Chapter 529 Great Wall

In the midst of the black and white flames covering the northern sky, the massive silhouette of Calamitas soared upward.

Having fully emerged from the Labyrinth, its form was so enormous that it could be clearly seen from anywhere in the city.

It looked like a human at times, or a beast at others.

Perhaps it simply looked like a flickering shadow without any real meaning.

Black flames blanketed the sky.

...And just like that, the world met its end.

’Wake up! Anne!’

’Ugh.... *Cough..Wheeze.’

It felt as if she had been trapped in a long nightmare.

Anne, who had even forgotten to breathe, finally exhaled sharply and pushed herself up.

Her friends, who also looked far from okay, were shaking her awake.

’What on earth is happening?’

’Something... something seems to have come out of the Labyrinth!’

’An invasion...? But the alarm didn’t even sound?’

’Still, look over there, toward the Labyrinth....’

Anne hurriedly looked out the window. It was dawn, but the outside was as bright as broad daylight.

Flames were erupting from the direction of the Labyrinth with enough momentum to swallow the sky.

She didn’t know exactly what had occurred, but looking at that sight, something dire was undoubtedly happening.

’The warehouse.’

’What?’

’Let’s go to the warehouse...!’

’Wait, Anne... go together!’

Anne dashed out of the room and ran down the stairs. Seria and Karen followed closely behind her.

The city was eerily quiet. It felt as if it had become a ghost town.

Since they had entered a state of alert for the invasion, an alarm should have sounded if something like this happened, yet there was no news yet.

It was likely because most people, including those on guard at the walls, had fallen into total confusion.

The reason the three of them could move so quickly was thanks to the numerous buffs installed at their base, which allowed them to snap out of their panic faster than others.

’This way...!’

’Is everyone here...?’

A crowd was gathering in front of the warehouse they finally reached. It seemed everyone who stayed at the mercenary group building had come down here.

Everyone had shared the same thought as Anne.

Anyone who worked here knew about Ian’s unusual hobby. Didn’t all rich people have some sort of bizarre collecting habit?

Ian’s warehouse... where war supplies were stockpiled.

Everyone who knew of that place instinctively realized that the time to use it was right now.

The warehouse doors were flung open immediately.

Inside, it was filled with vast amounts of supplies, looking as if they had been prepared exactly for this moment.

Seria asked Anne with a slightly flustered expression.

’What... what do we do now? We can’t just take things out and use them when we don’t even know what they are.’

’...Do you know where Ms. Louise is?’

’She’s probably at the workshop. She’s been living there constantly lately.’

’That’s too far.’

The best option would be for Louise, who made these items, to explain them, but it was too far to travel all the way to the square.

While everyone stood there hesitating, they heard Karen shout.

’Ah, there’s something like an instruction manual here!’

’What? Really?’

Karen, who was searching the area, found a small booklet placed on one side of a desk.

It contained descriptions of the potions and instructions on how to use these items in case of an emergency. it was a manual written exactly for a time like this.

It was a manual Ian had left behind just in case a more urgent situation arose and he couldn’t personally manage the warehouse.

Anne read the description on the front-most potion shelf.

[Mass-Produced Mind Elixir].

It said it purified mental attacks caused by erosion.

As a test, Anne opened a bottle and drank it; her muddled mind cleared instantly, and her fear and body tremors subsided at once.

Anne read the next sentence.

If an emergency occurs... distribute as many as possible to those nearby and secure personnel for the task.

Anne immediately shouted to the people gathered behind her.

’Everyone... if you see people who haven’t come to their senses yet, feed them this and bring them over here! We need to distribute more of this to everyone!’

* * *

—And, at the same time.

All members of the Ian Mercenary Group were racing toward their pre-designated positions.

Since they had already heard enough about what roles they were to play, there was no need to gather around Ian for new instructions.

The situation in the city was incredibly chaotic.

With the appearance of Calamitas, a massive amount of erosion spread, causing a curse to fall upon everyone in the city.

Erosion and curses spread every time one of Calamitas’s phases progressed.

The first task was to manage this chaos and prepare to block the offensive of the first phase.

Tanya, who had rushed down, arrived in front of the warehouse.

’Oh... everyone?’

’Ah, Tanya!’

Numerous people were already gathered in front of the warehouse, carrying potion boxes.

Not only Ian Mercenary Group staff but also nearby mercenaries, residents, and even soldiers. Everyone in the vicinity seemed to have converged here.

It was because this was the only place in the area functioning somewhat normally. Those who had even a little room to move had naturally gathered to help with the work.

Anne asked Tanya while looking a bit wary.

’Is... is it okay that we used the things in the warehouse without permission?’

’No, you’re doing great, so please keep it up! I’ll leave this street and the square to you guys!’

Tanya, who was in charge of the warehouse, left the entrance to her friends and headed deeper inside.

Unlike the outer area, which was laid out for immediate use by nearby people, the deeper part of the warehouse had vast amounts of supplies stacked high in crates.

Potions with even stronger effects, capable of immediately waking even those who had lost consciousness. These were the items Tanya needed to use.

Tanya’s job was to accurately deliver the items piled here to those who needed them.

Though the quantity was enormous, it was still insufficient to distribute to everyone in the city.

The Labyrinth’s curse occurred randomly.

Thus, while some could move well enough despite the curse, others were in a serious condition where they couldn’t budge at all.

If these limited potions were distributed in advance, they would surely be lacking in some places and wasted in others. If that happened, the evacuation speed would inevitably suffer.

Someone had to deliver these items strictly where they were absolutely needed... and Tanya was the only one who could do that.

’Whew....’

But first.

Tanya opened a pouch on one side of the warehouse and took out an [Essence of the Spirit].

It looked as soft as water, but it was a mysterious item that would immediately harden if one tried to grip it with force.

It was something Epir Noah had given Tanya to use when necessary.

She had said Tanya would know when to use it when the time came....

It was probably now. When else would there be a chance to use it if not a time like this?

Tanya placed it on her palm and stared at it.

When she had asked Ian about the identity of this item, the answer she received was that it was an item that temporarily and significantly amplified one’s power as a spiritist.

However, Ian also answered that he didn’t know the exact method of use.

After all... Ian had only ever used items by clicking a [Use] button. He couldn’t teach the practical application of such a magical item.

In the end, Tanya called out the name of Epir Noah, who had handed it over, once more.

’Epir Noah!’

’Yes.’

Fortunately, Epir Noah responded to Tanya’s call almost immediately.

Since the city had fallen into such a state, Tanya had wondered if Epir Noah might have fled back to her original home... she was relieved that wasn’t the case.

’How do I use this?’

’It is not difficult. Put it inside your body.’

’P-put it in...?’

Tanya’s face suddenly turned red at that answer.

’Put it in, uh... how?!’

’Can’t you just swallow it with your mouth?’

’...Ah.’

’If not that, what other method did you think I meant?’

’...’

Tanya’s face turned an even deeper shade of red than before.

As if trying to hide her embarrassment, Tanya quickly put it in her mouth and swallowed.

Tanya felt a dazed sensation as if time were stretching out and a feeling of buoyancy. It felt as though her body was floating toward the sky.

...She thought it was just an illusion caused by dizziness, but upon coming to her senses, Tanya realized she was truly floating in the air.

’Ah... I-I’m flying?!’

From Tanya’s elevated perspective, she could look down at the supplies stacked high in the warehouse.

And she also saw her own body lying collapsed.

’...?!’

’You succeeded.’

’It’s not a success, I’ve become a ghost...! Am I dead?!’

’No, your spiritual body has manifested externally. Your spirit became too vast for your physical body to contain, so it flowed outward.’

A spiritual body. So... it meant she had become something like a spirit.

Tanya felt her spirit reaching out to distances incomparable to when she was in a human body.

The moment she thought of calling the fairies, Tanya’s will spread everywhere.

To distances she could never have imagined.

Numerous spirits swarmed around Tanya. Not just the fairies that usually followed her around, but it seemed every spirit in the vicinity had gathered.

’First, distribute these to the people cursed! The strong ones can hold out on their own, so start from the weak and those who haven’t come to their senses! Oh, and we need to start from the outermost edges where evacuation takes longer....’

Fortunately, there was no need to explain everything in complex words.

Tanya, not yet used to this state, tried to explain verbally, but the gathered fairies grasped Tanya’s will much faster than that.

Dozens of fairies began to scatter in all directions toward every corner of the city, carrying items from the warehouse.

* * *

The soldiers atop the walls looked outward.

It was dawn, but the plains were brightly lit by flames. Monsters covered every inch of that space.

A writhing black figure within the pillar of fire rising from the Labyrinth. From that shadow, monsters were pouring out endlessly.

It was creating the monsters directly. That giant form looked as if it were the source of the Labyrinth itself.

The [Source] that creates monsters endlessly within the Labyrinth.

Then, what on earth created that [Source of the Labyrinth]...?

It seemed the riddle that had been unsolved for so long was finally unraveled. Of course, it wasn’t particularly welcome news.

Rebecca asked the people behind her while keeping her gaze fixed outside the walls.

’How long will it take to evacuate the residents?’

’Probably... at this rate, it will take more than an hour.’

’That’s too long. Even after doing all those evacuation drills.’

’Well, it can’t be helped as many of the residents are in a state of confusion. There are many who can’t move, so soldiers are bringing them out one by one.’

The cleanup atop the walls had also barely finished just moments ago. There was no telling how long it would take to resolve the chaos among the residents of this vast city.

’We will block them somehow until the evacuation is over.’

’According to the plan, aren’t we supposed to block the first offensive and immediately retreat to the rear defensive line?’

’Then what? Just open the gates while people are still there?’

Tsk.

Rebecca clicked her tongue like that and watched the approaching monster swarm.

Monsters like pitch-black shadows. Their outward appearance took the form of common monsters, but looking at their moving speed and momentum, they were by no means ordinary monsters.

She wasn’t even sure how long they could hold out against them. Or if they could block them until the evacuation was finished.

At that moment, a massive light erupted from behind everyone.

A light rising from a place completely different from the black pillar of fire in front of them. It was a new light appearing from within the city.

’What is that?!’

Everyone turned their gaze in unison toward the city, momentarily forgetting that monsters were approaching from the outside.

—A place built in the very heart of the city, once called Labyrinth’s new tourist attraction.

The [Archmage’s Spire] was operating in actual combat for the first time.

’Damn it, nobody said something like that would come out! If I’d known, I would’ve left Labyrinth long ago!’

’I didn’t know either! Usually, the invasions here feel a bit... safer!’

’Where is there a safe invasion, you crazy bastard!’

Ellen and Zeke were hurriedly moving around the spire, activating the internal devices. The light from numerous magic circuits was enough to sting their eyes.

Zeke, finishing the operation at last, shouted toward the mage who was waiting behind him.

’Everything is ready! You can use it now!’

’Th-that is....’

The mage entrusted with the spire’s first activation.

Mika carefully moved her steps and stood before the spire’s central control circuit.

Standing there, Mika picked up her grimoire and boldly flipped to the very last page.

Though she thought it was a spell she would never use, she had memorized all the spells within for the time being. She had already decided in her heart which spell to use now.

...Can I really use such an incredible spell?

Even though such thoughts occurred, there was no time now. She just had to try it blindly, just as she had done until now!

A massive beam of light erupted from the tip of Mika’s staff.

That light split into numerous branches along the intricately woven circuits inside the spire, but its momentum did not scatter; instead, each branch grew its momentum like a rolling snowball.

The divine statues placed in all directions, as if looking down on the interior, also emitted light in unison.

That light flowed down along the circuits covering the spire’s interior.

It added momentum by drawing wildly from the mana stockpiled underground, and surged along the patterns engraved on the outer walls.

The light that flowed out finally gathered toward a single location.

The beams of light gathered at the peak of the spire’s roof finally erupted as if exploding.

The light, soaring with momentum as if to tear the sky, began to pour down onto the city like a waterfall, soon covering the entire wall.

Finally, Labyrinth was enveloped in a massive veil of light.

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[Great Magic: Atlas Great Wall]

- Remaining duration: 60 minutes

- City damage immunity

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