The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 37: Night Onslaught (2)

"Aaaaaagh!"

Lane’s head snapped right up, his eyes focusing on the rooftop of the reception hall. There, perched on the edge, there was a different type of monster, one resembling a crow.

Except that it was much, much bigger than a crow. At least three times the size of an adult human male.

Also, its beak was longer and sharper than that of a crow.

And from this long and sharp beak hung a man. That one Guide from the Trailblazer Guild that stayed behind. His arms and legs were dangling on both sides, while his stomach was trapped inside.

"He, Hel-!" the Guide tried to call, but before he was even able to finish the word, the crow closed its beak. With a grotesque, squelching sound, the man was split in half, the two now separated parts of his body falling down. Before they hit the ground, though, the monster swiftly caught one of them, swallowing it in one gulp.

After which, the air distorted, and the monster vanished on the spot.

"Camouflage ability, huh?" Lane muttered under his nose, stabbing one of the wounded hyedeers that was twitching on the ground in front of him, as his eyes scanned the dark sky. If he focused well, he could briefly catch a glimpse of an outline of the crows circling around from time to time, but it was barely there. Unless he used an ability, such as Mana Scan for example, it would be pretty much impossible to keep an eye on them.

’I guess that explains why no evacuation team other than Damien’s made it back so far.’

That type of monster would most likely be considered an S-rank. They could be tricky to deal with even for high-ranking Espers with significant combat experience and a strong, compatible team on their side, let alone those complacent fools who were just idling their time away while working in a fancy dungeon resort. It was hard to deal with enemies you couldn’t even see, after all.

But hard wasn’t impossible, and sight wasn’t the only sense a person could rely on. As he defended against the hyedeers, Lane kept himself on the edge all the time, and relying on his intuition and experience, he instantly noticed when one of the crows made a dive.

"Watch out!" he called out, dodging out of the way.

A massive wing brushed past him, pushing him further to the side. It was no longer invisible - it seemed that the crow’s ability faltered when it made an attack. Perhaps slow and calm movements were necessary to maintain the camouflage?

Lane quickly regained balance, and raised his spear on guard, sweeping the surrounding with his gaze.

The dagger-wielding Esper who was fighting together with him also managed to avoid the crow. He rolled on the ground a few times, landing in a crouched position, with his dagger in front of him, ready to defend.

The second Esper from the Guild, however, was nowhere as lucky. And skilled. He had been hiding at the back, limiting himself to some light support... But now, all of a sudden, he was twenty or so feet up in the air.

"Haaaghh!" A violent cough shook his body, as blood rushed out of his mouth. He stared at the people below with bewilderment, before reluctantly looking down at his lower body.

There was a massive stump sticking out of his stomach, so wide that it almost completely ripped him in half. And at the end of said stump, there were two big glossy black orbs, surrounded by down feathers in a dark shade of midnight blue.

Before he was able to fully comprehend what happened to him, the crow swung its head, shaking the Esper out of its beak, and caught him again in the air, swallowing the man whole in two gulps.

Lane stood rooted in place, completely motionless, as if paralyzed. He was just a few feet away. If he rushed forward while the monster was busy with its prey, he had a good opportunity to attack.

...Why would he do that, though? The Esper was just a stranger, and he was beyond saving anyway. Lane, on the other hand, had no chance against the crow, not with his current speed and strength. If he tried anything, he would just join the unfortunate Esper in death.

And it would be rather inconvenient right now. He had his highest-grade spatial bag on him. If he died with it on him, it would be hard to recover it. It could have even ended up swallowed by a crow. Of course, he could get another one... But still, that would be a bit troublesome.

The time seemed to slow down unbearably. The whole thing lasted maybe ten seconds at most, but it felt more like an hour, before the crow finally took off the ground, vanishing into the dark sky.

"Everyone, take cover! Into the building!" Tina called out as soon as the monster was gone. She has been trying to endure somehow, but they’ve already lost two people, in just a short moment. At this rate, in a few minutes, they would all be dead.

Lane and the remaining Guild member didn’t have to be told twice. They rushed through the entrance, Tina following right after, creating a new earthen wall as soon as she got inside, blocking the door. Ana and the two Espers that were with her had already hidden as well, and joined them a moment later.

There was only a narrow gap left between the top of the new barrier and the door head. Nowhere enough for the hyedeers to squeeze through, not unless they managed to damage the wall first.

"Noah, can I borrow your spear, if you don’t mind?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Lane handed over his spear without any hesitation. As soon as Tina got it, she started stabbing the monsters through the gap she had left.

Tina was left alone to deal with the monsters, as they didn’t have any other weapons long enough to utilize in this situation. Still, considering that the hyedeers couldn’t really get to them, it wasn’t much for one person to handle, at least not with her strength.

The cool reception hall lightened by bright chandeliers contrasted a lot with the ambiance outside. The smell, however, wasn’t much better - they’d only exchanged the heavy scent of blood for the dustiness of soil mixed with sweat. The ventilation system was still running, but it still wasn’t enough to remove all of the odors that people stampeding through this place had left.

With all honesty, if it wasn’t for the crows circling in the sky, Lane would have much rather get back outside right away.

But, since it wasn’t really an option, he just walked over to one of the sofas on the side instead, making himself comfortable as he swallowed a Recovery Pill. His whole body was completely exhausted. It was only through the sheer excitement about the fight that he was able to last till now.

Seeing his actions, the Guild members quickly followed in his footsteps and dropped down on some other sofas with relieved sighs. Finally, the fight seemed to have ended - at least on their part. Although it didn’t last all that long, it was enough to traumatize them for life.

"Haaah... Now this is much better. Why couldn’t we do that from the start?"

"I know, right? If we hid inside, Nick and Juan wouldn’t have died..."

"Maybe I should have fled with the rest..."

"Shh. Don’t complain. Let’s just be glad we’re still alive."

"For now... What if they force us to go out and fight again..."

"Well... I mean..." One of the Guild members shot a quick glance at the Gate, which hung proudly in the air at the end of the hall. "There are always other options..."

"...Should we?"

"Shh. Not now. We’ve already stuck here for so long, don’t waste it for no reason."

"...Good point."

Lane rolled his eyes, listening to the conversation. Those Guild members clearly lacked any imagination or even basic comprehension. Naturally, he, Tina and Ana already thought of such a defense strategy. It was indeed much safer and would help them avoid the casualties.

Still, there was a good reason why they didn’t do it and opted to go out and fight instead.

And that reason soon arrived, in the form of the roaring of the car engine.

Yes, the role of their team was to defend the place. It didn’t mean defending the Gate so that the monsters wouldn’t cross over, however - at this stage, the monsters were unlikely to pass through the Gate, unless they were chasing after their prey.

Lane and the team were guarding the Gate to ensure that the civilians being evacuated could safely exit the dungeon. And for that, they had to do their best to get rid of all the monsters in proximity.

And with their withdrawal to the reception hall, the entrance was now completely blocked, with a lot of monsters roaming outside.