The time wound back a little.
"Haa!"
—Slash!
"Gigyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….."
Having taken down the medium-sized dragon-type monster with a single slash, the man famously known as 'Hero of Light' absorbed the monster into his ominous sword.
After parting with Exa and the others, he and his companions had traveled around the world to spread warnings of the coming calamity before returning to his homeland, the small country of Vivalk, where he had prepared and waited for the attack of the monsters.
He was by no means taking them lightly.
In fact, due to the experience he had gone through, he had carefully worked out plans so that they might intercept and counterattack any monsters that would attack them.
Vivalk was surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides, making it a natural fortress. In terms of 'defense', it was said to rival the fortified city of 'Algren'.
"Haa, haa…"
Yet despite all his plans and despite the advantageous terrain, the city of Vivalk was now dyed red all over, and smoke rose from every corner of the city.
Audible were the screams of the people and the roars of the monsters which seemed to drown them out.
A little while ago, he'd heard a report that the castle—located in the innermost part of the city—was already partially destroyed and that the king and queen were caught in the rubble of the collapsed castle.
—―Yes, Vivalk had fallen.
"Kh…"
It went without saying that the main cause of their defeat was that the scale of the horde of monsters was far beyond their imagination.
Not to mention, despite the diversity of the races of the monsters, all of them had rushed straight toward the city without quarreling with each other.
On top of that, they hadn't been daunted by elemental attacks—their weakness—nor traps.
Because of their, to say the least, unusual actions, the city gate had been breached in a matter of minutes.
"Why is this happening…" Biting his lips, the man trembled in vexation.
But now was not the time for him to mourn.
Yes, the country was destroyed, and the king and queen had died.
But many people of Vivalk were still alive.
So, move your legs!
Don't stop swinging your sword!
Save as many people as possible! The man tightened his grip on his sword and looked in front of him again.
But at that time.
—ZWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!
"!?"
『Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?』
Out of nowhere, a gigantic black sphere—most likely a mass of energy from a Magic Art—flew toward the city while making a thunderous roaring sound, and all hope vanished from people's faces.
The same was true for the man, who could only stare dumbfoundedly as the mass of energy drew closer.
If that hit the city, the country of 'Vivalk' would likely vanish without leaving a trace.
Be it their desperate resistance until now or the feelings of the people who had sacrificed themselves, everything would surely come to naught.
"…"
Is this… the end…? The man subconsciously lowered his sword—but in the next moment.
—SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!!
『――Wha!?』
The mass of energy suddenly burst apart and following it, the dark clouds in the sky, the flames and smoke enveloped the country, and even the monsters all vanished.
What happened?
The man was so dumbfounded that he forgot to breathe, but the surprise wasn't over yet.
"!"
Next, a gentle light came pouring down from the sky, which instantly healed his fatigue and wounds all over his body and gathered particles of light that took human shapes all across the city.
Soon the particles of light dispersed, only to reveal people whose lives had been lost to the monsters. The moment he realized that, the man looked up at the sky again and involuntarily loosened the corner of his mouth at the sight of 'him', the one who had caused this miracle.
"…I see. You are indeed a Savior…"
◇
"—Alright, that'll do."
After reviving and healing people simultaneously with"All Revival", I turned my eyes to where Elysium was before and released a sigh. "He escaped…"
"What're we waitin' for then? Let's go chase him and beat his ass! We wouldn't know what that old man might cause if we left him alone," Ophir said.
"You're right, but before that, there's something I want to do."
"Something you want to do?" Tirna tilted her head.
"Yeah," I nodded and said, "In this state, I can sense him regardless of where he is, sure, and chasing him will honestly be a piece of cake. But as Ophir says, now that he's cornered, he may resort to doing something fiendish."
"Makes sense. Considering his actions so far, in the worst-case scenario, he may choose to self-destruct to take down not only us but also the whole world along with him," Zana said.
"Yeah, that's highly likely. That's why I'm thinking of going around all cities and villages, then use"All Revival"and put up barriers to protect them."
"A-all cities and villages…!? B-but wouldn't that take a lot of time…?" Magmell asked.
"Don't worry. I know their general location by sensing places where a large number of people are gathering, and it should only take a few seconds for us to move from one place to the next. But with a lot of places to stop by, I'd like you all to help me."
"Of course, we'll help, but what do you want us to do exactly?" Elma asked.
"After I deploy the barrier, I would you to explain the situation and if possible to ask for cooperation in evacuating the people in the area to the city or village where the barrier is deployed."
"Fumu, so you're intending to protect all humans and demi-humans that way?" Arca asked.
"Yes, that's right."
As I nodded, Turbo-sama began, "This may make me sound heartless," and continued, "But if you're going to revive them anyway, wouldn't it be better to just leave them for now and revive them after you have defeated that demi-human? He mentioned it before, didn't he? Your desire to protect others is your weakness."
"…Yes. He did say that."
In fact, it was exactly because I'd wanted to protect people that I'd let Elysium escape.
I thought what Turbo-sama had said made a really good point.
But.
"But that's all the more reason to do it. Honestly, I hate it when he said that innocent people are only 'hindrances' or 'weaknesses'. That's why I want to show him. That they are by no means hindrances. That our desire to protect them is what makes us strong."
"I see. And that is why you're going to go out of your way to revive those who have died to the monsters and divide your power to put up barriers to protect them?"
I nodded vigorously. "Yes. Even if your hometown is burned down, hope will not disappear as long as your loved ones are still alive. That way, everyone should be able to work hard again to rebuild their homes, just like the people of Magrid."
"I see," Turbo-sama suddenly said as though she was convinced after a few seconds of silence, "If you're that determined, then I won't say anything against it. Go protect them with everything you have."
"Yes, of course!"
I clenched my fist powerfully, but I didn't know at that time.
That this decision would greatly affect our fate later on.