The school building of the Lykeion Magic Academy had been completely blown away.
""......""
Airi and I stared blankly at the sight.
"…Nn."
Sumire, who had fainted, opened her eyes.
"Eugy-kun, Airi-chan… what happe—" (Sumire)
She, too, was rendered speechless just like us.
For a moment, silence ruled, and then I remembered something important.
Sara had been guiding the students to evacuate the school building along with the student council members.
That school building was now entirely destroyed.
——Sara! Are you okay!? If you're there, answer me…! (Eugene)
I tried calling out to her with thought transmission, but there was no response.
(Could it be…) (Eugene)
(Eugene, calm down.)
The voice of Eri reached my mind.
(Even an unqualified wielder of a Holy Sword doesn't die so easily. The Holy Sword of Mercy, Curtana, should have a function to preserve life when its wielder is near death. She's probably just outside your thought transmission range.) (Eri)
(Really…?) (Eugene)
That was the first I'd heard of that.
(I know all the specs of Holy Swords blessed by the Divine Realm. So don't worry.) (Eri)
(Thanks, Eri. I feel a little calmer now.) (Eugene)
I took a deep breath and thought things through.
Sara's mana isn't particularly large like Sumire's, so it doesn't stand out.
If I want to sense mana, it's better to detect the Holy Sword she's carrying rather than Sara herself.
(Detecting the Holy Sword's mana… Got it!) (Eugene)
It seemed to be moving, so she was probably safe.
Sara's own magical presence was too far away to sense.
"Airi, Sumire. Let's go meet up with Sara." (Eugene)
"Is Sara-chan okay!?" (Sumire)
"But we don't know where she is…" (Airi)
"I've located her. This way." (Eugene)
"Huh?" "How did you do that?"
I explained to the two surprised girls as we moved.
The city around the academy was also heavily damaged by the Divine Beast's attack.
It looked like a storm and an earthquake had hit at the same time.
We healed people injured by the Red Dragon's breath with healing magic along the way.
People with leg injuries who couldn't move.
People buried under rubble.
People who had lost consciousness.
Airi wasn't as skilled as me, but she could use healing magic to help the wounded.
Sumire couldn't use healing magic, but she supported me by replenishing my mana.
Just during our trip, I think we rescued over twenty people.
Those we saved were very grateful, but…
There were also those we couldn't save.
In other words…people who were already dead.
This damage was caused by the Divine Beast's Deus Discipline, so according to the rules of the Zenith Tower, there's a high chance we can use the Resurrection Droplet.
But…will there be enough of it?
And even if there is…can we really bring them back?
This Trial of the Gods has been full of unpredictable exceptions.
"Eugy-kun…" (Sumire)
"This is terrible…" (Airi)
"…Yeah." (Eugene)
I gave a brief reply to Sumire and Airi.
We reached an area with less damage as we ran through the collapsed city.
No sign of people.
They probably already evacuated.
The outer gate of the Dungeon City came into view as we headed toward the city's outer walls.
A crowd of people was gathered there.
"Please move away from the city quickly!"
"There's a chance the Divine Beast will launch a second attack!"
"Leave your belongings behind! Just hurry!"
The dungeon staff were guiding the evacuation.
"N-No way… There's going to be more!?"
"What about the kids!? Has anyone seen them!?"
"I don't want to die yet!!"
Not everyone living in the Dungeon City is an explorer.
There are also merchants, craftsmen, and many without combat ability.
All of them were fleeing in desperation.
With so many people, it is hard to recognize anyone.
(The Holy Sword's mana… Over there!) (Eugene)
I used Mana Detection to look for Sara.
Doesn't seem like she left the city.
We climbed onto rooftops and moved forward to avoid the crowd.
Eventually, I heard a familiar voice.
"Everyone! Stay calm! If there's an attack, lower your heads and cast barrier magic! Got it!?"
"""""Yes!!"""""
It was Sara's voice.
She was guiding students to evacuate the city.
Other student council members were leading the students along with Sara.
"Sara!" (Eugene)
I used Sky Walk and landed near her on the roof.
"Eugene!? You're okay! What happened on your end!?" (Sara)
Sara's eyes widened.
"There's a Divine Beast rampaging near the Zenith Tower. The Lykeion Academy buildings were all blown away. I came to find you… I'm glad you're okay." (Eugene)
"You were worried about me… I'm so happy!!" (Sara)
"Sa—"
Sara hugged me…and kissed me.
"…Oops, not really the time for that, huh." (Sara)
Sara quickly returned to her senses and stepped back.
"Eugy!!" (Airi)
"Eugy-kun!!" (Sumire)
Airi and Sumire caught up.
From the way they spoke, they clearly saw the kiss just now, but didn't press further.
"Sara, student evacuation is complete!"
"What are your next orders!?"
Student council members from the Enforcement Division reported to Sara.
"Then the student council members should evacuate as well." (Sara)
"What about you, President Sara!?"
"I'll go with Eugene and the others. We're in the same exploration party." (Sara)
"No way!"
Sara said she would come with us.
But…
"Sara. Can you go with Airi and Sumire and evacuate outside the city?"
Sara, the next Holy Maiden, Airi, the next Empress, and Sumire, who had large mana but wasn't combat-trained; I didn't feel right bringing them near the Divine Beast again.
I hoped they would leave the city if possible, but…
"No, Eugene." (Sara)
"Don't be stupid, Eugy." (Airi)
"No way, Eugy-kun." (Sumire)
None of them accepted my suggestion.
(Haha, you got rejected by everyone.)
(Shut up.) (Eugene)
Even Eri teased me.
I looked at Sumire, Sara, and Airi's expressions.
Seeing the determination in their eyes, I realized convincing them would be impossible.
"Alright. We're an S-rank exploration party. The evacuation order is for B-rank and below. Let's head to the Red Dragon." (Eugene)
The three of them nodded firmly.
"Sumire, stay close to me. Sara and Airi, stick together." (Eugene)
"Why?" Airi asked.
"Sumire can't use barrier magic, and I need to stay close to her to replenish my mana. Sara's Holy Sword has the ability to protect its user, so I want her to shield you. But you are better at detecting danger, so I want you to cover Sara." (Eugene)
"Got it." (Airi)
Airi said with understanding.
"Um… Eugene. The Holy Sword's abilities are supposed to be national secrets of Caldia, though…" (Sara)
"Eri told me since she's a former Divine Realm angel." (Eugene)
"Well, I guess it can't be helped then." (Sara)
Sara sighed.
"One more thing. If even one of us is incapacitated, we retreat. As long as it's not instant death, I can heal you with Resurrection magic. But only once, due to mana limits. The mana I borrowed from Sumire can't be used for revival. Got it?" (Eugene)
"…Y-Yeah." (Sumire)
Sumire looked a bit tense.
"Eugy-kun, what about the Resurrection Droplet?" (Sumire)
"I'm not counting on it. We're outside the Zenith Tower now. It might not work." (Eugene)
"I-I see…" (Sumire)
Sumire's voice trembled slightly.
"Airi, Sara. Don't do anything reckless." (Eugene)
"Right." "Understood."
Both of them sounded more serious than usual.
But none of them said "I want to run."
"Let's go." (Eugene)
We once again headed toward the entrance to the Zenith Tower…where the Red Dragon awaited.
◇
We hurried to the center of the Dungeon City.
The thing to watch out for most was the Breath attack from the Red Dragon.
It called that the "First Flames of Divine Punishment."
So I expected a second or third attack…but there's nothing so far.
No sounds of battle, no light.
"It's quieter than I thought." (Airi)
Airi muttered.
"I didn't see the Divine Beast when it appeared… What did it look like?" (Sara)
"It was a huuuuge red dragon, Sara-chan." (Sumire)
"The Red Dragon of the Apocalypse." (Eugene)
Sara's face froze at our words.
"That's what was summoned!?" (Sara)
"No, it wasn't summoned. It came on its own." (Eugene)
"...Excuse me?" (Sara)
I explained things to Sara as we moved.
"This is the worst… This is all the Dungeon Master's fault." (Sara)
Sara spat bitterly.
"Rita-san went to report to the Divine Realm. Hopefully that'll settle things…" (Eugene)
"Then we need to buy time until that happens." (Sara)
"Yeah. That's probably all we can do." (Eugene)
The Zenith Tower came into view as we talked.
We ran through the ruins of what used to be the Lykeion Magic Academy building.
Even from a distance, we could clearly see the massive body of the red dragon with seven heads.
Principal Uther and the Twelve Knights should be nearby.
We gradually began to see them too.
—Looking back now, I think I was still oddly optimistic at the time.
Principal Uther is a legendary explorer who recorded reaching the 451st floor.
The Twelve Knights, famed as the strongest in history, are the guardians of the Dungeon City.
And then there are the battle-hardened S-Rank Explorers who cleared the 200th floor before us.
Even if the opponent is a Divine Beast from the 900th floor, there's no way they'd go down so easily.
That's what I believed.
In front of the entrance to the 1st floor of the Zenith Tower.
""""......""""
When we arrived, not one of us could say a word.
The strongest force in the Dungeon City had been…annihilated.