Chapter 13: To Oz – Part 15
After informing the High Priestess about the newly emerged powerful Demon, we exited the Great Spirit Shrine and headed southwest through the city.
It seemed that the Demons had suddenly appeared from the mountains located to the southwest of the capital. The formidable individual in question had descended from the mountains and was reportedly breaking through the defensive line on the outskirts of the capital, heading straight towards us.
Currently, we were running through the city with Shizuna leading the way. It was said that this powerful entity was accompanied by numerous smaller Demons, so we had requested the assistance of Karma and her group, the Drunken Tiger, to deal with them.
“Soushi-sama, I sense a very unpleasant and strong presence. It feels about twice as powerful as the last Demon we faced. There is one main presence, but there are over twenty smaller reactions in the vicinity,” Shizuna said, running beside me.
“Just as the information indicated. Is it approaching us?” I asked.
“Yes, at an incredible speed. It’s as fast as the carriage we were riding in,” she replied.
“That’s quite a speed,” I noted. A speed of 50 kilometers per hour was considerable for a monster. If that Demon was a large one, the threat level would skyrocket. Just rampaging through the city would cause catastrophic damage.
“Soushi-dono, it seems there is smoke rising over there,” Shizuna pointed ahead.
Indeed, smoke was billowing up in the distance. Not just smoke, but various debris like planks and roof tiles were scattering about. The Demon was likely rampaging through the buildings.
“If we continue like this, we’ll collide head-on,” I remarked.
“That’s fine. I’ll take it head-on with all my strength. Everyone else, focus on the smaller ones. Even though they’re small, they’re likely to be quite powerful, so be careful. Frei, use Divine Light. While I’m fighting, Sfenia, please give instructions,” I commanded.
“Leave it to me. After using Divine Light, I’ll also create a Barrier for protection,” Frei assured.
“I’ll maneuver to protect Frei and Sfenia, so Soushi, you focus on the big one!” Larni added.
“Understood. I’ll leave the rest to you. Just concentrate on the big one, Soushi-san,” Sfenia confirmed.
“Given its speed, the smaller ones might be flying types. Let’s be cautious,” Frei warned.
Frei, Larni, Sfenia, and Mariane all nodded, clearly understanding their roles.
“Karma and the others, please handle the smaller monsters,” I instructed.
“Are you sure you can handle the big one alone?” Karma asked.
“It depends on the opponent, but if it’s a physical attribute, I should be fine,” I replied.
“Well, considering what we saw in yesterday’s battle, that was a foolish question. I have high hopes for you,” Karma said with a grin.
We emerged onto a slightly wider street.
About 300 meters ahead, a pink object was barreling towards us. It was roughly the size of a large trailer.
“What in the world is that?!” Karma shouted, her voice filled with disbelief.
The creature’s form was bizarre; it appeared to be a cylindrical mass made from the crushed bodies of about twenty giant humans. Countless human legs sprouted from the lower half, propelling it forward.
At the front of the cylinder was a massive human head, glaring expressionlessly ahead. Its face gleamed ominously, giving off an impression of being incredibly hard.
Surrounding it were about twenty smaller monsters, each around two meters tall. They had the bodies of humans but sported two heads and four bat-like wings instead of arms and legs, creating a confusing shape.
“It’s highly likely that it can unleash magic from its mouth. Be careful!” I warned, recalling our last battle.
Stepping forward, I activated my Immovable Fortress Wall, firmly anchoring my feet to the ground.
“Everyone, get away from me! I’ll draw its attacks with my skills!”
As I activated the Provoke skill, the rampaging giant Demon locked its gaze on me and accelerated towards my position. The surrounding smaller Demons also began to move in my direction.
“Divine Light, here it comes!” Frei called out from a distance, unleashing her Divine Attribute magic. The area was enveloped in light for a moment, causing the movements of the smaller Demons to slow down. The large Demon seemed to momentarily decelerate as well, but quickly regained its top speed.
“Soushi-sama, it’s not very effective against the large one!” Frei shouted.
“That’s alright,” I replied, as the massive Demon was already upon us.
I channeled all my body-enhancing skills: Stability, Immovable, Adamantine Body, Herculean Strength, and Steel Core, bracing myself against the rampaging monstrosity.
“Here we go!!”
At the moment of impact, I roared and thrust my orichalcum shield forward with all my might.
CRASH!!
The sound was unlike anything I had ever experienced, as if metal, wood, and flesh had collided in an unimaginable way.
The shock was so tremendous that it felt like my entire body was being torn apart. Yet, despite the destructive force, I did not budge an inch.
However, the energy remaining in the monstrous form still sought to push its massive bulk forward.
The result was a clear phenomenon: the head of the large Demon was crushed between its own body and my orichalcum shield.
With a splatter of viscous liquid, flesh, and skin, the deformed trailer spun half a rotation in the air, its crushed head at the center.
With a rumble, the massive Demon fell backward, still thrashing its countless legs in the air.
I turned around and began to smash the grotesque body with my mace, pulverizing it piece by piece.
After reducing it by about half, its movements ceased, and the rampaging Demon began to disintegrate into black particles.
“To take on that giant body, you really are something else! Leave the rest of the small fry to me!” Karma shouted as she swung her great sword. A crescent-shaped light shot from the blade, cleaving through the smaller Demons that danced in the air.
Larni was also using Jump and Space Kick to slice through the airborne smaller Demons.
The smaller Demons were spitting stone spears from their mouths, but they were being blocked by the Barrier that Frei had erected.
Frei, Sfenia, and Shizuna were launching spells from behind the Barrier, systematically taking down one Demon at a time.
The smaller Demons attempting to flank us were struck down by Mariane, who first applied Action Stop with her spear before leaping in to slash them down.
I focused on drawing the attacks with Provoke. The stone spears the Demons fired simply shattered against the surface of my Immovable Fortress Wall. Before long, the entire group of Demons was annihilated.
“Soushi-sama, are you hurt?” Frei asked as the members of Soul’s Guidance gathered around me.
“I’m fine. How about everyone else?” I replied.
“I took a little hit, but I’m okay,” Larni said.
“Frei’s Barrier is indeed powerful as a defense. The backline is safe,” Sfenia added, with Shizuna nodding in agreement.
Mariane approached, picking up a large Magic Stone that had fallen onto the street. It was a grotesquely colorful Magic Stone, about the size of a large watermelon.
“The large Demon we just faced was a type not reported before. If it weren’t for you, Soushi-san, the city would have suffered tremendous damage,” she remarked.
“Stopping that thing would have been quite a challenge. I managed because I had this shield, but…” I began.
“No, no, the fact that you can even use that shield is what’s truly remarkable. Don’t forget that,” Karma interjected, shouldering her great sword with a slight smirk, perhaps amused by my words.
“However, that was indeed the rumored Demon, huh? The fact that such creepy creatures are starting to appear is quite unsettling,” she continued.
“Indeed. It seems that only high-ranking adventurers can handle them,” I agreed.
“I was surprised at how tough it was compared to its appearance. It might be a hassle unless you’re at least B-rank. Now I understand why the lord has been so keen on promoting high-ranking adventurers lately,” I noted.
“Is that the kind of influence it’s having? That sounds troublesome…”
Thinking about it, if monsters like that started attacking the city, the lords in various regions would have a tough time. It might be only natural for the astute nobles to start scouting for high-ranking adventurers.
While Soul’s Guidance had the backing of the king, it wouldn’t be easy for us to be approached, but there would undoubtedly be significant repercussions in the adventurer community. For someone like me, who just wanted to survive as an adventurer, it seemed like a troublesome era was on the horizon.