Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: So That I Can Be Myself 

On that mountain of pale pink flesh, there were countless grotesque eyes, small arms, and legs. This was Demon General Grallajearus, who was neither humanoid nor bestial. It was just a lump of meat. That was the only way to describe it. It was like a tumor that had swollen up without ever being excised, and did nothing but continue to grow. 

It was questionable to even conclude whether or not it was actually a demon, or any other kind of living creature, for that matter. And as long as the demon general stayed silent on the matter, there was no way of knowing. 

“Oh pebbles of Isa!” 

As Grallajearus’s voice rang out, Reiji and Titania could hear the sound of several objects piercing through the air as countless holes opened in Grallajearus’s body. Miniscule scraps of iron shot out like gunfire, propelled by a dark flash. In response to the attack, which they could barely follow with their eyes, Reiji and Titania had no choice but to run and evade. Faced with such a relentless attack, they didn’t even have an opening to fight back. 

“Shit, we can’t get closer like this...” 

If they did, they would fall prey to the projectiles. But it was also difficult for them to keep their distance. If they paused to try and look for an opening, the moment they stopped, they would be overwhelmed by the projectiles. Unable to advance and unable to withdraw, they were completely in a bind. 

It was unclear how they needed to fight this opponent. Despite its sluggish appearance, there was no telling how agile it was, which only disadvantaged them further. It felt as if they were fighting several machine guns at once with an endless pool of ammunition. But since closing in wasn’t an option, they would just have to do their best to attack at range. 

“Oh Earth! I beseech the solid lands! Turn thy pulsations into a violent tremor and gather below my feet! Exercise your authority, pierce through the air before me and rupture evil with this unavoidable stone! Grand Geyser!” 

Reiji quickly chanted a spell of the earth attribute and unleashed his keyword with no delay. When he did, countless giant pillars shot up from the ground around Grallajearus and took aim at the lump of flesh. Reiji didn’t take the time to properly aim all the pillars, but there were enough of them covering a wide enough range that it didn’t matter. The pillars tapered to a point and pierced Grallajearus. However... 

“Did you really think this kind of haphazard attack would strike us down, hero?!” 

As an unpleasant shriek reverberated like shrill noise in the air, Grallajearus’s fleshy body began bubbling and swelling, filling in the damaged portions. By the time the pillars of earth wrought by Grand Geyser vanished, Grallajearus’s body was right back to how it was before he’d been wounded. 

“So this guy can regenerate...?” 

Reiji muttered as the impatience tingling his spine grew stronger. The menace of something that could heal its wounds immediately stalled his judgment. He couldn’t just carelessly swing at it, and any halfhearted attacks would surely be useless. He bit down on his lip, realizing he was at a loss for what to do. That was when Titania called out from behind him. 

“Reiji-sama, I will take the front line for a moment. While the demon general is focused on me, go around and attack him.” 

“Got it.” 

After accepting her suggestion, Reiji distanced himself from Titania. Taking advantage of the fact that the demons were also steering clear of Grallajearus’s attack, Reiji quickly began to circle around his target as Titania resolutely cut forward. She moved left and right, as if toying with her opponent, and Reiji felt like he was only seeing the optical illusion of her blurry afterimage. It appeared that, even with its many eyes, Grallajearus was also unable to keep up with her movements and shifted its focus entirely to her. 

Everything was going well. 

Confirming that the plan was working, Reiji circled around to Grallajearus’s rear. Cutting down the demons in his path, he swung wide and ran up the cliff. He then spotted Titania retreating a great distance. 

“HAAAAAAAAAH!” 

Judging that the timing was right, Reiji channeled his fighting spirit into a single slash. As his orichalcum blade thrusted towards Grallajearus from behind, its oddly embedded eyes that had been focused on Titania suddenly shifted all at once and turned their collective gaze on Reiji. 

“Urgh!” 

Even its little arms and legs, as if following the movement of its eyes, began to squirm chaotically. And then the iron scraps shot out at him—the pebbles of Isa. In an attempt to escape the blast radius of the buckshot, Reiji twisted his body and threw himself to the floor in a roll. However, even the direction he was rolling in was within the pebbles of Isa’s range. 

“Ugh, oh Earth! Surround me and become a firm bulwark! Absolutely none shall pass and threaten this life! Earth Wall Rising!” 

Chanting a defensive spell, Reiji created a wall of earth with his mana as he laid on the ground. The wall, which was supposed to be able to defend him from any attack, fended off the first wave of the pebbles of Isa just as he planned. However, like with a machine gun, the bullets just kept coming. The wall of earth protected Reiji from the initial rounds, but the incessant iron scraps began to wear away at it. At this rate, it would only hold for a few more seconds. When Reiji realized that, he hurriedly stood back up to run away. 

“What a relentless attack...” 

“Do not underestimate us, hero! Did you think we would fall for such an infantile plan?!” Grallajearus angrily boomed at Reiji. 

Reiji was left bewildered by their failed attack. Just how had Grallajearus done that? It was supposed to be entirely focused on Titania. He was certain all of its many eyes had been pointed towards her. It was as if, somehow, its organs were operating independently from one another. As if it were an existence made up of many beings. 

“I see.” 

That was probably it. 

“You’re... a legion, aren’t you?” 

“That’s right! We are an army of hundreds, and we are all one! We will not be destroyed by such narrow-minded attacks by you damnable humans!” 

Grallajearus loudly shrieked in praise of its own being. At least it explained the mysterious way it referred to itself as “us.” Its arms, legs, eyes, and odd lumps of meat were all independent of each other. And when it fired out the pebbles of Isa, it was a peerless opponent who was difficult to approach. 

This is bad... 

A bitter taste began to spread in Reiji’s mouth. The fact that he was in a challenging fight with a demon general was one thing, but the demon army digging deeper into the encampment made it much worse. He couldn’t take his sweet time with this one. 

“Reiji-sama! For now, you should...” 

“Ugh... Is this thing really too much of an opponent for me...?” 

“Obviously. You will die in obscurity right here, you bastard. Die regretting the fact that you made light of us demons!” 

And at Grallajearus’s command, the demons in the area attacked. It looked like they were planning to surround and overwhelm Reiji. And to make matters worse, it was currently taking everything Reiji and Titania had just to deal with Grallajearus alone. Graziella was busy protecting Reanat with the other members of the Elite Twelve, so she wasn’t there to support them. At this rate, defeat would be inevitable. 

“Tch... Tia, what should we do?” 

“It is vital that we withdraw from here for now. The only choice is to break through the demons in the direction of our allies.” 

“But if we do that, we’ll be leaving our backs open for the demon general.” 

“Yes. Therefore, I will serve as the rearguard. Reiji-sama, break out of the encirclement as fast as you can and regroup with our allies.” 

“I can’t do that! If I do, Tia, you’ll...!” 

Unable to accept her plan, Reiji loudly refused Titania. However... 

“It is alright. Reiji-sama, please believe in me.” 

“Tia...” 

Reiji couldn’t approve of using her as a shield and running away. But he couldn’t think of any other means of getting out of this situation. As things were, both of them were going to die. Titania was simply proposing to shoulder that burden by herself. Reiji ground his teeth. Yet once again, he felt powerless. He had to be protected by his companions. And just as he was starting to think he might really have to accept this bitter dilemma... 

“Oh Earth. I beseech the solid lands. Turn thy pulsations into a violent tremor and threaten all from beneath. Exercise your authority and become the foundation that supports all in existence. Pierce through the air, rupture evil, become an unavoidable stone and break through. Grand Geyser Refinement!” 

A woman’s voice rang in the air, and Reiji heard keywords he never had before. It was a spell far more powerful than the one he’d used earlier. Immediately following the keywords, the earth below protruded outwards. The spell Reiji had used created enormous sharpened pillars, but the magic manifesting now looked more like porcupine needles as large swords sprung diagonally from the ground. 

The demons were shredded by the excessively dense cloud of blades, bringing them to a bloody and miserable end. Before long, the effect of the magic vanished, and the ground evened out to its original state. From the settling dust, a single girl stepped over the pile of demon corpses that now scattered the ground. It was none other than Io Kuzami. 

“My goodness, do not look so tense when you are before me.” 

“Io Kuzami-san...” 

“Indeed, oh fiancé of mine. The fact that you had forgotten about me is something I will later be questioning you about deeply, very deeply—deeper than the Japan Trench. So stay put as you prepare yourself for that.” 

As Io Kuzami thrust her index finger at him pointedly, she laid bare her dissatisfaction. Despite the situation being what it was, she carried herself in as carefree a manner as usual. However, in complete contrast to her attitude, the demon encirclement was still roaring and raging. The path she’d created to get to her allies had already filled back in. 

“Io Kuzami-dono, please take care of Reiji-sama. I will take the rear and—” 

“Like I’ve been saying, do not decide that it is a disadvantageous situation without me.” 

“But at this rate...!” 

As Titania persisted, Io Kuzami let out a grand sigh. It sounded like she was tired of them worrying about pointless matters. 

“What kind of misunderstanding are you fools under? You are not the only ones fighting this battle. Do you really believe that you are the only strong ones present?” 

“Huh?” 

Bewildered by Io Kuzami’s words, Reiji inadvertently let slip a gasp of surprise. There were other strong people. So she said. But the only ones capable of breaking through here were himself, Titania, Io Kuzami, and Graziella. Reiji and Titania were hard-pressed, regardless of whether they advanced or retreated. Graziella and the Elite Twelve had their hands full with other matters. So the only one Titania could entrust protecting Reiji to was Io Kuzami. 

Was there somebody else that could break them out of their predicament? While wondering about that, Reiji could suddenly feel a tremendous agitation of mana from the imperial side. He could feel it in his body and in the shaking earth. It felt just like the resonance one felt before a tremendous power was unleashed. Reiji wondered if it might be Graziella’s earth magic as an unnatural sound reverberated in the air despite there being no walls for the sound to bounce off of. It was a woman’s voice. 

“Mana Furnace Core. White Fire, Immediate Critical Load!” 

Her severe yet gentle mellifluous voice activated a few keywords, and immediately following that... 

The agitated mana that had been shaking their surroundings swelled up explosively. A wave of mana blew against them, followed by an intense heat. It felt like the very sun had descended down towards the earth. Faced with the mixture of a shockwave and hot wind, Reiji, the others, and even the demons were completely forced to the ground. 

And then, a cruel chill suddenly assaulted Reiji’s body. It was a similar sensation to when he heard a scary story, or when he went to supposedly haunted locations. A sensation that told him something bad was going to happen—a feeling most people got at least once in their lives. And everything that was making his body tremble amplified that cold sensation. 

“Th-This is...?” 

“Suimei? No, just who...?” 

“Heh, I see. So that guy has drilled quite an extraordinary lesson into her. Though he’s always playing the fool, he certainly does not miss a step. His little charade makes me quite envious, actually... to the point that it stimulates this curse of mine.” 

Reiji and Titania were both bewildered. But Io Kuzami smiled boldly like she knew exactly what was going on. At the very least, she knew something. And the moment Reiji was about to ask her what it was, the next chant echoed in the air. 

“Rain, oh rain. Oh hot, hot rain of fire that pours incessantly without exhausting my mysteries. Just like the white smoke of clouds and fog worn by the skies, cover the earth with a baptism of white fire that pardons no evil. Show not the mercy of compassion to those who disturb the world, to those who soil the world. And so, purify the lands and admonish them with the fires of judgment handed down from the heavens. Rainblaze Clouds.” 

The keywords were “Rainblaze Clouds,” and those words alone made the nature of the spell quite apparent. 

A large white magic circle stretched out across the ground, and mirroring it, another magic circle formed in the blue sky above. As they revolved in opposite directions, a white electric current crackled between them. When that current struck the clear sky, white clouds slowly took shape and swirled into a vortex. 

The sky was gradually becoming cloudy. However, in complete contrast, the ground below was still as bright as day. As far as spells go, this one was slow to activate. To Reiji, it only looked like it was creating clouds. However, as he suspected, that wasn’t all there was to it. With a drip and a drop, tears began falling from the sky. 

Rain began to douse the battlefield. Perhaps due to the white clouds covering the sky, the small raindrops looked like they were a cloudy white. They left thread-like trails behind them as they fell towards the demons, and only the demons. 

But those droplets were not actually rain at all. They were plasma that gave off a white light. Indeed, it was raining white-hot fire. And as those deadly droplets came into contact with the demons, their bodies turned into a mass of white flames. Naturally, they had no way of resisting it. Even as they began to clad themselves in the dark power they used to resist magic, their bodies were left completely exposed to the rain. And as soon as it touched them, they were set aflame with white fire. When they tried to brush it off of themselves, it spread even more quickly to other demons around them. It all happened in the blink of an eye. The white fire spread out like a blaze in a dry field, and almost all of the nearby demons were annihilated. 

“...” 

Seeing such a disastrous scene, Reiji was at a complete loss for words. And at the same time, a freezing chill assaulted his spine. It wasn’t particularly because of the spell, either. The power of the magic was certainly great, but that wasn’t the true source of the fear he felt. Creating a large amount of clouds in the sky and bathing everything underneath it in white fire wasn’t such an unusual feat for a spell. But as he looked overhead, the clouds hanging in the sky seemed to be spreading out. They soon overshadowed the entire camp. 

And then it hit him. It was the scale of the spell that was so unbelievable. 

Unsure as to whether or not he could call this phenomenon magic anymore, he was left speechless. Titania, who was standing next to him, was also quite surprised, as she narrowed her alert eyes. Io Kuzami was standing there with her brow knit in dissatisfaction. But as it turned out, they weren’t the only ones to be caught off guard. 

“Wh-What is this?! This magic... Magic of this kind of scale is impossible!” 

The one to raise such a chorus of shock was Demon General Grallajearus. Even as a demon general, it was the first time it had seen this kind of magic. When it faced off against Reiji and Titania earlier, it was thoroughly composed. But not anymore. Right now, it was extremely perturbed. Before long, the caster of the spell finally approached the group through the white rain—Felmenia Stingray. 

“To call something of this level impossible... That in itself is the definition of foolishness. There are only a small handful of things that are truly impossible in the world. What I have done is rather simple compared to those feats.” 

“This damn magic was your doing?!” 

As Grallajearus raised its voice in disbelief, Felmenia quietly nodded. Grallajearus then questioned her more in bewilderment. 

“What the hell are you?! If you’re not a hero, how can you use so much power?! Are you really just a damn human?!” 

“Well, regarding that... Just the other day, I resolved to take my leave of being one.” 

As Felmenia made that quiet, cold declaration, a sudden fearful chill ran up the backs of every single being present. She was taking her leave of being human... The one who was caught on those words the most was none other than the one who’d asked her about her humanity in the first place—Grallajearus. 

“T-Take your leave, you say...? Are you saying you are a human who’s stopped being a human...?” 

“Regarding that, let’s just say that it’s of no concern to a demon.” 

“M-Making light of me...” 

“By the way, is it fine to only focus on me? I’m not your only enemy here, am I?” 

“What—?” 

What followed after Grallajearus’s confused voice was a hearty war cry. 

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” 

It was a rather masculine and violent cry, but the voice was that of a woman. 

BOMPH! 

Along with a deep, low-frequency sound which resounded in everyone’s stomach, a mass of bodies flew into the sky above the circle of demons who were still being consumed by the white flames. Their bodies were gruesomely scattered into pieces from the shock of the strike. 

Following that, the fence of burning demons was blown back by a shockwave. And beyond that fence was a girl carrying a gigantic halberd. She had bright blue hair and a small stature. She grimaced and shook her hand in the air as if she’d just touched something nasty. Her expression was definitely not one of someone who was fighting the sworn enemy of humanity. It was of someone who was driving away an unpleasant insect. 

“Who is...” 

As Titania was about to ask who it was, Felmenia answered before she could finish. 

“Your Royal Highness, that is an ally. But do note that it is only a temporary one...” 

“Temporary?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

The one to reply to Titania was the petite girl Felmenia called an ally. She must have heard their conversation. She then thrust her halberd towards Reiji and Titania. 

“Yo, Hero of Salvation and Twilight Beheading Princess. The name’s Jillbert Griga. Just for today, I’ll be lending ya a teensy hand, alright? Ah, also, I won’t be answering annoying questions like ‘Why?’ or ‘What’s your aim?’ You got that? And that’s ’cause they’re all things there’s no point in you knowing! Now, take this!” 

After declaring that, she once more swung her halberd and separated the axe blade from the shaft. Extending the chain that linked them together, she began to scatter the remaining demons in a circle around them. 

Along with Felmenia’s magic, almost all the demons in the area were now defeated or left powerless. The only one gnashing their teeth in response to that was, naturally, Grallajearus. 

“Th-That many, by just the two of you...” 

“Hah! You’re naive for thinking you can just drag along a mishmash of these damn powerless pests! Don’t look down on humans, stupid! Idiot! Ah, but I’m a dwarf, though...” 

“Besides, it is not just our power. There are the imperial soldiers here as well.” 

As Felmenia glanced behind her, Graziella had already pulled together the soldiers, and they were exterminating the remaining demons. 

“Everyone, show some spirit! We’re going to support Reiji!” 

“HAH!” 

As Graziella gave her orders, the imperial soldiers shouted back in unison. They were thrown into chaos and left at a disadvantage, but from the looks of it, they quickly rearranged their position and were now pushing back the ambush. 

However, it could be said that what granted them a means of survival was, without a doubt, Felmenia’s magic. As Grallajearus also seemed to fully understand that fact, it fired off the pebbles of Isa towards her with rage. 

“You damn little girl!” 

“Oh barrier. Deploy.” 

In response, Felmenia muttered out a chant. And immediately, a thick wall of mana appeared before her and obstructed the countless iron scraps sent flying by Grallajearus. 

“A magic shield cannot stand before our pebbles of Isa!” 

“Unfortunately for you, this is a barrier.” 

“Nonsense!” 

After that, the pebbles of Isa poured out relentlessly, but the barrier put up by Felmenia didn’t falter. Despite the fact that the wall of earth Reiji used crumbled in an instant, Felmenia had, with a far shorter chant, using a spell he had never heard before, and with no keyword, created a shield that could withstand it. 

Before long, Grallajearus could tell that the pebbles of Isa would not work, and stopped the barrage. And as he did, Felmenia’s barrier also vanished. 

“Demon general. That sort of attack will not work on me. Resign yourself.” 

“Gu...! This kind of...” 

Felmenia further increased the mana clad around her and threatened the demon with overwhelming pressure. Seeing her like that, Titania let out her admiration with a smile. 

“As expected, White Flame-dono is quite reliable.” 

“N-No, it wasn’t much...” 

In a complete change from her dreadful aura just now, Felmenia began to feel embarrassed. Her expression crumbled before the praise and admiration from the princess of her own country. However the mana she was accumulating remained the same, and she didn’t show any signs of carelessness. Before long, Graziella had finished cleaning up the remaining demons and joined up with them. 

“Is all that’s left that monster?” 

“Yes. A demon general that called itself Grallajearus.” 

Titania answered her. Perhaps because of the battle, her tone was somewhat gloomy, but Graziella responded with a fearless laugh. 

“With this much power gathered together, it doesn’t matter if it’s a demon general...” 

“Your Imperial Highness, it is still dangerous to be so careless.” 

“I know that much without you telling me. Right, Reiji... Reiji?” 

Though Graziella called out to him, Reiji didn’t respond. And as she was baffled by his unexpected behavior, Reiji suddenly stepped towards Grallajearus. 

“Reiji-sama?!” 

“Hey! What are you being so impudent for?!” 

The two princesses began panicking as Reiji stepped in on his own. Though they tried to restrain him as they called out, Reiji did not turn to look at them. 

“I will defeat this guy on my own. I want all of you to stay out of it.” 

“But Reiji-sama—” 

“I have to do this on my own.” 

Reiji ignored Titania’s voice. He had to do it himself. His resolve was the result of how the tide of this battle had gone. Because he felt worthless for having decided to cast away Titania as a sacrifice so he could flee. In order to climb over this wall, he had to do this on his own. 

Despite seeing his determined silhouette, Titania still insisted on stopping him. But before she could, Jillbert thrust out her halberd to stop her. 

“Let him do it. Everyone feels like they got to do it themselves once in a while.” 

“What are you...?” 

“It’s a ritual. For a man to become a warrior, right? You’re also one of those types, aren’t you?” 

Saying that, Jillbert winked and smiled at Titania. It was true that one had to stand firm to become a warrior, so Titania was unable to say anything back. As Reiji stepped forward on his path to becoming a man, Grallajearus started making an uproar. 

“You’ll defeat us all on your own, you say? It was already proven that your pitiful power is not enough to defeat us! Are you touched in the head?!” 

“I haven’t gone crazy or anything. It’s just because... this is what I must do. So I will do it.” 

“Don’t get carried away, you damn brat! Have you mistaken the power given to you by the goddess as your own strength?!” 

“I know full well that this is a temporary power that I was given. That’s why... That’s exactly why! I need to surpass my limits!” 

“Are you saying we’re your damn stepping stone or something?!” 

“That’s right! I will defeat you and step over that boundary!” 

With a roar, Reiji advanced towards Grallajearus. As he screamed, he dashed forward for the sake of surpassing that wall. As he drew closer, the pebbles of Isa were fired out in a flash. And Reiji began evading them as he circled around Grallajearus. 

“After howling so vigorously, is all you can do evade, HEROOOOO?!” 

“Ugh...” 

A pebble of Isa grazed Reiji’s face and left a cut on his cheek. He stepped forward with conviction, but as if he was being toyed with, it took all his effort just to keep moving. He couldn’t spot any opening in which to attack, let alone to attain victory. No, that kind of thing never existed in the first place. With just the fact that he had rushed into a hard fight, any hope of victory had been wiped out. 

But even so, Reiji had to climb that wall. Even if it was reckless, even if it was foolish. He was pushed back by Rajas, Elliot took it easy on him, he was completely subdued by Ilzarl... Even here and now, he was completely outclassed. He couldn’t just resign himself to being such a half-baked hero from here on out. 

That was because he had companions he could rely on. Even now, they were behind him, calling out to him in concern. Let’s cooperate and defeat it. Don’t be reckless. All he heard were kind voices. 

He was always being saved like that by someone. But was that really what a hero was? Was it really okay for him to call himself a hero like that? Without saving anyone, while only being saved himself? Only to be placed on a pedestal and carried above others like a buffoon? 

He could not accept that. Ever. Being a flashy showpiece and nothing more held no meaning. There was no way he could accept such deception. 

“I won’t lose!” 

“For the sake of the Goddess?! Or perhaps for the sake of the people?!” 

“Wrong! It has nothing to do with heroes, goddesses, or the people of this world! It’s all for myself!” 

That was why. That was exactly why. The time to take a great stride was now. Up until now, he remained the same and took advantage of the good will of his companions. But it was time to separate himself from that dependence. 

Even if he couldn’t fly, as long as he never took the leap on his own, he would never learn it for himself. That was why he had to step forward now. That was why— 

“I will... I will become stronger! I want to become stronger!” 

His thoughts, his desires, he yelled them all at himself, and just at that time... 

If you desire it, then request it and call out. 

“Huh...?” 

The final gate that connects to a great power at all times exists within you. 

“Wh-Who...” 

As a robotic pronouncement suddenly resounded in his head, Reiji unexpectedly raised his voice to question it. And when he realized this, he was standing all alone in the middle of a mud-like darkness. 

“Wh-What? Where? Wh-Why...?” 

As a baffling situation presented itself around him, Reiji was seized by surprise. He was definitely in the military encampment of the imperial army, and was right in front of Grallajearus. And in spite of that, he couldn’t see those things anywhere. They were nowhere to be found. Everywhere he looked, there was only darkness, and something which looked like a light far in the distance. 

However, all of that was gone in a flash. That was because the small light in the depths of the darkness became bluer and bluer... 

“Ah...” 

As if entranced by the distant sparkling blue light, an enraptured voice came out of his mouth without him realizing. His mind was the same as that enraptured voice, simply dumbfounded. That passion with which he was denying himself as he yelled was wiped away, and all that remained was that blue light. 

He had seen that light before. It was none other than the light given off by the gem installed in the Sacrament. 

And in that instant, he suddenly understood. That light was something that he had to head towards no matter what. Beyond that light, the answer to everything was awaiting him. 

That’s why he broke into a run. He ran and ran, with all his strength to grasp that blue light. 

And immediately, words appeared in his head. A voice with no voice, and that was... 

By my Lapis’s blue brilliance, crystallize the sword spirit. 

And as those words repeated, the blue light grew stronger. And as that light spread, it gathered in his hand—but before he could hear the last words, the dazzling light vanished. 

When he came to, that tunnel of darkness and the blue light were no longer there, and the scenery returned to that of the imperial military encampment. And before his eyes, Grallajearus was sneering. 

“Hmph. Just as I was wondering what you were doing, all that did was give off a bit of light.” 

“...” 

If it was as it said, Reiji was likely giving off a blue light just now. In his right hand, he was suddenly gripping the Ishar Cluster. He had unconsciously grabbed it, or perhaps the blue light he was grasping was, in fact, the Sacrament itself. 

As the Sacrament continued to give off a pale light, it was like he was staring at the trailing memory of that blue light. If it was just as Grallajearus said, all it did was give off light. He was probably just standing there as a blue light overflowed from his hand. As proof of that, unlike the time he fought Ilzarl, the Sacrament didn’t turn into a weapon. Because he couldn’t hear those last words to manifest the weapon, this was only a natural deduction. 

However, even so, he was still able to grasp that blue light. He could see the path. He could see the door. He could hear the mysteries of that blue light, the voice with no voice. Therefore, the amount of power he grasped—it wasn’t zero. 

“Wha—?!” 

Grasping his orichalcum sword once more, he moved with the same speed which overwhelmed Ilzarl, and he could hear a chorus of shock in front of him. It was likely that it looked like he had vanished before its many eyes. 

This demon general wasn’t stronger than Ilzarl. In every respect, it was inferior. It was remarkably inferior. If Reiji was going to lose against such an opponent, his suffering from this point would be unfathomable. That was why— 

The number of times he could deceive its eyes was only this once. Winning against an enemy like this from straight on was truly a victory suitable of praise. 

“...” 

One step. With one step, in complete silence, he swung his orichalcum sword. Repelling the pebbles, which flew like bullets. Trampling the earth under his feet. With that tenacious single step, his boot sank into the ground, and the ground around his boot swelled up like goosebumps. 

“...” 

As he drew close, Grallajearus’s voice couldn’t be heard. He could no longer hear anything. It was raising an uproar, but Reiji no longer perceived it as sound. Its words of disbelief and protest didn’t even reach his ears. His blood had run cold from being pushed back by this opponent only a moment ago, but now Reiji understood the ultimate reality. However, there was not a particle of happiness in him. He did not step forward in order to gain a sense of superiority. 

The demon general was only a few more steps away. It was in range, if he thrust out his sword. At that distance, the demon general abandoned hope and poorly fired out the pebbles of Isa in desperation. But it was too slow. Before they were even fired, Reiji could see through all of it, and the march to victory was determined before it even began. As he drew closer with his sword at the ready, Grallajearus screamed. 

“We are legion! Know that an attack from a sword is meaningless before us!” 

He could hear angry voices. No, there was a small of amount of bluffing mixed in. Having fallen into an inferior position, it relied on bravado to cheer itself on. Like it had declared, the fact that it was an army was a nuisance. However. 

“Is that so?” 

“What?” 

“Even if you are a legion, the fact that you share a single consciousness means that there must be some sort of source which houses that consciousness. If there wasn’t, you would just be a disconnected mess of chaos. Isn’t that right?” 

As the truth was revealed before it, Grallajearus’s voice became filled with panic. 

“Wh-Why do you... Why do you know that?!” 

“Light...” 

“What?” 

“That blue light told me.” 

What gave him that idea was the blue light. When he touched that blue light, the voice with no voice whispered it to him. ‘That is definitely an opponent you can defeat...’ 

And so, as Reiji unerringly swung downwards, he slashed apart the small vital core deep within Grallajearus. 

Around the same time that Reiji and Titania’s fight against Grallajearus and Lefille’s fight with Latora started... 

After distancing himself from the main encampment, Suimei was clashing with demons about halfway to Lefille’s position. 

“O flammae, legito. Pro venefici doloris clamore.” 

[Oh flames, assemble. Like the cry of the magician’s resentment.] 

Following his chant, Suimei unleashed Ashurbanipal’s flame upon the swarm of incoming demons. Based on a curse from Assyrian legend, it was fire magicka that was remarkably efficient against living creatures. At the start of the chant, it formed several small magicka circles at odd intervals in the air. And as the chant progressed, a sphere of fire formed in the center of them all. It burned like it had a shining stone at its core, and was obviously no normal fire. Dense flames then shot out of the smaller magicka circles to incinerate their targets. A conflagration danced its way through the crowd of demons. The demons caught in it were denied the chance to even scream before they crumbled to the ground as ash. 

So even if he was outnumbered, Suimei clearly wasn’t hurting for firepower. Yet nevertheless, the demons didn’t falter in their charge towards him. It was like they were machines that knew nothing of adaptability, devoted to one single pre-programmed command. 

Suimei was currently moving against the demon army on his own. His plan was more or less “search and destroy.” A few days had passed since the test matches at the encampment, and after the imperial army had established its foothold in this battle, Reiji’s companions were finally allowed to join the fight. In a private conversation with Reanat, Suimei had asked if there were demons traveling along any paths that weren’t booby trapped. Reanat had said there were, so Suimei had asked to take care of those. Of course, since he was working alone, he’d added the caveat, “To the extent that I can.” 

“Originally, I planned to get paid for this, but it isn’t too bad if I think of it as doing a favor to lessen the burden on Lefille and Reiji, really.” 

Before heading out, Suimei had made that declaration at the encampment. In his world, the work of magicians came at a high price, so it was perfectly natural for him to think about compensation when lending a hand. But this time, there were also his companions to think about, as well as the fact that he was being supplied with food and any other provisions he needed. In light of that, he tried to think of this as an exchange of sorts. 

Of course, he also thought it would be perfectly reasonable if he didn’t stick his neck out at all. For the time being, in order to keep Reiji from suspecting anything, he was supposedly assisting Lefille’s unit. He’d departed with them, but then parted ways with them in order to move on his own. 

Spreading out a map and confirming the position of the stars, he determined where he was and where the units sent out to stall the demons were. Avoiding them and the paths that the imperial troops were using, he strengthened his body with magicka and made his way through the treacherous mountain terrain, practically skipping and humming until he came across a force of demons. 

There were easily two hundred of them, all of which were moving on foot. An infantry unit, it seemed, advancing through the forest in a single clump. Mowing down trees as they pressed forward like they owned the place, they looked just like a giant caterpillar devouring a leaf as it moved across it. 

And unlike the mostly humanoid demons that so often appeared in fantasy stories, these were much closer to beasts and insects. They had large builds twice the size of even the tallest basketball players. They had exoskeletons covered in pitch black cuticle, which looked as hard as rock. Like they were talking amongst themselves, their spidery mandibles were clattering ominously. 

“Ugeh...” 

They inspired an unrivaled feeling of revulsion in Suimei. Compared to them, the demons he’d met before were much easier on the eyes. Their external appearance was much more put together than these creepy ones. Suimei found them absolutely revolting and unconsciously expressed his disgust with a groan. But now that he’d found them, he had to do something about them. He was at the crossroads of deciding how to proceed. 

Should he annihilate them? Or should he just deal a devastating blow to the group and then retreat? With this many of them, two or three grand magickas would take care of the whole lot. But thinking about it from the perspective of the strategy the Empire was putting into play, it would be fine if he didn’t go that far. All he really had to do was stall them and, if the circumstances permitted, take a few of them out before reporting back. However... 

Considering what’s to come... 

Suimei’s sudden anxiety wasn’t about the fight before him, but about himself. He had no misgivings about throwing down with the demons, but right now, they weren’t the only shadow looming over him. 

His biggest concern was the Universal Apostles, Eanru’s group led by the mirage man. He genuinely and truly considered them a serious threat. There was Eanru’s sheer physical strength, not to mention the talent the mirage man had displayed with his magicka. Thinking about his inevitable conflict with them, Suimei knew he had to fight and grow stronger. Next time, he wanted to be able to stand up to them. 

“That’s why... Well, I know I need to sharpen my battle senses, but...” 

It just seemed like a poor plan to simply throw himself into the middle of a demon army for that. A magician had to fight like a magician. There was nothing to be gained from recklessly rushing into battle. Moreover, the goal he was chasing was vague. 

But, with things as they stood, he felt pressured to take on this reckless, vague challenge. He wasn’t happy with the way he was, and he wanted to change that. If he simply stood still, the day would again come where he would be smeared across the earth. 

Reaffirming the determination in his heart, Suimei jumped out from the shadow of a tree. The demons immediately raised their ear-grating voices as they rushed towards him. They wanted to tear apart his weak human body with their claws and sharp insectoid mouthpieces. 

But it wasn’t just their strength they were relying on. What made them the most dangerous was the dark power surrounding their bodies. It was like a mysterious, sinister aura. Different from the negative powers behind dark magic, it was the power that drew from the Evil God as a source. If someone who didn’t posses the Goddess’s protection took a blow from that to their bare flesh, it wouldn’t end with a simple wound. 

“However...” 

However, just what was there that he had to fear about that? Certainly, the Evil God’s power was astounding. Almost all deific power was. But compared to all of the other fights he’d been through before this day, it didn’t scare him. He’d fought far worse, and frequently, at that. 

Naturally, those were fights against wielders of mystical powers. But really, it could be said that even the most common fights in his world surpassed those here. In the modern world, almost all fighting was carried out with technology and military tactics that made full use of it. Machine guns that could fire a hail of bullets. Anti-tank grenades like the RPG-7 that granted a single human terrifying destructive potential. Flying at mach 2, anti-ship missiles that could accurately strike from two kilometers away, not to mention the missile cruisers that housed them. Assault helicopters like the Super Hind that could gun down humans from the sky. 

Remembering his fights against such things, just how could fighting against demons even compare? Recalling fighting opponents with attacks that came in near the speed of sound from unknown locations, the threat of an attack he could see right in front of him was nearly laughable. He could probably handle this with one hand tied behind his back, if not both. 

Dodging the strike coming straight at him from the front and defending against the claws swinging in from the side with magicka, he returned the attack with fire magicka. As the rest of the demons closed in, he blew away the ground beneath them as he jumped into the air. 

“O flammae, legito. Pro venefici doloris clamore. Parito colluctatione et aestuato. Deferto impedimentum fatum atrox.” 

[Oh flames, assemble. Like the cry of the magician’s resentment. Give form to death’s agony and burst into flames. Bestow the one who obstructs me with a dreadful destiny.] 

Under the clear blue sky, Suimei’s chant brought about a burst of fire in the forest. White smoke from all the incinerated demon flesh rose into the air, and the earth was bathed in red. It was like the scenery of a nightmare. Below that refreshing blue sky that would calm anybody’s heart, a banquet of burning hell was unfolding. That impression didn’t seem to change no matter how many times he witnessed it. Knitting his brow at the screams and carnage, Suimei indulged himself in idle thoughts for a moment. 

In any case, what does it mean that the demons move in such monotonous, predictable ways? 

What came to mind was something he’d been curious about for quite a while now. From what Suimei had seen to date, the demons fought using the singular strategy of trying to push straight into human territory. Even when Vuishta caught Hatsumi in his scheme, the main force of the demon army was still just charging straight forward in a frontal attack. 

The demons would take up formations with tactless simplicity, but they hardly relied on strategy. Their only tactics were to move forward using brute force to overcome. It was arguably an effective tactic considering their numbers, but that effectiveness dropped off dramatically when opposed—which the demons constantly were. To battle them, the people of this world wielded magic and cooperation. They even summoned heroes from other worlds. And that was why, up until now, the demons had always been kept at bay, exiled to their own corner of the world. They were mounting a considerable offensive now, yet they still single-mindedly attacked with such simple honesty. 

It’s almost like... 

Yes, it was like they were saying that they wanted to be killed. In spite of the fact that their opponents took countermeasures against them, all they did was wield the same old-fashioned fossil of a fighting style they always had. It was like they were rushing towards their own deaths. 

Suimei incidentally recalled the famous hoax involving animals that committed mass suicide. It was anecdotally said that lemmings would strangely form groups and, one after the other, throw themselves off cliffs into the ocean to drown. This didn’t actually happen, of course, but it’s what he felt like he was watching. 

Unless the demons’ attacks are so monotonous in order to lure their opponents into carelessness... But there’s no payoff to that. The stages they could put that to use in are severely limited, and it’s not like losing all these small battles is going to secretly win them the war. I may just be overthinking things, or perhaps their goal is something else altogether... 

While fighting back the demons, Suimei gradually fell yet deeper into thought. The way he saw it, it was entirely possible that the main demon force attacking the Empire was a decoy, and another force was sneaking under their noses to attack a different location. Since the demons were now active in the Empire and the Alliance, if a detachment was dispatched, it would likely be headed for Astel. But the losses they were taking to do that seemed to outweigh any possible benefit they would reap from it. 

Certainly, during the chaos when Astel was forced to accept refugees from other fallen nations to the north, it was the right time to attack, but still... It would be extending their forces far too much. A detachment like that would also be out of the reach of their supply line. 

Just what were they planning? No, maybe there wasn’t anything in particular at all. Falling deeper into thought, Suimei grew a little slow, and the encirclement of demons around him grew thicker. Their annoying chattering interrupted his train of thought, however, so Suimei began a chant to shut them up. But before he could finish it, the entire mob of demons was blown away. 

It was like they were grasped by a gigantic invisible hand and crushed. And then Suimei saw it happen for himself. He spotted three glassy spheres of mana that reflected the images of demons within them. Tolerating no resistance, it mercilessly crushed them. Suimei turned around and glared at the man who’d appeared behind him, firing off a pointed question with a sharp tongue. 

“What are you up to?” 

“Nothing. They were gathered in such a nice formation, so I took care of them.” 

The man Suimei turned to had silver horns and was standing in the middle of a pool of demon blood and meat. He wore white vestments similar to traditional Japanese clothing that left his chest exposed. He had a glossy, black rosary-like necklace hanging around his neck. His face always wore the same fearless smile, like he found everything in the world to his pleasure and intended to spread that cheer. It was almost uncanny seeing him standing in the bloodbath of his own making like that. He was like the very avatar of battle—the dragonnewt of the Universal Apostles, Eanru. 

Stifling a laugh, Eanru drew nearer. He didn’t seem to see the demons around him. Or perhaps he just didn’t care. It was like he was blind to any sense of danger, but Suimei was the same way. 

“I think it’s a little early for a rematch though...” 

“What are you saying? There’s no early or late when it comes to fighting, right? As long there are two opponents, whether it be at the ends of the earth or the end of time, they’re destined to fight wherever they meet.” 

“To turn a reunion into a fight... Are you a member of the Maeda clan or something?” 

Suimei sighed in exasperation, and Eanru unfurled his bloodlust to get him to change his tune. Even surrounded by an enemy army, he was seriously preparing himself for a rematch. It was true that their conflict had no set time and place. But even so, getting into it here and now was far too capricious. 

Though for a battle-dominating dragonnewt, even concerns like environment were but trifling matters. Demons were a dime a dozen to him, and certainly wouldn’t get in the way while he was fighting Suimei. And even Suimei was staring to think the same. The moment rivals encountered each other, any stage could be an arena. 

The atmosphere gradually began screaming. The demons who weren’t stopped by Suimei’s flames were no longer moving. They were beings who knew nothing of fear, but between Suimei’s mana and Eanru’s fighting spirit clashing against each other, they were physically bound in place. 

But all of a sudden, Eanru’s fearless smile vanished. 

“Haha, I was kidding. I was just kidding. As I thought, there are many useless things that come up upon meeting you.” 

“Huh?” 

“It’s nothing. It just means I didn’t come here today to fight with you.” 

“Then—” 

“Listen, today I came here to defeat these damn pests. And I incidentally just so happened to run into you along the way.” 

“Incidentally?” 

“Yes, incidentally.” 

“You came all the way here just to defeat these small fries?” 

“The real show comes after this. This is just the opening act.” 

“In other words, a demon general or something is coming, huh? Abducting heroes then fighting demons... What you guys are doing makes no sense, you know?” 

“That would only be from your point of view. From ours, for the time being, it makes perfect sense.” 

Eanru ultimately gave a non-answer. Suimei understood that he was here to destroy the demons, but didn’t understand why. Moreover, if he didn’t want to fight Suimei, why had he made contact in the first place? 

“So, what do you really want?” 

“You are also here to defeat these damn pests, correct? I just thought it would go faster if we did so together.” 

“You’re saying since our goals are the same, we should cooperate? I don’t have any intention of getting along, you know?” 

“Likewise. If we get along too well, it would only become a hindrance during our rematch, after all.” 

“You seriously only care about crap like that, huh?” 

“So?” 

Eanru’s tone had completely changed. He was asking whether or not Suimei would go along with his suggestion. Eanru was his enemy, but he also wasn’t the scheming type. He sought pure, unadulterated battle. He would even cast aside his alleged duties to get it. That was just the kind of guy he was. 

If Suimei refused, it would prove a poor move to have their fights overlap. There was no need to deliberately increase the number of his opponents. And since it was Suimei’s main goal to defeat the demons, it really wouldn’t hurt to have an extra hand. But if they fought together here, he’d end up revealing some of the cards he had stashed up his sleeve... No, that was true for both of them. And in that sense, they’d still be on a level playing field, so there was no point in refusing. 

“...You’re on.” 

“Then it’s decided. Just for now, I will entrust my back to you.” 

Suimei nodded. And without another word, they turned their backs to each other and turned their previously clashing mana and fighting spirit on the demons surrounding them. In an unexpected turn of events, Suimei had formed a temporary alliance with a dragonnewt. 

And it was an utter massacre. Neither of them had felt in danger in the first place, but now that they were working together, they were additionally relieved of the burden of watching their backs, leaving them to focus solely on the fight in front of them. 

Using magicka, Suimei reduced the demons to ashes. But right behind him, double the amount of demons were obliterated by Eanru’s fist. There wasn’t even the slightest chance they could lose. Up against such a measly gang of demons, the fight would be over in a flash. When he realized this, Eanru moved to taking care of the demons flanking them. His eyes glimmered, and each and every demon he was glaring at was crushed in an instant. 

“Tch, the draconic eye...” 

It was the technique that had defeated the demons surrounding Suimei earlier. Among all techniques that caused harm using only one’s gaze, it was the easiest to imagine. The Evil Eye. In the world of magicka, it was one of the most simple and ancient techniques there was. It was originally a type of curse inflicted by an envious or jealous glare... Though obviously, what Eanru was using didn’t share that origin, but there was no mistaking it was an astounding attack. And it was hard to even recognize as an attack, making it even easier to fall prey to it. After wiping out a large number of the demons, Eanru suddenly smiled. 

“What are you laughing at now?” 

“Nothing. It’s just, even with such worthless pests as opponents, slaughtering them while standing shoulder to shoulder with someone strong is unexpectedly exhilarating. That’s all.” 

“Hah?” 

“Truly unexpected. Despite fighting for several decades, to think the day would come where I felt this way... Even small fries have a use in their own little way, it seems.” 

Suimei had no idea what he was talking about. Perhaps this was like a game to him to see who could defeat more demons. Yeah, it was a lot like chaining moves in puzzle games. Eanru wasn’t sadistic; he was just having fun. Destroying these bugs was like lining up the perfect combo and seeing all the pieces disappear from the board. Pure satisfaction. 

Dominating the sky was a swarm of demons. Like a large flock of black swans, they painted it black as they moved en masse. Demon General Striga was in the lead, guiding his kin through the skies as he led them straight south. 

“‘The human armies cannot ambush the skies, thus, I would like you to charge straight in,’ was it? Hmph.” 

Flapping his wings as he moved along, he discontentedly muttered about the order Lishbaum had passed down to him. 

“It is likely that in this battle, the human armies will fully expect and believe a simplistic strategy from us. Using that against them, myself, Ilzarl-dono, and Grallajearus-dono will unleash a surprise attack on their main camp, so I would like Latora-dono and Striga-dono to serve as decoys. That way, we will be able to deal a severe blow to the human army and defeat them easily.” 

That was the summation of their war council before they went their separate ways, and it was certainly as Lishbaum said. If they were able to outwit the human army, they could expect to deal a serious blow. Their main encampment would become a mass grave. The real question was simply whether or not the humans they were launching this surprise attack on were worth going to such lengths for. 

“Forget strategy against the humans! Isn’t it fine to just trample them underfoot? Just what is that guy afraid of from these maggots?” 

Tactics like this should be reserved for opponents that required such measures. It was true that sometimes a bit of intellectual power was needed when brute strength wasn’t enough. But brute strength was more than enough to quash the humans. 

Human soldiers were absolutely nothing to be feared. They had banded together to manage a few victories here and there, but whenever the demons dug in and began crushing them, they immediately retreated, scurrying away in shame. 

It would be one thing if the demons were actually being pushed back, but employing such a strategy under the current circumstances was a joke. That was why Striga had his doubts about the plan, which only intensified his doubts about the one that had petitioned it—Lishbaum. 

“Has he lost his nerve? This is seriously ridiculous. That damn fool...” 

His dissatisfaction had surpassed its limits. Idle complaints were just overflowing from his mouth. Lishbaum was always going on about his plans, outwitting the humans, and crushing them before they became a threat, all despite being a newcomer among the demon court. He spoke like his will and Nakshatra’s were one in the same, and pushed his schemes on the others with no hesitation. 

There was nothing more frustrating than that. If he had abilities like Ilzarl or Latora, it would be one thing. But for someone with such uncertain powers to put on such a grand farce... There was no way Striga could accept it. Flying along as he continued to curse Lishbaum, one of his kin that he sent ahead for reconnaissance returned. 

“There are humans up ahead. They are probably soldiers who got separated from their unit.” 

Reading its thoughts, he didn’t get any particularly good news. If they’d stumbled across a full human unit, he was planning to kick them around, but it was just two stragglers. It would have been perfectly fine to leave one or two maggots be, but the idea of changing course to avoid them left a bad taste in his mouth. 

And so he planned on continuing forward, trampling the stragglers and slaughtering them while they drowned in despair. He needed to blow off a little steam. The moment he found them, he could take all his pent-up resentment out on them. While fantasizing about that... 

“The force that you sent ahead was nowhere to be found.” 

“What?” 

Striga doubted the information reported to him, and immediately shook his head as he deemed it worthless. If they couldn’t be found, then it likely meant they’d just gotten lost somewhere. The force of demons Striga sent ahead was composed of nothing but brutish sentries with nothing resembling intelligence. Demons who had wings were intelligent enough to use language, but those in the shape of beasts and insects rarely did. Their talent was in their strength alone. It wasn’t hard to think they’d get lost along the winding mountain path, and without the brains to correct their course, they would only end up loitering around. 

“They couldn’t possibly have been defeated by those damn humans.” 

Striga rejected such worries with a laugh. That would indeed be impossible. If it was true that there were only two stragglers up ahead, there wasn’t even a human army around. And defeating his kin was a feat that would require at least an entire battalion, which was unrealistic to move around in this kind of terrain. It would be a different story if they could fly, but the poor, sorry humans were all earthbound. The only possibility left was that the two stragglers had wiped them out, which was completely laughable. 

Lowering his altitude, Striga continued south. An open area eventually came into view. Isolated in the craggy mountains, it was completely flat land without any trees. Just as he’d seen through his kin’s eyes, there were only two men standing there. As expected, they were pitiful stranded soldiers. But Striga had no intention of showing them any mercy. The desire of Evil God Zekaraia and Demon Lord Nakshatra was the eradication of all humans, after all. 

The only mystery is that, despite being discovered, the humans show no sign of surprise... 

Despite being approached by a large aerial force of demons, they simply looked to the sky calmly. There was a man in white and a man in black, the former with green hair and the latter with black. That it turned out to be a human and a demi-human was somewhat unexpected, but Striga put the issue out of his mind. Flapping his wings with beats much louder than necessary, he descended. 

“Humans, you truly are unfortunate bastards to be left behind by your friends and found by me!” 

Striga made that declaration to intimidate them, but neither one said a word. One just stood there calmly, and the other only looked at him with an idiotic expression. 

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongues? It’s fine to cry and wail like the other humans while begging for forgiveness. Show me that little sideshow you bastards often do on the verge of death.” 

“Nah, I’ll pass on doing something so lame.” 

The man with the idiotic expression shrugged his shoulders and began laughing scornfully. To speak so frivolously despite being in such a dire situation... Striga was sorely amused at his apparent stupidity. 

“Heh heh heh... You sure have a mouth on you, for seeing what you’re up against. I’ll praise your stupid bravado.” 

“It’s not bravado, though. Or a bluff, for that matter.” 

With that, the man in black grimaced. As he did, he tilted his head slightly and looked to the man in white standing next to him. 

“It seems the other side is under some kinda misunderstanding or something, but what do you think? Are they a threat?” 

“Hmph, I shall ask you the same in return. Do you feel any threat from this medley of pests? They’re no more than a mosquito swarm on the side of the road, don’t you think?” 

Hearing what the man in white said, Striga was struck silent for a moment. Just what were these humans talking about? Were they so afraid that they’d lost their minds? Forget being composed in the face of danger, they were outright insulting the demons—beings that humans shouldn’t ever insult. 

When that set in for Striga, the flames of his irritation reached new heights. These fools were making fun of demons. They were making fun of him. And they weren’t done yet. The man in black was about to pour even more oil on the fire. 

“They’re really just annoying, huh?” 

That was it. That was all Striga could handle. The billowing flames of his irritation consumed him, burning into rage. These humans couldn’t live. That couldn’t be allowed. 

“You bastards, don’t go thinking that you’ll have quick deaths...” 

Striga spat those words, pronouncing death and pain upon the two men. He then raised his arm to the sky. Once he swung it down, his kin would fly into action. With a single gesture, these humans would be swarmed by his kin and completely drained of their blood. 

No, that was too halfhearted. He wanted to leave them right on the very brink of death and torment them. That was the punishment to be bestowed on those who made light of demons. All of Striga’s anger over Lishbaum had vanished. It was transferred over to these two. He swung his arm down to herald their end, but... 

“What—?” 

Striga unintentionally let out a gasp at the completely unforeseen development unfolding before his very eyes. After swinging down his arm, his kin should have consumed the two humans in a black swarming cloud. But completely contrary to his expectations, and without any apparent cause, it was his kin that vanished. 

What just happened? 

While Striga was astonished, the two men began talking. 

“You sure defeated them easily.” 

“Seriously. I was hoping to get to chew them down a little, but... Against such pests, my desires will go unfulfilled, I see.” 

Their attitudes remained unchanged, and they spoke to each other like they were merely gossiping. They seemed to know what had happened. 

“Bastards, just what did you...?” 

“Just what you saw. It was nothing. Just what you saw.” 

With those words, the man in black put on a bold smile. He was repeating that same phrase—“just what you saw”—like it was something meaningful. Just what was he saying? Striga couldn’t deduce what those words implied, but... 

“Wh-Who the hell are you bastards?! Aren’t you just two soldiers that got left behind?!” 

As Striga screamed out his doubts, the man in white knit his brow in a dubious manner. 

“What? That big one seems to be quite under the wrong impression.” 

“We’re just hanging out here, dude. Waiting for a demon general to show up. But... Hey, when is he gonna show up, anyway? Is one even coming?” 

“Who knows? Maybe they won’t come after all. This world is nothing but events that defy all prediction, you know.” 

And so the two carried on with their little exchange. It really and truly sounded like they felt they were in no danger whatsoever. Surely they were only talking like that because they didn’t know Striga was a demon general. 

“These lowly humans... To make such a fool of me...” 

His burning rage grew to fireball proportions. Letting out a roar like he was venting his anger, he unleashed his bloodlust. Even his remaining trembled as he began changing. Baring his fangs and spreading his wings wide, his face turned pale. The man in black seemed to see something in this transformation. 

“Huh? Wai— Ain’t this guy a vampire?!” 

Indeed, he suddenly began panicking when Striga’s true nature was revealed. Recognizing his honorable bloodline, he finally felt the fear that he should have from the very beginning. 

“BWAHAHAHAHA! It’s too late for you now!” 

“Ugh... This kinda sucks...” 

The man in black began muttering with a bitter expression as he took a stance. But as Striga said, it was far too late. Transforming his dark power into a wave of bats resembling his kin, he let loose enough of them to cover one’s entire field of vision. 

“First will be you! NOW DIE!” 

A pronouncement of execution. He fired off his Bat Tide. The man in black’s mana became highly excited, but the pseudo-kin created by Striga’s dark power crushed it. Or rather, Striga thought they would. 

A snapping sound rang through the azure sky and blew away the Bat Tide with a shockwave. Then there was another snap, and Striga was blown backward. 

“Hmm?” 

“G-Guh... What the...” 

The attack was completely unexpected, and Striga ate it full-force. But just what was it...? It was a completely incomprehensible attack that threw him for quite a loop. Meanwhile, the man in black simply looked like he’d snapped his fingers. But even he appeared befuddled. 

“Huh? Why are you getting damaged by strike magicka? What? You’re a vampire, right? Or not? Huh? What the...” 

Babbling in a bewildered voice, the man in black looked left and right. Just what did he find so mysterious? Just what was he so concerned about? Was he expecting something more chaotic? The man in white then turned towards him. 

“What of it? It’s certainly true that the one there has more power compared to the other ones, but... Its only striking feature is its ability to suck blood, you know?” 

“Really? Just sucking blood? They’re not like... immortal or the ancestors of a forsaken race or anything?” 

“I’ve never heard of such things. And regardless, those wouldn’t be demons, would they?” 

“HAH?” 

The man in black practically shrieked in confusion. The man in white also looked at him with a curious expression. 

“Just what did you think they were?” 

“Hang on, hang on, hang on! I mean... You know?! In our world, vampires are beings of the highest echelon. They’ve lived since ancient times, and are monsters that take several battalion-scaled groups of human heroes and magicians to take down, so, yeah... you know...” 

The man in black appeared to be under some incomprehensible misunderstanding, and the man in white shook his head. Seeing this, the man in black stood there perfectly still with his mouth hanging open. Eventually, completely ignoring Striga’s own surprise, the man in black’s bewilderment turned into irrational anger. It was only then that he turned to Striga. 

“What the hell?! You’re just a fucking knockoff! Don’t fucking scare me like that! I wasted my damn shock moment! Ugh, is that what this is?! You’re just putting on a fake show like that Vuishta asshole?!” 

The man in black seemed to be angry over his misunderstanding, but what really caught Striga’s attention was the name he mentioned. 

“Bastard! You know Vuishta?!” 

“Know him? I beat the crap outta him a while ago!” 

“Wh-What did you just say?! You defeated my fellow demon general?!” 

As Striga demanded an explanation, the man in black once more made a dumbfounded expression. 

“...Huh?” 

“Wh-What is it?” 

The man in black went from looking dumbfounded to just plain blank. 

“You’re a demon general?” 

He asked that simple question like he hadn’t expected it at all. It was almost like he’d been looking for something, and was disappointed to find it had been staring him in the face all along. And as the flummoxed man in black continued to stare at Striga, the man in white began laughing. 

“See? It’s just as I said. I told you a demon general would come if we waited here.” 

“No, no, no! Wipe that triumphant smirk off your face! What’s with this timing? Ain’t it strange?” 

As the man in black criticized him, the man in white only continued to cackle with laughter. Despite the fact that their enemy was right before them, they were acting like they couldn’t even see him, which lit Striga’s rage anew. 

I’ll kill them. I’ll put everything I have into killing them. 

Making that resolution in his heart, Striga flew up into the skies where he reigned supreme. 

“You bastard humans cannot take to the skies! From here, you won’t even be able to—” 

He was going to say that they couldn’t reach him. But even having that demonstrated, both men on the ground looked unfazed. 

A cool, refreshing autumn breeze blew through the crystal clear sky overhead. And the reason he felt pity as he looked up at the demon flying there was likely because he was a magician of the Society. Or perhaps it was because he’d inherited his father’s wish and was walking down the path to save those who couldn’t be saved. 

That’s right. Magician Yakagi Suimei watched Demon General Striga fly up into the sky and was suddenly overcome by pity. He let out a soft sigh accordingly. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing. I just felt bad getting rid of it, you know. From the way it talks, it’s totally a proud villain, but in the end, all those things called demons are puppets moved around to fulfill the Evil God’s motives, right? Whether or not they have self-awareness— No, precisely because they have self-awareness, I feel bad getting rid of it. Those guys don’t have any free will after all.” 

While still looking up, Suimei expressed his thoughts in a somewhat doleful tone. If every single demon was a pawn in the hand of the Evil God on the chessboard of the world, then their desire to destroy humanity wasn’t really theirs. It was just something imprinted in them. 

So he couldn’t help but see them as pitiful. From their appearance to their thoughts, they were all just designed according to the whims of the Evil God. And since it was impossible to change the way they thought, the only choice left was to put them out of their misery. It wasn’t a good feeling. 

Just how were they any different from puppets and dolls? If he thought of dolls as pitiful, then his associate who really was a doll might curse him for life... But in this case, there was no way to save them. That inspired a sense of helplessness in Suimei. Perhaps because his complex mental state showed on his face, the dragonnewt next to him spoke with cynicism through his laughter. 

“Is that something you should say after making such a fool of him?” 

“Well, it’s still an enemy. Provoking them basically just comes automatically. This time... How do I put it? I’m spinning my own wheels...” 

When he caught a glimpse of someone who couldn’t be saved like he had just now, regardless of whether it was friend or foe, such feelings would suddenly swell up inside him. Because maybe, just maybe, this was also someone that he needed to save. 

“What you are trying to say? Well, I do understand... However, what we must do hasn’t changed, you know?” 

“...” 

“Are you hesitating?” 

“It’s a habit. Whenever I see someone who can’t be saved like this, somehow...” 

“In that case, you should instantly put them at peace. In this world, without exception, there are—” 

“Stop. Don’t say another word. If you do, I won’t be able to kill that guy.” 

Suimei interrupted Eanru. He couldn’t let him finish. Yes, without exception, there are those who couldn’t be saved. But if Suimei heard that now, he would no longer be able to raise his hand. The moment he did, he would be putting out his own dreams. But as he warned Eanru, for some reason, the dragonnewt began laughing. He really was just bursting at the seams with joy. 

“How green. You’re so green that it hardly suits the strength you hold.” 

“I’m just one among a gathering of people like that. It’s exactly because I’m like this that I became strong.” 

As he put that into words, Eanru’s smile turned bold. Just what was he enjoying so much? Suimei wasn’t sure what had him in such high spirits, but Eanru suddenly stopped laughing. 

“That’s why. That’s exactly why. To save or not to save. Feeling sorry for them like that is purely naive arrogance. If you cling to that with such zeal when you don’t understand your own place in the world, one day, it will be the fire that burns you. Do you understand?” 

“Sorry, but I was given that lecture a long time ago. Above all else, I’ve been burned plenty of times already and been through hell for it.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Yeah.” 

Saying he would save them, he stuck his neck into the affairs of others and always ended up getting hurt. That was the punishment and price for his arrogance. It was something he made his resolve to face long ago without having to be told. As the two of them silently came to an agreement with those short words, they once more looked towards the demon general. 

He was likely planning to crush them in a single strike. High up in the skies where their arms couldn’t reach him, he was accumulating his dark power and kneading it endlessly. But it wasn’t like they could get to him from the ground. And since their attacks couldn’t reach him, the demon was just steadily and assuredly preparing his coup de grâce. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Provided he was actually safe, that is. 

“You mere pest. Take my incandescent howl, and depart without leaving even your bones behind.” 

“Permutato, coagulato, vis existito...” 

[Transform, coagulate, become power...] 

The words that came out of their mouths were the means to crush the demon general. On one hand was the terrifying pronouncement of a roar, and on the other was a quicksilver blade. But the first real omen to come was the tremendous sound of the dragonnewt inhaling. 

“Hooooooooh...” 

It was as if all the air in their surroundings was being sucked into his chest. Seeing Eanru take that posture, Suimei moved to his own position. As he did... 

“If you’re saying that you have no other goals in life than eradicating humanity, then you are likely all proper puppets of the Evil God. So pitiful. So, so pitiful. But if you plan on bringing harm to others, regardless of whether or not you’re demons, then I don’t think you deserve to exist. After killing so many of you, I know I’m a bit of an idiot for saying it now, but... My god, I didn’t think that the demons would be this far past redemption.” 

As Suimei spoke with sorrow towards the sky, he readied his mercury katana and closed his eyes. 

“The heavenly sky that dyes all in its perfectly clear blue light. The invisible horizon where sea and sky are one. For only this moment in time, that boundary lies within my hand. Sever the blue sky. Its name is the dazzling blue azure.” 

Holding the mercury katana in both hands, he pointed it to the ground as he chanted his spell. As the chant echoed out mysteriously in the air, a large blue magic circle spread out at his feat, and blue flashes of lightning sparked in the air from his mana. Debris rose from the ground and began soaring towards the sky. 

As by his crackling mana extolling his magicka, Suimei’s mercury sword inhaled the spectrum from the sky, and his sword turned blue. The enormous surplus of power gave rise to violent gales around him. Trees, rocks, and grass all jumbled together as they were uprooted, torn to shreds, and blown away. Looking up, the blue sky had lost its color, and it now appeared to be a pitch black night. But not for long. 

“Bless Blade!” 

An incandescent roar and a pure blue brilliance. The mixture of crimson and azure threatened the dark skies in flashes. The flock of demons with Striga at their lead didn’t stand a chance. They were completely obliterated by the purple blast. 

In the end, Demon General Striga and all his kin were completely wiped out. The curtain had fallen on them suddenly, but it was the inevitable end to this match. Their opponents were simply too much for them. The winning technique was the combination of a dragon’s roar and the purifying power of the Bless Blade. As the two came together, it became a ruthless attack that reminded Suimei of the violent torrent of lightning breath. From Striga’s point of view, all it would have seemed like was a violent thunder assaulting his ears. Without even the time to cover them, Striga was perfectly helpless before such enormous power. 

“Man... That’s just bad luck, huh?” 

“Seriously. That demon’s misfortune is truly remarkable.” 

Though they found the curtain call to be somewhat humorous, they’d still taken lives, so not even Eanru was smiling right now. It had ended far too quickly. With that, there were only four demon generals left. Or less, if another one had been defeated elsewhere. But there was still something that Suimei found unconvincing. It was what he was thinking about before Eanru showed up. It was still spinning in the back of his mind. 

“What’s wrong? Is there something weighing on you?” 

In response to Eanru’s question, Suimei turned his back to him. He was looking off in the direction of the main encampment. 

“I’m going back. I have a really bad feeling.” 

“A bad feeling?” 

“Yeah, a bad feeling that I get all too frequently.” 

Sounding annoyed, he strengthened his body with magicka and was ready to go. But Eanru still had more to say. 

“Then I shall accompany you.” 

“Huh?” 

“If you have a bad feeling, then it means something that I can enjoy is going to happen. That’s all.” 

“You really need to put that shit to bed.” 

As Suimei took on a resigned attitude, Eanru once more began letting out a pleasant laugh.