In the forest…

A sea of fire had manifested.

“Aghhhhhhh!”

“Get away from me! Get away…!”

-Swiiiiiiiiiish!

-Booooooooooom!

The gates of the city were still being attacked by the creatures of darkness but most of their numbers had already been eliminated.

There were only a few of them left here now so the players had started going inside the forest to look for the other forces since according to the logs, only a hundred or two creatures had died until now.

There were still a lot of them left and since they weren’t coming out anymore, the players, along with the elite troops had to go in.

They knew there were still many of the evil minions left, so they weren’t just going to stop doing everything when the creatures were still present.

The boss monster, and the main target of the quest, the dark mage was still hiding somewhere in the forest so at the very least, they had to look for it and deal with it as well… so, they went inside of the forest with the basic intentions of looking for the dark mage.

However, they ended up falling into a stupid trap.

“…”

-Zaaaaaaa…

The minions of evil mage were all waiting for their arrival not too deep into the forest.

They were physical damage dealers but they were carrying magical items that the dark mage had handed to them.

These items- mostly resembling small magic rocks, contained magic spells that sealed off the players into a barrier.

Once sealed, since they would not have any outside support, the minions easily defeated the advanced party made up mostly of players of high ranks.

There were a few guards accompanying them, but many of them managed to get out of their positions and survived the sudden ambush, but not everyone was as fortunate as them.

“Graaaaaa!”

Many natives, guards for most parts, also fell victim to this sudden attack and the one who profited from it, the dark mage who had been observing this whole situation from the back, was still unhappy at the current state of his plans.

He had prepared more than enough troops to take down this small town, and since according to His knowledge, there was also no one who would stand in his way in this town, the fall of the town and gathering of enough sacrifices for the summoning ritual was a matter of time.

He did not even have to make a move himself so he was just observing everything from the back, looking at the non-futile attempt of the mortals who did not understand the purity of the evil that he followed.

“Gurrrrrrr!”

They were dying by the hands of the creatures that once belonged to nature, creatures that could not resist the great attraction of the darkness and now had fallen to the grasp of evil.

Surely the Fact that they were merely dead weight to the name of evil, and were nothing more than tools to help a true chosen one like him in his great endeavors was eternal.

-Oooooooooooooong!

But since the ones they were after today were merely some mortal low level town folks and other worldly people cursed by destiny, he did not have to make a move and waste more of his energy than it was needed.

He had already worked hard to prepare for all this, so he deserved some rest.

[ “Haaa…” ]

Though, from the looks of it, it did not seem like he was going to get the rest that he deserved.

-Booooooooooooom!

[ “Useless dirty beasts.” ]

The beasts that he had prepared with the blessed energy of the higher beings that he served the assistants that THEY provided him were now on the verge of collapse.

The ones that should have surrounded and attacked the small town and overtaken it completely now lay dead in the certain areas that seemed to be prepared beforehand by the weak mortals of this town.

He remembered there were some flies that had managed to see him and discover his existence in the forest, but he did not think they would have reported it to the Mayor in such a timely manner.

They were already dealt with by him so there was no question about their lives, but, since things had fallen out this much… the only thing he could do now was to make a move himself.

[ “How bothersome.” ]

He had made these creatures and obtained these assistants so that he could deal with the certain individual that THEY wanted him to get rid of.

They had enough power to crush the entire town and kill the guards, knights, mages, as well as the mayor in the process.

He just needed to deal with that certain individual and for that, he could just destroy this whole place in the process. It would be much more effective than searching for that individual and dealing with them systematically.

That was only possible when he had the complete force that he had prepared. But now that he did not have that, all that he could do was…

“Captain! That way!”

“I hear screams. Everyone, prepare!”

“Get in defensive formation!”

Coming out of the special space that he was hiding in all this time, he stood before the most advanced party led by the highest ranking individual in this town himself.

[ “Oh? Is that the guard’s captain?” ]

The guard’s captain was accompanied by the knights and the best mages of the town so, even as they faced the evil boss that appeared out of the blue- the goal of the quest, the party did not feel any fear.

[{ “Mages! Prepare!” }]

The enemy was alone while on the other side, they had numerical advantage.

All of their members were some of the highest level individuals of this town, as well as some of the most formidable in their fields.

There were knight tanks with him that were sturdy and known for their strength, mages who had years of battle experience, knights with the power to wield Aura, and though they did not have a priest with them, they had mages specialized in grace, and healing spells.

The guard captain knew how difficult this challenge might be as he stood before the humanoid being with ashen pale skin, deep black eyes with no whiteness in them, and someone completely covered in a thin layer of a murky dark energy.

But, even though words of that certain girl to not engage in a fight with the dark mage without them resonated in his head, he could not do anything when faced with the evil.

[ “Kekekeke. To think you would walk right before me on your own feet, hun, captain.” ]

The mage was already aiming for this person from the start since he knew he was one of the strongest in the town.

Dealing with him would mean dealing with one of the major forces of the town, so, when the guard captain appeared before him, a delighted smile had appeared on his three mouths as well.

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