Volume 10, Chapter 31 – The Suspicious Flute

The total number of demons that appeared on the main street of Margaret was around ten. Although the patrolling guards formed a defensive line in time to stop the demons from spreading, a team of only fifteen was clearly not enough. Nearly half the demons easily bypassed the guards and began wantonly destroying buildings. Countless passersby screamed and scattered as the demons chased them.

“Master, request to annihilate the demons. That is all.”

“I’ll stay and protect Mama!”

“No. Enos and Chloris, go deal with the demons that scattered. Mary and Tiffany, go help the guards.”

Even if the Norta Empire’s soldiers were all standing army and had undergone strict training, they were still too weak in the face of demons that were over five meters tall with wrists thicker than an adult’s thigh. Stopping six demons with only fifteen men… their courage was commendable, but the line was on the verge of collapse. One careless move and there would be casualties.

“Tiffany, support me~”

“□□——[Defense Bestowal].”

Mary pulled her large metal shield from her storage item and, with Tiffany’s support, charged straight for the soldiers’ defensive line. Chloris and Enos, having received Yisi’s command, also ran off toward either side of the street. The reason Yisi had given them the task of chasing the stragglers was because the angels were much faster than Mary and could subdue the demons before they caused any casualties. However, what surprised Yisi was that, although both were angels, Chloris could fly with her wings, while Enos’s wings were merely decorative; she relied entirely on magic to fly.

“Styx’s subordinates? Hmph. This one will make them pay.”

A black orb, flashing with unstable electricity, shot out from Tina’s open palm.

“Tina, didn’t you say you wouldn’t use your powers for a while?”

Half a month ago, when dealing with the Graphite Bees, the reason Tina hadn’t acted—besides not being strong enough—was the possibility of being discovered by Styx’s subordinates. The magic power used by a Demon Lord had a special pressure. According to Tina, as long as that pressure appeared, the demons would recognize it as the aura of a superior and guess her identity as Tartaros, bringing trouble to Yisi’s group.

Tina split the black orb in her palm into five flames that twined around her fingertips, her eyes narrowing.

“As long as all these demons are left here, no one will find out this one is the Demon Lord. This one will never forgive Styx. After I reclaim the ‘Eternal Freeze Barrier,’ this one will personally go to Valhalla, ally with the new Ouranos, and declare war on Styx.”

“Is that so…”

It feels like a completely different world that I’ll never be a part of.

But since Tina said it was fine, Yisi decided to let her handle the demons. Rather than how to exterminate them, Yisi was more curious as to how they got into the city. Andrea and Evelyn had said that the Tower of Alexia had a barrier that blocked demons; ordinary demons couldn’t even get close. Wilfred was protected by a Tower. Under normal circumstances, these low-level demons, all around level 20, shouldn’t have been able to enter.

Did someone bring them here?

The image of the [Hatching Blade] surfaced in her mind. No one could be sure there was only one. If someone had used it here to summon demons, they could have bypassed the Tower’s barrier and appeared directly inside.

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Of course, she couldn’t rule out the presence of high-level and mid-level demons. The Tower could only stop low-level ones. Mid- and high-level demons could carry low-level ones through the barrier.

Realizing this, Yisi expanded the [Omniscient Map]’s display range. The result made her raise an eyebrow.

“It’s not just one place…”

Demons were also appearing in other parts of the city. Near the City Lord’s residence, there were even five mid-level demons and one high-level demon. The former were between level 40 and 50, while the latter was approaching the human “transcendent hero” realm.

Just a few days after the rebellion, and now a demon attack? The Norta Empire is too unlucky. Although she thought this, Yisi wasn’t worried. Adonis was near the City Lord’s residence, and she had the transcendent hero, Carl, and the magic caster, Bayldes. With the two of them, even if two high-level demons showed up, it was only a matter of time.

As for her location, Mary’s arrival had changed the situation. No matter which direction the six low-level demons attacked from, Mary could block the most troublesome one. Plus, the soldiers weren’t so weak as to be routed instantly. The demons were clearly growing anxious. Their attack rhythm was in disarray, and their breathing grew heavy, like rabid dogs in a cage.

As long as either Chloris or Enos frees up, it’ll be the end for them.

However…

Screee—

A sound like a flute pierced the air. Then, like a boss entering its second phase in a game, the demons suddenly stopped attacking. They roared at the sky, and purple liquid drooled from their mouths, staining their teeth dark black.

“Uwaaaaaah!!!”

“Stop them!”

“[Dark Thorn].”

Tina, who had been waiting, threw her black flames. But because her aim was so bad, all five arrow-like flames missed their vitals, only managing to pierce their thighs and knees. Fortunately, the black flames themselves were powerful. Even just hitting their limbs, the low-level demons were quickly engulfed in fire, their skin visibly charring as the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

“Oooh! It’s a magic caster!”

“While they can’t fight back, let’s finish them!”

“Attack their eyes! Be careful not to touch the flames!”

Joy appeared on almost all the soldiers’ faces.

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Tina’s expression, however, was not good.

“Mary, pull back! Quick!”

“Eh? But they’re being… by Tina-chan’s…”

“Don’t hesitate, come back!”

As if in response, all but the one demon who had its brain scorched, the other five’s eyes instantly turned red with bulging blood vessels. Their muscles swelled as if inflated. In contrast, the black flames Tina had cast shrank under their surging aura and vanished. In just a few breaths, the demons’ presence had changed completely. Even from a distance, they felt much more dangerous, as if they had used [Berserk].

“They got stronger from eating something?”

Yisi frowned, looking at the purple mucus dripping to the ground with their saliva.

The [Omniscient Map] showed their levels had instantly jumped from 20 to 30. One of the larger ones was even approaching level 40. All of them had new statuses: [Mana Overload] and [Ferocity].

“Not good,” Tiffany, who had been supporting Mary with magic, tugged on Yisi’s sleeve, her voice urgent. “Help.”

“Shh.”

Yisi put a finger to her lips and subtly pointed to a figure hiding in an alley across the street. Because the person was wearing a dark cloak and hiding in the shadows, she hadn’t noticed him at first. What gave him away was the wooden flute’s sound, which had sent the demons into a frenzy. Although linking the flute to the demons’ state was just a guess, the fact that his first reaction wasn’t to run, but to stand in the alley and watch, was enough for her to judge him as ‘suspicious.’

He might be controlling the demons with that flute.

“Retreat! We can’t handle these demons anymore!”

“Avoid direct contact! Try to pin them down! Buy time for the others to escape!”

At their captain’s shout, the soldiers fell back, yelling to draw the demons’ attention. The demons, as if they had lost their minds, dropped to all fours and charged after the soldiers, the ground thudding with their charge.

RAAAAAAAAA——!

“I’ll hold them! You all run!”

“How can we let a little girl block them for us!”

“This is a man’s job!”

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Although Mary tried to warn them, the soldiers, out of “pride,” raised their spears in front of her. The demons just swiped casually, sending the soldiers flying like bowling pins, slamming them into the walls. Fortunately, the demons didn’t give chase, which let Mary breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, as if they had discussed it, the demons, now focused on Mary, attacked from the ground and the air. Two blocked her escape, while the other three leaped up to attack from above her shield.

“Mary!”

“Go to hell!”

“[Light-Gathering Umbrella].”

As Tiffany cried out, Tina and Mary acted. Tina, without letting her hat fall, leaped at one of the demons, her left hand like an iron claw, five fingers digging into its arm. Before it could react, she yanked it around to face her, raised her small fist, and smashed it into the demon’s right eye.

Splat.

Blood and a ruptured eyeball splattered everywhere. But Tina’s fist was too small to kill it in one blow. The demon, its brain half-gone, fell to the ground, trying to grab Tina and crush her. But Tina didn’t give it the chance. Her hand, still inside its head, flared with black magic. With a bang, the demon’s head exploded.

“Ugh…”

I feel my stomach churning. Yisi covered her mouth.

Pepe often uses a similar [Blood Burst], but at least she uses [Gungnir] as a medium to stab into the body. Tina’s move, just shoving her hand straight into its brain, is too gory.

What’s worse is that Tina usually gives me such a cute impression. Seeing this “Demon Lord” side of her is a real mental shock.

“[Fortitude]!”

At the same time, as Tina finished one, the other four demons’ attacks reached Mary. Perhaps thinking their attacks were no threat, Mary didn’t activate her trigger-type magic items, only the [Light-Gathering Umbrella] stored in her shield. A golden, umbrella-shaped light instantly deployed, taking two heavy blows before shattering on the third. But Mary, instead of retreating, advanced, tilting her shield to deflect the blow.

Bang!

A huge sound of a fist hitting the shield.

Then, a golden light flared on Mary. She used her shield to sweep the demon aside, and her free right hand punched it.

[Shield Counterattack]? It absorbs the enemy’s force and converts part of it into your next attack. But I seem to recall it has a prerequisite. Mary needs a one-handed sword to use the follow-up attack. A fist alone shouldn’t work.

Crack.

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As Yisi thought this, the demon’s knee made a sickening crack under Mary’s punch, bending backward at an impossible angle.

That’s definitely broken.

Mhm… I almost forgot about Mary’s talent as a Fallen. That must have been her ability. As long as she has a weapon and enters a combat state, a battle plan appears in her mind. It’s an ability that could be called [Weapon Mastery].

But Mary didn’t notice this attack came at a cost.

The shield, having taken the full-force blow of a quasi-hero-level demon, now had a shallow, but undeniable, dent. Just as I thought. As the battle intensity increases, their current weapons can no longer support them.

Upgrading their weapons is an urgent matter.

“Protecting the Master’s dependents. That is all.”

“Everything is for Mama!”

Chloris and Enos, having finished the stragglers, joined the battle. It’s worth noting that Yisi saw that Enos’s face and clothes were splattered with blood. Her expression held no shyness at all; rather, she looked… abnormally excited.

Is that my imagination?

Recalling the shy, teary-eyed Enos, Yisi tilted her head, trying not to watch their fighting methods. Including Tina, every move these three made was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones. The ground would sometimes tremble as if from an earthquake, mixed with the sound of splattering blood. When Yisi came to her senses, she realized she was surrounded by people with pale-green faces, covering their mouths as if about to vomit.

I don’t even have to look. Those three are definitely doing something extremely gory.

Pretending she didn’t know them, Yisi looked at the man with the flute. He was raising it to his mouth again.

All the demons are dead. Is he still going? Don’t tell me there’s a third phase…?

Feeling an ominous premonition, Yisi ran toward the hooded man. Before he could react, she threw a short blade, slicing the wooden flute in two. The man froze for a second, then, realizing he’d been spotted, slammed some kind of item on the ground without hesitation. A large cloud of smoke filled the alley, and the man fled under its cover.

Considering her mission was accomplished, and letting the man go might lead her to the mastermind, Yisi didn’t stop him. She just marked him on the map and picked up the broken flute.

“Hah. What a troublesome bunch.”

Shaking her head, Yisi sighed and went to regroup with her companions.