After rescuing a trio of Magic Department students, Rest rendezvoused with Yugloot, the squad captain who had been operating independently.
When Rest arrived on the scene, Yugloot was in the middle of battling an enormous snake.
The massive serpent—roughly the size of a telegraph pole—had translucent, insect-like wings sprouting from its back and was swooping down at Yugloot from the air.
"Sshhhhhaaaaaaa!"
"Hmph!"
Yugloot deflected the lunging serpent's fangs with his spear.
He was about to follow through with a devastating counterstrike, but the giant snake spat a jet of venom from its maw.
"Tch... what a pain...!"
Yugloot cast a wind spell while swinging his spear to scatter the venom.
Though Yugloot was clearly on the defensive... he was shielding an injured student who had collapsed behind him, along with Nakua of the Clergy Department.
If Yugloot had been on his own, he could have dodged smoothly and launched a counterattack without issue—but the wounded kept getting in his way, leaving him unable to strike back.
"Wind Blade."
Having assessed the situation, Rest immediately cast his spell.
Wind blades, strengthened through parallel spellcasting, sliced through the air and severed the wings from the giant snake's back.
The wingless serpent plummeted to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Shhh?!"
"Now...!"
Yugloot sprang into action, swinging his spear.
The spearhead pierced through the serpent's head where it lay on the ground.
The giant snake thrashed its thick tail against the ground several times before finally succumbing and going still.
"...Rest, huh. You saved me."
"Not at all. I'm just glad you're safe."
Yugloot pulled his spear free and turned to face Rest.
He furrowed his brow slightly at the fact that Rest was operating alone.
"What about Danila and Thomas?"
"The two of them are evacuating the wounded and heading back to the entrance of the plains. More importantly... did you notice those distress signals from earlier?"
"Yeah... I saw them while I was fighting this snake. Multiple distress signals were going up from deeper in the plains."
Yugloot twisted his expression in annoyance and prodded the serpent's carcass with the tip of his spear.
"...This monster was supposed to be found much deeper in the plains. I have no idea why it ended up here."
"So... what do we do from here?"
"This must be an unforeseen situation even for the academy. We should fall back to the starting point first..."
"Wait...!"
Rest shouted, whipping around toward the depths of the plains as if struck by an electric shock.
There was nothing visibly wrong with the plains. At least, not within the range of his sight.
"Come on, you've got to be kidding me...!"
But cold sweat crept down Rest's spine.
His magical perception—extended as far as he could stretch it—was picking up numerous presences.
"What is it, Rest?"
"...Monsters are heading this way. Not just one or two—a massive horde."
And mixed in among them were the presences of students—either being chased by the monsters or still participating in the Magic Hunt Festival.
"We need to get out of here fast... I'll hold the rear, so please get the wounded to safety, Senior Yugloot."
"Hold on! If someone's staying behind to hold them off, that should be me...!"
"You've got more raw strength, Senior. There's no time to argue—go!"
"Tch...!"
Yugloot let out a frustrated growl, then gathered up the wounded in his arms and rose to his feet.
"That's an order from your captain. Don't push yourself too hard—and make it back alive!"
"Understood... go now."
"Let's meet outside the plains!"
Yugloot sprinted across the plains at a speed that seemed impossible for someone carrying multiple people.
Nakua scrambled after him in a hurry.
"...Sorry, Senior, but I can't back down easily either."
Rest murmured toward Yugloot's retreating figure.
The monsters charging toward him were coming fast—fast enough that they might very well flood out of the plains entirely.
(At the entrance to the plains. Viola and Primula are at the operations tent...!)
If the monsters poured out and a chaotic battle erupted, those two would be in danger.
(And his adoptive father is there as a guest, plus academy faculty and even the knight commander. A few monsters wouldn't be enough to take them down, but... still, he wanted to reduce any danger to those two as much as possible.)
"I don't know what's causing all this, but... I'll thin the herd a bit."
The monsters had already closed to within visible range.
Rest fixed his cold eyes on the distant silhouettes of the enemy and began refining his mana.
"Stone Bullet."
Then... from the tip of his arm, held steady like a sniper rifle, he fired the spell at a velocity that exceeded the speed of sound.