Chapter 11 | The Final Battle of the Disturbance

 

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5 Late Fire Moon (September) 2:30 AM

The roaring flames didn’t give off any heat; they were like illusions. The adventurers at the head of the line exchanged glances with their teammates before mustering the courage to take a step into the towering wall of fire.

The support unit from the shrines had cast a defensive spell on them, which reduced fire damage, so the reason they held their breath must have been because they were worried about their lungs burning.

We told them this fire wouldn’t hurt them, though…, Lakyus grumbled in her head as she watched over them from the rear. Then she considered the fire wall.

It doesn’t do any harm, so it’s fine was too simplistic a way of thinking. If the demon’s aim wasn’t to cause damage, then they needed to figure out what effects it did have and why it was made.

Times like this when all the thinking in the world doesn’t get you an answer, it’s better to just give up… Was it Evileye who was saying I should use my head for more important things? Or my uncle?

They passed through the magic fire like a mere mirage. The flames had no heat, nor did they present any resistance.

Lakyus scanned the adventurers walking with tense looks on their faces.

The plan was to form a line, but inside the city it was virtually impossible to make a neat line, so with four orichalcum-rank teams as linchpins, all the adventurers split into four groups. To someone with a bird’s-eye view, it would have looked like four amoebas spreading out.

As long as the orichalcum-rank adventurers were acting as anchors, they had to be good models for the others. But even they’re nervous. Really, she would have liked them to conceal their fear and inspire courage in the other adventurers. I guess I have to be the one to take the lead?

If she stood at the head of the line, morale would probably improve, too, but right now, she didn’t have friends she could rely on by her side. She may have been adamantite rank, but that didn’t mean that a single Rose could equal an entire orichalcum team. That was why she’d asked them to serve as the vanguard.

It would probably bother them if the one who asked them to go was to butt in…but…at some point I should probably get out there and lead, Lakyus concluded and crossed through the wall of flames.

A silent world stretched out before them. Apart from the fact that some buildings had collapsed and there was no sign of any people, the city streets were just the same as before.

“Where did the residents go? It doesn’t smell like blood. Are they holed up in their houses?”

“That can’t be. Look, the doors are kicked in. They must have been taken somewhere.”

“There might be demons lurking in the empty houses. Should we go through each one? It’ll take a while.”

“We should play it safe and contact Lakyus for orders.”

“Then I’ll do that right aw—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

The consulting adventurers turned around, drawn by the voice from behind. They must have been surprised to see Lakyus reach the head of the line with perfect timing, and their eyes widened.

“The iron and copper adventurers will stay behind to search the houses. And please have one mythril team stay to supervise them. Everyone else should keep spreading out and advance. Any objections?”

They shook their heads.

“Then please proceed.”

Lakyus joined the orichalcum adventurers and advanced along the street. It was eerily quiet, to the point where one would never guess people had been living there until a few hours previously.

“…By the way, I wonder if Mr. Momon is all right.”

Considering they were leaving everything up to him, she understood their concern. “I’m sure he’s fine. Evileye said he’s even stronger than her. The only problem is the enemy mastermind, Jaldabaoth, who might be his equal. I wonder how tough that demon really is…”

The expressions of all the adventurers in earshot grew dark.

“Oh, sorry. Don’t worry. We just have to do what we can. That’s good enough.”

“Yes, that’s right. As adventurers, it’s a bit frustrating, but let’s console ourselves knowing that everyone will leverage their strengths. Okay, everybody, let’s do this!”

“Right, let’s go.”

Lakyus walked out front with the orichalcum-rank adventurers.

In one hand, she gripped Demonic Sword Killineiram. Said to have been cut from the night sky, the blade twinkled like the stars.

They hadn’t walked very far when they heard the faint sound of explosions in the distance. The lower-ranking adventurers jumped, and the middle-ranking ones started preparing themselves for action. The high-ranking ones vigilantly scanned the area. The most elite among them stared ahead. As everyone reacted in their various ways, Lakyus also turned a penetrating glare forward.

“I guess that group is seeing some action, huh?”

It didn’t seem like the squad Tina was in.

“As long as we’re advancing at the same pace, we should be expecting an intercepting party soon, too.”

“What about from above?”

“We have communications personnel up there as planned, but we didn’t spare any who could attack.”

“That’s fine. Lots of demons can fly. It’d be bad if they flew into the city, so it’s better for us to advance along the ground to draw their attention.”

“So we’re going ahead with the original plan for now?”

“Yes. Hmm…? Hey, did you hear that?” she asked an arcane caster.

The caster replied, “With no visual confirmation, I’m not sure, but it sounds like a hellhound. Their special ability is Fire Breath. Probably around difficulty fifteen.”

“Difficulty, hmm… By the way, what do you reckon the difficulty ratings are for Jaldabaoth and that bug maid?”

Lakyus wondered what to do. If she replied honestly, it would probably do a heavy number on their morale. But if she gave them misinformation and they mistakenly assumed they could face these enemies head-on, that would be a problem, too. After much indecision, she finally gave a straight answer.

“One hundred and fifty.”

“Huh?”

All the adventurers in hearing range had the same look on their faces.

“That’s my guess for the bug maid’s minimum rating, one hundred fifty. Jaldabaoth would have to be over two hundred.”

“What?!”

Everyone besides Lakyus was left speechless. Of course they were. The difficulty rating of monsters that elite orichalcum adventurers usually fought was already around eighty. People said they could somehow deal with monsters up to fifteen points higher than that, but doubling that was just a joke. Not only that, but—

“Wait a minute! So Mr. Momon is going up against difficulty two hundred?!”

“That’s right. That’s why we’d only be in the way.”

“There’s no point even talking about that realm! Two hundred…you must be kidding! Are all adamantite-rank adventurers that strong?”

“Ha. The best we could do is probably ninety.”

“Then there’s no way we can win this!”

Lakyus averted her eyes from the gasping adventurers.

She wasn’t lying. But it wasn’t the truth, either. She could manage only around ninety, but Evileye could handle over one hundred and fifty. That was how Lakyus had estimated the ratings for the bug maid and Jaldabaoth. That power was why Evileye wasn’t a part of the perimeter defense.

She’d gone into a special resting period in order to swiftly recoup her magical energy. Once recovered, she would accompany Momon to Jaldabaoth’s location and support him so he could fight the demon one-on-one. They anticipated the reappearance of the bug maid, so it had been decided that Evileye would fight her.

As Lakyus considered all this, she sensed the atmosphere around her worsening. Their will to fight had bottomed out to the point where she could even hear some saying it would be better to abandon the capital and make a run for it.

It was just as she’d expected. Anyone would feel that way. Even Lakyus had had her doubts when she originally heard the details from Evileye.

“You heard what Evileye said, right? Momon fought Jaldabaoth on equal or better footing. That’s why Momon’s handling the demon and we’re working to turn things even slightly to his advantage.”

“E-even if we leave Jaldabaoth up to Momon, what if the bug maid shows up?”

“The Blue Roses will fight her. Evileye has a special item that will let her switch places with us. She has a way to gain the upper hand against the bug maid, so she can shake off the ability gap and secure victory.”

Everyone oohed and aahed, and their morale rose to its previous level.

Perfect timing.

From up ahead came the sounds of beast howls and running feet.

“Here they come. Now we form the line. When you go down a side street, make sure the ones with the higher-ranking plates go first! I’ll take this one!”

The beasts came galloping down the road. They resembled large dogs, but their eyes were filled with nightmarish evil, and instead of spit, they drooled fire.

Hellhounds—fifteen of them. Lakyus stood in their way, readying Demonic Sword Killineiram in a two-handed hold.

“Don’t underestimate me, demon scum!”

With a prayer to the god of water, Lakyus cut down the hellhounds leaping at her in a single stroke of her sword.

Skillfully wielding Floating Swords, which doubled as her shield, she evaded the hounds springing toward her from the side. The ones snapping at her ankles, she kicked away.

Six of the hellhounds beset Lakyus alone. The others scattered to other adventurers in the area.

Weaker adventurers faced a single hound each. Their stronger peers took on more, and the number of monsters steadily decreased. By the time Lakyus had finished killing her six, the battles in the area had been settled.

“Anyone hurt?”

“We’re okay, Miss Lakyus!”

It couldn’t be said that they’d all made it through unscathed, but no one had suffered any serious injuries.

They were off on the right foot, considering they needed to conserve magical energy.

“We’re advancing! For right now, we’re pushing up about fifty yards! Pass it on down the line!”

Like an echo in the mountains, she heard the words advancing fifty yards repeating on all sides. Lakyus brandished her sword and stepped forward to take point.

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 2:41 AM

Three people jogged down the deserted streets, selecting particularly dark, narrow ones.

It was Climb, Brain, and the former orichalcum-rank thief who had joined them during the raid on Zero’s base.

Marquis Raeven’s house soldiers were all patrolling the city along with Prince Zanac. If any demons appeared outside the siege perimeter, they would subdue them. According to Marquis Raeven, the reason he’d lent them such a powerful man was that the thief had requested to participate himself. Apparently he’d volunteered in order to return the favor for the treatment of his wounds, as well as when Climb caught him after taking a hit from Zero.

There was most likely one other reason: Marquis Raeven probably wanted Renner to feel indebted to him.

Since the thief had led them on routes where they wouldn’t encounter demons, they hadn’t met a single enemy.

Would they have even made it this far without him?

They were confident they could handle demons that relied on strength and speed, but the moment magic or special powers came into play, their chances grew slim. For a party makeup that depended on steel for both attacking and defending, handling any nonphysical combat would be nearly impossible.

Only those with a death wish would willingly undertake this mission, but the thief had probably agreed to participate precisely because he knew, although they’d spent only a short time together, that Climb and Brain lacked those critical skills.

Feeling grateful, Brain continued moving in a half crouch with quick steps. The atmosphere of the surrounding buildings gradually began to change, and the number of large nonresidences increased. Their destination was extremely close.

“So why are we headed to the warehouse district?” the thief asked as he glanced around the area.

Climb replied, “Princess Renner said if you wanted to collect a lot of prisoners together, you’d need a place big enough to imprison them all. Rather than gathering them in a square, it would make more sense to lock them in multiple warehouses and split up families.”

“I see. By scattering families, the members can be used against one another as hostages. Then I guess we have to hurry. Well, I’ll take a roundabout way and look for the safest route I can find.”

“Thanks.”

They had to worry about what happened after they found the people, too. Considering the return trip, they knew finding a safe route ahead of time was a must. It was especially important to find a good route because there would probably be a whole crowd of people to take with them.

But Brain wondered how long their good luck would hold out.

This mission really was essentially an order for Climb to go die.

If the enemy had rounded up commoners, they had to have a reason for it, so there would definitely be someone keeping watch. From what he’d heard, the enemy mastermind, Jaldabaoth, could slay an adamantite-rank adventurer in one blow. The subordinate of such a monster would by no means be weak.

He glanced at Climb, who was running next to him.

The boy who wore pure-white armor to inform people of his connection to the princess was caressing his gauntlet. No, he’s caressing the ring on his finger beneath it, Brain knew.

It was an accessory he’d gotten from Gazef.

Apparently Gazef had received it from an old woman and former Blue Rose, and it was an ultra-rare item said to be created by ancient magic. He’d heard briefly that it allowed warriors to break through the limits of their strength.

Survive and return it to me. Brain remembered Gazef’s face as he’d told the boy that.

He hadn’t been wearing any particular expression. No anger, no sadness, no pity—because he knew that warriors with a master worth serving sometimes had to go to battles that might as well have been death sentences. But he had the feeling that Gazef lending such a valuable ring—giving the most support he could offer—spoke to his state of mind.

Running to join the thief up ahead after being waved on, Brain sensed a presence and looked up. He ran his eyes along the edge of the buildings—and received a shock so great he thought his heart would stop.

There was—he guessed from the figure’s height and build—a little girl, blond hair fluttering behind her, on the edge of the roof of one of the warehouses. She wore a very expensive-looking dress of white material embroidered with silver. High heels that sparkled like crystals peeked out from its hem. In addition, she was wearing a necklace and earrings—all sorts of elegant accessories. She looked like the daughter of a great noble or a noblewoman from somewhere.

Even discounting the strangeness of the white mask covering her face, her figure was remarkably mysterious, sparkling ominously in the light of the curtain of fire behind them. Her ostentatious appearance combined with her faint presence made her seem to have slipped out of some spirit world.

Her outfit, the color of her hair, and the way she talked weren’t the same at all. If the girl back then was born of darkness, this one had come floating down from the moon. Still, this had to be the same one. The figure burned into Brain’s memory overlapped with the one before his eyes.

He was sure of it. He knew the face beneath that girl’s mask was that of the monster Shalltear Bloodfallen.

She didn’t seem to have noticed them. But with that monster, distance meant nothing because the moment she detected them, they would be killed instantly. But could they leave without drawing her attention?

It didn’t seem remotely possible.

Before he knew it, it felt like walking on thin ice—and it was cracking. When he worried that she might sense even his slightest tremble, a sickly cold sweat oozed from every pore in his body.

Climb and the thief were about to say something, but he stopped them by putting a finger to his lips.

They must have inferred something from how pale his face was. They both froze and concealed their presences.

What should we do? What would be best? We will absolutely die if we fight that thing. We can’t run away even if we want to. The only way I managed to back then was because of the secret passageway. It’ll be impossible in a place like this. But why is she here? Don’t tell me she’s been looking for me…

Having thought as much, Brain smiled.

There was only one answer.

“Climb, I’ll buy time. You go.” He turned to the thief and bobbed his head. “Take care of him.”

He didn’t wait for them to argue.

He jumped, grabbed ahold of the building, and pulled himself up. He didn’t have the climbing skills of a thief, but it was no trouble to clamber up two stories by the strength of his warrior arms. When he reached the roof, Shalltear was still in the same spot.

Brain’s heart lurched.

He was scared—so scared he couldn’t handle it. The memories of desperately fleeing last time came back to him. Still, for some weird reason, he had the courage to face her.

“…What can I do for you?” Her icy voice, a little different, since it was coming from behind the mask, reached Brain’s ears.

She doesn’t recognize me? Why not? Could she be…acting? I guess I should act like I’m dealing with someone else first and see how she reacts? Having made that decision, he said, “I saw a strange woman up on the roof. What are you guys doing in the capital?”

“Why should I have to tell you? Or rather, what is a human even doing here? Are you the only one who made it this far?”

His heart was racing. He wanted to know how far away the others had gotten, but he couldn’t look. He raised his voice a bit while evading her question. “Were you looking for someone else? Not me?”

“You? Why would I be looking for you?”

“This is the second time we’ve met, isn’t it? I couldn’t forget your beautiful face.”

Shalltear’s hand moved to touch her mask. “…Perhaps you have the wrong girl?”

For a split second, Brain was stunned. Maybe he was mistaking her? But he immediately discarded that idea.

It definitely wasn’t someone else.

He couldn’t be sure of the voice, since it was coming from behind the mask, and he didn’t have a perfect ear, but there was only one Shalltear Bloodfallen in this world, and there was no way Brain could mistake her.

Is this that thing where it’s hard to remember someone so insignificant?

If she wasn’t being sarcastic and really didn’t remember him, it had to mean that she just hadn’t taken very much interest in him. From someone as dominant as Shalltear, that was neither arrogance nor hubris.

“Ahh, sorry. Yeah…you’re right. This is our first time meeting.”

“Oh? Well, if you’ve come around, that’s fine with me…but maybe I should kill you? Do you want to die or live? If you bow down to the ground and lick my shoes, it might improve my mood.”

“Sorry, not interested.”

Brain exhaled slowly and lowered his hips, assuming a position from which he could draw his sword. The martial art he activated was, naturally, Domain. Of course, he knew it wouldn’t work on her.

Shalltear sighed with annoyance and lightly scratched her head. “What a pain that you can’t see the difference between our abilities…”

No, I’m well aware of it. Brain answered Shalltear’s grumble to herself in his head as he watched her.

He was so aware of how terrible she was it made him sick. So why aren’t I running away? Brain wondered, and the corners of his lips curled up.

Not a single ripple appeared on the lake of his heart. Even before such a horrible being—from whom he’d fled, abandoning everything—it remained surprisingly tranquil.

Shalltear approached him casually. Her movements were exactly the same as last time. In that case, he was sure to meet crushing defeat. Everything he’d spent his life doing would be shattered for kicks.

I guess…that’s how it goes.

Brain was terrified.

Maybe it was pathetic; he had been in plenty of life-or-death duels before. But he couldn’t lie.

He was scared.

His opponent was an overwhelmingly powerful being who could easily take his life. If his battles up till now had been life or death, this would be leaping off a sheer cliff.

He may have been prepared for death in battle, but he wasn’t prepared for suicide.

Strangely, however, the stabbing feeling in his chest, the desire to run away at full speed that he’d had since arriving in the capital, was gone.

Suddenly, he remembered a view of a young man’s back.

That boy was much younger than himself. Though trembling, he had stood with all his might against an overwhelming surge of murderous intent.

Brain smiled a melancholy smile.

That old man had said that sometimes humans could unlock unbelievable levels of power. But Brain felt it was probably impossible for himself.

He couldn’t muster all his strength in service of the princess like Climb, and he couldn’t devote himself to the people and the king like Gazef. People capable of those feats were fundamentally different from Brain. He was a selfish person who’d lived his life thinking only of himself.

But…would buying time for Climb cancel that out…?

One step and then another. Shalltear, with her left pinkie finger raised, closed in at a bizarrely slow pace.

Was his extreme focus making time decelerate for him, or had Shalltear deliberately slowed her steps to tease him? Brain felt that either possibility was equally likely and grinned. That’s what she’s like.

His encounter with her had lasted only a few short minutes, but he had the feeling he understood her personality better than that of any other woman he’d ever known.

Two more steps, I guess? Until the end of my days with a sword…

He had fled. But he hadn’t let go of his weapon.

He lived his life alongside his sword, so it was probably right to die alongside it.

He made up his mind.

It was as though Brain had revealed himself to her in order to reach this decision.

“Wielding this sword is…my life, huh.”

With those words, he decided to forget everything. His opponent was a being of distant heights. He couldn’t afford to waste his energy on pointless thoughts any longer.

He unleashed Divine Strike, a martial art that was impossible to perceive.

But even using Domain and Divine Strike at the same time, he couldn’t reach the monster before his eyes. The attack was still so slow she could catch his sword by the ridge on the flat of the blade with no trouble. So that was why…he used one more martial art.

He saw the face of Gazef Stronoff in his mind.

If he hadn’t met him in the capital, even if he had made it to this point, he definitely wouldn’t have thought to use it.

But all the people he’d met here changed his mind.

Brain was grateful to the man who was once his greatest enemy, someone to overcome, and was now his rival.

He accepted the reality that he might die here.

It’s belated, but…thanks, my friend and rival.

The thought alone lightened Brain’s mood. Now he could let everything go, no more hesitating. The humiliation he once felt was gone.

“Ahhhhhhhgh!” Brain’s lips parted, and he bellowed with the scream of a werethrush. It was a war cry that contained all his strength, poured out from the bottom of his soul.

He unleashed an ultra-fast Divine Strike against the opponent he sensed with Domain. But that wasn’t all. Divine Strike wasn’t speeding up a single swipe of his sword.

The attack was—

—four simultaneous slashes.

During the battle where Brain Unglaus had first learned defeat—Gazef Stronoff had used this very martial art.

Brain had admired him and practiced the move over and over, all the while lying to himself, saying he was doing it to know his enemy. Then, in suffering, he forbid himself to use it.

But now, at this moment, all of Brain’s shackles had come off, and he used it without hesitation.

“Fourfold Slash of Light!”

Actually, Fourfold Slash of Light had a major weakness.

Unleashing four strikes at once was a burden too great for the user’s body to bear, so the attacks would go all over the place. Due to the move’s low chances of hitting its target, even its inventor, Gazef, ended up reserving it for use against multiple enemies—when he was surrounded, for instance.

Fourfold Slash of Light had fewer strokes than Sixfold Slash of Light, so it was somehow manageable to direct them all at one opponent, but landing all of them was still a rare feat.

There was no way such a haphazard attack would hit Shalltear Bloodfallen. Brain was well aware of that.

But there was a move Gazef Stronoff didn’t possess that Brain did, and it supported his accuracy within its range to an astonishing degree: Domain.

The four errant slashes were redirected with the help of Domain’s superhuman precision targeting, and the blades traveled the arcs Brain saw in his mind.

Four simultaneous, ultra-fast slashes that would absolutely hit their target…

This blow would be difficult for even vaunted heroes—humans who had surpassed human capability—to block. It would be nearly impossible to block all four slashes with the physical abilities of a member of the human race. It was an attack that was truly beyond human.

But Shalltear Bloodfallen stood in the uppermost heights of ability, where no one could surpass her. From the point of view of someone like that, those four divinely fast attacks might as well have been moving at a snail’s pace.

“Hmph,” she scoffed. And her left hand blurred, moving even faster.

A hard sound like the clang of metal rang through the air—the four attacks and blocks had happened so fast that the sounds became one.

So in other words…

Shalltear blocked all four slashes, and not a single blade reached her.

She shrugged. She laughed under her mask to think that she had wasted time going along with this child’s play—not at the warrior in front of her but at herself for being so foolish as to entertain it for even a minute.

But the next moment, her eyes widened slightly.

If someone who could numerically compare the pair’s abilities were present, they would have given Brain thunderous applause. They would have applauded him with the shock and respect afforded to one who caused the sun to rise in the west.

Yes, such was Brain’s miracle.

“…Huh?”

Shalltear was looking at the nail of her left pinkie finger—it was damaged. Part of it was missing—less than a third of an inch, but still.

Shalltear thought back over their exchange. Her nail had been severed at exactly the part she’d been using to block the slashes.

As she recalled, the four slashes had come two from above and two from below—precisely sandwiching the spot she was using to block.

“…You did that on purpose?”

“Pft! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

The man before her suddenly started to laugh.

Shalltear wondered if he’d gone insane but then thought twice and decided it was something else.

He must be laughing at the fact that he cut off my fingernail. But she didn’t understand. So he cut off my fingernail—what’s the big deal?

Shalltear’s fingernails and fangs were treated as natural weapons; as such, they could be broken with weapon-breaking skills. Since they would grow back as life force was recovered with healing magic, they broke more easily than other weapons at the same level. They weren’t so great. They couldn’t even compare with her magic item, the Pipette Lance.

So she had no idea why this guy had burst out laughing.

You cut my pinkie fingernail a little bit, so what? What does it matter? She looked at the other four nails on her left hand. Even her pinkie finger was still long enough to rip easily into human flesh, despite being shorter.

“It seems you pass as a nail clipper…”

The man opened his eyes wide with ever-increasing jubilance. “Thank you! For complimenting me. My sword…my life…hasn’t been in vain. I reached, just barely, that infinitely tall peak.”

I’m not complimenting you.

She’d meant it sarcastically.

But his reply seemed to be genuine. Meaning this man was delighted to be called a nail clipper.

Does this guy have a screw loose? When she thought about it, he had been saying weird things ever since they met. Anyhow, he’s creepy, so I’ll kill him and get it over with.

Having decided that, she was about to charge, when—

She received word from Demiurge that he’d started the battle.

She knew what that meant. She looked over without thinking, but she couldn’t sense the presence she was looking for.

“Because of his ring…?”

One of the rings their master wore had the power to hide him completely from detection abilities. The guardians had all been given one as well, but this ring was powerful enough to erase even the presence of the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Frustrated that she couldn’t sense her master, she faced forward again, but the mentally disturbed man who had been standing there was gone.

Ah! I forgot about the weirdo!

When she glanced around, she saw him watching her as he jumped down to street level. He’d run to the edge of the roof while she was distracted.

Surely there’s no way a weak human like you can escape me!

If I use a spell to slow down time, I can catch up before he hits the ground. She made a prompt judgment and cast a spell. “Time Accelerator!”

As the world turned viscous, Shalltear moved to the spot the man had jumped from. When she looked down, she saw a slowly descending human. While this spell was active, it wasn’t possible to harm anyone, but one could, for example, get down to the street first and ambush them.

That’ll be good. Since I’ll be down there anyway, I’ll open my arms and catch him. Being embraced by a voluptuous beauty like me should make that human happy.

Smiling as she imagined his expression, she moved to descend before her spell ran out. That was when she realized there was more than one human.

Who are they?

It was someone in white full plate armor and a man who seemed like a thief.

Brain landed on the street and looked up. Shalltear wasn’t there.

She’s not chasing me?! Or is she giving herself a handicap like she did last time?

He hadn’t run because he believed he could get away. He just thought that he could buy more time for Climb and the thief as they escaped if he was down low rather than up high.

Everything he was doing was so those two could escape. That was why he’d begun this chase.

But just as he was about to start running, he saw something he couldn’t believe. Climb and the thief were there waving him over.

What the—?!

He felt like his head was going to start steaming, mostly from anger—and panic.

With a desperate expression, Brain went to them as fast as he could and, grabbing them by the scruff of their necks, set off running. It would have been much faster to run normally, but Brain was too out of sorts to realize that.

He ran as best he could, turning around again and again to make sure Shalltear wasn’t chasing them, and then slammed Climb up against a wall. He hadn’t controlled his strength well, so Climb bounced off and sunk to the ground.

“Why?! Why didn’t you go?!” His emotion was violent, but he mobilized what little reason he had in order to not yell.

“W-well, because…”

He grabbed Climb as he was staggering to his feet. “Because what, huh?! Are you gonna tell me you were worried or something?! I told you to go!”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. I don’t know what happened back there, but you didn’t explain yourself well enough. This isn’t only Climb’s fault!”

Hearing the thief’s remarks, Brain began to regain his composure. The thief was right—he hadn’t said enough. He breathed deeply in and out. “…Sorry, Climb. I guess I went a little nuts there.”

“Oh no, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn’t have disregarded what you said.”

“No, this was my fault. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper.”

“Hey, Mr. Unglaus. What the hell happened? We haven’t known each other long, but that wasn’t you just now. You were acting like…I’m not sure how to put this, but like a rookie who had just picked up a sword.”

“It’s too dangerous to stop here. Let’s talk on the move. For now, I’ll just say that I found a monster as strong as Sebas.”

The three of them walked with caution. It was only luck that Brain hadn’t run into one of Jaldabaoth’s subordinates when he’d fled haphazardly. If they expected to continue to have that kind of luck, they’d be in for trouble.

“But…you’re unharmed, so…did you win by a landslide…or did you settle things by negotiating?”

“No. I used my katana and…yes, I cut her fingernail.”

The moment he put it into words, he was filled with an impossible amount of joy. Yes, I cut the fingernail of that absolute monster Shalltear Bloodfallen.

“I cut her fingernail,” Brain repeated. He nearly lost himself in the glee welling up from the bottom of his heart and had to hold it back. Still, he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking with emotion.

“I—I see… You cut her fingernail… W-well, you did do it with a katana, so that is pretty awesome…” The shaken thief’s voice also trembled.

“…You cut the fingernail of someone as strong as Sir Sebas, huh? So yeah, that is pretty awesome…I think?”

“Y—? Yeah, wouldn’t expect less from Brain Unglaus!”

Brain desperately held back a goofy grin as he bathed in their praise. Then he shook his head to clear away the emotions. “Climb, I won’t treat you like a kid anymore. You get it because you’ve seen Sir Sebas, right? There are plenty of guys stronger than me. Momon from Raven Black is probably in the same realm as Sir Sebas. That’s why I want you to remember this. When I say run, you run. If you stay, you’ll only be in the way. Promise you’ll follow my orders without question.”

“U-understood.”

“Okay, then. You work for the princess, right? That’s why you were able to withstand Sebas’s murderous aura. So don’t mix up your priorities!” Brain patted Climb on the shoulder and cast his eyes back in the direction he ran from.

Why isn’t she coming after me? There must be some reason. I don’t even know why she was here… Don’t tell me she’s here for something in the warehouse district… Then he remembered what Renner had said. Could she be looking for the same item as Jaldabaoth? That would mean…he’s working for her?!

If a monster as ultra-powerful as Shalltear was here, the correct course of action was to give up on their objective and run away. But could he convince Climb of that? Climb had just agreed to follow his orders, so if he said to retreat, Climb would probably comply.

Is that a good thing?

It wasn’t wrong to run, if he wanted to keep Climb alive. But there are times a person has to choose to stand for something more important than their life. Climb was already under orders from Renner to basically die, so maybe this was one of those times?

He didn’t know exactly how the boy Climb—just Climb—had lived or why he’d devoted himself to the Golden Princess. Still, he didn’t feel it would be right for an outsider to change his will to follow Princess Renner’s orders.

Brain grabbed the thief and asked, taking care that Climb couldn’t hear, “Hey, is it okay to take Climb with us any farther? I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for him to return safely, even if he can’t fulfill his mission?”

“…You’re a nice guy.”

“Cut the pointless brownnosing. And I think you’re the nice guy, volunteering for this super-dangerous job.”

The thief grinned, blushing, and glanced at the boy who seemed curious as to what they were talking about.

“I guess, how do I put this…? This kid giving his all reminds me of my lost past… In other words, I’ve grown fond of him during the short time we’ve been together. Anyhow, I think I have a general understanding of what you’re thinking. You’re not wrong, but…” The thief’s eyes gleamed with a piercing strength. “This is how he’s chosen to live. Someone else shouldn’t distort that.”

Brain’s breath caught.

“I like that kid. Maybe it’s because we survived a deadly battle together, but when I look into his eyes, I can pretty much read his feelings for the princess. He’s unbelievable. He’s got a reckless, ridiculous wish. That’s exactly why, as a thief…I want to let him aim for the most valuable treasure in the kingdom.”

“…Yeah. He might die, but he decided it himself.” Brain’s resolve solidified. “Then let’s hurry on. There’s no telling when Shalltear will come after us.”

2

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:38 AM

The last of the adventurers slipped by the barricade and withdrew to the rear. This group of guards had orders to defend this position with their lives until the adventurers had recovered from their wounds.

The gap in the barricade—the space that had been opened to let the adventurers through—was immediately barred with lumber.

There was no one any farther ahead of them. In other words, this was the front line.

Looking behind them, they saw the ragged figures of the retreating adventurers. Their armor was covered with fresh gashes and burns. It had also been dyed with splotches of blood.

Beyond them, the wall of flames blazed. They’d come a little over 160 yards into enemy territory. Though they were in their familiar capital, things felt off. It was like they’d entered some alternate, surreal world.

The buildings in the area had all collapsed. The guards were manning the barricade they’d built with the time the adventurers bought for them, but although it had seemed like the ultimate obstruction a little while ago, it was starting to look incredibly flimsy. Like it would fall with hardly any effort at all.

“It’s okay. The monsters didn’t chase after the adventurers. The enemy isn’t planning on attacking. They want to fortify their defenses, just like us. We’re fine. We won’t get attacked.”

Someone else said the same thing again. In order to distract themselves from the extreme anxiety, they repeated it over and over like a prayer out of a desire to return home alive.

There were forty-five guards defending this barricade. They carried long spears and wore leather armor. One of the men had a helmet on. This was Bona Ingre, one of several captains.

He may have been called a “captain of the guard,” but he was no different from an ordinary guard. He didn’t have a particularly superior physique nor was he a terribly quick thinker. The younger guards were probably stronger. The truth is, he’d acquired the rank only because he was forty and had been a guard for so long that when a position opened up and no one else was suitable, he slipped into it.

His face was pale, and he was gripping his spear so hard his knuckles had turned white. His legs were shaking. The reason he didn’t shift his gaze was probably because looking around was scarier. He seemed so unreliable that the anxiety of the other guards grew.

But this was the first time he’d ever risked his life in battle, so it probably couldn’t be helped.

Yes, the kingdom went to the Katze Plain each year for the war with the empire, but the role of the guards was to defend the city, so they weren’t dispatched to the front. For that reason, the job was the most desired one for citizens who didn’t want to go to war. But now…

Up until now, he might have gotten into some verbal scuffles with drunkards, but he only rarely had to jump in to stop a knife fight, so he had never experienced a more frightening situation than that very moment. The only reason he could resist the urge to run away was that he was sure he wouldn’t be forgiven for deserting.

Even if they were lenient, the whole reason he was exempt from fighting in the war with the empire was his duty to protect the city; if he couldn’t do that, they would definitely force him to go to the front next time.

“If I get out of this alive, I’m going to quit being a guard,” Bona grumbled.

Several guards near him agreed.

“Do you remember what the adventurers were saying?”

“You mean that they encountered hellhounds, greater hellhounds, gazer devils, and demon swarms?”

“Yeah. Does anyone have an idea what kind of monsters those are? Like, maybe if they have any weak points or if there are things that work well against them?”

There was no response. Everyone just looked at one another.

Noticing their discontent and their undisguised looks that said, This guy’s useless, he turned his anger elsewhere. “Shit! The adventurers should have given us more details!”

The adventurers who had given the guards the monster information had been heavily injured and in the middle of a desperate retreat. For that reason, it had been all they could do to just give the names; they didn’t have the time or energy to describe appearances or attack methods.

It was harsh to blame them for that. It was a failure of the commanders that, due to the lack of coordination between the guards and adventurers, information had not been shared efficiently, and the guards had to man the defensive line completely uninformed. And actually, not all the guard groups were operating without any idea of what was coming. Some units in the same conditions had gotten information.

Those groups sent a handful of members to help transport the adventurers to the rear, during which they could ask the details of the situation.

The reason this company hadn’t done that was probably because Bona, the leader, hadn’t come up with such a plan and also because he thought it would be outrageous to reduce the number of guards defending the barricade.

“They’re probably getting paid more than us, so they should try harder and actually risk their lives!”

A few people agreed as Bona jeered.

“We’ll risk our lives, too! So they should keep fighting, not retreat, right?” Bona asked the guards in the area. Oblivious to the cold stares from the guards standing farther away, he and the people around him shouted their complaints about the adventurers.

“Here they come!” called one guard who had remained on watch without shifting his gaze an inch.

Bona looked nauseated.

Everyone saw the demons walking toward them down the street.

The one at the head of the line was like a cross between a frog and a human. Its skin was a jaundiced color and gleamed with something mucus-like. Here and there on its hugely swollen body were faces, like the impressions of human heads forced against the skin from the inside.

Its straight mouth seemed big enough to eat a person whole, and when it opened, an unusually long tongue licked the air.

Hellhounds accompanied the froggy monster as if waiting for a meal.

And in the back were humanoids who appeared as though all their skin had been ripped off and were instead coated in a slimy black liquid.

Fifteen hounds, one fat demon, and six skinless demons that had been flayed.

“There’re too many of them!” Bona boomed. “We can’t do this! Run!”

“Shut the hell up!” someone screamed at him. “Can you be quiet for one damn second?!”

Bona gave a little shriek, but the guard who had yelled at him ignored it and turned to face the others with a tense expression. “Listen up! All you have to do is thrust with your spears! It’s not our job to kill them! We just have to buy time! It’s okay! We can live through this!”

At the words live through this a few guards gathered, and then a few more.

“Okay, let’s do this!”

Faces frozen in fear, they fanned out and held up their spears.

“You, too!”

Someone dragged Bona over to his appointed position. They couldn’t afford to let him stand around uselessly.

The hounds howled and tore into the barricade, trying to snap it apart. They crunched through the lumber with shocking speed. The guards thrust their spears into the gaps.

Here and there they heard a hound’s short yelp. Even the ones who hadn’t been stabbed moved away from the barricade in confusion. Then they paced around, growling deep in their throats as they took in the situation.

Having calmed down a bit, the guards jabbed with their spears any time a hound approached. When they did, it would immediately go away.

The guards’ faces brightened.

The way the demons in the back just grinned creepily and didn’t make a move was worrying, but if time kept passing like this, that was fine. It wasn’t as if they were there to defeat the demons.

“Wh-what?!” one of the guards cried out in terror at the scene taking place before him.

The hounds all formed ranks, lining up abreast just past the reach of the spears.

This behavior, different from the reckless charge from before, made the guards nervous. If they could’ve had some detailed knowledge about the monsters, they might have had a different way to cope, but as it was, all they could do was thrust their spears between the gaps in the barricade beams. They didn’t have any specific ways to respond to their opponents’ actions.

As they stood with their spears, ready to thrust, the hounds opened their mouths—so wide their jaws appeared to detach. The red in the back of their throats wasn’t just the color of their oral cavities.

All at once, the crimson flames licked the barricade. The guards’ entire field of vision turned red as if the whole barricade had burst into flames.

It was an intense degree of firepower but too short to completely burn up the barricade. The same could not be said of the guards who’d been standing by behind it.

Screams. Some had charred their eyes while others had inhaled the flames, burning both their esophagus and lungs. They fell to the ground. The only ones who survived were the ones who’d been on the edges; all the guards in center positions had taken direct hits and breathed their last.

“I—I can’t take this anymore!”

It was on the tips of everyone’s tongues, and the first one to say it was Bona. His subsequent actions were speedy. He cast away his spear and threw off his helmet. Having made himself a little lighter, he bolted.

The remaining guards were stunned. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t considered the possibility of him fleeing, but to be so magnificently abandoned left them speechless.

Bona ran at a speed that suggested that humans grew faster the more trapped they felt. They watched him go, mouths gaping.

However, his escape came to an end when a demon fell down on him.

The demon with the bloated body flew despite its lack of wings and dropped heavily onto Bona. It sounded like dry twigs snapping.

They heard a voice sniffling in pain. Although the demon could have killed him easily, it chose not to. From the demon’s next move, they knew it was not out of mercy.

It lifted Bona into the air.

Then it opened its mouth and gobbled him up. Its already swollen stomach didn’t expand to accommodate him, but there was one significant change. Among the faces pressed into its body, a new one appeared.

It was hard to tell, but it appeared to be Bona’s.

The guards couldn’t move behind the barricade as they listened to it breaking down.

Barricade, ha. They had never had a wall.

The demons came over the broken obstacle and began surrounding the guards.

Quiet sobs could be heard—the crying of people who knew they would die.

Next came the chuckles of the demons—laughing at the foolish humans.

One guard, looking up at the night sky as if making an appeal to the gods, saw something unexpected.

It was a strange party, approaching at high speed. Two people were carrying a warrior in raven-black armor. The warrior’s crimson cape fluttered out behind him, and in either hand, he carried a huge sword.

“Toss me!”

Despite the distance, the guard had the feeling he heard a shout.

It turned out to be true, since the two flying people let go. The warrior accelerated, as if an unseen power had given him a shove from behind, and descended to the ground in a gentle arc. He glided smoothly along the road as if friction didn’t slow his movement, cutting down a hellhound in his path before finally coming to a stop.

It was such a dramatic entrance that allies and enemies alike stopped what they were doing. His voice carried much better in the silence.

“I’m Momon, an adventurer. I’ll take your place. You guys can fall back.”

At first, they couldn’t understand what the dark warrior was saying, but the barking of several hellhounds brought them back to their senses. He was their long-awaited backup.

“Hellhounds… Just these? Even double this wouldn’t have been very many.”

The hellhounds attacked from every direction to brutally slaughter the dark warrior Momon. They encircled him completely, not leaving a single gap.

If he used his swords to block, some would get around, bite into him, and rip him apart. If he sliced through them, the remaining ones would leap at him. He’d get bodychecked by the hellhounds, his stance would crumple, and he wouldn’t be able to evade their next assault.

This assault was practically the definition of attacking with sheer numbers.

It was no wonder the guards’ expressions were all so pained. But they had no idea what the truly strong were capable of.

A giant sword arced through the air, causing a massive gust of wind.

Everyone with eyes fell speechless.

It was a single slicing attack. An ordinary person would have been able to cut through one enemy at most. But because of who was holding the sword, this slice could surpass the ordinary.

Four of the hellhounds that had seemed invincible to the guards fell onto the road in pieces.

But perhaps because he’d swung as hard as he could, Momon’s body was leaning off-balance. There were still unharmed hellhounds remaining. If he wasn’t centered, he wouldn’t be able to evade their follow-up attacks.

He may have been wearing tough armor, but the hellhounds’ fangs were sharp, and they had claws that could rip up iron. There was no way he would get away unscathed if so many attacked him at once.

The guards imagined the adventurer who had come to save them covered in wounds.

But that was too hasty a conclusion.

Momon didn’t even try to force his listing body back but instead leaned into the flow to whirl around. His crimson cape fluttered behind him, creating a blazing swirl. With the nimble movements of a dancer, he planted his feet again, and his great swords howled as he swept them from left to right.

He sent the remaining hellhounds tumbling down the street. None of them could move properly anymore.

“In just…two slashes?”

The guard’s murmur spoke for everyone. Having witnessed such a feat, what other words could possibly come to mind?

“So what’s left? An overeater and some gazer devils? How boring!”

Leaving the guards with that murmured remark, Momon strode toward the demons. He might as well have been taking a stroll in a park, he was so unguarded. Normally, someone would have called out to stop him, but after what they’d just seen, no one felt it was necessary.

The role of ordinary people was to watch the powerful warriors go.

Perhaps unable to withstand the pressure of Momon’s casual approach, the gazer devils emitted strange screams and attacked.

A single blow.

Sliced-up bodies flew every which way.

Momon’s feet kept moving all the while. He continued his casual stroll as if he was walking through an empty meadow, as if the devils had never existed.

“Whoa…”

It most likely wasn’t in reaction to the guard’s voice, but the overeater opened its mouth—wide like a snake about to swallow its prey whole. Something like a flame flickered deep inside. The agony on the human faces in its body intensified. It was about to belch a scream of souls.

The wailings of the expiring souls it had eaten caused the living to writhe in agony as their spirits withered.

But before the overeater could finish—bam—it went flying.

Momon had hurled his huge sword to cut through the demon’s head, and the monster fell to the ground.

“They’re no problem as long as you kill them before they scream,” Momon said simply and pulled his sword out of the corpse.

It took less than a minute. The apparently unbeatable demons were annihilated.

The guards cheered. Their voices rose in the soulful roar of those who had escaped death.

Bathing in their surge of joy, Momon spoke to them quietly. “The adventurers should be mounting a counterattack operation soon. Hold this location just a little longer… Well, the demons were routed, so I doubt they’ll attack again here for a while. Nabe, Evileye, if you please.” The two casters landed and then lifted him up. Momon left the guards with a final call from the air. “I’m going to hurry on to subdue the enemy mastermind. Until then, protect the citizens behind you. I’m counting on you!”

They sighed as they watched the party fly away.

With such an amazing hero telling them to do so, it would be shameful if they didn’t defend this line with their lives.

“Hey, rebuild the barricade! We need to keep holding them back. Don’t even think about what will happen if they break through!”

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:44 AM

The second charging squad, comprised of adventurers who were mythril rank or higher, began advancing with Lakyus at the front and Tina at her side.

At Lakyus’s departure, she had been asked more than once to reconsider. People said that someone who could use resurrection magic shouldn’t be on the front line. But whether she went or not made a huge difference in the force’s strength. Momon’s confrontation with Jaldabaoth was what they really needed to be prioritizing, so she couldn’t very well hang back.

The group avoided following Momon by entering via a different street and headed for their primary objective, the place where the guards were supposed to have erected a barricade, but what they saw when they arrived was a road dyed red, the scene of a brutal slaughter, strewn with scraps of flesh. Of course, the barricade had also been completely destroyed; there was no sign of it.

The adventurers noisily bunched up and proceeded farther in, but they didn’t even make it thirty yards before entering combat with a group of demons that came out of a side street.

As soon as the battle started, the adventurers, who were individually stronger than the demons, were ahead.

But the tables gradually turned. The cause was the numbers that outweighed the adventurers’ individual strengths. There were so many demons, it felt like every single one in the region was there.

“Don’t fall back! Keep pushing!” Lakyus shouted after casting support magic on everyone. Of course, none of the adventurers was falling back. They knew how important this operation was—they weren’t about to retreat.

Evileye’s role was to stay close to Momon and intercept anything getting in his way, and their mission was to keep the demons at bay by keeping the pressure on.

In that sense, clashing with this many head-on was the greatest support they could give to Momon. The longer this battle raged, the better the chance of success for him and Evileye.

Shouts and swords rang out. Spells went flying, skills were activated, Fire Breath burned people up. All the sounds overlapped.

Lakyus checked the status of the battle and grimaced. The murmur of one adventurer had lodged itself in the back of her mind: The demons are gradually getting stronger.

Could it be that a gate to whatever world the demons live in has opened, and stronger and stronger demons are being summoned through it? Could this wall of fire be a border? What will happen if time keeps passing like this? Even if we defeat Jaldabaoth, will the capital go back to normal? Could this all be for nothing?

“Nonsense!” she scoffed and banished the countless worries from her mind.

You don’t know anything until you try. That was why Lakyus swung her sword.

“Fire!”

One of the Floating Swords hanging in the air near her shoulder moved straight up and launched according to her order. The sword ripped through the sky and pierced the open mouth of a hellhound leaping to attack. The hound’s corpse vanished without a trace.

Lakyus glanced around and saw that they were completely surrounded. They’d ceased advancing some time ago, and the multilayered ring of enemies around them showed no sign of thinning. All she could do now was slash her sword and fight.

The vanguard put away their chipped and broken weapons and readied their spares. Casters who had run out of magical energy began casting with scrolls and wands. They were running out of resources.

Orichalcum-rank adventurers formed a protective circle around the wounded mythril-rank adventurers who were completely out of magical energy, but still…

This is bad… At this rate, we’re going to be worn down to nothing. It’s still not over? Haven’t you beaten Jaldabaoth yet?

Hearing a scream, she whipped her head around and saw an adventurer crumple under the fierce blow of a demon.

“Tch!”

Faster than Lakyus could charge, Tina leaped at the enemy to plug up the hole that had formed.

The adventurers behind the injured warrior dragged him in. He wasn’t dead, but his terrible condition was obvious. The fact that no one cast a healing spell illustrated how much magical energy the priests and other faith casters had already used up.

All we can do is pull out…

If the balance shifted, they would be swallowed up in an instant. Lakyus couldn’t let them die. She needed to take action with an eye on what they would do in the event Momon was defeated.

It was nearly impossible to retreat with a completely exhausted body. They needed to fall back while they still had a bit of energy remaining.

“Wi—!” She was about to shout Withdraw! when she gasped at the sight of a grotesque demon dropping softly out of the sky.

It was nearly ten feet tall. It had a muscular body, but it was covered in reptilian scales. Its snakelike tail writhed.

Its head was the skull of a goat. Pale-blue flames blazed wildly in its gaping black orbits.

Its arms were thick, and in its hands, it gripped a gigantic maul.

It spread the bat wings that had been folded up on its back. When it beat them, a cold wind blew, and soul-crushing fear assailed Lakyus. Since she was protected by fear-resisting magic, she didn’t panic, but this demonstration was enough for her to see that this demon was far stronger than the ones they’d fought so far.

Sweat oozed out of her pores.

“Oh no…”

If she hadn’t been short on magical energy and team members, she probably could have won somehow. If she had been able to look up information about their opponent before the battle, she would have no doubt been victorious. But under the current circumstances, she had virtually no chance. First off, Evileye, who possessed a vast amount of knowledge and could use powerful magic, was gone. Gagaran, who would block the enemy’s weapon and counter, wasn’t there, either. Tia, who could deftly evade the enemy’s attacks and make an aggressive strike with her ninjutsu, was also missing. There were only two of them present, and they were exhausted.

When she looked at Tina, the response was a ready nod.

Just as Lakyus, gripping Demonic Sword Killineiram tightly, was about to stride toward the demon, a nearby orichalcum-rank adventurer grabbed her shoulders and shouted, “We’ll hold it here! You should run!”

Lakyus was caught off guard.

He rapidly continued, “If you survive, you can use resurrection magic on us, so you have to make it back even if the rest of us don’t—for yourself and the people you could bring back to life!”

The man’s honest face and his chivalrous grin were overflowing with the charisma expected of an orichalcum-rank adventurer. All the sympathetic adventurers nodded.

Objectively, what they said was correct. She could do more by staying alive and reviving those who fell here instead of risking her life to buy time.

“I heard resurrection spells take tremendous resources, but please do it on the house for us!”

“Isn’t the princess paying?!”

“Let’s make the nobles pay! They should at least put up some cash!”

With the relaxed bearing of people on their way to a picnic, a handful of adventurers left the circle. There’d been no gesture or wink. As if they had come to a collective decision, they moved in perfect harmony with one another to stand before the demon.

Seeing the cheerful attitudes of the ones who had resolved to face this life-or-death battle, Lakyus bit her lip and turned her back.

“Break through! Summon all your strength! After this, all you need is the energy to run!”

No sooner had she yelled than she herself was charging into the demon mob with Killineiram. For defense, she could depend on only magic and her armor now. She would abandon herself to the most extreme extent possible and carve a trail of blood.

She gritted her teeth against all sorts of pains—her flesh being gouged, hard objects stabbing at her—and endured it. She considered her health calmly and waited till the last second before casting a silent healing spell. Lakyus had to make it back alive, but if she didn’t throw herself into battle here, they wouldn’t break through.

“Hrrrraaaagh!” She poured the majority of her remaining magic into Killineiram. The sword sparkled bright, like the twinkling of stars, and the blade grew.

“Super Art: Dark Blade Mega Impaaact!”

A pitch-black explosion raged to the side as she swung. The low-level demons were swallowed up by the burst of neutral energy and disappeared one after another.

It hadn’t actually been necessary for her to shout the move’s name. It was super-effective, and yet…

“Not even…close?”

The scene before her tired eyes was a thick wall of demons, albeit low-level ones. She’d blown away so many, but the hole was already filled.

Is it even possible to break through? The creeping anxiety annoyed her, and she swung Killineiram, whose blade had gone back to normal size.

Just then, behind the demons, she saw a metallic flash and heard a man roar.

“Sixfold Slash of Light!”

The six cuts sliced into the demons.

“Sixfold Slash of Light! Flow Acceleration! Hrgh!”

Seven demons fell in pieces like butter under a hot knife. The other monsters stopped what they were doing and shrank from the sharpness—it seemed like there was nothing Razor Edge couldn’t cut.

“Crush them!”

At Gazef’s shout, spears behind him came forward in a synchronized thrust.

There was no mistaking those steely gleams. Behind him were more than a few dozen—countless—spears, thrusting forward to pierce the demons. The knights and soldiers who had been defending the castle, an army of several hundred, flooded the street.

The demons recoiled from the military force double their size, loosening their circle around the adventurers. A jubilant cheer went up, and the battered adventurers began retreating under the protection of the soldiers.

“What is Captain Stronoff doing here?!”

I thought he stayed behind to defend the castle and the royal family! He must have heard her question, because he turned to face a specific direction.

When Lakyus followed his gaze, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.

An old man was standing there under the protection of four priests and four arcane casters. On his head was the crown that, of all the people in the kingdom, only he was allowed to wear. And he was clad in armor.

The king, Ramposa III.

This is way too dangerous.

Yes, he was wearing armor, but some of the demons could pierce steel like it was nothing. And he may have had guards, but there was still the possibility that area-of-effect spells could break through their defenses and hurt him. An ordinary human like the king would probably die instantly if he was caught in an area-of-effect spell. Lakyus had resurrection magic, but there was no way he would be able to withstand the loss of life force that accompanied the resurrection process.

“This is what His Majesty said: ‘Are you fellows supposed to protect this castle, this hunk of stone, or me?’ There could only be one answer. Our duty is to protect the king! So our battle takes place here! Charge!”

An earthshaking battle cry went up, and the army made a daring offensive.

It was the numbers against numbers in a violent clash. The moment it looked like they would stage a comeback, an orichalcum-rank adventurer went flying into a wall, painting a bright-red flower.

“Oooooooonnngh!” A giant demon howled as if to say, Come at me, and the soldiers froze.

There were some monsters that couldn’t be beaten with numbers.

“Captain Stronoff! Lend us your strength!”

“You got it.”

Lakyus’s eyes widened when she heard the voices that joined the fray next.

“Hup, hold on! Think you might need help from a previously outstanding warrior?”

“There’s also a ninja who plans on being outstanding in the future.”

She would never mistake those voices, but she couldn’t believe it. Shocked, she shouted, “Gagaran! Tia!”

The two familiar faces slowly came into view. They had their usual gear equipped and looked ready to fight at any moment.

“Hey there. If we had just kept sleeping, we would’ve lost our edge, so we asked Captain Stronoff to bring us along!”

“We can fight.”

That can’t be true. Combat immediately following resurrection was in no way advisable. It was normal to rest until one became accustomed to the gap between one’s current and former ability, and in the first place, they should have been totally drained. Despite all that, they stood to join the fray because they knew how important this battle was.

They were here to back up everyone who had fought so far.

Lakyus prayed with all her heart—that Momon would defeat Jaldabaoth and that he would drive the demon mob out of the city.

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:46 AM

“There he is.”

Ahead of them was a square, and the masked demon was standing imposingly in the center of it, making no attempt to hide. They didn’t see any other demons in the area, but Evileye wasn’t stupid enough to believe they weren’t there.

Their opponent registered their rapidly approaching presences and gave an elegant bow. There was only one thing that could explain that confidence.

“Is this a trap…? What should we do, Sir Momon?”

“No matter what’s waiting for us, our only option is to fight our way through.”

“You’re exactly right.”

Evileye figured that Momon’s more relaxed way of speaking to her was a product of their relationship deepening as they worked side by side, and she began to speak more like her normal self, too. If she concealed her true self for too long, it would lead straight to a breakup if their relationship got serious. It was still too early to reveal her actual identity, but she judged that talking in her normal manner was fine.

“Seems like they started on schedule.”

They could hear the beating of drums and courageous battle cries from the rear. Momon figured the offensive had begun diminishing the enemy’s defensive force so he could fight Jaldabaoth one-on-one. They had one shot at this operation. There would be no second chances. The only way to save the kingdom was to defeat Jaldabaoth now.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ve entered the final phase of the operation. Sir Momon…Nabe and I will handle any supporting enemies. You can concentrate on Jaldabaoth and not worry about anything else.”

“Got it. You’ve been with me every step of the way. I hope that after we beat Jaldabaoth, we make the triumphant return together! Nabe, fight alongside her. Know that my wish is for all three of us to make it home.”

“Understood, Mr. Momon.”

The three landed before Jaldabaoth. Evileye scanned the area and noticed a maid coming out of a building adjacent to the square.

She was wearing the same bug mask as before, with its fixed expression, but Evileye could feel the loathing coming her way from beneath it.

She can’t be the only one.

Between the bug maid and me, Jaldabaoth should know who is stronger. And since this time, Nabe, who is probably as strong as me, is here, too, there’s no way he would have the maid fight alone. He’s either going to put the pressure on with numbers, or he has another subordinate of similar rank standing by. Just as she had assessed the situation, something cold crept up her spine.

Behind the bug maid were others, all wearing the same mask as Jaldabaoth.

They were each dressed in a different maid uniform.

There were—

“Four of them?!”

—a total of five enemies with combat ability comparable to hers. In a two-on-five battle, the difference between their abilities would be huge. It was a gap that meant their chance of winning was as good as nonexistent.

“Shit! We underestimated Jaldabaoth’s force!”

At this rate, they would be outnumbered, and the enemy would interfere with Momon and Jaldabaoth’s battle, which should have happened on even terms.

If even a little backup arrived during an evenly matched fight, it was very likely to decide the outcome—just as the tables had turned in Evileye’s earlier fight with the bug maid.

“Okay, I’ll leave those five to you,” said Momon, and he walked toward Jaldabaoth at a natural pace with a sword in each hand.

Watching his sturdy figure move away, her lack of confidence tormented her. How much less anxious she would feel hidden beneath that flowing red cape!

Nearly reaching out after him, Evileye chided her weak heart.

She had come here prepared to die. Just because there were more enemies than she expected didn’t mean she could resort to pathetically crying for help. Plus, he had to have said that because he believed in her. Otherwise he would never have turned away so bluntly. He’s a decent man.

Thinking about it again, she became convinced that was what his receding back was saying to them: You and Nabe will be able to hold them off until I win.

Passionate flames blazed deep inside her.

“Okay, here I come, De—demon!” Momon raised his voice and sliced at Jaldabaoth. The fierce battle had begun. Perhaps in order to not involve the other two, Momon kept pushing Jaldabaoth, moving their battle away.

“Okay, if I take three and you take two, is that all right with you?”

“Are you sure? I’m fine taking three!”

She had the feeling Nabe suppressed a laugh. “You’ll take two and I’ll take three.”

Evileye grinned. She felt like she’d grasped a part of this woman’s personality.

Frankly, she’d taken a liking to her rival for Momon’s affections.

Sheesh. With Momon and Nabe, I feel like it might be okay to take off my ring and show them my true form… Well, if we make it back alive.

“You’re a stubborn one, huh? Okay. Then I’ll polish mine off quick and back you up! Just hold them off as best you can without dy… What?”

She realized that everyone—the five maids and Nabe—was looking at her. It was so creepily synchronized it could have been prearranged.

“Nothing,” Nabe replied coldly and slowly walked off to the side. “Okay, I want three of you to be my opponents. I’ll leave it up to you who comes with me.”

In response, the bug maid, a maid with braids, and a maid with rolled curls walked after her. The two who remained to face Evileye were one with her hair done up and one with long hair.

“My name is Alpha, and this is Delta. We’ll be your opponents.”

“I see. How polite you are! My name is Evileye. I’m the one who will defeat you!”

She didn’t feel like chatting to buy time. Thinking like that only got one overwhelmed and killed. All she could do was keep pushing.

“Oh…? How frightening.”

Evileye used her ace move as her first—a skill that sent all the negative energy flowing through her body into a rage, imbuing her magical energy with it to strengthen her attacks.

“Here I go!” she barked and cast a spell.

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:59 AM

“Don’t underestimate me!”

The crystal pellet of negative energy shot into the maid—Alpha—running toward Evileye. The physical attack, a combination of battering and stabbing, plus the negative energy, ate into her life force…

Or rather, it should have. But she didn’t seem to feel anything and just kept running.

“Kgh!” Evileye flew into the air. Having an enemy close was an extreme disadvantage for an arcane caster. She had a better chance of winning if she kept some distance.

The moment she floated up, something burst before her eyes. It seemed her Crystal Shield had deflected an enemy attack, and the sparkle of the fine particles surrounding her abruptly dimmed.

The shield must have neutralized a fairly powerful attack, but she felt lucky to have blocked anything at all. Crystal Shield could defend against attacks of only a certain level or lower; any higher and they would pass right through.

“Again?”

The maid in the rear, Delta, was using firearms. Every time Evileye tried to fly up high, she got shot at.

“Ha!” Pumping herself up, Alpha launched a fist at her.

Evileye clicked her tongue loudly.

She had never recognized anyone who fought with their fists as a real opponent. After fighting Alpha for a little while, however, she learned that she’d just been arrogant—she had only ever encountered those weaker than herself. Alpha was a formidable opponent. Whenever Evileye put distance between them, her opponent closed in several times faster, and she broke the caster’s slapdash barriers with single strikes.

The two of them felt slightly weaker than her, but she couldn’t lower her guard for so much as an instant. She was always walking a tightrope.

What made them especially tricky was their perfectly harmonized movements. When adventurers cooperated, their fighting power got a huge boost, so she figured these two had surely increased theirs quite a bit.

Shit! Monsters teaming up and cooperating…? That doesn’t make sense!

But she realized she was in no position to talk. The other members of her team were human, but she was undead. She was in the same position as the maids.

A bang rang out, and the Crystal Shield around her weakened. It was as good as gone.

Cursing, she frantically took some distance from Alpha, who was in front of her throwing a punch. Evileye was a vampire and possessed physical strength that defied common sense, but Alpha’s surpassed it. The only reason she couldn’t catch up was Fly.

Concentrating on casting magic always made it harder to move around and keep a good distance. It threw off one’s depth perception, and it was also hard to focus while running. That was why casters always stopped to launch spells. Evileye was making the mobile battle work by simply taking care to Fly and put distance between her opponents and her. That didn’t make her special—pretty much any caster had trained with this strategy, although how well they could execute it depended on their individual ability. In that sense, her ability was first-rate. She had the flight powers of a vampire and two hundred and fifty years of practice.

Even Evileye, with all her know-how, had to focus to escape from Alpha. She was moving laterally in a huge circle around the entire square, but she had two opponents.

With a hard bang, her barrier completely disappeared.

She had the feeling she wasn’t getting her money’s worth out of Crystal Shield if it disappeared after a grand total of three hits, but considering the level of her opponents, it couldn’t be helped.

“Sand Field: All!”

Sand spread throughout the area, trapping Alpha, but it didn’t reach Delta. She couldn’t use this wide-ranging area-of-effect spell when fighting with her team for fear of affecting them, but it obstructed enemy movements with the sand clinging to them. It also had the secondary effects of blindness, silence, and distraction. Not only that, but thanks to her ace move imbuing the sand particles with negative energy, it ate away at the maid’s life energy.

It was a tier-five spell of her creation, one of the strongest cards in her deck.

But Alpha’s movements didn’t slow, and she didn’t even seem to be taking any damage.

“What the heck?!”

She appeared to have perfect resistance to both travel obstruction and negative energy.

“I applaud you! You certainly have your resistances all set!”

Instead of returning the compliment, Alpha blurred. Her kick flew at Evileye’s face as if she’d performed a short-distance teleport to appear right in front of her.

As her mask crumpled with a screech, Evileye was knocked far back.

After bouncing along the ground—thud, thud—and finally coming to a stop, she shook her spinning head and stood up. By then, Alpha was already practically on top of her.

“Crystal Wall!”

Alpha’s fist collided with the barrier of crystal in front of Evileye with a thunderous bang. Lines radiated out from the impact as if her protection had been struck with a wrecking ball.

With a grunt and the thud of a foot striking the ground, a shock went through the radiating cracks, and the wall shattered toward Evileye.

“Fa Jin?!”

Just then, only briefly, she sensed the tremor going through the ground as she was using Fly to get some distance. She couldn’t tell where the earthy rumbling was coming from, but she knew one thing straightaway: It was because of the other two battling it out.

“They’re still fighting…? But maybe they’re headed for the climax. Don’t mind if I buy some more time, then!” Evileye screamed and charged at Alpha, who was heading her way to attack.

She would devote her body and soul to buying just a little more time. Her special attack was born of that determination.

Alpha’s hands traced circles on their way into a fighting stance to intercept.

Evileye felt like an impregnable fortress was towering before her, but she didn’t stop…

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:53 AM

Ainz dove into a house in a tangle with Jaldabaoth.

He slammed Jaldabaoth against the door, and it shattered in a spray of splinters.

The room was dim and cramped, with no lights—not an easy place for Ainz to swing his swords, which put him at a disadvantage.

He ignored Jaldabaoth and walked farther in. Jaldabaoth followed him an instant later. They entered a different room and found a small table. And two chairs. And Mare.

Mare pulled out a chair and Ainz sat. Jaldabaoth—Demiurge— asked permission to sit across from him and removed his mask. Then Ainz asked him, “First, is this room safe?”

“Yes, it is all in order. There is no one who can eavesdrop on us here.”

“I see. And then… Oh, before that, I’d like to ask you a favor. Don’t let any more harm come to the soldiers on the route I arrived by. In E-Rantel, it just happened by coincidence, but it seems that saving people in a tight spot is really good advertising.”

“Understood… I sent a mental order, so they should be all right now.”

“Great. Now tell me your entire plan.”

When Narberal had Messaged him, he’d said he would explain everything when they met up, so Ainz hadn’t heard anything yet. Because of that, Ainz was a little worried that he’d messed up the plan and was in for some complaining.

“There are four benefits to my multistage plan.”

“Oh? I had thought three…but there are four, huh?”

Demiurge smiled—displaying an expression of great satisfaction.

“I feel as though this is the first time I have won in a battle of intellect with you.”

Ainz waved him off. Of course, he had no idea what the three benefits would have been, so Demiurge’s remark made him very uncomfortable.

“You’ve always been ahead of me. Up till now has been nothing more than a fluke.”

“What are you saying? No need to be so modest.”

“No, really…ngh. So tell me about your four merits.”

“Sir. The first is that we gain wealth by attacking the warehouse district and taking everything to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. To that end, all the resources in the warehouses have been transported via Gates that Shalltear created and are being managed by Pandora’s Actor.”

That is an extremely good benefit. Ainz gave Demiurge the highest praise in his head.

The royal capital, having lost all their resources at once, would be in dire straits, but what did Ainz care about that? He was just relieved that he could take a break from worrying about money.

“The second is to make it look like we were not involved in the raids on the Eight Fingers. As I’m sure you have realized, if we had only attacked Eight Fingers bases, people might have begun to wonder. If we weren’t careful, someone might have found their way to Sebas, so I extended the range of the damage to make it look like we had a different objective.”

So the best place to hide a broken twig is in a forest?

“Is it that easy, though? What are we supposedly after?”

“Take a look at this.”

Demiurge made a signal and Mare, who’d been standing by, brought out a bag and opened it.

Inside was a statue of a demon. Its six hands were each clutching a jewel, and they were pulsing with a strange brilliance from within.

“The spell contained within these jewels is Armageddon: Evil.”

Armageddon: Evil was a tier-ten spell that summoned a demon army. It could summon a large number, but individually they were not so strong. Also, unlike angels, demons would sometimes go on a rampage, so the spell was problematic. Its practical uses were rather limited. Often, casters took advantage of the fact that the demons weren’t allies and used them as sacrifices for ritual spells or special skills.

This use of the spell was similar to the way Shalltear had killed her kin with the Pipette Lance.

“This is an item Lord Ulbert made. Should we make use of it here?”

Considering the level this world’s tiered magic was at, it certainly wouldn’t be strange for the demon Jaldabaoth to attack with this item as his target.

Then Ainz remembered what his teammate Ulbert had been like during their guild’s heyday.

One of the World Items allowed its user to summon an unlimited number of demons, enough to bury the world in them. It caused a huge mess, and when Ulbert heard about it, he merrily created this item in imitation of it. Of course, all it could do was cast six spells at once, and he lost interest in it upon completing it.

There was a clear sense of regret hanging around Demiurge. He must have been reluctant to expend something his creator had devised.

Ainz reached into space and took out the item he had in mind.

“Demiurge, you can put that away. Use this instead.”

The item Ainz took out was similar to Demiurge’s demon statue but had three fewer jewels, and the overall quality of the statue was inferior.

“Ulbert made this item, too. It was just a test, so he was going to throw it away, but I thought that was a waste, so I had him give it to me. You can use this, right?”

“I could never use one of your items, Lord Ainz!”

“Really? Then I’ll give it to you. You can use it however you want. But Ulbert might be embarrassed if his failed project stays lying around forever.”

“My word! For you to bestow such a wonderful item unto me—I humbly thank you!”

Demiurge got out of his chair and kneeled down on the floor. Mare scrambled to follow suit.

“Cut it out, Demiurge. Don’t you have more important things to do right now? Think of it as a token of my appreciation for your loyalty.”

“We guardians were created by you, the Supreme Ones, so it’s only natural that we should devote ourselves to you completely until the moment we expire. Then to be spoken to so mercifully time and time again and receive such fabulous rewards… From the beginning, you had my absolute dedication, but now I will redouble my efforts to become even more loyal!”

“Uh…indeed. I’ll have great expectations for your increased loyalty. And you should stand up, Demiurge. As I said, I think you have things to do.”

“Yes, my lord! My apologies.”

Demiurge sat back down, and Mare stood by behind him.

“So, yes, the story is that Jaldabaoth attacked the Eight Fingers bases looking for this and then occupied the royal capital’s warehouse district. The theft of all the things in the warehouses is part of that. And of course, it will be my plan to discover this item Lord Ulbert made in one of the Eight Fingers base’s storehouses.”

“I see. And what is the plan’s third benefit?”

“Right. We have taken most of the humans who were inside the wall of fire I created and carried them off to Nazarick. I believe we will have many uses for them, and Jaldabaoth will be the one who gets the bad reputation for it.”

Ainz murmured that he understood, but he did have one question. Is it really so advantageous to us to have Jaldabaoth getting a bad reputation? Couldn’t we just make it the fault of some random monster? Oh, so…

“The point is to earn this reputation?”

“That is correct. I’m thinking to make Jaldabaoth king of the demons.”

“Ah, I get it. You’re going to use him for one of the plans I ordered you to carry out?”

Demiurge bowed, saying, “That is correct,” and Ainz recalled the orders he had given him. He’d tasked Demiurge with a number of things; this must have been for the one about creating a demon king.

“And that connects to the fourth merit of this plan, which is that it serves as a test for the incident we will cause in the sacred kingdom.”

Aha! thought Ainz. Then he remembered something he’d been wondering about and asked, “By the way, did you bring all those demons from Nazarick?”

“Heavens, no! I would never do such a thing without your permission, my lord.”

“Hmm? I cleared Albedo to let you have full privileges for this operation, so I thought you had mobilized Nazarick forces…”

“No, I had the evil lords I brought with me summon them. After a day, the usage limits will reset, so the cost to Nazarick is zero.”

“I see. So that’s why there are some demons I didn’t recognize from Nazarick… Got it. Then I have a different question. You said you abducted all the humans within the wall of fire and took them to Nazarick, but is that true regardless of age and sex?”

Demiurge seemed confused as to what difference it made, but he said yes, which left an unfavorable impression on Ainz.

What happened to humans was no particular concern of his. He’d been a human at one time, but since inhabiting his new body, he didn’t feel close to them at all and practically thought of them as a different species. If it would benefit the Great Tomb of Nazarick, he would kill any number of humans with no hesitation. But he still had qualms about killing infants. Is this also a vestige of Satoru Suzuki?

Ainz exhaled a deep breath—although he didn’t have lungs.

“Demiurge. Please give anyone who has not wronged me or the Great Tomb of Nazarick a painless death.”

Demiurge said nothing but bowed deeply.

What Ainz Ooal Gown prioritized was the peace of the organization and the calm of his loyal subordinates.

Having already abducted the infants, they couldn’t just let them go safely, because that could lead to intelligence leaks. He wasn’t against a plan to cultivate humans inside Nazarick who would work with a blind loyalty, but there wasn’t any advantage to doing it at present. So the plan he proposed was the most mercy he could show them.

“Okay, so is that about it?”

“I have two more things. First, thanks to Mare, another wonderful potential benefit has appeared.”

When Ainz glanced at Mare, the boy was fidgeting awkwardly.

“Which is?”

“We’re currently working on training, so we’re not sure if the plan will work out or not. I’ll explain it when we get back to Nazarick. Then the other thing is that since they haven’t appeared so far, I would imagine there is a good chance that the people who brainwashed Shalltear don’t have anything to do with the kingdom.”

“Ah, I see. So is there something you need my help with?”

“Not aside from repelling me in this battle right now. I’ll do my very best to make you look good, my lord.”

“Got it. Then before I drive you off, do you mind beating up my armor? If it makes it through this without a scratch, it will be hard to convince people I fought someone as strong as you.”

“Then would you please take it off? I couldn’t possibly attack it while you’re wearing it, Lord Ainz…”

“If I take it off, it’ll get all dented and I won’t be able to put it back on. For the battle with Shalltear I had the blacksmith make me pre-broken armor—that was how I was able to wear it. If you pummel this suit while I’m not in it, I won’t be able to get in.”

Ainz chuckled to himself. The guardians weren’t sure if they should laugh or not and had vague looks on their faces.

“U-uh, Lord Ainz? W-wasn’t that armor made with magic?”

“Nope, this suit wasn’t. You might have thought so, since I’m wearing it as a caster, but the reason I can equip this is because I used a spell that turns me into a warrior. After Messaging with Albedo on a break on the way to the capital, I changed just in case something came up. It seems like that was a good move.”

Sustaining the spell to turn into a warrior on top of his other continuous spells meant that the constant consumption of MP negated his natural MP recovery, which meant the amount wouldn’t increase. If he canceled the warrior spell in an emergency, he would start off with fairly depleted MP, but he felt it was the right choice to operate as a warrior this time. If he hadn’t, there would have been a lot of issues starting right around the time his first fight with Demiurge had occurred.

When he heard Ainz’s remarks, Demiurge’s narrow eyes crinkled into slits. “As I would expect, you have everything in the palm of your hand, Lord Ainz. I can’t believe I thought I could match intellects with someone so sharp. It seems you are out of my league,” he murmured softly as he smiled.

Ainz’s back began to sweat, although that shouldn’t have been possible. “Oh, should we get back to it soon? Demiurge, I’m counting on you to rough up my armor.”

“Understood. Mare, I want you to send a signal to everyone. Can you cause an earthquake as you promised?”

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:56 AM

“Eat this—my electric shock!”

Lightning flashed and hit one of the maids.

“Gwaaa, oh dear!” With an extremely contrived scream, she was launched a bizarrely long way back, as if she had jumped herself. And just like that, she disappeared down one of the streets.

With a dainty grunt, the maid with rolled curls threw a dagger. The knife seemed to lack motivation and described a leisurely arc before hitting Narberal.

“Kyaaagh!” With a scream—uttered with a totally normal facial expression—Narberal pursued the maid who had gotten knocked back.

Entoma went silently after her.

They all ran one after the other down a street. In front of Narberal was the maid with braids. Behind her were Entoma and the one with rolled curls. It was like a pincer attack, only with absolutely no tension. Of course there was none. Why would there be? What little will to fight there had been had completely melted away, and the atmosphere had shifted to one resembling schoolgirls chatting at a café.

“Okeydoke. Nigredo has taken measures against surveillance in this area, so we should be safe.”

“Really? In that case…long time no see, Lupu.”

The maid with the braids, Lupusregina Beta, laughed through her mask. “Long time no see, Na. Haven’t seen you since Lord Ainz hauled you off.”

“I’ve been back to Nazarick a few times, but you were always at the village.”

“Yah. Guess we’re always just missin’ each other. Actually, haven’t seen you in a while, either, So.”

“I haven’t, either. But shouldn’t you talk a little more…?”

“Oh? It bugs you just like Yuri, huh, So? S’okay. I know there’s a proper time ’n’ place. Just like En.”

“Okay, then… By the way, why isn’t Entoma talking?”

“Ah, I guess she doesn’t wanna.”

“THAT LITTLE BITCH STOLE MY VOOOICE.”

“Ah.” Narberal nodded. Entoma hated her real voice. That must have been why she wanted to avoid talking as much as possible.

“I WANT TO STEEEAL HER VOOOICE.”

As usual, she was wearing a bug, so they couldn’t see her face, but the intensity of her anger and urge to kill was expressed well enough.

“You can’t. Lord Ainz left with her, so if she doesn’t make it back alive, it will hurt Sir Momon’s reputation.”

Entoma pouted at Narberal’s response, but she didn’t argue back. Their master’s reputation or her own desires? There wasn’t a combat maid among them who didn’t know which to prioritize.

“She’s pretty strong, eh? What’s her name?”

“I don’t care about that crane fly’s name, so I don’t know. I think it was Evil-something?”

“You’re awful, ha. Haven’t you guys been fighting together so far?”

Solution responded instead of Narberal, who had scowled at the word together.

“Pretty sure she’s Evileye—from the Blue Roses. She was in the reports from Master Sebas.”

“Oh yes, that was her name,” Narberal affirmed. Once someone had said it, she had a feeling that was correct.

“You okay, Na? Not goin’ senile, are you?”

“Can you remember the names of humans?”

“I can! It might be important for work, so I pay attention to proper nouns.”

“Me, too. Or more like, me ’n’ the humans get along pretty well.”

“IT’S NO TROUBLE FOR MEEEE.”

Narberal was just a little shaken by the realization that she was the only one. Just as she was thinking that maybe she should pay more attention and learn their names, they heard an explosion. The buildings on either side of the back alley blocked their view, but they could guess who had caused it.

“Huh, seems like they’re fightin’ for real over there.”

“It’s Yuri and Shizu, after all. Those two would take it seriously. But if the battle hasn’t been decided yet, that means they aren’t going all out.”

“IF IT WERE MEEE, I’D FIGHT ALL OUT UNTIL I WAS PRACTICALLY DEEEAD.”

“Evileye is pretty strong. If it all came down to level, Yuri and Shizu probably couldn’t beat her.”

The faces of the combat maids darkened for the first time during this fight.

Except Narberal. She was confident.

“They’ll be fine.” All eyes were on her as she continued, “I think Evileye is an elementalist like me—an arcane caster who specializes in a specific type of energy and then specializes even further. It makes her attack power really high, but neutralizing her specialization will weaken her.”

“The earth tree has…acid, poison, and gravity, right? So how does she use crystals?”

“There’s an earth type that specializes in gems! Limiting herself to crystals probably made her even stronger.”

“Specialized in pure physical damage magic that deals both crushing and stabbing damage? …That’s a bit tricky.”

How would I kill Evileye if it were me? All four of them were thinking about it when the ground shook.

It felt a little different from the shaking caused by shock waves.

“AN EARTHQUAAAKE. SEEMS LIKE ONE OF MASTER MAAARE’S. SO IS IT TIME FOR THE NEXT PHASE, THENNN?”

“Is it a signal?”

“Yes, Narberal. Could you get injured soon? We have to corner you.”

“I’ll try not to make it hurt too much, but I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Oh, well. It’s for work.”

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:57 AM

“Calm down! Please calm down!” Climb called out, trying not to raise his voice too much, but all the people in the warehouse were making a racket, so he wasn’t loud enough to quiet them down.

“My boy got—”

“My wife got taken away—”

“Mom and Dad—”

Voices of every age and gender combined into a single wave breaking over Climb. It was so clamorous he couldn’t tell what anyone was saying.

These three hundred citizens were the ones Climb and the others had risked their lives to look for and the only ones they’d found. The people in this smallish warehouse didn’t know anything about the situation outside and were just shouting about how worried they were for their family members who had been taken elsewhere.

It was a very natural scene, a natural reaction, but extremely inopportune.

Just because they hadn’t run into any demons so far didn’t mean there weren’t any. They had spotted groups of demons a few times on the other side of the street and elsewhere. It was only a matter of time before some of them heard the screams filling the warehouse and came over.

“You’re the only ones we’ve found—”

“Where is my wife?! Can you go find her right away?”

“Uh…”

It probably would have been possible to quiet them if he shouted a little louder. Although there was always someone better, Climb was quite powerful; the guards couldn’t even compare. The roar of a man that strong would no doubt squeeze ordinary people’s hearts like an eagle’s talons. He had to actually do it, though.

As Princess Renner’s attendant, he’d come bearing her reputation as well as his own. Frightening the people or causing them to feel antagonistic toward him could tarnish the princess’s reputation, so he couldn’t quite muster the courage to get aggressive with them.

“Could you just give a straight answer—?”

“My baby is still so young—”

“Papaaa! Mamaaa!”

“Shut up for a minute!”

A shout so powerful it practically sent an electric shock through the warehouse blew everything else away. Brain’s fed-up roar—the rage of an ultra-first-class warrior—terrified the weak in an instant.

“Wah, wah, wah. If you would just shut up and listen! First of all, this location is in enemy territory, and it’s not as if your safety is assured. If we don’t move quietly, the demons will come and kill you all. If you understand, then first shut your mouths.”

Brain scanned the silenced warehouse and then glared straight at Climb. The eyes on him were so angry that the citizens gathered around him slowly backed away.

“Next…Climb, you should probably just come out and say it.”

He had a general idea of what he needed to come out and say, but he wasn’t confident that was really the smart thing to do.

“Too hard? Then I’ll say it for you. First, you people need to keep this in mind: Anyone who raises their voice in response to what I’m about to say will be cut down with zero hesitation. We don’t even have any guarantee that you’re actually humans.” Brain slipped his katana out of its sheath, and it sparkled strangely in the small light they’d brought with them. “You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about, but take a quiet look at the person next to you. Are you all human?”

The captives looked at one another suspiciously.

“We saw quite a few demons on our way over here, you know—demons with wings and long tails, demons like humans with their skin ripped off, and plenty of others. Those are the kind of guys strutting around outside this warehouse… You probably saw them when you were brought here, right?”

All the people Brain looked at nodded, pale faced.

“So who can guarantee there aren’t any demons in here, ones who can peel the skin off humans and wear it?”

No one spoke, but there was a wave of movement—the people were looking around with doubt in their eyes and trying to shift positions.

The warehouse was certainly small, but it wasn’t cramped. There was plenty of space to secure a spot apart from everyone else, if desired.

“Relax. If there are any demons in here, we’ll cut them down for you. If you take a moment to think about how we got here, you understand that, right?” After waiting for some relief to appear in the atmosphere, Brain continued, “But if the demons from outside rush into this building, I can’t make any promises. Hey, don’t you think if there was a demon in here, it would call out to its companions to let them know about the invaders? Now you know why I’m going to kill anyone who raises their voice. You might think, ‘I’m human, killing me would be absurd,’ but how would we know you’re human? So, in order to protect the others, we’re going to kill anyone who attracts the demons by shouting.” He looked around again, focusing on individual faces with a murderous glare.

“Seems like you understand… First of all, before coming to this warehouse, we went through a lot of other ones, but we didn’t find any people, and in fact, they were practically empty. When you think about the area the fire wall surrounded, this is the warehouse district, yes, but there also should have been over ten thousand residents. If there are three hundred people here, then that’s another thirty-three warehouses full of captives, right?” Brain took a breath. “So here’s a question: Why didn’t we find any other people? It’s entirely possible that we had bad luck. We did avoid places that seemed heavily guarded by demons. But what if they were already taken from the warehouse district to some other location—doesn’t that make more sense? Uh-oh! And we have no way of knowing where that new location is. But these are demons doing the abducting, so they can’t be very nice.”

Climb could hear the sniffling of some people who’d figured out what he was getting at.

“And if you stay here, you’ll probably be carried off by the demons, too. That’s why we’re evacuating now. Just remember this: We’re still in demon territory. If you don’t try to move both quickly and quietly, you’ll be killed during the escape. Hey you, looks like you have a question. I’ll allow you to ask something, but only you.”

The frightened man he pointed at with his katana asked in a quiet voice, “What if we stay here?”

“You’d probably get carried off—to the awful kind of place a demon would want to take you.”

“Wah—!”

Brain shot a fierce look at the lady who wailed, and she lowered her voice immediately.

“I’ll allow a question.”

“My son is only three… So maybe it would be better to stay here and get taken to the same place—”

“I see. Well I’m not gonna put any effort into rescuing people who don’t want to escape. This kid might want to but not me. I’d like you to remember that it’s entirely possible that your child is in another warehouse being saved by another squad right as we speak. If you still want to stay in spite of that, I won’t stop you, but then you’d be creating an orphan, and I sure can’t handle looking after it.” Brain spoke coldly to the gloomy commoners. “I’ll say it again: It’s nearly certain that you’ll be carried off by the demons if you stay here. If you’re okay with that, then I won’t stop you. After all, it’s totally possible that we’ll leave this warehouse and get killed by demons as we try to escape.”

That was where Climb chimed in. He needed to say something. “That said, we’ll do our utmost to protect anyone who makes up their mind to escape.”

“I hate to be burdened, but I’ll listen to Princess Renner’s soldier. I’ll protect you. Okay then, we move in a few minutes. You’re free to stay. You’re also free to discuss among yourselves in lowered voices. Do what you like.”

Nothing that could be called discussion occurred. They might have still been anxious that their neighbors were demons, and many people preferred running, hoping that they would be able to reunite with their family members saved by other groups.

There aren’t any other squads. We went around to a lot of other warehouses. At most there are two or three more that are safe.

Brain knew that, but he glared around fiercely, gripping his katana tightly, to make sure no one raised their voices. Climb approached him. Bowing slightly, he addressed him in a lowered voice. “Thanks, Brain. You did what I should have done.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s not the kind of thing you can say, attached to the princess. I’m practically a mercenary, so it shouldn’t cause any trouble for me. I only acted as the whip.”

“Still, thank you.”

Brain smiled awkwardly. “Well, it’s a pain to repeat myself a zillion times, so fine, I get it. I accept your gratitude. Hmm? He’s back, huh?”

Walking toward them at the other end of Brain’s gaze was the thief. He’d been on alert watching the situation outside. It wasn’t as if he was rushing back, so they figured he wasn’t there to tell them of approaching danger.

“What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Mr. Unglaus. No sign of approaching demons. But as you all but said, it’s a matter of time.”

“Yeah. This could just be their last stop. You were watching the outside, right? What was that earthquake a bit ago?”

“No idea. Maybe a fissure opened up, and demons surged in from the demon world?”

“Please don’t dream up worst-case scenarios…”

“Sorry, Climb, sorry.”

“Anyhow, should we get this show on the road?”

Just as Brain was about to raise his voice to address the people, they heard something landing outside the warehouse.

In the hush that immediately followed, the thief crept closer to the door and took a peek outside. Then he waved his hands. It was the sign they’d decided for Demon! Then he signed, A strong one!

Brain and Climb looked at each other. Then they quietly went over to the thief. As they watched in silence, they saw the creature.

Unlike all others they’d seen so far, they sensed an immense strength from this one.

Almost ten feet high, its physique was bulky with muscle, and it had bat wings on its back. Its head was the skull of a goat or something similar, and it was gripping a gigantic maul.

It was looking toward the warehouse, and Climb and the others peering out felt it meet their gaze.

Perhaps it had sensed them with some kind of magic. Now it was undoubtedly waiting for them to come out.

“That thing’s strong…,” Brain murmured.

“Without a doubt…,” the thief answered.

Climb nodded in agreement.

He quietly looked at Brain. He’d gotten scolded back then with that Shalltear monster, so this time he intended to obediently accept it if he got told to run.

“…Climb. Fight with me.”

“Yes, sir!” Climb answered in a voice that was quiet but loud enough.

“You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah, look at that thing. He must have just escaped a fight—he’s all beat up. I don’t know how it would go if he weren’t wounded at all, but if we rush him now, I think we have a good enough chance at winning.”

Brain slapped Climb on the shoulder and said he expected a lot out of him.

Climb nodded emphatically and activated the power of the ring Gazef gave him. The ring, made by a dragonlord with ancient magic, had the power of temporarily boosting a warrior’s powers. With it, Gazef Stronoff, the strongest man in the kingdom, could enter the hero realm, but Climb couldn’t get that far. Even if he used his martial art Release Brain Power along with it, he still wouldn’t be half as strong as Brain. He could, however, achieve the power of a mythril-rank warrior.

“Shall we?” Brain took point and was about to walk outside when the thief called out to stop him.

“Mr. Unglaus!”

“Maybe it’s about time you started calling me Brain? You’re older than me, and I just feel weird being called ‘mister.’”

“…Okay, Brain, then. What should I do?”

“You stay here, Lockmeier. That thing could be pulling a feint.”

“If it gets close, I’ll help.”

“If it comes to that, we’ll be counting on you. Let’s go, Climb! I probably don’t need to tell you, but…stay on your guard!”

“Yes, sir!”

5 Late Fire Moon (September) 4:03 AM

“Kgh!”

Evileye grunted as she took an attack to the stomach. Her body barely felt any pain, but she hadn’t completely lost her human senses. Whenever she took an attack, she couldn’t help reacting.

Alpha spotted the moment of distraction and used the opening to attack her head-on.

The explosion-like impact knocked the wind out of her and sent her flying. She felt the negative energy flowing through her body decrease sharply.

She couldn’t use the strategy of converting physical damage to magical energy loss. Her objective was to buy time. If she ran out of magical energy, she would lose the ability to fight, so she had to consume equal parts life energy and magical energy.

Covered in dirt, she used Fly to force herself upright.

Then she saw Nabe get knocked out from a side street.

She was a mess. Evileye headed her way. The reason they weren’t coming after her was probably to wait until they were in the same place to kill them both at once.

When Evileye tried to help her up, she sprang to her feet. “Oh, it’s you,” she said, cold and rough.

She’s beat up enough that her life should be in danger, but something isn’t letting her feel it. Either she’s not scared to die, or she believes Momon will slay Jaldabaoth before that happens. Evileye figured it had to be one or the other.

“Can you still fight?”

“Of course. No problem.”

It was a stupid question.

Still…this woman surpasses your average human. Is she a demigod, too?

She had a number of injuries and was messy with blood and dirt, but it didn’t seem like she was fatally wounded. In fact, Evileye’s injuries might have been worse.

Considering Evileye had taken two opponents, the fact that Nabe had taken three and gotten away with so little damage had to mean—frustrating as it was—that she was more capable.

“You look awful yourself.”

“I’m fine.”

Evileye smirked in spite of herself at how Nabe-like the response was.

Nabe shouldn’t have been able to see her face, since she was wearing her mask, but she must have picked up some vibes, because a dubious look appeared on her face.

“Nah, I just thought that response was very you.”

“I see. What should we do now?”

“What should we do? You mean how should we buy time?”

Evileye turned a penetrating glare on their five opponents. The bug maid’s desire to end her life pierced her like a spear. From the others, perhaps because they thought she would be easy to kill, there was surprisingly little hostility.

“That, too.”

“There’s nothing we can do. If there were two of them like there are of us, we’d be plenty able to win, but when they’re as strong as us and there are more of them, that’s as ‘losing battle’ as it gets.”

“What if we ran away? If we turn our backs and run, they might not follow us.”

“If you want to do that, I’ll protect your rear.” Nabe’s regular features twisted up in disgust.

When you’re that beautiful, even making an ugly face like that doesn’t ruin it, Evileye thought, although it was an out-of-place observation.

Suddenly, someone went flying accompanied by the sound of a collapsing building.

The figure bounced off the ground and continued rolling.

Evileye gasped—though she wasn’t breathing.

She’d thought for a second it was Momon, but it wasn’t. The one who’d been launched away was Jaldabaoth.

The sight of his reeling figure all beat up excited her—she didn’t even have to wonder who had dealt him such severe wounds, who had knocked him all the way over here.

She looked in the direction he’d come from and could make out a warrior standing there.

His raven-black armor had taken heavy damage, making it clear in one glance what an intense fight the two of them had been having. Still, comparing him and his solid stance to Jaldabaoth, who was practically flat on the ground, was more than enough to tell who was in the lead.

Evileye allowed herself to feel the surge of joy and squeezed both her hands into fists.

Momon slowly lowered his swords and called out to Jaldabaoth. “This is kinda fun. How to say…‘real,’ I guess? I feel like I’m actually fighting. So this is how the vanguard felt… I was so cornered in our close-quarters exchange earlier that I couldn’t feel it. Seems I’ve caught combat mania. Anyhow, you can come at me as hard as you can in that form!”

There’s no taunt more bitter than telling your opponent to use all their strength on you, thought Evileye, but then she shook her head. Maybe it was what he wanted.

Since he was so strong, Momon probably didn’t have many opportunities to go all out. He probably defeated his enemies before he could get serious. To a man like that, facing an opponent against whom he could use his full strength must have been a joy.

“Very well.” The demon must have taken it as derision—he replied with a deep, bitingly sarcastic bow.

Seeing that response, a sense of superiority—that she knew Momon better than Jaldabaoth did—swelled in her chest.

“Then I’ll attack in earnest.”

“Bring it on, Jaldabaoth!”

With those words as the trigger, the pair clashed at the point exactly between them. Their exchange was like a repeat of the time Evileye first met Momon. Long fingernails repelled ultra-fast chain attacks. They were blocking Momon’s huge great swords, so they had to be far harder than ordinary nails.

Momon took a giant leap back. The jump’s power was so weirdly great that it seemed almost like he’d used Fly. Then he threw a sword up into the air. As her eyes focused on the whirling blade, her peripheral vision caught Momon pointing a spear out of nowhere.

The spear had a crimson head, like a swirl of fire. He launched it at Jaldabaoth. It zoomed toward the demon at ultra-high speed, leaving a vivid red trail that nearly branded her retinas.

“Demon Aspect: Purgatory Clothes!”

On impact, fire leaped into the sky, and a shock wave raged through the area.

“Kgh!” Evileye hunkered down so the burst of air wouldn’t blow her away. She was lucky she had the mask on so she could keep her eyes open in the blast.

As she watched, Momon neatly caught the sword that dropped straight down back to him as if it were slicing through the wind. Then he charged at Jaldabaoth again.

Jaldabaoth, poised to meet him, was enveloped in flames, and the spear Momon had thrown was sticking out of the ground at his feet.

Momon swung the sword down, and Jaldabaoth caught the blade with his hand. That second, the demon’s hand started smoking, and the sword slowly sunk into his fingers.

“If you can melt a weapon of this level…you must have strengthened that power, huh?”

As an adventurer of the highest rank, Momon’s weapon had to be made of fairly high-quality metal.

Still, Jaldabaoth was able to produce flames that could melt it. And Momon had the guts to hold a conversation, unfazed, despite being so close to the extreme heat.

“These two are insane.” Evileye was stricken with fear. She’d known, of course, they were both powerful, but she still couldn’t stop trembling.

“As you so wisely perceive. I’ve increased my fire damage with a skill.”

Suddenly, something black began to mix into the leaping flames.

“Hellfire?”

“Yes. I can’t have you escaping unscathed just because you have perfect resistance to fire!”

Momon backed up in a retreat for the first time, but Jaldabaoth wasn’t about to allow that.

Now Jaldabaoth was the one closing the distance and repeatedly attacking Momon.

Momon used his great swords to continuously block attacks that would have slaughtered a human in the blink of an eye.

In the midst of a close-quarters battle so fierce his metal armor was starting to glow red with heat, Momon took a bizarre weapon out from somewhere and swung it.

“Frost Pain Rebuilt! Icy Burst!”

A torrent of freezing chill burst from the weapon, causing a sudden drop in temperature throughout the area. It was powerful enough to freeze fire, but Jaldabaoth’s hellfire was hotter. Still, it did give some temporary relief from the heat.

Evileye could hear Jaldabaoth’s surprised shout from where she was.

“What in the world is that? Same goes for the spear…”

“While I can’t use magic, I’m using weapons with attributes. I built this imitation Frost Pain as an experiment—and as a bonus, I made it stronger than the real one. It’s also a way to cast the high-tier spell it contains three times per day…but I guess it doesn’t work very well on someone of your caliber, since I can’t boost it with skills.”

The conversation they were having was unreal.

Even though they were engaged in a battle to the death, they were chatting casually to confirm each other’s abilities.

Something Gagaran once said popped into Evileye’s head. As a warrior, sometimes when you’re trading blows, you start to understand how your enemy feels, almost like you’re old friends. At the time, she’d wondered what the heck she was talking about, but now—

“I guess she was right.”

Evileye had grown to understand a ton of things over the course of this one day. She resolved not to doubt Gagaran so much anymore.

Seeing the closeness the pair had developed, Evileye felt a little jealous.

A man clad in raven-black armor, the surface of which had lost its luster—perhaps due to being melted—and a masked demon wearing a suit that was somewhat torn after being slashed up…

They were two beings fighting a life-or-death battle in a realm that transcended human capability, but to Evileye, they almost looked like pals.

“You truly are powerful.”

“You, too, Jaldabaoth.”

“So how about this? I have a suggestion…”

Momon said nothing but gestured with his chin that he should continue.

“I’ll take my leave about now, so shall we call this a good duel and both withdraw? No, to propose more precisely: I will withdraw for now, so I’d like you to not follow in pursuit…”

“You can’t play games with us!” Evileye screamed with rage. After sowing this much confusion and death throughout the city, forgiveness was way too much to ask.

But in a quiet voice, Momon acquiesced to Jaldabaoth’s suggestions. “Sure.”

Evileye’s eyes widened under her mask, and she looked at him. She couldn’t comprehend why he would cave to Jaldabaoth’s proposal while he was ahead.

Perhaps sensing her confusion, Jaldabaoth shrugged with a “Sheesh.” As much as the fact pained her, he looked good doing it, so tall and slender.

“I have no idea why Mr. Momon brought such a stupid woman with him. If you think a little bit, don’t you understand why he took my offer?”

Evileye was mute as he continued.

“Your friends have been fighting desperately in order to send in Mr. Momon and keep his battle from being interrupted, have they not? Aha. So that’s why no demons intervened in our battle… Do you really believe that?”

Evileye felt like she’d been stabbed in the back with an icicle.

“I have a demon mob standing by to attack the entire city at any time.”

Oh no.

Marquis Raeven’s men were patrolling the city, but she didn’t think they would be able to handle all the demons Jaldabaoth had ready. He’d essentially taken the entire city hostage.

So if we beat him here…

“Killing me won’t make those demons disappear, you know. One word, one mental command from me, and they’ll spread all over the city. Of course, there aren’t that many, so you can probably handle them—but who knows how many casualties will result!”

“But we don’t have any guarantee that you’ll keep your word!”

No, even Jaldabaoth couldn’t guarantee that he would win if he kept fighting the super-elite warrior Momon. So I’ll completely withdraw, so please forgive me, at least don’t chase after me. If not, I’ll take you all with me?

How convenient.

But if the capital was taken hostage, they weren’t on equal terms.

I see. Evileye respected Momon from the bottom of her heart. He read between the lines, and that’s why he took the proposal—no, taking it was probably the only option he had.

“Now then, it seems like the gallery has gone quiet, so I’ll take the liberty of withdrawing. It’s too bad we won’t get to complete our objective of recovering that item. I pray you and I never meet again!”

“Yeah. I hope the same, Jaldabaoth.”

It seemed like Jaldabaoth smiled beneath his mask.

As soon as the maids had gathered around him, they all disappeared at once in a high-tier teleportation.

“They’re gone…”

Evileye floated up into the air to see what had become of the wall of fire. There was nothing left of it. All she saw was the night view of the city, albeit more troubled than normal.

Maybe the curtain has fallen on this disturbance for now. But what will the outcome of so many casualties and expenses be?

A being called Jaldabaoth whose powers surpassed those of an evil spirit… The elite warrior Momon who is equally powerful… When the world finds out about these things, how will it change? Where are we headed?

Evileye shook her head to clear away the jumble of thoughts. They could take their time later to think about what would happen next.

For now, she had more important things to do. She landed on the ground and spread her arms wide. “Wahhhhhhhh!”

She ran at full speed with a scream of joy that could also have been taken as a battle cry. Her Fly spell was still in effect, but at times like these, running seemed more apt.

She was heading toward Momon. Perhaps she startled him? He practically got into a fighting stance. Ignoring that, she leaped at him. It was like sprinting directly into a wall, but with Evileye’s physical damage resistance as a vampire, she was unharmed.

She hugged him.

“You did it! You won! You won! I wouldn’t have expected any less!”

“Uh, sorry…could you get off me?” He made the request in an even tone. She was clinging to him like a koala. He must have been feeling bashful.

He could totally just hug me back…

Evileye was after something she’d heard about once. Someone had told her that some men worked off the post-battle buzz with the opposite sex. She was hoping she could get him to do it with her.

Evileye glanced at Nabe, who was frowning sharply. Don’t mind if I do beat you to the punch!

She tried rubbing up on him a little, but it didn’t seem like it was working through the armor, and when she hit a dent, it hurt.

Momon sighed. “Nabe, do you mind helping me put away my swords?”

Realizing her efforts had been wasted, Evileye let go and detached from the tree that was Momon.

Yeahhh…I should time my advances better. Now that Jaldabaoth has seen how strong Momon is, the chance he doesn’t keep his word is probably low, but there are still other people fighting, and we need to hold funerals for the dead… We can’t just give in to our desires in this situation.

The demon battle was certainly over.

But Evileye’s battle as a woman had only just begun.

Running over the options for her next move, she looked up at the sound of metal clanging.

There was a group running toward them. Adventurers, soldiers, and…

“The captain of the Royal Select? And everyone else…?”

Gazef Stronoff was there, as well as Lakyus and Tina. Not only that, but Gagaran and Tia were there, too. They all looked a bit grungy, and she sensed the struggles they’d gone through to get there. They gazed upon the aftermath of the fierce battle. Then they gasped and stared at Momon.

Inferring what they were thinking, she whispered to Momon, “Sir Momon, proclaim your victory.”

But he didn’t move. As she was wondering what the issue was, she heard him say in a low voice, “This is so embarrassing…”

That wasn’t the response of an elite warrior. He sounded so ordinary that Evileye broke into a smile. “You have to do it! You’re the one who achieved the most! Please just resign yourself.”

He sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I should do it.”

Momon gripped a sword and thrust it up into the air. “Rrrrraaaaaaaaagh!”

A moment later everyone in the square raised their fists in the same way and exploded into a roar of victory. They praised the name of Momon, the hero who had saved their country.