Ch.306Episode 12 – The Strongest Mage in History
by fnovelpia
# All of Orbentsk has become a battlefield, but the fiercest fighting is taking place in the east, not the west where the demon was discovered.
This is because the eastern district is the first area people reach when escaping from the collapse site via the main road, due to the city’s structure.
Compared to the northern district with roads leading to the front lines, or the southern and western areas near the Sebetsk River and Pommetsk railway, the eastern district had poor location value, making Orbentsk residents reluctant to live there.
However, everything changed after the conflict began when tens of thousands of refugees poured in.
The once quiet city became crowded, bringing unprecedented problems: assault, public urination, illegal trespassing, theft, and more.
The city lacked resources to handle so many people.
Eventually, the city government, unable to bear the flood of complaints, received funding from the military government and forcibly relocated the refugees.
They placed them in the “Eastern Redevelopment Zone,” which had relatively lower population density compared to the north, east, and south districts. Though called a redevelopment zone, it was essentially a shabby shantytown hastily built with scarce materials.
From the refugees’ perspective, they were essentially dumped in an undeveloped wasteland, but with nowhere else to go, they had no choice but to settle there reluctantly.
So when the reanimated corpses began attacking the eastern residents first…
There was nothing to protect those trapped in the shantytown.
## Episode 12 – The Most Powerful Magician Ever
“KYAAAAAAAK!!”
A resident covered in hideous carapace bares sharp teeth toward its spotted prey.
The cleric, making eye contact with the charging monster, blocks the attack by holding his shotgun at an angle, then slams the creature to the ground.
“Take that!”
The thrown monster tumbles through the snow. Thick filth from a garbage can soaks its head, but it pays no mind.
The cleric watches as the monster breaks the garbage can while struggling to get up, preparing to charge again. She shoves the gun barrel into the creature’s gaping maw.
And when she pulls the trigger hard—
—BANG!
With a powerful gunshot, bits of carapace and flesh paint the shanty’s slate roof red.
Veronica, after crushing the monster’s skull with her red shoes and retrieving her shotgun, tosses her silky hair and exhales a rough breath.
“Whew! God, I really thought I was going to die!”
“Holy Saint!”
An elderly priest comes running breathlessly. Behind him, crusaders and inquisitors pour out from between the shanties, surrounding the saint protectively.
At the center of this commotion, Veronica calmly reloads her double-barrel shotgun.
“I’m sorry. The eastern district is such a maze…”
The parish priest had come to support Veronica.
More precisely, he had seen the signal fired by the priest in charge of the saint’s security while they were engaged in combat with monsters during a search operation.
The elderly priest, forced to run with his frail body, bowed his head before the saint while trying to calm his startled heart.
“I apologize for being late, Holy Saint. But where is your security detail…?”
“They’re lying with their crosses.”
“Ah…”
“Lying with their crosses” is an idiomatic expression used among devout clerics of the order. It’s mainly used when a cleric of the order has passed away.
The news that the elite security detail from the Inquisition had been completely wiped out weighed on the priest’s heart heavier than any boulder.
But there was no time to mourn or grieve.
The priest composed his troubled mind and reported to the saint in a calm voice.
“Evacuations are currently underway within the city. Citizens are being protected at government offices and religious facilities in each village.”
“Who’s guarding them?”
“Imperial troops and crusaders have formed defensive lines. I’ve confirmed that priests and monks from this city, as well as clerics from other religions, are tending to the wounded.”
The first report contained somewhat hopeful content.
Despite being ambushed from behind, the subjugation force’s response was swift. Police and civil servants guided evacuations, while the military fought to ensure citizens could safely reach secure zones. Religious figures from across the city, despite their different faiths, struggled desperately to save fading lives.
But the world is cruel. Veronica knew better than anyone that effort alone cannot achieve the best results.
Sure enough, the second report that followed contained grim news unlike the first.
“How far has the evacuation progressed?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot know that. As you’re aware, Holy Saint, the city is currently…”
The priest’s words were cut off by distant gunfire.
Rat-tat-tat-tat. Tat-tat-tat-tat. Fierce gunfire continued. Following that came the sound of grenades exploding and armored vehicles’ machine guns spitting fire. Occasionally, shouts and monstrous howls mixed with gunfire, along with the heavy sound of tank cannons, drilling into eardrums and reminding everyone of the miserable reality.
—KABOOM!!
As a massive explosion occurred, the darkened city sky brightened for an instant. Whenever explosion sounds like lightning strikes were heard, darkness lifted from the area.
But it wasn’t enough to completely drive away the darkness.
The pushed-back darkness surged back, dyeing the sky black again, and casting dark clouds over the hearts of those watching.
—Tat-tat. Tat-tat. Tat-tat-tat…
The clerics looking at the northern sky suddenly noticed something.
The fierce imperial gunfire that had been continuing began to sound fainter after the explosion.
They didn’t know exactly what was happening there, but they had a rough idea.
“……”
“……”
What snapped the priest out of his daze while blankly staring at the northern sky was Veronica’s resolute voice.
“So how do you plan to evacuate the citizens?”
“……”
The elderly priest cleared his throat with a “Ahem” and began speaking.
“I’ve ordered the crusaders and inquisitors to move to safe areas with citizens who couldn’t escape in time.”
“Good. You did well. But isn’t that not enough?”
“Then… what would you have us do?”
“Ask the magic tower for help. Request the military to broadcast to citizens who haven’t evacuated yet to go to safe high ground like building rooftops, then send flying magicians to retrieve them. That’s what firefighter magicians do, right?”
The priest was about to answer that he would do as instructed, impressed by the saint’s order. But one issue that suddenly came to mind made him withdraw that answer.
“B-but we cannot broadcast right now.”
“What?”
Veronica’s eyes turned fierce.
The church’s saint held her dripping shotgun in a threatening posture and cursed.
“What the hell are you talking about? Have you suddenly gone senile? Should I find you a nursing home? Huh?”
“N-no! That’s not it!”
The startled elderly priest cut off Veronica’s words. This would have been an unimaginable act of disrespect under normal circumstances, but surviving the gun barrel before him seemed more important than facing a solemn religious trial.
The elderly priest prostrated himself before the saint young enough to be his daughter and confessed urgently.
“Communications are unstable, making proper contact impossible. Even the imperial troops that entered the city can barely maintain communication lines with their division headquarters, but cannot contact the military government or troops in other regions.”
“Hmm.”
Veronica lowered her gun and stroked her smooth chin, lost in thought.
“I already knew communications were poor from what I heard directly from the military governor. But I don’t understand why the network suddenly failed. Do you know anything?”
“Well… communications always have many variables. Weather is likely the most probable cause, but there could be other reasons.”
“Such as?”
“Equipment could be faulty, or someone might be deliberately jamming communications. But I don’t know the exact cause. I’m versed in theology, not machines…”
He was saying he was technologically inept. Looking at the elderly man who seemed like he could pass away any day, it was believable.
Whether that was good or bad, who knows.
“Ah-“
Veronica looked up at the sky with a frustrated heart and let out a sigh-mixed exclamation. What kind of hellish experience was this?
“Damn these demons… Why couldn’t they just stay buried in hell instead of crawling out and causing trouble?”
“As Ecclesiastes says, demons are inherently wicked beings born from darkness that bewitch human hearts…”
“…bringing chaos to the mortal world, causing famine, disease, war, and death. All to win the war against heaven. I know that, okay? Stop with the empty platitudes. What are you, a boomer?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Religious people, honestly.
The saint, having lightly disparaged the religious person, led the way with her shotgun.
Based on experience, lingering in the shantytown meant stepping closer to death. They needed to leave this place as quickly as possible.
“Let’s move.”
“Where shall we go?”
“Outside first. Let’s get out of this damn shantytown!”
Over five years, the shabby shanties had grown in size under the guise of redevelopment, masked by indifference and neglect.
Walls made from wood and scrap metal collected from around the city, stalls converted from carts to avoid crackdowns, rooftop rooms reminiscent of transmission towers.
It was a chaotic display of illegal extensions and constructions that would have horrified any civil servant on inspection duty. Of course, all this was the karma of civil servants who hadn’t conducted a single inspection in the past five years.
But is this really their problem?
If those walls were demolished, those stalls confiscated, those rooftop rooms torn down, where would the refugees go?
Driving refugees who flocked to the city into wastelands, building walls to block civilians fleeing from the north, picking up orphans from baronial families and training them to sell to foreign countries.
The emperor is said to be the father of all people, but is it right for a parent to treat their children this way?
It’s a question she’s asked herself repeatedly for over 20 years, but a clear answer remains elusive.
Veronica heaved a deep sigh.
“Sigh.”
BANG! A heavy gunshot shook the shantytown. Monsters hit by holy ammunition collapsed against walls and in the snow, covered in blood.
After striking a monster’s jaw with her shotgun, Veronica irritably drew her revolver.
“The emperor, God, they’re both just making trouble! And that angel only appears when it suits him, never when I need him!”
“H-Holy Saint! That’s blasphemy…!”
“Shut up! Just let him try to cross me. I’ll pluck all his wing feathers. If you see me setting fire to the cathedral one day, think ‘Ah! This was coming!'”
“Uh, uhh…”
At the storm of blasphemy erupting from the saint’s mouth, not only the elderly priest but even the crusaders and inquisitors felt dizzy.
*
Veronica led her forces through the shantytown. Due to its maze-like structure, finding a way out was not easy.
The shantytown was low, narrow, and complex. With illegal buildings added, it was nothing short of a demon’s lair. With human body parts and monsters appearing intermittently, this place was practically hell.
While crossing the vast shantytown, Veronica and her forces encountered countless enemies. Veronica swept away the oncoming monsters with her shotgun and fired her revolver.
Meanwhile, the crusaders wielded swords and spears to cut down the creatures, while inquisitors poured holy power into wounds and tore pages from scripture to launch attacks.
Casualties occurred with each block they passed. While moderate injuries could be handled with healing, there was nothing they could do for fatal wounds requiring major surgery. By the time they had traversed about half the shantytown, their numbers had visibly decreased.
Yet the number of people accompanying them didn’t decrease at all. In fact, it had grown to about twice the original size.
Despite casualties among the Inquisition forces, their headcount didn’t decrease because refugees who had been hiding in the shantytown joined after being rescued by Veronica.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Everyone needs to stay sharp as we keep moving. Don’t spread out, don’t leave formation. And those with strength, please help support the children, elderly, and sick! If our pace slows, we’ll have to stay here longer!”
Not all refugees had left the shantytown when the monster attack began. Elderly people with mobility issues, heads of households with trauma who couldn’t leave, people who couldn’t even think of going outside after witnessing the carnage, children crying while buried between their parents’ corpses, and so on.
Veronica found them all while passing through the shantytown. There were certainly still refugees who hadn’t escaped, but there was no time to search the shantytown for them.
So the saint made a decision. They had to save those they could.
Following the saint’s instructions, the elderly priest opened a path out of the shantytown with the crusaders. It felt like fighting in darkness, but that made them fight even more desperately.
Finally escaping the hellish shantytown onto an open main road, Veronica glanced back. A few crusaders who had volunteered as guides remained there. They had chosen to stay at the entrance to the shantytown to hold back the pouring monsters.
While silently watching the shantytown entrance as refugees rushed out without looking back, Veronica eventually turned her head and began running.
Though they had escaped from hell, the streets were overflowing with monsters.
Veronica led the refugees as quietly as possible, avoiding the monsters’ notice, heading toward the rooftop of a nearby building.
Though she had lost her security detail while tracking the demon and become trapped in the shantytown, not knowing which areas were safe didn’t matter.
Because the refugees already knew.
“There’s a safe place in the south! I heard there’s an academy building where the military is holding out. If we go southeast from here, we’ll reach it!”
“How do you know that?”
“Broadcast! They told us on the radio broadcast! The military!”
Though the city was in chaos due to the monster attack, not all forces were engaged in combat. The division headquarters, direct units, and a small reserve force responsible for Orbentsk remained outside the city.
The division was currently broadcasting evacuation guidance throughout the region via the transmission station.
After hearing the refugee’s explanation, Veronica looked up at the sky with a slight smile.
“So they’re not just sitting around doing nothing.”
Upon reaching the rooftop, Veronica spread holy power to signal their location.
The light shining in the thick darkness was bright enough to be seen at a glance from the air. Imperial troops and battle magicians from the magic tower who were scouting from above flew over at once upon seeing the light and began transporting the refugees.
While the Inquisition forces occasionally dealt with monsters coming up the stairs, the evacuation had already reached its final stage. Veronica sent away all the clerics except for a small force guarding her.
After healing an inquisitor with a torn leg, she asked an imperial battle magician who had returned after dropping off the elderly priest (who had been frantically insisting “I cannot leave the Holy Saint behind”) at the academy:
“Is radio communication working now?”
The battle magician, who was downing a military potion to replenish his depleted strength, nodded.
“The communication network was restored a little while ago. We can’t contact divisions or corps in other regions, or the military government headquarters yet, but that should be possible soon.”
“Ah, so communication within the city is working fine?”
“That’s correct.”
As soon as she heard the battle magician’s answer, Veronica borrowed the radio he was holding.
“Holy Saint. You should move to a safe area first and then use the radio…”
“No. There’s news I need to know right now.”
Veronica firmly rejected the inquisitor’s suggestion. She was worried that if she used the radio from a lower elevation, the transmission might not reach him, though such a thing was unlikely.
Just as Veronica picked up the radio and was about to begin communication—
—Crackle…!
A static-mixed voice began coming through the radio.
—’…informing all division forces. All troops are to form defensive positions as of this hour and hold the containment line at all costs. There will be no reinforcements. The line must be held at all costs. Especially all forces defending the Kornok-Sukonoi district connecting Sebetsk and Pommetsk cities must absolutely, absolutely hold their current positions.’
What is this about?
Veronica stared at the radio with blank eyes.
Then, the imperial soldier on the other end of the radio added one piece of information.
—’Cities currently under enemy attack include Orbentsk, Sebetsk, Pommetsk…’
“……”
—’Erham, Vestyask, Kusmaya…’
“……”
—’And Novo Nikolayevsk.’
*
The sudden bad news from the radio left her speechless. Momentarily at a loss for words, Veronica quickly regained her composure and shouted into the radio, demanding to speak to “the head honcho.”
And not long after, the head honcho appeared on the communication network.
A man with a resonant voice who saluted introduced himself as the division commander. Of course, Veronica, who had no interest in who was calling, cut off the division commander’s words and immediately got to the point.
“What do you mean there are no reinforcements?”
—’A-As you heard.’
“You’re missing the ‘why’.”
Under the saint’s pressure, the division commander immediately explained the northern front situation clearly. The northern front situation he explained was as follows:
1. Major cities in the north are under enemy attack.
2. The enemies appeared from within the cities, from the sewers, not from outside.
3. Currently, military police and internal troops stationed in each city are responding, and units formed as reserves are heading to major cities to suppress the situation.
—’Considering the current situation in major cities, receiving support forces from outside seems difficult. Industrial cities and cities transporting military supplies to the front lines are under attack, and fighting is also taking place in Nikolayevsk, where the most citizens reside. Moreover, the military government headquarters that commands the entire north is located there.’
“……”
Upon hearing that far, Veronica felt a throbbing headache coming on. Major cities in the north suddenly under attack? Right at the moment when the demon was released from its seal?
It was too perfectly timed to be a coincidence. Given the circumstances, it could only be seen as an intentionally planned attack.
But uncovering that wasn’t her job. Veronica created a deep furrow between her eyebrows and picked up the radio again.
“Monsters have appeared downtown. Battles are taking place all over the city.”
—’I’ve already been briefed on the situation. I’ve deployed all forces under the division, including battalions formed as reserves, into the city.’
“Is there no other support?”
—’I’m sorry, but there are no more available forces. Battle magicians have been deployed for civilian rescue operations, reserves have been sent to the field. The tank battalion as well.’
“What about artillery?”
The division commander’s answer came quickly.
—’Artillery is always ready.’
Right after those words, something could be heard flying through the air, and the darkness of the night sky cleared.
The bright sphere that appeared in the sky was emitting an orange-like light. The spreading light drove away the darkness covering Orbentsk, brightening everyone’s vision.
Confirming the slowly falling flare, Veronica looked at the imperial magician who was still waiting to carry her.
“Can you change this radio so everyone can hear my transmission?”
“That’s possible.”
She immediately turned the dial to switch to the public channel. Among the education she received at the Imperial Guard Office as a child was how to handle radios. Tracing old memories while changing channels, Veronica stepped onto furniture scattered on the rooftop, looked west, and pressed the button firmly.
“Can you hear me? If you can hear my voice, please answer.”
—’……’
Please.
Reach them.
It was at that moment, as she was nervously fidgeting her fingers and endlessly staring at the western sky—
—’…Saint Veronica?’
The long-awaited response came through the radio.
“Major!”
—’…Is this really you, Veronica?’
“Who else would it be? Have you gone senile too, Major?”
—’Judging by how you talk, it really is you.’
Veronica was overjoyed that communication with Frederick had been established. Hearing her siblings’ voices over the radio, it seemed everyone was safe.
Smiling brightly and momentarily caught up in joy, Veronica collected herself and began calmly explaining the situation. Since it was a radio received from imperial troops, they could eavesdrop on the radio content at any time, so she kept small talk to a minimum and got straight to the point.
Frederick, who had been listening thoughtfully on the other end of the radio, sighed and slowly opened his mouth.
—’Hmm… So there really are no reinforcements.’
“You knew?”
—’Seeing that no troops have arrived yet despite the whole city being in this state, I had a rough idea.’
“Where are you now? It seems Lucia is there too, I’ll come get you.”
—’I’d appreciate it if you came, but there’s no need to pick us up.’
Veronica’s head tilted to one side. With a puzzled expression, she opened her mouth in an incredulous tone.
“What do you mean?”
—’We found the demon.’
“…What?”
At the mention of finding the demon, the saint’s eyes widened.
“You found it? Where?”
—’We spotted it once in the western district, but in the middle of tracking it, this bastard broke free from restraints and ran, so we’ve been pursuing it. We’ve almost found it.’
“Where is it located?”
—’In the southern district.’
Frederick provided the exact location through road signs and building addresses. As befitting someone from a baronial family, Veronica could understand the address without any translation.
After all, Kiyen was her native language.
While memorizing the address, Frederick’s voice came through the radio.
—’Can you come now? To catch the demon, I think we need Saint Veronica as well as Saint Lucia.’
“Just a moment.”
Veronica jumped off the furniture and ran to the magician. She recited the memorized address and then asked a question before an answer could even come back.
“How long will it take to get there?”
The magician answered without much thought.
“30 minutes.”
“This isn’t the time to follow traffic laws, is it?”
“It can’t be helped. The issue isn’t traffic laws but distance. Even flying as fast as possible, 30 minutes is the limit. And if the heavy snow turns into a blizzard, flight might become impossible altogether.”
The magician answered firmly. With no other options, Veronica simply acknowledged and told Frederick “30 minutes” over the radio.
Immediately after, Frederick on the other end of the radio seemed to be lost in thought, as if contemplating something, and didn’t speak.
After about 10 seconds of silence—
—’…Understood.’
Finally, an answer came back.
—’Come as quickly as you can.’
“I will.”
—’And if you think you’ll be late, just don’t come. Don’t nag me later saying I caught the demon without you.’
Veronica burst into laughter at the silly joke.
“I’m not a child, what are you…”
There was no response. The radio had already been disconnected.
Staring down at the unresponsive radio with a faint smile, Veronica picked up her double-barrel shotgun and revolver that she had set aside momentarily.
Then she said to the imperial battle magician waiting for her:
“20 minutes.”
“……”
“Get me there within that time.”
The imperial battle magician silently mounted his broom.
*
—’I’m not a child, what are you.’
Click. The radio went dead. Seems the battery ran out.
I flipped over the radio with terminated communication, removed the depleted battery, and took out a spare battery from my bag to assemble it. Despite trying to conserve it, this was now my last battery.
After checking my status and ensuring I had plenty of ammunition, I quietly began.
“Everyone heard, right?”
30 minutes. That’s when Veronica promised to arrive.
“We’ve been at this for a month. Just to catch this one demon bastard.”
It may be a short time for some and a long time for others, but the past month has been an extremely long time for me.
Still, I managed to endure somehow. Thanks to that endurance, I’ve made it to this point.
If I endured for 30 days, surely I can endure for just 30 minutes.
“……”
I silently looked ahead. A massive shopping mall that appeared to be a department store. Though eerie with all its windows shattered and devoid of people, we must enter there.
Because the demon is inside.
While fiddling with my pistol and glaring at the shopping mall, I turned my head to look at my companions.
“If we hold out just a little longer, we’ll win.”
“……”
“Let’s go.”
The long month-long journey,
Its final moment has finally arrived.
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