"Monsters have gone out of control on East Main Street!"
Such news quickly spread.
Some people panicked and hurriedly fled East Main Street.
Others felt a tightness in their chests and rushed to East Main Street, hoping to eliminate the monsters and protect the citizens.
Guild staff began to appear one by one on East Main Street, some evacuating the crowd, while others ran in search of the monsters and reported their findings to various adventurers from familias led by the Ganesha Familia, requesting their assistance in eliminating the monsters.
Loki and Ais, who were shopping, were also disturbed by the news and couldn't help but stop in their tracks.
"No way... A monster rampage? Really?" Loki, who had been holding a skewer of grilled meat, now held a bag of fried potato balls known as 'Jagamarukun,' and as she chewed with her mouth full, she smirked. "Looks like the Guild and that idiot Ganesha are in trouble now."
Monster Feria had always been a controversial event.
Many had feared that bringing monsters to the surface would cause problems, leading to constant questioning of its safety, and now, the worst had really happened.
As the event's organizers, the Guild and the Ganesha Familia would surely face the blame. If they didn't appease the public with some kind of sacrifice or apology, they would likely face severe backlash.
"Monsters..."
Ais, walking beside Loki, also held a bag of jagamarukun—her head slightly tilted up, her golden eyes began to flash with a cold, lethal glint.
"...I'm going." Ais said softly.
Leaving these words behind, Ais pushed off the ground with her toes, soaring into the air like a gust of wind before landing on a building's rooftop.
A few more leaps and she darted forward.
"Hey! Wait up! Ais, wait for me!" Loki exclaimed, surprised as she watched Ais's figure disappear from view.
Hastily finishing her jagamarukun, she rushed after Ais, running toward the other end of the street.
As she ran, however, Loki suddenly regretted her decision.
"Dammit, should've eaten less... My running's horrible..."
With her hand on her side, Loki lamented as she continued to run, pushing against the crowd as she headed toward the incident site.
Unbeknownst to her, an event was waiting for them ahead—an event involving their own people.
===
*BOOM!*
With the sound of a heavy explosion, a massive shadow rampaged down the street like a writhing serpent, smashing through buildings in its path and sending debris and snacks flying everywhere.
Now, the once-bustling street was a scene of panic, with countless people fleeing in terror, and the street was left in chaos, littered with trash.
"Miss Tiona! Miss Tione!"
Lefiya had gotten up from the ground, shielding a chienthrope child as she fled, calling out to those within the scene.
Through the dust cloud filling the air, the amazoness twins leapt high, avoiding the massive shadow's erratic attacks.
"What the hell is this?!" Tiona shouted mid-air.
"Don't ask me! How should I know?!" Tione yelled back, also in mid-air, her voice carrying over the distance.
As the amazoness twins soared, the true form of the giant shadow began to reveal itself as the dust cleared.
It had a slender body with smooth, flawless skin, but the front part of its head had no eyes or any other features, instead resembling a flower blooming.
Meanwhile, its long, snake-like body gave the illusion of a flower stalk, and its faceless head was like a flower bud. Numerous tendrils, resembling vines or octopus tentacles, extended from its body.
Its head, blooming like a flower, was brightly colored, as though it hid deadly poison within. Two rows of sharp teeth were visible in the wide mouth, dripping with mucus, and deep within its mouth lay a pale-red magic stone, which was also vibrantly colored.
It was a man-eating flower monster with a size so immense that it could crush buildings.
At this moment, it slithered like a snake, its many tentacles thrashing around wildly.
*GROAAAAAA—!!!*
Its roar sounded more like a crazed human shouting in agony than the growl of a monster.
Despite Tiona and Tione, who had ventured into dungeons and fought countless monsters in their time as First-Class Adventurers, never having encountered a monster like this, they could now only watch in astonishment as it rampaged down the street, destroying everything in its path and swinging its tentacles toward the twins.
"Avoid it!" Tione shouted.
"I know!" Tiona responded in unison, twisting her body mid-air to dodge the incoming tentacles, narrowly avoiding them one by one.
*BOOM!*
In an instant, the tentacle that missed crashed into the ground, shattering the stone pavement and sending debris flying in every direction.
"Watch this move!" Tiona called out.
Both Tiona and Tione landed gracefully and, with incredible speed, charged toward the monster—they reached its blind spot before it could react, and with tightly clenched fists, they struck out, the wind from their punches howling.
*BANG!*
Their punches, powerful enough to shatter massive boulders, landed on the monster's smooth body, but to their surprise, the only result was a small indentation.
"What the hell?! It's so hard!" Tione's face changed in shock.
"It hurts!" Tiona winced as she pulled back, clutching her injured fist.
Despite being Level 5 First-Class Adventurers known for their close-combat prowess, even their strikes failed to make a dent, and the recoil from their punches left them hurt as well, which stunned the onlookers, leaving them wide-eyed in disbelief.
*GROAAAAAA—!!!*
Being punched, the monster roared in pain, enraged.
*Rumble—*
It slithered even faster, and its tentacles lashed about wildly, smashing through buildings and vendors in its way, sending clouds of dust billowing up once more.
"Miss Tiona! Miss Tione!"
Lefiya shouted as she returned to the scene, then hesitated for a moment before extending her hand forward.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree."
"You are an expert of the bow."
Despite not carrying a staff, as a mage, Lefiya could still cast magic.
Even though the lack of a staff reduced the magic's power, her attack power, which rivaled that of Level 5 adventurers, ensured the magic's potency was still formidable.
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."
A golden magic circle appeared beneath Lefiya, and her magic began to take shape.
However, just as she was about to release the magic, the monster suddenly stopped in its tracks and turned its head, exposing its maw full of sharp teeth as it focused its attention on Lefiya.
*GROAAAAAA—!!!*
In the next moment, it ignored Tiona and Tione, charging directly at Lefiya.
"...Eh?"
Lefiya froze, unable to react in time as the monster's massive body and the fierce aura it emitted paralyzed her, making her stiff with fear.
""LEFIYA!""
Tiona and Tione shouted in unison, rushing to her aid, but they were forced back by the wild flailing of its tentacles.
*GROAAAAAA—!!!*
Like it was being drawn toward something, the monster suddenly seemed to fall into a frenzy, opening its enormous mouth and lunging toward Lefiya—the scene playing out in front of everyone's eyes, including the frantic amazoness twins, and the young man and woman who had arrived just in time.
The young man dove from the air.
The young woman sprinted toward Lefiya.
*Schwing!*
With a crystal-clear sound, both a long, thin sword and a silver sword were drawn, the sharp note of their clash echoing through the air.
In an instant, the young man became a black afterimage, while the young woman turned into a streak of gold.
In the next moment, the black and gold figures crossed the sky like intersecting blades, striking at the monster in a single, decisive moment.
*Pu-chi!*
The young man's slash severed the monster's massive body.
*Pu-chi!*
The young woman's slash cut off the monster's head.
In the blink of an eye, the once-mighty man-eating flower monster was cut into four pieces—one horizontally and one vertically, falling to pieces without even a scream, turning to dust as it exploded.
Amidst the clamor of battle, the young man and woman appeared in front of Lefiya, one on each side, protecting her—their familiar figures stood tall, and Lefiya trembled.
Seeing them, Lefiya was moved.
At this moment, the two figures, so familiar they felt etched into her bones, triggered a wave of emotions in her.
"Mr. Riezel! Miss Ais!"
Overcome with joy, Lefiya cried out as tears streamed down her face.
"Riezel!"
"Ais!"
Tiona and Tione, seeing the familiar faces, cheered in unison.
"Ri-Riezel?"
Ais, who had slashed the monster alongside Riezel, was stunned, looking at him with an expression of disbelief, the usual emotionless tone giving way to a rare spark of surprise.
Bathed in cheers and joyful gazes, Riezel turned to face his old companions, a warm, sincere smile spreading across his face.
"I'm back."
After a year and a half, Riezel had officially returned.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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