The distorted Death Domain clashed fiercely with the platinum-colored field at the gates of Axel, causing powerful energy ripples that shook the surrounding space. The adventurers who had gathered at the gates had retreated onto the city walls.
"Hey, hey, hey! Am I dreaming or something?" A bearded man wielding a large axe looked at the sky-turning scene outside with a face of disbelief. He grabbed his companion by the collar and shouted, "Quick, Hans, hit me and wake me up from this nightmare!"
Hans looked at his panicking companion, and punched him in the stomach. "How's that? Awake now, Duane?"
Holding his stomach, Duane squatted down and retched a few times before standing up. He punched Hans in the chest plate, causing a clang, and spoke with a now-calm voice, "You idiot, were you trying to knock my breakfast out? But thanks, I'm awake now! Time to make a battle plan!"
"Is that Kazuma? Is that really Kazuma, Dust?!" Not far away, on the wall, a group of four adventurers stood in shock, staring at the battlefield below. A petite girl with a single ponytail held her staff up, pointing at Kazuma in disbelief, and asked her teammate.
Dust, who usually had a relaxed demeanor, looked serious as he observed the scene below. As a former dragon knight, he could clearly understand the current situation—though Kazuma seemed to be holding his own against the Death Knight squad and their leader, Beldia, that didn't mean they had any hope of winning.
There was only Kazuma standing against them. Even if he held off the Death Knight squad and their leader, Beldia, there was still another Demon King's general, Vanir, and the tens of thousands of monsters besieging the city. All it would take was one order, and the entire city would be reduced to rubble, leaving only blood and ashes behind.
"Dust!" Rin angrily shook Dust out of his daze. "Snap out of it! The monster army is advancing again!"
"What should we do? These monsters aren't something low-level adventurers like us can handle!" Keith, dressed in fashionable clothes, tugged at his usually pristine hair in frustration, his eyes widening in panic as he saw the monster horde approaching, led by high-level monsters among them.
"Prepare for battle! We can't run now!" Taylor, the team leader and a crusader, shouted with fury. He was the first to position himself in front of his teammates, raising his shield to protect them as the monsters drew closer.
Below the wall, numerous mid- to high-level monsters bypassed the gate, attacking the wall from all sides. The monsters either used their sharp claws to climb or leaped up to the 15-meter-high wall, their bloodthirsty eyes fixed on the adventurers and the city full of human prey behind them.
Blood spilled across the wall instantly. The severed limbs of adventurers littered the ramparts as countless monsters clashed with the defenders. For the low-level adventurers, these beasts were way out of their league.
"Ahhhh!" Taylor screamed, raising his shield to block the attack of an ape-like beast. His arms shook from the impact, and blood seeped from his wrists, yet he forced himself back into position. Behind him, arrows continued to fly, striking the monster's furry body but failing to penetrate.
On the battlefield below, Kazuma fought with all his might, trying to push back the expanding Death Domain while defending against the Death Knight squad's relentless charge. Suddenly, the screams from behind reached his ears. Extending his senses to the back, he saw the horrific scenes playing out—adventurers falling, wounded bodies everywhere.
His eyes reddened with fury, and his power surged. The platinum-colored field expanded, filled with azure wind. Countless wind-imbued arrows rained down, clearing the monsters on the wall. Turning to Aqua, who had just rushed to his side, Kazuma shouted, "Aqua, go heal the wounded!"
Though Aqua initially wanted to refuse, the sight of the heavily injured adventurers finally made her relent. Without a word, she sprinted toward the wall.
Up on the wall, blood stained the ground. Cries of pain and despair echoed. Amid the aftermath of Kazuma's attack, monsters lay dead, and vengeful adventurers hacked at their corpses. Severed limbs and bleeding adventurers filled the area, while healers desperately tried to save those on the brink.
"Heal! Heal! Heal!" Aqua's voice echoed as she moved from one wounded adventurer to another, her divine magic healing wounds. A previously unconscious adventurer jolted awake under her healing light, instinctively raising his shattered sword defensively as he regained consciousness, then slowly realized the battle had subsided.
He let the sword fall, covering his empty left arm as he broke down in tears. Aqua, startled by his sudden movement, bit her lip and rushed to the next wounded person. Healing light flickered across the wall.
Down below, sweat poured from Kazuma's face as he hovered, trembling, in mid-air. He glared furiously at Beldia, shouting, "Why are you doing this?! Megumin and I are right here!"
Riding his undead steed, Beldia's body was engulfed in dark flames, his head glowing red. He looked at Kazuma's blue-gold field and spoke indifferently, "All of this is for the Demon King to whom I am loyal. While I do not wish to slaughter a beginner town like Axel, you have something far beyond your capacity to handle.
"With Vanir also after that object, I have no choice but to get it before him. And if slaughtering this city means throwing you into confusion and despair, increasing my odds of winning, then so be it."
He swung his burning black blade downward, flames flickering through the air as it left a dark trail. Beldia pointed toward Axel, shouting at the waiting monster army, "Slaughter this city!"
His cruel words echoed through Axel, and the monsters once again surged forward. On the wall, the remaining adventurers gathered together, their faces grim as they faced the incoming horde. Behind them lay injured comrades and defenseless families. They gritted their teeth, took up their weapons, and prepared for another desperate stand.
"Wind, bless them!" A voice filled with rage echoed through Axel, and countless dandelion-like seeds drifted down from the sky. The wounded adventurers' injuries healed, and the cries of pain ceased. They looked around in confusion, finding themselves wrapped in a green barrier, while white dandelions, like snowflakes, fluttered down and healed them.
Dozens of platinum-colored streams of light darted across the battlefield, slashing through the monsters approaching the wall before converging at the city gate around a man holding a small child dressed in peculiar clothes.
On the other side, Beldia sensed the sudden arrival of multiple powerful presences. He cautiously drew back his Death Domain, retreating slightly.
The blue-gold field slowly shrank, revealing the exhausted Kazuma, sweat pouring down his face. Several figures suddenly appeared beside him. One of them, a young man holding the hand of a small elf girl, smacked the back of Kazuma's head.
"Who do you think you are calling yourself a 'great one,' huh?!" the man scolded, turning his gaze towards the walls drenched in blood. He waved his hand, and the barrier covering Axel vanished. Looking at the besieging monster army and the battered adventurers, he said, "Sorry we're late."