinforcing Dragonias altogether. Or at the very least, the likelihood of an encounter would drop considerably.
"Alright, then we move as far from here as possible before dark! Even with Rei here, the current situation is by no means safe. ...No, there's also a possibility that Dragonias will come specifically targeting Rei."
Everyone complied readily with Zai's words. Given the circumstances, there was no one who would object to moving away from where Dragonias were likely to appear.
But amid all that, Asdena suddenly spoke up.
"I'm also in favor of moving, but Rei defeated the Queen, right? Then isn't it possible the Dragonias won't follow the orders she gave?"
His words brought knowing nods from several Centaurs, but... Zai shook his head.
"I understand what you're saying, Asdena. But just because the Queen died doesn't mean her orders will be rescinded. If anything, there's a very real possibility that the Dragonias won't stop their march—precisely because those were the Queen's final orders."
"...Then it's definitely better to get away from here."
Asdena had not brought up whether the Queen's orders were still valid because he was reluctant to leave—he had no such intention. In the first place, near where they currently stood, there was a massive quantity of Dragonias corpses. Even now, the stench of blood and viscera drifted through the air. Given that, it was only natural that few would want to stay any longer.
"Right then, let's move out. Having decided to go, the sooner we leave the better. Besides... I'd like to let Rei, exhausted as he is, get some proper rest."
No one raised any objections, and preparations for departure were made immediately.
"Hey, Zai... what about the Dragonias corpses?"
Asdena muttered, looking out over the field of bodies.
It went without saying that with such a large number of Dragonias corpses, given time they would undoubtedly emit a considerable stench, and the possibility of them becoming Undead could not be denied either. If possible, it would be best to burn them all... but Zai shook his head.
"We don't have the luxury to gather and burn corpses in this situation. We'll have Rei handle it all at once if he wakes up tomorrow or later... or worst case, we may have no choice but to leave them as they are."
"Are you serious?"
"That's only the worst-case scenario. I'd rather not leave them if I can help it either. ...Even if there are no Centaur survivors left in this area."
The grove settlement Zai and the others had been using as a temporary base was the last remaining Centaur settlement in this vicinity. Given that, it would not matter much if the Dragonias corpses became Undead—but there was also the risk of plague, and more than that, as one who lived on this grassland, leaving them as they were was something even Zai genuinely did not want to do.