"…where the fuck am I?"
Already in a foul mood after being chased out of the house by Dad, I was blindly exploring the cliffs and mountains. According to the electronic invitation on my smartphone the campfire party should be held around here, but I had moved out of satellite range. Even almost a thousand years into the future, they still hadn't figured out how to maintain satellite signals outside of urban cities.
Then again, there was no way to build human infrastructures in the wilderness. Not when Emergence events occurred frequently, and monsters reigned over the non-urban spaces. Laying down satellite cables or building towers would be impossible, and even if they were built, the monsters would just wreck them.
As such, I was wandering around the mountains, lost. A few rank F and rank E monsters were lying in wait to ambush me, but I managed to dispatch them with relative ease while sending the rest packing. Not in the mood to pursue, I left them to flee and resumed my search for the campfire site.
"I'm still pretty far, I think…" I muttered as I glanced around. There was nothing except rock, mountains and trees for miles around. My suspicions that I was nowhere near where I should be were confirmed when I couldn't see any sign of smoke.
When there was smoke, there was fire. The inverse was true, and normally I should be able to see the smoke produced by the campfire rising toward the heavens, along with dancing embers. Yet I couldn't even catch sight of a faint wisp.
"…the mountains are blocking my view," I muttered. Now that I thought about it, no matter how thick the smoke was, and how ferociously it billowed upward from the campfire, by the time it reached the peak of the mountain, it would have dissipated completely. The wonders of diffusion.
In that case…
"I guess I'll have to climb the mountain then."
Getting atop one of those dangerous-looking cliffs would afford me a better view. I did have a fear of heights, unfortunately, even after learning magic, but if I fell off somehow, I should be able to summon Cygnus or a flying Constellation spirit to catch me before I plummeted to my death.
I hoped.
The mountains weren't as steep as I thought they would be. There was a gentle incline that took me a little higher up, and I proceeded toward a small cliff that veered away from the main path. For a natural trail, it was pretty easy to traverse. Even though the terrain was a little too rough and uneven for it to be artificial, it was still surprisingly barren and convenient.
"Hu…"
Exhaling wearily, I paused to take a break. I had been walking for what seemed like two hours now. While it might seem strange that mages got tired from such a mundane activity, I didn't cast any physical strengthening spell or bodily enhancement on myself, so I was left to depend on my own natural fitness.
No matter how young and healthy I was, I was only human. Walking for hours would exhaust me. Not that much, since I could cast a spell to dispel the tiredness, but I would only do that if necessary. For now, I decided to take a break.
"Phew…"
Finding a rock to sit on, I closed my eyes and summoned Corvus. There was a limit to the range in which my Constellation spirits had to remain within my territory before they disappeared, which was why I didn't summon my Constellation spirits to scout around. Well, I actually did, but they didn't get very far before they reached the range limit, and I was left no better off than I was before I summoned them. Probably worse, because of the mana consumption. In any case, it was better than walking around blindly, so I tried again.
"I should be near," I muttered. Keeping my eyes closed, I linked my senses to Corvus's telepathically, as I did several times earlier, and scanned the area. Corvus didn't get very far before he vanished, but thankfully I spotted a nice, safe-looking cliff in the distance. Perhaps if I got there, I might be able to get a better view of my surroundings. Furthermore, I could just summon Corvus and have him fly off from that cliff to get a more optimal surveillance of the area.
Rising to my feet, I stretched myself before I resumed my journey. It took me about ten to fifteen minutes to reach the edge of the cliff that Corvus had spotted.
"Kuh!"
Gasping, I suddenly doubled over as if something had hit my gut. Heaving heavily, I blinked and glanced around, not understanding what had just happened. I had merely gotten halfway to the cliff when I was abruptly overwhelmed by an invisible, suffocating presence. I gasped for air desperately as an extremely evil aura of darkness descended upon me. Even though I couldn't see it, I could feel it curling around me, strangling me.
"What the fuck is that?!"
Wiping the perspiration from my face, I struggled to maintain my calm. Glancing off into the distance, I shuddered. It was so far away, and yet its demonic aura was strong enough to suffocate me. Just what in the world…?
I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Whatever it was, it was extremely evil and exceedingly powerful. I didn't want to tangle with it if I could help it. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to turn tail and run back to the city, where it was safe.
"The campfire party!"
Yet I couldn't. Suppressing my fear, I gulped as I recalled my friends. They were around here somewhere, holding a campfire party, and if I wasn't mistaken, they were near wherever the demonic presence was. Of course, I still wasn't sure where the precise location of the campfire party was, but my conscience would never let me live it down if I just ran off by myself without attempting to ensure that my friends were safe.
The least I could do was transmit a warning.
"Damn it! There's no reception!"
My smartphone was practically useless without any signal. I couldn't contact anyone. Alicia, Dong Fang Yue Chu, Harvey…nobody. My smartphone continued to flash the same holographic message. "Service is unavailable at the moment. We will connect you the moment it becomes available."
Fuck! What was the point of having a phone if I couldn't call anyone!?
Resisting the temptation to hurl my phone down the mountain, I hastily climbed up the trail and toward the cliff. Perhaps I would be able to see them, or the monster. Either way, it was better than sitting around here, doing nothing. Jogging, I quickly covered the remaining distance in about three minutes.
Clambering over the cliff, I found myself overlooking a huge valley.
"There it is!"
I finally caught sight of the smoke produced by the massive campfire that burned in the center of the site. True to her word, Alicia had invited almost the whole school. It was a full-blown party, with hundreds of students dancing, chatting, eating and having fun.
…except that I was staring at the aftermath.
"…what the hell?!"
My jaw dropped when I saw the devastated remains of the campfire, and the countless corpses that were strewn across the place. Not only that, even from this high up, I could sense an evil presence. It was steadily growing stronger, to the point where I found myself shivering subconsciously.
I glanced down at my trembling, sweaty palms. The evil presence was growing stronger and drawing closer the further I went up the cliff. I felt as if it was getting more difficult to breathe with every step I took.
To my horror, I realized that the evil presence was still right in the middle of the campfire site. Initially, I thought I was too late and was only viewing the aftermath. To my slight relief, I saw that there were still a significant number of survivors. They had split into two groups, heading in opposite directions. One of them was heavily weighed down by the wounded. From up here, I couldn't see them clearly or make out their features, but they were clearly limping, or supporting or carrying their severely injured friends.
The monster was in the middle, and it was turning toward the slower group who maintained the tenacity and courage to hold onto their friends and attempt to escape with them instead of abandoning the wounded to flee for themselves. It mercilessly lunged forward.
"…that's…!"
Swallowing, I recognized the monster. It was a Crastrate, one of the most fearsome monsters known to man. I had read about it in the monster encyclopedia, struck by the similarities between it and some alien monster in a horror movie I had watched during my timeline. It was a true hellspawn that embodied the very essence of darkness, embracing destruction and craving massacres. There was some sort of life cycle that it followed. Unlike most monsters, it didn't emerge from an Emergence event as an actual creature, but as an egg that held a parasitic larva.
The parasitic hatchling would emerge from the egg when a potential victim approached, wrap itself around his face and implant a monstrous embryo inside his chest. When the embryo matured slightly after feeding off the nutrients from its host, it would eat its way out of the host body, killing the poor victim in the process…in an excruciating manner that was practically unimaginable.
It then grew up very quickly, especially if it fed on smaller monsters in the wild, and became a fully grown, mature adult in the matter of hours.
And now it was the terrifying Fiend class, rank B monster that had massacred so many of my schoolmates.
"…fuck!"
A rank B Crastrate. I honestly didn't want to fight something as terrifying and powerful as that, but upon seeing how resolute my schoolmates were as they valiantly sought to escape with their wounded friends, I felt ashamed of my terror and cowardice. My schoolmates were so courageous even in the face of certain death, yet here I was hesitating to help them.
"It's too late. I'm too far away. There's nothing I can do. I won't be able to make a difference."
All those were just excuses. Of course there was something I could do. There was always something I could do.
Closing my eyes, I wondered briefly what Dad would do if he was in my position.
The answer was obvious. Dad never ran away from a fight. He saved me. He was a hero. He would never abandon people in danger. Seeing his courage, his strength and his conviction, I was inspired to follow in his footsteps.
How could I ever hope to emulate my dad if I continued to make excuses and hesitate to take that first, crucial step to saving people? How could I chase after my dad's shadow if I continued to lack the courage to defy death and stand between innocents and monsters?
While I was dithering, someone paid for my hesitation with his life. A mage stood between the Crastrate as it closed in on the other fleeing schoolmates, swinging his weapon as he yelled incoherently. The Crastrate's claws flashed, and he went down in a spray of blood. Not even bothering to glance at its victim, the Fiend advanced upon the escaping group. A few of the students turned around to fire upon it with magical projectiles.
I was suddenly reminded of Alicia. She must be in the group, shooting at the Crastrate with her guns. And she probably wasn't alone. Elliot. Dong Fang Yue Chu. Nicholas. Harvey. Jin Hao. Aoi. Stan. Wang Fei.
All my friends. Craig definitely dove in at the first chance to engage the monster. If he wasn't dead then he was among the wounded. And now the monster was closing in on him and the rest, hell-bent on finishing the job.
Something inside me snapped.
Taking a deep breath, I backed away, and then sprinted forward. Reaching the edge, I leaped down from the cliff and plunged headfirst toward the Crastrate. Spreading my hands, I directed my descent, gliding toward the Crastrate and the group of wounded students. Diving faster than a speeding bullet, I could feel the wind blasting me, the cold headwind ruffling my hair and clothes. Ignoring it, I did a complete flip just above the Crastrate and swung about to slam my foot into its head, throwing my entire momentum behind the kick.
The Crastrate was flung off its feet and sent spinning. Smashing into the earth a few yards away and toppling into barbeque pits and tables, it continued sliding further away before it finally came to a stop, leaving a huge tunnel in its wake.
Turning to my astonished friends, I bowed my head apologetically.
"Sorry for being late."