The addition of Lucas's party greatly boosted our forces, but there were hundreds of elite monsters. No matter how formidable Lucas's party was, facing this endless attrition, we would eventually falter.
'The priority is to escape!'
Any strategies or tactics could only be established once we had made it out alive.
With teleport scrolls rendered useless, we were forced to attempt a physical escape once more.
"The lowest floor is closest to the ground, so we should try to break through there to escape,"
Junior suggested.
Initially, Junior, Kellibey, Kellison, and other survivors who had been kidnapped had been trying to escape through this route.
It seemed the most feasible method under the current circumstances.
"Downwards, downwards, downwards-!"
We continued to flee to the lower floors through the passage Lucas's party had previously opened.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Mutant flies swarmed in from the floors above, but Torkel firmly protected our rear, and Dearmudin blocked the passage with his ingenious magic, halting their advance.
Occasionally, Bodybag would throw an Excannibal to strip the monsters of their barriers, and Burnout would launch explosive bolts as if she had been waiting, blowing them up.
As the distance between us and the creatures grew, I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
'Maybe the escape will go smoothly...'
I regretted thinking that almost immediately.
It's precisely when we let our guard down that the enemies strike with a different approach...!
Swoosh!
As expected.
One side of the wall in the room we had just descended into suddenly opened wide as if a shield had been torn off, and mutant flies that had flown in from above invaded at terrifying speeds.
As our pursuers through the passage were getting delayed, they simply opened the door to the breeding chamber and flew in from outside, then opened the door to our room and came in again.
Their flight capabilities were infuriatingly agile.
Screech!
Mutant flies charged from the side, and we were all taken aback by the sudden change in direction.
All but one. Lucas, as always, was prepared for the worst.
"Excuse me, Bodybag."
Lucas charged towards the incoming mutant flies, snatching an object Bodybag was levitating with telekinesis.
It was an Excannibal.
As Lucas gripped the hilt of the demonic sword, a dark energy poured out, crawling up his wrist eagerly.
I protested in horror.
"Lucas, don't...!"
"Don't worry."
However, Lucas responded in a calm, collected voice.
"I'm not so weak as to be devoured by a mere sword."
The next moment, Lucas and the lead mutant fly collided.
Flash!
The monster was sliced down like a straw bundle.
Lucas held the Excannibal in his left hand and a light-infused longsword in his right, tearing through the monsters' barriers with the demonic sword and cleanly bisecting them with the light-infused sword.
In just a few seconds, the mutant flies that had entered through the side door were all slaughtered.
"Ha..."
Lucas, bending forward slightly, exhaled a long breath and said blandly.
"With the means to neutralize their defenses, they are nothing."
Everyone looked stunned at the protagonist's actions, as if he was playing in a different genre.
Lucas twirled the Excannibal, then turned to me.
"May I use this sword for a while, my lord?"
"..."
I hesitated but eventually gritted my teeth and nodded.
"If it seems even slightly dangerous, you must give it up immediately."
"Of course."
Lucas nodded cheerfully, reminding me of when he used to turn into a beast.
This demonic sword was as dangerous as his transformation.
But in this desperate situation, we couldn't afford to take it easy.
Lucas had already overcome the temptation of his transformation. I decided to trust that he could withstand the corruption the demonic sword offered.
Now, the escape was nearly complete. And the lower floors were already swarming with mutant flies we had bypassed.
Clang!
Lucas, leading the way to the lower floor, crossed the swords in front of his face and glared ahead with his blue eyes wide open.
"I'll clear a path...! Follow me!"
The Excannibal, as if it had finally found its rightful owner, tore through and devastated the monsters with far greater power than when Bodybag had thrown it.
The blond protagonist danced through the monsters with a dual-wielding style.
'Even for a protagonist, to bear this much alone...'
Following the path Lucas had made, I clenched my mouth shut.
The sight of my knight, who had willingly tainted half of his body with darkness to save us, me... it pained my heart.
***
Finally, we reached the bottom floor of the breeding chamber, underneath the King of Flies.
Lucas was exhausted from having to cut through dozens, perhaps hundreds of mutant flies on his own during our escape.
Using the demonic sword had drained him even more.
"This is as far as we go!"
I quickly snatched the Excannibal from Lucas's hand and threw it into my inventory.
The Excannibal vibrated violently in my hand, trying to return to Lucas, but I forcefully used my power to lock it in my inventory.
"..."
Lucas seemed to want to say something, his messy hair framing his blue gaze, but then he bowed his head and just breathed heavily.
"Let's make a big hole, shall we~!"
Nobody drew his sword and sliced through the bottom of the lowest floor.
Rip!
The thick skin of the King of Flies was peeled off in an instant, and a strong wind gushed in from below.
"Hmm..."
We all swallowed dryly as we looked down through the opened gap, and I murmured, estimating the height.
"...It's quite high."
Even at the very bottom, the distance to the ground was daunting.
"Bodybag, can you use telekinesis to land us safely?"
Bodybag hesitated, then answered.
"That height is too much... But if someone can use wind magic to slow our fall..."
I glanced at Junior, the only wind magic user among us.
"Junior. Can you do it?"
After chugging mana potions all the way down to recover his magic power, Junior let out a weird chuckle.
"If we pull this off, it would set a new record for landing people with wind magic, right?"
"I don't know who's keeping track, but if we do it, it'll be world rank 1, right...?"
Dearmudin nodded in agreement from the side.
"The Ivory Tower will certify the record."
Really? But is there actually a ranking?
"I can't resist the Ivory Tower rankings, huh...!"
With a deep breath, Junior started to gather the power of the wind in her hands.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Almost simultaneously, mutant flies poured in from above and the sides. Junior shouted sharply.
"Everyone jump down!"
Junior was the first to drop below.
The height was terrifying, but staying put meant certain death anyway. With a do-or-die expression, everyone jumped.
"Waaaaah!"
Kuilan, looking miserable, pleaded with me.
"How many times do I have to tell you I have a fear of heights... Aaaaaah!"
"Shut up! Let's go!"
After kicking the back of the Merfolk King and sending him tumbling down, I dived as well.
Torkel, who had been the last one behind, took a moment longer before jumping down with his shield positioned behind him.
Screeeeeech!
"..."
We began free-falling after escaping the belly of the King of Flies.
How should I put it?
I've dreamt of falling from a high place before, but experiencing it suddenly in reality felt surreal.
My legs were jelly, and my stomach felt hollow with fright.
For someone who's never even tried bungee jumping, let alone skydiving, free-falling was an overwhelming stimulus.
Even so, the ground was rapidly approaching.
Gritting my teeth, I barely managed to keep my wits about me.
'Am I going to die like this?'
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
Whooooosh!
Wrapped in the wind magic unfurled by Junior, our fall speed significantly reduced.
"Woohoo!"
Bodybag, her face turning red, strained with telekinetic magic, trying to pull us up.
Thanks to the cooperation of the two magicians, we descended towards the ground at a manageable speed, relief flashing across everyone's faces, except for Kuilan, who had already fainted.
Vrooooooom-
Just then, an ominous flapping sound rang in our ears.
Terrified, we looked up to see mutant flies descending around us. I couldn't help but spit out in astonishment.
"These damn flying monsters...!"
That's when it happened.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Familiar gunfire sounded, and the heads of the mutant flies surrounding us burst one after the other.
"What?"
There's only one person in the world with such insane sniping skills. I shouted the name of my sniper.
"Damien...?!"
Dadadadada-!
From a distance, the camouflage on Geronimo was removed, revealing its form. It had been hidden using the artifact [Steadfast Superstition].
And there, sitting on the hatch of Geronimo, was Damien.
Damien, without a moment to greet me, blinked and rapidly fired his sniper rifle with both hands.
Screeeak-
Thump!
Before the mutant flies could even react, Damien's sniping blew them away. The flies were shot down by long-distance sniping before they could even raise their barriers.
Thanks to Damien's covering fire, we were able to land safely on the ground.
As soon as we touched down, we formed a defensive circle, ready to face any remaining flies.
But.
"Huh?"
As soon as we landed, the mutant flies suddenly stopped their pursuit, turned around, and hurried back to their base – the body of the King of Flies.
As I was about to pull out the Excannibal again, I awkwardly withdrew my hand from my inventory.
"What's going on? Where are they going?"
"Do we no longer need to deal with them...?"
The King of Flies was already a distant figure.
It was so huge that its speed seemed unreal now that we were no longer on it.
Tiredly, I watched the King of Flies move away.
And at the end of its path, the human defense line... The sight of Crossroad.
"...? Wait a minute."
I blinked.
"Why can I see the walls?"
Why was Crossroad visible to the naked eye from here?
And then it hit me.
Why was Geronimo here in the first place?
"Your Highness!"
As Geronimo approached, starting an emergency landing, Damien, standing at the hatch, shouted out a report.
"I'm here to report the current situation! Your Highness, it's been a long time since you started the infiltration operation, and...!"
Damien continued, his voice tense.
"Right after Your Highness entered, the King of Flies sped up drastically! Just like when it attacked the second defensive line!"
Just as passengers inside a fast-flying plane feel peaceful, we hadn't realized inside the beast, but the King of Flies had moved northward at an incredible speed after we infiltrated.
"The advance was much faster than expected! So, at this rate, within an hour..."
Damien, now close, shouted with a pale face.
"It'll reach Crossroad!"
Indeed.
The monster had made its choice.
Instead of wasting time chasing us, who were slipping away like eels, it decided to strike at our base, which was now sufficiently close.
To devour the great horse and end this game.
--TL Notes--
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