“C-Cri... Commander Krimde?!”

H-How...

How did you just drop dead like that?!

As they stared at the fortress commander, whose body had been completely corroded by the black liquid and reduced to a pool of blood, the soldiers of Garos Fortress were overcome with terror.

It felt like a bolt from the blue.

Their pupils trembled uncontrollably.

A supreme commander had just died under an Abyss Demon attack without warning.

It was simply too sudden to accept.

‘Are you kidding me?!’

However, this unexpected strike also snapped the soldiers back to reality.

With fear filling their hearts, they turned toward the black tide that had already reached the foot of the fortress.

As unbelievable as it seemed, the Abyss Demons appeared to be using their actions to send everyone a clear message:

—You worthless trash! Stop ignoring us!!!—

Reality proved one thing.

The enemy would not generously give them time to talk.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure radiating from the approaching Abyss Demon horde, Mengxi bit her lip and hurriedly looked toward the female adjutant who was standing nearby in a daze.

“What are you standing around for?!!”

“Eh?!!”

Startled by Mengxi's shout, the female adjutant finally snapped out of it and looked blankly at the masked silver-haired girl.

“Y-You... are you talking to me?”

“No shit! Aren't you his adjutant?! Krimde is dead! Then you're in command now! Hurry up and activate the city-defense barrier! Otherwise we're all going to die!”

“T-That's... right! Yes!!”

Only then did the female adjutant suddenly come to her senses.

She no longer cared whether Mengxi and the others had been infected, nor did she dwell on Krimde's death.

Empowered by magic, she immediately shouted toward a high-ranking mage deeper inside the fortress.

“Mr. Abimo! Activate the city-defense magic immediately!”

“Hm?”

Upon receiving the order, the man named Abimo—a middle-aged man sporting the hairstyle possessed only by true powerhouses—immediately inserted the formation staff in his hand into the formation core on the ground.

Nearly all of the mana belonging to this peak sixth-tier expert poured through the staff and into the core.

“High-Tier Magic — Haloci Heavy Mana Barrier!”

The man began chanting.

In an instant, a vast magic formation composed of deep-blue runes emerged across the ground amidst a surge of blue mana.

As more mana flowed into it, the brilliance of the formation intensified.

At the same time, dozens of fifth-tier mages who had just rushed onto the wall from the rear all dropped to their knees simultaneously after seeing the blue formation appear.

Pressing both palms against the ground, they poured every ounce of power within their bodies into the fortress walls.

The next moment—

“Huuu~~~”

The prepared magic-conducting devices released powerful fluctuations of magical energy.

Guided by the grand formation, the mana of the mages and the power stored within the magical devices were completely unleashed, continuously pouring into the walls.

As more and more power flowed in, and as the mages continued their chants, blue magical energy rapidly engraved countless runic inscriptions across the wall's surface.

The moment those runes appeared—

A deep-blue wall of light suddenly rose from the ground beyond the fortress walls.

In an instant, it enveloped the entirety of Garos Fortress.

And just as the city-defense barrier activated—

Under the nervous gaze of everyone present—

The black tide formed by countless Abyss Demons slammed violently into the light wall.

“BOOM! BOOM!!~~”

Deafening impacts erupted into the sky.

Wave after wave of Shadow of Silence Power crashed against the blue mana barrier.

The claws and fangs of the Abyss Demons frantically assaulted the wall.

The barrier did not remain passive.

Vast quantities of lightning burst forth from its surface, blasting numerous Abyss Demons backward.

The weaker ones were directly charred into blackened corpses.

Even so, the Abyss Demon horde showed not the slightest hint of fear.

They continued hurling themselves forward, attacking the barrier without hesitation.

Terrifying collision sounds echoed endlessly.

The overwhelming pressure generated by the countless Abyss Demons caused everyone within Garos Fortress to unconsciously hold their breath.

The entire fortress was swallowed by murderous roars.

Still—

No matter what—

The city-defense barrier that had been prepared for centuries was finally proving its worth.

The fifty-meter-high wall extending along the fortress perimeter had, at least for now, successfully blocked the Abyss Demon assault.

No one knew how long it would hold.

But for the moment—

They were safe.

Seeing this, the female adjutant, whose nerves had been stretched to their limits, finally let out a long sigh of relief before collapsing to her knees.

With the barrier active, the defenders could no longer conduct large-scale bombardments against the Abyss Demon horde.

What she needed to do now was simple.

Maintain the barrier for as long as possible.

And hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Of course—

That was assuming no higher-tier Abyss Demons appeared.

If one did...

Whether the city-defense barrier could withstand it remained completely unknown.

Meanwhile—

After Krimde's death—

The remaining female adjutant, wary of the influence of the Asumos Church, no longer continued making things difficult for Mengxi and her group.

After casually assigning a mage to verify that no Shadow of Silence Power existed within their bodies, she permitted them to enter the fortress.

Although the crisis was far from over—

For these knights of the Asumos Church, they had already escaped from the jaws of death.

Their hearts were filled with the joy of surviving a catastrophe.

Except for one person.

Miss Mengxi.

Though a trace of relief could also be seen within her pale-violet eyes, a far stronger emotion lingered there.

A deep, indescribable solemnity.

As she prepared to follow the defending soldiers down from the wall, Mengxi could not help turning back toward the terrifying Abyss Demon horde surging across the horizon.

Her silver eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Strange...’

Something was very wrong.

The fact that the Abyss Demons had used a black beam attack against the mages earlier clearly proved one thing.

They possessed long-range attack capabilities.

They shouldn't be mindless creatures obsessed solely with close combat.

But if that was true...

Then why—

Why hadn't they used ranged attacks when chasing them earlier?

If they had employed that black breath attack from the beginning, their group would almost certainly have been doomed.

‘And... weren't those Abyss Demons acting a little hesitant?’

After calming down, Mengxi carefully recalled the details of the pursuit.

The more she thought about it—

The tighter her brows became.

Perhaps it was merely an illusion.

Yet several times, the Abyss Demons had clearly been on the verge of catching them.

And every time, the distance somehow widened again for no apparent reason.

It almost felt as if the monsters had been acting.

Or...

As if they were wary of something.

‘N-No, that's impossible! What am I even thinking?!’

Mengxi shook her head vigorously, trying to throw away the absurd notion.

Abyss Demons were supposed to be irrational creatures.

There was no way they would think that much.

But...

This really was strange.

And then there was that final attack.

Out of all the people present—

Why had they specifically chosen Krimde?

The man hadn't even released his battle aura yet.

Why did it feel...

As though they had been helping them out?

The more she pondered the matter, the deeper the confusion on Mengxi's face became.

Meanwhile, the expression of the pink-haired girl in her arms grew increasingly subtle.

Just then—

As Mengxi remained trapped in her thoughts—

Garona, breathing heavily, hurried over.

“C-Captain, what should we do now?”

“Hm?”

Garona's words temporarily pulled Mengxi out of the swamp of confusion. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Her thoughts returned to reality.

Looking at her utterly exhausted companion, and at the two remaining Asumos Church knights standing behind her, Mengxi could not help letting out a helpless sigh.

That's right.

Now was not the time to think about those things.

Taking a deep breath, Mengxi solemnly issued her orders.

“Garona, you've all exhausted too much stamina. Go get some rest first. Drink recovery potions and restore your strength.”

“Y-Yes, Captain. But... what about you?”

“As for me...”

As she spoke, Mengxi lowered her head and looked toward the severely injured pink-haired girl in her arms.

Sensing Mengxi's gaze, the girl slowly raised her head.

Her beautiful sapphire-blue eyes widened as she blinked repeatedly at Mengxi.

The wariness that had once filled those eyes seemed to have disappeared.

What remained was innocence.

And curiosity.

“As for me, I'll take this child to receive treatment first. Otherwise I'm worried her injuries might worsen.”