kscans

Chapter 69 - The Defense of Nieren and the Calamitous Swarm

The bells throughout the city began to ring.

"Shouldn't we ring the bell in this tower, too?"

Mizuki asked. The church staff probably didn't know about the Big Hopper attack yet.

This church was near the center of the city, and its bell tower likely housed the largest bell of all. Ringing it would alert everyone.

"I'll go and let them know,"

Myra said.

"Wait. From now on, the six of us stick together."

She had already started to run, but she stopped in her tracks. I walked over to her.

"You're right,"

Myra agreed.

The black specks in the western sky had already spread into a dark stain.

What was our next move? My thoughts were a mess. But the six of us would get through this together.

We didn't go back to the bell tower.

I considered waiting inside the church, but the thought of being cut off from what was happening outside was frightening.

In the end, we went out into the plaza in front of the church. Buildings blocked our view of the city walls, but I figured this was a better spot for a fight with Big Hoppers. Fighting an enemy that could fly from the top of a tower with little footing felt like making ourselves into sitting ducks. For now, nothing had changed.

"This building reminds me of something, too..."

Mizuki murmured, gazing at the church.

"From our world? You mean that building in Rome that went from being a temple for many gods to a temple for one, right? The original burned down, but it was built by the first emperor's right-hand man."

"That's it. The Pantheon,"

Mizuki replied.

"Huh? What was that?"

I asked, feigning ignorance.

"The Pantheon!"

"One more time."

"The Panthe—oh, forget it!"

Mizuki flushed, realizing I was teasing her. Still, I was grateful she'd gone as far as she had. I just wish she'd added a little '-ies' at the end.

The word Pantheon means "all gods."

A fitting name for a temple in this world. Looking at it again, it did resemble a fortress.

"Do you know the name of the hole in the ceiling?"

"That hole... I think it meant 'eye' or something."

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 am not! You're the one going on about a 'hole, hole, hole'!"

"A hole isn't a dirty word!"

Mizuki puffed out her cheeks and gave up trying to remember. It was called the Oculus, but I could tell her later.

"I wonder if the person who designed this was also an otherworlder."

"They said it was modeled after one in a southern city, so maybe that one was built by an otherworlder."

"I wonder what they were thinking..."

Mizuki was gazing at the Pantheon, just as I was. Knowing how much she wanted to go home, her expression seemed tinged with a hint of loneliness.

"Maybe they built it while thinking of our world. You should try bringing something from our world over, Mizuki. You could make a fortune."

"I can't. I'm good at remembering things I've read in books or been taught, and I'm good at solving problems that have a clear answer, but I'm terrible at thinking of things on my own. Things like summer research projects... or this current situation."

That was a remarkably objective self-assessment. Was that why she always seemed to want to follow someone else's lead?

"You're capable of doing anything you want, you know. On the other hand, I'm just bad at studying in general."

Unlike Mizuki, I was a man of many weaknesses.

"For someone who says that, you seem to know a lot about a lot of things."

"Well, I did like to read. But most of it is just internet knowledge. I'm well aware that it's biased. What I say is half-baked, and I don't really trust it myself."

"Why don't you try to make a fortune with something from our world, Mash? I'll even help."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Mizuki nodded as I sought confirmation.

"In that case, I want to develop a dildo. I'll have you test it out, and together we'll create the greatest dildo that even our world has never seen and become billionaires."

"What's a dildo? The fact that you want me to 'test it' makes me think it's something awful..."

Mizuki asked.

"Don't play dumb. It's a toy for ladies, shaped like a man's—"

"A tool? No way. Absolutely not!"

"Why not? You said you'd help, didn't you?"

"What are you going to do if it feels better than yours?"

"..."

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. I could clearly make out the shape of a grasshopper.

More and more shadows swept by. The Big Hoppers had breached the city walls and were inside.

One of them landed right in front of us.

It immediately took off again, leaping over the church. A few more followed, landing in its place.

"Mash, we have to fight for the city. We can't tell from here, but even in this spot where none of the bodily fluid was spread, the situation is this bad. It seems a lot of Big Hoppers have gotten inside,"

Myra said. I looked around at the others. Everyone nodded.

"Alright, let's take down any that land in this square. Famu, Mizuki, Myra, you're on 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 drew my bow.

As a test, I let an arrow fly at one of the Big Hoppers.

The arrow pierced the carapace on its head. My attacks could get through. But the monster didn't fall from a single hit.

Struck by the arrow, the monster turned toward us. It spread its wings and began to twitch them rapidly in a threatening display, creating a buzzing sound.

The movements of the surrounding monsters changed. The ones on the ground turned to face us.

"Be careful, it's warning its allies. They know we're their enemy now!"

Myra shouted.

One of the monsters leaped, diving straight for us. Myra swung her mace at its head. The blow landed as a devastating counter, shattering the monster's head.

That was the signal. The other monsters leaped and charged.

Famu and Mizuki followed Myra's lead, joining the attack and slashing at the monsters.

"The body slams are dangerous, but their jaw strength is the real threat! Don't let them bite you!"

Myra yelled as she faced her next opponent.

Aira's protective blessing activated, and for a moment, our bodies were enveloped in a faint light.

Cecily unleashed her wind magic at the enemies flying overhead. Thrown off balance and losing lift, a monster plummeted and crashed into the ground.

I frantically drew my bowstring again and again, loosing arrows at the enemies in the sky.

Our formation had me and Cecily flanking Aira, with Famu, Mizuki, and Myra forming a protective circle around us.

The monsters' assault pushed us back, inch by inch, toward the church entrance. However, fighting with our backs to a wall was actually convenient, as it protected our rear, and in the worst-case scenario, we could retreat into the church.

The main damage dealers were, as expected, Myra and Mizuki.

The Big Hoppers' primary attack was a body slam. Myra met them head-on, swinging her mace and landing precise counters that crushed them. Even after witnessing such a blow, the enemies showed no signs of fear or hesitation. They just swarmed her, relying on their numbers. A pile of their corpses began to form in front of her, acting as another shield.

Mizuki used her shield not to block the attacks head-on, but to deflect the force of their charges, creating openings to thrust with her sword. She was like a matador. Occasionally, an enemy with too much momentum would fly past her toward us, only for Aira to finish it off with her mace. Aira's technique wasn't as refined as Myra's, but she could handle herself in close combat. In fact, she might have been stronger than me.

Famu was dual-wielding and maneuvering skillfully, managing to avoid damage, but she was struggling. She couldn't parry the enemy's attacks with one arm, needing both hands to block. This left her a step behind Myra and Mizuki, who could attack and defend simultaneously. Normally, she would use her speed to dodge and strike, but with us at her back, she couldn't. She just wasn't suited for defensive fighting.

Cecily's wind magic was incredibly effective at knocking enemies out of the sky. It didn't work on monsters that had already locked onto a target and leaped, but it was perfect for those circling above. However, the monsters that crashed would just get back up and resume their attack.

My bow felt like the least useful weapon of all. My accuracy was low, and it seemed my attacks weren't doing much damage.

"Don't give up, Mash. You're doing a great job with air defense,"

Cecily called out. Instead of nodding back, I loosed another arrow. This one struck a monster in its abdomen.

How many had we defeated?

Their tough carapaces and powerful leaping charges were a nuisance, but we could handle them one by one. The problem was their sheer numbers. There had been less than five at first, but now they were swarming us, wave after wave.

In the enemy's rear, one was still buzzing its wings, trying to call more allies. I wanted to shut it up, but I couldn't spare the attention from the enemies right in front of me. I occasionally shot an arrow its way, but it dodged them with ease.

The Big Hopper swarm was still full of fight.

Famu slashed at a monster's head with her daggers. Exhaustion kept the blow from landing deep enough to be fatal, and the enemy's charge, which she had been blocking until now, didn't stop. The impact struck her in the stomach, and she staggered backward and fell. Mizuki immediately moved in to cover for her, thrusting her sword into the enemy. Aira cast a healing spell, and Famu got back to her feet.

We had been pushed all the way to the church entrance.

Famu and Mizuki were starting to take more and more hits.

Aira was making her rounds, casting her healing spell for what felt like the dozenth time.

My bow arm ached. I was almost out of arrows. It was time. I switched to my katana.

"Let's retreat inside the church for now,"

I proposed. Everyone nodded.

"I'll open the door."

Aira placed her hands on the bronze doors. The Big Hoppers' assault didn't let up. As a suppressive measure, I used Earth Magic to hurl stone spheres at the flying enemies.

"Everyone, inside!"

Aira shouted. Cecily dove in, and I followed.

I glanced back for a split second and looked up. Countless Big Hoppers still filled the sky.

Famu and Mizuki followed, and finally, Myra and Aira slipped inside and pushed the doors shut. We all braced ourselves against them as monsters slammed into the other side, trying to force their way in, and slid the heavy bolt into place.

"My arms are dead..."

Mizuki said, rubbing them as if to massage them. Famu was panting, her shoulders heaving. We had pushed ourselves to the limit trying to thin their numbers. I should have called for a retreat sooner.

"Please wait, I'll cast a healing spell,"

Myra said, placing her hands on Mizuki's body.

"How many do you think we killed...?"

"I don't know. But if it's like this even in a place with low alert, the number of Big Hoppers must be far greater than we expected,"

I replied to Famu. How many arrows had I fired? My arm was trembling. Myra then cast a healing spell on me. The trembling stopped, and the pain vanished. It was truly a miraculous power.

"Was I even useful..."

The relief made me let out a moment of weakness.

"Mash, your suppressive fire created opportunities for us to attack. And don't forget, we are all connected through you. You are the linchpin of this fan,"

Myra said, squeezing my hand tightly.

"You're right. I shouldn't have said something that would make you all anxious."

"It's okay to say it to us. 'The six of us together,' right?"

Myra smiled at me. I felt a wave of emotion welling up inside.

"It's too early to relax..."

Cecily said. She raised her staff, pointing it toward the center of the building.

In the pillar of light pouring down from above, a pink-colored Big Hopper stood, flanked by ten others.