"A large Dominion approaching from the west! Gunners, middle output!"

Shanks shouted as the earth shook from the steps of the medium-sized angel-class monster.

Two companies of gunners raised their weapons and rifles the humanoid two-faced beast full of holes the moment that it appeared from the mist.

"Hold fire!"

The command was issued and the soldiers put down their guns.

The rat-faced man approached the massacred carcass, carefully examining it.

The dead monster fell on its back but apparently, there was something there that the re-enlisted former deserter wanted to check because he flipped it with a flick of a wrist despite the massive size.

"Its wings are completely burnt, those aren't wounds that a Sloth-made weapon can cause."

Shanks said pointing at the charred stumps on the back of the fallen angel-class monster, exactly where the wings should be.

"Tsk...! That's why it wasn't flying and swoop at us. I almost mistook it for a lower order angel, since those prefer to attack from the ground."

He explained, turning around and walking away.

"What happened to just chasing the monsters off so that their corpses won't lure stronger ones, sir?"

Mika followed the rat-faced man and peeked over his back as he was going back, to look at the deceased monster.

"Since something is killing the true demons and dragons, we don't have to worry about angels. As I told you before, they do not require food and live off of mana."

The rat-faced man shrugged his shoulders dismissive.

"Oh. I see..."

The ashen-haired girl nodded keeping close to the adventurer while peeking at the fallen monster.

Just as Mika was glancing over her shoulder, Shanks looked back too.

At her.

"If we encounter a lowest order angel or a weak middle order one, you will take it down."

And declared casually.

"Wha..?! Ah! I mean, yes!"

At first, the girl flinched and tensed up but then she hurriedly nodded.

They were on the way towards the first defense line to fight titan-class monsters, getting scared about something weaker was a little bit ridiculous.

"You have to test out your strength. Don't worry, the angel-class don't have that much DEF, with how your stats are now, you should defeat one with a single punch even without using a skill."

The rat-faced man assured her.

...

...

A chance for Mika to test out her strength didn't take too long to appear.

Merely two miles further, Shanks spotted an angel-class monster wandering around, aimlessly spinning in circles in the mist.

"That's the lowest order angel-class, Principality. Its behavior is... odd. I don't see any burns on it but it looks like it got a concussion..."

Shanks furrowed his brows and reported, leaning his head towards Mika without looking away from the monster.

"You won't get a better chance than this. Go."

He encouraged the nervous girl and patted her back.

*BOOM*

The next moment, the earth underneath Mika's feet exploded as she rushed at the angel.

The closer she was the better she could see her target.

It was around fourteen feet tall, with a mask-like face and large wings that despite their magnificent look couldn't actually support its weight.

"...?!"

Principality noticed the ashen-haired girl a second before she hit it.

Its stiff face twisted in shock and instantly twisted with a furious expression as its eyes shone clearly activating some kind of skill.

"N-NO...!"

At that time Mika panicked and instantly activated her strengthening skills together with the justice punch she got not that long ago and punched at the monster's face.

*SMASH*

*splash*

Mika's hit didn't simply land on the monster's face, nor did it ripped its head off.

No.

The empowered punch literally turned the unlucky angel into a smudge of blood on the ground, with not a single piece of its body big enough to discern what was killed there.

/Angel-class monster defeated

Player receives EXP

/Requirements have been met

Justice's Wrath's hidden affinity unlocked

Giant slayer

/Calculating...

/Hidden affinity resonates with the title specific skill

Skill power upgrade

Justice punch (level 1)

(+50% damage when facing against opponents that Justice's Wrath regards as evil)

"...eh...?"

That was clearly too much!

Mika gasped landing gracefully a few feet behind the bloodstain.

"You really didn't have to use a skill, you know? Still, impressive, with that, you may be able to take on a titan all by yourself."

Shanks come up to the ashen-haired girl and applaud her, grinning at the liquid remains of the Principality.

"...o-oh. That's good. I'll do my b-best..."

Mika stuttered, staring wide-eyed at her own fist.

There was something off about this whole situation...

Especially the way that her skill description was phrased.

'When facing against opponents that Justice's Wrath regards as evil' - regards as evil and not the ones that actually are evil.

And why was the skill description shown in the first place!?

Normally a player character has to spend a small fortune to hire a high-level appraiser to read it for them or search through rare books by themselves to know for sure.

Honestly...

This whole situation - the weird option she got at the very beginning, the odd special quest, the too specific description - it all felt as if something was pushing the girl toward a specific direction, but she couldn't understand why, nor was she able to foresee what was waiting for her at the end of that route.

And, what's more important - whether her choices wouldn't bring more misfortune to the people around her.

"..."

Mika clench her fists and looked down at her feet.

The memory of the desperate face of bruiser 97-F the moment that he pushed her to safety was etched into her memory just as strongly as the sight of the boy's silhouette being disintegrated by a golden energy beam.

"How much time left?"

Shanks asked, pulling Mika from her thoughts.

"Ah...!"

She gasped and hurriedly glanced at the first timer.

/05:04:47

"Less than five minutes to the beginning of the seventh wave."

Mika reported.

"Tsk... and we're still two hours away from the first line. It's taking too long, it would be better if the two of us just ran ahead, but we can't leave the rest like that..."

Shanks clicked his tongue and glanced back at the rest of the convoy.

"The golden beam got shot one time during the fifth wave, one hour before the time limit, for the sixth wave it got shot two hours before the time limit... going by that, now it will probably be shot three hours before the end, so right when we'll be arriving at the outpost... Everyone! Increase the marching speed!"

The rat-faced man gritted his teeth and shouted back and his command got repeated by the commanders of each unit.

"I don't want us to be bunched together like an easy target when it comes."

"I think the same."

He complained to Mika, and the ashen-haired girl nodded in agreement.

Then, a few minutes later...

/05:00:00

/6th monster wave - start

/04:59:59

"...eh...?"

Mika looked to the side and spotted a small golden dot on the horizon.

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A golden beam shot at their convoy with an ungodly sound that couldn't be put into words.