From the moment Alice came flying in, to the Guild contacting the guards, Loki's movements could be seen as incredibly swift.
The adventurers from the Ganesha Familia were also truly excellent.
Guiding the civilians was second nature to them, probably because attacks on Orario from the outside happened every now and then.
In this world, besides Orario, there were other places where gods resided.
Take, for instance, the Rakia Kingdom, which often came to Orario to pick fights. Their god was Ares, the God of War, who adored conflict. Since he couldn't stir up large-scale wars within Orario, Ares became the patron god of Rakia.
Rakia was a fiercely warlike nation, especially after Ares became their god. They'd frequently march on Orario to wage war.
Although every time they came, they'd be beaten back, one after another, by Orario's Familias.
You could say they fought only to lose, and lost only to fight again.
So, it wasn't just the Ganesha Familia adventurers who were experts at leading civilians to safety.
Even the ordinary folks who came to Orario, especially those there for business, were quite familiar with this whole evacuation drill.
And so, the evacuation work proceeded in an orderly and well-organized manner.
If nothing went wrong, Loki had probably already started mobilizing adventurers with Orario's top-tier combat strength to come and assist Alice in resisting the Black Dragon.
Everything seemed to be going very smoothly.
But Alice didn't let her guard down just because the preparations were going well.
As long as that sense of crisis within her heart remained, she wouldn't relax. The Black Dragon's target was her.
She knew that if the Black Dragon descended, she would be its primary target.
In a situation like this, hiding would actually be the way to save her life.
However, no one in Orario now knew just how powerful the Black Dragon was, and Alice wasn't clear on it either, so avoiding it wasn't necessary.
If Orario was directly destroyed, then there'd be no point in Alice hiding anyway.
On the contrary, right now, Alice was very confident in her own life-preserving abilities. Since the Black Dragon's target was her, she could perfectly act as bait to attract its attention.
Thereby allowing Orario's adventurers to attack the Black Dragon.
As long as she, the bait, was enticing enough, the Black Dragon wouldn't focus its attacks on anyone else.
Up to this point, the defensive preparations had progressed very smoothly.
Alice didn't know the situation inside the city, but outside the city walls, under the direction of the Ganesha adventurers, the crowd was being dispersed very quickly.
But...
Even at this speed, it was still just a little too slow.
Because right now, the legendary Black Dragon had already appeared within everyone's line of sight.
A massive shadow obscured the sun in the sky like a cloud, making people unable to resist looking up.
And looking up, they could see a gigantic black figure in the sky, its wings flapping, its form so immense it blotted out the sun.
It caused intense panic to rise in people's hearts.
"What is that?"
"A dragon? Is it a dragon?"
"The One-Eyed Black Dragon... is the world ending?"
"It can't be... This isn't the monster the guards mentioned earlier, is it? What kind of monster is this! This is a world-ending calamity!"
"It's over. It's all over. The world is doomed."
Though it was just a silhouette, the oppressive aura the Black Dragon brought with it had already thrown everyone still at the scene into a panic.
First, the Dragon's enormous size was visually terrifying.
Moreover, Alice could feel the rampant magical power within the Black Dragon, a chaotic energy identical to that of the Dungeon's monsters, spilling out uncontrollably.
The magical power of this world stemmed from a living being's spirit.
The Black Dragon's spirit was clearly immensely powerful, and the magical power converted from this spirit had a mind-affecting quality.
So, the people outside the city gates, under the influence of the Black Dragon's vast magical power, were succumbing to despair.
"Spirit Art: Dispel."
Right at that moment, Alice's voice rang out.
Starting from Alice, a wave of magical power spread out in all directions. Since the magical power spilling from the Black Dragon was affecting the minds of those around, Alice could use her own magical power to influence the people around her in a similar mental way.
The Black Dragon's magical power was vast; Alice was certain, judging from the energy spilling from it, that her own power currently paled in comparison.
But the Black Dragon's power was just leaking out uncontrollably, without direction.
Counteracting the effects of such power with her own magical energy wasn't a problem for Alice.
"Lady Alice!"
Two guards from the Ganesha Familia ran over to Alice. Their own hearts had just been affected by the Black Dragon's magical power as well.
They had seen Alice's actions clearly.
Seeing them, Alice raised her hand. In her palm, a stack of crystal-like cards instantly appeared.
"Take these. They're temporary magical cards. Get everyone around here away now. This place is about to become a battlefield, so get as far away as possible."
"These talismans contain simple barrier magic. Because they were made temporarily using my magic, this stack will only last for about an hour."
"Within this hour, quickly find a safe place for everyone."
Alice handed the newly created talisman cards to the two guards. They took the cards, looked at Alice, and said, "Lady Alice, we just received word that Lady Loki has already gathered members of the Freya Familia."
"They're on their way now. Please, buy us some time. Not much is needed; they're all top-tier adventurers. A minute or two will be enough."
Hearing this, Alice smiled slightly. "Mhm, I understand. Thank you for your efforts. Now hurry and leave."
As she spoke, Alice directly raised her arm.
A dozen or so dolls flew out from behind her.
"The Black Dragon is about to attack. Run. Now."
Alice could feel the magical power within the Black Dragon gathering rapidly. With the Dragon's movements, she could sense even the ambient magical energy in the surrounding space becoming agitated.
Even though the Black Dragon right now seemed to just be flying in the sky, not doing anything.
Then, in the very next moment, the Black Dragon in the sky opened its maw and let out a deafening roar. Simultaneously, with its roar, a torrent of black magical energy surged forth from its mouth, rushing straight toward Alice.
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