In the end, we sort of accomplished our mission, which was to save the city council members. At least seven out of the original ten were saved. However, the civilians – the majority of whom were actually staff working in the town hall, or refugees who had fled from nearby buildings when the attack on the city began. Less than a fifth of them remained, most of them killed by the bio-meltdown of the Frenzor Assassin, a few by the Veneneum Assassin, and a couple by the Dark Apes. Of over a hundred civilians who had originally sought shelter in the town hall, just a little over twenty had survived.
As Vincent said, I had to live with my decision. Not only did I chose to save him and Alicia over the many civilians, Alicia had succumbed to the Deceivum Assassin's blade. Her father didn't exactly blame me for her death, but he was barely able to look me in the eyes.
Actually, he was avoiding eye contact with anyone, choosing to remain by his daughter's side the whole time, even as we returned to the northern shelter. Alicia's was the only body we brought back, a small concession to convince Vincent to come with us. In addition to the APC we arrived in, the surviving soldiers rigged a couple of nearby, abandoned cars, hot-wiring them so that the civilians could ride in them. The APC didn't have enough room for everyone, after all.
"Alicia is…?"
Lily tailed off when she saw the body. My friends were horrified when they saw that one of our number had died. They wanted to ask what had happened, but after seeing the gloomy expressions on Vincent and my faces, they were wise enough not to approach us.
I decided to tell them anyway. Trying to keep a firm control of my voice, I filled them in on what had happened in the shelter after they had gone up ahead to scout the place for monsters. In some places, my voice cracked, but I was able to finish my account. Leaning back, I shut my eyes as I felt tears well up in them.
"…that's my fault. Those Dark Apes…I let them get past me." Craig slumped against his seat, looking glum.
"It wouldn't have made any difference. I don't think anyone would have reacted in time. Even if I was next to her, I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything when that shapeshifter Assassin revealed her true colors."
"But what do they want?!" Sheila demanded, banging her fist against the steel hull of the APC. "Why are they doing this? What do they achieve by killing so many people, by destroying an entire city? By causing so much suffering?!"
"They are the Dark Church," Harrison replied somberly. "Their whole purpose for existence is to bring about a monstrous apocalypse and wipe out the human race."
"Fucking nut-jobs," Dong Fang Yue Chu muttered sourly. Nobody argued with him. We all felt the same.
The rest of the journey was made in silence, and more grief was met when Pearl and the others saw what had happened.
"Are you okay, Senior Richard?" Harvey was the only one who was concerned about me, and had stuck close while everyone else was busily sobbing over Alicia's death or looking absolutely horrified. Jin Hao, Aoi and the Black Roses, in particular, were looking utterly stricken. Alicia had been a super-popular president of Black Roses, and pretty much our school idol/flower, so understandably there was an outpouring of outrage and sadness over her death.
Vincent ignored all of them and just brought her body straight to Teacher Cure. Unfortunately, for all of her miraculous healing magic, Teacher Mary Cure was simply not capable of resurrecting the dead. After several attempts, she shook her head and turned to Director Violet, her shoulders hanging low. Vincent merely nodded once, his expression stony, then he picked up Alicia's body and left.
Nobody knew where he went after that.
*
"Richie! Hey!"
Dad showed up shortly after. It had been about three or four days since the invasion, and we were still stuck in the shelter. More military regiments had been pouring into Jing Tian City, reinforcing the existing mages and they were clearing the monsters one by one. General Jiang Jun and his command staff had defeated and slew the Silver Wing Wolf King, which broke the back of the invasion.
Now, it was pretty much a cleanup operation. Dad arrived just in time to help out, and his presence would certainly speed up the process. Despite the fall of the Silver Wong Wolf King, there were still hundreds of monsters roaming the streets, particularly Dire Wolves, Thunder Wolves and Silver Skeletal Wolves. The high-ranked monsters, in particular, required mages of certain strength. Even though Jiang Jun had won against the Silver Wing Wolf King, it came at a great cost. About three of his command staff were killed, and he remained in a coma, being tended to by Teacher Cure. He was out of danger, but his body needed time to fully heal and recover, especially after intense mana depletion.
Yeah, I know I nuked two rank A dragons, but that didn't mean I was stronger than General Jiang Jun. In a one-on-one fight, he would absolutely crush me before I could nuke him. It was just that I so happened to have an "Ultimate Weapon" in the form of a Strategic-scale spell. That was all. And since I wouldn't be allowed to unleash Antares or Thuban inside the city, I had nothing that could fight against the Silver Wing Wolf King except Draco himself, and to summon Draco, I needed people to help me distract the monster. I mean, I could summon him from a distance and then fly over to engage the Silver Wing Wolf King, but it would still have been a grueling battle. I doubted Draco could actually destroy the Silver Wing Wolf King if I forbade him from nuking it with Thuban. I would need to expend large amounts of mana and risk death.
And if the Silver Wing Wolf King defeated Draco, then I was pretty much screwed and out of trump cards.
Dad had rushed back as soon as possible when he had heard that his city was under attack. He was sort of concerned about me, but it also helped that he had just located and destroyed another facility of the Dark Church. He reckoned that there would be more clues about the Dark Church and their activities because they were clearly involved in the invasion of Jing Tian City, and he took a flight back here yesterday, after he finished up operations there. I mean, he could have rushed back immediately, the moment he received news regarding the attack on Jing Tian City, but he didn't. He chose to complete his job here.
Either he was confident that I wouldn't die, or he prioritized work over family. That said, I was glad he came back at all, though I wondered if he would really return so soon if he hadn't conveniently completed his job at that moment. His presence would have made a huge difference against the Silver Wing Wolf King. If he had arrived the next day, he might been able to save Jiang Jun from descending into a coma, and between the two of them, they would have slain the rank A Behemoth-class monster fairly easily.
But he chose to remain to finish his job. Was it because he believed in Jiang Jun's abilities, or he just prioritized his job, first? I was aware that he would save many more lives by destroying the Dark Church's facility, if you look at the future. And that Jiang Jun certainly had the task well in hand. but even so, I couldn't help but wonder…
"Richie? You okay?"
"Yeah." I realized I hadn't actually properly responded to Dad's call, and straightened up. He mistook my gloom for weariness after surviving a few hard days of fighting and running.
"Don't worry! Now that I'm here, I'll wipe out all the monsters and take back the city!"
"Ah…right. Yeah, you will." I nodded absentmindedly. "We'll be relying on you, Dad."
Dad frowned, noticing my somber mood. I was glad to see him. I really was, but I still couldn't hide the grief on my face. Even though he adopted me just five years ago, Dad had raised me long enough to know me well enough to tell that my condition was not good.
"Did something happen?"
"Senior Alicia was killed," Harvey told him bluntly, appearing abruptly. He must have seen Dad arrive, and fought his way to approach us. He wasn't exactly in high spirits, but he had managed to find his family about two days ago, and reunite with them in the shelter, so he was in a better mental condition than I was.
"…oh. I'm sorry to hear that."
Dad sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I'll go avenge her for you. I swear, I'll wipe out all the monsters in the city."
"She has already been avenged." Taking a deep breath, I elaborated on what had transpired during the rescue attempt at the town hall, and how Vincent Violet had already violently murdered the Deceivum Assassin. Dad nodded silently as he listened.
"…it happens." He clapped a hand on my shoulder again. "Well, your old man has a job to do. I'll see you later, Richie. But for now, take a rest. Leave everything to me."
Then he was gone.
A few hours later, the city was declared clear. Stepping out of the shelter, I could see vast areas swathed in a sea of fire.
Dad might prioritize his job over family, but when he did his job, he really went all out. Watching the flickering embers in the distance, the raging fires still glowing luminously amidst the setting sun and darkening heavens, I felt no small amount of awe.
He really was the Angel of Fire.
It took another two days for the military to sweep through the city to ensure there weren't any traces of monsters lingering behind before we were finally allowed out of the shelters. Even so, there wasn't many places we could go. Homes had been ruined, shops and businesses had been smashed, and entire areas had been razed by battle. Several districts had been blackened, with water mages requiring a day or two to extinguish the fires that Dad had ignited to incinerate the monsters. The government of the Global Federation had pledged financial aid, and insurance companies were already preparing their payouts, but the process of rebuilding had to be done by the residents ourselves.
There were debris to clear, buildings and houses to repair, broken furniture to replace…a lot of things to do.
The end of the invasion signaled the beginning of a long, arduous process of restoration and rebuilding.
"Fortunately, our house wasn't affected much, eh?"
Dad was beaming in amusement as we returned home. The fiery barrier that he erected around our house had protected our home more effectively than anyone had imagined. Any monsters that had tried to sneak in were instantly incinerated into ash. The piles of ash that drifted over the place were indication of how many monsters made the attempt…and paid for their stupidity with their lives.
"We have it easy. Compared to the others, we only need to clean the place up." Dad pondered for a moment. "They restored electricity and water yesterday, so we just need to vacuum or hose the place down. Which do you prefer?"
"…I don't know. What do you think, Dad?"
"I'm asking you…" Dad sighed and shook his head. He cocked an eyebrow, realizing that I was still out of it. "Never mind. I'll take care of this. You should go rest and clear your head up. Maybe we'll watch an episode of From Commonplace Job to Strongest after this."
"No, I'm fine." I took a deep breath. "I think it's best to just sweep the area."
Heading into the house, I grabbed a broom and began the process. Dad gave me a look, but he respected my decision and did the same. We spent the next hour or so sweeping the ash off our garden and pouring them into trash bags.
"Dad."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Dad turned to look at me. I lowered my broom and stared at him with a serious expression.
"I want to become stronger."
"Don't we all?"
"No, I mean…" I took a deep breath. "Can you teach me more…techniques?"
"I've already taught you what you want to know. Having more techniques or learning new magic isn't necessarily going to make you stronger. If anything, you should just focus on practicing the magic and techniques you already have and perfect them."
My shoulders slumped down, but Dad continued with a smile.
"However, there is a way."
"What is it?" I asked, brightening up slightly. Dad grinned.
"Combat experience. I guarantee you that going through life-and-death struggles in a battlefield will definitely improve your strength." He thought for a moment. "I know you already participated in missions and fought against monsters, so you already have a decent amount of experience. How about we bring that up a notch?"
"What do you mean?"
Dad's grin widened.
"I'll bring you along on my next mission. I think you'll want to participate in it, anyway…because it involves hunting down the Dark Church."