Help! My Overprotective S-Rank Master Who Loves Me Too Much Won't Let Me Go on Quests! - Chapter 43: Aria Feruste vs. the Monster Horde

Chapter 43: Aria Feruste vs. the Monster Horde

“…There’s a lot more than I expected.”

Milena seemed pretty frantic about the situation, but from what I can see, there are about seven thousand on the ground and three thousand in the air—ten thousand in total. Why did they have to show up right when I was having such an important conversation with Adin-kun?

“Well, no matter how many weaklings gather up────they can’t beat me.”

I decided to wipe out this horde as quickly as possible so I could get back to my conversation with Adin-kun, and also so that he wouldn’t have to risk his life in this fight.

“I’m not in the best of moods right now, so I won’t be holding back… But don’t take it personally—you’re the ones who decided to attack us right now.”

They couldn’t hear me, and even if they could, they wouldn’t understand human speech, but I muttered those words anyway before unleashing a wide-range lightning spell, targeting both the ground and air.

That strike took out about 400 monsters. I thought it’d defeat more, but… something feels wrong.

It must be that when I spread the spell over a wide area, the power gets diluted. For now, I kept launching lightning magic wherever I saw monsters… about 7,000 left. I felt like I wasn’t defeating as many as I thought at first, but after that initial odd feeling, it felt like normal. Maybe it was just my imagination.

The monsters seemed completely focused on reaching the town, so it looked like I could wipe them out eventually──── but whether I could finish them off before they reached the town was basically a 50/50 chance. As I kept throwing lightning spells at the monsters, weighing whether I should destroy them all or retreat with Adin-kun, I heard voices coming from the ground.

“Feruste-san’s already fighting the monsters! Let’s follow her lead!”

“Yeah!”

On the ground, a large group of adventurers—most of them looked to be A or B-rank—charged into the horde and began fighting alongside me.

It’s nice to save my magic power, but now that they’re here, I couldn’t use any wide-area magic on the ground without possibly hitting them in the process. So, in the end, it balances out. For now, I focused my attacks on the airborne monsters, where the adventurers were struggling to attack. But those monsters would reach the town in about ten minutes… and there were about 3,500 on the ground and 1,000 in the air.

“…Huh?”

As I continued wiping out the flying monsters, something caught my eye.

…I hadn’t noticed because of all the magical distortion, but now I could see it—one monster at the center of the horde was empowering all the others. That’s why I hadn’t been able to take down as many as I previously expected. That strange, sickening feeling I had earlier… it was because of that.

The reason I no longer felt that discomfort was that the monsters outside its range weren’t being empowered.

“……”

I don’t know if it’s a Demon King Army officer, but it’s clear that monster in the center is leading the horde. If I defeat it, their entire formation will crumble.

The other adventurers hadn’t noticed that yet… the leader’s blending in well, using the mass of monsters as camouflage. Even I just figured it out from flying up here, so it’s no surprise they have no clue.

“Should I tell the adventurers on the ground to target that monster?”

No, there’s no time. And to reach it, they’d have to break their current formation.

“…Looks like it’s all up to me.”

I restrained my magic as much as possible while flying through the air, closing in on the monster that was empowering the others. I could attack from here, but if I do, it might sense my magic and use the other monsters as shields… So…

“I’ll just take it out in one shot, and then finish the rest!”

With that decision, I rapidly approached the monster, aimed directly at it, and struck with a flame spell, wiping it out.

“Now to retreat────”

But just as I was about to pull back, several monsters rushed at me without caring that their comrades had been slain…

“Pointless.”

I immediately froze them with ice magic and attempted to withdraw into the air again────

“W-what the heck!?”

Even though these monsters had been solely focused on attacking the town, all 700 airborne monsters suddenly turned and charged straight at me.

They’d be on me in five seconds… With my current state, having just used ice magic and wind magic to launch myself into the air, I couldn’t take out 700 monsters in five seconds. It’s barely possible────no, I’m Adin-kun’s master. I can’t afford to say anything is impossible!

Even if it costs me everything, I’ll protect Adin-kun’s safety!

I resolved to use 90% of my remaining magic, leaving only 10% to retreat────

“Huh?”

Just as I resolved to defend Adin-kun from the horde, 200 of the monsters in front of me vanished. Only 500 left?

With no enhancements, these remaining 500 monsters would be easy to defeat in five seconds.

I immediately unleashed a flame spell, wiping out the remaining 500, and then swiftly retreated into the air.

“…But who took out those 200?”

“Aria-san! Are you okay!?”

Suddenly, Adin-kun floated up beside me, flying in the air… Wait, Adin-kun!?