Burn It All

"Here you go, Master."

"Ah, thanks."

After returning to the cottage, I received a cup of water from Azu.

I drank the water in one gulp.

I managed to calm what could only be called a visceral fear, something different from what I'd felt from the Church of the Sun God.

Monsters are terrifying things.

I felt like I'd been reminded of that after a long time.

"So, what're we gonna do about that thing?"

"That monster is a pretty troublesome type."

Perhaps seeing that everyone had settled down, Finn sat in a chair and spoke up.

If it were a strong monster, we could just fight and defeat it.

But that wouldn't work with the Mosquito Monsters, a swarm-type creature.

Without thinking about our approach, completely wiping them out would be difficult.

There was even a chance that if even one survived, they would multiply again.

"They seemed to be multiplying by preying on animals, but if there's no more food, wouldn't they stop multiplying?"

"… Hmm. From the monster's perspective, the food probably doesn't have to be animals. I imagine they'd eat rotting wood too. And in the end, cannibalism."

"Ugh."

"It'd be nice if cannibalism reduced their numbers, but if their reproduction rate wins out, they'd literally become infinite."

We exchanged opinions.

Monster ecology is full of mysteries.

When an animal becomes a monster, it becomes ferocious, but you can still eat its meat.

Sometimes they become something completely different despite looking similar.

Given how those Mosquito Monsters were multiplying, they were definitely the latter type.

"Can we freely enter and exit the barrier?"

"No. Water and wind are fine, but living creatures can't pass through."

Evalin shook her head.

She'd made it that way to completely trap the monsters.

"What about opening just a part of it? If we could limit where they come out, it would be easier to fight."

"That's possible."

"Huh. Barriers are pretty convenient."

"Then should we open a hole somewhere and just keep firing magic into it?"

"That should work… I think. The barrier is getting quite cramped for them, so if an exit opens up they'll head for it first — we should be able to handle the majority that way."

You could call it brute force, but it was a simple strategy.

The question was whether our magical power would hold out…

"With Orleans's support, fire magic won't drain me that much. And we have an elf here, so magical power isn't a concern."

"I see. By the way, what about having that puppet charge in?"

"I don't mind, but all it can do is stomp with its feet or swing its arms around."

"Bad compatibility, I suppose."

It would be reliable in a contest of strength, though.

I took mana potions out of my bag and handed them to Alexia and Evalin.

"What's this?"

"Is this your first time seeing a mana potion? If you drink it when you run low on magical power, it recovers a bit."

"I've never run out of magical power, so I wouldn't know."

"That's… impressive."

"Elves might be a mage's natural enemy."

An enormous supply of magical power that even Alexia, who had considerable reserves herself, couldn't compare to.

I was truly glad she wasn't humanity's enemy.

"You. You're loved by the Fire Elemental."

"Y-yes. It protects me."

Evalin approached Orleans.

"I thought there were no more shrine maidens who could commune with spirits. You truly have a pure heart."

She reached out to pet Orleans, but was repelled by the Fire Elemental.

Apparently the Fire Elemental didn't approve of the elf.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Evalin seemed interested in Orleans, but she didn't press further.

"Orleans, if you don't feel up to it, you don't have to participate in this operation."

"No, sir. I believe this is my duty."

Though Orleans's complexion was still poor, her will to participate hadn't changed.

If she said so herself, I had no choice but to accept it.

There was also the thinking that it was better to keep her where I could see her.

The key players in this operation would be Alexia and Evalin.

Elza would send blessings to strengthen the two of them, then we'd open a hole in the barrier and fire magic into it.

Once we'd sufficiently exterminated them, we'd move to the source point, confirm the cause, and try to solve it.

That was the plan we'd put together based on what we could currently do.

The rest of us, including Yohane, could only watch from behind.

We moved to the barrier again.

Elza's blessing significantly enhanced Alexia and Evalin.

Alexia readied her battle-axe, and Evalin pointed her wooden staff at the barrier.

Orleans waited behind Alexia to boost the fire magic.

"Ready whenever you are."

"Alright. I'll open the barrier, so fire your magic. Even if you run out of magical power, I can handle the rest."

"Don't underestimate me. Fire magic is my specialty. I won't run out of power that easily."

Magic circles appeared around Evalin.

When part of them rotated, a hole slowly opened in the barrier.

The Mosquito Monsters sensed the barrier's opening from the air current and swarmed toward it as a single black mass.

It was like a black serpent floating in the sky.

A rather enormous one at that.

"Phew."

Alexia exhaled strongly and took the initiative.

Fire magic was released to cover the hole.

Perhaps because of the fire brooch, the Fire Elemental, and on top of that Orleans's assistance, the fire magic was tremendously powerful.

It burned through nearly all of the approaching Mosquito Monsters in an instant.

"No matter how many there are, they're no match for me!"

Alexia's voice rang out.

The burned Mosquito Monsters were vanishing without leaving so much as a speck of dust.

Every Mosquito Monster that had come flying was incinerated.

"More coming!"

Finn pointed at the direction where reinforcements were coming from.

Undulating black masses, as large or larger than before… there were at least seven visible.

This was going to be a long battle.