Chapter 69 - The Defense of Nielen and the Monsters That Herald Calamity
Bells began to ring out across the city.
"Shouldn't we ring the bell in this tower, too?" Mizuki asked. The people in the church probably didn't know about the Big Hopper attack yet. This church was near the city center, and the bell in its tower was likely the largest in Nielen. Ringing it would alert the entire populace.
"I will go and inform them," Maira said.
"Wait. From now on, the six of us stick together."
She had already started to run but stopped in her tracks. I walked over to her.
"You're right," Maira said with a nod. The black specks in the western sky had already spread into a dark stain. What should we do now? My thoughts were a mess. But we would get through this, the six of us.
We didn't go back to the Bell Tower. I considered waiting inside the church, but the thought of not knowing what was happening outside was terrifying. In the end, we went out into the square in front of the church. From here, surrounded by buildings, we couldn't see the city walls, but I was thinking ahead to when we'd have to fight the Big Hoppers. Fighting an enemy that could fly from the top of a tower with little room to maneuver felt like we'd just be making ourselves easy targets. For now, nothing had changed.
"This building reminds me of something, too..." Mizuki murmured, gazing at the church.
"Something from our world? You mean that building in Rome that was converted from a polytheistic temple to a monotheistic one, right? The original was built by the first emperor's right-hand man, though it burned down."
"That's it. The Pantheon," Mizuki replied.
"Huh? What was that?"
"The Pantheon!"
"One more time."
"The Pante... oh, forget it!"
She must have sensed what I was trying to get her to say, because she got angry. Still, I was grateful she'd said as much as she did. If only she'd just added an 'ie' sound to the end. The word Pantheon means "of all gods," which certainly made it a fitting name for a temple in this world. Looking at it again, it almost resembled a fortress.
"Do you know the name for that hole in the ceiling?"
"That hole... I think it meant something like eye."
Mizuki put a hand to her chin, thinking.
"That's right, a hole."
Mizuki suddenly looked at my face.
"Mmph, you're trying to make me say something dirty again!"
"I'm not! You're the one going on and on about holes!"
"A hole isn't a dirty word!"
Mizuki puffed out her cheeks and gave up trying to remember the answer. It's called an oculus, but I'd tell her later.
"I wonder if the person who designed this was a transfer, too?"
"They said it was modeled after something in a southern city, so maybe that one was built by a transfer."
"I wonder what they were thinking..."
Mizuki was gazing at the Pantheon, just as I was. Knowing how much she wanted to return to our world, her stare seemed to hold a hint of loneliness.
"Maybe they built it while longing for home. Why don't you try introducing something from our world, Mizuki? You might just strike it rich."
"Not me. I'm good at remembering things I've read in books or been taught, and I can solve problems that have a clear answer, but I'm terrible at thinking of things on my own. Like summer research projects... or this whole situation."
That was a remarkably objective self-assessment. Perhaps that was why she was always trying to follow someone else's lead.
"You should have more confidence in yourself. You can do anything you set your mind to. On the other hand, I'm just bad at studying in general."
Unlike Mizuki, I had nothing but weaknesses.
"For someone who says that, you seem to know a lot about a lot of things."
"Well, I did enjoy reading. But most of what I know is just from the internet. I'm aware that my knowledge is skewed. The things I say are half-baked, and I don't really trust myself either."
"Why don't you try to strike it rich with something from our world, Mash? I'll help."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh." Mizuki nodded as I sought confirmation.
"In that case, I want to develop a dildo. I'll test it on you, and we'll create the greatest dildo that even our world has never seen. We'll become billionaires."
"What's a dildo? And testing it on me... that sounds like something awful..." Mizuki asked.
"Don't pretend you don't know. It's a toy for ladies, shaped like the male anatomy."
"No tools. Absolutely not!"
"Why not? You just said you'd help."
"What are you going to do if it feels better than you?"
"..."
I was speechless.
As Mizuki and I were having our stupid conversation, a black shadow passed overhead. A loud buzzing filled the air. This wasn't one of the black dots we'd seen from the Bell Tower. It was clearly a locust. Several shadows crossed the sky. The Big Hoppers had breached the walls and entered the city. One of them landed right in front of us. It immediately took flight again, leaping over the church. Following its lead, several more descended.
"Mash, let's fight for the city. We can't tell from here, but even in this area that wasn't hit by their fluid, the situation is this bad. It seems a large number of Big Hoppers have entered the city," Maira said. I looked around at the others. Everyone nodded.
"Alright, let's take down the ones that land in this square. Fam, Mizuki, Maira, you're the front line. Cecily and I will guard against attacks from above. Aira, you're on support."
The five of them nodded and readied their weapons. I took out my bow. As a test, I fired an arrow at one of the Big Hoppers. The arrow pierced the carapace on its head. My attacks could get through. However, the monster didn't fall from that single blow. The wounded creature turned toward us. It spread its wings and began to twitch them, producing a threatening buzz. The movements of the surrounding monsters changed. The ones on the ground turned to face us.
"Be careful, it's warning its allies! It seems they've been told we are their enemy!" Maira shouted. One of the monsters leaped, diving straight for us. Maira slammed her mace into its head. The blow, amplified into a devastating counter, shattered the creature's skull. That was the signal. The other monsters leaped and charged at us. Fam and Mizuki joined Maira in the attack, slashing at the creatures.
"The body slams are dangerous, but their jaw strength is a real threat. Be careful not to get crushed!" Maira yelled as she faced the next enemy. Aira's protective blessing activated, and our bodies were momentarily enveloped in a faint light. Cecily unleashed her wind magic on a flying enemy. The air currents were disrupted, and the monster lost its lift, crashing hard to the ground. I desperately drew my bowstring again and again, loosing arrows at the enemies in the sky.
Our formation had me and Cecily flanking Aira, with Fam, Mizuki, and Maira forming a protective circle around us. Pushed back by the monsters' assault, we were slowly retreating toward the church entrance. However, fighting with our backs to a wall was advantageous, as it protected us from behind, and in the worst-case scenario, we could flee into the church. The main damage dealers were, as expected, Maira and Mizuki. The Big Hoppers' main attack was a body slam. Maira swung her mace, accurately countering them and smashing them to pieces. The other monsters showed no signs of fear or hesitation, even after witnessing such a blow. They just swarmed her, relying on their numbers. A pile of enemy corpses began to form in front of her, serving as a makeshift shield. Mizuki, like a matador, used her shield to deflect the force of the body slams while thrusting with her sword. Occasionally, an enemy with too much momentum would fly past her toward us, and Aira would finish it off with her mace. Aira was less skilled than Maira, but she could still handle herself in close combat. She might actually be stronger than me. Fam was skillfully managing with her dual blades and hadn't taken any damage, but she was struggling. Unable to parry an attack with a single arm, she had to use both hands, putting her a step behind Maira and Mizuki, who could attack and defend simultaneously. Normally, she would use her speed to dodge and strike, but with us behind her, that wasn't an option. Her style wasn't suited for defense, so it couldn't be helped. Cecily's wind magic, which could bring down enemies from the sky, was powerful. It wasn't effective against monsters that had already locked onto a target and leaped, but it worked well against those circling above. However, the monsters that crashed would just get back up and resume their attack. I felt my bow was the least useful. My accuracy was low, and it seemed my arrows weren't doing much damage either.
"Don't give up, Mash. You're doing a great job providing air defense," Cecily called out. Instead of nodding back, I loosed another arrow. The shaft struck a monster's abdomen.
How many had we defeated? The combination of their sturdy carapaces and powerful jumping body slams was troublesome, but we could handle them one by one. The problem was their sheer numbers. There couldn't have been more than five at first, but now they were swarming us, wave after wave. Behind the front line, one of them was still buzzing its wings, trying to call more allies. I wanted to shut it up, but I was too busy dealing with the enemies right in front of me. I occasionally shot an arrow its way, but it easily dodged them. The swarm of Big Hoppers was still full of vigor. Fam slashed at a monster's head with her shortsword. Exhaustion kept her from striking deep enough for a fatal blow, and an enemy charge that she had been blocking until now finally broke through. She took the hit to her stomach and staggered backward, falling to the ground. Mizuki immediately moved in to cover for her, thrusting her sword into the enemy. Aira cast a healing spell, and Fam got back on her feet. We had been pushed all the way to the church entrance. Fam and Mizuki were starting to take more and more hits. Aira was casting her healing spells again and again. My bow arm ached. My arrows were about to run out. It was time. I switched to my katana.
"Let's retreat inside the church for now."
Everyone nodded in agreement with my proposal.
"I'll open the door."
Aira placed her hands on the bronze doors. The Big Hoppers' assault didn't let up. As a covering barrage, I launched stone spheres with earth magic to keep the flying enemies in check.
"Everyone, inside!" Aira shouted. Cecily dove in, and I followed. I glanced back for a moment and looked up at the sky. Countless Big Hoppers were still circling overhead. Fam and Mizuki followed, and finally, Maira and Aira entered the building, holding the doors shut. The monsters slammed against the doors, trying to force their way in. Together, we all pushed against the doors and slid the bolt into place.
"My arms are dead..." Mizuki said, massaging her arms. Fam was also breathing heavily, her shoulders heaving. We had fought to the bitter end, trying to thin their numbers as much as possible. I should have made the call to retreat sooner.
"Please wait, I will cast a healing spell."
Maira placed her hands on Mizuki's body.
"How many do you think we killed...?"
"I don't know. But if it's this bad even in a place they weren't targeting, the number of Big Hoppers must be far greater than we imagined," I replied to Fam. I couldn't count how many arrows I'd fired; my arm was trembling. Maira then cast a healing spell on me. The trembling stopped, and the pain vanished. It was truly a miraculous power.
"I wonder if I was any help at all..." I muttered, a moment of weakness escaping me now that I felt safe.
"Mash, your suppressing fire created openings for our attacks. And please don't forget that we are all connected through you. You are the linchpin of the fan."
Maira squeezed my hand tightly.
"You're right. I'm sorry I said something that would make you all anxious."
"It is fine for you to say such things to us. We are all in this together, are we not?" Maira gave me a gentle smile. For a moment, I felt a wave of emotion wash over me.
"Looks like it's too soon to relax..." Cecily said. She raised her staff, pointing it toward the center of the building. There, in the Beam of Light pouring from the ceiling, stood a pink Big Hopper, flanked by ten others.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best.