The massive explosion shook the entire district.
Its sound was far louder than any festival fireworks.
The glass windows of the smaller streets vibrated violently, some shattering completely.
The people walking nearby stopped instantly. For a second, time seemed to freeze. Then, panic erupted.
They screamed and ran in all directions, away from the source of the blast.
Several guards in the area immediately went on alert.
"To the shelters! Quickly!" they shouted, trying to direct the ordinary citizens.
Some adventurers in the crowd drew their weapons, their eyes fixed warily on the fire.
In the Main Square, the music and laughter stopped instantly.
Thousands of people fell silent, staring at the plume of thick black smoke rising into the night sky.
"What happened..."
"An attack?!"
"Run!"
"Save yourselves! It’s an attack!"
BOOOM!
Another explosion sounded. This time, the location felt closer.
The vibration traveled through the soles of their feet, and a wave of heat washed over them for a moment.
BOOM!
A blinding light and another deafening explosion sounded again.
Three explosions occurred at the same time.
The citizens around the main square fell into total panic.
They began to run, pushing and shoving, looking for a safe place.
Children were crying.
One of the guards and several adventurers shouted at them,
"To the emergency shelter! Quickly! Move!"
Zaefal and Rasie froze in the middle of the panicking street.
Zaefal’s eyes immediately locked onto one of the explosion sites.
The west. The inn district.
That’s... the direction of Fyar’s inn.
Zaefal’s pupils constricted.
He quickly drew his sword from its sheath.
Damn it. What now! What else is happening! What is actually going on!
"RASIE, YOU GO FIND..." Zaefal shouted.
But when he looked at Rasie, the girl’s face was pale with shock.
Her eyes darted around in horror.
She seemed like she wasn’t there.
"Z... z... Zaefal... a..."
Zaefal decisively grabbed Rasie’s shoulders, shaking her roughly with one hand.
"Rasie! Look at me!"
Rasie was still silent,trembling.
"RASIE!"
Rasie snapped out of her daze and looked at Zaefal.
"Z... Zaefal."
"What’s happening."
"You were right."
"Something is wrong."
Zaefal stared into her eyes.
"Look at me, Rasie. Look at me. Calm down. Take a breath. Calm down"
Rasie followed Zaefal’s instructions.
She took a deep, shuddering breath.
She managed to calm herself slightly.
Once Rasie was calmer, Zaefal continued,
"Are you still good? Can you fight? If not, join the civilians and go to the shelter."
Rasie shook her head.
"I’m fine!"
"Are you sure? Don’t lie rasie" Zaefal asked.
"I’ve never seen you like this before."
"No, Zaefal. I was just in shock" Rasie replied. "Trust me!"
Zaefal nodded.
"In that case go Find Fyar."
Rasie stared at him, bewildered.
"Huh? Then where are you going?"
"I’m going to the explosion site to see what happened."
Rasie looked at Zaefal again, confused.
"A... are... are you crazy? Oi, idiot! Don’t be stupid! What the fuck!"
"After you find Fyar, group up in the park area of the main square. We’ll meet there," Zaefal continued, ignoring Rasie’s question.
Zaefal immediately ran, pushing through the panicked crowd, moving against the tide of fleeing citizens.
"Agh! Why, why can’t I just live a fucking normal life!"
"Fuck this shit, fuckk!"
Rasie unsheathed her sword.
She sprinted toward the main square to find Fyar, shoving people out of her way.
Total chaos reigned there.
Food stalls were overturned.
People were pushing each other.
A few City Guards blew their whistles, trying to direct the masses.
"Calm down! Head to the underground shelter! Quickly! Move!"
Zaefal ignored them.
He just focused on running toward the fire.
In the middle of the panicked wave of people, Zaefal saw a familiar figure running toward him.
Her face was deathly pale, streaked with tears.
"Laura!"
Zaefal intercepted her, gripping her trembling shoulders.
"Zaefal!" Laura sobbed, her breath hitched.
"Run! Run! Everything... is destroyed!"
"Laura! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Zaefal shook her slightly.
"What happened?! What’s over there?!"
"No, no!" Laura cried.
"At the inn... a strange man... Kili... he said... thirty seconds... then fire... every... everyone inside... they burned... my... my friends..."
She broke into heavy sobs, unable to continue.
Kili? A strange man? What’s their goal? Why? Who?
A criminal organization? Or another kingdom?
Zaefal’s face grew even paler.
Could this be it? The beginning of humanity’s downfall?
Could it be starting earlier than expected?
Calm down, Zaefal. Calm down! he muttered in his mind.
"Laura, look at me. Look at me."
Laura looked at Zaefal, her face still shocked and pale.
"Breathe slowly. Control your breathing. Now."
"You’re all right now. You’re safe now. Calm down. There are guards. There are adventurers. That strange man won’t dare to attack recklessly. Go where the guards are directing you, understand?"
Laura controlled her breathing, trying to calm herself.
"What about you?" Laura asked.
"I have to go to that place. To see what this person you’re talking about looks like."
Zaefal paused for a moment before continuing,
"The Guardians have vanished from the city for some reason. So I have no other choice."
"Go to the shelter. NOW!"
Zaefal gently pushed Laura toward the City Guards.
In the Main Square, Fyar and Illya’s date came to an abrupt halt.
The music stopped.
The crowd in the square, which had been cheering moments before, was now screaming in panic.
"AN ATTACK!"
"RUN!"
"TO THE SHELTER!"
The crowd that had been enjoying the festival turned into a panicked sea of humanity, pushing, shoving, and screaming.
Suddenly, from a dark alley between the town hall and the noble district, a high-pitched scream of pain was heard.
"AARGHH!"
"MONSTERS! THERE ARE MONSTERS!"
"Nooo!"
Fyar pulled the pistol from his coat.
He looked at Illya, who looked panicked and breathless.
"F... Father... Mother..."
"Father..."
"I have to find Father and Mother... I..."
Seeing Illya panicking and unstable, Fyar touched her shoulders and turned her to face him.
"Illya! Calm down!"
Illya looked at Fyar with a panicked expression.
"Fyar... my family... my family..."
"They are safe, Illya."
"How do you know, Fyar? There were three explosions in a row, and maybe one of them i..."
Fyar paused for a moment before saying,
"The direction of the explosions didn’t come from your house, did it?"
Illya nodded.
"Y... yes."
"They are nobles. Their security must be tight. Your family must have guards or adventurers hired to protect them, right?" Fyar continued.
Illya flinched slightly, then she nodded slowly.
"Y... yes."
"Then..."
WSSSHSH!
Before Fyar could finish his sentence, a black-purple portal tore open in the air.
It pulsed unstably. Thick black smoke poured out of it.
Small, fanged shadow creatures with red eyes crawled out, moving quickly.
They immediately ran toward the crowd.
"M... monsters!"
"No, no, no!"
"Help me!"
A woman tripped.
One monster immediately pounced on her, tearing at her neck.
Blood sprayed onto a fallen festival banner.
A man tried to fight back with a wine bottle, but three other monsters swarmed him, tearing him apart in seconds.
"ANOTHER PORTAL OVER THERE!" someone shouted.
The situation became more chaotic.
People were running in every direction.
Several adventurers in the square immediately drew their weapons, trying to form a perimeter.
"FORM UP! PROTECT THE CIVILIANS!"
"CITY GUARD! WHERE IS THE CITY GUARD?!"
"GET OUT OF HERE, QUICKLY!"
Fyar pulled Illya behind an overturned wooden drink stall.
"Illya, go to the—"
"I can fight, Fyar!" Illya retorted.
"No, Illya!" Fyar snapped, his voice firm.
"Go to the place the guards mentioned and fi..."
Illya grabbed Fyar’s cheeks with both hands, pulling his face close to hers.
"Like you said, my family is safe, Fyar."
"Now my worry has shifted to you."
"I won’t be calm if I leave you here to fight."
A shadow monster, built like a dog but with razor-sharp claws, saw them hiding.
It howled and lunged at Fyar, ignoring the other fleeing citizens.
Fyar raised his pistol again and aimed at the monster.
"Neutralize," he muttered softly.
A purple light enveloped the pistol.
BLAM!
The sound was sharper than any firework.
The crystal bullet hit the monster’s head.
KRAK-BOOM!
The monster’s head exploded into tiny pieces.
Its headless body fell and began to evaporate into black smoke.
Thank god, this is better than I expected, Fyar thought.
Two other monsters heard the pistol’s blast and turned, lunging at them from the side.
"Fyar, watch out!" Illya shouted.
She thrust her hand out.
the air in front of the monsters froze.
Sharp, pale blue ice spears formed from thin air and shot forward.
SST! SST!
The ice spears pierced through both monsters’ chests, pinning them to the ground.
They struggled for a moment, then disintegrated into smoke.
Fyar stared at Illya for a second.
Ice magic? Since when?
"Fyar!" Illya shouted, her face pale but focused.
She was already preparing her next ice spell.
Fyar nodded. He reloaded his pistol.
Around them, the main square had become a small battlefield.
Other adventurers were fighting desperately against the waves of monsters still pouring from the portals.