Episode 315. Counter-Terrorism Support (2)

The airplane passed over the outskirts of Paris and entered the city center.

• The buildings are all destroyed.

“…Yeah.”

I whispered quietly at Liliana’s words and looked down out of the airplane window.

The debris of destroyed buildings and smoke rising everywhere.

Abandoned cars left sitting and cracked concrete on the roads.

It was technically the outskirts, and quite a distance from the city, but even though it was close enough to see the city with the naked eye, the situation was dire.

I didn’t know the damage from the terror attack would be this severe.

“Is it usually this bad with terror attacks?”

“Of course. The Academy is actually quite good at preventing terror attacks.”

“…I see.”

Alice, sitting next to me, replied.

Alice was diligently wearing protective gear, her fists resting on her knees, sitting rigidly.

Anyone would think she was being forcibly conscripted.

Anyway, if the Academy is so good at stopping terror attacks, isn’t the outside world practically hell itself?

Even at the Academy, things get chaotic a few times a month.

“This area isn’t inhabited anymore. It’s been left abandoned since a major terror attack happened a while back.”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t quite understand why people weren’t living so close to the city, but there must be a reason.

Maybe it’s because it’s a foreign country and their mindset is different from mine?

If this were Korea, they probably would have developed the area around the capital somehow.

“We’ll be landing around here.”

“Okay. Be careful on your way down.”

Sebastian, sitting in the pilot’s seat, paid attention to our conversation while focusing on flying.

In the co-pilot’s seat next to him was Scarlet, and she too remained quiet.

She hadn’t acknowledged us outside either.

Alice, perhaps nervous, sat rigidly staring out the window.

• Wow. Look at that. Looks like everyone’s getting off around here.

Eventually, I listened to Liliana’s mutterings and quietly closed my eyes.

*

The pursuit team soon arrived at Paris’s landing field.

We got off the plane and waited for instructions. Isaac, the Guild Master, spoke with the terror response team waiting in Paris.

Zzzzzzz-

“….”

And behind me, I could still feel a gaze.

It was probably Irene’s gaze.

She was staring so hard it felt like my head was burning.

“Alright, it’s time to work. Everyone get ready!”

Isaac seemed to have finished discussing the operation and began giving orders.

The pursuit team seemed to have their usual squads. They quickly formed groups of two or three.

Then, Scarlet and Sebastian approached us, who were just standing around blankly, me and Alice.

“Young Lady. We’ll be joining the Guild Master’s squad and Irene-ssi’s squad.”

“Understood.”

“…So our squad has six people?”

“Something like that.”

“Wow.”

The other squads were moving in groups of two or three, but our squad alone had a whopping six members.

It was like they were advertising that they were protecting children.

Alice didn’t seem to think much of it, but I noticed the disapproving glances from others.

Well, it must feel bad having to protect two brats when they came here to work, especially when it meant pulling the Guild Master, the First Team Leader, Scarlet the ace, and Sebastian away from their duties.

Of course, I wasn’t going to worry about the feelings of some random guild member.

As long as I’m safe, that’s all that matters.

If they don’t like it, they should build better connections.

“Everyone to your positions. Report any anomalies via comms, and handle the rest first, report later. Our assigned sectors are south and east. We’re dealing with the remnants of hidden monsters.”

So the job was to hunt down remnants.

Well, it had already been reported on the news, so it wasn’t about stopping the terror attack itself.

“Evacuations are complete, but… if there happen to be any survivors, prioritize their rescue. And in our assigned zones, ensure no monsters escape. That’s all.”

As soon as Isaac’s orders finished, the pursuit teams scattered rapidly.

‘They’re definitely skilled.’

Just by the speed of their movements, it was clear they were competent.

After watching the guild members disperse, Isaac and Irene approached us.

“We’ll be heading into the city center to assist with rescue operations.”

“Understood.”

“Yes. Understood.”

• We’re going somewhere safe, right?

Liliana was right.

The terror attack had already been quelled, so assisting with rescue operations was practically risk-free compared to hunting down fleeing monsters.

Actually, the very idea of doing rescue work with this lineup was absurd.

We slowly patrolled the city center.

The downtown area, lined with skyscrapers and buildings, seemed devoid of danger, and the people looked happy.

This felt less like a dangerous mission and more like a neighborhood stroll.

• Wow, that restaurant over there is the one we went to last time. It was delicious. slurp

Liliana’s mutterings were the only thing alleviating my boredom.

As I was wandering through the city center, slightly disappointed, we neared the deserted outskirts, and that’s when things went south.

Crackle-

[- This is Team Leader 3. Two high-ranking monsters are currently fleeing in the city center. Location is near Team Leader 1.]

“…High-ranking?”

“They’re high-ranking monsters from Pandemic. Maybe they came to rescue a captured executive.”

Scarlet answered my musing.

Isaac and Irene, who were walking ahead, frowned upon receiving the transmission and turned their heads to look at us.

“Sebastian, Scarlet. Irene and I are going to step out for a moment. Don’t move, and wait here.”

“Understood.”

“Yes. Guild Master-nim.”

So they decided to provide support.

Honestly, that was the right call.

Abandoning two high-ranking monsters for the sake of Alice’s safety in the middle of the city would have been illogical.

Irene and Isaac disappeared as soon as they checked the coordinates, and we watched them go, standing dumbfounded.

We were ordered to wait, so wait we must.

Alice started asking Sebastian something.

I turned to Scarlet, standing beside me, and spoke.

“I haven’t done anything, but I’m tired. There are too many people here.”

“Honestly, I also think assigning four people to protect Hoyeon-nim and Alice-ssi is a waste.”

“…Then say something about it.”

“It’s adult circumstances. Besides, this way, my workload decreases too.”

“You’re really something else.”

Seeing Scarlet still in the guild makes me think their hiring standard isn’t based on personality, but purely on ability.

“Anyway, are we just going to keep waiting?”

“Yes. It seems another terror attack has broken out in the city center. I don’t know the exact scale, but it seems significant.”

“…Significant?”

“Yes. The Guild Master himself went.”

I remembered what Rebecca had said.

About a terror attack happening soon.

Could this be that attack?

I had a strange feeling of unease.

Usually, this feeling doesn’t lead me astray.

Swish-

At the same moment I felt uneasy, new magical energies were detected within the mana I had spread out.

Filthy and murky, but strong.

That was the characteristic of monster mana.

“Haa… Scarlet. Get ready.”

“What?”

“Alice!”

I called out loudly to Alice, who was talking with Sebastian.

Neither Sebastian nor Scarlet seemed to have noticed yet.

“Monsters! Battle stations!”

“Monsters…?”

Hearing my words, Sebastian and Scarlet immediately unleashed their mana, and soon they realized it too.

“Monsters… Is all this mana from monsters?”

Alice also seemed to sense the monsters’ mana, her eyes widening.

There were certainly a lot of them.

At least dozens of mana signatures.

So many monsters appearing meant a full-blown terror attack had started again.

‘I came to the city center for maximum safety, but ended up in the most danger.’

Everywhere I go, trouble seems to follow. Maybe I’m the one causing it.

It felt like I’d become a kid detective with glasses.

• Humans….

• Strong humans… Delicious humans.

• Let’s finish quickly and move on!

Soon, monsters with menacing glints in their eyes emerged from between the buildings.

Few of them had proper limbs.

Their grotesque bodies, no matter when I see them, always infuriate me.

As monsters get stronger, they retain human intelligence. So, any monster that can speak properly is likely powerful.

There might even be S-class monsters among them.

The monsters probably didn’t intend to surround us from the start.

Monsters appeared all over the city, and the ones nearby gathered around us. That seems the most logical explanation.

[- This is Pursuit Team 6! Monsters are appearing around the outskirts!]

[- This is Team Leader 3. High-ranking monsters spotted in the south.]

[- Terror attacks are occurring across Paris. All teams, assess the situation and act accordingly. Priority is rescue and safety. Over.]

The voices from the communicator sounded grim.

It means this isn’t just our problem.

“…There are too many of them. Sebastian.”

“We need to break through. Each individual is A-class or higher, and we don’t know how many more will arrive. Besides, I think there are S-class monsters behind them.”

Sebastian and Scarlet were planning to fight their way out, while Alice listened intently beside them.

But…

• Run? No way! Kill them all! Go, Lee Hoyeon!

Liliana screamed so loud her necklace trembled.

Normally, I’d get annoyed, but today, I agree.

‘Is it really that bad?’

There are a lot of monsters, but it seems doable.

Honestly, lately, I’ve been fighting against such strong opponents that my confidence has dipped a bit.

Back in my Academy days, I could easily crush any punks who picked fights. But the people I’ve recently fought just happened to be ridiculously strong, which is the problem.

Rebecca

Isaac

Im Sol

I’ve only faced human weapons capable of destroying entire major guilds single-handedly.

No wonder my confidence has plummeted.

‘Compared to Professor Im Sol, who I fought recently… these monsters are…’

manageable.’

Finally, I approached the three who were planning an escape route.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just fight?”

“…But there are so many of them?”

“These monsters aren’t targeting us specifically. Even if we break through, we’ll just run into more monsters.”

“But….”

“Hmm. That’s not entirely wrong, though.”

Alice looked uncertain, and Sebastian seemed to ponder my words.

But the monsters were closing in.

There was no time for deliberation.

Just then, Scarlet approached me.

“Hoyeon student. Can you do it?”

Her tone was light, as if asking if I’d had breakfast.

I replied with a slight smile.

“Of course.”

“Then let’s do it.”

The exchange was brief.

Scarlet immediately raised her mana and took a fighting stance upon hearing my answer. Sebastian, looking surprised, asked,

“Scarlet. Are you really going to fight?”

“If we can win, that’s the best approach.”

“Hoyeon. Are you okay?”

I scanned my surroundings under Alice’s worried gaze.

Seeing is believing, so it’s better to just show them.

My eyes landed on a red fire hydrant.

I’d never seen one used in real life, but I knew from movies that hitting a hydrant with a car causes a geyser.

‘Perfect.’

I needed to conserve mana in case I had to fight a Centaur.

I channeled mana into my hand and delivered a strong blow to the side of the hydrant.

CRACK-!

With a horrible screech, the bent hydrant erupted in a geyser.

The approaching monsters hesitated, and I infused the fountain-like water with mana.

The idea was simple magic:

freeze the rising water into ice spikes, and use the downward force to pierce the monsters.

Of course, it sounds easier than it is, requiring significant mana and effort.

WHOOSH-!

• AAAARGH!

• Incoming! You’ll die if you get hit!

• How can someone cast magic this fast…!

I wrapped each ice spike in mana and fired them at the monsters.

I hit the stronger-looking ones with far more spikes, because the powerful ones were directing the operation.

Due to the nature of monsters, they couldn’t execute proper coordinated attacks. When the stronger ones with intelligence couldn’t give orders, the monsters below them would inevitably panic.

That made them even easier to handle.

• G-Gather! If you ignore them and approach! Gak

After piercing the head of the last monster trying to rally them, the monsters scattered, screaming.

Without orders from someone stronger, monsters without intelligence are nothing more than beasts.

A few minutes later.

The road was covered in monster corpses.

“…You lunatic.”

I turned my head after hearing Scarlet’s compliment.

Scarlet looked disgusted, while Sebastian and Alice stared at me with their mouths agape.

Come to think of it, I said we should fight, but then I ended up handling everything myself.

Looking at the monster corpses covering the road, I said sheepishly,

“Um. Should we just wait here for now?”