Chapter 45 Chaos in the Capital （2）
The moment I realized where the stream of mana was heading, I broke into a sprint.
"Not good..."
My grip tightened around my Flare Sword.
"The colosseum!"
I poured mana into the blade.
Whoosh!
Crimson flames burst to life once again, engulfing the sword in scorching fire.
Without slowing down, I activated [Mach One].
BOOM!
The stone beneath my feet shattered as I shot through the ruined streets like a crimson bolt.
The city had become a battlefield.
Buildings burned.
Smoke filled the sky.
Desperate screams echoed from every direction.
Everywhere I looked, Demonic Spriggans were attacking anything that moved.
One of the monsters lunged toward a woman shielding her young daughter.
Its roots shot forward like spears.
Before they could reach them-
Slash!
A crimson arc flashed through the air.
The Spriggan's body split cleanly in two before erupting into flames.
I didn't even stop running.
Another one burst through the wall of a nearby house, its thorn-covered roots whipping toward a group of fleeing civilians.
Boom!
I dashed past it.
A single swing.
The monster's wooden body exploded into burning fragments that scattered across the street.
One after another...
Every Spriggan that stood between me and the colosseum fell before my blade.
The streets became littered with burning wooden corpses.
Still...
There were too many.
No matter how many I killed, more continued to appear from every direction.
Minutes later-
The massive stone walls of the colosseum finally came into view.
I leaped onto a collapsed carriage before launching myself into the open plaza surrounding the arena.
The sight before me made my heart sink.
Hundreds of terrified civilians had gathered behind a defensive line formed by the Kingdom's knights.
Shields overlapped to create a protective wall as the soldiers desperately held their ground.
"Hold the line!"
"Don't let them through!"
Dozens of Demonic Spriggans surrounded the plaza from every direction.
Their twisted wooden bodies towered above the crowd, their crimson eyes glowing with murderous intent.
Then they attacked.
SKREEEEEE!!
The monsters drove countless roots into the ground.
The earth exploded.
Hundreds of thorn-covered roots burst from beneath the knights.
"Watch out!"
Several knights managed to leap away.
Others weren't fast enough.
SHHK!
A root pierced straight through a knight's abdomen.
"AAGHHH!!"
Before he could even scream again, more roots wrapped around his arms, legs, and chest.
"No...!"
His comrades rushed forward.
"Save him!"
They hacked desperately at the roots with their swords.
Steel struck bark again and again.
Clang! Clang!
The roots barely showed a scratch.
The Spriggan let out a shrill screech.
The roots tightened.
The knight's body convulsed violently as his screams echoed across the plaza.
His skin rapidly lost its color.
His muscles shrank before everyone's eyes.
His armor hung loosely against his body as flesh seemed to melt away beneath it.
Within moments...
Only a shriveled corpse remained.
The roots discarded what was left as though throwing away an empty shell.
The lifeless body struck the ground with a hollow thud.
Silence lasted only a heartbeat.
Then another scream echoed.
A second knight was dragged into the mass of writhing roots.
Then a third.
Panic spread through the defensive line.
"Mages!"
A commander raised his sword.
"Fire!"
More than twenty royal mages stepped forward from behind the shield wall.
Brilliant magic circles appeared beneath their feet.
"Fire Lance!"
"Stone Spears!"
"Wind Blades!"
"Lightning Bolt!"
A storm of magic filled the battlefield.
Explosions erupted one after another as fire, lightning, stone, and wind crashed into the advancing Spriggans.
Smoke engulfed the plaza.
For a brief moment...
Everyone held their breath.
Then...
The smoke cleared.
Most of the Spriggans were still standing.
Their bark had been scorched.
Some branches had broken away.
A few had shallow cracks across their bodies.
But they continued advancing as if nothing had happened.
"...Impossible..."
One of the mages whispered in horror.
"Our magic barely hurt them..."
The Spriggans answered with another chorus of piercing shrieks.
Their roots surged forward once again.
The defensive line began to collapse.
Without a moment's hesitation, I poured an enormous amount of mana into my Flare Sword.
The crimson flames surrounding the blade intensified, burning so fiercely that the air around it began to distort from the heat.
I bent my knees before launching myself into the air.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath my feet as I soared high above the battlefield.
Every knight, mage, and civilian instinctively looked up.
"What is that?!"
The advancing Spriggans also raised their twisted heads, their crimson eyes locking onto me.
I tightened my grip on my sword.
"[Fire Slash]!"
With all my strength, I swung my blade downward.
WHOOSH!!
A colossal crescent of crimson fire burst from the sword.
The blazing slash tore through the sky like a falling comet, expanding as it descended toward the horde of Demonic Spriggans.
The monsters let out shrill screeches.
SKREEEEEE!!
Some tried to shield themselves with their massive roots.
Others attempted to leap aside.
None of them were fast enough.
The enormous wave of fire crashed into the front lines.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire area.
The blast engulfed dozens of Spriggans at once, cleaving straight through their wooden bodies before the flames consumed them from within.
Their bark exploded apart, burning roots were hurled into the air, and fragments of charred wood rained across the battlefield.
The resulting shockwave swept through the plaza, kicking up an enormous cloud of smoke, dust, and burning debris.
The powerful gust forced nearby knights to shield their faces, while the mages struggled to remain standing against the blast.
For a few moments...
No one could see anything.
Only the crackling of flames echoed through the smoke.
I descended from the sky.
Thud.
I landed directly in front of the defensive line, one knee touching the shattered ground as dust billowed around me.
The flames around my sword continued to dance, casting a crimson glow across the battlefield.
Slowly...
I rose to my feet.
Without saying a word, I turned to face the remaining Spriggans emerging from the thinning cloud of smoke.
Their crimson eyes stared back at me with unmistakable hostility.
Behind me, the knights and mages stood frozen in disbelief.
"With one attack..."
"He wiped out so many of them..."
"Who... is he?"
The battlefield fell silent for a single heartbeat.
Then the surviving Spriggans let out furious screeches as they charged toward me from every direction.
The surviving Spriggans let out furious screeches as they charged toward us.
Their thorn-covered roots burst from the ground, tearing through the shattered stone as they advanced.
Before they could reach us-
Three brilliant pillars of light shot across the battlefield.
WHOOSH!!
The beams pierced straight through several Spriggans, burning clean holes through their wooden bodies.
The monsters shrieked in agony as holy light consumed the wounds.
SKREEEEE!!
One after another, the pierced Spriggans collapsed, their bodies smoldering as they crashed to the ground.
"Light Rays!"
A familiar voice echoed behind me.
I turned around just in time to see Hiro pushed through the battlefield before finally reaching my side.
"Raito!"
He raised a hand as he approached.
"Man, it's good to see you!"
I couldn't help but smile.
"Hiro."
"It's good to see you're still alive."
He let out a small laugh before stopping beside me.
"I could say the same to you."
I glanced behind him.
"Where are the others?"
Hiro's smile faded slightly.
"They're on their way."
He pointed toward the massive colosseum behind us.
"But some of them are still trapped inside."
I frowned.
"Trapped?"
My gaze instinctively shifted toward the arena.
Only then did I notice it.
A massive translucent wall surrounded the entire colosseum.
It shimmered with strange magical runes that flowed endlessly across its surface, forming a dome that completely sealed off everything inside.
"...Is that a barrier?"
Hiro nodded grimly.
"Yeah."
"No one has been able to break through it."
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the enormous magical dome.
"I see..."
"Damn it..."
Before either of us could say another word-
"SKREEEEEE!!"
The remaining Spriggans charged once more.
Their roots tore through the ground like countless venomous serpents, rushing toward our defensive line.
Hiro immediately stepped forward, raising his hands.
"Everyone!"
His voice rang across the battlefield.
"Stand your ground!"
"They're advancing again!"
The knights tightened their grip on their shields.
The mages began chanting new spells.
Behind us, frightened civilians huddled together as the monsters closed in once more.
One of the surviving Demonic Spriggans let out a piercing screech before charging straight toward us.
Its massive roots burst from the ground, ripping through the stone as they lunged in our direction.
"Incoming!" Hiro shouted.
Without hesitation, he thrust his staff forward.
"Barrier!"
A translucent wall of golden light instantly materialized in front of us.
The Spriggan's roots slammed against it.
BOOM!!
The barrier rippled violently but held firm, stopping the monster's assault just short of our position.
Before either of us could counterattack-
The barrier began to crack under the relentless assault of the roots.
"Move, Hiro!"
A familiar voice echoed from above.
Both Hiro and I instinctively looked toward the sky.
A young woman was descending from above, her long hair dancing wildly in the wind. She gripped a silver spear tightly in both hands, her eyes locked onto the charging Spriggan below.
As she fell, emerald-green mana began swirling around the spear's blade.
The wind around her weapon howled louder and louder, forming countless razor-sharp currents.
"Wind Cutter!"
"Raito, move!" he shouted.
We both leaped backward.
BOOM!
The woman landed directly in front of the Spriggan, sending cracks racing across the stone beneath her feet.
Without wasting a single movement, she spun gracefully and swung her spear in one fluid motion.
SWISH!!
A crescent-shaped blade of compressed wind erupted from the spear, slicing cleanly through the Demonic Spriggan.
The monster froze.
A thin line appeared across its trunk.
Then-
CRACK!!
Its body split cleanly in half.
The two halves toppled to opposite sides before crashing onto the shattered street with a heavy thud.
The writhing roots twitched a few more times...
Then fell completely still.
The woman rested her spear against her shoulder before looking back at us with a confident smile.
"Sorry I'm late."
Her eyes shifted toward Hiro before finally landing on me.
"I see you've already started without us."
"Akari!"
Hiro called out as he ran toward her, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
I remained where I stood, staring at the woman in disbelief.
Akari...?
Is that really her?
She looked nothing like the girl I remembered from our old world.
Her posture was confident, standing tall with the spear resting effortlessly against her shoulder. The once ordinary high school student now carried herself like a seasoned warrior who had fought through countless battles.
Her features had matured, and there was a calm determination in her eyes that hadn't existed before.
But the biggest difference...
Her hair.
The black hair I remembered had completely changed, replaced by long crimson-red hair that flowed behind her, catching the light of the burning city around us.
She had changed far more than I had expected.
Akari tilted her head curiously before looking in my direction.
"Who's he?" she asked, glancing at Hiro.
Hiro smiled.
"Oh, that's Raito."
Recognition immediately appeared on her face.
"Oh!"
"So you're the Raito everyone has been talking about."
She walked over with a friendly smile and raised a hand in greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Raito!"
I returned the gesture with a small wave.
"Nice to meet you too."
She smiled brightly before resting her spear over her shoulder once again.
Looking at her now, it was hard to believe she was the same Akari I had known back on Earth. She looked stronger, more mature, and far more confident than before.
But despite all those changes...
I couldn't help but smile to myself.
Her appearance might have changed...
...but her personality hasn't changed at all.
She's still just as kind and friendly as ever.
For a brief moment, the chaos surrounding us seemed to fade into the background.
Then another deafening screech echoed across the battlefield, reminding us that the fight was far from over.