They were supposed to protect what was left of humanity, to fight and grow stronger, to absorb the bodies of their fallen comrades, and to gain the power to recreate the world.
But before they could even gain the strength to fight on their own, the last safe haven of the world had fallen.
And with the lifeless body of a child in his blood-drenched hands, they lost those they were meant to protect.
"Wake up… Arezu…"
---
Whether it was someone in his dream or perhaps Lynn calling his name, Arezu woke from his nap while sitting inside the moving carriage.
"I'm sorry for suddenly falling asleep, Ms. Lynn."
There were only two of them in their adventurer's party—excluding the two horses Lynn treated as members, at least as Arezu believed.
As the warrior and vanguard, it was his role to protect the mage. Yet he had dozed off halfway to their quest's location.
"You must be really tired, Mr. Arezu."
"...I am tired."
"Then you can go back to sleep without worry. The monsters in this area are weak compared to how strong I am."
Whether her claim was foolish arrogance or proud confidence, there was something else Arezu was more concerned about.
"About the quest, Ms. Lynn."
"Like I said, we're going to exterminate a monster nest—a Warg's nest, to be exact."
***
After half a day of travel by carriage, heading southwest from the capital, Lynn and Arezu finally arrived at the settlement that had submitted the Monster-Extermination Quest—a newly built farming settlement of around three hundred individuals that had been established to expand food production for the capital of the Eileen Kingdom.
"Are you saying the Guild only sent two adventurers?"
"And just a copper-rank warrior and an iron-rank mage?"
"This is ridiculous! We even requested assistance from the kingdom's forces with how big the Warg's nest is!"
"That's why the Adventurers' Guild sent me," Lynn said proudly, making the three armored soldiers guarding the settlement's entrance even more confused and worried by what they could only assume was foolish arrogance.
Looking around, Arezu saw a crumbling section of the settlement wall, which he assumed the wargs had destroyed to get inside.
The fact that the wall was made of stone and boulders, towering as high as a single-story building, only proved the strength of the wargs.
Even though a mage was already repairing the wall with what Arezu assumed was earth-based magic, it would only be destroyed again once the wargs returned to attack.
As the leader of the soldiers explained, they had only managed to defend the settlement because it was a small number—not the entire nest—that had attacked since yesterday.
Regardless, in a single day, a few dozen settlers had died, including several soldiers.
Seeing the burial—the families gathered, a priest in white vestments praying for the dead—reminded Arezu of those he had failed to protect, those who had died before him and in his hands.
"Let's go, Mr. Arezu."
Lynn tapped his back, drawing his attention from the burial to the three soldiers.
"They'll show us where they found the Warg's nest."
***
Wargs are canine-type monsters with defining features of blackened fur and malnourished bodies, their bones protruding through their skin.
They can devour anything their fangs can tear and their jaws can chew, yet no matter how much they eat, they remain skin and bones, unable to satisfy their insatiable hunger.
Like other monsters, the more they devour—humans, beasts, plants, or even other monsters—the stronger they become.
"That's what I'm saying. The Warg leading the nest has probably devoured hundreds of prey. We should wait until the Guild can send a silver-rank adventurer," said the priest, who had joined the group at the last minute.
"Like I said, that's why I'm here."
"But your tag is only iron-rank."
Arezu continued walking behind them, watching Lynn's incomprehensible argument with the priest while the three soldiers led the way.
After an hour of walking west through the forest, they found the Warg's nest.
A large portion of the forest, nearly a kilometer in radius, had turned barren because more than two hundred wargs had devoured the vegetation.
Half of them were as large as an average person, while the others were at least a meter tall.
At the center of the barren land stood the monster that had built the nest—a six-meter-tall Warg.
"Your hands are trembling, Mr. Arezu," Lynn said in disbelief, surprised at Arezu's reaction as he stared at the monster from the edge of its territory.
He had fought for a decade in his world, slain thousands of monsters, yet each time he faced one, his hands still trembled in fear—the fear of monsters he alone had inherited from his creator.
"I can't help it. I'm a coward, after all," Arezu said, gazing at his right hand gripping his axe.
"I don't think you are."
"And why is that?"
"If your companion is scared himself, then we should really head back and just defend the village. There's no way we can win against a monster with strength equal to a silver-rank—maybe even a gold-rank." the terrified priest interrupted.
"That won't be necessary, right, Mr. Arezu?"
"What do you—"
Before he could finish asking, Lynn suddenly tackled him aside, shoving him out of the bushes they were hiding in and straight into the Warg's nest.
Arezu wanted to complain, of course, but the wargs didn't give him time to glance back at Lynn.
He gripped his axe tightly, trying to overcome the trembling in his hands. Forcing his legs to move, Arezu rushed to intercept the incoming horde.
Imbuing his axe with mana, he unleashed his combat technique—Meteor—the instant he struck the ground.
The destructive aura of his strike triggered an avalanche of earth, rocks, and boulders that swallowed everything in its path, burying a third of the wargs.
His strike drew the attention of the entire nest—but that was what he wanted. He would rather die first than watch another comrade fall before him, even if they were only a temporary party.
The larger wargs attacked in succession from all directions.
Arezu swiftly recovered his stance, continuing to imbue mana into his weapon as he unleashed another combat technique—Thunderclaps.
Each swing of his axe released a shockwave that broke the sound barrier, making his next swing faster and more destructive.
Again and again, he struck, cutting down the wargs—severing necks, splitting skulls, cleaving bodies in half—until the Warg itself challenged him.
BAAAMMMM!
A thunderous roar echoed through the barren forest as the massive Warg lunged to devour him, its fangs clashing against Arezu's axe.
The impact released a powerful shockwave that cleared the dust and pushed the smaller wargs back, yet Arezu held his ground without difficulty.
But while he was occupied, the remaining wargs charged toward Lynn's group at the edge of the nest.
Arezu shoved the Warg back and frantically turned away from his opponent to rush toward Lynn.
"Ms. Lynn—!"
"Didn't I say, Mr. Arezu? The monsters in this area are weak compared to how strong I am—Obelisk."
The instant Lynn raised her right hand, she cast her offensive spell.
The three soldiers and the priest stumbled to the ground, terrified by the gruesome sight before them.
Even Arezu halted mid-run, staring in disbelief at the aftermath of her magic.
More than a hundred blackened rock spikes had erupted from the ground, impaling every warg. Their bodies hung in midair as blood dripped, soaking the ground.
"Of course, you should be concerned about me, but you shouldn't turn your back on your opponent while fighting, Mr. Arezu," Lynn said, proudly walking through the pool of blood.
Arezu understood what she meant. But he no longer needed to worry about the Warg.
It had already died—dozens of massive blackened rock spikes impaling its body and locking its jaws in place before it could bite him from behind.
***
With the Warg's nest wiped out, the three soldiers gathered the monster cores from the corpses, while the priest prayed over them.
Meanwhile, Lynn and Arezu stood beneath the shade of a tree, keeping watch for any monsters.
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me, Mr. Arezu?"
Arezu did have a complaint. He had long been prepared to die fighting monsters—but being pushed toward his death was still annoying.
"At least apologize, Ms. Lynn."
"Haven't you heard the saying? Sometimes all someone needs is a little push."
Her bright, cheerful smile made it impossible for him to continue complaining.
With a heavy sigh, Arezu decided to let it go.
But Lynn wasn't done.
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me, Mr. Arezu?" she repeated, this time with a subtle threat hidden behind her cheerful smile.
Arezu didn't know what Lynn wanted him to say, so he spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"You really are strong, Ms. Lynn."
"Just who do you think I am?"
"That's exactly what I've been wondering."
***
After gathering all the monster cores—the only useful parts of the wargs—and after the priest finished praying so the corpses wouldn't rise as undead, Lynn once again demonstrated her strength.
"Obelisk"
With the casting of her spell, a massive fissure opened in the ground and swallowed the two hundred warg corpses before sealing shut and burying them.
They returned to the settlement before sunset, bringing the good news that the Warg's nest had been exterminated.
Lynn graciously donated all the monster cores to help the settlement rebuild—or particularly bragging, in Arezu's words—and kept only the Warg's core as proof for the Guild: a dark marble crystal twice the size of a fist.
Before they left, a few children from the settlement approached Arezu behind the carriage.
"Thank you for protecting us and our home, Mister Adventurer."
"—!"
"My, my~ so you can make that kind of face, Mr. Arezu."