Tirna's situation control room had reached a saturation point of information just from processing the incoming flood of data.
"District 17. Nine blocks including buildings are covered in spider webs. The spreading speed is accelerating in real-time. Presumed to be Mother Goose's familiar, the Spider Woman."
"District 29. Confirmed that numerous citizens including remaining guards have turned to stone. Not only that, but defensive automatons and steam suits have also been petrified. Familiar Basilisk confirmed."
"District 33. Bodies with missing eyes confirmed. Countless swarms of rats are roaming around. Numbers are increasing in real-time. Appears to be the familiar Three Blind Mice."
"District 25. Citizens confirmed laughing madly. Same with the defensive forces protecting them. Most showing mass hallucination symptoms, laughing until dying from diaphragm spasms and total paralysis. Violin music echoing nearby. Familiar is Old King Cole."
Tirna was truly in a state of emergency. There wasn't a single district without screams ringing out. Despite evacuating citizens as quickly as possible with advance preparation, it was still this bad. If they had been careless and properly hit, it was impossible to even imagine how horrific things would have been.
However, no one present held complaints. They analyzed incoming information and transmitted it to field commanders based on previously gathered data. There could be no margin of error in the information. And it couldn't be delayed even by a single second.
This was wartime. A single second was a critical moment that could determine the lives of 100 soldiers.
Death bloomed everywhere. Mother Goose's familiars were entities that were essentially the crystallization of murderous intent to kill humans. And this invasion wasn't just familiars.
The reason she had been quiet until now was because she had been building her forces.
"Gingerbread Castle's location confirmed. However, it has ceased functioning due to interception by an unidentified person on the ground!"
"Engaged with the Ancient Giant! Artillery is restraining the giant's movements! The familiar Desert Fox interfered, but currently in combat with support from an elf spirit mage on site!"
"Banshee's location confirmed! According to on-site witnesses, the famous Divine Lady Rose is currently confronting it!"
But it wasn't all despair. The city of Tirna wasn't just protected by the city government, military, and guards.
There were people living in Tirna. Among them were many who possessed military power that rivaled organizations despite being individuals.
They too didn't want Tirna to fall. Tirna wasn't a perfect city, but at least it was a good place to live for them.
That's why they fought. To protect their place of living.
"The Tea Party witches are moving!"
"Supremacy has officially begun responding! Currently in combat!"
"Walpurgis Night has also deployed."
Walpurgis Night, normally would never respond even to official requests from the city government. However, it seemed even they didn't want Tirna to fall.
Local battles breaking out in real-time. Within them, the light of hope slowly began to bloom.
The commander thought to himself.
'It's fortunate we reduced the mirror fragments as much as possible. We couldn't collect them all, but because we knew of the danger in advance and prepared, we could minimize the damage.'
The familiars, witches, and monsters didn't appear suddenly. The reason they could easily penetrate Tirna's outer barrier was all thanks to the mirrors.
Evil Queen, Grimhilde's ability is movement through space via mirrors.
The city government mobilized all forces to somehow recover the magic mirrors. Thanks to recovering at least more than half, they could drastically reduce the entry points through which they could invade.
'And yet this level of forces. Mother Goose. Just how many troops did she gather?'
During the time she didn't show herself, she would have been creating familiars. That's why there were quite a few familiars that still had no information, whose abilities were completely unknown.
'And that number is increasing in real-time.'
The commander fell into contemplation. If they continued just blocking the incoming offensive like this, the damage would increase endlessly.
'We need to eliminate the root cause.'
Mother Goose. Only by eliminating her, the root cause, would this Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt)end.
"Everyone focus!"
They couldn't hesitate. Even if damage increased immediately, this order was essential for the future.
"We need to find Mother Goose! Only by eliminating her will this war end! So utilize the information network to the maximum somehow! Remember! The top priority is finding Mother Goose!"
No matter how many casualties occurred, finding Mother Goose was the top priority.
Naturally, this news was transmitted to all the people on site as well. Finding Mother Goose wasn't an easy task. In the first place, no one knew where she was.
Even if they captured and interrogated a familiar, there was no possibility they would talk.
However, quite many people were confident through reasonable deduction that Mother Goose was somewhere in Tirna.
Familiars were rampaging throughout the city. To cause such widespread chaos, Mother Goose had to at least be in Tirna.
Then where would Mother Goose most likely be? It was when everyone was pondering this.
The radio crackled. It was an emergency line for reporting the most critical situations.
[Enemy appearance confirmed at City Hall where Mayor Deliphiros resides! Half of City Hall has collapsed, and combat is occurring inside! Wait, what on earth is that?]
The commander who received the report shouted.
"Display the on-site screen! Quickly!"
City Hall was a place where security was particularly important, so it was one of the areas that could be checked in real-time with artifacts.
Flash!
The people in command who saw the scene that unfolded all lost their words.
The pristine white City Hall that should have been splendidly built was half-destroyed. Half had crumbled and collapsed, and the remaining half barely maintaining its form was also collapsing in real-time.
And combat was occurring in what was presumed to be City Hall's basement. With roars and shockwaves, the ground heaved, and each time, City Hall's collapse accelerated.
"M-Mayor? Mayor Deliphiros!"
"W-we still have no news!"
"Send support forces immediately!"
Rendering that order meaningless, the ground sank greatly once. Like a sinkhole forming, the remaining half of City Hall collapsed into the pit of the sunken ground with a crash.
From within the dusty cloud that rose hazily, something pitch-black and massive burst out. It was a giant tentacle. No, a tree trunk that looked like a tentacle.
"Jack and the Beanstalk!"
A human who became one with the beanstalk due to greed and ultimately became a familiar. It wasn't just him who appeared. Near the leaves hanging thickly on the giant tree, several hazy but intense silhouettes could be seen.
It wasn't difficult to recognize that they were Mother Goose's familiars. The numbers weren't small. Just what was visible exceeded at least ten.
Could there be a case where familiars were concentrated in one place to this degree?
'As if there's something important that must be protected.'
His intuition flashed in an instant and the commander shouted.
"City Hall! Mother Goose has appeared at City Hall where Mayor Deliphiros is! All available forces head to City Hall as much as possible!"
This command was also transmitted to Executor Alensia Hare who was on site. And naturally, to Osian who was beside her as well.
"Mother Goose has appeared, they say."
"Is that so?"
Osian spoke as if it were nothing. Alensia looked at Osian for a moment, then took in the scene he had created.
The moving Gingerbread Castle had landed on the ground. It hadn't just landed. It was so wrecked and half-destroyed that its form was barely recognizable, having crashed to the ground. It should be called gingerbread debris rather than the Gingerbread Castle.
'How on earth.'
Wasn't this the Gingerbread Castle that had withstood all of Tirna's air defense systems trying to intercept it? Yet it had fallen to a mere individual and was displaying a miserable state.
Alensia didn't even have time to help. Osian simply drew his sword and flashed light a few times, and it became like that.
"Fall back."
"Huh? What did you just—"
It was before Alensia could say anything.
Kwang!
The wreckage of the Gingerbread Castle exploded. As candies that shot into the air fell pattering down, two shadows rushed toward Osian.
Alensia’s eyes widened. The Hansel and Gretel siblings. Though they appeared as young boy and girl, they were familiars who had lived for over 100 years. Moreover, they were infamous for killing their witch master and even luring and killing humans.
The two siblings charged at Osian with superhuman physical abilities.
"Oppa! That's him! The one who destroyed our house!"
"Last time you broke the castle's engine, and now you destroy our house?!"
Roaring with rage, Hansel swung the giant lollipop in his hand. Though it was a lollipop, its size was larger than his own frame, like looking at a hammer. Conversely, Gretel wielded a whip. Looking closely, it wasn't a whip but a string of sausages.
Though they looked like food items on the outside, those were very threatening weapons. However, Osian showed no thought of defending. He simply let the drawn Starlight Sword droop for a moment, then disappeared from his spot with a whoosh.
Hansel and Gretel's eyes flashed wide.
They lost track of Osian's movement.
What the two familiars saw simultaneously was a pure white flash rushing right up to their faces.
Slash.
The necks of the Hansel and Gretel siblings flew through the air. Their bodies, having lost their heads, couldn't overcome inertia and crashed to the ground, sliding far.
"H-how!"
"Kyaaak!"
Hansel was shocked and Gretel shrieked. Their wide-open eyes in disbelief captured Osian's back.
Osian, displaying three crests behind his back, didn't look back this way.
Osian cast his gaze at the wreckage of the Gingerbread Castle.
"I know there are more. Come out quickly. I have a place to go now."
The presence cowering in the Gingerbread Castle moved.
What rose through the wreckage were hundreds of soldiers. The familiar Nutcracker. His toy soldiers all aimed their rifles at Osian in unison.
Osian swung his sword horizontally toward those soldiers. Pure white light stretched long. The necks of soldiers caught in the sword's trajectory fell one after another.
Among them, the one that could be called the real soldier lowered its body to dodge the sword. As it was about to charge at Osian with jerky movements.
Its legs had already been cut off, forcing it to fall to the ground.
The soldier looked bewildered and Alensia who saw that was the same.
'He swung the sword once more in that instant?'
She saw the first strike but the second even she couldn't catch. The soldier fired at Osian while falling. Though they weren't ordinary bullets, Osian lightly twisted his wrist and cut down the flying bullets.
The moment the soldier tried to do something again, Osian thrust his sword. Despite being over 50 meters away, pure white light shot like an arrow and pierced the soldier's forehead.
The light disappeared from the soldier's eyes as its head drooped limply.
Thud!
A black shadow dropped behind Osian from the sky with a heavy thud.
"Uoooooooh!"
Shouting, the one throwing a punch was Solomon Grundy, who had already reached adult age.
The massive fist lodged into Osian's side but Osian's body shook with a thud and flew like a cannonball.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Osian's body pierced through several buildings in succession.
"Osian!"
Alensia called Osian in surprise. Even to her eyes, the strike Solomon Grundy delivered was extraordinary. However, she belatedly discovered something strange.
"Krwoooooh!"
It was Solomon Grundy who was screaming in pain. The arm that struck Osian's side had countless scars engraved on it as if it had been ravaged.
Red blood flowed ceaselessly. The wounds couldn't even regenerate. In that brief moment, Osian had counterattacked.
Solomon Grundy clutched his painful arm and lunged toward the hole where Osian had flown.
It was an opportunity barely created by the deaths of the Hansel and Gretel siblings and the Nutcracker. He had to somehow capitalize on this momentum and press Osian.
Just as Solomon Grundy leaped dozens of meters trying to enter the hole where Osian disappeared. Rather, an unscathed Osian came out to greet him first, swinging his sword at Solomon Grundy.
Solomon Grundy urgently raised both arms vertically to guard his neck.
-Slash.
Both arms were cleanly cut from the forearms. The neck hidden behind them was the same. Osian, who had taken down three familiars in an instant, raised his warhorse from within pure white flames.
"It's been a while."
The Star Crest Warhorse lowered its head without much complaint at Osian's call. Osian, who had awakened the Sun, Moon, and Stars, was now its rightful master.
Osian immediately mounted the warhorse's saddle.
"Run. I trust you know the destination without me saying."
The warhorse fixed its gaze on one place with a single snort. Though not visible, the powerful and countless presences existing there could be felt
The place where the hottest and most intense battlefield in this current war was unfolding.
"Wait!"
Before Alensia could shout anything the Star Crest Warhorse and Osian were enveloped in a beam of light and shot forward like an arrow.