The Nephilim who was fighting Auroa had been shot down by Claudio.
I wanted to ask where they had discovered Lord Nephilim, but it wasn’t a situation where I could hold them back. For the time being, if I kept going in the direction I came from, I should be able to understand something.
“Should Piyo go and get a better look?”
“No, let’s stop for now. We don’t know where the enemy is.”
It was as if I was signaling our location. As I turned the corner, the same ruined sight expanded before me. The colorful houses now looked entirely gray in the darkness. Fires were likely burning in various places, with smoke rising from the windows.
The Land of Sweets had turned into a mere wilderness. Perhaps this was its true form? A lawless island where sinners washed ashore, and mages had transformed it into a dream world with their powerful magic. An ideal place where no one got hurt, and everyone lived happily surrounded by cute things all day long.
Speaking of which, where had the residents who lived there gone? They were probably panicking and running around in fear. The reason it caught fire was that it happened while they were cooking. They had fled without even putting out the fire.
Suddenly, I saw a figure between the houses, in what looked like a small alley. When I stopped, everyone else seemed to notice and turned their heads. In the darkness, a Centaur’s back was moving. For a moment, I thought it was Philiana, but it wasn’t; it was a man.
A Centaur the same size as us, with nothing on his upper body. This guy was highly likely to be Auroa’s companion. I decided to call out to him.
“Hey, you, what are you doing?”
The man slowly turned towards us. From the shadow of his body, his pink hair was faintly visible. In his left hand, he was grabbing a guard by the collar.
“Let that person go.”
Then, the Centaur man smirked, lifting the corner of his mouth. I had a bad premonition. I reached for the hilt of my dagger.
The man dropped the guard he was holding and ran towards us. He charged without slowing down.
“W-Wait, what’s wrong?! Whoa!!”
He swung his fist at me. I dodged backward in a panic. The back of his hard hand grazed my nose.
The man swung at me again without hesitation. A fireball, cast by Veronica, stopped his advance.
“What in the world is going on?”
“I-I don’t know either. Are you one of Auroa’s underlings?”
The man wore a creepy, grinning smile and seemed about to attack us again. I wasn’t even sure if he understood our words. As he slowly got up from the smoke, he came towards us as expected.
“He’s coming again. That guy might be completely insane.”
Sharin and Cecilia drew their swords and assumed a fighting stance. But just then, a large shadow suddenly descended from the sky and attacked the man. It was another male Harpy, flapping its huge wings and grabbing the man’s arm. He was also naked.
“Let go, you bastard, I’ll kill you!!”
“Kekekeke, you’re the one who’s gonna die. Don’t make that disgusting face.”
The Harpy and the Centaur man tangled together, spilling blood. Were they enemies? What was going on? It seemed I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t understand this situation. Everyone else was just staring blankly.
“For the time being, let’s escape. While they’re fighting each other.”
Right, what happened to the guard who was captured in the back of the alley? As I was leaving, I glanced back and saw him still paralyzed there.
“I guess I have no choice. Wait a moment.”
I spoke to the guard who was sitting on the ground.
“Can you stand? We’re escaping now.”
“H-Hii… It’s no use anymore.”
“What are you saying? If we stay here, we’ll be attacked again.”
I forced him to stand and dragged him away from the spot. However, the further we went into the town, the more tragic the scene became. Shops were destroyed, carts were overturned and burning. The guard was trembling “Hii-Hii” and eventually covered his eyes. As for me, I was dragging him.
Really, is this guy even a proper guard? I couldn’t help but doubt it. What good is it for you to run away in such a serious situation?
“Everyone!”
“Ah, Philiana, is everyone okay?”
Just then, Philiana and the others who had been separated rejoined us. From the looks of it, they didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.
“Yes, but what could have happened here? I saw the White Rose fall into the enemy’s hands.”
“I’m sorry, I was nearby.”
“No, it’s enough that you’re safe. More importantly, suddenly large people—though the same size as us—appeared, and they were attacking indiscriminately.”
Philiana and the others had encountered them too. This guard seemed to know something, but whether he could speak was another question.
“Hey, look at those guys for a second.”
I looked in the direction Nina’s dagger was pointing, and I saw two Centaurs walking unsteadily. Their fur had white and black spots.
