Volume 2 Chapter 41

「Orrraaaaaaaaaa!」

Breaking through the crowd of adventurers, I cut off the one orc that was approaching with my spare dagger.
Then I immediately checked the surrounding, no other monsters were approaching other than that orc.
After confirming that, I let out a sigh.

「Hahh~ how many more of these are there?」

It had been several minutes since Alex started chanting.
Meanwhile, the adventurers who noticed that Alex was trying to break the barrier were also trying to protect him.
There were some who occasionally turned their angry eyes toward me, it was clear that they were not happy that I escaped first.
Even so, they didn’t openly confront me.
That was a happy miscalculation.

However, the look on my face was still that of impatience.

「Shit! There is no end to them!」

I spat in frustration at the sight of more and more hobgoblins and orcs coming from the other side.
Even with the help of the other adventurers, the number of monsters had increased to the point where it was difficult to deal with them.
Fortunately, the adventurers could still handle the situation, but the monsters were gradually pushing through.
It didn’t matter whether I was a first-class adventurer, I didn’t want to take on multiple orcs with only a spare dagger.
In this worsening situation, I muttered to Alex who was concentrating on his chant.

「Finish it faster, Alex!」

I was aware that I was beginning to feel irritated toward Alex who was chanting slowly even though the super-high difficulty monster might come anytime.
But what made me more irritated was Marsval who stood in front of the barrier that covered the city even when the monsters were showing up.

「…Is running away first the only thing in your mind?」

Knowing his ability as a martial artist, I felt angry at him who didn’t try to do anything.
Still, knowing I could rely on his ability in an emergency, I suppressed my anger and focused my attention on the monsters.

It was then the adventurers near me stopped moving while looking into the distance.

「M-Monsters, many of them!」

「……-!」

In response to their voice, I looked into the distance.
What came into my sight was several adventurers scurrying while a horde of monsters chasing them.
The horde was larger than the one we were fighting in the beginning.

「The adventurers who used as bait were wiped out, huh?」

The sight drained the blood from my face.
It wouldn’t be weird if the ogres or the Fenrir come anytime soon.
No, they may even be here already, we just can’t see them yet because they’re hidden behind the horde of monsters.
Not only me, but the adventurers’ complexions were also pale.

「And so I wish, Spirit of Fire!」

「Alex!」

It was then the chanting of magic we put our hope for came to an end.
Maybe it was the price from using great magic today, but Alex looked fatigued as he shouted.

「Burn everything! Conflagration!」

The next moment, Alex released torrential flame, it roared as it went toward the wall that was protected by the barrier.
The flame collided with the barrier and spread in all directions.

「This is……」

I was fascinated by the sight that was completely different from when the magic was released on the demon beast.
I was reminded once again how powerful this magic was.

「Wha-!?」

Therefore, I couldn’t hide how shaken I was in the sight that spread before me immediately after the flame disappeared.
……After the flame went out, all that was left was the unchanging barrier that emitted blue light.

「You’re kidding……」

Seeing the sight, Alex murmured then fainted.
From the way he looked, it was impossible to think that he was going easy.
Despite this, the barrier did not seem to be damaged at all.

「Are you fucking kidding me! What’s going on? Azuul!」

I could hear Marsval, who hadn’t done anything so far, screaming at the unchanged barrier.
However, I didn’t give any reaction to it.
All I could do was only stare dumbfoundedly at the unscathed barrier.

「Dammit!」

Having been ignored by me, Marsval ran toward the wall and started to smash his fist against it.
Even as a martial artist, it was not like he couldn’t understand that whatever he was doing in front of this wall was useless.

It was then that despair began to spread in me.

A barrier that can stand Alex’s magic.
What should I do with this kind of thing…

「Fi─────i!」

——It was the roar I could hear from the distance that forced me to return to my sense.

Like a broken doll, I looked toward the direction of the roar.
There it was, lightning-clad despair, Fenrir.

「Dammit! Dammit! Dammittttt!」

Seeing that, maybe judging that escaping to the neighboring town was impossible, Marsval turned around and tried to run away while screaming.

……But that instead attracted the Fenrir.

「Fi──i」

「Ah,」

As the only one trying to escape among the stiffened adventurers, the Fenrir turned its eyes toward Marsval.
Then, realizing he had drawn the Fenrir’s attention, he froze, a look of both despair and astonishment on his face.

That was the last expression I saw on Marsval’s face.

「Fi─────i!」

The next moment, the Fenrir tackled Marsval with its lightning-clad body with a speed worthy of being called lightning speed.

「Gh-!」

The strong impact like an earthquake just hit and the dust made me inadvertently cover my face with my hands.
I immediately raised my face to check, but I couldn’t see Marsval in the dust.

……Even so, it was clear he was already dead, that much I understood.
Although I didn’t like him, the fact that one of my comrades who had powerful abilities had just been killed made my legs quake.
But it was this fear that gave me the energy to live.

「Fuck! I’m not going to die yet, not in this place…!」

While yelling so, I looked at the wall where the Fenrir just rushed into.
Although I was terrified, I was calmly finding hope.

Marsval was next to the barrier.
I felt a shock immediately after the Fenrir ran into him.

From those two points, I was convinced that the Fenrir had hit the wall that was protected by the barrier.
If so, the wall had definitely collapsed.

That was my only way to survive.

「If I can escape into the town…」

Escaping into the town meant that I have to pass through the Fenrir.
However, once inside, there are a lot of people there.
The town might perish, but in return, I can escape.

Based on that thought, I concentrated on the cloud of dust.
As soon as I can find the collapsed part of the wall, I can escape.

That was why I was able to clearly confirm it while the dust was clearing.

「…………………Hah?」

——-The wall emitted blue light like it was before Fenrir ran into it.

「Fi───i!」

Maybe it was confused by the fact the wall withstood its charge, but the Fenrir assaulted the wall repeatedly in frustration.
Despite this, the barrier was unscathed.

「……What’s happening?」

I could only stand there dazed at the sight.
Although pre-mutation, I knew plenty of super-high difficulty monsters.
To block their attack with a barrier, you would need hundreds of magicians.

And this mutated Fenrir was far more powerful than any super-high difficulty monsters I knew.

The best proof was Marsval, who was killed without being able to react to its attack despite the fact he used to boldly attack super-high difficulty monsters.
……And that barrier was capable of taking that Fenrir’s attack.

While approaching the barrier with a dazed gait, I muttered,

「Why something like this… This is not something you can make in a day or two…」

The closer I got, the more I realized the enormity of the barrier.
A barrier that protects the walls enclosing the entire town, that alone said plenty about how big the barrier is.
Furthermore, how long did it take to create such a strong barrier?
At least, it wasn’t there when I came to this city about a month ago

While looking up at the unusually strong barrier that gave off the same blue light as when I first saw it, I said my thought out loud.

「…How can someone create such a strong barrier at this timing as if they know labyrinth runaway would occur?」

Yes, it’s like,

——It’s like they know a labyrinth runaway would occur.

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

It was then that I heard a heavy flapping of wings from above me.

Reacting to the sound, I looked up, and with a half-smile on my face, I let the words slip out.

「No way, right? ——A Griffon.」

What was in the sky was a super-high difficulty monster with an eagle-like upper body and a lion-like body.
Noticing that it got the same level of pressure as the Fenrir, I understood the Griffon was also mutated.

The next moment, the Griffon started a dive towards me.

「Ah,」

I should have remained in the labyrinth city, yes, I only thought of that when my death was imminent.
The situation was so bad it didn’t make any sense what I could do on my own.
If there were no barriers surrounding the neighboring town, I would have just died along with it.

I shouldn’t have thought about running away.

With that last thought, my vision turned black……