The rest of the monsters didn’t last long. Everyone gathered at the edge of the flickering dome to watch the massacre. It took a grand total of one hour for the B-ranked team to tear through the city, slaughtering wyrms and any straggling wyverns with every movement. They made the guards’ efforts look pathetic.

The figure wreathed in crackling purple energy floated towards the shield in front of them, touching down as the magic around him faded. He wore light leather armor that had been stained a dark greyish black. A large wizard’s hat covered his face, concealing everything but his mouth from view.

Ming tensed beside Arek. The orc put a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at the orc and gave him a small nod.

“We’ve dealt with the horde,” Null said. His voice was much more youthful than Arek expected – he couldn’t have been much older than twenty, but the power he wielded was terrifying.

The ground beside Null rippled like it had turned to water. A burly man rose out from within it, stone and dirt sloughing off him. He gave the citizens a wide grin and a thumbs up as he brushed out his heavy beard with the other hand.

“Avenguard has taken care of all the hostiles,” the man who Arek presumed to be Ox said in a gravely tone. “How bad are the casualties? We don’t have any healers, and we rushed straight here so we didn’t have time to get one.”

Rovin pushed through the crowd to get up to the edge of the shield. He raised a hand and the barrier flickered. Starting from the top of the dome, it paled and faded away until nothing remained.

“Our casualties are minimal for the scenario,” Rovin said. “There was an adventuring team present that had experience dealing with monster hordes, and there was a healer amongst them. We’ve got some injuries, but nothing immediately life threatening.”

“Experience with a monster horde?” Null asked, cocking his head. The motion looked strikingly similar to how Ming often did it. “That’s exceedingly uncommon. Was there another high ranked team amongst you?”

“No,” Rovin said, glancing back through the crowd in Belmont’s direction. “They’re an F-ranked team, actually.”

“F-ranked? How could an F-ranked team possibly have any experience with a horde of this size?” Null pressed.

“Not now, Null,” Ox said, his ruddy features tightening. “There will be time to talk later. Are there any citizens that are still trapped within the city?”

“It’s possible but highly unlikely,” Rovin replied. “We evacuated a good while before the horde hit. However, there might be stranded guards that got trapped behind the lines of the horde.”

“If anyone’s there, Ash and Ice will find them,” Ox said. “Could we gather all the adventuring teams licensed by the guild? If possible, I’d like a rundown on the situation. I understand that Red Mount is independent of the guilds, but monster hordes cannot be allowed to happen.”

“There’s only one independent party here at the moment,” Rovin said with a heavy sigh. “There were several C-ranked parties and a D-ranked one, but all of them perished attempting to clear the dungeon.”

“You’re telling me the only adventuring party here is an F-Ranked team?” Ox asked, his eyebrows raising.

“And some retired adventurers,” Rovin said.

Ox shook his head. “It’s a miracle you survived. This is all the more reason for a status report, though. We’ll need to clear this dungeon out, but it shouldn’t be as bad now that the horde has been thinned. My team will take care of it tomorrow. Have the F-Rankers ready to meet tonight. We’ll focus on making sure the city is safe and recovering any bodies we can until then.”

Rovin nodded wearily. Ox gave him a small smile and clapped the exhausted councilman on the shoulder. “It’s over now, Rovin. Red Mount will pull through this. The outer city is ransacked, but most of your people are safe. Walls and houses can be rebuilt.”

He stepped back and the stone rose up around him and Null. They sank down and vanished underground. A few moments of silence passed. The fight for survival was over, but nobody felt like cheering.

“Come,” Arek said. “The city needs us.”

“What do you mean?” Malissa asked. “Avenguard is here.”

“We aren’t going to be fighting any more monsters,” Arek said. “The people need healing. Let the B-Rankers handle the rest of the fighting. There’s something far more important that we need to do.”

“And what’s that?” Ming asked, her hands still clenched tightly at her sides.

Arek nodded down at the sack at her feet.

“Food,” Arek replied. “We can’t do anything for those who have already passed, but we can make life a little better for the ones that haven’t. Healing doesn’t have to be magic. For me, it started with a single meal. Now it is our turn to do the same for others.”

“I guess so,” Ming said. “But why do you need me? Malissa’s your student.”

“I need you because you look like you’re trying to strangle your staff,” Arek said, nodding down at her clenched fist. “And I’m not going to leave a friend alone in a time like this.”

“I can’t just wander around,” Ming muttered. “Null might see me.”

Arek reached into his bag and pulled out his mask. He tossed it to Ming, who grabbed it out of the air. She glanced from Arek to it, then slowly put it on.

Her features shimmered. Her hair turned from black to brown and her skin tone grew lighter. The girl’s nose elongated slightly and her eyes thinned. Ming examined her illusionary body. Then she sighed and looked back up.

“What are we going to make?” she asked. “We’ve got an entire city to feed. Are we going to recruit all the vendors in the area? Even if we do, most of the city’s food supply got destroyed by the monsters. There’s nothing to cook.”

A small grin crossed Arek’s lips. “The very monsters that took our food supply have kindly offered themselves up to us. Many of them died today, and their meat is still good. There’s more than enough food for everyone – we just have to gather it and start cooking.”