Roars of the Black Tide reverberated throughout Azurewind.

The tranquil harbor, which had welcomed travelers just moments ago, had now turned into chaos.

Black waves were flooding the docks.

Ships crashed against each other and were breaking apart.

Waves were crashing down warehouses.

Smoke was rising in the air.

Frightened people were running through the streets, trying to find their families.

Kids were crying.

Parents were yelling their loved ones’ names.

City guards were trying to keep the order while warning bells were ringing nonstop.

Sounds were spreading over the whole city.

"Monster invasion!"

"Evacuate immediately!"

"Everyone should move towards the inner city!"

Jennie was standing on the edge of the destroyed harbor, with her silver hair flowing freely in the wind.

With her golden eyes, she was looking at the battlefield.

Fear was all around her.

Panic was spreading across every street.

But in her heart...

Everything was still.

She silently drew Excalibur.

Her sword was shining in golden light among the darkness.

Snow was standing next to her.

His ears were lowered while he was watching the sea.

"...They are still coming."

Jennie nodded.

"I know."

Beyond the harbor...

New monsters were surfacing from the black ocean.

Hundreds of them.

Maybe thousands.

The first wave was just an initial one.

Sea Hunter Guild responded instantly.

Dozens of experienced hunters started rushing to the waterfront.

Heavy harpoons were glowing with blue mana.

Big shields were planted all over the streets leading inland.

Water mages were starting to create defensive barriers.

Their captain, a burly man with scars on both his arms, was screaming with the maximum of his voice.

"Hold the docks!"

"If they reach the market district..."

"The whole city is falling!"

Hunters responded in determination.

"Yes, Captain!"

Before anyone could prepare for battle...

First monster reached the land.

A gigantic snake was bursting out of the flooded harbor.

Its green scales had changed into pitch-black color.

Rotting coral was sticking out of its body as armor.

Black mist was pouring from its mouth each time it hissed.

Its red eyes were full of madness.

One terrified hunter was whispering.

"...It’s a Sea Serpent."

Snow immediately corrected him.

"No."

"...It’s a corrupted Sea Serpent."

Monster was lunging towards the closest group of civilians.

Before reaching them—

Flash.

One white-silver streak passed across the street.

Serpent’s gigantic body was frozen.

A thin red line appeared across its neck.

One heartbeat later...

Its head silently detached from its body.

The monster fell down, without even making any sound.

Jennie was calmly putting back Excalibur into the scabbard.

"Everyone."

"Move inland."

Stunned civilians were staring at her for a moment before hurrying to follow her.

The sea was erupting once again.

This time...

Dozens of giant claws were bursting from the dark waves.

Big crabs were climbing to the docks.

They were nearly four meters tall.

Their shells, which were originally blue as sapphire, were cracked and covered with black crystal.

Mana was leaking from every joint of those monsters.

They were smashing stones as easily as glass.

Roxy’s eyes were widening.

"...What are those?"

Snow was responding with quiet voice.

"Abyss Crabs."

"They usually protect the deepest ocean trenches."

"Somebody has driven them insane."

Monsters were rushing forward.

They were shaking the streets with their heavy footsteps.

Hunters were raising their shields.

"Brace yourselves!"

BOOM!

The first hit of the monsters pushed several hunters back.

Even enchanted steel was bending under their power.

One hunter was crying in horror as his shield was breaking into pieces.

"They are too strong!"

Jennie stepped forward.

"No."

"They are just attacking as a group."

She was looking at the hunters.

"Separate them."

"They are strongest as a group."

The captain was blinking.

"...Who are you?"

Jennie was smiling slightly.

"Just a hunter."

And, without waiting for any further questions...

She was charging forward.

Excalibur was dancing on the battlefield.

Jennie was never wasting a single movement.

Her sword was slipping between heavy claws.

One precise strike was severing a monster’s leg.

Another one was redirecting attack of the next crab.

Those creatures were colliding violently with each other.

The formation was immediately breaking up.

The captain understood.

"She is right!"

"Separate them!"

"Don’t fight them as a group!"

Hunters were following her orders.

In a matter of seconds...

The overpowering charge had become manageable.

One by one...

Those corrupted crabs were falling down.

Captain was staring at Jennie in awe.

"...She was analyzing them in seconds."

Ocean wasn’t willing to stop.

Black waves were churning violently.

Strange flowers were appearing on its surface.

Crimson petals were floating to the shore.

Several curious civilians were trying to grab them.

Snow’s voice was resounding over the harbor.

"Don’t touch them!"

Jennie immediately knew why.

Those flowers were not flowers.

They were living monsters.

Petals were unfolding into razor-sharp mouths with countless teeth.

Black vines were shooting towards the nearest buildings.

Roxy was gasping.

"What are those things?"

"Black Coral Beasts."

Jennie was slicing the nearest vine, before it would reach the kid.

"They are disguised as harmless coral."

Monsters were rooting themselves into the broken streets.

Vines were spreading everywhere, trying to catch fleeing civilians.

Jennie was calling out,

"Fire mages!"

"Burn the roots!"

"Don’t attack the flowers!"

Several guild mages were immediately doing what she said.

Flames were erupting beneath the streets.

The hidden roots were burning away.

Without any anchors...

The coral beasts were crumpling into the black ashes.

Captain couldn’t hide his astonishment.

"How does she know all of this?"

Snow was smiling quietly.

"Experience."

One loud scream resounded from the harbor.

Everybody was turning.

Several enormous sharks had emerged from the flooded streets.

Unlike ordinary sea creatures...

These monsters had four muscular legs, ended with hooks.

Black rows of jagged fins were covering their backs.

Their mouths were opening incredibly wide.

Every breath was emitting corrupted mana instead of water.

One hunter was whispering fearfully,

"Corrupted Sharks..."

Monsters were running across the streets faster than galloping horses.

Jennie was narrowing her eyes.

"They are fast."

Snow was nodding.

"But they can’t turn quickly."

Jennie was smiling.

"Good."

She was dashing forward.

First shark was lunging towards her.

At the last second Jennie was sidestepping.

Monster was crashing into a stone wall.

Before it would recover...

Her sword was flashing once.

Then twice.

Corrupted creature was falling down.

Another one was charging.

Jennie was calmly redirecting momentum of the next monster towards this one.

Two monsters were colliding.

Both of them were falling under a single elegant strike.

Observing her from the nearby rooftops, several hunters were staring in the complete silence.

One of them was whispering finally.

"...Beautiful."

Another one was slowly nodding.

"She isn’t fighting."

"...She is dancing."

Suddenly...

The ground was trembling.

Deafening rumble was spreading beneath the city.

Cracks were appearing on the streets.

Stone was erupting from the underground.

Under the flooded soil...

Big insect-like monsters were crawling to the daylight.

Their long bodies were resembling monstrous centipedes, covered in the layers of wet stone and broken shells.

They were nearly twenty meters long.

Massive claws were tearing off buildings like paper.

Snow’s face was darkening.

"Giant Tide Crawlers."

"They burrow beneath the coastal cities and then emerge."

Monsters were roaring simultaneously.

Their sounds were echoing all over Azurewind.

Hunters were hesitating.

Some were subconsciously stepping backwards.

Fear was spreading again.

Jennie was looking across the battlefield.

City defenses were collapsing.

Hunters were fighting bravely.

But each squad was fighting separately.

Nobody was coordinating them.

Nobody was organizing evacuation.

Nobody saw battlefield as the whole.

Jennie was quietly breathing in.

Then...

Her calm voice was rising over the chaos.

"Listen to me!"

Words weren’t shouted.

Yet somehow...

Everybody was hearing them.

Hunters.

Guards.

Mages.

Even scared civilians were looking at the young woman in white.

Jennie was pointing across the city.

"Second squad!"

"Protect the western bridge!"

"Fire mages, support the rooftops!"

"Shield bearers, make a line around the evacuation route!"

"Healers, move behind the market square!"

Commands were following one another without any pauses.

Precise.

Clear.

Confident.

Veteran captain was looking at her for a second.

Then he was raising his weapon.

"You heard her!"

"Move!"

Without delay...

The separated warriors joined forces as one.

The disorder transitioned to structured opposition.

Snow beamed with satisfaction.

"Lady Jennie..."

"You have been destined to protect mankind."

Jennie shouldered Excalibur firmly.

Becoming a leader was not on Jennie’s mind.

Heroism did not cross Jennie’s thoughts either.

She gazed at the frightened faces around her.

Not another individual...

No other lives would be lost today.

Far high above the port, a scared boy watched the battlefield.

Through the smoke, broken stone, and eternal monsters...

A single figure wearing white stood at the forefront.

Her silver hair waved in the breeze.

Her sword was surrounded by golden light.

In awe, the boy whispered,

"...It is Raven."

Before long...

The word was out among the warriors.

"The White Hunter is here!"

"Raven is by our side!"

"We can still win!"

Renewed hopes flourished in Azurewind.

Not because the monsters became weaker...

But because the White Hunter had arrived at the head of the unfathomable creature crowd.

The Black Tide continued rushing towards Azurewind.

With every defeat of the enemy...

Three new monsters climbed out of the black waters.

The harbor became a battlefield.

The beautiful dock was now buried under destroyed ships, cracked stone blocks and corrupted bodies.

Smoke floated into the sky.

Music of the festival was gone.

Now there were only steel, screaming people and roaring monsters.

Jennie was standing alone on the frontline.

Her white cloak waved in salty wind.

Excalibur’s blade glowed with golden light.

Behind her...

Hundreds of civilians rushed towards the inner part of the city.

Until she stays standing...

Nothing will ever reach them.

City guard screamed desperately:

"They’re breaking through!"

Jennie calmly turned her head forward.

More and more monsters appeared in the flooded streets.

Sea Serpents swam through the water-covered roads.

Black Coral Beasts were throwing corrupted vines on the buildings.

Abyss Crabs destroyed everything that stood in their way.

Corrupted Sharks jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

And after them...

Even more figures appeared from the black waves.

The invasion had just begun.

Jennie smiled quietly.

"...Then let’s move further."

She vanished.

Flash.

A nearby Sea Serpent tried to attack a running family.

Before it managed to bite them...

Silver flash hit the beast.

One strike.

Monster froze.

Body of the beast broke into dozens of identical pieces before falling into water.

Jennie never stopped moving.

Her legs touched the ground barely.

She was flowing through the battlefield like snowflakes.

Elegant.

Graceful.

Effortless.

A Corrupted Shark attacked her from the side.

Jennie didn’t look at it.

She just moved her sword slightly to the side.

The beast’s own movement brought it right into the sword.

It slid past her harmless before collapsing behind her.

New monster appeared.

Then another one.

Each monster died because of one precise blow.

Never too much.

Never too little.

All movements were made just to accomplish one task.

Protect.

Hunters standing close to her could barely keep up with her actions.

One of them whispered:

"...How many times did she use her sword?"

Another hunter just slowly shook his head.

"I saw her take the sword out of the sheath only once."

Near the west bridge...

Snow stood as an immovable guard.

Scared civilians were rushing behind him.

Children.

Merchants.

Old couples.

Wounded hunters.

Snow calmly looked at the monsters approaching him.

Three Abyss Crabs were moving toward him together.

Snow moved forward.

His huge paw touched the ground.

BOOM!

Wall of ice burst from the earth.

Monsters hit the frozen shield.

Before they could react...

Snow jumped.

His huge body was moving with unbelievable speed.

His claws were shining with pale blue mana.

One strike.

First crab flew back into the sea.

Second strike crushed the corrupted shell of the other one.

Third one tried to flee.

Snow opened his mouth.

Wave of freezing breath swept over the battlefield.

Monster became an ice sculpture.

Snow bent his head down to the scared civilians.

"This way."

"I’ll clear the path for you."

Little boy looked at the huge Divine Wolf.

"...Thank you, Mister Wolf."

Snow blinked.

A small smile appeared.

"...You’re welcome."

Mother of the boy bowed multiple times before hurrying away.

Snow quietly watched how they were going away.

Nobody...

Will ever pass me.

Deeper in the city...

Roxy stood on a ruined warehouse.

Her hands were shaking while holding the staff.

Battle surrounded her.

Explosions were heard everywhere.

Several terrified kids were hiding below the building.

She nervously swallowed.

"I can do this..."

"I can..."

A Black Coral Beast suddenly attacked her with dozens of poisoned vines.

Roxy raised her staff.

"Barrier Magic!"

Pale blue barrier appeared.

Vines hit it.

The barrier was cracking immediately.

"No..."

"Please, don’t break..."

More vines were attacking her barrier.

Sweat was pouring down Roxy’s face.

Her hands were trembling violently.

"I can hold it..."

"For some time..."

Jennie saw her struggles from across the battlefield.

She smiled.

You’re doing great, Roxy.

Just believe in yourself.

The barrier was trembling.

But it was holding.

With each second barrier was standing, more and more civilians were able to escape.

For the first time...

Roxy wasn’t trying to cast the biggest spells.

She was just protecting civilians behind her.

And it was enough.

The battle lasted for hours.

Azurewind didn’t surrender.

Hunters and city guards fought side-by-side.

Mages helped healers.

Simple citizens were delivering supplies to the frontline.

Being inspired by the White Hunter...

Everybody found the strength to fight.

Captain of the Sea Hunters’ Guild was standing beside Jennie.

He was breathing hard.

His armor was covered in blood and seawater.

He looked at the endless ocean.

"...Why they won’t stop?"

Jennie followed his look.

Her face was slowly changing.

Number of monsters on the land was not decreasing.

It was growing.

Beyond the harbor...

The sea became fully black.

Horizon seemed alive.

Dozens and dozens of monsters were appearing from the darkness.

Hundreds.

Then hundreds more.

Captain’s face was getting paler and paler.

"...Impossible."

"We can’t fight forever."

Jennie tightened her grip on the Excalibur.

"I know."

She looked at her golden sword.

Its light was shining brightly.

But...

She felt tension.

One sword.

One battlefield.

Too many enemies.

Inside of her mind...

Excalibur was speaking.

His voice sounded steady.

"We’ve done everything we can."

Jennie silently answered.

Not yet.

People are still in danger.

The sword quietly chuckled.

"I knew that you’d say so."

Suddenly...

Another familiar voice echoed in her heart.

It was quiet.

Like whispering carried by ocean wind.

Leviathan.

Divine Sword finally spoke.

Usually silent voice of the sword had unusual weight.

"Jennie..."

She froze for just a heartbeat.

Leviathan...?

Silence lasted before the ancient sword started speaking again.

His words were slow.

Measuring.

Full of confidence.

"One sword..."

Monsters appeared from the black waters.

There was huge wave behind the endless horde of monsters.

More corrupted beasts were emerging from the darkness.

Crimson eyes of the monsters were glowing like thousand stars of hatred.

Leviathan was speaking.

"...will not be enough."

Blue eyes of Jennie slowly widened.

She understood.

The battle...

Was entering the next stage.