“I’m going to put up the evacuation route signs!”

“W-Wait, I’m coming too! It’s dangerous to go alone!”

Fifteen minutes had passed.

Since Ziel had literally shot off like an arrow to intercept the enemy in the north, leaving Klaha and Icca behind.

Amidst the heavy rain—by now, even the disciples who had been out on patrol had returned.

The evacuation of the surrounding residents was proceeding smoothly—at least to the extent that Klaha was confident the initial stage was a success.

Leaving those words behind, Klaha dashed out of the gate, with Icca hastily catching up.

Calling out to townspeople in a hurry, passing them by—

Icca stuck close behind Klaha and asked,

“Klaha-san, where are we putting these—?”

“To guide people to the dojo while avoiding blocked evacuation routes!—Shine, long and bright!”

Klaha pressed a hand against the corner wall and chanted a spell.

Bright yellow markings appeared—an arrow sign. It showed the escapees which direction to go and where the dojo was located.

Icca hesitated slightly at the sudden glow—but Klaha didn’t stop, sprinting further ahead.

She had already gathered information from the returning disciples.

A group stationed on the outer perimeter had encountered numerous magic beasts.

Unable to hold them off alone, several messengers had been sent to alert other groups on patrol as well as the security forces. Even so, there was a risk of being outnumbered, of the beasts breaching the town, and causing casualties—leading to the decision to issue an evacuation warning.

Klaha also knew the routes the disciples had taken to reach the dojo—and which areas had already been overrun by the beasts.

Thus, she mapped everything out in her mind while running.

Calculating the time spent traveling, the time since their arrival, and the time currently being used for this task.

Estimating the potential attack zones of the beasts based on all that—

Ultimately, verifying the safety of each route with her own eyes and designating the safest detours—

“Duck!”

Icca’s voice rang out.

Before she could even think, Klaha instinctively dropped to her knees.

Just above her head, a sword sliced through the air, grazing past.

With a sharp sound,

The blade tore through a beast.

As its body tumbled onto the rain-soaked ground, Klaha lifted her head—

—and saw the aftermath.

A magic beast, cut down. Icca standing over it, sword in hand.

“I-I’m sorry!”

She hadn’t noticed it.

It was a beast about the size of her outstretched arms, resembling a badger.

Where had it come from—?

As she glanced around in search of an answer, Icca pointed with his right sword toward the rooftops lining the street.

“From up there… Ugh—”

Mid-sentence, he leaped into the air.

From the opposite direction—a small bat-like magic beast was flying toward the dojo.

Without hesitation, Icca slashed it down midair.

He landed lightly, looking uneasy.

“They’ve already made it this deep… What do we do?”

Klaha shared the same concern.

The beasts were advancing faster than expected.

Clearly, there was more to this than what the returning disciples had reported—some crucial factor remained unknown.

Klaha stole a glance upward.

Toward the watchtower.

Until just recently, Chikano had been stationed there with her bow.

“Once we finish placing the signs for this route, I’m heading there.”

“Huh?”

“If what Chikano-san said is true—if we’re being attacked from both the north and the south, the areas that are hardest to cover with just the disciples are concentrated here. If we can block off this path and redirect people, that should be a sufficient temporary measure—”

So, Klaha decided—

“After that, the most efficient course of action depends on the situation. The two main hubs of information are the dojo and the watchtower… but the fastest is the watchtower. I’m going there.”

“…I-I don’t really get it, but—”

Though bewildered, Icca drew his twin swords.

“I’ll come with you! I don’t even know what I should be doing otherwise…”

Klaha felt a pang of self-reproach.

A boy at least three years younger than her.

Without his help, she might have been seriously injured just now.

And Ziel—

The legendary dragon slayer had personally instructed her, taken the time to teach her.

Yet she was still this weak.

The frustration gnawed at her, but—

“This way! Cover me!”

“Understood!”

She swallowed down the bitterness.

And ran.

Adjusting her strategy with each new enemy sighting. Marking all designated routes. Confirming on her way back that the signs were being understood and used.

Until she finally arrived—

And saw—

“…W-What is this…?”

Beside a trembling Icca,

Klaha saw it too.

“Magic beasts—rats—”

Hundreds. No, more than that.

Swarming at the base of the town’s central watchtower—

Gnawing through the surrounding houses.

“Ziel-sensei!” “You’ve come!”

“What’s the situation!?”

The disciples’ voices welcomed him.

But Ziel already knew—

One look was enough.

This was a disaster.

“We don’t know! Suddenly, swarms of rats started pouring down from the mountains—”

“Not just rats—larger magic beasts have breached the town too!”

A horrifying sight.

Each individual rat wasn’t particularly large—about the length from his fingertip to his elbow.

But the sheer numbers—

They were flooding the town.

“The church has put up a barrier! But for some reason—”

Ziel scanned the area.

Amidst the rain-soaked disciples, a few priests in church robes were visible.

They must have anticipated a connection to the Demon King’s faction and acted swiftly—thanks to that, they were barely holding the town’s entrance.

Yet—

Some were still slipping through.

“Why are some of them getting past!?”

He cut down one as it squeezed through.

The barrier’s strength wasn’t low—most of the beasts were being repelled.

And yet, some were bypassing it.

“How long can the barrier hold!? How many casters!?”

“Four of us combined can sustain it for five more minutes!”

That was barely enough.

Ziel made his decision.

“I’ll go beyond the barrier and thin them out! Then, split the barrier into two layers!”

Whatever was happening, the beasts weren’t all bypassing the barrier freely.

If he could cut their numbers and reinforce the defenses—

“Reinforce the barrier no matter what! If this many get through, even lower-ranked ones could destroy the town!”