◇
"Oy, how many are alive?"
"Dunno, any potion left? Can't feel my left hand since awhile ago."
"Used all those things up already."
The half-killed knights behind the debris are exchanging words without vigor. The arm of the knight with pale face is seriously injured to the point like it'll torn off.
Their shields are broken, their swords' blades are too chipped, they're no difference than blunt weapons.
Five pill bug monsters on the other side of the street are swinging their antennas around, looking for the knights.
"I'll take at least one of them with me--"
"Don't be impatient. Raiss, aren't you marrying your childhood friend next week?"
"Yeah, I'd like to look at her face at least one more time..."
The knight stopped talking halfway.
A different pill bug has appeared from the opposite side of a collapsed house.
"Tsk."
The knights hold their dull swords and stand.
However as if ridiculing their determinations, the same kind of monsters roll from behind that pill bug toward them, one after another.
"You're kidding me...."
"Hah, come at me."
The rock-like monsters roll toward the bluffing knight--
However, before they could reach the knights, the monsters are struck by invisible hammers from overhead accompanied with roaring sound.
Red membranes appeared on the monsters' surface for an moment, but they were blown away in a flash, and then concentric circle-shaped cracks appeared on their hard shells.
Strong wind from the after-effect of that shock waves pushed the wall near the knights.
It seems the impacts reached deep inside the monsters, every monster has fallen and rolled sideway, they don't seem like they'll get up.
"Uwoo"
"W-was that 『Air Hammer』 just now?"
"....No, it should be a higher class of magic. Rather than that, let's escape during this chance."
"Sorry but run away by yourself, don't think I can get up."
"Shut up, I'll carry you on my shoulder."
The user of this magic doesn't seem concerned with the hot friendship of these knights either.
Next, transparent [Javelins]-like magic come flying toward a monster--it seems the aim is to finish it, the magic hits on the center of the crack on the shell made by the shock waves earlier.
While making 'Zofuri' sound, the transparent javelin slips through the monster body.
The next moment, muffled plosive sound echoes from inside the monster's body, then its body swells like the internal pressures pushing outside for an instant, and then red light leaks out from the gaps of the monster's shell.
And then, such inhumanly accurate attack befalls on every monster in this place.
The monsters are reduced to corpses with just that one attack, joining the objects such as debris in that place.
"....In just two strikes?!"
"Just, what the heck's this?"
A speck that flew from one of the monsters body together with the red light falls to the floor where one of the knight's forehead lays.
The knight picks that up, it's a red stone that's like a fragment of a magic core.
The knights never know--
The first magic was a non-lethal elementary force magic called [Remote Stun].
And the second magic was an elementary force magic, [Remote Arrow].
Above all, the second strike sniped the magic cores that were inside the monsters, rupturing the magic cores from the inside by overloading it.
--The knights never know.
There are things better left unknown in this world for the peace of your mind.
◇
"Oy, we've witnessed a miracle and all. Let's live on until we can thank the magician who saved us."
"....You're right."
The knight encouraged his co-worker as brightly as possible, but his partner knight's face has gone past pale, the darkish color of the death are floating on it.
Right at then, someone sprinkles cold water.
"What are you doing!"
What the knight, who reflexively shouted at such a miscreant conduct, sees is a small knight who's wearing golden armor under its pink mantle.
It doesn't seem to understand why the knight is exasperated, the golden knight who sits while holding its small knees inclines its head in puzzlement.
The knight who was going to catch the golden knight is stopped by his partner knight who was dying just now.
And that's with the arm that was going to be torn off just now.
"Calm down.... It was a magic potion."
The golden knight peers at the knight who's sitting on the ground from below.
"Your hand alright?"
"Thank you. It's really an amazing medicine."
"You can have this~?"
The golden knight hands a small bag with three magic medicines inside.
"Is it alright?"
"Supply support~?"
The golden knight nodded to the questioning knight.
"I am indebted."
"Don't worry be happy~?"
The golden knight looks restless for a bit, and then it disappears only to appear on the other side of the street.
Apparently, the golden knight is doing the same thing over there.
Pink mantles and bandannas become popular items as good luck charm among the soldiers and the knights who were saved by the golden knight's medicines at this day.
◇
"Has the hell's lid been opened?"
"What do we do Yasaku. That one's dangerous. My body is tingling all over."
"Yeah, according to Rin Jou-chan who saw it ahead of time, it's 『Floor Master』 class."
Some explorers are peeking from behind the remain of a wall toward the big frame of the giant tree-like monster that has turned a section of the city into debris during the little time since it appeared. There are citizens they're protecting behind them.
"Can we win if the Mithril explorers gather here?"
"Baro, you know that it's impossible."
A man with stubble shook his head toward his witch companion's words.
"All the people who were present when those guys defeated the 『Floor Master』 aren't all here. Even the preparation is far off. Besides--"
He cuts his words and points at the two same-class monsters that have appeared. A pink dango-like monster, and a silver monster with a human body, six arms, and a crocodile head.
There are also several small bipedal monsters around them.
"Oh--N--o--"
The big-breasted explorer who's wearing priestess uniform points her bishop wand to one of the monsters that have appeared with a carefree voice like it's not a grave situation.
"That's--a deemon--,moreover--at the very least--a middle clas demon--. The ones--around it--seem to be--lesser demons too."
"Demons huh, leaving aside the small fry lesser ones, the middle class is bad news."
One of the explorers, a magic warrior with handsome face raises his eyebrows looking at the demon.
He can says that the lesser demons are small fry since his level is high, they're formidable enemies for normal army.
"It looks strong nanodesu!"
"Don't be careless so I advise."
"Let's go you two."
When the explorers look at the out-of-place voices, three people wrapped in golden armors are standing before the big monster that's been classified as [Floor Master] class.
One of them has small build, either a dwarf or a child.
"When did they...."
Featherkin children wearing masks suddenly appear in the air in front of the muttering explorers.
"Please evacuate before it's too late, we will guide you."
"Lead~"
The featherkin children with silver armors called the explorers.
They've decided to trust the words of these beckoning children and leave the place.
Behind them--
There are the figures of the golden knights who fell the giant tree monster like felling a decayed tree, while leaving blue tracks of light.
The knight who chantlessly uses advanced magic like the hero, the spear knight who freely uses the concealed secret art (hi-ougi) of the Shiga Eight Swords' Chief, [Magic Edge Cannon], in rapid fire to restraint it, and the small knight who uses a great sword with blue light assaulting the giant tree and making big holes on it while moving erratically.
They escape from the peril while looking with sidelong glances at the unreal anomalous knight like it's a daydream tale.
On later days a rumor has begun circulating, 'aren't the real identities of the golden knights who saved the royal capital the Pendragon Seven Braves headed by the lizardkin spear user who smashed the shiga eight sword...'
The king announces the identities of the golden knights during the new-year congratulatory broadcast.
Their true identities are--
Author's note:
It's Satou's point of view in the next chapter.
●Profiles
【Mito】 A woman who appeared on Zena's intermissions. Fought against a lesser dragon, and won.
【Ten-chan】 A person who appeared only in name on Zena's intermissions. It seems she lives at Fujisan Mountains.
【Yasaku】 An unfortunate explorer who's linked by fate with greater demons one way or another.
【Shiga 33 Wands】 Royal Court Magician people.
【Golden Armors】 Identities unknown. There are witnesses who saw it in Labyrinth City.
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