“What is this?”
Yujin stopped walking as the wind shifted. The wind’s direction always changed, but it was rare for it to reverse completely in the exact opposite direction.
‘Moreover, this is a flat plain.’
There were no geographical curves from here all the way to Enderdevilt. In other words, there were no natural variables that could affect the wind’s flow. Of course, if the variable was artificial rather than natural, that would be another matter.
“Damn it, no wonder I thought nothing was happening.”
Banal drew two daggers. Even his instincts found this phenomenon suspicious. Besides, we’re stuck in this village because of that Ideal Flower monster.
“Everyone, run!”
“What!?”
The children were confused by the sudden order, but there was no time to explain. He grabbed Bollund’s shoulder, who looked just as bewildered as them.
“Monster attack! Where’s the shelter?”
The borderlands of the demon realm had shelters prepared for situations like this. When the villagers scattered chaotically, casualties were high, so the plan was to gather everyone in one place and fortify the shelter as a stronghold.
“The, the town hall!”
“Kids!”
At that, the children ran toward the village hall. The old dwarf also hurriedly followed after them. Left alone, Banal twirled his daggers and asked,
“What will you do? Exterminate it?”
As a freelance knight, running away was apparently not an option. But the Ideal Flower alone was enough for me to handle by myself. There was no need to focus all my strength unnecessarily.
“Go help with the evacuation.”
And managing casualties was even harder than exterminating monsters. When monsters attacked villages, civilians suffered the most. Extermination was momentary, but casualties caused lifelong scars.
“Understood.”
Banal disappeared with those words. Fortunately, as the children ran toward the town hall, the emergency was spreading. Soon, somewhere in the village, bells started ringing at short intervals.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
The ringing surely signified an emergency. The villagers would undoubtedly rush toward the hall soon. The problem would be the students and mercenaries, not the villagers.
‘I have to check if anyone hasn’t evacuated while heading to the hall.’
With that, I ran toward the town hall.
“This way!”
“What’s going on here!?”
“Hold your mother’s hand tight! Got it?”
As expected, chaos gripped the village. Just moments ago, the mood had been festive with merchants eyeing the outsiders, but now an unexpected attack alert had plunged everyone into shock.
“What’s happening?”
“Why is everyone acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Shouldn’t we follow them?”
Seeing the students still dazed, I scolded them.
“Monster attack alert! Follow the villagers and get to the hall!”
“Y-Yes!? Th-thank you!”
After sending the students off, I continued patrolling the village. I especially checked the mercenaries, who tended to gather around places with alcohol. I visited taverns and inns to warn the remaining mercenaries.
“Monster attack alert! If you don’t want to die, get to the hall!”
That single warning was enough. Mercenaries value their lives as assets, so they avoid dying in places where they can’t make money.
“Thanks!”
“Let’s hurry! Before it’s too late!”
“Damn! I knew something felt off!”
Watching them rush away, I climbed to the rooftop.
‘Let’s see the evacuation status.’
From the rooftop overlooking the village, it was packed. Everyone was converging on the town hall. I hoped the hall’s capacity would be enough to hold all of them. Even if it wasn’t, exterminating the Ideal Flower early would solve everything. Even if someone fell victim to its mental attacks, it would take time before absorption.
‘What the hell is happening outside the village?’
Turning my gaze beyond the village horizon,
“This is insane.”
Yellow clouds were rolling in, threatening to engulf the village. The yellow particles forming the clouds were not sand, but pollen emitted into the air by the Ideal Flower.
“How much has it grown to create a pollen cloud of this scale…”
The Ideal Flower was technically a monster, but essentially just a weed. They had to grow in clusters to cover an area with pollen, then absorb passersby caught in the pollen’s hallucinations.
‘But to create a pollen cloud and send it this far from the colony,’ the Ideal Flower had grown abnormally large. It wasn’t just emitting pollen into the air, but creating winds strong enough to carry the pollen clouds long distances.
For a plant-type monster to have the active hunting ability of a predator-type monster, ‘Is this a variant?’
The only explanation for this evolution was a variant. Just as quantitative growth can lead to qualitative changes, monsters sometimes develop stronger variants where their numbers are dense. A variant appearing inside an Ideal Flower colony was plausible, but this place wasn’t even under the demon realm’s influence. Just as plants need fertile soil to grow, a variant needs abundant magical energy to accelerate growth.
Right now, the only place with enough magical energy was the demon realm beyond the Forest of the Great Trees.
[This is an artificial manipulation.]
‘But by whom?’
Illu’s response only raised more questions. The question wasn’t who did this, but rather, among the likely suspects, who was responsible.
‘Too many suspects to make sense of it.’
[Now isn’t the time to identify the mastermind.]
‘True.’
Heeding Illu’s advice, I refocused my attention. There were still people wandering who hadn’t made it to the hall. We had to finish evacuating before the pollen cloud engulfed the village.
‘First, I should check if our kids made it inside the hall.’
I jumped from building to building toward the hall, but…there was no way down. The streets in front of the hall were already crowded with people trying to get in. So I stopped on a rooftop across the hall and looked down. The officials were lining people up and handing out gas masks.
“Hurry up and take it! If you got one, get inside quickly!”
“Calm down, everyone! Panicking will only make this slower!”
“Calm? Are you kidding me right now?!”
As expected, a scuffle broke out between those trying to enter and those trying to maintain order. The village officials alone couldn’t handle the influx of outsiders, so people from the academy were helping to distribute gas masks.
“Put it on your face, then cover the breathing holes with your hand and try to breathe! If you feel suffocated, it means you wore it properly!”
In the middle of it all, I spotted Banal explaining how to use the gas masks. If Banal was here, our kids should be here too. I scanned around and saw familiar silhouettes.
“Trust this sister and follow me!”
Budica was leading the children into the hall’s interior.
“Are there no other clergy? This number isn’t enough!”
Sylvia was gathering the village’s clergy to cast a protective barrier around the hall. Since the hall’s capacity was insufficient, she planned a large-scale barrier. Other nuns who appeared to be academy students joined her call.
“Kids, we need more gas masks!”
“We’re on it! Let’s go!”
Meanwhile, Lian and Emil were helping carry boxes of gas masks inside. Everyone was doing their part preparing for the disaster, but the problem was why one person was missing from sight.
‘Emilia?’
Where had she gone this time?
“Waaah… Mommy…”
“Hmm?”
I heard a child crying and turned to see a little girl left alone in the street, seemingly separated from her mother amid the chaos. She had even fallen, lying face down, only searching for her mother.
Kuru…
‘Damn! When did she get that far!’
The pollen cloud was closing in behind the girl. Its speed was faster than I expected.
‘I have to go—’
If this continued, the girl would be swallowed by the cloud. I tried to jump from the building to rescue her, but
“Hey kid! Grab my hand!”
Emilia was running toward the girl. What was she doing? Was she searching for stragglers outside the hall? That idiot! What if she got caught in the cloud herself!
“Where’s your mom?”
“I don’t know! She’s probably in the hall!”
Emilia grabbed the girl’s hand and ran toward the hall. But the cloud advanced faster than the two girls’ pace, slowly closing in from behind as it covered the street.
‘If worse comes to worst, I have to help…’
I was about to jump when—
“Barrier activated!”
‘Already?!’
Turning to the sudden shout, the clergy gathered and joined their hands to activate a protective barrier spell. Light curtains enveloped the town hall, probably due to magic circles pre-placed at every intersection. The building I was on also fell within the barrier’s radius, and a veil of light draped overhead.
‘Then what about Emilia?’
Once a barrier was formed, no one could enter or leave until it was lifted. In other words, no one could enter after the barrier closed. At this rate, Emilia and the girl would be swallowed by the pollen cloud.
‘But it’s too late!’
The barrier deployed faster than I could move. Even if I ran to Emilia now, the barrier would close right in front of me.
“Hey!”
As if sensing this, Emilia reached the edge of the barrier and pushed the girl forward.
“Go on first!”
“Sis!?”
The girl screamed, but thanks to that, she entered the barrier before it sealed. Emilia was swallowed by the yellow cloud. As if to put a full stop on her misfortune, the light barrier around the hall closed right in front of Emilia’s eyes.
“Damn it!”
I jumped from the building immediately. The Ideal Flower’s pollen was a mental attack that even immortals struggled with. There was no way an apprentice mage like Emilia could hold out without a gas mask.
‘Living armor doesn’t protect against poison at all.’
Living armor was just armor, with no function to filter airborne toxins. Moreover, the Ideal Flower’s pollen was magic. If it couldn’t be filtered down to the molecular level like a gas mask, there was no protection whatsoever.
‘I have to go in.’
At least I had to give Emilia a gas mask. Only then could she survive inside. But with the light barrier completely sealed around the hall, I returned to find a way to open an exit.
“Sir!”
Sylvia saw me and ran over.
“Have you seen Emilia? We can’t find her anywhere!”
She seemed to be searching for Emilia too. She had been busy setting up the barrier earlier. Only now had she realized a member was missing.
“Do you know where she is? The others can’t find her either…”
Her voice trembled. She was probably scared to accept the fact they had lost a companion. Especially since Emilia was a close friend of her own age.
‘Among our group, Sylvia got along best with Emilia.’
This wasn’t just a loss of a companion.
“She didn’t get inside.”
I had to tell her the truth.
“…What?”
Sylvia’s face froze at those words. She probably didn’t understand what I meant. Even if she did, she wanted to deny it.
“W-What do you mean? That can’t be true…”
She tried to deny it with an awkward smile, so I was more direct.
“Emilia is outside. The barrier closed in front of her.”
“A-ah…”
Sylvia collapsed to her knees. Her eyes widened and her pupils shook. She blamed herself for Emilia’s situation.
“If the barrier had been activated a little later… if only…”
As she sank into self-blame, I spoke to her.
“There’s still hope.”
“H-How?”
I explained. Even in the worst case where Emilia had fallen victim to the hallucinations, it would still take time before she was absorbed as nourishment. If we rescue her before then, she could survive.
“Sir… you don’t mean?”
Sylvia looked at me, eyes full of disbelief. What that meant was obvious. I grabbed her arm and helped her stand.
“I’ll bring her back.”
And I promised her.
“I’ll be the only one who dies here.”