Akatsuki Translations

5 days ago, Dragon-Devoured Uuga

“The battle that occurs during 【The Sun-Devouring Ceremony】 is simple. It’s a battle of offense and defense,” Diz explained, while everyone participating in 【The Sun-Devouring Ceremony】 was signing a magical contract of “secrecy.”

『Do I have to sign this too? I’m just bones,』 grumbled Rock.

《I’m just a cat right meow,》 mewed Akane.

“Bones and cats need to sign properly too. It was a lot of trouble to prepare all this,” Diz scolded them. Rock and Akane reluctantly resumed filling out the forms.

Ur could understand their reluctance a little. There were so many contract documents. He understood their importance, but just filling them out one by one was quite a chore.

“Offense and defense… Does that mean we’ll be divided between Proudia and Babel?” Shizuku, who had finished with the paperwork first, asked. Diz nodded.

“The Seven Heavens group will enter Proudia. They’re on the offensive side. While they try to stop the cause of Proudia falling, the defensive side will protect Babel. The Wise Heavenly King will hold back the fall,” Diz explained.

“We’re on the defensive side, right?” Shizuku confirmed.

“That’s right. Naturally, Uuga will be on defense too. Simple, isn’t it?” Diz replied.

“So our job is to buy time for the Seven Heavens,” Shizuku mused.

『…Sounds like it’s going to be a tough battle,』 Rock muttered, glaring at the documents. His voice was unusually heavy and sharp.

Diz nodded in agreement. “It’s going to be rough. Depending on the situation, the battle might continue until dawn. When the Sun rises, the Wise Heavenly King’s blessing will strengthen, but even then, it won’t end until the Seven Heavens suppress the cause.”

In other words, they didn’t know when it would end. They needed to fight on, believing only in the Seven Heavens’ ability to conquer the dungeon. It would indeed be tough. More than just a simple long battle, it seemed like it would drain their mental strength.

“By the way, adventurers can’t enter Proudia during this time, right?” Ur asked.

“【The Stairway to Heavenly Hell】 is being adjusted for teleportation magic,” Diz answered.

“Couldn’t we get help from the remaining adventurers?” Ur suggested.

Diz shook her head. “It’s difficult to involve just anyone in this battle. The contract documents you’re all signing now were hard enough to prepare.”

“So it remains a secret from most of the residents,” Shizuku concluded.

“If the city’s people flee, it would shake the foundation of their faith. Plus, there’s another problem with involving the general masses,” Diz added.

“What’s that?” Ur asked.

In response, Diz smiled with a slightly mischievous expression. “Mediocre forces would be of no use whatsoever.”

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【True Babel】 Sky Garden

“FORM THE ‘WALL’!!!” The command rang out.

With this order, the Proudia Knight Order stepped forward. Clad in their distinctive pure white armor, they held up their great shields, forming a smaller circle within the garden’s perimeter.

“DRAW THEM HERE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!!” Viktor, the Knight Commander of Proudia, shouted. The knights responded to his voice.

Meanwhile, the number of monsters spilling out from Proudia began to increase explosively.

Perhaps due to the aerial location, there were many flying beasts and evil spirits. In themselves, they weren’t particularly high-ranking monsters. One or two, or even if attacked by a group of more than ten, the battle-hardened warriors present could probably handle them without issue.

However, when their numbers exceeded 100, it was a different story.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me,” one of the knights, permitted to stand here for the first time, muttered softly.

The monsters pouring out of the dungeon that mimicked a palace came like an avalanche. 100 or 200 was no longer enough to describe them. They approached with the force of a tsunami. The cityscape of Proudia that had been visible below was gradually being obscured by the “wall” of monsters.

“Weren’t they supposed to have been thinned out beforehand?!”

“Only by the attack squad,” a seasoned knight replied.

“There’s no way a dungeon could have this many monsters at once! This is a 【Flood】!”

“Proudia isn’t stupid. They must have been saving their forces for a castle siege.”

“Are you saying the dungeon was considering logistics?!”

“That’s right, rookie. If you’re surprised by this much, you won’t last. They’re coming soon.”

As his colleague predicted, the wall of monsters was soon upon them.

Faced with this unknown situation and overwhelming numbers, the rookie didn’t take a single step back. This was due to his own courage and his pride in standing alongside his colleagues who hadn’t moved an inch.

“Activate!!!” Knight Commander Viktor’s order rang out.

With his command, the 【Wall】 activated from the knights’ great shields.

A wall formed by pouring magical power into the engraved defensive formula. This technique, designed to block dungeon passages and hold back monsters, was activated simultaneously by all the knights, creating a spherical barrier.

The wall, completely sealing off all directions, was complete. And at that moment—

『AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!』

The monsters began a simultaneous charge against the wall.

“Nngh!!!”

The moment the monsters charged, a thunderous roar echoed as if the entire tower was shaking. Although the defensive formula was powerful, it was the knights themselves who had to support it. Even for these battle-hardened warriors, there was a limit to the violence of such overwhelming numbers. Therefore—

“Long-range units!! Begin interception!!!”

They had to thin out the horde of monsters before they became unable to support the wall.

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The Knight Order’s barrier blocked attacks from outside to inside, but allowed attacks from inside to outside.

With the signal, the pre-arranged long-range attack units began their assault on the swarm of monsters clinging to the wall.

“【Roar】”

“【【【Sing, O Flames】】】”

Among them were Ur and Shizuku.

They attacked the monsters in their designated areas one after another with their weapons and magic. The monsters were being cleared away at an almost amusing rate. Each time a flash of destruction struck, it left a gaping hole in the monster wall, giving an oddly satisfying feeling.

『HAHA, no matter where you aim, you hit something!』 Rock cackled.

“Yeah, it’s helpful not needing much skill… but,” Ur replied.

But the holes in the monster wall were quickly filling up again. The creatures repeatedly charged at the Knight Order’s 【Barrier】, trying to push through even as their bodies shattered. Their single-minded purpose, even as they self-destructed and spilled magic stones, was clear.

“【――――】”

It was none other than to kill the 【Wise Heavenly King】, who sat at the center of Babel, still holding back Proudia’s fall. The sight of the Wise Heavenly King, unmoved and continuing to support the dungeon even against this horde of hundreds and thousands of monsters, was almost divine.

And beside him, another of the Seven Heavens—

“【Spirit of Fire, Faranan】【Spirit of the Wind, Fynellian】”

【 Heavenly Prayer, Sua】 murmured in a resonating voice. Instantly, the warriors who had been launching attacks from afar stopped moving. Countless 【Sun Knights】 stood around the 【Heavenly Prayer】, kneeling with their hands clasped towards Sua. Ur realized it was the same as attendants offering prayer power to a priest.

Then, from the center of the barrier, two “humanoid” figures appeared.

“Oh…!”

One of the Four Sources, 【Fire】. One of the Four Sources, 【Wind】.

The manifestation of the two spirits touched, mingled, and became one before Sua. The intertwined fire and wind formed a small sphere for a moment, then exploded in the next instant.

“Whoa!!?”

Ur instinctively shielded his body, but while feeling intense heat and wind, it merely caressed his body without causing a single injury. It incinerated all the monsters blocked by the barrier in an instant.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!??』

For a moment, the wall of monsters clinging to the barrier vanished completely.

“Change shifts!!! Second barrier team, forward!!”

In that instant, the knights maintaining the barrier swapped with their comrades. The barrier dissolved for a split second, but a new one formed immediately after. More monsters began to charge at this new wall.

“First barrier team, resupply! We changed early this first time to get used to it, but from now on, it’ll be a long haul!! Stay sharp!!”

“Sir!!!”

It was an impressive coordination between【Heavenly Prayer】,  Sun Knights, and the Knight Order.

While impressed, Ur returned to attacking. This long-range attack unit supporting the barrier was mainly composed of adventurers. However, compared to the powerful attack of the spirits earlier and the coordinated efforts of the Knight Order, it felt somewhat sporadic.

“Don’t overdo it. Leave most of it to the long-range specialists,” a voice suddenly called from behind, as if reading Ur’s concerns.

“Oh, Ikaza-san?” Shizuku raised her voice, slightly surprised.

Ikaza, the Adventurers’ Guild Master, was smiling at Ur and the others. Even in the midst of this intense battle, her presence brought a sense of relief. Perhaps it was because they already knew a bit about her capabilities.

“The adventurer group’s equipment and fighting style aren’t as unified as the Sun Knights or the Knight Order. If we get too eager and disrupt their coordination, we’ll just be in the way,” Ikaza explained.

“When you put it that way, I feel even more useless being here,” Ur replied.

The Knight Order’s barrier and the spirit power of the 【Heavenly Prayer】 and Sun Knights seemed to be in perfect coordination so far. Ur and the others were just assisting in bridging that coordination, but wouldn’t it be better to increase the number of Knight Order mages instead of using adventurers?

As if sensing Ur’s unnecessary thoughts, Ikaza gently tapped his head.

“If they could handle everything alone, that would be fine. We’d simply collect our reward without breaking a sweat,” she said. However, she then gazed ahead, glaring at Proudia beyond the wall of monsters.

“But this battle also requires outstanding combat power that can’t be cultivated in a unified organization.”

As she spoke, a rumbling echoed. They had grown accustomed to the large tremors, vibrations, and impacts since the battle began, but this shaking was different from before. It was also a familiar sensation to Ur.

An observing mage who was constantly monitoring the surroundings shouted, “Medium and large monsters have appeared on the garden’s outer perimeter!!! Twenty of them!!!”

At these words, Ikaza looked at Ur. Her eyes seemed to say, “See?” Ur nodded with a bitter expression. Indeed, it seemed they wouldn’t be allowed to take it easy in this battle.

Ikaza drew her sword with a crackling flash and raised it high.

“C squad, continue long-range attacks and focus on supporting the Sun Knights!! A and B squads, follow me!! Don’t be fools who trouble Sua-sama!!!”

With these words, she swung her sword. A flash of lightning simultaneously incinerated the monsters beyond the barrier before them. A deep, large hole opened up at that point.

“Charge!!!!” she shouted.

With her words, the adventurer squad marched towards that large hole along with Ikaza.

Ur and the others followed her as well.

『HAHAHA! It’s war, war! How exciting!!』 Rock cackled.

“You sure are energetic, you old bag of bones,” Ur remarked.

“Should we feed him a magic stone soaked in Ur-sama’s tea when he gets too excited?” Shizuku suggested.

『Stop that!!』 Rock protested.

“Could you stop treating it like a sedative?” Ur sighed.

Exchanging their usual silly banter, the three of them plunged into hell.