The Red Demon Squad, which had been instructed by Chrystia to restrain the smaller of the ones controlling the Stampede this time, was heading in a straight line towards the old bone tortoise that the two of them were riding.

　Along the way, there were enough monsters camped out to fill their view, but they were kicked away by the mounted golem Luke had summoned. And with the simultaneous attacks of the high-level black mages, led by Alma with her black staff, the monsters in the area had been swept away.


''That was awesome just now!　That felt so good!　Monsters baba baba!
..........


　Beside Alma, who was ecstatically talking about the round of skillful firing that the black mages had just done, Weiss was flying on the fly and heading towards the old bone turtle. A muscular man, a close range attacker, approached next to Weiss.


''Little bit, it's going too well, isn't it?
Well, yeah.


　Indeed, the attack that the black mages made earlier with their skills had no room to escape, and the monsters were burned and crushed by the meteorites falling from above their heads without a second thought. If it were a normal Stampede, this would be a sight that would not be questioned, but this time we were told that there was an Orbis cult that could control the monsters.

　But the placement of the monsters is too monotonous for a man to be in command. Weiss couldn't help but wonder about the monsters that were being easily beaten down, as they were being taken by surprise from above and below at first. If he had been in the labyrinth city, he would know that it was foolish to take on an explorer head on. The reason why he dared to challenge it head on despite that.


(......................Crossing swords would give you some idea.


　As Weiss thought about this, he looked at the old bone turtle that was being beaten one way from the reddening mounted golem. Then I saw a single shadow jump down from above its head and come towards me.


''Each of you spread out. Alma, intercept, please.


　After smiling at Weiss, who speaks fluently when it comes to combat, Alma laughed bitterly, and then unleashed her Fire Lance, a flame-based skill, at the figure's shadow. But that figure, despite being in the air, fluttered like a butterfly and avoided the fire lance.


'Oh, you know. It's Weiss, isn't it!
..........


　Mina, who is wrapped in bandages all over her face and limbs, spoke to Weiss in a bright voice as soon as she landed on the ground. And when she ripped the bandages off and revealed a charming face without a scratch, the Red Demon Clan members all looked surprised.


''You really are a human........''
So that's what you really are, a brat.
Don't let appearances deceive you. Leon has lost an arm, albeit a surprise attack. Everyone else, cover me.


　When Weiss said that and held a swing of the war hammer in his right hand, it instantly turned red. And then he swung the war hammer, which was dyed bright red by the influence of the phoenix's soul, at Mina's head without hesitation.


'Hey, hold on!'
..........


　Then instantly, multiple knotted feet sprouted from Mina's back and took the war hammer as a tangle of them, she asked. But Weiss didn't have anything to say, and shook the knotty legs away, waving the red-tinted war hammer to the side.


''Monster........''
What?


　When Alma couldn't help but mutter that at the sight of the strange figure, Mina moved her head to the right side and looked at her. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's not just a matter of time before you're able to get your hands on a new one.


''It's a pain in the ass!
..........


　Weiss tried to thrust the red shortsword into Mina's abdomen, but it popped with a sensation as if he was trying to stab her with steel. Once again confirming that the slash was ineffective, Weiss tried to add another blow with his war hammer, but pulled back when he felt a powerful force from under his feet.

　Pushing Weiss away with her discolored black hands, Mina thrust the knotted feet growing out of her back into the ground, causing her small body to float.


'Onii, hidon!　Gobbledygook!


　And as Mina tries to speak again, a series of reddened arrows fly into her mouth. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family.

　This time he grasps the handle tightly with both hands and tries with all his might to crack Mina's shell. The hard shelled opponents are used to the shell club, so Weiss is also familiar with it. The war hammer that was granted the phoenix soul roared and cracked the black shell in Mina's right hand.

　It is weak against the fire system, and the even harder shell is also incompatible with strong blows. She screamed screaming and turned her tearful face to the relentless blow of Weiss, who is truly Mina's natural enemy. Then suddenly, she turned her back to Weiss and started running.


''That's it, I want to stay, so stop it!
(...just a kid.)


　Weiss thinks so, but holds his war hammer in his hand and chases after Mina, who has no visible intention of fighting. Mina is delirious, as if running away from a killer, and the Red Demon Clan members seem to be confused.


'Save me!　He's an idiot!　He's a bigger idiot than me!　All I want to do is help my mom!　Oh, stop it!
Va-weiss?　This girl seems to be surrendering....
..........


　To Cecilia, who sees Mina's crying out and asks her a question, Weiss remains silent while holding a war hammer in her hand. Indeed, I can't feel the will to fight from Mina. But Weiss has a history of having all of his friends killed by monsters, so he was ruthless even to Mina, who looked weak.


''Will the monsters let us off the hook if people surrender?''
Eh....
That's the answer.


　When Weiss told him that, he slammed the war hammer into the face of Mina, who had a stunned expression on her face. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. The sound of the war hammer hitting the steel, and at the same time, Mina's body bounced as a reflection. Next, the screams disappeared and the body stopped bouncing as well.

　Weiss, who crushed his limbs to put a stop to the insect monster, wiped his cheek, which was covered with a mixture of red and green body fluids, with his sleeve.


''I'm still keeping this one alive. I'll leave it up to Chrystia to decide whether to kill this.
Or do you want to get better?
No, don't get better. You'll be dead in the worst case scenario. I'll get this to Chrystia. You'll be covered by the golden thread.


　Weiss, who roughly carried Mina, who was no longer limbless like a dharma, instructed the clan members to do so. Then something like a loud explosion sounded from the royal capital behind Weiss.


　▽▽


　In the royal capital, many people left the south and acted out their daily lives so as not to see the extraordinary. Some of them wanted to head south to see the Stampede, but unlike in the Maze City, there were only a few this time.

　The breaking down of the barriers of the Kanchelsia and Babenberg families has stirred the people's anxiety, and it doesn't seem to be an issue. The king has managed to maintain his calm by appearing in person and making a statement to his people, but few people are out and about.


I'm sorry to say that things have been so bad lately.
But you'll be fine. Those two families are behind this.
Well, yeah, but...


　Seeing the deserted streets, the men running the stalls are growing anxious. The only sound is the sound of food being burned, which has become much less popular than usual, and it echoes in a vain way.


''Eh.''


　And then one of the men who was making small talk, opened his eyes and stopped moving. The men around him looked at him in wonder. Immediately after that, one of the men suddenly floated in the air.


''Whoa!　What the hell is this?


　A cockatrice that looks like a bird's head on a reptile, known as a monster that petrifies its body when you look into its eyes. That monster was holding up one man's clothes in its beak.

　Other winged monsters such as gryphons, wyverns, and various other winged types suddenly appeared in the city, and the whole area was in panic.

　The gryphons were aiming at the windows of houses, breaking them and acting as if they were aiming at the insects inside, while on the ground, orcs with hardened bipedal equipment were running in line to drive the people away. The centipede-shaped monster called Camisil wrapped itself around the buildings, using them as lodging trees, and the stone buildings collapsed because they couldn't withstand it.

　The sound of the buildings collapsing in the King's Capital echoed around the area, and the monster's roar echoed through the wood. The commotion spread throughout the city and the daily life in the center of the city crumbled away.

　The people who have been living peacefully in the city are afraid of the monsters they see for the first time and are unable to make normal decisions. Therefore, they did not notice the behavior of the monsters that peeked out of windows and doors to drive people away from the buildings and did not touch them. The collapsed building was also uninhabited during construction, and while there were some injuries, it wasn't enough to cause any deaths.

　But the threat of the monsters chasing after them with their fangs bared, the people could only flee in fear. The only thing they could do was to flee in a direction where there were no monsters, to the south.


''Monsters...!


　And when those who had reached the vicinity of the southernmost barrier began to emerge, the nobles, who had sensed something strange in the inner part of the royal capital, discovered a monster chasing the people. And just as they were about to exercise their magic, the tanks of the Labyrinth Conqueror Squad stepped forward.


''Combat Cry.''
God, where the f*ck are all these people lurking?


　Taking the hate of the monsters that were chasing the people, the tanks spread out to prevent the people from being harmed. But there were too many of them, and the ravaged monsters were still chasing after the people.

　Then, breathless, the people run in front of Brooklyn, who is floating in the air with his own barriers. And when he turned his hand to Cockatrice, who was chasing the people like a madman.


'Flamekeek!


　From behind her, a blue-winged bird-man girl kicked the cockatrice bird-head, which was about to bite the child.


''It's all right now!''


　She has blue hair that bounces around in a heap, and she quickly breaks away from the scene with her child in a princess hug. Even from behind her, arrows fired with a power that could be mistaken for a cannon accurately blast the monster's vital points, and two large-bodied indigo and black dogmen use their Warrior Howl to draw the monsters around them.


''Yo,''
Ha, Hannah!　Please don't do anything rash!
She's a little banged up. We need her to get better!


　Behind her, a prayer woman in black monastic garb folded her hands and used a wish for healing against the child Hannah had been carrying.


'Oh, your mother is still...'
I'm fine!　I'm going to save you!


　Hanna quickly answered the child's voice and headed towards the monsters, waving the wings on her back powerfully. In addition to the five people of the Infinite Circle, the other five people from the Labyrinth Conqueror Squad and those from Aldoret Crow arrived one after another, leading the monsters that appeared from the inner part of the royal capital away from the people.


''Ladies and gentlemen, go inside the barrier!


　The people who had escaped from the monsters were led by the Maze Conquerors into the barriers newly created by Kanchelsia and Babenberg. The people look surprised when they see the explorers exterminating the monsters.


It's amazing. It's as if there are no monsters to deal with!
'Look!　Over there, monsters are fighting each other!
"What a body count...!　It's over 10,000!


　The people who can only watch the explorers fight inside the barrier are watching the fight with their eyes wide open, perhaps with the excitement of having escaped from the monster at the risk of their lives just now.


''.........''


　Watching the battle behavior of these explorers and their people, Brooklyn was nonchalantly constructing a barrier while watching with a blank expression. The head of the Babenberg family was also rolling his tongue inwardly at Brooklyn's quick construction of a barrier, and he put up a barrier to support the mounted golems that were fighting outside.