After everyone disappeared from sight, Lot left as well. There was only one thing he needed to do now: make sure that when the Black Forest was cleared, everyone who made it back could be treated as quickly and safely as possible.
“B-Boss.”
“What should we...”
The Black Guild’s actions had put the other mercenary guilds in an awkward position. If they chose not to enter the Black Forest, they already knew how people would see them afterward.
The gap between them and the Black Guild would only grow wider. Everyone would ridicule them for fleeing in fear and look down on them.
But are we really supposed to go in there knowing we’ll die?
The criticism would pass eventually. Wouldn’t it be better to keep the guild alive without losing anyone?
Whoosh!
“—!”
The guild masters, lost in thought, all looked up in surprise. Someone just shot past them and rushed straight into the Black Forest.
“Grand Duke Persia?”
It was Kainel. If not for his unmistakable white hair, no one would’ve recognized him. He was moving with such urgency that it was hard to believe he was the same man who normally wore an indifferent expression and never seemed fazed by anything.
“...We’re going in too.”
“...Boss?”
The Red Guild Master, who had been staring at the spot where Grand Duke Persia just disappeared, was the first to give the order.
“Get ready.”
“Us too...”
“Hurry.”
The other guild masters wasted no time following suit. Kainel’s arrival was the spark they needed. Resolve settled over their faces as they turned and headed for the Black Forest.
At least... we won’t die.
Not with Grand Duke Persia leading the way. They were certain this wouldn’t end like twenty years ago, when everyone inside the Black Forest was wiped out.
***
[Kiii... riiik...]
“Haah... damn...”
It just wouldn’t end.
Ceres drove her sword through the head of a giant centipede and let out a weary sigh.
The monsters kept pouring in without giving her a chance to catch her breath. Every time she cut one down, another wave surged in to take its place. The endless onslaught only made her sigh grow heavier.
[Pii... pii...]
Airien, the baby rabbit, was in the same state. After creating safe zones whenever it found people and fending off monsters with tree roots, the creature had finally reached its limit. Its long ears drooped to the ground before it collapsed with a flop.
“Take a break.”
[Pii...?]
“Stay there and rest.”
Ceres shook her head when the rabbit tried to come back to her.
Leaving the rabbit to rest safely in the flower garden it had made, she turned her gaze back to the monsters.
[Gyaaaaaa!]
[Kkiruk! Kkiruk!]
The monsters were charging in again. Ceres watched them with growing exasperation while tightening her grip on her sword.
[Kki...]
Craack!
“.....?”
Her eyes suddenly widened. The horde of monsters charging toward her came to a stop, frozen into ice statues in the middle of the desert.
Craaash!
A lone figure advanced, smashing straight through the frozen monsters.
“...Kai.”
As soon as she saw him, a smile appeared on her lips. A sense of relief welled up from deep inside her. For the first time since all this began, she felt like she’d found a brief moment to breathe.
“Are you hurt?”
Those were the first words out of his mouth when he reached her.
“As you can see, I’m fi... Actually, aren’t you the one who’s hurt?”
Ceres looked him over, then frowned with concern instead. Sweat beaded across his forehead, and his breathing was unusually ragged.
“...Hah.”
Only after confirming that she wasn’t seriously hurt did Kainel finally let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Where did Ceres go?”
“The temple.”
“What was she doing there?”
“How would I know?”
He had just learned from Ben, one of Sky’s members, that Ceres had gone to the temple that day.
“Your Excellency! A Black Forest has appeared near the temple!”
“...The temple?”
The moment his aide Del delivered the news, Kainel was already on his feet. Finding out it was an S-Class Black Forest only made his urgency grow.
He had spent over an hour searching the Black Forest for her. As monsters swarmed him with every step he took, he found himself experiencing something entirely unfamiliar—anxiety.
However, the second he found her safe and unharmed, the burning knot in his chest dissolved like it had never been there.
Although he knew that monsters alone wouldn’t bring her down, she also had a reckless streak that made him worry. He couldn’t stop wondering if she’d gone after the S-Class boss by herself.
“Sigh... This never ends.”
Ceres let out a weary complaint as she looked at Kainel.
Having been through this once before only made it more exhausting. Cutting down monsters forever wouldn’t accomplish anything unless the boss was defeated.
I’ve got to kill the boss somehow.
But that wasn’t something she could do. That was exactly what made this so draining. Nothing exhausted a person faster than a battle with no end in sight.
[Kiiiaaah!]
Another wave of monsters came pouring toward them. Ceres ran a hand through her hair with an irritated sigh.
At this rate, the monsters won’t kill me. I’ll collapse from exhaustion first.
There was only one way.
Now that Kainel was here, maybe they could defeat the boss, even if it took some time.
But while we’re doing that...
Many more people would die.
That’s what had happened before. She and those two had managed to clear the S-Class Black Forest, but the aftermath was horrific.
It wasn’t just the civilians. Countless mercenaries who had entered to rescue them lost their lives as well. Fewer than a third of them had made it out alive.
Am I supposed to watch that happen all over again?
Ceres slowly shook her head.
It’s not like there’s no other way... The problem was that she couldn’t be sure.
I’ve tried it on a B-Class Black Forest...
But would it work on an S-Class?
“Kai.”
Craaash!
Kainel turned at her voice after cutting down another wave of monsters.
“Buy me some time.”
Without asking the reason, Kainel simply nodded. Then he turned back to the monsters surging toward them and unleashed another wave of freezing magic.
Once every monster that ventured too close froze solid, Ceres placed her hand against the ground.
Please... let this work on an S-Class too.
Whoooosh...
The second she closed her eyes, the air around them began to shift.
“—! What are you doing?”
Kainel noticed the change immediately. As he severed another monster’s head and looked back at Ceres, his expression darkened. He knew exactly what she was trying to do.
“Stop it!”
She was rewinding the entire area to before the Black Forest had appeared.
She had done it once before. A B-Class Black Forest had erupted near the orphanage. With no other way to stop it in time, she’d rewound the area instead. Afterward, she’d remained unconscious for three full days.
“I said stop!”
This wasn’t a B-Class Black Forest. It was an S-Class.
Kainel tried to stop her. There was no telling what this would do to her body.
Fwoooosh!
However, Ceres no longer seemed to hear him. Completely focused on rewinding time, she remained perfectly still.
The change began where she sat.
The sea of sand blanketing the ground slowly receded, revealing the land beneath it. The restored area spread outward at an ever-increasing pace.
Ten minutes... Twenty minutes...
By then, the sand had disappeared completely. The endless shrieks of the monsters had fallen silent as well.
Yet Ceres didn’t stop. As though it still wasn’t enough, she continued pouring her power into the spell.
Drip.
“Ceres!”
Blood trickled from her nose.
“Damn it... You’re impossible.”
Even with her lips pressed tightly together, thin streams of blood seeped through the corners of her mouth.
Whoooosh...
At last, the scorching air that had baked the land began to cool. The entire area had returned to its original state. The overwhelming presence of the boss, which had loomed beyond the distant sand dunes, was gone.
Stagger.
“Cough!”
Only then did Ceres finally open her mouth.
“...Whoa.”
Well, this is a first.
A torrent of blood spilled from her lips, far more than before. Even Ceres was caught off guard. Her body had never reacted like this.
Oh crap... Anyone who saw me right now would think I was dying.
As her vision blurred, she forced herself to smile like nothing was wrong, her eyes meeting Kainel’s as he caught her. His face had gone completely rigid.
Come on... don’t look like that.
But the smile only had the opposite effect. His expression tightened even further, his brows knitting together.
Ah, whatever. I’ll deal with him later.
With that, the last of Ceres’s consciousness slipped away.
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