""…""
Glance, Nazarie and Porco poked their heads out from behind a rock to examine the situation above ground.
It had been a fine day at Labyrinth, but all of a sudden, the sky was strangely covered with thick clouds of stagnant colors, and the sea becoming stormy.
Furthermore,
『Gishaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!』
""Eek!?""
As reported by the reconnaissance team, huge swathes of sea monsters overran the island, baring their fangs in search of 'prey'.
(W-w-w-what is going on!?)
(D-don't ask me!? Or rather, don't take advantage of the situation to hug me, you pervert!?)
(Owie!?)
Pah! A slap struck Porco's cheek. Even as that happened, the two kept their guard up, covertly watching the vicinity so as to not be found by the monsters.
A glance was enough to tell the huge numbers of the monsters.
In all likelihood, most of the surface of the island had already been occupied by them.
Fortunately, after the invasion of the blackdollified 'Axe' Saint, all entries to the village, except secret passages, were destroyed and would only be reopened until the reconstruction of the village was complete.
Thanks to this, the village was still safe thus far, and so were Nazarie and Porco.
(There had been no signs of abnormality, and everything was completely normal. What could have prompted these monsters to act this way out of the blue?)
(C-could it be that they were all in 'estrus', perhaps!?)
(Hey, why do I feel like you're getting a little excited… Anyway, that shouldn't be the case…)
Geez… Heaving out a sigh, Nazarie pointed to some monsters and said, (Look there. Even monsters that were supposed to be hostile to each other are moving together without causing any conflict. For your information, they are not, by all means, mild-tempered monsters.)
(Y-you mean they're being controlled by someone?)
(Umu, chances are that is the case. If so, the same thing is probably happening all over the world. And at present, there's only one person who is capable of such a feat… or more accurately, 'one god'. Yes, the former 'Sword' Saint, and the current god of genesis—Elysium)
(Elysium… The detestable saint who stole the goddesses' power…) Porco, clenching his fists, was burning with anger.
(Hou?) Nazarie, sounding impressed, said (It surprises me you are that angry for them. I thought you were just a shitty fatty, but turns out you have a manly side to you. I'm honestly impressed.)
But.
(It's only natural! After all, because of him, my goddesses had to sacrifice their innocence to Exa-sama! If he ever appears before me, I'll tear him limb to limb…!)
(…My bad. I was wrong. You're just a shitty fatty, after all.
(Still,) Nazarie, having promptly withdrawn her previous statement, looked back at the monsters and said, (If he really is the one causing this turmoil, I can't help but find it weird. I mean, he should still be fighting against Exa and the others at the moment.)
(You have a point… Oh, perhaps everyone has come back? I mean, our main goal is to rescue Saintess-sama. Maybe they have succeeded in rescuing her, and that Elysium guy and his lackeys followed them over for a final showdown?)
(I hope that's the case…)
Nazarie wanted to believe so, but she couldn't shake away the whirlpool of uncomfortable feelings in her chest.