Chapter 82: Submerged Fortress City (3)
-Kururururururu!!
Dozens of Truncatus charged madly towards Sirocco.
Monsters whose entire bodies were covered in a hard, charcoal-colored rock shell. With their massive horns raised high to the sky, they surged forward like black rocks crashing in like a tide.
Truncatus were sensitive to vibrations.
They were probably reacting additionally to the vibration caused by the earlier explosion and the collision between Aspis's shield and horns.
Herds of Truncatus, excited by the vibrations, continued to join from various parts of the ruin, increasing their numbers.
Dealing with that was impossible for Dionil's squad alone.
The number of the magical beast horde appeared to be at least 5 times greater than Dionil's personnel. No matter how strong Dionil's squad was, this was an overwhelming quantity.
Dionil quickly assessed the situation.
"Retreat! Guard the rear!"
"Retreat? Leaving all those Magical Beasts?"
Just then, Sirocco laughed coldly and said.
"I told you just now. It's boring."
She spun around, looking at Enoch.
The corners of her mouth curved into an arc.
"Sirocco Lycaon, according to Lord Enoch's command, I will now clear all of those things away."
Her voice resonated and echoed.
The surrounding Truncatus horde stopped for a moment.
Individuals sensitive to vibrations. The tremor of the air that Sirocco caused to resonate as she raised her mana was encroaching upon their instincts with fear.
She lightly stepped on the ground and straightened her body.
The ruins of the collapsed fortress. The wolf-eared girl stood alone on a pile of gray stones.
Red light mana wrapped around her entire body and instantly amplified.
An intensely brilliant current of red mana wrapped around her slender body and danced.
Sirocco's Unique Mana. [Fire Wheel].
At the aura of the manifested Fire Wheel, all the surrounding Truncatus herds stopped in unison and began to back away.
-Krururururok!
They raised their horns menacingly and made threatening sounds, but their
The ruins, where silence had likely reigned submerged in the lake water for a long time. On the remains where only traces of the past brickwork of the fortress wall remained amidst bushes and moss.
The charging magical beasts crushed the broken remains and trampled the cracked ground, rushing forward like mad.
Shaking the ground, the magical beasts raised their horns and surged towards Sirocco. Sirocco glanced at them, then lightly kicked off the ground.
Whoosh—!
She immediately kicked off the ground and leaped, staying airborne. Spinning her body widely in the high air and falling, she dodged the magical beast's raised horn by a hair's breadth.
The next moment. Sirocco's sharp spinning kick sliced through the air.
Kwazajajajak!
A kick of destructive power struck the horn.
Simultaneous with the dry roar of the magical beast's carapace being shattered in an instant. One of its horns cracked, severed. It flew spinning and embedded itself in the ruins of the fortress wall.
The moment the magical beast greatly raised its head and staggered from the shock. Sirocco's subsequent downward kick exploded. Her bare foot accurately struck its head.
Paaang—! A refreshing explosive sound of air bursting. The magical beast's head, resembling rock, was torn off as is and plunged vertically into the ground.
The headless magical beast twitched spasmodically. Soon after, it collapsed with a thud, turning into black ash from the destroyed body part and flying into the sky, disappearing.
However, before the corpse even had time to vanish.
A magical beast that charged immediately afterwards pierced the corpse of its comrade with its horn and charged straight like a tank. It lunged at Sirocco, carrying the impaled body of its comrade.
"Heh, what a waste~"
But Sirocco's wolf ears twitched in response. She immediately retreated spinning like a dance, and kicked the charging creature's belly upwards with great force.
Immediately, with an explosive sound, its charging body seemed to greatly jolt vertically, then it flew up several meters into the sky, scattering black ash.
-Krururururuk!
Perhaps excited by the successive deaths of their comrades, the Truncatus surged towards her one after another. Their roars, coming from their eyeless forms, tore through the air.
Sirocco glanced at them charging towards her and smiled coldly with a pouty gaze.
"...It's strange. It's just the same magical beast hunting, but coming out of the village is definitely much more fun."
She muttered softly. Then, looking slightly at Enoch beside her, she added lightly.
"As expected, I'm glad I became your follower family!"
"Is that so?"
Seeing her speaking so calmly even with the magical beasts swarming, Enoch asked with a faint smile.
"Those things. You can handle them alone, right?"
"You're asking the obvious."
Sirocco answered simply. Near her, as she looked at the magical beasts, the flow of mana was raised once more. Enoch added briefly.
"Go all out."
"Heh, alright. That's a command I like."
After looking at me once and nodding slightly, Sirocco instantly kicked off the ground and leaped. The wind pressure from her stomping the ground brushed against Enoch's cheek.
Looking up slightly beyond the hair scattering in the wind pressure, he could see Sirocco, who had leaped high into the sky. Enoch looked at her with a calm gaze.
'Sirocco needs diverse combat experience.'
Having grown up in the tribe village isolated from Imperial society until now, her combat experience was still limited to the rocky desert area where the Beast-kin village was located.
That's why this was an unprecedented opportunity.
The more experience Sirocco gained, the faster she would reach the level she did in the original work.
In the original work, after the village was destroyed. She had fought alone on the brink of endless survival and guilt.
To possess combat abilities as outstanding as in the original work, it was necessary to steadily accumulate combat experience starting now.
Of course, she was by no means weak now. But for the future trials that would come, she needed to become even stronger.
By the time Enoch's thoughts reached that point.
In that short instant, Sirocco was already destroying all the magical beasts charging towards her with light movements.
The shadows of the magical beasts, scattering black ash as they flew into the sky, covered the dazed eyes of Dionil's squad members who were on the ground opposite.
They had forgotten even to move and were witnessing Sirocco's performance.
"...Crazy. What is that..."
Glancing to the side, Aspis next to Enoch already had a blank expression.
No, not only him, but the expressions of Dionil's squad members were already stunned, with their magic gear hanging down since combat was no longer necessary.
They too, being combat mages with considerable experience, seemed to be instinctively feeling something upon seeing the combat Sirocco was displaying before their eyes.
"...Honestly, I thought her skill might be exaggerated as a rumor. But seeing it in person, her class is different."
Aspis, who had been dazed like that for a moment, let out a small exclamation of admiration to his fellow mage behind him.
"I only heard rumors second-hand from a friend when I was working on VIP escort duty for large corporations, but is it true that Beast-kin are capable of even that much...?"
"Right? I've seen quite a few close-combat fighting styles too. Even those friends would be stunned if they saw this. To raise the output of Physical Reinforcement magic to that level. If it were a normal human, they'd be spitting blood from their whole body and die."
Aspis nodded at his comrade's words.
"Huh. That level of talent at that age. I'm not in a position to evaluate, but I'm curious about the potential. If the 'Lords' of the Outskirts had known this much, they would have paid attention to the Beast-kin at the very least."
Lord.
It was a term used to call powerful individuals who reigned as kings in specific areas within districts where the power or management of Main Houses did not properly reach, commonly called 'Outskirts'.
The Underworld was at least a place included within Main House territory, but the Outskirts were virtually a lawless zone where people with no honor or human rights gathered.
The 'Lords' of that place were by no means pushovers. The direct squads under the command of such mages were the same.
At the very least, judging by the fact that they would be interested, I could guess the level at which Sirocco's status was evaluated.
"Huh, they said she was a Tier 10 Beast-kin. Just how did Young Master Enoch recruit a monster like that...?"
Aspis said so blankly, then flinched, turned back, and awkwardly shook his head.
"Ah. My, my slip of the tongue. I apologize."
"No, well, it's not wrong."
As they said, Sirocco's potential was very high. In the original work, she grew to be among the strongest class, enough to be called a monster.
Moreover, that wasn't the end. If properly nurtured, Sirocco's strength would become unimaginable.
'Since I know. I must definitely try.'
A "Skill" that had to be gradually mastered even in the game. In other words, her Unique Magic needed to be trained to improve her combat ability.
To do that, they had to continue accumulating combat experience like now, and create a stepping stone for her to reach the wall of enlightenment.
Also, once her skills improved to a certain extent, she would need to be equipped with a "Dedicated Magic Gear" corresponding to a dedicated weapon, and "Personal Artifacts" corresponding to armor.
Thus, the gacha game-like nurturing system from the original work flashed through my mind. The moment I recalled that, Enoch almost chuckled.
It was a nurturing I had done countless times already. However, this time, I had to achieve all of it in reality. And from 5 years before the original work began.
Of course, based on my experience so far, there was a gap between reality and the game. I couldn't assume that all elements of the game translated directly into reality.
The same went for spec-up.
Whether it would be easy or not, it was one of the things that had to be done anyway in the future.
Naturally, for the survival of my side in the future, including Sirocco. Improving the specs of the follower family mages I would recruit in the future would be as important as improving the main character's specs.
Unlike the sword carried on my back, which could only be drawn in the darkness where others' eyes couldn't reach.
The follower family squad he would recruit in the future would be the sword Enoch could wield in the light.
***
Emergency Rescue Operation Area Rhodes
20 minutes elapsed after the ruin site entry operation began.
And currently. The surrounding landscape of the ruin's interior ground was filled with the corpses of magical beasts turning into black ash and rising into the sky.
Pasususu.
And some of Dionil's squad mages were staring blankly at the scene with their heads raised.
Although it was only a part of the fortress city Rhodes, at least the nearby magical beasts were repelled soon after.
More precisely, Sirocco handled all the Truncatus within the radius where aggro was drawn, and Dionil's squad also supported her to secure the surroundings.
One of Dionil's follower family members was heard reporting through the earset in his ear to the entire squad communication channel, with a slightly bewildered tone.
"Ruin section, Magical Beasts suppressed... done. One escapee secured. A young girl."
"Identity confirmed?"
"She appears to be a student from the Academia History Department, an intern on her first practical training this time."
Watching that, Enoch slightly cocked his head for a moment.
Sirocco had likely gained enough experience as planned with this much. However, separately from that, there was one lingering question that wasn't answered.
And it was the same for others.
"By the way. Why did that explosion happen so suddenly?"
Dionil, who had been observing the situation with his arms crossed beside him, spoke seriously. One of Dionil's follower families answered, tilting his head.
"I don't know. It's uncertain if the stranded Academia expedition team members sent some kind of signal, or if it was simply due to magical beasts collapsing part of the ruin structure underground."
"That's strange. It's certainly an old ruin where it wouldn't be strange for it to collapse anywhere or anytime, but..."
"Current detection magic is unresponsive. Excluding the presence of magical beasts, there are no other unusual signs or movements yet."
"Not good."
Dionil's teeth ground together.
"Regardless of the full story of the explosion. The explosion that just occurred underground caused a vibration. The magical beast horde underground will also react. Rescuing the stranded individuals just became more difficult."
Regardless, the fact that they had to be rescued remained unchanged.
However, it was certain that the situation had significantly worsened.
As they were all slightly unsettled. Aspis, who had been standing with his arms crossed with a serious face, glanced at Enoch. Then he calmly opened his mouth.
"I heard from a friend who participated in the previous Beast-kin village joint mission that Lord Enoch succeeded in rescuing hostages even in situations with variables."
At those words, everyone's gaze turned towards Enoch.
"If it's alright, could I perhaps seek your advice?"
Aspis bowed his head, requesting respectfully.
"We've undertaken many rescue operations ourselves, but such sudden incidents are not common. If there are measures we can consider before entering, I'd like to know about them."
"Well, that wouldn't be within my authority."
The commander of this mission was clearly Dionil. However, Dionil surprisingly nodded his head.
"It's presumptuous, but I too formally ask. We need your advice. The situation has worsened beyond what our squad initially assumed. The success of the mission is the priority in any situation."
"That's true."
"...Putting aside the cause of the sudden explosion for a moment, its scale wasn't small. If there were magical beasts underground, it's possible they were provoked."
He added, gripping the staff he held so tightly it might break.
"At this rate, the stranded individuals might be in danger. If there's any advice I can hear before we go into the operation, I'd like to hear it to some extent. Is that possible?"
"It's not free. There are two conditions."
"Wha, what are they?"
Enoch slightly tilted his head.
"First. Official discretion for my squad. After this point, I won't worry about additional instructions or joining up, I'll act freely."
Dionil had suggested acting separately earlier, but this makes it certain so no further words are needed. He also nodded.
"...I will formally guarantee that as the overall mission commander. I was planning to do so anyway. What's the other one?"
"The remaining one, I'll tell you after this mission ends."
Dionil frowned for a moment. It was akin to using his assistance in the mission as leverage for a wish.
He could have argued that since Enoch had voluntarily joined the mission, cooperating was the right thing to do, but Dionil soon nodded.
As it was a mission, the priority was clear.
"...Alright. For now, mission success is the top priority."
Enoch smiled faintly. As expected, his judgment of the situation was quite quick. With this, the deal was struck.
Enoch glanced away and spoke.
"Then, I'll first tell you what I've gathered about the situation."
After saying that, Enoch, who had been briefly observing the area near the explosion point, slowly began to speak.
"One thing is certain, that explosion just now. It wasn't a naturally occurring explosion. It was magic."
"Huh? What do you mean..."
Naturally, it wasn't a lie.
Enoch was seeing the flow of mana with his eyes.
An unfamiliar flow of mana, leaking from the vicinity of the explosion point underground in the ruin site, was spreading out like a line.
If so, this would be a type of magic.
"Well. I don't know that much yet, and there wouldn't be much meaning in saying more here, but..."
Having said that much, Enoch looked to the side for a moment.
"At least there's someone who could be an informant."
There, the girl Sirocco had rescued just now was trembling, tightly clutching the hem of Sirocco's short skirt and her arm.
Although there were many members of Dionil's squad around, she seemed more relieved being surrounded by them with Sirocco nearby.
On the other hand, Sirocco, who had silently glanced at the girl who didn't seem much younger than herself, looked back at me with a pouty gaze.
It was probably a signal for me to take her away.
Enoch approached, keeping an eye out for potential magical beasts still in the area, and met the gaze of the trembling girl who was looking around.
It seemed she hadn't yet recovered from the shock of almost being killed by a magical beast just moments ago. Seeing Enoch approach, she opened her eyes wide.
"I am Enoch. What's your name?"
"M-My name is Emma. Um, everyone, th-thank you for saving me..."
"The rest of the Academia team members. Do you know their location?"
To Enoch's calm question, she stammered and shouted.
"Th-the rest of our expedition team members are trapped inside the ruin, underground, because a passage collapsed!"
"Passage collapsed, huh. The cause?"
"Yes, yes! Suddenly, an explosion happened for an unknown reason, and they said they'd let even just me, the smallest one, escape outside, so, th-th-that..."
Enoch's gaze narrowed.
In other words, an explosion had already occurred near the expedition team earlier. And they were isolated because of that explosion. Then it might be related to the explosion that just happened underground.
Immediately after thinking that far. A realization flashed through Enoch's mind like lightning.
'Could this possibly be related to that person?'
5 years ago, she belonged to a definite hostile force. A character who was quite a big name even in the original work. Her distinct silhouette flashed in my memory.
What if the culprit of the explosion was truly [her]?
A slight chill ran down my spine for a moment.
Enoch, who had thought that far, slowly opened his mouth to Emma, who was still trembling before him.
"...One more thing. There's something else I want to ask."