"Hmmm?"
I think I heard someone calling me... Was it just my imagination?
"Ruin, what are you looking at? Let's move~!" Marionne, clinging to my arms, commented in an elated tone.
On the other hand, as if infected by Marionne's actions, even Mina was clinging to my other arm. Honestly, it was hard to walk with the two of them like that, but they weren't listening to any word I said.
"Wait, that's the wrong direction. We should go there!" Mina commented, pulling against my arm a bit harder.
With the two like this, going at each other with every chance they get, we practically haven't moved that far from our starting point. Well, there's nothing but red cracked earth as far as I can see, so there's no point hurrying anyway.
"...?"
Again, I seem to be hearing someone calling me. I quickly scanned the environment, but nothing of note could be found. I'm starting to feel like there's something supernatural at play here...
As we walked forward, taking our leisure time, the three of us noticed something in the corner of our eyes.
"... Mina, distance?"
"About 5 kilometers. Give or take 1 km."
"Marionne, Mina, let's hurry!"
The thing we saw was a not-so-familiar signal, but there was only one other party who would be able to launch it. A flare—a signal asking for support. "I hope we make it in time!"
---
"Fireball!"
*BOOOM!*
"Hailey, incoming!"
"Sh*t, oh sh*t! Lily, heal!"
Toki, Lily, and Hailey were stuck on a small hill, surrounded by ant-like monsters from all sides. Toki was firing her spells efficiently, making sure that each shot got the most effectiveness, dragging dozens of monsters into it.
Lily, despite being the healer, needed to use her mace to smash the incoming monsters, helping Hailey, who was unable to keep up with their astounding numbers.
Hailey swung her spear, decapitating five ants at once. Still, as if they were flowing water, the small gap was filled instantly with more enemies. "D*mn! If this goes on, we'll be...!"
"Hey, don't jinx it!" Lily cried, tears almost falling down the corners of her eyes. "We already fired the flare; we simply need to hold on and wait for Ruin and the others!"
It was barely two minutes after they fired the flares. But as Hailey was fearing, they were in a too disadvantageous situation, and it was doubtful if they could last until Mahiro and the others arrived.
The ants were moving like a hypnotized army, disregarding their fallen comrades and single-mindedly marching towards their prey. Toki was getting out of breath, her mana reaching the halfway point already. 'If this pace continues, then we'll end up dry in another minute!'
"Fire Wall!"
As a last-ditch effort, Toki created a two-meter-tall wall of fire around them. It was roughly three meters away from them, so the area was a little cramped, but it was more than enough for them to catch their breath.
"Drink up your potions and recover! The wall will only last for 30 seconds!" Toki explained as she pulled out a vial of Mana Recovery Potion.
Lily did the same, recovering her mana, while Hailey took a health recovery potion, closing the few scratches, bruises, and acid burns she received while fighting the ants. Among the three of them, Hailey was the one suffering the most, being the tank and main melee attacker—two roles in one.
"Hailey... should I take the front while you rest?" Lily worriedly asked.
If the situation went on like this, then Hailey was the one most likely to fall first. Although switching positions would be the wiser choice, Hailey smiled and shook her head. "No. I'll maintain the vanguard position. I feel like Ruin and the others will be here soon, so I don't want to give up yet!"
Toki's eyes flickered with worry, staring at the blind faith Hailey had. Just as she sighed, about to go along with her folly, just to boost her morale, something caught her eyes from a distance.
A smile crossed her face, giving a lively sparkle to her eyes immediately. "Hailey, it seems like you have great senses. I can see a large cloud of dust approaching coming from the direction of our camp!"
"Ruin!" Lily stood up, gazing at the distance. "That's... it's them! It's Ruin and the others!"
*SHAAA!*
At that moment, Toki's firewall started to lose its intensity. The ants, who were burned to ashes before they could cross the wall, were now able to barely pass through. Hailey swung her spear, killing all ants that entered her range in one swing, a fierce smile on her face.
"Nice! Then, there's no need to hold back anymore! Physical Boost! Keen Edge!"
Hailey activated her buffs, planning to fight to the bitter end until their backup arrived. Lily, worried, applied various support buffs to Hailey too, increasing her defense. "Leave your back to me! I'll never let your HP fall below half!"
It's not like there's a bar that would indicate their HP or MP levels, but as they lose more of either of the two, then the body would start becoming sluggish and tired. If Hailey's HP drops to half while fighting the ants, then it would be easy to imagine what would follow next.
"Don't worry, I never doubted your skills, Lily!" Haley grinned, raising a thumb towards Lily. "And Toki, focus on defense for now. Leave all attacks to me!"
"I'm supposedly this team's leader, but... well, I agree with that arrangement too. Good luck!"
Toki didn't bother to convince her otherwise and left the enemies for her to handle. Instead, she cast another firewall, enclosing only her and Lily, which rose to merely about a meter tall.
"Then...!"
A fierce glint appeared in Hailey's eyes as she dashed forward. The Rhinoceros Lance of Death swung around mercilessly, like a meat grinder's blades, emitting a mix of black and red auras as she weaved between the ants.
The carapace, head, and thorax of the ants flew all around, with a bonus of some ant acids splashing everywhere. Hailey dodged only those she needed to, those that would cause her heavy injuries enough to limit her battle capabilities.
"Heal! Antidote!"
Lily was repeatedly casting her spells, making sure that Hailey was in tip-top shape at all times. Her only trouble was that following Hailey's movements was a little hard, given that her agility was pretty high. Still, she didn't dare waste a single spell, casting them with immaculate accuracy.
"Roughly 1 minute before backup arrives!" Toki shouted, keeping track of the cloud of dust from the distance.
Hailey heard her, but was too focused on her fight to even nod her head or mutter a reply. Still, the fierceness and sharpness of her movements increased, as if she were gaining more confidence.
The corpses of the ants were starting to pile up. Even though each of them was small, given their numbers, their corpses were beginning to become a hindrance to Hailey's movements. Although it became easier to heal her since she slowed down, Lily's burden didn't decrease at all. As Hailey's speed dropped, her injuries started to pile up!
"Haaa... Haaa... Ha..."
Furthermore, fatigue was starting to catch up to her. The buffs cast on her did increase her performance, but at the same time, they increased the burden on her body. Her arms holding the spear were already shaking, trembling uncontrollably, but her grip never faltered.
"Come, you d*mned insects! I'll make sure to crush you to bits!"
Hailey roared, showing an unfading fighting spirit. However, she no longer could take even a single step forward. If she disrupted her current pose, then she would crumple to the ground.
At that moment, the sky suddenly became covered in shining blue crystals. A rain of ice fell, eliminating half of the ants that were surrounding the three. "Sorry, we're late!"
The first to arrive was, unexpectedly, Marionne. Her sword was already swinging through a group of ants, splitting them into halves. They were already within viewing distance, but the ants numbering in the thousands were standing between them, separating the two groups.
"HAAAAP!"
As if to address the problem, a shadow jumped high into the air before slamming a large hammer against the ground. The earth shook, as if an earthquake had occurred. The ants within range all died, crushed into a paste, as the landing spot became a large crater, as if a meteor had fallen.
"Hailey, regroup with Toki! Leave the rest to us!" The figure carrying the large hammer, Mahiro, announced with a serious frown. "And you, ants, let me have all your records!"
Hailey, seeing the face of her savior not only in her favorite game but also in reality, couldn't help but have her expression soften. "Yes, my prince..."
"Hailey, are you alright?" Toki, who was right beside her and fending off the few ants that got close, raised her brow.
Of course, she heard what Hailey muttered, but it wasn't her role to reprimand her for that. Turning to the backup that just arrived, a thin smile crossed her face.
"I guess we can leave everything else to those guys, who specialize in AOE attacks," Toki shrugged before casting another firewall, locking themselves in a wall of flames.
Mahiro, seeing that Hailey was safely retrieved, licked his lips. "Well then, time to earn a few more levels!"