Chapter 427 - 427 - Evilus on the Move

On the surface, Orario was torn apart once more by an Evilus assault that came without the slightest warning.

The explosions dragged sleeping Orario awake, and countless residents and adventurers who had already drifted off jolted up from their dreams in alarm; some rolled straight under the bed still wrapped in their quilts, curling up tight with their arms locked over their heads, while others snatched up coats and lamps and bolted for the basement.

Ever since that tragedy eight years ago, the people of Orario seemed to have completed an evolution in survival: the moment an explosion sounded, they would flee at full speed, swift, decisive, and instinctive, or find cover to duck and shield their heads, or drift toward wherever adventurers were thickest. The whole routine was fluid to the point of being carved into their marrow, nothing like what you would expect of residents living in the most prosperous city at the center of the world.

Case in point, from a bird's-eye view.

Evilus's indiscriminate attack sowed countless explosions and chaos across the city.

Yet not one of those residents or adventurers panicked. In remarkably short order they completed the entire routine of fleeing, hiding, and protecting themselves, the whole process carried out with practiced ease, so practiced it made your heart ache.

All you could say was that the adaptability to survive was a terrifying thing.

...

On one street.

When Astraea Familia's patrol squad arrived, the first thing they saw was their own comrade, "Gale" Ryuu, and the girl Adi locked in combat, besieged by a dozen or more black-robed enemies. Judging by the coordination and fighting strength on display, these were plainly no bottom-tier small fry, but elites bearing the Falna.

The Evilus attackers' eyes were bloodshot beneath their hoods, their assault unhinged; they paid no heed at all to the wounds their opponents inflicted, hurling themselves forward again and again in something close to self-destruction. But then...

"Ryuu! Adi!"

At the sound of Alise's voice, a flicker of delight flashed through Ryuu's eyes!

"Alise, Kaguya, Lyra!"

"You came at just the right time!"

"Hurry over and help!"

She spun like the wind out of the path of a hatchet chopping down at her and, without a flicker crossing her face, severed the wielder's wrist with a reversed backhand stroke of her sword, her voice calm but cold:

"These people just blew up two weapon shops, and they're biting anyone they see like rabid dogs. Don't hold back!"

"Got it!"

Alise drew her sword and charged, Kaguya and Lyra hard on her flanks.

With the reinforcements' arrival, the field now held five Level 3 adventurers at a stroke, and the outcome was easy to imagine.

And so it was.

The battle that followed was practically a rout.

Mad as they were, the Evilus members could not keep up at all with the attack tempo of Level 3 adventurers.

Alise and Kaguya wove a net of sword-light while Lyra's homemade grenades and flying blades crashed among the enemy; under the group's perfectly coordinated, tide-like, unending onslaught, Evilus's formation was torn to pieces, black-robed figures dropping one after another.

"Aaaargh!"

"Damn justice whores!"

"Die with me!"

At the last, knowing all was lost, one of them even shrieked and tried to set off the explosives cradled in his arms as he went down, only for a bolt from Lyra's hand crossbow to skewer his arm with perfect precision.

"Ugh..."

The reek of blood hung over the street. Their frenzy had bought them not the slightest advantage, only a one-sided collapse.

Yet in the eyes of every fallen enemy burned the same murky fervor: a fixation that would drag the city into chaos even at the cost of destroying everything.

"For Lord Evil God!"

"F...for ch...chaos..."

Looking down from above at the enemy writhing and squirming on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, Kaguya expressionlessly drew her blade across his throat in one stroke.

A wet squelch.

Expression unmoved, she wiped the blood from her blade, tossed her head, and turned away.

Not a shred of lingering attachment.

...

...

The night passed.

By early morning, the sky was thick with dark clouds.

The explosions and chaos that had saturated the whole night finally began to subside.

Alise and the others had fought through the night, and an unspeakable weariness sat on every face.

"It's over..."

Ryuu looked to her friend Adi beside her and forced the ghost of a smile.

But there was no joy at all on Adi's face.

She shook her head:

"No, Ryuu. It isn't over. We can't stop and rest just yet."

"The night is past, but the real work has only just begun."

Lyra turned a throwing knife over in her fingers, gazing gravely out at the street, more than half of it wrecked by the fighting that had spilled over:

"Yeah. The work's only just begun."

...

...

First District, the Magic Stone products industrial zone.

Members of the Astraea, Ganesha, Freya, and Loki Familias, among others, had gathered here, waiting in silence for the damage tally.

Ottar stood with his arms crossed, while in his mind, again and again, there surfaced the burly silhouette he had surmised, the one that had smashed through the adamantite wall. That was no ordinary attacker; it seemed more like a certain "monster" from his memory.

Beside him, Hedin still wore a sour face. Brows furrowed tight, he pushed up his glasses and lowered his voice:

"Ankusha, are the damage tallies out yet?"

Shakti took the parchment from a subordinate, looked down at the figures on it, and her whole face turned grim at once.

"All of you... take a look."

She passed the report over, every word squeezed out from between her teeth:

"This time, the damage to buildings alone will already give Royman one hell of a headache, never mind that in the space of a single night those Evilus lunatics outright blew up four entire core Magic Stone workshops."

"This is no joke. The Magic Stone workshops are the city's economic lifeline. Things have gotten seriously big this time!"

She raised her eyes and swept them across the group:

"Everyone, going by this damage report, my guess is this: it was never an ordinary indiscriminate attack at all. It was a paralysis scheme their side spent a long time carefully planning. They knew exactly where an explosion hurts most; once the city's economy is paralyzed, chaos won't be far behind."

At that, everyone sank into a heavy silence.

Then Hedin looked toward the blond pallum walking over not far away alongside Riveria, and spoke, his tone calm and even:

"Finn, what do you think?"

Unlike the grim mood all around, Finn still wore that habitual gentle smile, as if the sudden attack had not rattled him in the slightest.

"Well, Valletta's the sort who always has a clear objective in whatever she does."

"She would never burn precious troops and supplies just to set off some inconsequential explosions and commotion in the city. Least of all would she strike in the dead of night, the hour when the streets hold the fewest people. That simply isn't her way."

A sharp gleam flashed through Hedin's eyes:

"You mean the attack itself was only a cover?"

"Meant to hide her real objective?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Off to the side, Alise was so sleepy her head kept dipping, her gaze drifting out of focus. Hearing the two of them talk, she let out a long yawn and mumbled thickly:

"There's no way Evilus kicked up this much chaos... just to steal some detonation devices... right?"

"Talk about pointless."

"Wait, Miss Alise."

Finn turned his head; the smile stayed in place, but his gaze turned abruptly sharp:

"What did you just say?"

"Eh? I said... kicked up this much chaos..."

"The part before that."

"Striker mechanisms...?"

"Right."

Finn repeated the word softly, a light of understanding flashing through his eyes.

"So that's it. I understand now!"

...

...

The darkness above ground was stirring.

And on the 26th Floor below, in the caverns laced with countless tangled waterways, Leon's party was moving fast toward the central pool, following the detailed map they had drawn on their last expedition.

"Amphisbaena, buddy, wait for me!"

"Don't you let anyone else farm you first! I'm counting on you to cough up a fat pile of loot for me!"

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