[!!]

"Wha—"

As Hank finally pushed through the veil of smoke, his eyes met a storm of fast-moving projectiles flooding his entire field of vision.

His stance was wrong, too awkward to dodge, too compromised to parry. No—even if he managed to deflect one or two, what about the rest?

In a heartbeat, his life flashed before his eyes. It wasn’t the first time, in all his years as an Adventurer, brushing against death had become routine, a common occurrence.

But surely this time he would—

[Die... I’m going to die.]

That thought echoed in his mind.

Crack!

One of the gelatinous droplets tore through the space between his right shoulder and breast, punching a gaping hole clean through it, as effortlessly as a flame would through a sponge. It was only a fraction of a second before his body would be carved apart, reduced to little more than perforated flesh.

But...

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

... A bright orange blade suddenly appeared like the light of dawn blanketing the horizons, parrying each and every one of the droplets that threatened Hank’s life. No— Not just those, even the ones that would have eradicated the entire Soaring Boar.

It was none other than Julius Vanger, his swordsmanship so swift and expertly executed that at one moment he looked to have several limbs wielding several swords, and on another, he seemed to be performing a choreographed dance.

"Gargh!"

However, this was not without consequence as he collapsed to one knee, his armour heavily dented, his broadsword chipped with its light fading, his body bruised and bleeding.

"J-julius!!"

Hank cried out with tears in his eyes, one couldn’t tell if these were of joy, sorrow or regret. Perhaps all of the above?

As his adrenaline settled, the gaping hole stung him with a searing pain that would have rendered most men unconscious, but he persevered, dragging himself to Julius’s side.

"Lead!" , "Hank!"

The others came rushing to their side, Igor and Margaret supporting Julius to his feet, whilst Arthur carried Helena who was just now starting to come to, on his back.

"Hank... Julius..."

Her fuzzy eyes reflected their silhouettes and she struggled climbing down from Arthur’s back even with his assistance.

"Just... Hold on, I’ll heal you just now..."

She stretched out her trembling arm and strained her Mana Veins but to no avail as her Mana Pool was as dry as a desert.

"Don’t strain yourself, Helena."

Said Julius as he stood from his knee, albeit, his entire frame trembling as though battling frost.

"Margaret... How many potions do we still have?"

The leader asked, prompting Margaret to shuffle through her side bag.

"About twelve... Six Mana potions and six health potions."

She quickly replied, the anxiousness in Julius’s voice making her and everyone present extremely uneasy.

"Please give me one of each, and when I say, please run as far as you can, all of you."

He demanded in a quivering voice, never once looking at them as he spoke those words.

"Leader what are you talking about?! Are you suggesting that we leave you here?! Sure, that Boss Monster was strong, but surely he didn’t come out unscathed from your attack?"

Igor stepped in front of Julius, failing to understand his words and hoping that maybe, just maybe, his expression will bring clarity. But again, Julius didn’t spare any of them a look, as though there was something in the slowly fading smoke that he would dare not avert his gaze from.

"The old man’s right Lead, if we work together then we can definitely beat the shit out of that disgusting cockroach!"

Margaret shouted, the Mana crystal attached to her expensive staff glowing brightly.

"Margaret, do you have enough Mana to cast a wide-area two circle spell?"

Simply ignoring their pleas, Julius arrested his trembling through sheer grit and posed yet another question to Margaret.

"Yes, if I use all the Mana I have now, I can blow that insect away!"

She answered enthusiastically.

"One last question, Margaret... What do you think of Kaelen?"

Julius suddenly asked a third question.

"W-what? I..."

"..."

"... I think he’s a really sweet, sensitive and clever boy, a bit awkward in that he can’t really express his emotions properly but... Ah! He’s also a crybaby, a bit ironic isn’t it? Haha! I never really thought about having kids, but hm~ if I ever did, I’d want them to be just like Kaelen!"

Thinking about the pale-skinned boy, a wide smile illuminated her face, and it was almost as if, for just that moment, she had forgotten about their dreadful predicament.

"Kuku... Is that so?"

Julius chuckled. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

[That’s good, I’m really glad to hear that. My hunch about Kaelen wasn’t wrong, that boy is our beacon of hope.]

He mused, a bitter-sweet feeling tying his intestines in knots.

"Leader, please listen to me... I saw that boy’s expression, it was not of someone who had lost his memories!"

Igor protested once again.

"I know, Igor."

Julius finally glanced down at Igor and then back at the others.

"Listen, everyone. I’m sorry for bringing you all here, it was selfish of me."

"However! I promised your safety above all else, so please listen to me, you all need to get out of here."

Julius spoke with the widest grin any of them had ever seen his lips twist into.

"Honey, no! We won’t leave without you!"

Helena screamed with tears gushing forth from her eyes.

"Arthur..."

Julius couldn’t bare to see his wife crying and looked forward once more.

"Yes, Lead. I see them."

Arthur shed a tear and drew his bow and arrow, he too glaring in the same direction as Julius.

"Everyone, please listen to him. The best course of action now would be to retreat, or else it’ll all be for nothing."

Crackle!!

He imbued the entirety of his Mana into his arrow.

"What are you two..."

Margaret squinted her eyes into the distance, past the thinning smoke, and the others did the same.

It took a while, but they finally—

[!!]

— Saw the monstrosity beyond the smoke, his entire being a horror to behold.

"T-this can’t be!"

They all exclaimed in unison.

What really frightened them wasn’t merely Charymos’s presence, Monsters are a given in the Towers but rather... The fact that the Roach, the so-called Boss-Monster, was bowing at the mysterious Monster’s feet.

"Do you all understand now? Please do as I say."

He pleaded. Margaret and Arthur stepped forward, squeezing every last drop of their Mana from their respective pools, preparing their lips to cast the most devastating spells in their arsenals.

■■ Falcon Arrow! ■■

Without saying another word Arthur shot out an arrow imbued with the attribute of wind which only grew larger as it gained momentum.

■■Second-Circle Magic: Phoenix Death!■■

Margaret’s spell manifested as an extremely large Phoenix made of flames and it flapped its wings as it charged toward its target as though it were sentient.

The two spells collided in perfect sync, Arthur’s wind magic fanning the flames of the Pheonix and it grew twice its original size.

It would be no exaggeration to say that it was now a third-circle spell.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The Phoenix hit its target, its death resulting in an infernal mushroom cloud.

"Now go! I promise we’ll catch up, me and Kaelen. He’s now the newest member of our party! We’ll hold a banquet once we get out of here!"

Julius smiled brightly at them, his hair being whipped by the hot winds of the explosion.

"I love you all!!!"

Those words broke them, and they all wept like little children as they turned their backs on their Leader and ran.