The moment the Skeleton’s blade swung down, I broke through the window’s glass and kneed the Skeleton in the skull, smashing it.
“Huh?”
Probably surprised by the sound of the shattered glass, people nearby turned toward the bus. However, they didn’t have the time to waste on stuff like that.
While deploying my Magical Attire, I inhaled ever so deeply.
“Monsterssssss!!! There are monsters! Somebody call the cooopppssss!!!”
I felt my helmet shake as I shouted up toward the sky with all my might. And in my narrowed vision through my helmet’s slit, I saw the supposedly blue sky being covered by a dark canopy. It seemed like the dungeon overflow was already about to transition from the 2nd stage to the 3rd.
“Hey kids”
“Huh? Waa”
I knelt down and tried to meet the eyes of the frightened children as much as I could.
“If your parents are nearby, go to them. If they aren’t, you should go to the police box near the station. You guys got that?”
“…!!”
Although still frightened, the children nodded several times. I nodded back once at them.
“You’re all good kids. Alright then, go! Run!”
“Y-yes, sir!!?”
The kids dashed away like crazy. As for the other people around, my guess was that they sensed something weird was going on, because some of them fled the scene while some simply stared in a daze at the sky.
At any rate, I summoned Layla and Yukine while I took out Reinforce from my Item Bag. The silver lining in the dark sky perhaps was that because we have just returned from a dungeon, Reinforce still had her armor on.
“A dungeon overflow is happening. A Skeleton has appeared in the middle of the town earlier. This is an emergency, so we will split up to protect civilians and exterminate monsters. Layla and Reinforce will form one team while Yukine and I will form another.”
“Alright.”
“Understood.”
“Master,”
I was scanning our surroundings when Layla inquired about something in a low voice.
“Helping others is great and all, but…”
“I know, I know. I’ll prioritize my own survival. All of you too, act while prioritizing your own life.”
“Very well.”
“Then, let’s move! Yukine!”
“Yes!”
We began by simply running. After all, if this was truly a dungeon overflow, we would have no trouble finding monsters even when running at random.
“Yukine!”
“Yes!”
“After this, let’s do a purification ritual on me!!”
“Yes, we should!!!”
And sure enough, we found Skeletons attacking people. I thought there were 7 Skeletons, but it turned out that there were actually 8 of them. Today was a Sunday, and the sun was still out at that, so it wasn’t a surprise there were plenty of people. To make matters worse, the increased concentration of magic power right now seemingly made even non-Awakened Ones see the monsters, prompting screams to erupt everywhere and panic to take hold of everyone.
I decided not to draw my sword. Its longer reach would have been more of a nuisance. Plus, against Skeletons, even my bare hands were enough.
The fleeing people were in my way to the Skeletons, so I used a signpost to reach a building’s wall and then launched myself diagonally downward toward a Skeleton. My aim was a bit off though, so my attack didn’t make a direct hit. Thankfully, it didn’t end up mattering as my punch still managed to graze and then destroy the Skeleton’s skull.
The impact of landing made my feet dig into the asphalt ground, but I forcibly extracted them and ran again. I gave a lariat to one of the Skeletons that turned my way and decapitated it. Without delay, I sent another Skeleton flying by kicking at its shield.
Ignoring what remained of that Skeleton—its lower half—I approached the next targets. The group seemed to have finally noticed my presence as two spear-users came thrusting at me. But that made things simpler as far as I was concerned. As I slipped between the spears, I grabbed the their skulls and slammed it down.
And now, only 3 remained. Or there should have been 3 remaining, but they were already pierced by spears of ice.
“Are you alright?”
“Hii, hiiii!?”
I was talking to a man in a suit who was pressing on his arm. His left arm seemed to have been bleeding.
…geez, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing human blood.
“Pressed hard on your wound. That’ll do for now, but once you find a safe place, try to stop the bleeding properly. If there’s a doctor there too, try to ask for medical attention.”
“W-what!? What was that just now!? Those were monsters weren’t they?! And they, those people!!”
“Please. Try to calm yourself.”
I removed my helmet, carefully grabbed the man’s shoulder, and made him face me directly. As I stared into his eyes, I spoke in the calmest tone I could muster.
“Please look into my eyes and slowly count up to 10.”
“W-what?”
“Please, just count.”
When I put a little bit more force in the hand on his shoulder, the man hurriedly counted up.
“O-one, 2, 3”
“Slowly”
“4…5…6…”
His eyes had been unfocused just a moment ago, but now, there was finally the light of reason shining within them.
“9…10”
“Good. Now, calmly but also quickly, try to escape. As long as you follow a policeman’s guidance, you should be able to get out safely. A fireman is fine too of course.”
“A-alright. How about you…”
“I’ll be moving around while smashing some Skeletons. But don’t worry about me; I’m kind of strong.”
Against someone truly strong though, I’m no match at all.
Those words made me think of that person in the nun costume. I didn’t say out loud those words or made any mention about that person, but I could tell I was already smiling awkwardly.
I’m quite the sloppy guy, aren’t I?
“B-be careful too, ok?”
“Yeah, thanks for your concern. Well then”
I put on my helmet again and scanned our surroundings. Just like before, people of the city have been running in confusion, but slowly, more and more people have been noticing the sirens and the shouts amplified by megaphones. It would seem the police were taking action too.
When I searched for Yukine, I saw her being thanked profusely by a high-school-looking girl who was holding a junior-high-school-looking girl.
…I’m definitely not thinking I wished I save those girls instead of the old man. Definitely not. This is an emergency situation, after all!
“Yukine. Let’s move”
“Yes, dear!”
As we began to walk, I caught in the edge of my vision the sight of a person who had fallen down.
I was rather poor at sensing the flow of magic power but even I could tell that the people lying in the ground here have all died. After all, the amount of blood that flowed out into the pool of red in the ground plus the location of their wounds all pointed to such a fate.
…I’ve really gotten used to gory stuff, haven’t I?
* * *
30 minutes later. We earnestly roamed the city during that time.
Fortunately, I suppose, the monsters were weak. Unlike that time the dungeon that had Wyverns and Fire Drakes overflowed, the Awakened Ones in this area could more than handle the monsters by themselves. I mean, compared to the average Awakened One, the monsters here could be called nothing but small fries. There was no chance an Awakened One could be killed by them, not even the remotest of chances. If anything, it was the surging waves of panicking people and recklessly-driven cars that were more frightening.
Moreover, even though the magic power concentration in the air was indeed higher than normal, it wasn’t as high as I expected. Unlike with the Crete Dungeon, non-Awakened Ones here and even in the dungeon with flame dragons were still able to move. The magic power concentration was high enough for the monsters to become visible though.
Actually, thinking about it, maybe it was the Minotaur who made things weird. After all, that shitty cow specialized in manipulating that labyrinth.
But while the strength of the monsters wasn’t much of an issue, their numbers plus the current place and time were.
Today was a Sunday and we were in the middle of a city. Moreover, the time was about 4 PM and we were near a station. The number of people here was unimaginable for my hometown, but because of that, it made moving about incredibly hard. That said, the police and firefighters providing guidance made it just a little bit more bearable.
There were also so many Skeletons. I wouldn’t say they popped up at the same speed as the black dome was expanding, but they were still welling up in numbers quickly.
As we roamed, we came upon a woman holding a baby while on the roof of an abandoned car. But there was also a Skeleton there trying to stab her. I wasted no time to grab hold of the monster’s skull, ripping it off, and then smashing it.
“Escape now! If you go to the opposite direction of the station from here, you should find some policemen guiding other escapees.”
“Ogyaaaaa! Ogyaaaaa!”
“Hii, hiii!?”
I breathed a sigh of relief seeing the mother, screaming and crying along with her baby, run off. It looked like they would be able to escape with their own strength.
“Dear!”
“!?”
When I turned toward Yukine’s voice, I saw that she just opened the door of a car that hasn’t been crushed yet. Inside the car, a man who looked to be about 20 years old was leaning limply on his seat. There was blood flowing from his head, but his chest was still moving. He was still breathing.
“Yukine, keep watch of our surroundings. Don’t let any enemy near. I’ll be carrying this person.”
“Alright!”
“Hey, can you hear me? If you’re still conscious, please respond somehow”
…that apple is my absolute, absolute last resort.
I told myself that as I took out a bandage from my Item Bag and tied it around the man’s head. Layla thought I might need to do first aid myself someday, so she taught it to me several times. The knowledge I got from her was really helpful as I was able to cover the wound pretty nicely, if I might say so myself.
Next, I willed my zweihander in my back out of existence, carried the man on my back, and then ran double time. My destination was, naturally, the group of escapees that I told the mother from earlier.
When I got a bit closer, I immediately heard the voice of a cop being amplified by a megaphone.
<<No pushing! Carry only what you absolutely need to!>>
When I approached a patrol car and lightly knocked on it, a policeman came out.
“What’s the m—that person,”
“They’re injured, yeah. They’re bleeding in the head. I hope I can leave the rest to you.”
“O-ok,”
I handed the injured man to the police and then took a quick look at how the escapees were doing.
Even with just the people here taken into account, there were still about 50 people. That was still a lot of people who haven’t made their escape.
They had already traverse some distance, but even now, the dome could still be seen. Hopefully though, just a little more walking and they’ll be able to get out of the expanding dungeon. The dungeon’s expansion range was quite large when this whole thing started, but probably thanks to the efforts of the Awakened Ones within, it has begun to shrink slowly. However, because it didn’t take much magic power for a Skeleton to form, it would take a while and many Skeletons before things die down.
—taaannn…!
“mm…?”
I thought I heard some exploding sound.
Fireworks? Nah, it doesn’t sound like the ones I’ve heard when watching in the field near my home.
I looked back at the policeman and saw him talking to a firefighter about the man I rescued. But then, something at the policeman’s waist caught my eye.
Wait, that sound, could that have been a gunfire? But what kind of idiot would do that? Everyone knows ordinary bullets don’t work on monsters. It won’t help and can actually make things worse because the sound will attract other monsters. I can’t tell for sure why anyone would do that, but they’re likely in trouble. I suppose I should help. I’d hate it if they shot me too in their panic, but well, not like an ordinary bullet can kill me…or so I think.
“Sorry, but we’ll be going now. Yukine”
“Yes, dear!”
“Ah, h-hey!”
I lightly bowed to the policeman and left.
I was fully aware that what I was about to do was stupid. I of all people shouldn’t go around saving others. After all, I had this extra-large, ticking time bomb called Silver Apples.
In the edge of my vision were corpses that had to be left there. One particular body was left between a car and a utility phone, while another lied on the ground with already-dried blood around their neck. I wanted to avoid seeing any of it, yet even when my vision was narrowed due to my helmet, I still saw and noticed them.
That apple is the absolute, absolute last resort. My own life takes top priority. Do otherwise and I lose everything.
I told myself that repeatedly. If something were to happen to me, it would be the end for Layla, Yukine, and Reinforce too. And so, under my helm, I gritted my teeth. These feelings of guilt were unnecessary. After all, the ones truly at fault—
Before I could finish that thought, a Skeleton jumped out from the shadow of a car. It had its spear pointed at me, but before it could do anything, I slipped past the spear and smashed its head into pieces.
At any rate, the ones truly at fault for this disaster were these Skeletons and the scums who hid the Gate. I was basing this on that gossip I heard from Aihara-kun. The one about items that could hide Dungeon Gates being popular in underground websites. After all, I couldn’t believe all these dungeons—all the way from the Crete Dungeon incident to this one which was so close to a train station—could go undiscovered simply by chance.
I was honestly disgusted. They must have seen footages on TV about what happens during a dungeon overflow, so why would they still do something so stupid??
We advanced as we took down Skeletons one after the other. I had been checking from time to time if Yukine was still close behind, and when I did so again, I heard another gunshot. Naturally, we proceeded toward its direction.
“Stop, stop!! Don’t come near!!!”
And around the next corner, I saw a plump man in a white coat in front of a man who seemed to be a JSDF offical. The plump man was also holding a pistol at some Skeletons. However, whether it was because they ran out of bullets or the gun was broken, the gun’s slide remained opened and it didn’t fire bullets anymore. Meanwhile, the Skeletons, with swords and spears in their hands, kept on approaching the men.
“Aa, aaaahh….! I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die! D-damn monsters”
“Hmp!”
Because about 10 or so of the monsters were clustered together, I was able to send most of them flying with one move. About 2 or 3 of them survived, but those were soon pierced and destroyed by spears of ice.
“Ho, eh?”
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
Through hand signs, I asked Yukine to keep watch of our surroundings. At the same time, I locked eyes with the man in a white lab coat who has sunk to the ground.
Through his misaligned glasses, I could tell that his focus has somehow recovered.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Are you, are you an Awakened One?”
“Yes. Let’s get away from here for now. How about him? How is he?”
When I directed my gaze toward the fallen JSDF-looking man, the lab coat guy began to move his head too. He then threw away the gun and fully turned around to the JSDF-looking man.
“T-that’s right! Yamazaki-kun! Wake up, Yamazaki-kun!”
Even though his shoulders were clapped and shaken, the JSDF official didn’t wake up. He seemed to still be breathing though.
“…he’s unconscious. The spear shaft of one of those Skeletons hit him directly in the head earlier. If possible, I would rather not move him, but that’s not an option. Which means he must be rushed to a hospital to have his head examined instead.”
“Alright. I’ll carry him. Can you walk by yourself?”
“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with me. Thanks to you, of course.”
The guy in the lab coat was probably a doctor, so I had little choice but to carry the other man as he said. Well, in this kind of situation, this really was the only option for me, whether he said so or no.
And so, I carried the large JSDF-looking man on my back and also gave the lab coat guy a hand in getting up.
“After taking that turn and a few more, we should be able to meet up with a group of escapees being guided by the police.”
“Understood. Sorry but I hope you can act as our guide and guard along the way.”
“It’s nothing. We should be helping out each other in times of need, after all.”
If this dungeon was filled with the likes of Wyverns or Spartois, then of course it was a different matter. But if the only enemies here were at the level of Skeletons, there was no need to panic at all. Leaving aside potential emotional damage, I could more than afford to help others this time.
“I feel sorry to even ask, but if you could, please be gentle in carrying him. From my experience, fainting due to a blow to the temporal region is very dangerous.”
“Understood.”
‘From my experience’…so he really is a doctor, right?
“I must say though, it was reckless of you to fight a monster with a gun.”
Even though Yukine was acting as guard too, I still surveyed our surroundings. For the time being, we were retracing our steps in the hopes that we wouldn’t encounter any monsters along the way.
“Next time, above all else, please consider just running away. It’s better to avoid making loud noises too.”
“Ha, haha…yeah, you’re right.”
I didn’t want to say something so condescending and preachy to someone older than me, but it was the truth.
This would be my 3rd time being caught up in a dungeon overflow. However, people who get caught up in dungeon overflows only once were getting rarer and rarer. That was just how much dungeon overflow cases keep on rising in today’s world. It was a scary, terrible world.
All that to say that this man might get involved in another dungeon overflow. I had gone to the trouble saving him, so I would rather he survived that next one too.
“I just…believe that there’s problem that can’t be solved through the use of humanity’s wisdom.”
“Ohh”
“Obviously, there are still things, including weather-related disasters, that are still impossible for us to counteract. Monsters, however…I really thought that as long as we have you Awakened Ones, beings that can deal with monsters, we can somehow persevere with our wisdom and knowledge.”
“…I suppose, but”
“No, it’s alright. I was wrong. That was nothing but my own hubris at play.”
The lab coat guy was walking so slowly. I would have preferred if we kept going at a faster pace. But then again, I couldn’t see the condition of the guy I was carrying, so it was probably best to heed the doctor’s advice for now.
“Monsters are like disasters, honestly. There’s nothing we can do against them. Things like humanity’s wisdom are nothing more than things powerless people like me use to comfort ourselves. Just some nonsense, really.”
A warped smile appeared on the man’s plump face. He was surely directing that sneer at himself. That or that humanity’s wisdom thing he was talking about.
“We could make bullets or spend ludicrous amounts of money on armor, but whatever we do, in the end, an ordinary person just can’t keep up. I see no other choice but to leave it all up to you, the heroes.”
“I don’t know about that…”
In the first place, I was no hero. I would be lying if I said I had no desire whatsoever of being one, but at least right now, that wasn’t the case.
Moreover, I didn’t want that duty to fall entirely on us. There were many Awakened Ones in Japan, to be sure, but there was still a limit to our numbers.
“I don’t think you should lose that much hope on that wisdom of humanity”
“…you know, the gun I used—which that guy originally carried, by the way—its bullets were made with metals from dungeons. Yet, it still can’t defeat even those Skeletons. Useless, it’s all useless.”
I wondered if the man walking alongside me heard what I just said, so I turned to look.
“Monsters, there’s just no way humans can with against those things.”
Oh boy.
I could understand him feeling negative given all of this, but if he wallowed too much and gave in to despair, it would weigh heavily on me.
I wasn’t even a counselor or anything, for crying out loud.
“I suppose humans really can’t win against monsters”
“Yes, in the end, we just can’t.”
“But maybe we can when we turn monsters into beasts.”
“What are you…?”
The man looked at me suspiciously. It was better than him continuing to look downward, I guess.
“What do you mean by that? Some kind of wordplay?”
“History has proven my point. Back in ancient times, bears, crocodiles and whatnot were once thought to be monsters, right? But now, they’re just considered dangerous beasts.”
The appearance of dungeons and actual monsters made my point shaky, but even so, it was a common thing that a lot of the monsters in legends turned out to be nothing more than large animals. A dragon that spread poison turned out to be just a komodo dragon. An angry god that destroys villages turning out to be a large bear. It was those kinds of stories.
Certainly, for the people in ancient times, those were indeed ‘monsters’. Their clubs and throwing stones weren’t effective, so all they could do was watch as the destruction and massacre happened.
However…
“But through newly-developed weapons, wisdom, and knowledge, people back then have transformed those beings they once called monsters into just simple beasts. Who could say we can’t do that this time too?”
I could feel my anger slowly rise.
You’re a doctor, right? So, fighting’s not your specialization then. The expert for that is the one on my back, the guy who fainted trying to protect you. Are you trying to say that he fought for nothing? I know I’m just a civilian, but I’m still a qualified adventurer. And if that’s not enough, I saved you. Between those 2 things, I think I’ve done enough enough to be able to say this much.
“Moreover, Awakened Ones are humans too. Please don’t look at us like we’re creatures beyond common sense. So, all this time, humans have been taking down monsters. And if that’s the case, then you have the proof that reclassifying monsters as just beasts is possible.”
Awakened Ones might be superhumans. However, we were still part of the human race. We were no gods. Just like everybody else, we were born crying as babies, become feeble and old along the way, and then die. Well, there was a chance I specifically wouldn’t grow old and die, but still.
As I watched Yukine dispose of some Skeletons which got in our way, I continued talking to lab coat guy.
“Please don’t give up hope so easily. Humans might be stupid, weak creatures, but we aren’t so weak that you should despair right away.”
I said some very cheesy lines, if I might say so myself. Yukine’s kind gaze only made the realization hurt.
“I see…yes, you’re right…”
When I glanced at him, lab coat guy was muttering something while looking up at the black dome.
Look, constantly hanging your head was a problem, but so is you constantly looking up! Can’t you just look ahead and walk?
As I expected, lab coat guy, or rather, the old man in the lab coat tripped. I lent him a hand asked him to walk normally after.
* * *
After 30 minutes, the whole situation was resolved. I then gave what information I could about the situation to the JSDF, police, and whoever else. Afterwards, I retrieved the bag I had left behind in the bus. It was past 7 PM when I arrived home.
This was the third time I worried my parents about being involved in a dungeon overflow, so it went without saying that we seriously began discussing holding a purification ritual on me.
Tl note: the monsters and beasts bit is kind of a wordplay. Monsters are written as bakemono, and beasts are written as kemono. I don’t think the wordplay can be translated smoothly.
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