Destructive Rampage. In the world of Lambda, these were calamities feared more than earthquakes or tsunamis.

It was a phenomenon where monsters multiplied excessively within Dungeons, spilling forth into the outside world. During such events, monsters became more ferocious, their instincts to harm humanity amplified.

Thus, rampaging monsters rarely fought each other as long as humans were present. Regardless of their different races, they formed a single horde, advancing upon human settlements.

Depending on the Dungeon’s rank, the monster rampages could devastate not only villages and cities, but entire countries.

Therefore, the people of this world have always been vigilant against the possibility of monster rampages, since ancient times. They commissioned adventurers to cull monster numbers in Dungeons, while simultaneously conducting research into them.

Research indicated that the higher the Dungeon’s rank, the longer it took for a rampage to occur. Thus, monster rampages were infrequent in the modern era.

A monster rampage could never occur without warning.

And yet, a group of young men and women desperately fled for their lives, the sounds of dragons’ roars, giants’ groans, and falling trees echoing behind them.

“Why?! Why are there dragons, giants, and all sorts of monsters?!”

“Who cares about that! We need to reach the city before the gate closes!”

“Where did those dragons come from?! Thunder Dragons are supposed to dwell in mountains and valleys, aren’t they?!”

“Isn’t this a monster rampage from a Dungeon?!”

“There’s no way!” one of the young men exclaimed.

The truth was that it was indeed a monster rampage from a Dungeon, but such a thing was normally impossible, so the young man vehemently denied the possibility.

No Dungeons near the city of Morksi could spawn Rank 8 Thunder Dragons and Mountain Giants. Of course, Dungeons could appear spontaneously, so it wasn’t entirely impossible for a new B-class Dungeon to have emerged.

But there was no precedent for a monster rampage occurring immediately after a Dungeon’s appearance.

“I know something about this! I heard that a monster rampage occurred right after a Dungeon appeared near a city in the Hartner Duchy!” one of the young women stated.

Indeed, the exception to the norm was when Dungeons were created through the will or under the control of a being, rather than appearing spontaneously.

Examples included the Dungeon that Vandalieu had created near the city of Niarki in the Hartner Duchy, and Fitun’s Labyrinth of Trials.

“What the hell?! What are we supposed to do about that?!” the young man shouted, but he and his companions were powerless against the overwhelming force.

“Shut up and run! This is completely different from hunting Goblins!”

The young men and women were rookie adventurers, hired for a Goblin hunt. They were not strong enough to slow down any of the monsters, let alone Thunder Dragons and Giants.

Fortunately, they had been in a less dangerous part of the Devil’s Nest, which allowed them to escape despite their weaker capabilities.

“Come to think of it, I heard that when there’s a monster rampage from a Dungeon, you can hide inside another Dungeon!” one of them shouted.

Once monsters emerged from Dungeons, they could never return. Thus, hiding in Dungeons to escape was a well-known piece of advice among adventurers.

However, the unfortunate adventurers were unable to execute this plan.

“The nearest Dungeon is near that horde of monsters!”

“Where’s the second closest Dungeon?!”

“It’s much further than the city! We won’t make it!”

“Damn it, we’re doomed!”

But at that moment, the Thunder Dragon leading the horde of monsters suddenly shrieked and collapsed to the ground.

“Huh?”

The young adventurers paused, but immediately realized they had no time to look back. They pressed forward, unable to see the black lightning striking the grasslands.

Several other large monsters were brought down, creating obstacles that slowed the pursuing monsters. But the horde didn’t change course; Ogres and Trolls pushed through the obstacles and continued their pursuit.

At the edge of the forest, an old woman with a hunched back and raspy voice called out, “You youngsters! Hurry and leave!”

She was likely a Goblin hunter, another adventurer like them. She wore leather armor and held a spear.

“You need to leave too, old lady!” one of the adventurers yelled.

“Don’t worry about me! I’m no good at running! I’ll take down at least one of them, so use this time to get back to the city!” she shouted back.

The young adventurers hesitated, looking at the old woman, her hood pulled low over her face, but ultimately ran past her.

“We’re sorry,” one of the young women said.

Their decision was unavoidable; they couldn’t escape with her.

A smile touched the old woman’s wrinkled face as she saw the young woman’s tears. “Hmph! I’ve done a terrible thing! But I hope they’ll overcome the guilt and powerlessness today, and become brave fighters in the future!” she muttered to herself.

With that, she walked towards the approaching horde of monsters.

“I won’t call this atonement, but I must fulfill my duty! I expected the enemy to strike when Vandalieu wasn’t in the city, but I never imagined a horde of monsters would arrive without warning! But it matters not!” she told herself. “Come, beasts! I will not let you into the city! I’ll send you elsewhere—”

A Troll’s club crushed the old woman, scattering blood—no, just flesh—around. The Troll was coated in the bloodless flesh, but then vanished like mist.

The other Trolls looked around, bewildered by the sudden disappearance of their comrade, and vanished in the same way.

This brief interruption allowed the young adventurers to escape to the city of Morksi.

Elsewhere, the Thunder Dragons stopped their advance on the city, and the Giants began fighting amongst themselves. Other adventurers, some wounded, some unknown, also managed to reach the city.

The battle between Vandalieu’s side and Hajime Fitun’s side began with long-range attacks from Fitun’s forces.

“Lightning Beast Assault!” shouted Hajime Fitun, summoning a ferret-like beast made of lightning.

The heroic spirits inhabiting the Flame Blades fired arrows and cast spells.

They were equipped with far better gear than Vandalieu and his companions anticipated. They likely obtained it within Fitun’s Labyrinth of Trials.

“Let’s probe things out first! Air Point!” shouted Gordon Bobby, unleashing a thrusting martial skill with an Adamantite spear longer than his own height.

The range of this skill was normally limited, but perhaps the ‘Mountain Breaking Strong Spear’ Bobby’s ability was manifesting; attacks reached distant targets with ease.

“Melissa, Doug, I’m counting on you,” said Vandalieu.

“No problem,” replied the ‘Aegis’ Melissa.

Her barrier repelled not only Gordon Bobby’s ‘Air Point’ but also the other arrows and spells. However, the lightning beasts circled the barrier to target Vandalieu and the others.

“I guess I’m in charge of the lightning beasts!” said the ‘Hecatoncheir’ Doug, trapping the lightning beast with a telekinetic fist.

The invisible fist crushed the lightning beast, obliterating it.

“Commander, is that the ‘Aegis’ and ‘Hecatoncheir’?!” one of the heroic spirits asked.

“That’s right, and the other two are… They were supposed to be reincarnated as Elves, but they’ve become black, those damned wenches,” said Hajime Fitun. “Leaving that aside, the other Dark-Elf-looking one is ‘Venus!’ And the other is… Isis?! Why is she in her previous form?! A-anyway, that human woman is Legion! Deal with them as I told you! But don’t pursue them too far!”

Hajime Fitun was surprised by Isis’s form, but assumed it was Legion’s new form.

“Yes, sir!” said Gordon Bobby, continuing his attacks.

The heroic spirits continued firing arrows and throwing spears, but avoided using martial skills.

“…Considering he’s not surprised by our abilities, it has to be Hajime after all. But…” murmured Doug, who had been teleported here by Gufadgarn’s magic.

Hajime was his former companion, infiltrated the Eighth Guidance. Doug was perplexed.

“Is that really Hajime? I know he’s younger after being reincarnated, but it’s hard to believe,” said Doug. “Even ignoring his punk hairstyle, he’s too different. I last saw him in Rodcorte’s Divine Realm, and even though that was two years ago, he’s changed too much!”

“…Yes, more than we heard,” agreed the ‘Aegis’ Melissa.

They had worked with Hajime for years, but his appearance had changed drastically.

He had been a fair-skinned, sensitive young man, but now he was a tanned, muscular boy.

His bloodshot eyes and maniacal laughter were vastly different from his past self.

“I’m sure he’s been through some tough things. Although it looks like he isn’t aware that they were tough,” said Isis.

“Just what drove him to this?” wondered Kanako.

Melissa and Doug looked at Isis and Kanako with disbelief.

“…Maybe it’s something about being fatally wounded by an explosion and then finished off with an acid attack?” said Melissa.

“We’re just as guilty of using him as a disposable pawn as you are, so I can’t really blame you, but… you guys are the ones responsible, aren’t you? Especially you, Kanako!” said Doug.

“Well, it was a long time ago, wasn’t it?” said Kanako casually.

It had been less than three years since she had ended Hajime’s life in Origin.

“Th-those damned bitches!” muttered Hajime Fitun.

They were close enough to see each other, and he could tell what they were saying.

Anger surged through him, and his legs trembled.

“Commander? Are you trembling in anticipation for battle?” one of the heroic spirits asked.

Hajime Fitun clicked his tongue. “…It’s because of the original owner of this body.”

Fitun had taken over Hajime Inui’s body, but Hajime’s soul still existed within him.

That’s why Fitun had acquired Hajime’s knowledge from other worlds, but also shared his trauma.

I got complacent because I’m fine around ordinary women now. But to think that we would be facing the two people who killed Hajime in his previous life… Damn it, Hajime Fitun cursed to himself.

He had overcome the trauma to some extent, but the impact of facing those who caused it was greater than expected.

Meanwhile, Vandalieu and his companions, focused on defense, were confused.

“The others are strange in various ways as well. The people around him are the Flame Blades and the ‘Strong Arm’ Gordon, aren’t they? …They’re far too skilled to be D-class adventurers, and Gordon was supposed to be an axe-user, not a spear-user,” said Melissa.

“You’re right. Their movements are quite good; maybe around C-… no, better than B-class but a little short of A-class,” said Kanako. “And the way Gordon’s using his spear doesn’t seem like he learned those skills quickly.”

“Are you serious? Is it even possible to improve your skills that quickly?!” said Doug.

“That would normally be impossible. Though it wouldn’t be out of the question if Hajime awakened to a Guider-type Job, guided them, and the Flame Blades all have genius-level talent, with the divine protection of a god and a perfect training ground,” said Vandalieu.

“In other words, it’s pretty much impossible,” said Melissa.

As Vandalieu said, it would be nearly impossible for someone to become a B-class adventurer in a month. Even Simon and Natania were far from B-class. Vandalieu’s friends, Kasim, Fester, and Zeno, had taken years.

“Gordon’s improvement is completely impossible,” Vandalieu added. “I don’t know what his Status looks like, but… he’s almost certainly gone through several axe-technique-related Jobs, like ‘Axe Warrior.’ A month isn’t enough time to become a spear master after that.”

“Is it possible he was just hiding his ability?” asked Doug.

“I find it hard to imagine he’s capable of such cleverness,” said Vandalieu.

Vandalieu and his companions were perplexed by the Flame Blades and Gordon. Kanako tried using Venus to understand the circumstances, but… she shook her head after a few moments.

“It’s no good. They won’t make eye contact with me. It seems impossible to copy their memories with ‘Venus.’ …I did manage to randomly paste my own short memories onto one of them, though,” said Kanako.

The Titan shield-bearer of the Flame Blades screamed and recoiled. His face, previously filled with battle hunger, was now pale.

“What did you show him?” Vandalieu asked.

“It was only a few seconds, but it was a piece of art that enriches the heart,” said Kanako.

She had shown the Titan shield-bearer a memory of the paintings on the roofs of Talosheim.

“I thought that if it went well, I could pull him over to our side, and in the worst case, it would crush his desire for battle. But it seems that it didn’t work,” said Kanako.

Before she finished speaking, the Titan shield-bearer roared in anger and began throwing stones with the ‘Long Throw’ martial skill. He had overcome his fear with anger.

However, even with the increased range, the stones were stopped by Melissa’s barrier.

“Attacks like these don’t really faze me, but you realize I’m the one blocking them, right?” said Melissa.

“Ah, sorry about that. But the response was a little strange,” said Kanako. “It was similar to when I used Venus on people with multiple personalities in the past… Have you heard anything from Natania-san?”

“No, not in particular,” said Vandalieu, recalling the Thunder Dragons and Mountain Giants he had been using to help those late to the city.

“Ignoring the multiple personality thing, we didn’t know that shield-bearer could use ‘Throwing’… It’s likely something has been done to him with the ‘Marionette’ ability,” said Kanako.

“I’m all for speculation, but how long are we going to stay on the defensive? Isn’t the city in danger if we take too much time here?” asked Doug, pointing to the city walls two kilometers behind them.

Vandalieu shook his head. “Doug, the monster rampage won’t stop even if we defeat these people quickly… I asked the monsters’ spirits, and it seems they aren’t being controlled.”

Indeed, Hajime Fitun had merely caused a monster rampage from a Dungeon; he wasn’t controlling the monsters. He only needed them to head towards Morksi.

“And if we don’t take our time, our standing in society is at risk… This place is too close to the city,” Vandalieu added.

“There are no binoculars or telescopes in this world, but there are spells that strengthen vision or enlarge images to see from afar,” said Melissa.

Watchtowers with soldiers were stationed along Morksi’s outer wall. Vandalieu and his companions were clearly visible.

“…Damn, that’s a pain in the ass!” said Doug.

“There are currently soldiers watching us using magic. We can’t do anything flashy until the situation is desperate enough for them to not have time to watch us… until the city defense begins,” said Vandalieu. “Black Lightning.”

“Life in society is a difficult thing,” Kimberley remarked as he transformed into a black lightning bolt towards Hajime Fitun and his heroic spirits.

Using the ‘Abyss’ Skill to track the number of watching soldiers, Vandalieu continued his attacks and defenses, finding excuses for his actions.

The Dragon Zombies and Giant Zombies had just been struck by ‘Black Lightning,’ so it would appear they had killed each other by accident unless observed closely.

There were explanations for Kimberley’s actions.

But there was no way to explain spells that caused great damage to the surroundings.

“Then what about the pathogens you used before?” Doug suggested. “A disease that only affects humans, Elves, and Dwarves would work on most of them, right?”

“…Actually, I’ve already tried that. It seems they’re somehow preventing themselves from being infected,” said Vandalieu.

“Clean freaks after becoming outdoor types, huh!” muttered Doug.

Hajime Fitun and his heroic spirits, prepared for Vandalieu’s pathogens, continued their attacks.

This time-buying was possible because Vandalieu had some room to maneuver.

There were individuals in Morksi capable of handling a difficult battle against Rank 8 and 9 monsters: Darcia, Miles, Eleanora, Basdia, and Zadiris. Gufadgarn and others were prepared for unforeseen circumstances.

Vandalieu didn’t need to worry about the city’s defense.

But if Hajime Fitun and his heroic spirits cast a powerful spell that could harm the city or endanger others, Vandalieu wouldn’t hesitate.

…Hajime Fitun and his heroic spirits likely knew that.

“But fortunately, it seems they have a reason to buy time as well,” said Isis.

Indeed, Hajime Fitun needed time… for something beyond suppressing the trauma inflicted by her and Kanako.

“Commander, aren’t we ready yet? At this rate, we’re just wasting our arrows and Mana!” one of the heroic spirits impatiently asked.

“Not yet!” said Hajime Fitun.

He waited for his other subordinates, positioned around Morksi, to act.

Hajime Fitun had ordered them to follow the monster rampage to the city and destroy the walls as conspicuously as possible.

The purpose was to draw Vandalieu’s attention and distract his companions.

It would be more dangerous if the city’s people weren’t a factor, so I won’t slaughter them all, but destroying the walls and killing dozens would panic him. My subordinates have time limits. I’ll chip away at your forces, then bring you down!

Some time before the