"What's going on? You're being noisy. We have guests, you know."
"S-Sorry, Elder! But this is an emergency!"
The young beastkin looked extremely flustered.
He must have run here at full speed—he was out of breath.
"A m-monster has appeared!"
"What!?"
"And there’s a lot of them! Everyone’s trying to hold them off, but there’s not enough time to evacuate!"
"Kh... This is terrible..."
Have they never been attacked by monsters before?
Judging from the elder's grim expression, the situation must be quite serious.
If that's the case, then there's only one thing for us to do.
"Sofia."
"Yes."
Sofia felt the same way I did.
"Licorice, please stay here with Aisha and Snow."
"Yeah, yeah, leave it to me."
"Thanks, I'm counting on you."
"Fate, let’s go."
"Wait, you two, what are you...?"
To the bewildered elder, Sofia and I spoke in unison:
"We'll take down the monsters!"
――――――――――
We headed toward the southernmost part of the village, where the monsters had appeared.
When we arrived—it had become a battlefield.
"Don’t falter! Push them back!"
"B-But there are just too many of them..."
"Graaargh!"
"Gyaaaaah!?"
Many beastkin were fighting.
A lot of blood was being spilled.
And... a horde of monsters was closing in on them.
"Take this!!!"
A boiling anger surged within me.
I took that fury and unleashed it on the monsters.
I brought my sword down in a vertical slash.
Then swept it sideways.
Finally, I slashed upward from below.
I managed to drive back three wolf-like monsters at once.
While keeping my blade aimed at the creatures to hold them off, I shielded an injured beastkin with my back.
"Are you all right?"
"You’re...?"
"Reinforcements! Fall back for now!"
"G-Got it! You’re a lifesaver!"
I was worried they might not trust me, but it seems saving them was enough to earn it.
The injured beastkin obediently retreated to the rear.
Good.
Now, during this moment, if we can just push back the front line—
"Divine Dragon Sword Style—Blade of Vengeance..."
Sofia stepped forward.
"Flash!!!"
Sofia raised her sword high and brought it down in one mighty swing.
A colossal slash.
And overwhelming fighting spirit.
All of it exploded outward at once, blasting away the horde of monsters by the hundreds.
The monsters had no way to resist.
In an instant, their lives were reaped, and their bodies turned to dust.
From the moment Sofia arrived, their fate had already been sealed.
"...She really is amazing."
My childhood friend is a Sword Saint.
She’s mastered the blade—and as you can see, she possesses incredible power.
How many years would it take for me to stand as her equal?
Or rather… no matter how long I spent, could I even reach her level?
Sometimes, I find myself filled with those doubts and uncertainties.
But—
"I have to give it my all too."
I don’t want to give up just because she seems out of reach.
I don’t want to tell myself it’s impossible and stop moving forward.
Because…
I love Sofia.
And I want to stay by her side—forever and always.
That’s why, no matter what happens—
No matter what comes our way, I’ll just keep doing my best.
"All right!"
That said…
Right now, it’s not about me—I need to be of help to the beastkin here.
With renewed determination, I charged back into the swarm of monsters.
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