"Normally, the Adventurer's Guild would never interfere in national affairs."
Every eye turned to the members of Blue Rose, but they remained silent. After all, eyes could not speak like the mouth could.
"However, this is an exceptional case. The Adventurer's Guild has decided to cooperate fully with the Kingdom, in order to quickly resolve the problems facing us. The princess will relate the details to us, so I pray you will be quiet and listen."
The Princess slowly advanced, flanked by the members of Blue Rose and Gazef Stronoff.
"I am Renner Theiere Chardelon ryle Vaiself, and I am deeply grateful that everyone here was able to respond to the extraordinary summons issued tonight."
She bowed demurely to them, and several sighs of affection rose from the adventurers as they saw the delicate sight before them.
"Normally, I would render duly deserved praise upon all of you, but as time is of the essence, let us arrive presently to the point. This night, a portion of the capital—"
Here the princess raised a finger to a part of the map — the northeast corner— and drew a circle around it.
"— a portion of the capital was surrounded by a wall of fire. The flames are more than thirty meters in height, and I am certain you have all seen them."
Most of the adventurers nodded in agreement, while some went to the palace windows to look outside. The high walls surrounding the palace meant that they couldn't see the wall of fire directly, but the reflected light from the flames stained the sky red, and that they could see.
"This flame ought to be an illusion of some sort, because touching it does not cause harm. According to those who have contacted it, the fire does not have heat, or impede movement. Moving past the firewall should not pose a problem either."
At this, the lower-ranked adventurers breathed sighs of relief.
"The perpetrator of this incident is known as Jaldabaoth, a powerful demon. Blue Rose has already confirmed that there are low-ranking demons on the other side of the firewall. They seem to be acting entirely on orders from their superiors."
Lakyus nodded to Renner as she said that.
"…strike at the head and the body will die… does that mean all we have to do is defeat Jaldabaoth?"
Renner turned to acknowledge the speaker, an adventurer with a mithril plate upon his neck.
"That might be an oversimplification, but fundamentally, that is true. However, what I wish to ask of all of you is to defeat this devil's plot. We have information that suggests that he is here to seize a certain magic item which is on its way to the capital."
That news sparked a disturbance among the adventurers. They had finally realized that the region encircled by the firewall included the warehouses and shophouses that made up the capital's economic heart.
"…how did you come by this information?"
"It was stated by Jaldabaoth himself."
"Then don't you think there's a high chance this information could be false?"
"Certainly, it is not out of the question. However, I believe it to be accurate. The enemy has not made any movements ever since they set up the wall of fire. More importantly, if what Jaldabaoth says is true, then inaction will mean that all we can do is watch the worst-case scenario unfolding before our eyes. Therefore, we must seize the initiative."
"How strong is that Jaldabaoth you mentioned? I don't remember hearing or reading about him. It would help us if you could tell us his difficulty level."
Lakyus stepped forward with a stern expression on her face.
"My colleague Evileye is the one who is most familiar with Jaldabaoth's strength, but we do not know the specifics yet. We will update you later."
Difficulty ranking was how adventurers rated the monsters they encountered. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. However, it was an unspoken rule that one should not rely too heavily on difficulty rankings, because it would lead to nasty surprises. The strength of monsters varied even within their own species and at best, a difficulty ranking was an educated guess. Thus, it was not a value that was frequently used. However, it was a simple way to explain things to a group like this.
"I shall speak of what I know as my group's representative. My comrades encountered an insect maid — believed to be one of Jaldabaoth's followers— and defeated her, only for Jaldabaoth to appear and engage us in battle…"
The absence of Gagaran the warrior and Tia the rogue had already been noticed by the adventurers present. Lakyus looked around at the adventurers in the room.
"They were killed by Jaldabaoth."
"With a single blow."
Chaos broke out with Evileye's statement. Adamantite-ranked adventurers, the pinnacle of humanity, living legends. It was unthinkable that they could be killed, let alone in a single blow.
"Do not be afraid!"
Evileye shouted as though she would disperse the fear in the air with her voice.
"Certainly, Jaldabaoth is powerful. I can vouch for this, having faced him with nothing to show for it but defeat. That is a monster that no ordinary human can defeat. Even if every person here gathered to fight him, we would simply be defeated as a group. But there is no need to worry. There is a man who can do battle evenly with Jaldabaoth!"
Amidst the commotion, some of the brighter adventurers looked to a certain place— to a certain adventurer.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you know this man. From the third adamantite ranked adventuring team that was recently founded in E-Rantel of the Kingdom— indeed, it is him—"
Evileye pointed her finger at the pair of adventurers, and the eyes of the entire room went with her.
"The leader of Darkness, the Dark Hero Momon-dono!"
One was encased in night-black plate armor and wearing a helmet that he refused to remove even indoors, while the other was a world-class beauty. The two of them instantly became the center of everyone's attention. Exclamations of awe and wonder filled the room as they realised the celebrities they had in their midst.
Momon shifted his adamantite plate from within the folds of his crimson cape to where everyone could see it.
"Quickly, Momon-san, please come to the front of the room."
In contrast to Evileye's excitement, Momon simply raised a hand in reply, and whispered a few words in Narberal's ear.
"Momon-san says there is no need for a lengthy introduction. We should begin the briefing quickly."
"Well, that is a shame. Then, let us make haste, as Momon-sama suggests. Evileye, may I continue the briefing?"
"Cough, uh, apologies, Princess Renner, please, continue."
Even though her mask concealed her face, one could tell how Evileye felt from the disappointed tone of her voice.
"As Evileye said, we have a warrior who can stand against Jaldabaoth. Everyone, please rest assured that we are not picking a fight we cannot win. Then, I shall explain the details of the operation."
Renner sketched a line on the map.
"To begin with, I would like you to act as our bow."
"A bow?" came a doubtful voice, "Not a shield?"
"A shield will not help us win. To begin with, I wish to form the adventurers up into a battle line, followed closely by a line of guards. Behind them will be the support line of priests and magic casters. In this way, we will advance into the enemy stronghold. At this point, if the enemy does not engage us, then we will have the adventurers advance into the enemy headquarters and suppress the area. If we are attacked, we will first determine if we can repel the attack. If possible, we will advance. If not, then I must ask the adventurers to retreat while drawing off the enemy. In the meantime, I must ask the guards to hold off the enemy as long as possible. If the adventurers must retreat, then they must head here."
She pointed to the support line of the magic casters.