[■■■■■■■■■■!!!]

The howling of the lesser demonic beasts echoed one after another, resembling the howl of a wolf.

The prolonged sound filled the classroom, mixing with the siren’s call.

Even with such a thunderous racket, as if it were a classic concert hall, none within the classroom dared to even breathe.

Overwhelmed by the eerie symphony that sent chills down their spines, an eerie silence followed, broken only by the sensation of fur on their bodies standing on end.

The silence was shattered by a sudden vibration.

The source of the vibration was inside Teacher Eve’s pocket.

Amid the gazes of all present, Teacher Eve pulled out her mobile phone. Her brow furrowed as she exhaled deeply after checking it.

“…Reason for appearance unknown; the number of presumed upper-grade demonic beasts that have emerged near the city… a total of 7.”

Seven upper-grade demonic beasts.

With those words from Teacher Eve, the children’s expressions turned pale.

Just as there was a significant gap between lower and intermediate demonic beasts, the difference between intermediate and upper-grade beasts was laughably large.

It was known that every appearance of such a being could topple a squad leader.

It was a situation where one required a hero of the caliber of a legendary figure to stand against even one, let alone seven, lurking around was hardly optimistic.

Despair, fear, confusion.

Various emotions quietly spread among the children, with many unable to withstand them, crashing down onto their seats.

In that moment, amidst it all,

“Don’t sit down.”

Telos’ voice resonated softly.

It was a low but unwavering tone.

The eyes of the children, previously bowing down, turned to Telos as if enchanted.

At the end of their gaze stood a man, standing tall without a hint of agitation.

It was a sight that felt almost out of place.

How could he stay so calm?

He couldn’t have possibly foreseen this situation.

Amidst all their negative thoughts, having one man maintaining his composure was an incredible sight that compelled belief.

As everyone gazed in astonishment, Telos met each of their eyes, gathering their attention before beginning.

“Is this the time to be sitting down? Is this the time to be despondent? Did I teach you to do so here?”

At Telos’ reprimanding tone, the children shuddered.

No, this wasn’t how they learned things.

Then what should they be doing now?

As if he was awakening something they had almost forgotten, Telos spoke again.

“If adversity arrives, resolving it is the role of a hero. Instead of sitting down, rise and think of ways to overcome this situation. Reflect on what you must do, what you can do. Can you do that?”

His calm voice radiated strength.

The despairing children’s eyes began to shine again.

As he watched the children slowly rising to their feet, nodding in agreement, Teacher Eve, realizing the task at hand, fixed her gaze on Dwight.

“Dwight, if upper-grade demonic beasts were to assault the city, how many could the barrier withstand at maximum?”

“…One can surely endure. But beyond two… I cannot guarantee that.”

“I see? Then let’s allow one to pass. If it goes through the barrier and weakens, even an upper-grade beast is still manageable. I’ll assign the other four to the leaders of each squad. Even if I can’t take them down, I should be able to buy some time for one—”

While murmuring as if desperately brainstorming, Teacher Eve was interrupted by Telos, who glanced out the window.

“Then I’ll take that one over there. It seems like the best course of action.”

“…Is this method right? It’s unavoidable, but no matter how much of a leader you are, it’s still an upper-grade beast…”

Teacher Eve spoke, her voice tinged with unease.

To which Telos nodded, reassuring her.

“Right now, the current leaders are the so-called golden generation. As long as they aren’t extraordinary, they should be able to handle at least one upper-grade beast without issue. Captain Yoon Si-woo seems much stronger than me from what I saw last time. As long as you and I do our parts, it should be fine.”

With a slight smile to ease Teacher Eve’s worries, Telos relaxed his body and turned to face us.

“I understand your fear. But remember this. Humanity has always faced such adversities, and every time, we have come together to protect our happiness.”

His voice bore no trace of agitation, just as it always did.

As if he was certain that, like all times before, it would be the same again.

His unwavering demeanor reminded us of a great tree standing tall.

This man would never fall, instilling in us confidence that we could accomplish whatever lay ahead.

And finally, that hero who inspired courage in everyone spoke to us.

“This time, it’s your turn. Protect, and survive. I believe you can do it.”

In response to his words, we nodded vigorously.

*

“…That bastard is huge.”

“…Indeed.”

“…No way around it; there’s no way we can take him on.”

As the emergency summon rang unexpectedly, the members of Astrape, who had come to support the front lines, broke into a cold sweat at the sight of the approaching demonic beast’s heavy steps.

Before the enormous beast—roughly the height of a five- to six-story building—humans truly felt weak and insignificant.

Such overwhelming mass was, in itself, an act of violence.

Just the mere flick of its front leg, which exceeded the size of a car, would surely crush one or two people into mush.

However, even as they faced the beast, the members didn’t even think of retreating.

The first reason was that they had something they needed to protect behind them, and the second was due to their unyielding belief.

“…So please, Captain, no, former Captain.”

One of them murmured, and with that, a man appeared to stand directly before the massive beast.

It seemed an infinitely reckless and foolish act, like a praying mantis facing a cartwheel.

Just with the beast taking a single step forward, it was easy to picture that man being trampled into mashed potatoes.

Yet, as they observed, the team recalled a line from a story they had read in childhood.

It is said that the progenitor of Dolos moved mountains all on his own.

At that moment, the stepping beast came to a sudden halt.

“Guh-!!!”

And as a battle cry echoed through the air, the creature’s massive body lifted off the ground.

Incredible as it was, the sight of an oversized beast being lifted by a single man would astonish anyone, but the team wasn’t surprised.

They had just fought alongside that very man until recently.

If there was a monstrous upper-grade demonic beast born from lesser ones, there was also a man who had protected the place for more than half a century, facing off with such monsters repeatedly.

His name was Telos Dolos.

People said he was the “unfaltering one.”

Kwang! The sound echoed as the beast’s massive body, losing balance, crashed to the ground.

“Commence attack!!”

The team, having trusted in him and awaited this moment, unleashed concentrated fire on the fallen, vulnerable beast.

Being members of Astrape, acknowledged as a first-class hero team, they unleashed an assault powerful enough to send even considerable lesser beasts to dust, unrecognizable.

That is, if it were a typical lesser beast.

“Guh, regeneration?! This bastard is a devourer!”

“Damn it, what regeneration…! Be careful! If you get hit by those thrashes, you’re done for!”

Their attacks were undeniably strong.

However, the upper-grade devourer beast’s explosive regenerative capacity transformed those strikes into mere nuisances.

[■■■■■■■!!!]

Wounded, the beast howled in agony, its tendrils flailing wildly around.

These tendrils were akin to fire hoses—thicker than most, and with considerable speed—meaning a misstep could lead to instant death.

Taking advantage of a slight lull in the onslaught against it, the beast regained its footing, using its tendrils and legs.

Seeing the wounds that were previously inflicted begin to heal, one of the team members engaged Telos.

“…Captain, what should we do? The damage we managed to inflict is going to waste.”

“Not a waste. You know how to fight a devourer well, don’t you?”

Of course, the member was aware.

In their line of duty, they often encountered devourers.

There were three main strategies to fight a devourer effectively.

Find and destroy the core somewhere in its body.

Deal more damage than its regenerative capability can handle.

And lastly,

“Exhaust it until it dies… Are you sure that works? That’s a strategy that puts immense pressure on you, Captain. If it’s an upper-grade, we might end up fighting all day.”

The current tactics relied on Telos subduing the beast first.

Hence, pushing it to its limit would mean Telos himself would have to directly engage, thereby increasing his physical strain exponentially.

Yet, amidst the concerned words of the member, Telos chuckled.

“Have you forgotten my nickname? Make sure to not tire yourself out before I do.”

“…That’s true. You are ‘the unfaltering one.’ Don’t worry; we won’t hold you back.”

“Right. And now I’m no longer your Captain, so drop the ‘Captain’ title.”

“…Even if you say that, you’ll always be our Captain to us.”

With a wry smile, Telos patted the shoulder of the member who grinned back and then dashed back into the fray with the beast.

Telos, wrestling with the beast once again, seized one of its legs and threw it down, reasoning.

This beast was not that strong.

Though primarily classified into upper, middle, and lower ranks, there were grades even among those classified beasts.

For instance, the “Bird of Ending” from the northern woods is said to be of a completely different tier among the upper-grade beasts.

Just as the heroes differed in strength, the innate traits of their species, accumulated experiences, and the differences in the years lived create disparities in strength among the demonic beasts.

Because of this, an upper-grade beast freshly born would be relatively weak.

It wouldn’t fully digest the magic that composed its body, and it likely lacked battle experience.

Much like the one now being thrown around.

At this level, the other leaders should be capable of handling it easily.

Unless something extraordinary happened, no other beasts besides the one slated to pass through the barrier would be crossing.

So—

As Telos continued his thoughts and twisted one of the beast’s legs off, things took a turn.

The fallen beast was now receiving an onslaught like before, while its tendrils lashed out desperately.

Mailing lists became deftly avoided by old hands who had seen enough of such patterns, but at that moment, a piece of rubble from a destroyed building fell where one of the members was about to land.

Despite being seasoned heroes, mistakes from unforeseen variables were inevitable leading to the unfortunate member losing their balance and falling.

Just as they had learned the beast’s attack pattern through sight,

So had the beast learned as well.

The thrashing tendrils, now zeroed in on the fallen member, surged toward him like a tidal wave.

Even while lying down, the member acted swiftly, rolling aside to evade most of the tendrils, but one inadvertently caught his leg, hanging him in midair.

In that precarious instant, only Telos, accustomed to countless battlegrounds over the years, reacted.

With a sharp sound, Telos propelled himself from the ground, tearing off the tendril that ensnared the fallen member.

Then, as Telos threw the rescued member towards another team member who could use telekinesis, he turned his head.

In that moment, Telos saw.

Countless tendrils flying toward the unprotected member in midair and,

The beast, smirking as if it had been aiming at the most threatening being from the beginning.

Telos found himself dangling upside down, held by the tendrils, his view of the world inverted.

In that reversed world were his comrades and a city full of countless lives.

All of those he had dedicated his life to protecting were right there.

He had truly poured his heart into ensuring their happiness thus far.

And it seemed that the conclusion of that role was finally here at this moment.

Telos quietly closed his eyes, reflecting.

If he had one last wish,

It would be for those he had fought to protect to survive, even if it were one more soul.

And with that final thought,

“Captain!!!”

The mighty tree that had sustained numerous lives for a long time,

Was engulfed into the maw of the beast, disappearing just like that.