"Please, please, have mercy on us!" A man pleaded to the figure in front of him.
The figure he pleaded to was a creature not of that world. It was similar to a bird, except with a more human-like figure. It still retained the beak, wings and feathers, but it had limbs and hair on it's head. Strangely, they also spoke in the common human language; English. These bird men are [Monsters] from a [Dungeon World], which is currently attempting to invade Sykerion.
Currently, a large group of these bird-men have taken over a small town called [Dimford]. They lost one fourth of their numbers, but succeeded in the end, gathering all the citizens in the town center. Now, one by one, they were being executed by having their throats torn out with the beaks of these creatures. It was a ritual held by these creatures whenever they are successful in an invasion.
They sent over half of their forces to invade another town, leaving behind a small group to complete this ritual of theirs. Though, this group alone numbered over 30,000. Only about 5,000 were inside the town to search for survivors and gather them all, while the rest were outside to look out for reinforcements.
After gathering every survivor they could find, their ritual began. The cries of the mans were ignored, as the beak of the creature in front of him bites into his neck, ripping out his throat. He dies on the spot, and several of the other citizens begin screaming out in fear. There was nothing they could do, because everyone with a combat-related class had already died earlier trying to repel them. A warning message has already been sent out, but the help would not arrive in time.
It seemed hopeless to them, but suddenly, a huge gust of wind runs through the town. Normally, something like this would be ignored, but a whistle was heard through the air, and something hit the bird-man that just executed the man. No one saw what exactly happened, but a thin, red line ran through his upper body, before it topples over. His body was completely split in half.
Then, another gust of wind runs through, and several hundred more whistling sounds in the air are heard. The red lines run through the rest of the birds, slicing them apart like butter. There was nothing they could do when there was a storm of invisible attacks cutting them apart.
"What just happened!?" One of the humans shout out in surprise.
"Where did that come from!?" Another asked.
"Did help arrive!?" Hope ran through the crowd.
None of them could see the girl standing on top of the church at the other side of town, the source of the invisible attacks. In her hands, were several hundred ultra thin wires that were glowing yellow. A new adventurer with a petite physique, brown hair, and hazel eyes, she graduated her school as the second best, granting her an [A-Ranked] status on her [Adventurer's Card]. She had spent a huge portion of her life training her unique style of combat, earning herself a title, prestige, and power.
"Wow, how pretty~ It's always nice to see your magic in action." A voice speaks out to the girl that just killed a group of 5,000 enemies in a short span of time.
"...it makes me tired though..." She replies to the voice.
"That's fine. It probably took all your mana to do that, so get some rest, will you? We'll handle the rest." The speaker walks up to her from behind, standing next to her. A tall, tomboyish girl stood there, who had short black hair, and brown eyes. She wore heavy platemail armor, but was the fastest amongst her peers even with the armor on. As the best adventurer of the school she attended, she's also a [A-Ranked] adventurer.
"...what about the rest?" The girl asked.
"Well, I took care of the east side on my own. The princess and her servant should be taking care of the north and south side. And the west side should be getting explosions in the next minute." As soon as she says that, several flashes of fire can be seen on the west side. "Yeah, so it doesn't seem like there's any more here, so we should probably get moving to search for the next wave."
"Ah... but didn't they send a group to [Miridia]?" Worry appears in her voice. She wanted to try and reduce the casualties as much as possible.
"Haha, yeah, don't worry about that! I believe that a certain someone said that she'll also going to [Miridia] today. She'll most likely stop by the [Dungeon Field] and train there before proceeding to the town. Those bird guys have the worst stroke of luck, heading to the same place she is on the exact same day." A smile appears on the tomboy's face, imagining what was going to happen when the two forces make contact.
"Hey~ we're done over here!" A voice calls out from behind.
"Is that so? Then we'll get going to the next town." The tomboy replies.
"Let's get going. I want to finish this as fast as possible." She says to the short girl, who nods and follows the tomboy as she begins dashing to their next destination at high speed.
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In between the towns of [Miridia] and [Dimford], was a mountain range known as the [Philerin Mountains]. It had a reputation of having extremely harsh winds, no creature or machine can fly through. It was a known [Dungeon Field] called the [Philerin Mountain Pass], which was labelled as an [S-Ranked] [Dungeon Field]. It was a place that was near impossible to traverse for citizens and merchants. Often, [S-Ranked] adventurers are hired as escorts to enter through.
The bird men were confident in their abilities though, because they were supposed to be [Immortal Tier] monsters. Albeit, only [D-Rank], they were still superior to [S-Ranked] monsters in the [Mortal Tier]. They proceed to enter through the passing with their entire army. They were also no exception when it came to traveling through the skies of the [Philerin Mountains], so they were forced to proceed by foot.
Surprisingly, when they entered through the entrance, they found many figures sprawled all over the area in the narrow pass. They were the monsters that were supposed to be inhabiting the area, turned into a field of corpses. The cause of death varied completely, which can be seen by the different wounds each of them had. Some had burn marks, while others were cleaved into pieces. They weren't able to see the person who did this, but the scene caused them to become wary of their surroundings as they enter the pass.
"General, I don't think this is a good idea. We should head to [Munlit City] instead." One of the soldiers speak out. The group was having their doubts, because these monsters had strength equivalent to four of their footmen, yet they all became a part of a massacre that took place here.
"What's there to be afraid of? Whatever caused this scene is no match for our soldiers! They most likely didn't get out of this unscathed, so there's nothing to fear! Who knows, they may have left after this hunt, and even if they didn't, we can easily defeat them while they're weakened! We shall proceed forward, and continue our conquest!" The leader's speech brought the morale of the troops back up, and they all cheered as he lead them into the pass.
This is a decision he regretted when he reached the center of the pass. They didn't encounter any monsters through the passing, but upon traversing halfway through it, a heavy aura filled the area. The smell of death was amplified, the anxious feelings in their hearts grew, and area around them seemed to redden slightly. Everything around them seems to have gone silent, none of the bird men making even the slightest movement. Even the wind didn't make any sound, the entire area in complete silence.
"...new monsters?" A beautiful, pure voice breaks the silence, resounding through the mountain pass.
The voice came from above, and the gazes of every soldier turn to the source. On a small ledge up about 50 meters up the mountain, sat a girl looking down at them, legs swinging in the air. She stands up, and looks down at the large group from the ledge. She stood as tall as the average young male, around 170 centimeters, but had a figure rivaling a top idol. Her hair was let out, running past her waist near the knees. It had strange coloring; from the roots, her hair was light blue, and as it ran down her back, it lightened up to a silver.
As if she was going to hang out with a bunch of friends, she had casual clothing on. She wore a denim jacket, with a white tank top underneath it, and had denim shorts that reveals a huge portion of her thighs. On her back was a long rectangular box, and two swords were sheathed on each side of her waist. The bird men didn't know this, but she actually had many, many more weapons stored away in a [Spatial Pocket].
"...too many monsters." The girl mutters to herself, as she leaps off the ledge.
She lands about 10 meters in front of the group, blocking the way to their destination. Upon hitting the ground, a small fissure was made due to the combined weight of the weapons she was carrying at the moment. This scene, along with the aura and appearance of someone ready for all out war, fear was running through the entire group.
"What are you all doing cowards!? It's only a girl standing in front of us right now!" The leader yells.
"We have an entire army of soldiers here, and there's only one person that stands in our way! There's no reason to be shaking in your boots, just from the mere sight of her! Get your act straight and stand in formation properly!" Some of the army's morale returns from this speech, but the unease was still in their hearts.
"...bird soldiers?" The girl speaks her thoughts out loud, confused.
There were several non-human creatures in front of her right now, all wearing equipment for war. She wasn't aware of the current situation, so she didn't realize what was happening right now. The announcement didn't reach her because she was practicing [Spatial Magic] by traversing between self-made dimensions.
"Do you really dare stand in the way of the [Valkins]? Every soldier here is at least a [D-Ranked] [Immortal Tier] monster, so you have no chance of survival!" The bird general yells to the girl.
"...special dungeon event." She mutters.
That's the conclusion she reached for herself, so she ignored the words of the general, and grips the sword on her left waist by the handle. Both swords had it's own properties, and the one she uses depends on the situation she's in. In this case, massive group combat, she chose her favorite sword; the [Zephyr Rage]. It was a [Katana], a weapon more commonly seen in the eastern parts of the world.
"Hah, foolish child... Reil, go kill her." Commanding one of his soldiers forward, he turns around and faces the rest of the army.
"See!? Like I said, there isn't anything to fear! Just a lone g-" A loud cry suddenly comes from behind him, and he turns around quickly to see the bird man he just sent, sprawled on the floor.
The girl stood there normally, as if she didn't move at all, hand still on the hilt of her sword. The soldier's upper body was separated from his lower one, and a long line of blood trailing on the walls. It was as if he was cleaved in half with an oversized sharp object, but all the general could see was the girl standing there with her swords sheathed. The girl took a step forward. The aura of death was even stronger, now that they've just witnessed the death of one of their own men in front of them.
"A-a-attack!" The leader yelled, and the soldiers immediately followed that command.
Their opponent continued walking calmly, and as soon as the vanguard was about to hit her, she unsheathed her [Katana]. Swinging horizontally at them at a speed equal to a bullet, she cleaves through the heavy armor of the frontline soldiers, killing several of them at once with the thin, long weapon. A shockwave came from the slash, blowing away the rest of the vanguard back as if a large explosion went off right in front of them.
As the girl follows her swing all the way with her left arm, her right hand raises up parallel to her shoulder, an object in it that wasn't seen on her body before. A weapon commonly seen amongst races with modernized technology, a [Magic Gun]. More specifically, a [Magnum], and it was the strongest of its kind; the [HNTR].
She fires the gun, and a huge explosion of extreme flames occurs in the middle of the ranks. The explosion completely annihilated anyone caught in it, and the heat from the explosion greatly affected those outside of its range. Their armor melted and stuck to their skin, while others had their leather armor set on fire, burning to death.
Already, about 25% of their army fell in an instant.The formation was broken, but the soldiers haven't completely lost their minds yet, still remaining somewhat calm. The leader was still alive as well, but deep feelings of regret filled his heart. He should've followed the suggestion of his subordinate, but was overconfident by the power of their numbers, leading them into this situation.
The girl lets go of the gun in hand, and it fades into the air, disappearing completely. The soldiers began charging at her again, while archers and mages prepared to fire from the back. Their target also went on the offensive, running towards the remaining army head on. The first spearman to reach her leaped towards her, leaving himself completely open to try to at least scratch her. It was a bad choice on his end, because the girl easily dodges his suicide attack, and cuts right through his waist.
A swordsman rushes towards her with his shield out, trying to bash her with it, but with a front kick, the girl sends him rolling across the ground with the force of it. Before he could get up, she finished him off by summoning an [Earth Spike] from the ground, piercing through his head.
Several more frontline soldiers surround her, but suddenly, she blurred on the spot for a whole second, before standing still again. Slowly, one by one, the soldiers that surrounded her fell apart into pieces.
"Archers, mages, fire! Soldiers, stand back!" The leader yells out, and immediately a huge volley of arrows and spells were fired at her.
"...go, Crystal." Raising her sword hand, a small tattoo was glowing on it, as the tatoo fades away, a bright line shone in front of her, as magic particles gathered to create a large, long figure. When the light faded, a huge snake of ice was in front of her, and it immediately uses its body to absorb the incoming volley. The arrows embed themselves into its body, while the magic is simply absorbed.
The snake hisses at the soldiers, its massive size extremely intimidating to the army. Their morale lowers even further, and many begin to start running away. The snake chases the fleeing bird men, their bodies visible within the snake of ice as it eats them. At the sight of this, the leader began running for his life as well.
In response to this, the girl sheathes her [Katana], and removes the large, rectangular box on her back. Placing it on the ground, she opens the large box, revealing parts of a weapon that she recently fell in love with. A long ranged [Magic Gun] that is far more powerful than any other [Physical Guns] when it comes to single shot damage, the [Sniper Rifle].
"...live target practice." She says to herself with a smile.
Assembling the parts together, she completely puts together the weapon that reaps lives from far away. The girl climbs the mountain after putting it together, returning to the ledge she originally sat on. Upon reaching it, she gets on her knees, and aim the weapon down the pass, looking through the scope.
She takes a deep breath, then holds it, keeping herself as still as possible. Searching through the crowd of monsters, she positioned the crosshair on the head of a running soldier, before pulling the trigger. The sound of the bullet being fired from the [Magic Gun] was very similar to that of thunder, and the projectile hit its target even before the sound went off. Not only did it burst apart the head, it also exploded on the spot due to a [Projectile Enchantment] the girl applied to the bullet before firing. A wall of inferno blocks the entrance to the pass, not allowing anything to enter or exit the [Dungeon Field].
The soldiers could no longer escape, as they become prey to a weapon they had no way of countering. The girl continues to fire on the army, while the snake bursts through at high speeds, eating up several soldiers at once. Their numbers quickly dwindled, before it was reduced to a single bird man left alive, trembling in place. The girl jumped down from the ledge again, and slowly walked to him. The snake slithers to the girl's side, and fades into magic particles that turns back into the tattoo on her left hand.
"W-w-who the hell are you exactly!?" The general stutters out, slowing walking backwards, away from her. The girl raised the gun with only her right hand, and pointed it at his head.
"...Aria." Was the final word he heard, before his vision became black.