Stigma Effect

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

“I heard that your ability is to detect monsters in dreams.”

“It was at first.”

“Have your abilities changed?”

“Rather than change…. I think they got stronger.”

She said to Shudmuel who had a calm face. He had such a calm expression that she doubted whether he had properly heard her warning that monsters were approaching.

Yuriel contorted her eyes while examining his emotionless face. She never went on a monster subjugation with Shudmuel. He's one of Albraka’s commanders, so it's possible that she'd been briefed on his abilities, but she didn't have the trust.

Yuriel pulled Shudmuel's arm as he looked around peacefully and said while wrinkling her forehead.

“We need to evacuate people faster. Before the monster arrives, we need to contact the Knights as well.”

“I will.”

Shudmuel replied calmly. Watching Yuriel's desperation, his face was calm.

“Sir Shudmuel! It's not the time to take it easy, it's because we need to call them right away!"

Her frustration intensified. As Yuriel stormed with a barrage of anger, the eyes of passersby turned their way. Yuriel twisted her lips and shut her mouth.

People, curious about the explosion, were roaming the streets. Many people evacuated according to Shudmuel's instructions, but there were also those who ignored him.

If they announced that monsters were approaching, the streets would definitely become chaos.

People may get injured from trying to run away .

If the streets become chaotic, it would be difficult to fight even if the knights arrive on time.... If they fight while protecting citizens, Raphlet is more likely to be injured.

As Yuriel bit her lips nervously, Shudmuel seemed to sense the seriousness of the situation.

“Let’s move quickly.”

His tone was still calm, but his actions quickened. Shudmuel instructs Yuriel to continue the evacuation and then enters the restaurant through a broken window.

Shudmuel, who disappeared before she could catch him, came out with his dirty uniform. Fumbling through his top, he pulled out a gun that was smaller than the one Yuriel was holding.

It was a different type of gun from the one Yuriel had used. Shudmuel raised his gun to the sky and pulled the trigger. It wasn't a bullet that came out of the muzzle. As it was aimed at the air, yellow light exploded.

Yuriel, who watched his actions, murmured.

“You had a flare....”

It was a yellow flare. Yuriel traced the meaning of the yellow flare.

Red flares to start charging, green flares to evacuate…. Yellow flares meant asking for help. There seem to be several other flares besides that, but Yuriel has not yet seen them.

What she remembered now wasn’t something someone taught her, but things she learned from what she saw and experienced at the monster subjugation sites.

After confirming that Shudmuel had requested support, Yuriel sighed.

Soon the knights will come here.

Yuriel sighed while looking up at the sky, and saw black objects that were visible in the distance. The black figures looked like little birds moving in groups.

The monsters did not change direction and were heading straight towards Yuriel.

It appeared that the monsters were attracted by the signal flare as they were heading straight towards where Shudmuel had shot the flare. There were a lot of people on the street, along with Yuriel and Shudmuel.

“Get inside the nearest building!”

Yuriel shouted loudly.

People's eyes were still focused on where the explosion occurred, but soon there would be people who would notice the monsters approaching.

“The explosion has stopped, so why do you keep telling us to go inside?”

“It’s not dangerous, but it’s a mess, really.”

Even when they saw Yuriel shouting with a split voice, the people did not think about evacuating.

“It’s dangerous! You have to go inside... !”

“Get out of my way. Can't you see I'm using magic tools right now? You know how much money it costs to take a picture and now you’re blocking it!”

One of the people pushed Yuriel. It was a man holding a new, not readily available camera. The man who was diligently filming the noisy street got angry by pushing Yuriel passing by in front of his camera.

Yuriel lost her balance and stumbled.

“Yuriel.”

“Sir Shudmuel….”

Shudmuel grabbed Yuriel, who had been pushed by the man. Shudmuel, who supported Yuriel, had an expression of extreme displeasure.

His cold face was full of hate. Seeing his face, Yuriel shrugged her shoulders. She also remembered seeing that expression on Helio’s face.

The day she first met Helio on the train, he also had that expression on his face when people tried to follow him. A face that reflected their disillusionment with people and of their clenched teeth reaction.

The fact that he had a more disgusted face than when he saw a monster remained vivid in Yuriel's memory.

Helio sometimes made that expression while looking at Raphlet, but recently, even when he met Raphlet, the frequency of making that expression has decreased considerably.

The same expression Helio had made now hung on Shudmuel's face.

Conversely, when Shudmuel appeared, the man's face brightened. The camera, which was pointed at the location of the explosion, was moved to Shudmuel.

“Aren’t you the 3rd Commander of Albraka! I've heard you’ve been away for quite some time, please say a word about this attack....”

He seemed to be a journalist who published articles in newspapers. Yuriel immediately understood his new camera.

If it wasn't for journalists, they wouldn't have been using all those expensive cameras to take pictures of these ruins.

“Yuriel, everything is fine here, so you evacuate the others.”

Shudmuel sent Yuriel to another place as he covered the lens of the camera. . Seeing that the man with the camera had no intentions of evacuating, Yuriel nodded her head and walked towards the more crowded place.

Among the people Helio had evacuated, there was also a reporter. Yuriel clearly remembered that he escaped and took a picture of her and Helio.

She couldn't waste time trying to convince him in the midst of a rush. She needs to evacuate as many people as possible.

Yuriel, who answered yes, turned towards the others and glanced back. Shudmuel was seen talking to the man, but he couldn't hear what he was talking about.

“Miss Yuriel!”

Yuriel, who looked back at them, turned to follow the voice that called her. Among the knights who had seen the flare, a familiar knight recognized Yuriel and approached her.

“I came to check the signal flare. Are you having trouble evacuating?”

The knight at the forefront asked. Yuriel shook her head and explained.

“Monsters are approaching. It is a flying monster.”

“Monsters?”

“Before the monsters arrive, we need to get people into the building and prepare for it…. They won’t go in. Can you help me?”

"Yes. Naturally. It would be good for Miss Yuriel to evacuate with the people as well.”

The knight answered with a hardened face. The knight who instructed Yuriel to evacuate also explained the situation to the knights who came with him. The knights, who heard the situation, ran around among the onlookers and shouted urgently.

“Evacuate into the nearest building!”

"Huh?"

“That’s an Albraka uniform. You think they're Knights?"

“I think it’s still dangerous.”

“There is a possibility of a secondary explosion. Evacuate everyone into the nearest building!”

In contrast to when Yuriel shouted, the people were buzzing. Some people rushed into the buildings. As a few began to move, others began to follow them into the buildings.

Soon the streets began to clear.

However, due to the late evacuation, the monsters started to land on the street one by one before everyone entered the building.

“It’s, it’s a monster!”

“Go inside, hurry!”

People who saw the monsters screamed and entered the building.

Yuriel, who was helping people in front of the building, heard the scream and looked out into the street. As Yuriel expected, the street was becoming chaotic.

“Go calmly!”

The knights were protecting the civilians and dealing with the monsters , but those who witnessed the monsters in front of them felt extreme fear and went into a panic.

Seeing the people running away screaming, Yuriel took out the gun she had.

A monster was approaching the building. Yuriel aimed her gun at the approaching monster. .

Aiming at a fast-moving target was still difficult for Yuriel, but she had a feeling that she would be able to hit a monster.

Yuriel was enveloped in a strange sense of elevation and released the gun's safety device.

“Miss Yuriel, do not try to fight it, avoid it!”

The knight who was dealing with a monster saw Yuriel holding a gun and shouted. In the monster subjugations, Yuriel was always a protected person. Even if she was holding a gun, that fact didn't change.

The knight shouted sharply, but Yuriel put her finger on the trigger while watching the monster approach her.

“It’s not that way!”

“Why are you aiming at that side?”

People hiding behind Yuriel holding a gun saw the direction the gun was facing and screamed. Yuriel was aiming at an empty space, not where there were monsters.

Even a person who could not handle a gun could easily recognize that she was aiming at the wrong place. However, Yuriel did not pay attention to their screams and held her breath while aiming at the air.

The moment Yuriel stopped breathing and pulled the trigger, people opened their mouths in amazement at what they saw.

A monster flew into the air at where Yuriel was aiming. It was as if a monster had jumped in to be shot.

Seeing the monster with its head blown away regenerating, Yuriel fired one more shot at the exposed core.

The movement of the monster completely stopped, and the surroundings became silent as if dead.