“Finally found some humans.”
“Yeah, they’re surrounded by monsters, but nine of them should be manageable. Yuma, I’ll leave the four over there to you.”
“Got it.”
Rui and Yuma immediately dashed forward, charging towards the monsters. The Marionettes noticed them, but Yuma swung his Pickel without hesitation.
The Pickel shouldn’t have been able to reach, but wind swirled between Yuma and the monsters, soon becoming a massive Tornado.
The Tornado engulfed two Marionettes, lifting them high into the air.
The monsters were torn apart in mid-air, falling to pieces.
“Whoa, that’s some amazing power! You look like a Seeker!”
As Yuma celebrated, a nearby monster attacked without pause. Yuma didn’t panic, channeling “Vacuum” Magical Power into his Pickel.
He dodged the Marionette’s attack and tripped the opponent with his Pickel.
The Vacuum Magic shaved off its legs, and the Marionette fell to the ground, unable to move.
Yuma raised his Pickel, creating “Vacuum” on the Hammer part once more.
“This is the end!”
With a downward swing, the Marionette’s head was crushed, turning into sand within seconds.
“Alright, that’s three down. The other six are…”
Yuma turned his gaze to see the remaining monsters heading towards Rui. He considered going to help, but—
“Well… he should be fine.”
Yuma said, resting the Pickel on his shoulder.
The six Marionettes rushed across the ground, surrounding Rui and attacking all at once. Rui, however, showed no signs of panic, despite being cut off.
“—Flying Swallow!”
The flames that danced in the air became four Birds, flying towards the Marionettes. The monsters couldn’t evade, engulfed in flames and exploding.
Their slender bodies shattered into pieces, scattering on the ground as sand.
Rui turned his gaze to the remaining Marionettes, who launched simultaneous attacks from the left and right. Rui dodged the attacks with fluid movements, twisting his body and returning with his Katana.
The flame-covered Katana drew an arc, beheading two Marionettes.
The slash was too clean. The monsters didn’t realize their heads had been cut off, standing still for a few seconds.
Soon, their Iron bodies crumbled, turning into sand.
“Phew…”
Rui sheathed his Katana, taking a breath.
“Hey, are you okay, Rui!”
Yuma approached at a jog. Rui replied, “I’m fine,” and together they looked at the people who had been attacked.
A group of about thirty men and women.
Everyone was looking at them with surprised expressions.
“Everyone! We’re not enemies. We just want to know the situation in this country. Please, tell us what’s going on.”
Rui shouted loudly, and the men and women exchanged glances, looking confused. Rui observed the group and walked towards the person who seemed to be the leader.
A silver-haired, thin man. He clearly had a different aura than the others.
Rui approached the man and showed him the Earbud Translator he took out of his pocket.
He showed the man that he was wearing one too, gesturing for him to put it on. The man seemed hesitant, but he took the translator from Rui and put it in his ear.
“How is it? Can you understand me?”
Rui asked, and the man replied, “Ah, yeah… it’s translating into German.”
“I’m Amasawa Rui. This is Mitaka Yuma. We’re both Seekers from Japan.”
“Japan!?”
The man was surprised, his eyes widening.
“You came all the way from that far? In times like these, that’s crazy.”
The man laughed. Rui thought he could talk to this person.
“I’m Felix. I’m the leader of the guys living in the Underground City. Well, it’s not like I wanted to be.”
“Underground City…?”
“Yeah, it’s in the station premises a little ways from here. There are about a hundred of us gathered there. Well, there are a lot of old people and kids, though.”
Rui was surprised, “There are a hundred people?” The residents they had been searching for so long. But if they were hiding underground, it made sense.
Rui looked around before turning his gaze back to Felix.
“Monsters might come again if we stay here. Why don’t we go back to the Underground City for now? Please, let us talk there.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Some people are injured, so let’s go back. Everyone will be happy to see Seekers like you.”
Rui reacted to those words.
“What happened to the Seekers in this country? Don’t tell me they were all wiped out…”
Felix’s expression turned grim, and he averted his gaze from Rui.
“There’s no doubt a lot of them were killed. Even if there are any surviving Seekers, they’ve probably evacuated from this city. I don’t know the details, but it’s certain that there aren’t any Seekers in Berlin.”
“I see…”
Rui’s expression turned stern. Yuma, who had been listening to the conversation, felt the same way.
If the Seekers had been wiped out, there was a good chance the German government wasn’t functioning.
If that were the case, it would be difficult to receive the [White Magic Gem], which was their purpose for coming to Germany.
Felix noticed the serious expressions on their faces and tried to guide Rui and Yuma, saying, “Well, let’s talk in the Underground City anyway.”
At that moment—
“H-hey! Look at that!!”
One of Felix’s companions pointed to the top of a crumbling building. Rui and Yuma turned their eyes to see a monster there.
A black humanoid monster. Rui thought it was a Marionette, but it wasn’t.
Its right arm was a sword-like blade, and it held a large shield in its left arm. Its entire body was covered in black armor, resembling Yuma’s “Black Armor” at first glance.
“That’s… a monster I’ve never seen before.”
As Rui muttered, Felix shouted with a pale face.
“T-that’s bad! It’s a Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter)!!”
“Dark Knight (Donkel Ritter)?”
Rui looked away from the monster for just a moment. In that instant, the head of a man behind Felix flew off.
“Huh?”
Not understanding what had happened, he turned his gaze back to the monster. But the black monster was no longer there.
Was it some kind of attack!? Rui readied his Katana, searching for the opponent.
At that moment, Yuma’s loud voice shook his eardrums.
“Rui! Behind you!!”
He snapped back and turned around. The monster that had been on top of the building was standing there.
It was nearly two meters tall. Its entire body was covered in black armor, and the sharp sword that was one with its right hand gleamed.
Rui created a small explosion under his feet, leaping back in a single bound.
“Damn it! When did it…”
Just as Rui regained his posture and was about to slash, the monster disappeared.
Shocked, he looked around, realizing it was right next to him.
“No way!”
Faster than Rui could defend with his Katana, the monster’s sword was swung down.