For a while, Saki would come across bugs hiding in the narrow paths between houses and some attempting to break into the houses. After each battle, she would run again in search of more bugs. Some guards would occasionally cross paths with her, telling her which places were cleared and places that had not yet been patrolled. Saki would run to these places and defeat the bugs around them.
Minutes later, she was starting to get tired. Having to run around the village looking for hiding bugs took a toll on her endurance. Fighting off an invasion was a lot more preferable than having to seek out hiding bugs in the alleys, she thought as she slowed her pace. Seeing the entire village on lockdown with less chaos than Kanna, she realized that Kire was prepared for the intrusion. The families are inside their homes locked up and secured.
The words of the bug invasion must have reached the village quite fast and the chief had the village on temporary lockdown until the news of the invasion dies down. When the bugs travelled up to the village, they were only met with guards who were ready to fend them off, and thus leaving them no choice but to scatter around the village.
A few more minutes later, the areas she needed to explore were finally getting smaller. She would run into the same place a few times. She arrived at the last area that she hadn't checked and heard multiple bugs buzzing behind a building. She pulled out her sword and went towards them.
A battle is immediately initiated when she reaches the corner and a text displays on her interface 'Saki has been ambushed!' Her eyes shot open as a bug lunged, but she was able to narrowly dodge it by stumbling forward. She then readies herself before three bugs. "Filthy bugs!" She yells in retaliation. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings wide, striking the three bugs. 'Bug C takes 16 damage!' 'Bug B takes 16 damage!' 'Bug A takes 15 damage!'
Bug A lunges and attempts to bite into Saki, but she steps to the side and swings in the air, killing the bug while on the air. 'Bug A has been defeated!' Bug B and C remain on their spot aggressively buzzing against Saki. She finished them off with another Cleave skill. 'Saki won the battle!' After finally killing the last bug, she pressed the tip of her blade into the ground, her hands resting on the hilt as she leaned on the sword for support.
She let out a sigh as she let out some of her fatigue. The continuous swinging is finally catching up, her arms are starting to ache and she can feel the fatigue in her legs, feeling heavy to raise a foot. "Just need a bit of rest..." She muttered as she walked away towards the center.
Later, she was debriefed by the chief at his house. Saki stands before him. "Great job, Saki! You've done a lot for us. I'm really grateful!" The chief nods enthusiastically. "I will have Chief Shizuku thanked for sending you here. Whatever you will need later, I will gladly help you with it" He said with a promising tone. Saki nods with a smile. "Thank you..."
Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps approaching and turned to face the approaching figure. It was Rito, his face looked panicked and tired. He spoke between his breaths "Hey, Nisshin! We have to get back to Shigure! A larger bug has appeared and everyone is trying to stop it!" Everyone around turned to him with worried whispers and curious gazes.
"A... A larger bug?!" Saki repeated his words, making him nod. "Yes, a larger bug. Big as a house... Everyone, including Lady Sylviana and the Chief, is trying to hold them off! We have to get back immediately!" He said. Saki and the chief exchanged glances. "I'm sorry, but we have to get the village back up immediately. We won't be able to send any aid to Shigure" The chief gave a sincere gaze to them.
"Th-that's fine! I'm sure Nisshin here, along with Lady Sylviana and Chief Shizuku, will be able to take it down! Now come on!" Rito gestured for her to follow and ran away. Saki nodded at the chief and ran after Rito. "Good luck, Miss Nisshin! Once this is all over, I will send my appreciation to your chief!" He yelled at their disappearing figure.
A short while later, when Saki caught up with Rito, she began to ask him about the larger bug. "Hey! How did you know of this larger bug?! Have you been back?!" She asked. "No! A messenger went out looking for us, the chief instructed us to go back and repel the larger bug! I ran all the way to Kire to tell you!" He replied. "Oh, am I supposed to be flattered or apologetic?" She asked with a smirk. "Grateful! You should be grateful!" He yells out.
Saki chuckles as they run together towards Kanna. "I don't want to be grateful! And even if I didn't, you would still need to follow the chief's instruction to go and call for me! I don't see much choice here but to accept what I show to you!" She yells back. Rito just grunts and says. "Just... be quiet and follow me back to Shigure!" The rest of their sprint was in silence, spared by their heaving for air as they ran.
As they get into Kanna, numerous villagers are looking in the direction of the forest, where Shigure is just on the other side. All of their attention was in that direction. "Come on, not too far now! One last stretch!" Rito speaks as they speed through the clamorous village and towards the forest. The stomps of their feet on the dirt echo throughout the forest and soon replaced by the commotion in Shigure as they hurried on their pace.
The battle was very loud when they entered the village. The deafening buzzing of the larger bug carries throughout the area. "Hey, come on! They're by the chief's house in the center!" Rito rushed further. Saki remained on her spot for a second, afraid to acknowledge a big monster, before reluctantly following Rito behind.
When they reached the center, they stopped before a decent amount of smaller bugs holding off the guards, while Abigail and Shizuku were fighting the large bug. Its appearance is almost the same as the smaller ones, but it has more intimidating jaws and thicker limbs, its height towering over everything. The two watched in shock as they watched the battle unfold before them. Rito shook his head and looked at Saki. "This is no time to be afraid! Let's go!" Then he launches off towards the battle.
"You're goddamn right!" Saki yells and pulls out her sword then rushes towards the battle. "Cleave the enemies apart!" Saki swings wide to push away the bugs in her way, saving the guards trouble. "Cleave the enemies apart!" She swings wide again, getting the bugs away from her path. Once done, she stops to see the battles around her. Many battles between the guards and the bugs happened in front of her, reaching the larger bug would take forever.
"Nisshin!" Rito shouts during his battle, drawing her gaze toward him. "Run around and get past through this chaos! Help the chief!" He then focused back on the bugs in front of him. Saki then turned away from the battle and went behind to run around and skip past the battles. She has slain some stragglers on the way to Abigail and Shizuku's side, and once she reaches them, she calls out. "Abby! Chief!" The two darts around to see her.
"Saki! Am I glad to see you! Help us with this tremendous pest!" Abigail said to her, Shizuku nodding along with her. Saki then joined in the battle with the large bug, looking up as she mentally sized the bug. It was just as Rito described, maybe even bigger than the houses, she thought. In the battle, she analyzed the bug as it buzzed aggressively. 'Beetle Leader' '100/100 hp' 'Rank: Unranked' A slight hope envelops Saki as she reads the monster as unranked, but its size, strength, and large pool of health points are not to be underestimated
Abigail glances over her shoulder as Saki positions herself behind. "Saki! The bugs are relentless in their attacks! They're trying to stop us from harming the big one! The chief and I will deal with any bugs coming your way while you focus on the bigger one!" She yells before drawing her gaze ahead. Just like that, she was assigned to fight the boss while everyone else fended off its underlings. Anticipation and fear fill Saki's chest as she prepares before the giant bug.