Chapter 69

City of Exiles

I stared silently at Bellium’s statue.

Usually, when people saw a gigantic statue like this, they felt admiration for its beauty or a sense of awe. This time, though, what I felt was slightly different: familiarity and comfort.

The closer I came to the statue, the more violently my heart began to pound. Paradoxically, from the moment I stood before it, I also felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

What exactly was this statue that it could make me feel two completely contradictory things at once? And what kind of secret was hidden inside me?

“Mr. Minjun?”

“…”

“Umm, Mr. Minjun?”

“Ah, yes.”

I had been thinking so deeply that I hadn’t even heard Estelle calling me.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“Yes. It’s… complicated to explain.”

How was I supposed to put this into words? What I was feeling was too complicated to summarize in a single sentence.

“Estelle, could you tell me what kind of person the dragon this statue depicts was?”

“Of course.”

Standing there, Estelle began explaining the history she knew.

Eighty thousand years ago—or perhaps even earlier than that—a dragon named Bellium settled in this place with his child and lived here.

Because a large portion of the records about him had been lost, no one knew exactly why he first chose to settle here and establish a village.

One fact, however, had been confirmed. Bellium’s reason for settling here was connected to his child.

Several historians had tried to uncover the secret surrounding that child, but unlike Bellium, about whom at least fragments of records remained, absolutely no records about his child had survived.

It was almost as if someone had deliberately erased every trace of that child’s existence.

In any case, while staying here with his child, Bellium established a small village for exiles who had nowhere else to go. He dreamed of a warm community where people in similar circumstances could embrace one another and heal each other’s wounds.

Unless someone had committed a grave crime, Bellium accepted those cast out by their groups without discrimination.

The story of a village founded by a dragon for exiles gradually spread throughout the world. More and more people came after hearing the rumors, and the settlement slowly grew larger.

Tens of thousands of years had passed since Bellium’s death, and there had been several major crises that nearly wiped the village out along the way.

Yet thanks to the legacy Bellium left behind, the residents had overcome those dangers and preserved the village for ages.

“What exactly was Bellium’s legacy?”

“He left behind immense treasures, of course, along with several artifacts capable of protecting the residents from outside invasion.”

The sheer quantity of what Bellium left behind was said to be beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.

“Some of Lord Bellium’s artifacts are still in use even now, tens of thousands of years later.”

“Really?”

Since he had personally developed the village, Bellium had apparently been deeply attached to it. Still, how could objects made tens of thousands of years ago remain functional?

“Of course, they no longer display the same power they had when first created. Our craftsmen repair Lord Bellium’s artifacts regularly, but there are limits to what our technology can do.”

Estelle added that because of this, monster invasions and the damage they caused had become more frequent over time.

“I see. Thank you for explaining.”

It was fascinating, but it still gave me no clue about the connection between the statue and me. Perhaps if I heard more detailed stories, I might eventually find something useful.

While I silently organized my thoughts, Estelle met my eyes and asked, “Then could you tell me your story too, Mr. Minjun? I’m curious what the world you lived in is like, and how you ended up here.”

“Yes, of course.”

There was always a chance Estelle might notice some clue in my story that could help me return to Earth.

Just as I was about to begin, a heavy bell suddenly rang across the entire city.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

“Oh no.”

While I wondered what it meant, the residents started shouting and moving with startling coordination. Children and the elderly hurried inside for shelter, while everyone else began picking up weapons.

“What’s happening?”

“A monster… attack. The number of times the bell rings depends on the danger level. Normally it only rings once or twice.”

Estelle’s expression became serious as she continued.

“But three rings means the situation is much more severe than usual.”

Judging from the faces of the residents moving toward the walls, this clearly wasn’t an ordinary event.

“I’ll help too.”

“You will, Mr. Minjun?”

Estelle asked again, clearly surprised by the offer.

“Yes. I’m a Hunter—no, a warrior too. If there’s something I can do to help, then I should.”

Maybe it was simply a Hunter’s instinct to charge in the moment someone said monsters had appeared. I had no idea what kind of terrifying creatures might show up, but at the very least, I should draw my sword and see what I could do.

Besides, it wasn’t as if I was likely to die. My spatial storage still contained all the powerful artifacts Sia had given me, so I had little reason to be afraid.

“Thank you. Then please follow me.”

I ran after Estelle, and with the help of a mage who joined us along the way, we quickly reached the top of the city wall.

I had wondered how many monsters could possibly be approaching to make everyone react like this. The moment I saw the view outside the walls, I understood.

“What in the world…”

I thought I had become reasonably accustomed to seeing monsters while clearing Gates, but I had never seen this many gathered in one place.

The sky was covered by packs of wyverns of every size. They repeatedly slammed their bodies against the transparent barrier surrounding the city, trying to shatter it.

And it wasn’t only the wyverns. Looking down below, I saw an uncountable mass of monsters swarming around the walls.

Their numbers were staggering, and the variety was just as extreme. Everything from slimes, classified among the weakest monsters, to Minotaurs considered A-rank threats surrounded the city.

At this point, calling it a monster invasion almost felt too mild. This looked more like a natural disaster.

I didn’t know how strong the residents gathering here with weapons were, but judging from the atmosphere, even they seemed overwhelmed by the scale of the attack.

“Estelle, how serious is this…?”

“It’s been almost fifty years since I settled in this city. Even so, this is the first time I’ve ever seen this many monsters appear at once.”

As if proving her point, Estelle’s hands trembled badly around her bow. The same was true of the others.

Their races, ages, and genders varied, but every one of them stared at the sky with a grim expression.

“Hey, Estelle. Never seen the man next to you before.”

In the middle of it all, a dwarf adjusting a catapult pointed at me.

“He’s the adventurer who was found collapsed out front yesterday. When he heard about the monster attack, he offered to help defend the city with us.”

“Is that so? Admirable fellow. Hey, Adventurer. Shame we don’t have time for a proper relaxed introduction.”

“I feel the same way.”

Perhaps impressed that an outsider would join the battle, the dwarf laughed heartily and told me everything would be fine before returning to the catapult to prepare.

It was time for me to get ready too.

I pulled every artifact from my spatial storage that might prove useful in battle. I equipped my Dragon Bone Sword first, followed by artifacts enchanted with defensive magic and anything else that might help.

With wyverns in the sky…

I obviously needed to prepare for aerial combat. As a swordsman, I was naturally at a disadvantage against airborne enemies, but Sia had prepared a flight artifact specifically to cover that weakness.

I took it out and equipped it. Estelle, who had been checking her arrows to calm herself, and the soldiers nearby all stared in surprise.

“Adventurer, what are all those artifacts…?”

A young soldier who had been watching me closely approached and asked. That opened the floodgates, and everyone nearby began showing interest.

“My girlfriend gave them to me.”

“…My goodness.”

“Is your girlfriend some kind of imperial princess? How could she possibly have this many…?”

It was hardly the time to let their guard down, but the sheer number of artifacts had shocked them enough that several soldiers gathered around and started firing questions at me.

“I’ll explain later.”

After equipping everything, I tested the flight artifact by lifting into the air.

“Whoa.”

A young-faced soldier beside me let out a quiet exclamation.

I had tested the artifact briefly once before, but this would be the first time I used it in actual combat. I simply hadn’t had a real opportunity until now.

Meanwhile, the wyverns were slamming into the barrier even harder than before, trying to break through.

“The shield can’t hold much longer!”

“Captain! We’re ready!”

“We’ve received word that everyone in the danger zone has evacuated!”

The soldiers shouted loudly to report that preparations were complete. A muscular man who seemed to be their commander raised a crystal orb and bellowed into it.

“Open the protective barrier to Stage One!”

RUMBLE…

The instant the words left his mouth, faint light spread across the transparent barrier and its size gradually began to shrink.

“The enemies are coming. Why are you opening the barrier?”

“Partial damage can be repaired, but if the entire barrier breaks, restoring it takes a very long time. In the long run, we don’t have much choice.”

Estelle answered my confused question. They had first used the barrier to buy enough time for children and the elderly to evacuate, and once preparations were complete, they would partially withdraw it and engage the monsters directly.

But that wasn’t what mattered now.

What mattered was that I was about to fight that massive horde of monsters.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t frightened at all. But running away now would look pathetic too.

The moment the barrier withdrew, the battle began with a thunderous roar from both sides.

I beat the artificial wings mounted on my back and launched myself powerfully from the ground.

Just before the battle began, Estelle nervously fidgeted with her bow, her palms slick with sweat.

I hope Mr. Minjun will be okay.

He had been living peacefully in another dimension until he was unwillingly dropped into this world. He had only recently regained consciousness, and more importantly, Estelle still had no idea how strong he was.

He was a guest from another world, so she had planned to treat him warmly, talk with him at length, and listen to stories about his home. Instead, this crisis had erupted without warning.

Given that Minjun was surely not in perfect condition, Estelle had thought it might be better for him to evacuate with the children and elderly.

Yet without the slightest hesitation, Minjun chose to join complete strangers in defending their city.

Was he frightened? Looking at those wyverns, did he now want to run away?

The people of Elysium had no choice but to throw themselves into battle and risk death to protect the place where they lived, regardless of the odds.

But Minjun was an outsider with no connection to this place.

Why did he decide so quickly…?

Was it because he was confident in his strength? Or did he choose this despite knowing how difficult it would be simply because that was the kind of person he was?

She would probably learn the answer soon enough.

The instant the barrier opened, Minjun flew straight toward the wyverns without hesitation, and trails of gray Aura scattered from his sword, glittering in the air behind him.