The Day The Monsters Came Out
"Go and stop Maki and Chiharu!"
Grudo shouted. Two guards started to run after them. However…
"Oh, no. Someone is chasing us!"
"Run faster!"
Maki and Chiharu saw that two strangers were chasing them, and so they only started running faster. Then the two guards shouted.
"Lady Maki! Lady Chiharu!"
But their voices did not reach them. That"s when the birdfolk swooped down.
"Sauro! Saikania!"
"Where were you all of this time! We can"t chase after you if we can"t see you!"
"We were caught and-that mansion-and—we"re being chased!"
Maki shouted at Sauro as they ran.
"Tsk. I"m picking you up."
"Ah, wait! You bird people! Don"t take them away!"
Sauro and Saikania picked Maki and Chiharu up and flew towards the dungeons. In the meantime, Orne and Puel tried to stop the pursuers.
"Stop this! We"re from Midland! Monsters are coming out of the dungeon. Stop Lady Maki and Lady Chiharu!"
The birdfolk were spreading their wings and blocking the way, but they hesitated when they heard these words. Indeed, it would be dangerous for them to be close to monsters. But could they trust these two men?
"Hey. Hahh… What are you doing? Hahhh…"
Grudo had finally caught up with them.
"Sir Grudo. The birdfolk have taken Maki and Chiharu away."
The guards said.
"Grudo. Are you with them?"
The birdfolk asked.
"Orne, you should remember. They were with us the whole time."
"I don"t remember."
He didn"t remember things he wasn"t interested in.
"More importantly, Maki and Chiharu have gone towards the dungeon."
"Sauro and Saikani took them."
"Idiots! It"s about to overflow with monsters!"
Grudo shouted in a panic. Then Orne said,
"Grudo. I"ll take you there."
"We-well, I haven"t flown in a while. But that will be the fastest way. Thank you, Orne."
Orne picked up Grudo, who was small but heavy, and flew up into the air.
"Ugh… I can never get used to this. Dwarves belong on the ground. I have no idea how humans adapt so…"
Grudo grumbled as they flew away.
Maki and Chiharu were let down in the field in front of the dungeon"s entrance. Sauro and Saikania stayed with them as guards. Adventurers had gathered together in the field.
"Eh? There are children here. Hurry up and go home."
"But we were trapped in the house. We only just escaped."
"What? This is such a bad time! Monsters are about to overflow from the dungeon. All the other town residents have locked themselves up in their houses!"
"What of the soldiers?! The soldiers who went in the dungeon?"
"Do you have relatives in there then? They are trying desperately to come back now. Don"t worry, Midland soldiers are very strong."
Maki and Chiharu were relieved to hear that. Even if the situation was dire, Maki and Chiharu didn"t actually have a house they could go and hide in. And so they preferred to stay here where there were a lot of Midland people.
"Maki! Chiharu!"
"Grudo! Orne!"
"Hah…hahhh… Finally…"
Orne slowly let Grudo down. The dwarf started walking towards them on shaky feet.
Maki and Chiharu went to him. They finally felt safe.
"And what are you doing, you old dwarf? This is an emergency! If you know these kids, take them away! We"re starting to hear noises from the dungeon entrance!"
With that, they looked towards the dungeon. It seemed like a lot of people were going to come out. Grudo saw this and made a decision.
"Alright. Sauro, Saikania. Take Maki and Chiharu back to the health resort. That is quite far from the dungeon, so the monsters shouldn"t be able to reach them."
"Alright!"
"Alright!"
"What about you, Grudo?"
"My heart can"t take another trip through the air. I will wait here with the soldiers."
"But…"
"Sauro. Saikania. There"s no time to lose!"
It was better that they didn"t slow the others down. Chiharu decided. Sometimes the weak had to run.
"Let"s go, Maki."
"But…"
"We"ll only get in the way if we stay here! Hurry!"
"Alright."
However, Maki and Chiharu were not carried up into the air.
"Soldiers!"
An Adventurer shouted. And then one after another, soldiers began to roll out of the dungeon. Those soldiers quickly regained their balance and held their swords ready as they looked back at the entrance. Then Edwy and Aeris rushed out along with many other soldiers.
"Monsters are coming! We don"t know how many! Surround the dungeon in a semi-circle! Take the wounded to the back!"
Edwy shouted the command in a voice that sounded raw from so much shouting.
"Your Highness, we will stand in the front. You should go to the back and catch your breath!"
"Thank you!"
The Adventurers surrounded the entrance while the soldiers lined up behind them. In the meantime, soldiers were still rushing out and moving into position.
"Here they come!"
The shouts came from Kaider and Nyran, who had been holding the rear.
There was a shudder in the earth and then a loud buzzing sound that started to get bigger.
The first monster to come out was a gazer.
"It"s a gazer!"
They were not too difficult when in a dungeon with a roof. However, the sky was the limit once they got out. There was nothing you could do when they flew high into the air.
"Sauro. Saikania. Contain the gazers! Don"t let them get away!"
The birdfolk hesitated upon hearing Edwy"s order.
"Go! We"re with Grudo. We"re going back to the town! Help Edwy!"
"I guess we have no choice. Let"s rush back to the town."
"Grudo. I"m sorry."
"It"s fine. Let"s hurry."
The birdfolk watched the gazers from afar. One, two, three…before they knew it there were countless numbers in the sky. Some looked at the soldiers while others looked at the town.
And amidst that moment of tension, four-legged monsters started to come out of the dungeon.
Like the gazers, they had dark bodies oozing miasma. This made the shape of their bodies undefined. They came in various sizes. The smallest were like dogs. The large ones like calves.
The sun was starting to descend. The monsters were here. It was a moment that should have been full of fear, but it was oddly quiet. To Maki and Chiharu, it was as if the monsters were trying to feel with their entire body, the brightness of a sky they were seeing for the first time, and the night"s breeze.