"Ma-mamama-Marcella-sama、Aureana! L-l-look outside!!" (Monica)
"Well, what's the matter, Monica-san? That's indecent for a lady like you to be, you know..." (Marcella)
Out of breath, Monica sprinted into the room the three of them had rented at the inn and shouted loudly, to which Marcella reprimanded her with an exasperated look on his face.
"N-n-n-no, it's fine! I don't care about that! Anyway, go outside! Get outside!!" (Monica)
Seeing Monica's strange behavior, Marcella and Aureana realized that something was wrong again and followed her outside. And…….
"Wha-wha-what is thaaaaatt!" (Marcella)
Marcella cried, while Aureana stood there in shock with her mouth agaped. The people around them were generally in a similar situation. Then the insane thing floating in the sky roared.
"Grrr!" (Mile)
"Outside! There's something strange in the sky!" (A hunter)
A C-rank Hunter ran into the guild branch and shouted loudly.
The people hanging out leisurely at the Hunter Guild branch were those who had the means, in other words, mid-ranking or advanced hunters. Judging from the appearance of the person who had rushed in, it was immediately clear that something was not right. So everyone grabbed their weapons and ran outside. Of course, the guild staff followed behind. Was it a wyvern attack, a griffin, or a hippogriff? And when they looked up at the sky, what they saw was...
"Grrr!" (Mile)
"Mile-onee-san... I heard from the Hunters that all the members in Crimson Vow must have died after they went 'M.I.A.' (Missing in Action)... ...I see, there's no way those Mile-onee-san and her party would die that easily, right! But what on earth are you doing up in the sky?! ...Ah, but if she's floating in the sky, does that mean she's dead after all? Huh? Whaat?"
And then, as people all over the continent looked on, the numbers on the countdown timer above the mysterious lion girl's head finally reached zero. At the same time...
Bang!
A backdrop depicting a lion fell forward, revealing a young girl in full body. And the words that came out of her mouth were...
"My name is Mile. I will conquer the world..." (Mile)
Smack!
The girl on the screen was hit on the head with something like a paper tube held in a hand that reached out from outside the screen. Then, another hand reached out and both wrists were twirled around, after which the index finger of one hand was pointed firmly towards the girl. ...It seemed to be some kind of "Educational guidance"...
"My name is Mile. I am the one who has been entrusted with the care of this world by God..." (Mile)
And the girl continued speaking as if nothing had happened. The people who saw this scene reflected in the sky and heard the voice...
"What on earth is that!!!" (Everyone)
Of course, everyone was confused and in complete confusion.
No matter how much they wanted to say something, there was no way their words would reach the giant girl floating in the sky. So the people had no choice but to listen to what the giant girl had to say.
"I'm just an ordinary girl who was asked by God to protect this world." (Mile)
"No! No no no no no no no no no no no!!" (Everyone)
People shouted at the top of their lungs.
(If God asks you to do something like that, how can you be a "normal girl"?!) (Everyone's mind)
Everyone's hearts were united in that thought. And the girl's incomprehensible story continued unilaterally. ...Of course, what was "difficult to understand" was not the "girl's story" but the "girl" herself.
"Everyone around the world. To all humans, beastmen, demons, fairies, ancient dragons, all other intelligent lifeforms, spirits, animals, plants, and all other beings that exist in this world, I have an important message from God." (Mile)
Then, Mile took a deep breath...
"My name is Mile. The world is being targeted!!" (Mile)
(…………) (Everyone)
Everyone generally understood.
Then, Mile explained to the people. A civilization that flourished in this world long ago. And then the disaster that befell them was the monsters invading from another world. Although they somehow managed to overcome the crisis, the people left this world, leaving only a few behind.
However, taking pity on those left behind, the Seven Sages, men of compassion, remained in this world without leaving. People who were too vulnerable to prepare for another crisis that might come their way. And the Seven Sages made a decision, "Yes, let's make people stronger!"
A forest tribe that could survive in harmony with nature even after civilization had been destroyed. A mountain tribe who excelled at smelting and processing metals, allowing them to maintain a minimal level of civilization. A robust race with animal abilities. …And later, the existence of "Magic" was discovered, and the demons were endowed with enhanced physical abilities.
Furthermore, the Seven Sages gave birth to several races. Humans had shrunk to one-seventh their size so that they could survive on just a small amount of food, even if civilization was lost and food became scarce. And so that they could survive despite their small bodies, they were given wings.
As a guide to watch over the short-lived, frail humans, the gentle creatures were given intelligence and large bodies. To support their massive bodies and keep them afloat, they received divine protection from the gods, just like in the "One-Seventh Plan."
The Seven Sages also stationed their servants throughout the world in preparation for any eventuality. Golems and Scavengers. They were allies of the people of this world, including the human race. Do not attack them.
And now, that time had come...
"What the combined forces are currently facing is not the main force of the invaders. These are only about a quarter of the total, and the main force will appear in thirteen days, opening a dimensional rift in the mountainous area of Albarn Empire..." (Mile)
Mile's bombshell statement caused screams across the continent. …Of course, there were also the soldiers of the combined forces who were about to engage with the hordes of monsters. If they win here, the world would be saved. Just as they were believing this and were willing to risk their lives, they received the terrible news that "In fact, the enemy there is only a quarter of the total, and the main force will attack our homeland from the other side, where the majority of our military forces have disappeared." So, it would be impossible not to be shaken by this. But…….
"To all members of the combined forces deployed east of the royal capital of Aubram Kingdom, please continue fighting the monsters ahead of you. Even if you turned around and headed for Albarn Empire now, there's no way you would make it in time, with your heavy weapons and armor and supply units marching ahead. Besides, even if you made it in time, after more than 10 days of forced marches you would be too exhausted to fight properly, and with no one to stop them, the hordes of monsters from the East would attack the towns of Aubram Kingdom, then attack other countries, or attack the combined forces from behind, exhausted from the forced march... It probably wouldn't turn out well. So everyone, please continue defeating the monsters in Aubram Kingdom as planned, and then regroup and turn back. Don't rush, and conserve your strength..." (Mile)
Then Mile smiled brightly.
"We will defeat the higher-ranking monsters that appear in Albarn Empire. All monsters that are A-rank or above. And we will also somehow defeat most of the B-rank monsters and some C-rank monsters too." (Mile)
"To the people of each country, those in small towns and villages without walls should evacuate to the nearby fortress cities, and soldiers and hunters who remain to maintain peace and defend the towns please join forces and hold out against some of the B-rank monsters that we missed, as well as monsters C-rank or below, to buy time for the joint forces to defeat the monsters in the east and return." (Mile)
No matter how you look at it, it was a declaration that they would continue fighting as shields for the people in order to defeat high-ranking monsters, and then die there...
Author's Note
This is an announcement. (^^)/
As I previously announced, the official Twitter account for the browser game "Angelic Link," for which I was in charge of worldview supervision and side story development, is running a giveaway for five autographed illustrations by Sukima-sensei and me!
The period is from around 12:00 on Tuesday, July 20th until the start of Encri's service.
A staff member said, "The first announcement should definitely come from FUNA!", so the announcement was made half a day earlier than the official one.
For more details, please check Enkuri's official Twitter after noon on the 20th! (^^)/