After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
"Enemy reinforcements incoming!"
We had been pushing forward through the ruined city of Finis for a while.
Once again, we were struggling in a skirmish.
"I’ll handle that one! I’m leaving this area to you!"
"Yes, Sensei!"
I left the directions to Silk and turned to face the newly appeared One-Eyed Demon Bull Tauropos.
This was already the third time today I’d had to fight this thing.
Apparently, it has sharper ears than expected—whenever a skirmish breaks out, it shows up right away.
I waved my fingers and rapidly cast a series of debuff spells.
〈Paralysis〉, 〈Collapse〉, 〈Slow〉, 〈Venom〉, 〈Blindness〉…
And as a finishing touch: 〈Gravity〉.
Thanks to my slightly altered, custom-made body, my specialty debuff magic now works really well.
I wasn’t sure whether to be happy about becoming this “abnormal,” but for now, it was saving me.
"Bmoo... Bmoooooo!"
Crushed by gravity and unable to move, the One-Eyed Demon Bull Tauropos let out a roar that sounded like a scream.
Looks like I got it good.
"Reinforcements from the main avenue! Lots of them!"
"Damn it, we’ve been had!"
At Nene’s words, I looked toward the direction she indicated—and saw monsters like Tauropos, Zarnugs, and a massive reptilian beast I’d never seen before crushing the debris of old storefronts and closing in on us.
This wasn’t just about avoiding attrition anymore—just as I braced myself, several of the monsters surrounding us were suddenly sent flying with clouds of dust.
"Yo, yo, I finally found ya—Yuke Feldio."
A voice came from somewhere, and someone appeared beside me.
It was someone I’d only ever seen through livestreams—one of the members of the A-rank party Granzblow.
"You’re from… Granzblow…"
"Yup, name’s Jabba, nice to meetcha."
The white-haired man adjusted his glasses and grinned slyly.
He looked every bit the villain, but he was, without a doubt, part of the A-rank party that Welmeria took pride in.
"Well, let’s get along, yeah? Bro. Or should I say, step-bro? Whatever, we’ll hold the line here—so you go on ahead."
"Why are you here?"
"Hey, don’t sweat the details. Guess you could say I’m just being selfish this time? I owed Benwood’s old man a little, and my dear ol’ mom wouldn’t stop naggin’ me to come help. So yeah, that’s the gist of it, bro-therrr~."
I didn’t really get it, but the truth was—we were saved.
The monsters swarming us were being wiped out at an unbelievable pace.
So this is the true power of Granzblow, the party that rivals Scordia in the Kingdom of Welmeria…
"Go on, get moving!"
"Thank you very much!"
"Ah, just one thing."
"What is it?"
Pointing at me, Jabba smirked.
"I'm the older brother, got it? You're the younger one. Don't forget that, alright? …Oiii, Git! Save some of the fun for me, will ya?"
With that cryptic remark, Jabba dashed off.
In the end, I still had no idea what he meant about being ‘brothers,’ but… he really had helped us.
The worst-case scenario had been avoided, and a path forward was now open.
"W-What just happened?"
"Our seniors came to back us up! Let’s leave this to them and head out ahead!"
"Roger that!"
Hearing the sounds of battle behind us, we took off running.
From the look of things, they didn’t need our help. And staying here would only waste the effort they were making for us.
I’d never dealt directly with Granzblow or met this Jabba person before, but even so—they were our comrades, fighting for Finis just like us.
Which meant we had to push forward, no matter what.
"Silk! Summon Biblion. I want to avoid any more ambushes."
"Understood."
Silk gently touched her silver hair, and from the nape of her neck, a small white snake-shaped spirit appeared, floating gently into the air.
"I’m counting on you, Biblion."
"Ssshhiii…!"
Biblion responded with a sharp hiss and reacted instantly.
As if echoing its response, Silk’s sharp gaze locked onto the path ahead.
"We’ll run into another skirmish just up ahead."
"Already? Everyone, stay sharp! We can’t let Granzblow’s efforts go to waste!"
"—Now that’s the kinda attitude I like to hear."
A voice, soft and round like pearls rolling, came from behind.
Along with it, the sound of several approaching footsteps.
"Leave this to your big sister, alright? So don’t you worry about a thing."
"Marona-san!?"
"Geez… Yuke-han, you’re so cold. Going off on your own when we’re right here?"
With those words and a gentle smile stood Marona, the leader of Carmine.
"You’re heading for the 'Tower,' right? Just like that time, huh. Let us clear the way for you."
Just as we were about to clash with a horde of monsters, Carmine all drew their weapons in unison.
But there were a lot of them—far more than earlier.
Probably because we were nearing the central district… but still, was it really okay to leave this all to them?
"We’re here too!"
From behind Carmine, a familiar voice rang out.
Light on their feet but moving with strength, the members of Misty—who once joined the dungeon race at Glad Shi -Im—lined up beside us.
I’d heard they were forced to suspend activity due to the effects of “Twilight,” but seeing them back on their feet like this was honestly a relief.
"We're here to repay our debt!"
"A debt…?"
"Thanks to you all clearing that dungeon, we were able to come back. That’s more than enough to call it a favor!"
Alice, the leader of Misty, gave a cheerful, Marina-like smile.
"We heard the story—someone close to you is trapped in the 'Tower,' right? Go get them back."
So Benwood ran his mouth again…
Still, if it meant that Carmine and Misty came to help, maybe I should just be grateful.
"Thank you. We’re counting on you!"
"Absolutely. Leave this to us! Misty, advance! Follow the big sisters!"
The girls exchanged nods and swiftly moved ahead of us.
Like a wedge, they tore through the horde of monsters and cleared a path forward.
"Clover, move out! Head for the 'Tower'!"
"Yeah! Let’s go!"
"Thank you all! I swear we’ll repay this debt!"
Rain and Silk dashed forward, and I followed close behind.
There were far too many enemies for them to hold out long.
A chaotic battle would no doubt break out soon after.
"Hang in there, now. From here on, it’s the real deal."
As we passed by, I thought I heard Marona-san whisper those encouraging words.
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