Part Eight – What Else Goes On

Many countries had suffered during the recent disaster, either directly or by sheltering refugees. But few had suffered as much as Japan. The entirety of Kyushu had become the territory of monsters, leaving many citizens stranded. To their credit, the Japanese government had not given up on rescue attempts, sending dozens of ships out on patrols looking for survivors.

As more and more people flooded out of the ruined cities, the details of what occurred began to spread. Details of the horrors inflicted by man and monster alike. Some, driven to insanity, had killed their fellow man and become as depraved as the monsters that mindlessly slaughtered them.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. A number of stories about survivors were going around, detailing a series of heroics straight out of anime. One in particular spoke of a group of high school students, who’d rallied members of their hometown in order to head to safety. Along the way they’d helped out others in similar situations, eventually leading to their group exceeding ten thousand people.

Created jointly by the JSDF and the Committee, Japan’s defensive line was created in order to assist in the search for survivors and to give them a place of sanctuary. Fortifications had been built, not only in the remains of towns, but also in rural areas. These ‘forts' worked because monsters were inexplicably drawn towards mortals, thus allowing defenders to draw the monsters to them, instead of having to hunt them in potentially dangerous situations.

Monster attacks at the forts were frequently occurring at least once a week. Most attacks consisted of the run-off of monsters that had been ousted from their territory. But lately, the attacks had grown in ferocity.

It culminated in an army of a thousand goblins attacking one of the forts. This was a difficult task, because even though most of the goblins were F-Rank, so too were many of the defenders. The only reason they had lasted this long was because of the superior firepower they’d been given and that foreign volunteers had been present.

In a shocking turn of events, the fort survived the goblin’s assault, primarily due to the efforts of the Captain. She’d single-handedly turned the tide of monsters, giving the rest of the defenders the chance to regain their composure.

The ground was stained red with the blood of monsters and their slashed apart corpses littered the ground. As the living celebrated their continued existence, one figure remained on-alert, ready to eliminate any threat that should remain.

Status

Race: Human

Archetype: Assassin

Age: 18

State: Exhausted

Titles: Razor’s Edge, Assassin’s Assassin, Defender,

Rank: C

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Survival Instinct, Sense Weakness Rank E, Sword Aura Rank D, Heightened Senses,

Unique Skill: Zephyr

Equipment: Striker’s Armor, Gauntlets of Fury, Striker’s Pants, Striker’s Boots, Earring of Focus, Sword of Bladed Fury ×2,

Though you wouldn’t know it by looking at her, this young woman was at the forefront of the battle to protect humanity. That she had been entrusted with the command of a fort at her young age was a testament to her skill in battle.

Sasaki Ouka had been forcibly thrust into her current role. She’d been a key member of the caravan that escaped the disaster two months earlier and had been dubbed a hero for her efforts. While this brought her a great deal of fame and admiration, it wasn’t everything it looked to be.

“What a monster. She’s completely covered in blood. That she can so one-sidedly kill them makes her an even bigger threat than the monsters.”

“I’ve seen her cut down monsters without batting an eye. It’s like she doesn’t feel a thing about it. It’s unnatural.”

“Shush you idiots!! What will you do if she hears?”

They can talk all they want, but we all need to prepare. If we don’t hold the monsters back, then who will?

Though she looked calm on the outside, she was anything but. She was still plagued by nightmares from the horrors she’d witnessed. She’d seen countless people brutally killed by monsters and had been nearly killed dozens of times. To her, anyone who didn’t take the threat seriously wasn’t worth her time.

“Ouka, excellent work as always.”

Since she obviously had no military experience, she’d been assigned two vice-captains to help command. Add in the two dozen platoon commanders and they had an actual chain of command. One of them, a Japanese national by the name of Yamazaki Hiro, was heading towards her. He was very competent, but had a penchant for being overly familiar.

“Yamazaki-san, how many times must I tell you not to call me by my given name?”

“And why not? You let your childhood friend do it.”

“Saito's different. We’ve known each other since infancy. Why would I treat you the same?”

“Oof, touché.” Hiro merely smiled and awkwardly rubbed his head. It seemed he would never learn. Ouka breathed out a sigh before continuing.

“What’s our status?”

“We had a few casualties. A few broken bones and bad cuts, but no deaths. That’s completely due to your timely intervention, though if we’d had firearms, then it’d be even easier.”

“No guns. I’ve said it before, but no. That’s one thing I will not allow. I don’t care if we’ve been authorized to do so, we will not.”

Ouka firmly believed that using guns would lead one to be reliant on them. If you used a weapon that did all the work for you, you’d never grow.

“Yes ma’am. Also, another shipment is on its way. The forerunner just came in moments ago.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to be around then.”

Because of how deep into the disturbance they were, modern communications didn’t work. There were several theories about this, ranging from the abilities of monsters to the existence of, and interference from, mana. That left older methods of communication, like sending early messengers.

Since there would still be a few hours till the shipment arrived, Ouka retired to her room, barely managing to make it to her cot before collapsing. Burning pain was shooting up and down her legs. While her Unique Skill, Zephyr, was powerful, its side effect would leave her unable to stand for several hours. The physical blowback of it was that intense.

“Ow, ow, owowowowowowow. This never gets any easier. I know the Skill makes me better at fighting, but I don’t know if this is worth it.”

It was shocking. The calm, dignified woman from before was nowhere to be seen. She’d slumped over her cot, immediately taking on a slovenly posture. If any of the other soldiers had seen this, they would have been shocked. Ouka always maintained an aura of unapproachability, pushing others away.

“Hwaaah, I’ll take a quick nap before they get here. I need to recover from Zephyr as quickly as possible.”

As her eyes drifted shut and she fell into a peaceful slumber and the worries about the state of the world that had plagued her for months, fell to the back of her mind.

[???’s POV]

“Shit! Here it comes!”

“RWOARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!”

There was little anyone could do against a force of nature. The same way that ancient sailors would despair at the sight of a sudden storm at sea, so too did this cause absolute despair in the eyes of modern humans.

A large body covered in scales as hard as iron. Strong limbs, capable of crushing most armored vehicles. Wings that could allow it to swoop down on prey. And golden eyes full of malice. This was one of the most feared predators to ever exist. Thought to only be the stuff of myth and legend, the beasts had become all too real.

Dragons.

When the System had announced the beginning of World Decay, a thunder of dragons had emerged in the skies above Crete. The ornery lizards had soon lain claim to the island, either forcibly driving everything else out, or killing it. Now, only the dragons remained, watching over their territory and occasionally raiding other lands for food.

So long as one did not intrude on its territory, a dragon would not be particularly interested in attacking humans. They preferred creatures with more substance to them. But of course, there were always fools.

“Light it up! Use everything we’ve got!”

A group of humans had roused this particular dragon from its slumber and it wasn’t happy. Even as bullets and explosives went off against its scales, it paid them no mind as it charged up its main attack. If the humans could sense mana, they would’ve noticed it gathering in the dragon's throat. But it wouldn’t have made a difference.

The dragon unleashed its breath attack. Rather than regular flames, it’s attack was closer to a beam of fire and heat, compressed to thin line. The beam ate through everything, the humans, their armor and vehicles, even the buildings were not spared its wrath.

Once the beam faded away, there was nothing left. No sign of that the humans had even been there in the first place. Satisfied, the dragon snorted to itself and headed back to its lair.

[???’s POV]

“And off with your head.”

As the strange figure declared, the large ax-handed beast lost its head moments later. As it collapsed to the ground, it dissolved into light, allowing a most welcome voice to resound a beat later.

::Death of Dungeon Boss confirmed. Individual has completed D-Rank Dungeon. Individual’s contribution: 43.21%. Generating rewards……Complete.::

“Woo! Victory is always sweet and even better when in good company.”

Dressed in a full set of leather and metal armor, the man wore a helmet that covered his entire head. He was accompanied by a woman dressed in maid clothes and a stout, well built man with a magnificent beard.

“Would you calm down already. Our lord bade us to clear this Dungeon. This is not a picnic, so stop playing around.”

“Bah humbug! You’re far too uptight Emilia. You could be so much more charming if you just pulled the stick out of your ass.”

“Oh what a wonderful idea. Then I could shove it through your eye.” The spite in that sentence was palpable.

“Alright you two. We’ve done what we came for, now it’s the others’ turn. If you keep bickering, then Lord Ixan will have ta reprimand the both of ya.”

Corgan's words pulled the two back to their senses. Deciding to hold off on killing each other, they quickly got to work. The walls of the Boss Room were different from normal. Instead of being regular rock, they were instead comprised of raw ore. Since Dungeons wouldn’t vanish until all the challengers had left, they had ample time to harvest it.

“Good quality ore. Perfect for smelting and forging.”

The usually gruff blacksmith was in an ecstatic mood. Anytime he could get high quality materials to work with, was well worth dealing with the other two. With their work done, they could’ve left at any time. But Corgan was the type to see every project through personally, so long as conditions allowed. And the other two would never leave him alone. Which of course meant they inevitably went back to bickering.

“You’ll never catch Regina acting like that. Maybe I’d respect you if you had even an iota of her grace and poise.”

“Hmph. What do you know? You’re just trash, through and through.”

This went on back and forth for well over an hour, until Corgan had finished his work satisfactorily. Once he’d finished, they immediately cut their barbed words off and assumed what they thought were dignified poses.

“The two of ya look like you’re trying not ta shit yourselves.”

It wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to say that this was not well received.