Chapter 30: The Midnight Assault
Midnight.
In front of the house where the siblings Geo and Sena lived, multiple shadows lingered.
“Here it is.”
“Yes. The sister, who’s out adventuring today, is away. This is the perfect opportunity.”
“Alright, there’s only one amateur inside. Snatch him quickly.”
“Yes, sir!”
At the command, two men began their intrusion. The front door was locked, of course, but with practiced ease, they pried it open as if it were nothing.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Gau!”
“Ow!?”
I jolted upright, my arm suddenly stabbing with pain. Milk—my little pet—was clamped onto it.
“W-what are you…?”
“Grrrrr…”
I froze, bewildered by my adorable companion’s sudden rebellion. But Milk quickly released my arm and, turning toward the door, began growling, her throat vibrating in warning.
“Milk? What’s wrong?”
Then it happened.
The door creaked open slowly in the darkness.
Sena? No. She wasn’t home; she was out on an overnight adventure.
Then… who?
Two figures leapt into the room. Shadowed and indistinct, but unmistakably hostile.
“Grrrrrraah!”
Milk lunged at them in an instant.
“W-what the—gah!?”
One of the intruders screamed as Milk sank its teeth into his leg.
“What the hell is this thing!? A cat!? Damn it, let go!”
Despite the bite, the figure drew something— a knife.
My heart lurched as the blade swung toward Milk.
But he was faster. He dodged nimbly, then leapt off the wall and pounced on the intruder’s head.
“Gyaaah!?”
Claws raked across the man’s face. He shook him off, but not before blood began dripping down.
“Hey! Are you okay!? Damn it, what is this thing!? It’s no ordinary cat!”
Another intruder shouted. But Milk was already attacking again.
With another kick off the wall, he soared high, this time aiming his teeth at the man’s throat. He raised his arms to defend, but Milk sank his sharp teeth into his forearm instead.
“—!!”
The wound must have been deep, for he couldn’t even cry out.
“Damn it! Fall back for now!”
“I didn’t sign up for this!”
The intruders, realizing they were outmatched, fled in a panic.
“What… what was that…?”
“Grrr.”
“Milk, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“Nii.”
Relief washed over me. He was unharmed.
“You woke me up back there… thank you.”
“Nii.”
Still, who were those people? Thieves? Or something more sinister?
“Nii nii!”
“What is it?”
Milk nipped gently at my leg, tugging me along.
“Huh? You think it’s still dangerous?”
“Nii!”
“Should we retreat to the garden?”
“Nii nii!”
Following his lead, I left the bedroom and headed for the garden. As we moved, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed from the entrance.
It seemed a second wave of attackers was coming—and judging by the number of footsteps, there were more of them this time.
By the time we reached the safety of the garden, angry voices rang out.
“They went this way! After them into the yard!”
“Don’t let them escape!”
The sheer force in those shouts froze me. These were no ordinary thieves.
If we were caught…
“Nii nii!”
“Y-yeah… right. It should be safe here.”
The men stormed into the garden, their forms partially revealed by the moonlight. Armed, clearly no ordinary civilians.
But we had a powerful ally.
Suddenly, multiple shadows appeared, flanking the intruders.
“Wha—?”
“Wh-who are these guys!?”
“Dolls!? No, golems!?”
These were the golems that guarded the garden.
Caught off guard, the intruders faltered. But seasoned in violence, they gradually regained composure and began counterattacking the golems. The high-performance golems, though formidable, could not withstand a group armed and trained for combat. One by one, their bodies crumbled under the assault.
“Ha! You scared me there.”
“Why the hell are there golems here?”
“Who cares! Just grab the kid already!”
Having destroyed the first wave of golems, the intruders pressed deeper into the garden, aiming to seize me.
But at that moment, more golems emerged to block them.
“N… not again!”
“They keep coming out!?”
“How many are there!?”
Technically, there was no limit to how many could be created. Using the garden soil, the number appearing at once was restricted, but we could produce them repeatedly, endlessly.
No matter how many they destroyed, more appeared. Slowly, the intruders began losing ground. And when Milk joined the fray, the tide turned completely.
“R-retreat!”
As someone shouted and the intruders scrambled to escape, a new, terrifying roar cut through the night.
“Just how long are you gonna waste trying to catch a single kid!?”
It was the bald man I had seen at Shifa’s workshop the other day. His voice tore through the darkness as he charged into the garden.
“Ah… bro…”
“Why… why are there golems—”
“What? What are you saying—”
Before he could finish, a golem leapt at him.
Zan!
But in an instant, it was cleaved in half, returning to the soil. Somehow, the bald man had drawn a sword.
“Don’t let some weaklings get in your way, damn it.”