I Was Kidnapped to Another World and Forced to Become a Hero

Ch. 9 - The Long Night - Part 2

The party fought against the creepy bug-like creatures while under the natural lights of the night sky. Like Earla had said, it wasn't the end of it; as soon as three of the creatures were defeated, three more would spawn from the magic circle. They were already in their fifth round, and there was no sign that it would stop anytime soon.

Ayu glanced at Kamiro with a look of pity each time he shrieked while he slashed the creatures.

"H-Hey, don't look at me like that. You know I don't like bugs..."

The party's battle against the monsters dragged on, and although they were not particularly powerful, the summons didn't end, and the party was growing tired.

Something's off...

Fatigue was setting in rather quickly, and the three hooded figures didn't seem to be bothered by the magical strain that continued summoning should have caused. 

Ayu glared at the hooded men. "There's no doubt about it now, those amulets are magic artifacts. It must be giving them more magic."

"And it appears that this enclosed space is slowly draining our magic as well," Earla said, "This is a battle of endurance, but with those magic artifacts, I'm afraid we are on the losing end..."

So that's what it was. "We have to do something..." Kamiro said.

The party caught their breath while the next batch of creatures began to emerge.

"Invacabo Glacies: Ice Javelin!" Ayu shot an icicle barrage toward the five hooded figures. Like before, it went right through the three in front and the two behind before shattering against the enclosure. She panted before grunting. "It's no use..."

"The fact that they are facing us with summons and are using that ability to avoid getting hit, most likely means they aren't physically powerful. If only we could damage them..." Earla said.

Wait... Throughout the battle, Kamiro racked his brain for something, anything, that could help them in the fight. Finally, he noticed something. Though small, it was a glimmer of hope. The main issue was being unable to land a hit because of some magic ability they had. But what caused it? Was it a spell, the amulets, or something else?

Kamiro figured the two in the back must have been in control of the barrier; their continuous chant seemed different than the other three. They also always stood behind, as if needing protection, but why? Unless that strange ghost-like ability was a spell that one of the two in the back was using.

The one on the back left. When Ayu last attacked, it gave Kamiro the final clue of the puzzle. Though the chanting was incomprehensible, and it was subtle, he could tell that one of the two hooded men standing back had changed their chant, just for those few seconds the ice barrage lasted.

"What are you standing around all dazed for. Help us out!" Ayu said. She and Earla faced off against the next batch of summons.

"Right!" Kamiro forced himself to fight the bug monsters and paid close attention to the hooded men. As soon as the creatures were defeated, he told the girls his theory, along with a plan.

"You don't have to look so surprised, Ayu," Kamiro said.

"Ha-ha. Well, I'd expect something like this more from Earla than you."

"Rude." He pouted.

"That just might work, but it is a gamble..." Earla said.

Kamiro had suggested that they attacked in unison, similar to the combo attack they had done in the party ranking exam. Ayu would hold off the summons, Earla would use her 'Blinding Light' to blind the enemy, and Kamiro would use 'Accelerate' and rush to take out the target.