Chapter 17: Welcome, sir?

The people charging with torches rekindled a fighting spirit they had forgotten.

“Let’s finish off the Black Calamity!”

“For the peace of Elysium!”

“Those monsters, we won’t let them show their faces around here again!”

But—.

The feet of those running at the front suddenly stopped.

In an instant, they sank up to their ankles, no, up to their calves.

“…Huh?”

“What is this…?”

People simultaneously lowered their torches and looked at the ground.

“…W, wait a minute. This is a swamp?!”

“Ughhh! The more I move, the deeper I sink!”

“Hey, isn’t it common sense not to struggle in a swamp?!”

Someone fell over and dropped their torch.

The black swamp illuminated by the firelight shimmered strangely.

People standing behind hurriedly threw ropes they had brought.

“Hey, grab it!”

“Th, thank you—!”

“Ah, that idiot. He struggled so much he’s submerged up to his chest.”

People desperately pulled on the ropes.

But the black swamp was stickier than they had imagined,

And the more they tried to get out, the deeper it swallowed them.

Right at that moment—.

The bunnies, who had been watching from beyond the entrance, hopped over the fence.

The bunnies, who were more tender-hearted and kind than anyone else.

Even though these were the people who had attacked them,

They did not turn a blind eye to those in trouble.

Even to the point of neatly placing their precious carrots next to the fence.

The bunnies flapped their large ears and quickly approached the swamp.

However, in the eyes of the people, they just looked like monsters seizing an opportunity.

“Uwaaaaaaah! Those monsters are back again!”

“…Cowardly things!”

“We can revive! Never mind us and just attack those monsters—!…Huh?”

The body of the shouting person popped out of the swamp with a ‘plop’ as if a radish was being pulled out.

The bunnies didn’t care about the people’s gazes.

They were just busy taking people out one by one with their short, plump arms.

-Plop!

• Pop!

The people being lifted out in the bunnies’ arms,

And the people watching the scene,

All stared at the bunnies with bewildered faces.

“…Wh, what is this?”

“……Are they, helping us?”

“N, no way! They must be up to something!”

As if their predictions were right,

The bunnies spread their arms wide and tightly hugged the people they had pulled out.

It was just a gesture of ‘I’m glad you’re safe’, but the people had no way of knowing.

The people’s faces turned pale in an instant.

“Uwaaaaaaah! I’m caught!”

“Let go, you monster! What are you doing!”

“Uwaaah, someone, please get this off me!”

However, both the bunnies and the people were covered in sticky red bean paste.

The more they struggled to get off, the more tightly they adhered to the bunnies’ embrace.

“Hey, let go of me! I said let go!”

“Why are you sticking to me more and more!”

“Damn it, never mind us and attack—! Hurryyyyyy—!”

At the desperate screams of their neighbors,

A warrior wielding a two-handed sword closed his eyes tightly and unleashed a sword aura.

-Shooooooock─!

A sharp blue sword aura cut through the air and plunged towards the bunny.

The bunny, without hesitation, exposed its back to protect the person in its arms.

Unable to block it with its carrot, cotton fluff burst out with a ‘poof’.

But—.

Such a weak attack could not stop the bunny.

The bunny judged that the life of the person in its arms was in danger.

They looked at each other and flapped their ears.

Then, as if promised, they all started to run away, holding the people in their arms.

“Uwaaaaaaah! Th, these monsters are kidnapping meeeee!”

“Someone, someone stop them! The kids are being dragged away!”

“Hey, Brian! You’re the core force, what are you doing being captured!”

Brian, who boasted 50 consecutive wins in the village archery competition.

But he was,

Just an archer with excellent accuracy.

He had enough muscle strength to draw a bow,

But not enough strength to escape the bunny’s sticky red bean paste hug.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaack—!”

“……Save….”

People faded into the distance in vain.

The magician, who had been chanting spells diligently from behind, finally solidified the swamp with magic.

“Ooh~!”

“As expected of the Archmage!”

He had long since given up studying magic,

And most of the spells except for the ones he used were hazy in his memory,

But to the villagers, he was still a legendary Archmage.

“…Well, this much is simple.”

“Weren’t you failing to cast the spell and kept retrying until just now?”

“…Read the room.”

In the cheers of the people, the magician smiled awkwardly.

“Okay. Let’s advance. We have to save them.”

“Let’s hurry before it’s too late.”

The magic was clumsy, so their feet sank in quite a bit, but it was much better than before.

People sped up and chased after the bunnies.

The bizarre entrance gate in front of them stimulated their fear and anger.

They had soon run close to the bunnies.

Even while panting heavily, they kept moving forward relentlessly, at that moment.

Something that should not have been there appeared before their eyes.

“…Wait a minute.”

“……Isn’t that, a child?”

“It’s a kid, right? I’m not seeing things, am I?!”

“Why is a kid alone in a place like this?!”

A small girl was standing in front of the entrance gate.

Whether the swamp was sucking the child in, the child was looking down at her legs.

‘…Just what, is that child?'”

“We need to help her first..”

“Hey, wait, ugh, suddenly my eyes!”

“…..!”

“Wh, what is it?!”

A light like the sun rapidly approached and instantly snatched the child away.

People simultaneously turned their gazes towards it.

The one who snatched the child was,

A monster boasting a size incomparable to the ones before.

Holding a shining club high,

The sight of it holding the child in one hand looked like the beginning of a hostage situation.

People were simultaneously horrified.

“…Th, that crazy monster bastard!”

“What’s with that size?! It’s much bigger than those things!”

“More importantly, why is a kid there? Whose kid is it?!”

One of the villagers who had finished his rational judgment shouted.

“Maybe…. She respawned nearby. It happens sometimes. Cases like that.”

“……Why at a time like this.”

“This is no time to be chatting! Hurry up! The child is in danger if we leave her like this!”

Moreover, while they were hesitating,

The bunnies who had kidnapped their neighbors were dashing inside the entrance gate.

People were thrown into confusion and hurriedly ran towards the entrance gate.

The appearance was so gruesome and bizarre that they were afraid to go inside.

But they couldn’t turn back now.

Because their precious comrades and the pitiful child were caught by the calamity.

Someone blankly muttered part of a prophecy.

“…I will pour out monsters to swallow paradise.’”

“…There was such a passage.” Right.”

“The monsters are definitely trying to make them sacrifices.”

“…Let’s save them no matter what.”

People looked at each other and hardened their resolve.

No matter how much the reputation of Elysium had declined,

They could not allow the goodness in their hearts to decline as well.

People cautiously entered the entrance gate.

And there,—.

A frantic calamity beyond their wildest expectations unfolded.

An ominous black path that felt ominous.

As if saying that your death will be here,

The yellow line drawn straight in the middle shone brightly like the boundary line of a blood-soaked duel arena.

At the end of the path, strangely shaped circular things were lined up side by side.

The monsters they were chasing were also slowly approaching, weapons in hand.

And the giant monster they had seen earlier stood tall in the center of the sacred ground.

Stretching its arm straight out and holding out a shining club forward.

But those were nothing.

The most terrifying thing was—.

Rainbow-colored eyes shining with an eye-piercing light,

And frenzied horses galloping across the sacred ground at a crazy speed.

They ran non-stop, letting out thunderous roars.

Along with the earth-shattering roar,

More than 10 horses rapidly crossed the sacred ground.

Some with bunnies,

Some with their neighbors wrapped in black lumps.

“S, save meeeeeeeeee─! Sa, save meeeeee!”

“…U, ugh.”

“……Kill me.”

Eventually, one person couldn’t bear it and disappeared with a faint light.

They had gone to the Sanctuary of Resurrection.

The people who saw the scene simultaneously froze in terror.

“…Is it too late.”

“…They did revive, right?”

“………Let’s hope so.”

“Damn it. The only way to escape from there is to die….”

The frenzied horses were not just ordinary monsters.

The rainbow-colored eyes made people’s minds dizzy,

And the horses let out bizarre laughter as if they enjoyed making people suffer.

Faint lights began to appear one by one again.

Before long, all those caught by the monsters disappeared.

People were speechless at the horrific sight.

But—.

The pegasus, who looked bizarre, were also a bit lacking, but good kids.

They were just doing their best to make people happy.

So much so that they were putting on passionate performances that far exceeded their limit speed of 100km/h.

Moreover, the bunnies, whose defense power was maximum.

Those riding on the pegasus flapped their ears and enthusiastically cheered on the pegasus.

‘Hang in there!’

‘You can do it!’

‘If you move just a little faster, the guests will be even happier!’

Neither of them could speak,

But their pure hearts cheering for each other were fully conveyed.

The problem was the villagers watching them.

“…Th, that is.”

“…Are those monsters, enjoying themselves…?”

“Damn it. Is it not revival, but they made them sacrifices!”

They were flustered and blamed themselves for not saving their neighbors in time.

But—.

That self-blame didn’t last long.

‘A guest disappeared.’

‘Looks like they went back, satisfied.’

‘Should we take another guest?’

‘They must have been tired from wandering around the swamp. Let’s put them on the carousel ourselves!’

Kindness full of affection and goodwill towards the guests was approaching.

The bunnies’ eyes sparkled.

The pegasus started sprinting towards the guests.

Not to be outdone, the bunnies who were not riding the pegasus ran to the guests.

The goal was only one.

To make the guests who couldn’t enjoy the rides happy─!

However, the villagers who saw that scene were not at all.

“R, run awaaaaaay—!”

“You crazy bastards, get lost—!”

“H, hey, calm down. Get in formation and prepare to fight, prepare….”

“Y, yeah! Even if we run away, we’ll get caught! Somehow…. Get into defensive formation!”

People were thrown into chaos, but they picked up their weapons and prepared to defend themselves.

To endure and endure until the very end.

But…….

The bunnies and pegasus were genuinely happy to see that.

‘The guests are waiting for us!’

‘We have to run harder!’

‘If we ride the carousel together, it will be even more fun, right?’

The bunnies and pegasus sparkled their eyes and increased their speed.