Chapter 112. Air Raid (4)
‘They said we’d accompany the guards through the mine’s underground passages anyway.’
I needed a way to subdue the swarm of magical beasts charging through the dark void.
Calmly assessing the situation, I found the answer and gave Sirocco her orders.
“These beasts specialize in aerial assaults, but inside a passage with a ceiling, their movements are restricted.”
“Yeah, looks that way.”
Sirocco seemed to already understand. No further words were needed. I issued my command calmly.
“Move forward. Clear the passage.”
“Hmm, got it.”
Sirocco stepped barefoot onto the underground floor, lightly touching her lips with her fingers. Glancing back at me, she flashed a wide grin.
“Leave these losers to me.”
Unleashing terrifying leg strength, Sirocco darted around chaotically, crushing the incoming magical beasts one by one.
The flying-type beasts, sensing the most dangerous threat with animal instinct, spread their wings with shrill screams and swarmed toward her.
But Sirocco, with movements like an elegant dance, stepped back lightly twice, spinning sideways in quick succession. With a ferocious whirlwind-like roundhouse kick, she shattered their carapaces, splattering bodily fluids and black dust in all directions.
“Hell yeah, that’s insane!!”
The guards, running through the passage with tactical lights on, cheered loudly as Sirocco single-handedly carved a path ahead.
Illuminating her from behind, they pushed their speed to the limit to provide support.
I walked leisurely behind them.
Soon, the remaining guards naturally gathered around me, starting to secure the perimeter.
As the leader directing Sirocco’s squad, some realized it was better to move around me than to interfere with her overwhelming prowess.
Then, the beasts’ movements shifted.
They froze midair with a convulsive twitch, as if receiving a command, and began retreating hastily, flapping back toward the passage they came from.
Whooosh.
Sirocco’s wolf ears, perched atop her head, twitched and turned as she sensed an unsettling vibration from the darkness behind. Her red eyes glanced back, scanning the shadows.
Kiririririk!!
From the distance, a massive beast with two pairs of enormous wings filled the passage, gliding through the darkness and charging straight at her.
Slen, standing beside me, shouted in horror.
“Damn it! It’s the beast leader!!”
At a glance, it was at least five times the height of an adult man—a colossal lord of flying-type magical beasts.
With overwhelming force, it surged toward Sirocco like a bolt of light, opening its pitch-black maw to unleash a metallic roar.
Slen’s face paled as he flailed his arms, yelling at Sirocco, who stood at the front of the passage.
“It’s dangerous! Run!!”
“Hmph, noisy guy. Don’t tell me what to do.”
Sirocco shot him a brief glare. Startled, Slen froze under her cold stare. Turning her head, she looked straight at me.
The conversation was predictable. I tilted my head and asked.
“You can handle it, right?”
“Obviously!”
As if waiting for the cue, Sirocco whipped her head around, stomped the ground, and sprinted diagonally toward the beast.
Whoosh!
She launched into a triangular jump, kicking off the tunnel’s left and right walls twice to propel herself upward.
The beast swiftly pivoted in midair, swinging a massive membrane wing at the charging Sirocco.
A single graze could shatter bones and muscles, an attack boasting overwhelming acceleration and mass.
But Sirocco, as if mocking it, twisted her body upside-down in a spin, using her momentum to run along the ceiling and close in on the enemy.
Kiririririk!!
In that fleeting moment, the leader lost sight of her physics-defying movements. As it faltered, trying to forcibly change direction—
“Loser!”
Seizing the opportunity, Sirocco pushed off the ceiling, diving toward the airborne beast.
The next instant, a deafening thud reverberated through the passage, shaking the surroundings.
Thooom!
From the beast Sirocco struck, trailing red mana light from her ankle, concentric white shockwaves rippled outward in the air.
The massive beast, soaring through the sky, bent like a banana in midair before being shot downward like an arrow.
It crashed into the ground, the impact sending a fierce wind sweeping across the floor, grazing my ankles.
The beast’s tough hide cracked, one wing bent at a right angle, and it slid to a stop right in front of me.
“Hii, hiiik! Shoot it, shoot!!”
“Back off! I said back off!!”
The surrounding guards panicked, aiming their magical gear and retreating, but I watched the beast expressionlessly.
Kiriririririk!!
The beast leader, still alive, writhed and rose, letting out a metallic roar.
Opening its maw wide, it spread its wings and lunged at me.
“Hmph. Where do you think you’re going?”
From behind, Sirocco’s foot arced upward in a swift motion, pausing briefly before slamming her heel down on the rising beast.
With a crisp crack, the beast’s body shattered into pieces and embedded into the ground.
“Some loser daring to charge at him?”
Sirocco lifted her chin slightly, looking down at the beast crushed under her barefoot.
As the dying beast turned to black ash and gazed up at her, her red eyes, reflecting the white light, gleamed sharply.
With a matter-of-fact expression, she added.
“He knew I’d win.”
“…”
I gave her a wry look.
But aside from me, no one could challenge her declaration after such a one-sided battle.
Slen and the other guards, witnessing her feat, stood speechless, mouths agape, letting out hollow chuckles.
Ignoring them, I walked through the passage toward Sirocco.
“Good work.”
“Mhm. I let it slide just now, though. Is that okay?”
Sirocco glanced up at me, asking.
Noticing the genuine concern in her red-glowing eyes and folded ears, I nearly let out a light laugh.
Despite her battle-ready bravado, calling things “losers” and claiming victory, she was sincerely worried about me.
“No problem.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Glancing to the side, I saw a silver-haired maid standing like a shadow, her cold azure eyes fixed on me without ever wavering, just as she’d declared she wouldn’t let me get hurt again.
Thanks to her, this mission carried a reassuring yet chilling, peculiar feeling as a passive effect…
But if there had been real danger, Lien would’ve stepped in regardless of my intentions.
‘Come to think of it.’
A question crossed my mind.
Both Sirocco, currently at Rank 10, and Lien, who never appeared in the original story, were powerful mages surpassing Rank 10.
While I knew Sirocco was Rank 10, what exactly was Lien’s rank?
I still knew so little about her. Part of it was because Lien herself didn’t speak more than necessary, but still.
Just then, someone tugged at my sleeve. Turning, I saw Sirocco pointing at herself with a bright smile.
“So, how was my performance?”
“You did well.”
“Heh, nice. Praise me more, quick!”
“More?”
Sirocco crossed her arms triumphantly, lifting her chin and wagging her tail.
“Yeah! Your praise makes me feel good!”
Somehow, she seemed even more eager for praise than before.
Her claim that praise felt good seemed true, judging by the glossy tail wagging vigorously behind her. In moments like this, she reminded me more of a puppy than a wolf. I exhaled lightly and turned my head.
“Later.”
“Hmph.”
I avoided Sirocco’s half-squinting glare.
It wasn’t that I was stingy with praise. But we were still in the middle of an operation. I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
…Though, since I promised, I’d have to praise her eventually.
To be honest, giving praise for things like this felt a bit excessive from my perspective.
After all, in the original story, Sirocco wasn’t some “mere” Rank 10 mage lingering in mediocrity among the strong.
I shook my head briefly, cutting off the train of thought that naturally followed the original story’s knowledge.
Just then, I heard footsteps approaching.
“Impressive. As expected.”
Turning, I saw Slen scratching the back of his head as he approached. Around us, the other guards had regained their composure and were cautiously advancing through the passage, wary of other beasts.
After Sirocco’s decisive strike had broken the beasts head-on, the guards had naturally seized the momentum.
Slen scratched his cheek with an apologetic look.
“I was no help at all just now. Feels like I only got in the way of the strategy. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
There wasn’t much of a strategy to speak of—just Sirocco’s overwhelming force crushing everything. But that wasn’t a bad approach by any means.
Besides Sirocco, I had no other follower families directly deployed in the squad yet.
As such, complex strategies with detailed role assignments were still off the table.
While that approach could yield a much higher ceiling for our strength, for now, it couldn’t be helped.
To the sheepish Slen, I added.
“Let’s split up and investigate quickly. Time’s short.”
Naturally, dividing the guards into smaller groups would increase the chances of finding the missing people or uncovering the cause of the beasts’ emergence.
And, needless to say, staying with the guards imposed restrictions, including the use of my sword.
There was no reason to waste time here. Slen nodded, seemingly convinced.
“That’s a good call. We’ll split into teams and investigate quickly.”
He tapped his earset.
“We’ll keep the comms line open. If anyone finds something, we’ll relay it both ways.”
“Sounds good.”
“Then we’ll head to the upper passages. Stay safe.”
“You too.”
With the rough plan set, the other guards exchanged glances, understanding the strategy, and formed small teams.
They shone their lights into the mine’s darkness and dispersed to begin their search.
As they moved farther away, I slowly pulled something from my pocket.
A fox doll.
A white light burst from the doll. The small but heartfelt gift from Chloe last time was, true to its care, still incredibly useful.
Extending the white light forward, I stepped slowly into the mine’s deep passages.
Now was the time for the solo exploration I’d been waiting for.
It was time to take a step toward the root cause of this chaos, sparked by the Saintess’s designated mission.