After leaving the city of Horizon, Arios and his group moved south.

　They passed through the Stride Bridge to the southern continent.
　Then, they reached the city of River End, which was located near the bridge.

　River End is a small city compared to Horizon.
　There's no particular industry, and it's not a tourist destination.
　If I had to pick a strong point, I would say that it has become a lodging place for people traveling to and from the continent.

　River End is the first town you'll reach after crossing the southern continent.
　Most travelers stop here to relax after a long journey.
　So, in a sense, River End is an important city.

　River's End is now plagued by the presence of demons.
　

　If it was a C-ranked demon by itself, it wasn't that much of a threat.
　The same C-ranked adventurers would definitely be able to repel them.

　However, with a swarm, it was a different story.

　According to the River End knight's scouting, there were about 30 C-ranked demons in the swarm.
　In addition, there were also D- and E-ranked demons gathered, about 100 in total.
　They were as strong as an army.

　Normally, there would be no way for demons without intelligence to swarm together.
　Even among their own kind, sometimes, demons are the ones that cannibalize each other.
　However, there is an exception.

　Stampede.

　Demons obsessed with the urge for destruction will swarm and become a storm of disaster that will swallow everything.
　It has been said to be a harbinger of the resurrection of the demon king, the coming of the apocalypse, and many other things, but the cause of this is unknown.
　There is only one thing we know.
　What we do know is that once a stampede occurs, a tremendous amount of damage is created.

　The swarm of demons that occurred near River End was definitely a precursor to the stampede.
　If left unchecked, the number of demons would swell even more...
　When we cross a certain point, it will come rushing in like a tidal wave and swallow all of us.

　Before this happens, we must defeat all of these demons.
　And the one who has been given this task is Arios and his team.

　As for Arios, he was not interested in defeating the demons.
　Even if the Stampede happened, it didn't matter, he was going to walk away.

　However, the rumor born in the city of Horizon that 'the brave men have abandoned the city' had circulated to River End.
　It was still in the rumor stage, and it didn't mean that, in fact, any problems had occurred.
　However, it would be a bad idea to leave it as it is.
　So, although it was unavoidable, I took on the task of defeating the demon........

''Chit, annoying.......GigaVolt!

　Arios unleashed a lightning magic that only the brave can use.
　Like a dragon crawling on the ground, an electric shock rushed through the air and turned several demons into extinguishing coals.

　He continues to take his sword and wields it as if to cut the wind.
　The legs of the ogre that attacked me with a roar are severed.
　As he lost his stance, a thumping blow.
　The ogre was pierced through the head and died.

''Nnnn!!!''

　Aggus received the assault of multiple demons by using his huge sword as a shield.
　Using his entire body, he bounced back...
　Cleave the great sword to the side.

　The demons whose bodies were cut off in both directions.
　However, it was not possible to inflict a fatal wound on all the demons.
　The surviving demons regained their stance and tried to attack again, but....
　It read.

'Lean!'
I know!　Here we go........Red Crimson!

　Lean's magic exploded and blew away the surviving demons.

''Hmph, I'm the one against this little fish...''
Not yet. Be careful!
Huh?　.........Kyah!

　A lizardman leaps out of the explosive flames.
　His sword swung down.
　Lean jumped to the side and barely avoided it, but there was no next time.
　A second slash struck Lean...

Holy Arrow!

　Before that, Mina's magic made the Lizardman disappear.

''Are you alright!
Uh, yeah thanks for the help.
I told you to be careful.
I'll just happen to be here!　This will never happen again!
Hey, you're playing at it!　There's still some enemies left.
I know.

　At Arios's words, each one of them readied their weapons again.

　........After leaving Horizon, Arios and the others reached River End, where the people of the city asked for help.
　There are signs of the Stampede, so I want you to take out the swarm of demons while you're at it.
　Right now, the adventurers are out and there is no one else to rely on........

　Why should I, as a brave man, have to take on such a chore?

　Although Arios initially showed some difficulty...
　The notoriety created in Horizon was spreading to River End because of the merchants and travelers.
　If this was the case, it could become the second best thing to happen to Horizon.
　Therefore, he had no choice but to take on the task of defeating them.

　Normally, this was supposed to be a simple request.
　Taking on the Stampede would be a pain in the ass, but.......
　If it's a precursor to that, it's not a big deal to Arios and the others.
　It's just a matter of kicking them around with overwhelming firepower.
　It's a quick job.

　...or so I thought.

　But what is it really?
　It wasn't a hard fight, but Arios and the others were a bit of a handful against the swarm of demons.

　It was unlikely that they would lose one-on-one.
　Even if there was more than one opponent, they wouldn't be defeated.

　If one's previous experience was certain........
　Arios cuts in and Aggus takes on the enemy's attack.
　Mina would provide cover, and finally Lean would wipe them out with advanced magic.
　That pattern was supposed to work.

　But what would the reality be?
　When you try to connect with them, the enemy gets in the way, just as you aimed to do.
　At the perfect time, your friends are targeted and you can't move on to the next step.

　Why can't it work?
　I'm one step away from stumbling somewhere else.
　It's as if God is playing a prank on me.

(This ... maybe.)

　Inevitably, they couldn't fight well, and while Arios and the others were frustrated...
　Aggus was the only one who was thinking about things calmly.

　What we are now and what we were before.
　What was different?

　........Rain's presence.

　Rain was unable to deal damage to the enemy.
　And yet, the enemy targeted him and ended up making it difficult for his allies to get a hold of him.

　But........wasn't that idea wrong?

　Wasn't Rain's inability to damage his enemies because he was prioritizing support for his allies over attacking them?
　I think that allowed us to connect ourselves well.
　And wasn't Rain targeted because the enemy saw that Rain was the key to the party?

No way...

　Aggus denies himself the idea.
　But trying to deny it doesn't erase the possibility once it comes to mind.
　Rather, isn't that the right thing to do?　I was beginning to think about it.

　Now that I've thought about it calmly, that's what I was thinking about.
　It was certainly true that Rain didn't have the strength.
　However, he was aware of it and was trying to support the party in a different way.
　Getting into the support of his allies at the perfect time, and then sometimes daring to be targeted by the enemy to get hit instead of his allies.......

　In every sense of the word, wasn't Rain a 'shield' for his friends?

(...no, you're thinking too much. It can't be, it can't be.)

　Aggus shook his head and dismissed his own thoughts, this time crisply.
　There was no way that such a thing was possible.
　If there really was........
　Wouldn't it mean that we, who banished Rain, are pompous morons, incapable of seeing the true nature of the situation?

　Such a thing was unacceptable.
　Aggus decided not to think about it any further.



----------



We're gonna clean it all up!

　At Arios' signal, Aggus, Lean and Mina pulled back.
　Before they could confirm it, Arios unleashed his advanced magic.

''Lunatic Bolt!!!!''

　An extreme thunderbolt struck from the heavens.
　Furthermore, lightning danced wildly to follow it.
　The wild dance of raging light swallowed the swarm of demons and made them disappear.

''Huh ... hah ... is this the end?''

　Arios wipes his sweat and checks his surroundings.
　Due to the current magic, there is dust in the air and visibility is extremely poor.
　It's impossible to see a meter ahead.

　I'll be on the lookout for any survivors, but...

Gasp!
Arios, behind you!
What?

　As if to take advantage of Arios's gap, an ogre appeared from behind.
　Raising a huge fist, it raised its huge fist and struck Arios with........

Meow.
...what?

　Something swift rushed through.
　Immediately after that, the ogre's head was crushed and he fell down.
　It died out as it was, and became a magical stone.

　What had happened?
　Arios looked around in a hurry.
　However, the dust was still flying around and it was hard to tell.

''What do you mean... what's going on now...?''

　........I thought I saw a slight cat-ear at the edge of my vision.