Chapter 174 Part 1

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Translator: Jimi Editor: Ryunakama

「Azalea-san!?」

「Hey, it’s been a while, Milly-chan, and Zeph-kun.」

Azalea is one of the dispatched mages.
We helped one another out in various ways in the past, during the case of Grain, a former dispatched mage.

Usually, dispatched mages would be traveling all over the place, but it seems like she would be in the capital of Prolea this time.

Her sudden appearance is bad for the heart though.

「…It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?」

「Oh, dear me! I’ve been rather busy recently.
In truth, I had wished to pay Zeph-kun a visit too, but I apologize that I was not able to show up earlier.」

The association has been in a flurry of activity because of the uproar regarding the black monster.

That reminds me, I think Milly mentioned that she visited me several times when I was unconscious.

「Well, it’s fine.
More importantly, are you sure you have the time for idle chatter here?」

「You’re harsh as usual… Anyway, look over there.」

When Azalea pointed at Tiamat, numerous magic lances appeared and flew towards it.

As the giant dragon was about to step out onto the street, its body was pieced by the magic lances, and the surrounding air froze and glistened.

The lances robbed Tiamat of its body heat, and gradually dulled its movements.

「That was Blizzard Lance, one of the unique spells for use against large monsters, which the Magic Association prides itself on.
It’s a spell that takes away the target’s body heat, greatly limiting its movement speed.」

When I looked in the direction from where the magic lances were shot out, I saw several dispatched mages.

Probably because it takes some time to activate the spell, the mages were activating Blizzard Lance at staggered timings to ensure that they were being shot continuously.

「It’s quite a boring spell, isn’t it? It’s powerful, not only does it take a long time to cast, but its area-of-effect is also small and it consumes a lot of magic power too.
That’s why it is difficult to use it against people, but it is pretty convenient against big monsters.」

Azalea smiled at me, as if telling me not to worry.

Well, it’s indeed a strong spell and it is plenty effective.

If there are that many dispatched mages, things might turn out to be fine.

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「…Well, I’ll do as I please.」

「Hey hey, are you saying that we’re not trustworthy?」

「Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what you people have done before.」

「Oh, dear.
That’s embarrassing.」

Azalea let out a strained laugh.
Bringing up Grain’s case seemed to give her a headache.

As a matter of fact, the combat power of the dispatched mages is nothing to scoff at.

However, the black monster is abnormal in various ways, and I can’t bring myself to leave the job to them completely.

At the very least, I ought to protect what I can defend on my own.

「I do have some confidence in your abilities when it comes to combat, but I just want to be able to protect my companions.
I’ll leave the townspeople to you.
That’s what dispatched mages are for, right?」

「Mm, we will do our best.
You all should be careful too.」

「Of course.
…Let’s go, Milly.」

「Oh, wait for meee.」

Azalea let out a sigh of resignation, looking like she didn’t have a choice.
We bid her goodbye and left for our home, amid the escaping throngs of people.

Tiamat was headed towards our home.

So that we would arrive before it, Milly and I rode on Uruk and moved through the skies.

Beneath us, people were in a flurry to escape.

「Fufun ♪ If we didn’t have Uruk, we would have taken a long time to get there, won’t we?」

「Bururu!」

As Milly stroked Uruk’s mane, he snorted proudly.

It’s true that you’re a useful familiar, but don’t get cocky though.

Well, whatever.
More importantly, we have to help Lydia escape.

《Lydia! Hey Lydia, wake up!》

《…》

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From a while ago, I have tried many times to contact her by telepathy, but there was no reply.

Pulling consecutive all-nighters seemed to be taking its toll even on Lydia.

There’s no other way but to go and help her.

Although Azalea and the dispatched mages tried to stop us, when it comes to a gigantic monster like that, no one can predict what would happen.

「Ohhh… Ohhhh…」

The roar from Tiamat caused the air to vibrate.

I realized that the number of ice lances raining down on Tiamat was decreased from before.

Even though several people have joined forces to cast the spells consecutively, they have been firing off the unique spell ceaselessly.

They may be dispatched mages, but it’s not as if their magic power was limitless.
It was probably about time they started running out of steam.

「Ooo…」

With its red eyes glowing eerily, Tiamat moved along little by little.

Clouds of dust rose up, and the sounds of buildings being crushed could be heard from a distance.

Damn it, Azalea.
Leave it to me, you said? You guys are already in trouble, aren’t you?

Tiamat was still a distance away from the town area, but at this rate, things would turn tragic.

「Zeph, we can see the house from here!」

「Ah, let’s hurry… Hm?」

Here and there, black, squirming shadows could be seen on the streets.

The black monsters, which looked like round lizards, destroyed the buildings and attacked the people who were slow to escape.

「Let’s land, Uruk.」

「Bururu…」

I tapped Uruk’s side with my heel, and Uruk reluctantly flapped his wings as we gradually descended.

As I couldn’t wait for us to land, I jumped off halfway through.

「H-hold up, Zeph!」

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「Milly, you protect the townspeople from those black monsters! I’ll do something about Lydia!」

「…G-got it!」

「Don’t overdo it! As much as possible, only take on those monsters that are heading towards the house!」

The black monsters were spread throughout the city.
If they attacked in large numbers, even I would have a hard time.

There’s no way we can rescue everyone from so many monsters.

However, I would at least like to help my neighbors.

「Giruru…!」

「…You’re here early, huh?」

With a groan that sounded like the pulling of a saw blade, a round lizard with hard, densely packed scales on its body emerged from the shadows of the tall grass in a house’s yard.
I would say it’s a smaller version of the Tiamat.

I cast Scout Scope on it.

Mushussu

Level 76

Magic Power

937266／937266

Well, I can tell that it’s tough, but in addition to that, it’s even more troublesome this time because there are so many of them.

Moreover, this guy has a name.

It’s written in an ancient language, like Tiamat… If I’m not wrong, I think it meant something like ‘baby dragon’ or something like that.

「Giruruaaa!」

「…But I have already fought you black monsters many times.
I have ways to deal with you.」

Mushussu jumped at me with its talons extended.
I blocked it with the prosthetic and pushed back while I cast Time Square.

While time is frozen, I cast Red Crash, Blue Crash, and White Crash.

The result is the tri-fusion magic, Vanishing Crash.

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With a heavy boom, Mushussu was blown far away.

The recoil was transmitted through my prosthetic hand and up to my shoulder, but it wasn’t bad enough to hurt.

Vanishing Crash, which blows away the opponent with a strong shockwave, would immediately hurt my arm if I used it bare-handed.
However, if I shot the spell through my artificial arm, the spell is certainly useful.
…I should still be careful not to damage the prosthetic from the recoil, though.

I watched as the Mushussu that I had blown away brushed past Uruk who was hovering in midair.

《Wha-! Hey, Zeph! That was dangerous!》

《Sorry, I wasn’t aiming there though.》

《Of course, you shouldn’t be! Geez, be careful!》

I just blew it away in a random direction though… It seems that Milly is as unlucky as ever.

Anyway, the monsters have even reached this place.
This is extremely bad.

I hope you’re safe, Lydia…!

I reached home and while uttering a prayer in my heart, I turned the doorknob.
However, the door opened without any resistance.

It’s not locked..?

The door was not destroyed either… which means that it can’t be the act of a monster.
Don’t tell me there was an intruder?

There might have been a burglar who took advantage of the monsters’ attack to enter our house.

It’s not a big deal if he just takes our things, but Lydia was sleeping inside.

If the intruder were a man, I don’t want to imagine what sort of things he would do to the sleeping Lydia.

If that’s the case… I won’t let him get away with it!

I squeezed my fists tight in rage.

I quickly calmed my unsettled heart, then stepped into the house stealthily.

In the living room on the ground floor… there was no one.

When Lydia was tired, sometimes she would sleep on the sofa here, though it seems like this time she chose to rest in her room.

Suddenly, a clatter was heard from the hallway.

The intruder!