Tutril Incident 3: Former Hero
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—Northeastern Outskirts of Tutril: Near the Fourth Labyrinth—
Some time had passed since Selma had declared a state of emergency for all residents of Tutril. The city and its surroundings had turned into a living hell.
Fires raged throughout the streets, and screams echoed without pause.
Beyond the city's walls, in addition to the Second Labyrinth—where Selma and her group were headed—monstrous beasts had begun emerging from the Fourth Labyrinth as well, where Katina’s team had ventured.
Now, a massive horde of beasts was advancing toward Tutril.
“Damn it! No matter how many we take down, they just keep coming!”
Barnard, a Defender from Night Sky Silver Rabbit, was assigned to a group holding back the creatures pouring out of the Fourth Labyrinth. He grumbled in frustration at the unrelenting numbers.
“If you have the energy to complain, kill one more of them instead!”
Anthem, another member of Night Sky Silver Rabbit, snapped back.
“I know that! This might not be the time to bring it up, but this is the first time we’ve fought side by side since last year’s training expedition. You’ve gotten even better, haven’t you?”
“You’re one to talk. Still cracking jokes in a situation like this?”
A year ago, Anthem and Barnard had accompanied a Night Sky Silver Rabbit training expedition as lead Defenders.
Both of their respective parties had since reached the 89th floor of the Great Labyrinth.
“There’s no room for jokes. But if I don’t keep talking, I’ll lose my damn mind…”
While exchanging the occasional words, Anthem, Barnard, and the other Defenders worked tirelessly to hold the front line, drawing the bulk of the beasts’ attention and preventing their advance.
Then, from a voice amplification magic device, the voice of Katina, the group’s commander, rang out.
“Rear attackers, your interval ends in twenty seconds! As soon as it’s over, switch back to wide-area bombardment! Front attackers, fall back! Defenders, hold the line!”
Following Katina’s orders, the front-line attackers retreated behind the Defenders, waiting for their moment to strike, while the mages, who had been resting, began constructing their spells.
Once again, Katina’s voice echoed through the device.
“Wide-area bombardment, countdown! Three, two, one—fire!”
At her command, an overwhelming barrage of attack magic rained down upon the horde.
Simultaneously, Anthem’s team swapped places with the other Defender unit.
Despite being vastly outnumbered and forced into a defensive battle, the explorers managed to hold their ground—largely because the beasts, though numerous, were only as strong as those found in the middle floors of the Great Labyrinth.
“Haa… Haa… This is insane… Is the city even holding up?”
Taking a brief respite away from the front lines, Barnard turned to look beyond the city walls, his gaze drawn to the thick plumes of smoke rising from within.
“…It doesn’t look good. This is almost certainly an Imperial attack. We need to consider the worst-case scenario…”
“The worst-case scenario? What are you talking about, Anthem?!”
Barnard pressed for an answer, sensing the gravity in Anthem’s expression.
“…The enemy’s first move was to eliminate the most organized guild in Tutril. That means their next targets will likely be one of two things—either the nobles, including Marquis Forgas, or us, the second-most organized force after the guild.”
“…Tch.”
Barnard clenched his jaw. He had suspected as much but hadn’t wanted to admit it.
Most of Tutril’s explorers were occupied battling the invading beasts.
The few who weren’t were assisting the territorial army in evacuating the non-combatant citizens.
“We can’t leave this position. If we don’t hold the line, the beasts will flood the city. All we can do is pray that our comrades made it out safely.”
Anthem and the others continued working together to repel the relentless waves of invading beasts.
Then, without warning, a massive magic circle appeared in the sky, spreading out like a shroud overhead.
Something enormous came crashing down from it.
“A giant beast?!”
Up until now, their enemies had been numerous but weak, allowing them to hold the line.
But now, standing before them was a towering creature exuding the overwhelming presence of a lower-floor boss.
What had fallen from the sky was a one-eyed giant—a Cyclops.
The sudden appearance of this colossal intruder sent a wave of shock through the explorers.
But the Cyclops had no intention of waiting for them to recover.
A sphere of red-black, high-density magical energy formed near its eye—then, in the next instant, it fired straight at them.
“…Ah—”
Faced with an attack powerful enough to wipe them out entirely, some of the explorers could only brace themselves for death.
But in that crucial moment, two figures reacted instantly—Katina and Huey of Copper Sunset.
“—Activate defensive magic device!!”
In perfect unison, Katina and Huey triggered the magical tools they had received from the Downing Company.
A massive barrier of magical energy materialized in front of the frontline explorers.
The Cyclops’s blast collided head-on with the barrier, unleashing a deafening explosion and a powerful shockwave that rippled through the battlefield.
Katina swiftly scanned their forces, confirming their condition.
“No casualties… Thank goodness.”
She exhaled in relief upon verifying that no one had been killed or injured.
But the battle was far from over.
Even if they were physically unharmed, the sudden appearance of such a monstrous enemy—and the realization that they had nearly died—had left a deep psychological toll on the explorers.
“…Huey, how many more times can we use the barrier?”
Katina turned to her companion beside her.
“It’s taken more damage than expected… I’d say we can hold off two more attacks, at most.”
Katina grimaced at Huey’s response, then quickly lifted the voice amplification magic device to her lips.
“Eliminating the Cyclops is now our top priority! Senior explorers, focus on taking it down! That last attack—we can only block two more of those, so—”
Her voice began to falter.
Because once again, a red-black sphere of high-density magical energy was forming near the Cyclops’s eye.
(Fuuka told me that the cult and their modified beasts were going to attack Tutril… But I never imagined the modified ones would be this powerful!)
Cyclopes were originally monsters that relied on their immense durability, shrugging off attacks from explorers and engaging in relentless close combat.
They had never possessed the ability to fire magical energy blasts like the one just unleashed.
Katina was certain—the cult had modified it, implanting a mechanism that was never meant to exist.
She had assumed that such a powerful attack would come with a significant cooldown, giving them a window to strike before the next blast.
But that hope was mercilessly shattered.
(Still… There’s no way it can fire those blasts indefinitely. It has to reach a limit at some point. But when? What if it still has the energy to fire three more in a row…?)
Katina shook her head, forcing herself to drive out her negative thoughts.
She opened her mouth to issue an order to Huey, instructing him to activate the defensive magic device once more.
“Huey, use the barrier aga—”
“—Don’t waste it here! Leave this one to us!”
A deep voice cut through her command, coming from behind.
“What?!”
Katina turned, startled, just as two figures rushed past her.
A towering, dark-skinned man clad in heavy armor—and a girl wearing a pointed hat.
Without hesitation, they sprinted straight toward the frontlines, where the defenders were still struggling to contain the advancing beasts.
“Why are they here…?”
Huey murmured in shock, mirroring Katina’s astonishment.
For these two were—
—The most famous explorers in Tutril.
At least, until last year.
"Orn's Instantaneous Ability Enhancement Impact isn’t an option anymore, so get your head in the game, Derrick…!"
"You don’t have to tell me that! The real question is—can you take that thing down without Instantaneous Ability Enhancement Impact, Aneri?"
"Of course I can. …I won’t make a fool of myself again!"
Derrick, the former Defender of the legendary hero party Golden Dawn, and Aneri, the party’s Rear Attacker, exchanged sharp words.
Then, without hesitation, they rushed past the frontline Defenders.
Now, the only thing before them was the horde of monsters.
At that moment, another colossal black-red energy blast shot from the Cyclops.
A single blast strong enough to make most explorers resign themselves to death.
Derrick, however, simply grinned and raised his great shield.
The impact was deafening. A massive explosion and shockwave rippled across the battlefield.
"Ha! That all you got?!"
Derrick stood firm, having taken the attack head-on without so much as a scratch.
From behind him, Aneri—who had used his defense to evade the attack—raised her staff toward the Cyclops.
"A big target like you makes this so much easier. Die already, you oversized brute!"
A moment later, countless magic circles appeared, completely engulfing the giant’s massive frame.
Last year, Derrick and Aneri had suffered a humiliating defeat.
But humiliation or not, they were still the first humans ever to reach the 94th floor of the Great Southern Labyrinth.
And now, both of them were completely free from Philly’s Cognitive Alternation curse.
Aneri had once been chosen over Luna as Golden Dawn’s Rear Attacker.
And for good reason—she surpassed Luna in every way when it came to long-range combat.
Aneri’s greatest weapon was her ability to construct multiple spells in parallel.
In that regard, she was nothing short of abnormal.
Even Orn himself couldn’t match her when it came to this single aspect.
"—[Sixfold Multi-Element Javelin Barrage]."
At her command, the magic circles surrounding the Cyclops unleashed a storm of elemental spears—each imbued with earth, water, fire, wind, ice, or lightning.
Whenever a spear was spent, a new one materialized, fed by Aneri’s unrelenting flow of mana.
In mere moments, the massive beast disintegrated into a cloud of black mist.
But Aneri wasn’t finished.
"And while we’re at it—why don’t the rest of you vermin just die too?"
Just like when the Cyclops first appeared, a vast array of magic circles formed in the sky.
This time, the spears targeted the countless monsters attempting to invade Tutril.
In the blink of an eye—every last one was annihilated.
"Phew. That’s that. —Katina! You already know this, but the flood won’t stop until this war is over. Get your forces in order now!"
Having wiped out the enemy, Aneri strode toward Katina, calling out as she approached.
Derrick, meanwhile, remained at the front lines.
"Defenders, take a breather. I’ll hold the line for now."
With that, he turned his gaze toward the Fourth Labyrinth—where more monsters were already emerging—and charged forward once more.
——.