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—Tsutrail Northeast Outskirts: Fourth Labyrinth Vicinity—
A short while after Selma issued the emergency declaration to the residents of Tsutrail, the city and its surrounding areas had descended into a hellscape.
Inside the city, fires broke out in every direction, and the air was thick with the sound of never-ending screams.
Beyond the city walls, the crisis was deepening. The surge of magic beasts wasn't limited to the Second Labyrinth where Selma’s group had headed; they were now pouring onto the surface from the Fourth Labyrinth as well, where Katina and her team were stationed.
A massive tide of magic beasts was currently advancing toward Tsutrail.
"Dammit! No matter how many we put down, there’s no end to them!"
Barnard, a Defender for the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky, spat out a curse. He had been assigned to the group suppressing the monsters emerging from the Fourth Labyrinth, but the sheer numbers showed no sign of thinning.
"If you’ve got enough breath to complain, use it to kill one more!"
Anthem, a fellow Defender from the same clan, barked back at him.
"I know, I know! Still—and this might not be the time for it—this is our first time fighting side-by-side since the guided exploration last year. You’ve definitely gotten sharper."
"And you’re relaxed enough to be making small talk in this mess."
A year ago, Anthem and Barnard had both served as instructors during the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky's guided exploration. Since then, the parties they belonged to had both reached the 89th floor of the Great Labyrinth.
"Relaxed? Not a chance! I’m just trying to keep my head on straight...!"
Trading brief words between breaths, the Defenders—with Anthem and Barnard at the center—drew the brunt of the monsters' aggression to stall the invasion.
Over the din of battle, the voice of Katina, who had been entrusted with command of the unit, boomed across the field via an Amplification Magic Tool.
"Twenty seconds until the rearguard attackers' interval is up! As soon as it's over, we’re switching back to wide-area saturation! Front-line attackers, fall back! Defenders, hold the line!"
On Katina's order, the front-line attackers timed their retreat, slipping behind the wall of shields. Meanwhile, the mages who had been resting began the complex process of spell construction.
Katina’s voice rang out again.
"Wide-area attack countdown! Three... two... one... —Commence fire!"
At her signal, a deluge of attack magic rained down upon the horde.
Taking advantage of the cover, Anthem and his team swapped out with the secondary Defender team to rotate the front line.
Though the Explorers were facing overwhelming numbers, they were managing to hold their ground. The magic beasts currently flooding the surface were roughly equivalent in strength to those found in the Great Labyrinth’s middle floors, making them manageable for a coordinated force.
"Huff... huff... God, this volume is brutal... I hope the city's okay..."
Barnard, having stepped back from the front to catch his breath, murmured as he glanced back at the plumes of smoke rising from behind the city's outer walls.
"...This isn't a situation for optimism," Anthem replied, his expression grim. "Ten to one, this is an Imperial strike. We have to prepare for the worst."
"What's the 'worst,' Anthem!?" Barnard pressed.
"The enemy neutralized the Guild first—the city's primary source of organization. Logically, their next target is either the nobility, including Marquis Forgas, or us. Aside from the Guild, our clan has the most organizational power in Tsutrail. The chances they're coming for us are high."
"..."
Barnard couldn't argue. He had been nursing the same suspicion.
The majority of Tsutrail’s Explorers were currently occupied with the magic beasts. The few who remained in the city were busy working with the Territorial Army to evacuate civilians.
"We can't leave this post, or the monsters will breach the walls. We just have to pray the rest of our clan members made it to safety."
The struggle continued as Anthem and the others worked in unison to repel the relentless waves.
Suddenly, a massive magic circle manifested, blotting out the sky above.
Something enormous plummeted from the center of the circle, slamming into the earth.
"A giant magic beast!?"
Until now, the Explorers had held firm because the individual monsters were relatively weak. But the creature that had just entered the fray radiated an aura comparable to a floor boss from the Deep Floors.
It was a one-eyed titan—a Cyclops.
The Explorers wavered, momentarily stunned by the sudden intruder. But the Cyclops didn't give them time to recover. It acted instantly.
A dense, crimson-black sphere of mana condensed in front of the Cyclops's eye. A moment later, it fired the projectile straight at the cluster of Explorers.
"...Ah—"
Faced with a mana bullet capable of total annihilation, some of the Explorers stood frozen, feeling the cold touch of death.
The only ones to react immediately to the shifting tides were the two from Copper Afterglow.
""—Barrier tool, activate!!""
In perfect sync, Katina and Huey triggered the magic tools they had received from the Downing Trading Company.
A shimmering wall of mana manifested directly in front of the vanguard.
When the barrier and the mana bullet collided, the world disappeared in a deafening explosion and a shockwave that threatened to uproot the surrounding trees.
Once the smoke cleared, Katina scanned the ranks.
"No casualties... Thank God..."
She let out a shaky sigh of relief. However, the danger was far from over. Even if they were physically unharmed, the psychological toll of nearly being vaporized by a legendary-class monster was immense.
"...Huey, how many more charges does the barrier have?" Katina asked, her eyes fixed on the giant.
"The durability was shaved down more than I expected," Huey replied, his face pale. "Maybe two more at most."
Katina grimaced. She brought the Amplification Magic Tool back to her lips.
"Prioritize the Cyclops! All Advanced Explorers, prepare to engage! We can only block its blast twice more, so—"
Katina’s voice trailed off. Her heart sank.
Another crimson-black sphere of mana was already forming in front of the Cyclops's eye.
Fuuka told me the Cult would use modified monsters to attack the city, but this is insane!
Naturally, a Cyclops was a creature of high durability and brute force that relied on close-quarters combat. They weren't supposed to have long-range capabilities, let alone fire concentrated mana.
Katina realized this was the "modification" the Cult had performed. She had assumed there would be a significant interval between shots, but the creature was already preparing to fire again. It was a nightmare scenario.
There has to be a limit. It can't fire those infinitely... but when? If it has enough energy for three more consecutive shots, we're done.
Katina shook her head to clear the panic. She turned to Huey to order the next barrier.
"Huey, use the barrier again—"
"—Don't waste the charges! Leave this to us!"
A man’s voice cut across Katina’s command from the rear.
"Who's that!?"
Katina turned in surprise just as two shadows blurred past her.
One was a massive, tanned man clad in heavy armor; the other was a young woman wearing a pointed mage's hat.
The pair sprinted past the confused line of Defenders toward the absolute front.
"Wait, why are they...?" Huey muttered, his eyes wide.
They were the Explorers who, until last year, had been the most famous names in Tsutrail.
"We don't have Orun's [Impact] to bail us out today, so you better put your back into it, Derrick!"
"I don't need you to tell me that! Just worry about yourself. Can you even kill that thing without [Impact], Anneri?"
"Don't insult me. I’m never showing that kind of pathetic weakness again!"
The Defender, Derrick, and the rearguard attacker, Anneri—both former members of the Hero Party, Golden Dawn—traded sharp barbs as they vaulted past the front line.
There was nothing but open ground between them and the horde.
At that exact moment, the Cyclops unleashed its massive, red-black mana bullet.
Derrick didn't flinch. Faced with the blast that had nearly broken the spirits of the other Explorers, he merely flashed a predatory grin and braced his greatshield.
The projectile slammed into the shield. A second explosion rocked the outskirts, and a shockwave tore through the air.
"—Hah! Is that all? Too soft!"
Derrick stood firm. He had taken the hit head-on and looked as if he hadn't felt a thing.
Safely tucked behind Derrick’s massive frame, Anneri leveled her staff at the Cyclops.
"I appreciate you being such a big target. Now die, you oversized freak!"
In an instant, a staggering number of magic circles manifested around the Cyclops, so many that they completely obscured its massive body from view.
Anneri and Derrick had been disgraced the previous year, but they were still the first humans to have ever set foot on the 94th floor of the Great Labyrinth of the South. Now that they were free from Philly's [Perception Alteration], their true potential was on full display.
Anneri had been the rearguard for Golden Dawn, chosen over Luna despite the latter's ability to command Seirei. That choice hadn't been an accident—Anneri simply possessed a higher aptitude for the role.
Her greatest strength lay in the sheer number of spell formulas she could maintain through Parallel Construction. In that one specific area, her capacity was truly monstrous. In terms of pure simultaneous construction, she eclipsed even Orun.
"—[Element Javelin]."
At Anneri's command, the array of magic circles unleashed a storm of spears imbued with the six elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Ice, and Thunder.
As the spears depleted, she instantly reconstructed the formulas and funneled mana into them, maintaining a continuous, overlapping barrage.
The Cyclops was shredded, dissolving into black mist almost instantly. But Anneri didn't stop there.
"Since I'm at it, you trash can die too!"
She shifted her focus. Just as the Cyclops had appeared from above, a sea of magic circles filled the sky. A rain of elemental spears began to fall, targeting every magic beast attempting to march on Tsutrail.
In a matter of seconds, the invasion force was literally wiped out.
"Phew. That should do it. —Katina! I know you know this, but a stampede doesn't stop until the source is dealt with. Get your people reorganized while you have the chance!"
Having annihilated the immediate threat, Anneri walked back toward Katina.
"You Defenders can take five," Derrick called out to Anthem and the others, remaining at the front. "I'll hold the line for a while."
With that, he turned his attention to the next wave of magic beasts beginning to crawl out of the Fourth Labyrinth.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! This was a chapter highlighting the skills of the former Hero Party members, Anneri and Derrick. The next chapter will be from Lucretia's perspective.
One announcement: Volume 6 of the light novel was released recently! I've made significant revisions to Volume 6—likely the most I've done for any volume so far. I believe even those who have already read the web version will find it very enjoyable, so please check it out!
Also, this is the final update of the year. Thank you for all your support this year. Regarding Chapter Seven as a whole, this update marks about the one-third point of the arc. I’ll continue with weekly updates next year until Chapter Seven is complete, so I look forward to your continued support!
Have a Happy New Year!