『We will now begin the award ceremony!』
『Please welcome our winner, Mr. Yoriichi Tsugikuni!』
Kael Vane stood on the platform. It's finally over, he thought, excited to get his 20,000,000 J.
"Mr. Yoriichi," Arthur said, his eyes full of admiration. "After seeing you, I finally understand... there's always someone stronger. Because of you, I have found a new path forward."
After that last cut, he had become Kael's biggest fan.
Kael Vane nodded. "You have talent, in both magic and swords. If you train hard, you will be much stronger in a few years."
Just then, a man ran to the announcer's desk, his face pale. He whispered something.
The announcer was shocked. "What?! That's...!"
He grabbed the microphone.
『I'm sorry, everyone! The award ceremony will have to be postponed!』
『We have just received word that at least 100,000 monsters from the Great Forest of Monsters are heading this way!』
『His Majesty has put the army on high alert!』
『All citizens are to evacuate to the arena! If you are here, do not leave! This arena is also the city's main shelter. We can activate the barrier to block the attack! The king is also calling all swordsmen to defend the city!』
"What?!"
"100,000 monsters?!"
"That's too many!"
The crowd was terrified. That was almost one-tenth of all the monsters in the forest. They had never seen an attack this big.
"Those monsters should've stayed in the forest! Let's show them what happens when they come out!"
"Brothers! This is our chance to make a name for ourselves!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Many of the swordsmen were fired up. They existed to kill monsters. And monsters were valuable.
Kael Vane's face froze.
Are you serious? I was just about to get my money, and now monsters are attacking? Couldn't they wait five more minutes?
Arthur looked at Kael. "Mr. Yoriichi, you will fight with us, won't you?"
Kael Vane nodded with a calm face.
Arthur was thrilled. "Great! We get to see your skills again!"
"I'll take action," Kael said. "But I'll hold back for now. If you run into a monster you can't handle, I'll step in."
"Of course!"
Kael Vane nodded and walked away. The other swordsmen were all heading for the city wall.
When no one was watching, Kael ducked into an empty corner and canceled his transformation, returning to his normal self.
He instantly felt the difference again. The gap in talent was just too big.
"Sigh. What bad luck. A monster attack right now? Guess I'll have to wait to collect my prize money."
『All citizens! The monsters are here! Please evacuate to the arena immediately! I repeat...』
Loud warning sirens blared across the city.
Soon, Erza ran back to the hotel. "Kael! The monsters are here! Let's go help!"
"Alright."
Kael nodded. They didn't have to fight. But Erza's sense of justice wouldn't let her stand by.
And they had accepted the king's mission. If the client was killed, it was their responsibility.
For Kael, the reason was simpler: he hadn't been paid yet.
The two of them ran to the city wall. It was already packed with people.
"Wow. This really is the Kingdom of Swords. Look at all of them," Erza said, shocked. The Fairy Tail guild had about 100 members. There were over 10,000 swordsmen on the wall.
"Yeah." Kael was also stunned. He'd never seen a sight like this.
They found the king.
"You're here!" The king was happy to see them. Erza had lost to Arthur, but Arthur was the strongest in the kingdom. Erza was definitely at a nine-star level.
He didn't know Kael's true strength, but based on the newspaper report from the Phantom Lord incident, he was also at a nine-star level.
The whole kingdom had less than ten nine-star swordsmen. Having two more strong helpers was a big boost to his plan.
Erza asked, "Your Majesty, what's going on with this monster attack?"
The king explained, "We get them every year, but usually small ones, from a few dozen to a few hundred. The big ones are a few thousand. This... 100,000... this is the first time I have ever seen this."
"It happens when the stronger monsters in the forest drive the weaker ones out. The weak ones panic, and it turns into a stampede."
"That's why... I think this is connected to the magic dragon, Alazam!" the king said, his face serious.
"Alazam..."
Kael and Erza tensed up. Dragons were at the top of the food chain. In this world, even the weakest dragon was not something a human could fight.
"That's right. The dragon's power is terrifying. I suspect it's controlling the strong monsters to create this stampede."
"Miss Erza, have you seen Mr. Yoriichi?" the king asked.
Kael's heart skipped. Is my cover blown?
Erza shook her head. She had wanted to talk to him, but the attack happened.
"I wonder if Mr. Yoriichi would be willing to join our dragon hunt. He is clearly the best choice to wield the sword."
Kael had to stop himself from smiling. If the king knew Yoriichi was Kael, his jaw would hit the floor.
Just then, Rumble...
A loud noise sounded, and the whole ground began to shake.
Everyone tensed, staring at the forest.
"They're here!"