“Lord Lumio, I checked the situation like you asked, and the monsters are behaving strangely. They’re much closer to the village than when they chased us. Three or four at a time have even been attacking the gatekeepers, almost as if they’re testing the waters.”
Yulian’s clothes were covered in blood when he returned from scouting.
“Were they fighting when you got there too?”
“Yes. I helped the Dwarves subjugate a few of them.”
Once could be a coincidence.
But when something happened two or three times, there was a reason behind it.
“I have a bad feeling about this. As you saw at the mine, there are far too many monsters. If they attack, it’ll be difficult to stop them.”
Yulian’s words were also a question asking whether we should return to the territory.
It was true that I needed the mine, but it wasn’t worth more than our lives.
Even if obtaining supplies became slower, there had to be another way to acquire ore.
But if we returned, every Dwarf here would die.
Kardum had fallen in my previous life as well.
That much was certain.
“That sounds like an interesting conversation.”
Aleph had approached without us noticing and joined in.
“Are you saying an attack is coming soon?”
I had no intention of hiding it.
When I nodded, Aleph stared at me silently for a moment before letting out a long sigh.
“You two should go back. There shouldn’t be many monsters along the narrow path. If you use concealment magic, you should be able to reach your territory safely.”
Resignation showed in Aleph’s eyes as he turned his gaze away.
It seemed he assumed we wouldn’t help even if he asked.
When the North was invaded in my previous life, I had also asked other territories for support.
‘They all refused.’
I knew how lonely and desolate that felt.
If not for us, everyone here would die.
I didn’t want to become the same kind of person as those who had rejected me and stood by while the North died.
“We’ll help.”
Aleph’s eyebrows rose slightly, apparently not expecting that answer.
“Are you planning to call the Northern Knight Order? The lord won’t allow it.”
“We can’t rely on them. They’d probably be attacked on the way here. Being ambushed by that many monsters in an open field would be far too dangerous.”
“Then how are you planning to help?”
“Yulian and I will stay and fight with you.”
Aleph stared straight into my eyes, then frowned and snorted.
“What difference can two damn people make?! Stop talking nonsense and get the hell out of here!”
Even though he was openly cursing at me, I didn’t feel offended.
The way he grew angry looked exactly like Arisa.
It felt as though he simply didn’t want us getting hurt because of them.
“Don’t stick your nose into strangers’ business and get yourself killed for nothing.”
“I’m not planning to die like a dog either.”
If there had been no hope, I would have fled long ago.
I would never carelessly throw away this second life I had gained through regression.
But if there was a chance, I wouldn’t give up.
I was tired of regretting things.
“I have a way.”
***
The moon hung high in the sky before dawn.
A Garm that had approached the village raised its head and began howling at the sky.
Then the hundreds of Garms behind it howled as well.
I watched them from atop the wall.
Garms weren’t the only low-grade monsters present.
Monsters that resembled humans but had green skin, short bodies, and pointed ears could also be seen scattered among them.
Goblins.
They weren’t stronger than Garms, but they were cunning and capable of planning.
Judging by their formation, it looked as though they had tamed the Garms.
The Dwarves standing on the wall beside me swallowed hard as they watched them.
“......Can we win?”
“I’ve never seen this many monsters in my life.”
“Stop whining. It’s too late to run now.”
After rebuking his companions, Aleph approached me and added,“There’s no turning back even if you regret it now. They’ve already surrounded the village completely.”
I silently stared beyond the wall.
Perhaps mistaking my silence for fear, Aleph cracked a joke.
“What happened to all that confidence from earlier? You’re not pissing yourself, are you? If you do it here, that part of you will freeze solid.”
At those words, the other Dwarves and I chuckled.
He had been easing everyone’s tension like this.
“That sounds more frightening than the monsters. This time, if possible, I’d like to leave some descendants behind.”
“......This time? Sounds like your first love didn’t work out.”
“There are circumstances I can’t talk about.”
“I’d like to hear that story someday. Anyway, if you can still joke around, I guess you aren’t that scared?”
I might not look it, but I had been an 8th Circle mage in my previous life.
Every monster that set foot in the South had been dealt with by me.
For a brief time before discovering the Magic Tower, I had even worked as a mercenary captain.
Rather than fear, a strange exhilaration rose within me.
“......We’re starting.”
At my words, Aleph drew his bowstring.
The arrowhead he had personally crafted sliced through the air and buried itself in the throat of the Garm howling at the front.
THUNK!
It was the signal that announced the start of the battle.
The howling Garms surged with killing intent and charged the gate all at once.
I cast two spells simultaneously.
2nd Circle spells Water Ball(Water Ball) and Freeze(Freeze).
A massive sphere of water formed from my hand and fell in front of the gate.
The soaked ground froze instantly beneath the cold.
The Garms standing there had their feet frozen in place, while those that arrived later slipped on the ice and lost their balance.
“Now!”
At my shout, the Dwarves waiting atop the wall fired their bows all at once, just as planned.
Even people inexperienced in combat could easily shoot enemies that couldn’t move.
I had spent nearly ten years taking commissions.
When it came to experience in group battles, even the old Dwarves were a step behind me.
THUNK! THUNK!
Arrows buried themselves in the throats and bellies of the Garms as they crashed into one another and toppled in a tangled heap.
Of course, some Garms still smashed the ice apart with their claws and agilely leapt toward the gate.
2nd Circle spell Wind Cutter(Wind Cutter).
A blade of wind precisely split the body of a Garm that had leapt unpredictably into the air.
Aleph let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
“I had no idea the North had someone this capable. You must’ve done quite a bit of hunting.”
Of course.
The person standing beside him wasn’t some inexperienced young mage.
I was a veteran who had accumulated experience with my life on the line.
“It’s too early to relax. I can’t use large-scale magic many times either.”
I repeated the same combination once more, soaking the ground and freezing it.
They were called 2nd Circle spells, but to deal with such a large number of enemies, I was consuming several times the usual amount of magical power.
As the Garms continued dying without end, the Goblins finally began to move.
They fired arrows from the rear, aiming at the Dwarves atop the wall.
Whenever the Dwarves ducked to avoid the arrows, the Goblins used the opening to advance slowly.
I thought we had killed quite a few, yet dozens of pairs of red eyes still gleamed in the darkness beyond the brush.
“......There’s no end to them at this rate!”
“We’re running out of arrows! Bring more, quickly!”
While the Dwarves reorganized, a group of Goblins rapidly approached while riding Garms.
They drove spears into the gate.
Some Goblins were carrying hammers as well, and the gate looked ready to break at any moment.
The Dwarves gathered behind it opened the gate themselves before it could be smashed apart.
It was time for close combat.
“Hup!”
Alongside Yulian, the Dwarves cut down the Goblins in the narrow passage.
Arrows and magic continued suppressing the enemies from above, so for now, they could still hold.
‘But if this continues, we’ll eventually be overwhelmed.’
I stopped attacking and spread my magical power widely to detect the enemy.
There were still a considerable number of them.
But aside from that, something felt strange.
‘......There should be a monster that made all of these things move.’
It wasn’t here.
From experience, once the boss was killed, the other monsters would become frightened and flee.
At that moment, a Dwarf came rushing from the rear and shouted,“The rear wall has been breached!”
‘A diversion!’
Damn it.
So that was it.
The monsters had gathered here in the first place because they were drawn to Arisa’s magical power.
Since I had only seen Goblins and Garms, I hadn’t expected them to break through the wall itself.
Apparently, the boss monster controlling them was fairly intelligent.
“Damn it, we can barely hold this side...... and now the rear is breached too!”
“I’ll go.”
I answered while looking at Aleph biting his lip.
I didn’t wait for permission.
I immediately started running.
***
Arisa, who had been sleeping soundly, woke to the commotion.
Piercing explosions like bombs going off and horrific screams echoed from every direction.
When she stepped outside the cabin, she saw a horrifying sight.
The wall on the opposite side, close to where she was, had collapsed.
Monsters that had entered through it were locked in a bloody battle with the Dwarves.
“......I have to help.”
Arisa moved instinctively.
But with every step she took, the ground and even the surrounding buildings began to freeze.
Anxiety crept into her heart at the sight.
What if she went any farther and froze the entire village again, just as she had when she was young?
“I can’t even help the people who raised me all these years.”
Arisa clenched her fists tightly.
But she couldn’t simply stand there and watch.
One fortunate thing was that merely approaching made the monsters recoil in fear.
A Garm that had climbed onto a Dwarf and was about to tear out his throat backed away as Arisa approached.
“Quickly, run.”
The Dwarf who had nearly died staggered to his feet with trembling hands and ran as fast as he could.
Arisa fired an icicle at the monster trying to chase after him.
“Your opponent is me.”
The monsters all turned toward Arisa.
She couldn’t control this power perfectly.
If she used too much of it, she might lose control again like she had before.
‘Still, I can at least buy enough time for the villagers to escape.’
If there had only been Goblins and Garms, things might have gone exactly as she hoped.
CRASH―!
With a deafening roar, the solid icicle shattered as though it had been crushed.
“......What?”
Through the storm of fragments scattering in every direction, a massive figure came into view.
A hulking body large enough to crush a two-story smithy with ease.
A crude club made from an entire uprooted tree scraped along the ground.
Arisa had seen it before in a book about monsters inhabiting the North.
“Ogre.”
The mere sight of it sent such a chill through her body that she froze in place.
The Ogre stared directly at Arisa and began walking toward her with heavy steps.
‘I can’t let that thing reach the center of the village.’
The solution was simple.
‘......I just need to leave the village.’
She should have done that from the beginning.
Her hesitation because she wanted to live had now put the village that had saved her in danger.
“I’m sorry.”
Arisa murmured briefly, then fired an icicle toward the village’s outer wall.
The wall shattered.
Arisa threw herself through the opening and outside the village.
At the same time, she gradually released the power she had been holding back to prevent herself from going berserk.