Early the next morning, Kiriko's party ran into Naofumi Iwatani's group, who were eating breakfast downstairs in the tavern.
"Good morning, Kiriko-san."
As Kiriko greeted Naofumi, she was busy ordering food for Gabriel, who was loudly complaining about hunger.
"Morning, Naofumi. You're up pretty early."
Naofumi smiled bitterly.
"I couldn't sleep at all, knowing the next Wave is just two hours away."
"Is that right?"
Perhaps because she didn't have a Legendary Weapon, Kiriko hadn't received any information about the exact time of the Wave, despite visiting the Dragon Hourglass yesterday with Naofumi.
Kiriko had theorized before—perhaps her very existence was like a bug in the system.
If she really was a bug, that would explain why she had no Legendary Weapon, and why her level kept rising unchecked.
Bug or not, she hoped this glitch would be as enduring as those beloved Ubisoft games, remaining unfixed no matter how many patches they released.
"Naofumi, about what you mentioned earlier—when the Waves come, all the Heroes get transported directly to the Wave's location… Is that really true?"
"Yes, absolutely."
Naofumi nodded firmly.
"Kiriko-san, let's stick together when it happens, okay? It'll be safer."
"Alright."
Kiriko agreed almost instantly.
Among the Four Cardinal Heroes, the Shield Hero's personality was definitely the easiest to get along with.
She trusted him more than the others anyway.
Staying together would be no trouble at all.
Their companions then introduced themselves to each other.
Kiriko knew Naofumi's companions already—after all, she had personally picked them out.
They greeted Kiriko respectfully, one by one.
For some reason, Kiriko felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
If these guys changed into black suits, that feeling would only grow stronger.
Today, the tavern was unusually empty. Although everyone knew when the Wave would strike, nobody knew exactly where it would appear.
It was even possible for the Wave to spawn right atop the royal capital.
Therefore, all the commoners stayed hidden indoors, while knights and adventurers stood ready to deploy at any moment.
The two hours quickly passed, and suddenly everyone was enveloped by bright light.
When the glow subsided, their surroundings had completely changed.
One moment they were inside the tavern; now they stood in an open field.
Kiriko instinctively looked upward.
The sky had turned deep crimson, filled with swirling purple vortexes, countless black shapes pouring forth from within.
"An angel?"
A disgustingly cheerful voice rang out.
Motoyasu Kitamura, who'd been teleported here along with everyone else, despite originally being somewhere else, immediately dashed toward Gabriel and Raphtalia.
At the moment, Gabriel was in human form, wearing the schoolgirl uniform Kiriko had crafted for her last night. The outfit even had special openings for her white wings.
Itsuki Kawasumi and Ren Amaki, also teleported here, frowned slightly at Motoyasu's behavior.
"Hey, Motoyasu, what are you doing?"
"We need to go, Motoyasu."
Motoyasu ignored them, performing an exaggerated gentleman's bow to Gabriel and Raphtalia.
"My dear, beautiful young ladies—I am Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero. Forgive my abruptness, but time is pressing. After defeating the Wave's monsters, I hope we'll meet again. For now, this place is dangerous—please, retreat quickly."
Having delivered his speech, Motoyasu took up his spear and hurried after Itsuki and Ren, who had grown impatient waiting for him.
He never once acknowledged Kiriko or Naofumi.
The Bow and Sword Heroes' companions glanced curiously at Kiriko's group as they left. Malty, that female adventurer who'd falsely accused them, didn't dare lift her head, rushing past with her gaze glued to the ground.
"Master, please give me a chance—I want to kill that bastard with my own hands!"
Lute's eyes nearly spat flames.
Kiriko hadn't forgotten—it was because of the Spear Hero that Lute had ended up a slave.
"Don't worry. You'll get your chance."
Meanwhile, Naofumi's werewolf companion suddenly recognized their current location.
"Master, we've been teleported near Lute Village—the place where we were helped before."
"What? Lute Village?"
Naofumi's expression turned grim as he gazed upward.
From the purple vortexes above, a large number of monsters flew directly toward Lute Village.
The village was just a simple settlement outside the capital. Even if a few adventurers happened to be staying there, they could never hold off that many monsters.
"Hey, wait!" Naofumi shouted toward the departing trio.
But the Three Heroes merely fired a signal flare into the air to inform the knights of the Wave's location and hurried onward without a second glance.
"Damn it, those bastards think everything's a game…"
Kiriko looked strangely at Naofumi's reaction.
"Naofumi, what's wrong?"
Naofumi's expression brightened.
"Kiriko-san, please come help me protect that village! The villagers took good care of me before—I can't just stand by and do nothing! Please!"
"Oh, I see… alright then."
Kiriko immediately joined Naofumi's party, racing off in the opposite direction of the other three Heroes.
...
The group had been teleported relatively close to Lute Village.
However, the monsters from the Wave were obviously closer.
The villagers realized something terrible was happening when the sky turned crimson, but the kingdom's emergency evacuation preparedness was far behind Kiriko's home world.
This era didn't have air-raid shelters or underground bunkers, either. With monsters swarming outside, the villagers had nowhere safe to flee.
A zombie-like creature in rotten armor raised its rusted sword, about to strike down a paralyzed villager—
"[AIR STRIKE SHIELD]!"
Clang!
A translucent green shield suddenly appeared in mid-air, blocking the monster's attack.
Kiriko casually swung her sword, slicing the zombie cleanly into pieces.
"Since when did you install 360 Total Security? Not bad, not bad."
Gabriel transformed into her Filolial form, tearing apart nearby monsters with her claws.
Naofumi's companions also scattered to assist the villagers.
But the most remarkable performance belonged to Raphtalia.
"I command thee, source of power!"
"Decipher the forces of logic and grant me holy radiance!"
As Raphtalia chanted her spell, her staff erupted with blinding white light.
Several monsters pouring from the Wave were momentarily blinded by the flash.
Taking advantage of their blindness, Raphtalia swung her staff full-force at their heads.
With multiple buffs stacked beforehand, she smashed their skulls effortlessly in a single blow.
Rest in peace, Honored Ancestors—such terrifying Staff Arts!